I'm on time with another update! What is this madness? Don't let me slip too much guys, I need your comments to keep me going. Your encouragement fuels my writing. I need you.
Speaking of, thanks to those who've added this to their reading lists and left comments guys! They seriously make me happier than you can imagine!
Fun fact, this chapter was going to be a lot different. Originally Kurama was supposed to have a section and Konohamaru was supposed to show up but if I did either of those things (or both) this chapter would be over 12k words and likely wouldn't be done on time.
Like I said at the end of my most recent update of From Time to Time I'm going for weekly updates for these two stories.
And hopefully monthy or bi-monthly updates on Triple Trouble once I get settled into the new schedule.
Enjoy!
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Chapter Two: Truth
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The start of his meeting with the Hokage could've gone better, admittedly. Although he had no doubts that the Sarutobi knew of his bond with Naruto and that he'd never harm the blond, he couldn't fault him for his worry. It only showed how soft the older man truly was for the boy, despite his lack of free time as village leader.
"I'm worried about Naruto."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth Iruka winced. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed at him and immediately he was reminded of his encounter with Shikamaru before he'd left the Academy. He corrected himself quickly.
"I'm worried for Naruto. I think something may be wrong," Before the wrinkled man could get the wrong idea again , he explained. "Not with the seal or anything to do with it but... I think his troubles in school might go beyond a simple attention disorder."
The Sandaime Hokage's dark eyes softened again and he gave the tan Chunin an apologetic look. Iruka wasn't offended in the least. Naruto deserved to be cared for, and to have the most powerful man in the village looking out for him only went to show how magnetic the boy could be.
"What do you believe is the problem, Iruka?" Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, eyes like steel—not in anger at the scarred Chunin, but in worry for the blond.
"I think he may have issues with his hearing," Iruka cut straight to the point. The Hokage was worried about his surrogate grandson and beating around the bush would only further agitate the God of Shinobi .
The brunette could see the older man stiffen slightly and he waited for the news to process before continuing. He had no doubt that the Hokage, who'd shared many bowls of ramen with the blond and even essentially camped out in woods with him when he was younger, would be angry with himself for not noticing sooner, for not being around more—much like Iruka. He seemed to droop a bit in his disappointment, his eyes closed in what seemed like remorse before he straightened himself out and steeled himself.
"What brought you to this conclusion?" It was important, Iruka knew, that there was a legitimate reason to bring such a wild sounding theory to the Hokage's attention.
He told him everything. Iruka explained how, on a hunch, he'd simply repeated himself when Naruto asked instead of blowing up on him for not paying attention and how the blond had answered the question correctly. He told him about how, after continuing this, Naruto had not only shown that he did know more than his grades made it seem but also that the gaps in his knowledge seemed to come from verbal lectures and not from anything they did that involved reading or practical application lessons. How he'd noticed that Naruto tended to stare at people's mouths instead of their eyes when they spoke and how anything that left his direct field of vision seemed to disappear to him and how cautious he was about anyone being behind him.
Iruka also mentioned theories he'd had from the beginning about Naruto's earlier education being sabotaged in some way and how much he's improved since Iruka changed the way he handled the blond. Not to mention the confidence he'd been exhibiting since he'd started getting this right and instead of getting yelled at for something that had been beyond his control.
"I don't think it'll affect his ability as a shinobi, though," And wasn't that curious, since Iruka had previously been worried that Naruto wasn't ready to be even a genin .
The Hokage looked at him curiously.
"Why not?" Though he knew there were certainly shinobi out there who lacked proper hearing, hearing such a thing from Iruka was almost shocking.
"Because I think the majority of his problems during practical lessons was based on his lack of self confidence. He was constantly being laughed at by other students for every mistake he'd made before and since I changed my teaching method with him he's only improved," He sounded like a proud parent, he knew, but he couldn't help be proud of Naruto's progress. "He's been winning more of his Taijutsu spars recently and even though he's still struggling a bit. He's at least figured out that the reason for that is because they manage to get behind him and has been trying to stop them before they manage to." He was especially proud because Iruka didn't tell him that was the problem, it was something he'd learned through experience and showed more than anything that Naruto did pay attention.
Iruka's cheeks reddened as he listened to himself, his favoritism toward the whisker marked boy made clear in his tone.
"Another student noticed, too. Nara Shikamaru came to me about it after class ended earlier today and despite his grades also being on the bottom of the class, it's more from lack of any effort at all than from actually being wrong . He's a genius of only his father's caliber I'm sure. He came to the same conclusion and voiced concern," Iruka grinned at the Hokage. "He said he wanted to be his friend." Because clearly that was what was most important.
Shikamaru had zero motivation for anything but for some reason, perhaps Naruto's natural magnetism that seemed to draw anyone who gave him a chance in, he wanted to make an effort for him.
Naruto, who'd never had a friend outside of the owners of Ichiraku Ramen, himself and the Hokage, deserved to have a friend his own age who was willing to make an effort for him. He had no doubt the pair could be great friends. Many of his other students, especially Sasuke, Kiba, Ino and Sakura, were still too immature and egocentric yet to truly begin to understand Naruto. The only other student who actually liked the blond, as far as he knew, was too shy and under confident herself to properly talk to him, which was unfortunate since they had plenty in common. The only others he could think of, Chouji and Shino, while they perhaps don't have much in common with him, would no doubt be loyal friends if they gave the blond a chance.
He was glad to know someone saw the blond for who he was and not what their parents told them he was or who they thought he was.
"What do you plan to do, Iruka?" It seemed like a test, possibly to see how good a teacher he was, possibly to see just how far he was willing to go for the boy who'd become like a little brother or child to him.
"Actually, I was planning on talking to him tonight after our usual meal at Ichiraku. If he'll let me, I'd love to teach him sign language and offer him lesson notes so he doesn't miss anything. Honestly if Gai-san didn't have a team of his own to worry about I'd ask him if he had any tips for Naruto's Taijutsu since the Academy style doesn't fit what he needs. Eccentric as he is, I can't think of anyone better than him in Taijutsu. I think they'd get along well too..." Iruka trailed off, his mind filling with images of a green blur followed by a tiny orange one. He chuckled nervously "On second thought, maybe that wouldn't be a great idea..."
The Hokage did his best to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape at the idea of Naruto and Gai teaming up. With his protege Rock Lee as well... They'd make quite the trio, to say the least.
"On the contrary, I think Taijutsu with Gai might be an excellent idea, given they don't spend too much time together." He definitely never needed to see Naruto's soft gold spikes cut into the shiny bowl shape the two Taijutsu specialists sported or the orange loving boy wearing a spandex suit like theirs in any color. "I'll talk to him about tutoring Naruto a couple days a week, if that's something he'd be interested in but I'm not sure even Naruto will be able to keep up Gai."
"What about..." Iruka hesitated slightly. "What about teaching basic Shinobi Sign at the Academy? Eventually any of them that actually become shinobi will need to learn it anyway and if other kids in class knew, it could be easier for Naruto later..."
He'd already explained how he wanted as few people to know about it as possible, not only because it'd give the kids at school more fuel to bully him but he didn't want the spread of the information to put him in danger. The villagers weren't kind to him and if they thought they had an advantage as big as that, Iruka didn't want to think of the consequences. Naruto could tell who he wanted when he trusted them with the information. The only person other than the Hokage who would need to know without the blond's permission would be his Jonin sensei after he graduates from the Academy, since not knowing can put everyone else in danger.
"Bring Naruto here tomorrow afternoon, after the academy lets out for the day. I think it would be good to see him for more than a few minutes at a time to catch up. It's been months since we last had a chance to talk."
Both men knew how vulnerable people finding out your weaknesses could make you feel and both wanted to make sure Naruto knew he had both of their support. His hearing, or lack thereof, didn't make them think less of him (if anything it was more impressive, especially given his improvement over the last few weeks) nor was it too much of a hurdle in the way of his dream. Afterall, Hiruzen's hearing nowadays wasn't the best either but that didn't take away his ability.
Iruka gave him a soft smile and a sharp nod.
"Of course, Hokage-sama."
Overall, Iruka would say the discussion went well.
When he and the Hokage parted it was just in time to meet with Naruto, who was waiting where he always did. The blond stood alone under a tree, out of sight from the villagers but where Iruka could easily find him. The tanned Chunin smiled warmly at Naruto, who grinned right back.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei! Were you talking with Jiji? Is he still smoking? That's bad for him, ya know?" The orange, living ball of energy seemed to be having a good day because his enthusiasm
The walk to the ramen bar was short and Naruto chattered the entire walk but it was pleasant and felt more like family than either of them had before
wasn't fake. His voice was still too loud for casual conversation but it was quieter than usual, not as exaggerated and the smile that accompanied it was real too.
"I did, but we'll talk about that later. I believe I promised you ramen, yeah? Let's head down to Ichiraku and you can tell me all about what's got you so excited." He wrapped his arm around the blond's shoulders and walked with him close like he did everytime they ate together. If the villagers had anything to say about him as they walked by, he had Iruka to lean on and to keep him distracted.
There were no other customers at the ramen bar when the pair ducked under the awning, taking their seats on the stools.
"Large Miso ramen with extra pork!" Naruto called cheerfully to the man and his daughter who ran the joint.
Teuchi grinned at Naruto and got to work on Naruto's order while waiting for Iruka's which, like always, was a simple salt based ramen with a soft boiled egg. Naruto frequently made remarks that miso was better but Iruka only chuckled and said something about differing tastes. When the bowls were placed in front of them the blond was instantly inhaling the hand made noodles. It was a wonder how Naruto could claim it was his favorite when he was eating so fast Iruka wasn't even sure he could taste it at all.
The brunette tapped the distracted blond lightly on the shoulder, and he waited for his bright blue eyes to turn to him. When he had Naruto's attention he spoke, making sure his words were distinct and clear but not speaking too loudly.
"What's got you so happy today, Naruto?" Iruka gave the small boy a fond smile as he tucked into his own ramen.
"Oh, I learned something today!" The blond paused his slurping to give Iruka a bright grin.
"And what would that be?" He certainly didn't learn anything new in class since the day had been review for an upcoming test and practice.
"If I do this," Naruto didn't outwardly do anything, his posture not changing in the slightest, but Iruka felt a burst of chakra emanate from the blond. It wasn't disruptive to anything and no jutsu followed it, it was like an echo before it retreated. "Then I can feel people! Sometimes I can tell who it is but mostly not, ya know? But that might be because I don't know many people though... I practiced a lot before coming here."
Iruka was speechless. He was talking to the Hokage for two hours and before that he'd spent close to forty minutes between talking to Shikamaru and dropping off his paperwork and he practiced just releasing chakra the entire time? Any other academy student would've been beyond exhausted, it likely could have been a health hazard for someone so small and young. Though, thinking about it, it made sense. Naruto, in the couple years he'd been his teacher, seemed to have endless energy and not once had he ever seen the boy anything but briefly out of breath after Taijutsu spars. Iruka wondered briefly just how much chakra Naruto had and if it was the reason he tended to release so much when he was doing any of the basic jutsu.
"H-how long have you been practicing?" Naruto's eyes squinted as he thought about it.
"Well, I only started practicing today... But I found out yesterday when I was trying to do a clone and it exploded," He said it like clones exploding was a normal occurance for him. "I don't know why I have so much trouble with them. Whenever I try, they come out like jelly, I tried using more chakra yesterday but then it blew up and I could feel everything! It was awesome, ya know?! I was gonna try it during my spar today but I wasn't sure if it counted as a jutsu or not."
If Naruto could hone that skill it could compensate for his hearing trouble, Iruka knew, and would likely prove to be more reliable than his ears.
"Wait, you can tell people apart?" If his chakra pulses worked like echolocation he shouldn't be able to tell anything specific except size.
Naruto nodded enthusiastically, talking around a mouthful of noodles.
"You feel warm, but also like...flowy? It's kinda hard to explain... I guess it reminds me of warm water, ya know?"
Iruka did not , in fact, know.
"Uh huh..." The Chunin was at a loss for words. "How many people can you tell apart?'
"Only you, Jiji, and a couple kids from class." Naruto shrugged like using his chakra in this way was just not done. Ever.
Iruka dropped it for the moment. It was something to talk about after their meal when he brought up Naruto's hearing.
The Chunin asked his student about how he felt he was doing so far and it was the first time the blond had been happy to talk about his progress in class. His average was still low, after years of struggling to keep up it was to be expected, but his tests and homework as of late had been much better and it was clearly having a positive effect on Naruto. When he'd been studying for his certification he'd learned a bit of psychology, specifically learned helplessness . Where no matter what actions are taken, the result is never good which causes the person to just stop trying. It reminded him of a phrase he'd often heard from Naruto: "It doesn't matter anyway,"
Now that the blond was seeing a positive change in his grades he seemed overall lighter, slightly more confident in himself in class, he was even putting more effort in because it was finally, finally, getting him somewhere other than detention. Iruka felt guilty about that, honestly, since Naruto's brand of learned helplessness was caused primarily by him not paying attention and was no real fault of Naruto's. The other students didn't help either and Iruka wondered when kids were taught that failure was somehow something terrible. It could be of course, but at this age there wasn't much they could do that would qualify. Why did it matter if someone got something right the first time or the hundredth as long as they got it eventually? And even if they didn't, if they quit and tried something else instead how could that be bad? Perhaps they'd grow out of it, Iruka hoped they did at least, since these would be close comrades after they graduate.
After Naruto's customary five bowls of miso ramen and Iruka's one bowl they began walking back to the blond's rundown apartment. Before Naruto could say goodnight and close his door, Iruka asked to come in for a moment. The conversation had to be somewhere that was Naruto's, somewhere the blond would be comfortable. It would prevent some of the unnecessary stress this conversation would no doubt cause.
Naruto looked at him strangely but allowed his teacher inside without protest and sat at his dining table. Iruka took the seat across from him.
"Naruto, I have a question for you and I want you to answer honestly, okay?" He could see the blond stiffen and he hoped he could relieve him of his tense-ness as quickly as possible but he had to know and bluntness would always go over better with Naruto than beating around the bush. He was kind of oblivious.
When the boy gave a timid nod, he gave a reassuring smile before getting to the point.
"Naruto," He spoke softly but deliberately and the sound completely lacked any emotion that could be considered negative. "Do you have trouble hearing?"
He saw Naruto's blue eyes widen in realization that someone knew . He waited patiently for Naruto to answer him.
He nodded again with a quiet "Uh huh" that Iruka wasn't completely sure Naruto was aware he made.
"Is that why you were struggling so much before?" He, of course, already knew the answer but Iruka felt that Naruto deserved this, to be the one to tell him.
Naruto looked worried, nearly panicked, as he nodded once more and Iruka placed a gentle hand in the boy's blond locks, smiling at him.
"I'm glad you were honest with me. I'm not angry, it's okay," His panic seemed to subside some. "You know there are other ways to communicate besides talking, right?"
Naruto tilted his head. "I know they exist but I don't know what they are," Writing on papers would work within the village but it could be dangerous on a mission and the blond couldn't think of anything else off the top of his head.
"Have you ever heard of Shinobi Sign Language?"
Naruto considered it for a moment but shook his head, he'd likely seen some shinobi around the village do something but didn't quite know what it was called.
"It's when you communicate with hand gestures," His hands moved as he spoke and Naruto assumed he'd translated what he'd said into his movements. "Would you want to learn? There's two different ones: Konoha's Shinobi sign, which is used during missions and is unique to Konoha and then there's the general sign language that's essentially the same throughout the Elemental Nations. You would need to learn both."
Naruto watched his hands move with rapt attention and he grinned up at Iruka.
"Show me!"
Iruka chuckled at the enthusiasm and took Naruto's dominant hand in his own. The brunette guided his first and second fingers over his thumb in a fist-like gesture.
"N,"
He moved his fingers again, making a loose almost-fist out of his four fingers with his thumb laying against his pointer finger, facing up.
"A,"
Iruka continued, manipulating Naruto's hand into a peace sign, gently crossing his middle finger over his index finger.
"R,"
He uncrossed them, pushing the two fingers together.
"U,"
The teacher pushed them back down, resting his thumb against the second knuckle of his middle finger and placing his pointer over his thumb in another fist-like gesture.
"T,"
Finally, Iruka guided Naruto's hand into a C shape and pushed it close as if he were holding something invisible.
"O,"
Naruto was entranced the entire time, commiting the gestures to his memory as they went through them a few more times.
When Naruto could do it without Iruka helping him he smiled warmly. "Names are usually spelled and can take a while so with people you're close to can be given a special sign as their name instead. Tomorrow I can get you some books if you'd be interested?"
"Yes!" Naruto cheered and Iruka couldn't remember the last time the boy was so excited over studying . "They're kinda like hand signs for Jutsu!"
"I guess they are," Iruka chuckled because the only things that ever seemed to be on Naruto's mind had to do with being a Ninja. "When I spoke to Hokage-sama earlier I warned him about my concern for you and he wants to see us both. Why don't we see if we can't convince him to let me teach the class sign, yeah? So you can get in as much practice as possible."
Naruto looked nervous at the prospect of talking about his disability with the Hokage but the prospect of learning something as interesting as Ninjutsu that would help him was too great an opportunity to pass up. He nods with determination blazing in his blue eyes.
"Good, we're meeting with him after school tomorrow, okay? So get plenty of sleep," He gave Naruto a stern look that managed to look more caring than demanding and Naruto nodded with a fond smile.
He threw himself at Iruka, hugging the man tightly around the waist and the brunette yelped at the sudden contact. Naruto didn't draw away.
"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's voice was muffled by Iruka's vest where Naruto had pressed his face tight against the tan shinobi's stomach.
Iruka smiled happily at Naruto, ruffling his hair.
"You're welcome Naruto."
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Hiruzen, at first, had been worried Iruka was falling back into old habits regarding Naruto. Now , however, he was just worried about Naruto. If something was wrong and it took Iruka this long to notice, how was he supposed to notice when nowadays he only saw the boy after he pulled a particularly intense prank? He felt guilty because he should've seen something, anything, and taken care of it. Naruto, for all his bluster, was fragile--no matter how much he fought to hide it--and he definitely did his best to hide his hearing problems. But maybe not. Maybe they'd all just been too blind to see what had been right in front of them. Afterall, how could a child who has never known any differently be able to tell the difference? Iruka would be there with Naruto in less than an hour which would hopefully give him at least some answers.
There was so little he could do about it too, since it would likely have been taken care of if it were due to sickness or injury by the fox--something that was discovered after seeing for himself how the small blond's scraped knees heal themselves in seconds. That and the fact Naruto, as far as he knew at least, had never been sick. It would mean that Naruto had likely suffered from these hearing problems from birth and was something that doubtless had to say between the three of them, and the young Nara, for now. There was no telling how it would affect his classmates' already poor treatment of him, or the rest of the village's treatment of him.
The Sandaime Hokage pushed the thoughts away, there was no use thinking about things that won't happen because revealing Naruto's disability to the village wouldn't happen, not without Naruto's express permission.
It was a slow fifty three minutes before the secretary came in saying Iruka was once again here to speak with him, Naruto in tow. When they walked in, Naruto beamed and shot toward him at top speed.
"Hi, Jiji!"
Hiruzen chuckled, if he weren't an experienced shinobi he likely would've missed the nervousness that poured off of the boy in waves.
"Hello, Naruto,"
The Sarutobi turned toward the academy teacher who was waiting patiently to speak.
"Go ahead, Iruka."
The scarred Chunin shot Naruto a smile before reporting, more for Naruto's sake than the Hokage's.
"Several weeks ago, during class, I called on Naruto to answer a question. He looked like he'd been paying attention, but when I asked him for the answer he asked me to repeat the question like he often does. Normally I would've just scolded him for not paying attention, but I was so sure that he had been... Instead of scolding him I simply repeated it a bit louder and when he answered it he was right."
Hiruzen listened to the extra detail in his explanation carefully and Naruto seemed entranced by it--apparently when Iruka spoke to him the night before he likely didn't explain how he figured it out. The blond actually looked surprised by how closely Iruka had been paying attention. It would be sweet if it weren't so sad.
"Over the last several weeks I began speaking a bit louder when I give lectures and writing more on the board to test my theory, and I'm sure you've noticed Naruto's grades steadily improving. The pieces just seemed to fall into place after that. Naruto's weakness in academics, how he startles when you come up behind him--no matter how obvious you are about it--how he often asks for things to be repeated," Naruto was hiding his face as Iruka built up to the conclusion, though Hiruzen had a feeling he knew where this was going. "I was sure he had trouble hearing, and after our talk last night, we've discovered that he is , in fact, deaf."
It was obvious Naruto didn't suffer from total hearing loss, at least, as he did seem to hear some things--enough for no one to notice the problem to begin with.
"At first," Naruto started his own explanation shyly and to the shock of both shinobi. They hadn't been expecting the blond to be so forthcoming with information. 'I just thought it was normal, I don't remember ever really hearing things super clearly, ya know? And everyone always yells at me in the village so I just assumed they were always telling me to be quiet because they hate me. I still think it's part of it but at the time all I knew was that if I spoke any quieter I wouldn't be able to hear myself, ya know?"
Iruka looked a bit confused and it was clear that it wasn't something he'd told the teacher during their talk. Both men had the same question in their minds.
"How did you figure out your hearing was bad, then?"
"Well, it makes sense doesn't it? If everyone else in class can hear what Iruka-sensei teaches and I can't or if people in the village are talking to each other and I can't hear them even though they can hear each other..." There was definitely more to the story but Naruto didn't seem to want to elaborate. "But Iruka-sensei said I could still be a ninja!"
"With your permission, Hokage-sama, I'd like to teach basic Shinobi Sign Language in class and give Naruto any extra tutoring he needs," They'd discussed this already but Iruka felt the Hokage's response would only solidify the faith Naruto's put in both of them by being aware of his disability.
"Do what you find necessary to make this as easy for Naruto as possible," The blond's grin was blinding.
"Naruto, there was one other thing Iruka and I talked about yesterday. There's a shinobi in the village named Maito Gai, he's a Taijutsu expert, and we were wondering if you'd be interested in receiving extra tutoring from him. The academy style seems unfit given your situation and I have no doubt he'd have plenty to teach you." Hiruzen could swear there were stars in Naruto's eyes.
He'd known for a while that Naruto struggled with the academy style, occasionally observing the class during practices. He had no doubt Naruto's problems stemmed both from his natural unpredictability--where as the academy level Taijutsu was simple and entirely predictable when you had experience--and because it relies so much on sight and sound. Gai would definitely have plenty of things to teach him, though he worried about the green-clad shinobi pushing Naruto too far. He was small for his age and would likely struggle with Gai's typical teaching methods, still the end result would be worth it if it helped him.
Seeing Naruto's wary look, Iruka cut in. He and Hiruzen both knew Naruto struggled with new people and while Gai had never had any issues with Naruto and his status as Jinchuuriki, it was easy to see why he'd be concerned.
"What if you met him first? To decide if you think it would be good for you?" Honestly, Iruka thought the two would get on well. He just hoped Naruto didn't start coming to class wearing spandex and sporting a bowl cut.
"Would you be there?" It was quiet and a little slurred but both men heard it and felt their hearts break just a little.
"Of course!" Iruka sounded so sure that any doubt Hiruzen had ever had about Iruka's feelings about Naruto was gone.
Naruto's smile was more genuine, then, than Hiruzen had ever seen before and he couldn't help but return it.
"I'll talk to Gai-san when he and his team come back to report."
"Thanks, Jiji!" Naruto turned to Iruka, still smiling brightly.
"Can we get the books now?" If Hiruzen had been anyone else he might've fallen out of his chair at hearing Naruto getting excited over books.
Iruka looked at him for permission to be dismissed.
"Go ahead," He granted the silent request. "Naruto, come back in a few days to show me your progress. We can get ramen," Naruto nodded, determined to learn as much as he could to impress the Sandaime, and skipped away with Iruka to a bookstore.
It was nice, Hiruzen thought, that Naruto was so genuinely happy simply by having support.
~~~~
Naruto had been having the best few days of his life! Even if Sasuke-teme got the drop on him in their Taijutsu spar the day before. He was doing better on his classwork and homework, kids weren't making fun of him nearly as much as they had before, and Iruka-sensei no longer yelled at him when he asked the man to repeat what he said. He never expected anyone to pay close enough attention to figure it out, never thought they'd ever care enough to try . But Iruka-sensei did .
When Iruka first asked about his hearing he was nervous. He didn't know if the man would be mad at him for hiding it or try to make him stop trying to be a ninja or how the man would react at all. But he'd smiled at him and told him he'd help and it was everything Naruto ever wanted.
The way Iruka-sensei maneuvered his hand into the letter-signs for his name had reminded Naruto of the way he'd seen some shinobi parents teaching their kids hand signs for Jutsu. The feeling of family, of not being alone stayed with him the whole night.
Naruto had also been nervous about talking about it with Hokage-jiji, because if he decided it was too dangerous for him to become a Ninja then everything he'd worked so hard for the last few years was for nothing. Hokage-jiji hadn't done what he'd expected either, much to Naruto's relief. The old man had looked proud of him, when he'd heard about the rise in his grades like Iruka-sensei had been when he handed back his papers.
Naruto wondered if the fluttery feeling he felt every time he saw that look was what it felt like to have a family but pushed the thought away because he would not let that loneliness ruin his good mood. In any case, he wasn't completely lonely because he had Iruka-sensei and Jiji and they were all he needed.
After promising to meet Sandaime-Jiji again in a few days, Iruka-sensei took Naruto went to a few bookstores in Konoha, Shinobi bookstores that had owners and employees who didn't send him out as soon as he stepped in or glare at him the entire time he was in the shops. The Chunin got him several books on Shinobi Sign Language; books on both basic and advanced grammar and vocabulary as well as a book on deaf culture and a book on that described ways around impaired senses on missions. He'd also asked for a large number of the basic sign books to be delivered to the academy by the following Monday. Naruto was ecstatic , because this was actually happening.
He spent the entire evening practicing Shinobi Sign Language with Iruka-sensei and was even able to work out sign names for him and Jiji and Iruka-sensei gave him one in return.
Hokage-Jiji's was the easiest. Just "Grandfather," signed by taking his dominant hand, fingers splayed out, and touching his forehead with his thumb and bringing his hand forward in two small arches.
Iruka-sensei's name-sign came when they were reviewing Shinobi vocabulary. The word "Scar" signed across his nose with an "I" instead of his index finger. He explained that it was originally going to be "Dolphin" but decided it took too long to be a name which made Iruka-sensei laugh.
The name Iruka-sensei had given him wasn't a word they'd gone over yet, but was fitting nonetheless. It was "Whiskers," signed by dragging outspread fingers across the cheeks and out. Naruto decided he liked it. Kurama had told him once that he had the strange marks on his cheeks because he'd been sealed inside his mother while she was pregnant with him and exposure to his chakra had caused them. They were a nice reminder that he was never alone because even if everyone else was gone he still had Kurama.
Mentally he decided that Kurama's name sign would just be "Fox," at least for the time being. He wasn't supposed to know about being his Jinchuuriki yet and if anyone found out he'd been talking to the fox they might react badly so he wouldn't be able to mention him, but the thought was there. Besides, the sign was kind of cute which would no doubt annoy him. It was easy, just the sign for "F" and "Nine," a circle made with his index finger and thumb with his remaining fingers stretched up, over his nose and twisting by flexing his wrist a couple times.
Iruka even cooked dinner for them both consisting of fried pork cutlet served with sauce and cabbage with miso soup, white rice, bean sprouts, pickled radish and cucumber, braised lotus root and rolled omelet. Naruto was so happy to be eating a homemade dinner with another person and not eating cup ramen--no matter how delicious it was--alone in his apartment he didn't even complain about all the vegetables. In fact, he ate all of them.
In the end he decided that the bitter taste of vegetables was bearable as long as he wasn't eating alone.
During class the following day, Iruka-sensei announced that at the beginning of the next week they'd be starting a unit on Shinobi Sign Language. Naruto was grinning but no one else seemed to share his excitement. That was okay, they just didn't understand how awesome it was to be able to communicate without making a sound. When they were given a few minutes break to talk to each other while Iruka-sensei graded papers, Naruto, like always, stayed in his seat. People tended to get angry if he tried to talk to them and he decided getting insulted and losing his good mood wasn't worth human interaction.
The seat beside him was usually empty so when someone carelessly flopped into it Naruto nearly fell out of his chair. He stared at the person with his hand over his pounding heart and breathed out a sigh of relief to see it was Shikamaru. In their earlier years at the academy they'd skipped together with Kiba and Choji but nowadays Kiba was too good to skip with him (Not that he stopped skipping, Naruto was just no longer good enough a companion to skip with) and Shikamaru tended to be too lazy. Choji usually just followed Shikamaru. The fact that the Nara was now sitting next to him after declaring him too troublesome was beyond Naruto.
"Yo," He gave the blond a lazy wave, laying his head over his arms on the desk.
Naruto managed a confused "Hi?" before cracking.
"Why are you sitting here? Don't you normally talk with Choji during break?" It wasn't said sarcastically and Naruto knew Shikamaru knew that it was genuine confusion prompting the question.
"I wanted to sit here. The breeze is nice," And that was the end of that. Shikamaru lifted his head and turned to face Naruto properly. "What do you think about us having to learn Shinobi Sign? You looked pretty excited during the announcement."
"It's so cool . It's like hand signs for Jutsu! Only they mean words ! You can have full conversations without saying a single thing! It's amazing, ya know?" He didn't go into too much detail. He didn't want to tip anyone off about why they were learning it (though Naruto knew it was more because Iruka-sensei wanted him to make friends than anything else).
He didn't doubt that Shikamaru would be able to figure it out, though. Naruto learned a long time ago that the Nara heir was way smarter than he let on and that his grades weren't a good representation of his intelligence at all.
"What about you? What do you think?" Naruto did his best to keep the conversation from falling into an awkward silence, even if it meant asking questions he could probably guess the answer to.
"It's troublesome to learn a new language," Naruto knew it. "But I also think it's useful. The fact that even you think it's interesting says a lot, though, so it might be worth learning."
Did Nara Shikamaru just imply that he was going to put actual effort into something because Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto , the class clown, thought it was interesting? Naruto brushed the thought away. There's no way that was what he meant.
"Knowing you, you'll probably learn it super fast and pretend you don't know it at all, ya know?" He didn't mean to blurt it out like that, but it was true.
"You noticed that?" The pineapple head sounded surprised and Naruto tried not to be offended, just because he couldn't hear things didn't mean he couldn't see them--not that Shikamaru knew about that.
He nodded shyly. Was he not supposed to have noticed? Naruto thought it was obvious.
"Troublesome..."
Things were silent for a few moments, but luckily it wasn't too awkward. When Shikamaru spoke again he changed the subject and the two ended up talking about Naruto's recent improvement in class. He was careful to avoid saying anything about his hearing, but happily talked about how things seemed to be going well and that the extra unit would give him another opportunity to bring his grade up just enough to no longer be the dead last. Hopefully.
The break was over too soon and when lunch rolled around Shikamaru even brought Choji over with him to talk. It was nice not eating alone, even if he did have a lunch packed with leftovers from Iruka-sensei's homemade dinner. They talked about food and clouds and class and it might have been the best day of school he'd ever had. The only thing he could think of that could make it better would be finally beating Sasuke-teme in a spar.
He was so caught up in talking to Shikamaru and Choji that he didn't notice the fond smile Iruka sent his way as he watched the trio.
Things seemed to be looking up for Naruto.
Both Iruka and the blond himself hoped things stayed that way.
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Quick note: The thing with Gai was totally a last minute thing. BUT! I have an idea! (Still no OP!Naruto) Mostly it's to build bonds though since I feel like Naruto and Lee (In this story) and Naruto and Neji (In canon) are the same in a lot of ways. For Lee and Naruto it's their disabilities and for Naruto and Neji it's being cursed with a seal (This will come into play later).
Also!Despite the ominous note we're ending this chapter on, I swear nothing will go horribly wrong. At least not yet. This story is mainly fluff to balance out the endless tears I cried writing From Time to Time and rewatching Neji and Jiraiya's deaths [EDIT: I completely forgot about Itachi, but him too. I think I might've blocked it out because that one was rough for a completely different reason], and that scene where Minato moves on to the pure land or whatever they call it in the Naruto verse.
That does not mean there will be no conflict though!😉
Until next week guys!
~KoreanOreo~