The next Monday Naruto was up bright and early. As per the Hokage's instructions, he dressed down in terms of looking like a Shinobi. Instead, he wore mostly soft black fabrics that wrapped around him perfectly. Every muscle was outlined, but hidden in the cloth. Shoes he skipped altogether and he wore his hair loose, letting strands of hair falling in front of his face, covering his eyes mostly. The evil grin underneath hidden eyes made him look, well, evil. And that was the look he was going for his first day.

Of course, he didn't leave without having some weapons on him and so hid a few dozen of his newly bought senbon in reachable but invisible places.

"Naruto, breakfast!" Dog called out. Naruto gave a last smile to his reflection in the mirror and walked to the kitchen. Cat was sitting at the table and gave Naruto a nervous smile as he walked in. Naruto returned it in kind, making Cat release a pent up breath. He was in a good mood today, so the chances he'd 'play' with Cat today were on the low side.

Dog placed Naruto's favorite food in front of him, ramen. Naruto's eyes sparkled before he dug in. "Thabks, Obee-sah!" He sputtered with his mouth still stuffed. This was already a good day as far as he was concerned. He woke up feeling very happy. Happy enough even to be nice to Cat.

"Hey, baka Neko, what are you doing today?" A big smile was plastered on his face as he watched with mischievous eyes how Cat tensed up and turned his attention from his breakfast to Naruto.

"D-don't call me baka, Naruto, that's not polite. Today is a training day for me." He fidgeted as he spoke, trying to seem relaxed. But as always, he was so self-aware around Naruto and as always he wanted to give Naruto the best impression he could.

"Take me to school?" Naruto asked. His focus was already back to his breakfast while Cat was staring at him. Dog had placed a second bowl in front of him.

"Of course he will." Dog answered for Cat, walking around the table and pushing Cat's mouth close with a single finger under his chin. She smiled at him and continued in the kitchen. Naruto just kept eating like he didn't just ask a normal, social, happy question to someone he usually only tormented. "And I'm coming too. We are switching each day to watch over you in class." Cat added. Naruto looked up at her and pouted. "Oh, don't worry, sweetie, the only one that's going to notice us other then you will maybe be your Sensei and since we've been guarding you since you were, there is nothing we don't know about you already." Dog said while cupping Naruto's cheek. She added a motherly kiss to his forehead that broke Naruto's pout back into a smile. He had never had a private moment since the incident. Well, it's not like Naruto didn't understand the reasons. It was like being a prisoner without walls, so it was better then being an actual prisoner. It had taken some time for Naruto to realize just what he had done in the part of his mind that was still sane, but still he didn't regret doing it. He also didn't regret Cat and Dog being his guardians; both of them cared for him in their own way and Naruto cared for them too.

Cat was too flustered after the question to say much more, so the rest of breakfast was silent. Dog tied Naruto's hair into a somewhat presentable mess, for as far as Naruto's hair allowed it. It was always messy, but beautiful. Naruto didn't even bother trying to avoid Dog's fussing. If the tie bothered him, he could always remove it later.

Like always Cat walked next to Naruto in full ANBU gear. The good mood Naruto was in hadn't faltered and so they made their way through town. Naruto both liked and disliked having Cat with him like this. It helped to keep villagers away, but also prevented him from messing with people. Even though either Cat or Dog were always watching him, it was different when they did so from a distance.

The school was only a few blocks away from the ANBU residence and before long they were standing in the small courtyard in front of the school. Most students were already there, talking to each other. The parents that were dropping their kids off did so almost without looking back. The routine had made them feel safe in doing this. Neither did the children glance after their parents in trust that they will return to pick them up at the end of the day. Naruto shortly wondered what kind of reaction a child would have should one day a parent not show up. Or better yet, the reaction of a parent if the child was gone. A grin spread across his face as he watched the children talk to each other. Would being a single parent make the reaction worse? Would a mother or a father be more upset? Of course, with Cat right there and Dog watching, Naruto would never get a chance to test this out, but if he ever did...

"Uhm... Naruto..?" A nervous voice broke Naruto's thoughts. Cat stood next to him and looked a bit frightful. He must have seen the grin on Naruto's face. When the red and blue eyes shifted to look at him and the red eye was bright, Cat swallowed and stepped back a bit. "I-uh... I was wondering if you wanted me to walk you to class for introductions." He said, avoiding eye contact. Naruto tilted his head, studying Cat's face for a second, before he smiled again.

"Yeah, that would be nice!" All previous thoughts were washed away by the thoughts of attending an actual day of class. He shortly wondered what kind of behavior he should try to maintain, not that he always had control over that, but at least he could try. Another part of his mind pushed that thought aside; he was there to play with new victims, not for friends or school. Just let it roll...

A smile lingering on the edge of a grin decorated his face as he walked into the school a couple of pases behind Cat. Many students, especially the younger ones, stared in awe at the fully geared ANBU. It pulled a lot of initial attention away from Naruto, but then set the focus even more on him as being the student with an ANBU guard. Cat didn't knock before entering the classroom that was still in turmoil from just arrived students. A man with a cross shaped scar across his nose was standing behind the desk, seemingly waiting for the students to calm down. Due to the ruckus in the class, Cat and Naruto went unnoticed for a few minutes. Slowly more and more students began to notice the new arrivals and one by one they settled down.

The Sensei noticed them and Naruto saw realization dawn on his face that he was getting his new student today. There was a small adjustment in his attitude. "Alright, everyone, settle down. Sakura, Ino, take your own seats. Leave Sasuke alone. You can talk to him during recess. Quiet now!" Once the class noticed the Sensei was in serious mode, it only took a couple of seconds for everyone to chatter to their seats and quiet down.

"Alright, thank you. We have a new student today. Please make him feel at home." After that, he turned to Cat and Naruto. "Hi there, I'm Iruke. I'll be you're Sensei for this year." He said, looking at Naruto. Naruto just inclined his head.

"And you are..?" Iruke asked Cat. It was uncommon for an ANBU to show up in a classroom to say the least.

"I'm one of Naruto's guardians. You'll be seeing us more often. I'm sure the Hokage briefed you on Naruto's attendance. Call me Cat " Cat said a bit stiffly. He was portraying himself quite well as an ANBU. More so then Naruto usually thought of him. Naruto raised a lazy eyebrow, giving Cat a sideway glance before shrugging it off. Even Naruto recognized that Cat was a capable ANBU when he wasn't trying so hard to impress him.

"Right. I didn't expect you to come in full gear though. I almost thought you were on a mission or something." Iruke-sensei chuckled.

"I am." Cat said seriously, causing Iruke-Sensei's laugh to falter awkwardly. He abruptly turned his attention back to Naruto. "Why don't you introduce yourself, so we can start the class, alright?" Naruto shrugged before he took a stand front and center.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto. I'll be joining your class as of today. Jiji told me to behave, so I'll try. Oh, and I have an ANBU guard on me at all times. The first to find them while they are trying to hide gets a cookie." Naruto smiled. As he looked around the room his eyes fell on a pink haired girl that looked vaguely familiar, but he didn't quite know from where. His full attention was on the girl as she began to squirm under his relentless stare. It was almost a full half a minute before anyone said anything again. "I know you..." Naruto said slowly. "You look familiar, but I can't place it." He tilted his head and squinted his eyes a little. His red eye seemed to come alive when he remembered and he grinned. "Ah, yes, I knew your mother. You look quite like her." He almost whispered. The words sounded intense and were loaded with hidden meaning. Naruto walked over to her and leaned in close. Iruke-Sensei said something, but Naruto ignored him. His brow furrowed. "Your mother had a strong heart." He said, his face never dropping the grin and his red eye twinkling with malice. "Yeah, she knew how to fight when she needed to. You know, for a civilian." The words were spoken softly, so most of the class didn't hear, but seeing their classmate so upset after only a few words from the new student made them all tense up.

Naruto turned and seated himself in the only empty chair left in the classroom. He looked at his hand, remembering the feel of the heart when he gave it to the Hokage. The present. So the woman was a mother? Naruto wondered if the girl now just lived with her father or if she was like him, an orphan. Maybe he should get close to her and find out. He wouldn't be pushing her too hard. Well, maybe, but not right away.

Cat had left as soon as Naruto's attention was elsewhere leaving a confused Iruke and an upset class of twelve year olds. The pink haired girl seemed to be on the brink of crying while a platinum blonde girl was trying to comfort her. Most of the class was glaring at Naruto, but he seemed completely unbothered by them all. After a while, Iruke started class after making sure the pink haired girl was alright.

There was little new information in the lessons given for Naruto, so his attention was bordering on completely lost. If this was going to be an every day thing, he was sure to regret his choice. It didn't take very long however, before a new source of entertainment made himself known. And it did so in the form of a black haired boy sitting right next to him. The boy was stuck up and didn't bother to recognize that someone was sitting next to him. He made a perfect target for small Genjutstu's to throw him off guard, mess with his head a bit.

There was also another student, one that seemed to notice everything and just absorb the knowledge without really interacting with his environment. One of the Nara clan if Naruto was not mistaken. Together with two other boys, they seemed to be just as interested in the classes as Naruto was, so he saw an opportunity for a mischievous alliance within the classroom. There was, however, this issue of winning the group over. They all seemed to pity the pink haired girl and since Naruto had hurt her feelings, they were among the students to glare at him.

A bell rang somewhere, indicating recess. Like the other students, Naruto made his way outside to do whatever it was Shinobi-to-be did in their time off. Turned out, they sparred a little, did some throwing practice and talked to each other in small groups. At first Naruto was ignored, but when he walked over to the target area and started throwing senbon instead of the Academy-standard kunai, he quickly gained an audience. The needles were light and had a very different throw form kunai, so the first couple of throws went nowhere near the center. They all landed in the board, however, and that seemed to impress the onlookers all the same. Even the Uchiha came and observed from a small distance. Far away to be aloof, but close enough to follow the small commotion.

Naruto had brought twenty senbon and all of them were now stuck in the board. He didn't like his result, only half had made it into the actual center and since senbon were only deadly with the highest accuracy, he needed to improve a lot. Still, for a first shot he supposed it wasn't the worst result. He meandered over to the board like he didn't actually care he was now blocking the entire practice area, they weren't allowed to throw if someone was past a certain line, and slowly started pulling the senbon out one by one.

One of the boys that was with the Nara came up to him. "Can you move it? We are trying to get some practice in as well." He snapped when he saw Naruto had only pulled out around three senbon. Naruto turned to him with the most innocent eyes he could manage and a big smile. "Of course I can, I didn't notice I was in the way!" He said cheerfully. The boy was a little taken aback and stuck for words. "By the way." Naruto added, motioning for the boy to get closer. He leaned in. "You have something on your face, right there." Naruto pointed at two marks on the boy's face, right underneath his eyes. Not waiting for a response, Naruto grabbed the rest of the senbon in a fraction of a second and walked away.

"Hey, wait!" The boy called after him as he followed after Naruto. The other two boys also joined and Naruto walked to a part of the square that was a little less dense with students. "I'm Kiba." The boy with the marks said, before pointing at the other two. "This is Choji and that is Shikamaru." It was more a polite custom then an actual introduction, because they hadn't decided yet whether or not to trust the newcomer.

"I'm Naruto!" Naruto answered enthusiastically.

"You threw pretty well. Where did you train?" Shikamaru asked. Figured, as a Nara he would want to know as must as possible, whether he knew it or not.

"Well, I kinda can't really tell you, but." Naruto emphasized the last word by pointing at Shikamaru. "If you try hard enough, I'm sure you could guess!" Shikamaru looked puzzled for a second, but then took it as a challenge to find out more about him. It seemed to break the ice in the group a little and the three boys relaxed a little.

Something squirmed inside Kiba's clothing, pulling Naruto's attention to it. The cutest little dog's head popped out over the zipper and it sniffed the air before yawning. "This is Akamaru. He's my partner. My family raises Shinobi dogs and we all have our own." Kiba explained. Naruto extended his hand and let the dog sniff. Akamaru let out a small bark and wagged his tail. Naruto smiled at him and petted his head. He liked the little doggie, just like he liked Dog. Maybe he was a dog person? It would explain why he disliked Cat so much.

Since Akamaru seemed to think Naruto was okay, it was enough for all of them to accept that Naruto was okay. They spent the rest of the recess talking about the things they did and it didn't take long for a few plans to screw around were formed. Shikamaru said he wanted to see more of what Naruto could do, so he could adap their plans to fit that in as well. Naruto smirked at that. He had been right. School was going to be fun...

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