Juugo Uzumaki - Chapter 20

"I want you all to follow me," said Iruka, looking sternly across the class. "Single file and no wondering off."

He focused on the group of boys at the back, of which Naruto was gladly a part of.

"Okay. Stand up."

Juugo did, standing with the rest as the wooden chair made an awful rubbing noise. The class was mobilising, with rows being called one by one as he watched it all with muted interest.

It was the clans again, standing from the front rows as they formed a line in front of Iruka, the man orchestrating it all with gesturing words.

"Row 3."

Juugo stepped out, joining the end of the line which ended a few rows down. There should just be enough room, even if he felt the girl brush as she moved behind him.

She was always doing that, and not just to him either – thankfully. He assumed she was just clumsy, or maybe that's just what some girls did.

"Row 6."

The last stood, grinding their chairs with particular spirit as they joined the back. Juugo knew who they were, or at least the clans some of them came from.

Strange too, how 3 out of 4 were actually from a clan, yet didn't sit up from with the Uchiha. Who kept to himself mostly, a quiet chap from what Juugo had observed.

"Right then. Follow me – no rushing!"

Some had tried to, too excited at the thought of finally leaving the classroom.

"Hold the doors for those behind."

They did, leaving the classroom with careful steps as Juugo's mind began to drift, wondering not about his lessons at the end of today or how much he'd enjoy seeing Sakura suffer during their run.

But instead, as he held the door for the girl behind, he thought of why exactly the boy with blonde hair felt so familiar.

Juugo didn't know him, he was sure, yet even now he could feel his chakra shining like always.

It was bright, warm and strong like no other bar his own in their enti-

"Sorry!"

She altered his step, her foot catching his heel from behind as he shrugged the annoyance away. "No worries," he offered, glancing back as she smiled just for him.

Juugo looked back as the line filled on, hearing feint giggles drifting from behind… where was he.

Naruto, that was his name and an orphan like him from what he had gathered.

Alone, and seemingly jolly by all accounts.

"Thank you."

Another door, now the girl in front as he helped her open it. "No worries."

He let her through first, sweeping the door behind her as he ignoring the subdued looks of awe at his strength.

It was just a door, before Juugo paused.

The door was quite heavy actually, as he indicated the girl behind to go ahead, holding it still as the line filed past him.

"Hey, thanks!"

Naruto hopped up, almost as if to take the door from him as the Inuzuka plodded past with a thanks, then the Nara. "Thanks," he dragged, as if the word were a chore to him.

The big one was trailing too, round and plump as he followed through as well.

Naruto took the door from him. "Here," he said, as Juugo stepped through. "Wow, this is heavy!"

Juugo found him slightly amusing, to say the least as he watched the blonde-haired boy be shunted through.

"No worries."

They walked together, the others ahead and with the rest as Juugo remained quiet.

"See ya!"

Naruto ran off, finding his group who'd settled towards the front of the crowd as Juugo hung back, heading over slowly as he surveyed the training ground.

He spotted at once the loop they'd be running, the earth practically bare and light of brown, hard from days without rain as Juugo noticed something else.

Posts.

Badly damaged posts, with cuts and gouges all across them. Then there were some with padding, all off to the side in a different section of bare earth.

"Juugo!"

Iruka had spotted him, sending him a disapproving look as the group glanced his way.

He joined the group, finding space naturally at the back where he could still see, a perk of being the tallest as Iruka explained what they'd be doing.

"What?!"

"Running!"

"I hate running."

It was curious how the majority seemed to be girly whines, though Juugo was certain he'd heard a few grumbles from boys.

Mostly from civilian background and of course, that Nara. He wasn't sure about the Akimichi, who'd been explained with the rest as a clan of Konoha.

That had been a good lesson, very engaging as Juugo began to stretch his legs.

Iruka was now demonstrating how to warm up, having retrieved a small stage of sorts so everyone could see.

"Gently, you'll feel a slight pull," he showed them, leaning forwards to stretch the back of his leg. "It shouldn't hurt, just feel a little funny."

A few weren't doing it right, though this time it was the boys who simply weren't paying attention.

Juugo glanced at Naruto, who seemed to pretending to gallop as the group ran on the spot.

"Naruto!"

A few laughed, Naruto too as Juugo noticed something leak.

There it was again, the red that burned like fire, appearing within his chakra from… somewhere.

How was that possible?

Juugo could feel nothing but the chakra itself, appearing like light within Naruto's shining blue.

It struck him again how similar their chakra was, almost identical if not for a few key differences.

Natural Energy.

Chakra Nature.

Kekkei Genkai.

Take all that away, and their chakra really was identical.

…

Who'd have thought. Certainly not Juugo as Iruka clapped his hands.

"Okay kids," he said, raising his voice above the quiet chatter. "On the starting line, follow me."

They did, a swarm of footsteps as they followed Iruka to the starting line, which was a crude line perpendicular to the clear white that formed the oval.

"Space out down the line."

They shuffled along, the girls uncomfortable being jostled so. "Keep going."

Juugo found himself on the edge, in the furthest lane near the shade of the trees that wrapped around the grounds.

There were birds within, tweeting happily as they looked for food… Juugo turned back, just in-time to see Iruka fumble with that device again, standing off to the side as the students toed the starting line.

"We'll start with an easy jog, nice a slow."

Juugo readied, lowering his stance as a few others followed. All clan children, eager and alert as they waited for go.

…

"Go!"

Bodies dashed ahead, several sprinting from the line as they began to jostle for position near the bend.

The others followed slowly, being careful as they all flowed naturally into rows of two or three round the bend.

Juugo, naturally, found himself behind.

With the girls.

…

He sped up, quickly finding a gap towards the middle of the group where he jogged easily.

This was nothing, he thought as they rounded the other bend, finishing a lap whilst the others sped ahead.

There was about 8 of them, running hard as they already neared the girls at the back.

Juugo glanced at Iruka, who was standing outside the loop so he could see everything. He didn't seem to mind, not at all as he seemed to watch all of them in turn.

Another lap, a few already dropping out as Juugo passed them collapsed on the floor beside Iruka, who paid them little attention.

The groupings were beginning to converge, with those upfront having slowed enough for Juugo's middling group to catch them. There was no one behind anymore, the collection of girls which, to Juugo's inner joy, included Sakura who were now observing alongside Iruka.

It didn't surprise Juugo that the pink-haired girl had been one of the first to drop out, feeling how small her chakra was as he arrived behind a panting Aburame.

Juugo could feel his bugs, still young and small as they buzzed inside him. It was thoroughly disconcerting to feel as they absorbed specks of the boy's chakra, not helping him as Juugo passed.

He dropped out on the next lap, along with a few others that had thought it wise to run ahead.

Juugo passed the bend, deciding to hang back as the group of 5 ahead continued to vie for the front, unaware as Iruka jotted things on his clipboard.

They were being marked, as Juugo withheld a grimace when girls cheered as he passed, calling his name beside another.

Sasuke.

Juugo glanced at him, up-front with Naruto as the two did the main amount of jostling, seemingly rivals as the Inuzuka dropped out in a huffing mess.

There were three ahead now as Juugo caught them up, beginning to enjoy the rush of air as it flowed across his skin.

His hair looked good, he was sure as a civilian boy followed next, unable to help himself as he tripped into the inner circle.

Naruto glanced back, slowly slightly as the boy tumbled.

Juugo did too, looking to see if he was alright… he was fine, quickly egging them on and to beat Sasuke.

"Haha! Yeah!!"

Naruto was off, sprinting up he stole the inner line. More jostling ensued, enough to get the girls in a strop over Naruto's vulgar tactics – as they thought them.

Juugo passed them soon after, trailing comfortably a few yards behind.

"JUUGO!! KEEP GOING!!"

"KYAA!"

He really sped up now as a collection of girls shouted at him, led by none other than his traitorous, neighbouring classmate.

They'd swap seats soon, hopefully as Juugo arrived just behind Sasuke, who seemed the worse off of the two.

He was dripping with sweat, practically gasping compared to an only slightly exerted Naruto.

And Juugo.

"SASUKE!! KEEP GOING!!"

"KYAAAAAAA!!"

Juugo glanced over, relieved to see an even bigger collection of girls, some of them even from clans as he spotted a blonde-haired girl cheer happily.

Iruka paid them no mind, watching instead with laser like focus on the boys as they ran.

Sasuke was flagging, it was obvious as he begun to slow considerably. Then again as Naruto laughed, practically leaping ahead as Sasuke was passed by Juugo.

Their eyes met for a moment, with Juugo catching a blink and a frown as he sped past.

Sasuke stopped, catching his breath as he watched Juugo easily catch Naruto, finding his ease deeply frustrating.

He thought of his brother, then the clan as he walked over to the rest of the group.

"Good job, Sasuke," said Iruka, taking a moment as a few girls approached with water.

They held it out to him, expecting him to choose between them as they glanced aggressively at one another.

"Take mine, Sasuke," said one, offering it up with a smile.

"No," said another, stepping across as she offered her own. "Mine, it's better."

Sasuke didn't need this, as he walked past them all towards the table at the back.

He had enough expectations at home as he retrieved a bottle, drinking carefully as he headed towards Iruka's other side.

They were still running, the two seemingly at peace as they glided around the loop, taking turns at the front as the class watched in intrigue.

They weren't tiring, far from it as a girl turned to Iruka, civilian as Sasuke found himself listening in.

"Sensei," she said, standing cutely with her hands folded in front of her. "How come they can run for so long? Aren't they tired?"

She'd been one of the first to quit, hating the feeling of fatigue as Sakura nodded from her side. "They don't seem tired," she commented, watching like the rest with growing amazement. "Have they been practising?"

A few huffed, believing it easily as Naruto's laugh drew their attention.

It was a joyful one, his smile radiant as Juugo found the time to run a hand through his hair.

Naruto copied, laughing again when the wind through it out of whack, followed quickly by Juugo who chuckled humorously.

"Sensei?"

Sakura didn't like being ignored. "Oh, sorry," he said, smiling as he tilted down to the first girl. She was a darling, having waited patiently for him to answer. "They'll tire out soon, it's been nearly 20 minutes already."

He indicated the stopwatch, letting the girl glimpse at it curiously.

"How long did we run for?"

"I haven't tallied it all yet," he lied, not wanting to cause upset. "But we'll have plenty of time to improve."

He was upbeat, unworried as he noticed the awkward dread his statement brought. "Fear not everyone," he said, chuckling for them all to hear. "You'll find this easy in a few months."

…

"Promise."

The girl nodded, believing him as she glanced again, seeing the pair still going as they tried to mimic how Shinobi ran.

Naruto was flapping his arms slightly, whereas Juugo looked like a diving bird about to decapitate its prey.

They laughed naturally, forgetting for a time that they were being watched as Iruka frowned subtly.

This was most odd, as his eyes followed Juugo, the boy as unfazed as Naruto was, who was quickly becoming bored of running.

Naruto, he could understand, knowing what he housed inside him.

But Juugo?

He was a civilian, yet could match the stamina of the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki?

It was-

"Sensei?"

Iruka turned to his other side, seeing Sasuke scowling up at him. "Yes Sasuke?"

The boy shuffled, thinking as Iruka saw him glance away. "How can they really run like that?" he asked, speaking as if to his Father or Brother.

Respectfully.

Ah, Iruka should have seen this coming as he too glanced away, seeing Naruto and Juugo even faster now.

They were seeing who could sprint the fastest, accelerating away together before slowing again to a smooth run.

Juugo was fastest, streaming ahead each time as Naruto failed to match his longer strides.

It was most untoward as Iruka turned back, finding Sasuke and a waiting audience. "Sometimes," he said, finding the words as he looked at Sasuke only. "Gifts are given when we're born, things others aren't."

…

"I see."

Sasuke turned away, drinking water as the other clan children mimicked similarly around him. It made complete sense to them, having heard much the same at home before.

"Naruto! Juugo!"

The boys turned, slowing as Iruka waved them over. "Come over!"

They did, running still across the baked ground.

"Sensei! Did I win?" asked Naruto, bounding up to Iruka with a grinning face as Juugo slowed to a walk behind, hardly sweating as a girl quickly offered him a drink.

"Thank you."

He took it, smiling once at the girl he didn't know.

"Y-you're welcome!" she chirped, before hastily moving back to her friends who'd also had bottles.

Juugo was so nice.

"Ne ne, Juugo! I won!"

Iruka had since explained that Naruto had indeed won, despite there being nothing to win as Juugo played long. "Well done."

Naruto grinned, bursting with energy as he ran off to rub it in Sasuke's face.

Iruka stepped close, letting him take a drink before praising him too. "Well done, Juugo. Most impressive."

Juugo indicated his thanks, drinking again as Iruka smiled with his clipboard. "Naruto won by default," he commented, grinning as a few girls hmphed from behind. "Since he was the first one here, of course."

Iruka chuckled, knowing Juugo wouldn't care like Naruto did.

"I'll try harder next time, Sensei."