Chapter 4.

##After School - Saya Uchiha's Apartment. Saya's 1st Person POV.##

After enjoying a nice long bath, I'm resting comfortably on my bed, still draped in my bath towel. I am reminiscing about the dinner I had with the mysterious Uzumaki boy, the red headed one and not the obnoxiously bright blonde who shares the same surname. He feigns ignorance when I questioned him of his abilities, but I can tell he is hiding more, but my question is how much is he still hiding?

I remember our conversation when we were having dinner at the Akimichi Clan's famous barbecue restaurant. Although he treated me to dinner like a gentlemen, I could never see that vile and disgustingly hungry look in his eyes like the other men when they see me, but even still I never let my guard down. I've already gotten used to other men, especially the older one's, looking at me as if I were some kind of item they could conquer and possess, especially the disgusting animals from the other clans and those fools from the civilian council. If I could I would certainly make them all disappear!

I slowly eat my own food as I watch the red headed boy sitting across from me. He is taking his own time, eating slowly while also maintaining a degree of grace and formality you would expect from nobility or even clansmen who focus more on their image. Unexpected from an orphaned child.

It seems he has studied etiquette.

"Will you answer my questions now?" I ask him.

Revan finishes the piece of vegetable he was currently eating and looks at me, "Sure? Where do you want to begin?"

"Hm? How about that trick you were doing with the kunais?" I inquire. Revan rubs his chin and thinks before replying to my question.

"That one is easy," He says. "It's something I have been practicing and experimenting with for the past few months." He pauses to think a moment before continuing, "It is essentially the Substitution Technique. I start by throwing a kunai..."

I finish the rest for him, "Then you substitute yourself with the kunai?"

He nods.

"But something like that would take a lot of practice, skill, and chakra control to perform perfectly!" I say with surprise. That kind of technique definitely requires finesse to perform. But when I stumbled upon Revan's training in that stretch of woods, he was moving around so skillfully. This took months?

"I have been practicing with the basic academy 3 techniques since we were taught them." Revan says and points to me, "You and your brother should have already learned those techniques long before enrolling in the academy. Training is one thing, but never ignore the basics, for even they can still have their uses even after graduation."

What he says makes sense. He had been practicing with the 3 basic jutsu since they were taught to the class, if he mastered the substitution technique to such a degree then what of the other 2?

"What of the other 2 jutsu?" I ask. "Did you come up with something else with them too?"

After I asked he smiles mysteriously and pulls out two scrolls. Opening one of the scrolls I start to read them. It seems to be the basic Clone Jutsu but...

"Isn't this just...." I stop myself as I study the technique further. "This isn't the same technique!" I shout out surprising the other customers nearby. I cough into my hand with a slight blush and regain my composure, "Ahem! This... the formula has been altered quite a bit and the cost of the jutsu is a little higher. It can still be considered an E Rank jutsu, but it's different. When the technique has been cast, what changes does it have in practice?"

He grins and olds one finger up, "First of all I want to point out that this is still a non-corporal technique, not a solid clone. Chakra is added to the clone to imitate the same sensation of movement the original would have when they are moving. It would kick up dirt during movement, push down grass, knock aside gravel, and even imitate the sound of movement in the air pressure." Revan explains. "Additionally it produces a shadow. A perfect clone in anything but direct combat, it's still best for distractions and it can sure as hell distract the enemy since it erases the original technique's flaws."

I'm impressed with how ingenious the new and improved technique is. Revan Uzumaki, you have concealed your capabilities well.

"What about the other one?" I ask as I open the second scroll.

Revan replies, "The original transformation could only be considered a simple illusion, so I modified it until it can perfectly replicate the original target. Voice, scent, chakra signature. It's only an imitation, so if someone were to take a sample of your chakra or a medic were to say, flush your system with chakra, then the gig is up. This technique's only other flaw would be that you have to study your target enough to understand their habits, mannerisms. If you can learn all you can about the person your transforming into, then you can cause all sorts of mayhem."

I watch as he chuckles, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I admit that the modified transformation technique could come in handy for a spy if they were to study a target for a while, silence said target, and replace them. Being able to replace someone in another country, rather than having to invent a false identity, would be much safer and easier. These modifications could change a lot of things and cause trouble if an enemy spy had gotten ahold of them.

"These modifications to the old formula are works of art, pure genius!" I praise in admiration. Revan has really outdone himself. "If you turn these in you could probably be rewarded and gain some prestige."

He just smiles at me and says, "I was intending to hand them in to Iruka sensei, but my dear cousin needed to talk with him about something important that has come to our attention."

"Oh? What could that be?" I ask curiously.

He just shrugs nonchalantly, "Just the fact that a teacher is intentionally trying to sabotage a student's chances of graduating."

I'm shocked to hear such a revelation, "Why would they intentionally try to hinder his future like that?"

"I dunno," Revan says and sighs, "The villagers, most of the academy instructors, they all look at Naruto as if he were some sort of monster and I intend to find out why at some point. People like Mizuki, they hide it well, but I can see the look of hatred in his eyes when he looks at Naruto. So far the only one who treats him as a normal human being is Iruka sensei."

"I-I see." I never realized the obnoxious brat was treated so miserably. My brother and I lost our family, our clan to our older brother Itachi, yet people want to coddle us and show us pity. Yet an innocent fellow orphan is isolated and treated so badly for no legitimate reason.

"He will get through this, I know that for sure." Revan says looking at me with a confident smile, "I'm gonna help him to. I gave him my martial arts handbook for him to practice since his was altered to weaken his form. Plus I thing Iruka sensei may be able to help with that other problem of his."

"I am glad to see you are willing to help out a fellow classmate." I say with a rare smile. This is the first time since the massacre that I'm willing to smile, quite strange really. "If I may ask, would you be willing to allow me to attend this training?"

He sits there silently in though. For some reason I cannot comprehend, I feel kind of nervous of his answer, but he smiles and nods causing me to sigh in relief.

"Sure thing." Revan says. "I might be able to help both of you improve. Naruto will probably still be dead last when he graduates, but I'll be damned if he doesn't graduate."

"You seem so confident."

"But of course! I've remembered all of the materials, so one last month of cramming should give him the boost he needs to graduate for sure. I just got to keep an eye on Mizuki, I just know he will attempt something at the last minute."

I nod, "I'll keep an eye out as well."

"Thanks Saya."

I nod with a light blush as he so familiarly calls out my name. He pays for our dinner and we go our separate ways. He agreed to allow me to join with him during his afternoon training along side his cousin Naruto. But still I don't know why that made me more excited to train more. Ever since Itachi killed our clansmen, I could never motivate myself to train as much as I used to. The trauma just forced me to shut down on an emotional level that I even shut out my own twin brother. I couldn't even stand returning to the clan's district, so I ended up getting an apartment away from the place that brought me both my fondest and worst memories.

"Ha.... Why did you do it big brother?" I glance at an old picture on the nightstand near my bed. A picture of big brother Itachi standing over me and Sasuke as we smiled happily. We were so happy, so innocent. The greatest big brother we could ever ask for who would spoil us rotten. But in one night our happiness shatters, leaving me empty and Sasuke a power hungry avenger. Neither of us can go back to the way things were.

"Sigh.... Don't do anything you will regret Sasuke..."

I set my alarm, toss my towel aside, and hop into my bed to get comfy. I could never sleep comfortably wearing anything when I'm trying to sleep. Maybe i'm just weird? Soon I let the dark embrace of sleep take me into the world of dreams.

##Saya's 1st Person PoV Ends.##

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In class the next morning the other students were surprised to see Saya Uchiha sitting on the other side of Revan Uzumaki, deeply discussing something about a technique or two, no one could clearly keep up with the conversation, well except a certain lazy Nara. To Shikamaru the contents of the discussion were shocking to say the lease. A modified and improved version 2 of the academy 2? It's been ages since anyone even bothered going into details of those two skills in particular. What even surprised the Nara more? The fact that Naruto actually came to school on time and is for some strange reason reading the academy style taijutsu manual intently. Naruto was never that focused before.

"I see." Saya says and thanks Revan, "I appreciate the advice. The new version of the techniques required more practice so I had failed to cast them properly."

Revan shakes his head and smiles, "Don't mention it. This is the results of months of research and experiments. You just have to be the first to test out the new and improved."

Saya tilts her head and thinks before saying, "Too bad you couldn't modify the substitution technique. I would love to try out that "Kunai Dance" technique of yours."

"Sorry," Revan shrugs, "The substitution technique was already a perfect escape technique, I just mastered it enough to make it more of an aggressively combative style to suit my needs. I find that my abilities are more suited to mid-to-long range."

"I see."

Saya glances at Naruto on the other side of Revan.

"I've never seen him so... focused before."

"Heh," Revan chuckles, "Naruto is serious about becoming a ninja, obsessed even. His goal is to become hokage so that people will respect him. We dumped Mizuki's rigged copy of the academy marital arts and I gave him my copy. I memorize all of the katas anyways so it matters not to me."

"An... admirable goal I must admit." Saya says with a hint of respect for the knucklehead. She she looks at Revan and asks, "What are your goals and dreams?"

"That's.... a secret!" Revan says smiling while giving her a wink causing her to blush lightly and look away.

"Whatever!" Saya says with a huff causing him to chuckle.