Chapter 3

A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story.

Naruto and Shikamaru sat in the middle of training ground 7, both breathing heavy from the sparring match that had taken place not even 5 minutes ago. It had now been a month since the failed attempt to bring Sasuke back and both boys felt the need to critique their skills and improve on them. "This isn't helping." Naruto said, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two. "We're just doing the same things as before; we're not improving and that's what we need to do."

"We could always talk to Gai-sensei." Shikamaru responded, after a few moments of silence. "He could watch us spare and set up a new training schedule for each of us. In fact, he would probably be more than happy to do so. He'll probably start yelling about the 'flames of youth that burn brightly in each of us' as soon as we get there."

"True," Naruto responded after a moment. "We would just have to make sure that he doesn't train us like he does Lee. I love training, but not as much as those two."

"It would be too troublesome to have a training schedule like them. I won't let it get that far. We can head over and ask him tomorrow. I don't think he has a team meeting and it would be too troublesome to go now." Shikamaru said back to Naruto, reaching into his pocket for his packet of cigarettes.

They both laid there for the rest of the day, looking at the evening sky, smoking, and enjoying the presence of the other person. A war was going on, but they were both content to sit there for one day without any of their worries.

Naruto woke his sleep at five in the morning and proceeded to scan the room for anything unusual. A habit that he had developed when he was younger. After confirming that there was no immediate threat or anything abnormal, he proceeded to fall to the floor and do his morning stretches as he thought about what he needed to do for the day. "I need to make breakfast for Jiraiya and I after this. I should probably look over the files that Haru-san had given us last week one last time to make sure I know everything. The rest of the day can be spent sparring with Jiraiya and grocery shopping. I also need to write my report to Tsunade later." After Naruto mentally confirmed with himself that this was all he needed to do for the day, Naruto finished up his morning stretches and headed into the kitchen to start a, surprisingly nutritious, breakfast. Today, he decided on white rice and eggs. A simple and light breakfast for the day.

After Naruto had finished cooking the eggs and was waiting for the rice cooker to be done, he brought out the files that Haru-san had left with them last week and looked over them.

Name: Todoroki, Shoto

Age: 15

Sex: Male

Height: 176cm (5"7')

Quirk: Half cold half hot

Naruto continued to read over the rest of the file, mainly making sure that he had already memorized it. The files that Haru-san had left were of the kids that had already been accepted into the U.A. hero course through recommendation. By the time that Naruto had finished scanning through half of the files, the rice was done cooking. Making a plate for both him and Jiraiya and him, he moved over to the counter to continue looking over the rest of the files.

Half an hour later, as Naruto was doing the dishes, Jiraiya emerged from his room and made his way over to the table where his plate was. By the time he was done eating, Naruto was just finishing up the dishes. "Today," Jiraiya said, talking to Naruto for the first time this morning, "we need to evaluate your skill level. We've been here for a week already with all of the paperwork out of the way. Your chakra should be getting used to the new environment and your body should be good as well. Just because this is a long-term mission does not mean you can start slacking Naruto. Today we can spare and do chakra exercises to see where you are. Tomorrow I will write you up a new training schedule. The rest of the week we can start working towards the entrance exams and how much you can use, and nail when to look fatigued. We can also continue to scout the area and get you caught up on pop-culture here. Sound good?"

"Perfect." Naruto said to Jiraiya. "Just let me get changed and we can get started."

Naruto had sparred with Jiraiya in just about every single aspect of his shinobi training. They had sparred for a couple of hours and it was now four in the afternoon and Naruto was picking up the groceries. He was currently debating how many instant ramen packets he could pick up before Jiraiya got mad at him, when he spotted one his main targets for the mission across the grocery story. Izuku Midoriya. He was there with who Naruto quickly identified as his mother, you had to be blind to not see the similarities between the two. Naruto looked back down at the ramen packets before they could notice his staring, but he continued to watch them out of the corner of his eye. Naruto watched as Izuku's mother spotted him before nudging Izuku. They quickly got into a small argument before heading in Naruto's direction. If Naruto had to guess, the argument would have been about coming over to say hi to him. Naruto could have listened in if he wanted to, but he decided against it. It wasn't a heated argument and there was no immediate threat. He wanted to get the mission done as quickly as possible, but he didn't want to do anything that was unnecessary.

"Um…h-hi." Naruto lifted his head up, to see Izuku and his mother standing in front of him. "My name is Midoriya Izuku and this is my mother," At this, Izuku took a pause to point at his mother, again as if anyone needed any indication knowing that they were mother and son. "We've seen you a couple of times around the apartment complex with your grandfather, a-and we just wanted to take his time to welcome you to the area."

"Oh," Naruto responded, tilting his head a little bit too the side. "Well, my name is Uzumaki Naruto and the other guy's name is Jiraiya."

"Well Uzumaki-san," Izuku's mother said, "we hope to see more of the both of you. My son here has been busy training to get into U.A. but I'm sure the two of you can hang out sometime if you were interested."

"What I coincidence Midoriya-san." Naruto said in response, "I am also training to get into U.A. it is actually the original reason that Jiraiya and I moved out here in the first place."

"R-Really?" Izuku asked, joining in on the conversation. "Yes." Naruto told him. "Well, maybe the two of you can train together sometime. In the meantime, Uzumaki-san, we welcome you and Jiraiya-san to the area. Enjoy the rest of your shopping trip. We will three doors down from you two if you ever need anything."

"Thank you, Midoriya-san, and please," at this Naruto bowed to both Izuku and his mother. "Take care of Jiraiya and I." With that, Naruto stood up, turned around, and started to walk out of the isle, turning around only to wave to the pair before disappearing from eyesight.

As Naruto walked home from the grocery store, he pondered about what happened between him and Izuku at the grocery store. Considering that the U.A. entrance exams were a week away; he would probably not be able to hang out with Izuku or his mother before then. However, after the entrance exams was a different story. It would be good to become acquaintances with Izuku before the school year started if he wanted to be trusted by Izuku. While be-friending people when on missions like was usually forbidden, if Naruto was going to be posing as a student, he would need to befriend them. It would also help give Naruto a solid ali if anyone questioned him about the summer. With these thoughts in mind, Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment and started to unload the groceries.

A/N: What did y'all think of this chapter? When should Shikamaru come into the story? Who should Naruto befriend at U.A.? Who should Naruto end up with later in the series?

Updated: 5/8/20