Naruto : Monsters: Chapter 28

In the end, we had no choice. We both wanted to end up in the same team together and we knew that the best way to make it happen was if Naruto got the top score among the girls so we decided to buckle down, pull up our sleeves and do it the old fashion way. Cramming

...

For the last two months, we filled Naruto's brain with so many academic facts that she started to sleep-talk about it. 

Her screams of 'Why are there letters in my math question?' and 'If they're imaginary numbers then why can't I give an imaginary answer?" got annoying fast but it was all worth it by the end. 

Naruto didn't get the top score among the girls in academics, no that honour went to Haruno Sakura, but she did manage to squeeze in a high enough score to boost her average enough to make her the Kunoichi of the year.

"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news my child," My mother gave me a concerned look, "but you shouldn't get your hopes up too much. While it is tradition to pair up the top boy and top girl together, it isn't a rule. They were exceptions in the past."

"And that's why I made sure to ask grandfather for help." I answered with a grin. I wasn't stupid enough to put all my eggs in one basket.

"Of course you did." My mother shook her head with exasperation. "I swear you have that man so wrapped around your little finger he'd do anything you'd ask of him." She halted, then snickered as something occurred to her.

Mio looked left and right as if to make sure the coast is clear, despite being in her bedroom, before she leaned towards us and began speaking in a false whisper, "Don't tell your father I said this, but Hiashi always gets a little bit jealous when he sees how well Takehiko treats you."

In his youth my grandfather, Hyuuga Takehiko, was a harsh man, respected and feared in equal measures. During the time he ruled as the Head of the Clan he was known to be a fair leader but also an unforgiving one, expecting only the best from both himself and others. 

From what I heard Takehiko had been especially strict with both Hiashi and Hizashi during their childhood and refused to show them any leniency even though they were his sons. On the contrary, he expected them to hold themselves up to a higher standard because they were his sons.

But no one would believe that if they looked at him now.

Ever since his retirement my grandfather has turned to an old softy and would use every opportunity he could to try and spoil Hanabi and me. The old geezer was especially fond of me, bragging and showing me off to his old friends and war buddies every chance he could.

When I asked him if he would help make sure that Naruto and me ended up on the same team, he just thumped his chest and told me to leave it to him – then winked before slipping me a handful of candy along with some pocket money.

"Why is father jealous, does he want some of the candy that grandpa keeps giving us?" Hanabi tilted her head in confusion. "If he does then he should just ask me. I'd be happy to share some with him."

My mother burst out laughing, "Yes sweetheart, that's exactly what you should do." She reached out and snatched Hanabi up in her arms and began cuddling her like she had with Naruto. "I'm sure your father would be delighted if you offered to share your sweets with him."

Speaking of Naruto, "And you," I turned around to the girl who was still hiding behind me and flicked her on the forehead. "Instead of calling for help why didn't you just escape on your own?"

Not everyone part of the Hyuuga Clan was a ninja. My mother, despite being married to the head of the clan, was an ordinary civilian. And while she knew how to access her chakra, something all Hyuuga were taught so they could use their eyes, she had no ninja training whatsoever. 

Compared to Naruto who trained every day and was stronger physically than even I was, there was no way she had the strength to hold Naruto back if she was really trying to escape.

"But-But Hikaru…I…" Naruto whined as she rubbed her forehead before awkwardly looking away drifted off into silence, refusing to meet my eyes.

Seeing her act like this I just sighed and patted her head fondly. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Naruto always had a weak spot against my mother. Right from their very first meeting Naruto could do nothing but stand in shock as my mum snatched her up without any warning and began gushing about how adorable she was.

I was never sure if she liked all the attention Mio kept showering her with or if she was simply overwhelmed by it, but Naruto could never go against any of my mother's wishes.

Mio is the reason why Naruto never misbehaves when she comes over.

After the first time Naruto tried to prank someone in the compound she never tried again, not after she saw Mio's reaction. She didn't yell or try to punish her, but when Naruto saw the sad disappointed look Mio gave her she folded like a house of cards.

My mother has Naruto wrapped around her little finger and I don't think she even realizes it.

"Anyway," I looked down at myself and the sleepwear I still haven't changed out of. "I need to hurry and get dressed if I don't want to be late. Don't want to miss meeting our new Sensei and other team member on the first day."

Mio stopped snuggling the giggling Hanabi and looked up, "Do you know who your third team member is going to be? Or your Sensei for that matter?"

"While I'm not a hundred percent certain, I have a feeling that our Sensei is going to be Hatake Kakashi."

"The former Anbu Captain?" My mom looked startled. Kakashi's reputation was so well known that practically everyone in Konoha had heard his name. "What makes you believe so?"

"Oh nothing. Just a gut feeling." I smiled at her, trying very hard not to let my frustration bleed through.

While we had never met face to face yet, that hasn't stopped me from learning firsthand just how much of a bastard Kakashi could be. I didn't know if it was due to his unique childhood and upbringing but despite how young I appeared to be, the guy had no qualms about messing with my head.

His latest efforts in tormenting me started only a few short weeks ago when I began to notice a change in his routine. Normally Kakashi always brought a copy of his beloved Icha Icha series to read during guard duty but this time, when he reached into his side-pouch he pulled out a completely different book. It was a guide book for beginner teachers.

At first I was more than happy to chalk up the entire matter as his subtle way of telling me that he was going to end up as our Sensei, and went back to ignoring him. It wasn't like I didn't see this coming after all. It was only when I began taking a closer look at the books he was reading that I began to worry.

The book titles ranged from 'How to be a Teacher from Hell' to 'Spare the rod, Spoil the child – A Teacher's guide to discipline' to 'Ass Kicking – the best way to earn your student' respect' to 'Pain – the more you hurt them now, the more they'll thank you later' to, and I swear I'm not making this up, 'The many similarities of training dogs and training children'.

Since the prick seemed to somehow know whenever I was watching him, I couldn't tell if he was seriously reading those books or if he was just doing it to mess with me but either way, I had the feeling that the next several months training under him were going to suck.

Giving my head a quick shake, I tried to dispel the thoughts of my insane new Sensei from my mind, "As for our third team member," I shrugged, "I honestly don't know. Most likely it's whoever scores the lowest, they tend to group up the dead last with the top two to balance the team out. 

But your guess is as good as mine for who that could be. Not that it really matters in the end, it's not like we have any particularly bad students in our class. As long as we don't end up with someone who's completely insane I'll be satisfied."

"Insane?" Mio gave me a perplexed look, "My son, aren't you worrying yourself over nothing? I don't think they would ever let anyone 'completely insane' to enrol into the Academy let alone graduate. Really, what are the chances of you ending up with someone like that?"

Just as I was about to answer, I was interrupted by the sounds of three distinct yells coming from outside the compound wall, which ironically answered her question better than I ever could.

"Oh Praise the Fires of Youth."

"YOOOOUUUUUUTH~~~~~~~~!"

"WHY IS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY TEAMMATES INSANE?"

...

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