Queen of Hearts

2392 words

Six months have passed. Much in Naruto's life has changed during this time. As Danzo had predicted, the villagers ' attitude towards him only worsened. There were several times when he had to run away from his peers, but from adults who did not want a demon and a killer to walk their streets and pose a threat to innocent citizens.

However, there were some advantages to such an abominable attitude towards Naruto. He began to train hard even on the way to and from the Academy, either on the roofs, where he honed his jumps and chakra control or on the streets, where there were many hiding places, thus training his stealth skills. After a few months, all these seemingly stupid at first glance classes had their result. Naruto learned to move silently, got used to hiding well, and also mastered walking on a steep wall, on the ceiling, and on flat water. He couldn't balance on the waves yet, and our hero fell under the water, causing Kurama to laugh, who followed all his training.

"You've done a good job in these six months," Kurama remarked as jinchuriki raced across the rooftops. There was a chasm in the form of a street ahead, but Uzumaki did not slow down, but rather accelerated. Pushing off from the edge, he barely visible to the inexperienced eye of ordinary residents, he jumped over these fifteen meters, landing on the roof of the building on the opposite side of the street.

Naruto nodded silently, continuing on his way. It wasn't often that Nine-Tails praised his progress. Over the past time, the arsenal of his own techniques has not been replenished. Two techniques, sealing and shadow cloning, the latter of which Uzumaki always used with a map, made up his modest supply. However, he still had the opportunity to re-use the sealing jutsu Mito in practice and make sure that it works flawlessly. On that day, Naruto followed one of the Chunin training teams and, by the way, they did not even notice him, which Uzumaki was very proud of. He managed to find the right moment and seal a couple of the techniques he saw in the cards. And now jinchuriki could use these jutsu at any time, resorting to the help of his cards. By the way, instead of a noticeably thinned deck, he now had a new, full one. And it wasn't just the techniques that were sealed in the maps.

Uzumaki had prepared well for today. And today was a special day. It was the day of the distribution of teams after successfully passing the exam for genin. By the way, Naruto coped with the exam very simply. He needed to be shown the cloning technique. But the boy demonstrated the technique of shadow cloning. Iruka was so impressed that he didn't ask Naruto any theoretical questions. Now the blond man proudly wore his own armband with the protector of the village, which he had long dreamed of.

Finally, he arrived and, entering the audience and gathering the eyes of the audience as always, took his place next to Shikamaru.

"I was almost late," Nara commented on his arrival, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"There were final preparations to be made. It took a while, " Naruto muttered, patting his pocket.

At that moment, Iruka entered the classroom and made a speech about how proud he was of all his students, informing the audience that the Third had already made a decision on how to divide them into teams. In his hands was a list approved and certified by the Hokage.

"I hope Shikamaru and I are on the same team. In the end, he is my only friend, " Naruto thought, but the next minute he was disappointed.

- Team number ten: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi. Your captain is Sarutobi Asuma, " Umino announced.

Shikamaru, with a sigh and a final look at Naruto, stood up and left the classroom together with Choji and Ino, going to the classroom where their new mentor was waiting for them.

"Team number eight: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame," Iruka continued. — Your captain is Yuhi Kurenai.

Finally, the turn came to the enrollment of our hero.

"Team number seven. Sasuke Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki. Under the direction of Kakashi Hatake, " Umino said. — You're staying here.

After reading to the end of the list and waiting until all but three of the seventh team left the hall, Iruka wished his former students good luck and also left, saying that Kakashi would be coming soon. There was an awkward silence.

Naruto glanced first at Sasuke, who was wearing dark blue shorts and a high-necked T-shirt with the clan symbol on the back, a protective patch on his forehead, as sullen as ever, and then at Mikoto, who was wearing dark gray shorts and a black tank top. The girl's dark hair, usually tied in a ponytail or two (she liked to experiment with hairstyles), was now loose and fell to her shoulders. Her protector glinted around her neck, like a collar. It seems that the Uchiha was not at all upset about which team she was on.

"Is this a joke?!" Naruto thought. "Old Man Three, what were you thinking when you teamed us up?"

— Fine, " Sasuke muttered with undisguised sarcasm, looking at his new teammates. He said it quietly enough, but both Mikoto and Naruto, who was coming down the stairs to sit closer, heard him perfectly.

Mikoto, who was sitting a few seats away from Sasuke in the same row, glanced at him with incomprehension.

— Something you don't like?" I think, on the contrary, it's good that we are on the same team. The last Uchiha should stick together — " she asked.

He gave the girl a not very kind look, and Naruto remembered that after the incident in the Uchiha quarter, he deliberately avoided communicating with Mikoto for unclear reasons.

— You, the one who bears my mother's name, whose face I can't even remember. And a maniac making a fool of himself. A great team, " Uchiha said. Mikoto lowered her gaze. Apparently, the phrase uttered by Sasuke, she was very hurt.

- I'm sorry. I didn't even know... She said, understanding why the Uchiha had always taken a strange dislike to her.

Naruto, having gone down to them, sat on the desk and, crossing his legs, looked at Sasuke defiantly.

— I'm not a maniac. I'm not like the one who slaughtered your clan. Believe it or not, what I did was self-defense — " he said calmly, and after a short pause, he turned exclusively to Sasuke. — And not a fool, if you think so." More of a prankster... The Joker!

Pulling out a map from his pocket, he showed Sasuke the black jester depicted on it.

"I'd rather learn the techniques, Joker, than be a fool," Sasuke said coldly, turning to the window.

Naruto sighed in frustration, realizing that he would have a difficult time with this type, and looked at Mikoto, noticing her interested look on the map.

— Can you do magic tricks?" "What is it?" she asked.

Uzumaki thought about it, realizing that he had never done any magic tricks with cards. He was so clever with the cards, though, that he could think of something as he went along.

"Of course," he said, pulling a deck out of his pocket and shuffling it.

His hands moved faster and faster, drawing Mikoto's attention to him. Then Naruto abruptly intercepted the deck with two fingers, pouring a small amount of chakra through them, knocked the edge on the desk, and then the cards one by one, flying into the air and describing an arc, moved to him in the open palm, again gathering in an even pile.

"Very impressive," Mikoto smiled, not even suspecting that this was a trick Naruto had just invented.

Uzumaki caught Sasuke's eye.

- Hey, Sasuke. Pick a map — " he said, realizing that the new trick was a good way to lighten the atmosphere. He fanned out his cards, facing Sasuke, waiting for his answer.

"I don't play these games," Uchiha said indifferently, turning away again.

"Let me do it, then," Mikoto suggested, forcing Naruto to turn to face her with a charming smile. She thought for a moment, then pointed to one of the cards.

Uzumaki instantly touched the card with his fingernail on the other side, doing it quickly enough that Mikoto did not notice and, putting the cards in the deck, began to shuffle them. Uchiha again began to follow the movements of his hands. What was her surprise when one card flew up by itself, like a bird escaping from a cage, and Naruto stopped shuffling the deck, intercepted it with a quick, lightning-like movement, pinching it between his index and middle finger.

"Is that her?" "What is it?" he asked, and after waiting for a nod, another beautiful smile, and even a round of applause, he added. - How naughty, always flies away.

Mikoto laughed as jinchuriki checked the card in his hand. It was the queen of hearts.

"Not a very original choice for a girl. All right, though, he thought, looking at the girl, who was bursting into laughter. "It wasn't that hard... Maybe I shouldn't have waited so long to talk to her."

It couldn't be said that Naruto was an amorous boy. As a child, he had always admired Sakura. Now, asking himself what exactly, Uzumaki could not find an answer. Probably because of the unusual color of her hair. He used to love the bright and the stand-out. Her appearance always attracted his gaze.

Uzumaki had taken a liking to Mikoto since her arrival at the Academy. Even though he had never really spoken to her, it seemed to him that they had met before, that they might already know each other a little. It was not only sympathy, but a kind of lightness in her whole body at every glance. However, Naruto never thought that he was in love. After the incidents, he began to doubt that such a beautiful thing as love could exist in such a cruel and disgusting world. Yes, sympathy, attraction... Perhaps that was what he could call what he felt for the girl. "Shall we be friends?" — " he asked, feeling a little uneasy at the question, which a few years ago might have seemed very ordinary, but now for some reason caused an incomprehensible embarrassment.

"Of course," Mikoto replied, holding out her dainty little hand for Naruto to shake.

"Is life getting better?" Uzumaki couldn't believe his luck. He had a second friend, and one of his own team, too.

"Finally," Sasuke muttered, completely ignoring his teammates as he stared towards the door.

The door slid open in the next second, and a shinobi in a standard uniform of dark blue trousers and a turtleneck and a military vest appeared on the threshold, whose face was completely hidden, except for one eye, by a mask. Jonin's hair was gray, almost white, and stuck straight up. There was also a protector on his forehead, which slid slightly to the side and covered the other eye along with the mask.

"I'm sorry I'm late —" he said. — I'm Hatake Kakashi, captain of your team.

As he entered, he looked at the three new students and smiled behind his mask.

— I think I'd like to know your names, too." Tell us what you like, what you don't like, what you strive for, " Hatake suggested, casting an expectant glance at Naruto.

Uzumaki nodded curtly and quickly introduced himself:

- I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I love ramen and cards. I don't like the alarm clock and waiting for the ramen to brew.

Before telling about his dream, jinchuriki listened to himself and realized that he no longer felt the desire to become a Hokage. After the incident with Sakura, the Third One didn't even come to check on him right away. Naruto waited for his visit for three whole days, thinking that old man Hiruzen had simply forgotten about it. It turned out that the Third was too busy and was released from his affairs only then. Naruto did not like to be loaded with anything other than pleasant or at least useful things. The same training sessions that he spent several hours a week doing almost every day had already become a habit. But he will become a Hokage... What should I do then? Universal recognition and the post of village head were not worth the day's paperwork and negotiations.

— I want to be strong so that I can stand up for myself and protect those I care about.

Kakashi nodded, because in his opinion, it was quite a worthy goal.

— My name is Mikoto Uchiha. I love flowers, good weather, and I also love order. I don't like the cold. Most of all, I want to return my memory, remember my parents and friends, " Mikoto introduced herself next.

Another nod. Hatake shifted his gaze to Sasuke.

- My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like a lot of things. I don't even like much of anything. Most of all, I want to destroy someone — " the black eyes of the Uchiha flashed with lights.

"Well, that's fine," the Copying Ninja nodded. — How about a little test before our first mission?"

"Test?" Mikoto asked.

Hatake looked at her, and there was a slightly theatrical glint of coldness in his eye.

- Yes. I have my own team selection tests. Whoever passes will be worthy to be called my disciple and will go on his first mission to the land of Birds tomorrow. Who will not pass, will be forced to give up the title of genin and forget forever about becoming a Shinobi. But there will also be rules in this trial that you can't break in any case. Anyone who violates them will automatically leave the team.

All three genins, even Sasuke, shuddered.

"Kakashi Hatake. He's always been a pretty tough person in terms of following the rules, " Kyubi chuckled, glad that his jinchuriki was on a team with such a person.

"I'll meet you at the training ground in twenty minutes," he said, glancing at the students and noticing that not all of them had pouches and a kunai holster strapped to their legs. - Let those who need to prepare properly use this time.