Mutatis Mutandis

I’m alive! And I bring fic! I’ve returned from Singapore and London (both were fantastic) and while I have a MASSIVE amount of work to catch up on – I came back a week and a half into university term – I thought I’d post this first! Unbeta'd, as per usual - tell me if there are any mistakes!

There should also be a few chapters posted to other fics shortly (when I can type them up from my notebooks) and, uh, at least two new fics (-bricked-).

Anyway, enjoy! This chapter is dedicated to Andrew Shumway – an incredible reviewer if I ever saw one. I really, really appreciate it! :D

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Kitty drew to a halt in front of one of the numerous identical doors that lined a long corridor. They were alone in the hall, Kurt having waved them goodbye a short while prior with a mention of books and someone’s study. Naruto hadn’t caught the whole sentence, mainly because he hadn’t been listening. The surroundings were far more interesting – especially since they had passed a number of classrooms with open doors. He had craned his neck to see inside and found his interest returned as the students sitting near the doors blinked at him with open curiosity.

The passing doors had been closed for a while now, however, and the pair of nameplates gleaming on each of them told Naruto that he had been led to the dorms.

Kitty gestured to the door beside her, to which only a single nameplate had been affixed. It proclaimed ‘NARUTO UZUMAKI’ in bold letters, and the subject himself felt something warm swirl inside of him at the permanency of it.

“This is where you’ll be staying, from here on in,” Kitty said with a grin. “You’re alone at the moment, so make the most of it – it doesn’t usually last long. Oh, yes…”

Eyebrows drawn in sudden recollection she began to feel through her pockets in search of something, while Naruto merely fought the urge to run his fingers over the engraved lettering.

“Aha!” The triumphant exclamation shocked Naruto back to reality, and he watched attentively as Kitty swiped a card – presumably produced from her pocket – through the reader next to the door. There was a click, and she turned the handle.

“This card belongs to you. Look after it, because it grants you access to all student areas, amongst other things,” Kitty explained. “You’ll also need it for dinner – it’s to make sure everyone only eats one meal, I think.”

Naruto perked up at the thought of dinner – he hadn’t eaten since the flight. Turning to the girl, he looked at her with sparkling eyes. “So when do we get fed around here?”

Kitty laughed at his enthusiasm. “You’ll hear the bell ring. In the meantime, start getting unpacked.” With this, she shoved him through the open doorway.

He stumbled forward, recovered, and then shot a glare over his shoulder.

“Good luck!” Kitty called as she closed the door behind him. “I’ll see you around!”

The door clicked closed, and there was silence in the room. Naruto looked around, carefully taking in his surroundings.

It was a small room, but far nicer than he was used to. Two neatly-made beds rested against opposite walls, divided by two side tables and a window. A pair of identical wardrobes completed the room’s simple furniture.

Dropping his backpack onto one of the beds, he began to explore the room in more detail. A closer look revealed a panel latched into the wall over the bed that folded down to form a makeshift desk, at a comfortable height for a student sitting cross-legged on their mattress. A glance out the window registered a rather wonderful view over the Mansion’s pool and basketball court and, beyond that, the lake. Naruto grinned at the thought of getting out there after he was settled.

Turning back to the room, Naruto noticed something he hadn’t before – a small device set into the wall near the door. It had a card reader similar to the one outside, but this also had a small keypad and a display screen. Bemusedly, he swiped his card through the reader. The screen instantly came to life, lighting up with the words ‘You have three new messages’.

“A messaging service, huh?” Naruto murmured thoughtfully. “And I’m already so popular!”

Working out the method quickly, he opened the messages and read them one by one. The first was presumably a generic message for all new arrivals, welcoming him to the Institute. The second was from Kurt, inviting him to spar in a week’s time – something that made Naruto grin widely. The last message, it seemed, was from Kitty:

Glad to see you sorted out MM okay! I mean this service – Mansion Messaging – if you didn’t pick that up.

Anyway, I forgot to tell you. You have an appointment with the Doc tomorrow at 10am. Don’t miss it, okay? It’s important. But don’t worry either; it’s just standard stuff for the newbies!

See you soon!

Naruto pressed the button to close the messenger, eyebrows raised. The Doc? That sounded a little…strange.

Shrugging it off, he turned back to his bed and eyed his backpack.

“Well,” he murmured to himself. “At least it won’t take me long to unpack.”

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When Naruto finally found his way to the cafeteria – some time after the bell had rung – he was assaulted by noise. Dumbfounded, he stood in the doorway and simply stared. It was chaos. Dozens of young mutants were smiling, chatting, laughing and unabashedly using their abilities, they were living. Naruto had never seen anything like it, and it was fantastic.

He was jolted back to reality when he felt a stray – disc? – something fly past his head. Blinking, he went to gather a dinner tray, moving quickly through the queue and swiping his card at the counter. Afterwards he looked around, clutching his tray, and suddenly realised he had no idea where to sit. Everyone seemed to have their place, as concrete as if the seats were labeled. Despite the company of so many like him, Naruto had never felt quite alone as he did in that moment. He the now-familiar nerves began to tingle in his stomach as he gazed out, attention caught by a boy delivering five floating plates to his waiting friends.

His aimless stare then fell on the table furthest from the door, in the back corner against the window. It was empty barring a single boy with dark hair, around Naruto’s own age. He was ignoring the food in front of him, eyes closed and hands folded by his mouth. Immediately, Naruto set course for the other boy, plastering a wide grin on his face. After all, outcasts should stick together, shouldn’t they?

As he drew closer, the dark-haired boy’s eyes snapped open and locked with his. Naruto found his steps faltering at the cold glare he received, feeling the subtle threat those dark eyes projected. With his grin fading Naruto hovered, unsure of what to do.

“Oi, newbie.”

Mentally blessing the distraction, Naruto jerked his head around in search of the speaker. His eyes fell upon the table he had drawn closest to, where a brown-haired boy was grinning up at him.

“Come on, take a seat. And don’t mind him,” the boy said, jerking a thumb towards the back corner. “He’s always like that, the jerk-off. I’m Kiba, anyway, who’re you?” The apparently-Kiba boy had moved sideways as he spoke, leaving a space free. Tentatively, Naruto took it, before breaking into a wide grin.

“Naruto Uzumaki!” he introduced himself with gusto. “Blond bombshell of London! I guess you’ve realised I just got here.” Glancing across the table, he took in the appearances of the other occupants – a rather scrawny boy who was watching him with unnervingly sharp eyes, and a chubby boy who seemed so focused on his food he probably hadn’t yet noticed Naruto’s presence.

Kiba snorted. “You’re new, alright,” he said, laughing. “Never seen anyone be so obvious about it before.”

Colouring slightly, Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head in nervous embarrassment. “I have to say, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said, before pausing and twisting in his seat to glance back at the loner. The strange boy’s eyes were now directed out the window, but his expression had not relaxed.

“Don’t worry about it.” Naruto turned and found that the scrawny, pony-tailed boy had spoken. “Everyone arrives here as an outcast, but the only ones who stay that way are the ones who choose to.”

While it was mildly terrifying that this stranger had just pinpointed exactly what was bothering him, Naruto was profoundly grateful. He grinned, with full feeling this time. “All-righty then, understood. What was your name?”

“Shikamaru,” the boy yawned, a lazy expression making Naruto wonder if he had actually seen that previous sharp look to his eyes. “And this,” he continued with a gesture towards the boy next to him, “is Chouji.”

Chouji looked up long enough to acknowledge the exchange with a nod, before returning to his food.

“The boy over by the window is Sasuke-freaking-Uchiha,” Kiba added to the introductory exchange. “Stuck-up prick and all-round pain in my ass. He doesn’t talk to anyone much – seems pretty pissed at the world in general, honestly.”

Naruto raised his eyebrows. “Ice Prince, is he?”

Kiba snorted again, this time with unfortunate timing. He choked on his drink in the process, doubling up to cough. Naruto pounded his back, amused, but the other boy recovered quickly. “I think that title is more suited to Bobby, though for different reasons.”

Shikamaru smiled slightly at Naruto’s obvious confusion. “You’re troublesome, newbie. Bobby is a teacher’s assistant here – he’s good with ice. On the other hand, Sasuke over there tends to prefer electricity.”

“Just don’t touch the asshole,” Kiba shuddered. “You know how if you touch something after you scuff your shoes along the carpet, you get a little shock? It’s like that, only twice as bad.”

“I think he does it on purpose,” Shikamaru added thoughtfully. “Defence mechanism against those fans of his.” He pointed towards Sasuke and Naruto followed the prompt, turning and noticing for the first time that the table next to the stoic boy was filled with girls. Most of them were giggling, heads together.

“Like hell he does!” Kiba said. “I’d be the one to know, I’ve run into him enough times!”

“Bet you.”

“You’re on,” Kiba took the challenge, before snickering. “Although, we figure his ability has something to do with that hairstyle of his.” Kiba’s grin held a little malice, and a lot of mischief.

“He does look a little electrocuted, doesn’t he?” Shikamaru murmured. He turned to Naruto. “How about you? What’s your mut – ah – gift?”

Kiba laughed. “Yeah, what are you in for?”

Seeing Kiba’s open eyes and Shikamaru’s unconcerned expression, Naruto felt a previously unnoticed something uncurl inside of him. It let go of its chokehold and he was suddenly able to breathe, so he did so – slow and steady. Then he smiled, true and honest with shining eyes, before opening his mouth to tell his story for the first time.

Shikamaru was right. He wasn’t an outcast anymore.

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BWAHAHA. I hope I didn’t destroy anyone’s dreams by making Sasuke an electric baby. Fire was out because of Pyro (I know, I know, there’s also Multiple Man but he’s not as well known…or something) and there’s still Kakashi and Itachi to think of….

So electric it is! :D

So – who is the Doc? What are the X-Men currently doing? Why does Sasuke chafe Kiba so much? Will Naruto experience Sasuke’s natural shock first-hand? Etc, etc. Hopefully I shall return soon!

PS. Does anyone know how to not-hide my email? I can't seem to figure it out. :O