Inbred

Long chapter, nothing terribly interesting, you can skip this one if you want but the important parts regarding the story will be summarized at the bottom. This is just one of those chapters where nothing interesting happens but I get to flesh out the characters a little more and have them interact with other people. And more Kakashi, Yay!

PLEASE BE MADE AWARE: This chapter has negative stereotypes about women but I'm letting you know before-hand that it is a generalization on Sasuke's part. I know that not all women are like that, just look at Hinata, she's an angel. So please don't flame me and say I'm a woman-hater or something because I'm not.

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Chapter 35

"Everyone find a seat, sit down and shut up."

The monotone chatter immediately ceased and was replaced by the dragging of chairs scraping against the floor and the thudding of books being piled atop desks.

Naruto inched his seat a little closer to the Uchiha boy who was already making notes in his binder even though the class hadn't officially started yet. The teacher combed his eyes meticulously through the students and when his stern gaze rested on Naruto the boy scooted over a little more.

He immediately recognized him as Ibiki-sensei from the orientation and while he looked very much the no-nonsense professor, Naruto believed he was more suited being a police interrogator...or a green beret.

The bell had rung and everyone had long since settled but the man at the front of the room continued to affix that stony glare on each and every individual student in the class. Naruto shifted uneasily when he was once again in the man's line of sight and he noticed that he was not the only person intimidated by this professor.

Many of the students avoided making eye-contact with him, either pretending to leaf through a notebook or just refusing to look straight ahead, but a few of them, namely Neji and Shino met his eyes assertively. Sasuke, on the other hand, appeared to pay him no attention at all and he continued to scribble his notes even as he began his lecture by taking roll-call. When he got to the Uchiha's name, the boy confirmed his presence but he never looked up from his book, nor did he stop writing and as the class progressed he never did.

Ibiki-sensei would occasionally notice him and as if testing to see if the Uchiha was paying attention he would ask him a question regarding the topic. Sasuke would respond in a clear and confident voice even while he kept doing his own thing and Naruto could only assume that he answered correctly because the teacher would just nod and didn't chastise him for not listening, but whether he was aware of what the lecture was about, Naruto still thought it was rude of him to deny the teacher his full attention. But then again...this was the Advanced Economics class and Uchiha Sasuke was the sole owner of an international company worth billions of dollars and the fact that it was one of (if not) THE most successful businesses on the planet meant that he probably knew alot more than Ibiki-sensei did.

If this had been Naruto's old school the teacher would have been pissed by the Uchiha's arrogance and accused him of being a smart-ass but even though the man's face was set in an astringent and expressionless scowl, Naruto could tell that he had alot of respect for the boy.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the first period but Ibiki-sensei did not release his class, he kept them there for an additional twenty-five minutes before dismissal but while everyone gathered their possessions, Sasuke remained behind, even Neji, who had been sitting in the front row, was getting up to leave. Naruto didn't want to stay behind with the ominous professor but remained in his seat and waited patiently on his friend who had just finished his scribes and watched the teacher intently as he rested his chin in the fingers he had threaded together and supported by his elbows on the desk. It was only after the last student departed that he picked up his notes and went over to the head of the class.

Naruto watched as the dark-haired boy presented his binder to Ibiki-sensei who scanned the writing on the pages, he nodded in approval and the two became engaged in a serious conversation. Naruto couldn't understand what they were saying since they spoke fluently in Japanese but even if they were speaking plain English he didn't think he'd know what they were talking about anyway. What he did surmise from their body language was that Sasuke was asking his professor questions...or it could be advice. He could tell by the way he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head slightly to one side while the older man spoke.

It was the first time he noticed the boy actually giving him his complete attention.

Sasuke politely thanked him for his time before beckoning to the boy in the back and Naruto got up to follow his friend out of the room, but even as he kept his eyes trailed downward he could still feel Ibiki-sensei's eyes on him and he didn't release the breath he had been holding until they walked through the door and turned the corner.

They met the rest of the class in the campus laboratory and even though everyone was seated and had already split up into their respective groups of two the room was filled with their incessant chatter. Sasuke made a beeline towards the station where Neji sat, with Naruto in tow and as they passed the desks of their female students the girls would swoon and coyly try to get the Uchiha's attention. He ignored them.

Sasuke slid into a stool next to the Hyuga and Naruto took the empty seat next to him. Neji didn't even acknowledge the two, he was fulfilling the role of the reluctant and unwilling lab partner very well. If it had been well over five months ago then the theatrics would have been unnecessary but it made the blond uncomfortable to see them like this especially since they patched everything up. Sasuke and Neji had great chemistry together and it was unfair that they had to keep it bottled and under wraps when they were together in public and he supposed that was why they were so volatile when they were alone because it was the only time they could release the explosive chemical reaction they had to sustain for so long.

It was a subtle gesture but Naruto caught it because he was sitting so close and because he was able to recognize it for what it was. Sasuke reached out to tighten the buret clamp on the ring stand and as he did so his fingertips caressed the pale skin on Neji's exposed forearm. The long-haired brunette shivered slightly then brought the pencil he had in one hand towards his mouth and began to nibble its eraser. It seemed like a simple gesture and no one would pay it any heed but Naruto had a front row seat and he could clearly see the Hyuga boy was flirting back with his partner.

The blond teen saw a moist tongue flick against the pink eraser suggestively before thin lips closed around it to take it into his mouth. Sasuke watched as his lover teased him, his smile hidden behind the hands he had clasped in front of his mouth but while he had his gaze locked on Neji, Neji had his glued to his book. He didn't need to look over at the Uchiha because he already knew the Uchiha was watching him. He made a sound at the back of his throat as if he were mulling over one of the many theories presented in the text book but both Naruto and Sasuke knew that it was a soft, yet provocative moan.

The bell rang to signal the start of the next period and Neji slowly removed the pencil from his mouth to reveal the entire head of the eraser coated with his saliva, Sasuke chuckled.

The lab door opened alerting the class that the professor had arrived and everyone immediately became quiet but when the teacher appeared in the doorway, Naruto almost fell backwards out of his seat from shock.

The professor of this class was none other than Kakashi-sensei and he was ON TIME!

Naruto fought the urge to blurt out his displeasure with the man and ask him why he had the gall to attend their classes at his leisure but wasn't tardy with this one, but the look on his face through that one eye revealed that he was now in a very strict disposition so Naruto kept his mouth shut.

He didn't take roll-call, he didn't even look up at the students to see who was in attendance he just instructed them to place their group projects on their desks. Neji fished around inside his book bag to produce the assignment that he and Sasuke had worked so diligently on. Naruto was impressed with the end result and surmised that if they didn't get an 'A' for content then they should at least get an 'A-plus' for presentation. He had never seen a report put together so well, even the brainiacs at his old school didn't put as much effort into their assignments that Neji obviously did, in fact, it didn't even look like a transcript the average grade A student would prepare for a class, instead it looked like a report one would put together for Wall Street or something like that.

Kakashi-sensei made his rounds, stopping at each desk to collect the documents and ask questions relating to their methods of research. He came to Shino and Shikamaru's desk and was obviously surprised that they even HAD a report on the desk. Teaming the nonchalant Nara with the austere Aburame had been a stroke of genius on his part.

Every member of the faculty knew about Shikamaru's indolence and some believed he was accepted at this institution just because his parents could afford to send him here but others who looked past the fact that he had money saw that he was indeed a special individual and it was Asuma-sensei that noticed this first. He worked with the boy and encouraged him at every opportunity but his efforts bore no fruit, Shikamaru continued to be lackadaisical. His peers told him to give up and stop wasting his time with the boy who was obviously an up-and-out student and focus his efforts on someone who would benefit more from his help, but it wasn't until, as a last resort, he got the boy to take a series of IQ and aptitude tests and when the results came back everyone was dumbstruck.

The boy had an Intelligence Quota well over 200.

The tests also revealed that he was well-organized, owned immense problem-solving capabilities and had the capacity to manage many different tasks at once. Asuma-sensei was confused and confronted the boy about it, asking him why he never made the effort when he clearly had the ability to do so. The boy confided in his sensei that it was too much of a bother to go the extra mile when he could pass his exams with minimum effort, he also disclosed that being a valedictorian drew too much attention to oneself and would place high expectations on him, he also said sometimes it was too troublesome to even have to write his own name.

Asuma-sensei had laughed at that. The boy was just lazy after all.

The teachers soon found their own individual ways to coax the young genius into participation in his school work and after many failed partnerships Kakashi-sensei found someone the boy could work with.

He came to Sasuke's and Neji's station and took their report to add it to the growing bundle he had cradled in his arm and that was when he noticed the Uzumaki boy.

"Ah, Naruto-kun where is your assignment?"

The blonde looked up at him as if he had just escaped a mental institution. The teacher had dropped his stern look and had picked up his trademark smile instead and although he looked like he was kidding around his tone of voice was dead serious.

"I'm not a student of this class," the boy responded, his manner of speaking and body language blatantly screaming 'Duh!'. "I'm just observing today."

"I know that, but in case you forgot there was something you were supposed to do for me."

He suddenly understood what the silver-haired sensei was referring to. "Yeah, they're in the mail," he muttered dejectedly. Jiraiya had been very co-operative with Naruto's request and shipped a package of his books and a few autographed and framed pictures, he even threw in the autobiography.

"Anything for a fan," he had told the boy when they spoke on the phone, especially for a fan that was as big a pervert as he was and Naruto told him that they didn't get any bigger than Kakashi.

"Hey, hey! Can you at least pay the shipping and handling?" the boy asked. True, Jiraiya agreed to send the literature but the costs were to come out of Naruto's pocket.

"Hmm..." Kakashi tapped a long finger against his chin and appeared to be deep in thought. "I'll have to say no on that one."

"Gah! Don't be cheap."

The man just shrugged, "You can't expect your teacher to help you with your assignments all the time Naruto-kun, somethings you have to do on your own."

Naruto repressed the urge to pull out all of his hair. "I'm NOT your student and it's NOT an assignment...it's not even a favour I enjoy doing for you."

By this time all eyes were on the rude boy who was now almost screaming at the teacher. They expected Kakashi-sensei to send him to the principal or make him stay behind after class like he did with all his disobedient pupils but the man did none of those things, instead he ignored the boy's outburst and told him he could hardly wait until Naruto presented his 'assignment' and hoped it would be ready very soon.

The boy drooped his shoulders in defeat then banged his forehead against the desk.

Sasuke had no idea what little arrangement the two had between each other but something told him he didn't want to know, he did feel sorry for his friend though. To be roped into anything with Kakashi-sensei was every student's worst nightmare. The man was notorious for driving people to the brink of insanity and whenever Kakashi-sensei asked for assistance everyone came up with some excuse.

Kakashi was lenient today and after collecting the reports he wrote four questions on the board and informed the class that it was an open-book team-test and as soon as they completed it they were to come forward and put the papers on his desk then leave.

Naruto squinted at the board, it didn't make any sense trying to translate what was written there but he assumed the problems must have been very difficult since there were only four of them along with the fact that it was an open-book exam. He prepared himself to have to wait for a very long time but twenty minutes into the test he saw Shikamaru put his pen down and lay across his desk as if he were going to sleep.

Was it that hard that the lazy punk gave up?

He turned to look at the two boys sitting next to him. Sasuke had slipped on his reading glasses at some point and he and Neji were furiously attacking their papers with pens, stopping occasionally to look for and glance at pages in their text books and while other students took advantage of it being a group exam and consulted with their partners neither Sasuke nor Neji said a word to each other.

Shino was the first person to get up and Naruto noticed that he carried up his test along with Shikamaru's and after he placed them on Kakashi-sensei's desk he went back to his partner to wake him. The boy muttered something before stretching and awkwardly getting to his feet to follow the Aburame through the door. A few minutes after that Neji put down his pen and happened to look over at the boy opposite Sasuke. Naruto grinned at him and Neji shot him a very weak smile.

"You done, Neji?" the blond asked and he nodded in response. "Heh, you finished before Sasuke," he joked then poked his best friend in the arm. Sasuke grunted in annoyance but continued writing all the same.

"It's not a race Naruto," reprimanded the Hyuga prodigy.

"No? Well then it just means you're smarter than Sasuke then," he teased and poked his friend in the arm again but he didn't see the uncomfortable blush that tinted the Hyuga's cheeks. "Oi, slowpoke hurry up!"

Sasuke stopped writing and his other hand whipped out to grab Naruto's finger and bend it in an uncomfortable position. The blond gasped in surprise and tried to pull away but his friend squeezed harder as if threatening to break the annoying digit. "Naruto, go wait outside, we'll meet you in the hallway." His tone was flat and while his actions would make one believe he was angry he really wasn't. He understood that the hyperactive boy was probably bored and once he started goofing around he wasn't going to stop and Sasuke really needed to concentrate.

Naruto stuck out his tongue after Sasuke released him and he made his way to the exit while glaring at Kakashi-sensei who was now reading his book. When he stepped into the hall he saw a familiar person drinking at the water-fountain and called over to him.

"Heya, Shikamaru!"

The Nara boy straightened and looked over at Naruto then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Hi Naruto," he drawled.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you'd have gone straight to bed by now."

He sighed. "I have another class this evening after lunch and it's too much trouble to go to my room then have to get up later and come all the way back here."

"Dang! Shika you're really lazy you know that?" he stated with a laugh.

"And you're really noisy Naruto," and he emphasized that point by blocking one ear with an index finger. "Must you speak so loudly?"

"Eh?" He asked with a confused and offended expression on his face. "What are you on about? This is my normal voice."

He put his hand back on his hip again. "Then you should seriously consider changing it, not only is it loud but it's annoying."

He bristled then. "Oh yeah, well Sasuke doesn't seem to mind and I talk to him all the time."

"Of course Sasuke tolerates you," he said matter-of-factly. "He has to put up with Neji on a regular basis."

Naruto scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shikamaru sighed because he was going to have to be doing alot more talking so he decided to get straight to the point. "He and Neji are always having some lover's spat and Neji's always yelling and screaming at him, but...they've placated ever since you showed up. I guess they managed to work everything out."

The boy stiffened. Did Shikamaru know about them? "D-Don't be stupid Shikamaru," he stammered trying to cover for his friend. "Sauke and Neji are just friends and-"

"Don't question my intelligence Naruto," he interrupted. "I find that highly offensive."

"So then...you know about...you know that..."

"Sasuke and Neji are lovers? Yes, I know," he spoke as if it was nothing new and it didn't interest him at all. The truth was, Shikamaru didn't care what people did in their lives as long as it didn't conflict with his.

"But how?" Naruto was confused. Sasuke had said their relationship was a secret, they even went to great lengths to avoid each other when they weren't alone and he had even shared that secret with Naruto under the strictest of confidence, but somehow Shikamaru knew as well.

As if reading his mind the Nara boy explained further. "No one had to tell me anything, I figured it out for myself," and when he saw the worried expression on the blond's face he worked quickly to calm his obvious fears. "Don't worry Naruto, they're not doing a shoddy job of hiding it, it's just that I happened to notice certain things and besides you and Neji I'm one of the only other people who spend any time with Sasuke so it wasn't hard to put two and two together." He suddenly felt a little woozy. He'd never had to say so much in one sentence before so he took a deep breath before continuing.

"I'm jut glad they're back together, they make too much noise when they're not speaking to one another," and he chuckled at the irony.

Naruto furrowed his brow as he stared at the aloof man in front of him. He may seem like he's not aware of what was going on around him but that made it easier for him to pick up on things since no one assumed he was paying attention anyway. It was these types of people that could be potentially dangerous.

"Does Shino know too?"

He shook his head. "I'm the only one that does."

"A-Are you going to tell him?"

"It's none of his business and it's none of mine. I have no intention of telling anyone, gossiping is too troublesome," and he reassured the boy with a wink. Or he could have been blinking but was too lazy to close both eyes, with Nara Shikamaru you never could tell.

He sighed with relief. At least he didn't have to worry about that getting out. "Just try to keep it a secret, okay?"

"Keep what a secret, dobe?"

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of Sasuke's voice and he whipped around to see him and Neji watching the two of them intently. Naruto started to stammer an excuse but it was Shikamaru who spoke up with the truth. "Your relationship."

Neji glared daggers at the Nara boy who gave him a disinterested look while Sasuke tilted his head to one side and gave the blond a once over.

Getting the wrong idea Naruto immediately came to his defense. "It's not like that Sasuke," he said, waving his arms in front of him. "Shikamaru already knew, I didn't tell him anything I just told him to keep it a secret."

"Hm? Oh I know."

"Eh?" the boy was suddenly confused. "Know what?"

He shrugged one shoulder, "I know Shikamaru knows about us."

"You DO?"

He nodded once then beckoned the boy to follow him and he led them a few feet away from the other two that continued to lock gazes. "Shikamaru knows that we're involved, but that's all," his voice was a low whisper and Naruto had to lean closer to hear him properly. "He doesn't know about Neji and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Wow, from the way he was talking I thought he knew everything," and Naruto was glad that he hadn't blurted out Neji's condition to the boy in his ignorance.

"Yeah he talks like that all the time," and the brunette waved a hand dramatically in the air.

Naruto looked over at the Nara but something puzzled him as he watched him hold Neji's death glare. "If Shikamaru knows you guys are together and is going to keep it a secret and doesn't know the truth about Neji then why doesn't Neji seem to like him?"

Sasuke turned to look at the men in question and it really did look as if Neji disliked the boy with every fiber of his being. A grin pulled at one corner of the Uchiha's lips, "Neji's just worried that one day he'll figure out his secret. Nara's a pretty intelligent guy, you shouldn't underestimate him Naruto."

The blond nodded to let him know he already didn't.

"Well, Neji's just trying to scare him of the trail, so to speak," he continued. "But even if he did figure it out somehow I know it's not like him to say anything."

"You've known him that long?"

Sasuke sighed. "Well we've had the...pleasure of working together in class sometimes but when Neji broke it off with me several months back, Shikamaru was the only other person I spoke to after that, I guess that's when he realized what was going on between us."

"Oh!" was all Naruto could say.

They headed back to the other two boys and even as Sasuke dragged the Hyuga away from the Nara they never stopped glaring at each other until they were out of sight. Sasuke led them to the cafeteria and since they had managed to get away from class early they were the only ones there and Sasuke and Neji finally spoke to one another. Naruto was glad but not that much because all they spoke about was school-work.

Well, there was a time and place for everything.

As if suddenly remembering that they had a third party they introduced Naruto to the conversation but when lunch break officially started and students began to pile into the room their table became quiet and they ate in silence. Occasionally, one or two girls would approach them and offer Sasuke home-made lunches but he would refuse and claim he was full.

Naruto often wondered how Neji dealt with these rabid fan girls throwing themselves at his mate but he could tell that the Hyuga just found it amusing. Sasuke didn't, and he glared at the boy everytime he stifled a giggle.

Sasuke wished he could just tell the drooling harpies that he already had a girlfriend and to leave his ass alone but he remembered what happened the last time a girl tried to pull that stunt. She was a freshman and just like most other girls in the school, became smitten with him but to get a leg up on the competition she boasted that she and Sasuke were an item. The boy neither confirmed it nor denied it. He knew it was a lie but if it would keep the others away from him then she could say whatever the hell she wanted.

Unfortunately, some of the senior girls didn't appreciate the fact that some newbie just swooped in and claimed the territory that they had been working so hard to secure so they issued a smear campaign against the poor girl. Some of the rumours they spread got back to Sasuke and it made his hair stand on end when he heard what they did and said about her and although he didn't even know who she was he still felt very sorry for her.

One day he heard through the grapevine that she had been carried away in a straight-jacket by men in white coats. Most of her hair had fallen out from stress and she had become dangerously suicidal.

This was one of the reasons Sasuke didn't like girls. They were vindictive, manipulative and malevolent. It always made him laugh how they'd hunt in packs but when one of their members found a catch they would all turn on her and stab her in the back.

If he mentioned that he was already spoken for then they would turn the earth upside-down trying to figure out who it was and if they happened to discover it was Neji and they decided to try the same shit with him then Sasuke would gut them all, each and every last one of them.

He glared at one girl in particular who was offering him an incredibly large lunch box wrapped in a satin bow. He knew her, and although he didn't know her by name he knew exactly who she was, she was a member of that group that harassed that anonymous girl.

The bell didn't ring soon enough for the Uchiha who already had a headache from listening to their high-pitched squeals and blatherings for a good forty-five minutes. Neji was amused at first but when it seemed as if they weren't going to leave he excused himself and sat at another table. Naruto was uncomfortable as well and while he longed to go over by Neji he didn't want to leave his friend alone with the she-wolves so he suffered through it. Sasuke also wanted to sit over by Neji but he knew that if he moved the flock would only follow him, he also imagined the boy was feeling a little disheartened that these women could fawn freely all over him but he could not.

The last class of the day was taught by one, Mizuki-sensei and when he saw an unfamiliar face among his students he asked the Uchiha what his big idea was. The boy plainly explained that Naruto was one of the foreign exchange students and he was only here to observe but Mizuki-sensei did't want to hear it. He demanded that the blond get out of his class. Suddenly feeling very embarassed, Naruto started to get to his feet but before he could do so Sasuke stood and beckoned the teacher to follow him out side before closing the door behind them.

Mizuki was loud and even though Naruto was sitting in the back row he could hear everything the man said. He berated the boy and told him that just because he was an Uchiha he couldn't do whatever he wanted and while he could get away with that childish attitude around his employees he couldn't get away with it here. Sasuke remained calm throughout the man's rantings and he never raised his voice. Mizuki-sensei suddenly exploded at what the Uchiha said and everyone jumped in their seats at the sound of his screeching voice.

He told the spoiled brat that he was the teacher and Sasuke was merely a student and he refused to do anything he said and if anyone should be following orders it should be Sasuke obeying HIM. The Uchiha heir spoke again and the hallway suddenly became very quiet. The teacher stormed back into the class and huffed as he ordered Naruto to remain in his seat. The influential brunette crossed his arms over his chest and asked the professor if he didn't have anything else to say. The man shot him a nasty glare before muttering an apology to the blond in the back row and immediately beginning the class as if nothing had happened.

Sasuke returned to his desk and opened his binder.

Naruto looked over at the boy who had just stood up to his professor for him. He had never felt this way before, but then again, no one had ever done something like that for him before. Sure it wasn't anything monumental but it meant that much more to him.

"Sasuke, I-" his voice was shaky and it was hard to speak with the lump in his throat. He wasn't going to cry over something as silly as this was he?

"Don't worry about it dobe," he replied as he slipped on his reading glasses again and turned to the page Mizuki-sensei had scrawled across the chalk-board in large, angry letters. "He's an ass, no big deal."

That wasn't what he was talking about.

"Sasuke," he tried again and the boy looked over at him them and his anger melted when he saw the benign expression on his best friend's face.

"Hm?"

"Thanks!"

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Summary: Naruto spends the day observing Sasuke in his various classes. The first class is with Ibiki-sensei and Naruto notices that Sasuke doesn't pay the man any attention, it is only after the class ends that Sasuke approaches Ibiki and asks him for his advice regarding business ventures etc. The next class is with Kakashi-sensei and he collects the reports that were due today. It is revealed that Shikamaru is a very intelligent boy with an indolent nature as big as his IQ. Kakashi reminds Naruto that he was supposed to get the books and pictures of Jiraiya for him and Naruto assures him they're in the mail.

Kakashi then pops a surprise open-book team-test and Shikamaru is the first to complete it followed by Shino. Neji finishes next but has to wait for Sasuke since they are a group. Naruto teases Sasuke for being slow and he orders Naruto to wait outside so he can finish the exam in peace. Naruto meets Shikamaru in the hall who discloses that he knows about the relationship between Sasuke and Neji. Naruto begs him to keep it a secret just as Sasuke and Neji appear in the hallway curious about their conversation.

Shikamaru replies honestly and Naruto tries to explain that he didn't tell Shikamaru anything. Sasuke reveals that he knew Shikamaru knew the whole time. He then takes Naruto aside and warns him that while Shikamaru may know that they are involved he doesn't know that Neji is trans-gender and that Naruto should be mindful of what he says around him.

They head to lunch and Sasuke is assaulted by girls who offer him home-made lunches. Sasuke refuses and recalls a particular girl that he heard about that these same girls abused in the past. Neji leaves the table when the girls become too annoying but Naruto stays behind to keep Sasuke company.

The final class is with Mizuki-sensei who wants to kick Naruto out because he is a foreign student and not one of his pupils. Sasuke takes him outside and they have a conversation where Mizuki screams at the boy and tells him he's abusing his Uchiha name. Sasuke speaks to him and the man returns to the class and changes his tune and orders Naruto to stay. Sasuke tells him there was something else he was supposed to do and Mizuki-sensei apologizes to Naruto reluctantly.

Naruto is touched by the extreme lengths his friend went to for him and thanks him.

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Note: I'm not quite happy with the conversation between Shikamaru and Naruto and it was really hard to get it to flow smoothly. Another reason this chapter took so long was because I didn't enjoy working on it as much as I did the others but I had to force myself to do it and do it properly to prevent submitting lackluster work.