Kaze no koibitō

5

Naruto had begun the day by getting to the academy ahead of the students and watching as they filed in while he stood upside down on the ceiling. Being spontaneous as an instructor was pivotal to his approach. If he did the unexpected, his students would never be bored, always wondering what he was going to do next. With that in mind he waited and watched as all his students faced the front, waiting for him to come in. Smiling at their willingness to learn, he cut off the chakra to his feet and dropped to the floor.

To say the children were surprised to see their teacher fall from the sky was an understatement. Necks immediately cracked upwards to see where the hole in the roof was that he had come through. Not finding one, their eyes asked the unspoken question. Naruto chuckled and put his hands behind his back.

"Well then, good morning class."

"Good morning Naruto-sensei."

"Good to see you all. Did you all do your assignment last night?"

Heads nodded, indicating that most were able to pull it off. Some heads hung in defeat, since they hadn't managed to trick their families. Naruto scowled and clapped his hands.

"Now, now, we won't be having any heads hanging in my classroom. You're all beginners and if you didn't do it the first time, keep trying until you do. I don't ask for anything other than you try. Now then, I'm going to make clones and I want you to show them that you can henge into at least three different shapes. If you have any trouble, they will assist you."

He quickly made the clones and they began to watch the children. A couple struggled and were straightened out soon enough. The problem was either too much or too little chakra. Once their little problem was stomped out, Naruto clapped his hands and the class faced him again.

"Ok, we're going for our morning run now. Everyone outside and do five laps around the village."

The children complied again and ran around the village. They finished their run and stood in a line, some puffing, some huffing, all tired. Naruto led them through their calisthenics and told them to sit.

"All right kiddies. Today, we're going to be doing taijutsu. Now, personally, I have no style. I'm a brawler by nature. I go in and I try to beat the crap out of the other guy. If I get hit, I get hit. But that's me. I'm going to be taking notes on you. I want you all to pick a partner and spar, light contact only. Many of you are from families of ninja and I'm sure you've been shown some form of martial art. Maybe soon, I can get an assistant that can help with taijutsu forms. We'll worry about that later though. Now, split up."

The kids broke into pairs and began to spar, with a Naruto for each couple. This continued until lunchtime, when Naruto went to Gaara's office. It was quickly becoming a habit for the jinchuuriki. With lunchtime over, Naruto motioned for the kids to lie on the floor and try to walk up the wall again. The next day would be covering the hand seals. He'd only shown them how to make the henge; he hadn't shown them the seals and the proper usage of them. He'd rectify that tomorrow. He sighed and looked out over his students.

'I wonder how Temari is doing?'

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Said kunoichi had finally arrived in Konoha and was walking to the Hokage's office. Konoha was no longer one of her favorite places. This was a village that had turned its back on one of her most treasured people. Naruto was a savior to the people of Suna. He had done so much for Gaara and had asked for nothing in return. The people of Suna, well most of them, treated him like a hero. Here in Konoha, he was a reminder of the past, a reviled thing no matter what he did. Hell, Gaara had killed people, his own people, in the past and the citizens of Suna mostly forgave him.