Chapter 169: Nature releases?

Homura is seated at a cluttered table, poring over books and scrolls about lightning Release. He mutters to himself, tired and frustrated.

HOMURA (voiceover): If I can manipulate chakra, tapping into another's abilities might be possible. Memories and experiences are embedded in chakra, but it's not a guaranteed path. Genetics play a role but…

Homura's gaze fixates on a particular section about Lightning Release book. He sighs.

The paragraph in question did not mention any technique, instead it mentioned some hand seals that were used to normally mold one's chakra nature exercises into lightning.

Also some vague philosophy about the process of lightning style.

At this point in time, it was not what Homura was looking for.

Not only that, it also mentioned that one should ask a master in order to properly apply the concepts explained since further training may be necessary.

The line about having a teacher that could help him learn lightning chakra nature stung, like never before.

Not only having a teacher to teach him was impossible, and one with the ability to use lightning release was even less possible.

He lived in the land of fire, ninja that used any other nature release besides fire was rare, a large number of shinobi didn't even bother learning elemental release.

Before it was a dubious knowledge as to why not more characters didn't use elemental release, but now, Homura understood that it was more of a bother.

Why bother making a fire ball with one's mouth if one can just throw bombs at their targets?

Even among the Konoha 12, only Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones to learn elemental jutsu.

Not that it was impossible for the others to learn or knew elemental ninjutsu, honestly Homura had no idea if Shikamaru could use anything else besides yin release or anyone else was in the same boat within the konoha 12 for a matter of fact, but each ninja was different and their fighting style reflected that.

As far Homura knew, both Tsunade and Neji were able to use elemental release but neither of them any used any kind of ninjutsu that required elemental affinity.

Especially in the case of Tsunade who was a descendant of the Senju clan, a clan famous for housing powerful ninjas with many skills, among them both the first and second hokages were able to master all 5 chakra nature through training.

A feat considered a major accomplishment among those living within shinobi society due to how hard it is to achieve through hardous training alone, and even then both Hokages only used elemental jutsus which they were more comfortable with during battle.

Even Homura who knew some fire and wind jutsus had no real desire to use them, he thought of himself more of close range fighter, so elemental ninjutsu such as fire or wind release were predominant styles that needed one to be at close range which was not ideal for Homura.

Thus, the need for lightning release ninjutsu which was mostly used by most in direct combat, especially for Homura who wanted a better understanding of lightning release so that he could become even better at using swift release.

Though having someone teach him lightening release was beyond difficult, Homura, didn't even know how to proceed.

HOMURA: The implications of that being possible…. is just impossible.

He muttered out loud as leaned on the chair even more, to the point the legs of the chair were barely still on the ground.

But he soon snapped back and grabbed the book on the table once again.

HOMURA: This is insane… What am I doing?

Homura reflected on his life choices.

He then remembered the answer to most of his questions had a name

HOMURA (voiceover): C, is there a way to get genetic memories from an ancestor?

C: Impossible to quantify the scope of the question.

Hearing the semi-disappointing answer Homura's enthusiasm plummeted.

HOMURA (voiceover) Yeah, no shit…Why do you think I asked you?

C:…

HOMURA (voiceover) So you get sarcasm now?

It was one of the many side projects Homura dabbled in his free time. Not sarcasm in general but to help C understand him better.

It seemed Homura was not the most cohesive person…pretty much anywhere he would find himself in, his thoughts were always a jumbled mess due to how many ideas he would be bombarded at all times with.

C: Host thought patterns have been memorized, as long as I am granted access to host psychological data, I have some functional understanding of host's mind.

A surprised Homura for the first time in a while took his eyes off the book he was barely reading at C's answer.

HOMURA (voiceover) ?! D-Did I… give you access to do that?

C: Affirmative. Should I remove access?

HOMURA (voiceover)…No. Keep it…I don't really care. (Most of my thoughts and memories are pretty boring anyway.)

Though on the surface he appeared quite indifferent, inside Homura's mind, he was quite shaken.

Although his memory his memory is not flawless it was close to perfect, at least it is how Homura perceived it to be.

His mind did try to compartmentalize or rather would filter anything he did not want to remember such as stupid jokes or anything related to the times he would spend with Naruto and his other friends.

Which he classified most of it as a waste of time.

Not out of malice, but remembering ridiculous events or even each stupid joke that he had heard at all times, was becoming a bit of a nightmare.

It was one of the reasons the Homura of a few years ago was getting more and more on edge.

He could remember the events he didn't want to vividly at any moment's notice, awakening the sharingan as early as he did only made things much worse.

As it seemed that his sharingan was feeding on those emotions.

Leading to a loop of psychological agony that Homura was far too young to completely handle and he would get outbursts.

Thus, the need for some much needed filters.

But lately, he remembered fewer and fewer things…not fully, but events and people in those events were rather fuzzy.

He didn't even fully understand anymore as to why he wanted to become a shinobi, besides protecting his friends from various threats; his desires to do as much were so much more intense before.

He truly believed he forgot something truly important, as if the pieces inside his mind were not completely fitting together.

Though each time he was closer to the truth he would shy away from digging further.

As if subconsciously he avoided the answer.

HOMURA (voiceover) That's weird I don't remember doing that…I feel like something…things are missing but I've checked many times but I don't really see anything amiss.

However, his thoughts soon changed to something more important.

HOMURA (voiceover) C, would it be possible to isolate a genetic makeup so that one could recreate a previous ancestor which has similar mutations? Like in the past…or someone who probably could use similar abilities.

C: It is entirely possible. Within theory and reason, isolating a specific DNA strand by analyzing host DNA sequence. Though I expect host to be able to have a better grasp of lightning release within 6 to 8 months with the teaching explained within the book and host ability to learn from mistakes.

HOMURA (voiceover): 6 to 8 months? What am I? A monk? What's with this nonsense of me always having to find solutions?! Besides, I don't have that long! Give me a better statistic to my previous question!

C: Understood. However foreign DNA integrated already within host's own genetic make up, will have a 96 percent error.

HOMURA: Really!?

Homura said it out loud but immediately hid himself among the pile of books near him.

HOMURA (voiceover)…if that is true. (That's not too bad and I still have some of the DNA of some other vict-I mean donors, If I can isolate Sasuke's DNA I will get Fugaku's DNA and for Naruto I get Kushina and Minato… I can almost feel my hopes level up. Though… )

C: Affirmative. Host's original DNA strand has already been isolated, to preserve possible corruption. Would host like to see possible ancestors' DNA Strands?

HOMURA (voiceover)…no. That would be pointless if you can't replicate it in real life. (I certainly don't have a lab big enough for that. Even doctor's Ueno lab doesn't have anything that could allow me to read or analyze DNA strands.)

C: I cannot replicate it, but through the use of DNA sequencing technology I could create a perfect blueprint.

Hearing C's response didn't really shock Homura. Though, to do it manually would take a very long time to write down the full input. Even if he managed to get his hands on a computer even a 10th of C's capabilities. Still he still needed something that could read DNA matrix, which he wasn't fully certain existed within this world.

He knew some people who definitely had similar technology but most of it could only be possible in the future. Especially when it came to rearrange those said matrixes.

The scientist Amado or the members of Kara had created similar technology, but as of now, it was in its infancy.

C: Solution. According to Host Memories, scanning technology already exists. The possibility to convert thoughts into data patterns is possible.

HOMURA (voiceover):…that sounds…like an idea. (A painful one…I'd rather try to get pretty girls to like me and get free meals out of it.)

However, the reality of the matter was that those kind of secrets were closely guarded. Homura had no idea what else the governmental body of Konoha was hiding.

And it was much more difficult to probe for any information of that kind without raising a few eyebrows.

Even cadets were only allowed to know of one of the shelters, in case of an attack but according to class there were many of those throughout the village.

For he knew they may as well have nukes or clones on standby.

Shinobi society is based on trust and control.

Even information on how to learn a simple beginner jutsu is controlled, much less printed. That's why Homura wasn't getting much out of the books he was reading, he was somewhat lucky to get his hand on a collection of ninjutsu that night within the Uchiha district.

Still, the price in the process was clearly not worth the trouble.

If he were to be taught a ninjutsu it had to be during class, certain students sometimes get chosen to learn a ninjutsu from a teacher; though that isn't really rare, it was nonetheless a pain to get chosen.

Many students had parents and older sisters/brothers to teach them a jutsu if they ever really wanted to learn one.

Nonetheless, Homura was interested in none of it, extra classes or choosing certain classes to be taught something besides the usual curriculum at the academy was simply more work for less time to spent actually learning something useful or sharpening one's skills.

Though he stuck with the fuinjutsu class in hope his teacher would teach him, in reality it was mostly because she was a rather beautiful woman and also it was so that he would avoid having to train in the mountains during the current hot weather; since most of the other class available at this current time were pretty much about doing something like that or something to do tracking/survival.

Homura's ability in understanding and applying fuinjutsu were not the greatest; though he was not truly bad at it.

He just wasn't really paying attention or trying more than he should since fuinjutsu taught at the academy was worthless.

As Homura rearanged his thoughts he was able to remember something that he totally forgot as of late-

HOMURA (voiceover): No. Rather than wasting our time thinking of that, is my current level sufficient to survive the chunin exams?

C: Host's current level… threat from most wildlife could be mitigated at 46%. However, against most combatants the medium is at 32% success rate. Rate increases by 26% with all abilities unlocked.

HOMURA (voiceover): 3-32%?! Wait did you count people like Kabuto or Orochimaru in that data as well?

He asked slightly annoyed.

C:Affirmative.

HOMURA (voiceover): Remove them! (I don't have any plans in getting involved with those monsters, if I don't even plan in getting anywhere close to Gaara, why would I plan on meeting Kabuto or Orochimaru. )

Homura's body started to shake just thinking of a scenario were he would have to fight such monsters.

Especially Orochimaru.

The crimes and the cruelty he was capable of seemed beyond vile; if Gaara was the equivalent of school sh*oter, Orochimaru was damn terrorist from a edgy comic book.

In fact, he was a real life terrorist and wanted criminal. Nothing was off limits to him. No morality or bias existed to hold him back, which made him more dangerous than anyone currently alive that wasn't just a simply a madman or an alien.

If he was spotted, most would pretend to chase after him but in reality they would be doing nothing more than just pretend to try chasing away and would use any excuse to runaway.

Since running away from a fight without a clear reason besides "he is too strong, what do you want me to do?!" was beyond dishonorable that would likely garner some type of horrible punishment from their village or clan.

Though Homura was not afraid of a similar fate befalling him.

Within Konohagakure, death was likely not going to happen.

Unless one tried to escape their sentencing by running away.

Especially in the case of Orochimaru since the hokage himself was the one to let him go in the first place and how dangerous most knew he was during the time he was a major asset for the village; but running away from an enemy would still be a major dishonor that might as well ruin one's shinobi career.

Fortunately, Homura wouldn't have to wonder too much as C delivered his new data in record time.

C: According to the new input medium as increased to 35%.

HOMURA (voiceover): Harsh…but I guess I was expecting something like that…it is still better than before…

In a battle one or two percents couldn't really sway the flow of a battle, but it could sway enough to allow one to strategize much better. Thus increasing one's odds for survival

HOMURA (voiceover):I really need to increase my lightning release proficiency through training; otherwise in the next year-!

C: Incorrect. 7 or 8 months.

HOMURA (voiceover): What!?

C: According to the calculations, the chunin exams should take place within that time range.

Though Homura had no idea when the chunin exams were held. It seems that the chunins exams in Konohagakure hadn't been held in the village for quite some while and even when it did, the event wasn't exactly fixed for a particular annual date in mind every single time it was held within Konohagakure.

Though that didn't mean they were not going to occur soon.

Which Homura wasn't exactly fond of the prospect.

HOMURA (voiceover): …f*ck.

Homura dropped another book on the table, as he realized how screwed he was. All he could do now was pray that he didn't meet any of the people taking part in the invasion plan.

Though that was a long list, from the one tails Jinchuriki, Gaara.

To the traitorous Snake Sannin, Orochimaru.

At this point in time, it was hard to tell how much stronger he would be by then, but he was absolutely positive that all he could do would be run away. Though, not even that was possible if he were to be taken by surprise.

After all, he had his own plans to consider, during that chaos several people and key points of the village would be left exposed and unguarded.

The chaos and panic at that moment would be the perfect opportunity to use his sharingan abilities and blend within the chaos easily.

Still if he had 35 percent chance at survival without the use of the sharingan…His chances of getting out alive during the chaos were clearly slimmer, much less if he had teammates he needed to watch out for.

HOMURA (voiceover)At this point… My only hope would be wood release… Tch! But Moegi's a child, who never used Wood Release in her life. Starting from scratch seems impossible. Yamato's the only lead I have—combining chakra from both elements. Too bad that I lack both nature releases! Sometimes I think my life is a bad joke.

Homura, exhausted, drops his head onto the table, letting out a deep sigh.

HOMURA (voiceover) If things go on like this, it'll take years. Stealing more of Moegi's DNA again is an option, but but its definitely not going to end well for me or her. The worst-case? Removing an organ, replacing it with hers. Dark. That's quite a dark alternative…and rather stupid.

Homura was trying to weigh his possibilities but too bad it didn't really reflect reality. Not unless he was ready to live a life of a madman like so many before him ended up living all for the sake of power; and cursing themselves to live in hiding.

HOMURA (voiceover) It's stupid to even consider that option. C's pragmatism is getting to me more and more these days… I will never harm the innocent for power.

Homura's eyes flashed with conviction once again, For better or worse, he was a leaf cadet, he did abide by some of the things he had been taught, and he had pride not in the village but his pride lied with the people who had become his family and friends.

He cared for nothing else besides having those he cared about safe.

HOMURA (voiceover): Besides it may make me stronger, but not Kage-level.

The strength of a Kage was worthless to Homura. He needed something much, much greater.

It was in a pessimistic mindset that Homura closed the book he was reading.

Even though his thoughts were all over the place, the book had been read by him to the very last word.

Sadly, it was pointless.

Publicly available books hardly ever had anything interesting to say, besides some weird sophistry, most of it was beyond useless.

It was of no help for Homura, since he was simply looking for a good training method. He could already, manifest lightning chakra to some extent, but he simply needed a good training regimen to make it easier for himself.

Even if one was good at a specific chakra nature it took time to truly become proficient in a nature release. All lightning jutsu Homura knew the hand seals of were of a higher rank, they were exactly easy to pull off and would be dangerous to attempt.

He knew of no one whom he could truly talk to about this problem, there was probably no teacher who could help him, lightning release was rather uncommon in the land of fire.

And those he could try to talk to about this little problem of his were…not exactly people he was fond of or could rely on for assistance. More than that, they were not people he could afford to make a mistake in their presence.

If he said the wrong thing or he showed them something suspicious, things could get ugly.

Homura: *Sigh*

Homura leans back, contemplating his dilemma, as the library remains brightly lit.

He then glances at the book in front of him, lying on the table. And his eyes, become more serious.

HOMURA (voiceover) A true genius could probably get something out of that piece of cr*p/ censored book…it makes me look imbecile in comparison…all this time I waste here, is one less beautiful lady for me to try to date and getting free meals out of. (I wish that Naruto would steal that d*mn scroll faster, but I can't be the one telling him to do that. I want Mizuki gone!)

Frustration peaks, and Homura starts ranting about wanting to live his youth, wishing for dates, and generally expressing his discontent.

Homura also didn't like how Mizuki seemed to have an interest in him, but what truly troubled him was all the girls found Mizuki handsome.

Though he knew that it was merely stupid and delirious thoughts of young girls being quite enamored with an older gentleman, it was still quite annoying especially since Homura was clearly not very friendly towards Mizuki; avoiding him at any possible occasion.

First Sasuke and then Mizuki, if they weren't there he would be the most popular guy in class, that girls fight to sit next to. Instead his reputation was sh*t at the academy, only the teachers seem to like him, but that was only because he was always impressing them; and most claimed that they were the ones responsible for his success or genius on some degree. 

Except for Iruka and a few others. 

Even if it was annoying, it was nonetheless something he could ignore, but the fact that half of the girls gave him the stink eye, especially as of his recent escapades; was killing him.

There's been a strange rumor which was in fact true, but that was a story for another. Which Homura is clearly the villain of.

Still he never thought that it would reach the people within the class as well, which lead him to be reprimanded by Iruka once again. 

Thinking about the time he spent wasting his youth away made him flicker the book away towards a pile of poorly organized books,

Homura: Now all I have to do is fin-kuh!

Suddenly, he's interrupted as someone hits him on the head.

Homura almost felt his head split off by the hit he just received, but more than that he was surprised that something seemed to drop on his head without him realizing.

As he tried to mitigate the pain he felt patting his head with his left hand, as he looked up he saw someone he recognized.

Homura: Oh! It's Iruka.

Homura's eyes remained rather hollow as he saw a man with a very distinct facial scar, he would be surprised but he cared little for anything at the moment. He was simply tired of wasting his time.

Homura felt that he should be progressing much faster but fate always seemed to have other plans instore for him.

Even the fact that it was Iruka that seemed to have hit him on the head mattered, as he saw the young teacher clearly holding a book above his head.

IRUKA (angry) Homura! Show some respect! *sigh* How many times do I have to do this! It's "Sensei! Iruka Sensei"!

HOMURA:…If I add sensei it will make it sound like you're an old man. Not that you're very young, girls don't like old farts, I am making you a favor here. (Why doesn't he apply his logic to Sasuke too…Why am I always been yelled at?…I hate this academy…It was a mistake entering, I would have a killing as a carpenter. If it wasn't for those godd*mn aliens, and cartoon villains.)

IRUKA (angry) Nice try. But I KNOW that you only do it because you don't like paying respect toward your elders.

Homura simply looks at Iruka without batting an eye in complete silence, Iruka does the same, not letting himself to be outdone by his student.

They had a starring contest that lasted almost a full minute, without either party breaking concentration, until Homura finally breaks off the silence.

HOMURA:…Sorry.

He said in a monotone voice.

It was as if a machine had spoken, it lacked any emotion behind it.

IRUKA: *sigh* though I wish you were sincere, I will just accept it this time.

HOMURA (Voiceover):…pushover. Too bad he's not proficient in lightning release, or any element now that I think of, getting him to teach me would have been easy.

Homura couldn't believe his teacher gave up so easily, it usually takes about 5 minutes to get the better of his sensei, but it wasn't odd for the man to relent so easily when he was tired. This probably meant that Iruka was simply tired.

IRUKA: Homura, if you're done reading those books in that pile of books, tidy them up already!

Homura glances at Iruka, smirking.

HOMURA: Stickler for the rules, huh? Can't you loosen up a bit, sensei? Are those for someone special?

Iruka, now holding a stack of books, raises an eyebrow. Homura eyes the books and makes a casual guess to avoid getting yelled at again.

HOMURA: Planning to shower Naruto with more books, sensei? I mean it is pointless but I admire your perseverance, you don't see that too often nowadays.

Iruka, surprised, wonders how Homura guessed. Homura, claiming his genius, explains that some of the books are for the fourth and fifth year, irrelevant for their current class unless it's for Naruto.

Iruka, was taken aback by Homura's insight

IRUKA: How did you...?

HOMURA (smiling) Surprised? Genius, remember? Anyway, you really like Naruto, don't you?

Iruka hesitates.

For some reason, he felt a bit unsure of his answer.

Homura never had seen his sensei so unsure of himself, though he did great to mask it. If it wasn't for C's ability to allow Homura to catch most of the subtle changes in a person's face. Homura would not have been able to sense that something was wrong.

Homura was not the sharpest person, he often failed to understand others in more ways than one.

He was as stupid as it was to recognize that a girl was into him, and if did think that was the case, he was indeed wrong. Though his good looks were the only thing saving him from very brutal beatings from annoyed women.

Though it mattered very little at this instant. 

IRUKA: Well, I try to ensure he gets a fair chance since he is always getting in trouble, but...

Homura cuts him off with a joking tone.

HOMURA: You've got a soft spot for him, huh? (Though he is really the one getting trouble by himself, some people just don't have class or style. As his classmate I sometimes pity him. How nice of me to care about a classmate that I barely know. I wish some of the girls would acknowledge that instead grouping me with that troublemaker.)

Homura's real thoughts aside, his sensei's face clearly was shook by that question.

Iruka, caught off guard, flips the question back, mentioning Homura and Naruto's friendship.

IRUKA: I could say the same for you.

Now it was time for Homura's turn to be surprised.

HOMURA: Huh?!

IRUKA: I heard you and Naruto have known each other even before attending the academy. Childhood friends, right?

Homura, surprised, takes a moment to ponder. He recalls meeting Naruto at the age of 5 and Naruto sticking around.

Even though he really wished it wasn't the case.

Homura just wanted to appear friendly towards Naruto, he had already enough guy friends that he needed to worry about and Naruto brought twice as many problems, not counting the real problems plaguing Naruto and his harsh destiny.

So him becoming friends with Naruto was a real pain in the ass, he had so many sibling like relationships that having a genuine friendship wasn't really the goal, besides Homura knew so much that at times by not saying any of it; he felt like he was betraying a childhood friend. 

HOMURA: Hm… I met him when I was around 5. He kept appearing in my life. Can't remember if I ever felt fondly of him. If I had to say…he's annoying, loud, lazy, clueless…(He reminds me of someone...)

Homura wonders why his words felt so familiar as if he was describing someone else besides Naruto.

His face twists as his heart begins to ache, the pain is so profound that it can be seen clearly on his face

Iruka, intrigued, awaits an answer.

HOMURA: Though I can't really complain a lot, since he is a good training partner overall, he recovers abnormally fast.

Hearing the last part, it was now Iruka's turn to show a bit of concern.

Though it was not concern for Naruto, but he was concerned that Homura may have begun to suspect something about Naruto or that he was trying to exploit it.

HOMURA (Smiling)Hmph!… I can't believe I am saying this…but I believe in him.

IRUKA (Puzzled): You believe in him?

HOMURA: Yeah. Naruto, he…he has this gift, that makes people believe in him. When he tries his best and doesn't give up, he makes me believe that he can do anything. (That's right. Either he has the ability to share his psychosis he is the best unintentional genjutsu master ever born. Even when I am winning against him, he doesn't feel that I can win.)… I truly think he'll be Hokage one day.

Iruka, shocked, didn't expect such a statement from Homura.

Iruka, shocked by Homura's unexpected belief in Naruto, questions his perspective.

IRUKA: You, believing in Naruto's dream? That's unexpected.

Homura continues with a serious tone.

HOMURA: He lost almost against everyone in the last test, still I saw him training just as intensely yesterday. (Well he was at that damn swing set for 2 hours before going back to train) He's…He is truly strong. But I won't… won't let him surpass me.

Iruka, surprised by Homura's sincerity, gets reprimanded by Homura, who tries to play it off as a joke.

HOMURA (laughing) Relax, sensei. Just pulling your leg. I am still your prized student, there's no way I am losing to Naruto any time soon.

IRUKA (scolding) Homura, you can't talk about your classmates like that. And unfortunately, I can't really say that you are my prized student, for that you'd need to at least arrive on time every day and truly pay attention during class. Just staring at the board absentmindedly isn't enough. But that ship has long sailed.

HOMURA (muttering): Ouch. Message received…

IRUKA: You know, Homura, if you're so concerned about Naruto, you could help him study.

Normally, Iruka would rarely tell another student to help another in their studies, not because it was out of the question within the academy's rules. However, students after they leave the academy are bound to encounter terrible odds.

The shinobi world is cruel and dangerous.

Even at the academy students are graded in everything they do. The system put in place by the second is not only to foster competition but to clearly analyze the weakness and strengths of each student, for one to understand their roles as soon as they come out of the academy.

No, student with graduating poor grades will be foolish to believe that they would be the ace when paired with 2 others with better grades and talent, though it also serves as a safety net for the one with the least talent to catch up to their peers.

Thus, teams are always supposed to be balanced, at least in theory.

Though that was the last thing further from Homura's mind as he opened his mouth.

HOMURA (smirking):Well… I would if I could, but it's not going to be enough to actually make a difference. (Why does he keep mentioning Naruto? It's not like I am in love with Naruto or something? Wait is Iruka in love with Naruto?! )

Iruka cuts Homura off before he can explain further, almost as if he wanted to stop Homura's nonsensical reasoning, before truly leaving Homura speechless.

IRUKA: And by "helping," I mean more than just giving him a little push.

Homura reflects on the differences between him and Naruto, acknowledging his somewhat scientific mind but emphasizing the small gap that destiny has placed between them.

HOMURA (faintly) Naruto's loud and a bit of an idiot, but I can remember things by just glancing at them. I can't teach him that.(I barely study the cr*p at school, I am mostly self-taught.) We're not that different, but fate keeps us apart.

Iruka shifts the conversation, questioning Homura about their interactions outside of class.

IRUKA So, what do you two usually do together?

HOMURA (sighs) End up in fights or do nothing productive. I'm not the best influence on keeping Naruto focused…(I might actually be the worst influence possible…no, Sasuke is worse! ) *nod*

Homura admits to his own shortcomings in maintaining focus, acknowledging his propensity for getting sidetracked.

HOMURA (musing) Like now, I'm thinking of learning earth release instead of prioritizing lightning release.

Iruka observes Homura sprawled over an earth release book next to Homura, recalling old records of training methods for chakra nature transformation.

IRUKA (smiling)Trying to learn chakra nature changes, huh? You know, there are records on how to learn chakra nature transformation and training regimen, available on the upper floors.

Homura, eager to explore this possibility, jumps up, asking about obtaining a lightning release manual.

HOMURA (keen) The upper floors? Is that real? Do you really have scrolls on Earth release? No, can I get one on lightning release? Which one is easier? How do training methods differ? Is there a learning curve or do I have to start from zero for each element? Are there different learning methods, for dif-!?

The upper floors of the library were often difficult to access, though shinobi usually cannot learn any jutsu they want there is procedures and conditions one can learn a jutsu from within the library, the sad state was that students couldn't really access records, even genins were limited on what they could get access to.

Homura had given up hope of ever setting foot at the upper floors or having a teacher help him, thus Iruka's words immediately shook Homura to the very core, that he almost forgot everything that defined him; turning him back into an ordinary child; excited to have a new toy.

IRUKA: Stop! Stop!

Iruka stops Homura from pestering anymore as he puts some space between himself and the boy in front of him.

Nonetheless, he takes some time to put his thoughts back in order.

Iruka, confused by the sudden shift from earth to lightning release, questions Homura's choice.

IRUKA (perplexed) *Sigh* To begin with, weren't you just reading about earth release. Nature transformation is quite hard to handle, not something you can easily learn.

HOMURA (grinning) I'm better at lightning release. Trust me.

Iruka, recalling Homura's previous mishap with nature transformation, expresses concern.

IRUKA (reminding) The last time you tried to learn nature transformation, you ended up in the hospital.

HOMURA Please, Sensei. I can only count on you. You're the best sensei at this school.

Homura, now pleading, goes as far as calling Iruka the best sensei, surprising Iruka.

IRUKA (happy) Hahaha. I mean I still have much to-! Wait a second! Homura!

HOMURA (begging) Please, Iruka-sensei, I need this.

Iruka, realizing he's being manipulated, tried to scold Homura. Yet, Homura, desperate, goes to extreme lengths.

IRUKA (angry) Homura, what's gotten into you?

Homura, practically on his knees with his head against the floor, pleads, shocking Iruka.

HOMURA (desperate) Sensei, please! I'll do anything!

Iruka, taken aback, didn't know how to react. He never thought that someone as prideful as Homura would bow down to someone. He never truly felt that he was able to help his student due to Homura being quite mature for his age and quite talented.

He even had to delegate some of Homura's training to doctor Ueno, since he felt that he could not do it himself.

HOMURA (desperate) Sensei, please! I'll do anything!

Iruka, taken aback, relents, but with a condition.

IRUKA (sighing) Fine, but you have to promise me that you will have someone around you all the time and not try to improvise.

HOMURA: Sure I can do that…(He doesn't know that I have C, and enough data from last time to avoid it to happen again.)

IRUKA: And you have to help me tidy up the library.

Homura, slightly dejected, questions why that's included.

HOMURA (disappointed) Why's that part of the deal? Are you really trying to push your job onto your students?

Iruka points to the scattered books and documents from Homura's table.

IRUKA (yelling) Because you're the reason this place is always a mess!

Homura looks at the pile of books and scrolls spread everywhere on his desk and under it, he sometimes forgets to take back the books and scrolls after he was done with them, and had been reprimanded for it.

HOMURA:…Fine. (Better not be more than a week though, I already have enough cr*p on my plate.

Homura, begrudgingly accepting the terms, realizes his afternoon is about to be wasted.

Soon after Homura cleaned up everything before cleaning the library and waited for Iruka to comeback with the information he so dearly wanted.

However, unknown to him, this exchange had been witnessed by a third party.

???: To think that he is planning to learn lightning release next, he is certainly talented. Though I don't think that is important information that I need to relay to that person.

The voice that clearly belonged to a man, felt cold and eerie.

As the unfamiliar voice stopped himself from observing Homura any further, its owner suddenly recalled Iruka's absence. It had been quite some time since they left.

???: Iruka didn't just happen to find that brat in the library… perhaps he was looking for him, it must have been part of the final assessment...must mean the last exams will now be the deciding factor.

As he was posing as a member of the faculty, he had no doubt of his suspicions.

Though he seemingly faculty member just left as soon as his task was completed.