> A mission in friendship
>  by narutoponies
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> Chapter One
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Naruto sighed. Why had he agreed to this? This was probably going to be the most boring mission he'd had to do in a while. And he wasn't even going to be able to show off his ninja skills! Kakashi had made it very clear he was to keep his ninja identity strictly a secret. Most people were oblivious to the fact that there were ninjas running around saving their lives daily. Even the ones that did kept it mostly to themselves, and even if they did tell anybody, who was going to believe someone who said they saw someone who could run on trees and do 'magic'? So yeah, this was going to be a boring mission.
Stop complaining, brat Ah, yes, and there was the giant sarcastic carpet. 
Shut up Kurama! He told the fox. 
It's not like I'm the only one who'll be bored. You're stuck with me, and since we most likely won't be doing any fighting, you'll be cooped up inside your cage 'till we're done with the mission. Kurama wasn't amused.
Shut your skull cave, brat. he retorted,
Don't you think that maybe the reason Kakashi sent us on this mission is because it's likely we'll fighting? Not that I really expected for you to make that observation though, you having an IQ of about three.
"Shut up Kurama!" he muttered, accidently out loud. Several people gave him strange looks, so he hurried on. He groaned. He hadn't even seen a single ramen shop the whole time he'd been scouting out the city. That was definetly a bad sign. How would he survive a whole month without ramen?
How many times do I have to say this? asked Kurama, tired of Naruto's whining.
Stop complaining! Kakashi obviously sent us here for a reason that you don't know. So suck it up and find a place for us to sleep at least. Just please not a trashy Hotel. Naruto was about to make an amazing comeback about how he'd rather than have ramen than a giant talking carpet any day, but paused. He hadn't thought about where he would stay. He hadn't really made any plans, now he thought about it. He barely knew what the mission was about himself, having slept through most of Kakashi's lecture.
Did you really not pay any attention? Kurama sounded amused.
I did too! Naruto replied indignetly. I just... Fell asleep halfway through. I remember the part about  weird chakra being found at some High School, and I'm supposed to guard it. Kurama would've face palmed if he could've.
Well, he groaned, I suppose you've got the basics. Just make sure not to blow your cover or do anything stupid. Naruto rolled his eyes. Stupid fox, pretending it knew everything. Still, it was right about one thing, and that was he needed to hurry up and find a place to sleep. 
Luckily, finding a place to sleep wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be. Everything in this town seemed to be very convinent. Still, he wasn't complaining, so he took the apartment that was available. Next there was the problem of school books. Kakashi had thought it'd be best if he posed as a normal student, so he would definetly need books. Where to get them was the problem. He only had a few days before school started, so it wasn't likely he'd be able to order them online and have them soon enough. He pulled out his computer, a gift from Kakashi, and looked up a map of the town. There was a book store a few blocks down that looked like it might have what he needed. He put his computer away, now that he'd located where he'd get the books, he still needed to know how to get them. He didn't have much money, ninjas didn't really need it, except to pay for ramen, of course, so he only had a few dollars. He really should've prepared more.
Have any ideas, Kurama? he asked the fox grudgingly. 
No, the walking carpet said, useless as always. Not on making money. But you could always just go to the book store and borrow the books, it's not like we'll be staying here long term anyway. Naruto stared at the wall in disbelief. Was Kurama actually helping? The fox growled. Don't get used to it.
At five o' clock the next morning, Naruto headed out to the book store. He didn't usually wake up so early, but since he'd had to sleep on the floor, he hadn't been able to sleep very well anyway. He cracked his neck as he walked down the street, and wished he'd remembered to go to the Supermarket last night and pick up some instant ramen. As he entered the store, the bell tinkled, signaling to whoever ran it that there was a customer. No one came, however, so he just started looking for what he needed off the list of books he'd gotten from the school website. They were all there. He grabbed the ones he'd need for his first day, and went to the front desk. There was a sign there that said:

Please check out your own books today. I will not be back until Wednesday. Thank you,
Mimi Bookcrumb.

Following were a list of instructions depicting how to check out books. Naruto did so, and decided to take a look around the city after he dropped the books off at his apartment. 
Canterlot was a pretty big city, a lot bigger than Konoha, at least. Not knowing where to start, he headed to the mall. Who knew, maybe they had ramen there? He entered the mall, and immediatly noticed the backpacks. It was back to school week, and they were on sale. He shrugged, deciding if he wanted to be a normal high school student he better have a backpack. He made a mental note to grab one on his way out. There were a lot of people there, doing last minute back to school shopping. Little kids whining, teenagers causing a general ruckus, and babies crying overall didn't make it a very nice place to be. He was considering just leaving after buying a backpack, but something stopped him. He smelled something. Something he smelled every day in Konoha. Something that was the best thing that ever happened to this earth. Something that was called... Ramen!
> Chapter Two
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Ramen! Sweet, beautiful, wonderful ramen! He hadn't had it in days! With a newfound resolution, he rushed off to find this gift from heaven. He didn't need a map to tell where the food court was, the smell was enough. Ducking and weaving in between people, he ran almost as fast as he could. (If he'd ran as fast as he could, his cover as a ninja would most likely be blown.) He was almost there! The smell was getting stronger, and he could see a Starbucks, meaning the food court was close. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he prepared to run the remaining distance to the ramen. Almost there...  CRASH! Before he knew what had happened, he was sprawled across the floor, skidding the last few feet. He groaned, rubbing his head. 
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" He looked up, and saw a beautiful red headed girl, also on the ground. She looked like she had recently been crying, there were tear streaks down her face. He shook his head.
"Nah," he said. "It was my fault. Anyway, you okay?" She nodded, sighing. Then she burst into tears.
"T-they won't believe me!" She sobbed. "Even after e-everything I've done, they still think I would betray them!" Naruto simply sat where he was, not knowing how to deal with this. He stood up after a moment of thought, and went over to her.
"Hey," he whispered consolingly. "It's okay." She continued to cry, and he stood there, feeling more useless than he had in a long time. 
"How 'bout this?" He asked gently. "Since I bumped into you, and you obviously aren't having a very good day, I'll treat you out to lunch. Is ramen okay?" She looked up, having stopped crying for the moment.
"You-you'd do that for me?" She asked, hiccuping a little. He nodded. 
"Of course I would," he said, "What type of a person would I be if I left you crying on the floor?" This was obviously the wrong thing to say. She started bawling again, throwing herself on the floor. 
"Why are you being so nice to me?" She wailed, "When they won't even here me out?" After a few moments, she regained her composure somewhat. 
"I-I'm sorry," She said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I won't waste your time anymore." She started walking in the opposite direction, towards the doors. He lunged to grab her sleeve. 
"Oh no you don't!" He said, he wasn't letting this person go. There was something wrong. Very wrong.
Half an hour later, and they were both peacefully eating their ramen. Or at least the girl was. Naruto was slurping it up quite noisily. He had tried to show some restraint, but it just wasn't happening. He finished it pretty quickly, and let out a longing sigh. Budgets were terrible. Usually, he would have at least six bowls, but he had to save money, and had already spent more than he was planning to on the girl. Speaking of which... 
"So," he said, "What's your name? I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He almost said, "Future Hokage of the village of Konoha," but decided that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.
"I'm Sunset Shimmer." She answered quietly.
"So... I'm guessing you go to school at Canterlot High?" She nodded, a tear falling into her lap. He frowned. Something about that place was obviously making her upset.
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what's got you so upset?" She gave a shaky sigh, and tightened her fists in her laps. "There's someone on Mystable," she began, "Who's been posting other people's secrets online. I don't know who it is, but they set up their account to look like it was me. And now everyone thinks that I'm the one posting people's secrets." Naruto's eyes widened. 
"Why would anyone do that?" He asked. She sniffed.
"I used to be pretty mean." She said, "But I changed, and I thought everyone had accepted me, but as soon as there was even the slightest possibility that I was the one behind the Mystable account, they turned against me." Naruto frowned. This Canterlot High place sounded like a pretty crappy place to go to school. 
"Well," he said, "I'm joining Canterlot High this year, so you'll have at least one friend." She looked up.
"Y-you are?" She asked. He nodded. "But... why would you suddenly make up your mind to be friends with me? You don't even know me."
"That's true," He said, "I don't. But I do know that you need help, and you don't have anyone else. I know what being alone feels like, and I wouldn't want anyone else to experience what I did. So of course I'll be your friend! Believe it!" 
"Hmph. I wouldn't be so sure you'd be saying that if you knew what that traitor did." He looked up. A rainbow haired girl had walked up beside their table. 
"And just what did she do?" He asked, wanting to hear what this girl thought.
"She posted everyone's secrets online! For the world to see! And school hasn't even started yet, think of how many more secrets she'll be able to get once it does!" Naruto stood up, looking the hothead in the eyes.
"Do you have any proof?" He asked, his voice dangerously calm. The girl raised an eyebrow.
"Um, Hell yeah!" she said, "Why else do you think I'd be saying she's Anon-a-Miss?" Naruto assumed Anon-a-Miss was the name of the Mystable user. A clever name, if nothing else. The girl pulled out her phone, and after typing away at it for a few seconds, shoved it under his nose. 
"See?" she said, pointing to the screen. "This is Anon-a-Miss's profile. It's obviously Sunset, it's got her colors and everything!" Naruto pushed the phone away, disgusted. 
"Seriously?" he asked. "You seriously believe that? That's got to be the worst framing job I've ever seen." The girl glared at him. 
"You can think she's innocent all you want," She said, "But don't come bitchin' to me when she posts your secrets." With that, she stalked off. Sunset sighed sadly. 
"That's Rainbow Dash," she said. "She used to be the most loyal person I knew. And yet, it seems I wasn't worthy of that loyalty." Naruto shook his head.
"No," he said. "It's her who's not deserving of loyalty. You never did anything wrong." Sunset gave a shaky laugh. 
"Naruto," she said, "I've done more things wrong in the few years I've lived here than most people do in a life time." Naruto shrugged. 
"So?" he asked. "You apologized for them, didn't you?" 
"Yes," she sighed, "but that doesn't make them go away."
"It does as far as I'm concerned." Sunset looked surprised. 
"If you wished you had never done them, and tried to make up for them, then, although they'll never go away completely, the people you wronged should be willing to move on."
Sunset cocked her head. Then sighed.
"Whatever," She said tiredly. "It doesn't make a difference either way. I need to get home. See you later, I guess." Naruto watched her go, deciding that he would help this girl, no matter what it took.
> Chapter three
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It seemed that school was destined to be Naruto's least favorite thing no matter where he went. After he had met that Sunset girl, he had been determined to help her. That was going to be harder than he originally thought, because it seemed that Sunset was only in one of his classes, and seemed intent on ignoring him. Whether this was because she didn't want him to be targeted too for being his friend, or because she simply didn't remember him, he wasn't sure. In any case, he was determined to get her attention during lunch, and show that Naruto Uzumaki never went back on his word.
Why are we doing this? It'd be a lot easier not to make any connections, we're just here for the mission, remember? Naruto groaned. The giant talking carpet always had to butt in when he wasn't wanted.
Kurama, he said, not making any effort to hide his irritation. Could you just stay out of this for once? You really aren't helping. Kurama smirked, or would have if he wasn't stuck inside the biggest dumb-ass in the history of dumb-asses. 
What's wrong? he taunted.  Afraid I'll ruin your chances with the ladies?
Naruto restrained himself from knocking himself out, and strangling the fox once he was with it in his sub-concious. But he wasn't sure that if the fox died, he would survive. And there was that small benefit of Kurama lending him chakra during fights. Besides, he had to get to the cafeteria and show Sunset that he was going to go through with what he'd said, and stick with her until everyone noticed how stupid they were being, and apologized to her. As he walked through the hallways, he couldn't help but wonder why whoever Anon-a-Miss was was doing this. What did they gain from it? The whole school arguing with each other didn't seem like the best reward to Naruto. He sighed, shaking his head, as he entered the cafeteria. Scanning the crowd for a familiar crop of red-and-yellow hair, he noticed something else. That rainbow haired jerk who had tried to convince him Sunset was guilty. She was talking with four other people, all of which had very colorful and vibrant hair. He glared at the back of her head and continued looking for Sunset. There! She was sitting at the table farthest away from everybody, looking as though she wished she could just disappear under the table. He walked over to her, glad he had found her. A few people watched him eagerly as he approached her, probably hoping he would punch her or something. However, they simply stared in disbelief when he sat down beside her, and started a casual conversation. Rainbow Dash pointed him out to her friends, and they looked on with disapproval. 
"So, how's it going?" He asked, ignoring the looks he was getting. She jumped a little, obviously not expecting him to talk with her.
"It's going... Alright?" Her statement sounded more like a question, so Naruto took it that the day had been pretty shitty for her so far. 
"Any one else believe it's not you?" He asked, hopeful that not everyone in this school were completely stupid.
"Well," she said hesitantly, "There are a few girls, Lyra, Bon Bon, and Octavia that I don't think completely believe it's me. They don't glare at me all the time like most people, but they don't stand up for me either, so I'm not sure." Naruto thought for a moment. 
"Well," he said at last, "I was hoping at least ten people didn't believe it was you, but I suppose it's better than nothing."
She nodded.
"I thought everybody would think it was me after my friends abandoned me." she said sadly. He sat up instantly.
"Which ones used to be your friends?" he asked, trying to make it sound like a normal question.
Please tell me you're going to do what I think you're going to? Came Kurama's eager voice. Sunset pointed to Rainbow Dash and the other girls she was sitting with.
"Them," she said, looking as though she was trying not to cry. He stood up, and marched over to them, ignoring Sunset's protests. 
"A very wise man once told me that, 'those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.'" The girls looked at him questioningly. 
"What are ya' tryin' ta say?" Asked one of them in a Southern accent.
"I'm saying that you are worse than scum." Naruto stated.
Ah, come on. Complained Kurama, I thought you were going to at least punch them. The rainbow haired one stood up.
"And how does us severing ties with a traitor make us scum?" she asked. Naruto sighed in disbelief.
"You don't even have any proof that she did it!" He shouted in exasperation. "Just because the profile has her colors doesn't mean it's her! That's just plain stupid! It's obvious someone's trying to frame her, but they're doing a terrible job of it. That just goes to show how stupid you all are." This time all five of them stood up. Rainbow walked up to him and jabbed a finger in his chest.
"Look mister," she said menacingly, "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you can't just walk up to us and call us worse than scum. You don't even know what we've done, and let me tell you, if you did, you wouldn't be talking to us like that." Naruto stepped closer to her, they were face-to-face. There was anger blazing in his eyes.
"You're right," he said in a low voice, "I don't know what you've done. But I'm willing to bet it's nothing compared to what I've done." She stepped even closer, their foreheads were touching.
"Oh yeah?" She challenged, "How many times have you saved the world?" She expected him to be surprised, but instead he took a step backwards and crossed his arms, smirking.
"I was saving the world when I was thirteen." He said confidently. Rainbow was about to retort that lying also made you worse than scum, but Applejack put a hand on her shoulder. 
"He's not lyin' Dash," She said in awe. "Least not as far as I can tell, and no one's ever been able to fool me." Dash stared at the teen. Either he was a really good liar, or he really had saved the world. Which was ridiculous, no thirteen year old couldsave the world. Which meant he was lying. Either way, she had to wipe that smug look off his face.
"I'm just going to ignore the fact that you just lied to my face," she said, "But I'm not just letting this go. After school. You, me, soccer field. Bring whoever you want to watch. It'll just help spread the word of how awesome I am." Now it was her turn to smirk confidently. No one could beat her at soccer. Naruto didn't lose his confident smirk. No one, (Except maybe Sasuke), had ever beat him at anything involving athletics.
> Chapter four
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Naruto walked down the school hallways. Classes were over, and he was heading to the soccer field. Sunset had left as soon as she could, saying that she had stuff to do, but Naruto knew she just didn't want to stay in the school any longer than she had to. He couldn't blame her, even now that he was on her side, people still threw paper, spitwads, and even books at her. He was able to stop this for the most part after catching all the paper balls being thrown at her and showing everyone that he was not somebody to mess with. However, he wasn't able to be with Sunset all the time, and suspected that whenever he wasn't there, objects were thrown just as much as before. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he neared the soccer field. He was going to enjoy crushing that Rainbow Bitch. 
She was already there waiting for him when he arrived, and had brought her four friends to watch. She smirked.
"Well, well, well," she said, "Look who showed up. We're just going to have a nice old-fashioned game of soccer." He raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting this, but soccer was probably the sport Rainbow was best at, so it made sense. He could practically feel the confidence radiating off her. Yep, this was definetly going to be fun. She got in front of a goal, and he followed suit. One of her friends threw the ball in, and the game began.
She was good, there was no doubt about that. But he was a ninja, and she was no match for him. She kicked the ball, and it soared towards the goal. She pumped her fist triumphantly, obviously thinking there was no way he'd be able to reach it in time. He jumped up in the air, and twisted around so he could kick the ball. Before she knew what had happened, the ball was soaring into her goal. She stared in disbelief at Naruto. She had underestimated him. 
She played with renewed vigor, giving it her all. But it seemed no matter how hard she tried, there was no matching Naruto. He was like a demon, (No pun intended,) kicking the ball at an almost inhuman speed. Her friends cheered her on, even Fluttershy, but there was no way she could win. As much as she hated to admit it, this boy was a lot better than her. Like, good enough to be a professional. Sighing, she made the T.O sign. He stopped imeadiatly, landing softly on the grass next her from his latest jump-kick. 
"What's wrong?" He asked tauntingly, "Give up?" She nodded dejectedly. He looked surprised, and maybe a little angry as she started walking away.
"Hey!" he called, "What's the big idea? You can't just walk away and act all sad 'cause I beat you!" she stopped and looked back.
"You don't understand," she said miserably. "My reputation's ruined now. Once word gets out that this happened, I'll be the laughing stock of the entire school!" Naruto raised an eyebrow, not looking sympathetic in the least.
"Well," he shrugged. "You had it coming to you. After all, you ruined Sunset's reputation. And, in my book, you're worse than scum, so sorry if I don't care about you're problems." One of her friends stepped forward. She had pink hair and yellow skin.
"Now see here mister!" She shouted. "You can't treat Dashie like that! It's not very nice to straight up say you don't care about her problems!" Naruto once again didn't look very concerned. 
"Who are you to preach about kindness?" He asked, "You're just as bad as Miss Rainbow Bitch over there. You abandoned your friend too." She seemed lost for words.
"W-well what do you know about friendship?!" She finally shouted. "I bet you never had a single friend in your life!" Naruto's eyes darkened, and Fluttershy stepped back, knowing that she had crossed a line.
"You're right." He said in a dangerously calm voice. "The whole village shunned me for something that wasn't my fault. Until I met Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke knew what true loneliness was like. I thought I hated him, until I thought he was dead. At that moment, I was angry. Beyond angry. Angry at myself, for being too weak, and angry at Haku, for killing him. After that day, I knew that Sasuke was my friend, and so was Sakura." The girls were stunned.
"W-what do ya' mean someone tried to kill yer friend? What type of monster would want to kill someone?" Naruto chuckled. 
"Lot's of people," he said, "Let's see... There was... Zabuza, Haku, Itachi, Gaara, Sasuke, Deidara, oh, and I'm pretty sure Iruka Sensei wanted to kill me after I made up the sexy jutsu..." He looked off into the distance, reminicing those happy times. "Well, those were a few, there were a lot more, but I can't remember their names." The girls stood there. 
"W-who are you?" Asked Rainbow Dash, "And wasn't Sasuke one of your friends?" Naruto frowned. 
"Well, yeah, he was," he said, "But then we had a... small, teensy tiny argument, and that somehow led to him wanting to destroy the village, and then for some reason he wanted to be Hokage? I don't know, my memory isn't the greatest. Anyway, could you maybe forget that I said all that? I'm um... Not really supposed to tell anybody about any of this stuff... So, tell you what, I don't tell anybody that I totally destroyed Rainbow Bitch in soccer, and you keep quiet about me blabbering about all the enemies I've made over the years?" Not waiting for answer, he ran off.
Well that could've gone smoother, said the giant talking carpet, sarcastic as always. Naruto chose not to answer, it was always better when he stayed out of arguments with Kurama, mostly because Kurama was nearly always right. As soon as he was out of sight of the school, he did his signature run back to his apartment.
> Chapter Five
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Naruto banged his head against the wall. Why was he so stupid? He had nearly blown his cover, and on the first day of school! He hoped Kakashi never found out about this. He stopped banging his head on the wall, and looked around his bare apartment. He crossed over to a corner where he was charging his computer and plopped down. He ruffled through his backpack and got out his homework assignments. The good thing about this school was he wouldn't have to do any work. He was supposed to simply send the homework to Kakashi or someone, and they'd do it for him. It was a pretty sweet deal. Autimatic perfect grades. 
Trying to keep your mind off your blown cover? Kurama asked. He always managed to speak up at the worst possible moments.
I did not blow my cover! Protested Naruto.
You did too and you know it. While they may not know you're a ninja, they do know you aren't normal.
But I made them promise not to tell anyone!
No you didn't. You didn't even give them a chance to respond. Naruto groaned and went over to bang his head against the wall some more. 
"Why. Am. I. So. STUPID?" he asked no one in particular. Someone answered anyway.
Well at least one good thing is coming out of this, said Kurama, amused. You finally admitted what I've been trying to tell you for years. But you really should stop banging your head on that poor wall. It might break. This didn't help improve Naruto's mood in the slightest, and he wished the fox would just shut up. He sighed. He didn't know why Kakashi had sent him on this mission. It was the first day, and he'd already pretty much blown his cover. Wait a minute... His mission! The weird chakra! He was supposed to investigate it. He glanced at the time on his computer. 5:45. The school would probably be closed by now. But then again he had always been rather good at sneaking...
The school was ridiculously easy to get in to. It wasn't even locked, but there were no cars in the parking lot, so he didn't think anyone was there. He opened the door and walked inside, turning on the lights. Wow. There weren't even any security cameras. This place really needed an update on security. 
Now that he was in the school, he needed to find out where the chakra was coming from. He didn't exactly know how he was supposed to sense it, but if Kakashi could, then he could find a way.
Kakashi already told you how. During the meeting. Probably while you were asleep. Even when Kurama was being useful he was sarcastic. Naruto growled.
Well would you mind telling me how?
I wouldn't mind, but I don't know how. It's not like I was listening either. I just assumed you would be doing your job for once.
Naruto was tempted to start banging his head against the wall again. He took a deep, calming breath. There was a way to do this, he just had to figure out how. Maybe if he made a rasengan, he could memorize what it felt like, and then see if anything else felt like it? He didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a shot. He started concentrating, focusing all his energy in the palm of his hand. Pretty soon, a blue ball of chakra materialized, and he opened his eyes. It felt like... Well, he wasn't really sure what it felt like. It felt like he held raw power in his hand, which he did, but he couldn't really compare that to anything else very easily. He sighed, and the rasengan fizzled out. He needed to think. He started pacing around the hallways, taking random turns, until he found himself in the library. He shrugged, deciding the library was as good a place as any to think. He sat down in the middle of the reading section and once again focused his energy in the palm of his hand. Once the rasengan appeared, he didn't know what to do with it. He supposed the best way to figure out what it 'felt' like would be to throw it, but that would destroy the library. He frowned down at the blue ball in thought.
Ugh, why is this taking so long for you to figure out? complained Kurama. 
You figured it out? asked Naruto eagerly.
Yes, from the first moment you made the rasengan. It's simple, really. Just touch any object that you think could be the one, and focus energy in your hand. If it's leaking chakra, it should create a rasengan out of the energy it's leaking.
Naruto squinted his eyes.
You sure that'll work? he asked.
No, the fox replied, but do you have any better ideas? The fox had a point, so Naruto started searching in the library, touching every book, bookshelf, and magazine.
Two hours later, and he still hadn't found anything. He had used up most of his chakra, and only had enough for one more ball. Every time he put his hand on an item and focused on his hand, it used his chakra instead of the items. Either that meant that the item wasn't in the school, or Kurama was just tiring him out on purpose. He sighed, and walked up to an item. The horse statue. He put his hand on it, and focused on the palm of his hand. And... nothing happened. Not even a rasengan from his chakra appeared. He guessed he'd used it all. He was about to head back home, when suddenly, something happened. He felt a magical surge from the other side of the portal, and he was thrown backwards several feet. Not expecting that to happen, he landed on his face, bloodying his nose, and scraping up his hands when he put them out to stop himself.
"W-what the fuck?" He panted. There was a large purple glow, and then the statue went back to normal.
That's it! exclaimed Kurama. That's the thing emitting the chakra! I can sense it!
"You mean to tell me," said Naruto out loud, "That you could sense chakra all this time, and you decided to keep this fact hidden from me?" Kurama growled impatiently.
Yes! he said, But we have more important things to do! Go see what happened to the statue when it glowed! Naruto grumbled something about how of course he got stuck with the worst demon possible, and got up, wincing a little as he realized he could've twisted his ankle. No matter, it would heal soon anyway. He crossed over to the other side of the statue, and gasped.
> Chapter Six
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto gasped. There, right in front of him was a girl. Who had definitely not been there before. She was currently lying on the ground, as if she'd just fallen. Had she been on top of the statue...? She sat up, holding here head and groaning. A small purple dog walked out from behind her and scratched his ear.
"Ugh," The girl said. "I always manage to bump my head. Anyway, you good Spike?" The dog nodded. Wait... Nodded?
"Yep," he replied. "I'm all good." Wait a minute. Dogs weren't supposed to do that. Naruto made a slight choking nose. The girl looked up. When she saw him, her eyes widened.
"Oh buck," she said, "You didn't just see that, right?" Naruto just stared. First of all, where had she come from? And second of all, why did her dog talk? 
"Oh my god!" She suddenly exclaimed. "You're hurt!" Naruto took a step back, wincing as he put weight on his ankle, which was definitely sprained. Luckily, he had a giant talking carpet inside of him that gave him the ability to heal faster. 
The girl walked over to him, seeming to no longer care if he'd seen whatever the fuck had just happened, and looked him over.
"Hmm," she said, "Looks like those medical classes from the Princess are finally paying off... Anyway, it looks like you have a possibly broken, but most likely sprained ankle, a bloody nose, (obviously) and slightly scraped up hands." Naruto stared at her. She had known all that just by looking at him? Whatever the case, he had some questions to ask her, his injuries were minor, and of little importance since he could already feel them beginning to heal.
"Um..." He started, "Do you know what that weird... purple glow was that came out of the statue?" The girl shifted around nervously. 
"Y-you mean that statue?" She asked. Boy, she was a worse liar than Naruto. He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I mean that statue." He said. "Are there any other statues here that I could be talking about?" He didn't mean for it to come out so sarcastic, but he had a headache from using so much chakra, so being polite wasn't really his top priority. The girl winced.
"Um, no." She said unconvincingly. "I just got here a few minutes ago to... Scout out the school!" She said it a bit too fast to be convincing. "I'm a new student here, so I, um... Decided to come see what the school was like!" Naruto raised his other eyebrow. 
"At 7:30?" he asked disbelievingly. "When all the teachers are gone? When the school is off limits?" The girl thought about this for a moment. 
"Well," she said, "I just, um, lost track of the time. And what are you doing here?" She said, choosing to turn the attention to him instead having to make up more lies. He narrowed his eyes. He was done pretending he didn't know she had chakra, or some type of magic. He was sure now that she had something to do with the portal.
"I," he announced, "Am Naruto Uzumaki, a ninja, and future Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and I know you know something about that weird chakra coming from the statue!" The girl looked like she didn't have any idea what he'd just said, and she probably didn't, but she looked up at him defiantly.
"I don't know or care who you are!" She said, "But  am Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and if you are a threat to either Equestria or here, I will gladly take you down with the help of my friends!" What the fuck? Princess? Of friendship? And Equestria? Naruto was pretty sure that meant something to do with horses. Something was definitely going one here, or the girl was simply drunk, but he didn't think that was the case. She waited for a response from him. Eventually, he responded. 
"Well," He said, "You can spout whatever nonsense you want about... um... horse land? But I need some answers, and I'm gonna get them, I won't let Kakashi Sensei down! So either tell me what you know about that statue, or I'll make you!" Twilight looked at him defiantly again. 
"I-" she began, but was stopped by the sound of someone yelling in the background. Naruto recognized that voice, and apparently she did too, because she stopped to listen.
"Naruto! Twilight! Wait! This is all just a big misunderstanding!" It was Sunset. She was running towards them, with a book in her hand. She reached them, and leaned over, hands on her knees, panting. Obviously she had run a long way. 
"Twilight," she panted, "Naruto isn't evil, he's the only one who doesn't believe I'm Anon-a-Miss!" Twilight still didn't look completely convinced. 
"Then what was all that stuff about you 'making' me give you information?" Sunset looked confused. 
"Um..." she said, "I don't know what all you guys said to each other, but let's head to Sugar Cube Corner and we can sort this big mess out." Twilight sighed. 
"Of course Sunset," she said. "But I do expect answers," She glared at Naruto. He glared back.
"I don't think you're in any position to be making any threats, Princess," he snarled back. "I can summon an army in less than ten seconds." Sunset put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. 
"Naruto," she warned, "I don't know what the hell you're going on about, but can we just wait 'till we get to Sugar Cube Corner to make any threats, or whatever you two are doing."
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Sugar Cube Corner. Naruto had done his best to conceal his limp, and he didn't think Sunset had noticed. Twilight and Naruto were still glaring suspiciously at each other. Sunset shook her head, and opened the door, the bell signaling they were there. Mrs. Cake came to greet them, and looked surprised when she saw Twilight. 
"Why Twilight dear," she exclaimed, "Pinkie didn't tell me you were coming for a visit!" Twilight humphed. Like actually said, 'humph.' 
"Pinkie didn't know," she said stiffly. "Pinkie decided to abandon Sunset, therefore severing her ties with me, as Sunset is the only one who has a journal like that." Mrs. Cake winced. 
"Yes," she said, "I tried talking to her about that, but she didn't listen. Anyway, can I get you anything?" Sunset shook her head. 
"No," she said, "We're good. We just came here to talk." She started walking towards a table. Twilight followed, but Naruto stayed behind to ask something.
"Don't mind what she said," he whispered. "If you have ramen, we definitely want some." She looked surprised.
"This is a sweet shop," she said. "We don't serve noodles here." Naruto sighed and walked towards where Sunset and Twilight were. 
"What were you talking to her about?" Asked Sunset once he sat down. He looked down at the table sadly.
"I was just asking if she had any ramen, but she didn't." Sunset looked at him a little strangely, but, then again, he couldn't expect everyone to know of the greatness of ramen.
"Anyway," said Sunset, "Naruto, this is Twilight Sparkle, Twilight, this is Naruto. Know, can you please tell me what happened? I'm sure this is just a big misunderstanding." Naruto took a deep breath.
"Well," he began, "I came to the school to investigate something at 5:45. I was there investigating for two hours, and then I walked outside. I was... leaning against the horse statue, when all of a sudden, there was a purple flash from the other side. I was thrown forwards a few feet, giving me this," He gestured to his nose, "And this." He gestured to the scrapes on his hands. "After that, I went around to the other side of the statue to see what had happened. I saw Ms. 'Princess of Friendship' here laying on the ground. After that I asked if she had seen what the purple flash was. She said no, but I could tell she was obviously lying. Then I told her who I was, and she said she was from... Equestria? And was a Princess or something. That's about when you came in." Sunset nodded. 
"All right," she said, "Twilight, what's your side of the story?" Twilight began.
"I was preparing to come visit," She said, "And sort out this Anon-a-Miss nonsense. I came to... see whether anyone was still at the school, and fell right next to the portal, er, statue. Then he came along and started being very rude, asking who I was, and announced himself as 'Naruto Uzumaki a ninja, and future Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves,' then he started accusing me of knowing something about the statue, and then you showed up." Sunset knew they were both lying. Twilight because she had to, Naruto probably wouldn't take it too well if she suddenly said she was a magical talking pony from another world. But Naruto, Naruto was hiding something... What it was, she'd have to find out...
> Chapter Seven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto gulped. Sunset had a look in her eye, and something told him that she knew he was lying.
"What do you mean a ninja?" she asked. He shifted around nervously.
"Um... I don't know what you're talking about," he replied. "I never said that." Sunset rolled her eyes.
"Naruto," she said, "I may not be the element of honesty, but you are a really horrible liar." His eyes widened.
What should I do? he desperetly asked Kurama. You're a fox! Aren't foxes supposed to be really crafty or something?! Kurama would've smirked if he wasn't stuck inside the biggest dumb-ass in the world.
Yes, he replied. I'm glad you finally noticed that. Now let me take control of your mouth so I can chose what you say.
What?! yelped Naruto, No way in hell I'm letting you do that! You'd call everyone brat and blow our cover even more!
"Naruto? Earth to Naruto. Naruto!" Naruto was jolted out of his conversation with Kurama by someone very rudely shouting at him. He looked up.
"Yes?" He replied. Sunset gave him a strange look.
"Um, you kinda zoned out there and then you  got a panicked look on your face." Naruto winced. He'd have to work on controlling his facial expressions during his conversations with Kurama. 
"Um, yeah," he said, "Sorry about that. Anyway, what were we talking about?" Sunset resisted the urge to face-palm, but Twilight didn't. She hit herself so hard she almost got a nose bleed. 
"We were talking about how I know you're lying." She said calmly. "Also, what happened to your nose?" Naruto felt his nose. It didn't seem broken, and had stopped bleeding. He wiped the blood off on the sleeve of his jumpsuit.
"I fell." he said simply, "Or, more accurately, was sent flying after the statue glowed, which Ms. Twilight here obviously knows something about." He looked suspiciously at her. Sunset shook her head. 
"I don't know why you think she does, Naruto, but I don't think she's lying when she says she didn't have anything to do with it." Sunset felt bad for lying to the boy, but she couldn't give Twilight's secret identity up.
"Oh yeah," said Naruto skeptically, "And I'm a talking purple pony with a horn, wings, and a star tattooed on my butt. How can you not see she's lying! She's worse at it than me!" Twilight pointed at him triumphantly. 
"So you admit you were lying?" She asked. Naruto realized what he had said.
"Kurama, a little help here?" he muttered. Luckily, neither of the girls seemed to notice this.
I'm sorry, brat, said Kurama, not sounding sorry one bit. But you've dug a hole too deep for me to get us out of. You'll have to do this yourself. Naruto gritted his teeth. He had no doubt that the Fox could help, but, just like before at the school, he was simply refusing to give it. 
"Fine," he said bitterly. "I was lying. But that was only because, one, you wouldn't believe me, and  two, I was strictly forbidden to tell you the truth." 
Okay, that was probably the worst thing you possibly could've done, said Kurama. Naruto ignored him.
"Plus, Ms. Sparkle here is also hiding something, and I am definitely not telling you anything until she comes clean." Twilight was about to say something, but was interrupted by Mrs. Cake.
"I'm sorry girls," she said, "But the store closes at 8:00. I kept it open five minutes past that, because you looked like you were having an important conversation, but you really have to go now." Sunset sighed, but nodded. Twilight thanked Mrs. Cake for being so kind. Naruto didn't say anything, but he felt a thrill of triumph inside him.	
Hah! he said to Kurama, I got us out of it without your help!
Without my help, perhaps, replied Kurama, But that Cake lady is the one who saved you. Kurama always killed the mood. Naruto said a quick goodbye to Sunset and Twilight, and prepared to leave.
"Wait! Naruto," said Sunset, grabbing his arm. "I just wanted to say, that although I'm a bit pissed at you for lying, we're still friends, right?" Naruto nodded.
"Of course," he said, "you didn't do anything wrong. And I really am sorry for lying. Maybe I'll be able to tell you someday." He truly meant it when he said it, he wanted this Sunset girl to be part of his life.
Yeah, unlikely. Said Kurama, once again killing the mood. I don't think Hinata would let her. Naruto was confused. 
Wait, he said, Hinata's not in love with me. Kurama sighed.
I'll just let you figure this one out on your own.. he said. Boy, this brat really was oblivious if he couldn't see that Hinata had a crush on him. Naruto shrugged. Kurama was stupid. Hinata was his friend, nothing more. Of course, he wouldn't mind having her as a girl friend, but he didn't think she'd want that. He started the long walk home.
"Hey! Naruto!" called Sunset. "Where do you live?" Naruto pointed down the street. 
"Just over there in that apartment complex," he said. "Why?" Sunset walked over to him, along with Twilight.
"Well," She said, "Twilight was going to have a sleepover with me tonight, since she lives far away, so I was wondering if you would like to...?" He realized what she was getting at.
"Yeah," he affirmed. "That would be great. Just let me grab a couple things, and I'll meet you at your house. What's the address?" Sunset looked skeptical. 
"It's a long way to my apartment from here," she said. Naruto waved a hand.
"Nah," he said, "I'm sure it'll be fine. So what's the address." Sunset still looked skeptical, but she gave him the address. He nodded, and took off down the street. As soon as he was out of sight, he stopped.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he whispered, and a clone appeared beside him. 
"Alright," he said to himself. "You go pick up my laptop and pajamas from my apartment. I'll start heading over to Sunset's place." The clone nodded, and started running off towards his apartment. Naruto headed to Sunset's apartment, hoping she didn't just want him there to ask him questions about why he'd been lying.
> Chapter Eight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Naruto sent his clone to pick up what he'd need from his apartment, he started heading towards Sunet's place. He wasn't sure what he thought of that Twilight girl. She seemed pretty suspicious, and had obviously known Sunset from somewhere before. He sighed. What had he gotten himself into? If Kakashi ever found out about this, he might find himself the victim of 1,000 Years of Pain again. And then there was this whole mess about Sunset suspecting him. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to keep his ninja idea a secret. She was sure to keep pestering him until he gave her an answer.
Just make up some story that explains how stupid you've been acting. Suggested Kurama. 
Oh yeah? growled Naruto. This over-use of chakra  was giving him a horrible headache. Got any ideas, or are you intent on being useless, as always? This was the wrong thing to say. 
LEARN YOUR PLACE, BRAT! bellowed Kurama, WITHOUT ME YOU WOULD'VE BEEN DEAD LONG BEFORE THIS! Naruto winced at Kurama's loud voice that wasn't helping in the slightest with his headache. This combined with the fact that his ankle had started hurting, and Naruto felt pretty crappy. He wished he hadn't agreed to the sleepover. All he really wanted was to have some time to think and relax. Maybe there was a bright side to all this, and Sunset would have a couch or something for him to sleep on instead of the floor. He sighed. This day had been really shitty. Kurama was most likely mad at him and wouldn't speak to him for a while. However much Naruto denied it, he secretly enjoyed his conversation with Kurama when he wasn't being stubborn. He walked farther into the city, deciding to go slowly until his clone got his stuff for him. His ankle throbbed. Dammit, he'd never had trouble with an injury like this before! Usually injuries healed pretty fast, and he thought it was just sprained, so it shouldn't hurt that much anyway. Maybe Kurama was holding back his healing powers because Naruto had ticked him off. He didn't know why the giant furball got so angry easily, but Naruto supposed it was his fault for being rude.
I am holding back my healing powers, the fox said, surprising Naruto.  But the only reason I'm doing it is because your ankle is broken, and it'd be a lot of trouble if it healed without the bones realigning properly. And I'm not that angry at you for being rude.  Naruto was surprised, and not just because Kurama had said he wasn't angry.
I thought your healing would realign the bones as well. said Naruto, half suspecting Kurama was just doing this to get back at him for being rude.
Usually, said Kurama, But I would have to use more chakra for that, and you'd get an even worse headache, so your injury can wait until after this minor case of chakra exhaustion. Naruto wished the Kuuya could just hurry up and heal his ankle, but, then again, he didn't want to pass out from chakra exhaustion or get a bigger headache. He could take pain, he'd dealt with a lot worse, although they had been under a lot more extreme circumstances. His clone walked up behind him, jolting him out of his thoughts.
"Here ya go boss," the clone said, handing over his stuff. Naruto thanked him, and dispersed the clone. Now that he wasn't waiting for anyone, he could go faster. Although it wasn't as fast as he'd have liked, his ankle handicapped him, Naruto still reached Sunset's apartment within a decent amount of time. He knocked on the door. No one came for a few moments, so he guessed they hadn't expected him to be there so soon. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for them, even though it'd only been half a minute. The door opened, and, just as he assumed, Sunset looked surprised to see him there.
"Naruto!" she gasped, "How'd you get here so fast? My apartment's at least a half hour walk from the school!" Naruto grinned smugly.
"Let's just say I've always been pretty fast," he said, and stepped into Sunset's apartment. It wasn't much bigger than his, although it might have just seemed that way because she had furniture. He set his stuff down on the coffee table, and Sunset directed him into the kitchen where Twilight was and they sat down on the counter. Twilight stood up.
"I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier," she said apologetically, "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, although I would like some answers to a few things." Naruto was surprised at her apology. 
"I'm sorry too," he said, though maybe not as sincerely. "But I'm afraid there are some things you just won't get answers to." Sunset sighed.
"Look," she said, "We can talk about all this some other time. But for now, let's just be friends. Can you just accept that earlier today was a misunderstanding, and accept that everyone has their secrets?" Naruto was surprised again, but he swiftly nodded. 
"And I never go back on my word! Believe it!" Twilight stood up.
"I too will try to be friends," she said. Sunset smiled. 
"Good," she proclaimed, "Now, let's get to know each other better! This is a sleepover, after all, so we have plenty of time to stay up late and chat!" Naruto groaned. He had wanted to go straight to bed. 
"Something wrong Naruto?" asked Sunset. He shook his head.
"Nah," he waved his hand. "I'm just a little tired. But I'm fine with staying up late." Sunset nodded. 
"Just tell someone if you want to go to bed," she said, "I have, er, used to have some friends that were so stubborn they wouldn't tell anyone when they were uncomftorable." Sunset looked a little sad now, and Naruto knew that Sunset was trying to keep her mind off Anon-a-Miss. Twilight apparently sensed this too, because Twilight stood up.
"Let's play a board game," she announced. Sunset looked up.
"I only have Twister," she said, "And that's not much of a board game, but we can play it if you want." Naruto had never heard of Twister. 
"What's that?" He asked, rubbing his head in confusion. Twilight and Sunset stared at him. How could he not know what Twister was? They even had it in Equestria.
"That's fine," said Sunset, "I'll explain how to play it."
After Sunset explained the rules, Naruto was feeling pretty confident he'd ace that game. He was good at pretty much everything that involved physical activity. That was, until he stood up. He crashed to the ground, his ankle unable to support his weight.
Couldn't you heal it just a little bit? He asked Kurama, before Twilight and Sunset came rushing over to him.
"Oh my gosh!" cried Sunset, "You're hurt!" He looked down at his ankle. It was bruised a little, but that wasn't the worst part. His ankle was obviously broken, it was twisted almost completely sideways. He didn't know how he'd managed to walk all the way to Sunset's apartment, or how he hadn't noticed it.
"It looks worse than before," he said, wincing as Twilight grabbed ahold of it. She started inspecting it. 
"Ow! That hurts, ya know!" Cried Naruto as Twilight poked and prodded it.
"I think I'll be able to set it," she said, "I've been taking medical lessons. It's going to hurt, so you'll need to bite down on something." she opened her backpack to look for something. The small purple dog from before jumped out.
"Oi!" he yelled in indignation, "It smells bad in there!" He noticed Naruto. 
"Em, hehehhehehehe," he chuckled nervously, "I didn't just talk. Bark, Bark!" Naruto shrugged.
"Don't worry," he said, "I've seen weirder things than talking dogs," Spike noticed his ankle.
"Ouch!" He said, "That looks like it hurts," Naruto looked down at his ankle.
"Meh," he said, "I've experienced worse." Twilight finished rummaging through her backpack and gave him a small strip of leather.
"Bite down on this," she instructed. "I'm going to set the bone on the count of three, One, Two," She yanked it into place. He bit down on the leather hard.
Man, he said, I think I might've preferred chakra exhaustion to that, Kurama didn't answer. Twilight wiped a brow with her arm.
"Well," she said, "Now that that's over with, I have yet another question for you, Naruto Uzumaki," Her eyes narrowed. 
"How do you-" Sunset stepped in-between them. 
"I know you have questions you want to ask each other," she said, "So let's play truth." When her two friends looked confused, she elaborated. 
"It's truth or dare," she explained, "except just truth." Naruto didn't like where this was going. He had a headache, a hurt ankle, and was exhausted. Twilight, however, seemed to like this idea.
"That sounds like the perfect solution!" she said happily, "What do you say, Naruto?" he looked skeptical. 
"Well," he said hesitantly, "The fact still remains that I am forbidden to tell you anything conserning my personal life." Sunset sighed.
"If we're going to be friends," she said, "we can't keep any secrets from each other. And you can tell us the forbidden information, we won't tell anyone." Naruto shuddered.
"Kakashi Sensei will find out if I do," he said, "I know it. Plus, I don't want to run the risk of being subject to 1,000 Years of Pain again." Sunset and Twilight looked even more confused.
"1,000 Years of Pain?" they asked. He nodded.
"It is possibly the most dangerous thing I've ever encountered," he said gravely. "I could show it to you if you'd like. I don't think that would be against the rules." Twilight raised an eyebrow at him.
"But doesn't it hurt?" she asked. "I certainly don't want to be in 1,000 years of pain." Naruto suddenly doubled over in laughter. 
"Ahahahahah!" he chortled, "You fell for it! Just like I did all those years ago! 1,000 Years of Pain isn't what you think!" Sunset looked confused, while Twilight looked a bit miffed at being laughed at.
"Well then if it isn't actually 1,000 years of pain, what is it?" she asked. Naruto paused. They were girls, and whenever he showed signs that some of Jiraiay's perverted-ness had rubbed off on him, Sakura punched him.
"Well," he said, "I mean, you are girls. I'm not sure if you'd... find it as funny as Kakashi Sensei did." Sunset waved a hand.
"Oh, we can handle it," she said. He raised an eyebrow.
"If you're sure," he said. "I don't think any of you would take it kindly if I did it to you, you being... Well, girls and all. I'll just explain it to you. First, you put your fingers together like this..." By the time when he was done with his explanation, the girls were gaping in shock. 
"W-what kind of perverted teacher did you have?" Asked Twilight, her eye twitching. Naruto laughed.
"Kakashi Sensei was nothing compared to the Pervy Sage!" he said, "Pervy Sage was such a pervert that he wrote a whole book series called, "Make-out Tactics." they were actually really popular, but it was sometimes hard for him to get the research he needed." Okay, maybe this was getting a little out of hand. Twilight's eye had started twitching uncontrollably, and Naruto wouldn't be surprised if she pulled a Sakura and knocked him upside the head. He chuckled nervously seeing their reactions.
"Ya know what?" he proposed, "Let's just get on with the game and I'll just answer whatever questions I can."