The first few months at the Academy settled into a routine. A rhythm of isolation.
Naruto Uzumaki was an outcast because he was too loud. He played pranks, shouted in class, and practically begged for any kind of attention, positive or negative. The other children, echoing the whispers of their parents, avoided him. He was the village pariah, a loud, lonely island.
Deva was an outcast because he was too quiet. He never spoke unless spoken to. He never played during recess, preferring to sit in the shade of the Academy building, his eyes closed. The other children decided he was arrogant, strange, or both. He was the class mystery, a quiet, lonely island.
They were two opposite ends of the same lonely spectrum.
During class, Deva worked tirelessly to maintain his mental shield. It was getting stronger, but it was like building a dam out of dirt. Every time Naruto had an emotional outburst, a wave of his chaotic, hot energy would crash against Deva's defenses, threatening to break them. It was exhausting.
Deva knew he needed a better solution. His own chakra was calm and controlled, but it was a small, quiet stream. He couldn't build a dam strong enough to hold back Naruto's raging ocean.
He realised. He had to sense the humming up close.
He couldn't block the storm. So, he would have to become a storm himself.
He began to watch Naruto with a new, intense focus. He watched as the other kids refused to sit with him at lunch. He watched as Iruka-sensei scolded him for a prank. He saw the immense, unwanted power that made Naruto an outcast. Everyone in the village saw that power as a curse.
Deva was the only one who began to see it as an opportunity. The blueprint for Naruto's powerful body, the source of that immense heat, was the key. If Deva could copy it, he could build his own reserves, his own shield, on that superior foundation.
The decision was made. Now, he just needed an opportunity. It came a few weeks later.
During the lunch break, Naruto was, as usual, alone. He was sitting on the swing set, kicking his feet disconsolately in the dirt. Most of the other children were on the far side of the playground.
This was his chance.
Deva stood up, his heart pounding a little faster. He was intentionally walking toward the furnace. He approached the swing set, his own quiet hum of energy barely making a ripple in the air.
Naruto looked up as he approached, his blue eyes wide with surprise. "Oh. Hey."
Deva didn't say anything. He walked past the swing, pretending to look for something on the ground. Then, feigning a trip over a tree root, he stumbled, his hand shooting out to "catch his balance."
His fingers brushed against Naruto's arm.
GRRRRR.
The full, unfiltered roar of Naruto's chakra flooded his senses. It was a thousand times worse than the ambient heat. It was like putting his hand directly into a bonfire.
But in that split second of excruciating contact, Deva did not pull back. He focused his own chakra into a single, sharp point. He wasn't building a shield; he did what he did best- sensing. He ignored the pain and the chaos and dove deep, sensing Naruto's body's chakra vibration.
Everybody possessed chakra. Over the years he had discovered through his sensing- that the chakra vibrated. The chakra vibrations- what he called hums- were unique frequencies that people had.
He wanted to sense Naruto's. To see why he's so damn loud to senses!
He found it. A deep, powerful, incredibly resilient structure.
He didn't know it but it was the Uzumaki Clan's chakra vibration frequency- even more specifically, Naruto Uzumaki's chakra vibration frequency.
He memorized it.
He pulled his hand back as if burned, stumbling away. "Sorry," he mumbled, his voice strained.
"Whoa, you okay? You look pale," Naruto said, his surprise replaced by a flicker of genuine concern.
Deva didn't answer. He turned and walked quickly to the quietest corner of the Academy grounds, slumping down with his back against the wall. His head was pounding, and his entire body trembled from the sensory shock. But beneath the pain, he could remember it.
Naruto's chakra frequency.
He wanted to mimic the frequency with his own chakra to build a shield for the noise. But his own frequency was getting in the way, so he did the only thing that he felt was obvious.
Starting from his hands, to his arms, to his torso, to his legs and whole body- using his oversensitivity he shut his own frequency and replaced it with Naruto's.
It was a quiet, latent hum deep within him. A new potential had been unlocked. He didn't realise but the blueprint was now his. He hadn't gained the power itself, but his chakra now progressed to be like Naruto's. His small, quiet stream now had the potential to become an ocean.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, the trembling slowly subsiding. Across the playground, Naruto was still sitting on the swing, alone.
Deva still saw him as a threat. But now, he was something more. A strange, unwitting donor. The two body-siblings were now linked by a secret that only one of them would ever know.