My name is Uzameki Naruto. I'm a ninja in the Village of the Hidden Leaf. I've lived here my whole life. I failed the final exam from the ninja academy three times before I was allowed to become a Genin. Even then, I had to take a test. Of course, I passed that one on the first try. Stupid Sasuke got in my way all the time.
Uchiha Sasuke is my biggest rival, but probably one of my closest friends, too. Everyone loves him. I try very hard to get everyone's respect and he only had to be born to do it. It pisses me off!
Oh! My third teammate is Haruno Sakura. I was in love with her. Or, at least, I thought I was. You see, a lot happened since we became Chuunins. Sakura-chan… Yeah, I tried to go out with her multiple times, but she was always fawning over Sasuke. Of course, things ended up changing.
The fourth and final member of our team is Hatake (look that up, too) Kakashi. He's a Jounin and our team leader. He has a Sharingan eye. I'm actually not even sure where he got it, but… oh well.
I said before that Sasuke and I are rivals, but friends. I guess that was a bit of an understatement. I guess I should start out from the beginning.
It was a beautiful morning and I waited on the bridge for Kakashi-sensei like I did every morning. My two teammates were not there yet, strangely enough. Sasuke or Sakura-chan was always her before me. Kakashi-sensei was never on time. It was always like that.
"This is too weird," I said loudly. "Where are they?"
Just then, Sasuke came up with his hands in his pockets. He didn't look at me. Actually, he was avoiding my presence altogether. He was furious about something and I held back my curiosity. He stopped in front of me while I blinked. His face was hidden in his hair. He leaned over the railing to the bridge, turning his back on me. Sakura-chan came up a minute later, blushing slightly and grinning. She wasn't like Sasuke, ignoring me. She came right up to me. It was surprising a little that she did. She was the one normally ignoring me or getting ready to fight me. Of course, she wasn't really stronger than me. I just let her beat me up.
"Naruto," she whispered, "can we talk after today's missions?" This was totally unexpected and excited. Sakura-chan wanted to go on a date with me!
"Like a… date?" I asked, squinting my eyes in mischief.
She growled and I watched a vein swell up on her forehead. "No!" she shouted. "It's serious!"
"Whatever," I said, un-phased and grinning, "you're just in denial."
"Don't start fighting today," Kakashi-sensei said, appearing on the bridge behind me. I turned to look at him. He looked more distant than normal. He had bags under his eyes… well, eye… and his hair was a mess. Uh… it was messier than usual. "I have a headache today." I could tell he wasn't lying.
"What are we doing today?" I asked. "Are we going to protect a princess or something?" (A/N: No! This takes place before the movie. I haven't seen it, but I have read it.)
"No," he said, groggily. "I've had you all dismissed for the day. You have been working very hard. You deserve it. Enjoy it while you can. You're still on emergency call" He turned and, for once, walked away.
"Well," I started, turning to Sakura-chan, "at least we can go on our date early. How about some ramen?" I love Ramen! Ramen is awesome!
"Fine, just as long as this isn't a date," she said, hissing slightly. She looked over at Sasuke. I followed her gaze and saw that Sasuke was gripping the railing so hard that hi fingers were digging claw marks into the wood. It frightened me a little. Is he jealous of me? I thought. Is he jealous that I am going on a date with Sakura-chan and he isn't? I laughed a little at the thought.
I led the way to the ramen place. I bought both of us ramen. "So, what's up?" I asked, wondering if it really was something serious. I was picturing Sakura-chan telling me how much she loves me. I laughed at that thought, too.
"I talked to Sasuke-kun this morning," she said, looking at her ramen sadly. "He really admires you."
I laughed. "He could care less about me," I said. "I'm nothing to him but a rival. He just wants to surpass me in power, but he knows he can't." For some reason, it felt wrong to say that. I felt a small pang in my chest that I was forced to ignore.
"No, he…" Sakura-chan stopped.
I looked at her concerned. This wasn't like her. She was always angry or happy and smiling. She only looked like this when she told me about Sasuke's curse seal. I brushed off what she was trying to say. "He gives me the same look as everyone else. He's just like the people of this village. He hates me."
"No," the pink-haired girl snapped. "He loves you! You're all he ever talks or thinks about! I thought he was giving you funny looks and I brought it up to him multiple times, but he always said he was busy or to focus on the mission. I demanded that he tell me and that was this morning. He's furious with me, but he told me, none-the-less. He's in love with you."
My denial set in fast, a little too fast. "He does not," he said. "He would have told me to my face if he did. He's not a coward. He's not one to fall for guys, anyway. He has the biggest fan club in Konoha."
"Bull shit," she snapped. I had never heard her say that before and it startled me. "He's afraid of a reaction like that! You need to open your eyes and look him in the eyes if he'll let you."
I stood and left, a little angrily. Sasuke could never like me, I thought. No one in this fucking town does. They all hate me because I have the Nine-Tails inside of me. He must know what I am, then. I stood on the bridge that I was so used to. I looked over the edge into the deep rapids of the river. It was mid-morning so the river was moving rather quickly. I climbed up and stood on the railing.
I'll jump into the river and die, I thought. No one will miss me if I die. This wasn't the first time I had contemplated suicide.
"Naruto, what are you doing?" a voice asked.
I looked over to the source and saw Sasuke standing at the start of the bridge. He had fear in his eyes. I had never seen that look in his eyes before. Nothing scared Uchiha Sasuke, the last user of the full Sharingan. (A/N: Let's just say that Itachi is dead already. I know… Kakashi has it, too, but… he only has one… )
I looked back at the river. "I'm going to end the misery of everyone in this village," I said. I smiled at Sasuke and fell into the river. I didn't try to stay afloat because that would have destroyed the whole purpose. I saw a figure swimming towards me before I lost consciousness.
I woke up in an unfamiliar room. It wasn't the hospital or my own house. My clothes were missing, all except my boxers. My head hurt and I felt like I had been in water too long.
"You're awake? Do you want some ramen?"
The offer sounded good, but I didn't jump up. I sat up and looked at the entrance to the room. Sasuke was standing there wearing his pajamas, which consisted of a black tank top and black pants. He had a white towel hanging around his neck.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You tried to kill yourself," my rival said, looking down and to the side. He looked sad. "I was able to save you, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to go to the hospital or not so I… brought you her." His cheeks were slightly pink and he was obviously not enjoying it. "You know, for someone as cocky as you, you sure were ready to give everything up." His voice had gone soft. "It… wasn't you at all… Your eyes… they weren't yours."
"What the hell would you care if I died or not!" I demanded, jumping to my feet. "I'm supposed to be the bane of Konoha! You hate me! We're rivals! What the hell does it matter to you if I'm suicidal sometimes!" The pang had returned, but it was stronger this time. I held back a wince.
Sasuke glared harshly at me. The look pierced my heart more and I was forced to wince slightly. He stepped forward and punched me in the face. I bit my cheek and felt blood run down my chin. "I DON'T HATE YOU!" he screamed. "I LOVE YOU! I know Sakura told you that. I asked her to! She's the only person you'll listen to!"
I stared at Sasuke in disbelief. He might as well have punched his arm through my chest again.
Sasuke looked just as hurt. "I… I'm sorry," he whispered, looking down.
I growled, to keep from wincing more, and punched him back. I stormed out of the room, found my clothes, and put them on. I left the house and went back to the bridge. It was night and the water was calm now. Even if I did want to jump in again, I would just end up being pulled to the top. I sat on the railing with my legs over the river. I sighed sadly.
Iruka-sensei walked up behind me. I barely recognized his presence. "What wrong with you, Naruto?" he asked, leaning over the rail next to me.
Before I could stop myself, I burst into tears. I could tell that Iruka-sensei was surprised. He was one of the few people who I trusted with everything. He was the first person to recognize me as a person.
"Naruto…"
"He told me he loves me!" I shouted. "Why did he have to lie to me like that? No one in this fucking village loves me!"
"Don't say that, Naruto," Iruka-sensei said. "You're like a son to me. Now, who told you that they love you?"
"Sasuke," I said, sniffing. "He got Sakura-chan in the lie, too."
"How do you know that he lied to you?" the Chuunin teacher asked.
"Everyone hates me in this town. I'm the person who killed the Fourth Hokage! I have the Nine-Tails! I'M ONLY A MONSTER!"
Iruka-sensei was silent for a short time. "How about some ramen, Naruto?" he asked.
I nodded and got off the railing. I wiped my face. Iruka-sensei led me to the ramen shop and bought me anything I wanted. I didn't eat like I normally did.
"What do you plan on doing?" my father-figure asked.
"I'm going to leave Konoha. I'll stay with Gaara for a few days and then go off wandering. No one will miss me."
"I will," Iruka-sensei said. "I hope you'll take care of yourself."
I nodded and finished my ramen. I went home to pack.