The Sound That Never Sleeps

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Title of this story is subject to change. Probably won't ever finish this story, and it will end up like my other story Purged Color of the Eyes. Difference is hopefully that this one gets far enough to actually reveal the plot.

Well here it goes.

UPDATE 5/30/13: Changed the title of the story, like I thought I would. Also, I edited a couple of things that make more sense in this chapter than in the next. I've also decided on the pairing. Naruto x Temari. To those of you who are disappointed, that's your problem. Also a warning for the future, my story is going to diverge heavily from facts established in the manga. This is due to the fact that 80% of everything after the time skip, at least in my opinion, is awful and feels like a very lame fanfic to me.

Chapter 1

"He really creeps me out," said Kakashi. "He doesn't look like he ever sleeps and if you even walk within ten feet of him, he'll stare you down."

Sarutobi sighed, "I'll admit, the boy has become a little… disturbing since the incident, but you're the best one for the job." The Third Hokage stood up from his desk and walked over to his window. "And besides, I thought you would be happy to teacher your sensei's son"

Kakashi nearly groaned at that thought. He wasn't cut out to be a teacher. Every time his teams failed his exam, it was such a relief. This team was no better. How could he be stuck with these three? Kakashi, trying to weasel his way out of this new team, said, "It's not like he's even passed the exam. Maybe he won't do it his time, and even if he does, I do not think I'm ready for—" He was quickly cut off by the Hokage's glare.

"This is an order, Kakashi. I have the utmost faith that he can do it this time. When he passes, he will be put under your responsibility. I expect you to do your best!" the Hokage commanded. Kakashi could only let out a sigh.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." With those words, Kakashi took his leave from the Hokage's office.

"GOOD MORNING, SASUKE-KUN!" shouted Ino as she threw open the door to the classroom. Behind her was Sakura…on the hallway floor. However, Ino quickly slammed the door behind herself.

"Can you shut up? He's not even here yet." Shikamaru yawned. The only people in the room were himself, Chouji, and Shino.

"Don't tell me to shut up you lazy bum!" Ino yelled in response as she sat in her seat.

"Troublesome."

"So are you guys… ready for the… graduation exam?" mumbled Chouji as he devoured a bag of chips. However, no one get the chance to answer before the door opened once more. This time, it was Sasuke followed by Kiba and Akamaru.

"GOOD MORNING, SASUKE-KUN!" Ino yelled again, causing a collective groan from the boys.

"Hey, Ino, I think you really knocked Sakura out cold. She's still lying on the floor out there," said Kiba as he made his way to his seat.

"It's what she gets for getting in my way!" Ino pouted. The door opened once again to show Hinata supporting Sakura.

"Thanks, Hinata-san," said Sakura as she rubbed the back of her head. Ino gave a short chuckle and Sakura glared at her.

"No p-problem, Sakura-san," Hinata whispered with a slight stutter. Sakura took her weight off of Hinata and both of them walked to their seats.

The next few minutes passed quickly with the other members of their class coming in. Eventually the clock hit 8 and Iruka walked into the classroom. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei," they all replied in unison.

"I hope you're all ready for your final examination," he glared at all of them, hoping to make them a little bit nervous. "Well let's get start-" suddenly the door slammed open, revealing Naruto Uzumaki. He was wearing black cargo pants and a dark blue t- shirt that also happened to button up. Around his forehead, he wore his goggles. His eyes were dull and they had dark circles around them, which wasn't unusual. However, he was sweating horribly and he was slightly out of breath.

Before he could say anything, "Take your seat, Naruto." The boy nodded and walked to his seat.

"Alright. For the exam, Mizuki-sensei is going to be helping me grade you all. Let us begin."

"All right, Naruto. You're the last one to go. Perform the Bunshin no Jutsu," ordered Iruka.

Naruto swallowed hard. He knew that this technique wasn't his best, but he also knew that there was a possibility of being his test. He had been practicing the technique all night, which left him exhausted. Even after all that training, he still couldn't get it to work one hundred percent of the time. He had also figured that it was probably not a good idea to train until near exhaustion right before he had his test, but hindsight was 20/20.

He stood in front of Iruka and Mizuki. He formed the jutsu's hand seals, but Iruka stopped him. "You're not looking too good, Naruto. Are you sure you want to do this now? You can take a short break to get yourself situated."

"No, I'm fine, Irukia-sensei. I can do it now," affirmed Naruto. He reformed his hand seals and said,"Bunshin no Jutsu." Suddenly there, was a puff of smoke. Naruto did not dare to look. He had his eyes shut tight, waiting to hear their judgement.

"Congratulations, Naruto, you passed," said Iruka. Naruto opened his eyes and blinked, not quite comprehending what had just happened. He looked to his right and saw an exact copy of himself staring back. Blank and expressionless.

"Oh good," was all he could say. He breathed in and then fell to the ground.

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted. The other students in the room began to laugh and make jokes.

"Looks like he couldn't handle making a single clone without passing out!" laughed Kiba. Iruka rushed to Naruto's side. He quickly checked his vitals and did a quick assessment.

"I'm taking him to the hospital. He's suffering from chakra exhaustion," Iruka said as he picked Naruto up. Within a second, Iruka was out of the room, quickly making his way to the hospital.

The sun began to set and Naruto had yet to wake up. The doctors and nurses hooked him up to several monitors. Iruka waited by his side as long as he could, but he eventually went back home once visiting hours were over.

The moon was at its peak in the sky when Naruto opened his eyes. He quickly jerked up, ripping off several monitor pads. His eyes went wide and he frantically looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. He could barely see anything. He barreled out of the bed, ripping of the monitors and throwing off the blankets. A few seconds later, he was in the corner of the room holding a lamp. He held it out from his body, trying to threaten whatever was out there with it.

As he waved the lamp around, his eyes darted around the dark room, trying to figure out where he was. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. Realizing he was in the hospital, he slowly put the lamp down on the floor. The last thing that he remembered was passing the exam and being exhausted from training. 'I must have passed out,' he thought. He saw his clothes on a small table in the opposite corner of the room. He threw off his gown. His body was exposed to the world, but luckily he still had on his underwear. He had scars covering his mid section. The majority of them were burn scars, but there were a few obvious cut scars.

He stood in the corner while he put on his clothes, constantly keeping an eye on the door. His button up t-shirt allowed him to not have to pull anything over his face. It was why he wore them.

"You really shouldn't try sneaking out," a void came from nowhere. Naruto ducked and pulled a kunai out from his belt. "Still as jumpy as ever, Naruto-kun." Naruto looked over to see the Hokage sitting on the window-sill.

Naruto stood up straight and put his kunai back into his pouch. "Aren't old people supposed to go to bed early?" he said as he stared the Hokage down.

The Hokage snorted, "No need to get ornery. I didn't mean to scare you." Naruto just continued to stare. His eyes dull, but unwavering. "You really should take better care of yourself. Maybe get some sleep?" Sarutobi tapped underneath his eye with his finger. He was talking about the bags under his eyes.

It was Naruto's turn to snort. "I don't need to sleep. I can't sleep. Of all people, you should know that."

Sarutobi sighed, "You may not physically need the sleep, but your mind needs the rest."

"I'm fine. Thanks for your concern," he said blankly. Naruto walked over to the door and opened it.

"Catch," warned the Hokage as he threw a small bundle to Naruto. However, with his back turned he couldn't see what was coming. He rolled into the hallway and got into his crouched position once bundle landed in front of him with a metal 'tink'. He picked it up, knowing fully what it was he held in his hands.

"I really am glad you're alright, Naruto-kun," Sarutobo assured.

"Thanks," he muttered as he shut the door.

"Boar," the Hokage called out. Suddenly, an ANBU member with a boar mask appeared in the room. "Follow him and make sure he's fine."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

After making his way out of the hospital, Naruto headed to the Hokage monument. It was a short walk, but he was constantly checking his surroundings. Once he made it to the monument, he quickly found the nearest entrance to the emergency bunkers. The tunnels in the bunker were complex. If he didn't know where he was going, he would have easily gotten lost. However, he knew his way like the back of his hand. In a couple minutes, he had reached his destination. He was home.

However, home was a very broad term for him. He changed homes as often as he could, and the only real things he kept there were his clothes, equipment, food, and books. No furniture, no bed, no personal possessions, nothing to keep him there. He wanted to be able to move as quickly as possible when the time came.

The only important thing that he kept there were the few books that he had checked out from the library. He had made it a habit to read whenever he wasn't training. There weren't any specific topics that he was interested in, he just thought it would be a good idea to have as much general knowledge as possible. He couldn't know what might save his life one day in the field.

He changed into a new set of clothes. After changing, he pulled out the bundle the Hokage gave him. He undid the bundle. After a few seconds, he looked straight ahead. No longer was he wearing his goggles. Sitting atop his forehead was his new forehead protector.

He was a ninja of Konoha.

AN: Well that's what I have written so far. I know. It's short, but I will try to continue ASAP. Somehow this is one of the first things that I actually like writing for. The coming up with the story part is my favorite part, and I usually don't like writing all that much, but this was actually not horrible for me. Yay?

Oh well. I have this story planned up until the chuunin exams, which I hope to actually reach. That will be an achievement.