Hidden Village Ninja Academy

By Far Away for Today

Summary: [AU] Naruto had been forced to enroll in the Ninja Academy. He wanted eat ramen and sleep. Instead he got hounded by weirdoes, ditched by his team and tortured by perverts. Not the best first impression.

Disclaimer: "I do not own Naruto, otherwise I'd be rich." - Old Chinese Proverb

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Chapter 1: Where's my bed?

A blonde twelve-year-old boy stepped out of the cab and looked at the view before him. Some dirty, rotted stone steps that disappeared into a thick forest were all that greeted him. This was the entrance to the best boarding school in the world, a run down trail. The short boy scratched the whisker marks on his cheeks and cursed his stupid guardian. Pulling his leather duffel bag over his shoulder, he waved the cab off. The fare had been paid when it picked him up from the airport. Not that the blonde believed it was a real cab, it'd been far too clean inside.

He turned away from the strange cab as it drove off. Shifting the weigh of his bag, the blonde started walking toward his new home, the Hidden Village Ninja Academy. However, he wished it wasn't so hidden. The path was made of stone steps up the mountainside through a thick green forest. It was an old trail since most of the stairway had been destroyed by giant tree roots. The trees reached higher and higher the farther he traveled.

The boy followed the trail of broken stones as he hiked over and about the mountain. He got the impression he'd been walking in circles after awhile, but his lamebrain guardian had told him to just follow the path. Of course, he hadn't believed the big moron but the cab driver had mentioned it so it seemed like a good idea. This way was taking quite a long and scenic route though. He liked the smell of the forest compared to the stale polluted atmosphere of the cities. But after spending the last ten hours on an airplane, three of which were spent in delay, all he wanted was to eat real food and sleep in a bed. He hadn't even had a chance to change into his school uniform. Thankfully, his tutor had made him to wear a plain outfit in case this might happen. He'd wanted to wear his comfortable orange track suit for the trip, but he'd been forced into black slacks and a white oxford shirt. It was fairly simple and nice, but it wasn't his taste. The blonde wasn't worried about getting in trouble, but he wanted to make a good impression. He didn't have many friends and he wanted that to change.

It took an hour of climbing the forest-eaten path before he came to a large well-kept lawn. He straightened out his black Chinese cut jacket and dusted off his pants. He checked himself over again and readied the shuriken in his coat before he stepped out into a clearing.

A grand building stood in the center of the wide lawn. The circular building was at least two miles in diameter and six levels high. The boy stood in stunned silence for a moment, only a moment, and then he started walking over the grass lawn to the distant building. The lawn was a healthy green, much like any good golf course, except the holes here were probably a lot more annoying. The blades were kept short and there was no cover over the half-mile that surrounded the building.

The sun was high in the sky and a cool spring breeze moved the air. The boy adjusted the goggles on his forehead and combed his fingers through his short golden spikes. The loud growl of his stomach marked that it was time for lunch. He'd missed opening ceremony the day before and due to the flight delay he'd already missed most of his first day. He didn't mind, he wasn't terrible excited about going to the ninja academy, other than to kick everyone's ass. His worthless guardian had mention there was an amazing ramen restaurant at the boarding school, the deciding factor in his enrollment, and he would kill the freakish dork if he'd lied. The blonde shrugged carelessly; at this point he could inhale rice and fish without complaint.

As he neared the building an old man came into view at the entrance of the building. The man was dressed in regal robes of red and white with a large red headdress. The blonde pegged the man as the head of the school or something important.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" the old man questioned.

The blonde bowed and tried to stifle a yawn. He was never good at manners, no matter how much his tutor had hammered them into his head, literally.

"You must be exhausted from your trip," the old man said, nodding in return and walking into the school. Naruto walked beside the man and notice their height difference was very small. "I'm the Hokage, head of the Hidden Leaf Village. If you had any doubt which village you've been assigned to, I hope my appearance has cleared them."

"I knew I'd be chosen as a Leaf, Hokage-sama," Naruto shrugged, "That pervert would have disowned me if I'd been anything less." But his mellow attitude vanished in a moment, replaced with a cheeky grin. "And I am dead tired but I'm really, really hungry. Hey, hey, do you serve ramen here?" The old man nodded, laughing at the young boy's enjoyment.

"The cafeteria should be opening soon, why don't you have lunch then come to my office? You need to fill out a couple forms still and get your forehead protector," he said. The Hokage handed the boy a scroll and left him standing in the grand foyer. Large arches of carved stone spread over the walls. They held the ceiling, a dome with a world map carved and colored onto it. Windows over the entrance were thin, long slits in the walls filled with multi-colored stain glass. The blonde whistled in admiration.

Naruto looked at the scroll in his hand and his face scrunched as he broke the seal. It was the school primer. He'd already been made to read and memorize it by his tutor. Several times. Without ramen. He shoved it to the bottom of his bag in hopes in would disappear from existence.

His irritation with the scroll taken care of for now, Naruto's thoughts returned to his location. He felt slightly intimidated by it all. It was a big change for him; he'd only ever had his personal tutor. The blonde had never been in a school before and now he was in a boarding school. He cursed his stupid guardian once more and looked around for the elevators. He was glad that his tutor had been smart enough to give him a rough map of the school to memorize.

"Iruka-sensei," he sighed as he headed for the third floor. He entered the cafeteria and stopped. It was huge. Golden light filtered through the windows scattering brilliant white light onto thousands of small round tables. The tables and chairs were simple polished chrome sculptures painfully reflecting the light. Several spiraling staircases connected to individual plateaus that were linked by thin catwalks. A section of the round room was canopied in glass and filled with greenery. In the center of the room was a large waterfall. White stone carried streams of water into a pond of koi and lily pads. Rich foliage shaded it and thick moss covered the rocks.

Surrounding the tables were restaurants. Every possible kind of eatery lined the walls. The blonde walked over to one with a ramen sign hanging over it. The man standing at the counter seemed very jolly as he took Naruto's ordered.

"You just transferred in?" the chef asked. Naruto nodded with a grin. "Well, you should know then that students get free meals from any of the stores here." The man chuckled and handed the boy a bowl.

The blonde knew he'd be getting to be very good friends with this man by the end of his stay. Free ramen, it was like heaven. He inhaled his first bowl while waiting for a second. He continued eating there until a group of students came in from the other side of the cafeteria. When his eleventh and much larger bowl arrived he decided to find somewhere to sit before the crowds came.

"I'll see you again," the boy waved.

"Ah. Just some advice," the chef motioned him to come close and whispered, "Be careful of the upper classmen."

The boy nodded. The chef smiled back and waved him off. Naruto thought about what the man had said. He'd been expecting the school to be tough, it was a ninja academy, and he was looking forward to kicking ass. Of course he'd be careful of the older students. Maybe he looked like an idiot; his guardian often said he did.

Naruto picked a sunny spot on the second level, right next to the waterfall, and sat down to eat. Watching water flow got boring however, quickly. So, with much reluctance, he pulled the primer scroll out and began reading it. To his endless enjoyment, the scroll was in color.

Students started filling in and it hadn't taken more than a minute for his black outfit to get singled out. Everyone else wore the uniform, a navy suit and a green vest. His uniform was packed and in his dorm room, wherever that was. He didn't think his clothes were very far from the uniform, but the fact that he was sitting surrounded by empty tables was probably also a reason. He shrugged, nothing could be done. They'd probably think he was a visitor, since he didn't have a forehead protector. Everyone had a forehead protector here, with their village insignia, somewhere on their person.

Hidden Village Ninja Academy had nine villages, or dormitories. Each village operated separately from the others. Naruto's tutor and guardian had been Hidden Leaf Village Ninjas at the academy, which was why he'd had no doubt about his placement. The villages competed in 'friendly' sports to further their student's abilities. It was all in the primer. The same one he was rereading now. The color diagrams were far more entertaining than the gray he'd memorized. Truly. But he didn't have anything else to be entertained with.

Until a needle broke his ramen bowl and skewered the scroll.

"Ah! What was that?" Naruto jumped back, the shattered porcelain falling to the floor. He turned to see a brunette girl holding more needles in a rather threaten manner. She was wearing a pale blue summer kimono and a Mist forehead protector. He noticed that everyone was watching them. He didn't think this would be a good first impression, but hell if he'd get push around by some girl, especially a Mist ninja.

"That seat is mine, but since you're a foreigner I'll let you leave unharmed," she smiled. The blonde wasn't frightened by her. It was strange that she spoke so very politely. Though her statement was not kind, she sounded very sincere in his good health. Naruto glare back, girls were weird and annoying in his opinion. Women were scary, but girls were nothing. They were weak, not worth his time, so he moved to sit back down.

The blonde hunched forward as the girl threw another needle.

"Hey. Should have listened boy," a teenage boy with a gas mask sneered, only to have a needle spear his bag. Naruto grinned back at the boy's shock and sat himself down properly, pocketing the first needle in his jacket. A waiter came and cleared the mess. The students began whispering soon, once the shock seemed to wear off. Not the best first impression, but it was too late to change things. He had kicked ass though, which was all the mattered.

Naruto was wrenched from his seat and pulled into the girl's flat chest before he could continue enjoying his victory.

"Naruto-kun, it's been too long. I didn't even recognize you," the girl cooed as she ruffled his spikes, "you've grown so much."

He couldn't breathe, but the Mist ninja was being soft and gentle apart from that. He couldn't remember the girl for all the ramen in the world or the pain and embarrassment she was inflicting on him. People were still staring and he knew people were laughing. The blonde didn't like being someone else's entertainment. He tried to pull away, but the older girl had one firm grip.

"Haku," a bandage-faced adult appeared behind the brunette. He wore a Mist forehead protector over messy chocolate locks. The topless man carried a gigantic sword on his back. He eyed the display with a wary look.

"Zabuza-san, look it's Naruto-kun," Haku pulled the shocked boy back to let the older man see.

Naruto stared at the person before him. His eyes bulged out. The Haku he knew was a boy. He was a very kind boy, but definitely male. Not a girl. His mind worked to try and restart itself. It was taking its time.

"Ah. Iruka mentioned you'd be enrolling this year," Zabuza stated. Haku smiled and sprinted off, or skipped, it was difficult to discern with the yukata, leaving the younger boy gawking at empty space.

The blonde seemed stationary, so Zabuza pushed the stunned body into a seat and took the one across from him. The head finally turned to face the man but the mouth was still only making fish movements.

"Don't ask, I don't know what happened to him," the Mist ninja stated blandly. He watched the blonde nod dumbly and scoffed. The boy was not quick on the uptake, so he waited.

"Ah! Haku-nii-san looks like a girl!" Naruto exclaimed which caused several people to glare at him. Not that he noticed, since his first friend was now a transvestite.

"Oh, don't you like how I look Naruto-kun?" Haku pouted from behind. He'd returned with a new bowl of ramen for the blonde and a large O-bento-box, which held lunch for the two Mist ninjas.

"Well… but… you…" Naruto paused for a long moment, not knowing what to say. The brunette was his friend, even if he was acting really weird. He couldn't hurt his friend's feelings. The boy thought about what Iruka would do if he was here, but smacking himself didn't seem to solve anything. Finally, after a minute, he decided to state the only positive thing he could come up with.

"You are the prettiest guy I've ever seen," he said and sweated as Haku hugged him again.

"You don't have a forehead protector. Have they not placed you?" Zabuza asked, trying to help the poor kid. Not that he was a nice person or cared about the kid, but Naruto was always full of surprises. He was definitely the loudest ninja so, if anything, things would be less boring now. That was if the boy survived his first day.

"I only arrived an hour ago. I'm supposed to finish eating and then go see the Hokage though," Naruto answered grinning.

"That makes you a Leaf ninja," Haku pouted and the blonde shrugged helplessly, "We wouldn't have had any classes together even if you were a Mist ninja, but at least I could have visited your dorm room." The blonde paled at what the strange older boy might have done to him, like turning him into dress up doll.

"They restrict the dormitories?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Not officially, but all the villages segregate themselves," Haku explained between his sushi, "The few students that have friends outside their village are normally the top students."

"Haku is the best from his year. He can keep whatever company he likes and wear whatever he wishes," Zabuza said as he managed to keep his face covered while eating. It was something both younger boys had never been able to master.

"Ah, I was wondering about that," Naruto said, looking at the powder blue yukata. It was heavily embroidered on the cuffs with silver thread and the obi was white. It was girly.

"Be careful of the Leaf's Uchiha and Hyuuga clan, they'll give you trouble," the older Mist ninja warned.

"I'm strong. I'll be the top of the class. Hah, I'll kick everyone's ass," the boy boasted, "Don't worry about it. Hah."

"Do I look worried?" Zabuza stated blandly. He didn't look worried. It was confusing. It wasn't like the Mist ninja to care about anyone, except Haku.

"Hey, hey, why are they going to give me trouble?" he asked warily.

"Because they think they're the best." The older man grinned and Naruto smirked between his ramen. Haku simply shook his head at the blonde enthusiasm and ate his sushi. It was the younger boy's talent to create trouble and havoc wherever he went, something he inherited from his unruly guardian.

The rest of the meal was filled with Naruto describing all the places his guardian had dragged him to since they'd last met. When he finished his ramen, he waved goodbye to his friends. Haku gave him another hug.

"Naruto, dinner is served at six o'clock. I'll have your ramen and everything here for you," Haku whispered, giving him another squeeze. The younger boy reasoned that at least he wasn't alone here. He had his first friend with him here. Haku was the best ninja of the fourth year, so he could do as he pleased, which meant eating and training with the little blonde Leaf ninja. The older boy was strong and nice, even if he acted weird.

He made his way out of the cafeteria feeling everyone's attention on him. The blonde was still an enigma with no mark of alliance except Haku and Zabuza, who were of the Hidden Mist. He really needed to get that forehead protector soon.

Finding the Hokage's office was not easy. It was on the sixth level, but this was a huge building, so he spent an hour getting lost. The building wasn't made for things to be found, it was a ninja academy. He accepted the fact that he couldn't find it, so why didn't that old man leave him directions then? The old man must have been losing his brains to old age. Naruto stopped and looked around. He was in a study hall and, if the stares weren't his hallucination, he was distracting people. He noticed some students with Leaf headbands.

Naruto literally smack himself and grinned like at idiot, because that's what he was. The old man wanted him to get lost and ask a Leaf for directions. If the old man was anything like Iruka, he planned everything to be a test on his abilities. It was humiliating that it took at hour for him to get it.

He ruffled his sunny spikes and walked up to the nearest Leaf ninja. It was a dark haired boy with lines on his face, not unlike the blonde's whiskers. The teen wore a black coat over his uniform with red clouds of it. He sat reading a book, not looking up at the blonde when he approached. Naruto waited. The last time he bothered ninja when they were reading, he'd woke the next day in pain. It was not an experience he planned on doing again. That didn't mean he couldn't fidget.

"What do you want?" the teen said not looking up from his book. It took five minutes of waiting and fidgeting to get that.

"Do you know where the Hokage's office is?" Naruto put his biggest smile as he asked.

"Yes," he replied curtly.

"Can you tell me how to get there?" the blonde was having doubts on his choice. Maybe he should have picked a less brooding and sullen looking one.

"No."

"What? Why the hell not?" the blonde yelled. That got everyone's attention and they all looked like sixth years. The boy swallowed the lump in his throat as the older teen rose up and sized the boy up like a meal. His eyes were red.

"You're not a Leaf Ninja." The blonde sigh as the older boy turned. Then he remembered that he was a Leaf ninja and he planned to tell the blood eyed teen just that.

"Naruto-kun," the old man appeared in a puff of smoke, "Itachi-kun, thank you for finding him. Did you get lost?"

"Stop acting innocent old man you planned this," the blonde fumed as the Hokage chuckled, "At least you could have left me with my forehead protector."

"Where's the excitement in that?" the man asked and place a pipe in his mouth.

"Excitement…" Naruto twitched. That was the last straw for the boy. He slapped his hands together, "Why you!? Sexy no Jutsu!" Through clouds of smoke a robust and naked blonde woman stood in place of the boy. Her hair was a fountain of golden tresses, her skin a tan silk, and deep pools of ocean blue for eyes lay beneath long blonde lashes. The old man gasped in shock and flew back in shock, blood shooting from his nose. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the Hokage's convulsing body.

"Stupid," Itachi stated blandly staring at the boy's transformation, then his eyes wandered around the room, "but it is…"

Naruto returned to himself grinning like an idiot and observed the damage. He'd taken out the Hokage, several students and some staff members; they lay in bloodied messes or clutching bloody noses. Everyone else sat in shocked silence.

More importantly, the jerk had complimented him. Almost. Whoever the teen was, he was strong, so any respect from him was a plus. He'd proven himself stronger, even though had only made the older teen's pale cheeks flush very little.

He laughed. It always worked.

The Hokage recovered quickly, for an old pervert, and pulled Naruto to his office. Naruto didn't mind. He figured it probably wasn't a wise idea to wait for the others to recover or stay around with the glares the girls were giving him. The man's office lay beyond a maze of doors and hallways. It was too confusing to memorize, everything just burring into a dull taupe.

The office door was a boring white with an ordinary brass knob. However, inside, the office was completely extraordinary. It was a large room that could easily hold forty people, with an open balcony facing into the center of the school. The walls were lined with old silk paintings and glittering weaponry. A two-foot long fan with a picture of a golden forest painted on it hung behind a desk. The desk was made of cypress, with flaming beasts carved into it. Mountains of paper and file cabinets filled the space on and around the writing table.

The old man rubbed his chin, letting his long pipe wobble in his mouth while he shuffled through some of the papers. He pulled up a stack and handed it to the boy.

"Iruka filled out most of the information. This is what's left," and motioned to the inch thick stack. Naruto collapsed into a chair and looked hopelessly at the sizable stack. This would take awhile, so he kissed his bed goodbye. Reluctantly he began filling in everything he could. Thankfully it was mostly signing his name. The old man sat and worked through his own stack, eyeing the boy occasionally.

"You're not as hyper as I was warned," the Hokage asked smirking. The boy scoffed, his face scrunching up in annoyance. This was the old man's revenge for the prank.

"Sleep," Naruto grumbled, signing the last page.

"Well, you still haven't met with your team," the Hokage smiled, "You'll meet them in room 130." Naruto scrunched his face again and stomped out of the office vowing to show the old pervert a thing or two. He trudged down the corridor hell bent and collided with an immovable object.

When Naruto woke up he was in an empty classroom. He couldn't remember how he'd ended gotten there. Rubbing his head he felt cool metal, his goggles were glass. The boy gasped and then grinned till his whiskers disappeared. He was wearing a Leaf forehead protector. He continued grinning and adjusted the headband with pride. He checked the rest of himself over and found everything in place with his duffle bag beside him. A white note lay on it.

Walk more carefully.

The blonde scratched his whiskers. It was totally embarrassing to have been found that way. However, he hadn't gotten his forehead protector yet, so he technically wasn't a ninja at the time. That's right, nobody could have known who or what he was then. As of now he was a whole new person. This was the official beginning of his career as a ninja. He was going to be the best and everyone would respect him for his greatness.

Naruto laughed into the empty room.

"Huh?" a pink-haired girl stood at the door in mild confusion. It wasn't thought of as normally to laugh hysterically by yourself, "Are you here for team assignments?"

"Well, that's what the Hokage told me," Naruto grinned. She seemed nice. Her blue suit jacket and short skirt looked perfectly neat with the green vest peeking beneath. Her hair fell to her thin waist and big green eyes looked at his with interest. Her forehead was a little big, but it was probably because she was really smart, or something. She'd make a great friend, even if she looked weak.

"Oh," was her only reply before another boy coughed behind her. She immediately moved aside to give to boy room to enter.

He was pale with black eyes and hair, Naruto noticed as he came in and took a seat. The blonde waved but was ignored. He couldn't get away from the feeling that he'd seen the boy before. There was something familiar about the cold stare.

"Sasuke-kun, you're on my team! Ah!" the pink girl, who'd been meek and quiet a moment before, started swooning over the dark brooding boy. "My name is Haruno Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hey, hey, I'm-" but he was cut off by Sakura. She began talking to Sasuke, who looked like he was purposely ignoring her. She eventually quieted down from the lack of response her ranting produced and sat quietly next to her idol. The blonde felt very alone on the other side of the class room but he wouldn't move for some banshee and an icy prick. The blonde did have his dignity.

They waited three hours, which Naruto spent snoozing. He dreamt of ramen and hurting his guardian. At least he was sleeping until Sakura started complaining.

"Uh, what could be taking our team leader so long?" she huffed. It wasn't her voice, but the screech of a chair sliding back that caught his attention fully. A second screech followed quickly after, along with the shuffle of feet toward the door.

"What about him?" Sakura asked, "Isn't he part of the team?"

"If we miss dinner we don't eat," Sasuke stated in a cold tone. The door opened and the footsteps left the room.

They'd left. Naruto fist slammed down. He tried to keep from crying. They'd left him behind, his own teammates. It wasn't fair; his own team was already alienating him. He thought the Leaf insignia would have helped him fit in but it hadn't. His stomach growled and his stood up. It was already seven, Haku might still be waiting. Yet he was supposed to wait for his team leader, an instructor that would mentor the team. He rubbed his face and grabbed his things. The bastard was already three hours late, why should he give the man anymore chances. The boy growled at his fathead guardian for sending him to the academy and walked to the door. He switch off the lights and grabbed the door handle, he started opening it.

And he stopped.

"Iruka-sensei…" he sighed under his breathe. At the sudden thought of his tutor he closed the door. Growling he threw his bag on the floor and flopped beside it.

"Everything is a test to make you stronger," Naruto stated into the dark empty room, throwing his fist into the air.

"Good words." The boy shot up as the lights turned on. Standing lazily by the switch was a masked Leaf ninja. He had one eye hidden and crazy white hair held back by his forehead protector. The two regarded each other. The blonde reasoned the instructor was probably Zabuza's age and skill - 26 and high. Naruto was only that kind in his assessment because Iruka-sensei said the simpler and dumber they look, the more they're hiding. He looked dumber than a rock.

Naruto's stomach growled. He grinned sheepishly up at his new mentor. The older ninja laughed and opened the door, turning off the lights.

"Let's eat." The blonde jumped up and ran after his team leader with his bag. They walked side-by-side down the hall. "I should punish you for not having your uniform on. There's no excuse for a first year to be out of uniform," the older man said. Punishment, Naruto grumbled but he was too hungry and tired to argue.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto and the Hokage didn't say anything to me about needing to change," the blonde replied because he wasn't one to go down without a fight.

"That's not an excuse," answered the man in a flat tone.

"I didn't say it was an excuse," the boy shot back.

"Are you being insubordinate then?" the single visible eyebrow rose with the man focusing his single eye on the boy.

"I'm not your subordinate till I pass your test," Naruto pouted, huffing and puffing. This guy was terrible. He'd be better off with Iruka, even if he'd be alone. Everyone here was heartless or disturbed. When they got to the cafeteria, it was still filled with crowds. Naruto dived into a mob to get away from the older ninja. He made his way to the ramen shop which was about to close.

"Ah?" Naruto gaped.

"Oh, Blondie. I see you got your headband. Hah, want a bowl?" the shop owner chuckled as the young boy bounced. It took only a moment to cook one large bowl and Naruto grabbed his food before anyone else got it. He quickly walked toward Haku's table. On the way he noticed his two teammates stare at him from their table of friends. Sasuke noticed him and glared, but Sakura was still on cloud nine swooning with some platinum blonde girl over the dark brooding boy.

A hand landed on his head.

"Ah, Naruto-kun shouldn't you be sitting with your friends." Naruto looked up and found Kakashi staring down at him. The boy realized that the older man was rather scary, but not as scary as that old maid who was friends with his stupid over fed, perverted and moronic guardian. With his luck, this guy would be as big a pervert as that old hermit.

"I am going to sit with my friends," he said trying to shake the hand off. It didn't fall off. He growled at the older ninja. "Did you want something," he asked, "Kakashi-sensei?" The older man suddenly smiled, well wrinkled his visible eye, at the boy.

"Why I'd love to eat dinner with you," he stated ruffling the boy hair.

Naruto pulled from his teacher and climbed the stairs wearily up the table. The other man strolled behind him. When he reached the platform he found Haku waiting with a thermos.

"What happened? You over slept?" the brunette pouted, then noticed the other man and smiled.

"Haku, this is Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi-sensei, this is Haku," the blonde introduced and fell into a chair, "And no. I haven't even seen my room yet. I filled out papers in the Hokage's this afternoon and then met with my team, kind of. " The young boy slumped, "They ditched me for dinner."

The brunette clamped down on Naruto shoulders, startling the boy, and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, you poor thing," the Mist ninja cooed. Naruto greened while his new teacher raised his brow again. This was going to become a habit.

"Haku, you shouldn't hug everyone so much," Zabuza said, appearing from behind. The blonde noted that it effectively made the teen release him and then realized the two adult ninja were glaring at each other. At least, Zabuza was glaring but his mentor look rather indifferent.

"Naruto-kun, who is on your team?" Haku asked, breaking the staring contest.

"Haruno Sakura and some jerk named Sasuke," Naruto huffed and stuffed his face with food.

"Damn." Zabuza cursed. "He's from the Uchiha clan. The other is his older brother, Itachi."

"Oh, does he have red eyes," the boy shouted. Haku nodded while the older Mist ninja glared again at Kakashi. "I met him earlier. I knew that Sasuke guy looked familiar."

"Don't mention that," Haku sweated, "they hate each other."

"What's wrong with the Uchiha clan Naruto-kun?" Kakashi asked listlessly. The boy shrugged, he really didn't understand. But if Zabuza said he should be careful, then it was worth thinking about. There wasn't any reason for people to get jealous of him. He didn't have many friends or a cool girlfriend. Everyone thought he was an idiot.

"They're arrogant," Zabuza stated. He pulled out a box and chopsticks. The blonde was slow, but not dumb. Those two didn't like each other so he'd have to keep them apart from now on.

"Ah, I'm finished," Kakashi stated, and amazingly he was. He hadn't even seen the man removed his mask. This guy was creepy, like a stalker. Before he could ask how, the man disappeared in a puff of smoke. The group was silence for a moment.

"I have a weirdo for an instructor, don't I?" the blonde turn to the older ninja who continued eating. He sighed; it wasn't going to be fun here.

"Naruto-kun?" a bland voice asked from behind.

"Eh?" Naruto turned and found those red eyes staring at him for the second time that day, "Itachi-san?"

"Interesting…" Itachi grabbed him and hauled him up, "Come."

"Careful brat," Zabuza stood.

"This is Leaf business." The teen didn't even look back, just continued pulling the boy along.

"I didn't finish my dinner!" He yowled and Haku handed off the thermos to Naruto as Itachi dragged him away. He didn't know what he'd done the deserve this; it'd only been a little prank.

"I can walk on my own," Naruto growled, pulling at the older boy grip. It didn't let up as he was carted across the cafeteria. He looked over to his teammates and saw Sasuke glaring at him, or maybe it was his brother, but he wasn't going to get any help from them. Everyone else in the room seemed fine with allowing Itachi to man-handle the boy. When they reached the hallway the older boy stopped, making Naruto fall over himself.

"There you are Naruto-kun," the Hokage said, smiling at Itachi. "It's so good of you to find him again for me." The teen released him and stalked off. "Oh, I was wondering how you liked your team. Did all your things arrive?"

The old man smiled and he was about to give the wrinkled beast a mouth full when a hand landed on his head.

"Kakashi-sensei," he growled and turned, "what is it?"

"I have your room assignment of course. Come along now, you need a good sleep to start fresh tomorrow." The older ninja winked and waved the Hokage goodbye, taking the boy by the head and leading him to his dormitory.

Naruto followed Kakashi onto a bridge, entering a large area enclosed by the circling building. Below was a forest and at the end of the bridge was a red building. The building was a round pagoda with six levels which only reach a little over half the height of the massive adjoining structure. It was the Hidden Leaf Village Dormitory. There were eight other similar pagodas, all surrounding a giant arena.

Naruto was led onto the sixth level of the pagoda and noticed Itachi staring at him as they headed to a central stairwell. Five flights later they reached the first floor. Several students were lounging in the commons room. It was bigger than the area on the sixth floor, but that probably meant the rooms were smaller. All conversation stopped when he entered. His instructor pushed him toward a hallway.

Once again, everything was taupe and white. The doors held numbers and names. Occasional pictures or notes were on some doors. The hall didn't wind or maze around though, it curved with the building, which he was grateful for. He didn't want to constantly get lost trying to find his room.

After several doors, Naruto was pulled to a stop.

Room 114 : Uzumaki Naruto

"Here's your room," Kakashi stated, fishing around his pockets for keys. The other first years had followed to see who the new student was. He smiled back at them. They didn't return the pleasantry. They were trying to look menacing, but that seemed rather pathetic really. The man pulled out the key and opened the door for the boy, handing the piece of metal to him. Naruto looked inside and found all his spiral marked boxes.

"Who's my roommate?"

"You don't have one, lucky brat," Kakashi shrugged.

"There's an uneven amount of girls," a white-eyed girl stated smiling at the blonde, "I have my own room as well." He turned to get a good look at her. She didn't look like much of a ninja, but it could be an act. Of course, she was a girl. Naruto nodded, sighing at his fortune. Now he'd have absolutely no social interaction, except maybe Haku. That made the blonde shudder. He waved his mentor off, literally closing the door in his face, and sank to the floor. His room was big enough, with a bathroom and double closet. It had taupe walls and red carpeting. The window was filled with pink cherry tree blossoms and green gingko tree branches.

The blonde rummaged through his bag and pulled out two sheets of paper. The rectangular slips had writing on them. They were seals. Iruka had made that pervert guardian of his make two and packed them. His tutor didn't trust the other students to keep their noses where they belonged. The young ninja shrugged, it didn't hurt to be cautious as much as it did to argue with Iruka.

He placed a seal on his door and window. His bite his finger and put his blood on the seals. Then he carefully formed a series of symbols with his hands. The door and window glowed and then the seals disappeared.

If he'd done in correctly, he'd be the only one who could get into this room. If he'd messed up, theoretically he could be trapped here for the rest of his life. At the moment, never stepping outside his door again sounded heavenly.

Naruto rolled out a futon and flopped down. He finally got to sleep.