DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO... UM... YEAH...
Hey, guys... It's my second fanfic... ever... So, don't be surprised if this has some glitches in it... Anyways, for the first time I'm trying out NaruSaku (duh, cuz my other story wasn't NaruSaku...) Anyways, I just thought It'd be interesting and a new experience for me.. (Good for all you NaruSaku fans out there, and, well, tough luck for all you NaruHina... or other fans out there.) It'll have a lot of flashbacks – basically, it starts out as a bunch of people remembering; keep in mind, this is a prologue. In the next chapter, it'll shift to present tense. Well, enjoy!
Walking down a street, Naruto saw three kids playing. This is my chance... I can do it... Perk up... Deep breath... Taking a deep breath, he walked up to them. "Hi! My name's Naruto!" he said smiling widely.
The three kids stared at him with their eyes.
Scary... Scary eyes... No, just keep at it! "What's your name?" he said to one who was slightly taller than him.
The kid raised his hand and punched Naruto in the stomach. All three kids walked away after that.
"Did you see that, Daddy! Did you? I punched him, just like you said!"
The man nodded. "Good job!" Picking up his child, he walked away with the other children tailing after him.
Damn it... It happened again...The eyes still haunted his mind. He was Uzumaki Naruto, eight years old... Hated by the entire village, and sole heir to the Uzumakis... as far as he knew anyway. By now he could tell what people thinking just by looking at their eyes – how could he not? Everyday, stubborn as he was, he would go out and try to talk to kids, coming back to the orphanage bruises and scars all over his body, some from adults, and some from children.
There were there were three types of eyes that he often got:
1) Get away from me...Harmless, that is, if you left. If not, you better be prepared for at least three weeks in bed.
2) Who the hell are you?Usually these people would walk away.
3) Damn bastard! They would punch Naruto severly, but not as bad as the first type.
Walking back to the orphanage, the adults stared at him with hatred. He apologized, quickly said he needed not medication (as if he would get it even if he wanted), and went to his corner of the attic. He had his three square feet, and he was proud. Lying down and curling up on the cold, hard wood, he thought about the day and thought about The Questions.
Day after day Naruto would do this, never giving up on the fact that he would find a friend, and getting more and more bruises by the day. By now, three questions constantly rang in his head... no matter what.
1) When can I eat next?
2) Where can I go next?
3) Is anyone chasing me?
Everyday, these would ring in his ear. His right ear was against the wood as he lay on his side. Not many people knew, but he could hear well... so well, in fact, that he had five times the hearing of a human. It was so accurate and acute... that it was painful. He would stay up all night hearing the noises, the horrible noises that burdened him... The noises that told him when it was time for his next beating... The noises which prevented his sleep.
Naruto would go around the village, seeming happy as a clam – grinning ear to ear, humming random tunes, and even skipping along the way... But now, when he was alone, his true self showed. He lay there silently weeping to himself. He didn't fear the dark, he didn't fear the monsters he had heard from stories – no, he feared one and only one thing... Something which he hid from others most of all... For it was the others he feared. Everyday their hateful eyes burned into him. Anytime someone looked at him, his heart would jump and he would automatically raise his arms for defense. He had been beaten so many times it was now instinct... Their eyes was his one weakness, a weakness which he hid beyond anything. For, he had concluded previously, That's strength... Hiding any weakness and fear... That's why I'll be strong... I am strong... Hide my weakness... No, I have no weaknesses... Yeah, I have no weaknesses...
Waking up the next morning, he ate his slice of bread which had to sustain him for the day... He had no choice – for that was all he got, and he would have to make do with it. He went to the park again. This time, a large group of kids were there – about nine of them. Some kids were scattered around, but this was by far the largest group. Going up to them, he confidently repeated his memorized speech. "Hi! My name's Naruto! What's your name?"
"Hey you're that kid that tried to pick on Nina yesterday! You're gonna pay!"
"What? No, I didn't --"
Too late. Nine kids versus one Naruto. Naruto rolled away, broken wrist and jaw, sprained leg, and possibly a third degree burn. It turned out a ten year old was watching them and joined the fight... on their side. But it didn't matter – he always healed fast. Probably why they hate me more... Naruto thought.
It was then that a young girl came up to him. "Hey, are you okay?" she said sweetly.
Naruto didn't respond.
"Hello!"
Naruto looked up. Sh – She's talking to me? This was the first time anyone had approached and talked before hitting him. "O – Oh, sorry... I didn't know you were talking to me..."
"Well, I am!" she said smiling. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine..." he said, and looked into her eyes. He had never seen such eyes before – emerald eyes which radiated with compassion. This was new to Naruto; he had never seen such a person or felt these feelings before. He saw no malice... something completely strange... even awkward... What was this? This... This feeling... He had no clue what on earth this feeling was... He felt... He felt good... He felt great! He embraced this new feeling and explored it.
"Well, at least you're strong. Not like that mob over there who picks on helpless people... Here." she said and placed an apple in his hand. "Take it. You look hungry."
Naruto looked at her, jaw down, eyes wide.
"Seriously! Take it."
"Th-Thank you. Um, what's your name?"
"Haruno Sakura! And yours?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Well, it was nice meeting you Naruto!" she said.
"You, too..." Naruto sat there, watching the pink haired girl walk of gracefully. He looked at the apple like it was a gift from God. She was the most beautiful thing Naruto had ever seen, and he stared in awe. She was kind, compassionate, and beautiful. Her pink locks gracefully danced as she skipped away. For the first time in a long time, Naruto smiled a real smile. Eating his apple, he thought, I am strong... She respects me because I'm strong... I will become the strongest ninja ever! Then, everyone will be nice to me!... and more people will start treating me like she did... And... most of all, she'll treat my like she did... once again... Naruto felt great; he felt like he had just saved the world! For the first time in his life, someone was nice to him. For the first time, he had a glimpse of what this strange feeling called happiness was. He wished for another moment like that again... he longed for another such memory... and that was all he wanted live for – to just get one more such a memory...
"You want to be popular, right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Then, trust me, you don't wanna hang out with him."
"Is he really that --"
"Shhhh..."
He went up and walked up to her – after all, a nice girl's friend must be nice, too, right? Of course... Approaching the two, he said, "Hi, I wanted to say --"
But the two stared with the cruel eyes he was used to and walked away.
Wh-What happened?
Lying down again, Naruto thought to himself, Now I'm alone again... Why did she leave? She was so nice... All of a sudden, a fit or rage came upon Naruto. After eight years of trying, one person was nice to him, and now she left? How he wished he was stronger. He cried to himself... He wasn't strong enough... He wasn't happy enough... It seemed his entire life was wrong. Slowly, he came to a realization. Crying isn't gonna help anymore... If I'm gonna change my life, then I have to work on it myself... I'm going to make a difference... That's it... I'm going to become the strongest ninja I can... And no one's gonna stop me... She left because I wasn't strong enough... and people respect strength...
That was it. Naruto made up his mind right then and there, and no one was going to change it. Eight years of pain and suffering was carved into his mind – and that was what drove him... And he would never forget it.
Immediately, he began doing exercises – running, push-ups, sit-ups, anything he could think of. Naturally, his body couldn't cope with it. But he didn't care. He drove himself more and more, and, eventually, his body got used to the pain. He didn't go outside as often, as he stayed inside and trained more. One day, as he trained, he felt something intangible – only for an instant, but it was there. It happened while he was running. It was there at his feet. Calming down, he felt it in his feet. He bent it and found it was almost like air, only, thicker... denser... strange, yet, somehow, familiar – like he knew it was always there. He ran now and found he could run incredibly quickly. Wondering what on earth this could be, he began doing push-ups until he got tired. And then, it came in his arms as well. He began playing with it – he could spin it, twirl it, jump higher using it, and could even soften his landings. It was like a new toy for him, and, as any child would be, he was excited. Naruto smiled making the strange substance spin around and around. He did 100 push-ups using this strange thing, when a thought occurred to him.Is this how everyone else is so strong? He charged it to his hand, but found it was rather difficult to control. He figured this could be another exercise, and from then on, everyday he would practice getting and controlling this strange substance. In a week, he could access it naturally, and could control it better.
Going out for the first time, he was appalled to find a strange, old man standing there. He had a red and white hat on.
"H-Hokage-sama! What brings you to our humble orphanage?" one man said.
Sama? Why do they all respect him? Naruto thought as he saw two men bow now.
"Thank you for your kind welcome, but I am after a child by the name of Uzumaki Naruto."
His heart skipped a beat, and Naruto hid behind the wall. What does he want with me? Instinctively, Naruto took the strange substance and charged it, in case he needed it.But... What if he doesn't want to hurt me? This could be my chance... Another person finally wanting to talk to me... But why does it have to be an old man? He frowned. Shrugging, he thought, Oh well, some thing's better than nothing. And he revealed himself.
Ah, so he's discovered chakra by himself already... My, my... Yes, that's his chakra signature...
"I am Uzumaki Naruto." he stated confidently stated.
"Oh, then come with me, please, Naruto."
"Y-Yes, sir." The men around Naruto frowned. He heard one of them say, "Good riddance." "Yeah, hopefully he'll get executed." "About time..." some said.
Fear instantly creeped within Naruto. "S-Sir?"
"Yes?"
"Where are we going?"
"Oh, to my office so I can get you a new home. An apartment, actually, about two blocks away. I've decided it's high time for you to move out of the orphanage. Also, you'll become a ninja and get sent to the academy for training."
The man's a good liar...Naruto thought. However, when the man looked at Naruto, he saw no hatred in there whatsoever, and that puzzled him. Why would someone who was about to execute him, not hate him? Strange... Naruto thought.
"What's the matter? I thought you'd like to become a ninja."
"I-I would... I'm happy..." Naruto said. Starting a conversation to distract him, he began, "So, will I get ninja gear?"
"Of course, top class ninja gear."
"O, cool... Thank you..."For nothing...
"You're welcome. But I sense you have worry in your heart."
"Oh, no... Not at all..." I'm just about to be murdered... Why would I be worried? "I was just wondering how it would be to be a ninja..."
"Well, I am the hokage – the strongest ninja in the village, after all – and let me assure you, it's nothing to worry about."
Hokage...He mentally repeated it... He liked it... It had a nice feel to it. That's what I'm going to be. "Sir, I was just wondering, but, who are those people's faces up on the wall?" Naruto said, continuing his stalling tactic as he slowly powered more and more chakra.
"Those are past hokages. Ah, here we are, my office."
This is it... Naruto charged all of it into his fist – or, at least, most of it. (What he thought was most, that is...) As soon as the old man opened the door, Naruto burst inside and ran with his eyes close. However, tripping, he ended up punching the floor, But all that happened was that he hurt himself. Looking around, there was no one there – no weapons, no nothing.
"Are you all right? That sure was a strange thing to do..." Good thing I put a chakra deflection jutsu on this thing last week... That would have really worn off the fine mahogany polish...
"W-Wait, you're... not, gonna kill me?"
"No! Of course not! Is that why you were so afraid and charged so much chakra?"
"Ch-Chakra?" Naruto nodded. It must be the strange thing...
The old man laughed. "Well, are you at least convinced by now that there is nothing to worry about?" After Naruto's nod, he continued, "Come, let us go to your new house." Leading Naruto there, the man explained everything, about the academy, his allowance, and being a ninja. He patiently answered all of Naruto's questions before giving him the key and leaving.
What a nice man... Although the old man treated him nicely, he still didn't have the... the niceness... the love... that the other girl had. He was kind, yes, but didn't personally care for Naruto. Perhaps he did, but not to such a degree... No one had cared to such a degree as that girl did...
Pushing this thought aside, Naruto excitedly opening the door and slowly stepped inside and inhaled the clean, fresh smell. The first thing he did was run into the shower and have a warm, relaxing bath. He had never had such freedom in his life – and it felt... horrible... yet nice. Nice, as he could do whatever he wanted... whenever he wanted... he all the privacy he needed... But privacy was not what he wanted... or what he needed. He needed someone, anyone, to talk to him... to at least acknowledge him... to soothe him. Now, he felt more alone than ever. Next, he moved to the one bedroom and unpack. Then, opening the fridge, his jaw dropped when he saw all the food in there. Voraciously, he devoured all of it and felt incredibly full and happy. Going to the living room, he saw tons of ninja gear. He kept his orange suit, but put on some twenty shuriken, five kunais, some armor, and some bandages on his arms and legs. There was a training manual about how to use the kunais and shuriken, along with the strange thing which he found was chakra. In his great excitement, he finished the entire book and mastered it. Opening his closet, he found there were pajamas there. Amazed, he put them on and went to bed, incredibly happy, and slept peacefully, though sad, for the first time in a long time.
Ears twitching at the sound of birds sweetly chirping, Naruto woke up to find the sun in his eyes. It was five o' clock in the morning. A cool breeze soothed his face and brought fresh air to his nose. He found it peaceful – no one up, nothing happening. It was great. Going out, he walked around Konoha and came back an hour later. He began exercising. He promised himself, no matter what the circumstances, or what happened, he wouldn't forget his dream – the dream which gave him a purpose in life... The dream which made him feel like he was a somebody. After all, what was the point of living, when no one wanted you... The feeling, knowing that if you were here one second and gone the next, no one in the entire world would care... It was an empty, cold feeling... A feeling which ate away at Naruto... And that's why he needed this dream. Thinking about his, he trained even harder. He would not give up... no matter what. Once he finished his exercises, he began his chakra routine. He would bend it, twist it, and channel it. After all, from what the book said, chakra is needed for jutsus, and the better chakra control he had, the better ninja he would be. Naruto began spinning it and channeled more and more to his palm and soon began to increase the speed. However, he soon found that he lost control, and his anger doubled further to master this new trick he found. Of course, he had no real application for this – it was just a means to control his chakra, but, nevertheless, it was a test, and, like all tests, he had to beat through Konoha using chakra to his feet to power himself even further, he found a great wreck. It was a clan, or, so he thought, but it was now in complete ruins. Walking up, he found a sign which read, Do not enter. Under Repair and construction. But he had to know what had caused this, and, so, he went in. Seeing the damaged walls and blood all over, he felt like he was going to throw up. It was the first time he had seen dead people, and he felt sick to his heart. Their skin white and torn clothes and broken bricks were over their gory bodies. Suddenly, he saw a man in front of him. The man wore a ponytail and had red eyes.
I have Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu... I have to get Susanoo... But if I get the kyuubi... I've heard rumors...
"Hi, sir." Naruto said nervously. Naruto felt the man's eyes drilling into him – obviously, looking at his three whiskers on either side.
The man remained still and examined him.
Naruto was completely creeped out. He kept staring at the man, but it only scared him further... He had never been so afraid in his life. The red, emotionless eyes drilling into him – literally eating away at his mental sanity.
He's lasted for quite a bit...
Suddenly, three little specks appeared in the man's eyes. Although the strange man stood about ten feet away, Naruto could still see the man's eyes in crystal clarity. Suddenly, the dots began spinning and it seemed as if he was floating... Feeling dizzy, Naruto suddenly pushed out more chakra to defend himself, but it only worsened. Suddenly, everything stopped. The man stared at him, still emotionless, but something else was going on in his mind... Naruto could feel it. It was... a trace of happiness, barely, yes, but happiness nonetheless. Naruto turned and ran as fast as he could.
So it is you...
He ran and didn't stop running until he reached his apartment.
That night, he had nightmares of that man. Waking up the ringing of a bell, he opened it to find old man.
He was so happy he had a visitor, he abandoned his morning grumblings in an intant. "Hey old man!"
Sarutobi chuckled at these words. "Hello, Naruto. How have you been doing?"
"Fine!"
"That's good to know. Now, uh, may I come in?"
Shit! This was his first visitor, and he had already screwed up. He didn't know proper manners, but it was common sense to let the guest in. "Sure."
"So, Naruto..." Sandaime said sitting down. "I have already asked you this before, but I think your fear when you first met me may have affected your decision. Have you thought about what you're going to be when you grow up?"
"What I'm going to be?"
"Yes. For instance, you could be a farmer, a teacher, a business man." The old man had purposefully excluded the shinobi example and instead put in boring ones, simply to see if the boy had any interests. After all, most kids didn't think about the future at such a young age. But Naruto was different.
Of course... Ninja! How could Naruto not think about it? It was his dream, his reason to live – the one thing that filled the empty void in his life... The void formed from having no connections. He screamed his thoughts enthusiastically to the old man.
Like father like son... "I see. Very well then." He didn't want to question the poor child any further. He had his own problems, Sarutobi was sure. "Well then, would you like to begin the classes at the Ninja Academy?"
"Ninja Academy?" Naruto asked, scrunching his nose in a very fox-like manner.
"Yes. A school for ninjas, where they teach you how to be a ninja."
"YEAH!"
"Very well. You will begin in a week. In the mean time, I would recommend the library. They have some very good books about shinobi that you may be interested in."
"Yes, sir!"
Sarutobi chuckled at the child's enthusiasm and walked out.
Naruto eagerly stepped into the library and flew to the ninja section of the books. It took him some few minutes, but he soon figured out how to use the system and how the books were organized. There was just one, tiney, itty-bitty problem... He didn't know how to read. How was he supposed to know? No one ever bothered to teach him! Sighing, he took a couple books which looked interesting and headed to the old man's office.
Reaching there, he explained his predicament to the old man.
"Hmmm... I'm a bit busy right now."
Instantly, Naruto's heart sank.
"But, since you're showing considerable interest, how about I ask someone to teach you?" he asked smiling.
"YEAH!"
In an instant this kid can go from depression to ecstacy. Well, that's the age. Chuckling, the man called in a lady called Ayame. "Ayame, would you teach this young man how to read?"
Smiling sweetly, she chirped, "Sure! One condition... You have to dine with us!" Wow... What a nice lady...
And thus began the fateful day when Naruto dined at Ichiraku's – a meal which would forever change his culinary life. Everyday that week he studied diligently under "Ayame-sensei" for four hours a day. She was a kind person, who corrected every mistake. Naturally, her father was pleased with the... sudden "inexplicable" rise... no, flight in income. And soon enough, Naruto could read most things. He wasn't an expert, but he could get by.
That night, he nervously went to bed, anticipating what things could occur tomorrow...
All right! Happy now? Well, some of you wanted smoother transitions. So, I've re-done my first chapter. I'll have more scenes of Naruto in the academy, and go deeper into the characters' feelings. Happy? Jeez. I was writing my next chapter, but I wasn't too happy with how the story was going. Especially the beginning. Of course, I'll still keep the same Kira-chan thing. Well, that's all for now.