Hello, everyone, this is my first fan fiction, so, I would appreciate a sharp critique, but flames will be ignored, maybe even joked about. I've wracked my brain over this decision, and thought it over carefully. I will NOT write an overpowered piece, nor a silly one, as a first impression is key(taught to me by my business teacher). It is not my place to write lemons, nor is that my hobby, so ask not for this, for you will not receive. I apologize to any authors who believe I have stolen any of their work, as I frown upon plagiarism...
This is the revised version, with many spelling and grammar errors fixed. Thanks for letting me know I needed work! Most of the thanks goes to my dad, and his past history in writing.
I claim no ownership over Naruto, nor any of the characters associated with it, for if I owned Naruto, There wouldn't be fillers, neh? I also do not own any of the things I reference,like the Matrix. I only really only own my own mind...On with the story!
"Blah"-people talking...'Blah'-people thinking..."Blah"-Kyubi talking...'Blah'-Kyubi thinking
Leaves of Steel
It was a lonely day, as were all days for Naruto, waking up to an empty house, putting on ridiculous orange clothes, but only for the attention he wanted. He would wake up, get dressed, eat his morning ramen, the only food his stipend would allow, and brush his teeth in his yellowed bathroom. Showers, he took after school, as he would get sweaty, and didn't want to pay high water bills.
Gathering his little used school supplies, he left his apartment, locking the door behind him. Trudging along his well-traversed path, he took careful watch not to run into anybody who hated him, as most of the village did, having just recovered from last night's travails. His path led him around the outskirts of town, eyes pointing daggers, glared through the back of his skull.
As he turned the fourth corner, he watched as Ino(a boy-obsessed kunochi-in-training) was kissed on the forehead by her mother, sending her off to her final day at the academy. Sakura(another boy-obsessed kunochi-in-training) received the same from her mother. They glared at each other. And, shoulder-to-shoulder, raced down the street. Both mothers looked displeased at the boy's presence, and went back inside their homes, their friendly homes, where they had people that cared for them.
Naruto's eyes turned down, as he walked onwards, academy in sight, as the lazy Nara Shikamaru walked up to him. "Ohayo, Naruto, enjoying the clouds?" the pineapple-headed boy asked sluggishly. Naruto's face brightened, as he activated the mask he used on all of the other students, his cheerful, care-free one.
"But, Shikamaru, there aren't any clouds out today..." Naruto responded cheerfully.
"Is that so? I haven't took the trouble to look up yet...wait, there's one, near the Hokage monument...a very black one..." The lazy boy said back.
Naruto's head swiveled to see that pineapple head was right, a large black cloud could be seen, coming over the monument.
"Well, I was wrong...See you in class slacker!"Naruto called behind him as he ran to the academy, unaware that the Nara was saying "Speak for yourself, dead last..."
The blond-haired child quickly entered the academy, taking the aisle seat next to the brooding Sasuke.
"Hi, Mr. Smiles" Naruto mumbled, with the response being a muffled "dobe". The pink-haired girl sitting between them berated Naruto for mocking her precious Sasuke-kun, as the last of the students entered the classroom.
Naruto began to feign sleep, as he noticed Iruka enter, with Mizuki by his side, laughing about a joke the other had made just seconds before. "...Got any nails...that's priceless..."
They both straightened, and Iruka told the kids to settle down in a more "SHUT UP, INGRATES!" kind of way.
Naruto cocked his head to a mildly interested position, and listened as Mizuki re-re-re-explained the test to them all. 3 bunshin for one headband, woop-dee-doo. The genin were called up one after the other, until Uzumaki Naruto was called.
"Naruto, three Bunshin, go!" Iruka commanded, to which Naruto successfully made 2 and a dead one, better than either party expected. "Sorry Naruto, dead bunshin don't count...you fail..." Iruka said displeased.
Naruto hung his head and left the building to sit on the swing, all by his lonesome, as all the other kids were coddled by their parents for passing the academy. Mizuki approached him and, as all the kids left, so did Naruto...to steal the scroll.
----------------------------Later, in the woods of all places...---------------------
After studying up on kage bunshin, Naruto fell to the ground exhausted, with Mizuki fast approaching. "Yo kid, good job! Give me the scroll for your grade!" Mizuki demanded.
Naruto was close to giving it to him as a kunai pierced Mizuki's leg, and Iruka jumped in, the two chunnin battling it out. "Naruto, give the scroll to Me, Mizuki wants to steal it! He is a traitor!" Iruka pleaded.
Naruto clutched the scroll tightly as he fell against a nearby tree, sobbing at the sight as one of the only three people that liked him was stabbed repeatedly into an adjacent one.
"Naruto, hand the scroll over now!" Mizuki demanded as the tear-stained boy stood up, forming the notorious hand seals of the shadow clone technique.
"No. You..you..die now..." the boy mumbled, red chakra flowing from his coils into the air surrounding him.
"Ha! Do you know why everybody hates you, why they view you as trash, kid?" Mizuki leered, "Because you are the nine-tailed fox that attacked the village 12 years ago! Because you contain that beast that killed their families and friends! Because you...".
Poor Mizuki didn't even have a chance. In fact, the last thing he saw was a glowing red hand right in front of his face, sticking through his throat.
"I know." Naruto was standing behind him...and in front of him...and to his left...and his right...above, and in a 340 degree semi-circle all around him.
Twelve minutes later, when Iruka awoke he saw a red puddle of Mizuki's blood and his body was nowhere to be found...but wait! What was this? There was a...leg...and over there was the other...a hand here, a finger there...what happened?
Iruka called out weakly "Naruto? Where are you?"
Naruto, bloodstained, was sitting against a tree, breathing heavily "Over here, Iruka-sensei! Are you okay?"
Iruka got up stiffly, limped over to Naruto, and, forgetting any stupid surprises he had planed, pulled a Hitai-ate out of his vest's pocket and tied it around Naruto's forehead with "You pass, Naruto" echoing through the boy's ears.
Naruto, incredibly surprised, formed a shadow clone so he could examine it's forehead.
"IpassedIpassedIpassedIpassedIpassedIpassed!" Naruto shouted, jumping up and down, his hands holding his shiny new insignia of rank.
----------------At Naruto's house---------------
Bingeing on Ramen had really caused Naruto to become restless, unable to sleep, so he decided to take a walk. Locking his door, Naruto stepped out into the street, and walked towards the Hokage monument. He ascended the steep steps, and stood atop the first Hokage's head and said "Better than you", moved onto the the second's saying the same, moved atop the sandaime's head, and said "definitely better than you, old coot!" and finally came towards the yondaime's head.
As Naruto approached, he saw the black cloud over it, which withdrew at an incredible speed towards the center of the head. Surprised, Naruto rushed towards the spot, and noticed nothing. He sat down at the spot, or as close as he could get, and stared out at the city, massaging his hitai-ate. Mumbling something about "Damn villagers" and "I'll show them". Suddenly, he stood up and shouted to the city "I AM UZUMAKI NARUTO, AND I WILL BECOME THE GREATEST NINJA THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN!!!". The only response was "SHUT UP, BRAT!!!".
As he sat down, he noticed a spiral in the stone, and traced it from the inside out, again and again, until he got bored and switched it up, jumping his finger every now and again, then stopping. He looked at the spiral, and then watched the sky, his finger now tracing inwards from the middle of the spiral. He repeated it, but did the full spiral from it's outward tip to the inward curl and spiked his chakra level, trying to make a crack in the stone.
Naruto felt a rumbling as his chakra was absorbed into the stone, and the spiral grew into a complete circle, Beginning to sink into the monument, all 3 meters across of it. It finally dropped all the way down and came to a rest, leaving Naruto in the dark. He used an academy katon jutsu on a collapsible torch he was apt to carry(sometimes his jerk of an apartment manager turned his lights off), and surveyed his surroundings. Naruto found himself in a stone chamber, with just a pile of stones visible.
Like any good ninja, Naruto stayed wary and circled the entire chamber; he had landed in the south side of the room, the stones were central in position and the chamber was sealed. Naruto approached the stones and was immediately drawn to the top one, completely silver with intense silver stripes spinning around from the top to bottom. Naruto checked for traps, couldn't find any, and picked up the orb.
The instant both of his hands were touching the orb, Naruto saw just black. He was in a circular chamber, with swirling purple and silver walls. He saw a fox in the middle staring into a swirling pool, silver and mysterious. With no sign that the fox was going to attack, Naruto sneaked forward.
"Where did this come from, Naruto, why are we here? Why is this here? Tell me, tell Kyubi, do it now." Naruto heard this voice coming from the fox, who seemed to be the legendary beast housed inside of him, the Kyubi no Yoko, the nine-tailed demon fox.
"You...you...you attacked..." Naruto stuttered, only to be interrupted by the demon fox
"...attacked Konoha, yeah, that, whoops! Anyway, let's get back to this pool-thingy. What did you do this time, and why aren't you addressing me as Kyubi-sama, as is proper, mortal. Touch it, I dare you."
Naruto said "sure, I'll touch it, oh mighty Kyubi-chansnicker"
"Whatever... if you touch it for me and I WONT bite your head off, how 'bout that deal, Naruto?"growled the Kyubi, baring his teeth. Naruto, obviously shaken(-2 to attack, -2 for all saving throws and checks... for anyone who cares...), needed to do as the Kyubi said, and did.
Lowering his hands to the surface of the pool, he slowly lowered them into the apparently cold...metal(?) and couldn't take them out. "Yo, Naruto?",the fox asked "Are you okay?"
. Naruto uttered a weak "Well, Kyubi-chan, it wouldn't appear so. I'm stuck."
"Oh, okay. Let me know when you get out. Try not to kill yourself, I'm taking a nap.", the giant fox said, yawning.
Naruto was taken back, that the almighty Kyubi was so docile, moderately polite, and currently napping.
As he was currently thinking, the metal crawled up his arms, making him aware of that presence, and wondering what was going on, Naruto felt the metal completely cover his arms, and move on to the rest of his body, save his head. To say that this felt weird would be saying the least. Naruto could feel the Metal finish covering his body, and come up his neck. It went into his ears, down his throat, delved into his nosrtils, and finally. his eyes. He awoke in a hospital bed.
The hospital bed was warm, and he'd been there a good while, 2 days by the calender's count, and 12 hours by the clock's. "Naruto, you're awake!", an extremely distressed Iruka said, "What happened? I've been assigned to watch over you, and need to know!"
Naruto, hardly knowing said "I hardly know...". Iruka had an important question, "Naruto?" he asked, "Why were the nurses unable to stick an I.V in you?"
Naruto had no idea again, but he felt good so he got up, put on his pants and said, "Iruka-sensei, who cares? So they can't do an I.V...big whoop, I'm hungry."
-------------End of chapter one-----------------
You can't really call that a cliffhanger, because I'll update soon, and it was a good stopping point in the storyline. I was really tired. Please, Rate and review, be harsh, and I might listen to ideas you have, but only if they are good (contributors will be acknowledged). Have a decent time lapse before my next update.