Nariko
Chapter 1: A New Identity
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the idea of Nariko. So don't steal my minor, two-letter changed idea!
Nariko awoke to the resonating sound of an alarm clock. She quickly turned off the annoying sound and got out of bed. She yawned while rubbing her still-tired azure eyes. Today was the day she would get ready to start at the ninja academy, and the days of sleeping in were over. Although she was only six, Nariko lived alone. She never had any parents, only the villagers who had an undying hatred for her for unknown reasons. That was all going to change though. Going to the academy would make her a ninja, and then she would become hokage. Well, that's what she wanted to happen in her six-year-old mind. That way, she could finally get some respect.
"Today, I will be the best! Believe it!" Nariko promised herself.
But there were some problems with being a ninja. Since she was a girl, Nariko would have to go through 'special' Kunoichi training. She didn't want to go through stupid things like flower arrangement. She wanted to fight just like the boys would. That's why she was going to disguise herself as a boy. No stupid girly stuff for her! She put on one of her five identical outfits; black t-shirt and orange pants. Orange wasn't a 'cool' color, whicbut she didn't care
After grabbing a quick cup of instant ramen (The only food she could buy without being gypped) Nariko headed out the door without a care of how she looked. Anyone who saw her wouldn't know that she wasn't a boy. The villagers had generally thought of her as a boy before, so this made the job even easier. She just wanted to be safe. When she got to the academy, there were many students-to-be with their parents. Nariko suddenly felt a pang of emptiness when she saw all of the smiling happy families together. She stood in line, alone. When the line thinned, Nariko found herself at the signup desk in front of a young shinobi.
"Hello, are you here to sign up for the academy?"
Nariko nodded.
"Then where are you're parents kid?"
She looked to the ground.
"I don't have any."
"Oh..." the ninja began, remembering that he was dealing with a child, "That's ok, you can still be part of the academy. What is your name?"
She hadn't thought of this; if she gave her real name, she would be enlisted as a kunoichi and then she'd have to suffer through 'special' classes. What name could she use?
"Kid, what's your name?"
"I'm..." Nariko began, thinking quickly, "Naruto."
After that, it was smooth sailing into the academy.
A week later, Nariko woke up immediately, excited to start at the ninja academy. She quickly got dressed and ate her ramen before running out the door. She was so excited, Nariko probably would have sprinted the whole way to the academy if it weren't for the fact that six-year-olds can't sprint for more than a block or two. Gasping for breath, she decided that walking would be the best idea.
"Who knew it would be so far?" she asked out loud.
"It's not; you just don't have very much endurance. You better not be going to the ninja academy because you'll never make it."
She turned around to come face to face with a dark haired boy with onyx eyes. Nariko scrunched up her face; it was Uchiha Sasuke. Not only did she consider him a pretty-boy jerk, but she also had jealousy. He had a family and everyone liked him; the life she could never have.
"Like I care what you say pretty-boy," she retorted.
"You should, because I will be one of the best, just like everyone else in my clan."
"Tell someone who cares."
She kept walking; she hated that guy and there was no way she would talk to him by choice. She didn't even turn to see his reaction. She figured it was something along the lines of, 'OMG! That person doesn't care how special I am?'. Nariko sniggered at her joke.
"You better not be laughing at me!" he called.
Nariko just continued to ignore him. There was no way an Uchiha was going to ruin her first day, no freaking way.
The academy was bustling with new students and their parents. Nariko quickly walked to the entrance, trying to ignore the, 'Have a good day honey,' and, 'I'll see you after school, I love you,' parents were giving their children. She followed the signs to the room where she would learn her ninja training and meet her new sensei.
When she got there, she was alone. Most of the students were still outside saying goodbye to their parents. Shoving that thought out of her mind, Nariko took a seat near the front of the class. She watched as students began filling the classroom. No one really caught her eye, except for one girl with pink hair because she had never seen anyone with pink hair before, until he walked in. Her heart and hope froze when Sasuke entered the room.
"Are you kidding me?" she thought, "That jerk is in my class?"
As soon as the quiet chatter of the students died down, a man with a bown ponytail and a scar across his nose came to the front.
"Hello class, I am going to be your teacher while you are at the academy. Our first action of today is for you all to introduce yourselves. Just say your name and tell why you decided to become a ninja. You," he said while pointing to the Uchiha, "You go first."
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I came to the academy to follow in my family's foot steps."
The person sitting to his right was a blonde girl with ice blue eyes.
"My name is Yamanako Ino and I came to the academy because I'm going to be with Sasuke-kun!"
Most of the class said one of those two things, most of the girls saying the latter. Nariko frowned; she didn't want to be in a class with Uchiha and all of his fangirls. Nariko was one of the last ones, and it was finally her turn.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to become one of the greatest ninja ever! Believe it!"
"That's not really a reason," the boy next to her mumbled.
"Oh yeah? Who are you to call the shots? Well at least it's different; would you rather have me respond as one of Uchiha's fangirls, hm?"
"Seeing that you're a boy, no. And it's too troublesome to answer the rest of your questions," he replied flatly.
"Well SORRY..."
He groaned.
"Anyway, I'm Nara Shikamaru and it's too troublesome to tell why I came here."
"Lazy," Nariko coughed.
Shikamaru just groaned again.
"Come on," his friend, who was currently eating a bag of chips, said, "He's got a point."
Realizing that it was his turn to speak, he talked again.
"I'm Akamichi Choji and," he ate a handful of chips, "I cane hwer to-"
"Moving on," the teacher said, "If you're going to talk, don't talk with your mouthful, ok?"
Looking around, he realized that the whole class had spoken.
"Ok, so now that you're all introduced, we'll go over the ninja basics..."
After that, Nariko had just tuned out, and daydreamed about the great ninja she hoped to one day become.
A/N: Ok, so short beginning chapter. This is my first fic, so I'm kind of experimenting a bit. Please review, and if you're going to flame, please warn me so I can get on my fireproof gear. I know that this definitely needs some revising, but I want to get some opinions first. Um... what else? Oh right, I'm starting at their childhood right now, since Naruto (Actually Nariko here) will act a little OOC due to the fact that he's a girl... and I have no idea what I'll do for pairings, so suggestions will also be taken. Thanks for reading the first chapter of my first fic and... please review!