Hello, all. Yes, it is I; The mighty (strikes a pose), awesome (raises one leg and begins hopping on the other), ultra-handsome (hops three steps to the right and drops his leg), god-like (swings his head around causing his hair to trail behind him) man of imaginative genius (he stops swinging his head and strikes a new pose, the full moon rising behind him glowing brightly in blood red), that's right chickie-pies- I the mighty BAKAAAAGAAAAAIIIJIN!!!" (He stands there for a moment in his dramatic pose, then farts)
Well with the personal "Jiraiya/Kabuki-style" introduction over, I'll tell you a little about the story. I thought I'd try my hand at a Naruto fanfic. I happen to be a big fan of the series. It is the story of two ninja of Konoha, as their destinies manifest. I can't really say more than that! Enjoy! ;p
(From behind a screen a team of Elite Ninja burst forth and jump in front of the author) Not yet Author-san! Elite Lawyer Ninja technique- Special Disclaimer Justu!
(The Lawyer-nin stand in formation as the one in the middle begins to speak in a deep, demanding, legal tone like the guy from the car commercials, you know the one I mean)
Bakagaijin does not own "Naruto," or any of the characters. He makes no money from his writings, and does this solely out of appreciation of Masashi-san's work. So please don't sue.
A Bright Light, A Sunny Place
Chapter 1- The New Beginning
The bright sun rose over the mountain overlooking the village. The bright faces of four men and a woman looked down over the buildings, an aura of protection cast from their visages. Hokage Mountain stood tall and strong over the village of Konoha. The bright light stretched over the village, and forced the shadows to recede. Morning had come to Konoha.
At this time many of the villagers were rising from there beds and getting ready for the day. One shinobi, failed to do so. He stayed in his bed ignoring the dawn as it crept across his room from the un-shaded window. He sat there lazily staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. Uzumaki Naruto was sprawled across his bed.
He reflected on the past several years of his life. He had gone from the most untalented and universally hated ninja to the village hero. He had fulfilled his promise to Sakura, and retrieved Sasuke. He had saved the world and defeated the Akatsuki. Orochimaru was gone.
"What now?" thought the young man. He looked across his room and looked at the calendar. October twelfth. His birthday was today. He got up, and got ready for a day of missions. His birthday was nothing special in Konoha; at least not in regards to him when the villagers were involved. Today was the day they mourned the loss of the Yondaime.
When he had showered and dressed, he made his way over to Tsunade's office. There she sat at her desk, signing off on paperwork with Shizune overseeing her. The usual bottle on Tsunade's desk was already open.
"Oi, baa-chan? It's not even 10:30, and you opened the bottle?" Naruto scolded her.
"Can it, Naruto! I have something special here for you. Something you've never had to do before."
Naruto perked up at this. He made his way over to her desk, and leaned down with one hand on the desk holding him up. He was eye-to-eye with Tsunade. "Oh? Sounds like fun!" He flashed that foxy grin.
Shizune and Tsunade smiled. The Godaime leaned in, her nose a hair's breadth from Naruto's. "Kid, you have no idea."
"SUURRRRPRISE!!"
Naruto's reflexes were top notch. He instantly turned around with kunai in hand. He was crouched in a defensive position, in front of Tsunade. As expected of a ninja of Konoha, Naruto was ready to defend the Hokage with his life. Fortunately that wasn't necessary.
The sight before Naruto was not an enemy attack; rather it was a gathering of his closest friends. Almost all of the "Rookie Nine," the Kazekage and family, the Konoha sensei, Jiraiya, Konohamaru, and even old man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame from the ramen shop. Standing at the fore were Sakura, Kakashi, and-half hiding behind them- Hinata. They were holding a great big chocolate cake with seventeen candles plugged into the frosting in the pattern of a swirl-Naruto's emblem. Naruto dropped his knife in shock; it stuck in the floor with a "thud."
"Wha…" was all Naruto could muster.
"Shinobi, Kunoichi… mission accomplished!" Tsunade applauded. Everyone had a chuckle.
"Tsunade-sama thought it was about time you had a real birthday." Shizune chirped as she came up from behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Tsunade followed suit with Naruto's other shoulder.
"Hai. So I arranged this little get-together. It's nothing fancy, but it's my gift to you- along with this." She handed him an envelope. Naruto opened it still dumbfounded by what was taking place. Inside was a strip of paper with a few words.
"Happy birthday, Naruto. You big dunce.
Sasuke"
The only gift Sasuke could give him; he was still under lock and key. He would be for a while yet. Still that was enough. Naruto once again flashed his foxy grin, which was dampened by some rather cheerful tears.
"Glad to see you're so happy, Naruto!" Jiraiya smiled as he took the cake from the three holding it and placed it on Tsunade's desk. "Now hurry up and blow out the candles before you burn down all of Konoha!" This earned another laugh from everyone in the room. Naruto smiled and waved his hand using his wind chakra to blow out the candles.
"You big cheater!" Sakura said through her smile, in a feux-scold.
The mid-day sky hung over Konoha on this bright and shining day. For all the village it was a day of remembrance. The day Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his life. Still, for a certain group it was a cheerful day none the less, and the sun shone brightly and beautifully in blessing for them. The group celebrating the birth of Uzumaki Naruto.
It had been a wonderful party. Just as Tsunade said it was nothing fancy, but it was more than Naruto ever needed; more than he ever wished for. It was his shining moment. The true proof that people acknowledged him- respected him. The proof that he was loved.
There were no decorations. There was no music or dancing. No sappy speeches, or hokey little games. Just good friends, presents, and cake. It was exactly what a real birthday should always be- sincere.
He never thought it would happen. Naruto, smiled brightly all that day. The foxy grin was plastered on his face the entire time, even as he walked some of his friends home. The last of which was the shy Hyuga Hinata, who was perhaps, the most sincere of them all.
"I..I'm glad you had fun, Naruto-kun." She softly chirped, with a slight twinge on her cheeks.
"Neh, thanks Hinata-chan."
Naruto beamed brightly, wearing the brand new jacket that Hinata had bought him. The minute he saw it, he tossed his old one aside. It was clearly the most expensive of all the gifts, but that's not what made Naruto like it so much. Anyone who looked at it could see that it had been custom made just for him. It fit perfectly; only just enough flaws for the leather that it was made from to wear in and conform to his body.
The jacket had multiple flaps and zippers for the storage of shinobi items- tools, weapons, medicines, and other things of that nature. It had the high collar, which always seemed to work for Naruto. The material was mostly black leather, but the shoulder piece was made from an orange dyed skin. It was cut in a small diamond shape with the points jutting out at the shoulder, and extending down the front and back.
On the back was the very thing that made Naruto beam the brightest. There, in the dead center, was the great red swirl that was the symbol of the maverick-nin. Clearly this was something hand-sewn on the back with tender love and care. The giant patch was matched by two small patches- one on each shoulder; also sewn on by hand. The exact stitching was a dead giveaway; the finishing touches that personalized the jacket for Naruto had been accomplished by none other, than Hinata herself. Something Naruto appreciated greatly. He was proud to wear it, and Hinata blushed from that pride.
They moved through the streets, the perfect image of contentment; and for obvious reasons. Naruto held in his right hand a bag of all his presents-small in comparison to Hinata's- but heartfelt. His left was stuffed in his pocket. Hinata walked beside him on his right, and she expertly avoided any possible physical contact. She didn't want all the blood to rush to her head and faint again.
"Well kit, it would seem as though you've had a good day."
"I was until you opened your big snout!"
"Relax, Naruto. I just thought I'd wish you a happy birthday."
"Okay, now you're freaking me out. Why the hell would you…"
"Naruto-kun?"
Naruto was cut off, at the sound coming from the girl beside him.
"Oh! Sorry, Hinata-chan. I was… kind of lost in thought."
"Hai." She nodded. "I-It's alright."
The silence continued from there, as the pair continued on their way. Eventually they came to the Hyuga estate and they were forced to separate. Naruto, walked home considering requesting a mission with Hinata from Tsunade as one last "birthday gift." Not surprisingly the thought raised his temperature just a touch.
Deep inside, in the pits of Naruto's soul, was Kyubi no Kitsune. He lay curled up in the corner of his cage, lazily muttering to no one in particular- and thus without Naruto hearing him.
"Happy Birthday Kit. Because you'll never have another like it…"
Almost immediately within the walls of the Hyuga estate, Neji was waiting. He had what passed for a smile on his face as he bowed and greeted Hinata warmly.
"Welcome home Hinata-sama. Was the walk home a pleasant one?"
Hinata smiled back just as warmly. "Hello Neji-ni-san. Yes it was a very nice walk. I'm sorry you had to leave the party so early."
Neji turned and began to walk up the pathway with her. "It is a shame. I had hoped to see Naruto's reaction to your gift." Hinata blushed at that. "I take it he liked it?"
"Hai." She mumbled.
Deep down inside Neji felt a great deal of amusement.
"It seems he is beginning to catch on. My prayers are with you Hinata."
Hiashi-Sama has business with the Kazekage. He will be gone for the rest of the day. As I understand it, Hanabi-sama is with Konohamaru. You shall have the house to yourself tonight. I myself have a date with Ten-Ten."
"I see. I hope you have a good evening."
"Thank you." Neji bowed again, and left to prepare for his evening. Hinata made her way to the kitchen.
In his new apartment, Naruto took off his sandals and began to put away his gifts. The first was Sakura's. The latest volume of a manga that Naruto had begun to read as obsessively as Kakashi read his novels. The series involved a strawberry blonde teen who gained the powers of a shinigami. Naruto just couldn't put the series down.
A brief Author's Note
Hoo-yah! How'd you like that little tie in? A maneuver on par with Masashi-san's tactics.
He placed the book on his shelf along with all the previous volumes, and then pulled out the next gift. This was given to him by all of the sensei and had been thought of by both Might Guy and his disciple Rock Lee. Naruto gingerly held the gift. It was easy enough for them to get. It was a gift certificate to Ichiraku's.
Naruto could eat there once, every day, five bowels a day, for a month with this. Each one of them had clearly sacrificed the wages of an A-class mission to pay for Naruto's appetite. When he tried to object, Guy and Lee simply made their "nice guy pose." They said it would be worth every penny as long as Naruto promised to try Lee's recipe for curry ramen that he had developed with old man Ichiraku. He pulled out his frog wallet, "Gama-chan" and placed the slip of paper inside.
Placing Gama-chan on the table, he pulled out the next gift. This was the simplest of the gifts. Naruto held in his hand a photo. A photo of himself, Sakura, Kakashi, and… Sasuke. It was only a few weeks old, taken after the defeat of Akatsuki. Naruto gingerly placed the photo on his nightstand, right next to the one from years earlier. Sakura's gift was definitely the runner up to Hinata's in terms of emotion.
It was when Naruto was holding up Jiraiya's gift, that he heard a knock on his door. Gift still in hand, he made his way to the door and opened it for a grinning Kakashi (though you couldn't really see it because of the mask).
"Oi, Naruto."
"Oi, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi walked in and sat down on the couch.
"I'm not your sensei anymore, remember?"
"Old habits…" Naruto smiled. "What's up?"
"Do you have a moment? I thought I should talk to you."
"I was going to get some ramen with Gaara in an hour. What'd you wanna talk about?" Naruto shut the door.
"I wanted to talk about that."
Kakahshi pointed at the gift in Naruto's hand. Naruto held it up and looked at it. It was a hitai-ate similar to Jiraiya's. Yet, it was different. The metal covered the forehead and went down to the nose. It wasn't so much a headband as it was a half-faced mask conforming perfectly to Naruto's features. The cloth to tie the mask in place was deep orange, rather than the usual red, blue, or black of the standard hitai-ate. In the place where Jiraiya's headband had horns, Naruto's flamed out and formed into pointed fox ears. The emblem on the forehead did not read "oil" as the sennin's did, it read "will of fire."
"What about it?" Naruto asked.
"It's plain to see that Jiraiya thinks of you as his successor. Hence the hitai-ate."
Naruto nodded. "And?"
"…and he did not give you this gift just for fun. It is a declaration of the faith he has in you. He gave it to you because I have recommended you for a program."
"What kind of program?" Naruto asked feeling a little excited. Things like this usually meant something interesting was going to happen.
"One that will bring your further along towards your ultimate goal," Kakashi chirped.
"What is it?!" Naruto could barely contain his excitement.
Kakashi lifted up his headband and revealed his sharingan eye. He wanted to look at Naruto squarely with both eyes open for this moment. "You will begin your training, for the ANBU squad."
Tsunade sighed as she finally signed the last of the paperwork. She had put it off for four hours to give Naruto his birthday party. This in turn caused her to stay five hours late. She was disgruntled and slightly annoyed. Yet when the memory of Naruto's happy grin and free flowing tears of joy came to her mind, she smiled. It was completely worth it.
Shizune took the last paper and filed it away. "I've rarely seen Naruto so happy."
Tsunade smiled and nodded. "This was long over-due."
"I agree." A voice sounded off from thin air.
"Something you need, Jiraiya?" Tsunade pulled out a bottle of her saki. Jiraiya appeared in a puff of smoke and took his seat across the desk. Shizune took this as her cue to exit. If they were to share saki, then this was something private for the two of them.
"It's about Naruto."
"What about him?" Tsunade asked, handing Jiraiya a cup of the high grade drink purchased for the occasion.
"I'm afraid his troubles aren't over yet. In fact, they are about to become much, much worse."
Tsunade set down her cup with a distasteful look. "You're spoiling the flavor."
"I'm sorry" said Jiraiya.
Tsunade sighed and pushed aside her cup along with Jiraiya's. She then leaned down on her desk, oblivious to the twinge Jiraiya was feeling from the sight of her bust. "Tell me everything" she said. Her tone was heavy and serious, matching the rare mood of her fellow Sennin.
"It seems, that all our problems continue. They are ever connected. From Orochimaru came the first wave of our troubles. His lust for power and arrogance has caused many to suffer. Yet he was not the greatest threat. There was of course the Akatsuki, who were connected to Orochimaru. Each of our allies, and each of our enemies all shared history with one another. The further we delved the more we found ourselves connected to the great crisis of our time. The path spiraled ever onward in its pattern of destruction - and it seems that the pattern still continues onward. What we thought was our crisis was merely the warning of the great storm to come."
The expression on Tsunade's face was quite grim. "Uzumaki Naruto. Your very name describes your destiny. Forever caught within the whirlwinds."
"That's very eloquent." The frog-hermit closed his eyes.
"Continue, Jiraiya."
Author's Section
Dun-dun-duuuhhhn! Damn, do I love that sound! All I need is the dog with the shifty-eyes.
So that's chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it. I will continue to write based on the responses I get for this work. So please, be open and be honest. Negative reviews can help me just as much as positive ones.
-bakagaijin