Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Key:
xXxXx scene change
--- blah --- time skip
/blah/ Kyuubi speaking
'Blah' thoughts
Warning: OOCness...for some characters...mainly Naruto.
An eagle encircled the forest in the air about 50 miles away from Konoha, seeming to be looking for someone.
Naruto walked to the middle of the forest and spiked his chakra, directing the bird towards him. It landed on his outstretched forearm and stuck out one of its leg. Naruto detached the parchment and sent the messenger away.
He unraveled the scroll and started reading as he began walking towards his hideout. Naruto smirked at the incoming thought. 'They still don't understand that I am no longer part of the village. Such idiocy.'
He had departed from Konoha when he was four along with Itachi who was thirteen. They traveled together for a year as the Uchiha taught him the way of the shinobi. They worked as mercenaries for three years before joining Akatsuki, an organization of infamous missing-nins. He was eight when he was admitted into the group; his hands already tainted crimson before the kids of his age at the ninja academy learned all about the shinobi system. Four years later, his skills increased tremendously, now bordering Anbu level at only twelve. Kyuubi had also added to his growth, allowing itself to become his summon due to a contract and a seal he (Naruto) created in exchange for converting most of its chakra into the boy's calmer one. During the time he's been out of the village and receiving information from the Sandaime, he changed. He was no longer the happy-go-lucky brat from eight years ago. Sadism took its place. Once spiky gravity-defying hair was now replaced with waist-length silky gold strands. His used-to-be sparkling determined blue eyes were now a dull shade of cerulean. His trademark whisker scars were no longer there because of the contract with the fox, leaving his cheeks notably smooth. A black t-shirt with a spiral in the center and blue boxer shorts were substituted with an Anbu outfit underneath the Akatsuki cloak; which was black with red clouds. He lost his baby fat, his figure now lithe and effeminate, making him feminine yet masculine at the same time.
Naruto entered the mansion that was at the base of a nearby hidden mountain. He knocked on the leader's bedroom door with the scroll in hand.
"Come in" came the voice from inside the room.
The blonde entered, his cloak and hair fanning out behind him as he strolled over to the seat where his "master" sat. "Leader-sama" he acknowledged. He was the only one in the organization that called the leader with the polite suffix since he was younger than all of the other members. "We received another parchment from Konoha" he held out the scroll.
The man shrouded in shadows merely nodded and took the scroll from his black manicured hands.
Silence filled the room as the older of the two scanned the written letter. "It seems they want you back" the leader pointed out.
Naruto nodded. "Most likely because they're missing one genin in order to put the passing graduates into three-men teams. The only reason for why the council is willing to take me back is because their precious Uchiha Sasuke's team is the one that's missing a member."
Leader smirked after hearing the emphasized word. "Very good analysis. I suppose I'll send you back. Our informants have notified us that Orochimaru is going to make a move soon. Go back to Konohagakure and wait for further instructions on what to do when the time comes. This will be a solo mission since the rest of us are listed in the bingo book. The stupid council of yours is willing to believe that no other village would be willing to take you in due to the Kyuubi and your replies back to Sarutobi."
"Understood. I'll get ready and leave at dawn" the youngest Akatsuki member retorted before turning gracefully on his heel and walking off.
xXxXx
Dawn came quite slowly for the Kyuubi vessel. He laid the Akatsuki cloak on his bed and wore one of his plain black one. After grabbing his small sack of belongings, he bid his mentor, Itachi, and the leader a farewell before using his kekkei genkai to teleport to the front of the not-so-hidden village of leaf's gates. After gaining permission from the guards, he went straight to the Hokage's office, flashing the scroll the Sandaime sent.
xXxXx
"Old man, stop procrastinating when you're the one sending for me" Naruto snapped at the hokage who was puffing on his pipe ignoring the huge stacks of paper on his desk.
"Ah, Naruto-kun, you came quite quickly. The eagle I sent to you took a six-day roundtrip to deliver the message," Sarutobi stated eyeing the change in the ex-village pariah.
"We should get to business. I'd rather not be here" the blonde scowled irritably.
"Hai. The council have finally decided to let you back into the village due to certain problems pertaining to the genin graduation this year" the old man began.
"Let me guess. The team with Uchiha Sasuke is missing a member and needs another member in order to be granted permission to take missions."
"...Yes. You've gotten the concept quite quickly."
"Just cause I'm allowed back, it doesn't mean I must comply to your orders."
"Ah. You see, I had a feeling this would come up. I have a proposition."
"A deal?"
"Hai. I'm sure you know a genin's allowance isn't a lot."
Naruto snorted. "Oh? Increasing or decreasing my pay won't make an adequate deal."
The Third sighed. 'Why must you make things so difficult, Naruto?' "Very well. I have another one then."
The younger of the two merely raised an eyebrow before plopping himself carelessly on the cushioned armchair across from the village's leader.
"I'll grant you access to my personal library if you become another member of Team 7."
The blonde narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 'So he's willing to let me look through all the forbidden scrolls just to join a mere genin team...this proposal isn't bad. I can gain most of the benefits. There must be a catch.'
'Take it, brat. It'll be useful for you. All you have to do is refrain from killing them and do measly D-rank missions in exchange for a few dozen forbidden jutsus' the nine-tailed demon fox boomed inside the pre-teen's conscience.
Sarutobi stared at the boy wearily as the preadolescent pondered over the offer. He nearly sighed in relief when the kid answered.
"I accept. However, you will also have to double my allowance along with the access to the library at anytime" Naruto finally stopped glaring and resorted to a small smirk.
Sighing for about the third time during the whole conversation, the Hokage nodded and wrote a contract, signing his name with his blood before handing it over to the kid who did the same using his own blood and signed his own name.
"We shall get going, I've prepared a lodging for you already" the old man stood up with his hands crossed behind his back.
Naruto followed the leader out of the tower. "I still get free access out of Konoha right?"
The Sandaime glanced back at the golden-haired lad before nodding. "Yes. You still have permission to wander out of the village. Just make sure you do not bring any trouble back with you."
The two remained in a comfortable silence as they walked towards the ninja academy.
xXxXx
Sasuke was pissed when Iruka finally announced his team. Not only did he get one of his major fan girl as his teammate but the chunin teacher stated that missions could only be taken by three-men teams; meaning he couldn't go on missions unless he has another teammate. His head snapped towards the door when it slammed open and glared at the old man that walked in.
"Hokage-sama" Iruka bowed politely.
"Iruka" the Third acknowledged, "I found another member for Team 7."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow in curiosity as a blonde walked in behind the village's leader.
"Ano. What's his name?" the chunin eyed the newcomer who, in his opinion, looks like a walking puppet with his dull colored eyes.
"Uzumaki Naruto" his superior replied.
The academy teacher paled slightly. 'The Kyuubi vessel's back.'
"Who are my teammates?" Naruto asked the adults monotonously.
"Err...Haruno Sakura's the kunoichi with the pink hair and Uchiha Sasuke is the one next to her with black hair" Iruka answered meekly
Naruto eyed his team with disdain. 'Such a pathetic group.' He turned to Sarutobi with a malicious glint in his eyes. "I'm adding another benefit to the deal."
"That's too much!" the old man exclaimed.
"It's your fault for giving me this...team. I'm demanding the permission to be allowed to take out scrolls and books from the library" he started, "that is unless you wish to increase my already doubled allowance."
"Very well. I'll grant you the permission" the Third shook his head and disappeared in a whirl of leaves.
"Ano...Your jounin instructors would be coming to pick up your team soon" Iruka said to the whole class while handing the new kid his hitae-ate.
Naruto took the forehead protector and sat in the empty seat near the window. 'Life is just plain boring these days. I need something to do, something to kill.'
/Don't do anything drastic. The old coot didn't take away your freedom yet. You can still get away./ The nine-tailed fox pointed out.
'Yea. And I'll be stuck doing low ranking missions for as long as I'm in this -bleeping- team.'
/Do whatever you want. Just don't blow our cover by killing those worthless ningen (humans)./
'Che. Like you're one to tell me. By the way, when is the last chakra surge?' Naruto asked, implying the deal with the youkai (demon).
/In a month or so./
Naruto sighed and came back from his mindscape to find everybody gone except his two teammates. 'How much you wanna bet my jounin instructor is the nin infamous for his chronic tardiness?'
/You can't make a bet when I'm betting the same thing, Brat./
'Psh. You're no fun.'
Naruto continued his playful bickering with his tenant, partially aware of the calculating stare his male teammate was giving him.
Sasuke eyed the blonde out of the corner of his eyes, ignoring the Haruno who was begging for a date. 'Great. Another person that'll hinder my goal.' He glared at the golden-haired preadolescent. 'This team is two too many.'
Naruto snorted. 'It's so obvious to know what the spoiled Uchiha is thinking. He'll never be a efficient shinobi if his emotions are so comprehendible.'
/Konoha is placing the puerile kid on the pedestal. Their trust in him will be their downfall./ the fox added.
Naruto cackled inwardly along with the bijuu (tailed-beast). 'Yessss. I'll let this insignificant village perish on its own.'
--- 25 minutes later ---
A man with silver-jagged hair popped his head into the room before walking in. "Yo! Sorry I'm late, the train was delayed due to a flat tire" he tossed up a hand in a wave.
"LAIR! We don't have trains! Besides who needs to take a train when it takes only half an hour to run from one end of the village to the other?! Also, trains don't have tires!" Sakura shouted.
Naruto winced. His heightened senses (due to Kyuubi) had made that screech ten times louder. 'Damn woman, hollering like a banshee.'
The jounin instructor sweatdropped. "First impression...I don't like you guys." He got a bowed head, a glare and a look of indifference. "Let's go up to the roof."
"Okay. Let's begin our introductions. State your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future" the older shinobi commanded.
"Ano...sensei. Why don't you begin first since we don't know who you are?" the pink-haired genin asked.
Naruto rolled his eyes. 'I was correct. It's the lazy, hours-late-to-an-appointment jounin.'
"Um...I'm Hatake Kakashi...I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes...my dreams doesn't involve you guys...I have many hobbies" the teacher recited his I'm-only-telling-you-my-name introduction, getting a rise out of the kunoichi of the group who whispered to her crush that they learned only his name. "Okay. You with the pink hair. Begin."
"My name is Haruno Sakura, the thing I like...I mean the person I like is.." she glanced at Sasuke, "my hobbies are..." Sakura peeked at her crush and blushed. "I hate Ino-pig and my dreams for the future..." she gave a quick look at the Uchiha again and squealed, "Oh my!" Kakashi grimaced. 'Seems like girls these days seem to be more interested in love than in becoming good shinobis.'
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things...I don't really want to use the word 'dream' but I have an ambition. To revive my clan and to..." the raven-haired genin paused, "kill a certain man." Kakashi narrowed his eyes. 'I thought so.' Naruto listened with uninterest. 'Like someone such as he can touch Itachi-san.'
"Uzumaki Naruto. I dislike weak people who don't intend on getting stronger" the blonde ended his epilogue, earning a few raised eyebrows. Kakashi grinned underneath his mask. 'He's grown up in an interesting way.'
"Good. Get ready, we'll have our first mission tomorrow," Hatake's visible eye curved into a crescent, an indication that he was smiling.
"What's our mission?" Sakura asked.
"Survival training."
"Nani? But we did that in the academy already."
"If I told you, you'll flip."
"Err..."
"This is a test with a 66 percent failure rate. Those who fail will get sent back to the academy."
"WHAT?!?!" the female of the group shrieked, "but we already passed the genin exam!"
"I told you, you'd flip. The genin exam was to test your potential. This test is to test your skills" the jounin answered haughtily, "the rest of the instructions will be on this sheet."
Sakura and Sasuke held out a hand to take a sheet. Kakashi raised an eyebrow when Naruto reached for his instructions. 'Black fingernails? Is that a new fashion?'
The blonde smirked inwardly at his sensei's expression. His Akatsuki ring was tied around his neck in the form of a necklace since the leader didn't want any information about the organization to leak out.
Kakashi watched with amusement as emotions flashed across the girl's face while scanning the sheet. It didn't take a genius to figure out Haruno was thinking along the lines of 'This is the test of love! I must past! Love shall prevail! Etcetera, etcetera'. Sasuke, after finished with reading the composition crumbled it with his fist in anger, though his facial expression remained neutral. The silver-haired jounin turned to the last member of the team. His eyebrow twitched when he saw the golden-haired pre-teen stifle a yawn. "Before I forget, I advise to not eat breakfast tomorrow, you'll puke" he informed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Naruto was the first to leave, jumping off the roof before walking towards the Hokage tower to ask for directions to his home.
xXxXx
Upon entering his medium-sized isolated house in a clearing of a forest, he placed his clothing (a/n: I forgot about the sack he carried...lol) into his closet. 'Furball, do you want to come out?'
/Of course./
'Don't come out in your full size. You'll break my house.'
/Whatever. Just perform the damn seal./
Naruto bit his thumb until it bled and ran it across the seal imprinted on his left forearm. A two-feet-tall Kyuubi popped into existence with a small poof. "Roam around, just don't get caught" its vessel opened the door for him, "I'll be leaving the door open."
/You better./ the nine-tailed fox growled before walking off.
After spending a few years demanding respect from each other, the two developed a brotherly relationship. Both of them argued over little things and offered suggestions or help when the other needed it.
Naruto shook his head before going off to train in the forest. 'The test Kakashi is giving is probably the one Itachi trained me with...let's just hope it'll provide a good challenge.'
Heys people! It's been three months since I've updated...xP! This is my third fic up and er..my first Naruto and will-be chapter fic. I know this idea is cliche but I'm adding a twist to it. This might have a small indication of ItaNaru...but that's undecided until later on. (It also depends on how you want to view it..xD.) Review if you want me to continue and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!