"In about one month you shall all partake in a Genin exam, and those who pass shall be placed into teams," explained Umino Iruka, pacing before his students, who watched him with wide, curious and excited but anxious eyes. As if sensing the children's intense emotions, the Chuunin smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry. I've taught you all long enough to know your strengths and weaknesses, and presently I believe that overall you are all suited to become Genin." He grinned at his class, who beamed back at him, with a couple of exceptions.

Pausing in his lecture, the brunet man's eyes skimmed the crowd of students until halting at a lone blond, who was at the far back of the class, leaning leisurely against a tree with his hands in his pockets but his icy blue eyes sharp and concise, almost penetrating. Iruka shivered and swallowed. The child's eyes were so deep and yet revealed nothing but indepedant impassiveness. It just seemed so wrong somehow, but the Chuunin was always as kind as possible to everyone, and that included this somehow intimidating young preteen boy.

"Naruto," he barked, and the blond boy's gaze remained steadfast, unflinchingly meeting his teacher's eyes. Iruka just smiled at the kid. "Since I've not known you long, I suppose your skills should be put to the test. Why not pick out a training partner?" he enquired in a friendly tone, placing his hands on his hips and grinning welcomingly. This is also a good way to make friends, he thought jovially. He used to be an outcast, and it was not fun. He didn't want to bestow that lonely fate unto someone else. No one deserved such loneliness.

Bringing his attention back to the present, Iruka saw Naruto's icy eyes focused on the ebony ones belonging to one proclaimed protégé, Uchiha Sasuke. The Uchiha stared back at the boy, his stare unwavering and almost bored, and yet slight interest was sparkling within those charcoal orbs.

Iruka stiffened slightly, frowning. Sasuke's the top in the class, he thought worriedly. I'm not certain of Naruto's level. It's possible he isn't good enough yet to fight Sasuke, and I don't want him to get hurt... "Why not try and fight someone else first, Naruto?" he suggested, laughing sheepishly.

Icy blue eyes snapped up to his and the boy glared, chilling Iruka to the bone. An icy wind flashed passed, making the kids shiver slightly.

"That was weird," Ino murmured, flipping her pale blonde hair from her face and raising a brow.

"Were you scared, Ino?" a pink-haired girl teased, smirking at the slightly taller girl.

"Shut up, Forehead!" the blonde girl shrieked loudly, clenching a fist.

"Who're you calling Forehead, Pig?" Sakura screamed in response, jade eyes twitching sporadically.

"Girls, calm down!" Iruka commanded authoritatively, scowling at them in disapproval. Both cowered slightly and smiled apologetically at him, but did offer one another one final sharp elbow to the ribs before childishly sticking their tongues out and turning away. Sighing, Iruka shook his head and scanned the class. "Naruto," he began, smiling again. "Why not fight Kiba first of all?" When the blond did not respond, he ordered, "Kiba, stand!"

A scruffy-looking brunet boy leapt up, grinning wildly. A small dog, which had previously been sleeping in the hood of his parka, barked excitedly. The rough boy jogged into the middle of the training area, awaiting his opponent's arrival, smirking ferally all the while. When Naruto still did not make a move, Kiba sniggered. "Scared, New Guy? I don't blame ya," he drawled, glancing at his nails as if uninterested, but surprisingly, the next second, he had suddenly been knocked to the ground with an arm held behind his back. "Gah! Wh-what the...?" He tried to glance up, and his eyes widened in astonishment upon seeing the blond kid poised on top of him, grasping his arm tightly and eyes glistening.

"I win."

And in another split second, Naruto was off of Kiba and before Iruka, surprising even the Chuunin.

"Who am I to fight now?" he asked monotonously and, in his boredom, flicked out a kunai and began twirling it senselessly. "Shall it be the Uchiha?" It would be interesting to see how supposedly 'talented' Itachi-sama's younger brother is...

"How do you know my name?" demanded the aforementioned boy, standing instantly and puffing his chest out, clenching his fists tightly and narrowing his eyes.

"I heard it when Iruka-sensei took the register," Naruto answered uncaringly, sparing Sasuke a minor sideways glance. "I am not deaf."

Sasuke bristled, obviously very defensive even though the blond had not intentionally insulted him. "Don't you understand who I am?" he shouted challengingly, just moe agitated when Naruto stared back at him stoically.

"Yeah!" shouted Ino, standing now as well. Pointing accusingly at Naruto, she glared in revulsion and yelled, "This is Uchiha Sasuke! The strongest, most intelligent, handsome, and amazing guy at the academy!" She flipped her hair and placed her hands on her hips, her upper lip curling in disgust at the sight of the short, lanky blond boy before her. "You've got no chance in beating someone as great as Sasuke, so don't even bother!"

"Yeah!" chorused most of the other girls in the class, whereas the boys just rolled their eyes and uttered profanities directed at the Uchiha. However, they did nothing to stop the girls; they didn't care whether or not that little guy got beaten up. He was just another outcast; he didn't matter.

Blinking slowly, Naruto uttered, "If he is so prestigious, he would not mind fighting me." The blond cocked his head, reminding the students of ome kind of a wild feline or a similar wild animal.

Instead of an earnest act of confusion or curiosity, Sasuke took it as one of provocation. Growling, he marched over to the new boy and stood before him. "Fine," he spat venemously. "I'll fight you."

The girls in the class swooned and sighed dreamily, whispering sweet things about Sasuke, and occassionally bad-mouthing his new opponent. Ignoring the irritating distractions, the two boys faced each other, one glaring, looking utterly livid, and one blank and impassive. They stood still for a long while, just staring at each other.

Growing weary of the staring contest, Sasuke flew forwards gracefully and whipped out a few shuriken, launching them towards Naruto. He smirked triumphantly. Right on target, he thought victoriously, before his eyes widened when the boy just evaporated in a cloud of smoke. The Uchiha coughed and winced as the smoke swept towards him, and turned around, trying hard to locate his opponent. "Coward, come out!" he demanded, but taunts didn't seem to phase the blond.

Tonnes of kunai and shuriken flew down at him, and his eyes widened again. How does he hav so many? He thought, horrified, before recovering his composure and leaping backwards, attempting to avoid the onslaught of weaponry aimed at him.

"Stop!" Iruka shouted, slightly panicked upon noticing the smoke clearing and weapons flying everywhere. What if Sasuke hurts the new kid?

The weapons all stilled before they reached Sasuke, all barely inches from his person. They drew back, flying into secret compartments of Naruto's clothes. Sasuke stared at the blond in furious horror. He... he beat me!

"Are you guys all right?" asked the teacher, his motherly brown eyes obviously worried. He was surprised Naruto won, but can you blame him? Uchiha were commonly commended for their insanely amazing abilities, and Sasuke, being the last Uchiha left, was blatantly left as the only heir of one of the most well-renowned clans, and thus vital to Konoha.

Glaring at Naruto, Sasuke got up from his knees. He and the blond stared down one another for a while before the Uchiha growled as if he had lost a battle. "I hate you," he hissed, eyes glinting darkly, before spinning on his heel and walking back to the class.

"Ah..." Iruka sighed, troubled. This was supposed to help Naruto make friends! Not the other way around! He glanced at the class worriedly.

"Sasuke-kun! You were great! That kid just cheated," one girl said, beaming at the dark-haired boy.

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun! We know you'd never cheat. You're amazing," cooed another, giggling.

All the girls then shot Naruto repulsed, angered scowls. "You, on the other hand... we don't like!"

"Ah!" Iruka exclaimed worriedly, turning to the blond nervously, but was surprised to find the blond impassive and not even paying attention to the class. He was staring off to the side. Following his gaze, Iruka noticed a little kitten. It looked a bit roughed up and didn't look very approachable, but Naruto was already casually strolling towards it. He knelt before the kitten and held out a hand, which the kitten instantly bit. Naruto just stared at it blankly before murmuring in a gentle voice, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The cat stared at him a moment longer, body and fur raised due to high apprehension and mistrust, before it slowly unhinged its jaw and licked Naruto's bitten finger apologetically. The blond softly stroked the Bombay's head. The cat seemed to be glaring at him. Again, it bit him before dashing away. The blond looked after it emotionlessly, but he did like that cat. He wished it hadn't rejected him.

"Even animals don't like you!" shouted someone in the class, followed by another chorused series of agreement.

"Now, now, kids," Iruka said disapprovingly, frowning at them. "That isn't how you treat a fellow comrade--"

"He isn't my comrade," Ino said huffily, folding her arms.

"Mine either!" Sakura agreed, turning away from the blond completely. Although... She cast the lone blond a pitying glance. No. He's just some boy. Who cares if he's alone?

She didn't realise the irony of that statement, even as her attention diverted back to Sasuke.

"Well, Naruto," Iruka began, smiling sheepishly but kindly. "You seem to have a lot of potential. You'll definitely become a Genin!" he cheered enthusiastically.

The blond stared back at him before nodding as if accepting a business deal. "Thank you," he said politely, tone icy.

The brunet teacher grinned at him before turning to the class. "All right, everyone, it's lunch time!" he bellowed, as there was no other way to get the children's attention.

The kids cheered jubilantly and went inside to grab their lunches, all planning on sitting with Sasuke.

The blond, however, made no move to go and retrieve lunch or sit with anyone. Instead, he moved into a desolate area of the grounds and began training. "You have to train at least three times, Number Nine, or else your skills shall get sloppy, and I don't want that," he recalled Itachi-sama saying to him. As such, he thought it best to train whenever he could, which included now.

"Who does that kid think he is?" demanded a certain Inuzuka, brushing his nose with his finger and squinting at Naruto in distaste. "He's such a show-off!"

"He did defeat you, Kiba," his friend Shino reminded him in a monotone, not really bothered about anything.

Flushing slightly, Kiba barked a laugh. "Like everyone said, he cheated!" Ignoring Chouji's interjection of how the girl's only said that about Sasuke's defeat, Kiba declared, with a fist in the air, "I think we should teach him a lesson!"

His friends stared blankly at him before Shikamaru uttered, "Having seen him fight, we've established that he took down you before you even knew he had left his post"-here he ignored Kiba's indignant sreech-"and defeated the top of the class in less than thirty seconds. I think he may be slightly out of our league."

"Not if we tie him down or someone restrains him or something! Or when he gets tired, or..."

"Isn't that cheating?" Chouji said, pausing in devouring his crisps. "Which is what you accused him of," he reminded.

"But..." Kiba looked frustrated before smirking. "We should give back what we got! He cheated, we cheat back. Fair, right?" He foled his arms and glanced at his friends.

"I... guess that's fair," murmured Chouji, furrowing his brow. "I mean, he did cheat... right?"

"I was dubious about his ability to defeat an Uchiha so easily," Shikamaru added, frowning his permenant frown.

Shino said nothing, and thought for a moment. The blond was silent, he had done nothing wrong, and yet he was also questioning the kid's abilities. He nodded silently, and Kiba cheered.

"Awesome! Shikamaru, 's up to you to make a plan, 'kay?" He punched his friend's shoulder playfully.

The Nara rubbed his arm and scowled. "Yeah, yeah, as always..." he agreed. "So troublesome..."

Unbeknownst to them, Naruto had heard everything. Unperturbed, he thought, I expected nothing more from the traitorous village, Konoha no Sato... But I shall continue following Itachi-sama's orders. I shall do my best to complete my mission... I shall keep the villages from waging war against one another.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

A chilly breeze entered the Hokage's office, and Itachi did not look up from the scrolls and documents he was analysing. "Number Nine, 'Uzumaki Naruto'," he drawled. "I trust your first day went well?"

"It was sufficient," replied the blond, bowing on one knee. "The academy sensei had me fight to test my abilities."

"You did not reveal the extent of your abilities... did you?" Itachi's eyes flickered, slightly threatening. Naruto was used to this and was unaffected.

"I did not," Naruto mumbled. "I lessened them to less than a quarter of my actual power." I still beat them very easily though... but that is because I am an animal without inhibitions, not human like they are.

"Good," the Uchiha said tonelessly. "You are dismissed."

"Itachi-sama," Naruto began. The man did not look up but he continued anyway. "Where should I sleep?"

"As usual," replied Itachi, still analysing scrolls. "Somewhere in the wild. You'll be accepted by things... more your own kind."

By animals, thought the blond. But that kitten earlier did not accept me. Naruto merely nodded in disappeared with another cold gust of air, appearing at a forest edge. He looked around and tensed when lightning flashed and thunder boomed loudly overhead. Accompanying that was a fierce, heavy rain storm, the large droplets pelting down. More lightning illuminated the area and thunder crashed again, and the blond, already soaked, dashed under a tree. It didn't provide much shelter, but the only habitats around weren't big enough to fit a human inside them. Shivering, Naruto curled up and clenched his eyes shut. He never did like storms, especially the thunder. He also disliked getting wet. He bristled just thinking about being wet.

Oyasuminasai... myself.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

NARUTO belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, not I. I shall not make a profit with this, and it is purely fan-made.

I have decided that the Zabuza arc shall be played exceedingly differently. Don't worry, I think it'll be interesting. It's not going to be similar to the canon one at all. I have not yet decided on the pairings, however, and won't for a long while.

Stay tuned, and please review! Constructive critisism is mre helpful than you would think.