I don't own Naruto or Totally Spies, this is just a fanfic that I wanted to write for a while. This story is written by DarkShadowRaven along with co-writer/beta-reader Sithmaster56a.
Chapter 0: Mission: Life goes on…
Outskirts of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, LA
"Everyone comes to Beverly Hills thinking they'd be the next movie star, rock star or fashion model, but every single person forgets that someone still has to clean the toilets." Said a 40 year old guy finishing scrubbing the floors, while a blond spiky haired teen scrubbed away at a toilet with some of the foulest stench you could expect.
'This is me…'
"Yep, that's how it is, behind every white city, there's a dirty foundation. It's all built on the same ground." Said blond finished his work and removing the mask he wore.
"Tell me something, Nate. You've been working here for 3 months, why does a kid like you have to work in a place like this? Why aren't you driving cars with gangs, buying fashion clothes, or pimp your life like other kids?" asked the old guy feeling a bit of pity for the kid.
"Well Mr. Jake, it's not really their money they spend, is it? Someone had to work for it, right?" He removed his gloves and washed up at a sink" They are born in rich families they live the lives of kings, but I, being poor, have only my dreams. I don't have any family, so when you have to make your own way in life, you have to start from the bottom."
"(Sigh) Look Nathan, this might not be my place to say, but this isn't how you should live the rest of your life! Go back to school, learn to do something worthwhile and get out of this shithole while you still can."
The kid didn't say anything but smiled and put a hand of on old man Jake's shoulder. "Thanks for the concern Jake, it means a lot."
"Nate, don't do that. Just don't..."
"Do what?"
"THAT, that smile that just says 'I don't need any pity'." The old man knew a bit about the kid to see that he had some trust issues.
"Jake…" sighed the blond.
"No, no! Okay? Look I'm just trying to make you see! I have two kids and even though their old man is working for this cleaning company, they live a pretty decent life in an apartment and I'm proud of them and I don't feel sorry for it, I can call that place my home, where I belong. I have no regrets! But you? Look at you! You're fit, you're strong, you're young, listen to this old man just this once: 'Don't waste your life doing just these greasy jobs you get in papers, you go out there and keep searching until you find your home, where you belong.'" The old guy really showed some real concern for the kid. This brought a real smile on the kid's face.
"Okay Jake, I got it." He smirked as he received a pat on the back from the old man.
"Good, alright." He exchanged some nods and smiles. "Okay, I'll go put the gear back in the car, you finish up here and we'll go get some cold beers after this." He said.
"Careful Jake, your wife will scold me if I have to drag you drunk home." Said the kid smirking again.
"Non-alcoholic, smart-ass. Now move your ass."
"You too, old man."
As Jake left, the kid was left with his own thoughts to work through. 'Jake has a point, but in this town it's so hard to find a job to pay for both school and keep up with it. Why the heck did I even come to Beverly Hills? I moved into a crumby apartment 5 month ago with just a suitcase, in one of the dirtiest and cheapest parts of the city, my abilities are limited to just hard labor, I barely got this job in cleaning service. Is this living? Some people get to live basking in the light while others live scavenging in the dark? ' He finished putting all his tools away in a bag and got his cleaning suit off revealing him in just a t-shirt and pair of pants. He pulled a long sleeved shirt on, that he got from Jake, and climbed down the stairs.
As he climbed down, he could hear something happening outside. Once he reached the bottom he could finally see what all the noise was about.
"Come on! Get up! Jeff, are you filming this?" asked a punk picking on some guy on the ground.
"Yep, wow! This is going on u-tube!" he had a mini camera and filming.
The blond kid spotted something that really angered him: 4 punks picking on a man while filming everything. He put his bag down and wanted to chase the punks away when he caught sight of the man, specifically the suit, and his bruised face. It was Jake.
His teeth grit and fists clenched in anger and in one flash he dashed at the closest punk and delivered such a strong haymaker in his face that he almost flew 4 meters away.
"Hey, what the fuck?" asked the one on the ground feeling his cheek swell and bleeding from it.
The others turned to his attacker and saw a very angry guy gritting his teeth. "You bastards ganging up on guy twice your age! That really pisses me off! I'm gonna beat the stuffing out of your asses!"
The punks got very angry themselves and pulled out some makeshift weapons including a pair of brass knuckles, a slim baton and baseball bat from their car. "We're gonna smash your brains in, you prick!"
The blond gave them an unimpressed look before he felt someone grab his leg.
"Nate, don't do it." It was Jake looking a little beat up but still conscious. "It's not worth it, just get out of here."
The blond got down on his knee and helped Jake up before setting him on a bench "Sorry Jake, I can't let this go. I'll be right back, hold my shirt." He removed his long-sleeved shirt and passed it to Jake before turning to the punks and doing some stretches with his hands
"Are you retarded? It's 4 against 1!" said a punk flinging his bat.
"Then you should go get a few more guys and it'll be a fair fight." said the blond approaching them.
The others gritted their teeth. "You bastard! Aghh!" They all charged in weapons swinging.
Nate, as he was known evaded the baseball bat and delivered two punches to the punk's side, and narrowly avoided a baton to the face but did received a fist in the gut from the knuckles.
He in turn delivered a leg in the punk's side and a punch to the baton swinging guy's face before turning and kneeing to the knuckle's face, followed by two punches knocking him back with a bleeding nose.
He then turned to the baton only to receive a baton to the head that made his eyes see stars for a bit before he cleared them only to receive a kick to his face, making his own nose bleed.
"Take that you stupid ass!"
'Nate' got his gears back together and after whipping the blood off, he got up to his feet and stood his ground. "Round 2."
The baton punk attacked again but his baton was caught in Nate's hands before getting two kicks to the punk's side who let go of the baton, only to be finished off with a final kick to the face.
Nate didn't have time to stop as he pivoted with the baton still in his hands to block the punches from the knuckle guy from the side. Then he spotted the bat swinging guy going to a fast attack, but at the last second, he ducked, only to receive a blow to his face from the brass knuckles, knocking him back and forcing Nate to move clear of the melee.
Nate felt his lip bleed, but he ignored it diving in the fight again. He attacked the one with the baseball bat this time, who swung his weapon in a wide angle only for the Nate to evade it and jab him hard in the stomach with the baton, knocking the wind out of him. He then used that opening to throw a quick collection of punches before dropping the baton and grabbing his opponent's shoulders then headbutting him, likely breaking his nose.
Turning to the last punk with the knuckles he noticed him looking at his mates down and attacked with anger swinging savagery at hero.
Nate took steps back and barely avoided each attack until he was back was to a wall.
The punk seeing his prey cornered swung with all his rage
Nate, at the last second ducked the punch, which resulted in the punk hitting a brick wall with the knuckles followed by pop a wail of pain.
"(Punch) AGHHHaaa!
"Brick wall wins, fucker." Nate taunted before knocking him out.
He then turned to the would-be leader, the one he hit first. They guy looked really pissed, so pissed that he pulled out a switchblade.
"Die you fucker!" Anger overtook reason and he attacked in a blind rage.
The hero avoided most of the strikes left and right but ended up with some light cuts on his arms and chest.
He was bloody and cut but he managed to get enough ground to get his hands on the baseball bat and blocked a strike but was pushed with his back against a wall and the blade a few inches away from him.
'Damn it!' he wanted to kick the guy's lights out but he was in a pretty bad position.
"(Flip)Bzzzzz! Ughhaaaaaahhh!"
What followed surprised him incredibly the punk started to convulse, shake and squirm in pain until he fell on the ground still shaking.
His breath caught on to him until he noticed the wires leading to two police cars with four cops aiming stun guns at him.
"Ugh, thanks." He sighed in relief
"Drop the weapon! And get your hands up!" they called loudly.
"What?" He noticed he still had the bat. He quickly dropped it and got his arms up. "Wait, you have it all wrong…"
He was answered with a stun gun fired at his chest.
"Ughaahh." He started to shake and convulse but in one mighty effort he swung his arm and removed the two pins. "Why did you do that for!?"
He was answered by another stun gun and he felt his body go off as they cuffed him and he blacked out.
The next thing he knew, he was at the hospital having a doctor with a police escort getting his wounds checked and patched up.
When they finally finished and he found himself with bandages on his arms, chest and even face, the police started asking questions.
He answered them as best as he could a few times before it was decided that he's be held at the station for 24 hours.
He was not pleased but complied anyway. No use getting more on his plate now, he knew he was innocent and had enough witnesses that saw the fight to prove it. He was just angry at the cops who tasered him not once but twice, for nothing. Damn cops, no wonder he didn't want to join them.
24 hours later
After waiting in a cell for what seemed like forever, someone opened the door and he saw Jake there bruised and a with an arm in a sling but alright.
"You're free to go." Said the guard accompanying him.
"Hey Nate, did you enjoy your stay?" asked Jake with a smile.
"Heh, no! The food is tasteless, the bed is hard and the service is horrible. I don't think I'll ever come back again." Joked the blond cheekily.
"Good, let's get out of here." Replied Jake with a smile.
After a few minutes signing some papers and agreeing to come back after the punks got of the hospital to identify them, the pair left the police station.
"Let's get something to eat, I'm starving." Said Jake.
"Me too."
They stopped in a local dinner and after some breakfast and went into details.
"So, how did you spring me out?" asked the blond.
"I just told them that you were helping me out… there were some witnesses and… the visual evidence." Said Jake looking away.
"'Visual evidence?'" asked the blond.
Jake nodded and pulled out a Smartphone form his pocket and got to the famous video sharing site. "Smile, you took your first step in kung-fu movies. Bruce Lee's got nothing on you"
In the clip, there was him fighting the punks in a shaky camera. "Wow, someone filmed it?" asked the blonde.
"Not only filmed it, it was on the 7 o'clock news before you know it." Smiled Jake. "I gave some statements, you should have seen it, the phone wouldn't stop ringing last night."
"Damn, my 15 minutes of stardom and I was in jail." He joked making both himself and Jake fit into laughter.
"Ugh, ow, ow." They both felt the pains from the bruises get the better of them. "Don't make me laugh; it'll just cause me more hurt."
"Yeah… they make this look easy in movies." Agreed the blond.
"Ugh, thanks a lot kid. " said Jake patting the blond on his back. "I sure am going to miss you…" he said shaking the blond.
"Miss me?" asked the blond curiously.
"Yeah, the little lady and I decided we'd move out of Los Angeles and into a more quite town. We weren't too sure but after yesterday… well I couldn't give her a good enough reason why we shouldn't." said Jake seeing the sadden kid look down.
"What about the kids?"
"The kids are old enough now to have the apartment to themselves. You know kids, once the city bites, it won't let go even if you cut it off. I'll probably get a new job soon, and I think it's time for this old man to start getting some retirement plans." Said Jake sounding older than he actually was.
"Don't give me that, old man, you're what 40?"
"55, but I'll take it as a compliment. But that's not also why I came here. I came here to ask you what to do next?" asked Jake a little sadly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you can damn well expect you job to be gone. The company tries to avoid bad publicity and you know what something like this means." Said Jake unpleased to be the bearer of bad news.
"Damn… " he sighed resting his head on the table.
"I'm really sorry it ended up like this, if I hadn't gotten attacked, none of this would have happened." Jake wouldn't blame the kid if he decided to focus all the anger on him.
"Stop it already, it's not your fault some stupid punks attacked you, it could have been anyone." He said getting up. "The real problem is getting a new job, it might not look like it but this town is very strict about jobs: you have to have experience, you have to have an education, you have to have the skills, you have to have training! Fuck them!" he called getting everyone in the dinner to look his way. "Sorry!" he called back.
Jake sighed and turned to the blond. "Look, I've been talking to the wife and I convinced her that if worst comes to shove, you can move in with the kids until you get back on your feet." He said with a tiny smile.
"Thanks a lot Jake, I appreciate all the help, but I don't think I can burden people and live with myself." He said with a weak smile.
Jake started swinging his hands. "It's no burden, Nate! In fact, personally I'd feel a whole lot better if you did move in. Don't tell this to anyone, but my son is a bit of a coward, I'd think you'd be a good influence on him, not to mention protecting my little girl."
The blond laughed and smiled. "By protect, you mean watch out for those punk hot-shots that will just try to sweet-talk her."
"Naturally. You can be my eyes and ears here in my place and my fist and my foot in their asses!" Boomed Jake getting both of them in a laughing fit like old times.
"Thanks a lot Jake, I appreciate it." Said the bandaged kid drinking his cold non-alcoholic bear. "But I have to decline. I've always looked out for myself, and that's how I feel comfortable. It's a lonely life and I don't want to be a loner, but that's how I feel is for the best right now." He said putting his hand on Jake's shoulder. "But hey, if you ever want me to check up on them, give me a call and in your name I will dispense parental wrath of punks who try to miss with your kids."
"Then I'll be depending on you. But promise me this, if things get bad, don't hesitate to ask for some help. Alright?" asked Jake with no room to refuse.
"Ok, okay I got it." He smiled and shock on it.
The rest of the day they spent together like old friends one last time, watching a game of football in a bar, drinking, playing pool, and going to a strip club. Naruto's unnatural height made him convincing to be over 18.
After a great 'man to man' night. The blond let the old man home to sleep his drunken from away while his wife gave her thanks to the blond and gave him a hug followed by the kids who also thanked him for saving their father.
He said his goodbyes and stumbled his way home, in a not very welcoming or cleaned section of the city.
It was a one room apartment with a bathroom and a closet sized kitchen. It was small and cheap but it was his, all his hard work went into it.
As he got home, the drunken state started to clear enough that he took a shower, careful not to open his wounds and took some cold water out of his mini-fridge and turned out on the TV to his local news channel. He didn't have cable yet, so right now it was the free channels broadcast through an antenna.
Yes he lived a poor, cheap life but he worked hard for it, and his one phrase he lived by is that "if you work hard, never give up on your word, you can achieve anything."
He rested on the ground while he waited for his inflatable mattress to automatically inflate. By chance he heard the news about him. He didn't give permission to use his name though or his picture, which he was relieved to not hear, in this town news flies by fast and the Internet made it difficult to hide anything.
He didn't know when he fell asleep but he did, and the next morning something unexpected happened: a letter was delivered to his apartment.
The next morning
He barely got out of his bed, and went to the bathroom. Looking into the scratched mirror, he made out his face and removed the bandages, he had an faster than average healing ability, so cuts were nothing to him. Bruises took a bit longer to heal, stabs or bullet wounds he didn't know but he sure as heck didn't want to find out.
Removing most of his bandages, he decided to have some breakfast before he spotted a letter at his front door. He gave it a look and opened the door and checked if there was anyone there who might have left it.
"What's this? My warning of eviction? I'm pretty sure I still got a month to go." He picked it up and went to his kitchen and made some plain coffee.
Resting on his bed he looked at the letter, It was blank but it had a return address on the back.
"Once you hit rock bottom, all you can go is up, right?" He opened the seal and revealed a letter. Opening up, it was pretty simple but it had that strict look to it.
Letter
Dear Mister Uzumaki,
Our organization has taken notice of your character and set of skills and believes your abilities could be put to use in our schedule. Henceforth, we courtly invite you to take an interview to determine if you have the necessary character to be part of our group and in our line of work.
Should you decide to accept our invitation, the date is 8:00 am tomorrow morning, if you could kindly make it. The address in on the card you have received with this package.
He looked inside but he found no card.
Have a good day,
Respectfully
Jerald Lewis
"Okay, this is weird, there is no address, just a W."
TBC
Thanks for reading, if you like it or hate it, leave a review and I'll see what I can do about it.
About this story, this is one of those stories I wanted to write for a long time, because I am a big fan of both series. This I wrote in just 1 day, I was excited about it, but it was hell to start. In the end: I decided to make Naruto (Nate is just short for his name, it's one of the aliases he sometimes uses.) a progressive character, someone that works hard for their future.
As you can read, he starts up with nothing basically, he's fighting is rusty and his best days are behind him. In the story, it's going to feature his evolution into something more. It's going to be a rough story, so it's not always going to be smooth sailing.
His back-story will be explained later.
Pairings dynamic, if you have ideas, tell them.