Written in Sand
Chapter one: The good news
Nothing is truly written in stone. After all, it only takes one little event to change everything. Even if it seems inconceivable or unimportant, that's all it takes to change one person's life and destiny. And when you affect one person's life, you're sure to affect many others. And as you change more and more people's lives, the story changes with it. Before you know, have a completely different tale.
So, if you think about it, a story is not written in stone. Rather it is written in sand, constantly changing and shifting with each newly added element. So let us see how a lonely boy of sand meeting an equally lonely fox boy changes the elements of story and the lives of others. All with nothing but undying friendship.
It was a lovely day in Konoha. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and a gang of children was currently chasing a small blonde boy through the village trying to beat the living day lights out of him. For no real reason mind you.
"Get back here Uzamaki so I can pond you."
"Why, I didn't do anything to you?"
"I don't give a care, just get back here." Instead following orders, the blonde boy sped up. This only made the group angrier. In a state of panic, the boy made a sharp turn down an alleyway, hoping to elude his pursuers.
'Big mistake, Uzamaki. That leads to a dead end.' The group slowed down to a walk as they came to the corner. There was no need to waist energy when their target wasn't going anywhere. Many of the children were starting to get excited, looking forward to the pounding they were going to give the boy. But one of them was looking nervice.
"Hey, uh, guys." Many turned to look at their accomplice.
"What is it?"
"Don't you think we should get going to the academy? After all, we don't want to be late."
"Relax, we have plenty of time and this should only take a second." The ringleader said while cracking his knuckles. It was at this moment that the group started to turn the corner.
"Alright, Uzamaki, there is no were else to run. If you come out now we promise not to…?" The boy stopped in mid sentence when he got a good look at the alleyway. There were trashcans and garbage lying around and a ten-foot fence in the back but no sign of the blonde boy.
"Spread out and search the place. He must be hiding in here some where." The children divided into teams and began picking through the alleyway. They scanned it from top to bottom, digging through trash and running their hands along the walls incase he had used a concealment technique. But there was still no sign of their target.
"Hey, uh, boss." The leader, who had been supervising everything, turned to look at the boy next to him.
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think we should get going to the academy? We'll be late if we don't hurry." He then pointed to the watch on his wrist. The leaders eyes widened when he saw the time.
"Ah man, your right. Hey everyone, drop what your doing and get over here." Everyone looked up from their projects and, regrettable, walked over to the alleyway entrance.
"What is it boss?" The leader only needed to point to the time for everyone to get the idea. The small gang began scampering out of the alleyway and went into a full out sprint to Konoha academy. Although they were all pretty focused on getting to the academy on time, some had not forgotten the reason for there lateness.
"Ah man, we almost had Uzamaki that time." One of the girls in the group complained
"Don't worry, we'll get him next time. And besides, it's not like we don't know were he'll be after school." They all shared an evil grin at this thought.
The boy watched the people in the streets below pass by. They seemed so oblivious to his presence. Which is how things were supposed to be. He knew that if he made himself known, it would almost as bad as the beating the boys tried to give him. All he would get was hated glares and feverish whispers. Or worse yet, they would act as if he was the plague and give him a wide berth. But by far, the worst part was that he didn't know why. Aside from a few small pranks, he hadn't done anything wrong. Yet, day-by-day he found himself scrutinized for a crime that he didn't know he committed.
"Well they must have given up by now." He said to no one in particular. But even as he said this, he found himself checking his surroundings. After a quick check, he stood up from his sitting position and jumped down from his hiding spot. He jumped down into an empty alley, making sure not to be seen or heard.
'And my senseis said that I'm too loud to be a ninja.' Unforcenatly, he wasn't paying enough attention and ended up tripping over a garbage can. This resulted in him knocking over more trashcans, filling the alley with the sounds of thunder. Many people abruptly stopped what they were doing and stared down the open alley. Before any one could investigate further, the blonde boy had scrambled to his feet and was now making a breaking for it. By the time he stopped running, the boy had covered over a mile in length.
"Boy, that was a close one." He huffed out as he combed his fingers through his messy, blonde hair. Now, I'm sure you've all realized by now who this little boy is. (Because if you haven't, you're an even bigger idiot that him.) He is none other than Uzamaki Naruto, future Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves. Of course, most everyone knew him as the biggest knucklehead and troublemaker in Konoha. Speaking of trouble, Naruto just so happened to glance up at the clock and realized.
"Oh crap, I'm going to be late!" Naruto immediately began to panic and started running around in circles. As you can imagine, this wasted even more time making the situation worse. Finally, after about five minutes of pure panic, Naruto managed to pull himself together and then attempted another mad dash for Konoha Academy.
"Alright everyone, calm down and listen up. I have big news." The room went quiet when the students heard the "big news" part. There sensei, Iruka, smiled at the sight of all there alert faces staring at him.
'Gets them every time.'
"Well, as you all know…" But he didn't get to finish as the door was slammed open and a blonde haired boy suddenly came bustling in.
"Sorry I'm late, Iruka-sensei." He huffed out as he took his usual seat in the back of the room. Iruka, to say the least, looked both pissed and worried. Pissed because Naruto had interrupted his lesson and was late. AGAIN! But he was also worried since this was not the first time that he had come in looking like he had ran ten miles. He decided to let it go for now and ask about it after class.
"As I was saying; as you all know, we've been studying other ninja villages and there ties to Konoha. But the education committee believes that a hands on experience would be better than learning about in a class. There for, the council have made arrangements to visit," All eyes were on him at this point. "Sunagakure!"
There was a mixture of reactions from the class at this news. Many were ecstatic that they would be leaving the village and going some place new. Others looked worried or annoyed for the same reason. And a small number of students looked indifferent. Surprisingly, Naruto was one of these people. Iruka took note of this but continued nonetheless.
"As a result, you will all be let out early to prepare for this trip in advance. If you wish to participate in this trip, be at the front gates at 7:00 a.m. I suggest you pact light but thorough since the trip will take six days of travel. Any questions?" The students, for the most part, remained quiet. It was obvious from the expressions on their faces that they were still trying to absorb what he had said. But one student, that was quicker than the rest, raised her hand almost automatically after he finished.
"Yes?" he chuckled lightly to himself as he answered. 'I should have known she would be asking the questions.' The girl that Iruka had addressed dropped her hand and instead rose from her chair. Even with her bright, green eyes and pink hair tied back by a red ribbon, she carried an air of maturity.
"Iruka-sensei, how are we going to get Suna. I hope you aren't suggesting we walk?"
"Why not, Sakura, it will great exercise for all of you. But we will we taking breaks during our three day trek," The minute the last three words were spoken; an uproar of complaints and moans filled the room. Iruka gave a disapproving frown.
"Now that's quite enough! You are all ninja in training. And as such, I expect you to behave better." Although Iruka didn't shout a word of his speech, it was still enough to mollify the crowd. "Now then, if there aren't any more questions," Sakura began to raise her hand again but Iruka beat her to the punch, "class dismissed."
The students quickly filed out of the room, many already engaged in conversation. Iruka watched his students leave, his eyes scanning the crowd hoping to see spiky, yellow hair among the group. Sadly, his attempts were in vain. Only when the sounds from the students had died away did Naruto finally get up from his desk. He was always the last to leave. However, before he could leave, Iruka stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Naruto, can I speak to for a minute." The blond boy looked up at him with confusion and worry laced all over his features. Iruka saw this and assured him "Don't worry your not in trouble." Naruto seemed to relax as he came to sit next to Iruka at on the desks.
"What do want to talk about, Iruka-sensei?" Iruka became serious but kept a light smile so as not to frighten his student.
"I've noticed that for the last couple of days that you have been late to class. Mind explaining why?" At first Naruto was hesitant to say anything; but Iuka's calming smile gave him confidence. So, in typical Naruto fashion, he broke into a long-winded story. Starting at the beginning, Naruto was very blunt, giving little detail. But as the story progressed, he became more descriptive and elaborate. But Naruto, currently at the age of seven, often put in unneeded or fantasized details. By the end, Naruto was gasping for breath but otherwise looking fairly pleased.
"And that is why I was late for class." He finished, placing his hands on his hips and displaying a foxy grin. Iruka for the most part was dumbfounded. Even though his brain was working furiously to organize the information that Naruto had presented, he did get the basic idea. That being that his classmates were single ling out Naruto out to pick on. Worst yet, none of the other adults seemed obligated to help him. But Iruka, on the other hand, intended to put a stop to this.
With his mindset, Iruka looked down at his student with a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'm going to fix this mess." Naruto's eyes brightened at his sensei's words and his grin became bigger.
"Really?" Iruka gave a light nod.
"I promise so long as you do one thing for me." Naruto's vistage immediately became guarded.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to be at the gates tomorrow morning, ready to set off for Suna." Naruto's attitude became bright and cheerful.
"You have my word, Iruka-sensei."
"Alrighty then. Now run along and get ready for tomorrow. And don't worry about those boys, I'll take care of everything." Naruto nodded and sprinted out the door, but not before he waved good-bye.
