A.N.: What up what up what uuuuup! First chapter is done! Well, obviously. I mean, you wouldn't be reading this AN if it weren't now would you? Unless you skip the AN's. In which case fine, be a prick and ignore this totally necessary literary gem I've written just for you, the reader. The reader who's reading this to be specifically specific.

But in all seriousness. I'll be keeping some of the stuff from the old story and tweaking/modifying it to fit with my idea for this new one to speed up the process of rewriting this thing. So don't be too surprised if you find parts that are the same or very similar to what you've already read. Unless this is your first time reading either of my stories, in which case I bid you welcome

The gennin in this fic will all be in their mid-teens. Not be prepubescent 12 year-olds that are beating the crap out of each other and older more experienced shinobi. Naruto will be 16 since he failed the graduation exam 3 times. We'll say he got in a little early because Hiruzen wanted him to make friends. Everyone in Naruto's class will be around 15. The older characters will keep the same age as in canon. My logic on that is that it was war time when they were younger, so having children serving as meat shields for the more experienced shinobi makes complete sense. Fucked up, but still a pretty solid strategy.

Without further ado, I present to you the new and (hopefully) improved Why So Serious, with its new title "Something's Not Right Here"!

DISCLAIMER!DISCLAIMER!: THERE IS NO DISCLAIMER!

X Konoha X

Every year on October 10, Konoha would hold a celebration lasting an entire week that was dedicated to the defeat of the Kyuubi no Yoko and the death of their heroic Yondaime Hokage. It was on this date 5 years ago that the Kyuubi had attacked the village without warning and would have destroyed it had the fourth not stepped in. But unfortunately, he could do little to nothing to actually HARM the beast. Big shocker there. There were other factors in play, as there always are. Not that any of those celebrating knew that.

But back to the matter at hand, his inability to defeat the beast only left one option. He had to seal it away.

There was only one seal that he knew could hold the beast but it would cost him his life. Knowing that he had no choice, he used his own son as the container for the great demon and sacrificed himself to seal it away, hopefully, forever.

His dying wish to the newly reinstated Sandaime, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was for Naruto to be recognized as the hero that he was and would become. He knew the ignorance of the population would make his wish nothing short of difficult. But he had bled and fought and killed for these people. He knew these people. He loved these people and they him. These people wouldn't let his son down.

He was wrong though. Upon the Sandaime's revealing that the child had the Kyuubi sealed in him, the reactions had been less than positive. Half of the council wished to banish him, for fear of the seal breaking and the demon breaking free. There was even a small section that wished him put to death once it was explained that the seal would kill the fox should its host die as long as it remained functional. They were quickly silenced, however, for while they had all done heinous things during the war, none of them had any wish to go back to those ways even for a moment. The rest of the council couldn't agree with any solutions proposed by the other factions, nor could they quite agree to the late Yondaime's last wish. Not yet, while the extent to which the child would be affected by the sealing was still unclear. They didn't know if he would be a normal boy or if the demonic taint within him would manifest itself later. No, it was too risky to pick sides just yet.

Eventually the council agreed that the population had to be told of what had happened. As soon as word was out, it was clear that the news would not be received as well as hoped. Sensing the problems this could cause later in the boy's life, a new law was introduced. Anyone who mentioned the connection between the Kyuubi and Naruto to the younger generation or Naruto himself would be tried for treason. A crime punishable by death. After giving out all the information deemed safe to know such as the sealing and Minato's death, the populace couldn't get past the fact that the demon that had caused the death of their beloved hero and icon was still alive. They refused to have anything to do with the blameless child. Ofcourse, there were a few that outright hated the boy for what he contained. Nothing that was said could change their opinion. And as the boy grew, there would be the odd beating or two when one of those people, drunk or otherwise bereft of their higher thinking, found him alone. These were few and far between, however, and those that were caught were punished severely enough that few repeated the crime.

As he grew up, Naruto was shunned and feared by the villagers. They would ignore him as if he didn't exist. His attempts at talking to any of them was met by silence and the occasional insult. When he went in to stores, it wasn't uncommon for him to be charged slightly more or even to be refused service should the shop owner be someone who had lost friends or family when the nine tails attacked.

They told their children not to play with him, saying that he was dangerous. That he was crazy. That he wasn't human. Children, being children, had believed their parents without a second thought and refused let the blonde play with them and otherwise ignored him just as much as their parents.

Growing up alone, with little human interaction, and even less companionship, it's no wonder that the boy's sanity started to take its leave. Humans are a social species, and the need to interact with others is just as necessary to live as eating or sleeping. Being denied this necessity often results in unforeseen and unsettling developments. As all would soon discover...

So what do you guys think? Not too much different from the original intro, I know. But it's a step in the right direction I think. The original intro was way over used. This mostly sticks to how canon played out if memory serves correctly. Should really read through it again to brush up on my knowledge. Probably. Eventually.

As always, follow if you like it so far(not that there's much to go on yet) and leave me a review telling me what you liked and/or didn't like. Pointing out any mistakes I've made is always welcome, be they grammatical or something to do with the work itself. FLAMES ARE WELCOME. Smoke em if you got em I say, and your flames'll keep me higher than a kite.

And that's a wrap I guess. Till next time smurfs and smurfettes.