Midnight Facade

By: xxlostdreamerxz

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 1: Falling

"There is only so much one could take before they crack..."

"You fail," shrieked a particularly vile voice.

Naruto flinched, at the icy hatred in the man's voice. "Ano...I did all the work right, Marko-sensei," he protested quietly, as he darted a glance at his teacher's face which was red and bloated with anger and disgust.

The man snorted, "But you cheated," he stated coldly. "There is no way that dead-last could ever achieve full marks."

'I am only dead-last because you never acknowledge me,' thought Naruto with a grimace. It was his second year in academy already. The previous year, as like this year, his academy instructor had failed him on purpose. He didn't know or understand why they seemed to hate him so. He had tried everything to get in their good graces! He was polite, hard-working, and exceedingly calm. And yet, they failed him year after year even though he had the scores to pass!

"You must have been cheating off of the Hyuga boy. He was sitting close enough for you to copy him answers," Marko concluded, as he grabbed a red brush and made another slash on a piece of paper. With a slight grin, he glanced down at the paper before turning towards Naruto. "Uzumaki," he said sternly, "With a record such as yours, well, sooner or later we would have no choice but to expel you. After all, cheating is unacceptable."

Naruto stiffened, but managed to keep his protests to himself. He had learned in his 10 years of life that the adults seemed to relish in his pain. A flicker of hurt and defiance flashed across his sapphire blue eyes. He wouldn't allow them to hurt him. Not now, not ever. He was better than that.

"Well, Uzumaki?" drawled Marko, as he watched his student with a cruel smile. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

'Even if I didn't cheat, Ninjas are suppose to learn the arts of 'trickery and deceit,' he thought furiously, as anger flowed through his veins. Naruto, refusing to give into his emotions, plastered an embarrassed and ashamed expression on his face. "Gomen, Marko-sensei," he whispered softly, look pointedly down at the ground. "It won't happen again."

Marko nodded. "Good," he said dismissively. "Go now, I need to finish some paperwork," he stated, before turning his back to the boy. His lips curled in disgust. In due time, they would get the Kyuubi-brat out of the academy.

Soon...

Dear Hokage-sama,

As we have unfortunately discovered of late, your young ward Uzumaki Naruto has no potential as a shinobi. It is tragic, but nevertheless poses a real problem. Uzumaki possess below the average charka levels, pathetically low intelligence, and a penchant for trouble. He has, ever since his arrival, done nothing but hound and disrupt class with his tricks and pranks. As teachers of this prestigious academy, we have no choice but to urge you to withdraw the boy from the academy as soon as possible. Our mission here is to spread knowledge to all potential shinobis of the leaf. And we would like to emphasize that with Uzumaki here, such a mission would be impossible. Uzumaki has to leave immediately.

Sincerely,

Akira Marko

Head of the Shinobi Academy.

The Hokage peered over the letter at the blonde boy sitting before him. The old man's eyes softened momentarily, as he noticed Naruto's stiff countenance and tight, forced grin. 'What in the world am I to do with you, Naruto?' he pondered, as he carefully placed the letter down onto a stack of paper. Even if the Shinobi Academy refused to acknowledge the boy's strength, Sarutobi knew better than to think so little of the boy.

"Naruto," he said neutrally, as he met the boy's eyes. "I have just received a letter from the Academy stating that you've been up to mischief," he finished with a small smile. Sarutobi noted with a hint of guilt, the way the boy's shoulders slumped with relief.

Naruto regained his mask and huffed, "It's not my fault that Marko-sensei's an idiot," he said as he crossed his arms stubbornly. "I didn't do anything that bad."

Sarutobi chuckled softly.

"He keeps on ranting about how stupid I am, how I always cheat in class, and how I don't deserve to be placed in his esteemed class," complained Naruto, his voice growing louder and louder by the minute. "I mean, if I had a choice, I wouldn't even be there to start with."

The old man frowned at the boy's words. "I was not aware that you disliked the Academy so much Naruto," he said carefully, as he evaluated the boy's perfectly crafted expression. "If I had known sooner, I could have withdrawn you from their earlier."

A flicker of true anger crossed Naruto's face. "And where would I be placed then?" he demanded bitterly. "No one in this village would take me in. They hate me."

Sarutobi closed his eyes in pain as a swirl of memories evaded his mind.

"Protect him, Sarutobi-sensei, please I beg you. He is not the Kyuubi, only the container. He's a hero!"

The Hokage's breath came out in a whoosh and he remembered his promise. A steely glint entered his eyes as he turned towards Naruto. He might have neglected to look after the boy in the first few years of his life, but now things were going to be different. He titled his chin in determination.

"I will not lie to you, Naruto, and deny it," the man said evenly. "The leaf...and most of its inhabitants are fools. They do not see or accept you for who you are. And mind you, I know that you're a good boy and perhaps the most talented ninja I've come across in quite awhile," said Sarutobi with a slight grin. His lips twitched in amusement as he saw Naruto's eyes widen in a surprising mixture of horror and disbelief. "Yes, I know all about your little excursions, Naruto," he said in amusement.

"H-how..."

Sarutobi shook his head in amusement. "Why, because I am the Hokage," he stated, as if that explained everything.

"But..." Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "...then why didn't you stop me?" he stated skeptically. "You're the Hokage, aren't you suppose to uphold the 'values' of this village or something?"

Sarutobi smile grew wider and leaned forward with a conspiring smile. "That's what everyone believes," he said in amusement. "They view me as nothing more than a figurehead during times of peace and of course...their personal secretary," he finished with a slight frown, as he glanced over at the stacks of paper.

Naruto sweat-dropped.

"But honestly, Naruto, a Hokage's first duty is to protect his village," he said sternly, as he regained his composure. "It doesn't matter what or how I do it. As long as I get the job done, no one can blame me for their mistakes." Sarutobi's expression hardened. "Their opinions or values are none of my concern. So long as the village is safe, I am doing my job."

Naruto pouted. "But Old Man, how in the hell does that relate to me?!"

Sarutobi sighed and gave the blonde a poignant side glance. He knew what Naruto had done, so honestly, why in the blazing hell was the boy still feigning innocence? "Because first, you haven't harmed anyone from the Leaf (well, not permanently at any rate); hence, there is nothing I could accuse you of. Secondly..." The Hokage met Naruto's eyes. "...I believe that such training would help you in the future."

A spark of...something flashed across the pair of sapphire eyes. "Are you giving me permission then to continue with my...escapades?" he asked softly, with a hint of disbelief and suspicion. Naruto's lips curled into a frown. "And what do you mean it would 'help me in the future?" he demanded.

The Third sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration. He couldn't help but wonder slightly, as he met Naruto's suspicious glare, how things might have been different had the villagers been willing to accept the boy for who he was. His eyes darkened in pain as an image of a bright, cheerful blonde baby appeared in his mind and compared it with the cold, suspicious boy before him.

"You know what the villagers are like, Naruto," he said tiredly. "You need to learn how to fight and protect yourself..." since I know one day the villagers might try to kill you, he finished to himself. "And I believe your escapades will help test your skills."

Naruto snorted, but quickly regained his mask. "But Old Man!" he complained. "How can I learn to defend myself when all my teachers are idiots. The only thing that they ever do is drone on and on about shinobi history - about how some lame-ass dead guy created the first kunai...etc." He made a face. "I just want to be a ninja! Not some grey-haired half-dead historian."

Sarutobi was torn between amusement and annoyance. "Shinobi History is essential if you wish to believe a decent ninja," he argued. "Take for example, you wanted to go undercover in some foreign nation. You'd need to know the customs and history of such a nation to fit in."

The blonde boy raised an eyebrow. "Then why are we learning of ancient conquered civilizations?"

The Hokage's eye twitched. 'Touché.'

Naruto fell silent. "So, what are you going to do about it? The letter, I mean," he clarified, as a pained expression flashed across his face as he noticed the Third's guarded expression. Assuming the worst, Naruto guessed, "You're going to forbid me to be a ninja aren't you?"

Sarutobi blinked at the unexpected comment.

"The Shinobi Academy probably wrote to you about how I was...cheating in class," Naruto sneered at the word. "And they've most likely kicked me out in response." Naruto leaned back against his chair with a frown upon his face. "And you, the great Hokage, are now stuck on what to do with me," he guessed. "I can't go back to any one of the ninja academies seeing as how I have been kicked out of all the ones in Konoha. And I honestly doubt that you'd send me to another village to train," he said calmly, as he raised his icy blue eyes to met the Third's. "Did I get everything?" he drawled.

A proud smile flashed across his face. "Almost," he said brightly, as he handed over a large folder to the boy. Sarutobi's smile grew wider at the boy's surprise.

"What..." the boy trailed off weakly.

"That m'boy is your personal file," Sarutobi explained calmly. "It has a complete analysis of your fighting tactics, skills, intelligence, and so forth." Looking into those wide confused blue orbs, the Hokage felt a flicker of satisfaction. It was nice to know that the boy had not been completely broken by the villagers. "For the past few years there have been quite a few Jounin who have been assigned to keep tabs on you; they have been ordered by the Council to observe your every move."

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Why are you telling me this?"

The Third grinned evilly. "Because I have a task for you," he answered, as he took one long draw from his pipe. "That file is a copy of the one they have stored within the Council chambers, but not just any copy for it is charka-tied. Anything that the Council records there regarding you will instantly appear on your file." Sarutobi released a thick gray smog of smoke. "Your mission, Naruto, is to perfect you stealth. I want you to be able to hide your charka, your techniques, and so forth from all of your...minders." Waiting patiently for Naruto's nod, he continued, "If you manage to accomplish this mission I will personally find you the best ninja trainers around to tutor you."

Naruto stared at the Hokage incomprehensively. "Wait...let me get this straight," he drawled. "You want me to sabotage the Council, hide my talent, and whatever just so that I could get some lessons from a few crack-pot teachers?"

The Third snickered, as he held out his hand. "Well, yes, that's the gist. Do we have a deal?"

Naruto shrugged but reached forward to clasp the old man's hand. "Sounds like a plan," he said, with a small evil smirk growing upon his face.

"Good."

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