Chapter One: Enter: Uzumaki Naruto!
Story summary: AU, Real world. Uzumaki, the school's 'loser' finally came across a chance to escape his torture at school; a vacation to Suna! In his travels, he meets a pink-haired girl named Sakura. Naru/Saku
Authors Note: I planned this about Naruto's background and him leaving for this, next chapter will be Sakura's background and onward.
Please read and review
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Key:
'Thought'
"Speech"
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It is a gorgeous summer day and school had just ended moments ago for an eleven-year old boy, Uzumaki Naruto. Nowadays, he spends most his time outside of school locked in his room, since he has lost all interest in pursuing extracurricular activities, and believes school is just yet another nuisance to get through every day.
Now why would an eleven-year old boy daily life be so dreary? Simple; he was considered the school's loser; no one cared about him and always taunted him every chance they got. No one befriended him either, out of fear that they would gain his loser status too, and merely turned a blind eye to the bullying.
Naruto isn't dumb, as everyone thought he was, and knows that he is innocent of the accusations they laid on him. As a result, the boy hates everyone. He can't stand how everyone looks at him, whether in pity, apathy, or hate, and just wants to leave this place, his personal hell on earth.
School was over for the time being and he could finally relax in the safety and leisure of his own room; there would be no one to torment him now. He sat in front of his desk in an office chair, surfing the web and typing occasionally. Having no friends really limited what he could do in his spare time. In his eyes, he was all alone and would never have a normal, interactive, life like every other child.
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The blonde was alert when he heard his mom knocked rather loudly on the door.
"I have something really important I need to talk to you about," his mom said, her voice slightly muffled by the piece of wood in between them.
Naruto grunted, got up and off his chair, and opened the door.
"What's so important, Mom?" he asked.
"Dad and I have decided to take us on this trip my company is offering. We would be traveling as a group with 4 or 5 other families to a foreign country," she said.
Naruto perked up at the thought of traveling out of country to Suna. He had never been there before, and it would be interesting to stare at something other than his glowing computer screen and the wall.
His mother then said that he would have 2 weeks to pack until they would leave. He desperately wanted so a reason to get out of the house and find something to do interesting to do for a change. After all, a vacation would take his mind off the torture called school that he has to go through on a nearly daily basis.
Naruto woke his sleeping computer and sifted through websites, trying to find something to occupy his bored mind. It's rather early to start packing for the trip, and he didn't have anything else to do on his agenda. In the end, he settled for watching episodes of his favorite TV show on the internet.
The world found Naruto one week later bored and somewhat frustrated at the slow pace that time was passing. At least now he could start creating a list of everything he needed to bring with him on the trip. He sat back at his desk and started scribbling random things he wanted to bring.
"Naruto, dinner's done."
"Okay, Mom. I'll be down in a sec." Naruto hustled down the stairs to join his mom and dad for a cheeseburger and some fruit.
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That night, Naruto couldn't stop tossing and turning in his bed; sleep escaped him like sand through his fingers. Finally, after what seemed like the millionth try, he gave up the struggle against insomnia and went downstairs for some water.
Gulping down the last drops of water, he put the glass down and rested his hands on the counter of the sink. One thought ran through his mind as he stood there.
'Will the kids there accept me? Or will they see me like everyone else here; a loser, an idiot, a misfit?'
He sighed and walked back to his room and tried again to fall asleep. Little did he know that his mom was watching in the shadows, leaning on a wall. She sighed, knowing exactly why her son couldn't sleep. She shook her head and headed off to bed herself.
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Tomorrow was the big day that the whole family was looking forward to. Naruto walked down the stairs, as usual, to breakfast with a crick in his neck. This was a ritual of sorts, one that he grew to be familiar with. A night of no sleep, only tossing and turning, followed up by waking up with a sore and tight neck.
"Morning Mom," he said as he took a seat.
"Hey, how did you sleep?" she answered from the kitchen. 'He'll probably answer with the usual but at least it cheers him up a bit when I ask.'
"I couldn't sleep again and my neck hurts too… again" he replied.
"I'm sure it will get better."
"Thanks Mom. I'm glad you ask, it cheers me up a bit," he said with a fox like smile. She sighed and continued cooking their breakfast.
After a hearty meal of eggs, bacon, and pancakes, Naruto headed to his room to finish packing; he had most of the stuff he needed already in his bags, but he wanted to do a last second check.
Everyone in his family received a backpack with some basic traveling stuff to make the long flight more comfortable, or at least as comfortable as being stuck in a small space for hours.
He already did his laundry the previous day, so all the clothes he needed were already neatly packed and ready to go.
They would be spending most of the time in Suna traveling to all the different places in the country, so he needed clothing for every terrain. Also, there was no need of many electronics like his laptop, since finding an electrical plug in the middle of a desert can be quite difficult.
Having half the day left to himself, he decided that a nice video game would suffice to kill the time and make him tired enough to go to sleep. If he could sleep that is.
After brushing his teeth thoroughly, he rinsed his mouth out with a glass of water. Refilling the cup, he then took it into his bedroom and placed it beside his bed in case he needed a drink in the middle of the night. Sighing, he changed into his sleeping attire and crawled into bed.
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When Naruto woke up the next morning, he had the roughest night he had had in a long time. The increased amount of tossing and turning had resulted in his water glass being knocked over, soaking the carpet on his floor. It also resulted in him only getting four hours of sleep. Grunting as he sat up, he winced, as the pain in his neck was bothering him particularly badly this morning. Grabbing a paper towel, he absorbed the water that had spilled during the night; or at least what hasn't soaked into the carpet already. Once he was satisfied, he threw the paper towel away and ran downstairs.
"I threw your bags in the car already, and we're grabbing breakfast on the road, so hustle to car! We are leaving in five minutes." Naruto's mom said as she ran to the garage.
"Okay, thanks Mom," Naruto called out as he too, ran to the car, passing his dad, who was busy loading the last of the bags on to the car.
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Naruto sat in the car, staring out window as they pulled up to the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant.
"What would you like to eat?" his mother asked from the front passenger seat of the car.
"I'll have a chicken biscuit," he replied, still staring out the window.
"Tell them 3 chicken biscuits and 3 orange juices, honey," she told her husband. He did just that and soon afterwards they were handed the food at the next window.
They were now thirty minutes from the airport, and Naruto still sat there, barely eating his sandwich and stared out the window.
"Anything wrong?" his mom asked, not looking back.
"You know what's wrong," was all he said his eyes never leaving the fast-moving blurs outside the car.
She paused her eating for a second and stated, "You know, you should move on from everything that happened in school; it's summer vacation now. Relax and have fun."
She took a bite from her sandwich when she finished talking.
Naruto smiled; he mother always knew exactly what to say to make him feel better, even if it's just a little.
"I will Mom, or at least I'll try to." he said, giving her his famous smile.
She looked back and smiled back at him as they pulled into the airport's parking lot.
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So there it is, my first chapter to my first story
I'd like to thank mandy-san for everything she has done in helping me get this chapter ready. She was a real life saver.
I'll try to get the next chapter as fast as possible