Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto
"Where am I?"
That simple question echoed through darkness. Naruto, after having a bad day, found himself in an unknown place. His feet were submerged by water and there was an eerie feeling in the air. It reminded him of a sewer. A strange red mist came from a large opening in the wall. It looked like a tunnel. Having decided he was standing still for too long, Naruto slowly walked into the only entrance there, following the red mist. The walk wasn't long as he came to a large area. In the middle of it was the entrance of a closed cage with a seal on it.
"So, you have come." said a deep ominous voice. Two large, red slited eyes opened and stared down at Naruto.
"Let me guess, you're the Kyuubi." said Naruto.
"Well at least my container is not an idiot. I am the Kyuubi no Yoko.
Naruto walked up to the cage.
"Where am I?"
"Your mind scape."
Naruto then found himself being pulled from the existence of his mindscape. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes. Birds were singing songs of joy and, did he just hear a rooster? The sun was casting a golden shine through his window. Naruto found it annoying and beautiful at the same time, also informational, letting him know it was time to get up. He lazily sat up on his bed and looked around.
"That was one strange dream." he mused.
That was no dream but we will speak of this later." said the Kyuubi.
"Wait! Are you in my head!?" asked/yelled Naruto.
Randomness, Naruto hated it. Hearing no reply the boy got off his bed to get ready for the day.
After grooming himself and eating some breakfast, the boy looked in the bathroom mirror. His long, smooth red hair was tied in a ponytail while his bangs were just hanging at the sides of his slightly round face, stopping at his cheeks. He looked at the whisker marks on his face. He loved that feature of himself, thinking it made him unique. Maybe it was a clue to who his parents were.
Naruto left the bathroom and went outside. It was a cool morning. Most places of business weren't open yet and the streets were empty. That was a good thing in Naruto's book. Shops didn't like to sell to him and the few shops that did only accepted his business late at night when most were asleep.
When Naruto reached the academy he went straight to his home room. Some of the academy teachers game him looks of disgust but he paid them no mind.
Only one child was in the classroom, a boy. Naruto remembered seeing him yesterday. He wore a simple long-sleeved black shirt with a raised collar with the Uchiha crest on the back, and black shorts. His hair was styled in an unusual way. The hair on the back of his head was styled in a way that made it look like the behind of a duck, or the head of some parrots. Bangs framed his face and stopped just above his chin. He had a bored look on his face and was sitting in the 5th row next to the window.
The boy perked up when he heard Naruto's footsteps. He saw a red-headed boy his age walk into the classroom, and were those whisker marks? The red-head walked up to him.
"Hi, I'm Naruto." Said the now identified Naruto.
"Well I'm Sasuke. Are you in this class too?" asked the now identified Sasuke.
"Yeah, hey you look like someone I met before."
Naruto got into a thinking pose. He then tapped his fist to his palm.
"Aha! You look like that duck I saw at the pond!" said Naruto excitedly.
A tick mark appeared on Sasuke's forward.
"And you look like the tomato I had for breakfast." replied Sasuke
"I'm sorry, I don't speak duck."
"Tomato"
"Duck-butt"
"Tomato"
"Duck-butt"
Naruto and Sasuke just stared at each other in a stalemate.
Minutes passed and more and more students filed into the room. Most of them recognized Sasuke as the younger brother of Itachi Uchiha and tried to befriend him in hopes of climbing the social ladder, especially the girls. Their motives were halted as Naruto sat next to the only seat next to him. Soon, the teacher came in.He had brown hair in a ponytail with a scar across the bridge of his nose. He was wearing the standard Konoha chunin and jonin outfit.
"My name is Iruka Umino and welcome to the shinobi academy. I will be your instructor."
Naruto tuned out the boring introduction. He observed the other students. Sasuke was listening with enthusiasm. Most of them appeared to be ordinary villagers. He also recognized his friends Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru, who all haled from respected clans. Of course Kiba was playing with his puppy Akamaru, Choji was munching on some potato chips, and Shikamaru was sleeping.
Naruto then felt disturbed. He felt like someone or something was watching him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the object of his discomfort. A navy blue haired girl was stealing a long peek at him. She had completely white eyes, a feature from the Hyuga clan. When Naruto completely looked in her direction she turned and looked away with a big blush. He just wrote her off as weird.
"Now everyone introduce your selves. We'll start off with you." said Iruka as he pointed to a boy on the first row.
Most of the students introduced themselves in a way expected from them. Some wanted to lead their respective clans and others thought being a shinobi was cool. It was going smoothly until Iruka's eyes landed on Naruto. He frowned.
"It's him!"
Rage spread throughout his body, but he didn't show it.
"The Hokage actually let him into the academy!?"
Iruka pointed at Naruto.
"Hey you with the red hair, why are you here?"
Naruto looked at the instructor and replied.
"To become a ninja, obviously."
"What's your name?"
"Naruto Uzumaki"
"I'll keep my eye on him. He better not try anything."
Naruto could see the hate in Iruka's eyes. He was just like the villagers. All of them hated him for no reason, well except for the Hokage and the ramen stand owner and his daughter. The children don't hate him though. Only when their parents make them.
As the last student gave their introduction, Iruka started with the lesson.
"Does anybody know what jutsu is?" he asked.
Sasuke raised his hand and Iruka gave a nod.
A good hour was spent on what jutsu was. After that Iruka took all the students outside to see their current skills in taijutsu.
"The first to spar will be Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki." said Iruka
Naruto and Sasuke got into the sparring circle drawn on the ground and went into their battle stances. The rest of the students watched and made their bets on who would win.
Iruka raised his arm.
"Ready? Begin!"
As soon as Iruka's arm went down, the boys rushed at each other.
AN: As you know i have made some changes to the tradition Naruto.
Naruto looks like a male version of his mother.
Naruto and Sasuke's friendship will be an important aspect in this story.
I don't know about the pairing or if there will be one at all.
I'll update when I can so don't expect week after week.