Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did...I wouldn't be writing this.

Waking Up

Prologue

Five-year-old Naruto was running through the streets. People glared at him, and shouted out insults. He didn't care though. He did something. Something great. He saved someone. A girl, actually. Pink hair, green eyes.

Flashback

When the girl's parents found the small boy getting beat on by a group of bullies, the girl was crying. The father, a purple haired man, stepped in and told the bullies to scram. They ran, and the parent's finally saw a good look at the boy. Blonde hair, blue eyes. The mother looked at him and turned to leave, but the father stopped her.

The father turned to his daughter and asked what happened. The girl said the bullies were making fun of her hair and the blonde came in and saved her. But the bullies started to hit him. She didn't know what to do. The blonde mother looked at her, than at Naruto. Speaking of which, he was starting to get up. When he did, and saw the adults, he glared at them. The father smiled and said, "Thank you for saving our daughter. We appreciate it. You're a hero!"

Naruto's glare softened, but still held. What changed him was when the mother stiffly said, "Thank you."

His glare disappeared but that's it. "Th-thank you...for saving me..." the girl with pink hair said.

Naruto grinned at the three before charging off.

Flashback end

He was happy, something he only felt when he was with the Hokage, or at Ichiraku's. He was to happy to notice a man with a cane and a bandage over his right eye at a crossroads. The man grabbed him with considerable speed, and then disappeared. No one noticed that Naruto was gone. They didn't care...

Two hours later...

Naruto finally woke up in a bland room on a small bed with a thin blanket covering him. He looked around. The walls were grey, there was a small dresser, presumably for clothing. Naruto then settled his sight on a man, an old man, who had bandages covering his right eye. The man had no expression on his face, no emotions to show what he was thinking. "Wh-where am I?" Naruto asked, voice quivering.

The man looked at him, like he was a specimen. Naruto sure did feel like one, under the constant gaze of a microscope. "You are at the ROOT base," came the simple reply.

"Why am I here?" Naruto asked with more courage.

"You know that feeling," the old man started, "That feeling that comes after saving someone? After people thank you?"

Naruto nodded hesitantly. He felt that earlier, when he saved the girl from bullies. "Do you want to become a ninja?" the man asked, "Do you want to keep feeling the feeling?"

Another nod. The old man smiled. It was an uncaring smile though, for an uncaring old man. "I'll train you then, but not here. And with a different approach. When you turn eight you'll go to the Academy. By then, you'll be strong. So that you can become a real hero. What is you goal, boy, your dream?"

Naruto looked at the man, and thought, before saying, "I want to...protect the people I care about. I want people to change their opinions about me! I want to become the Hokage, dattebayo!"

"My name is Danzo Shimura, and I'll be training you," Danzo said, "But you cannot tell the Hokage about this, okay? I'll tell you more later. Now, go on home. I'll send one of my agents to get you in the morning."

Naruto smiled brightly, "Okay Danzo-jiji!"

Danzo looked at the young boy. Who knows what might happen?

Three years later...

An eight-year-old Naruto was walking up the steps of the Ninja Academy. He had a grin on his face, and his blue eyes sparkled. His appearance differed. He was on the lean side, for an eight-year-old of course, and his hair had grown longer. He was also taller. Due to eating healthier. Ramen was the food of gods, still. When he walked into his classroom, he was surprised to see someone who changed his destiny. The pink-haired girl. What he found she was doing also surprised him. She, with a multitude of other girls, were swarming over a black-haired boy who he recognized as Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha...the only survivor of the Uchiha Clan Massacre

He shrugged at went over there, moving past the bodies of young girls, and sat beside the boy. He opened with a big, cheesy smile, "Hiya! My name's Naruto Uzumaki! What's yours?"

Sasuke looked at him before saying, "Sasuke Uchiha," in a curt manner. Naruto nodded.

The pink-haired girl gasped before exclaiming, "It's you!'

Naruto turned and smiled and waved. So she recognized him. That's cool. "Yup! Naruto Uzumaki, savior! By the by, I never got your name!"

"Oh, it's Sakura Haruno!"

A blonde girl, who was beside Sakura, turned to look at Naruto. She said, "Who's this, Sakura?"

"Remember the person who stood up for me?" Sakura explained, a nod came from the blonde, "He's the one!"

"Oh! Well, Mr. Saver, I'm Ino Yamanaka," the blonde said with a smile.

Again, Naruto nodded. After a few more moments of talking, a man with dark, balding hair walked in. "Hello class! My name is Yakibura Toreno. I'll be your teacher for this year!"

And so, started Naruto's journey with kids his age.

Later...

Naruto felt great. Greater than great: Awesome! Right now, he was walking home Sakura. She asked him to hang out, and being as it was his day off, he said yes. As they were walking, the blonde boy sensed four presences. From the alley to their left came older boys. They all looked mad. "Hey, look at that!" one of them said.

"Yeah, what ugly hair. It's pink!" another said.

Then one of the boys noticed Naruto, "Look at him! He's the one our parent's tell us to stay away from."

"Nobody likes him..." the tallest, and probable leader of the group, said, "Grab him!"

The four boys swarmed to Naruto, going right past the stunned Sakura, and grabbed him. When they pulled, they couldn't move him. "Guys, you should stop," Naruto said earnestly, "I really don't want to hurt you."

The boy grunted in exertion as they kept trying to push and pull. Finally one snapped and threw a punch at Naruto...but he wasn't there. He was gone, a log where Naruto was. When they looked around, they saw him and Sakura running away. And now they were mad. They gave chase. But they lost them. The boys went home, angered. Then one thought, Where did he get a log?

"Right here, this is my home!" Sakura said.

Naruto nodded and let Sakura open the door for them to enter. When the blonde entered, a huge grin was on his face straight away. The feeling of the house felt...homely and warm. "Dad!" Sakura called out, "Mom! I'm home with a friend!"

"Alright Sakura" a low voice replied back, "Don't make a mess of the house."

The two kids went into Sakura's room and...surprise. Pink! It was just so...pink. Everything was pink. Everything. But Naruto didn't care. He loved orange. Orange was awesome, way better than pink. Naruto jumped onto her bed before asking the pink haired girl, "Why do you want to become a ninja?"

Sakura replied, without hesitation, "To get closer to Sasuke-kun. Why do you want to become one?"

Naruto frowned at that. To get closer to Sasuke..."I want to become a ninja because I want to protect people. And to become the Hokage." After a moment, "Sakura, if you just want to get closer to Sasuke...that's honestly a stupid reason. Do you even know him? Or is it the idea of him?"

Sakura scrunched her face in thought. He wasn't trying to be mean, he was just trying to talk. She answered, hesitantly, "I-I don't know..."

Naruto grinned, "Don't worry! You'll find a good goal! Anyways, with me here you'll see he isn't that great!"

Sakura smiled at Naruto. "Hey, Sakura-chan, I gotta leave! Bye!"

Sakura was about to say goodbye but Naruto jumped out of the window before she could. Sakura stared ahead in shock before running to the opening. Naruto was gone.

One Year Later...

Naruto was the dead last in his class. Not because of sparring, or actual field work, but because of the actual theory of it all. And because he knew all he needed by training with Danzo. He knew most of everything about the Kage's, the landscape of foreign areas. In reality, he was stronger and smarter than all of his class. Naruto then remembered words from his sensei, Danzo:

Remember, do not show your true strength.

Most of the girls in the class still swooned over Sasuke, except Sakura. She still liked the Last Uchiha, but she focused more on her training. Naruto smirked, as the new teacher, Iruka Umino, called that it was sparring time. Iruka was one of the only people who had actually seen Naruto as Naruto. Not as the Kyuubi. Naruto knew he had the Kyuubi inside of him. He learned of that over two years ago, when Danzo made him angry enough. ROOT agents knocked him out before he could cause any havoc, though. Naruto also had a conversation with the beast.

Flashback

"Boy, you are weak," Danzo said in a condescending tone, "Do you think you can do anything? You are nothing! Nothing at all! If you tried to protect someone you would die!"

Naruto rushed forward to try to punch the old man, but before he could Danzo grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground. Danzo smirked, "Boy, you are terrible! Like I said, you'll only die if you try anything. You, a ninja? Ha, that's a joke!"

Naruto growled, his eyes becoming slit-eyed and his whisker marks darkening. A sickly-red aura came over the young jinchuuriki. He jumped forward but was knocked out by the ROOT ANBU.

Naruto woke up in a sewer. He was confused at where he was, but decided to check around. Ninja shouldn't hesitate to move. But always be weary. Walking along in the water, he heard growling. Coming upon an open room with a huge gate, he wondered, "What is this?"

An answer in a rough voice called out to answer his question, "I am the Kyuubi. Hello...Naruto!"

From the darkness of the cage, a giant orange fox came to light. "T-the Kyuubi...Where am I?" Naruto asked, stunned.

"Hahaha..." the Kyuubi laughed, "You're in your mind. This is where that damned Namikaze sealed me!"

"Namikaze..." Naruto asked, "You mean my father?"

Kyuubi stared at the young Naruto, "So you're his son? I'm guessing the woman who I was sealed in before is your mother?"

Naruto scrunched his face in thought before nodding slowly, "But I think this is stupid! Why don't we make a deal? If you help me and give me some of your power when I'm in dire need, I'll let you see everything. And I'll make a mental connection, too?"

Laughing, the Kyuubi replied, "And why would you do that, brat?"

Naruto grinned at the fox before, "I think you need a friend!"

Flashback end

When the shinobi-wannabe's stepped outside, Sasuke called out, "I want to spar Naruto!"

The relationship between Naruto and Sasuke was odd. The were rivals, but at the same time enemies. Even though this was almost entirely one-sided. Sasuke didn't like the blonde, whereas Naruto liked Sasuke. Where Naruto thought they were friendly rivals, Sasuke thought of it as an obstacle of sorts.

Iruka nodded, and the two boys walked into the circle. Naruto grinned at Sasuke, who in turn glared at Naruto. "Go Sasuke!" the girls cheered in the background.

"Fight!" Iruka called out.

Sasuke sprang at Naruto, who dodged and grabbed the Uchiha by the hair. Pulling him back, Naruto tripped Sasuke. The black-haired boy landed on his back as Naruto's fist came crashing down on his face. It wasn't hard enough to bleed, only to leave a bruise. "Done, Sasuke!" Naruto smiled brightly.

Sasuke hardened his gaze. Naruto turned on his heel, and walked out of the circle.

Another Year Gone, Two More to Go...

It was Naruto's second year at the Academy and his fifth year training with Danzo. Naruto's new get-up was now a tight fitting black sleeveless-t-shirt and black loose ANBU pants. "Naruto!" Naruto looked up when his name was called and saw Danzo in his apartment.

He sensed something was off, but paid no attention to it. And when Danzo appeared, he cursed himself for not making himself go investigate. "Yeah, Danzo-jiji!" Naruto smiled when he saw the frown on Danzo's face.

"Boy..." the old-man started, "I have scrolls for jutsu for you to teach yourself. As of now, we are done."

Naruto's smiled disappeared and nodded, "So...just hope for the best?"

"Maybe. I know your dead last. Why?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, "We don't need to know any theory or history. It's useless. Besides, I work better on the job. Haven't lost a spar yet!"

Danzo chuckled, "But that's a spar, not a full-fledged fight."

"You know you sent me on missions, Danzo-san. Three near-death experiences too. These spars are more for fun than anything else!"

Shaking his head, Danzo left Naruto's apartment. Naruto nodded sternly, before smiling.

Three Months Later...

Naruto felt...empty. He lost the only person who actually took the effort to actually do something with Naruto, other than the Hokage. Naruto didn't know how to handle this feeling...this feeling of departure. He knew he'd probably see Danzo in the future, but that was it. Danzo made him promise, the first training session, to keep hush about this. But then again, Naruto learned that he couldn't trust anyone. Anyone at all. Not even the Hokage.

For the past hour Naruto had been walking aimlessly. He had no place to be, no curfew. Nothing to return to, except his shabby apartment. Walking and walking. What did it all mean? What was the point to anything? To live? To survive? Naruto shook his head to try to get rid of these thoughts. But as he was shaking, he bumped into someone. That someone fell to the ground. Naruto looked down and saw Ino, who had a scowl on her face. "Watch where you're going, Nar-u-to!" the girl said, anger lacing her words.

Naruto put on a grin as he said, "Sorry Ino! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" Naruto held out his hand to the grounded girl, and she reluctantly accepted the offered hand, "So, where ya goin' Ino?"

Ino replied, "Home."

Naruto, being the ever nice guy, decided to walk her home. It was silent for the most part, Naruto just liked the silence but Ino thought it was somewhat awkward. "You know, Ino, me and Sasuke are pretty similar," the blonde boy stated simply.

Ino snorted, "How could you, the dead-last, ever be like Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto still had his annoying grin placed on his face, "Well, both of our family's dead. We both have a clan legacy to uphold, even though mine's a tiny bit obscure. Hmmm...we're both good at fighting, ninjutsu. We both live alone. Other than our appearance, we're pretty much the same!"

"Wait, you have a clan?" Ino asked incredulously.

Naruto flashed a toothy smile at his fellow blonde, "Course I do! The last name doesn't mean nothing, you know! You know the swirl on the chunin's and jonin's vest?" Ino nodded, "Well, that's my clan's symbol! Back in the day, when the Shodaime was still alive and some years after that, we used to have an alliance. The Uzumaki were feared because of their fuinjutsu, which lead to their downfall in the Second Shinobi War. I'm slightly related to the Senju's, because the Shodaime had married an Uzumaki. Did you know that?"

Ino's eyes widened at that, "So-you mean-that...you're kind of more important than Sasuke-kun?"

"In a way..." Naruto thought about the Kyuubi, "But not because of clan's! Because of a secret. Honestly, Sasuke isn't all that important either. Yeah, his clan was one of the founders of Konoha, but that doesn't mean Sasuke should act all high and mighty about it. It's his forefather's fame that he lives off of."

After that, they just kept walking in silence. Ino had quite a bit to think about, for her young mind anyways, and Naruto had no thoughts in his mind at all. He was serene with just walking. But alas, good things have to stop some times. They finally made it to the Yamanaka compound. Then Ino thought, What secret? What burden?

But when she turned, expecting to see Naruto, she saw nothing. Well...she could ask later. She had some talking material now. Gossip and talking with her father. The sort.

Nine Months Later, Naruto's Last Year...

Naruto's standing with the kids his age improved highly after sharing that tidbit of information with Ino earlier. Sasuke looked at Naruto with a respectful eye, Ino hung out with Naruto more, along with Shikamaru and Chouji. People actually took him serious. At first kids were skeptical, but when they researched they found it was true. Naruto's grades stayed the same even though, even with...some...encouragement from Ino. He couldn't be bothered. Sakura was actually quite strong, being in the top with Ino. Surprisingly, Ino also stopped trying to get Sasuke's affections. Like Sakura, she decided to work on the shinobi arts.

Naruto had failed twice already, even though he knew how to do a variable of the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) within the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique). He just wanted to graduate with his class. Not two years early, not one. And everyone else just laughed at him when he did. Ha! He was a better shinobi than all of them.

Again, Naruto's appearance changed. It was like he was trying different things to see what he liked the most. His hair was shorter, but still spiky, he had black sandals on and an orange jumpsuit. He wanted to know if people could catch him do pranks with this on. Seriously, if he could do anything to anyone with it on, he deserved to be the best. Naruto tried to get Sasuke to wear orange to compete with him, but the black-haired boy took a look of complete terror and ran away. A very big difference in his usually stone-cold appearance. Naruto had a good laugh after that.

But right now, we find Naruto running around the training grounds. Just doing physical exercise, you know-the good stuff. Sensing something off, Naruto stopped moving. What came out of the tree a second later was a kunai. "Ohh...wow..." Naruto exclaimed, "That...could've hurt..."

Naruto shrugged then grabbed the kunai out from the tree it planted itself in. He threw it in the direction that it came from. Moments later, a shriek came from the direction he threw it. Naruto grinned and ran towards the sound. Later, Naruto emerged to see a girl in pink on the ground. Her hair was done in two buns to either side of the back of the head, and she wore black pants. "You okay?" Naruto asked.

The girl nodded, and accepted Naruto's hand to get up. Looking around, the blonde realized they were in a training ground. In the distance were three people looking like they were, also, training. "Who are you?" the girl asked.

Naruto focused back towards the taller girl, "Me? Naruto Uzumaki. How about you?"

The girl politely smiled, "I'm Tenten. What are you doing here?"

"Mmmm...training," Naruto replied, just thinking of ramen, "What are you doing here?"

"Training with the newly formed Team Nine or Team Gai with Gai-sensei," Tenten exclaimed proudly.

"Oh! Cool. So did you just become a genin?" Naruto asked, then looked back towards the three in the distance. They finally saw the boy in orange and decided to come over and check it out.

"Yep," Tenten nodded, "We just became genin!"

Naruto smiled, thinking, I could've ended up with her, with anyone else...seems legit. Tenten's teammates finally came near. They were an odd bunch, an obvious Hyuuga-with their pale eyes and brown hair-a different person with shorter, dark hair that seemed to go up in the back, and bushy brows, a white, Chinese robe on, and a cloth belt around his midsection. He looked like he would become the second coming of the man in the group. He had a bowl-cut, even bushier eyebrows and a green, spandex, suit. He could understand the spandex in survival situations-it's green!-but in everyday life...Naruto shivered thinking about what others could wear.

Gai said, "Who is this, Tenten?"

She looked back and said, "This is Naruto, he was training around here."

Gai looked at the orange-clad shinobi-wannabe, "So, you were training for what?"

Naruto shrugged, "Physical conditioning, the sort. I need to stay strong if I want to do anything!"

Gai smiled at that, "Hai! Let your youthful flames shine!"

Cutting in, the possible second coming of Gai, said, "Hello Naruto-kun, my name is Rock Lee! It is good to meet you!" Yep, totally the second coming of Gai.

The Hyuuga just glared daggers at Naruto, "I don't deem it necessary to speak to such...filth."

Naruto laughed. This surprised the group, thinking that the blonde would take offense to this. Stopping halfway into his turn, the Hyuuga had a scowl on his face. "Ohh...that's good!" Naruto was grinning, "Me, filth? Ha! That's comedy gold. Now, Hyuuga, shuddup! Filth...filth is dirt. And I'm not dirt. I'm human. Get it right next time!"

"Let us spar, to see if you can be deemed...more than dirt," the Hyuuga said icily.

"Neji, don't!" Tenten tried to get Neji to stop, "This isn't worth it."

Neji didn't back down, neither did Naruto. Tenten decided to change her sights on Naruto, "Please, this isn't worth it. I don't want you to get hurt! Neji was the Rookie of the Year!"

Naruto, again, laughed, "But he's still green as grass! Rookie of the Year...doesn't matter. It just means your good at things that are easy. Nothing to be proud of there! Anyways, this is worth it."

So the two boys got into their respective stances. "Fight!" Gai said.

"It is your fate to lose," the Hyuuga said coldly, "You have no chance to beat me."

When Naruto was about to rush in, he stopped, "You think it's fate that dictates life? You think that...you can't make your own decisions? Ahaha! Hilarious. You should what you want to do, believe in yourself! If you don't, then who will?!"

Naruto rushed in with shocking speed and delivered a punch to the stomach of Neji. Spinning, he sent a back fist to the side of the Hyuuga's face. Coming in with his right hand, Naruto delivered a powerful cross that knocked Neji to the ground. Shaking his head, Naruto said, "And that is what you get for underestimating your opponent. It doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter how strong you think you are, always think that the opponent is stronger than you, so you finish the fight without any prolonging. Anyone who is anyone can win a fight."

Naruto left the surprised genin and jonin.

One Year Later, Graduation Time Baby!

Naruto stood in front of Iruka and Mizuki. "Now, Naruto, please do the Bunshin no Jutsu," Iruka stated calmly.

"Ummm..." Naruto started, "Can I do something else...something more...prominent?"

Iruka raised his eyebrow and asked, "Go ahead and show us."

Naruto smirked and put his index- and middle-finger on each hand into a cross, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, a perfect copy of Naruto appeared at his side. Iruka was surprised that he knew this technique, but then counted it on the Hokage. Naruto had so much chakra it would be like squeezing a drop of water out of an ocean. Iruka took off his hitae-ite and gave it to Naruto, he promised himself he would. "Here, Naruto. You pass!"

"Yatta!" Naruto yelled brightly and jumped.

A Half Hour Later...

Naruto was swinging on the swing on the tree by the Academy with a grin on his face. He was just so happy. Thank you, Danzo-jiji! Jumping from the swing, Naruto decided he was going to go visit the Hokage. The old man would just love to see him. Taking to the rooftops, Naruto misplaced his footing and tripped to the streets below. And fell onto Asuma Sarutobi. Or-well-almost fell on Asuma. The Sarutobi caught Naruto before he did.

"Woah..." Naruto breathed, "Well...that was fun?"

Asuma chuckled and put the blonde down, "So, what are you doing Naruto?"

"I'm going to go see hokage-jiji!" Naruto grinned, "I just became a ninja!"

"Oh. Hmmm...I might just get you put on my team..." Asuma muttered under his breath, not expecting Naruto to hear that.

Naruto grin became ever bigger, "Ohhh, that would be great!"

Asuma chuckled and went on his way. Naruto ran towards the Hokage Tower again, dead-set on making it there. And he did. And he barged into the Hokage's office. "Hokage-jiji, I'm a ninja!" Naruto yelled out and rushed to the Hokage. But.

But somebody picked him up by the scruff of his neck. And, instantly, Naruto grabbed the hand holding him and swung his feet upward and over his head to land on the arm, grip broken. He looked over his shoulder to see a man with gravity-defying white-hair, a mask, and one eye. Kakashi Hatake, Naruto thought. "Hey, watch it," Naruto complained.

The mans single eye brightened up, as if he was smiling. Mask is terrible. But Naruto could live with it. Personal preference and the sort. When Kakashi was about to say something, Naruto turned and went to the Hokage. Kakashi almost face-planted right there. "Hey! Hokage-jiji," Naruto said, excitedly, "I'm a ninja! One step closer to taking your hat, old man!"

The Hokage chuckled before saying, "Naruto, good job! But, as you can see, I'm having a meeting here. Could you come back later?"

Naruto nodded and turned to leave. And leave he did. But then he bumped into someone...a short someone. He looked down and saw a kid with brown hair, a hemlet, a scarf and a missing tooth. "Hey, watch it!" Naruto told the kid.

"Hey! Apologise to me!" the kid growled out, "I'm the grandson of the Hokage-"

"And I care why?" Naruto asked, "I'll say sorry when you get my respect. Right now, your just a snot nosed kid."

"No, I'm Konohamaru!" the boy hissed.

Naruto looked at him, "The old name for the village? Cool, cool. I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Well, boss!" Konohamaru said, "Your going to teach me!"

Naruto looked at him before crossing his fingers. In a puff of smoke, another Naruto was there. "Hey, take this kid and show him around, okay?" Naruto told his clone.

The clone saluted and grabbed Konohamaru and ran off to do fun things! Hmmm...what to do, what to do? I know! I'll make a new outfit, one more becoming of a ninja other than this orange drab... Naruto thought before running of to his home.

A/N-Heyy! Verrarria here! And, well, this is Waking Up. This is going to be my current project, something that I will actually work on and not shrug off. Okay, any questions, complaints, or anything of the sort, message me or leave a review. Constructive criticism is nice, but try not to flame. Even if you do, I'll take it in stride; Just another review for the review count.

Fly like a bee, sting like a butterfly-Verrarria, out!