Kasek: Argh.... I know this isn't one of my old stories, but an update is an update. Here's a glimpse into something I've had stuck in my head for a LONG time, and that I hope to turn into a serious story sometime soon (I have other chapters of this written, which is why this is in its own spot, so I'll have those up after there's some interest in this XP)

-o-o-

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Shaman King

A young, 5-year old Uzumaki Naruto was wandering around town, continuously scowling at all those around him as he walked down the street- his resentment towards the world did not go unrequited, as everyone who saw him scowled back. Or rather, it was the other way around- the world scowled at this boy, and the boy returned their feelings.

As the boy continued to travel down the street, his gaze turned ever lower, until his face was turned towards the ground immediately in front, no longer paying attention to where he was going, but to his feet moving one at a time. This behavior was common in the boy, despite knowing that he shouldn't, as it could lead to trouble- which, secretly, the boy hoped for. However, this day, this method of attention-seeking would drive him into a lifetime's worth of trouble.

"Oof!" The boy blinked as he stepped away from what he had just walked into. He paled at the sight- it was a very large, porcelain white-furred creature, that appeared to be a kitsune of sorts. The face was like a ceremonial mask, the facial features outlined in red. It was wearing a shrine gate as a collar for some reason, and a gold bulb with a point was on its tail.

The creature looked at him for a moment, and spoke with a feminine voice. "Ah... a boy with "the talent", I see."

Naruto was understandably scared. "Wh-what are you?"

It gave a short bark- a laugh of sorts, as a villager walked right through it. "It is best not to speak to me- to everyone else, I am but a spirit that they neither see nor hear."

He gulped- a spirit? He could hear and touch it... but nobody else could. It had mentioned a "talent"... He looked it in what he assumed to be the eye. "Does that mean... I'm special?"

The creature shook its head. "No... you are not special. Not yet. But if you wish to be special... I could introduce you to someone who could make you so. Just wait here, by my side, and he will come shortly." It walked closer to the side of the road, and Naruto followed, entranced by the whole experience. Soon enough, a man in monk's clothing and a wooden bird mask came out of a shop next to them. The man turned his gaze first to the kitsune, whose own gaze turned to the boy. Naruto froze under the stare of the mask- he normally could see somebody's eyes, but this person... with no eyes with which he could see what they were feeling, Naruto could not tell if they were the same cold eyes that everyone else gazed upon him with.

"Boy... you can see her?"

He nodded. "Y-yes."

The man was silent for a moment. "...Where are your parents?"

Naruto felt- what was it? Sadness, anger? Despair, fury? He could not tell what it was- it was like there was a hole in his heart. "...I don't have any."

The mask continued staring at him with its empty eyes, and after a moment the man seemed to sigh. "Well... if you have nothing better to do, follow me. I'm sure... they wouldn't mind."

-o-o-

Naruto was astonished at the size of the compound the man had brought him to. "What is this place? I haven't been to this part of the village before..."

The man chuckled. "This... is the Asakura Clan compound. I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of us- most of our members have long since left this village for other lands. The only people left... are the head, his daughter, her son, and for the moment, myself, my apprentice, and another apprentice that comes by whenever they can. If they accept you... you could start living here, if you wish."

This caught Naruto's whole-hearted attention. "Wh-what? Why? Why would you take me in?"

The man sighed again. "This family... takes in those with "the talent", and seeks to train them so that they may use it correctly and pass it on to future generations. You would not be the first orphan they have taken in... and probably not the last, either, considering the nature of this village. Do you wish to at least try to gain entrance?"

Naruto seemed to think for a moment. "What is this "talent", anyways?"

He could swear the man was smiling under his mask. "Shamanic talent. The ability to see spirits, and by extension to interact with them. Even in this village full of spiritually powerful ninja, shamanic ability is rare. The world of spirits is truly a wonderful thing- to form bonds with spirits is considered a privilege, one which we enjoy greatly. Even if you choose not to become a shaman, the ability to see ghosts stays with someone for life- your life will never be truly "normal", regardless of whether or not you choose to pursue this path."

Naruto cringed at the man's words. "Never be normal... when you phrase it like that, why shouldn't I? But... to be accepted by anybody, even if it's just spirits..." The man seemed surprised when Naruto began sincerely crying. Naruto rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. "That's something... I really, really want..."

The man knelt down besides Naruto and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, in that case, we better get you inside so you can meet the head of the house."

-o-o-

Naruto gulped as he sat on his knees in front of a very, very, short old man- the top of his head was bald, but two extensions of black hair came from the back and went up and to the sides. Wearing a kimono carrying a pipe, he reminded Naruto of a short, younger version of old man Hokage. "And why have you brought this boy before me... Mikihisa."

"Mikihisa" didn't seem intimidated in the least by this man. "He's an orphan with the capacity to become a shaman- what other reason do I need... Father."

This "father" smirked slightly. "Are you going to leave him to me, or train him yourself? I do have Yoh to train, after all. Or do you think Keiko should train him?"

Mikihisa gave a monosyllabic laugh. "I don't think this boy wishes to become a miko... I have my travels, so I was hoping you could take him in. Is that not possible...?"

The elder man took a puff of his pipe. "Well... I could use another hand around the compound to help with chores... poor Yoh can't do everything himself."

Naruto looked as the masked one sighed. "Don't you use your shikigami for such things, anyways...?"

The elder man laughed at that. "I do, but Yoh needs physical training as well, you know. ...I guess adding another student wouldn't be too much trouble, if he himself doesn't cause trouble. By the way... what's your name, boy?"

Naruto gulped- this was it, the moment of truth. "U-Uzumaki Naruto."

He could see the old man's eyes widen for a moment. "U-Uzumaki... ...it has been a while since I've heard that name. I suppose it comes as no surprise that you of all children have shamanic talent..."

It was silent for a bit longer, as Naruto awaited judgment tensely. "...well, I guess a child as special as this deserves our attention. I just need to run it over with the Hokage first, and then he can move in with Keiko, Yoh, and myself."

The man's eyes were widened again when he saw tears fall from Naruto's eyes. Naruto, too, was surprised at how much he was crying today. "Th-thank you so much... this means... so much to me..."

The man gave a genuine smile. "Glad to hear that, Naruto."

-o-o-

The Hokage, leader of Konohagakure, closed his eyes in thought as he faced the head of the Asakura clan. "...Naruto has shamanic ability, hmm? I was hoping to enter him in the Shinobi Academy sometime soon... but now I don't know if I should."

The Asakura head was more serious than he was with Mikihisa. "Shamanic ninja are extremely talented at what they do... but their job comes with a much higher risk than normal ninja, due to having to deal with both living and dead humans, as well as various other beings. Even at his age, Itachi is a very serious person- he has to kill, and then he has to deal with the souls of those he kills. He doesn't say anything about it, but he carries such a great burden... I wouldn't be surprised if he snapped under all that pressure. He wouldn't be the first shaman to go mad... such a thing is not something I wish to witness."

The Hokage, also known as Sarutobi, rubbed his chin as he contemplated the situation. "But at the same time, Naruto is a child raised in an era of peace... he wouldn't be a ninja until he is at least as old as Itachi is now. By that time, Naruto may be more mentally capable of such a burden..."

"Asakura" was also thinking as hard as he could. "I hope that is so... there have been successful shamanistic ninja in the past. There are a few that continue to live in this village today, after all." There was silence for a moment between the two elder men. "...I can only assume that his "specialness" is the cause of his shamanic ability... even so, becoming a shaman may help him control himself when the need arises."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes for a moment. "About that... why is it that you of all people seem to not care about Naruto's "specialness"? I would think that in your case you would fear him even more..."

Asakura smiled to himself. "Ah... if I may speak freely... possession is not a pretty thing. Did you know, Hokage-sama... a spirit sharing a body with a living being- it causes great stress on the host body. If the body doesn't have any shamanic talent inside of it, the stress causes the body to collapse and the bodily functions to cease, one by one, ever so slowly, within a few hours of the spirit first entering the body. Should the spirit not leave... death is certain. The more powerful the spirit, the faster the process- the average human should consider it a miracle for living if he were to ever be possessed by a Kami-class spirit, even for a few moments. For even the most powerful of shamans, sharing a body with such a powerful spirit for more than a half-hour at best is suicide."

The Hokage found himself smiling by the end. "Ah... so basically, you treat him as normal because you know for a fact that he is not currently possessed... I wish the rest of the village had such confidence!"

The shorter man nodded. "Though, I don't know much about shinobi sealing techniques, let alone shamanic shinobi sealing techniques, so I have no clue what could lead to possession... but I should put confidence in my Hokage. After all, we shamans chose to live here under the Hokage's leadership, teaching those who would like to learn from us."

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair. "Well... if Naruto ever expresses interest in being a ninja, let me know. You have my approval to train him as a shaman."

-o-o-

Naruto was currently with Mikihisa, who was apparently leading him to the other children on the premises. The boy looked very apprehensive. "You're sure... they won't..."

Mikihisa nodded his head. "Tamao doesn't get to interact with other children often, and Yoh is... very laidback, from what I hear. I doubt they've even ever heard of you before."

Naruto seemed relieved by that thought. After another moment, they were in a courtyard, and Naruto could see two children his age sitting in the grass. Naruto looked towards Mikihisa, only to find that the man was no longer there. Grumbling to himself, Naruto began walking over to the other children- a boy his age with brown hair and in a black shirt and shorts, and a pink-haired girl in a basic pink kimono. The boy was wearing "headphones", something Naruto had seen other boys wearing before. His apprehension grew as he approached them, acheiving its height when they turned to face them. The other boy spoke first.

"Who... are you?"

Naruto swallowed, and gathered his courage. "M-my name's Naruto... I'm going to be training here to be a shaman."

The other boy seemed surprised for a moment, and then he smiled. "Great! I was just thinking it would be nice if there more people besides just Gramps, Mom, and Tamao around here. Itachi only visits once in a while."

"Tamao" seemed downhearted to hear that, but she brightened up after a moment. "Nice to meet you, Naruto. I'm Tamao, and this is Yoh-sama."

Yoh gave a slight deadpan look to Tamao. "I can introduce myself you know... and you don't have to call me Yoh-sama either..."

Naruto tilted his head. "Wait, what about that guy in the mask?"

Yoh seemed to be surprised again. "...that's my dad. He doesn't hang around much at all. He brings Tamao here for a break in training and leaves, and then comes back to take her out for more training. It'll be nice having someone else my age who will be around more... unless my dad's taking you with Tamao for training, as well."

The blond boy was a bit confused. "Why does he train her and not you?"

Yoh leaned back into the grass, staring at the clouds. "It's ascetic monk training... not really my style. Lots of hard work, and I don't get to do anything that I want to do. So, I stay here with Gramps and Mom."

Naruto felt like there was something odd about what he said. "...don't you go out into the village?"

The other boy frowned a little. "...the other kids don't believe in spirits, so they make fun of me." The frown turned into a small grin. "I only ever visit the graveyard, there are some fun guys down there, you know?"

Naruto was confused, and unlike earlier was feeling nervous about meeting, well, dead people. "I've... never seen a spirit before today, so I haven't actually met any spirits besides that big fox..."

Tamao took on a thinking pose for a moment. "Umm. If it was Mikihisa-sama's spirit, then that would be Imari... there are a couple of other spirits that live around here, but..."

Blue eyes blinked as Naruto waited for more. "But...?"

Yoh decided to speak for Tamao. "Ponchi and Conchi are... annoying. Who knows if you'll ever get used to those two."

Naruto gulped at hearing that. "W-well, there are good spirits around, right?"

Yoh nodded. "Yep! But, like I said, they're at the graveyard. Well, the civilian graveyard, anyways, the shinobi graveyard is mostly a bunch of stiffs. And you can't visit too often, or people start looking at you weird, you know?"

The blond gave a small chuckle at that, some more nervousness slipping away. "Yeah... but, spirit friends you only see some of the time... that's better than having no friends at all, right?"

The other boy seemed to think about this for a moment. "No friends at all..." His mood was apparently dampened. "No friends, huh... that's not something I want to know what it's like. But..." His small grin returned. "Hey, the three of us have each other now, right?"

Naruto's face broke out into his own grin- the first one he could remember. "Yeah!"

-o-o-

Kasek: I hate myself for not being able to actually FOCUS on a single project, but that's what you get when you mix one brain condition with another, I guess (Not telling you which two, though :p Just that it's bad enough to warrant disability status). (Also, going over this chapter, the writing seems especially hollow... it feels weird to me ~.~ Does anyone reading this agree with me?)

So, thoughts? Opinions? I'm trying my best to keep at least the core cast of Shaman King intact, but there will be characters who will never appear. On Naruto's side, there will definitely be a number of characters who are now shaman, though not too many from Konoha itself.