A/N: I have way too many fics to update to be pulling this shit, but I found I just simply couldn't hold myself back on this one. I needed to try this out, just a little. Please don't shank me.
Naruto was never one to believe in fairy tales.
Whether the images and patterns spread out across his skin were really representations of the things he loved the most or not, it never really bothered him either way. Whatever was would just be. Far be it from him to question things like fate or the will of gods or… nature… and stuff. He didn't think his poor brain would be able to handle it if he tried.
Whether it was fate or destiny spiraling out across his skin, Naruto had only ever really cared if it was cool looking, and preferably something not embarrassing, thanks.
As far as he had been able to tell, whether from himself or from information others had gathered over the centuries, the more you loved something, the more visible it was, in the most visible places possible.
Naruto loved ramen.
Naruto had what appeared to be noodles weaving all the way around his neck.
… Naruto pretty much kept his neck covered at all times.
Aside from that, Naruto's images, or "Inks" as they were called, weren't always so literal, but somehow he was able to understand what they represented anyway. For example, the delicate cherry blossoms beginning just behind his ear and curling around the edge of his left jaw was undoubtedly Sakura's influence, just as the intricate branching of lighting mirroring them on his right was Sasuke's. The fact that they were very nearly on his face - the most visible part of his body - only showed how deep his love for his teammates truly went.
… Even if they didn't feel the same.
His mark on them (a depiction of the sun for Sasuke, and a blue spiral which closely resembled his rasengan for Sakura) rested in the hollow of the throat and on the end of the shoulder, respectively. Not far enough away from the face as to be offensive, but certainly in places which were easily covered. His mild hurt at the sight was soothed a bit, however, when Sakura took to wearing sleeveless tops on a regular basis. The one thing that Naruto did know with complete certainty was that in order for your Inks to appear on your skin, you must first acknowledge that you really, truly love something.
But perhaps we're getting too far ahead of ourselves.
It's best we start from the beginning. Or… close enough, at least.
Naruto didn't really remember much from his early academy days - the age which every young child, civilian and shinobi alike, are taught the extensive and often complicated ins and outs of Inks. In fact, the blond would likely be the first to say that he, as a result of his famously short attention span, hadn't really listened at all. Then, after much more prying and the promise of unlimited ramen, he might even admit that he hadn't wanted to listen. That he'd squeezed his eyes shut and turned away. And later, much later, there's a slim chance he would tell you the reason why.
There was a very small chance that he would tell you what only a handful of people remembered and none mentioned; that for the longest time (far longer than was considered normal), Uzumaki Naruto hadn't had a single Ink. Not one. Naruto had been a rare thing called a Bare.
At this knowledge, many would either laugh, scoff, or make accusations of deception. Naruto - the Rokudaime Hokage, Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and legendary hero of the Fourth Shinobi War - a Bare? Preposterous.
And now, it would be incredibly hard to believe, considering how the man's skin was very nearly overcrowded with Inks. But it's true. And there's a very specific reason for that. You see, no one had ever taught Naruto how to truly love something, much less admit it to himself. At least, not until one fateful day after the academy exams, when everything changed.
It all started with a stolen scroll.