A new start, new friends and a better understanding, how will Naruto faire in the world of ninjas and giant tailed beasts.
Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto
The Beginning
A little four year old ran through the orphanage, once again he had been denied lunch. It wasn't the first time they'd done that, but it was far better than the times when they got angry at him for doing something wrong.
Little Naruto didn't know why people treated him differently from other children, it wasn't fair for him to be treated that way he thought. Though to him it didn't matter as much, because he had found his own hiding places in the orphanage. Places that only he knew about where he could hide for hours on end and study to become what he wanted most in the whole world, to become a ninja!
He would often spend most of the day in those places, studying what chakra is and the basics of the ninja, of course he couldn't use any techniques or train kunai-throwing techniques. Also taijutsu wasn't really that easy to practice, simply because it sort of required a sparring partner.
But even so he wanted to get the basics down, at the moment he was working on how to mold chakra. Chakra to him was a very mysterious thing, hard to grasp because of not really being a physical object you could touch and feel. Even so the he kept on trying to get it right, so he could one day become a ninja and if possible the strongest ninja in the whole world, so no one would look down on him.
For Naruto just getting by was a feat in itself with the adults looking down on him with faces twisted by hatred, an emotion Naruto, despite his young age, had experienced many times.
On the day of his fifth birthday Naruto was once again practicing how to mold chakra, he was very concentrated and didn't notice that someone else had entered his hideout.
"What are you doing?" the still voice of a young girl asked.
Naruto not having noticed the girl jumped into the air screaming out his shock and surprise. The young girl, Hinata Hyuuga, jumped back in surprise.
Naruto recovered from his initial shock and turned to face the girl.
'Who is this girl, I've never seen her before. Could she be from outside the orphanage?' Naruto thought to himself, while calmly looking at the girl taking in as much detail as possible about her.
Hinata was the first one to break the silence.
"I-I'm s-sorry I s-startled you" Hinata said, hardly audible to Naruto.
"Don't sweat it" Naruto said trying to calm the obviously flustered girl down "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I live here in this orphanage. Who are you?"
"My n-name is Hinata H-Hyuuga" Hinata said while thinking 'I have to be home soon, or else father might get mad'
"It's nice to meet you Hinata-chan, but how did you find this place? I thought it was a secret place only I knew" Naruto replied smiling at Hinata, who didn't seem to hate him unlike the children of the orphanage.
"I-I just found it b-by chance" Hinata replied, before continuing "But what are you doing in here, you seem to be very focused on it"
"I am training to become a ninja, I want to be the strongest ninja that ever lived" Naruto answered with pride and hope evident in his voice.
Hinata knew she had to get home soon, but was afraid to be rude to the boy who like her didn't ever play with other kids 'maybe we have something in common' she thought. Deciding that she really wanted to know why he wasn't playing with the other kids of the orphanage she asked him "Why aren't you playing with the other kids?" Hinata became quite flustered by the snort he let out when he heard her question.
"I-I'm sorry" she stuttered.
Naruto once again had to smile at the girl. Turning to smile at her again he said "there is nothing to apologize for, I just thought you would know why, well since people from outside the orphanage don't really treat me any different than they do here" trying to sound as friendly as possible he continued "but I guess you don't really know me, so I guess you wouldn't know that they call me a monster most of the time, teasing me and all"
Hinata wondered why they would call the nice boy a monster, maybe it was just some joke wanting to know more about him she asked "why do they call you that, it seems like a very mean joke to me" even though she didn't notice the boy's smile had a calming effect on her, unnoticed by both parts she had stopped stuttering during her conversation with Naruto.
"Oh they don't seem to be joking seeing as the grownups seem to be referring to me in a similar way" Naruto said with sadness evident in his voice.
"That's horrible!" Hinata yelled out loud causing Naruto flinch.
"Will you be quiet please, I don't want them to find my hideout" Naruto said almost whispering as to not incur unwanted attention.
"Sorry" Hinata whispered, she then remembered about dinner time and asked "what time is it?"
Naruto looked at the tiny broken wristwatch he had found, "Oh, it's already past six, soon time for dinner then" he said, looking to Hinata who looked like she was really starting to be afraid. "What's the matter Hinata-chan" he said while looking at her with worry. Not receiving an answer he continued "are you afraid of walking home?"
Broken from her spell of fear she replied "N-no I had just promised f-father that I'd be back before six" continuing, still looking very scared and nervous she said "my f-father is going to be s-so mad".
Naruto then smiled at her saying "I'm sure he can't be that mad, after all if you hurry I'm sure you'll only be a little late you might also be able to tell that you were a bit too far away and forgot that you had to use some time to get back too, after all you're only about as old as I am"
"Thanks for the advice Naruto-kun, I hope I'll see you some other day" she said whilst smiling at him. She then turned and crawled out of the hideout, got up and started running towards home. Looking back over her shoulder she could see Naruto standing there waving a bye at her and mouthing a quiet "see you". Happy that she had now found a friend outside the family, that even wanted to be a ninja she thought to herself, I might just have to try and do better during training, then maybe we can both be ninja together.
Naruto had just gotten back into the orphanage when the dinner bells rang, signaling that dinner was now served. Hearing his stomach grumble he thought "about time, I am really hungry" he then went on in to get his humble dinner, which as usually was just the same thing that the other children got, that is if he got anything and they would usually try to make him skip one meal each day where the other children usually had three meals he would be lucky to have three if he were unlucky, Ayame wouldn't be doing any volunteer work there and he would then only get 1 meal that day. At least he never did go a whole day without food, and some of the trees bore leaves that in spring were edible, and not poisonous.
Hinata only came once a week after her first visit, but Naruto was still happy, not only did he have a friend now, but one who wanted to be a ninja, just like him. Only Hinata didn't wish to be the strongest ninja, just so strong that she could help her friends when they needed her.
Despite seeming very shy at first Hinata warmed up to Naruto and they got along very well, sometimes they'd go somewhere outside the orphanage to spar, but most of the time they just played different games and talked about the world and being a ninja.
The year passed quickly this way, Naruto was making quite a bit progress in chakra training seeing as he now could mold chakra without the need to do any annoying hand-signs, even though he couldn't use any jutsu's yet this was, unbeknownst to Naruto, quite a feat for one his age. He had found though that with his chakra he could make leaves wrinkle, but only if he put in a lot of chakra and it would usually tire him out doing so.
Naruto who were now almost six years old, were making good progress with his chakra training. By now he figured that he was so good that maybe he could try learning a jutsu, but that is where his next problem showed up. He didn't know get his hands on any scrolls containing ninjutsu, they weren't allowed to go to the Library of Konoha, let alone the ninjutsu section of the library. The older kids who were now in the ninja-academy could probably get their hands on them, but he was very certain that they wouldn't get him any, not even the simplest jutsu. Though he thought to himself if there was some jutsu that made him disappear completely, he was pretty certain the grown-ups would pass it to him.
Wondering where to get his hands on a ninjutsu scroll he thought of Hinata, maybe she could help him. From what she'd told him she was from a very influential ninja-clan, she could probably waltz right into the ninjutsu section of the library. But then again he didn't want her to get in trouble if anyone found out that she had given the scroll to him.
Debating with himself in silence in the hideout he never heard Hinata as she snuck up upon him from behind and screamed "Boo!" Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin and had as a reaction to the 'attack' jumped away from her hitting the wall.
"What did you do that for" Naruto yelled angry, mostly because he was still slightly startled "I thought my heart was going to exit through my skull" looked at Hinata who was just rolling on the floor laughing at his reaction. Quickly gaining her senses she said whilst having trouble breathing "I-I'm sorry Naruto-kun but you should've seen yourself"
"And they call me the monster" Naruto said while also beginning to laugh, mostly because of the fact that he could not remain angry at Hinata and imagining what he looked like that moment. It took them a few minutes before they had calmed down enough to have a proper conversation.
"Um, Hinata it isn't Sunday, you usually only come here on Sundays. So what's up any exciting news?" Naruto asked with a hopeful expression on his face.
"Do I need an excuse to visit my best friend" Hinata replied and started to pout, causing Naruto to burst into laughter again, having not really calmed down properly yet. Still laughing slightly Naruto said "no of course not" while smiling at her.
"Say Hinata-chan, do you know any ninjutsu yet?" Naruto asked, figuring it would be easier to just learn one from Hinata.
"No I don't know any jutsus yet, most children don't even know what chakra is before they start the academy" Hinata replied grinning at her friend for his ignorance in such common matters, deciding to tease him a bit "you stay too much in your little hideout, just like a cave-monster!"
Naruto laughed a little at the monster joke but was baffled by the fact that other children didn't know about it, let alone know any jutsus. Laughing slightly he said "maybe you're right, since I didn't even know that, I think I might just need that academy, maybe they teach common sense"
Hinata was having a hard time not bursting into laughter at the academy joke then she remembered why she had come there, "Hey Naruto-kun look at my birthday present" she said holding up a plush-doll that looked like a little puppy. Naruto gaped at the doll "what a cute and soft thing, almost like a squishy pillow" then looking to Hinata he said "is it common for children to get birthday presents?"
Smiling sadly at his friend Hinata said "Yes it is, at least for children outside the orphanage, I'm not sure whether or not they can afford to give you presents in here" continuing, before the sad look that had conquered her friend's face started to make her sad too, she said "But do you know what Naruto-kun I'll give you a birthday present on your birthday, because you are my very special friend"
Smiling brightly Naruto said "really!"
"Yes of course Naruto-kun" Hinata said with a smile on her lips, finally her friend was cheery again just the way she preferred he'd be like.
Naruto started to think for a second and then asked "Shouldn't I be giving you a present too then?"
"You don't have to, it's up to yourself and a present can be anything, just as long as you have your heart in it, that's at least what my mother used to tell me" Hinata said smiling at her friend.
"A present of the heart" Naruto said thoughtfully while thinking 'what should I give her' "Hinata-chan what would a present of the heart be like, please I need a hint" Naruto said smiling at Hinata attempting to hide the fact that he had no idea what to give her.
"Well Naruto-kun a present, can be almost anything, a particularly beautiful rock, something you know that person would like. That for instance could be something on a wish list made by that person or something they have talked a lot about owning but haven't gotten yet" Hinata said giggling slightly at his bad attempt to seem like he was merely interested because of curiosity.
"So Hinata-chan anything particular you'd like as a birthday gift from me" Naruto asked smiling at her.
Hinata smiled while thinking for a little while and then said "I would really like you to teach me how to mold chakra, I'm really not that good at it"
Naruto smiled for a second then grinned. "Of course I'll teach you how to mold chakra, by the way want to see something funny I can do with chakra" Hinata thought to herself 'what other things can chakra be used for than jutsus. I don't know any other uses at least' "Hmm sure" Hinata said after checking Naruto's little wristwatch, to make sure she would be back in time for her birthday dinner. She kind of regretted that she couldn't invite Naruto over, but her mother had said that because of some of the elders and a few other members of the main branch certainly being against it, neither her father nor mother had any say in the matter.
Meanwhile Naruto had gone outside to grab a couple of big leaves, and he now went into the hideout again. Sitting down next to Hinata he put the leaves aside, keeping only the biggest of them. "Hinata-chan look at this" Naruto said, and when Hinata looked at the leaf he pushed in as much chakra as he could, causing the leaf to wrinkle and fold together until it was just similar to a
paper-ball, which the older kids would usually throw into to trashcans to see who could get most 'points'
"Amazing" was all Hinata could say, she had no idea that one could do that with chakra.
"It can be done with paper as well" Naruto said smiling at Hinata. Naruto quickly took a quick peek at the wristwatch, noticing that it was about ten minutes to six he said "Think you have to get going Hinata-chan, it's almost six and you wouldn't want to miss your birthday dinner now would you"
Hinata still in a bit of a trance said "Naruto-kun you will teach me how to do that too right?"
"Of course Hinata-chan, but first you have to be good at molding chakra, very good even, which I'm more than certain you will become" Naruto said smiling broadly like he usually did.
"Say Naruto-kun can we work on molding chakra every time I come here" Hinata asked silently.
"Sure we can" Naruto replied "now you have to go or else you might be late"
"See you tomorrow Naruto-kun" Hinata said smiling as she ran towards the Hyuuga Mansion.
"See you Hinata-chan" Naruto yelled at her retreating figure.
Two Years Later
Two years had passed since Naruto had agreed to teach Hinata how to mold chakra, she had quickly picked up on the subject. Now having learned how to mold it she had been practicing a bit of the Jyuuken, the gentle fist style of martial arts, taught to the Hyuuga whose byakugan revealed the tenketsu essential for causing any real damage with the style.
Naruto and Hinata were now looking forward to the day they could enter the Ninja Academy of Konohagakure. The duo had been studying the chakra system, because a scroll Naruto had "borrowed" from the library had said that basic understanding where the best way to become the best. The "borrowed" scroll claimed that, if one knows the basics and understand how to implement them, even the simplest technique could become deadly.
So they practiced the basics, they had to attend the academy for at least two years before being able to take the genin exam, that much they understood. So they figured that they had plenty of time to work on ninjutsu when they entered the academy. Also Naruto had heard that children from the orphanage, who entered the academy, were allowed to move into an apartment instead, to be localized closer to the academy. He had actually been encouraged by the adults of the orphanage to do this. They really seemed to want him out of there, because they didn't encourage any of the other children the same way.
Now, only a few days to the start of the academy year, we find Naruto at his hideout accompanied by Hinata, both studying the functions of the chakra system. Naruto focusing more on implementations of the knowledge in some of the ninja techniques he had read about. To him controlling which area of the body he could let the power of the techniques loose had a great amount of appeal to it. Hinata though were reading through how the chakra system affected health, by all means some heavy stuff. Both Hinata and Naruto were using the dictionary a lot.
"Say Naruto-kun, do you know when you'll move away from the orphanage?" Hinata suddenly asked.
"Yeah, I am moving in tomorrow, the old Hokage geezer said they had to clean the place a bit and put in some furniture as well" Naruto replied, hardly even lifting his gaze from the scroll.
"Oh okay, so soon, do you know where you're going to live?" Asked Hinata, hoping it wouldn't be too far away.
"Not exactly sure where it is, but the old man said something about it being on the outskirts of the shopping districts, close to the Hyuuga grounds and not too far from the Academy" He replied all the while smiling at her while appreciating that he have such a good friend to rely on.
"So Naruto-kun my mother asked me, to ask you if you want to celebrate our enrollment into the Shinobi Program of Konoha. Just you, me and my mother and father, and possibly my sister as well" Hinata said.
"Yeah sure, it could be fun I've only ever met your family once, they seem to be some very nice people" Naruto said all the while wearing a broad smile on his face.
The next day came along too slow if you asked Naruto, he was much too anxious he had woken several times that night, feeling as if something had just been staring at him, and then there was that whispering voice In the back of his mind. The voice uttered words, he couldn't discern what it said but he could hear it well enough to know it spoke sentences. He shrugged it off every time as it seemed to start to fade when he woke up. Once that night however the feeling that someone was staring at him lingered, even though he was awake.
Naruto got out of bed that morning, and started to pack his stuff, a few personal belongings mostly presents from Hinata and her family. Naruto remembered the first time he had met her family, it was in the small forest area that was situated between the orphanage and the Hyuuga estate. He had really surprised Hiashi Hyuuga by showing him his little leaf trick, as he had come to call it. Hiashi had actually thanked him that day, for teaching his daughter how to mold chakra, as he had been too busy to do it himself. Hinata's mother looked a lot like her, despite not being a ninja she radiated unwavering confidence, but also warmth. Naruto thought that she was probably the exact opposite of the stoic Hiashi.
From what Hiashi had told him, it appeared that he had a lot of chakra, especially for one his age, according to the Head of the Hyuuga clan he could rival some chuunin. Also he had told Naruto that his chakra control was lacking in several fields, as such he wasn't really using his chakra efficiently. Also Hiashi had told him that looking at the leaf he probably had lightning elemental affinity, and if that was the case it would be much easier for him to use lightning techniques than any other elemental techniques. All in all it had been an interesting encounter.
Naruto having found his personal belongings headed for the front entrance of the orphanage, where the old man had told him to meet up at 9.30 so he could escort him to his new apartment, as well as show him some things he might need to know to be able to live there alone. When he got out of the main building, he could see the old Hokage Sarutobi waiting at the gates for him. He always did enjoy Sarutobi's company, he was a bit like the grandfather he didn't have.
"Good to see you Naruto" Sarutobi said greeting Naruto with a warm smile, then continuing to add "Hope you have had a good night's sleep, we have quite a bit of walking to do, and I understand you are attending a little party with the Hyuugas tonight"
"Yep, Hinata and I are going to celebrate our enrollment into the Academy" Naruto replied smiling at the old man.
"Good, now first we need to go see your new apartment, then I'll show you where you can buy the things you need as well as the fastest road to the academy" Said Sarutobi, who then brought out his pipe and lit it.
In Naruto's opinion the trip to his new apartment wasn't that bad. Of course people were staring at him with hatred again, but hey nothing he hadn't tried before. The apartment building looked a bit old, but was otherwise in good shape, and his apartment was situated on the first floor. A nice little place, with two rooms as well as a bathroom and a nice little balcony with overview of the street. He especially liked the balcony, because of the building being situated a little higher than the rest of the city, the view was rather spectacular, depending on which way one looked it was either the great Konoha forest, or the busy shopping district.
"It's quite a view from here, don't you think?" Sarutobi asked, noticing the wondrous look in Naruto's eyes.
"Sure is, can't wait to show this to Hinata" Naruto answered with excitement evident in his voice.
"Well as you can see, the apartment have its own kitchen and bathroom, the kitchen being connected with the living room, and behind this door next to the entrance is the bedroom. As you can see we have made sure to get you a comfortable bed to sleep in as well as all the tools you need for cooking." Said the Sarutobi, while blowing out a small stream of pipe-smoke before continuing "Though I think it's best if you get someone to teach you how to cook before trying it out yourself, as you might get injured or light the place on fire if you don't know what you're doing, the Ichiraku ramen stand close to this place serve a brilliant ramen, at least according to what I hear"
"That sounds great, I love ramen" Naruto said with a big grin on his face.
"I hope that I don't have to remind you that ramen alone won't cut it if you want to stay healthy" Sarutobi said in a serious tone then adding "If you want to become a good ninja you'll have to get certain amounts of protein and vitamins, otherwise your body will deteriorate"
"Yes sir" Naruto replied while giving a mock salute, causing Sarutobi to laugh lightly.
Before the duo headed out for the tour around town, Naruto left his belongings in the bedroom, and upon leaving locked the door.
The time flew by quickly as Naruto were shown around town, they visited almost every type of shop in the shopping district. Unbeknownst to Naruto, they only visited the stores that were owned friends of Sarutobi, who had some idea about concept of sealing, so they understood that he couldn't be the fox itself, but just a container. As such these store owners really didn't look down upon him or anything, which didn't go unnoticed by Naruto who in particular had enjoyed visiting the ramen stand for dinner. Some stores were a bit more expensive than the others of their kind, but at least they wouldn't tell Naruto off or ask more money for the wares he bought. The stores also generally were selling high quality wares, most of them receiving orders for clothes or other supplies from the Sarutobi clan for several decades, some of them even for half a century. Some of these stores were also very reliant on the orders from the Sarutobi clan that even though being a small clan, had pretty high needs when it came to ninja equipment and clothing.
A few hours later their tour was nearing its end, Naruto knew where to get almost everything, Ayame Ichiraku had even promised to teach him how to cook a bit. All in all it had been a good day, and a fun tour. Naruto were getting hungry again, due to the exercise, even though he wasn't in bad shape, he hadn't had that much to eat that day. Now making his way to his new home where he had agreed to meet Hinata and her family. When he came home he unlocked the door and went to change into the new set of clothes the Hokage had gotten for him, it was a set of clothes primarily oriented towards the career of the ninja. The set consisted of a pair of black shorts, a grey t-shirt as well as a black jacket with pockets for scrolls. The Hokage had also given him a shuriken and a kunai holster, which were designed to be strapped around the thigh so they were easily accessible during combat. To match the set he had even bought a pair of ninja sandals, which were also black. Naruto himself had protested a bit to all the black, seeing as his favorite color is orange. The Hokage had then explained to him that orange really wasn't that great a color if one wanted to be a great ninja. Flashy colors attracted unwanted attention, though he said it could make his enemy underestimate him and thus giving him an edge, in most situations it would simply be too impractical and just make him a human target dummy.
Naruto couldn't wait to show Hinata his new outfit, it actually made him look much more like those jounin who had greeted the Hokage when he passed by, some of which Sarutobi had said where most elite ninja and one in particular a white haired man named Hatake Kakashi who supposedly was the best the city had to offer. Naruto had seen his book though and his first and final judgment of the man was that he is a pervert. Reading adult-only books in open public, Naruto might have limited experience with society, but he was pretty certain that that was frowned upon. Other than that the man had seemed to be nice enough, and had offered to help him out a bit with training if he had the time for it. He was all dressed up, except for the holsters, he had left those on his bed, he figured he wouldn't need those that evening. A few minutes later the doorbell rung, Hinata and her family had arrived.
Later that evening Naruto was at home, after a nice evening with dinner, and lots of laughter, Naruto never knew that a stoic man like Hiashi could be so funny when introduced to a little alcohol. Of course his wife got a little embarrassed and angry about it, and Hinata had certainly been embarrassed. Naruto could tell by the color of her face, he had never seen her that red. Man, he just had to see what the old hokage was like when he is drunk. With the thoughts of a very good evening among good friends he fell asleep, but not before brushing his teeth, like he had promised Hinata's mother.
Three days later, the academy school year began.
That's it for chapter 1!
Didn't get to introduce my little OC, but I will include him in next chapter, though maybe only a little bit.
Tell me what you think (also about the length is it particularly good or bad in any way then I would like to know)
Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, until next time!
And thanks to my beta Akabara-sama
Heretic-kun