THIS IS MY VERY FIRST FANFIC AND JUST KNOW THAT ENGLISH IS MY SECONDARY LANGUAGE SO YOU'LL SEE SOME GRAMMAR MISTAKES BUT PLEASE BE GENTLE IN YOUR REVIEWS.
SHINOBI'S WILL
The village hidden in the leaves, one of if not the strongest shinobi village in the elemental nations. A village with a very rich history, strong clans and even stronger leaders. A village that carries "the will of fire "in their hearts and everyday lives. But none of that matters when Hiruzen Sarutobi sees how a little boy is being treated in his own village. "The professor of ninjutsu","God of shinobi" and to some the greatest shinobi of all time felt powerless in regards to Naruto's situation, a big part of him always felt ashamed when he looked into the boy's miserable blue eyes and couldn't even provide him with some comfort of truth.
"Who are my parents?"
"Why do people hate me so much?"
"Why do they call me "Demon Child"?"
Every time Naruto would ask and every time he failed to give him answers that would satisfy he's curiosity, what a failure he was. Minato and Kushina would be so disappointed, Well Minato would be, Kushina would probably just chop off some ligaments. Hiruzen flinched at that thought, what's the point of being the most powerful and most loved shinobi in Konoha if you couldn't even help the people you loved? Especially a harmless four year old boy with nothing but love to give. If only Jiraiya was here, a lot of this shit would definitely be avoided. He had sent him so many letters to come to Konoha and introduce himself to Naruto and look after him if only for a short time, but of course he had to use Orochimaru as an excuse not to look after his own god child. He had thought of telling Kakashi to get closer to Naruto but the "copy ninja" had his own demons to deal with and the fact that he completely refused to quit anbu did his sanity no favors.
Ever since he could walk, Danzo has been pestering him to give Naruto to him but he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he ever allowed that to happen
Hiruzen sighed, he had failed to protect his students from the harsh realities of the shinobi world, he failed to protect his successor during the kyubi attack, he is failing in carrying out said successor's final wish and he is also failing to resolve the issues with the Uchihas and the village. Maybe he really was a failure.
"Ferret" he said and immediately an anbu appeared in his office
"Go and bring Naruto-kun here" he said and the anbu disappeared.
Maybe smoking some tobacco will help him feel better.
STREETS OF KONOHA
The blond four year old boy in question was of course on his way to his favorite place of all time, Ichiraku Ramen, that place was truly a beckon of light in this hell hole called Konoha. Despite the countless times that Hokage-jiji tried to convince him that this place and these people were good, he's experiences told him otherwise.
"Konoha is a very beautiful place" he said
"Give these people a chance and you'll see that they are truly wonderful people cause the "will of fire" burns brightly in them just like it does in you" he said
Naruto snorted at that, the "will of fire", in him? , Maybe on the crack of his ass.
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a very beautiful woman with long black hair giving her son a kiss on the cheek, told him that she loved him and emphasized that he be careful why playing "ninja" with his brother, Naruto could feel his anger and jealousy spiking in his chest. Just like at the damned orphanage, He had seen the matrons bath the other children, wash them until they were happy and giggling. Tickled them and make them laugh. For Naruto, that was never the case and he wanted that, he wanted to play with the matrons too but for some god-damn reason he was always shunned like some deadly disease. It wasn't fair, even on special holidays like the kyubi festival, New Year and birthdays, he always saw the matrons giving the other children gifts, singing to them and giving them well wishes.
When it comes to his birthday, Naruto noticed that he's given nothing but extra mean glares by the matrons and everyone else around him. Even children his own aged were completely prohibited from playing with him.
What the hell did ever do to these people? Did he's parents bring him into this world just to be rejected?
He just couldn't for the life of him under-
"Hello" said a voice to him
Naruto looked up and saw that it was the same woman he saw earlier that was speaking to him.
"Hi" he replied quickly and continued walking
"So where are you going?" she asked as she caught up with him and started walking beside him
"Ichiraku" he replied but walked faster not wanting to engage in any conversation with a stranger
"May I go with you?" she asked politely.
Her persistence to talk to him was getting on Naruto's nerves. For someone who only had one person to talk to in Hokage-jiji, having a strange woman talking to him out of the blue was rather suspicious.
"Am sorry, who are you?" he asked in return, his tone dripping of suspicion and mistrust
"Oh, please excuse my manners, my name is Mikoto, Mikoto Uchiha, and you are?" the woman said offering him a disarming smile.
Naruto stopped walking and took a good look at the woman. Long dark hair, medium height, her clothing was nothing special with the exception of the Uchiha crest on her dark blue shirt. What really caught Naruto's attention though was her what he saw in her charcoal black eyes.
Hope, sympathy and … affection? Whatever it was he was just glad that it wasn't a glare
"Ruto" he replied
"Well Ruto-kun, you did not answer my question. May I accompany you to Ichiraku?" Mikoto asked politely looking straight into his eyes.
"Sure, if you want" Naruto said with a now calmer tone but then narrowed his eyes and continued " but am warning you Mikoto-san, am not going to pay for your food" he said seriously
Mikoto looked at him, blinked and then laughed.
"Don't worry Ruto-kun, I can afford my own food, in fact I was thinking of paying for yours as well." She said with a smile.
"Yatta, well then, if that's the case then we better hurry Mikoto-san!" shouted Naruto happily, his eyes burning with anticipation and ecstasy. Only jiji ever paid for his ramen and Ichiraku-jiji always gave him a bowl if he didn't have any money so he would be a fool if he didn't take the offer.
Mikoto wanted to just snatch up the little boy and hug him close. He was just so adorable! She remembered a little girl with the same type of enthusiasm whenever ramen was involved.
Seeing the boy's expression brighten up, Mikoto couldn't help but feel relief and happiness in her heart. She had been heart broken when she tried to adopt the boy and the third rejected her offer citing her clan's troublesome situation in the village as the reason. Of course she knew that having the kyubi so close to her clan was really dangerous and the fact that they were suspected of causing the kyubi attack did not help any. But Naruto was her best friend's son and knowing that she couldn't raise him when Kushina herself couldn't made her sick to her stomach. She felt like she was betraying her friend by just watching while her son was suffering like this.
Where the hell was Jiraiya anyway? She hadn't heard from or saw the man since Naruto's early days. He had come back to mourn his student and took care of Naruto for a couple of months but then left to track down Orochimaru till now.
They were stopped in their tracks however when an anbu appeared in front of them. Although he could not see he's face due to the ferret mask covering it, Naruto noticed that the anbu curried no- nonsense attitude with him.
"Am sorry, but Naruto's presence is being requested by the Hokage Mikoto-San" he said
A flash of disappointment past through their faces but both Naruto and Mikoto relented from saying anything. Mikoto really wanted to use this chance to bond with the boy but apparently fate had other plans.
"Alright then, I guess we'll do this some other time eh Ruto-kun?" she said with a smile
"Ok, I'll hold you to it" replied Naruto with a smile of his own, his azure blue eyes shining with kindness and warmth. A stark contrast to his earlier attitude to the woman.
The anbu touched Naruto's shoulder and they disappeared via body flicker.
HOKAGE'S OFFICE
When Naruto and the anbu appeared inside the Hokage's office, they found the third smocking some tobacco while glaring a hole at the bane of all kage's existence.
Paperwork. Fucking paperwork. He had fought and won many wars for his village, experienced things that no ordinary shinobi could even dream of and yet here he was, the professor, the god of shinobi and longest reigning kage of all time being tormented by FUCKING Paperwork.
Curses. Fucking curses.
He wanted to burn these things with his eyes alone but he doubted if there was any jutsu that allowed one to burn things by just looking at it.
The irony.
"No wonder you have wrinkles all over your face, you smoke crack and hallucinate on the job. Not a very good example you're setting Hokage-jiji" Naruto said with a smile on his face and just then the anbu decided this was the perfect time to disappear.
'Hallucinate?' someone knew some big words.
"What?" he asked when he saw the Hokage's glare directed at him
"Hello Naruto-kun, how have you been?" Hiruzen said his expression softening
"Am not dead so that's something right" Naruto replied while sitting down on the chair.
Hiruzen frowned at that response, it's not that they were any attempts on his life but that just wasn't an answer one should get from a four year old.
"By the way, you owe me ten bowls of ramen. This nice lady named Mikoto was about to buy me some but you ruined it so it's up to you now" Naruto said with all the seriousness he could muster.
"Ten bowls huh?" Hiruzen said wanting to laugh at the excessive number but refraining from it.
"So what do think about this lady Naruto-kun?" he asked
"Well" Naruto started "I think she is nice like a said, I don't think anyone who eats ramen could be bad" he finished satisfied with his answer
"See, I told you that if you gave the people a chance you would see that they not so bad" the Hokage said happy that he wasn't shutting people out.
"Yeah, I guess so, so why did call for me? You are the one who usually visits me at the orphanage." Asked the curious boy
"I wanted to tell you that from now on you will be living in the apartment that I'll show later on" replied the third
"What?" Naruto shouted standing abruptly from his chair, "Am only four years old, did I do something wrong? I don't know how to live by myself" exclaimed the blond his eyes showing fear and nervousness
"Naruto-kun calm down, you did nothing wrong." Hiruzen said trying to calm down the scared boy
"Then why am I being kicked out of the orphanage then?" Naruto asked almost in tears
"Naruto-kun, you are turning five next week and that means that since there's an abnormal amount of children at the orphanage, you and other kids will need to move on somewhere else. Don't worry though I'll make sure that there is someone to take care of you until you are able to do it yourself" the third said hoping to calm down the scared boy.
"Okay then" Naruto said although not fully convinced
"How about we continue this conversation on our way to Ichiraku's eh?" Hiruzen said standing up and moving closer to the boy
"Sure" Naruto replied with a sigh but then he adopted a mischievous expression
"Just so you know the number of bowls has increased to fifteen" he finished
"What?"
"You heard me, so let's hurry up before we find the ramen already finished" Naruto said taking the third's hand and putting it on his own shoulder.
LATER THAT DAY
Naruto was back on the streets of Konoha. He had gone to the orphanage to say goodbye to the matrons that "took care" of him and his fellow orphans. Even though the matrons seemed too happy to say goodbye to him, he would still miss living with someone. How could Hokage-jiji honestly think that he was old enough to live by himself?
Alone.
Wake up alone, eat alone, go to sleep alone, celebrate holidays alone.
Still he wouldn't be too sad. Except for jiji, he always had no one. No one comfort him when he was scared, no one to sing to him or tell him stories, no one to hear him cry.
NO ONE.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone crying. He followed the voice to see what was going on and what he found really broke his heart, a little girl, not much older than him with rags for clothes, long dark unkempt hair and her smelly, dirty, body looked like she had not eaten in a long time.
"Hello, are you okay?" he asked anxious
The girl looked up to him and he could see her green watery eyes express so much fear and discomfort at being addressed
"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked looking like she was ready to bolt
"It's okay. My name is Ruto and I just wanted to see if you were okay that's all, I swear" he said quickly trying to comfort her
"Am fine. Please leave me are alone" she said taken a few steps away from him
"Are you sure, you look like you haven't eaten in days. I could buy you some food if you want" Naruto said
Her eyes looked at him with surprise not believing what she just heard
"You want to buy me food?" she asked hoping that what she heard was true
Obviously her stomach seemed to agree with her because it choose that same time to make its presence known. The girl blushed with embarrassment and Naruto smiled knowing just what she needed.
"You bet, I know a place with the best food in the world, you'll really love it so come on" he said out loud with a full blown smile, he's eyes sparkling.
He took the girl's hand and started moving to Ichiraku's direction. He didn't know who this girl was but seeing her so heart broken and helpless really touched his heart. He could see that his situation was much better compared to hers.
"So what's your name anyway?" he asked looking at her face
"Aika" she reply her cheeks showing a shade of red
None of them knew it at the time but this encounter would cause a major change in the shinobi world.
END CHAPTER
MY FIRST EVER FANFIC, PLEASE GIVE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
SARAVAN OUT.