Shadow In the Leaves: Chapter 1
It really wasn't anything new. He didn't know why he would have expected today to be different than any other day. Perhaps the optimistic feeling that had hung over him since he had woken up had in actuality been sent by whatever deity had taken a personal interest in making his life a miserable hell. All he knew at this point was that this day certainly didn't seem to hold any particular promise.
Now thoughts like this aren't rare. When men hit a hard spot in life it isn't uncommon for them to turn to moody introspection and as long as they're eventually able to move on, a little brooding never hurt anyone.
On the other hand, things are rarely that simple.
This "man" was not a man at all, but rather a boy. Seven years old to be exact, as of one month ago, and far too young to be experiencing such thoughts. As he lie on the hard ground of the alley he had escaped to, battered and bruised, breathing heavily, it would have been fairly obvious to anybody that would spare the time to make a glance in his direction that all was not well with this boy. His clothes were torn and dirty, their original colors long lost behind a veil of grunge and grime. His once bright blonde hair was disheveled and knotted, and covered in a layer of dust as well. His face, still round with the lingering fat of childhood, was also smudged with the same clinging grime. Clear blue eyes were staring from that face, refracting even more sunlight than usual due to the presence of his stinging tears. However, all of that would be ignoring his most distinguishing feature. Across each of his cheeks were three birthmarks that looked remarkably like whiskers. This boy, Naruto Uzumaki, was an orphan with what seemed to be the world's worst luck.
This is his story.
"Why did I even bother to get out of bed today?" Naruto wondered aloud as he sat himself against a nearby wall. However the action caused something in the vicinity of his ribs to compress in an eruption of searing pain. He gingerly got to his feet once more, grimacing as the pain hit again. He would just have to support his injured body the old-fashioned way.
He looked around dazedly, trying to find some more permanent place to hide out lest his attackers choose to seek him out again.
It hadn't been a major event, just a couple of older boys from the academy that somehow got it into their heads that roughing him up would be a fun way to pass the time. Having no experience in the academy himself, but quite a bit in running away, Naruto managed to escape and now found himself in his current predicament.
There didn't seem to be a lot of options. Withered vines of ivy hung from a nearby stone wall. A small green dumpster stood in the corner of the alley, its ancient paint job chipped and fading.
'I'll use that as a last resort. All I have to do is make it back to the orphanage. But what if they know where it is? I don't think they do, but…'
Naruto sighed. It would be better than sitting in an alley all day. He'd have to take his chances at some point. He peeked out from behind the aged mortar to make sure there wasn't anybody overtly hostile in the road beyond. Seeing nothing, he ventured out onto the quiet street. He was in a somewhat secluded residential area that housed some of the middle-class families of Konoha. Bright profusions of flowers adorned the planters that framed the rows of homes. Taking a moment to find his bearings, he determined that he was roughly a ten minute walk from the orphanage. It wouldn't be so bad if he could avoid any unwanted encounters.
He set off in the direction of the orphanage, passing through several other neighborhoods. He made sure to stay alert as he made his way towards his destination. Twice, he got a sudden feeling of uneasiness, but looking around he saw nothing. Finally the orphanage came in to view as he turned a final corner. What he saw standing there made his heart sink.
'Aww man, I knew it!'
Three children around ten years old were standing in the plaza directly in front of the orphanage. The first was a glasses-wearing boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. He sported an academy issue outfit along with the other two, and if Naruto recalled correctly his name was Zoku. The second of the trio was a girl with curly auburn hair down to her shoulders and green eyes. That would be Akari. The last of the three was a boy with medium length black hair that fell down over his brown-black eyes. That was definitely Ryuji.
Before he could duck behind the corner again, the trio had noticed him.
Ryuji gave Naruto a smile that had no hint of friendliness.
"Well well. I thought you would show up here. That was pretty crafty before, snagging one of my smoke pellets to use on us. But you won't be getting away this time you little twerp."
"Yeah, you're gonna get it." Zoku added.
"Just hold still and maybe we'll go easy on you." Akari chimed in as she cracked her knuckles.
With that, the three began their rapid advance on Naruto. He looked around frantically for an avenue of escape, but the only way out was the way he just came. Knowing that he couldn't outrun them without them being incapacitated, he held up his fists in a defensive stance. To anybody looking on, it would have seemed almost comical; one seven year old trying to stand his ground against three older children. Naruto braced himself as they drew within striking distance.
He blinked in surprise as the blows never came. They were all standing directly in front of him, completely motionless.
'Wh-What happened?'
"I can't move! What did you do!?" Demanded Zoku.
The others made similar shocked inquiries.
"It's not anything he's done, children." A deep new voice spoke. "You're caught in my Shadow Binding Jutsu."
The three bullies struggled to see their captor, but to no avail.
Naruto quickly found the source of the voice. About five feet behind the aggressors, a man with dramatically tall spiky black hair had appeared from nowhere. He wore small silver hoops in each ear and had several scars on his face. Over a standard ninja suit he wore a simple vest.
"You're… helping me?" Naruto asked with confusion in his voice.
"It certainly looks like you could use it." He replied in a gruff tone. "Besides, I've been keeping tabs on you ever since your little encounter with these three near the academy this morning. I saw the way you were watching, so enthralled. I'm guessing you want to be a ninja, hmm? The fact that you seemed to notice me following you shows that you have definite promise. I wasn't being particularly sneaky, mind you, but still not bad."
Naruto gave the stranger a winning grin. "Yeah! I'm gonna be a super-cool ninja! And one day I'm gonna be the Hokage so everybody will respect me, you'll see!"
The stranger eyed Naruto as if he was coming to some sort of conclusion. "From what I just heard, you're reasonably clever. And your skill of perception is above average. You've definitely got potential. As long as you've got the will, I'm sure that you'll make a fine ninja."
Naruto's grin got wider at that. He was positively gushing sunshine. "Gee, thanks mister!"
The man noted Naruto's reaction to a simple compliment.
'He acts like he's never gotten a compliment in his life.'
He took a moment to reflect on that. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a very real possibility. He suddenly realized that he still had his captives under his jutsu and his chakra was slowly draining away.
"I have to take care of these miscreants, so I'll be going now. Take care, eh?"
The dark-haired stranger released his jutsu and addressed the three academy students. "You three will be coming with me. We're going to have a little chat with your instructor and your parents."
Naruto couldn't help but laugh when he saw the looks of horror on their faces.
'It looks like they're going to wet their pants! Heck, Akari looks like she's going to faint!'
The man walked off with the three delinquents in tow and Naruto could have sworn he heard him mutter "Troublesome…" under his breath.
"Well, that was kind of exciting." He said to nobody in particular.
He eyed the orphanage. Curfew didn't require him to be back until 6:00 and he really didn't want to spend any more time there than he had to. Then again, his only real hobby was watching the academy students train and by the time he made his way back they would be nearly done. Naruto sighed. Even if he just returned to the orphanage, he couldn't win. If he returned early, the matron would ask him why he didn't have anything better to do in that snide tone of hers. And he would most likely be assigned some sort of boring and or degrading chore "Since he had some much free time on his hands." At least she didn't seem to care what hour of the night he dragged himself in at if he felt like staying out. Normally he'd entertain himself by playing some sort of prank on an unlucky townsperson, but the thought of being caught by the imposing man from before scared the bajeebies out of him.
That settled it. Naruto sighed again and turned for the orphanage doors. He really hoped the toilets had already been scrubbed.
Two Weeks Later:
Naruto had continued to watch the students of the Ninja Academy on a daily basis. He stood by the gates, enthralled by the sight of whizzing kunai and students sparring. Zoku, Akari, and Ryuji had all been purposely avoiding his gaze since the incident two weeks prior. On this particular occasion, one of the instructors was demonstrating how to cause a shuriken to arc once thrown. Naruto watched for a few minutes, then produced one of his personal treasures. It was a small battered shuriken that he had acquired about a year ago when one of the academy students launched it over the fence with a particularly embarrassing throw. Naruto had claimed it later when nobody was looking and had used it ever since to mimic the students' lessons whenever he had the opportunity. He wasn't great with a shuriken by a longshot, but his self directed training had brought him to the point where he could put proper spin on it and hit within about a foot or two of where he was aiming.
This arcing technique was new to Naruto, he couldn't remember seeing it being taught in the academy before. He backed away from the fence and found a nearby tree to aim at. Flicking his wrist as he saw the instructor demonstrate, he tossed the shuriken. It sailed off course and bounced off of another nearby tree. Meanwhile, one of the students had been watching Naruto's attempt and tapped his friend on the shoulder while pointing in Naruto's direction. The other boy turned around and laughed as he watched Naruto retrieve his shuriken and attempt the throw again. Naruto saw their jeers out of the corner of his eye and blushed with angry embarrassment as he repeated his throw again and again only to achieve the same result. The instructor, finally noticing the two were not practicing the technique but rather watching the young blonde, walked over to the boys to berate them. They both gave sheepish looks and returned to the task at hand.
Naruto continued at his vendetta until the arc of the shuriken carried it upwards and lodged it in the tree he was aiming at. The problem was it decided to stick itself higher than a seven year old could reach.
"Aww man…" Naruto groaned.
He looked around for a rock to throw at the tool to try and knock it out of the tree. He struck it dead on three times, but it refused to budge. Becoming frustrated, he turned to the other option set before him. Naruto turned to a patch of bushes located roughly behind him.
"Hey! I can hear you, you know! I swear, you're not very sneaky shaking the bush like that! Are you just gonna hide there or are you gonna come out and help me?" He shouted louder than necessary while pointing at the brush.
A small boy about Naruto's age removed himself from his hiding place while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He had longer spiky black hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail that reminded him of someone… ! The strange man that had rescued him two weeks ago!
Craning his neck from side to side and then holding each shoulder before windmilling the attached arm, the small black-haired boy blinked and yawned.
"My name's Shikamaru. My dad told me to 'keep an eye on you' without you noticing'. But I guess that's not going to happen now, eh? How troublesome."
Naruto gave Shikamaru a curious look. "Your dad?"
"Shikaku Nara, I think you met him a couple of weeks ago. I heard he saved your skin." Shikamaru confirmed, tone flat.
"I knew it!" Naruto exclaimed, again louder than was necessary.
Shikamaru stuck a finger in one of his ears and twisted it. "You're a loud one, aren't you?"
Naruto smiled. "Maybe you're just the sensitive one. What's it matter?"
Shikamaru smiled back at the retort, catching the humor in Naruto's tone. "Touché. From what my pop said you're not so bad, and I guess he's right. He mentioned that you want to be a ninja. Are you serious?"
Shikamaru almost regretted the question after seeing how fired up it got Naruto.
"Yeah, yeah! I'm gonna be a great ninja ,and use cool jutsu, and go on missions and stuff! Then, one day, I'm gonna be Hokage so everybody will like me!"
The black-haired boy pondered the response he received.
"Ok, if you really want to be a ninja you're going to have to learn not to shout everything you say, but what do I know I guess? My dad didn't actually tell me this, but from hearing him talk to other grown-ups I kinda got the impression that people don't really treat you well. Why is that? I mean, I've heard that you've pulled a few pranks, but that's no reason for everybody to hate you. You must have done something cuz' you seem nice enough to me."
Naruto's demeanor instantly crashed into gloom.
"I don't know, really. Everybody just doesn't like me, it's always been that way. They call me a monster and they don't let me play with their kids. Then the kids are mean to me. I guess it's because I'm an orphan but I never really see the other kids being treated like that, so I don't know. I wish I did, 'cause then I could get them to like me. But that's why I'm gonna be Hokage, so everyone will respect me."
Shikamaru studied the now gloomy blonde.
"You know, I believe you. I don't get a bad vibe from you. Besides if people have been mean to you for as long as you can remember, what could you have possibly done that young to make everybody mad at you? Something's up, but I get the feeling that it isn't your fault."
A moment of silence passed as they were lost in their thoughts.
"Hey!" Naruto perked up. "Do you want to help me get my shuriken down?"
"Uhh, sure." Shikamaru replied. "How can I help?"
"Give me a boost so I can reach it."
Shikamaru sighed. "Ugh, troublesome."
Naruto gave Shikamaru a strange look. "Why do you guys say that all the time?"
"What?"
"You know," Naruto did his best impersonation of their tone. "Troublesome."
Shikamaru paused for a moment to think on that. "People just call it a 'Nara thing'. Look, do you want my help or not?"
"Uh, yeah. That's what I just asked you, right?"
Shikamaru palmed his face. "That was a rhetorical question. So troublesome."
"Whatever, just help me okay?"
Shikamaru knelt by the tree and held his palms in front of him, one under the other and supported by his knee, as a platform. Naruto stepped up and Shikamaru boosted him up so he could reach the shuriken. Naruto removed it with one deft pull. However, he had been a little overzealous and his momentum caused him to tumble off of Shikamaru's hands onto the ground below.
"Ooof." He grunted as he made contact with the dirt, creating a small dust cloud.
Shikamaru grimaced. "That's going to bruise, I'll bet." He commented.
Naruto picked himself up off of the ground. He dusted himself off somewhat before giving Shikamaru a grin.
"Yeah, but don't worry. I patch up super fast. This one time, I cut myself on a shard of glass and it was gone in like an hour. Uhh… the cut I mean."
Shikamaru raised his eyebrow. "You're exaggerating, right? Nobody heals that fast."
"Nah, I'm serious. One hour, gone."
Shikamaru took a moment to consider that. "That's… not natural. Sounds like some sort of Kekei Genkai. Does anybody know who your parents are?"
Naruto sobered at that question. "No, not as far as I know. When I ask, the old man sometimes acts like he's about to say something but he's never told me anything useful. So I don't know if he knows or not."
"Old man?"
Naruto grinned once more. "Oh yeah. You probably know him better as our glorious lord The Third Hokage, Sarutobi-sama." His voice carried a satirical tone.
Shikamaru paled slightly. "You call the Hokage 'old man'?"
Naruto's expression changed to a slightly smug smirk. "What? It's not like he's young."
Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose. "He's probably the only person in the village on friendly terms with you, and you call him 'old man'? Sheesh."
Naruto's demeanor darkened. "When you say it like that you make it sound like you pity me or something. I don't want your pity. I mean, it's not like I have it so bad you know. Adults just ignore me, or don't let me come in their stores, or stop their kids from playing with me. That kind of stuff. Most of the actual trouble comes from kids who want to bully me. Still, it sucks when you know that everybody hates you. But what did I say, eh? Don't waste your time feeling sorry for me. Nobody's done it up until now and I've survived just fine."
Naruto's reaction was more than enough to tell Shikamaru that he'd hit a nerve. Apparently Naruto had a chink in his armor of sunshine after all.
"Hey, hey. I didn't mean it like that.", He consoled. "I'm honestly pretty impressed that you're able to be so informal with the Hokage."
Naruto's smile returned somewhat. "Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy, I guess. At least compared to everybody else."
Shikamaru turned to look at the sun, which was beginning to set. Apparently he'd been out longer than he'd planned.
"Hmm, looks like it's time for me to go Naruto. Maybe we'll talk again sometime."
Naruto gave a sad sigh but made no protest.
"Okay then. It's been… nice. Nobody ever wants to talk to me. Or listen. But there I go again, throwing myself a pity party. Get on home, I don't want you to get in trouble."
Shikamaru nodded. "Okay. See you."
"See ya."
And with that Shikamaru walked off, leaving Naruto standing alone in the clearing. Hands in pockets, the black-haired youth turned on to the road that led back to the Nara compound. He'd always enjoyed the walk because it gave him the time to take in his surroundings. The Nara compound was located on one of the mountain ridges around Konoha and was smack dab in the middle of the forest. Thus the path leading to it was thickly lined with trees and other foliage on either side. It was always pleasant to take in the beauty of nature, but the amber and pink glow of the sunset playing along the tops of the trees as a gentle breeze rustled their leaves was simply breathtaking.
The compound came into view after about five minutes and he had soon reached its gates. It was designed with an older style in mind, resembling the Hyuuga compound with a darker color scheme. With wrought iron gates in intricate patterns along with cherry-wood housing and tinted windows, it came off slightly showier that the Hyuugas' home, but to Shikamaru it felt much cozier and gave off much less of a sterile, bland vibe. Like most of the "clans" in Konoha, the compound was not as occupied as one might have thought. The word "clan" could fool someone into assuming it meant a very large number of people, but in actuality there were only twelve families living in the compound.
Needless to say, it was a pretty close-knit community, which was why he was greeted warmly at the gate by a relative everyone fondly referred to as Grandma Kirou. To Shikamaru, she was his uncle's-wife's-mother which made her his step-grandmother or something. In her youth she had been known to drive men across the village wild with her combination of natural good looks and prowess as a kunoichi. Even in her old age one could tell that she was a natural beauty, although the springtime of her youth had long since faded away. Her hair framed her face with salt-and-pepper curls that reached midway down her back with a jade deer-shaped hair piece she usually kept fastened in it. She wore an exotic navy blue kimono emblazoned with silver trim and thin swirling designs. Her figure was slightly rounded from years of retirement but not chubby, and she was not particularly tall. Her face, as always, was not only flawlessly covered in a subtle layer of Nara cosmetics making her appear ten years younger, but also carrying a gentle smile.
"Well, hello there young Shikamaru. How are we today?"
"Hello Grandma Kirou.", Shikamaru returned with a polite bow. "I'm doing well. And yourself?"
"Always so polite, aren't we? Well, keep it up. Somebody has to know how one treats their elders. But you know me. I'm always fine. Never had a condition that we couldn't create a medicine to fix."
Shikamaru chuckled.
"I guess that's the advantage to being the clan that creates medicine for the village. You can pick what you make based on your personal needs and sell the excess."
Grandma Kirou gave a hearty laugh and gripped the boy's shoulder at that, the sound of which always warmed Shikamaru's heart.
"The real advantage, Shikamaru, is not having to pay for it. Blood pressure, blood sugar, muscle aches, bone loss, memory, it's a laundry list. Just part of growing old, I'm afraid."
They both paused to admire the sun finally sinking completely below the horizon.
Grandma Kirou ruffled Shikamaru's hair and he turned to give her a warm smile.
"It's getting late dear. You better run on home."
"Yeah, you're right. Goodbye Grandma Kirou."
Patting the boy on the head she gave a small wave and turned, resuming her stroll. "Goodbye dear."
Shikamaru made his way to his modestly decorated home and stepped into the kitchen in time to see his mother plating some sort of chicken and rice dish. His father was already sitting expectantly at the table.
"Hello Shikamaru." Shikaku greeted. "You've been gone longer than I expected. Take a seat and tell me how things went."
Shikamaru complied and sat at his place at the table, eying the food appreciatively but not digging in. "Well…", The boy began "I had an interesting conversation with him, but I still don't see how that was training."
Shikaku smiled. "Then he found you, huh? I predicted that, to be honest. The real training involved was your ability to analyze another human being. What did you learn about him, and what significance do you think that has my boy?"
Shikamaru's eyes lit with enlightenment as he realized the point of "observing" Naruto. "Well, first of all, he really, really wants to be a ninja. The Hokage specifically. He's learned enough by observing the academy that he can actually throw a shuriken decently well. He was practicing a new technique today when he caught me. He said he could hear me rustling branches but I was ten feet away... so that was odd. He seems to have very good senses. Oh, and that reminds me, I think he has some sort of advanced bloodline."
Shikaku stiffened. It wouldn't do for the boy to deduce anything regarding the Nine Tailed Fox.
"Uhh, what did you see that made you think that?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "It's really not anything that I saw. Other than the fact that he heard me from ten feet away, I gave him a boost so he could reach the shuriken he'd lodged in the tree. He lost his balance when he pulled it out and he had a pretty good fall. When I commented on it he told me not to worry because he heals quickly. He said that he cut himself on glass once, and it was completely healed in an hour. That's definitely not natural. It just seems like his body is…", He paused to find the word he was looking for. "Different. Enhanced?"
Shikaku let out an invisible sigh of relief. "Well, that certainly is interesting. Tell me more about Naruto though. How does he think?"
Shikamaru paused to recollect his thoughts. "Well, he's really loud. He seems like he's looking for attention. He also seems like he's prone to mood swings. If you say the right, or depending on how you look at it, wrong, thing his mood will do a one-eighty almost instantly. He acts happy, but he seems like he does a lot of brooding underneath the surface. He tries to convince himself that he's not that bad off and he should be happy, but he knows the truth of things in his heart. If you get past the image he puts on the surface he's actually very aware about how the world really works. At least as much as I am, and you take the time to explain things to me almost every day."
Shikaku nodded. "That was an excellent analysis, Shikamaru: You're improving. As one last point of interest, what's your opinion on his intelligence level?"
"Well.", The black-haired boy began. "He's kind of all over the board. When I first met him I thought he was just loud and bull-headed. class-A dufus, you know? But the more he talked about his life, especially when he got serious, the more I realized that he's smarter than he gives himself credit for. He's actually very intelligent. I think his problem is that he just doesn't take the time to think most of the time. He probably gets so tired of the conclusions that he comes to about his life that he'd rather be stupid and happy than smart and depressed."
"Well said. Unfortunately if he wants to be the Hokage one day, he'll have to get over that pretty fast." Shikaku said as he impaled some salad on his fork.
At that point Mrs. Nara had had enough. She turned to Shikamaru with a vein throbbing in her forehead.
"That's wonderful and all, but you think you can walk in here without so much as giving me a 'hello' and then sit and blabber while the dinner I slaved to make gets cold?" She threatened, an aura of fire seeming to coil around her.
Shikamaru slumped in his seat slightly. "Umm, hello to you too, mom."
Shikaku turned to his wife. "Now, now, Yoshino-kun. This is important and you know it." They shared a look that Shikamaru couldn't decode the meaning of.
She calmed down almost immediately. "I know honey, but you know how I feel when people just ignore me. Especially considering I'm the one that just made your dinner and I get to watch you ignore that too. I swear, you two are so troublesome"
The rest of dinner passed in casual conversation and soon the dishes were being cleared from the table. Shikamaru was getting ready to retire to his room for the night when his father approached him.
"Hey son. I was going to ask you earlier, but you got home a little late. I need you to run down to the apothecary and get me some ingredients so I can whip myself up some medicine for leg cramps. I'd go myself but I think you get the picture."
Shikamaru took the list that was handed to him. "Ugh, okay." He looked it over and sighed. "That's a lot of ingredients. So troublesome."
"Well get going so you can get it over with." His dad prodded.
Shikamaru just sighed again and walked out of the door. Shikaku watched him through the window and when he was a good distance away he spoke to the empty space in the living room. "Okay, it's clear."
Kirou Nara quickly shimmered into view. "Are you sure that'll keep him away long enough?"
Shikaku chuckled. "Yeah. I purposely mis-shelved the first two ingredients in the list and I stuck the ladder in the wrong place. That should occupy him for a minute or two."
Yoshino chose that moment to walk in. "So, do you think it's possible?"
Kirou smiled. "Definitely. Don't underestimate me in my advancing age."
"But it all hinges on what Naruto decides. It's almost nerve-wracking." Shikaku added.
Looking at her husband, Yoshino tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I still don't see exactly what possessed you to help that boy."
At that, Shikaku wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her close. "My troublesome conscience won't let me just leave things the way they are after meeting him. Besides, if he accepts, this will work out to everybody's benefit."
Kaou smiled as Yoshino wrapped her arms around him in return and kissed her husband lovingly. "I know. I'm so excited for your brother; I know he's wanted this for so long. I just hope your plan works out."
"I'm pretty sure I've covered all the bases, and I had help." Shikaku said as he gestured towards Kirou.
"Well it'll be a waste of a good A-class Shikaku plan if he declines." The elder ribbed. "I think this could be the finest you've ever produced in a sense. If he does accept, I'll finally have what I've dreamt about for so long. And no doubt my daughter and son will be beside themselves as well." Kirou said with a wistful tone in her voice.
"But does it really have to be so complicated dear?" Yoshino asked.
Shikaku nodded. "There are just too many variables to ignore. Even for all of my plans, I couldn't have done much good if the Hokage hadn't agreed to help. Because of him, I was able to work things out to be as beneficial to all parties involved as possible. Multiple people are going to be able to achieve their dreams if this goes well." Glancing through the window, he spotted an exasperated looking Shikamaru walking up the road with a paper bag in hand. "Looks like this meeting is adjourned, Kirou-san."
"I'll be speaking with him tonight. Cross your fingers." She said before forming two handseals and fading from view once more.
If Shikamaru had been paying more attention, he may have noticed the tickle of a silk kimono on his arm as he opened the door.
Kirou walked out into the night, and enhancing her speed with chakra made her way to the orphanage that Naruto currently occupied. When she reached it's doors she knocked firmly. Another aged woman in a blue two-piece suit with and her gray hair up in a bun answered the door to find absolutely nothing.
"Pranksters." She mumbled before shutting the door once more, unaware that she had just let in an uninvited guest.
Making sure to step lightly on the old floor as not to cause it to creak, she made her way to the bedrooms and peeked inside the doors until she spied Naruto's mane of blonde hair poking out from one of the bunk beds. Luckily he was on the lower mattress, which made line-of-sight slightly easier to obtain.
'Shikaku was right.', Kirou mused. 'You really can't miss him.'
Walking into the room and positioning herself so she wasn't directly in the doorway should somebody decide to walk in or out for some reason, Kirou formed three handseals.
"Genjutsu: Waking Dream." She whispered.
In a matter of seconds her surroundings had faded away and she was left standing in the midst of absolutely nothing, pure white extending in all directions. Directly in front of her was a very startled looking Naruto. He looked at her curiously before examining his surroundings. Seeing nothing but white, his gaze directed itself back to Kirou. The gears in his head appeared to be spinning.
"Umm… am I dead?" He asked with morbid curiosity written all over his face.
Kirou couldn't help but laugh at his analysis and blunt question. The sound carried easily through the empty space surrounding them. "Oh, no dear. You're not dead, don't worry."
Naruto's face furrowed in confusion. "Then what the heck is going on here?"
"You're under the effect of a genjutsu that allows someone to talk to you in your sleep. Basically your body is still fast asleep while your mind is wide awake at the moment. When you wake up in the morning, you'll remember everything that happened here." Kirou explained.
Naruto became visibly nervous at that statement, body language coiling and bracing for some unknown threat. "What exactly is going to 'happen here'?"
Kirou walked over to the boy and put her hand on his shoulder. He had flinched when he saw her hand extending, but he quickly relaxed under the effect of her grandmotherly demeanor and friendliness.
"We're just going to talk, as I've said."
Naruto stared up at her. "I remember an instructor at the academy saying genjutsu are illusions, right?"
Kirou nodded, impressed.
"Then why do we have to talk like this?" The boy continued.
"Because it would be very bad if anybody were to hear what I want to talk to you about. In the real world, I'm currently invisible and standing by your doorway. If you were to be awoken by a voice coming from nowhere that wanted to talk to you, you'd probably freak out which would be very bad for the both of us. In this setting we can both talk freely without having to worry about anybody listening in on us."
Naruto nodded slowly, taking in information like a sponge. "Okay then. What exactly do you want to talk about?"
Kirou smiled warmly. "You, Naruto. Specifically your future. I'm here to make you an offer on behalf of myself…" She paused. "Oh, how rude of me! I haven't even introduced myself! I am Kirou Nara, although depending on what you decide here tonight you might like to call me Grandmother."
Naruto's eyes lit up at her insinuation as he unconsciously gasped. "You, you don't mean, I mean, you…!?"
"Yes, Naruto. I've come to talk to you about becoming part of the Nara clan, if you so wish. It seems my son-in-law's brother has taken quite an interest in you."
"Do you mean Shikaku Nara?" Naruto asked, comprehension starting to dawn on his face.
"Yes, that's him. Now as I was saying, I've come to make you an offer on behalf of myself, my son-in-law Genmaru, his brother Shikaku, and my daughter Kigome. You see, my daughter and had husband have been trying to have a child for a long time. They finally did some medical testing and discovered that my daughter is the one that can't have a child. However they still wanted a child more than anything in the world, but they can't adopt because of clan laws. That's where you and Shikaku's amazingly convoluted plan come in. My son-in-law Genmaru has heard how badly you want to become a powerful ninja and has agreed to do everything in his power to help you achieve that goal. He wants to adopt you as his son, and has promised to help you in any way he can."
Naruto considered her words. "What's this 'amazingly convoluted plan' of Shikaku's? And what does convoluted mean?"
Kirou gave a cheshire grin. "Convoluted means very complicated, dear. If you accept, we are going to stage your death in Konoha…"
At her words, Naruto abruptly flew into a flurry of panic. "How the heck are you going to adopt me if you kill me!?"
Kirou chuckled. "Dear, dear, calm down. To stage someone's death means to fake it, so people think you're dead when you're really not."
Naruto stopped his blustering and blushed, staring down and feeling quite foolish. "Oh."
Kirou patted him on the shoulder. "Now, now, dear. You're only seven. Of course you wouldn't know what that means. I'm sorry for not being more clear. Now as I was saying, we're going to fake your death. The Hokage has arranged a special mission for Genmaru if you decide to take our offer. You will leave with him for two years, nobody will know of course, and when you return you'll have a new name, a new appearance, and a new chance at life here in Konoha. Nobody will know it's you. In essence you really will die, only to be reborn as a Nara."
Naruto just stood absorbing her words, tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes.
"This all sounds too good to be true. I've always dreamt of having a family and being accepted. Now you're offering that to me? What's the catch, huh? There's gotta be a catch."
Kirou smiled down at him. "There are catches if you think about it Naruto. I'm trying to be completely open with you so I'm going to bring a few things to your attention. The first thing is that this offer isn't a very selfless one. My children want a child. And I want a grandchild for more reasons than one. We're getting what we want out of this as well. The second thing to think about is that we can tell you'll be a great ninja if you put your mind to it. Why wouldn't the Nara clan want that power backing it? So this is also in the interest of the Nara clan. Thirdly, you'll have to give up your identity for a long time if not forever. If you accept our offer, you can never again be Naruto Uzumaki. At least until you're much older and thinking about having a family of your own. That will be a time of great struggle for you, although that's in the distant future. Fourth, this involves leaving Konoha for quite a while."
Naruto smirked as tears began to run down his face. "Those are catches? What's wrong with everyone being happy? Besides, my life sucks. Why would I care if I can't use my name anymore? And about leaving Konoha, I'd love to see what other places are like."
Kirou saw his tears of happiness and sighed sadly. "Don't get too happy too fast Naruto. I've still neglected to mention the biggest catch of all. Now I want you to promise me that you'll allow me to explain myself about what I'm about to say. If you react emotionally towards about to tell you, then you'll probably have some serious mental issues to work out. However, if you let me finish, you may be able to achieve understanding of a certain issue in your life and even work your way past it. Do you understand? What I'm about to do is against the law, by penalty of death. I hope to god I'm making the right decision."
Naruto gulped. "Okay, I understand."
"You've probably wondered why everybody seems to treat you poorly, right?" She began.
Naruto nodded.
"Well, it has to do with the attack of the Demon Fox, Kyuubi, that occurred seven years ago. On the day you were born, in fact. You've heard the story about how the fox was killed by the Forth Hokage, right?"
Naruto nodded again, suspicion beginning to gnaw at his mind.
"Well, that's what it is. A story. A fabrication meant to protect you. In reality the fox was sealed away into the only vessel adaptable enough to contain it, a newborn baby. You, Naruto."
A devastated Naruto fell to his knees, sobbing. "No! No! No, no, no, no, NO! So every time somebody called me 'monster'…!"
Kirou knelt down and wrapped him in a hug. "What did you promise me Naruto?"
His sobs soon stopped and petered out into sniffles. "That I wouldn't get emotional until I let you finish explaining."
Kirou tipped his head up to look at her by raising his chin. "There's the tough boy I've heard about. Now let me finish. Everybody that was old enough to understand what was going on at the time knows the truth of your situation. They were looking to find a scapegoat to take their anger out on after the devastation of the attack. Most of them managed to convince themselves that you were the Kyuubi that they despised so much, a monster. The reality of the situation is that the Kyuubi is sealed within you. You are the living sacrifice that stopped its wrath from continuing. You're the Kyuubi's jailor. You're a hero Naruto, the only thing standing between us and the Demon Fox."
Naruto's tears stopped entirely during her explanation. He looked at her with pure gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you... I just... Now I know why everybody hates me, but knowing what I know, I think… I think I might be able to forgive them now. But why did you tell me, when nobody else would?"
Kirou took his hand and squeezed it. "Because Naruto, you're not alone. There are others like you. Jinchuuriki, living sacrifices who bear demons sealed inside of them. And they have a history of being able to manifest portions of their captive's power. Having the Kyuubi sealed inside you is an incredibly distinct mark of your identity. If you were to assume another identity and somehow the Kyuubi were to manifest some of its power through you at the wrong time or place, it would instantly reveal who you are to all the wrong people. Long story short, it would ruin everything. This is what I was getting to, the biggest catch of all. If you take our offer, you must agree to do everything in your power to avoid manifesting the Kyuubi's power. You must never, never, use it, ever. Not until you are an adult and ready for the world to know who you really are. So… now everything is laid before you, plain as can be. What do you say? I need your answer as soon as possible in order to get things in motion if you accept. When should I return to hear your answer?"
Naruto pondered that for a moment. "I accept." He announced firmly.
"Hmm!?" Kirou gasped, taken aback. "I heard you were impulsive, but… you've already decided? This is a very major decision you know. And once we set the events in motion you won't be able to change your mind."
Naruto grinned. "I make up my mind pretty quickly. Besides, this is my dream, and Genmaru and Kagome's dream, and I wanna live it! Besides, from what I've seen from you, Shikamaru, and Shikaku-san, the Nara clan is made up of some really cool people. If I could imagine my parents, I'd want them to be like you."
Kirou couldn't help but grin with him. "I can see why Shikaku was so motivated to help you. You're a very loveable young man, and you're spirit is infectious. I need to go now. I'll begin getting things in order immediately, Naruto-chan. Be prepared to leave the village behind in two days. Two days from now, on Thursday at twelve-o-clock, make your way into the wooded area directly to the right of the Konoha Zoo. We'll take care of the rest. Sadly, after that, we'll have to wait two years to see each other again. You won't meet your mother until then either, I'm afraid." She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "Goodbye for now, my grandson. My heir." And with that she brought her hands together in the Tiger seal. "Kai!"
The white world dissolved as Kirou returned to consciousness and Naruto returned to his slumber. She looked once more at Naruto's slumbering form before stealing silently into the night once more. He was smiling peacefully.