Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any associated material. This is purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, alive or dead, is purely coincidental. This disclaimer applies to this chapter, and all following material, posted at any date, by me, The Arms of Blood

The original story was taken down from the site, what follows is the rewritten product,
I hope you enjoy the read!

The Nine Tails of the Heart

( ~ I ~ )

Chapter One: A New Face! Hidetoshi, Miyoi!

The wind rustled the leaves in the trees and sent ripples across the water of the lake.

He liked the lake. Most people were too 'busy' doing 'important' things to spend some time by the lake, and even if they had the time, it was 'too far' from most of the housing districts for anyone to bother making the trip. Which, of course, meant that there was hardly ever anyone around. He preferred it that way.

The lake was a great place to think, and to vent some anger, and that's what he needed it for at the moment. He had come to terms with the fact that the village didn't like... he shook his head and chuckled to himself, dislike was putting it mildly, putting it much too mildly. The village hated him... well, not the village, but everyone inside of it. Pure, undiluted resentment that went so far beyond hatred he couldn't think of a single word to describe it.

He tossed another rock out over the lake and watched it skip across the surface of the water, and then sink with an audible 'pullop' as the lake swallowed the stone. He bent down to pick up another rock and growled at the image that the water reflected. His unruly, and wind-tossed golden blonde hair covered his head and stuck out into natural spikes. His eyes were a deep, melancholy, blue, and on each cheek were three nearly symmetrical scars. He had always wondered about those scars – had they been given to him so long ago that he didn't remember anymore, or were those part of the reason why people called him a 'monster' and a 'demon', and made signs against evil whenever they saw him? He quickly shook the thought out of his head and stood up when he heard footsteps behind him.

The approaching man had a scowl on his face as he stormed up to the boy, "What the hell are you doing! Why didn't you show up to class!"

The boy turned around, back towards the lake, away from the village, and tossed the rock he had picked up, "Why should I show up to class? I never get taught anything."

The man growled and ran a hand through his black hair, he hated being this kid's sensei sometimes, he was so damned stubborn and difficult. "I swear Naruto, this is the reason you have such a hard time with everything – you spend your time goofing off instead of training with the rest of..."

A growl escaped his throat as he span around and glared at the man, "Training with the rest of the kids? I never get trained! I never get picked as a sparing partner! I never get any assistance from any of the instructors! I never get a chance to do something again if I get it wrong the first time! And I never get any words of encouragement! All any of you ever tell me is how hopeless and useless and worthless I am, and that I shouldn't be wasting your time which you could be using to teach the other students! So why the hell are you wasting your time on me when I don't show up! What'll happen if I don't go to class? What makes you so worried?"

He stood there staring at the irate boy, trying to find some words to say, but his mind was blank and his mouth was agape like some land-stuck fish. "Naruto..."

"I'll go to class Iruka-sensei, but I want you to understand, it doesn't benefit anyone that I attend."

( ~ I ~ )

A frustrated looking Naruto was pushed through the door of the academy classroom, followed by an equally frustrated looking Iruka. "Now go sit down and stop arguing with me!"

Naruto bit his lip to keep from saying anything he really shouldn't, "Fine..."

A clawed hand rested on Naruto's desk as a brown-haired boy leaned across the row and chuckled lightly, "Wow, Naruto, what did you do to make Iruka-sensei so mad? I haven't seen him this angry in a while!"

"Shut it, dog-face!" Naruto growled, not even bothering to look at Kiba. He was not in the mood to deal with anyone today, especially not after the tongue-lashing he had gotten from Iruka on the way to the academy.

"What did you call me?" Kiba growled as his claws dug into the desk and he stood up, preparing to attack the blonde.

Naruto didn't say anything, he just turned and glared at the boy, letting out just a little of his bottled up hatred show through his face. Kiba was probably the closest out of all of the other kids to himself - in temperment at least, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Kiba growled again and then sat back down at his desk, "Don't call me that again, Naruto." A sideways glance at the other students, to see exactly who was paying attention, "Or there will be consequences."

"No there won't..." Naruto shrugged as he re-bottled his hatred, angry at himself for not holding all of it in.

"There won't what?" Kiba was on his feet again, glaring with all of the intensity he could muster.

"Naruto! Kiba! Enough! Sit down, both of you!" Iruka growled at the two boys.

"Hai, sensei." Kiba said, his head bowed slightly as he took his seat. He was cowed, for now, but there would come a day when he would get back at Naruto.

Naruto didn't respond, he just turned his head and looked out the window. This was going to be another long day.

( ~ I ~ )

The next day

Iruka looked at the assembled class and sighed, it looked like Naruto was skipping class again today. Well, that was just fine, Naruto could get in all the trouble he wanted, and then he would have to explain to the hoka... no... bad idea. Iruka shook his head, Naruto wouldn't be the one explaining to the Hokage why he was getting into so much trouble, he would be the one having to try to explain why he wasn't in class... and Naruto, damn brat, would probably be laughing his head off.

"INCOMING!" Naruto roared as he flew through the door, just as the bell rang, signaling that class had started, and that anyone who wasn't already inside was late – and there were penalties for being late. Naruto barely avoided bowling over the girl that was standing right next to Iruka, he couldn't avoid, however, running into her. He profusely apologized, not even bothering to look up at her face. He thought that she was probably going to hit him, like everyone else did.

"Naruto! Get in your seat, your holding up the class – and stop attacking your new classmate!" Iruka yelled at the poor boy who slunk over to his chair.

Iruka sighed again and rolled his eyes, wondering, why he, of all people, had been chosen to be Naruto's sensei until he graduated... if he ever graduated.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" He paused a moment to make sure he had everyone's attention, "You are all getting a new classmate today. She entered the academy late, because her family moved here only recently. She learned in the last two months what all... what most of you..." Iruka corrected himself, "learned over the last several years, so her skills might not be as polished as all of yours. That, however, doesn't give you the right to treat her any different than you treat any of your other classmates. Now..." He turned his attention to the new girl and smiled at her, "Why don't you introduce yourself."

She nodded, faced the class, and bowed. Her fingers were laced together, and Naruto could tell that she was squeezing her hands tightly, because the skin on her hands was a pale white instead of the flushed red that covered the rest of her visible skin. She had long brown hair that looked like it went to the small of her back. Her smile was soft, unsure, and obviously forced – probably because she was nervous. "My name is Hidetoshi, Miyoi. I look forward to working with you all." She looked over to Iruka, unsure of what to do next. She was wearing a short, very dark green, dress that went from her shoulders to just past her knees. The hem of her dress swished back and forth as she stood there nervously, looking to Iruka for further instructions.

Iruka smiled at her, "Alright, go ahead and have a seat..." He waited a few moments for her to get settled in, before nodding at her once more and then looking at the chalkboard, he silently wondered if her choosing the seat right next to Naruto was going to cause any problems... Well, since Naruto was already a problem, he wondered if it was going to cause any more problems...

"Today, class, we're going to be talking about..."

( ~ I ~ )

A few months later

Iruka looked out over the class, in another year and a half or so he'd be done with these kids, and Kami-sama willing, done with Naruto too. A smile crossed his face at the thought – Naruto, with a sensei... whom he would annoy... endlessly... and the sensei's name wouldn't be Umino, Iruka.

"Hey, Iruka, snap out of it! Stop dreaming about the vacation you're never going to be able to take!"

Iruka glared at Naruto, trying not to yell at him, "It's Iruka-sensei, Naruto."

"Not if you're not teaching us anything it isn't..."

"Naruto!"

Naruto bowed his head, more from an unwillingness to continue the argument any longer then from having been sufficiently cowed, "Sorry... Iruka" a slight pause, just long enough for Iruka to notice, "-sensei."

Iruka was fuming inside, vividly imaging beating Naruto over the head with various blunt objects.

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes, Choji?"

"Shikamaru wants to know; Since you're not going to teach anything today, can we go home?"

"No!"

Choji shrugged, leaned back in his chair, and started snacking on his bag of chips once again.

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome..."

( ~ I ~ )

The next morning

"Alright class, today, and for all of next week, we'll be outside at the practice fields training."

The class responded with various stages of enthusiasm. Ranging between great joy, and undiluted frustration.

Outside

By the time Iruka managed to get his entire class outside into the sunshine, some of the practice fields were already occupied by more senior students – who, done with their actual class, were released to go practice on their own, or go home, at their own discretion.

Hinata immediately recognized her older cousin Neji, and he immediately recognized her. A scowl gilded his face as he turned away from his younger cousin, and faced the two children in the ring closest to him – who were both easily dodging each other's attacks.

"Now, everyone!" Iruka had to clear his throat a few times, and watch as a few of the students nudged their friends in the side with their elbows, before he had everyone's attention, "We're going to running through some target practice drills, taijutsu sparing, and substitution techniques. Today we're going to focus on target practice – any questions?" A short pause and a frustrated Iruka later, "Yes – Naruto, what is it!" Iruka asked impatiently.

"How are we going to be practicing substitution techniques?"

"Simple," Iruka paused, a malevolent grin spreading across his face, "I'm going to throw stuff at you."

A few of the students groaned, especially Naruto.

A few minutes later

Everyone was hitting the target almost every time, and a few of the students were even hitting the bulls-eye consistently... everyone, that is to say, but Naruto.

Naruto threw another three shuriken at the target, and all three veered off target just before they hit – almost as if there were some shield that was thing keeping them from hitting the dummy. "Damn it!" Naruto growled as he pulled out another few shuriken and tried again – with equally abysmal results.

"Naruto! What are you doing? How have you not had a single shuriken hit your target yet?"

Naruto took a few breathes before turning to Iruka, "It's almost as if the damn thing has a shield! That's why I can't hit it! Watch!" Naruto just flicked his wrist and the single shuriken embedded itself, dead-center, on the target.

Iruka rolled his eyes, "So, Naruto... what you just said is that you haven't been trying..."

Naruto shook his head, "That's not true! I have!"

Iruka shook his head, looking up at the sky for a moment, before turning to talk to some of the other students... ignoring Naruto like everyone in the village had done for as long as Naruto could remember.

"Naruto-san..." Miyoi approached Naruto slowly, cautiously.

"Yeah?" Naruto lowered his hands, a few shuriken still held in them, "Oh, hey Miyoi-chan, what can I do for you?"

Miyoi smiled, and brushed her hair out of her face, revealing a blush on her cheeks, "Umm... Naruto-san..." She paused for a moment, as if she was fighting with herself over if she should say it or not.

When she didn't say anything else for a few moments Naruto placed his weaponless hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay, Miyoi-chan? Kiba wasn't bugging you was he?"

Miyoi shook her head, "No, I... I was just..." She took a breathe and looked him in the eyes, "I just wanted you to know, the reason your shuriken aren't hitting the target ... you're holding and throwing them wrong." She then averted her eyes, sure that he would be mad with her.

Naruto laughed, "That would explain it..." He took a step away from her and glared daggers at the target, he didn't want her to think that he was angry with her, and the dummy wouldn't be any worse off from his anger. "It makes sense though..."

Miyoi mustered up the courage to look up at him, pleased to see that he wasn't mad with her, "It explains what? How does it make sense, Naruto-san?"

"They," He waved his hand towards the academy building dismissively , "Taught me to throw them this way." He threw another to emphasize his point, watching it veer off to the side just before it struck.

"I... I could..." She took another deep breathe.

"You would really do that?" He looked at her and smiled, "You'd really stay after class and help me with the shuriken and kunai?" When she returned the smile and nodded he pulled her into a hug and chuckled, "Thanks, Miyoi-chan!"

Neither of the spectators were amused.

"N...Naruto-k... kun..."

"Naruto-baka! What do you think you're doing! Stop fooling around, let Miyoi do her work, and do some work yourself!" Iruka roared at the boy, who immediately let Miyoi out of the hug and smiled timidly at her.

After class

"Hey, Miyoi-chan!"

Miyoi turned her head to see Kiba coming over, a smile plastered on his face, "Yes, Kiba-san?"

"I wanted to know..." He grinned, "Since school's done for the week... do you want to hang out?"

Miyoi returned his smile, "I would Kiba-san, but..." her smile faded as she lowered her eyes.

"But what?"

"I... ummm... I already promised Naruto-san I'd help him with his technique..."

Kiba started laughing, "You're really going to spend time helping that baka? Wow, Miyoi-chan, you're a nicer person than I thought!"

Naruto tried not to take offense. Kiba was a loud mouth, and often said things first, and then thought about them never – but he wasn't about to let that go so easily, "You know... Kiba-baka, I'm standing right here."

Kiba glanced over Miyoi's shoulder and glared at the blonde, "Yeah? What of it?"

Naruto returned the glare, frowning at the brown-haired boy for a moment before turning back to the training dummy, "It's rude to call someone an idiot without good cause..."

"You just called me an idiot!"

"I have good cause..."

Kiba was ready to attack Naruto, but the arrival of his older sister stopped him, "Watch your back, Naruto."

"Is that a threat, Kiba?" Naruto asked, looking back towards the other boy, ready to defend himself if he needed to.

"No... a friendly warning." With that said, Kiba ran over to his sister's side and started talking with her, casting a few glances back towards Naruto as his sister pulled him away from the gate.

Naruto didn't respond, he just went back to practicing. "He may not like you much, Miyoi-chan, because of what just happened..."

It took her a moment to find her feet, and her tongue, "What did just happen, Naruto-san?"

"He's just labeled you as being my friend. That means that he, and probably most of the other kids, are not going to like you."

"What's wrong with being your friend, Naruto-san?" Miyoi asked, honestly confused.

"Well..." Naruto threw another shuriken, and watched it strike the dummy's heart with a dull thud.

"Well?"

"Most of the people in the village... they... don't like me..."

She looked at the shuriken scattered around the base of Naruto's assigned target dummy and remembered what he had said just a few hours ago, "They..." he waved his hand towards the academy building dismissively, "Taught me to throw them this way."

That would explain why they had taught him wrong, but it didn't explain... "Why? Why don't people... like you Naruto-san?"

Naruto shrugged, and tossed another few shuriken towards the wooden dummy, "Beats me..."

Chapter End

Author's Notes:

This is the rewritten chapter 1 (Posted September 25, 2010 – Saturday - stayed up past midnight finishing it, and now I'm off to bed )

This story does not have a beta reader.

I am human, I may have missed a few things – though I have gone back through what I've typed and looked for mistakes.

Enjoy!

Now to start work on chapter two... after I get some sleep ^.^

As always - I can respect criticism... and If I'm spelling something wrong, or improperly using a suffix, etc. please feel free to correct me.