Fiery orange and a dreadful smirk. That is all Naruto can remember as his mind is jump started into wakefulness. Sweat having drenched his bed, Naruto only has a second to ponder what he just dreamt of before a gentle knocking at the door makes itself known.
'Are you awake in there Naruto?', comes the voice from beyond the door. It takes Naruto's tired mind a moment to place it, as the voice of his elderly grandfather figure.
'Coming', Naruto says as he stumbles out of bed. His dark room lit only by the crack under the door.
It only takes him half a second to realise why the hokage has woken him, 'Mizuki', Naruto says to himself, before another more troubling thought comes to him, 'the fox', he spits out.
Naruto shakes off the distaste, before opening the door to the warm smile of his most favourite person in the world. 'Hello Naruto. I'm sorry to have woken you, but we need to talk about what happened tonight', said Sarutobi.
Naruto's mood darkened at the mention, before the hokage speaks up again. 'Over ramen of course', Sarutobi supplied, a soft chuckle filling the air as Naruto visibly brightened.
He jumped on the spot, excited at the prospect. 'You're paying right? Oh can we get Ichiraku's, old man?', Naruto said enthusiastically, before flicking on the lights in his apartment and rushing back in to get changed out of his pyjama's.
'Of course, of course. Though Teuchi might have to take an IOU, given how much you consume', Said Sarutobi with a somewhat jovial tone. Taking a step back into the corridor he waited for Naruto while casually smoking his pipe.
Now dressed in his normal orange attire, Naruto steps out into the corridor while affixing his brand new hitai-ate. 'Come on old man, lets get moving', he said while pushing the elderly man out of the building.
For Konoha it was a warm summer night, the darkness held at bay by the soft golden glow of the lanterns lining the shops and buildings. A constant hustle and bustle of families making they're way to and from dinner, ninja having a night on the town after their missions and both the hokage and Naruto heading for Ichiraku's. Any stares Naruto may have attracted on account of his tenant, were quickly put down by a stern glare from the leader of the village.
'Tell me Naruto, do you know what it means to be a ninja for Konoha?', said Sarutobi as he levelled a questioning gaze at his charge.
'Well yer, it means I'm super strong and get to learn all kinds of awesome jutsu. Oh, and I get to fight other ninja', Naruto said in a manner of fact tone while nodding his head.
Sarutobi's face flashed a grin before billowing out a hearty laugh. Some heads turned to stare at the laughing old man. 'What's so funny?', questioned Naruto, somewhat downtrodden at the response to his answer.
Sarutobi only took a moment more to collect himself. His face returned to it's normal gentle expression but with a slight twinkle in his eyes. 'That is what a ninja does Naruto, not what a ninja is. Though I guess I can't fault you for thinking that way. I didn't realise myself until my teacher, Tobirama told me'.
Sarutobi made a wide gesture to everything in front of him. 'To be a ninja for Konoha means to put the village first. To lay down your life for anyone and everyone within these walls.' Sarutobi paused for a moment looking Naruto in the eyes. 'That is what it means to hold the will of fire in your heart'.
Hey to anyone that reads this. This is my first stab at fanfiction. Please tell me what you think. If you find it hard to follow or too clunky please tell me so I can improve.