Chapter I
It's so quite; you can hear the wind howling as it passes everyone by and the leaves brushing against one another in the trees. Just another day of people carrying out their everyday lives. "Ugh I hate gate duty, it's so boring. I can't remember the last time something interesting happened Kotetsu."
"Quit your whining Izumo. We get paid doing nothing basically so sit back and shut up. Though I have to admit it would be nice to see something happen once in a while." As Kotetsu sighs he hears the sound of hooves clashing against the dirt road heading towards them so he leans over the counter and notices a man on a horse. "Hey...we have a visitor."
The stranger halts the weary horse a few feet away from the shinobi's post. Once he comes to a complete stop the two shinobi see that the man is carrying what seems to be a child wrapped in rags covered in red stains. The stranger tries to make words but he can't inhale enough air to do so. It appears that his chest has been punctured by a kunai. Izumo leaps out of his post to try and help the stranger.
"Sir are you alright? What happened to you?"
"T-there's no time. I...I need you to take my son", the stranger hands over his child to Izumo and turns his horse around.
"W-wait! What am I suppose to do with him? Sir I don't think this is the best idea maybe we should…", but he's cut off as the man turns his horse in the other direction.
As he starts to head off he begs them to fulfill his last desire, "I'm sorry to place this burden onto you but if they find him they'll kill him as well. Please keep Sakami safe for me."
The man then rides his horse through the woods till he is out of the shinobi's sight. Izumo unwraps the covers to take a look at the baby and hands him Kotetsu. "Um here take the kid I'm going to go get Iruka. Maybe he'll know what to do." He then heads to the Ninja Academy, where Iruka teaches the upcoming ninjas. He knocks on Iruka's classroom's door, and signals him to come here. "Iruka…we have sort of a situation."
"What's the matter Izumo?"
"Well I think it'll be easier if I just tell you on the way. Come on I have to show you something?
It doesn't take them to reach gate B but as they got there, there seems to be a small crowd forming around Kotetsu. Iruka asks the people to step away and heads over to speak to him. "So let's see this baby of yours", Iruka says sarcastically to Kotetsu as he lifts up the bloody blanket that's covering the child's face. "So he was brought here by someone riding a horse?"
"Yeah that's right and the guy seemed pretty beat up too. What do you make out of all this", Kotetsu asks him.
"Hmm well many villages don't use horses anymore...so I'm guessing he was from an independent village, which makes things complicated since they aren't located on our world map. Here give me the kid I'll take care of him. I'll report this to the Hokage at once."
Iruka takes the child and hurries to the Administration building and stops to ask one of the assistants if the Hokage isn't too busy. "Uh hey you wouldn't know if the Lord Hokage was too busy or not would you?"
"Oh he's not too busy so you can go right in Iruka", the assistant tells him with a smile on her face. He thanks her and heads into the Hokage's office.
"Sorry to interrupt you Lord Hokage but I have something for you."
"Oh don't worry Iruka, I was getting tired of doing paperwork anyways. So what is it?"
"Well there seems that Konoha had a visitor today and dropped this off." Iruka leans over the Hokage's desk and hands him the child.
"Oh! It's a baby? Haha well isn't he the cutest thing. So tell me how…" Before he can finish his sentence thought Anko comes running through the door with urgent news.
"Sir we have another mission from the Grass...oh am I interrupting?" She walks over beside the Hokage and takes a look at the child as well. "Aw look at the little cutie. My he has some bright blue eyes. They're kind of mesmerizing. Oh but anyways Lord Hokage there seems to be an attack just...", but the Hokage stops her and focuses his attention back on Iruka.
"I'm sorry but we'll have to talk another time Iruka. Take the boy to the orphanage, he'll stay there until we get any more information on who exactly dropped him off and his whereabouts."
"Yes Hokage, right away."
As seasons come and go throughout the years the abandoned child grows up in the Leaf Village, alone and fending for himself. He let his black hair grow down to his shoulders and spike it to the side. His eyes are a pale, crystal blue and his skin is almost porcelain, you could say; people are drawn in by his looks but his mysteriousness push them away, making him alone. Occasionally Iruka drops in to see how he's doing and treats him to dinner to try and lift his sprit. On his tenth birthday he decided to make some decisions of his own and enrolling in the Ninja Academy where he trains under Iruka for the next two years.
The alarm goes off and Sakami groans while pushing the snooze button for the second time. He just lies there and stares at the ceiling…thinking. He gets out of bed to open the blinds and the sun lights up the room, blinding him for a moment. "Ugh…another day", he mumbles to himself. He jumps in and out of the shower, gets dressed, and heads out to the academy. He takes his time as he walks there so he can just take in everything around him. Just as the bell is about to ring he walks into the room and takes his seat in the corner. He shares the same classroom as Sasuke Uchiha, the natural, born genius and a few others, whose skill is above the other students. As they all sit down Iruka walks through the door and makes an announcement.
"Alright class settle down, settle down. As you all know, to become a genin you have to know all the basics about being a ninja. So I thought why not make our last days together a little fun. I assume many of you know about the chuunin exams and if not, does anyone care to explain to the class what it is?" Out of all the students in the classroom Sakura was the only one to raise her hand and give the answer.
"The chuunin exam is when genin are put against each other to see who is at the top of their rank and to go from a genin level to a chuunin level." Feeling accomplished she sits back with a big smile and looks at Sasuke to see if he acknowledged her existence.
"Very good Sakura. That's exactly what it is. So I thought why not have our own little tournament and use everything you learned to see who are top students are. I wrote all of your names on a piece of paper and put it in this box. I'll pull out two names and those two will put against each other. Since we're short on time though I don't think we'll get further than one round so let's get started, shall we?"
One match after the other, Sakami analyzes his peer's movements and remembers their fighting style. After Chouji and Kiba are finished fighting Iruka pulls out two more names. "Alright up next is…Sakami and…Akuma. Come on down you two." Akuma is twice the size of Sakami and was somewhat full of himself.
"So why do I have to fight the pip-squeak? Iruka-sensei you basically gave me the win for this match. You're going down runt." After Akuma's fail attempts to intimidate Sakami he gets in his fighting stance but Sakami just stands there, glaring at his opponent.
"Um Sakami you have to get in your fighting stance so I can start the match", Iruka tells him. Sakami just glances over at him and Iruka can tell by the look in his eyes that he's ready. "Well ok...ready…fight!"
Once those words leave Iruka's mouth Akuma charges at Sakami, ready to make the first punch but his movements are too slow and predictable, allowing Sakami to counter-attack. He grabs his wrist, and pulls him in so Akuma's stomach makes contact with Sakami's knee. Spitting up and unable to move Akuma is helpless at the moment. Sakami then whispers in his ear "too slow…pip-squeak", and throws him against the wall. Still able to continue to fight Akuma gets right back up and starts to scream and charges again. Sakami jumps out of the way, elbows him in the chest, jumps into the air and kicks him straight in the jaw sending him flying into the wall again.
Akuma can barely stand to his feet but with the little energy he has he decides to use it for talk. "Ugh…damn it how did you manage to hit me like that? You're freak'n weird, you know that? No wonder no one wanted you!" At that moment Sakami's fists start to glow a bluish color and so did his eyes. He runs over, grabs Akuma by his shirt collar and strikes his face with his fist several times until Iruka has to pull Sakami off of him.
"Sakami that's enough! This was supposed to be a friendly brawl not a death match." Sakami just stares at the floor then apologizes, not really knowing what he has done.
"I'm...sorry Iruka-sensei. It won't happen again, I promise."
"I certainly hope not. I'm kind of curious though of where you learned chakra control. I didn't teach you guys that."
"Um…chakra control?"
"You were storing chakra in your fists making your punches even more effective."
"I didn't try it though. I guess it just happened on its own. Um is that a good or bad thing?" Iruka puts his hand on Sakami's shoulder and tells him not worry about it then dismisses the rest of the class.
The moon and the lamp posts are the only source of light for Sakami as he makes his way to Ichiraku Ramen to grab a bite to eat. He pulls the curtain to the side and takes a seat in the little shop. Leaning over the table, he ponders on what to order. Mr. Teuchi notices that he has a customer so he comes up and asks him what he would like to have. "Hey there. So what can I get you for today, maybe our special?"
"Nah I'm alright. I'll just have a bowl of ramen please."
"One bowl of ramen coming right up." Mr. Teuchi heads into the back to help Ayame prepare the meal. Out of Sakami's peripheral vision he sees another guest come into the shop and sit down beside him. Sakami tries not to make eye contact and keeps his head lowered.
"Yo Mr. Teuchi! Can I get the special today?", Naruto yells back to him. He then looks to his left and sees his classmate, Sakami. "Hmm...oh hey Sakami! I didn't know you liked Ichiraku Ramen."
"Haha yeah I love coming here. This place helps me gets my mind off of everything. Um...not to be rude but...you're Uzumaki Naruto right?
"Oh yeah I forgot to introduce myself but yep that's me!" As the two of them talk Mr. Teuchi comes out with two bowls of ramen noodles and places them in front of the two kids.
"Here you go fellows. I hope you like today's special Naruto. I added a few new ingredients." The two of them give the owner of the shop a smile and shove the food in their mouths. Naruto tries to say something but the noodles in his mouth make it difficult to understand.
"Um...come again?", Sakami asks him. Naruto then swallows the noodles and chugs his glass of herbal tea.
"Gah haha I said you were amazing today in class. I didn't know you were that good. After class everyone picked on Akuma cause he couldn't even touch you."
"Oh haha thanks. It was nothing really he was only easy because he's big and stupid though. Besides I don't have anything to do when I go home so I just train on my free time."
"Well you sure surprised me… he did deserve it though. He shouldn't have said that stuff about you." Naruto puts down his chopsticks and just stares at his bowl for a little while with a blank expression on his face.
"Oh don't worry about it, really. I'm use to it anyways so it doesn't faze me that much."
"Yeah…it's just I know how you feel because most people in Konoha hate me and treat me the same way. My whole life I grew up alone…but after going to the ninja academy I met some people who I can form bonds with, like Iruka-sensei."
"Oh…well I'll be your friend too Naruto. I don't really have anyone else and you're the first person to actually like, talk to me.", Sakami tells him as they both trade smiles with each other. "But hey it's getting late so I'll see you tomorrow...okay?"
"Haha you betcha!" The two of them slurp down the rest of their ramen and wave each other goodbye as they both head back home.
It doesn't take Sakami long to get back to his apartment, once he does he grabs the doorknob and just chuckles to himself. "Ha Uzumaki Naruto…what a guy."