AN: Well, I was reading a few Naruto fics that featured him as a magic-user, and something about the good ones spoke to me. So, here I am, for some unknown reason, writing one. Dunno why, really, but the muse says "do it", and so...

Disclaimers:I do not own Naruto. Really.
This fic is AU. I will be fiddling with geography, slightly, and the nature of things. I don't want any complaints, like "No, no, no, That doesn't go there!" ("lol n00bZ0rZ! 5u|\|/-\ iz \/\/357 0v k0n0|-|A!" will get you SHOT.) This is unbetaed, though, so if you spot a mistake in grammar or spelling, just bring it to my attention. I'll take care of it.

Shinobi Arcana

Chapter the First:

Of Beginnings and an End

"Oof!" A small blond boy in a bright orange jumpsuit fell backwards as he ran into someone. "Hey! Watch where you're going old man!"

Said old man frowned down at the boy. "It seems to me, you are the one who should watch where they are going, boy. Why are you in such a rush, anyway? You're too young to worry yourself with whatever it is. Calm down. Stop and smell the roses."

The boy made a rude gesture at the old man.

*CRACK*

"Owww!"

The old man had brought his walking stick down on the boy's head. "Show respect to your elders, child." He shifted his feet a bit. "Why, when I was a boy - "

Luckily, what looked to be a long lecture was cut suddenly short when two chuunins arrived. "Naruto! We have you now! You're coming with us!"

"And why," the old man standing behind Naruto spoke slowly, "Would he do that?"

The nin bristled at the lazy tone this old civilian took with them. "Do you know what he's done?! He vandalised the Hokage's tower! Paint bombs, old man! he rigged traps all over the place!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at the chuunin.

"Really...? And he wasn't caught before his little prank was triggered? And here I thought you ninja were better than that. Certainly too good to be fooled by the simple illusion of a novice..." The old man waved his staff through the boy, who seemed slightly surprised it passed right through him. "I wouldn't want to hold you up in your search. Go on."

Fuming, the two ninja disappeared, searching for the boy who so recently was within their grasp.

The bearded one turned to Naruto, grinning cheekily. "How'd it go?" he asked, a roguish gleam in his eye.

Slightly nervous about this suddenly friendly old man, who even hid him from the vengeful ninja, he muttered, "Uhh...what do you mean...?"

"The prank! I, the mighty Baz Baeaz, may not look it now, but I was quite the hellraiser when I was a lad! Call it a professional interest...Now, come on, how did it go?" Baz asked, striking a pose enhanced by the sudden rumble and roar of thunder, despite the totally cloudless sky.

"It was so cool!" Naruto exclaimed, with a huge smile, "I just put up some tripwires, and..." He detailed his great scheme of ultimate genius to the kindly old man, who really didn't seem that suspicious...

"Boy, I like you. How would you like to learn something really cool?"

One year later...

"Master! Master!" The eight-year-old cried in panic, cornered near his teacher's home. "Help me!"

"Demon brat! Who would help you?" A voice cried out, as the annual angry mob drew closer to the trapped boy, "No-one cares about you! You'll die here, and the entire village will be free of you!"

Every year that Naruto could remember, an angry mob had formed on his birthday, calling for his blood. They normally caught him near dusk, and beat him for a while, before dispersing, their rage sated. This year's birthday mob, though, was different. They seemed...hungry. More of them carried weapons than normal, and most of those were of a decidedly lethal sort. There were even a few angry ninja in there, leading the mob. He could tell, this year, they would not be contented by a mere beating...No, they were out for his head.

So, he fled to the only place he could call safe. The home of his Master and Teacher.

"Master...!" The crowd descended upon him, and the first to reach him struck out with a piece of wood. There was a meaty smack, and the crying boy gasped...where was the pain?

"No-one...NO-ONE...lays a HAND on my apprentice!" Naruto opened his eyes to see his Master standing there, the piece of wood broken over him. "Go now. I will not be responsible for the fates of those who stay." The boy could feel the brief release of power he had come to associate with his Master's Art, and the rear of the mob melted away into the gathering darkness...but not nearly enough.

"Bastard! Demon-lover! Get him!" One of the few ninja charged through the thinned crowd at Baz, who simply stood there, impassive.

"If such is your choice." The aged man said, emotionlessly, "Who am I to turn you from your path? Dorme." With a wave of his hand, the ninja fell, like a marionette with severed strings. His sword skittered across the ground.

"Get him!" The mob took up the cry, and surged toward Baz and his charge. The old man shook his head, saddened by the mindless hate.

"Your lives are forfeit. Signum mortarum!" Tracing an intricate pattern in the air, Baz activated one of his deadliest magicks, for nothing less could ascertain the safety of them both. A sickly green rune appeared in the air, shielded from Naruto's gaze by the old man's body. Its effects, though, were brutally obvious. All of the civilians, and all but three of the ninja dropped soundlessly, their very souls torn from their bodies and cast screaming into the next life. The three ninja who did not simply fall met a far worse fate. Blood burst from their eyes, ears, and mouths as the effort of holding onto their souls and lives began to destroy their bodies from the inside, and they too fell. Shuddering in exhaustion and grief at what he was forced to do, the tired old man turned to Naruto, his apprentice, and asked the obvious question.

"Lad, are you all righ- Hurgh!" One of the fallen ninja was not quite dead, as the sword in his hands traveled through the body of the old mage, up from his lower back to protrude from his chest. The offending ninja met his end as an invisible force reached into his chest and squeezed. Baz fell to his knees.

Breathing wetly and heavily, the ancient spoke to Naruto, "Naruto...here...take this." With a wave of his hand, a book appeared on the ground before Naruto. "It is...a book of...spells. It...can guide you...in your studies. I had wished..." A horrible, wet cough racked his body, and the eight-year-old could only watch in horror as his Master, Teacher, and most importantly, Friend, died in an alley, right before his eyes. But the old man continued to talk, "...to guide you...on your path. It is not to be. Naruto, my boy, my boy, use my teachings well!"

Baz Baeaz, the nearest thing Naruto had to a family, breathed his last, and slumped to the ground. The weeping boy picked up the book, and ran blindly away, going anywhere, anywhere but that horrible place of death!

The next day, a new student was enrolled at the Ninja Academy. A sad blond boy, who seemed to change his entire personality within a month, from a quiet boy, who was sometimes found with tears in his eyes, to a cheerful prankster, whose bright smile seemed completely open and free. He had few friends, oddly enough for such an open and happy boy, and was almost instantly shunned by his classmates upon entering the Academy, with the parents whispering darkly when they thought they were out of earshot. None of this young generation understood why Naruto was different, why he above all others was to be avoided, not even Naruto himself.

But it was so.

A/N: Well, here is a rough chapter one for a fic that's been running through my head for a while now. I got maybe a hundred words into it before getting distracted by my other fic, Deidara Has a Brother?! and in the lull between chapters three and four wrote the rest of it in a couple hours.

I, erm...haven't even started chapter four yet. Sorry! Finals are Monday and Wednesday, so I'll have some more writing time after that. I'll see what comes out. Now, this is only a prologue, and I'm a bit dissatisfied with how it turned out. I may revise sometime in the distant future, but for now, it is as it is.

Reviews, please! I like reviewers! I'll even respond!