A/N: Okay, so the first attempt at this story didn't do so well, so I've deleted the original idea, and decided to start over from scratch. Hopefully, with better planning and less copy-and-paste BS, this will be getting more reviews. So don't be shy; after all, how many reviews this chapter gets will increase the odds of more chapters coming, so do read and review, would you kindly?

[Konoha Private School━approximately 2:30 PM…]

The school bells rang out to signal the end of classes for the students of Konoha Private School. And unfortunately for the professor teaching the class, he was in the middle of a lecture when the bells rang and interrupted his train of thought! "Oh, well would you look at that, school's already out!" he said, turning to face his students. This teacher had silver hair that was made broom-like as he tied it up, but he was around in his mid- to late-twenties, wore an eyepatch over his left eye, and a surgical mask over his face. He had the build of a man that exercised regularly, but not so much that he was a bodybuilder…he looked closer to a soldier or a surfer with the way his body was formed. "Anyway, there's going to be a test on this equation next Friday, so make sure you hit the books tonight! Also, the annual Kansai Martial Arts Tournament is coming up in a few months, so all of you who are participating, don't neglect your studies! You could be disqualified by your own teachers before you even hit the ring if your grades are below par!"

As the students stood up to get to leave the classroom, only one of them took his time with packing up as he felt around the desk to pick up each of the well-organized items one by one. Pencils went back into the pencil box, and the hand-eraser in its designated spot. This level meticulous organization was necessary when you were blind, and that was the case with this particular student. His sun-kissed, spiky hair was very recognizable to the teacher, as were the whisker-marks on his cheeks. What really distinguished this student from a lot of the other students was that his uniform was altered to have only one sleeve to accommodate the two heavy shackles that were worn on his red, claw-tipped, left arm. "You need someone to walk with you to the bus stop Naruto?"

"I'm fine, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto, not missing a beat as he packed up his stuff, "I can handle myself."

"I'm asking because I've heard word of bullies starting to gain in number as of late. They seem to be targeting Kazan Tribesmen, and I'm afraid they're going to come after you sooner or later." The Kazan Tribes were a confederation of humans with red arms that came from the portal that linked Arad to Earth. When the war came, they were among the people that fought to protect Earth. Sadly, good deeds did not go unpunished; distrust, persecution, and racism for the other peoples that came from the portal were found in the army. What's worse, racist and opportunistic politicians and generals awaited the chance to kill all 'non-human races' throughout the war.

It was thanks to Lt. Colonel Namikaze Minato, one of the most heroic and influential commanders of the war, that the people from Arad were saved from a future of genocide. With his mixed-race army, he was able to push back the monster hordes and demonstrate the power of unity. The result of that final battle had made it so that people such as the Kazan Tribes and the Elves had a significant hand in establishing the Barrier, a choke point held at the portal between Arad and Earth that still held today.

Unfortunately, his former commanding officer was likely rolling in his grave at the rise in hate crimes directed at the people he'd saved from persecution as of late. Lt. Colonel Namikaze and his Kazan Tribe wife Kushina were murdered by some psycho that believed that the Kazan Tribes and the Elves should be sent back to where they belong 'with the other monsters'. Instead of bringing the people to join his rallying cry, the man only succeeded in martyring Lt. Colonel Namikaze and his wife, especially to the community he'd killed them both in. Kakashi was there to see Naruto for the first time when the shots were fired.

Because Kakashi felt he owed Namikaze for saving his life in more ways than one, he felt it was his responsibility to be among the people that watched over his son as he grew up. And frankly, he supposed life could've been kinder to the boy; he lost his sight at the age of six to a disease, and has been infected with the Curse of Kazan since about three days after his birth. It didn't seem to stop the energy that Naruto seemed to radiate as he went about his day. "I'll be fine, Kakashi-sensei," he said, finally picking up his school supplies and bogu. "Besides, Shimura-sensei will kill me if I'm late to practice again."

Ah yes, 'Shimura-sensei'. Kakashi knew of the man…in fact, he knew of him pretty well, because Shimura Danzo was the dean of the school; before he was at his current position, he taught Military History. He was also a rather good iaido practitioner; a world champion in fact. Rumor had it, him and Headmaster Sarutobi were both colleagues in the army, and while the former was still a professor of Philosophy, he put in a good word for the latter to Headmaster Senju Hashirama to have him as a teacher. Danzo was known to be among the people that believed that the Elves and Kazan Tribes should be deported back into Arad where they belonged; but peace had tempered the old man's belief in Human Superiority for some reason. What happened to make him a little more open to Kazan and Elven students, Kakashi didn't know; but what he did know was that Danzo had become a slightly better man for it.

Naruto picked up his cane, and started scanning the ground with it. It was a heavy wooden cane with a black lacquer finish and two grooves cut into it to denote which side was the gripping side. It was made in such a manner primarily because it was the way he was taught to walk around blind; the other reason was because of the fact that Kazan Tribesmen and Elves were considered as second-class citizens, and so it was made in such a manner to be used as a self-defense weapon. Plus, Naruto was a self-professed fan of Zatoichi. "So I'll see you again next Monday, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah."

With that said, Naruto left the classroom. "You would've been proud to see your son grow up so well," Kakashi said to himself, "you and your wife." He sighed before he went to work, putting his supplies away. It was the end of the day, and he still had a club to lead.

[A little later…]

The students of Konoha Private School gave Naruto a wide berth as he tapped his cane around, trying to find his way to the basketball court. A lot of them were doing this both because of his origins as a Kazan Tribesman, and out of manners due to his blindness.

{Play: "Comedy" by Daisuke Ishiwatari, from "Blazblue"}

Before he could get any further, Naruto stopped as he felt like he was followed. "Can I help you?" he asked carefully, considering that he was deliberately surrounded.

"Yeah, you can help me," said one voice belonging to a girl, "why don't you come with us? Our bosses want to see you."

There was a look of confusion on his face. "Bosses…?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember getting kissed on the cheeks at lunch-time a week ago!"

As he thought back on the moment that the girl was talking about, Naruto did in fact remember what she was talking about! About a week ago, Naruto found that all the seats were being taken by a lot of the other students with the 'seat's taken' line so that they did not have to sit next to the Kazan Tribe boy…not that he minded, he didn't want any pity anyway. So he found a seat at the cafeteria that just so happened to be taken by a pair of Kazan Tribe girls that were being followed by their posse (which was how he now he remembered that girl's voice). The Kazan girls took a seat on opposite sides of him. The three of them talked, and hit it off; and lo and behold, he wound up getting kissed on both of his whisker-marked cheeks. It was a rather good day for him to have been accepted to that degree, much less by a pair of Kazan Tribe girls.

"I wasn't aware they were gang bosses in this school."

"They are our idols," corrected the girl that spoke, "and I am the president of their Uchiha Twins fan club."

Great, a fangirl gang. How could this day get any worse? Although he did hear that the Uchiha was one of the prominent Kazan Tribes.

"Hold it right there, bitch!" shouted another voice, "Our boss wants to see him first! You hussies just butt out!"

"You and what army, Ami?!"

"Me and the rest of the Hyūga fan club, you pink-haired slut!"

'Hinata-chan has her own gang now?' thought Naruto, 'What the hell is going on here?'

The Hyūga Hinata that Naruto knew was a very gentle soul he'd saved from bullies when they were in junior high. She was a creepy girl that seemed to follow him everywhere, but he did like the sound of her voice. After managing to catch her, she revealed that she was a member of the Hyūga Kazan Tribe…in terms of reputation, they were a rather upscale tribe that was up there with the Senju and Uchiha tribes, and the Uzumaki Remnants. Later on, she transferred to a different school; they kept in touch as pen-pals, but she said nothing in her letters about being a gang leader. Maybe it was that little sister he'd heard her make mention of that had that gang…

But going back to the present, Naruto could feel the tension between the two gangs as they seemed to stare each other down. And for some reason, he could hear the sound of thunderbolts up close, followed by cats yowling. He needed to get the timing of this right...otherwise, he'll never get to the iaido club in time.

Before long, the two fan clubs began their fight over him, and just as he was about to make his quiet escape, Naruto felt someone grab him by the wrist and pull him away just in time! He knew this person pretty well, considering this was one of the smells he felt comfortable around. As soon as the two of them rounded a corner, he felt a hand in front of his mouth, telling him not to say a word. "I knew you had potential for being popular, I just didn't think you'd be that popular Naruto-kun!"

"I owe you big for that, Anko-nee."

The smell of snake-oil and dango that Naruto felt comfortable around belonged to one Mitarashi Anko; high-school senior, shameless dango-addict, skilled ninjutsu practitioner, and one of the people that lived in his apartment. The girl had a dream of majoring in herpetology, specializing in snakes. "You owe me a for lot more than just that…" she drawled flirtatiously, "in fact, I know of a particular dango stand we can go to!"

"You know I'd love to go with you to see Sayuri-san, but we still have club activities to go to…that, and I'm pretty sure Shimura-sensei will kill us both if I'm late."

She seemed to be put off by the refusal, but Anko knew he was telling the truth. After all, the dean was not a person you wanted to be late to see; especially not when you're in his Iaido Club. The punishment for such an act was…severe. "Saturday?"

"You know it."

With that said, both Anko and Naruto had walked on down the hallways to go to the basketball court. Neither wanted to be on the dean's hit list.

A/N: And now the first chapter is done. I apologize on the shortness, but this is pretty much a pilot episode I wanted to get off my chest good and proper.

Vocabulary/References

Bogu━this is the bag used to carry martial arts gear.

Iaido━the art of drawing the sword, cutting the opponent, and then re-sheathing the blade