Hi everyone! It's a new ficcy! Anyway, I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would have married Neji long before now and be living happily ever after. This might be a long story, cuz I am cursed with the inability to write anything short of five hundred words. or was itseven hundred? Anyway,ON WITH THE STORY!
Oh, and by the way, lets assume Naruto brought back Sasuke from Orochimaru, kay?
Chapter 1: The Jewel of Fire
Dawn exposed her pinkish hues to the sleepy village of Konoha. Everything was quiet, everything was peaceful, and everything was calm. No one was loud, obnoxious or irritable, which was why a certain Hyuuga chose to train in the wee hours of the morning instead of any other time.
Neji sighed contentedly and looked around, a scant smile gracing his normally stoic features. Tenten was accumulating "beauty sleep", and Lee was off somewhere with Gai, or probably still sleeping, so that was a plus. No ravings about "the power of youth".
Neji closed his eyes, midnight lashes framing their lids and smiled even further. He loved days like this. Days where he could just be himself, just a young boy without a care in the world. He inhaled deeply, sniffing the sweet earthy scent of the forest before coming to business. He was here to train.
He started about the business of practicing Jyuuken first. Moving so fluidly that even liquid mercury would be jealous, he engaged in the first katas of Jyuuken.
Meanwhile
A whiskered fox-child sat up, stretched, and yawned, cracking his jaw in the process. Naruto sat up and grinned. Another bridge meeting today, and another chance to kick Sasuke's ass. Naruto went about his daily morning rituals, then bounced out his apartment door making for Ichiraku.
WHAM! "IRUKA-SEEEENNSEEEEIIIIIII! IRUKAIRUKAIRUKAIRUKAIRUKA!"
Naruto glomped the older Chuunin, cutting off three-quarters of his air supply. Iruka gasped, hacked, and coughed like there was no tomorrow (which there would be if he went oxygen-deprived for much longer; at least for him).
"Maa, Naruto (gasp). Headed toward (cough) Ichiraku I presume?"
"Ne, ne, ne, ne. Iruuuuuuka-sensei! Will you treat me to Raaaaaamen, pweeeze? Onegaaaaaiiiiiii?" Naruto pulled his best puppy eyes and pouty lip, courtesy training from Moegi. Iruka twitched, trembled, then melted.
"Y-y-ynnnnno. No, Naruto." Naruto visibly drooped. Time for plan B.
"Why NOT?" Iruka smiled secretly.
"Because I have something far more special to give you, my little fox-child."
"REAAALLY!WHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTT?" Iruka smiled slyly.
"Do you REEEAAALLLYY want to know?" A vein appeared on Naruto's forehead. Iruka'd done this before, taunted him to the breaking point and beyond. Oh well. Time for Emergency Plan X.
"Irruuuukaaa……" Ohhhh no. Iruka knew that voice. Apparently the ex-prankster wasn't so ex- at all. Naruto held up a pair of Iruka's best underwear (think hearts, smiley faces, and teddy bears). Iruka had a major coronary right on the spot.
"NARUTO! GIVE THEM BACK OR I'LL….."
"Ohhhh, so you DO admit that they're yours, hmmm?" Iruka eeped and covered his mouth, while Naruto giggled madly behind his hand. That was IT. Screw reputation and anyone else that happened to be looking.
"NARUTO, YOU…." And so, feather duster ponytail flying, a certain Chuunin chased a certain Genin through the streets of Konoha.
"Iruka, just give me the surprise."
"Fine, fine, but GIVE ME BACK MY UNDERWEAR!"
"THE SURPRISE FIRST!" Iruka sighed, defeated, and dropped a slip of paper into Naruto's waiting hands.
"A free pass to Ichiraku? THANK YOU IRUKA-SENSEEEIIIIII!" Naruto thrust the underwear into Iruka's hands then sped off in the direction of said Ramen shop. Halfway there, the kitsune paused. Ichiraku passes were extremely rare and hard to come by, and Naruto didn't want to spend this delicacy so fast. So, turning around he made straight for the Konoha library to Xerox his ramen pass.
1,829 Ramen Bowls Later (Used one pass)
What looked like a blonde spiky sea urchin bobbed its way to a certain bridge.
"Ohayo, Sakura-ch—" WHAM! "Oweee"
A peeved Sakura rubbed her smoking fist.
"NARUTO! You interrupted my conversation with Sasuke-kun!"
"But—" WHAM!
"I SAID NO!" Naruto looked crestfallen, and slunk to a corner of the bridge to brood.
Poof.
"Ohayo, minna."
"YOU'RE LATE!"
"Well, my coffee caught on fire and burned a spider on my ceiling so I had to take him to the hospital to fix him up, and…."
"LIAR!" Ah, the sweet sound of the morning ritual.
"Ok, guys. Today we are going to have a B-rank mission." Naruto's sapphire orbs lit up.
"REEEAAALLLLYYY! YAAAAYYYYY! WHAT DO WE HAFTA DO?"
"An enemy has stolen a very important scroll of ours and it is up to us to steal it back. Our sources tell us that the enemy has hidden the scroll in the core of their headquarters with all kinds of dangerous traps, and it is our job to retrieve the scroll." Naruto's eyes sparkled and he rubbed his hands in anticipation.
"However, you are not going with us, Naruto." Naruto looked up, stunned.
"Why not? I thought we were a team."
"Tsunade-sama has told me I didn't need to pick a full team for this mission. I have my choice of who is to go, and I'm choosing Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto, I'm sorry to say, but you just don't have the stealth skills required for this mission. You're just too loud and obnoxious."
Naruto was shocked. He was excluded? Even though he had tried so hard to contribute to his team? This couldn't be happening. The fox-child's eyes narrowed in anger.
"So you think I'm not worthy enough, do you?" Every word was dripping with steel.
" Kaka-sensei's right, you're always a bother to us, you goddamn IDIOT!" Sakura spat while Sasuke sniffed disdainfully. Naruto clenched his fist until he drew blood. It wasn't fair. Why was it always him? He had to go through his entire childhood feeling insignificant. He had made friends, but it seemed that they were just an illusion. It was too cruel. In the very minute that his team had looked at him with deceitful eyes, Naruto felt his world shatter.
"All right then. That's it. If you don't want me, I'll go." Naruto turned around, tears brimming from cerulean eyes, and dragged his feet away from the bridge. Spheres of moisture dropped to the ground as Naruto made his way to the waterfalls.
Heartrending sobs racked the small boy's body as Naruto cried out his lonely heart to the heavens. He'd been at the waterfalls for some time now, feeling more lost and alone than he had ever felt before.
"…ruto…"
Naruto perked up his head. Did someone call his name? Seeing no one, he dropped his head onto his arms once more.
"Naru…"
There it was again. Was he hallucinating? Naruto cocked his head.
"Who's there?"
"Naruto."
A figure was slowly accumulating in front of the boy.
"Old…geezer?"
It was Sandaime. But Sandaime looked different. For one, he was floating six inches off the ground. And another, he was translucent.
"Ummm, are you a ghost?" Sandaime reached down and ruffled Naruto's hair. Or so it seemed, for Naruto didn't feel anything.
"Kami-sama gave me permission to talk to you, seeing your plight." Curious, Naruto poked a finger through Sandaime's stomach.
"So you really are a ghost. Uhm, what do you need with me?" Sandaime smiled gently.
"It appears that you are once again alone. I know it is hard, Naruto, but you must continue to hope." Naruto's eyes drooped.
"But no one cares anymore."
"I care. Tsunade cares. Jiraiya cares. Iruka cares. But there is someone out there that will give their whole heart and soul for you. You just have to find out for yourself." Naruto was stunned.
"Who is it?" Sandaime shook his head.
"That you must discover for yourself, young one. But before I go, I will reward you for your efforts so far."
"An All-You-Can-Eat Ichiraku ramen pass?" Naruto looked hopeful. Sandaime roared with laugher.
"No, young one. Now watch." Sandaime crossed his hands and formed a seal. A glow appeared in the air, then disappeared to reveal a bright spinning jewel. It was an amethyst, but unlike any amethyst Naruto had ever seen. This one was a deep purple that gave off hues of deep aqua in its inner workings, and shot through with gold.
"Wowwww……it's so preeettttyyy…"
"Put it on your forehead, my boy." Naruto plucked the jewel from the air, removed his forehead protector, and gingerly placed it in the middle of his forehead. Instantly a surge of power ran through the boy, and several fiery red-orange seals formed from either side of his forehead to connect to the jewel.
"This is the sacred Jewel of Fire, a powerful talisman to aide you with your growth. The past Kages have kept this jewel safe for generations upon generations, but the jewel seems drawn to you, so you shall wield it for the remainder of your life. Now, you can communicate with the Kyuubi, can you not?" Naruto gaped.
"How'd you know about that?"
"Jiraiya told me. The Kyuubi shall teach you about utilizing this jewel. And believe me, Naruto, you will grow to be quite strong." Sandaime's image flickered.
"MATTE! Where are you going?" Sandaime turned around.
"I only have a limited time to show myself to you, but I will be back for regular checkups. Ja ne, Naruto. Make me proud." And with that, Sandaime disappeared.
So what do you think? Pray tell!
Silver-eyed Hyuuga (cuz I wuv Neji)