It was a bright morning in Konohagakure no sato and countless people were going about their morning routines of preparing breakfast, opening their stores, continuing their patrols and in one case, starting their second session of morning training for that day.
However there was one person that wasn't going about his regular activities.
He was short, probably only about three and a half feet at the most. His hair was a platinum blond that spiked in every direction possible, not that he cared, it made him look like his idol so he was happy with it that way. His face was round, with his cheeks being decorated by a set of whisker like birthmarks that drew focus away from his sparkling, azure eyes as they looked at the present he had been given by an old woman.
It was a simple silver ring with three symbols inscribed on it… 666.
She had said that it suited him, he didn't know why she said that but he did think it was cool even if a little simple… then again most five year olds do.
He was wearing a muddy and tattered t-shirt and some grey, knee length shorts that were covered in mud… he had to admit that he was considering running away from the orphanage considering how the old woman reacted upon seeing him like that before, it almost made him wish that he hadn't decided to play in the park earlier… almost.
He had to admit that he liked the caretaker, she was always nice to him… even if she scolded him a few times, then again he did earn them… just like he would today after sneaking out of the orphanage like he did.
Letting out a small sigh, the young blond proceeded to walk casually along the street towards the place he had called home since before he could remember. He wasn't oblivious to the countless stares sent his way, they were always present wherever he went and they were always cold, almost as if they didn't accept his existence.
He quickly removed himself from that line of thought, someone had accepted him, they had given him the ring… sure it was a little too big for him right now, but when he got older it would fit better, that much he realised… not that he wouldn't try it on now, it was too cool in his eyes to not at least try once.
That was when confusion struck. He was certain that the ring was too big for him, it was about twice the width of his finger yet it slid on and stayed in place on his right ring finger perfectly. It hadn't changed at all but for some reason it just fit without any difficulty, all in all it was quite a strange experience for the five year old blond.
Of course, being so young, he quickly forgot about it and just continued to merrily jog back to the orphanage, the ancient artefact once known as the 'unlucky ring' wrapped around his little finger.
XXX XXX XXX
Upon nearing the orphanage, the blond quickly ran to the shadows, before darting behind a sign closer to the orphanage, slowly getting closer while attempting to get in without being noticed, if he could do so then he might be capable of tricking the caretaker into thinking that he had never left in the first place.
"And exactly 'what' do you think you are doing out here?" came a stern call from behind him.
Naruto froze. He knew that voice anywhere and he was also VERY familiar with that tone… he had been caught and was in BIG trouble.
"Eh, heh, heh," came his nervous chuckle and before he had a chance to form an answer he found himself getting dragged into the orphanages front yard by the ear, like so many times before.
Once he was within the large building, he was released so that the caretaker could close the front door and ensure that no more children could escape like the whiskered blond.
The orphanage was a large building constructed from stone excavated from the Hokage monument back when it was first sculpted, while wood generated by the Shodaime Hokage himself was used to created the basic structure for the impressive building.
It was split into four sections, an front reception where people who want to adopt a child are allowed to meet the children in a one on one situation once they had picked out any that piqued their interest.
The largest section however was the midpoint and was where the kitchen, dining hall, play areas and the many classrooms were located. The classrooms were used on a regular basis, both to teach the children how to read, write and count, but also to teach them how to draw on chakra early should they decide to become a ninja later on.
The two final area's were simple, they were the right and left wing, where the children and caretakers slept, separated by gender, though there was always a caretaker in each wing, just in case something were to happen.
Outside of the main building where two yards created by a large stone wall that circled the building. The back yard was where the children were allowed to play if the weather was nice (which it normally was) and they wanted to go outside. The front yard however, was off limits to the children under normal circumstances due to the ease of which the children could leave through the front gate if they wanted to… just like the trouble making blond that had just been dragged back.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stay in the orphanage Naruto?!" the caretaker asked rhetorically as the blond rubbed his throbbing ear, though he didn't really care too much about it, he hurt himself more during his exploits and had already developed a surprisingly high pain tolerance for his age.
"Uh… I think it's 23, neechan," the blond grinned out as he turned to face the angry guardian. She was a surprisingly young woman, probably in her early twenties, with light blue hair that stretched down to her waist, azure eyes that bored into his very soul and flawless skin. She was wearing what every caretaker in the orphanage wore, navy blue trousers, with a navy blue shirt and a simple white apron atop them.
"That isn't funny Naruto, and you should know better than to leave the orphanage, it isn't safe for children to walk around the streets without a responsible adult," the young caretaker told him sternly as he began to nervously scratch his chin with his right hand, allowing the woman to see his new ring, "Naruto, where did you get that ring?" she asked, practically praying that he hadn't stolen it, she knew from experience that children can pick things up without thinking about the repercussions.
"Huh? You mean this?" he asked pointing towards the silver loop on his finger, earning a nod of confirmation from the nervous woman, "some old lady gave it to me, isn't that cool! She said it really suited me," the blue eyed boy almost shouted in excitement.
The caretaker was taken aback, someone had actually given the blond something despite the animosity that he normally received. She knew why he was disliked by so many, having a bijū sealed in you at birth can do that, but other than a deep seated fear that the seal holding the beast wasn't strong enough to hold it forever, she actually liked the little bundle of sunshine, though she did wish that he would stop causing her so much trouble.
Quietly eying the ring, she quickly noticed the symbols inscribed on it and her blood began to boil. Someone had given him that ring not out of kindness, but as a way of saying 'you're evil'. Quickly calming herself she decided to voice her concern to the blond.
"Naruto, do you know what the symbols on that ring mean?" she asked him kindly, hoping that what she was about to do didn't hurt him too much.
"Huh? Aren't they six hundred and sixty six?" came the confused response of the blond as he thought back to one of the classes he had a while ago.
"Yeah… but you see, writing them like that is usually a reference to an evil spirit… in other words… this old woman gave you that ring as another way of saying that you are evil when you anything but," she told him hoping that he wouldn't be too crushed by the revelation.
"W-what do you mean," came the child's response, his voice instantly losing all of its enthusiasm as he stared at her with dull blue orbs.
"I'm sorry, but as I said, those three numbers together are used to represent an evil spirit… this woman wants you to wear it as an admission that you are evil," the blue haired woman explained to the now teary eyed blond as he hung his head in defeat, "please don't cry Naruto, but if you don't want it I'll throw it away for you," she said hoping to cheer the blond up from his depression… that was when she noticed his clenched fists.
"No… I want to keep it, it's the only thing I have that's mine and I'll wear it, not because she wants me to wear it but because I want to wear it," the blond said after several minutes, his once dead eyes burning with a fire that could only be called determination.
Looking in the boys eyes, the caretaker couldn't help letting a small smile cross her face, so entranced by the sheer determination the blond displayed that she failed to notice the light indigo flame that the ring was emitting, before she suddenly remembered why they were in the reception.
"Oh and for running away," she said in a sing song voice, scaring the child more than when she was stern, "no dessert."
"What! NOOOOO!" and with that, the flame vanished as if it was never there to begin with and the young blond was once again dragged away by the ear and further into the orphanage.
XXX XXX XXX
Laying in his bed later that night, Naruto couldn't help but moan to himself about getting caught, if he hadn't been then he would've got some dessert. There was another thing that was stuck in his head though, his class had just been given their first ninja lesson which revolved around learning to access their chakra and much to the blonds' pleasure, he managed to get it in under ten minutes while the rest of the class failed to do so in the entire hour they were given.
That really added to his ego and drew the jealousy of the rest of the class. The class was also told about ninjutsu and genjutsu, though what was said was VERY basic and didn't actually teach them anything about using them, just what they were… it was that that caused the blond to decide what he would do in the future, he would be a ninja and use all the coolest jutsu's in existence… yeah, he was certain that the old man that came to see him every now and then would teach him.
Suddenly he noticed something he didn't before… a strange smell. He remembered that he had smelt it before, but he couldn't remember where. Closing his eyes, the young child tried to remember where he had smelt it before… and when he did, fear gripped him.
He remembered the smell when he had come across some homeless people sitting around a small fire on one of his 'adventures' outside the orphanage, but if he smelt that here then that meant only one thing… there was a fire and the caretakers had hammered it into the children that if there was ever a fire then they would have to stay away from it and leave the orphanage.
Quickly sitting up, the blond remembered what they were all told to do in the case of a fire.
"FIRE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, waking up all the other children in the process.
"Huh? Naruto shut up, we're trying to sleep here," one of his roommates scolded before turning over to get back to sleep, they thought he was just trying to draw attention like he regularly did.
"NO! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" the panicking five year old said as he jumped off his bed and started trying to get the others up with little success… until one of the caretakers charged through the door.
This one was an old lady with short white hair and green eyes… the one that was supposed to stay in the girls dormitory.
"Everyone get up! We have to get out of here NOW!" she stated sternly, shocking the children that refused to get up before.
"Huh? What's going on? Why do we have to get up?" one of the sleepy boys asked in confusion as he rubbed his eyes.
"There is a fire, we need to get out now!" came the serious response from the old woman.
Shock spread through the small room, they had thought Naruto had just been joking or trying to get some attention, but if what they had just heard was right then he was genuinely trying to save them.
It didn't take long for the children to be evacuated, though as soon as they were doing a head count, Naruto noticed someone missing.
"Where's neechan?" he asked loudly, already thinking about the implications of her absence… he might have been young but he was surprisingly intelligent despite how little he displayed it.
There was silence as the caretakers refused to look at the young blond, they knew how attached the boy was to the youngest of them… how would they tell him what happened without crushing him?
Their lack of a response said everything he needed to know. He remembered that awkward silence from one of his many trips outside the orphanage… it was the same one that a group of homeless people had made before telling him that a kind old man he had met on several occasions had died, before explaining to him that death is like sleeping, only you don't wake up… ever.
The caretakers were shocked when they saw the blonds eyes start to water as a look of horror plastered itself on his face, they hadn't told him anything, yet here he was, crying as if he knew what had happened.
"No… no… s-she c-can't be…" he started before he began to cry too hard to make any sense to the adults.
The rest of the children didn't understand why the blond was crying, they hadn't been told what had happened, besides, she'd be fine like always, it was just the way things were… at least that is what they thought, unlike Naruto most of them never left the sheltered life the orphanage had to offer and knew nothing of the real world.
Looking up to the blazing inferno that was once his home, Naruto couldn't help but think of all the fun times he had with his 'neechan' there, how she made learning to read and write fun, how she made learning to count simple… where she would scold him for leaving the orphanage yet again… eventually he felt his strength drain as he literally cried himself to sleep.
XXX XXX XXX
It had been a week since the fire at the orphanage and the disaster was officially labelled an accident. It appeared that when the caretakers where preparing their own meal for the night, the cooker had malfunctioned and instead of lighting a small fire just large enough to heat a pot with, the spark had ignited the ENTIRE gas canister that they had to hook up to it… the resulting explosion had started the inferno and sent shrapnel into the caretaker that was closest at the time… the young woman that Naruto had grown so attached to.
Naruto, already understanding what had happened, was allowed to attend the small funeral, where he once again cried himself to sleep, this time in the arms of his second favourite person, an old man that wore red and white robes and always smoked a pipe.
Due to the extensive damaged caused by the flames, the orphans had been given small apartments to share, while the caretakers would visit them every so often to make their meals, wash their clothes and generally make sure the children were alright. They were all growing concerned with the young blond since he barely ate anymore and spent most of his time at the local library continuing to practice his reading in solitude… no one else could compare to the young woman when it came down to teaching him.
XXX XXX XXX
Naruto was once again silent as he finished another book from the fiction section of the library before going and placing it back on the shelf. It had taken him a few weeks but now he understood the system well enough to put the books back himself.
Once again standing up, the dead eyed child proceeded to make his way back towards the correct section of the shelves before placing the piece of fiction back where he got it and picking up the book next to it without paying any attention to the title.
Slowly opening the tome, the blond was surprised when he found it to be in a completely different format to all the previous pieces of fiction he had read, instead it struck him as having the format of a factual book. So wanting to know why it was kept in the fiction section he did what made the most sense to him… he asked the librarian.
"Um, excuse me, but why was this in the fiction section?" he asked with clueless eyes and an innocent tone, prompting the middle aged woman with long pink hair and emerald green eyes, to turn and face him. As soon as she noticed who was talking to her, her eyes widened in shock… he had been coming in on a daily basis for the past month and had never said a word, instead choosing to pass his time reading fiction in a random order. Snapping herself out of her shock she proceeded to take the book from the blond and look at the title, letting out an exasperated sigh upon reading it.
"I know this book, it looks like a non-fiction book, but everything written in it is bull- I mean rubbish," the woman said, catching herself before saying something inappropriate in front of the child.
"Oh… well I'll read it anyway… it's not like I have much else to do," the blue eyed child said with lifeless eyes, before taking the book back off the woman.
"So, don't you do anything except read?" the middle aged librarian asked out of curiosity, she didn't know many children that could simply sit down and read for hours on end, even if they enjoyed the book.
"Not really," came the unenthusiastic response from the still depressed child, prompting the woman to think of something she could do for him.
"Well then, how about this, tonight I'm supposed to throw away some older books so we can make room for some new ones, would you like me to give them to you?"
Upon hearing that, the young blond perked up slightly, turning to face the woman in question.
"Why would you do that?" he asked suspiciously, he realized that normally people don't just give him something unless there is some form of catch to it and he was certain that this was no exception… as his neechan had said on countless occasions, he was a smart kid and he could do anything if he put his mind to it but one thing he never did was repeat the same mistake twice (except leave the orphanage, but he didn't count that as a mistake since it was deliberate).
"To be honest, I don't like the idea of perfectly good books going to waste, so since you obviously read quite a lot, I thought you might like to have some of the books we're throwing away," the pink haired woman stated with a small smile. She, like most of the village, knew exactly who he was… he was the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no kitsune, but she and her family were some of the lucky ones, she had only lost one friend during the bijū's attack and none of her property was damaged, so unlike many others, she was prepared to view the child for what he was, a child with a burden.
"T-thank you," came the hesitant thanks from the blond, he wasn't really used to such a friendly face and it disturbed him to see it on someone other than his neechan.
"It's quite alright, by the way, have you thought about what you want to do when you grow up?" she asked him kindly, wanting to know if the academy level ninja textbooks they would be throwing out would be of any use to him in the future.
"Yeah… I'm going to become a shinobi and make neechan proud," he said, growing quieter as he said it and remembered the woman that made him feel so happy when she was still there.
"She was a good woman," the pink haired librarian said quietly. Nearly everyone in Konoha knew of the woman that the 'demon' attended the funeral of, though most couldn't believe that he had cried himself to sleep that day, so it wasn't really something special when the pinkette said what she did.
"No… she w-was the best," Naruto muttered out as he reminisced about the young woman and everything she did for him, his eyes tearing up with each memory… until he felt a pair of arms wrap around him and pull him into a gentle hug, at which point he quietly cried into the chest of the librarian.
"Sshh, sshh, it's alright… it's alright to cry," she whispered into his ear as she rubbed his back and held him tight, feeling guilty that she reopened such a wound on one so young.
The small number of onlookers witnessing the display couldn't help but feel sorry for the child, even those that hated the child unjustly couldn't help but pity the sight in front of them.
After about fifteen minutes, the blond finally managed to calm himself down enough to stop sobbing, at which point he removed himself from the woman's arms with a quiet "sorry."
"It's alright, even an adult will cry when they lose someone precious to them," the pink haired librarian told him quietly, "now why don't you go and read something to take your mind off it," she suggested with a sad smile etched onto her face, prompting the blond to give her a small nod before heading over to a nearby table and starting to read the book he had taken to the woman.
It didn't take long for the blond to realise what the middle aged woman meant when she called it rubbish. It talked about some type of spiritual energy called 'dying will flames' and some objects that were used to draw out these 'flames' called 'dying will bullets and pills'.
The book 'proved' itself to be completely useless when it mentioned that rings could be used to utilise these flames, something that was obviously a lie due to the simple fact that no-one had never come across this phenomenon in any of the books he had read, which considering that they were supposed to be powered by resolve would've made any rings ignite in the middle of any ninja fight where the shinobi wore a ring.
However, as he began to read more into the book, the blond began to notice some things that one wouldn't unless they read through the whole thing with their complete attention. For example, he began to realise that the book didn't mean ANY ring, the rings were required to be made of a special material and even then they would have a certain 'flavour' of flame that they would react to while every other 'flavour' would be completely useless with it.
There were apparently seven flavours(1), they were known as Sky, Storm, Rain, Sun, Lightning, Cloud and Mist. Each type of flame was supposed to have a unique ability that set it apart, Sky's was known as Harmony, Storm was disintegration, Rain was tranquillity, Sun was activation, Lightning was solidification, Cloud was multiplication and Mist was creation.
The book went into detail concerning what the flames could be used for, giving both advantages and disadvantages of each flame… however it was the section after that that drew Naruto's attention the most, it covered a small group of unique rings that existed, they were referred to as the 'Tri-ni-Set' and the six 'Hell rings'.
The young blond allowed himself to focus solely on the supposedly incredible rings that were covered in detail by the tome, he allowed himself to marvel at the amazingly ornate Vongola and Mare rings, almost laughed at the Arcobaleno pacifiers and froze when he turned the page to the 'six hell rings'.
(1) I'm not including the seven flames of earth since they appear to be Shimon only.