Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Oh well. Too bad. I'd probably suck it up anyway. I also make references that aren't mine, so chill out if you read something and recognize it from somewhere else.
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Never will. Oh well. Sucks to that.
Problems
Naruto was never one to hate. He had grown up on hate all his life and because of such misfortune he could never bring himself to truly hate. Acceptance had always been a dream as a child. Truth be told he never actually really wanted to be a great hero or feared and respected ninja. He had just wanted to be seen and acknowledged. He wanted people to see that he was indeed alive. Things however, as always, didn't seem to go his way and he was cast aside and beaten. Treated as nothing more than filth, he had to rethink his strategy. That is when the mask was made. He began playing pranks and enjoyed the attention that he received. At the end of the day he was still alone. Nevertheless he was still full of blind optimism believing that one day they would see him for who he truly was, just another twelve year old boy trying to find acceptance. His chance finally came when he was sent to retrieve his friend Sasuke from the Valley of the End.
Things never go as planned and that mission ended in failure and instead he came back only to find that he would need to embark on a trip to further his skills. When he came back he was happy to find that his pink haired teammate was there to receive him with open arms. Sadly, it ended to soon when Sasuke was finally retrieved. Naruto gave it his all and brought back the boy he once believed to be his friend. From there things only got worse as he seemed to be forgotten once more, cast aside once more as Sasuke stood in the limelight.
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Naruto stood alone on the hokage monument overlooking the village that he had always hoped would be his home.
Home is where the heart is, he thought airily as the gentle breeze seemed to ruffle his hair in a soothing gesture. Truth be told Naruto was feeling melancholy because of the way things had turned out.
'Five years' He thought with an aloofness that seemed to have appeared in him over the last five years.
Naruto jumped off the hokage monument and quickly transported himself via jutsu safely to the ground below.
His mind wandered to the events that had transpired just hours ago.
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Flashback:
The village was filled with applause as the GodaimeHokage herself made her way to the balcony to announce her successor. Every ninja was there. The rookie nine stood there proudly with their jouninsenseis, each of them sporting a Jounin vest. Naruto stood alone as Sakura and Sasuke had become an official couple a year after his return.
"Sasuke, stop." She giggled flirtatiously as Sasuke kissed her neck fully aware that they were in public.
Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes at the display of affection. He had lost to Sasuke when it came to Sakura. He wasn't all to surprised at Sasuke's show of affection. He had become all too accustomed to their 'little shows' after Sasuke took her. Sasuke hated the fact that Naruto had been the one to kill Itachi and found it fitting to take away what Naruto wanted. In the end Sasuke flaunted the relationship he had with Sakura in front of Naruto as much as possible. At least at first, it wasn't long until Sasuke seemed to have fallen in love with Sakura. As he looked on from afar he couldn't help but realize the look of disappointment in Sakura's face. He knew she was staring at him but for what he did not know. He had gotten good at taking sideways glances and knew that she had no idea that he had been looking. Still, he couldn't shake off that look of longing that she seemed to have whenever she looked at him lately. Truth be told he had gotten that look a lot lately from women all over the village including ones that he knew. He just shrugged it off. It didn't matter. As long as he became hokage it didn't matter. He had already lost her but if he could just be hokage, maybe that pain would go away.
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Naruto wasn't surprised when his name had not been called. Deep down he knew it was not meant to be. When Sasuke was called out the crowd had erupted in cheers and Naruto just stood and clapped like any good competitor would. It killed him inside but he would never show it. He had grown accustomed to such things and didn't feel he needed to dwell on them.
Naruto trudged his way home all the while contemplating over what was truly going on in his head.
'So what happens next?' Where do I go from here? Is there any reason left for me to stay?'
He made his way into his apartment and shut the door. He made his way to his room not bothering to turn on the lights as he changed and made his way to his bed. It wasn't that late but he was tired and felt as though he hadn't slept in ages. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes as he drifted off into a world of peace.
Had Naruto been paying attention to his surroundings, had he not been so consumed in thought and fatigue he might have noticed the four chakra signatures that seemed to be around his apartment.
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Sakura sighed as she watched Naruto enter his apartment without so much as turning on the lights. She had been watching Naruto for a long time now. How could she not? Over the years people had begun to see just who Naruto really was. They began to see the good in him and the kindness that he seemed to radiate from his being. It had happened when she turned seventeen, a year after having been with Sasuke. Her eyes finally opened on that day as she saw Naruto teaching a little orphan boy how to read. The little boy had no one and so nobody cared if Naruto got near the boy or not. From what she could see the boy had no one. None of the other kids would play with him.
As she watched she became entranced by the seen that seemed to play before her. The little boy no older than six years old seemed to stumble over the words cautiously all the while looking up at Naruto's gentle face for approval. Naruto would just nod his head and smile. It was the first time Sakura had ever seen Naruto that way and it intrigued her. She began watching Naruto every chance she got all the while finally seeing what she had never seen before, and what she knew other women were beginning to see as well. Naruto was beautiful. She was so surprised when she finally took in his form at just how strikingly beautiful he was. At six foot three and with a body that could only be achieved through hard training he was definitely every little teen girls dream. He had a nice angular face with the deepest bluest eyes and long shaggy hair that reached his shoulders, His bangs occasionally covering his eyes.
She had to fight down her blush as she made her way home that night. Soon she began to have her thoughts wander to her ex-teammate. Even when with Sasuke her traitorous mind would bring forth images of the blond man. At times of intimacy she had even found herself picturing Naruto in Sasuke place. The thoughts became more frequent, and after a year of following him and looking his way she could no longer deny that she was in love. At Eighteen she could only acknowledge that she was in love with her teammate.
The only problem now was getting him to realize it. That and the fact that she had three other competitors that she knew were going to provide more than a challenge for her. Like her they seemed to have taken a liking to following the blond.
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Ino was never one to question her beauty. She was one of the most attractive girls in konoha, among the top five easy. Suprisingly her rivals in that department were Hinata Hyuuga who had blossomed into quite the voluptuous women, and Sakura Haruno who had men throwing themselves at her feet even with the fact that Sasuke was her current boyfriend. She had believed that getting Naruto would be easy. Hinata Hyuuga was shy, although much bolder when it came to other matters, she was still somewhat timid when it came to Naruto. Sakura Haruno had a boyfriend, although as Sakura's best friend she knew that Sakura was in love with Naruto and it irked her to know end that her friend had finally realize just what had been in front of her the hold time. What irked her even more was that she hadn't realized sooner. If she had she might be in his apartment right now…with him…all alone. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. There was no since in regretting it know. As if it wasn't enough that the women of the village had begun to take interest in Naruto, Her biggest rivals were at the top of the list. Sakura, Hinata, and even the Kazekage's sister Temari had taken quite the interest in Konoha's Living Shadow.
That was the name that Naruto had received in his first year in ANBU at the age of sixteen. Ino had begun to hear stories of his exploits. Saving his team, taking on teams, of S-ranked nukenin, and even visiting a little boy in the orphanage. It wasn't long until said blond became a captain of his very own squad. She of course had the luck of being put on his team. When on a mission he had saved her from being raped from a Nukenin that they were tracking. She had been isolated by the nukenin and was outmatched. She had managed to injure the man's right arm but unfortunately she had been caught in his strange jutsu. By the time she came to she was back in the konoha hospital and was informed of the circumstances and of her hero.
From then on her love for her fellow blond had only been strengthened. She began following him watching his kindness and gentle behavior that was not expected from konoha's most feared ninja. She became enthralled in the puzzle that was Naruto Uzumaki and made a vow to make him hers.
She smirked to herself as she though how unlucky the competition was to be pitted against her.
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Hinata was watching again. She had been watching him for a long time. She had been watching him for so long that she believed that she knew him better than anyone else especially all the other girls who had the nerve to believe that they deserved him.
She had seen Naruto from the start. She had been the first to see his kindness and the first to see just how beautiful he was. She had always known he was a gem, a gem of such rarity that any women would covet him. Even in their academy days she knew that he was a diamond in the rough. She had planned to make her move sooner but decided against it. It would be wrong to move to fast.
She could easily see the changes that had occurred in him over the last couple of years, he no longer smiled like he used to and his eyes seemed to hold a sadness that broke her heart every time she saw them.
She would make her move she resolved. If she had to step it up then she would. There was no way she was going to let any of the others walk away with her man. She had waited longer than any of them and she was in no way planning to lose him now.
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Temari was not happy at the moment. When the announcement was made that Sasuke would be made Hokage she could see that he was upset, surprised no, but upset all the same. That is when she believed she had a chance. Her plan was to get Naruto to come back with her to Suna. Even if just for a visit, that would give her enough time to get a reason to stay. She however, had not been expecting this. She of course had known that there might be some competition for Naruto. Over the years she had watched the boy change into something magnificent, and was attracted to the warmth that he seemed to radiate from his very being.
She knew that others would begin to see what she had seen in him and knew she had to make her move fast if she wanted him for herself but she had not expected the heavy competition. She of course being a kunoichi of sound mind had expected to butt heads with the Hyuuga girl for Naruto but she was sure she would come out on top. However, this just was not fair! Not only did she have to deal with a beautiful heiress but now she had to deal with equally dangerous rivals in Ino and Sakura. Even know she could tell they were thinking along the same lines, after all, they were on the hunt for the perfect man. The prize had been found but there was no way they would share such a wonderful man. After all, Temari had always got what she wanted, even things she didn't want. There was no way that Naruto was going to be an exception to the rule.
Temari could only smirk as one thought rang through her head.
'mine'
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When Naruto woke up the next morning he simply went through his morning rituals as always. Wake up, brush his teeth, take a shower, get dressed, and wonder how in heaven's name he was still alive. Of course after brushing off his little emo moment as an influence from Sasuke, he made his way out of his making sure to lock the door. Today was Saturday. He had nothing to do and a whole day to do it. First, he would go to the monument and contemplate the strange conundrum that was his life. After that he would laze around and just be glad that he had at least the slightest recognition. Then as always he would make his way to his favorite ramen stand and enjoy a nice bowl of ramen. Along his way he couldn't help but get an odd sense of foreboding.
'There is a disturbance in the natural order. Something is definitely off.' He thought to himself airily.
'Oh well.' He thought with the same indifference.
It couldn't be that bad. After all he had gotten along just fine these last few years without much going on. What were the odds that something big would happen anytime soon?
He leisurely made his way to the hokage monument making sure to take his time and enjoy his current peace of mind. The events of yesterday buried by the wonders of nature. Naruto quickly laid flat on top of the fourths head staring at the clouds above.
"So peaceful, so quiet, so nice." Naruto chuckled at just how much he sounded like a certain Nara.
"Careful there Naruto one Shikamaru is enough." Said a voice from behind Naruto.
Of course Naruto wasn't surprised. He had sensed her approaching. What did surprise him was who it was that decided to come to the monument in the first place. He turned around and was confronted by the image of none other than Ino. There she was in all her feminine glory. Wearing her normal attire and striking a rather charming pose he could only raise an eyebrow at the impish smile that adorned her flawless face.
Ino made her way toward Naruto making sure that his eyes were on her as she made her way over to him. She sat next to his laid out form looking over the village.
"So what brings you here?"
"I always come here Ino, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you."
'Okay that was extremely forward' Naruto thought as he began to piece things together in his mind.
All of a sudden a record seemed to scratch in his head.
'Hold up. No, no, no, I must have this all wrong she is probably just here to see me because she hasn't seen me in a while. I mean there is no way that Miss I-am-wanted-by-all-men over here just came to try and get in my pants. There is a better chance of Jiraiya deciding to write a book of my life and exploits instead of peeping then this right here.' And with that though Naruto dismissed those thought completely.
"I'm sure you did but seriously Ino why did you come out here. Decided to just get some fresh air maybe?"
"No, I Told you I came to see you." She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yeah right, and Hinata is hiding in some bushes watching us the entire time, while Sakura is watching from an indisposed location, and Temari decided to visit Konoha on a whim, and to top it all off Jiraiya has decided to write a book on my exploits and is currently spying on us from a building with a telescope." He rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of the statement and the situation.
At that moment Naruto could swear he heard four successive sneezes.
'Well that was odd.'
At that moment as he turned to ask Ino if she had heard what he had thought were sneezes he was interrupted by the soft sensation of soft lips on his. His eyes closed enjoying the new sensation snapped to attention as he saw none other than Ino eyes closed and playing tongue war with him. It was at this particular moment that the weight of what was going on finally reached him. He could only sum up his confusion with a few simple words.
'Whack the Frog'
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Naruto was toward the hokage tower in a daze. Yesterday not only had Ino hit on him she had also kissed him. Now Naruto wasn't gay, far from it actually, but he wasn't the type to just fall in love, at least not anymore. Naruto sighed
'This sucks, not only do I get the feeling that something bad is going to happen today but these people won't stop staring at me!!!' he screamed in his head.
Naruto entered the hokage tower not even bothering to ask for clearance or even looking at the secretary who was at the moment looking at him while screaming obscenities about how the hokage couldn't be disturbed. Naruto walked into the office and stared at a sad Tsunade who had apparently taken up drowning her sorrows in cheap sake. She looked up at Naruto the moment she felt his presence. Naruto noted that she had a sad look on her face and almost felt sorry.
'She must be sad about breaking our promise and giving the hokage title to emo boy.' He surmised.
Honestly Naruto didn't care anymore. He was a ninja and like a ninja he picked up and moved on. There was no use crying or being a whiny btch about it.
'Yeah like I would just up and leave the village like some pansy. Then I would go join Akatsuki or something and swear revenge on this village. Then by some off chance miracle I would find out my father was the fourth hokage who just happened to have a stupid name like Arashi or somethin'. Then when all seems lost at the last minute I would come back and be a hero or something and have people flocking to my feet as I become the sixth hokage or somethin'.' Naruto chuckled aloud as he thought of how idiotic and unrealistic it all seemed.
It was true that at one point he had hated the village but you live and learn and he learned to just let things go.
"Naruto." He heard his name called out.
He looked at Tsunade with the same impassive face that seemed to have become his usual expression as the years passed. Honestly, if she just wanted to talk to him about something she should just get it over with. He wasn't getting any younger.
"Naruto, I'm sorry about what happened, but the council overruled me and I had no choice."
"I don't care."
"Sasuke will take over soon, in a couple of days as a matter of fact."
"I don't care."
"Naruto, I found out you have a family, you Naruto Uzumaki are none other than the son of the 4th hokage."
"……What the fck?"
"Yeah I know shocking, but the worst part is that the council is raving about it like lunatics. They want to talk to you about it Naruto. That's why I called you here Naruto; the meeting begins in five minutes."
"Wow, what a completely shocking and unprecedented turn of events." Naruto said with a bored tone of voice.
Without even asking to be excused he just turned around and walked out of the room making his way to the council room
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Naruto hated being around members of the council. In his opinion they were nothing but a bunch of old farts that were way past their prime and though so highly of themselves. As he stood in front of the council room he couldn't help but get a bad feeling about what was about to occur. He stood still as one of the members of the council stood to address him.
"Naruto Uzumaki, it has come to the attention of this council that you are none other than the son of the legendary 4th hokage. What do you have to say about these allegations?" he paused as he waited for an answer.
"Well…Sht…I really don't know what to say…yup I got nothing." Naruto paused and smirked inwardly.
Naruto hated dealing with the council and loved to see them squirm with hate. Truth be told Naruto was somewhat cynical. Oh well.
"Be more respectful Demon." Said one of the more portly members of the council.
"Oh my aren't we so full of wit." Naruto replied his voice laced with sarcasm.
"Really your intellect is obviously superior to that of a demon such as I. Clearly you sir are a credit to the human race and a role model to children everywhere. You sir are truly as smart as you are round. Sir, you are very round…fatty."
The man fumed at being insulted and sat back down into his chair as other members of the council chuckled at his expense.
"Naruto…I would appreciate it if you were a little more considerate to the council, you have no idea of the pressure and problems that this council has had to face." Hiashi said as he stood to address the young man.
"Yes…clearly I am foolish to believe that I can sympathize. Truly it is you who knows the meaning of suffering and not I. Obviously my life has been filled with rainbows and candies. As a matter of fact if I got any happier a believe unicorns would fly out my ass." Naruto replied the same bored expression still etched on his face.
"I'm bored…you people are boring…could you just get on with it and tell me what you want."
"Well Naruto, the council has agreed that you being the son of the 4th deserve a rank in the council and his estates."
"Uhh…I'll take the estates…as for the council…no we're not doing that." Naruto replied nonchalantly.
"Well, if that is all council. I will leave and take the estates and I suppose I'll live it up a bit. Call me if you have a mission or something, or don't, whatever."
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Naruto chuckled as he walked down the streets of konoha. Honestly it was kind of funny to see the reaction of all of the old men and women of the council. He knew that most of them were trying to get on his good side. Naruto as of now was probably the strongest ninja alive. He had faced countless enemies of great power and toppled over them with strength and determination. The kyuubi was still inside of him…but he wasn't a problem now that Naruto had his seal reinforced. Although, the fox still liked to comment on Naruto's life every now and then.
He walked in thought until he ran into someone he knew. That someone being a certain sister of a certain kazekage.
"Oh, sorry about that. I should really watch where I am going" Naruto managed to breath out as he rubbed his head.
"Don't worry about it Naruto."
"Well thanks; I guess I'll be going now."
"Hold up blondie what's the rush?" Temari asked
"Well I kind of was going to go do stuff…you know guy stuff." Naruto was hoping she would take the hint.
"You're going to masturbate?" she replied with a blush.
"No, why the hell would you say that?" screamed an irritated Naruto who received a number of looks from people.
"That's what my brother Kankuro does when he says that he is going to do guy stuff. I assumed it meant the same for you." She replied innocently enough. A hint of a tease in her voice.
"Well…I suppose that is somewhat true for some anyway." Naruto rubbed his chin in a ridiculous thinking pose.
"Well, since you're not going to go play with yourself," Naruto blushed at the thought of it, "why don't I come along with you?"
"Do as you wish" and with that both made their way to Naruto's favorite ramen stand.
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"You know it's really kind of weird to stare at a person when they are trying to eat, seriously stop staring." Replied an irate Naruto, fully aware that Temari and a good portion of the women who had all of a sudden decided they wanted ramen.
"But I like staring at you Naruto."
Temari was a bold girl of that Naruto was sure. She had been staring at him for the past ten minutes as he ate. She ate as well but would occasionally pass glances his way as he ate his ramen.
'It is at times like this that I can only wonder if maybe just maybe I am part of someone's sick storyline in which I am the main character who has everything go wrong for him because no matter what I want the opposite always seems to happen to me…and now Ayame is staring at me…why is she staring at me?'
And yes wouldn't you know it, none other than Ayame was there in front of him staring at him with a faint blush on her cheeks. Naruto could swear that her eyes resembled stars as she stared at him.
'…is that even possible?'
Temari being ever the observant one immediately so the interaction between the two and knew what she had to do.
'Ahh Hell Nah! I'm not letting this btch sink her teeth into my Naruto. We ain'thavin' that'
And with supernatural speed that could only be matched by women trying to state their claim she was up in Ayame's face in what could only be described as a blur.
'Okay…is it just me or did she just pop up out of nowhere…how the hell did she pop up out of nowhere.'
Before Naruto could even hope to react the temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees.
'I sense danger.'
All of sudden Naruto knew why. Ayame and Temari were glaring at each other with what could only be described as a murderous intent. Their glares alone where in off to clear out all of the weaker competition in an instant and cause old man Ichiraku to hide in the kitchen.
'If I was any less of a man I think I may have just Sht myself.'
And just like that the room was made breathable again as both girls put on sickly sweet smiles and just stared at each other.
"Well how are you doing Ayame?'
"Oh you know just serving my Naruto his ramen, he is a growing man and needs a women to give him the proper nourishment." She responded with a deceptively sweet voice.
"Really well then I guess I will have to feed him from now on as I am the only woman he knows, but hey…I guess a little girls cooking will do for now.'
'As if this couldn't possibly get any worse…you know what would be funny in a twisted way…if this actually did get worse in ways I didn't think possible.'
Of course Naruto would have chuckled if his heightened ninja senses didn't just alert him to the presence of three certain women.
'Son of a Btch.'
None other than Hinata, Ino , and Sakura had just walked into the stand. The temperature in the room just dropped below freezing.
'Why is it that whenever something can go wrong it usually does? Wait no…why is it that things only go wrong when I am the one involved?'
Of course he was unaware that the women in the stand were currently eyeing the competition.
"Well what do we have here? I just came by to check on my Naruto and I see the vultures have already moved in." Stated a calm Ino.
"Don't kid yourself Blondie. Naruto wouldn't go for a little girl like you when he could have a woman like me," Replied a confident Hinata, much to the surprise of everyone in the stand.
"I don't see the point in this little argument. It's child's play really. We already know that none of you women could ever satisfy Naruto," Replied an equally confident Sakura.
"What do you know? Don't you have to go do something with the uchiha?"replied Ayame as she continued to glare at Temari.
"You know I have a feeling that after so long the peace that I have tried to acquire is about to break and I will now end up in the middle of something that could only be described as catastrophic warfare between the women I know…joy." And with that Naruto slammed his head into the counter, tears rolling freely from his eyes in comical fashion as the women behind him continued to fight.
On a building overlooking the stand
"hehehe this will be my greatest novel yet…but yeah that brat is fcked, and yes innuendo intended hehehehe."
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Well that's chapter one. Read and Review if you won't or don't, whatever.
I might continue if I get enough reviews.
I might continue if I don't get any reviews. Although hearing what people think will be good I guess.
Whatever. Do what you will.
-Elmer Beckett