A tiny, liquid droplet met the blank face of a young child, staring up at the moonlit night sky. 'Since when was it raining?' The child thought to himself, blankly staring up at the stars, his gaze travelling over the black expanse, dotted by numerous white dots. In the center was one, massive white rock. 'The moon. It calls, does it not?' The boy's mental voice, the voice that all people think to themselves with, it sounded tired. The boys eyes locked onto the moon, and the boy felt his chest begin to clench in on itself slightly. The boy felt… a connection with the moon. What it was, he could not say. But, he knew it was there. Like he knew there was something dripping on his face.
'I do not see any clouds.' The boy thought to himself, his eyes searching the expanse of sky, searching for clouds. 'Where is the rain coming from?' The child wondered, inspecting the sky, hoping to find an answer to his question. His eyes met the moon again, and their gaze stiffened, locked with the white rock. 'The moon. Why does it call to me?' The child questioned, his eyes staring at the moon.
In the dead of night, silence permeating the area around the small child, power began to build. Unbeknownst to the boy, his pupil began to shrink down to a small dot. His sapphire eyes faded, losing color quickly. Then, methodically, his pupil… pulsated. Sending out ripples across his eye. The Ripples slowly came to a stop, placing themselves in concentric circles that surrounded his now miniature pupil. Then, color exploded outward of his pupil, a soft, regal purple expanding across his sclera. Eventually, the changes in his eyes settled, and the boy felt no difference. Saw no change. Felt the same. Though, he came to realize something.
'Heh, how silly of me. That's not rain.' The boy's eyes finally broke from the night sky,scanning the immediate area around him. He was in his house, his door broken down and laying on the ground. Why was there a hole in his ceiling? The boy then noticed that around him lay three dead bodies. 'It's blood.' The boy thought to himself, confirming his findings by bringing his right hand up to his cheek, grazing his skin, before dragging his hand back down, staring at the crimson liquid that stained his finger tips.
'But, why is there blood here?' The boy asked himself, his new question prompting him to twist his back and look all around him. A tall man stood behind him, grinning insanely with a black knife glinting in the moonlight, blood dripping from the tip. Ah. That was how the blood was dripping onto him. But, this posed a new question. What was he doing here? Who was he? The boy's lips parted slightly, his throat tensing in preparation to speak, before the words fell silent. The man was raising his knife, his grin somehow stretching as he did so. 'What is he doing?' The boy questioned, his eyes following the knife as it raised, before its descent began.
'Shinra Tensei.' A new voice, one the boy had not heard before, rang within his head. It was old, wise, calm. It made the boy feel… peace. It made him feel safe. It was… familiar. Why was it familiar? He swore he had never heard it before, but it felt like it was there, his entire life. 'Shinra Tensei.' It repeated, and the boy found that he could formulate words once more, even as the knife neared his forehead.
The boy's lips parted, muttering softly. "Shinra… Tensei." The words were soft, quiet. Eerily calm. The boy's eyes watched as the knife hovered above his forehead for a precious second, the man's eyes widening in shock, before a thunderous boom met the boy's ears, forcing him to close his eyes. His hair whipped around his head, fluttering viciously in powerful winds, before eventually it settled, and the boy withdrew his hands from his eyes.
Opening them slowly, the boy's eyes widened slightly upon seeing once more. A house surrounded him no longer. His walls were gone, not even debris surrounded him. The bodies, they were gone as well. Where had the man gone? The boy looked all around him, searching, but could not find the man. The houses to his left and right, where his neighbors resided, had chunks blown into them, pieces of his house embedded within their walls and roofs. When had those gotten there? Why was his house in pieces now?
The boy raised his head, shaggy blonde hair falling onto his face and in his eyes, but he did not care. His eyes met the moon once more, and the boy found himself smiling. His house may be gone, but there was a plus side to this. He could see the moon easier. The boy felt at peace, sitting in the crater he once called his home, his shirt destroyed and in tatters around his body. The voice returned once more within his head. 'Sleep, child.' The boy was tempted to say no, for he wanted to continue to watch the moon, before he felt weight pile onto his eyelids, and he could no longer hold them up, the lids closing over his eyes and his body collapsing forward.
Line Break
Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, the man who had stared the Kyuubi in the eyes and stood strong, could not believe his eyes when he and his ANBU investigated the mysterious 'boom' they had heard. A house, belonging to a civilian family, was just… destroyed. It was obvious that some sort of explosion had happened, considering that the house was torn apart and thrown all around the vicinity. The tall blonde man strode forward, entering what would have been the house, and looking around. Striding forward once more, the man knelt down and grabbed a piece of debris that was in the dead center of the house.
Lifting it easily, the man's sapphire eyes widened considerably when he found a child, the same age as his precious Natsumi-chan, laying within the debris, his shirt torn and shredded across his torso. Cautiously, Minato fed his hands beneath the boy and cradled him into his chest as his ANBU checked the rest of the house. Flipping him over, Minato stared at the face of the Civilian boy. 'He has blonde hair like mine. Why have I not seen this boy around the village before? I wonder if he goes to the Academy… Perhaps Natsumi-chan would know him. Even so, what is he doing here? How did he live?' Questioned, ponderings, flew within Minato's head as he stared at the child, the small boy's soft breathing assuring the Hokage that he was still alive.
Minato sighed, however, and stood up. He would have to get the boy medical help, after all. "ANBU! Search the area and try to find me a cause. Figure out what happened here!" Minato ordered, his voice stern and powerful, before he disappeared in a yellow flash.
Line Break
Voices, faces, memories. Everything returned to Naruto, the boy's eyes flying open as he sat up quickly, eyes frantically scanning the area around him. "AHHH! Ho-Where-Wha-" Naruto muttered, breathing steadily slowing down as he figured out where he was. Why was he in a Hospital? He was fine. It was his family that needed medical attention, not him! Naruto looked around him, and down at his body, his eyes locking onto the IV in his arm. Furiously, Naruto lowered his arm to it and gripped it.
Naruto was about to yank it out of his arm when a firm hand grasped over his, stopping him in his attempt to pull the IV out of his arm. Shocked, Naruto raised his head to meet the stern eyes of a blonde woman, hazel meeting violet as the pair just stared at each other. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, brat." Her voice, it was annoyed. It matched her face, Naruto decided. His eyes flashed over the diamond in the center of her forehead, but he said nothing. She had some sort of green overcoat with a gray top underneath. Naruto couldn't find the words to describe what she was wearing. It was so, odd to him. Nothing like he would've expected.
He couldn't help but attempt to quench his childish curiosity as the woman walked over and sat down on a rolling stool, retrieving a clipboard from the wall and staring down at it. "Uh… Whyyy… Uh, Why aren't you wearing… you know, like, doctor's stuff?" The boy questioned, the woman looking up from her clipboard and staring at him with an annoyed gaze. "None of your business, brat." The woman replied, narrowing her eyes as she saw him pout angrily. "Hey, I don't think that's very good uhhhh… What did Tou-san call it… Ah yea! That's not very good bedside manner!" Naruto chided the woman, pointing his finger at her accusingly.
The woman reeled back, her face distorting into a very noticeable grimace, before she snarled at him. "I don't need to have good bedside manner brat! When you're the best Doctor there is, bedside manner doesn't mean anything!" The woman spoke, with a little more volume and force than she meant. This only served to fuel the boy more.
"Oi! I don't care if you're the friggen' god of Hospitals or something! When you are a Doctor, someone who is supposed to help people, you're supposed to be nice! Respectable! Kind!" The boy shouted, his voice gaining volume and force to match her's. The woman stared at him, narrowing her eyes, before shaking her head and returning to her clipboard. "Shut up brat." She ordered, hiding her smirk when the boy began to fume angrily, groaning frustratedly, before flopping back onto the bed. "Whatever. Where are my parents? They should be here as well." Naruto demanded, staring at the woman who allowed her lips to part slightly, her brows lowering sadly, before she lightly shook her head and her face grew stern once more.
"They're not here, kid. I don't know where they are, though I'm sure Minato-gaki knows." The woman responded, temporarily easing the boy's mind and allowing him to sink into his bed a little more, relaxed. Naruto's ears picked up the sound of a chair rolling across floor, before the woman's face shadowed over his, a clipboard in her hands. "Now, I've got some questions. What's your name, kid?" The woman began, Naruto narrowing his eyes. "What? You guys know who I am, don't be silly." Naruto muttered angrily. He'd been to this very hospital before! He was born here, for cryin' out loud!
"Oi, don't you get snappy with me brat! We've got a bunch of blondes, but you're not a Yamanaka or a Namikaze, and we for SURE don't have anyone eyes like yours. Now, who are you?" The woman demanded, frustratingly glaring into the boy's eyes. Naruto's eyes widened however. "What'dya mean? I've got blue eyes just like the Hokage!" Naruto snarled, angry and frustrated with this woman.
Her hazel eyes narrowed, before she grumbled about stupid kids and grabbed a mirror from… where the hell did she get that mirror? "Look brat. I don't know about you, but those aren't eyes I've seen before." The woman muttered, handing Naruto the mirror. The boy looked at her, before raising the mirror up to his face, making his eyes widen. "What the…" The boy whispered, holding the mirror with one hand and pulling at his eyelids with the other. He turned and twisted his face, pulled at his cheeks and eyelids, staring at his new eyes.
They were a regal purple, concentric rings surrounding a small dot-like pupil that didn't expand or constrict to meet different light amounts like his old pupil. Like normal pupils. Naruto merely stared at his eyes. This was the scene that Minato Namikaze walked in on, the mirror hiding Naruto's face from his. The boy was too occupied with his eyes to hear the door open and close. Minato looked at Tsunade, the woman shaking her head at him. Damn, so sofar she hadn't learned anything about what happened. Well, Minato knew he could be pretty persuasive.
"Hey kid, I'm the Yondaime Hokage." Minato offered, sitting down on the bed and looking at the blonde head behind the mirror. Then, the boy dropped the mirror and Mianto's eyes widened upon seeing the eye within the boy's head. 'Is that the… I'll have to get Jiraiya-sensei.' Minato thought to himself, schooling his features and staring into the hypnotic purple gaze of the boy.
Minato felt as if his world tore down, the white walls of the hospital shredding around him as a void began to take hold of him. Naruto's body began to rip. Long, vertical pieces of his body tearing away until all that remained, floating in the air, were his ringed eyes. Tsunade, frozen as the world around her was, fell to the ground and shattered into pieces that melted into the black void that surrounded Minato and the eyes. Minato twisted his body and turned around, looking out of the window, and watched as the rest of the world tore away as well. Minato tried to run, but wherever he went, the eyes followed, floating behind him until the rest of the world was torn, evaporated in the everlasting darkness.
Minato turned around, falling onto his back and scrambling to get away from the purple eyes that slowly floated towards him. "Stop! Get away from me!" Minato ordered, shouting in fear as his throat tore. He grit his teeth, reeling away from the eyes as they continued to float towards him. Slowly, a body began to form around the eyes. To Minato's shock, it was not Naruto's body, but instead an older man with horns began to form around the eyes. A white cloak formed over his body, black symbols aligning his neck. Eventually, the man finished taking form, and merely floated above Minato, a red eye adorning the center of his forehead, open and intimidating as Minato found that he could not take his eyes off of it.
"Who-Who are you!?" Minato demanded, his voice shaking with fear dripping off of every syllable. The man did not say anything. Minato glared, and continued to shout and scream at the man. The man's lips parted, and his right hand raised. "Silence." Minato went to disobey, his mouth dropping open and his lungs expanding as they took in air, before that air was brutally forced out as an invisible force slammed into Minato's chest, forcing him back as his body ragdolled and rolled away from the man. The Three-Eyed figure merely floated over towards Minato's body once more. Hokage-sama…
Minato rolled over onto his back, glaring at the man who floated above him, though he followed the man's order and remained silent. The man narrowed his eyes, power radiating from his entire essence, before he spoke. "Minato Namikaze," Hokage-sama… "Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure." Hokage-sama… "You asked who I was. Let me inform you." HOKAGE-SAMA… "My name is Ha-" "HOKAGE-SAMA!" Suddenly, the void Minato found himself in began to bleed color. Buildings, forestry, Konoha began to take form around him. Minato saw the man's body tearing and fading. "Wait! Tell me! Who are you!" Minato shouted, raising his hand towards the rapidly fading body. The man's eyes softened, a smile coming onto his features. "I am Naruto." His words faded as his body did, only his purple eyes remained as Naruto's body took form around them.
Minato found that he was still staring at the child, who had narrowed his eyes at him, Tsunade hovering over the blonde man and slapping his face. Shaking his head, with "Wha-what?" escaping his mouth, Minato turned his gaze away from the hypnotic rings of the purple eyes. "S-Sorry." Minato muttered, shakily standing up and leaving the room quickly. Naruto watched him go, wondering exactly what was wrong with the Hokage he had long admired.
Line Break
Naruto sighed. Recently, his life had become horrible. His family had been brutally murdered by some crazed asshole that broke into his house. So, there was that. Now, he was living alone, in some random apartment provided to him by the Hokage. And, to top it all off, his eyes were so weird now! God, Naruto hated looking at them. They both intrigued and frightened him. And, he hadn't told anyone about it, but sometimes if he stared into them long enough… it looked like the very world around him would begin to tear like paper. Long, vertical strips of his wall would suddenly start to come down and evaporate as they went. However, it stopped and his world returned to normal as soon as he stopped looking into his own eyes.
Actually, Naruto wondered if he was dreaming. The Hokage had tried to tell him that his house had blown up for no reason. What!? He may only be 12, he may be the deadlast of the Academy, but houses don't just blow up for no reason. He wasn't that stupid. Plus, there was that really weird like 5 minutes that the Hokage just stared into his eyes, almost like he was in a trance. Naruto wondered if the man had experienced the same 'tearing' that he did.
"Naruto!" Naruto's ponderings were cut short as an annoyed voice called out for him. Shocked, Naruto quickly took his head off of his desk and looked around, surprised. A small amount of drool whipped out of his mouth as he did so. "Wha-who?" Naruto questioned, looking around, until his eyes met Iruka-Sensei's, the man glaring at him. "For the last time Naruto, don't fall asleep in my class!" Iruka ordered, throwing an eraser at Naruto's head, which hit him square in the forehead and caused the boy to fall backwards in his seat, falling with the wooden furniture. The class laughed at him, and Naruto looked around.
Everywhere around him were faceless figures, only their wide, laughing grins visible. The chirping of birds, the colors of the classroom, everything blended and melted together into a haze of laughter and pointed fingers. Naruto looked all around him, whipping his body back and forth, twisting in some sort of crazed anxiety as he tried to escape the scrutiny of his classmates. He could find no such solace. Tears started to build in Naruto's eyes, the rippled purple frantically gazing past all of the grins.
"Stop…" The laughter persisted. "Stop…" The laughter persisted. "Stop." The laughter stopped, as Naruto's head quickly raising off of his desk as he sucked in his drool, the class turning around to look at him with bored, annoyed expressions on their faces. Iruka turned around as well, before smirking. "So, you decided to grace us with your presence after such a… wonderful rest, eh Naruto?" The class snickered, but Naruto found that it was much more tolerable than the laughter from what he guessed was actually a dream… or in this case a nightmare. Iruka, seeing that he had successfully gotten the class to laugh, turned around once more and began to write on the chalkboard, returning to whatever History crap he had been talking about before.
Naruto slumped forward, placing his chin on his forearms, his purple eyes sweeping over the room. Why was he so… alone now? Did he really not have anyone outside of his parents? His ringed eyes swept over the room again, searching for a single person. A friend. Did he really… not have any friends? Was that why whenever he thought of the Academy, he felt lonely? He search stopped on a red-haired girl, who for some reason was looking at him. Her Sapphire eyes dug into his royal purple ones. 'Kurama…' The voice from before returned, causing Naruto's eyes to widen and the boy to look all around him. "Huh? Wh-Who's there!?" Naruto called out, the class giggling as they turned to look at him. Naruto caught the gaze of the red-haired girl once more, who then sneered at him and turned around, clearly angry at something.
The class turned around once more, Iruka looking angry at Naruto's outburst but doing nothing about it. He had heard about his parent's murder, so he could at least cut the boy slack when he was awake. But still, NO ONE WOULD SLEEP IN HIS CLASS.
Naruto slumped forward once more, burying his face in his arms. His black shirt pulled at his chest, stretched slightly. He did not mind. He looked at the wood of his desk, his eyes lazily tracing the patterns within the furniture. 'Lonely… Why do I feel so alone? Is no one in class willing to give me a chance?' Naruto pondered, sorrowful thoughts taking a hold of his head before an eraser hit the back of it, summoning the boy's head to rise. "Naruto! Who is the Shodai Hokage!?" Iruka demanded, annoyed as he rubbed at the ridge of his face, waiting to berate the child for yet another wrong answer.
Naruto looked at the man blankly, trying in vain to remember, before suddenly the information flooded his mind. "Uhhh… The Shodai Hokage, known to those close to him as Hashirama Senju, was the only known wielder of the Mokuton, or Wood Release. He was able to create this Jutsu Style by infusing Earth and Water Chakra together, creating Wood. He became a master of his new blood line, but did not allow himself to be limited by it. Instead, he also worked on normal Jutsu styles and Taijutsu, becoming a legendary shinobi. He had befriended Madara Uchiha, the Progenitor of the Uchiha Clan, and the pair of Legendary Shinobi created Konohagakure, the First Hidden Village. After being brought up in a time of warring clans fighting for power, Hashirama decided he wanted peace. Using his Mokuton, he gathered the 9 Bijuu, and gave them away, keeping the 9-Tails within Konoha, or specifically sealing it within his wife, Mito Uzumaki. Hashirama died as a Legendary Shinobi, which to some has still not been surpassed to this day." Naruto finished, looking a little shocked that he knew the knowledge as the entire class was as well. Iruka was shocked because he, the teacher, didn't know some of the things Naruto spoke of. "U-Uhhh… Very good Naruto." Iruka stated, baffled as he never expected those words to leave his mouth.
Naruto stared at the class, who were looking at him with wide eyes, before shrinking away from their gazes, shy and embarrassed. He had never received praise from anyone other than his parents before, and it was all so new to him. "Well, anyway class, I think that's enough lecturing for today. After all, you are 4th year students, meaning this is your last year in the Academy should you pass the Genin Exam. So, we might as well get you started fighting, ne?" Iruka questioned with a smile, his eyes squinting. His smile was met with shouts of happiness from the students, though Naruto looked apprehensive, going noticed only by a couple of people who had taken an interest in the boy. One of these people was observing him through the windows of the room, more particularly, his eyes.
Naruto followed the class as they were ushered out, trailing slightly behind but still keeping. He observed, watched as the students almost seemed to jump up and down in excitement. Why were they excited? They were being led to a battleground, where they would learn to kill each other. His view of the Academy and of Shinobi had been steadily shifting over nights of dreamy sleep, thoughts that belonged to a past version of him flooding his mind. Memories, vague and blurry to his mind's eye for the current time, flew past. Naruto's goal in life had changed. No longer did he want to be the best Shinobi, to become the Hokage. No, in fact, he wanted peace. He wanted to bring the world the peace it so rightfully deserved. Perhaps being a Shinobi was the correct path to that peace. He did not know. It confused him, boggled his mind. He found that, occasionally, it was all he could think of. He wondered if it was because he had nothing better to do, merely sitting alone, in his small, quiet apartment. Why hadn't the Hokage put him in the Orphanage again? Oh, yea. He'd told him not to. Right.
"Alright class. It's going to be a basic 1 on 1 style of Sparring. We will randomly match you up with your opponent, and whoever wins will be gifted 5 points of extra credit." That seemed stupid to Naruto. That was rewarding clan heirs and students who were already practicing, and putting down those that weren't. And randomly selecting partners? That was ridiculous. While, yes, they would eventually be put up against vastly differing enemies out in the field, to be that far in strength where they had no experience, no knowledge on how to handle situations like that, it was stupid. And another thing, why the hell did Naruto suddenly care?! And how was he even thinking of this stuff!? Naruto shook his head, ridding it of such thoughts, and proceeded to just wait for whatever fight he would have.
"Naruto Vs…" Iruka dug his hand into the pouch they were using to draw names. Withdrawing the small piece of paper, Iruka brought it to his eyes. "Naruto Vs Sasuke Uchiha!" Iruka shouted, the class muttering amongst themselves, a few bets even taking place. Naruto entered the ring, and stared at his raven-haired opponent. The Pale-skinned girl was staring at him, emotions locked away behind her ebony eyes. She gracefully settled into a stance, no doubt taught to her by her family, before she nodded her head towards Iruka. Naruto narrowed his eyes, merely standing there, and nodded his head towards Iruka. He knew he would lose, there was no point in settling into a stance. "Naruto, are you sure? You're not even going to take a stance?" Iruka questioned, some of the students laughing. Even Sasuke cracked a smirk. Naruto dragged his gaze lazily up towards Iruka.
"Well, obviously I am outclassed here, Iruka-Sensei. There is no point in trying against a clan member, when I myself have had no prior training and I haven't bothered to learn the Academy Style because I know it is pointless in the long run. Our Jounin Sensei's are likely to find a proper stance for us, and the Academy one is really only used to get us used to fighting, is it not?" Naruto questioned, Iruka shocked at his inquisitiveness, before rubbing the bridge of his nose frustrated. "Naruto, you should at least try…" "Why, Sensei? Truly, why? It is not like this will affect my grade, for only the winner receives extra credit, and this is not truly a graded assignment." Naruto fired back, staring at his teacher with his hypnotic purple eyes.
"You said it yourself Naruto, this is to get you used to fighting. So, you should get used to it, ne?" Iruka questioned, and smirked when Naruto turned his gaze back to Sasuke. "Meh, I have no stance anyway." And Iruka promptly sweatdropped when the class laughed. "Fine, fine… HAJIME!" Iruka called out, dropping his arm down to signal the start of the fight. Sasuke rushed forward, a determined look in her eye. Naruto watched, annoyed and just waiting for his defeat, until he noticed something. He could see her movements, see what she would do before she did it. How? How was he doing this. Surely, he could win if he knew what she would do prior to doing it, right?
Naruto smirked, deciding that he stood a chance of winning. As Sasuke surged forward, Naruto watched. Suddenly, Sasuke reeled her arm back and prepared to launch it at his chest. Naruto dodged to his left, and slinked his arm around her waist, throwing her away from him with his right arm. The class was shocked, none more so than Sasuke. She grinned slightly, though squashed it as she got up, steadying back into her stance, before rocketing off once more, this time at an even greater speed. Naruto's eyes widened, as she approached much faster than he anticipated. Her fist connected squarely on his sternum, and launched the boy backwards. Naruto stumbled backwards, coughing, and opened his eyes in time to catch the girl rushing him once more. 'She's preparing a kick, crap!' Naruto thought, ducking quickly, dropping down actually onto his butt, as he did not have the skill to complete the drop and be able to get back up.
Naruto looked up, watching as she went to drop her leg onto him once more. Naruto quickly rolled over onto his right, but hit her other leg, and now found himself trapped beneath her. Sasuke growled lowly, a light blush escaping onto her cheeks, before she dropped down with an elbow to Naruto's face. Naruto saw stars, his eyes closing and opening rapidly and slowly at the same time. "Ugh…" Naruto moaned, his vision clearing to see Sasuke preparing to punch him in the face again, her legs on his arms and pinning him there. 'Crap!' Naruto thought, trying to frantically get out of the situation. The arm lowered, but Naruto rolled over slightly, knocking Sasuke over and allowing Naruto to scramble up, away from the girl.
"Oi! Can't you try to win by getting me out of the circle instead of knocking me out!?" Naruto demanded angrily, some blood leaking from his mouth slightly where she had elbowed him. Sasuke got up angrily, pointing at him. "You were the one that rolled underneath me!" Sasuke shouted back. Naruto growled, stomping up and jabbing his finger in the center of her chest. "And you were the one trying to kick me to kingdom come!" Naruto accused, the pair glaring at each other. Kiba suddenly giggled, and shouted out, "Kiss already!" Naruto and Sasuke blushed, looked at each other, before glaring and jumping away from each other hastily. "Winner: Naruto!" Iruka's voice cut out. "Huh!?" Both Sasuke and Naruto questioned, turning their heads to stare at Iruka in bewilderment.
"Sasuke stepped out of the ring, and gave up the win." Iruka supplied, and the class looked at her feet, finding one completely out of the ring. She had jumped far enough away from Naruto to lose. Naruto grinned, he had actually won! That was a first. Naruto scanned his classmate's eyes, searching their eyes for approval. Instead, he found pity, and amusement. They pitied Sasuke… why? Naruto then met Sasuke's eyes, and saw that she was incredibly angry. She was glaring at him. Naruto swore he could feel heat hit his face as she glared, and it felt as if he was going to die.
Line Break
Naruto sighed, hanging his head down as he strode out of the Academy, a swarm of students flowing from the building. He hastily shoved his hands into his pants, his white shirt fluttering in the wind slightly. He looked up, gazing around him. He saw many students jump into their parent's arms, of course these were the early-entry students, the 5 and 6 year olds. He saw families gather to pick up their children. He saw Siblings laugh and giggle with each other as they ran out. It… hurt. Naruto felt his chest clench, his heart beating within his very ears. His eyes, every time it beat, darkness surged through his eyes in tiny tendrils that vanished immediately after, only to come back with each beat. Why? Naruto smiled softly. He knew why. He was grieving. Why wasn't he crying?
He began to walk forward once more, hanging his head again. He knew why he wasn't crying. It was more of a resigned grief. He knew it had happened, and that he didn't have the power to change that. He didn't know why but a surge of… something flowed through his eyes as he thought about that. Perhaps he could… resurrect them? He had seen ninjas do almost anything he could think of. Spew Fire Dragons from their mouths, create copies of themselves, even walk the corridors of other's minds. All with chakra. Perhaps… chakra could bring back his parents? Naruto's mind wandered down dark paths as he walked, his body bouncing and swaying with each step. His purple eyes pulsated power, though he did not feel it.
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by a firm grip on his shoulder, which pulled him around. Naruto found himself whipped around, his purple eyes meeting the enraged ebony ones of Sasuke Uchiha. The girl glared, before drawing back her arm, and slamming her fist into Naruto's cheek. "Gah!" Naruto cried out in pain, his body twisting in the air and sending him onto the ground, dragging through the dirt. "Ugh… what the hell…" Naruto groaned, slowly getting up, only to fall back down by a kick to his back. "Hey! Stop it! Stop!" Naruto cried out as the girl proceeded to stomp on his back.
"Sasuke! That is enough!" A stern older voice called out. Naruto looked over his shoulder to watch as Sasuke was pulled back by the arm by an older Uchiha boy, Red Sharingan spinning angrily in his eyes. "Mind explaining to me exactly why you are bullying this young boy?" The boy questioned sternly, his Sharingan slowing down slightly. Sasuke met his gaze defiantly, glaring at him. "He humiliated me!" Sasuke shouted back at her brother. Naruto groaned, getting up. "It wasn't my fault you jumped out of the ring!" Naruto shouted angrily, pointing a finger at her as he held his chest.
Sasuke growled, before pointing her finger at Naruto as well. "You were going to… You were going to… Y-You were going to kiss me!" Sasuke shouted angrily, her cheeks reddening slightly. Naruto growled, dropping his arm and glaring. "As if! Who'd kiss you, a toad!?" Naruto countered, this infuriating Sasuke more, much to the confusion of Naruto. He didn't know why she was doing that. Unfortunately, Itachi did. He sighed, rubbing the ridge of his nose. He had a decision to make here. Should he A: Just take his sister home and leave it at that. B: Take her home and question her on where she stood with the boy. C: Question her here. Or D: Tell her to get over her little lover's quarrel in public, confusing the boy and embarrassing his sister.
'Option B. If she likes that boy then I've gotta straighten her out. She'll only drive him away like this.' Itachi thought to himself, before gripping her shoulder and poofing away with a swift use of Shunshin. Naruto looked at where the pair had just been, before groaning and clutching his aching chest. Just what was wrong with that girl!?
Line Break
Pein stared at the crowd that had gathered before him, from 6 different views. 5 were hidden, watching the Ame Citizens and waiting, while 1 stood confidently in front of the crowd, face stern and purple eyes glowing. "I am God. Whether you believe me or not will not change the fact that I am God." Pein spoke, his words cold and emotionless. His Purple eyes, the ones belonging to the non-hidden path, gazed across the crowd of civilians. None of them believed him. His eyes narrowed seeing this.
A gruff old man stepped forward, his gray goatee flowing down from his chin to his sternum. He adjusted a pair of glasses on his nose, before smirking. "If you really are God, a deity, what could you even do for us, huh? You look Human, you sound Human, and if I was creepy, I'd walk up to you, and I bet you'd even smell Human. There is nothing you have that we do not." The man defiantly spoke, his eyes alight with confidence matching Pein's. The man controlling the bodies struggled, a grimace contorting his face. He wanted, so very badly, to make these people listen. To make them see him as God. But, he knew, that if he did that, he'd be no better than Hanzo the Salamander. He wanted to distance his rule from that man's rule as much as he could.
"I assure you, that I can do much, much more than any of you can." Pein responded, emotionlessly standing in front of the crowd like a statue. The man chuckled, bringing his hand to his gut and bending forward while the crowd behind him nervously chuckled with him. "Hanzo the Salamander thought the same as you. But, there is one thing that no-one, not even he, not even you, could do. So, tell me, God, if you really are a deity, if you really are a God, then tell me this. Can you stop the rain?" This question caught Pein off guard, and he chided himself. Surely, he could stop the rain.
The man in front of him continued. "Let's make a deal, mister God. If you can stop the rain, for 10 seconds, just 10 seconds, then I will bow my head and call you God." The man offered, smirking confidently. Pein wanted to kill this man, but only his real face showed it. "Fine." Pein's emotionless response came.
The Orange-Haired man's head rolled back, his purple eyes glowing as the rain hit them. This had to be possible. He had to make these people believe him. Slowly, he raised his hands, and allowed the body to channel his power through the metal piercings within it. Power began to rumble through the arms of the visible path, and eventually, he willed it to speak. "Shinra Tensei." The path muttered, stern and cold, before the rain stopped, hitting some sort of forcefield.
The man stepped forward, his mouth dropped, and he reached his hand underneath the field. It was dry. "No way…" The man muttered, before snarling. "You've gotta keep this up for 7 more seconds, chump." The man informed, snarling angrily. He'd bow to no false god! Pein, at least the path, did not respond. The man behind the paths, shook with exertion. He even started to cough and choke. No! He could do it! Only 4 more seconds now. He could do it! Suddenly, the Red-Haired man lurched forward and spat out blood. The path's arms dropped, and the rain slammed back down onto him, his Orange Hair sticking to his face.
The man stepped back, crossed his arms, and smirked. "You are no God. You are a Man, much like me. I Bow to no Man." The Goatee Man chided, turning around and disappearing into the crowd as it began to disperse.
Pein stared at the ground, as it splashed with droplets of rain. Why had he failed? The Rikudo Sennin was hailed as a God, a true god that could do anything. Why couldn't he? He had the eyes of the Sennin, the eyes of God. And he… failed? How was that possible? Jiraiya had said he was the Child of Prophec- No. That was it. Jiraiya had been wrong about how to achieve peace. That meant, he was wrong about his eyes. These were not the eyes of the Rikudo Sennin. They were a cheap knock off. Fakes. Imitations. The Rikudo Sennin's eyes were said to allow him to create anything. All Pein could create was death, destruction, and ironically enough Pain. He had failed to become strong enough to force the world into peace. No. He hadn't. He just didn't have the Tailed Beasts yet. Yea. That was it. That had to be it.
Yahiko's body tilted its head back up once more, the Path of Pein reunited with the other paths once they jumped down with it. "We are Pein. We are God. We. Are. Peace." The Paths said in unison, before jumping away.
Line Break
Naruto wandered throughout Konoha, aimlessly walking without any real purpose or destination. He was looking at his feet, watching each step his feet took. He watched the path beneath him as it blurred with his movement. He raised his head randomly, feeling compelled to. He realized why the path seemed familiar. He was staring at his house. Why had his feet made him wander here? Perhaps he wasn't as okay with their deaths as he thought he was? He chuckled, despite the crazy looks he received from those around him. Why was he even calling a crater a house? It was a marker, telling those that saw it where his house used to be. It was no longer there, and it was no longer a house.
Naruto felt something wet hit his head. Two more somethings hit his head and pierced the canopy of his hair, allowing the wetness to reach his scalp. Naruto looked up, droplets of liquid hitting his face and sliding down his cheeks. Oh. It was starting to rain. That's what it was. Rain. Funny. He almost worried that he was going to look up and see blood hitting his face. Naruto dropped his head, walking forward into the center of the crater as the rain grew in intensity, before Naruto found himself standing in the middle of a downpour, standing in what used to be his house, now reduced to a crater. How had that even happened? Houses didn't just explode. Nothing just exploded for no reason.
Naruto looked up once more, before looking down with a grunt. Some rain had gotten into his eye, it was cold. It hurt. It stung actually. Naruto picked at his eye, rubbing it softly. Stupid Rain. It was so irritating now. Why could he feel every single drop? Why was it so persistent!? It was annoying, incredibly so! Gah, he just wanted it to stop! Stop! STOP!
"STOP!" Naruto screamed out, flailing his arms out and pulling at his hair. He continued to pull, scrunching his eyes and trying to rip his hair out. "Uhuh… h-hey Naruto? U-Uh… what're you… what're you doing? I-I mean with the rain?" A meek, weak voice came out behind Naruto. The boy turned around angrily, snarling as he dropped his arms and scanned the area behind him. His eyes widened and his snarl dropped when he found the Namikaze Princess standing behind him.
"Huh? What'd you say?" Naruto questioned, turning around to look at her. In the back of his mind he noted he didn't feel the rain anymore. Why was that? He supposed it just stopped raining. "U-uh I was just asking what you were doing with the rain?" The Namikaze Girl questioned once more, pointing above Naruto. Naruto gave her an odd look, like she was crazy, before he looked above him. His jaw dropped as he did so.
"What the…" Naruto muttered. For, what he saw, was rain just bouncing off of some sort of barrier. It was above him, it surrounded his hous-crater and didn't allow a single drop of rain to pierce it. "Woah…" Naruto mumbled, walking forward towards the edge of the barrier, and attempting to reach out and touch it. It moved away from his touch, expanded and suddenly the area where the rain did not touch was larger. "This is so… weird… But it's like, cool." Naruto spoke out loud, to himself mostly. He was almost shocked when the Namikaze Girl stepped towards him and spoke as well.
"How are you doing this?" She questioned, her voice smooth and calm. Why didn't Naruto remember her voice sounding like that? Wait, did she ever speak to Naruto before? Naruto shook his head, deciding to just answer her question. "I don't know… I don't even know if I'm the one doing this." Naruto answered, staring at the barrier with a childish awe lighting up his eyes. Naruto did not notice the Namikaze girl step a little closer to him, reaching her hand out to touch the barrier.
Naruto watched in fascination as the barrier did not grow for her, and her hand actually pushed past it. She withdrew her hand, and looked at it. It was now drenched. "This is really cool Naruto!" She squealed in delight. Naruto looked at her with a slight blush. Why did he like the way his name rolled off of her tongue? She looked at him, before her eyes widened. "Naruto! Your eyes… they're… glowing." She told him, locked onto his eyes and staring at them. "Wait, really!?" Naruto exclaimed, reeling back and trying to find something to look at his eyes with.
The Namikaze Girl nodded her head vigorously, clearly excited by the gleam in her eye and the childish smile she had plastered onto her face. "Are you channeling chakra to your eyes, Naruto?" The girl questioned, staring intently at him. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "I… I don't know how to do that…" Naruto mumbled, looking away from the girl with an embarrassed look. "Hmm? What'd you say Naruto?" The girl pestered once more, leaning closer into him to try and hear him. "I said I don't know how to do that okay!" Naruto told her loudly, angrily shaking his fists. God, now she'd make fun of him! Like everyone else had! It wasn't his fault his parents were just merchants! Naruto huffed and turned around, crossing his arms and angrily glaring at the crater that was once his home.
He felt a soft grip on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around reluctantly. He met the soft smiling face of the Namikaze girl. "That's alright, at least it answers my question. You didn't always have those purple eyes of your's, did you?" The girl questioned like she already knew the answer. Naruto looked at her oddly, tilting his head and raising a brow, before shaking his head and touching his chin. "No, my eyes were blue before…" Naruto started shaking, looking down at the crater of his home. "Before…" Naruto balled his fists, tears began to build in his eyes. "Before my parents died." His voice was cold, his shaking suddenly stopped, and a single tear dripped off of his nose. The girl placed her other hand on his other shoulder, and snaked the other one further around his back and patted it slightly.
"Hey, it's alright. You're okay, aren't you?" She asked, trying to console him. "No. No it's not alright! I get to live while my parents don't! That man took them away from me for no reason! And he smiled while he did it!" Naruto growled, grasping in front of his stomach for something to strangle. He was so… angry now. Why was he angry? He didn't understand. He knew he couldn't get them back, so why was he angry? He should be thankful he's alive. He knows they wouldn't want him to be mad, so why was he? Naruto's lips parted and he stopped grasping the area in front of him, a high pitched ringing blocking out any other noise. Why was he mad? Was this what revenge was? This cruel, cold feeling in his chest? It constricted his lungs, pressed on his heart, made it feel like his ribs were going to crack under the pressure. Naruto decided he didn't like the feeling.
Naruto raised his head and met the, was she worried?, eyes of the Namikaze girl. Then, Naruto furrowed his brows. Why didn't he know her name? It was on the tip of his tongue. Why couldn't he think of it? His anger was forgotten, cast away, when he realized this fact. Had he not been so absorbed with thinking of her name, he would've wondered about how he found it so easy to forget his anger. "Hey, I'm sorry but uh… wha-what's your… N-name?" Naruto asked shyly, looking away from her to avoid the embarrassment it would generate and the anger he'd see in her eyes. She looked at him, before shaking her head and dislodging her arms from around him. "It's Natsumi, Namika-" "Oh shut up I know you're a Namikaze. All everyone calls you is The Namikaze Princess. Pfft. That's stupid. I wanted to know your name so I didn't become one of those idiots." Naruto told her with conviction, his eyes fiery.
Natsumi stared at him, her lips parting and her mouth trying to formulate words, before she settled on a smile. "That… means a lot to me. Most people see me as the Hokage's Daughter. But… I just want them to look at me and see Natsumi, not Namikaze or my Father or Hokage's Daughter or anything stupid like that." Natsumi explained, looking down with a sad expression. She felt Naruto's hand grip her shoulder tightly, the boy knowing no restraint with anything he did, before he tipped her chin up with his index finger. She looked into his eyes, and watched as he raised a finger up to point at her while his eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a grimace.
"Oi! Don't give me that crap, alright? Those people are idiots. They are stupid idiots just trying to get in good with you so that they can get closer to your father. I don't give a crap about your dad being the Hokage! All I see him as is someone to surpass! Someone to get better than! So, Natsumi, don't give me this sap story, alright? Because, I don't need it. I only saw you as the Namikaze Girl, because everyone was too stupid to tell me your real name, and I wasn't interested enough to go and ask you. But, now, I see you for who you are. Natsumi. Not Natsumi Namikaze, just Natsumi. Got that!?" Naruto questioned angrily, his finger pointing at her and making jabbing motions when he finished.
Despite his rough nature, and his extremely blunt words, Natsumi found herself smiling, nodding her head as he dislodged his grip from her shoulder. "Good." Naruto groaned out, turning around to look at the barrier around them again. He stared at it, before walking to the other end of the barrier, the one closer to the road, or where his door used to be. He touched the barrier, and once more it expanded. "How far do you think this can get?" Naruto questioned out loud, though he did not wait for Natsumi's answer before he pressed forward once more.
The barrier stretched to accommodate him as he began to walk forward, and Naruto gained confidence, running forward, the barrier matching his speed and stretching forward. The rain did not hit Naruto, nor did it hit Natsumi who watched from his house. Naruto looked up, excited as he ran, until a single droplet of rain hit the very center of his forehead, and flowed down between his eyes. "Huh?" Naruto muttered, before suddenly the rain began to pour once more, the barrier gone.
Natusmi watched from the crater as Naruto stared up at the rain, the dark sky meeting his gaze and unwavering in its own gaze. She went to reach out for him with her hand, but stopped. Why had she never seen this before? Why did the boy look so… lonely. He merely stood there, in the rain, his shoulders slumped forward and his arms dangling down to his thighs. He just… stood there. Aimlessly. He looked lost. Natsumi reached out with her hand, but found that whatever words she could've formed, died in her throat. She felt her chest clench slightly, before she shook her head and ran to him.
Okay. New story here. Also, this is the longest chapter I've ever written. Crazy I guess. Anyway, tell me what you think. Uh… Pairing... Probably Naruto x Natsumi x Sasuke. I could include others if you want, and If i think it could work. Anyway, tell me what you think, and I'm out.