Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters.

Soul of the Senju

Chapter 1: Pauper Prince

June 9, 2012

Naruto stretched out his arms in a lazy yawn as he flopped heavily onto his back. The faded tin can in his right hand jingled loudly with the motion, and he quickly righted it to keep the contents from spilling out.

Holding the can over his face, he gave it a lazy, little shake. The rattle of the coins inside brought a wide grin to his face. It wasn't much. It probably wasn't even enough to buy a cold sandwich, but it was his – money that he had earned entirely on his own. Ideally, he would have liked his first job to be something more…cool. He was, after all, going to be the next Hokage! But then, how many Hokages could claim that their first job was begging?

Dropping the can beside him, he folded his arms comfortably under his head and basked in the mid-morning sunlight with a self-satisfied smile. If his mother could see him now…

"She'd probably punch me through the wall." Naruto finished aloud as he scratched absently at a small patch of mud caked to his cheek. But likely only after she'd completely flayed his godfather…

Naruto cringed slightly at the thought. For once, the man would be completely undeserving of the punishment. Well, maybe not completely, he didabandon him in the hotel after all. But he probably didn't deserve to have his head bashed in for simply taking his eyes off him for a few hours either.

Crossing his legs, Naruto sat up with a sulky look on his face as he rested his chin on his upturned hand. Great, now he was feeling guilty. But, it wasn't like he was trying to get his godfather in trouble for the fun of it (at least, not this time). He was doing it for a good cause. Honest.

"Is that right?" his conscience questioned. The voice sounded strangely like Shizune-nee's. "Are you sure about that?"

Of course he was! Naruto frowned. He was doing this to save all the orphans that were being kidnapped. Who knew what was happening to those poor kids?

"Then why didn't you tell Jiraiya-sama?" his Shizune-like conscience questioned. "Why did you run off by yourself? It's not like he would have just stood by and said 'not my problem'".

Naruto glared at his conscious. Okay, maybe there was a little bit of selfishness involved. Was it wrong that he wanted to accomplish something on his own for once and to live up to his namesake? It didn't change the fact that he was still mostly doing this to save the orphans.

His conscious was mercifully silent this time, but he still couldn't help feeling slightly anxious. Chewing his lips as he mulled over the situation, Naruto's face appeared unnaturally stony. Originally, he had planned to finish this business within three days, which would have given him enough time to get back before his godfather started posting up 'Lost Child – Wanted' signs.

At the time, he had thought: How long could it take to free a couple of orphans from some slave traders? The mission was going to be easy.

Except he's been waiting for close to seven days now, posing as a poor orphan, and there was still no sign of the slave traders. He really wished the idiots would just get on with it and kidnap him already. He knew they were suspicious because he was new in town, and wanted to make sure he was an orphan before making their move. But seriously? It's been days.

Ruffling his hair in frustration, Naruto grimaced when his hand came into contact with his hair. Picking at a clump of muddied hair, he mourned the loss of his usual soft, blond strands. Come to think of it, he mused, I haven't showered since the day before I ran off. He had honestly been planning to take a shower when his godfather's stupid bird had begun tapping on the window. He hadn't meant to intercept the message, but he had somehow ended up reading it anyway. Then, one thing led to another, and he'd decided to forgo the shower altogether in his haste to make it out of town before his godfather noticed.

Curiosity, Naruto conceded, was a horrible thing – especially in people who had a tendency to act on it.

Absently, he dug into the pocket of his pants and pulled out the small scrap of paper that had set off the entire series of events. Under normal circumstances, he probably would have left the message alone (he didn't want to risk the chance of ending up reading something dirty, after all). However, he'd noticed that the carrier falcon was different from the one ero-sennin usually used to converse with his editor. He had only meant to take a peak since his godfather never shared anything with him about what he did outside of 'perving' on women. But then, lo and behold, he realized he recognized the elegant penmanship on the unsigned note, and ended up reading the entire thing.

The last time his brother had wrote home (which, incidentally, was months ago), he had been somewhere in Suna for a business deal to promote the goodness of cup ramen (his hero!). Much to their mother's ire, however, he hadn't written again since then. Supposedly, his business was doing pretty well, and he didn't have time to write all the time.

Naruto thought that was bull.

He'd always known his brother was too cool to be just a simple merchant. The note, he thought with glee, proved what he had been suspecting for years. His brother was somehow secretly involved with their godfather's spy network! After all, if the man was only a merchant, why send a note to them (okay, maybe not him) about orphans being kidnapped off the streets of Tanzaku-gai? It seemed a little weird for a –

Naruto's head snapped up at the sound of footsteps approaching his little stakeout, which was conveniently located on the main road leading into the town. Convenient, that is, for getting kidnapped. Yeah, I'm basically handing myself to them on a silver platter, Naruto groused, and no one's taking it. If he was lucky, he'd finally be kidnapped today.

He wasn't holding his breath though.

"Sensei~," a whining voice reached his ears just as the odd group crested over the small slope. Odd, however, was putting it nicely. If people thought his family was mismatched, this group was downright weird. Some people, in passing, had commented that his godfather's hairstyle was borderline ridiculous, but at least his hair didn't stick upwards like a broom.

The strangest one by far, however, was the lone girl in the group. Is the pink hair dyed or a part of a bloodline limit?

Tearing his eyes from the girl's hair, he turned his attention to the two boys on the team (they weren't wearing forehead protectors, but he could easily recognized the formation as a genin team). Naruto conceded that they were relatively normal-looking. Well, one of them was. He skin was a little pale, but he'd seen paler ones (on his brother). The last boy, however, looked like he had attempted to cut his hair after getting smashed on sake. One side was clearly longer than the other, giving him a lopsided look…and was he wearing a monk's robe?

Naruto would have been perfectly content to let them pass without fuss. He didn't want to risk complications with a ninja team, after all, and he had learned through experience to be careful around jounins. Even though the team sensei had a dorky look, Naruto had a feeling that he was more capable than he let on. Probably.

But then, as if to spite his 'kindness', the lopsided one just had to throw it back in his face.

There was a loud pow, followed by a light plonk and the sound of scattered coins.

Oh, no he didn't, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the mess in front of him.

Oh, yes he did! The damn bastard just kicked over his can! Righteous fury welled up within him. Naruto liked to think that he was a pretty forgiving person on most occasions. But this…Fisting his hand in the boy's robes, he pulled the genin towards him and snarled, "Oi, you lopsided bastard, you better either be ready to prove that you're blind or be prepared to pick that up!" Well, he was pretty forgiving in comparison to his mother. She would have forgone the threats (leaving offenders without a chance to correct their wrongs) and simply pummeled them into the –

"Back off!" The boy twisted out of his hold, shoving him back and baring his teeth in an angry snarl. "Touch me again and I'll snap the bones in your –"

"Sora!" The sharp tone had the boy scowling darkly, but he backed off after seeing the warning look in his sensei's eye.

Seeing the mutinous look on the boy's face, Naruto had to forcibly bite back the urge to scream: Bring it on, bastard! There weren't many genin teams (much less a single genin) that could beat him in an all-out fight, but he had enough self-preservation to not pick a fight with a jounin.

"It figures the idiot can't resist kicking a can." the other boy sneered derisively.

Scowl dimming slightly, Naruto quirked a questioning eyebrow. Was the boy actually arguing against his teammate?

"Sasuke-kun's right." the pink-haired girl immediately piped in, casting a shy glance towards the boy she was agreeing with. Despite the fact that she was 'helping' him, Naruto was left with the distinct impression that she honestly couldn't have cared less about what happened to his can. "You shouldn't –"

Another angry snarl from the first boy had her quickly backtracking and hiding behind the other.

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That was plain pathetic. Never had he been gladder that his mother and nee-chan were kunoichis made of tougher stuff than this.

"What? Am I hearing correctly?" the first boy taunted, a malicious sneer on his face. "Is the pampered prince actually lowering himself to defend filth?" Naruto glowered at the reference (he may be filthy, but he wasn't filth!). "Well, maybe I'll just tear you up instead."

"I'd like to see you try, idiot." Naruto was impressed by the perfect sneer on the boy's face that told, without words, exactly what he thought of the other. "Or do you want me to remind you what the underside of my shoes look like…again?"

As the two boys tossed increasingly violent threats back and forth, Naruto was surprised that the sensei only made half-hearted attempts at mediation. Obviously, he didn't think they'd actually act on it. However, Naruto had seen fistfights break out for lesser things than this, and had a feeling that they'd be at each other's throats as soon as the jounin took his eyes off them.

As the voices moved further and further away, Naruto was vaguely aware that he'd been forgotten. The prankster within him bristled at the obvious dismissal, but he easily crushed the urge to run after them. He was on a mission, he reminded himself. He was supposed to be under disguise. But, he promised to himself with a mischievous smile, if they ever met again after this, he'd make damn well sure that they never forgot the name 'Senju Naruto'.


Naruto hummed an off-beat little tune as he strolled down the empty streets. By his side, his dented can jingled loudly, happy to be full. It'd probably be happier though, he thought darkly, if it hadn't been kicked hard enough to leave a permanent dent!

Considering what had happened earlier that day and the fact that he still hadn't been kidnapped, Naruto was in a rather good mood. Of course, he'd probably be happier if his stomach was half as full as his can. As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, his stomach suddenly grumbled in protest, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since the half-bitten bagel someone had tossed him out of pity.

Tilting his head upwards, Naruto looked at the position of the stars and roughly estimated the time to be around midnight. He doubted any food stalls were still open, but he absolutely hated the idea of going to bed on an empty stomach. Coming to a quick decision, Naruto turned and headed for the bar. Hopefully, he wouldn't be mistaken for a beggar and kicked out again. Stupid prejudiced bastards, he thought unkindly, remembering how the owner's smiling face immediately turned into a sneer after taking stock of his tattered clothes and muddied face. I should have kicked his ass! If his treatment was anything to by, this was probably how he treated all orphans and –

Swoosh

Naruto's eyes quickly darted to the left. The two figures darting through the streets could be considered rather fast by normal, civilian standards. However, to the trained eye, they were moving unbelievably slow. Slow enough to the point that he could easily tell they were the same two genins he had met earlier that day.

Heeding his instincts, he quickly stepped into the shadow of an empty stall. Not a second later, the silver-haired jounin exited the alley with his female student in tow. After taking a quick sweep of the empty streets with his lone eye, the jounin led the girl down the opposite direction.

Bubbling with curiosity, his stomach suddenly didn't feel so hungry anymore.

Deciding it would not only be easier, but safer to tail two genins, Naruto quickly moved down the street that he had seen the two boys take. It took less than a minute for him to catch up. Way too slow, he thought, a large grin spreading across his cheeks. Making sure to keep a safe distance to avoid detection, he quietly followed the two.

As the minutes passed, the two genins gradually moved slower and slower until they were practically dragging their feet. What the hell? Naruto though irritably. He was seriously beginning to regret choosing them over food. He was hungry again because they were so boring!

"Why the hell are you still following me, bastard?" one of them sneered, suddenly raising his voice. It had been apparent to Naruto that they had been arguing for some time now, but it was still the first time that he could actually catch their conversation. "I can handle this myself. So why don't you go back now?"

"Tch," the other responded, distaste dripping from each word. "Unfortunately, we were told to do this together."

"You expect me to believe that? You rarely obey sensei." the first shot back, casting his partner an irritated glance. "Oh, I get it." He suddenly crowed with delight, coming to a full stop. "You're scared of the dark! Are you afraid to walk back by yourself? Is that it? Want me to hold your hands, baby Sasuke?" he asked.

Naruto wasn't sure what was so insulting (in comparison to other insults) about the term 'baby Sasuke', but apparently it was enough to provoke the other into attacking. After watching them exchange blows for a few seconds, Naruto was fully prepared to ignore the odd duo and head back to the bar. The idea of a warm meal sounded really good right –

Naruto tensed at the sound of approaching footsteps. The two genins were either too engrossed in their fight to notice or simply too irritated with one another to care because neither bothered to look up. Even after being completely surrounded by the men, the two were still focused entirely on each other. It'd be cute if they were trying to stab each other to death, Naruto thought idly.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot tonight, boys." One of the men shouted, finally drawing the two genins' attention from one another. "It's such a hassle, you see." he explained as if he had been asked a question. "Our base is pretty far from here, and it's such a waste to come here for one orphan. But our boss insisted that the kid would fetch a pretty penny."

For some reason, Naruto had a feeling they were referring to him. Of all the darn luck! He'd been trying to get 'napped for days, and they show up now. If the two genins somehow scared them off, he'd probably never get a chance to find out what happened to the other orphans!

"But now that you two are here, this trip is beginning to be worth it!" the man cackled, stepping closer to the duo. "This one especially," he said, pointing a whip towards the paler genin, and tilting his chin up. The boy batted the whip aside and scowled darkly. "His face is so pretty it makes the other kid look ugly."

Naruto glowered, torn between disgust that the freaks had been eyeing his face (with intentions of selling him) and irritation that he was considered ugly in comparison to one of the genins. Yeah, he'd seen the boy up close. Some girls might go for it, he conceded, but he was definitely the cuter one! Focus Naruto, he scolded himself, realizing his thoughts were taking a weird turn. This was so not the time for this. He needed to get in there and get kidnapped, dammit!

The man holding the whip made a motion, and the others with him quickly surged forward.

Blue eyes taking in the quick movements, Naruto was slightly surprised to find the two genins gradually being pushed back by the horde of men. They're not simple slave traders, he thought to himself. There were definitely ninjas in their ranks. Hired hands, maybe?

Purposely stumbling forward as if he had tripped, Naruto shrieked, "W-What's going on here!"

For a split second, everyone stopped as all eyes trained on him. Then, as if someone had pressed the 'play' button, everything suddenly resumed. Some men immediately broke from the others and charged towards him. Falling backwards, Naruto made sure to sit on his hands so he wouldn't end up reflexively retaliating.

He waited for bated breath as several hands reached for him and –

"Move, idiot!" A body was suddenly blocking his vision, fending off the men.

Naruto blinked as he stared uncomprehendingly at the pale face glaring at him. Did he just –? Seriously? Under normal circumstances, he'd probably appreciate the gesture. But he'd been trying to get kidnapped for days now! No one was going to get in the way of that now!

"No, we should run together!" he shouted, latching onto his arm and pulling him back. Well, they'd run together and he'd make sure he tripped on the way or something.

The genin – Sasuke, his mind supplied – shot him an irritated look. "Look, I can handle this. Just." He heaved with the effort to pry his fingers off his arm. "Go." He succeeded in dislodging two before Naruto latched onto his other arm with his free hand.

Naruto was aware the two of them likely made a ridiculous image with him clinging to the other boy like a leech, pleading with him to run when the boy in question probably wanted nothing more than to pry him off his back.

Clang

As Sasuke kicked one of the attackers back a few steps, Naruto secretly admitted that he was slightly impressed. If the boy could still manage to fend off attackers despite having another person literally weighing him down, then he probably wasn't as bad as he originally –

"Ouch, you bastard!" Naruto shouted as the boy suddenly elbowed him in the face. He couldn't believe he had let down his guard enough to be hit.

"Go, idiot!" the boy shouted, turning to pin him with a dark look in between one of his breaks. "You're only getting in the way!"

Naruto bristled at the insinuation, but brushed it aside knowing that he really was being a pain.

Looking up when he sensed the other genin's approach, Naruto knew he was going to have to take drastic measures if he wanted to be taken in peace. If distracting Sasuke alone was hard enough, the two of them together would be unmanageable. Just as he was contemplating grabbing both genins and running (and then ditching them somewhere before heading back to confront the slave traders), the other genin – Sora, if he remembered correctly – suddenly shot the entire plan to hell.

"What are you doing –?"

Bam

"What the –" Naruto shouted, reflexively reaching out to catch the body slumping towards him. He barely caught the delighted look on the other genin's face as he zipped past them before he suddenly found himself surrounded, locked in place by various weapons.

Well, this is great. He thought sarcastically. He'd finally got his wish and got kidnapped.

He just wished he'd accomplished it without extra baggage.

Looking down at the slumped form in his arms, Naruto couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of anger. Not at the boy slumped in his arms. Sure, he'd put a wrench in his plans, but he had confidence he'd be able to save them both after accomplishing his self-appointed mission.

No, he was disgusted by the other genin.

He'd never had teammates before because he wasn't an official ninja, but he'd heard stories from his godfather. Weren't teammates supposed to work together, supporting each other? Sure, they argued and fought. But to think one would actually betray the other?

It was unthinkable.


TBC

Author's Note: Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed this and would like me to continue. I'm open to constructive criticism as well. Thanks for reading!