Chapter One: The Unknown Birthday

(AN): Hello everybody! I'm dragonmaster3627, and this is the first fanfiction I have ever written. I just had this brilliant idea for a femnaru fanfic and I want to see what everyone thinks. Now, be warned, I plan on making this get pretty intense, but not in the violent sort of way, if you know what I mean. Starts out a little depressing, but it will get better. Please review and let me know how I'm doing. Thank You!

FYI: This story starts a week before October 10 (Naruto's Birthday). Now on with the story!

"Alright, class. Everyone out to the field for laps. And if I hear any complaints, we'll double it," Iruka told the grumpy class. "Just because the Nine Tails festival is next week doesn't mean you can slack off."

"Umm…Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, looking decidedly nervous for a change. "C-can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

As the rest of the class was heading out, Iruka said, "This better not be another one of your pranks, Naruto!"

"No, it's not! Honest!" Naruto said hastily.

"Alright, then, what is it?" Iruka asked, growing suspicious.

"C-can I, um, t-take the next week off from school?" Naruto asked, his head hanging down while he poked his fingers together.

"And why would I do that?!" Iruka practically screamed.

As he shrank in his seat, Naruto said, "Please, I'm begging you! There is some important stuff I absolutely need to take care of. I swear on my life: it's not prank!" He paused before adding in a much quieter voice, "And if I break my word, you can ben me from Ichiraku Ramen for life."

As that last comment was spoken, Iruka immediately grew concerned. "Naruto, what's wrong? For you to put ramen on the line for life, this has to be serious. Did something happen? Come on, Naruto, I getting worried."

"Nothing happened!" Naruto said quickly. After a second, he mumbled, "At least, not yet, it hasn't."

"Fine, I'm not going to pry. Here, take the assignments for the next week and bring them back with you when you come back, alright?"

"Yeah, thanks Iruka-sensei."

~The Next Day~

"Hey, anybody seen Naruto?" one kid asked.

"Eh, who cares? Without him around its pretty quiet." Shikamaru said

"Yeah, but hey! I wonder what he and Iruka-sensei were talking about. Naruto was looking pretty down yesterday." Ino said.

At that moment, Iruka walk into the classroom. "Alright, class. I won't beat around the bush: Naruto has some external circumstances he can't escape, so he will be out for the next week. Now before any assumptions are made, I will tell you this: He said that he'll never eat ramen again if he pulls a prank in the next week." A collective gasp could be heard throughout the room, one even escaping Sasuke's mouth. "Yeah, shocking right? So please don't harp on him this time. I mean, he can't even defend himself right now. Alright, on with the lesson."

~Four Day Later ~

Iruka just ended class for the day and left, leaving the kids to chat amongst themselves.

"Hey, what do you think Naruto has been doing?" Choji asked.

"I don't know, but I hope it's not another prank." Shikamaru complained.

"Maybe he's out training?" Ino suggested. After a pause, everyone burst out laughing.

"Yeah, right! Like Naruto would ever seriously train!" Sakura laughed.

"Well then, what else could he be doing?" Sasuke asked. "I mean, to put ramen on the line for life? Something's got to serious."

"Um… Why don't we all check on him tomorrow after school? Then we would know if it really was prank or not," Hinata said meekly.

At that everyone just looked at their feet. "Yeah, why don't we all just check to make sure it's not a prank? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" Kiba said after a few moments.

"Yeah!" everyone chorused.

"Um… Does anyone know where he lives?" Sakura asked. After everyone looked at each other for a few minutes, they all realized none of them knew where he lived.

"This might be harder than I thought." Kiba stated.

-Cue facefault-

~The Next Day, After School~

"Um… Iruka-sensei?" Kiba called.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Naruto lives? I'm getting kinda worried about him, and I want to make sure he's okay."

Iruka sighed. "He lives in the apartments to the east of the Hokage tower. It's the one under the overhang."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" Kiba jumped out the window and ran off. The others all went their separate ways, to throw Iruka off the trail, and met Kiba at the apartments. "Hey guys, keep quiet. You should really hear this."

The group went silent for a moment, listening for something, when a hammer struck steel three times in succession. Then it stopped for a moment, only to continue again.

"Hey, Sasuke. Could you take a look inside through the window? It's on the other side of the building. Please don't let him know we're here." Kiba asked.

Sasuke complied without a word. He looked in through the window, not sure what he was going to find. But that didn't mean what he saw didn't startle him. Naruto was hammering steel plates together. It looked like armor, but for what, Sasuke couldn't tell. He looked around a bit more, and saw that all the walls that connected with the outside were covered in armor plating. Intrigued, Sasuke looked at the door: It had to have at least twenty different locks on it. And the hinges had been reinforced with strips of bronze. He glanced around once more, this time making sure to look up. On top of the window frame were three steel hinges and a piece of rope. He could only guess what they were for.

Sasuke reported back to the group with his findings.

"You're telling us that Naruto has been reinforcing his home? Man, it's almost like he's preparing for an all-out assault against him." Kiba said.

"But why?" Ino asked.

"Who knows?" Sakura responded.

"Wait a second," Shikamaru said, "Could this have something to do with the Nine Tails festival tomorrow?"

"But why would prepare for an attack during the festival? Isn't it just the celebration of when the Fourth Hokage defeated the Nine Tails eight years ago?" Choji asked.

"I don't know that, but I do know that something doesn't add up." Shikamaru said.

"I'll check on him again during the festival. Once I do, I'll let all of you know what Shikamaru kames of it." Sasuke said.

Every one nodded their agreement, and turned in for the night.

~The Next Day, During the Festival~

Sasuke made his way to the apartment. The fireworks had just ended, and the giant Nine Tails float was burning. When he got there, what he saw utterly shocked him: The door had been dented from the outside, and the walls had holes in them, some so deep you could see the steel plating on the other side. He rushed over to the window, and found that it had been sealed shut with steel. There was broken glass all over the place. When he heard movement from inside, he hid around the corner. He watched as the steel plating was pulled back.

When it stopped moving, Sasuke carefully moved back to the window and listened for any activity to settle down before taking a peek. He saw Naruto sitting at his table, a cupcake with a single little candle in front of him. Then the clock struck midnight, signaling that it was now October Tenth.

Sasuke froze, not sure what he was about to see.

Then Naruto started to sing: "Happy Birthday, to Me. Happy Birthday… to Me. Happy… Birthday… Dear Naruto… Happy… Birthday… To… Me…" and with that final note, A tear fell down his cheek as he blew out the candle, and he made no move to wipe it away. "I wish I knew so many things: why I'm alone, why everyone hates me, but most of all, who my parents were and why they died." As Naruto said this, another tear fell down his cheek, and still he made no move to wipe them away.

Sasuke didn't know what to make of what he just saw, but as promised two days before, he reported to Shikamaru with the details of his discovery. "Wait, do you know how old he is?"

"This is his first year at the academy, so I'm pretty sure that this is his eighth birthday. But, to be born during the Nine Tail's attack, what does it mean?" Sasuke asked.

"I still don't know, but from the looks of things, I don't like it one bit. We're still missing an important piece of information: why the villagers keep hating and attacking him. Until we know that, we can't do anything." Shikamaru explained.

"Right."

(AN): Whew, that was long. So how do you think it's going so far? Please add some suggestions in your reviews. Also, I would like to include an OC, but I trouble with all the stats. So if any of you out there have one you want to run by me, just put it in with your review.

Until next time!