Oni

The Path of a Shinobi

By DarthXelas

Summary

Hey, all. This is going to be my first fan fiction that I've ever posted on the web. I hope that you like it and even if you don't, I hope that you all will write reviews regardless. If you haven't noticed, this is a Naruto fanfic, but it will NOT be about Naruto the character. Yes, there will be times that he will appear and yes he will be different from the normal Naruto, but alas he is not the main character of the story. So if you don't like that, please, stop reading now and don't leave a review on how you wish he was the main character, because those will just waste valuable writing time.

I will try my best to update regularly, but as a fair warning, it took me a couple months of writing to finish the first chapter, so there will be times that I won't have anything to put down. I'll be dividing each chapter into parts, to space out my story, because I don't think I can put a 123 paged chapter down in one go. :P

Well, without further ado, I give you Oni, Path of a Shinobi.

Hints

Italicized words are thoughts…

Parentheses typically explain or translate something…

Introduction

Wolves. Damn wolves. That was the thought that Katsuro woke with every morning, because no matter how well he shielded his mind he would always dream of them. In truth, he had nothing against wolves, mainly because if he did, the Inuzuka clan would have his head. But not even in Kiba's or his entire clan's wildest nightmares could compare to the images that appeared in his dreams. A great white wolf, white as the moon, tails as menacing as snakes and eyes filled with such an evil intent that it locked you in a frozen state of madness…that, and the knowledge that such a monster existed inside of you made it extremely hard to sleep. So, as always the thirteen year old boy snapped awake with a start.

There were times that the nightmares weren't that bad and all that would "snap" would be Katsuro's eyes, but on this particular morning the boy sat fully upright from his small cot on the floor with sweat covering his entire body. Seeing how this particular night was rather disturbing, Katsuro took his time and gathered his thoughts, allowing the fear and stress to pass. Once his heartbeat had slowed, he rose from his bed and went to his small window looking outside.

As always, it was nearly two hours earlier than he needed to be awake, for the sun wasn't even up. Sighing, Katsuro took his view from the window and made his way to a small wooden desk at the opposite side of the room. Turning on the lamp light, thus filling the room with a dim radiance, he reached over to the alarm clock and switched it off so he wouldn't have to deal with the noise later. From there he quietly left the room, entered a hallway and took a right at the first and only door, the bathroom.

As per habit, seeing how he lived alone and it made it hard to hear things in his surroundings, he left the door open and turned on the light. After answering nature's call he, looked in the mirror above the sink and stared at the tired face before him.

Katsuro was young, barely 13. His dark skin contrasted with the white walls of the bathroom and his neck length dread locks made him stand out in a crowd. Yet while he had the face of a thirteen year old, his body and eyes resembled something else entirely. His body was basically all muscle, a result of daily shinobi (ninja) training at the academy and his eyes were the strange blue eyes of the Oni Ookami (Demon Wolf) that resided in his mind and body.

Upon seeing those eyes, the young teen grunted and quickly turned on the water and splashed his face. Rubbing his face clean, Katsuro waited till the memories of his latest nightmare faded, only then did he open his eyes. This time, bright brown eyes stared back at him, causing a sigh of relief to come from him. It had been a long time since the wolf had caused such a change…why now?

Feeling his anger rise, the young ninja trainee began washing himself, for this was no normal day…today he was graduating and today was the day he kept a long overdue promise. There was no way ANYTHING, not even a Sanbi (Three tailed) Ookami was getting in his way.

"Damn wolves…" Katsuro muttered as he stripped his bed wear and climbed into the shower.

By the time the sun had become visible, the teen was dressed and in his living room/kitchen of his small apartment. Having never known his parents, Katsuro lived alone in the orphan housing in the village. Despite his age, the boy was more than capable of taking care of himself and required little maintenance from the land lady of the place, nor did he cause much trouble. His neighbor however, Naruto Uzumaki, sometimes was berated by the kind old lady due to the catastrophic noise he made whenever he was late…like the noise he was making now which could easily be heard through the wall.

"OH NO!!" yelled the Naruto through the wall. "I woke up late AGAIN!!" Sounds of destruction soon followed.

Katsuro shook his head in humor; Naruto NEVER woke up on time. Even on the exam day he still overslept, thought Katsuro. Must be a mental disorder.

Ignoring the sounds of war from beyond the wall, Katsuro continued to eat his breakfast in silence as he brought his thoughts back to his own life. Today was more than an exam to the young trainee…today was the day he kept his promise to his only family left. I'm almost there Daichi…Sho…just wait a little longer.

Soon Katsuro finished his meal and cleaned up after himself, a habit that he built into himself. Once finished with that, the trainee heard a knock on his door. Looking over at the clock on the wall, Katsuro smirked. Perfect timing. Grabbing his ninja pouch, a bag filled with equipment such as kunai and explosive notes, Katsuro answered the door to two boys around his age. "Good mornin' guys," said Katsuro with a grin on his face, "here early for once."

"Yeah well," replied the one known as Hyuuga Akira, "we have a reason this morning." Akira was a tall kid, about Katsuro's height, that wore glasses, which was strange considering the clan he descended from. Being from the Hyuuga clan, he had extremely fine shoulder length hair that was tied in a pony tail and a pair of pale lavender, eyes, without any visible pupils. Being from the branch family, he bore a mark on his forehead which was covered by a blue bandanna. He wore a white sleeveless vest, which was open, exposing the dark blue t-shirt underneath. He also had a pair of white shorts on that went down to his shins and had plenty of pockets, along with a pair of blue sandals.

Yawning, the other kid nodded his agreement with Akira's statement. Katsuro couldn't help but smile at him, for he knew the kid could care less anyway.

"Don't look too excited Hideaki," said Katsuro to his yawning friend. "You might end up hurting yourself with the effort."

The lazy boy known as Hideaki opened one eye to look at Katsuro and replied in the middle of his yawn, "Fuck you." With that, he continued to yawn as if no one said anything, causing Katsuro and Akira to chuckle at his antics. Hideaki, like Katsuro, was an orphan that lived in the same housing. Having no memory of his past and not really caring, the dark eyed kid didn't know his last name or where he was from. He had short black hair which was combed back save for a single bang which hung lazily in his face. He was quite a bit shorter than his two friends, Katsuro and Akira, but not quite as short as Naruto, who could still be heard from his apartment as he scrambled to get ready. He was also a bit more muscular. According to the females their age, he was quite the looker…of course he didn't care.

Hideaki and Katsuro had a nasty habit of dressing like each other which was proven as they both sported black, shin length shorts and a black shirt with a high neck, along with a pair of black sandals. The only difference between their two outfits was that Hideaki's shirt had no sleeves and he wore a pair of fingerless gloves, while Katsuro's shirt DID have short sleeves and he had white bandages wrapping up both of his lanky arms, up to his elbows. Seeing that they had dressed alike again, both of the boys said the same thing at the same time.

"Why do you ALWAYS copy me…" they said in unison, causing Akira to fall out laughing.

"Hey!" yelled Katsuro with a vein pulsing on his forehead. "Look here short stuff!!"

"Who are you callin' short, bean stalk!?" retorted Hideaki.

Growling, the two dropped it and sighed as Akira continued to laugh. He however stopped laughing as the two stared him down.

Raising his hands in a surrendering gesture, Akira spoke. "Hey, I'm not laughing at anybody…just enjoying the morning."

Laughing, the three began to walk off, after Katsuro shut and locked his door. They didn't make it two steps until Naruto suddenly busted free of his room in a panicked hurry. Frantically locking his door, the short, blonde kid rushed past the three clad in his orange and white jumpsuit, yelling as he went. "I don't believe I woke up late! I have to get to the Academy now!"

As Naruto dashed by, Hideaki raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "Um…"

Akira nodded. "Yeah, he's not wearing it."

"Hey Naruto!" yelled Katsuro after his neighbor. "Hold up!"

Naruto glanced back as he continued towards the steps. "Come on you guys," he shouted back, "we're going to be late!"

"And you are going to fail the exam!" yelled Hideaki.

Naruto stopped in his tracks and turned around with a confused expression. "Why do you say that?"

Katsuro shook his ninja pouch in front of him. "You aren't wearing yours nimrod."

Naruto blinked his blue eyes a couple of times then yelled as he dashed back to his door. Basically kicking the door open, the blonde kid rushed inside and began tearing his apartment to shreds as he searched for his ninja pouch.

The three stood in silence for awhile until Akira began to walk towards the steps.

"Where you goin'?" asked Hideaki with an eyebrow raised.

Akira glanced over his shoulder as he kept walking. "You two can be late on your exam day if you want…I'm sure as hell not going to though," he replied.

Hideaki and Katsuro watched as Akira made it to the steps and leapt over the railings down to the buildings below. Sighing Hideaki made his way after him saying something under his breath like "he has a point."

Left alone, Katsuro peeked into Naruto's place only to flinch at the sight and sounds. Rolling his eyes, the teen called into the apartment. "Hey Naruto! We're gone! Make sure you get there on time man!"

Naruto's voice responded from the back of the apartment. "I will, Believe It!"

Nodding, Katsuro took off after Hideaki and dashed for the railings. Taking his friend's idea, Katsuro simply leapt over the railing and landed on the building a couple of floors below. With that he took off, using the rooftops of the buildings, towards the academy. It was time to become a ninja.