The Fox that wants to be a Dragon

Starting Chapter

Part 1

Day 1

"It's your heart that makes your brain think of solutions and your body force your way through all obstacles. As long as you don't lose your heart, there is always a path you can find." - "That's the motto I, Naruto Uzumaki, follow in every second to become the greatest Hokage ever one day."

RIIIING!

That was the bell of the ninja academy. Finally, the boring geography lesson is over, only history is worse. Then again, other subjects don't fare much better. I grab my school bag and rush out of the classroom to have some extra training.

"The lesson is over. Train and study hard because the graduation tests are coming soon. It's ..." Iruka-sensei says, at least the part I could understand.

Soon, I'm away from ninja academy. My destination is a small clearing, not too far away from my apartment. On the way, I have some ramen for lunch. Eventually, I arrive at the clearing and set down my school bag next to a tree. This is the first three hour training session of two which are only interrupted by a short visit to my apartment for eating and drinking something.

Today, I start with taijutsu training. I walk over to the tree I wrapped something around to make it hurt less when I hit the tree. Punching is what I do first. A straight left, right hook to the side, right uppercut, left hook, … I do whatever comes to my mind. Sometimes an elbow is mixed in. This goes on until arms are burning and my fists get swollen. Some skin on my knuckles is also missing, but it will heal in no time. So far, everything healed without even a scar.

Next are kicks. High kick with the right leg, kick to the side with the other leg, right low kick, left knee, … Practicing kicks is done the same way as punches. Everything is pure intuition if you can really call it that with no opponent. After a while, my legs hurt, too.

That's how I train my offense which is bad. My defense sucks even more. With no sparring partner, it's difficult to train defending, and counterattacking outright impossible. I have to imagine an opponent so that I can block or evade his imaginary attacks for defense training. It feels really stupid and I hope no one will ever see this.

Concerning the basic physical traits, like strength, speed, endurance and also flexibility due to my improvised ways of attacking and defending, I'm one of the best. In sprinting, it's fifty-fifty against Sasuke, though in weight lifting I would own him, because I train that with logs sometimes. My classmates know how hard my punches and kicks are.

Against not that skilled opponents, that's enough. However, against opponents with good technique like Sasuke, I have to admit grudgingly that I don't have much of a chance. Spars often go like this: my opponent waits for my attack, evades it and counterattacks. I try to block or evade, too, but I'm not successful. My opponent unleashes a hail of punches and kicks and evades my punches and kicks easily. The really good ones even use them to bring out some combinations that use my force against me. After a few minutes, the spars are interrupted and the opponents wins by technical superiority, rarely by knockout since I'm used to getting beaten and taking a lot.

What I need, is better technique against them, getting good instruction on taijutsu instead of being sent out for a some minor offense or nothing at all. Once, I asked some taijutsu instructors if, maybe, they could help me a bit. They just glared at me and one of them said coldly: 'Get out! Nobody wants you here except the Hokage. You should be glad that you get anything, demon.' After that, I tried getting some books or scrolls from the library, but they didn't even let me in. Iruka-sensei could be asked, but he helps me so much much already. I don't want to bother him with every single problem.

I continue my training with weapons practice. I pull out several kunais and shuriken out of my school bag and put them in various places (pockets, pouches, …) on me. First, I train throwing kunais when standing and in motion. Later, I repeat the same thing with shuriken. The target is a tree with red circle sprayed on it with a red dot in the middle. It's about the same size as the targets used in the ninja academy. After I have thrown every weapon, I collect the ones that missed and pull out the ones that are stuck in the tree before I start with the kunais again.

All in all, it's really tough to hit with kunais, especially in motion. I often miss the target completely then. When standing about ten meters away, I hit slightly more than half of the time, though with a diffuse picture of the hits. I'm much better with shuriken.

Owing to the valuation mode, which is the same as in the whole graduation test, I'm going to pass weapons, probably. Every single test is evaluated separately. For passing, you have to get more than fifty percent of all points. You don't pass if you get fifty to thirty percent, less and you fail. If you don't pass, you get one negative point, for failing you get two. What decides whether you pass the graduation test and the subjects weapons and chakra manipulation or not, are the negative points, three negative points and you fail completely. Because of that, I'm sure that I'll pass weapons with two negative points in throwing kunais in motion.

Feeling better, I move on to the last part for now, training for chakra manipulation. I'm going to perform the three basic jutsus: Transformation, Substitution and Clone technique.

I start with my best skill. After making certain hand-seals, I transform into the Hokage, then Iruka-sensei, Teuchi and Ayame from Ichiraku's, an ANBU and various other people without any trouble. I'm so good at it that I've invented the Sexy Jutsu, but it's not funny if no pervert is around.

Oh well, second is the Substitution technique which I have improved a lot in this semester. It was one reason why I failed in chakra manipulation last semester. I don't want to even think about the scores on my previous attempts. I substitute with different objects all over the clearing successfully. The technique failed only once in twenty times, nothing compared to the coin flips during the last semester.

I breath out and close my eyes, fully concentrating on the third technique, visualizing the result. Two clones, one clone standing on my left side, the other one standing on my right side. I take a deep breath, bring my hands together, make the hand-seals for the Clone technique and shout.

"Clone technique!"

After opening my eyes, I'm greeted to the sight of the pale, left clone swaying because of its misshaped legs. In the end, it falls in its face and dissolves. The right clone is on its knees, struggling with breathing and surviving in general. Soon, I kick it with full force.

"Damn!"

I try it again. Failure. "Damn!" Again. Failure. "Damn!"

I try it again and again. Always the same result. Failure. The only thing that changes is my swearing.

At some point, I'm too tired, not physically, not from chakra exhaustion, but mentally, and stop after countless attempts.

"I failed again."

I gather all my stuff and walk towards my apartment on autopilot. After I close the apartment door, I lean on it for support. During the walk, I have calmed down mostly.

The situation in the subjects weapons and chakra manipulation is the same, at least from the points. I'm going to fail one part, thus get two negative points, and there is some danger of not passing another part, consequently failing at the whole subject. The risk of failing at weapons is even higher than in chakra manipulation, when I think about it. These are the pure facts.

The difference between them is that in weapons, I can convince myself that it's simply really hard throwing a kunai while in motion. Many struggle with passing the subject, avoiding the negative two. The others are not any different from me. I also notice that I'm improving in small, but noticeable steps.

However, the Clone technique is only my problem. Everyone who can perform jutsus is able to form perfectly healthy clones by now. Iruka-sensei, doesn't know what is wrong either. The right hand-seals plus about any amount of chakra should do it. I worked on the hand-seals with Iruka-sensei, but the result was the same. His next idea was that maybe I was overpowering the technique. I was told to use as few chakra as possible since the jutsu doesn't require much but nothing changed. Visualization, that's one difficult word, and concentration exercises couldn't help either. All further attempts failed, too. In the end, Iruka-sensei had to give up.

Why can I still not do it? What am I doing wrong?

I sigh heavily. No possible solution for what I have to change about the jutsu comes into mind. I'm completely out of ideas. Other students learned it within the first week and I, after one year and a half, still can't do it. Every idiot who can manipulate chakra is able to do this, except for me. My left fist hits my apartment door. I'm moving in circles here.

By shaking my head, I try to get out of my funk, with not much success. I need something to lift my mood.

After pushing myself from the apartment door, I walk towards the bed, sit down on it and grab my only book that isn't a school book on the nightstand. It's my favorite book called 'The Kingdom of Light'.

The old man often read it to me and gave it to me as a present a few years ago. He mentioned that it was probably the last copy in Konohagakure, maybe even in the land of fire. I've already read and listened to the story many times, unconsciously memorized parts of it. Yet it's always a joy to read it, because it never fails to cheer me up, since it's written in such positive way. It might be made for little children, but this story means a lot to me.

On the cover is a poor village with small and dark houses and some villagers with dirty and simple clothes in the foreground. On the street stand four young people. Around them, it's brighter than in the rest of the village.

The second to the left, who stands slightly ahead of the others, is a defiantly grinning 16-year-old boy called Lion. He has blond hair that frames his face making it look like a mane, wears an orange shirt and red trousers and carries a sword on him. He is the hero of the story and wants to overthrow the evil king Kuma so that his country is freed from him. Every day, he spends many hours with training his katas, no matter which weather. At first, he is alone but he can convince the three other people to join him. Together they try to beat the evil king Kuma of the Kingdom of Light and his knights. Their first attempt fails but they get another chance. In the end, he faces Kuma again and wins. Lion becomes the new king and brings peace, prosperity and happiness to the Kingdom of Light.

On Lion's left side is Usagi. She is a 15-year-old girl with blonde hair in two buns who wears a red blouse and a white skirt. Some knives are hidden on her, although she is not very proficient with them. She is a cheerful, optimistic girl, but a real klutz, however she can get out of even the most dangerous situations in really odd and funny ways. No one can keep being negative around her, a real moral booster even in dire times. She smiles brightly and makes a victory sign.

On Lion's right side stands the oldest person of the group with 18 years, smiling slightly. Her name is Neko. She has light brown hair in a ponytail that reaches down her back. She wears a yellow top and a baggy trousers with different green and brown tones. Her weapon is a spear. In the story, she fights the king's five royal guards, Kuma's most powerful knights, at the same time and still wins. She is described as very elegant during the fights and is also smarter and stronger than Lion in my opinion but somehow lacks the charisma and drive of him. In the group, she doesn't challenge the leader position of Lion. Instead, she gives advice and dissolves the disputes, mostly between Usagi and the youngest member Kitsune.

He is the spiky, red-haired boy on the right side with a mischievous smirk on his face. He wears a too long, light blue coat which is closed. He is the tactician of the group despite being only twelve years old. His specialty are traps for what he carries a huge number of tools in his coat. I tried out a few of his traps and they work in real life, too. When Kitsune starts to get bored, he starts pulling pranks on his teammates which are always successful except for once against Neko. After that, he has a huge tantrum. I chuckle. He really can't stand any type of losing at all. His body is slightly turned like he can't wait to go to the white castle in the background.

By the way, he was also the reason that all of the books were destroyed after the Kyubi attacked Konoha and aren't sold anymore. In spite of having the mannerisms of a kitsune, he is a good guy and you sympathize with him.

In the white castle in the background, you can see a figure wearing a crown and a black mantle, crossing his arms in front of his chest and laughing. This scumbag is the king of the Kingdom of Light, Kuma. He lets his people suffer, watching and laughing at their misery while enjoying his own wealth. Many attempted to overthrow him but he could fight off all attacks since he was the strongest person of Light and a very good swordsman. In the end though, he loses to Lion. He leaves the crown and flees.

In my opinion, the most important and strongest figure is missing on the cover. His name is Takou, a very old, huge, red dragon that can fly and spit fire. He always has at least a small smile on his face and gives things a funny spin. His goal is to make the world a happier world in general, which also affects the heroes and me.

He appears only in the middle of the story after the failed attempt. When Lion, Usagi, Neko and Kitsune get cornered by the knights, Takou appears from the sky spitting fire at them. The fire and the wind caused by his wings push the knights back. He lands in front of the group and flies away with them on his back. For one month, Takou is training them hard in funny, but in the end effective ways. The body, the brain and what he emphasizes the most, the heart.

'It's your heart that makes your brain think of solutions and your body force your way through all obstacles. As long as you don't lose your heart, there is always a path you can find.' These words are Takou's parting words while fighting off many knights without trouble.

Particularly, Lion takes Takou's lessons to heart. His goal changes from merely beating Kuma to becoming a true leader for the people in his country. His mind changes, too. He thinks about alternate ways of fighting, which decides the fight against Kuma in the end. When they are close, blade against blade, Lion not giving an inch by pure determination, he suddenly makes small step back and then kicks against Kuma's hand who lets go of his sword which flies a few meters away. Disarmed, Kuma surrenders directly after that.

Without Takou, that wouldn't have been possible. He gave them the strength to realize their desires. Not only that, he also gave me the strength to continue pursuing my dream to become the strongest ninja in the world and future Hokage. There is always a path you can find, as long as you don't lose your heart, and I won't! Believe it!

Yeah, I feel much better now. I stand up again energetically and set my book back on my nightstand. As much as I'd like to just read it, you can't become Hokage by just sitting around. I have to train, train and train. I have to chuckle. That sounds really like something Lion would say. I guess I'm a lot like him though I wonder how it would be to be Takou, a real dragon. Maybe not a real dragon, but a human that is exactly like him.

Hmm, sounds interesting. I move over to my full-length mirror. What would Takou look like if he was a human? Lots of red, smiling, strong, wise, old, wearing casual clothes, no too fancy stuff on it. I bring my hands together and the hand-seals for the transformation technique.

My spiky hair turns red. I grow a some inches. The baggy, orange jumpsuit transforms into red slacks and a red shirt. Moreover, I get old and wrinkly like the old man Hokage. It feels a bit uncomfortable. Overall, I'm not satisfied with the result.

First, the whisker marks on my cheeks have to go. Still, this is not good, not good at all. I rub my forehead. What's wrong? Then I hit the palm of my hand with my fist. "The age!" Takou may be centuries or millennia old, but he keeps his youth on the inside.

Therefore, I make myself appear younger, about three years older than my real age. Also, I turn the red slacks into cerulean trunks to fit with the youthful image and because Takou likes the sky. Another idea pops up and an image of a dragon appears on the shirt.

I want to continue but my stomach loudly reminds me of why I usually come home to begin with. I feel weak, hurry to kitchen and open the fridge. It's all empty except for a milk carton. I shrug and drink from it. Pfff! Coughing, I walk over to the sink and wash off the bad taste of spoiled milk in my mouth.

Next, I check my ramen storage. "WHAT THE HELL?! I can't be out of ramen, too!" I slump to the ground and pout. "Ramen left me, too."

I don't know how it got there, but a bread lies there and doesn't look too bad. I'd eat about anything right now. Great, it's as hard as a rock. Out of frustration, I throw it over my shoulder. The stale bread breaks the window and hits some guy on the street. I laugh out loud when I hear his 'Oooow'.

I bet I could do something better. I already get many ideas for good pranks on the bakery. Therefore, I write a note with 'Prank bakery' and stick it with a magnet on the door of the fridge. On my way there, I have stepped on something. It's a note from two days ago saying 'Buy groceries and ramen'. Like I need that note now! I crumble it and throw it into the bin.

After that, I grab my purse, my keys and some shopping bags. I leave my apartment. Soon, I walk on the street, though something is off. It's still the same rat hole, the same damaged houses, the same dubious shops, the same dirty streets, the same shady people, but somehow it feels different. I just can't put my finger on it.

When I pass a playground, nothing happens. Usually the parents shield their children.

I continue to walk to the market. More and more people pass me, walking, happily talking with each other, smiling, also at me, laughing, … in short, things they never did when I was around.

Normally, they keep a few meters distance from me, chatting mostly stops. Some people send heatful glares at me, other people give me cold looks and the rest ignores me. There are also some who call me names or even attack me on the street, usually from the first type.

I'm not oblivious to this, despite what many may think. I don't know if anyone could. Personally, I can't imagine it. I try to deal with it by smiling everything away. By just being happy and hopeful that it will get better instead of having to pretend that things are. When I have to blow off some steam, I either read 'Kingdom of Light', use the extra power for training or prank people, but that's the only thing I do against them.

From personal experience, I know that if you fight back, it makes people more agitated. Their attacks get more vicious and painful and the beating itself lasts longer, since it takes longer for them to calm down. It's better to endure the beating and protect certain parts of the body like the head, the groin or body parts that have already taken a lot damage.

This, now, seems so surreal. I look around. They are so different. Did I land in some sort of different Konoha? That's when I bump into someone. I turn my head forward.

A woman, maybe thirty, with long, black hair, wearing a brown dress, holding two shopping bags lays on the ground. Some groceries are spilled around her.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not too bad. Nothing happened." She says smiling at me while picking up the groceries on the ground. I'm stunned. No nasty reply? Or worse? "But you should pay more attention to your surroundings and look where you are going."

Embarrassed, I scratch the back of my head. "Yeah. I will. Sorry." I pick up some items in front of me and hand them to the woman. Then she leaves.

I continue my walk to the market, thinking about what just happened. Why was she so nice to me? I can't find an answer to that question no matter how much I think about it.

After a few minutes, I'm at the market. I go to the stand where rice is sold first. The owner and I had an unofficial agreement. He gives me a sack of rice, I hand him the money, no words exchanged, just business. All in all, he is one of the nicest stand owners, especially since he doesn't charge me too much extra.

"Hello, young man, ..." I look around. He couldn't mean me. He knows me. That's when I catch my reflection in a mirror someone transports. Red hair and a red shirt with a dragon on it. I'm still transformed! That's why they behave so much different. I notice the rice stand owner still talking to me, looking slightly concerned.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Are you feeling well, young man?"

"I'm fine. I ..." ...have just noticed that I haven't detransformed yet, I couldn't say.

"Never mind." He laughs. "You must be new here because I know each of my customers by name. Can you tell me yours?"

"Uhm, yeah, ...and my name is ..." I look at myself. "... Ryu, Ryu Takou." I'm not really sure if it's smart to call myself after a figure in a children's book. However, it's no use crying over spilled milk.

"A dragon that brings great happiness, you are. A really nice name. So what can I do for you, Ryu-kun?"

"I need a sack of rice, forty pounds."

"Okay. I will give you fifty percent off as a welcoming present. Just make sure that you come back again, Ryu-kun."

"Wow, that's really nice." I can't believe what is happening right now. I pay and say good bye rather absent-minded.

The difference between Ryu and Naruto is like day and night. I'm the same person, I'm in the same place, but it's completely different. It's great to be treated so friendly, to feel like he was welcomed in Konoha, to be Ryu. However, that raises questions: What is wrong with being Naruto? If they could be so nice to him, why not to Naruto?

I walk to the next stand, deep in thoughts. Really, when I should be just happy about my situation at the moment, I think about why I can't be on other times. I shove the questions into the back of my mind and try to simply enjoy the moment. Naruto's problems are not my problems at the moment.

The next two hours feel like they were flying. It was truly great. I have a big grin on my face. I'm holding many shopping bags and not all of them are filled with groceries. Actually after I was done, I had far more money left than usual. Thus, I spent the money for other stuff like a new set of kunai and shuriken, some snacks and sweets I ate and some new clothes that fit with my new appearance. Also, a white cloth band is on my forehead, tied with a knot on the back of my head. It looks a bit like the forehead protectors of real ninjas and I feel like I'm one step closer to being one.

It was a real surprise that I got in the clothes store in the first place. Before, I only tried it once. I barely set a foot in the store before I was literally thrown out. After that, I got barred and some nasty words followed.

As a result of what has happened today, I've realized something. If I can get into this store, I can go anywhere. Konoha is open to me, all of it. Consequently, I have this big grin on my face.

Nevertheless, I should go home now. It's uncomfortable to walk around with so many shopping bags.

While I'm on my way home, I pass the playground again and stop. A few kids are playing tag. The two swings are occupied by two small children being pushed by their parents probably. Two other ones are on a seesaw and some play in the sandpit. Most parents are sitting on some benches talking with each other while some of them are playing with their kids. They glance at me, but they don't do anything else. Maybe I should ask if I can join, too. I have never been allowed to play with other kids. But now ...

"After I load off all the stuff I've bought today, I'm going to come back and ask them." I nod to myself and go on.

Eventually, I come back. I enter the playground. When an 11-year-old boy with short, black hair runs past me, I shout after him. "Hey, can I play tag with you?"

The boy turns around and looks me over. Then he whistles and shouts, or rather he tries to, but it doesn't get louder than normal talking and sounds raspy. "Someone wants to join." Seven more children gather in front of me.

A 9-year-old girl voices her opinion first. "I'm not sure if he can join. He is looks so old." Sort of understandable, I look like I'm fifteen while they are eleven at most.

"That might be a problem." A 10-year-old boy comments.

An 11-year-old girl speaks, while shooting a look I can't figure out. "He looks cute. I might date him so he should join so we can get reeeal close." She giggles in the end. I don't know why I shiver.

"I think he should be on probation." A 9-year-old overweight boy suggests.

"That's a good idea. You are officially on probation if the other members agree. And if you disappoint us we can kick you out." An other 11-year-old boy declares. He sounds like he is the leader of this group. I call him leader boy.

"I agree." The youngest member, an 8-year-old boy, replies in a small voice.

"Me, too." A 10-year-old girl says absent-minded. Yet, when she sets her eyes on me, I feel like … I don't know what it is.

The other kids agree, too.

The leader boy speaks again. "Okay, since you are now a member of our club"

"It's a club?" The 10-year-old boy asks.

"Shut up! As a member of our club, you first need a new name." Leader boy continues.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. My n-"

The leader boy interrupts me. "Stop! Names are very powerful and shouldn't be given away easily. By telling someone your real name, you reveal your identity to someone and make yourself vulnerable. You should be careful with who entrust yourself. You have to earn our names as much as we need to earn yours."

The 10-year-old boy pipes up again. "Besides, it's cool to use codenames like real ninjas."

The leader boy grits his teeth. "No more interruptions! I'm trying to be cool here. It's a tradition that we don't pick the codenames ourselves. Instead the other members give someone a name based on our impressions and what we know about the other one. The name can change over time by the way, if your request for a change is accepted. Circle!"

The kids form a circle with their arms on the back of the kids next to them. Their heads are inside.

"How can you give me a name? We have just met."

Leader boy lifts his head up and turns it to me. "We will find something. Don't worry. Also, you mustn't interfere until we have a name we have agreed on. Understood?" I nod at him. He lowers his head and whispers, but I hear him clearly since they didn't move away. "So what do we know about him?"

The youngest boy begins. "He wants to play tag with us."

"He is far older than us." The youngest girl says. Honestly, why does she focus on the age so much? And why does she make it sound like I'm middle-aged or older?

"He watched us before." All eyes turn to the 10-year-old girl. "He had many bags with him. Then he stopped there." She points towards the spot where I stood. "He stood there with his big smile looking all over the playground, the play equipment, the benches, our parents, the other kids and us." I'm really having second thoughts about asking them. She makes it sound like I'm some sort of creep. "When he did all that his eyes were sparkling. Next, he started talking to himself before he nodded to himself and left." I shake my head disbelievingly. This is coming off all wrong.

"Do you think he wants to do something with us besides playing tag?" The other 11-year-old boy poses this question. This boy has serious issues with speaking.

"I don't rule it out because I saw him, too." The 9-year-old girl adds something again. "I watched where he went. This guy went up this street and turned Right." She points into the general direction of the meant street. Wow, they also know where I live, the district at least, which has the worst reputation of all. Not good. Moreover, I get the feeling that this girl has something against me.

"So?" The 9-year-old boy asks. "What is the problem?"

"Don't you know where you are when you turn Right?" The other 11-year-old boy replies while emphasizing the 'right', though I strain to hear him.

The leader boy answers. "It's unofficially called the Kyubi's cage." Really? I've never heard of that before. "Only the worst of the worst live there. Murderers, thieves, drug dealers, certain prostitutes, rapists, child molesters ..." Oh, they can't seriously think that. I clench my fists. Mustn't shout at them, mustn't shout at them, mustn't shout at them, ...

They lift up their heads and look up at me. Most of them give me serious, calculating looks, while the three youngest ones send fearful looks at me, especially the 8-year-old boy. They all lower their heads again. In addition, the youngest ones squirm and try to get more inside the circle.

"He won't do anything to me, right?" The youngest one asks, sounding panicked. What the hell is going on here? No one answers. "Right?" He asks again in a quieter voice. For a few seconds, it's completely silent, with the exception of my gritting teeth and my cracking fists.

The 11-year-old girl speaks first. "Well, I like bad boys as long as they are cute. Even if he is a child molester or"

"I'M NOT A CHILD MOLESTER OR ANYTHING!"

All people on and close to the playground stare at me. Again, it is completely silent. My face stays red from embarrassment instead of anger now. I want to sink into the ground and not have these stares on me.

Then, I hear the sound of a suppressed laugh. I look at the eight children in confusion. The dam breaks and all the children laugh out loudly. A few hold their bellies, other wipe their tears and some roll on the ground. The youngest boy who seemed so terrified of me laughs the loudest. Everybody else continues with what they have done before.

I can't really believe what they did. "You really played a prank on me? You are all little devils." I shake my head and a smile forms on my face.

The 9-year-old boy nods with a grin. "Maybe. With the exception of one of us. I hope we didn't go overboard, too much."

Someone puts a hand on my shoulder. I look at the shoulder and see that it's the leader boy who is still laughing. "Ah, he is a big boy. He can take it. Personally, I believed I had him, but Harem Girl finished it and it was awesome." Wait, Harem Girl?! That's a codename?! I don't like it. What are they going to call me? My smile vanishes and I fear what they are going to come up with.

"What are we going to call him?"

"Oh, yeah, we didn't even get to the suggestions. Don't say anything until we have a name. How about Child Molester since he shouted it so loud?" I gulp. Please not. Something. Anything. But not this. I pray to whoever hears me. Let them decide on something else.

"That's too harsh. We put him through much so we should pick something tame " Thank you. "like ..." Come on. Something not too bad. After a few seconds, he voices his suggestion. "Geezer." I don't like it but it's far better than Child Molester. Now, it only needs to be accepted by the other ones.

"Geezer. Hmm. Okay. Your official name is now Geezer. Everyone against it lifts his or her hand." No one did.

"Yay." I mutter with no enthusiasm. However, it could have been much worse. I sigh in relief. All of this, just because I wanted to play tag once.

"So how about we play tag?" The leader boy asks me.

I guess I'm through the worst. I might as well continue. "Sure, I'm ready for anything. By the way, what's your codename?"

"It's …" I bring my ear closer to him. "… something you won't figure out."

I facefault and quickly pick myself up. "What's that supposed to mean?!" I yell.

The leader boy crosses his arms while smirking at me. "That you won't figure out my name, or is that too much for you?"

I'm about to retort when the 11-year-old girl intervenes. "Don't be so high-nosed. You might chase him away so that I won't get a chance with him." I sweatdrop at this.

The leader boy turns away, shaking his head.

"So, you are Harem Girl?" I ask uncertainly.

She nods. "You can call me Ai or Ai-chan, when we are alone." She winks at me. "That's my real name. What is more, if you seriously want to know our names, you have to gather information and think around corners. Don't expect someone to simply blurt out a name. I advise you to start with him." She points towards the boy who fortunately made the leader boy pick something else. "His name is easy to guess, even with the few things you know about us. Actually, you don't need to know him at all to guess his name. Oh, tag is about to continue, the normal version this time. Not it!" I quickly say it 'Not it!', too. Then, she runs away, leaving me with a few things to think about.

I don't know for how I was playing tag with them. During the game, I was only it once and that was because I tripped. Most of the time, I watched, rather than run away from the one who is it. Later in the game, they didn't even try. However, I had fun. They did, too. We all had fun. It truly felt great to be a part of something. I belonged to them. Eventually, we said goodbye to each other and like Ai had predicted, no more names were spilled out. I was also told that thing are going to be different tomorrow and that I should prepare myself to get wet, whatever that means.

"See you tomorrow!" I yell after them. Now, I leave the playground. I'm going to Ichiraku's ramen stand since it's already getting dark and I don't want to cook.

I don't stay at Ichiraku's ramen stand for so long. After only two bowls of ramen, I leave. Not much training was done today, because the whole second session was canceled. Nevertheless, it was totally worth it. As Ryu, I felt happier than ever before in my life. I could go anywhere, I could make friends and tomorrow could be another great day.

At last, I'm back in my apartment. I switch on the light and walk to my full-length mirror and drop my illusion. Immediately, I'm Naruto Uzumaki again instead of Ryu Takou. The only piece left of Ryu Takou is the white headband on my forehead. By making the hand-seals of the Transformation technique, I activate the illusion again. I sigh in relief, when I see the reflection of Ryu Takou in the mirror and his clothes on myself. I can always be Ryu Takou when I want to. After detransforming once more, I take off the white headband, too.

It's complete. Finally, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, 12, academy student, with all my problems. I look at my pile of school books which I despise but I don't want to fail a third time, at all costs. If I fail again, I'll be even older than my classmates. In 14 days, the last part of the Academy Exams, showing the three basic jutsus, is going to take place and I must pass. Before that are the physical exams which I have also trained for today and the written exams which I have to study hard for, as in memorizing everything and not falling asleep while learning.

I grab the thick history book which tells the whole history of Konohagakure, from its foundation to the Kyubi attack. Man, I haven't even started yet and I'm already getting sleepy. I think of going to my bed and read the book there, but then I would most likely fall asleep in minutes. Instead I go to the kitchen. Next, I put down the history on the kitchen table and sit down on the chair there, as uncomfortable as possible so that I won't go to sleep.

I start from the very beginning, the Konoha's foundation. Lots of changing my position, sighing and yawning is involved during reading. It's mind numbing, merely shoving a bunch of facts into your head. At one point, I grab a ballpoint pen and keep pushing the button at the top. The clicking noise makes me stay awake so that I get the whole reign of the Shodaime Hokage done. However, my head really hurts from reading and from the annoying noise of the pen. I'm not sure if I can recall what is told on the first pages.

For these reason, I stop. It's already pitch black outside. I yawn and go to bed where I think of the next day filled with training and studying, even though it's Sunday. No day can be wasted.

However, I will also spend Ryu Takou. I won't sacrifice this new-found joy. With a smile on my face, I drift off to sleep and dream of all the things I'm going to do. I can go anywhere, I can make friends and tomorrow is going to be another great day.

Translations

usagi - rabbit

neko - cat

kitsune - fox

kuma - bear

ryu - dragon

takou - great happiness (according to )

I won't have too many Japanese words in this fanfiction. If the meaning of the word is of significance, I'll provide a translation.

Characters

Leader boy (11): name unknown
(other) 11-year-old boy: name unknown
10-year-old boy: name unknown
9-year-old boy: name unknown
8-year-old boy: name unknown
11-year-old girl: "Harem Girl" Ai
10-year-old girl: name unknown
9-year-old girl: name unknown

The descriptions of these characters are reduced to the absolute minimum to distinguish them. Their appearance is mostly unimportant with the exception of one case. This is merely to give you readers a chance to figure out their names by only giving you the necessary bits of information and not additional ones.

Also, expect Naruto to meet many new people and the introduction of many OCs.

Reviews

If you have liked reading this chapter and want other people to read this story, submit a review, please. It doesn't have to be long. A 'good chapter' or so would be nice. However, I would also appreciate constructive criticisms that point out things I have to improve.