I don't own Naruto. I'm only gonna say this once.
Bitter
Chapter One
Naruto really hated his life.
Despite what he lead others to believe, he was anything but the smiling idiot. In fact, his true personality could be summed up in three words:
Sarcastic.
Cynical.
And intelligent.
Oh yes, he was, in fact, quite the genius. He had to be if he wanted to fool others into believing that he was something other than what he really was. He had superb acting skills, to the point that he could actually feign having bad acting skills. It hurt his pride to do that, but hey, his cover was a "smiling idiot" – what kind of idiot is capable of actually lying effectively? None, that's what. If he gave the impression that he was a bad liar, people would be more likely to believe him when he really wanted them to.
The really sad part was that, despite all that "seeing underneath the underneath" bullshit that ninjas talk about, nobody, besides the Hokage, knew what he was hiding.
And even the Hokage didn't know everything.
However, now he was a ninja, thanks to some strategically revealed skills and some convenient half-truths, so he could finally drop his mask and show what he really was.
And oh, was he going to enjoy the reactions.
After all, if the reactions that he got during the Genin Exam when he revealed that he knew the Shadow Clone technique were anything to go by, then the reactions he'd get from dropping his despicable and honestly embarrassing mask would be PRICELESS!
When Iruka had asked him where he learned such a powerful technique, Naruto had feigned confusion at his shock, and said, in his best clueless and boastful voice, "I saw a ninja perform it once and started working to see if I could do it!" He had the hardest time not laughing out loud at the incredulous expressions on his two teacher's faces, and the looks of confusion on his classmates.
The reality?
He got it from the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing that he stole from the Hokage Tower. All it took was waiting until the Hokage left for the night, sneaking past the ANBU (which was laughably easy), and nabbing the thing. The funny bit? He doubted that the Hokage or anybody else realized that the scroll that occupied the space now was a fake, and that he had the original. The sad bit? Nobody realized that the scroll was missing for the week it took him to copy everything in it down onto a duplicate scroll. He kept the original, and returned the copy, not because he wanted the original for anything in particular, but because he was wondering how long it would take for everybody to realize that the one in the Hokage Tower was a fraud.
That was three years ago, and still nothing.
It was pathetic. And not just the "you are an embarrassment to ninja everywhere" pathetic, but the "you are such an embarrassment to ninja that you should just kill yourself and save other enemy ninja the trouble" pathetic.
Since then, he had gotten far stronger than anybody could even dream.
And he knew that he would only get stronger.
Tomorrow he would be assigned to his team, and he hoped to God that it wasn't with that Haruno bitch or the Emo-suke – what was his name again? He hated the guy so much that he frequently couldn't even be bothered to remember his lame-ass name. It was Sasu-something or other. Oh, that was it. Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto snorted to himself in the confines of his apartment as he ate his food. Sasuke's name really should be legally changed to Emo-suke, 'cause all the arrogant prude did was brood all day. Probably didn't even train properly, preferring to learn high-ranked jutsus and extravagant taijutsu moves instead of working on the basics, like his speed, his strength (Ha! What strength?), and his chakra control and capacity (which admittedly weren't much, but still better than what that pink-haired Haruno bitch could do).
Oh, and let us never forget the pink-haired, banshee-shrieking, pathetic excuse for a ninja, Haruno Sakura. God, even her name was pathetic. I mean, sure, her hair color was similar to that of a cherry blossom, but c'mon! Couldn't her parents have chosen something, oh, I don't know, original?! Sakura was such a common name, seriously!
And her skills as a ninja were just as pathetically common as her name. She should have never gone into the ninja program, and everyone pretty much knew that she only did it to be near to Emo-suke. The fact that she made Top Kunoichi of the Year made him feel like burning something, preferably said kunoichi's hair.
He could go on and on about the faults of his two classmates, but he had things to do now. Namely, getting something other than the god-awful jumpsuit that he wore.
But, of course, things were never that simple. He couldn't just go shopping for ninja clothes like everyone else. He'd get kicked out every time if he did that – and believe me, he had done that. It never worked.
So, he went with his ever present Plan B (not that Plan A had ever even existed in his mind to begin with).
He henge'd into a boy with mousy brown hair, hazel eyes, and a plain-looking face with no distinguishing marks whatsoever. He made sure that his new form was wearing something casual, which included white shorts, and a plain forest green T-shirt. He put on a pair of regular sandals, casually grabbing his hitai-ite and putting it on as he made his way to the window and walked up the wall to the roof. Calmly jumping across the rooftops, he made his way to the nearest ninja store to buy what he wanted.
Finally!
Something other than that jumpsuit he wore, and something that he truly wouldn't mind wearing. He had gotten a pair of charcoal gray cargo pants, with a matching short-sleeved skin tight shirt. He had gotten a pair of gloves that went up to his biceps, and had metal guards for the back of his hands. And the last two pieces he had gotten were a pair of black sandals, and a utility belt. The belt could hold all manner of things, from scrolls to kunai to miscellaneous items. It truly was a great find. He had gotten three sets of everything besides the belt and the sandals.
The last thing he got while out wasn't part of his outfit, but was a great find even so. It was, of all things, a small violin for ninjas to use. When he had first heard the idea of music as a weapon, he had been intrigued. Who had ever heard of such a thing? He certainly hadn't. So, intrigued and a little curious, he bought the thing, along with the scroll that detailed how to use it.
Not like it was expensive or anything.
The thing was actually so expensive that he was lucky he had been able to buy it. Which was pretty sad, now that he thought about it.
He needed to get some money, and soon.
Oh, well, tomorrow he would be getting his team, the next day he would be tested by his jounin sensei on teamwork, and then he would begin missions. Hopefully, anyways. He might need to talk to the Hokage if he failed. He did NOT want to repeat again. The only reason he had done so in the first place was so that he could be with kids relatively his own age. Well, that and to throw people off his scent, but mostly because he wanted kids his own age.
But all of this is beside the point. Now he had what he needed to succeed, and so, with a smile, he went to bed.
Tomorrow, they would all see. Tomorrow, he would show them.