Chapter 1

It was around 2am, and Naruto Uzumaki was bored as he scrolled down a random webpage he stumbled across. He took a large sip of his beer almost finishing the can. Was this his 3rd or 4th tonight? He looked at his bedside table – there were already 4 empty cans standing next to a pizza box and a crumbled bag which a few hours ago contained sweets. Damn it. He promised himself he would finally get back into shape, yet here he was again consuming an ungodly amount of calories in the middle of the night.

When he was young he used to be extremely fit and sporty, especially for his age. Both his parents trained martial arts and competed at an international level. That's actually how they met, at a party during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. His mother won Bronze in Taekwondo, while his father Gold in Judo. They 'clicked' almost immediately and got married the following year. Minato and Kushina (those were the names of Naruto's parents) moved to Vermont and a few months later their son was born.

Naruto remembered his childhood fondly. Both his parents loved him deeply. He was a very restless child and would most definitely be prone to pranks if his energy wasn't exhausted daily. Fortunately, coming from a family of martial artists, it wasn't a difficult task. Although Minato was away on competitions often (both competing himself, and acting as a coach to a local club) Kushina was able to cope with Naruto easily. He may have taken after his father looks-wise, but his personality was much more like his mother's. Although trained in both, it seemed Taekwondo suited him better than Judo (as far as you can tell for a hyperactive child).

Blond boy smiled sadly to himself. He remembered the proud look on his parents faces when he won his first competition for children at the age of 6. 'You truly are our son, Naruto. You can achieve anything you want. We will be there for you no matter what is it that you pursue in your life, be it martial arts or something completely different. Just sure to give it your best.' his father then said, and at that time Naruto truly believed his every word. He felt blessed to have parents who would support him no matter what. But Minato lied, didn't he?

He closed his laptop, put it back on his desk and headed to the bathroom. He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth and went back to bed, trying to force himself to sleep and not think too much about what would his parents think if they saw him now. He was 19 years old, living alone in tiny, run down flat. As he was studying his days consisted of going to lectures (or most often not going), going out with friends to drink and party, coming back to his room to surf the web and eat. Then again, if they were here, he wouldn't be here in this state. It was their fault, that was his excuse for years. He turned in his bed, turned the pillow around to the cold side and eventually fell asleep.

THUD!

A loud bang woke Naruto up almost immediately. His blood filled with adrenaline, his body in a "fight or flight" mode from the unexpected awakening. He quickly rose from his bed, catching a glimpse of the clock on his desk and looked out of the window.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." He said loudly. It looked like the seemingly abandoned building site adjacent to his block was finally going to be developed, starting today at 5:45am. Naruto swore again under his breath. Even if he decided to grace the College with his presence today (which last night he decided was unlikely) he didn't have to be up for another 1.5 hours. And seeing as he did not plan to go to any lectures he didn't have to be up at all.

More sounds seemed to be coming from the building site as Naruto debated his options. He wanted to go back to bed and sleep, but without earplugs it seemed pointless. 'I guess since I'm up I could go to lectures…' he winced at the thought, especially as his Monday mornings were the worst – he had Economics, Marketing theory and Math. A very loud and lazy voice in his head urged him to quickly go to a 24h pharmacy down the road, buy earplugs and come back. He would be back in bed within 20 minutes. Seeing as the streets would still be empty at such an ungodly hour he could just put sweatpants and a hoodie on top of his PJs, almost no effort required.

He started flipping through the piles of clothes on his floor when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Sure was used to seeing himself but for some reason this time round it stopped him in his tracks. He carefully examined an almost foreign person on the other side of the mirror, paying careful attention to his looks for the first time in a long while.

His blond hair was messy and somewhat dull. His skin, although naturally tan had a slightly grey undertone, signalling a less than optimal state of health. He quickly took his shirt off. His stomach was bloated from all the beer and crap food from last night, there was also a noticeable layer of fat covering it. Naruto was lucky he was a mesomorph, his body gained muscle much more quickly than it gained fat. But getting chubby as a result from complete lack of exercise and piles of junk food was something not even his genetics could save him from. He wasn't fat, barely overweight really, but he knew his shape would be in a sharp contrast to what his parents looked like, especially at his age.

He knew what was coming. Every few month or so he would suddenly realise that he really let himself go and needed to do something about it, be it exercise or eat healthy. Shame or guilt associated with the memories of his parents usually worked for a while until he slipped back into his old habits, and soon after he would put the issue at the very far back of his mind.

He stood there for a couple of more minutes before turning back to the piles of clothing on his floor. He spotted the hoodie, but instead of picking it up he walked over to his wardrobe, pulled out a clean top and a pair of jeans and put them on. 'I will go to my lectures today' he decided, surprising even himself. He wasn't sure why, but he felt he had to go today.

"Oh my fucking god! Someone please hold me because I must be high. Naruto in the 8am class?" A tall brown haired boy exclaimed as the blond entered the lecture hall.

"Very funny Kiba." Naruto sat down next to the boy punching his side.

"No, seriously man, are you okay? I don't think you ever came earlier than 12, in fact I'm pretty sure the earliest I've seen you was in Advertising which is at 1pm. Did something happen?" Kiba teased him.

"The attention you pay to my presence in lectures is almost touching, I didn't know I occupy so much of your thoughts." Naruto answered causing a few nearby people to laugh.

"Oooh, Kiba. Do you need to tell us something about your affection for Naruto? Maybe we don't know something we should?" a blonde girl standing nearby giggled.

"Ha ha, so funny. Just shut up Ino."

"Oooh, aren't you a bit defensive now? Coming to think of it you two disappeared somewhere at the last party…" Pink haired girl next to him joined in, winking at her friend. She was intentionally aggravating Kiba who was about to lash out on her just as the teacher walked in and the lecture started.

Naruto loved hanging out with his friends, and even though the classes themselves were utterly boring he still had fun. Somehow getting out of bed so early in the morning not only didn't put him in a bad and tired mood, but by lunchtime he felt more energetic than he had in ages.

"Guys there is a societies fair going on today in the Great Hall, should we go check it out?" Ino suggested as they were heading for lunch.

"Societies fair? Now? It's the middle of the academic year, why do they have it now?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Oh, apparently they have it now at the beginning of the second semester too. I think it's mainly targeted at those student who transferred or are here on an exchange this term." Blonde girl explained.

"Booooring." Kiba said loudly.

"I have to agree with Kiba on this one." A large boy walking next to them said. Chouji was taller than Naruto by at least 3 inches, and good 30 pounds heavier. The two of them would sometimes get takeaway together after parties.

"There will be food!" Ino pointed out.

"Ah, sounds interesting then!" Chouji was quick to change his mind when food was involved.

"Meh, I have nothing better to do so I might go check it out." Naruto said. What would he do otherwise? Go home and play games? He might as well hang out with his friends for a while longer.

"I'll go as well. Are you coming, Sakura?" Ino asked her pink-haired friend.

"Sure, why not."

Naruto turned to Kiba and the last of the group, Shikamaru.

"Come on guys, it will be cool. We can laugh at all the stupid societies like Voodoo or Witchcraft and get freebies!"

Deciding it actually sounded pretty fun the two boys decided to join as well. After lunch in the cafeteria the group slowly headed to the Great Hall, which was located in one of the main buildings. The place was pretty packed already. The group decided to start from the left side, heading towards the front of the hall were a stage was located, and then come back to the exist through the right side.

Collecting some pens, pins, candies and bottle openers they made their way across the room.

"Guys, did you see that LoF Society?" Kiba laughed loudly. "Liberty of Females! How stupid does that sound, as if there was still a slave system or something!" he laughed uncontrollably.

"That's nothing, I just spotted the HUMMOUS CLUB!" Naruto told his friends almost in hysterics. Him and Kiba had to stop for a while to catch their breaths from all the laughing.

"Come on guys, I don't want to actually spend the whole afternoon here you know." Ino told them heading towards the stage.

When the two boys came to their senses and were able to stop laughing their group already moved on and they couldn't spot them in the crowd.

"Damn Ino, why is she always so impatient? It was her who suggested it in the first place." Kiba asked rhetorically. "Come on man, let's see what's at the front, they are probably somewhere there."

Naruto followed his friend and soon they spotted a small crowd of people cheering around the elevated part of the hall.

"What's going on there?" Kiba asked trying to see above the cluster of people.

"Dunno, let's check it out." Naruto answered making his way towards the front of the mass.

He stopped abruptly at what he saw. The crowd was gathered around red and blue mats which were laid out on the floor. Two figures were standing opposite each other in a parallel ready stance, Naruto recognised it immediately. They brought their feet together into a closed stance, bowed and braced themselves. This was a Taekwondo match.

The boy on the left had long black hair tided back in a ponytail. He wore white Dobok, the type of clothing worn for Korean martial arts. The focus on his face caused a shiver go down Naruto's spine. The boy's opponent was almost the same height. His hair was also black, but shorter with a spiky back and longer front. His Dobok was black, probably to distinguish the two of them. His eyes were focused solely on his opponent, calm but calculating. Naruto didn't know why, but for some reason he felt almost as if he was having an out-of-body experience. There was nothing surprising about a Taekwondo society at college, but somehow the thought of it didn't ever cross his mind. Probably because he actively chose not to think about stuff associated with his parents majority of the time.

The referee loudly announced the beginning of the match, and even though Naruto registered every move the two sparring boys made, his thoughts were somewhere completely different. What was this weird feeling? It's not like he hasn't seen a Taekwondo match before. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly was going on with him. The mixture of emotions ranged from sadness to curiosity, but most of all – unexplainable excitement and fear. He thought back to the last time he watched a match, but couldn't exactly remember. Could it be he hasn't seen one ever since his parents…?

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention to the match again. The long haired boy was now trying to land a ttwieo chagi - jump kick, and he almost succeeded, but it was blocked and immediately countered by huryeo chagi – hook kick. The guy in the black Dobok was fast, Naruto could tell that he was slightly better than his opponent.

"Man, guys in PJs fighting, boring and gay. Let's go." Kiba put his hand on blond's shoulder yawning. "Let's find the rest."

Naruto turned to him reluctantly, not wanting to look away from the fight which he knew would be most likely coming to an end soon.

"You go ahead, I'm gonna see who wins." He told his friend and quickly turned back.

"Suit yourself, we'll wait outside the hall if you don't catch us beforehand."

Naruto just nodded in agreement, his eyes focused on the two Taekwondo fighters. Damn were they good. And so cool! Especially the short haired one. Naruto could tell he spent hours practicing, his moves were precise and calculated. A feeling of sadness overwhelmed him at a sudden realisation. That could have been him. He could have been this good. He could have been better, better than both of them. Memories of his parents rushed through his head and he found himself dangerously close to crying.

His attention was brought back to the fight just as the winner was announced, the short haired guy won. Naruto realised he missed the final move. The winner was handed a microphone.

"If you want to improve your fitness and learn how to fight join the Taekwondo club!" he announced loudly. "All levels accepted, all you need is willingness to train and improve. If you have any questions or want to sign up come to the desk on the right over there." He pointed in a general direction and went off the stage.

The crowd started to become smaller, yet Naruto didn't move. 'Any level is accepted…' he thought to himself before his mind went blank.

…Could he do it? Did he want to? Did he want to train again? Would he be able to, considering all the memories associated with it?

He barely registered his own movements until he found himself right next to a large desk with a Taekwondo banner over it. He stared at it for a few seconds.

"Do you wish to join?" A flat, monotone voice right next to him snapped him out of it.

"Oh!" he let out a surprised yelp. "Sorry I didn't even notice you there…" he apologised. He felt more stupid by the minute. The boy in front of him was the same height as him and had fiery red hair. His eyes seemed devoid of emotion but he was looking at Naruto almost expectantly.

"Uh… actually I was just looking…" Naruto couldn't hold the guy's gaze and looked away. "I don't think I'd do well…"

The redhead's deadpan expression didn't change.

"You won't know unless you try." He said simply, handing Naruto a piece of paper which seemed to be a joining form.

"Fill it out and email it to the club if you wish to join. We start next week." The boy stated before taking his leave. Naruto stared at the form in his hand for a good minute before folding it and putting in his bag. He could always just throw it away at any moment. He wasn't going to join, why would he torture himself like that? He wasn't a masochist. He started walking away when he caught a glimpse of the short haired guy who won the match from before. He wasn't exactly sure if he made it up or not, but he could swear that their eyes met for a second longer than they should. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise.

Confused and unsure about what he was feeling(or if he was feeling anything to be honest, he couldn't really tell if it was one or the other) he quickly made his way through the crowd towards the exit where his friends were waiting for him.

"Damn it Naruto, what took you so long?!" Kiba shouted at him. "Did you go to sign up to the Lemon Fanta Society?" he laughed at his own joke.

"You know full well Kiba that the only Fanta I would drink is Orange!" Naruto replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, should we grab something to eat guys? Who's up for some pizza and beer?"

The majority of the group nodded in agreement. Normally Naruto would never pass up on either of the things he found himself wanting to be alone for a while. He excused himself, telling his friends he was tired from getting up so early and headed back to his flat.

He dropped his bag on the floor and went straight to the only picture in the living room. He looked at the two smiling faces in the photograph and didn't move for a long time.

"…Could I still make you both proud?"

Hi there!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story so far. I used to train Karate a couple of years back, but I decided to go for Olympic martial arts here, even though my knowledge on them might be a bit more limited.

Reviews and your thoughts would be great! (I will be updating The Bucket List soon too!)