Chapter 1

Friend

Destiny rules above you, for each action you take you keep a watchful eye out for it, for it hangs like Damocles' sword above your neck.

Create your own destiny, you say, make your own future… be the captain of your fate and the master of your soul!

What some people sometimes forget is this. All destiny does is to acknowledge the existence of some higher power, some supreme being that decides what you can do and what you cannot do. Some things cannot be changed, and it is a waste of time and other resources to try and change them. Nothing can be done to make a person fly without external aid, and flapping your hands endlessly refusing to acknowledge defeat is not going to help. It is impossible to live endlessly, and even if you keep a careful watch on what you eat and make sure you don't get ill, you're bound to die someday. In such cases it is wise to accept defeat and believe in destiny, people are destined to die some time.

Some battles must not be fought, for you're bound to lose them. Some battles can be fought, those that can be won. But most importantly, some battles need not be fought, for the results are not often worth the effort you put in.

It was a long long time before Naruto realized this essential truth.

As long back as he could remember, Naruto had always been alone. Not literally, for Konoha was a pretty fairly populated village, years of comparative peace had made the Hidden Village prosperous. He had always subconsciously known that there was something different about him, something that would never allow him to lead a normal life. Why else would perfect strangers look at him with loathing in their eyes, as though there was nothing more they could wish for than for him to cease his existence? Why else was it that he was the only one who had trouble buying stuff at shops, even if he had the money? Why else was it that however hard he tried, he could never make any friends, it almost seemed as though the other children were warned against speaking to him…

He did try though. He had noticed early on that people who made jokes and made people laugh were often the most popular, that cheerful people had the most number of friends. It didn't work. It didn't seem to matter that he had a big grin plastered on his face all the time, nor did it help that he was perhaps the biggest prankster in the history of Konoha. People did laugh at him sometimes, acknowledging his desperate pleas of attention, but they always went away when he tried to approach them afterwards.

Six years of miserable existence. Six years of loneliness. Six years without a single friend…

Well, perhaps that wasn't exactly true. He had made a friend, for a period of two days. Those were easily the best two days of his life.

It had happened like this…

A group of kids were playing 'ninja' at the local park. Naruto was sitting gloomily on a nearby bench watching them. He had tried joining them in their game, but they had refused to let him… with good reason. Whenever Naruto joined the rest of the kids in their games, their parents would mysteriously appear and take them back home, some of them scolding the kids for associating with 'that' boy.

Naruto wondered what he could do the gain their attention. There was an old man sleeping on a nearby bench, so tying his shoelaces together and yelling 'FIRE' in his ear seemed a rather good idea…

'Hi' A voice interrupted him from his reverie. He looked up startled, meeting a pair of uncertain green eyes. He actually turned around to look behind him, feeling certain that there was someone else there. When he found no one, he turned back slowly, the almost ever present grin back on his face. 'Hi,' he said. Finally! It had worked! All the gesturing and pranking hadn't been for nothing!

The girl, he saw, seemed to be of his own age, and she had… pink hair? He'd never met anyone with that colour of hair before! In any case, before she could notice his gawking, he shut his mouth quickly, not wanting to offend his first friend.

Far from being offended, the girl was nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other. 'Umm… I noticed that no one was playing with you… so, do you want to play or something?'

Naruto's mouth dropped open. She hadn't been speaking to him because of his jokes? Ironically, the very moment he had dropped his mask of cheerfulness, he had made a friend? How could this be?

The girl was tracing patterns in the dust with her foot, her head bowed down.

'No one will play with me either, they make fun of my forehead, I know it's wide and ugly…' she trailed off. Naruto understood completely. A kindred spirit!

He jumped off the bench. 'What's your name?'

'Ha-Haruno Sakura.'

Naruto smiled brilliantly. 'Come, Sakura-chan. I know a great place in the woods where we can play hide and seek!'

Sakura looked up with a watery smile on her face. Naruto was shocked to see tears of relief in her eyes. He wiped them off carefully with a finger and proclaimed loudly, 'The next time someone makes fun of you, they'll have me to deal with!' He jabbed at his chest proudly, 'Uzumaki Naruto!'

'Y-yes, Naruto… kun'

The old man on the bench opened an eye to look at the backs of Naruto and Sakura, who were trotting away happily, Naruto talking nineteen to the dozen, and Sakura listening to him happily. He smiled, what he had seen in his crystal ball had worried him, despite his insistence that people treat Naruto just like any other child his age, they did not seem to have listened and he had seen for himself the lonely life Naruto had led. A friend would do the boy great wonders.

Naruto enjoyed his afternoon thoroughly, and from what he could see, Sakura seemed to as well. In his free time, he had explored the woods surrounding the Hidden Village extensively. He knew the terrain like the back of his hand, better than any child of his age, and probably better than quite a few Genins as well. As a consequence, he was able to show to an enthralled Sakura several of his hideouts, small caves, hollow trees and even the tiny cavern behind a waterfall. He had long dreamed of sharing his secret hiding places with someone else, and Sakura was properly impressed with everything he had to show her.

They parted on agreeable terms and promised to meet up the next day. Each went home that day with the joy in their hearts that only making a new friend can give.

The next day, Naruto took Sakura rooftop climbing. This was in fact, the quickest way to get from one point in the village to another. Naruto had figured this out after being chased by irate villagers who had been at the receiving end of one of his pranks. He told her of all the pranks he had pulled on the villagers and the Hokage, the most memorable one being the one where he had jumped on to the window sill of the Sandaime's office and thrown a water balloon inside, soaking an important foreign dignitary…

Sakura had never been to the Hokage's office, so soon they found themselves on the roof of the grandest and most important building in the village. They had barely set foot on the roof when they found someone standing before them. Naruto blinked, this guy was really fast… he hadn't even seen him approach.

He looked up, but found the ninja's face buried in a book with a bright orange cover. There came a voice from behind the pages, 'The Hokage is having important visitors from the Hidden Village of the Mist. I suggest you don't disturb him today.'

'We weren't going to!' Naruto exclaimed indignantly, 'And why are you reading a book if you're supposed to be on duty here?'

Naruto hadn't learned to read yet, but apparently Sakura had, for she squinted her eyes and began to read painstakingly, 'I-Icha Icha Para-'

The jounin (for Naruto was sure that no Chuunin could move that fast, and he had been chased by a few of them) put his book away hastily, muttering something about their reading the book when they were older. Naruto saw that most of his face was covered with a mask, and his forehead protector had been pulled down over one eye. Hmm… someone injured during battle then… The respect for the ninja went up instantly in Naruto's eyes.

'Sorry for disturbing you,' he said as politely as he could, grabbed Sakura's hand and made off quickly. The jounin gazed after the retreating figures and rubbed the back of his head slightly in confusion. 'Hmm… I thought I'd have more trouble dealing with him…' He shrugged, dismissing the event as one of little consequence, and got back to reading his book.

Later that evening, Naruto and Sakura were watching the sunset sitting atop the Hokage mountain, on which the faces of the four Hokages were immortalized.

'Say, Naruto-kun…'

Naruto smiled, it still felt a little weird, for this was the first time someone had attached a 'kun' after his name, but it felt good in any case, for it was a mark of familiarity.

'Yes, Sakura-Chan?'

'Do you think my forehead's too wide?'

Naruto stifled a laugh. He knew women were somewhat vain, his apartment manager spent hours in front of the mirror everyday, but he had thought that the obsession with their appearance would start at a later age…

He knew that his answer would be very important to Sakura, so he turned to her, met her eyes and made a show of observing her forehead.

'I think it's perfect.' He looked away quickly, wondering if he had gone too far.

'Say, Naruto-kun…'

'Yes, Sakura-chan?'

'We're friends, right?'

Naruto's heart skipped a beat, and he turned look at Sakura properly. Yes, she was serious, this wasn't a joke, this was actually happening!

He smiled. It wasn't one of his ear splitting grins, not one of the smiles he always wore as a mask. This was a true, heartfelt expression of happiness…

'Yes, Sakura-chan, we're friends. I meant what I said yesterday. Anyone who annoys you will have me to answer to. And that's a promise…'

Well, on hindsight Naruto supposed that he should have known that it was too good to last. Later, as they made their way back to Sakura's house, they met her father, who was looking for his daughter as night had fallen. Sakura was limping slightly, for she had skinned her knee while climbing down from the mountain.

Sakura was glad to see her father, she stepped up to introduce Naruto, and was greatly surprised when Naruto shied away. Naruto had spotted the familiar expression on her father's face, the familiar look of loathing.

Sakura was looking between the two of them uncertainly, her father, who was glaring daggers at him, and Naruto who was looking away. 'Umm… I'll see you tomorrow then?'

Naruto nodded slightly and took off. Of course she wouldn't turn up, now that her father had seen him, he would make sure of that. As he left, he could swear that he heard a muttered 'Demon brat' behind him.

Hoping against hope, Naruto had gone to their meeting place the next day, and wasn't really surprised when Sakura didn't show up. Just bitterly disappointed, that was all…

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This had been over two months ago.

Naruto kicked a stone moodily off the road. Damn it, he shouldn't have kept Sakura outside so late, else perhaps they would've had a few more days together before her parents found out. He plopped down on the park bench, their old meeting place. He still came here every day, not out of the hope that she would come, but mostly to think. He scowled when he noticed the old man sleeping in the same bench. He didn't like to be reminded of Sakura…

Sakura had made new friends now. He had secretly followed her, and had nearly jumped out and hit them when some rowdy boys poked fun at her. He didn't do so however, for someone else had come to Sakura's defence, a girl named Ino. The next day the same thing happened as well, he longed to go protect Sakura, but being seen with him would get her into more trouble with her parents. He was slightly jealous now that she had made a new friend, and felt guilty about feeling jealous as well. He should feel happy, he supposed, Sakura was no longer alone and friendless.

He thought about other things as well, things that were worrying him slightly. For a while now, the mask had been slipping. Why, just yesterday, when the manager of the restaurant he had been to that afternoon had seen through his disguise and had unceremoniously thrown him out, he had snarled at the man. Not the usual smile and apology, but he had bared his teeth and growled out a few choice insults, mostly regarding the man's mother and the state of his parents' marriage. Had it just been his imagination or had a flicker of fear passed over the man's face?

This was new territory for Naruto. Expressing his natural emotions wouldn't get him any friends and plenty of enemies, that was true. On one hand, he really didn't need any more enemies, he was unpopular enough as he was. But on the other hand, it seemed to instill fear in a few of the people… and if people are afraid of you, they won't be walking all over you, would they?

Was it necessary for him to befriend all the villagers? He had tried to for as long as he could remember, but to no avail. Wouldn't it be better if people feared him? For fear brings with it a respect for the opponent's strength. It would be nice of course, if he were on friendly terms with the entire village, but was it worth degrading himself?

It was then that Naruto learnt his first lesson, some battles are not worth fighting, for the results are not worth the effort…

With a start, Naruto realized that it was nightfall already. He jumped off his seat and started walking back home, contemplating how exactly he was going to go about implementing his new philosophy.

'Out of my way, demon brat!'

A drunk was wandering up the road, weaving left and right, almost toppling over. Naruto frowned slightly, how should he respond to this? He put on his most forbidding expression, one that made it look as though he was suffering from diarrhea… and made his voice as low and dangerous sounding as he possibly could. 'Don't test my patience, miserable drunkard!' he hissed, baring his teeth.

It was lucky that the person in front of him was drunk, he thought, else they might have very well laughed at him, a six year old who was trying to act tough. As it was, the man's eyes widened in fear and he took off, running as fast as his intoxicated legs would carry him, shouting at the top of his voice, 'THE DEMON! IT'S BACK! THE NINE TAILS HAS RETURNED!'

Now confused and slightly worried that the shouting would bring more people on to the scene, Naruto hurried away. What did the man mean? The Nine-Tails? The name sounded vaguely familiar, he had heard it mentioned sometime before… In any case, why did the man call him a demon? Ought he to disregard the comments as the nonsensical drabble of an inebriated man? But… but Sakura's father had called him a demon as well!

Naruto hardly noticed that he had reached a restaurant and he had wandered in and ordered ramen. In fact, it was halfway through the meal that he realized that he had come without his disguise (to be honest, it wasn't much of a disguise, just a scarf wrapped around his face and a cap to hide his trademark spiky hair), but the man didn't seem to say anything. He might have been too busy to notice, but since there were just two other people apart from him eating there…

Naruto shovelled the ramen inside as fast as he could as the man approached him. He braced himself silently as the man spoke.

'Anything else?'

Naruto blinked. 'Excuse me?'

'Would you like to order something else?'

'Er… a mi-miso ramen please.'

Naruto left the shop an hour later, smacking his lips. Ramen was tasty, he decided. He had better like the taste anyway, for he was going to patronize the Ichiraku Ramen Stand for the next few days, or however long it took for someone to drop a hint with the man that Naruto was someone to be avoided.

But more importantly, he needed to find out about the Nine-Tails, there was a yearly festival on October the tenth, he remembered now, to mark the day the Nine-Tails had been defeated. Oddly enough, the day coincided with his birthday…

How could he find out about the Nine-Tails? Hmm… a problem

There wasn't anyone he could just go and ask, there wasn't anyone in the village who would speak to him willingly. Well, there was this Hokage fellow, one that dropped by sometimes and asked him how things were going… but his visits were few and far between. The old man was a pretty busy person he supposed, being the head of a Hidden village wouldn't leave you much free time…

He could go to the Konoha library, he was sure that there would be scrolls detailing the Nine-Tails's attack and its subsequent defeat, but there was a slight problem. He didn't know how to read…

Most children learned to read from their parents, before they joined the Academy. He could only join the Academy when he was eight years old, and that was still two years away. In any case, he was pretty sure that they didn't teach the kids something as basic as reading at the Academy…

Perhaps he had better visit the Hokage himself after all. Hadn't the old man told him to visit in case he had any problems? Naruto's stubbornness had stopped him from visiting so far, he had even refused to admit to himself that there was anything wrong with his life, and the streak of independence within him refused to allow him to discuss his problems with anyone. But perhaps it was time… after all, the village owed him something for its treatment all these years, it was time that he interrupted the Hokage's busy schedule.

With that decided, Naruto walked back to his apartment with a sense of determination and purpose in his stride…

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A/N: EOP isn't abandoned… Just that I'm finding it difficult to write… and besides, Naruto's cool!

Oh, and a happy new year to everyone!