"Ooooh, this is so cool!"
It was random chance that Naruto stumbled upon an abandoned manga in the park on his way home from the academy. It was trash but not just any kind of trash, it was the kind of trash that was impossibly popular with a specific demographic, pre-teen boys.
"Darkness-o-dark is the coolest character ever!" Naruto flipped to the next page of the manga. Absorbing everything about the character. It was probably the most he had read in a single sitting!
As he closed the final page Naruto flipped over onto his back and stared up at his ceiling. "Man, why can't I be cool like Darkness-o-dark? Even if he has a demon sealed inside of him, people still like him because of how cool and strong he is!"
Naruto shot up from his bed and a smile formed on his face. He might not be Darkness-o-dark but that didn't mean he couldn't be as cool as him. Naruto bounded up from his bed and began to rummage through his wardrobe.
XXXX
Naruto entered the class the next day late. This was not different from the norm, however, he was purposefully late this time. He kicked open the door and strutted all the way to his spot in the back of the class.
He wore his same old orange jacket, however, it was unzipped and he had it draped over his shoulders like a cape. His arms were folded to emphasize the fact that he didn't need to use sleeves. His right arm was bandaged and he had wrapped it in thick black leather to secure it tightly.
A bandage ran around Naruto's head and covered his left eye. A piece of paper with a sloppily written seal was directly on top of the bandaged eye. His normal smile was gone and he looked around the classroom but had a look that thought it was a gift to the class for him to simply be there.
He pulled his chair out with his foot, causing it to scratch the ground loudly. In a move, he definitely didn't practice all night he sat down in the chair and put his feet up on the desk.
Operation Bad ass was a success.
Sakura glared at Naruto when he rudely sat down next to her and Satsuki. Honestly, how on earth did they end up in the same class two years in a row? It wasn't fair! It must have had something to do with the fact that Naruto had horrible grades while she and Satsuki had the highest in the class. "Naruto you idiot, what happened to you?"
Naruto rolled his head ever so slightly to look at Sakura lazily. His face was blank and emotionless as though she wasn't worth the effort. "I got these wounds late last night when I discovered I had a demon sealed inside of me."
All heads in the classroom snapped towards Naruto's proclamation. At the start of the classroom, Mizuki and Iruka shared a concerned look.
This was not good.
"Okay, yeah sure idiot, what's the name of this demon then?" Sakura asked not believing it for a second. She crossed her arms and challenged Naruto with her stare. This wasn't any different than when Kiba proclaimed that he was the son of the fourth Hokage.
Naruto gave a soft, almost sadistic chuckle that echoed throughout his frame. He swept his bandage arm across, enjoying the attention. "I , Naruto Uzumaki, hold the demon known as Red Beast of Nine! You all should be grateful that my will is strong enough to hold it at bay, less it would eat you all with its massive jaws and devour your souls!"
The entire classroom was silent for a second before the stoic Satsuki Uchiha snorted and gave an earnest laugh. The rest of the class began to join in.
The teachers didn't join in. They had seen the Kyuubi that night. It's nine whirling tails, it's massive red body. Iruka had to take a seat as memories of that night flashed through his mind. He gave Mizuki a look and his partner got the message loud and clear.
The Hokage needed to know.
"Yea right Naruto, your will could be broken by a cup of ramen!" Sakura had joined the laughter as soon as it began.
Iruka stood and slammed his hand on his desk. "Alright, that's enough! Thank you for joining us today Naruto, I want you to take it easy today, if you feel it weak let me know, okay?"
Satsuki stood up sharply followed by Sakura. "Iruka-sensei you can't honestly believe that! It's Naruto he lies every week about his homework!"
"Yeah, last week he said Kiba ate his homework!" Sakura joined in and gave Naruto a sharp glare. She saw that smile that was threatening to form.
"Yes, now sit down!" Iruka said and the entire class's jaws dropped.
Naruto covered his mouth to hide his smile. It was so simple, who knew Iruka-sensei would believe him so easily! He didn't even need to show them the cool henge he put on his eye!
Still, he could do more. He let out a gasp and clutched his left eye tightly. He grunted deeply and began to pant. In a second Iruka was by his side.
"Naruto are you okay?" Iruka could feel his blood run cold. He had always feared that the Kyuubi would break out. Now he was watching Naruto single-handedly fight against the demon.
"I'm fine, it's just Satsuki's and Sakura's doubt has made my will slip and the Red Beast of nine is trying to break lose!" Naruto flailed his bandaged arm about as though he wasn't in control of it.
Satsuki grabbed his finger and bent it backward. It gave a loud pop and Naruto squealed in pain.
Relief flooded over Iruka as Naruto stopped flailing. "Satsuki that was dangerous, you could have made things worse, take Naruto to the infirmary to make sure everything is okay."
Honestly, if the Kyuubi was breaking lose then there wasn't much a trip to the infirmary would do. Still, as bad as it sounded it would maybe give them enough time to seek shelter. And perhaps there might be some merit to the Uchiha being able to control the Kyuubi given how easily Satsuki stopped the beast just now.
XXXX
Satsuki pushed the idiot into the nurse's office with her foot. A deep scowl was plastered on her face and she glared at Naruto with more than the petty annoyed look she normally cast his way. This was her full on "I hate you" face. "You idiot, what are you playing at?"
Naruto's jacket fell off when he tumbled across the floor. It landed on him right side up, however, the rest of the blond was upside down glaring at Satsuki. Naruto wasted no time in scrambling right side up again, careful to make certain that everything was in its place. "Hey what's the big idea? Do you want to unleash it?"
In a flash, Satsuki had Naruto by his collar and shoved him against a metal cabinet. She held him an inch off the ground to keep his eyes leveled with her. "Listen here loser, I don't know how you got Iruka and Mizuki to fall for your little act but I know that you know that you're full of bullshit. There's no way in hell there's anything special about you."
The look on Naruto's face was almost enough for Satsuki to feel sorry for him. Almost but not quite. He stared down at the largely empty trash basket that had fallen over. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "I know okay, I'm just some loser that everybody tries their hardest to ignore, but that doesn't mean I can't pretend I'm special does it?"
"And what made you think having a demon sealed inside of you was the right choice?" Satsuki asked as she lowered Naruto down to the ground again. She let go of him with no flourish and began to look around the room curiously.
"I read it in a manga I found at the park yesterday! Revenge of Darkness, part nine!" Naruto smiled to himself and didn't notice the way Satsuki seemed to freeze at the mention of the Manga. "The main character Darkness-o-dark is super cool and popular and he has a demon sealed inside of him!"
Satsuki looked at anything besides Naruto. She felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck. "Does your finger hurt?"
"Huh?" Naruto looked at his unbandaged finger curiously. He didn't see anything wrong with it. It looked exactly like his finger always did, except slightly dirty perhaps.
"Your other finger, Idiot!" Satsuki snapped at him grabbing his bandaged hand roughly. She pointed to the digit she had popped earlier. When she looked at it had seemed fine, which was weird. She could have sworn she dislocated it earlier.
Naruto just smiled and rubbed the back of his head. He then wiggled said finger in affirmative as though it was his head. "Oh don't worry about it, it's fine."
Satsuki snorted and threw Naruto's hand down roughly. "Well whatever, I'm going back to class, try not to let your demon out, loser."
"And what demon would that be?"
Both Naruto and Satsuki jumped like they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. The Hokage had entered the room without either of them noticing. He didn't have on his traditional Hokage robes and his fingers were covered in black ink. He had a cold decisive look in his eye.
Naruto backed up against the metal cabinet. He was caught, his lie had spread too far out of control and now the old man was here! How did it go so wrong so quickly? His eyes shot to Satsuki and he begged for her help.
"He said it was the Red Beast of Nine, Lord Hokage," Satsuki didn't understand what made her lie for Naruto. Even if it wasn't technically her lie. She didn't know why she wanted to help him. This wasn't her lie and it wasn't her burden. Right?
"I see," Hiruzen said slowly and walked over to Naruto. His eyes were filled with sorrow as he placed a gentle carrying hand on the boy's shoulder. "Satsuki, thank you for your bravery, you can go home early if you wish."
"Thank you Lord Hokage," Satsuki was grateful the Hokage was not looking at her or else he would have seen her mouth drop. The Hokage too believed Naruto! Was everybody in this village an idiot? Naruto was a prankster! This was just another prank!
She made a quick exit, perhaps she would head home early today.
Naruto withered under the Old Man's kind stare, he didn't want to lie to him. "Gramps…"
"Can you hear the demon now Naruto?" Hiruzen asked quickly, he gingerly touched the sloppy seal that Naruto had put over his bandaged eye. It didn't seem like anything he recognized but previous experience with Uzumaki forced him to believe in that Natural talent.
"No, not right now," So far he had never lied to the Old Man. He just avoided telling him the truth. That wasn't so bad, right? Naruto fidgeted as the Old Man's stare turned grim.
Hiruzen let go of the boy quickly, he might have upset whatever balance Naruto had obtained with the bandages and the seals. If the Kyuubi had influence in those regions then what about the seal itself? "Naruto I need you to take off your shirt, please.
Naruto gulped and did what he was told. Arguing with the Old Man would only make things worse right now. His hands shook as he slowly lifted up the hem of his shirt. What was he so afraid of? It was just a simple stupid lie, right? Wasn't it like the time he painted one of the shops?
"It's okay Naruto, everything going to be okay," Hiruzen spoke gently. "You're a hero for this, don't let anybody ever tell you anything different."
It didn't matter that it was a lie. He had never been told that before. And now the Old Man was calling him a hero. He didn't know what to say or do. He felt the Old Man's cold hand on his stomach. It tickled slightly. He tried not to laugh.
Hiruzen ignored the giggles Naruto tried to keep down and focused on the seal. It was visible, that was probably not a good sign. But still, he couldn't see anything wrong with it at a glance. Despite having learned the Jutsu, the designs of the seal were a mystery to him.
He blamed Kushina's horrible handwriting.
"Everything seems fine Naruto, you've done a good job keeping the demon at bay, for now, I'll call in a Seal Master to have a better look at things, in the meantime stay strong and if you ever need anything don't be afraid." He lowered the boy's shirt and smiled warmly at Naruto. It didn't surprise him to see Naruto ready to cry.
Naruto didn't know why he was crying. Probably because he was lying to somebody that believed in him. He knew that he should just tell the truth, but for the life of him, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he tackled the old man into a hug.
XXXX
Satsuki slammed open the door to her apartment. She had managed to maintain her cool all the way through town. But now, that she was alone she couldn't take it anymore. In a mad dash, she scrambled through her hallway into her bedroom. She dove underneath her bed and began to pull out her only secret and hidden shame.
A long white box with "Mikoto Uchiha" written on top. The contents shifted inside of it as Satsuki brought it up onto her bed. That was not a good sign. She opened the box slowly as though she was opening a treasure in a dangerous tomb.
The entire collection of "Revenge of Darkness written by the Red Habanero" sat neatly in the box, the spins presented for easy checking. Each copy was pristine, despite the oldest being nearly twenty years old at this point. All twenty-three volumes were there, except volume number nine. The volume that she had read yesterday at the park.
And now Naruto had it. One of the few things she had of her mothers and Naruto had it. How on earth was she going to get it back without letting Naruto know that it was hers?
AN: Beta'd by Spooder! And grammarly! Anyways. This is the idea I managed to stick with after a week of failed ideas! I actually like this idea A lot! It's going to be short, maybe about five to six chapters. And will end about the time Naruto and Satsuki graduate. So you know short and sweet. I'm calling it a romance because it kind of is. Anyways. Now to probably hopefully work on the next chapter of The Sound of Freedom! Or maybe a Narusaku project I've been wanting to explore. Until next time!