Title: Betrayal
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Italics – Setting or human thoughts
Bold – Bijuu or Summons
Bold Italics – Bijuu or Summons thinking
Chapter 1:
October 10th 5:10AM
The Nine-Tailed fox had just attacked Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves, destroying much of the village and taking countless lives. The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, sacrificed his life to condemn the beast but he could not kill such a foe. The demon was sealed within a small boy born on that fearsome day. His name was Uzumaki Naruto. The boy was the legacy of the Fourth, the pariah of Konoha, the future Hokage.
Since that fateful day, Naruto was orphaned and had no family whatsoever, as far as anyone knew. October 10th proved to be the darkest day for all the citizens of Konoha. Many loved ones died, many buildings were completely destroyed, and a third of the village was in ruins due to all the mass destruction. Everything was out of order. In order to reestablish peace and order, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the former Sandaime Hokage, had to step up and retake his position as leader of the village.
The Third was walking through the village looking at the pain his beloved village had to go through. The entire village was his family and it hurt him to see all the pain and anguish on each and every citizens' faces. There were families crying at the loss of loved ones, medic-nin were running around trying to assess all who were injured, many children were utterly frightened at what had just transpired, dead bodies littered the ground, alas the will of fire was dim. In his arms was a baby boy with a little tuft of blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes that were curiously looking at everything around him. Hiruzen looked at the boy and smiled, throughout all the grief, something good had come from it. He could tell the boy was going to be great ninja one day, just like his parents were. The old man caressed the boy's cheek and touched his newly formed whiskers which gave physical indication of his burden. At that moment, he promised to protect this boy and wouldn't allow anyone to harm him. He knew that many of civilians and ninja alike would blame Naruto for the attack of the Nine Tails as well as see him as the said demon, but he would try his very best for Naruto to have a normal childhood before learning of all the facts.
Hiruzen pondered what he'd do when Naruto came looking for answers and came to a conclusion. I'll tell him everything when he becomes a Jonin. He wished the time would go by slowly but in the ninja world, it never does.
Finally, Hiruzen made his way to an orphanage for select children. This orphanage was built in plain sight, however, it only consisted on kids who had parents who were shinobi or had special conditions in order to prevent them from facing any discrimination.
As soon as Hiruzen made his way inside the compound many of the staff immediately made their way over to him.
"It is a pleasure to be of your assistance, Sandaime-sama." said a Chunin named Heiwa Seishin while bowing. The Hokage greeted him with a smile and wished that all his subordinates weren't always so formal but allowed it due to the current events.
"Thank you, Seishin. It is nice to see you again." replied the once retired Hokage.
"Thank you, sir." said Seishin, while maintaining his bow.
"Please, rise. I am here to drop off this young boy. His name is Uzumaki Naruto and he is but a few hours old. I expect him to be treated well, any misdeeds against him will cost you severely." stated the Hokage, directing it to all the staff. Usually, the old man was very polite and easy-going but when there were serious predicaments, he would become the wise battle-hardened Shinobi known across the entire ninja world.
"Your will, Sandaime-sama." chorused everyone present in harmony. He nodded in thanks.
"Sandaime-sama, a few papers will need to be filled out for his living arrangements." said the Jonin in charge of the place, Jōnetsu Tamashī. She was an aged woman whose family founded this orphanage since the beginning of Konoha under the Shodai Hokage.
"Of course, I'll be happy to sign them." said the aged shinobi. Now that I'm the Hokage again, I have to face my most fearsome enemy, paperwork. Tamashi gave Hiruzen a couple of papers to fill out for food, nurturing, special care, and other things of the sort. After they were done, Hiruzen took Naruto into his new room. When he opened the door, he saw that there was another girl who was maybe 3 years old, crying on her bed with her knees pulled to her head. Hiruzen made his way over to the girl and tried to comfort her.
"Hello," said Hiruzen in a way a grandfather would speak to their grandchildren. The girl looked up and tear stains were easily visible. She had light brown eyes and purple hair messily tied up. "What's troubling you? You can talk to me."
"M-My uncle died. He was last family member I had and that demon fox killed him. I was watching through the window and saw him get eaten." The girl said before she broke down again. Hiruzen felt sad for the girl. Many people lost family members on this horrendous day but this girl was only three and she lost her last living relative. This was the worst day of Konoha's history indeed. Sarutobi sat down next to the girl and wrapped one arm around her and the kept the other firmly holding Naruto.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this" comforted the old warrior. The girl looked at him once more and wrapped her small arms around the Sandaime for comfort. Then she noticed the small baby in his arms and that put a smile on her face.
"Aww he's so cute. What's his name?" said the unnamed girl. Hiruzen smiled at her before looking at Naruto.
"This boy is Uzumaki Naruto" said the Sandaime with a sad smile. "He was born today and he lost everything he had. His parents died protecting him and he has no other known family members."
"Oh" said the purple-haired three-year-old feeling sorry for the little kid. "Can I hold him?" she asked with a pleading smile on her face and her arms outstretched
"Go right ahead" said the Hokage passing Naruto gently on to the girl's lap. At that moment, Naruto decided to wake up and his sparkling blue eyes stared up at the little girl's light brown ones and he gave a toothless smile. The Sandaime smiled at their interaction and knew that she'd be good for him. The boy would face many struggles in his life when he grew up and to keep him sane he needed at least one person to look to for comfort. Of course, the Third would try to help him as much as possible but the council would strongly disagree with the Hokage having personal relations and showing favoritism with people other than family.
The little girl touched Naruto's cheek and caressed his whiskers making Naruto close his eyes enjoying the feeling.
"Why does he have whiskers?" the little girl asked
The Sandaime sighed at that question and rubbed his eyes. "I can't answer that question, my dear. But I'm going to tell Naruto when he becomes a Jonin and if he wishes he will tell you too." The girl nodded her sadly. "Remember, this is a very big secret, please don't ask anyone else about this." She nodded and turned her attention back to Naruto.
Sarutobi watched as the girl was about to poke Naruto's cheek but Naruto suddenly grabbed her finger and held it in his little palm surprising the girl. If his reflexes are already that fast at an hour old, I can't wait to see what it'll be like when he's a full-fledged ninja. The two children continued to play when Tamashī walked in.
"Hokage-sama, I have brought young Naruto's living requirements." she said while slightly bowing.
"Ah, yes, thank you very much." Sarutobi said with a polite tone but inwardly frowned at her bow. He wished everyone wouldn't always be so formal with him.
"Jiji, you're the Hokage?" said the little girl in awe. She was not suspecting this old man to be the leader of the village.
Hiruzen laughed at her shocked face and smiled. "Yes I am, I was the Third Hokage but the Fourth died today and I'm afraid I have to retake my position. It's tragic and no one else is capable of doing so at the moment." His gaze shifted from the girl to Naruto. He wondered if Naruto would also want to be Hokage when he grew up as both of his parents wanted to.
"What might your name be?" inquired the Hokage
"I'm Mitarashi Anko" she said proudly
"It's a pleasure to meet you" replied Sarutobi. "Naruto here is going to be your new roommate so do this old man favor and look after him, alright?" She nodded, honored to be given a task by the Hokage so early on.
Tamashī and Hiruzen set up Naruto's crib and had made multiple formulas for him in case he became hungry.
"Thank you for all your hard work, Tamashī-san" said the Hokage
"It's my pleasure, Hokage-sama" the old woman replied.
A year passed by and Anko was inseparable from Naruto. She always looked after him and almost never left his side. He recently learned how to walk and it was exhausting chasing after him but it was fun. Naruto lightened everyone's mood and was never a bother. He considered Anko to be his very best friend, but in all honestly how could he not? They literally spent every moment of every day together. Anko was four now but she enjoyed spending time with a one year old. It was certainly never dull. Naruto even managed to use chakra already. He could go half way up a wall already which left all that have seen him do such a thing in awe. A one year old was able to do things that most Genin couldn't do yet. Not even Anko learned how to use chakra yet. She was jealous of him at first but learned to manage but she made a mental note to make him teach her once he figured out how he did it.
Two more years went by and Naruto was almost fully articulate and was showing a strong potential to becoming a phenomenal ninja. But on this day, Naruto was depressed. His best friend Anko was starting the academy soon meaning she wouldn't spend much time with him anymore. Naruto was currently on his bed laying down staring at the ceiling just when his roommate/the girl he was currently thinking about came into the room.
"Hey Naru" she said cheerfully, but her mood dimmed when she saw the look on Naruto's face. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked sitting down on his bed looking at him.
"Nothing" he replied in his stubborn, childish voice. His chubby cheeks seemed to get bigger making his whisker marks stand out even more. Anko smiled at his antics. He was so easy to read.
"Just tell me or I'll throw all your manga out" she threatened, she was lying but Naruto was too gullible to notice
"No! You can't do that, I didn't finish all of them yet!" Naruto yelled in distress, his sparkling blue eyes became wider in fear for his books.
"Alright, relax" Anko said, laughing. "Just tell me what's got you so bummed out and I'll leave your books alone."
"I was just kind of sad that you're gonna be going to the academy now and you won't spend time with me anymore." He said sullenly. Anko looked at him once and punched him on the head. "OW! Hey!"
"Relax, Naru, I'm still going to be your best friend. Just 'cause I'm going to the academy doesn't mean I'm not going to be with you anymore. It just means I'll have to do a whole bunch of cool ninja stuff before I become the best kunoichi this village has ever seen." She said adamantly which immediately brightened Naruto up and he laughed.
"Can you teach me the stuff you learn?" Naruto asked pleadingly doing his puppy dog face that always makes Anko give up."
"Sure, gaki, if you teach me how to walk on walls with chakra." Naruto grinned and nodded repeatedly and grabbed her hand and led her to the backyard.
"Tamashī-baachan told me not to do it on the walls anymore because I kind of damaged it last time" he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Anko laughed at Naruto's predicament and ruffled his hair.
"You still have to teach me." Anko said, "Just do it on the trees and then tell me how to do it."
Naruto nodded and the two made their way to the nearest tree outside. "So, what you have to do is focus your chakra on the palms of your feet and imagine them sticking on to the surface that you're walking on." He then did a ram seal to focus his chakra and after a few seconds he started casually walking up the tree as if he were on the ground. Anko was staring at him with her jaw wide open.
Anko then laughed at the fact that a 3 year old kid could do the tree climbing exercise when kids four times his age could not. "That's so cool, gaki. Now, let me try." Anko then followed Naruto's steps and tried walking up the tree. She made it 2 steps before falling back down and landing on her butt.
"Ite-te-te-te" Anko moaned in pain. "Gaki, did you lie to me? I did exactly what you said." She said fuming at the young blonde.
"I didn't lie Anko, I swear" the young boy said quickly. "But I might have forgot to mention that you need to use a su-sufi-" he cut off, unable to pronounce the word.
"Sufficient?" Anko supplied, hiding a smirk at the young boy's inability to pronounce a word.
"Yeah, that. You didn't use a su-ffi-ci-ent amount of chakra. If you use too little chakra then you won't stick and if you use too much then your gonna end up bouncing off." He said, sounding like a true professional.
"Might have helped if you mentioned that before" Anko muttered, and then a thought came to her mind. "Hey gaki, how did you learn this stuff anyway?"
"Tamashī-baachan always brings me books when she goes to the library." He said brightly, and then dimmed down. "The other people don't like me much."
Anko internally was pissed off at the other staff members. They never treated Naruto with kindness and always berated him for little things. She snapped out of her musing and tried cheering Naruto up. "Don't worry about them; they're all just a bunch of idiots. Ne, ne, let's play a prank on them when they least expect it, okay?"
Naruto instantly agreed and the two spent the rest of the day messing with the Chunin making screams arise from all parts of the compound followed by the names of the two pranksters being shouted.
The next day was Anko's first day at the academy. She and Naruto were walking down the streets of Konoha heading towards the academy. Naruto was feeling slightly depressed that he wouldn't see his friend as often as before and Anko was feeling a bit nervous about her new experience. Many thoughts were going around Anko's mind as she and Naruto were walking. Would she fit in? Would she be able to do all the things her classmates could? Would her teachers like her? Anko was never one for caring about what others thought, but once you've made it passed all her defenses and layers, she was a very sensitive soul. She didn't want to be made fun of for being an orphan or for being too weak. She just wanted to be…well she just wanted to be herself and not be criticized for it. She dealt with enough of that at the orphanage. The other kids all called her "eggplant" for the color of her hair, which she had no control over. Even though the nickname was hardly diminutive, Anko hated being insulted. All the kids called her that, all save for Naruto. She looked down at her blonde companion and smiled. She was glad for his presence. Something about him always calmed her down. He emitted a kind of warmth that anyone would find comfort and solace in and she was grateful that he was always there for her.
The two future ninjas were so captivated in their thoughts that they wouldn't have noticed that they reached the academy if Naruto didn't bump into a certain silver-haired boy.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" said the silver-haired boy to Naruto.
Naruto looked up, his thoughts being interrupted. He saw the boy who was more than a head taller than him looking down. His face was hidden behind a mask save for his eyes. His silver hair was wild and seemed to defy gravity as it was spiked all over. He was wearing all black but his sandals were blue.
"Sorry," Naruto apologized and looked down. "It won't happen again."
"It better not," reprimanded the boy. He turned his gaze to Naruto's companion and his eyes widened a bit before going back to their original shape. "What's your name, miss?"
Anko raised an eyebrow in response. She saw how he had just treated Naruto and didn't like it one bit. "The name's Mitarashi Anko, remember it. Now, apologize to my friend."
Naruto looked up surprised and Anko winked at him making him slightly red but smiling nonetheless.
"Hmm?" the silver-haired boy pondered. "Nah, he's just a squirt. Anyways, I'm Hatake Kakashi, pleasure to make the acquaintance of such a beautiful girl."
Anko blushed slightly, not being used to given compliments, and lowered her gaze.
"Orientation is going to start soon. Do you mind if I escort you?" asked the silver-haired boy, holding out his hand towards Anko. Naruto watched the boy with his normally light blue eyes narrowed. Anko was his best friend not Kakashi's. Naruto didn't particularly care if he was talked down to, but no one would hurt Anko.
"Sure," Anko tentatively took his hand, her face becoming more flushed. "Let's go."
She never looked back at Naruto.
If she did, she would've seen the look in his eyes.
If she did, she would've seen the change in his posture.
If she did, she would've seen his clenched fists.
If she did, she wouldn't have left like she did.
AN: Please review. I would be grateful for any constructive criticism. Flames are appreciated as well.
P.S. Update times vary depending on my schedule.