Flame: Okay, peoples, this fandom might not know me, this is my first fanfic that's not BP. Shocking, I know.
Neko-chan: THANK YOU SANA-CHAN!!!!
Flame: Neko-chan! They don't even know why you are thanking her! Can you please wait one moment?!
Neko-chan: (smiles innocently) Nope!
Tamako: Shall I go get the muzzle, Flame-sama?
Flame: (sigh) No, Tamako. We need her to introduce this story. Sadly. Okay, quick intro. I'm a. dancing. blue. flame15, but everyone calls me Flame. This baka-cat is my pet, Neko-chan.
Neko-chan: KONICHIWA!
Flame: And this overly serious pup is Neko-chan's... um... well... they're related somehow. This is my dog, Tamako.
Tamako: (bows) Nice to make your acquaintance.
Flame: Like I said, overly serious. Anyway, I'm sure a bunch of you have read the fan fiction Mended Hearts by Sanadasayuri. Well, when we read it, we got this awesome idea, what if we looked at the first chapter of Naruto through this point of view? So, we got permission from Sanada-san, and here we are.
Neko-chan: Maybe, if we get enough reviews asking for it, we might continue! That would be awesome!
Tamako: Shall we start the story?
Flame: Uh, yeah, sure. START THE CHAPTER! (light go out, random screen pops up. 3...2...1!)
Disclaimer: I don't own the story, I don't own the characters, hell, I can't even lay claim to the idea. Ah, well.
And So It Begins
Prologue
"Zeiguwa." The Sandaime, the third Hokage, acknowledged the small figure that swung gracefully through the window and landed flawlessly behind him.
"You called for me, Hokage-sama?" the figure asked. He disappeared from the window sill momentarily before reappearing in front of the Sandaime. Even in the light the boy seemed to belong to the darkness. He wore soft leather shoes that made no noise when he moved, black pants made of stretchy cloth that allowed free movement, and a tight black tank top that exposed the tattoo that proclaimed him as a Hunter nin. His hair was covered by a dark blue hood and his face was hidden behind an intricately decorated porcelain mask. Slung loosely around his waist was a large belt completely covered with pouches. Twin kodachi hung on his back.
"Zeiguwa, what do you know of the Uchiha clan?" the Sandaime asked, seeming to go off topic.
Zeiguwa hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and began. "The Uchiha's were a proud and abundant clan based here in Konoha. They were powerful due to the Sharigan eye, which could be used to detect the flow of Chakra in a ninja's body. One night, about three years ago, due to unknown circumstances, the Uchiha heir, Uchiha Itachi, committed mass murder, killing the whole clan in a mere hour, though he, for another unknown reason, spared his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, now aged seven and in care of one of the village women." came the answer.
"Good, very good. Ookami taught you well. Exceptionally well." when nervous, the Sandaime had been known to repeat an idea, and Zeiguwa tilted his head curiously.
"Is this going somewhere, Hokage-sama?" he asked, worried now.
"Actually, it is. You know how most young and talented children your age go to Ninja Academy to become ninja. After examination they split into groups of three to be trained further, and so on. A path you could have followed if you hadn't barged into my office on the day I was meeting with Ookami, Kou no Tori, and Tora. It was quite a shock when Ookami immediately took a liking to you. I remember-" the Sandaime was set to continue, but Zeiguwa cut him off.
"Hokage-sama, you're rambling. My mission, if you please." he prompted.
"Ah, yes... well, you really won't like this, but you are the only full Hunter nin even close to the right age to complete it. It's a very important job. I-" once again, the Hokage was cut off, this time when Zeiguwa held up his hand.
"You might want to hold that though, Hokage-sama, we are about to get an uninvited guest." just as he announced that, another form swung through the window, and the Hokage muttered something along the lines of 'Why do I even bother having a door'.
The newcomer was a tall, silver haired man with a cloth mask covering half of his face and his left eye hidden by the headband that identified him as a Konoha ninja. Though Zeiguwa relaxed visibly, one of his hands lingered near one of the kunai pouches on his belt.
"Hokage-sama, you'll never guess what I just found! A new book called- Oh! Hello there, little boy!" the strange ninja said.
Hatake Kakashi had just come from the book shop, and was about to tell the Sandaime about the book he had bought when he finally noticed the little boy in the uniform of a Hunter nin. Perhaps he had forgotten it was Halloween? He hadn't noticed the boy's chakra, but excitement could explain that, right?
The boy inclined his head silently, and Kakashi noticed his tattoo. Since there weren't any fake Hunter tatoos allowed to be made, the truth hit Kakashi hard.
'The Hunter's must be getting desperate, hiring a child' he thought incredulously, eying the boys slender form.
The Hokage smiled, knowing full well what Kakashi was thinking, and knowing how the young Hunter would retaliate, so he speeded up the process.
"Kakashi, Zeiguwa. Zeiguwa, this is-" this time he grinned when the young Hunter cut him off again.
"Hatake Kakashi, jounin, former ANBU member. Son of the White Wolf of Konoha. Known as the copy-nin, or the Scarecrow. His left eye is a Sharigan, transplanted from his chunin team mate Uchiha Obito. His team leader was the Yondaime." Zeiguwa said matter-of-factly.
Kakashi stood speechless after this child spouted secrets almost no one knew. As if he couldn't care less about the older man's mental state, the boy turned back to the Hokage and said something, though all the jounin could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. The Sandaime laughed and turned to the silent, stunned copy-nin.
"Kakashi, Zeiguwa is worried about you. He thinks that you may be a bit mentally unstable. What do you think?" he asked, his voice lightly teasing. He gave Kakashi a moment to return to Earth, and smiled when his eyes finally focused again.
"Uh, excuse me. I seem to have left something off at my house." And with that messed up excuse, the silver haired jounin dissapeared the way he came.
"Hokage-sama, I seem to have given that poor man an aneurysm." The Hokage laughed again at the way Zeiguwa said it, completely unemotional and uncaring.
"Zeiguwa, you sure know how to hit a man where it hurts most." when the Hunter remained silent, the Sandaime finally sobered again.
"I guess you want to know about your mission. Well, this is going to possibly put me in mortal danger, but, I want you to go to Ninja Academy and fail. Twice." as if expecting a blow, the Sandaime closed his eyes and winced, but opened them after a few moments when nothing happened.
"I suppose... your objective is to have me graduate with the young Uchiha, right? As you wish, Hokage-sama." Zeiguwa accepted without a fight, and the Sandaime was completely thrown off.
"A-are you saying you'll do it?" he asked in shock, and his mouth fell open when the covered head nodded.
"But I will also fail a third time. In order to fail two times, I must play at being 'dead last', and it would seem weird for a 'dead last' to pass a third time with flying colors." he answered.
The Sandaime shook his head. "You must graduate with the Uchiha." he ordered. "What if you can't make the test up?"
"I'll think of something. Right. Mission accepted. As of right now, I do this my own way, beginning with a henge on my face and body, to disguise myself. Good evening, Hokage-sama." without allowing the Sandaime to say anything else, the young Hunter disappeared in a burst of fire.
"Defiant brat." the Sandaime murmured to the empty room.
Across town Kakashi lounged in his bed in his boxers, his face completely uncovered as he stared at the ceiling, his new purchase, an obscenely orange book, lay forgotten on his bedside table. His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was 'His eyes were such a clear blue...'
In another apartment a porcelain mask lay discarded on a polished table as the wearer peeled off the blue hood, revealing sunny golden hair. A simple henge and the serious Hunter nin Zeiguwa was replaced by a whiskered, immature child, by the name of Uzamaki Naruto.
Flame: Okay, unless we get some motivation from y'all, this will be a two-shot. The prologue and the thing between Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki. That ought to be fun.
Neko-chan: That was fun to write! Flame-chan, can we please move on to the next chapter???
Flame: No, Neko-chan, it's past your bedtime, and our stuff always turns out to be crap when we get tired. Off to bed with you. You too, Tamako. We have to be in peak form to deal with this story tomorrow.
Neko-chan: (grumbles) Fine. (stomps upstairs)
Tamako: Good night, Flame-sama. I will see you in the morning when I awaken you for school. (ascends the stairs)
Flame: (laughs) Figures that Tamako would ascend rather than just go up. Well, goodnight people.