ULTIMATE DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. I will not sell this or make money from it. It is a distraction from my homework. This disclaimer applies to every chapter in this story.
KitsuneMan
Chapter One
Naruto cringed as he felt the solid chunks slosh around in the milk carton. So maybe he should have bought some ice when the electricity had been shut off three days ago. But then, if he had money to buy ice, he would have paid the electric bill.
Maybe he could just strain the chunks out. It was really only cheese, right?
Here goes.
Naruto put a fork over the lip of the carton and slowly poured the milk over his Fruit Loops. He emptied all the liquid, then carefully picked out most of the small globs that had escaped past his fork. He squished one experimentally between his fingers, then carefully brought it to his lips.
"BLEEEEEGGGHHH!" Naruto spat the pieces out and scrubbed his tongue with the stained tablecloth that doubled as a napkin when he needed one. Okay, maybe not just like cheese. They probably did something really weird to real cheese to get rid of the sour, gag-inducing taste. Naruto eyed his Fruit Loops warily. He grabbed the jar of sugar and up-ended it over the bowl until he had a nice, sparkling mountain of crystalline insulin-busting goodness. He stirred it in—it got a little thick—and quickly took a bite before he could change his mind. He forced it down his throat, his body protesting all the way.
It wasn't so bad, he told himself as the lump settled rather ominously in his stomach. His support check was due tomorrow, and then he could buy more ramen! Of course, the support check hadn't come last week, but those kinds of things happened, right? Naruto nodded to himself sagely. What kind of ninja would he be if he couldn't rough it a little, after all?
Naruto groaned has his gut let off another angry grumble. That was enough breakfast, he decided, pushing the bowl away. He'd just eat a lot in the cafeteria for lunch—thankfully the school provided that. He grabbed his backpack off the floor, shoved in a few books and scrolls, and headed unsteadily towards the door. He stopped in the entrance to adjust his hitaite, the metal plate with leaf engraving glinting in the morning sun.
Energy, Naruto, energy! It's SHOWTIME!
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"Naruto!" The teacher snapped. "Would you put the 'scrolls' and calligraphy set away? Please take out a pen and flat paper like everyone else."
Naruto glared at Mizuki-sensei. "No! A ninja doesn't use that crummy paper crap, a true ninja uses scrolls!"
The rest of the class giggled at Naruto, who sat in a rather dinged-looking metal desk near the front of the class. A few even laughed openly.
"Naruto," Mizuki sighed, running a hand down his face. "That is paper, you've just ruined it by rolling it into tubes."
"Sh-shut up!" Naruto flushed.
"It's only the first day of school," Mizuki growled. "If you keep this up, I'm going to have to send you to see the principle. I'm sure ninja can adapt to use whatever material are at hand. A true ninja would blend into his surroundings anyway, not proclaim what he is at the top of his lungs." Mizuki stared down hard at his most infamous and problematic homeroom student. The ninja act had been endearing to some of his colleagues, but the boy was eleven now, starting the sixth grade, and it was getting a little old. "I think you should stay after the bell rings for lunch so we can have a talk."
Naruto's mouth fell open. "BUT I—"
Mizuki cut him off with an upraised hand. "But nothing. Sasuke, lend him a pencil." He swept back to the board at the front of the room.
Sasuke grunted and threw a pencil at Naruto in the next desk over. It hit him in the head and clattered to the ground. Sasuke merely smirked and turned back to watch Mizuki begin to lecture as Naruto growled and bent to pick up the writing instrument.
"Nice reflexes, ninja," someone hissed behind the blond boy, loud enough for the class to hear but not loud enough that Mizuki noticed. Or if the teacher did, he just continued to drone on about course objectives.
Everyone in the class snickered again, except for one little girl in the far back corner next to the window. She ignored the two girls in front of her passing notes about how cute Sasuke was and studied Naruto silently with pale, inscrutable eyes.
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Naruto couldn't believe he was missing lunch for this. His stomach churned unpleasantly.
"Do we have an understanding?" Mizuki asked from behind his desk. "I want no more disruptions in my class. Iruka might have tolerated your fantasies, but you are too old to be playing these games anymore." Mizuki wrinkled his nose in distaste. "You don't really believe you are a ninja, do you Naruto?"
"No, Mizuki-sensei," Naruto mumbled. At this point, all he really wanted was some FOOD.
"Then don't call me sensei. My name is Mr. Touji, or sir." [1]
"Yes sir."
"Good." Mizuki nodded, casually sweeping back his shoulder-length silver hair. "You need to grow up, boy. I'm sure you understand that Iruka lost his job because of your immature pranks and 'ninja missions.' You don't want that to happen to anyone else, do you?"
Naruto swallowed and shook his head, appetite lost in a sudden surge of guilt and anger. Naruto remembered what happened to Iruka-sensei well enough. Tears started to well in his eyes, but he blinked them away. Iruka had said he missed being a teacher, but was happy at his new job, and didn't want to see Naruto cry. Ninja never cried.
"Perfect," Mizuki leaned forward and hissed, "because I can assure you that I am not Iruka, and will make sure that you are expelled long before you have the chance to get me fired too." Mizuki sat back and grinned unpleasantly. "I'm glad we came to this understanding."
Naruto's guilt passed as suddenly as it had come, pushed out by Mizuki's coldness. Now Naruto was just angry and hungry again. He wanted to yell at Mizuki, tell him that he wasn't sorry and he really was a ninja—the best one EVER!—but he also needed to eat before he passed out. "May I go to lunch now, sir?" Naruto managed to grind out, looking suitably apologetic and pitiful.
Mizuki waved a hand dismissively. "Go ahead, I just hope we don't have to do this later in the semester. Your grades might actually even go up."
Naruto practically bolted out the door and down the corridor. Mizuki stood up behind the desk and started shouting.
"NARUTO! NO RUNNING!"
BRIIIIIIIINNNNNGG! The bell that called the end of lunch and recess rang. Naruto slowed to a few steps, and almost burst into a frustrated, half-starved wail right there and then.
"NARUTO! GET BACK HERE!"
Screw this! Naruto mentally cried. He made a few hand-seals, then dashed to the nearest window and clambered out. He rolled into the soft grass and dirt with a muffled thump and scrambled under some bushes as his classmates came chatting back to their homeroom. Ninja-escape technique, success!
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Iruka was tidying up the shelves when he heard the door chime jingle behind him. He grinned to himself-- there was only one person who would visit his shop at this time of day.
"Hey, Naruto!", Iruka greeted him, his back still turned to the entrance where the boy was probably trying to scrape off some of the dirt from his sandals. "Do that outside, would you? I just finished cleaning everything up."
"Yo! Iruka-sensei!"
Iruka turned around to smile warmly at his favorite one-time pupil, and whapped him on the head with the slightly damp rag he had been using to dust. "It's just Iruka now. I'm not your teacher anymore."
"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto brushed the reproach aside, adjusting the hitaite Iruka had given him for his last birthday. Naruto knew that Iruka didn't mean it, and Iruka knew it too.
"Shouldn't you be in class, still? It's only one-o'clock."
Naruto blushed and looked away. "They, ummm, let us out early because it's the first day?"
Iruka frowned. Naruto was a terrible liar. "You cut class again, didn't you? Do you even plan on making it to high school, let alone college?"
Naruto collapsed on a stool beneath a display rack of shuriken and fantasy swords. He bent over and buried his face in his arms on one of the gaming tables.
"Iruka, do you have any food?" Natuo mumbled, his voice sounding muffled coming through his arms. "I don't have any at home and Mizuki—the one who took over your class—kept me back from lunch. I don't feel too good."
Iruka's tirade died on his lips. He studied Naruto's form for a moment, then sighed and set down the rag. "I have some instant ramen in the back. I'll microwave it up." He turned and walked through the beaded curtain behind the register to the cluttered back room.
"Awesome!" Naruto slowly pumped a fist in the air, his face never leaving the crook of his other elbow.
Three minutes later, Iruka came back out with a steaming cup of noodles and a pair of chopsticks. He set it in front of Naruto and took the stool on the other side of the table. Naruto seemed to come back to life as he ate, telling Iruka all about his terrible first day.
"You should go back to being a teacher again, Iruka," Naruto managed to say between mouthfuls.
"Naruto..." Iruka sighed.
"I mean, we both know that this store doesn't make any money, and you used to really love being a teacher. There are other schools in the city."
"Naruto..."
"I mean, it was all my fault that you had to resign in the first place. You didn't have anything to do with it at all. It was just a prank."
Iruka shook his head. How long was the boy going to keep blaming himself for everything? "Naruto, there were other factors involved in my resignation as well."
"Like what?" Naruto finished the ramen and poked the wooden chopsticks through the empty Styrofoam cup. "Honestly, Iruka. You were...you are the best teacher I've ever had. You were the only reason why I kept coming to school last year, and probably the only reason why I showed up today at all."
"Don't say that, Naruto."
"I will, because it's true." Naruto sat up straighter. "I hate that place. I get teased because of the way I look, because of these stupid scars on my cheeks, and because I suck in class. I can't help it if my clothes are bad or I don't have all the books, 'cause I don't have the money for them! None of the teachers care that I don't do computer assignments because the librarians won't let me use them and I don't even always have electricity at home. No one else believes me when I say I want to be a ninja, either."
He's still saying that? Iruka had to wonder. "Naruto, you…you know there aren't many ninja around these days…right?"
"So?" Naruto squinted up at him. "I can do it! I can even throw a shuriken, just like you taught me!"
Oh, but Naruto, Iruka thought silently, these are just fantasy weapons for collectors like myself. They have dulled edges. They're not real.
Naruto's eyes slowly widened at Iruka's lack of response. He quickly stumbled out of his stool towards where his bag was lying in the entrance. "Not you too, Iruka-sensei! Don't tell me you don't think ninja exist, either! You taught me everything I know!"
Iruka still didn't trust himself to respond.
Naruto's face screwed up terribly and Iruka thought he might start to break down. "Th-thanks for the ramen, Iruka-sens…I mean, Mr. Umino. I'll see you later, I guess." He reached down for his bag and started to push open the door.
"Wait, Naruto!" Iruka cried. Naruto paused, and let the door close again. "You know I didn't mean it like that. It's not that I don't believe that you can't become a ninja, just that…maybe you should work harder in school so you can get a second job. You know, being a ninja won't pay for everything." Iruka winked half-heartedly as Naruto turned back around and the tension seemed to leave the boy's shoulders. "You can be a ninja, but it might be a good idea to think about becoming something on the side, too."
Naruto grinned, then laughed. He'd only been fooling. He knew Iruka believed in him. He strode to the counter in a few quick steps and flung his arms around Iruka for a brief hug. He looked away and blushed, absently rubbing a tear that had been forming from the corner of his eyes. "You should go back to dusting, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said rather loudly. "I got some dirt in my eyes." Naruto grinned even wider with his trademark foxy squint, and Iruka smiled back.
"Promise me you'll return to class and apologize to Mizuki-sensei, alright?" Iruka said seriously.
"Sure thing, Iruka-sensei," Naruto nodded as he again headed for the entrance. He stopped one more time halfway through the door, then turned around to face his mentor, his blond bangs and hitaite hiding his eyes and making him look very small. "You're my best, friend, you know that, right?" Naruto said so softly that Iruka had to strain to hear. "My only friend..."
Naruto looked up suddenly and gave Iruka another full-powered nuclear grin. "SEE YOU LATER, SENSEI!" Naruto waved and dashed down the sunny street, the door clanging shut behind him.
Iruka only sighed. He loved Naruto dearly, but maybe people were right when they questioned his mental soundness. He'd only tried to make the boy open up and work harder in class when he'd gone along with Naruto's little ninja game. Now, a year later and several months after an incident that had cost him his job, he was starting to wonder if the ninja thing was really just a phase. Perhaps he should help the boy seek counseling.
Oh, Naruto.
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Naruto slowly kicked a pebble out of his way as he meandered down the street in the general direction of school. Iruka was always right. It would only be worse if he waited to show up and explain himself to Mizuki tomorrow morning.
Stupid school. If I were a real ninja, I wouldn't have to go to classes or nothing, I'd be free!
Naruto shook his head. What was he thinking, if. He was a real ninja, wasn't he? Ever since he could remember, he'd always known that he would be a ninja. It wasn't a choice, it just…was. Maybe he'd get another job like Iruka said, as a cover or something, but it wouldn't change the fact that he was a ninja above all else.
No, Naruto couldn't deny his ambition to be a ninja any more than he could deny that Sakura-chan was really, really cute. Naruto began to blush. Sakura-chaaaaan… Naruto giggled.
And smacked into something tall, blue and hard.
"Hey kid, what are you doing out of school?" Boomed a gruff voice from above. Naruto looked up and faltered slightly when he saw the policeman's badge.
"Ummm…running errands for my mother?" Naruto lied, rubbing the back of his head ruefully. He quickly glanced up and down the mostly deserted street.
The officer narrowed his eyes in recognition. "Aren't you the kid who put laxatives in the station coffee last time we brought you in for truancy?"
Oh shit! Naruto thought. "No, but—OH MY GOD LOOK OVER THERE!" Naruto spun around and made a break for the nearest alley without waiting to see if the man had fallen for his trick. The cop's hand hooked onto his backpack, but Naruto slid it off his shoulders with ease. Ninja evasion tactics! Naruto mentally cried as he vaulted over a too-full trashcan and tipped it over behind him to clutter the alley entrance. The officer cursed behind him and he heard the banging of more trashcans. Success! Naruto burst out of the alley into the next street over, and dashed straight across for another narrow gap between buildings.
He never registered the car squealing as the driver slammed on the breaks, only saw something huge coming out of the corner of his eye. Naruto didn't think, didn't pray, just jumped.
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Naruto felt the wind whipping gently through his hair. Am I dead? He opened his eyes and looked down to see the roof of the building he'd been running for at least ten feet below him. Am I flying? The building was getting closer.
Am I falling?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! Naruto screamed. I'm falling! Six feet! Four feet! Two feet! He was gonna go over the edge of the building! Naruto twisted himself around and grabbed at the building's flimsy metal gutter. His eleven-year old fingers slipped and he continued to plummet into the dirty backlot below. Naruto closed his eyes and reached with everything he had for the ledge of the second story window. Something red flashed through his eyelids and suddenly Naruto wasn't falling anymore. He wasn't holding on to anything, either.
Naruto slowly cracked open his eyelids to peek at what had happened. He was dangling just above the ground, his toes sweeping the weeds pushing up through the gaps in the dirty backlot pavement. His eyes followed his body upwards to his arm, where a bubbling, crimson aura extended from his hand in the shape of a claw, digging deep gouges in the concrete ledge below the second story window.
Hehe…hehe…heh… Naruto chuckled in his mind, before the concrete ledge broke away and a large chunk hit him in the temple, sending him crashing into darkness.
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A/N: Woohoo! I've been planning this AU for…I dunno, ever since I got my account here, and now the first chapter is finally published. The second one is written and ready to go, too. I was going to publish it as part of this one, but decided it would be better to limit myself to about ten pages per update. Pacing, you know. If I get serious about writing this story, it's going to be a marathon. Let's see if I can bang out a third chapter tonight before I get bored. ^.^
[1] I got Mizuki's full name from a fan profile. If it's wrong, let me know so I can change it.