Naruto: The Animal is a fanmade work. The author derives no fiscal benefit from the Naruto IP nor others referenced herein.
~xxx
Naruto woke earlier than usual. Rather than drowse like one might expect, he threw himself out of bed. The boy was wide awake, ready to take on anything- and why shouldn't he? It was a day he'd been preparing for weeks in advance.
Looking back, what had seemed impossible became Naruto's reality. Little more than a year had passed since he'd first walked through the Academy's doors. Application was a convoluted process to his chaotic young mind, then being a stripling of 8 years.
It was surprising then, when he'd been promptly accepted into the NinAcademy, as was what was happening now. Naruto was on the verge of passing through the other side of the training program.
He was determined to graduate, although self-doubt weighed on him heavily. For too long, Naruto had felt shiftless and numb, helplessly afloat in a tide pool of humanity.
The wastrel was only a year older, yet he felt a thirst for purpose. Every day he saw tradesmen and officials, heading to and fro on urgent business, their eyes alight with thoughts of unknown import. To most children, their concern would have seemed alien.
But, then, they had the distracting company of others. Naruto wasn't sure who should feel sorry for whom…
The boy had weathered a solitary existence, not much better than a stray dog. His days were spent wandering outside or making a worse mess of his welfare apartment. Naruto was wont to focus on the former, as he had nothing to do but watch people and pick up food.
It was a mindnumbing, repetitive cycle. Occasionally, the boy would buy tape to hold up his walls, a piece of candy, a peach- hell, one time he was bold enough to buy a nice new brush. But he had no ink. Or paper.
Oddly enough, that one time might have been the day Naruto had chanced upon the Academy. It was during the open sparring session. He could remember the teachers stepping forward to demonstrate, their sinewy forearms glistening with a fine sheen of perspiration.
It wasn't the spar that stuck with them, but the speech afterwards.
"In the field, technique will be the deciding factor between success and failure. You can be tired, you can be disabled- but with technique and will, your outcome is certain…"
"-and you get paid!"
The speechmaker swatted his assistant. Their charges laughed, but Naruto remained silent. That following day, he signed up. The boy didn't think twice, not even now.
He was leaving behind a life of emptiness and pain. Every day felt like he wasn't going to make it back. Naruto frequently ran afoul of drunks and fellow wastrels, feral street animals, the odd criminal. While most of the village was a healthy organism, the boy's neighborhood amounted to the village's armpit. It stank, it was filthy, and everything was worse in the summer months.
The number of encounters couldn't be figured by the days they happened, but rather the days they didn't. Children with more than Naruto ever had fought to tear away his only riceball. What the brats didn't steal the dogs would, if the boy hadn't any fight left. Nothing need be mentioned of the adults, for they made up for their scarce appearances most generously.
Naruto was long since used to the madness, but it wasn't an existence he wanted to live for. It was even boring, some days.
His schoolmates complained of the dullness of the classes. Naruto couldn't relate for the life of him. Why, the other day, knowing the locations of the rib cartilage helped him persuade some of the wastrels.
Some older slum boys had taken up shop on the apartment complex's street corner, so Naruto made it his business to let them know they didn't belong. They disagreed, and then the little yellow haired kid slung out his dirty little fists.
He made some of the big boys' chests pop a bit, and they seemed to lose interest with Naruto's apartments. Naruto fondly remembered their sobbing as they hobbled off clutching their chests.
Suffice to say, he was looking forward to learning more as a real shinobi.
Naruto got ready, showering and dressing within moments. Slipping on his jacket, it seemed a little looser on him. He hadn't had a lot of fat on him before joining the Academy, but the frequent drills had ensured it was burnt down to almost nothing.
Examining his face in the mirror, Naruto hummed. In its reflection stood a small, eyeless boy. He'd long since gotten used to not seeing his eyes in his reflection, but it was still odd to see nothing but hollow sockets staring back at him. For the nth time over the past year, Naruto poked a finger into a socket and- OW! - again managed to partially blind himself.
Shaking his head to help the pain, somehow, Naruto looked back at himself. He shot his reflection a wide grin. His sharp, yellow teeth brimmed from his mouth, the individual gums writhing sinuously, shifting back and forth.
Times had changed Naruto, for at one point he'd have found the display horrifying. Well, he still did- but he didn't feel it personally.
It occurred to Naruto that he had time for an extra run around the neighborhood. Still grinning as he exited his shower room, he slapped his goggles over his gaping skull. He jogged merrily out of the apartment complex.
~xxx
He stumbled back into the apartment, pouring sweat. Naruto ducked into his shower for a wash, not sparing the effort to even turn the tap to "warm". The boy ambled out of the shower, only stopping to dry off his upper half before reviewing his academy notes.
Naruto pored over the foundational hand signs and other genin material. He paid especial attention to chakra usage, as it was an area that interested the boy greatly.
Naruto felt his mental energy suffuse his body's own whenever he created it, but his teachers vehemently claimed the process was so subtle as to be imperceptible. Only chakra specialists and veteran users could notice it, they said, let alone feel it. Perhaps the boy was wrong, then. Then again, maybe not. Naruto hoped his studies in the field would help bring him closer to the truth.
Rather than sit motionless while he read, the boy continued to exercise. It amounted to simple body weight routines, but it was more to keep his blood flowing and his sinews supple than to actually challenge Naruto.
He only stopped just as dawn approached. First light filtered through the musty curtains as Naruto ambled to the fridge with intent.
He grabbed the first thing his eyes lit on- a pigeon, plump and fresh. Naruto remembered wringing its neck nigh the day before. It had been an easy picking, barely even noticing until the boy had sprung. To think birds used to be difficult prey for the hungry boy. His stay in the Academy had certainly paid off…although, who could have foreseen what this particular application of nin training?
Naruto plucked the fowl roughly, tearing off bits of skin here and there. When he came to the bothersome tail feathers, the boy simply tore the whole thing off. Only then taking the time to drop into one of the two chairs in the apartment, he turned his thoughts to the day ahead.
There would be the required written test, more than likely referencing a randomized percentage of the curriculum. Naruto had run afoul of a similar quiz months earlier, one that he'd felt was childishly easy. Since then, the scrawny nin-in-training had doubled down on his studies- and his mindset.
This was due in no small measure to his teacher. The scarred man had pointed out the simple fact that, if a simple piece of paper could get the better of Naruto, what would happen if the boy was facing something that would kill him? Such a harrowing notion was easy to take to heart, and Naruto's aptitude improved immediately.
In fact, he thought of this test as his first real mission. Naruto not only aimed to be ready for what he was sure would present itself, but what would happen in his most pessimistic imaginings. He was past mere certainty of the challenges awaiting him- today would tell if Naruto was truly ready.
The wastrel student found himself reflecting on his reasons for training to be a ninja, absentmindedly biting into his meal of filthy bird.
With the pay ostensibly awaiting Naruto, he could certainly eat better than this. Eating random vermin wasn't socially appliqué, anyways.
Come to think of it, the wastrel's backup option of ramen wasn't particularly fantastic, either. The noodles stuck in his teeth, it was simply fattening, and the only worthwhile stuff was just barely affordable if he ordered it without toppings. Suffice to say, Naruto looked forward to better fare.
Even as the boy took care to savor the gamey flavor of winged rat, he cast his imagination to finer things. Full-bodied, civilized-person meats like pig or cow or- Naruto shuddered with apprehensive delight- whale…even as simple dreams, the half-starved wastrel found their allure irresistible.
He wouldn't have to hunt in the streets anymore, something Naruto felt wistful about. The boy easily admitted to himself that he enjoyed the moments of life-and-death in his daily life. Things would change, ostensibly for the better. Cats and pigeons would be replaced- men would become his prey. Perhaps not for eating- mostly- but Naruto was not much of a glutton, anyways.
To wager his blood against another's, to claw to supremacy- this sentiment lit a fire in Naruto's belly. The wastrel sensed he would be enraptured in this line of work. If he died, so be it; it would be a fitting end, in the student's opinion.
Naruto shifted his focus to what remained of the bird, picking its carcass clean of its remaining flesh. Once he'd gulped down every last chewy bit, he tossed the scattered remains into a nearby wastebin. The sink was full, anyways.
Arbitrarily deciding he didn't want to smell like sweat and pigeon for Exam Day, Naruto headed for the shower. He didn't need to strip down, since he hadn't even gotten dressed after showering the first time.
After sufficiently hosing off, Naruto smoothly transitioned to giving his teeth a good scrub, all 36 of them. The boy made sure to move them so he could get in the tight spaces, right down to the gum line. Gnashing after he finished, Naruto examined his uniform ivories. They were yellowed, each tooth identical to its neighbor. It frustrated the boy that his choppers stained so easily, but they were without a doubt flawless, otherwise.
Shaking his head, Naruto summarily slapped on his now dry exercise clothes. Truthfully, they were his only clothes. Another acquisition to look forward to- something besides eye-searing hi vis in Naruto's size.
In his seemingly endless fantasizing, the wastrel nearly forgot to slap on his goggles, which lay haphazardly slung over the shower curtain. While he wasn't sure how common his condition was, Naruto wasn't quick to share its existence with the world. He'd only forgotten to cover his sockets once- and the first person he'd run into had a conniption fit and expired on the spot. Naruto'd liked that old lady, too.
Adjusting the fit, the blond checked his image in the mirror once more. His huge, dark green specs were the only quality possession Naruto had, brush aside. The big clunky headpiece almost made the scrawny boy look like a bug, its dark lenses taking up practically half his head. People found his style a little weird, but it was a keepsake from the Professor, after all. Goodness knows what he'd meant by the gift…
Clearing his head of distracting thoughts, Naruto headed for the door. He couldn't help but smile.
~xxx
Although he'd arrived early, Naruto was far from the first. Plenty of other students took the exams as seriously- and those who didn't had parents for that sort of thing. It was moderately surprising to Naruto that his classmates were older than him. But, then, Naruto had kept being sent to different classes.
In the beginning of his tutelage, he'd been with his own age set. Within a fortnight, he'd been quietly handed a slip of paper he was told to deliver to the adjacent lecture hall. After doing so, Naruto had been subjected to a banal series of questions, designed to gauge his intent in his studies.
Another week later, the boy was sent to a new class with the advice to pay attention and keep quiet. Each student there was a little bigger than him, and everyone seemed on edge. He hadn't known what to expect the first time he raised his hand and answered a question in that class. The blond wastrel been met with a stare from the teacher, followed by a curt nod.
When Naruto got a letter delivered to his apartment the following day, the boy was sure he was in for some trouble. Had the orders been conditions, and now he was barred from study? The boy's hands had trembled enough to make him drop the letter several times before he managed to get it open.
Despite his paranoid imaginings, it turned out to be another brief to report to a different classroom. That time, it was more or less what met Naruto's eyes presently- a bunch of pre-teens, looking more like misfits than genin. He'd felt more at home there, but was terribly confused when this latest instructor listed off the duties of specialist shinobi at the beginning of class. Naruto grew even more confused when this stranger, too, spared him a nod.
Although he'd never felt singled-out during instruction, Naruto had felt as if he was being watched. He had no idea why, as each day seemed much the same process. A topic was introduced, explained, and demonstrated in some capacity by the instructor. Each day was something wildly different, making the wastrel's yellow head spin from all the material.
He'd barely kept up in the beginning, but as time went on Naruto became quite acclimatized to the routine. The boy never felt like he was doing better by much, but he was happy enough to tread water til Exam Day.
The other students left him alone, mostly. When they did bother to chat their kohai up, it was invariably to bounce nin theory theses off him. His compatriots did that with each other, anyways, but it had the effect of making Naruto feel included. It was an odd feeling, one that helped remove the mystery of this markedly odd class.
Naruto dimly imagined what having a team would be like. Would it be like this class, or something closer to friendship? The boy had never had the experience of real friends. Friendly people, sure, but then Naruto was already wise to the fact that, the same way there were plenty of simply foul people in the world, there were a fair few all-around good folk here and there.
Still, it wasn't a concern high on his list. Naruto allowed himself a sigh, crossing his arms as he settled back in his chair. At least it would be a short wait.
~xxx
A gentle tap on his arm was all Naruto needed to spring forward in his seat. The exam was in front of him on the desk. Sparing a glance at the instructor's retreating back, the wastrel got to work.
The beginning was deceptively simple, which caused Naruto to retread parts to make sure he'd answered them aptly. Sure enough, there were a number of trick wordings that made sense one way and made more sense in a completely different way. The yellow haired pessimist erred on the side of obscurity and hoped that his limited literacy wouldn't screw him this time. Following through to the rest of the test, the questions seemed to get more and more straightforward as he continued. Whilst the beginning had been deceptively difficult, the latter parts proved convoluted yet progressively tacit in their interpretations. The blond had an inkling he had dodged quite the inscrutable bullet.
Whilst he had finished near the end of the allotted time, Naruto was sure he'd done well enough. The announcement of the next part of the exam caused the boy to break out in a cold sweat: the students had to execute the art of the henge.
"Alright, on your feet! Time to test your disguises!"
Instructor Morino paced the room once, gesturing for the students to rise and join him at the front. Naruto found himself near the back of the line. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed some of the instructors watching from the door. Color him confused.
The girl in front of him was fidgeting a lot, which drew Naruto's attention to the state of her…outfit. Naruto was close to that age, but it was more the fact that it was so heinously out-of-place, even in this room of oddballs. He barely recognized the girl wearing it, but he wasn't soon to forget. Really, who wears a bright red tube dress to a ninja exam?
When it came time for the girl in front to go, Naruto could only grimace in disbelief. She managed to only half-transform into the instructor, nailing his facial features and build…whilst putting the man in her outfit. The classroom was silent like the grave as the girl shakily dispelled her disguise.
The soft noise that escaped Naruto's lips was enough to earn the girl's attention- and her ire.
"Hey you wanna top that, little dog?"
Naruto scoffed, his dyspeptic expression unchanging as he stepped forward.
"What's there to top," he said, shrugging.
A vein pulsed in the girl's smooth jaw. Before most could blink, the flunky was halfway through a spinning axe kick. Yells of outrage sounded from the hallway as the heel closed on Naruto's face, just before the small boy pushed it aside. The girl's bootheel slammed into the hardwood floor with a resonant thud.
"That's enough," said Instructor Morino, not batting an eye, "Get moving."
The violent schoolgirl glowered at Naruto, turning to leave. Only the students were surprised when she whipped around, slinging a shuriken straight at her classmate's throat. The younger student quickly leaned back in a half-bridge, the metal star whizzing past his face by a foot.
"Out~, Koizumi," the instructor growled, grabbing his insubordinate student by the back of the neck, pivoting her around gently and escorting her to the door.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Instructor Morino announced, his scarred face still like a frozen lake, "Your turn."
"Yes, sir," the wastrel nodded, forming his hands together, "Henge!"
In a small plume of smoke, the boy was replaced by a man. That man was the instructor standing not three paces away.
"Passable," Morino admitted, nodding, "however, Naruto-"
His double nodded, replying in Morino's own voice "Yes?"
"Next time ditch the goggles."
"Ah," the wouldbe shinobi replied, pounding a fist into the palm of his hand. Instructor Morino raised an eyebrow.
"Head along now- my colleagues are handling the final part in the next room."
"Thank you, sir," Naruto said, dispelling his disguise as he bowed.
~xxx
It was unlike Morino to reflect on any of his students. If he did, it was because another had gone rogue or died- or worse.
In the case of this runt, though…Uzumaki Naruto. The old man had a keen interest in the outlandish…
He was ready to throw that little fish back into the river. Oh, he did alright. But the twerp just didn't have the spark.
Or so it seemed.
Little fool had an eye for detail. He could remember the annoying skin tab hiding half inside his collar, and the errant threads coming off of his well-used gloves. Hell, the fucked up part of his disguise meshed perfectly, even displacing his headrag a little to show some of his scars.
Scary itty bitty crapstain, that one. Unassuming as shit, even with the girlie's antics.
Morino nodded to himself, smiling. The Will of Fire lived on.
~xxx
Waiting in the hall proved less hazardous than he'd thought. The upstart was nowhere to be seen, even though he imagined he could hear someone's irate wailing.
"Uzumaki Naruto," came the call. The voice sounded familiar.
The named student promptly entered the open classroom door and closed it quietly behind him. Naruto turned to face his examiners. He nodded respectfully to Instructor Iruka and his colleague.
"Good afternoon, instructors."
Naruto took the opportunity to glance at the headbands arrayed on the table directly in front of the examiners. Each protector was etched with the insignia of the village and polished to a medallion luster. The materials were so new Naruto could see the room's reflection in them.
The reflection was broken up by a number of spaces between the bands. Odd that there were so few of them on the table- but, then, many students must have passed. A small surge of confidence welled up inside the genin hopeful. Turning his gaze back to the two instructor shinobi, he noticed the unknown man drumming his knuckles softly on the desk. It was Iruka who spoke up, however.
"Good afternoon, Naruto," he said, glancing down at his clipboard, "You will now demonstrate for Mizuki and myself your mastery of the Bunshin technique- five clones please.
"Yes, sir," the wouldbe graduate said, giving a short bow.
"Mizuki" smirked, hiding his smile behind the pencil he was toying with. Naruto barely even noticed.
He took a step back, and assumed the proper handsign. Naruto reviewed the steps to create clones in his head. To create chakra, blend your mind's force with that of your body. Let it flow out from the body's center and…
Naruto felt the technique unleash just as an errant thought entered his head. Nothing to worry about, surely.
"Bunshin Technique!"
Like in the other room, a small cloud of smoke erupted. From it appeared 5 clones of the yellow-haired boy, surrounding him in a tight formation. They bowed in unison.
"E-excellent, Naruto! Well done!" Iruka beamed, hastily marking the boy's score down.
Mizuki scoffed, muttering loud enough for only his neighbor to hear. Iruka gave him a gentle nudge with his arm, responding just as quietly. Mizuki lazily waved Naruto forward, his lips pursed.
Naruto nodded, dispelling his technique. Iruka had thought he'd glimpsed…no, nevermind. The man shook his head.
Stopping right in front of the examiners' table, Naruto bowed again.
"Thank you very much for your guidance, teachers," he said, his tone soft and demure.
"It's our duty to serve, Naruto," Iruka said, smiling and nodding, "you may now take your badge as a graduate. You'll be returning tomorrow for squad assignment. The usual time and place for class, alright?"
"Sure thing, teacher," the boy replied, nodding tersely. He picked up a headband and promptly headed for the door. Opening it, he paused slightly before doing a hairpin turn around the frame.
~xxx
"Didn't think we'd be passing that brat," Mizuki commented, pulling at his collar with a finger.
"Be nice," Iruka said, "he was a good student and a lot better kid than most of these children who grow up in normal situations."
The chunin tossed his grey hair, combing through it with his fingers. Mizuki leaned back in his chair with a languid poise.
"He's a freak, Iruka. That kid ain't natural."
"He hasn't hurt anyone, Mizuki," Iruka said, his tone taking an edge, "This is hardly fair judgment."
"Whatever," Mizuki muttered. Glancing at his own clipboard, he barked out one of the remaining names.
"Koizumi Amamiya!"
A kunoichi hopeful stumbled in on high-heeled boots. The new arrival's mind seemed elsewhere, since she necked out into the halfway as if checking for something. The girl's scandalous attire caught the attention of both men, which seemed to barely contain her budding figure. The examiners were at a momentary loss for words.
Iruka bit the inside of his cheek in attempt to prevent a break in his professional mien. His colleague, however, had no such compunctions.
"Oh, Kami on a cracker-" Mizuki swore softly, his eyes alight with a familiar menace. Iruka knew what was coming, and headed it off with a punch- under the table, so as to maintain appearances. Mizuki doubled over in his chair, eye ticking as he shot his friend and comrade a look.
"Good afternoon, Miss Amamiya," Iruka said, his lips forming into a brittle smile. His back formed a rigid line, the man's eyes filled with saccharine warmth. He appeared ignorant of both his colleague's distress and his charge's apparent lack of shame.
"Would you kindly demonstrate your Bunshin technique for Mizuki and myself?"
"O-oh?" the girl blurted out, realizing her situation, "Ah!"
The eccentric girl whipped around to face her teachers. In the attempt, she imbalanced on her clunky boots and fell back on her rear. Her knees akimbo, she inadvertently flashed the table with her lacy undergarments.
"Oh no…"
Umino Iruka's eyes widened slightly. When Mizuki started to make a choked sound, the sweet tempered instructor next to him punched him again- this time without trying to hide it.
~xxx
Naruto's heart was racing. He'd done it. He'd made it.
Now past the intensive instruction of the Academy, and into the world of adults and- more importantly- individuals. He stood among those that made their destiny risking their skin. How much different could it be from a street war.
Well, Naruto internally admitted, a fair lot. He'd also have to get used to playing with others. This mention of a team worried him a little.
The boy wasn't used to the idea of company. Or friends. Or family. An arm's length distance was as close as Naruto allowed anyone or anything- besides the Weasel. But that one lived inside his body…maybe even was a part of it.
Naruto shook his head. Unnecessary details. He'd best head home, anyways.
Today had been a good day. Perhaps the next one will be even better.
~xxx
Author's Corner
Okay, so I'm delivering on a slightly better rewrite of this chapter. Retconned some details, but out some others.
For instance, I did away with the whole spiel about family and relationships, as well as the parts that made Naruto seem like anything other than a snarky lil guttershite.
Be warned, the following two chapters are planned for rewrites as well, particularly 3.
If you don't see some note at the top of those two chapters telling you they're redone, skip em. They're bad.
I'll also be working a little on chapter 4 for reasons that should become apparent.
If you can make it to 10 without getting sick, well done. That's where the Wave Arc starts, which has my favorite work to date therein. I hope you enjoy the latter half of my fic, regardless of the rest of it.
Hotfix: Take two! Document editor garbled up the format and inundated the original fix with code text. This time better be the charm…