This story is inspired by two things.
One: Ever was there a story of a character who truly had nothing special about them stumble into greatness? I mean no old blood lines of mystical power, no naval dwelling demon king, no super parents with mysterious and prestigious backgrounds, no blessings from gods that no mortal has heard the name of in centuries, no super genius analytics, or any of that bull. I haven't found one yet so I guess I'll have to do my own.
Two: an anime called Airmaster. That show gave me the idea for the fighting style naruto will use. If you get the chance to watch it you should just ignore the parts between the fight scenes as nothing really important happens, just a bunch of bull, mostly focused on the bouncing busom of another character.
I've decided to break a habit with this story. I'll be carefully writing out almost every fight scene instead of simply glossing over them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Airmaster.
Chapter One: The Ordinary Orphan
Naruto Uzumaki was not an ordinary orphan. He did not dwell on who his parents may have been. He did not stew in melancholy over the fact that by having no parental figures he may not be a good parent in the long run. He didn't care that he may not be able to marry the girl of his dreams simply because he had nothing to his name.
All he really cared about was being able to live his life to it's fullest. He figured that if life ever threw him a curve ball, he'd adjust his hold on the bat, swing away, and break for first base as best he could.
The young Uzumaki was a rather well known prankster. He grinned at his latest work of art.
Oh, he'd probably be locked up in the Konoha jail for a month or so and have a couple hundred dollars added to his bill of charges, but it was worth it. He could already hear the people yelling in surprise and anger at the current status of their monument to the greatest ninja to ever live.
Oh, yes. He had painted the faces of the Hokage Monument, and didn't do too bad if you asked him.
"YOU DELINQUANT!!" shouted a chuunin running up the monument using his chakra to stick to the stone surface.
Naruto just grinned and pushed off and away from the stone face of the Yondaime straight into mid air. He curled his arms closed to his body and started a spin as he descended. The chuunin and his partner stared a little shocked that the kid would do such a suicidal thing.
The blonde haired chuunin jumped after Uzumaki, trying to stop him from falling to his death. He was promptly used as a spring board.
Naruto stopped spinning by putting his arms out at full length side ways, and kicked upwards, stopping his descent enough to place himself above the chuunin and then used said chuunin's head as a solid jumping point, propelling himself back toward the monument, high enough to grab onto one of the Yondaime's spikey locks of hair and swing up to the top of the monument.
"Heh, You're gonna have to do a lot better than that if you ever want to catch me! Nyaa!" He pulled down his left eyelid and stuck out his tongue... and was immediately caught in a hold from behind.
"What the hell are you doing, Naruto?" asked a familiar voice.
"EH?! Let me down, let me down! I don't wanna go back to class!" Naruto began to writhe in the chuunin's grip, "Let me go, Iruka-sensei!"
Unfortunately for Naruto, Iruka didn't really feel like letting go right then, "No way, idiot! Now stop wriggling!" Iruka proceeded to bash his wayward student over the head.
When Naruto regained consciousness a few minutes later he was bound tightly with rope and in front of his class as Iruka began yet another boring lecture. He could see a few select students looking at him with amusement, pitty, and boredom.
He felt a bit of pride knowing he had disrupted the daily life of the village enough that more than half the class was ignoring Iruka in favor of him.
"...And so, because of Naruto's little stunt, you all get to review the Henge!" Iruka said loudly regaining all the students' attention. They groaned in unison and some glared pointedly at the lanky blonde.
Slowly as the children moved to form a line in front of the teacher Naruto wriggled his way out of the ropes and moved to the middle of the line. He had to think up a suitable prank in response to this.
As the line moved forward he noticed Hyuuga Hinata, a shy young girl that was the next in line for head of the Hyuuga clan, seemed to be staring at some one in particular quite intently near the front of the line. He looked forward and was not surprised to see a fellow blonde at the front of the line.
Naruto had long since realized that Hinata was one of only two girls in the entire class who didn't want anything to do with the broody Uchiha. Hinata had it in for a young man named Riki Benso. For reasons Naruto didn't understand, or really care about, Benso was a pariah for Konoha. For some reason, again not really understood or cared about, Hinata found his willingness to survive attractive. Unfortunately for her she was far too shy to say anything and young Benso had his eyes set on a pinkette named Sakura.
The other girl was a flunk out from the previous year who stayed mostly to herself.
"Uzumaki!" Iruka yelled for the third time, finally snapping Naruto out of his thoughts.
His time cut short, Naruto panicked. He knew he couldn't pull anything major now.
Oh, well. Some of the small pranks are the best, And he did the hand signs for the transformation technique.
Iruka had missed, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you see it, the particularly devious grin Naruto had on before the smoke enshrouded him.
When the smoke cleared Iruka heard some gasps and looked up from his clipboard just in time to look in to the roaring hungry maw of a creature straight out of hell. It had large leathery wings, cloven hooves for feet, three dagger like claws on each hand with a mouth and eyes in each palm, the head had a long snout dripping with acidic saliva, the teeth that lined the jaws were razor sharp and as long as Iruka's fingers, the eyes were like looking into the abyss a never ending darkness that would swallow you whole before you had a chance to escape, and the laugh was Naruto's.
Iruka had expected to see many things from his favorite and, paradoxically, most hated student. A naked girl, himself, a cow...okay, only maybe a cow. A demon who's likeness could be described in only the most horrifying drunken nightmares however was something knew.
Even knowing it was Naruto didn't stop the Scream-like-a-little-girl-and-jump-away reaction.
As Iruka clung to the ceiling fumbling hopelessly for some kind of religious ward, Naruto changed back and laughed with the rest of his classmates.
Naruto knew he was going to pay in the end, but it was so worth it to see his sensei clinging to the ceiling like a scared cat. He'd probably feel the beating to come for weeks, but he'd managed to snap a photo of his teacher before he stopped clinging to the ceiling.
"NARUTO!!"
+-- A few hours later --+
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Naruto groaned as he placed a soothing wet cloth on his aching head, "He didn't have to hit me so hard, damn it!"
After coming down from the ceiling, Iruka delivered a sledgehammer blow to Naruto's head and then dragged him off to clean the Hokage monument. It took a couple hours, and now here he sat, trying to ward away the massive headache so he could make it to what might be the last street fight in his career.
He figured his ninja duty would take up most of his time, what with saving princesses, taking out evil warlords, and being an all around ass kicker.
"Damn it! If I can't ignore this pain I'm gonna get my ass beat!" Naruto sat up and pulled the cloth from his forehead. How was he supposed to fight with a lump half the size of his head getting in the way. He sighed deep and depressed and decided to head for Ichiraku's Ramen stand. Maybe it'd be okay to get a bowl tonight. It might even help him feel better.
He threw on a long sleeved grey shirt, a pair of green cargo shorts, and a pair of regular sandals. He slung a pair of running shoes over his shoulder, made sure he had enough money, and headed out the front door.
He grinned slightly as he looked over the city from the top floor of his apartment building. If there was one thing he absolutely loved about this city it was the buildings and the trees that abounded, always giving him another spring board to fly with.
Hell that was how his fighting style started.
He'd always dreamt of being able to fly, to soar through the sky unhindered by gravity. Then he saw a professional gymnast at one of the many yearly festivals held in Konoha. The way that magician of the air moved was like poetry, never was there a motion that was useless.
The only thing that would have turned Naruto off to it was how female dominated the profession was. So instead of learning directly from the source he bought as many tapes as his monthly allowance could afford and studied in his alone time when he wasn't hanging out with a couple of the other orphans in the complex.
After two years and eighty seven broken bones, he could fly. He still had a lot of training to do if he wanted to get to the level of skill showed on the tapes, but he was perhaps the only academy student able to out jump any of the teachers.
Then he almost got mugged.
I say almost because of the end result.
On his way home from a visit to Ichiraku's Naruto was quite suddenly dragged into an alley a few blocks away from his house. The perpetrators were three large and half drunk men each with a hunting knife. The demanded all the money and valuables he had.
At this point in time Naruto was Nine, had been in the Academy for a year and had learned basic martial arts. He didn't know any jutsu at all and had no way of knowing if there was anything he could do prevent them from killing him if he refused, so he gave them what they asked for.
Unfortunately, for him or them is up to you, they decided to kill him anyways.
Laughing, the leader of the three approached with a wicked grin. Naruto tried to plead with him to leave him be, said that he'd never tell anyone what happened, holding his hands up in a pacifying gesture.
The man slashed horizontally and pain crossed Naruto's palms and blood began to pour out of two shallow wounds. It was at this point Naruto knew he had only three options.
One was unacceptable: give up and die.
Two was a little better: use the close walls and window ledges in the alley to get away while hoping that the muggers weren't ex ninja and couldn't follow him.
Three made the spark that started the fire: use the close walls, window ledges, and what little he knew in hand to hand combat to take out the three muggers.
Naruto knew if he did either of the first two it would invite repeat performances from these three, encourage them to mug others. The third was dangerous, but if he could win then he could stop them from hurting others.
The leader closed in as Naruto thought about how to defeat them.
It was by reflex alone that Naruto dodged the vicious slash aimed for his neck, bounded off the wall behind him, and thrust his left knee into the man's solar plexis, knocking him out cold.
Realizing that one was already hitting the floor out cold and the other two would soon turn on him for retribution, Naruto acted quickly. He jumped off the leader as he fell, towards the wall to the right, bounced of that to the other wall at a diagonal angle then dived into the second man with a drop kick to the face and then used him as a spring board to launch himself straight up into the air.
At the peak of his flight, near the top floor of the three story building on the left side of the alley, Naruto sighed in content as he felt the wind brush against his face. He almost forgot the situation he was in.
As he began his descent he narrowed his eyes then set his body into a spin that would turn him into a human bullet as he fell to the earth head first.
As he got within six feet of the ground it looked as if he would miss the last man, hit the concrete, and bust his head open for the world to see. Instead, at the last second he lashed out with his right leg, the fast spin adding a near deadly force to it. The kick caught the last man on the side of his bald head, stopped Naruto's spin, and allowed the young man to right himself before he touched down.
Breathing deeply, body still shaking from adrenaline, Naruto observed what he had done. He, a nine year old kid with only a years worth of ninja education had taken out three full grown men with a series of moves that had been mostly improvised.
Clapping suddenly caught his attention and he looked towards the end of the alley to see a tall man with a long beard applauding him.
Shaking away useless thoughts of the past, Naruto jumped off of his balcony and began bounding, hopping, and twisting acrobatically till he reached a street near Ichiraku's where he touched down and walked the rest of the way.
"Hey, old man," He greeted as he would every time he came.
"Hey, Naruto!" The middle aged ramen chef greeted kindly, "One of your usual?"
"Nah, I gotta fight tonight. Just three bowls will hold me off till I finish it," Naruto loved his ultrafast metabolism. So did most restaurants.
"Oh, who's it you're against this time? Hope it isn't another fellow like Ed," Ed was a fighter from across the ocean who came to the elemental nations to sell belts. Naruto actually owned three of Ed's finest creations, but that didn't stop the large foreigner from trouncing him each time they fought.
"Actually Ed's out of town on business. Tonight I'm facin' a rookie that's been climbing through the ranks pretty fast. Even brought my good shoes just in case he's really really good," Naruto gestured to the shoes draped over his shoulder.
Teuchi just grinned and said, "I see Ed's lessons stuck. Never underestimate your opponent."
Naruto grinned in return and waved a hello to Teuchi's daughter, Ayame.
A few minutes later Naruto finished eating and bid farewell to Teuchi and Ayame.
He walked a few blocks then once more took to the air.
Finally Naruto found himself at the designated meeting place for the fight. The place was nothing special really. Just an abandoned lot behind an old warehouse. People had gathered none the less. There were about forty spectators, a few fighters waiting their turn, and a familiar face staring Naruto down from across the lot.
"Uchiha?! What are you doing here?!" Naruto all but shouted, pointing accusingly at Uchiha Sasuke.
Sasuke frowned as he stepped forward, "I'm your opponent tonight. I'm beginning to think this is a waste of time, though. I ask for a fight against the best in the area and I get the class clown."
Naruto, though he had asked Sasuke what he was doing here, ignored the Uchiha and was inspecting his surroundings. It was a little more out in the open than he was used to... but what was life without a tough fight or two?
"Whatever," Naruto as he switched into his good shoes and bounced once or twice on his toes before grinning, "Let's do this."
Sasuke scoffed and just walked forward, his hands in his pockets. He clearly didn't think much of his opponent.
"Ha!" And quite suddenly Sasuke's face met the pavement. Naruto landed behind Sasuke a few feet away after delivering the unexpected heel drop to the boy's head, "Stand up, you drama queen. I know it would take more than that to take out the 'Great Uchiha'."
Sasuke growled as he pulled his face out of the cement. Damn it! I let my guard down!
Sasuke turned to face Naruto and smirked as he took up a stance, "You caught me by surprise that time. It wont happen agai-"
Naruto kicked Sasuke in the face, his leg extended diagonally forward and seeming to merge with Uchiha's face, "You talk too much. Just shut up and fight already."
Sasuke growled and, as quick as he could, grabbed hold of Naruto's foot. He then pushed upward with all of his strength hoping to knock the blonde off balance.
Naruto sighed as he allowed his balance to be lost and landed on his hands. When Sasuke tried to kick those out from under him he pushed himself into the air and started a spin.
Sasuke wisely decided to avoid the spinning projectile that his classmate had become as he shot upwards. When Naruto reached the peek of his flight, only a little lower than when he first fought the three muggers he stopped his spin by placing his arms and legs out, he then folded all his limbs in towards his body except for his right leg, he then started another spin that turned him into a human buzz saw.
Again Sasuke decided to avoid his opponent rather then trying to block. Again a wise decision.
At five feet from the ground Naruto broke out of the spin when he noticed he hadn't connected yet and grinned when he realized Uchiha was taking him seriously now.
Naruto landed in a crouch then rocketed forward. Sasuke tried to dodge to the side, but Naruto grabbed his collar as he passed and used the momentum to toss Uchiha forward while stopping his own movement.
People parted quickly allowing the Uchiha to hit the wall.
Sasuke growled and reevaluated his opponent. Dodging was doing nothing for him and he couldn't take the blonde for granted as he did his other opponents. He'd have to use an offensive strategy, but if what he had heard about the blonde was in the least amount true, and it may well be if that buzz saw kick was any indication, it would take more than superior strength to take out the class clown.
Sasuke thought for a moment then decided on a plan of action.
He stood up looked at Naruto who hadn't taken his eyes off of him as he simply stood there open to attack from all directions.
No, he couldn't let that fool him. He wasn't simply open to attack from all directions, he could move any way he pleased, attack anyone that came in range.
He grinned, his plan solidifying in his mind.
He stood up, dusted himself off, and raced forward. He feinted a kick from the right and as he expected Naruto tried to jump over it. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's legs and forced him back down to earth, slamming him back first into the ground.
From there Sasuke made to attack him before he could recover. He dived forward with a punch that was sure to knock the blonde out of the fight.
He grunted in pain when his fist hit the cement. He looked up and forward to see the blonde standing there with a grin on his face that would remind some of a predator.
"You stopped holding back, didn't you?" Naruto more stated than asked.
"Yeah," Sasuke said simply as he stood up to face his slightly taller classmate.
Naruto's grin grew as his head lowered to shadow his eyes with his spikey hair, "Then I guess... I'll do the same." And he was in the air above Sasuke like he'd been born there.
The Uchiha looked up stunned. How could this guy be so good. How could he move with out him seeing it? He was the best in class. He knew the academy forms better than anyone, he'd even incorporated certain stances into his own style to make it stro-
"So that's it..." Sasuke said, suddenly understanding why this clown was so good.
Naruto smashed Sasuke's head into the pavement once more, this time using his elbow. Sasuke was out cold.
As Naruto landed his grin turned into a smile, "That was fun... Hopefully I wont really be too busy with ninja work to fight anymore. This is almost as much fun as flying." He looked at the unconscious Uchiha and smiled wider, "He's gonna get strong fast."
After first checking if he had any other opponents, trouncing an over confident teen brat, and switching back to his sandals Naruto went home to sleep. He'd need a lot of rest if he wanted to pass the gennin exams tomorrow.
+-- The next day, midday--+
Naruto was almost to the point of screaming in boredom.
It was currently the Taijutsu portion of the exam and Naruto had seen the same damn fight six times already, the only thing different was faces and hair styles. None of them had enough balls to toss in a move or two to throw the instructor off balance. The instructors told them to do it, told them to improvise something to try and make it easier to win, told them that ingenuity was a good thing because the same trick hardly works twice in the world of ninja.
Did they listen?
Not a single one of them. Not even that guy from the Inuzuka's had the balls to do something original, even told his mutt to sit the fight out.
"Uzumaki, you're next," Said the silver headed instructor, Mizuki.
As he stepped down to the ring he thanked god for allowing him to do this and be able to move on to the written portion, at least that'd be a little less boring than watching these pathetic excuses for ninja trainees bore the teacher's to death with the same routine over and over again.
Thinking about that actually gave Uzumaki an evil idea.
He stepped into the ring, bowed to Iruka-sensei, and took up the academy taught taijutsu stance. He almost laughed when he saw the disappointed look on Iruka's face.
"Begin," Mizuki said and slashed his hand down in the universal sign to start.
Iruka made the first move, going to show Uzumaki the error of his ways by tossing him out of the ring with a lock the Academy taijutsu couldn't escape from.
Instead of grabbed the blonde student, though, Iruka found his arms grasping air. He blinked once before a foot seemed to come out of thin air and smash into his chin to send him airborne.
Naruto grinned as he landed on his own two feet and Iruka landed on his back. Iruka stood up shook himself off and grinned a little at Naruto.
"Leave it to you, Naruto, to pull a prank on testing day. Let's continue."
Naruto began bouncing from foot to foot as Iruka spoke and smirked when he mentioned the small prank he'd played. Now to really do some damage.
+-- Later that week --+
After giving Iruka a thorough beating that he would not soon forget Naruto went on to barely pass his written exam and get an okay on his jutsu test. He'd heard that something important happened later that night, but it was probably just a rumor.
Right now he was waiting for Iruka to come in and announce the teams so he could leave the academy and finally start savin' those princesses.
In the background he faintly registered the sound of Yamanaka and Haruno arguing over who got to sit next to Uchiha again, then the majority of the other girls joining in on the argument. Soon enough it became a brawl and surprisingly enough Haruno ended up on the top of the pile.
Only to discover one Riki Benso sleeping in her self claimed seat.
Naruto stopped paying attention then as Iruka had just walked in.
"Alright everybody, sit down and be quiet. Congratulations on making it this far..." Naruto sighed as he tuned out his former teacher. Why did every god damn occasion have to have some boring, unnecessary, mundane speech about some bullshit that more often than not has nothing to do with the situation at hand.
"...And for team six..." Oops, he'd skipped more than he meant to, hope his name hadn't been called yet, "Aikawa Maki, Sakamoto Julietta, and Uzumaki Naruto."
+-- After lunch --+
Naruto stared up at his new teacher in awe.
The guy was way tall, nearly eight feet to Naruto's measly five two. He had short cut white hair, grey eyes, nicely tanned skin, and a musculature structure that made Hercules look weak. He wore a black unzipped vest showing off his abs and pectorals, parachute pants with a crap loads of pockets everywhere, his head band on his left arm, black gloves, black leather boots, and wide black leather belt with an intricate silver and blue dragon on it's length.
"I didn't know you were a ninja, Ed."
+-- End Chapter one--+
A/N: Well, I hope that is good enough for y'all. Took me a while to come up with it. Sleeping Dragon is having a little bit of trouble so it'll probably be later than ever. Sorry people. Later.
TOSD