Chapter One
Plumes of smoke rose from the old man's pipe as he gazed out of the window, lost in the view of the sunset.
"Jiji, I'm ready!" Shouted Naruto, bringing the man out of his trance.
Naruto ran into the room and jumped onto Sarutobi, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. Despite nearly dropping his pipe, the man could only smile warmly at the child.
"You are sure that you're ready? You have brushed all of your teeth?"
The boy gave a toothy grin. "Yep! Definitely. Now can I have a story?"
The pleading eyes bore into the Hokage, breaking down any resilience he might have had to the question. It was in these moments that he felt his happiest, the pain from his old wounds waned and the constant weariness of old age abated, leaving him content. The boy had a way with people, a certain spark inside him that couldn't help but warm up anyone that he met. There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto would go far in his life.
"How about the story of Jiraiya in the Land of Tea?" He suggested, placing the boy on his knee.
"That's funny... but could we have the one about the Fourth?"
The Hokage laughed. "Again? This would be the ninth time in a row!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"I just really like that one and the way you tell it is so good!"
"Fine, fine. I'll tell it" Sarutobi said, taking a long drag on his pipe. The boy loved this story, though it didn't come as a great surprise.
"Firstly, there was silence. The whole village was quiet, as if under a spell. Then, in an instant, huge claws fell upon the earth, tearing up chunks the size of mountains. Giant tails whipped around, the sheer force alone enough to uproot trees. The Kyuubi descended onto the Leaf Village, doing its best to take it and everyone in it down. Our ninja fought back, but its power rivalled that of even the gods. It's ruthless attacks caused death to all that fought it, picking off ninja without discrimination. That is until one man stopped its rampage. The Fourth Hokage, the yellow flash, was able to defeat the Kyuubi in a matter of moments, but it cost him his life. The only way to defeat a tailed beast, as we know, is through sealing. He chose one person, a newborn baby, to be the saviour of the village, to keep the devastating power of the Kyuubi at bay."
As the Hokage finished the story, Naruto leapt up and cheered, falling onto the floor.
"Yeah! That's right!" He said, punching the air. "The Kyuubi finally met its greatest opponent – my stomach!"
Sarutobi could only giggle at the boy's antics. He was glad he made the choice to tell Naruto about his fate. The council can be damned, the only surviving heir of the Fourth Hokage deserved not to be alone, let alone the old man owe it to Minato for all that he did for him.
"Now, isn't it time for bed?" He said standing up holding the boy.
Naruto pouted. "Come on! Just one more story. I'm nowhere near tired yet"
"I'm sorry, but you have to go to the academy in the morning"
"Yeah right… something to look forward to" Naruto said sarcastically. "I don't learn anything there anyway"
The Hokage sighed, wishing he could do something to help. He often heard from Naruto about how he struggled with some of the material, and that he couldn't get help from the teachers.
"I know that it is difficult, but if you don't go, you won't be able to become a ninja"
Naruto waved away the comment. "As if! I'm going to become the best ninja, teachers be damned!"
Despite the declaration, the boy was scared about failing. He was eight years old, and he hadn't learnt a thing about being a ninja, or at least nothing useful. He hadn't even made friends yet. If he couldn't do even that, then how was he going to get anywhere?
Sarutobi looked at Naruto, feeling sorry for him. "I'm sure you will find something you can accel at Naruto, trust me. The world of Shinobi is vast, and the things you can learn are infinite. Just give it time"
"Don't worry about it Jiji, I'll be taking that hat soon" the boy said with a false smile.
Reaching the bed, the old man placed the child on the bed and wished him a good night. It didn't take long for the boy to fall asleep, and Sarutobi remained there for a few moments to watch him sleep. The slow rise and fall of his chest relaxed the old man. He wanted to help the boy, but there aren't many that would teach the boy outside of class, even if he ignored the fact that the council would be outraged that he was doing it, if Naruto couldn't find something he was good at and interested in, then there wasn't much point in trying to push it.
The Hokage left the small apartment, closing the door quietly as he left.
The small thud of the door alerted Naruto that the Hokage was gone, and after counting to ten he got up. Quickly throwing on his jumpsuit, the boy prepared for his long night ahead.
"Someone wake Naruto up please" Mizuki said, not even bothering to turn around.
Kiba cracked his knuckles and delivered a painful punch to the back of Naruto's head, causing him to shoot up from his seat.
"Hey! What the hell?!" The boy said, turning around. "That hurt, idiot"
"Naruto, sit down and pay attention" The teacher said, still writing on the chalkboard. "Don't fall asleep in my class"
Kiba stuck his tongue out as Naruto sat down in his seat.
The lecture droned on and despite trying to concentrate, Naruto was finding it impossible. He was running on no sleep, like most days, and after a few minutes, his head hit the table. The teacher gave up trying to wake the boy up until the end of the lesson when he threw the chalk eraser at Naruto's head.
"Ah, Naruto, it was so nice of you to join us. Class dismissed, see you all tomorrow" Mizuki said with little enthusiasm.
Naruto didn't really listen to his teacher and realised that class was over by everyone jumping up from their seats and running for the door. He was just so tired.
"Come on Naruto, I want to get out of here" Mizuki said. "Normally you jump at the chance to leave this place"
"Sorry sensei" He began. "Guess I spaced out".
Mizuki examined the boy. He used to hate him, he used to dream about taking his revenge on the boy, it was the only reason he was teaching the class. He pushed hard to get the position, all so he could get close to Naruto and eventually ruin his life. But, after a few years of teaching him, Mizuki slowly started to realise that he was no more a demon than any other student in his class. The thing that destroyed the village was being held at bay in the boy, and it was pointless trying to throw abuse at the boy unfortunate enough to have it sealed within him.
After coming to terms with this, he was left with nothing but emptiness in his heart. His family all died in the attack, and yet there was no one to blame, no way for him to get revenge for what happened. It caused the man to simply stop feeling. He couldn't even remember the last time he laughed at something. His life was simply teaching at the academy and drinking, and even that he only did so he had something to do. He just lacked the enthusiasm to do anything anymore, and everything he did do he did with ambivalence.
Naruto slowly wandered over to the door.
"You sure you are ok?" His teacher tried once more.
The boy hesitated. "Um… yeah, I'm fine, it's fine, I mean…" He trailed off as he looked at the ceiling.
"Is there something you want to ask?"
"No, don't worry about it" Naruto said, eyes averted.
Mizuki considered the boy. He shrugged.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow in class. Try to get some sleep tonight"
"Thanks, sensei" He said with a yawn, walked out the room.
The teacher was left in the room, pondering over what Naruto was thinking about. Shrugging, he left the classroom and decided to head to the Rusty Kunai as opposed to his normal place to drink as a change of pace.
Naruto ran home. He couldn't stand the stares from people. At first, he could handle it, and for all his boasting, he used to be able to not give a damn. He could walk outside from dawn until dusk and still be his usual happy self. Lately, he dreaded going outside with a passion.
Once he got inside, he simply sank into his bed, trying to forget all the things they said behind his back. He knew what they all said about him, that he was a demon, that he killed all those that died eight years ago.
The worst part of it was, he did blame himself. He had puzzled over this conundrum for a lot of his life, and despite only being eight, his answer was that being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi meant that people will blame you, and Naruto was responsible for that blame.
He allowed sleep to take him. He was going to be busy again tonight.
Run.
Dodge left, over the stall, right into the alleyway.
Over the fence, quickly.
Crap, dead end, and no place to hide.
They're here.
Naruto turned and braced himself, closing his eyes. Suddenly he flew back and slammed into a wall. His chest felt like it was burning from the kick he just received, and he was finding hard to breath.
"Finally got you, demon" The tall figure said, a sadistic smile spread across his face. "Now, I think a little payback is in order"
The boy simply stood up, arms at his sides. "I'm sorry"
"What?" The man said, anger welling up. "You think that makes it better?! You think that fixes anything?!"
A fist met the boy's face, knocking him down again.
"I'm sorry" Naruto stood up again and looked the man in the eye. "I'm sorry"
"Stop saying that!"
The man started to lay into Naruto, not stopping until he was a bloody mess on the ground.
"You can't fix what you did to me, you can't fix what you did to my family. Just die"
The figure retreated, wiping his hand on his shirt. Naruto, struggling to stay conscious, began crying. Using the wall for support, he slowly propped himself up.
"I'm sorry" He said quietly. "I'm so sorry"
The man didn't hear this and left the alley. Naruto remained in the alley, apologising repeatedly until he could no longer stand. He had lost a lot of blood, but this was his duty. The people needed an outlet, needed something to hate, and it was his job.
Naruto had no idea how long he had been sitting in his own blood for, but as the sun started to rise he decided to go home. He was going to skip class today, even with his advanced healing there was no way he could hide the damage he received tonight. He didn't need people questioning it.
He tried to move stealthily, but the man had really messed him up, and he stumbled quite a few times. It took him the better part of an hour to get back, and even longer to clean himself up.
He had thought about death, but his job couldn't allow him to die. He was keeping the Kyuubi from killing everyone, that was his duty. Or at least, that was how Naruto saw it.
The boy dearly wanted sleep, but he told himself that he didn't need it. After bandaging his wounds, he once again left his apartment.
People started to fill the streets but always gave Naruto a wide berth. He was too tired to use the roofs of buildings. He wondered how long he could keep the charade up with the Hokage. He hated lying, but he couldn't let the old man know how he was feeling, it would kill him. Besides, those brief moments he shared with Sarutobi were the only thing he could look forward to.
The boy was sure to avoid all roads that anyone he knew would travel on. He didn't want to take any chances. After the first few lessons at the academy, Naruto knew he wouldn't make friends. He had heard what the parents had been telling their children, about how bad Naruto was and how they should never speak to him. He didn't need to give them all more ammunition.
This didn't bother him, as Naruto accepted it as a part of his duty. It still hurt though.
Finding himself at his destination, he leapt into a tree and waited. He often came here, just to remind himself of what everyone had to go through. He was at the hospital, and he had found out last year who was in there because of things the Kyuubi had done. Mostly, it was people who came in for check-ups on their injuries from that time. It was hard work to gather all the information and learn the schedules of everyone, but now he could reliably tell you when each person affected would be heading to the hospital.
Sitting down on the branch, Naruto just watched things at the hospital happen. He didn't know why he came every week. He couldn't do anything about the injuries these people dealt with daily. But the guilt kept pulling him back in.
The staff in the hospital were always busy, and Naruto imagined it must be incredibly hard to do the job every day. He felt stressed just watching things unfold.
As he watched, he was struck with an idea. Why didn't he just become a medic-nin? He knew it was a difficult field, one of the hardest to get into, but right now he had no talent with anything. He figured that he might as well try to do one of the hardest ninja disciplines if it meant he could do something about all these people that have been affected by the Kyuubi. He couldn't take back all the lives snuffed out that night, but he could at least improve the lives of those still here.
With this, Naruto jumped down from the tree and started running home, a genuine smile making its way to his lips. He was going to be the best damn Medic-nin there was, and no one could shake his resolve.
Unfortunately, as it turns out, near perfect chakra control was a necessity. This didn't worry Naruto until he learnt that his control was probably the worst in his whole class. After reading a few chapters in his textbook, he knew that his poor control was the reason for his sub-par transformations.
He didn't really know what he could do. The book alluded to a few exercises he could try, but in the end, he didn't make any progress with any exercise.
It wasn't until the Hokage stopped by that Naruto was able to find his answer.
"A medic-nin? Naruto-kun are you sure?" Sarutobi questioned, a frown forming on his face.
"I know I don't have good chakra control, but I really want to be one!"
Naruto pleaded, and Sarutobi knew that the boy only wanted support. He took a drag from his pipe.
"Well, you should follow your heart Naruto. If you are prepared for the long road ahead, then you have my support"
"Really?" He said, beaming. "Thanks! Maybe you could help me with my chakra control then Jiji?"
Sarutobi laughed. "You know I can't train you my boy, but I guess I can point you in the right direction"
"What do you mean?"
"Chakra control is similar to anything you try to learn. If you want to get good at throwing kunai, how do you do it?" Naruto looked perplexed but thought about the question.
"Throw loads of kunai, I guess…" Naruto said, looking a little unsure.
"That's right. In the same vain, if you simply practice using a technique that requires chakra, you will improve your chakra control. Do you know any ninjutsu yet?"
"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up. "Watch this, Henge no Jutsu!"
The boy ran through the hand signs quickly and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Suddenly, standing in front of the Hokage was a blond, whiskered Mizuki. Sarutobi just laughed.
"I think you might need to work on your technique Naruto" He said, poking the boy with his pipe. "You may have missed a few crucial parts in this henge"
"Damn it!" Naruto said, changing back. "That was just bad luck!"
The Hokage winked. "I'm sure it was. Maybe you need a little more practice with it"
"But I practice all the time! I never improve!"
Sarutobi thought about the technique for a moment, before coming up with a solution.
"Naruto, how about you just try to change parts of your body. Slowly change individual parts until you can do everything perfectly. Maybe that will help" The Professor said, standing up. "In any case, I have to leave"
"Do you have to?" Naruto pouted.
"Yes, besides, you have to start practising your technique. Don't forget that besides chakra control, you need a complete understanding of the human body. It really is a long road ahead" He warned, patting Naruto on the head. "I'm sure you will ace it"
"See you later Jiji, come back soon!"
Rubbing his hands together and flexing slightly, Naruto tried to remember the Hokage's advice. First, he pictured brown hair and transformed. He was met with the same blond child as before, except it looked like his hair had a little bit of dirt in it.
This might be a little harder than he thought.
Author's Note
Hi everyone!
This is my first Fanfiction, I hope you guys like it!
The first few chapters will be Naruto's progression to Genin, after which will be where I intended the story to start. Just thought I'd lay out a few things early on. I am quite new to this, so please don't hesitate to offer comments on it! I will try to read and reply to as many as I can, but I'm not god. I am sorry if I don't reach yours.
I have an idea of pairings, but I expect these won't come into play until the characters are older. I have made the decision to not say what those are, and I guess that pairings may change to what I have originally planned. I'm not really against anything, so anything could happen!
Have a nice day! ^^