Well this story got a lot more attention than I thought. Well, on with the next chapter
2: Academy Arc - New Friends
Jiraiya walked Naruto to the academy with the boy brimming with excitement. "Oji-chan, you think I'll meet Sasuke and Hinata-chan at school?"
"I'm sure you will," Jiriaya smiled, "Fugaku and Hiashi entered them early, so they'll have a leg up on you."
"Not for long!" Naruto beamed, pumping his fist, "You said the Taijustu Obaa-chan gave me is close to B-rank, so I'm stronger than they are, right?"
Jiraiya chuckled, "Now hold your horses, Gaki," he reached down and ruffled Naruto's already messy blonde hair, "You know that all the clans have their own special techniques. Just because you can use a high level Taijutsu doesn't mean you'll be stronger than a Hyuuga, or an Uchiha."
Naruto pouted, "But Kakashi-nii said that when all else fails, a shinobi will always have Taijutsu."
Jiraiya chuckled again. The young Jonin had been a good friend to Naruto as he grew. Almost like a brother in some ways, and he always kept him safe from the civilians still dumb enough to attack the boy when he wasn't near the Sannin.
"Kakashi is right on that point, but you talk like you're going to be using nothing but Taijutsu." Jiraiya said.
"Bushy-brow doesn't use Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu," Naruto pointed out.
Jiraiya chuckled, "That's because he can't. There are always special cases in our line of work, Gaki. Lee is a perfect example."
Naruto sighed, "But Lee says that he can still be a uh...splendid shinobi without it...is what he says."
Jiraiya nodded as they passed into the school yard, "That's true, and it's very possible. Taijutsu is the one art of the shinobi that doesn't always require Chakra to perform the desired technique. You already know that Hinata's clan has the gentle fist, right?"
Uh-huh," Naruto nodded, having watched Hinata practice with her father on occasion.
"Well, that's one of two types of Taijutsu, the first being the Goken, or strong fist, which is the primary source of Taijutsu in the village. The one that Hinata uses is called Juken, meaning gentle fist, or gentle step. It targets an opponent's nerve and Chakra points, paralyzing them more often than not."
"Cool!" Naruto grinned, "Hiashi-ojisan said I couldn't learn it, though. I don't have the Byakugan." He said dejectedly. Jiraiya laughed and reached down to pat his head again.
"That's not surprising, seeing as the Byakugan is what let's the Hyuga clan see into the victim's body so they can strike points!" Jiraiya laughed, "That, and their clan hold their fighting style in high regard, so teaching it to someone outside the clan is a big no-no."
Naruto pouted, "No fair."
"Don't worry," the old man smiled, "The Uzumaki clan had their own style that made them nearly unstoppable. They practiced Kenjutsu, the art of the sword. Their techniques were so devestating that the samurai of the Land of Iron feared facing them in battle."
"REALLY?!" Naruto beamed, and Jiraiya laughed loudly, having succeeded in lifting the boy's spirits.
They entered the school building with Naruto's excitement restored, and both smiled as they walked down the halls to Naruto's classroom.
xXx
Iruka Umino didn't know it yet, but his day was about to get much more interesting. "Alright class, it's time for a review!"
"AW!" He chuckled as more than half the class groaned at his announcement.
"Come on, you wanna be shinobi, don't you?" He grinned, looking around the room, "Tenten, why don't we start with you?"
"Hai~!" Said a small girl in a Chinese outfit, and her hair tied up in buns. Iruka chuckled as the girl bounced down the steps. She was one of the few that didn't mind his quizes.
"Let's started with the Henge no Jutsu," Iruka smiled, "And no mistakes like last time, eh?"
Tenten blushed and conked herself on the head, "It was only one wort."
Iruka snort, "Henge."
"Okay! Here I g - "
"Exuse me," the classroom door opened, revealing...
"J-j-j-Jiraiya-sama!" Iruka yelped.
"Ohayou," the old man smiled, "I take it you're my godson's home room teacher? Iruka Umino, right?"
"Um, yes, sir," he stammered, "I didn't know you were coming today. I thought you'd be waiting a little longer."
"No, I felt that since all his friends had gone into school early, Naruto should give it a go, as well." Jiraiya said, noticing the girl standing beside the teacher. "Oh, I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
"No, sir, just a little quiz," Iruka smiled nervously, and saw the little blonde boy peeking out from behind the man, "Is this Naruto?"
Tenten looked down at him, too, a small blush crossing her face when she noticed he had whiskers. C-cute! He looks like a little kitsune! Tenten thought, her love of all things cute and cuddley already known throughout the class. Many saw the look on her face when she looked at Naruto, two in particular. Akamaru had been subjected to the world's strongest hug when the kunoichi saw him for the first time, and Kiba had had a hard enough time getting him back.
While the two adults were talking over Naruto's addition to the class, Tenten got it into her head that he might have a few other fox-like traits, which she tested by pulling a small reed from her pocket, and wiggling in front of him. (AN: Imagine how Mui teases Renka in HSDK.)
Naruto's eye twitched. He couldn't help it, and batted at the reed...much to Tenten's delight at finding out Naruto had a habit of chasing things.
Up in his seat, Sasuke watched the exchange in amusement, "Nice going, Dobe."
"Why the hell's he actin' like a cat?" Kiba whispered to him.
Sasuke shrugged, "That's just the way he is." He looked over and down at Hinata to see her laughing at the sight of Naruto playing with their classmate. It wasn't long before the whole class was giggling away at the pair.
Unnoticed by the two adults, Iruka finally got curious of the sudden racket and looked down. "TENTEN!"
"Heehee!" The girl giggled as she looked up at him, "I couldn't help it!"
"Naruto, can't you control that habit of your's?" Jiraiya chuckled.
"Sorry." Naruto grinned bashfully.
Jiraiya grinned, "Sorry about that, Umino-san. I can assure you that he only does that when he's...provoked?"
"Tickled?" Tenten put in.
Iruka rolled his eyes, "We'll have to test him since he's a bit young. What can he do?"
"He has a Goken style Taijutsu," Jiraiya said, "Other than that, I only taught him the basics for the academy course."
"I still have trouble with clones," Naruto pipped up, looking a little ashamed. Tenten thought the pout on his face was adorable and patted him on the head much like she would a cat.
"You'll get it." She giggled.
"Stop treating me like a cat!" Naruto growled.
Iruka chuckled, "Well, let's all head out to the yard to see what kind of Taijutsu he can do. Class!" The children gladly rose and filed out of the room after the scared Chunin, and Sannin. Sasuke and Hinata trailed close to Naruto as they chatted about the academy courses, and how excited they were to have him there so soon. Tenten stayed close to the younger blonde as well, a pleased blush on her cheeks as she marveled at his whiskers.
Once in the school yard, Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to face him. Iruka raised an eyebrow at the two as Naruto eager stepped into place, kicking off his sandles, and rising to the balls of his feet, and bringing his fists up close to his face, pointing the knuckles out (Basically a Mui Thai stance).
"Alright, Naruto, you know the drill," Jiraiya smiled, "Come at me with the intent to kill."
"Because I can't win if I'm not prepared to kill." Naruto grinned, then darted forward, leaping into the air and rolling to send his right knee crashing into Jiraiya's raised palm. Jiraiya pushed him back just as he twisted around, attempting a straight kick with his left, only to be blocked again. Jiraiya rotated his hand where he was blocking the boy, sending him twirling back to the ground.
Naruto landed upside down on his hands, grinning madly before spinning around, swinging his legs at the older shinobi's. Jiraiya grinned at the tactic and jumped back before the boy's low sweep could hit. Naruto used the momentum from the swipe to get back to his feet and launch himself at his godfather with a right hook. Jiraiya dodged it easily, and ducked when Naruto reversed the strike, bring his elbow dangerously close to the man's temple.
"Well done," Jiraiya grinned, "That was a killing blow!"
Naruto grinned back and launched into a flurry of movements.
Sasuske and Hinata were the only ones that could follow his movements with little difficulty since they had watched him, and, on supervised occasions, sparred with him. Tenten watched in awe as Naruto was going at the Sannin blow after blow with dangerous precision. Any other opponent, she knew would have gotten at least one devastating blow by now, but the Sannin was far stronger than any shinobi in the village save for the Hokage himself.
Iruka also watched in amazement as the little five-year-old faced off with the legendary shinobi. The wild look in his eyes could almost be called joy as he fought. He was having fun while he fought with the man.
Suddenly, Jiraiya caught the boy in a tight hold, stopping his blows altogether, "That's enough."
"Aw!" Naruto whined as Jiraiya set him back on his feet, "I almost had you!"
"Keep dreamin', Gaki." Jiraiya smirked, ruffling the boy's hair, then looked over at Iruka, "What do you think?"
Iruka shook himself to relieve his shock, "I-I have to admit that I'm impressed! I've never seen that type of fighting style before, but it works so well for him!"
"Obaa-chan calls it Mui Thai," Naruto put in, "It's purely used for killing."
"Well," Iruka smiled nervously, "In a shinobi's life, there's bound to be times when killing is necessary. It's a good style. I can't see any reason to deny him entry after seeing you fight like that."
Out of the crowd of children, Lee immediately rushed forward, "Naruto-kun, do you think you could teach me that Taijutsu? I would very much like to learn it!"
"Lee!" Iruka sighed, palming himself in the face.
"Sure!" Naruto grinned, "Not like it's a family secret!"
Jiraiya's lip twitched with mirth, "Actually, that form of Taijutsu is an Uzumaki style of fighting, so...technically..."
"Oh," Lee slumped over in disappointment.
"How come you didn't say that when she gave it to me?" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms.
"You didn't ask." Jiraiya said simply, causing the boy to fall over.
xXx
"How did Naruto take to the academy?" Hiruzen asked later that day when Jiraiya dropped by for a visit. Jiraiya smiled as he stood across from the old man.
"Very well," he said, "The Taijutsu Tsunade found for him in the Uzugakure ruins impressed his teacher and the class. He's officially starting tomorrow, but he stayed for the remainder of the class to get to know his other classmates besides Hinata and Sasuke." He chuckled, "A little girl came up and found out about his little habit."
Hiruzen laughed, "You mean chasing anything that moves? That had to have been little Tenten. She's a sweet girl, but like Naruto, she has no family." The Hokage sighed sadly, "They were killed during the attack. She was barely a year old."
Jiraiya nodded, "We lost a lot of good people back then. I don't think we need to worry about her and Naruto, though, she likes him. I'd almost say she'd be in competition with Hinata in the long run."
"That might cause a bit of a stir," the older man chuckled, "I spoke with Hiashi earlier today about the possibility of Hinata and Naruto marrying down the road."
"And?" Jiraiya grinned.
"He told me that he wouldn't be opposed to it, but he wouldn't force his daughter into a marriage unless she like her prospective husband. Fugaku also approached me about something..."
"Oh? What is it?" Jiraiya asked, "Is it about his and Hiashi's clan?"
"No, it's nothing about that," Hiruzen sighed, "Some of the members of his clan have been talking about a coup...and that Danzo has been seen around the compound late in the evenings."
Jiraiya sighed, "What the hell is that old war monger up to now?"
"I haven't got a clue," Hiruzen murmured tiredly, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose, "Which worries me. What ever it is, Fugaku asked if there was any way that I could possibly arrange for Sasuke to be out of the village this coming summer." He looked up at his former student, "I believe that you were planning to take Naruto to Iwa for a small training trip?"
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "You want to send him with me?"
"If you don't mind taking him," Hiruzen nodded, "I know it's a little troublesome, but I gave my word to Fugaku that I would find a way for him to leave the village, what ever happens to his clan."
Jiraiya shook his head, "Sasuke won't want to leave without his brother, and you know it," he sighed, "However, if you speak with his parents and brother without the boy around, I'm sure you can come up with a convincing story to tell him and get him to go with us."
Smiled sadly, the Hokage stood and bowed low, "You have my thanks, Jiraiya. I'll speak with Fugaku immediately. At the end of the school year, Sasuke will accompany you to Iwagakure no Sato."
xXx
Later that evening, Naruto was soundly sleeping in his bed when he heard the sound of an enormous growl. He opened his eyes and nearly screamed. He wasn't in his bed, or even in his house. He looked like he was in a sewer, with water pooled around his ankles, and pipes covering the walls. "Where am I?" Naruto wondered, "Am I dreaming again?" He blinked in the darkness, and noticed a dark hall going deeper into the sewer. Not seeing any other way out, the boy trudged through the water in hopes of finding an exit.
That was when he heard the growl again. No, not growling. Breathing! "What kinda animal makes that much noise when it breathes?" Naruto wondered.
"Who goes there?" Growled a deep, thundering voice, "If you've come to gloat, then leave, or I shall rip you to pieces!"
Naruto gulped, "Um, hello?"
"I said go away!" The voice roared.
"I don't know how," Naruto said truthfully, "Where are you? Are you lost like me?"
"Lost you say? Bah, you are an idiot."
"That's not very nice," Naruto pouted, following the voice to a massive, dimly lit room with an enormous gate in the center. "Wow!"
Something stirred behind the bars of the massive gate, and an even louder growling breath came. "Did I not tell you that...What is this?"
"Wow!" Naruto repeated happily upon seeing the massive creature in front of him. It was a gigantic red-orange fox with whisker marks on his fur like the one's on his own face, long red and black ear, where the marks came down from its ears and covered its eyes in a sort of mask. Behind the massive fox were nine billowing tails, that were now twitching in interest.
"Who are you?"
Naruto hurried over to the gate to get a better look at the fox. "Naruto! What's your name?"
The huge fox sweatdropped at the innocent look on the child's face. "Aren't you afraid of me?"
"Nu-uh!" Naruto grinned, "You're fur looks really soft!"
At this the fox found himself crashing to the floor. "I am an enormous fox, and the first thing you say to me is that my fur looks soft?"
"Yeah," Naruto said, "Is that bad? I didn't mean to upset you."
The fox was starting to get a headache. "You didn't upset me, Kit, I was merely surprised that you're not frightened of me. Do you not know who I am?"
"Uh-uh, I've never seen you before," Naruto said, frowning, "I have weird dreams."
The fox huffed, "This isn't a dream, little one. I'm real. And if you're in here with me, then that mean you must be the one that I've been imprisoned in."
"Sealed?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side, "You mean like Fuin no Jutsu? Oji-chan says that's too difficult for me right now."
The fox sighed, "I hope you've heard of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?"
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, Oji-chan said my Otou-san beat it after I was born, but it killed my Okaa-chan and Otou-san." Naruto looked down sadly. The fox's ears flattened, and it sighed.
"Kit, I am the Kyuubi!" It growled, "I wasn't killed, I was sealed! Nothing in this world has the power to kill me or my kin!"
Naruto's eyes widened, "You're the Nine-tailed Fox? But why did - "
"Why did they say that I was killed? Probably in hopes of protecting you, Kit. If other humans knew that I still lived, despite their hero's valiant efforts, they would stop at nothing to finish what he started." The fox rumbled, "The last glimpse of the world I had was watching the Yondaime and his mate preparing to seal me inside a newborn kit. I suppose that it must have been you, since you say that your father 'killed' me."
Naruto nodded, "Otou-san was the Yondiame."
"Then you know that my former host was your mother. I caught glimpses of the Yondaime through her eyes. And I saw her first visions of you." The fox looked down at him, studying the boy, who looked back up at it with wonder in his young eyes. "We should hate each other, and you, by all rights known to the ningen, should fear me. Yet I do not sense either fear or hatred from you, Kit, so I must ask...why?"
Naruto blinked for a moment, then smiled, "Oji-chan told me that he wanted to do something about all the hatred in the world, but he said he didn't know how. I think if you hate someone, you only hurt yourself. Hatred only makes people hurt here," he pointed at his heart, "I don't like that kind of pain...it feels worse than cutting stubbing your toe!"
The massive fox blinked for a moment at the last bit, then through back its massive head laughted. Naruto was nearly knocked off his feet from the gust that erupted from the other side of the gate when the fox doubled over, shaking the water around the dank sewer.
"Amazing! I'll never tire of the simplicity of you ningens!" The fox snorted, "Of all of your wretched race, you should hate me the most, yet you stand before the very reason behind your parents' death in wonder! Not a trace of hatred to be found! Are you forgiving me, Kit? Will you forget that I killed so many people from your village?"
Naruto blinked a moment, "Did you want to kill them?"
"Eh?"
"Did you want to kill all of those people?" Naruto asked, "Why did you attack the village anyway? Were you mad at us?"
"I am a being composed of malicious Chakra,"the fox pointed out patiently before leaning down in front of the boy and roaring, "I'm always angry! Ha!"
Naruto, who had sat down in the water when the fox roared, rubbed his ringing ears, and groaned, "But doesn't all that anger give you a headache? It does me. When the villagers stare at me. I wonder why. When they won't let their children play with me and call me a monster when Oji-chan isn't looking, I get sad. And I get mad when I can't go into the shops when Oji-chan isn't with me because the owners always chase me out. I guess that's because I have you inside me." The fox nodded at this, listening to the boy, "But when I get mad at them, I get a big headache, because I wanna protect those people when I grow up, not be mad at them. So I stop being mad."
The fox sat back on his hind legs, still studying the boy. Then it sighed, "I wasn't - "
"How come this place looks like a sewere, anyway?" Naruto asked, looking around the cavernous prison, "Did you make it look like this?"
The fox growled at being interupted, but sighed, "Of course not. You think I want to live in a stinking sewer? This is the seal's doing, and your's I suppose." Again, Naruto cocked his head to the side, not understanding, "This is your mind, Kit, it will look however you want it to look!"
Naruto wrinkled his nose at that, "But I don't like it like this. So can I change it?"
"Didn't I just say it will look however you want it to look?"
Naruto nodded and thought for a minute, remembering all the nice places Jiraiya had taken him when the ventured out of the village. His favorite place was pine forests around Kumo. The always smelled so nice, and the snow was pretty when it fell. He loved catching the little flakes in his hands and watching them melt.
"Kit, what did you do?"
Naruto opened his eyes to see that there surroundings had changed. They were standing in a snowy field with the start of spring grass poking up through the snow, surrounded y rolling hills and mountains in the midst of giant evergreen trees. The fox, for some odd reason, had grown smaller to about the size of a horse, his tails beating the ground with delight as he took in his new surroundings.
Naruto jumped up with a wide grin, "I did it!"
"I did not ask you for this." The fox rumbled, its voice becoming softer and more...feminine?
"You're a girl?" Naruto asked, stunned.
"Does that surprise you? What you thought that one so large and such a mighty voice could only be male? You have much to learn, little one."
Naruto shrugged, "I'm sorry, but don't you like this place? Oji-chan and I spent a year in a place like this when we were in Kumo."
The fox huffed, "I did not say that I didn't like this place. I simply did not ask for it, and will not thank you for it."
Naruto smiled, "Friends don't need to be asked for them to do something nice for another friend. Neither of us liked the sewer, so I changed it to something you would like. I even put in some animals I remember seeing here, so you could hunt."
For the first time, the fox was speechless, by a human child no less. "You think we are friends because of this?"
"No," he shook his head at her, "But I wanna be friends."
"Why?" She asked.
Naruto shrugged again. "Why not? You're way cooler than most foxes I've seen, and really pretty. So I'd like to be your friend!"
The fox dipped her head down, inhaling the scent of fresh snow and pine needles, a welcome scent after so long in her cage. "Kurama."
"Huh?"
"You asked me my name earlier, Kit, so I'm telling you. My name is Kurama."
That brings a close to chapter two, folks. I know it's a it early to introduce Kurama into the mix, but why not? :D The Academy Arc will continue into Naruto's graduation, so we'll see his friendships and relations grow. As you can see, Tenten is a prospect, and so is Hinata, of course, which will bring a bit of comedy into the mix. Until next time! Happy New Year!
