Chapter 2: Persuasion

Naruto just stood there, while Ino placed her hands on his chest, "All… you have to do… is just let me please you." She said seductively.

Naruto shook his head and turned her to where her back was facing him and chopped the back of her neck, as she went unconscious. He turned off the shower and stepped out with her in his arm. He gently placed her down, as he grabbed her clothes and started dressing her back up. Once she had all her clothing on, Naruto went back into the shower to clean himself up. He grabbed the bar of soap and began rubbing it with both of his hands so he got enough suds. Placing the bar down, he closed his eyes and began to wash his face.

Flashback

"Where are you going Jiraya?" Naruto asked. (Jiraya was the one who took him in)

Jiraya was wearing well-dressed black pants with matching shoes. He also wore a long sleeve white buttoned shirt with a black suit covering it, "I'm going to run to the bank."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I won't be long. I'll also bring us home some ramen to eat for dinner."

Naruto smiled, "Okay!"

"If I'm not home within an hour, just call me."

"Hurry!" He yelled.

Jiraya chuckled, "All right, I'll be back." He said, as he walked out of the apartment.

With Jiraya

Jiraya stepped in and saw that today was pretty busy. The lines were pretty well backed up and saw that the service was going pretty slow. He sighed, "Looks like I'll be here for awhile." He said to himself.

Jiraya looked up ahead of the line and saw that some guy was up next. The man was dressed rather… shady. All the guys clothing was black and he also wore a black beanie. What really caught Jiraya's attention was that the guy reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked all too familiar to him.

"Excuse me." He said, as he began to walk past the line of people to confront the guy that was up next.

"Hi, how may I help you today?" The banker asked. The banker was a blonde woman that seemed to be in her early thirties.

The shady guy placed a bag on the counter and pulled out a M37 revolver, "I want you to load this bag up with money now!"

The woman shook in fear; while other citizens began to run out the bank, "Load this bag up now!" He shouted again and pointed the gun at her.

"Excuse me."

The shady guy felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see an older man, "Get lost."

Jiraya frowned and quickly punched the guy smack against his face. The shady man startled and dropped the gun, "It's not very nice to tell an old man such as myself to scram."

The shady guy growled and started swinging at Jiraya. He managed to dodge a few strikes, but took a couple that landed rather hard on his face and stomach. The robber attempted to swing at him again, but Jiraya dodged it and elbowed him in the face, followed by a knee to the gut. The thief hunched over and reached down to grab the gun, while Jiraya tossed him over a nearby chair. Jiraya walked over in the guy's direction and the thief rose back up and pointed the gun at him, "You messed with the wrong guy!"

Jiraya's eyes widened and softened after a mere second; "Freeze!" A couple officers shouted, as they entered the bank and pointed their guns at the thief.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like we won't be eating ramen together… Naruto."

Jiraya's apartment

Naruto sneezed, as he kept flipping through channels, "Why is there nothing good on?" The blonde asked himself.

The teen yawned, as his eyes started to become heavy, "Maybe…" Naruto laid out on the couch and laid his head on a pillow, "I'll just take a nap for now." He said to himself, as he closed his eyes.

Time Skip: An hour later

Naruto twist and turned in his sleep, but once he turned again, he fell off the couch. He sat straight up and heard a knock at the door. Looking around, he realized that Jiraya was still missing. He rubbed his head, as he got up to his feet and walked toward the door. Letting out a yawn, he unlocked the door and opened it to see a couple of officers standing there.

Naruto began to wonder why there were officers at his apartment, "Is there something wrong officers?"

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" One of them asked.

The blonde nodded, "Yes."

"There was an incident down at the bank today."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Was Jiraya there?"

The officers nodded, "Yes, but… he was killed trying to prevent a robbery."

Naruto's body completely froze and thought that this was some kind of sick joke, "You're lying…"

The officers sadly shook their heads, "We didn't make it on time to arrest the thief, but when we got there, that was right when he shot him." The officers looked at the blonde and saw that his eyes were wide and that he was completely frozen again, "We're sorry kid, if we made it on time, he wouldn't have died." One of the officers held out Jiraya's wallet, while Naruto's eyes slowly drifted to look at it. The blonde slowly took the wallet out of his hand and opened it to see a picture of him and Jiraya smiling, "We're sorry." The officer said again, as they left.

Naruto stood there and kept staring at the picture. Tears began to escape the blonde's eyes, but then several more escaped and slid down his cheeks.

End of Flashback

Tears started to mix with the water coming from the shower and hit the shower floor. Naruto leaned his head against the wall and cried, "Why? You took them all from all me, what else do you want!" He shouted and referred to god, as more tears kept hitting the floor. The soap on his face was washed off from the water.

Shortly after a couple minutes of crying, his cries changed into sobs. Deciding not to finish his shower, he turned the shower off and opened the door, as he reached for a towel. Slowly, he dried his entire body off and stepped out, as he walked into his room. He walked to his closet and grabbed a pair of orange boxers, as he slid them on. His eyes began to get heavy and he knew that his body wanted to get some sleep, but then he remembered about the unconscious blonde sitting in his bathroom. He walked back into it and picked her up, as he carried her to the entrance. He tossed her over his shoulder and used his free hand to unlock the door and open it. Walking out and carefully not hitting her head on the way out, he turned to face his home and gently sat her down leaning against the wall. He walked back in and shut the door, as he locked it this time so that he wouldn't have to worry about her invading his home again.

His body was starting to feel heavy now, but he made it to where he wanted to go. He got into his bed and pulled the covers over him, as he took a quick look at the clock, which showed 5:47 p.m. He didn't care if it was early still, but he just wanted to forget about today and be ready for tomorrow.

Location: Ayame's home

"Dad! I'm home!" The brunette announced, as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Teuchi called out.

Ayame placed her bag on a nearby chair and walked over to the kitchen to see her dad cooking some of his famous homemade ramen. She sniffed the air and smelt the delicious scent of it, "Mmm, it smells delicious."

"Thank you dear. So, what happened in school today?"

Ayame sat on a stool that was positioned in front of the high top counter, "Well, there's this new student that's in my class now. He's rather quiet and kind of scary, but I'm sure he has a kind heart."

"Oh? What's his name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ah, sounds like a nice kid."

"Well, he had a rather tough past…"

"Oh? What kind of past?"

"Well, when he was six years old, his mother and father died in a terrible accident. But, then he was placed in an orphanage for a few years and then his dad's best friend took him in. Then he died trying to prevent a bank robbery and so Naruto's been on his own for these past two years."

Teuchi kept cooking the ramen and felt terrible for the poor boy, "Poor Naruto, I can see why he's quiet. But dear, it's been two years since the last incident, I'm sure he wants to get to know people, but he just can't find himself too. So, why not help him?"

"I want to and I even tried, but he told me, along with the others to leave him alone."

Teuchi slightly chuckled, "Dear, that's the sign meaning he wants you and everyone else to help him."

Ayame tilted her head a bit, "What do you mean?"

"When he said that, he really means that he wants you and your friends to help him. He just didn't want to admit it himself, which is why he was hoping you got the message. I'm sure if you loosened him up that he'll be just like all the other guys in school."

"What? Morons?"

Teuchi chuckled and Ayame giggled a bit, "You know what I mean dear."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

A knock came from the their door, while Ayame hopped off the stool, "I'll get it." She walked back to the front door and opened it to see Sasuke with Ino, "What are you two doing here?" She asked, as she allowed them inside.

Sasuke was a bit frustrated and disappointed at the same time, "Well, Ino here text me saying that she was sitting outside Naruto's apartment."

Ayame looked at the blonde curious of why she was there, "And what were you doing there?"

Ino's head hung low, "I tried to get him out of his shell… by having sex with him."

Ayame's eyes widened and she instantly blushed, "Why the hell would you do that?"

Sasuke stared at the blonde, "Well, I… I don't know, but he refused to and last I remembered, he knocked me out and I woke up outside. That's when I text Sasuke and told him what happened."

"He actually struck you?"

Sasuke jumped in this time, "Yeah, why else would she wake up outside his apartment?"

"Honey, who is it?" Teuchi called out.

"It's Sasuke and Ino!"

"Oh, why don't you three come in here?"

Sasuke sniffed the air and could smell Teuchi's home cooking of ramen, "Mmm, smells good as always." He said, as the trio walked into the kitchen.

"Why hello there Sasuke, I hope you're treating my daughter well." Teuchi said.

"I always am." He replied.

"So, what brings you two here?"

Sasuke then formed a straight face, "Well, I think Ayame probably already told you about Naruto Uzumaki." Teuchi nodded to clarify that she did, "Well, Ino here went to help him, but he ended up knocking her out and leaving her outside."

Teuchi frowned sadly, "Oh my, what did she try to do?"

"Ugh… I think it's best we knew that." Ayame said.

Teuchi easily found out from his daughter's response, "Well, like I told my dear daughter, that poor boy just needs help. Even if he says he doesn't, he really means that he does."

Sasuke frowned, "Well, I did win a game and we all agreed that the winner would help him around campus."

Teuchi smiled, "That's good. If he continues acting cold and bitter, just try to ignore it. Just continue helping him and then he'll slowly begin to let loose."

Sasuke grinned since no one was looking at him, "No worries, I'm sure I can get him to."

"Good, good, that poor boy needs all the help he can get."

Ayame looked over at her boyfriend, "Just don't do anything stupid like Takashi did."

Sasuke chuckled, "I won't."

Next day

Naruto awoke from his long sleep and looked over at the clock to see that it showed 7:48a.m. Wiping the weariness from his eyes, he tossed the sheets off and got out of bed, as he walked over to his closet. He grabbed his usual attire and quickly got dressed. Stepping into the bathroom and flicking the lights on, he looked himself in the mirror. A sigh escaped his mouth, as he turned the lights off and made his way to the kitchen. He opened the pantry and grabbed the loaf of bread. He opened it and grabbed two slices of bread, as he closed the bag of bread and put it back in the pantry. He walked over to the toaster and placed the bread in, as he pushed down on the switch. Leaning against the counter, he crossed his arms and waited for his breakfast to finish.

The blonde was hoping that no one would bother him today since he had already made a scene yesterday on his first day. Just about everyday, he would always think about his family and Jiraya. It always killed him inside, but he would always take it out on god since he thought that it was his doing. At times, he would always think that he was cursed and would loose everyone that was close to him. A minute passed and the toast popped out, as the blonde quickly caught them before they dropped back in. With the toast in his hand, he walked to the door and grabbed his coat. Placing the toasts in his mouth, he slid his arms through the sleeves and adjusted his coat to where it fit just right.

He opened the door and stepped out, as he closed the door behind him. Turning around, he pulled the key out of his coat's pocket and locked it. He placed one of the toasts in his mouth and turned around to see a brunette wearing a school uniform that looked all too familiar staring at him, "Naruto, can we talk?" Ayame asked.

Naruto just stood there, but eventually shook his head and walked right past her. Ayame quickly turned around and followed him, "How did you know that I live here?" He asked in a bitter tone.

"Ino told Sasuke and the two of them came to my house last night." She answered.

Naruto took a bite of his toast and decided not to say anything else. The brunette looked at him, "Naruto, I know what happened was a bit hard on you, but…"

The blonde swallowed the piece of toast and glared at the brunette, "A bit? Just a bit? How would you feel if you lost your mother and father? Then next thing you know, you're put in an orphanage for almost your whole life! And then how would you feel that the next person turns out to be a friend of yours and then he or she dies? Why don't you tell me how you would feel then?"

Ayame was startled by his questions and hung her head, as she stared at the ground. Naruto shook his head and rolled his eyes, as he continued heading to school. Ayame looked back up and saw that he was leaving her behind, but she started to run and catch up to him. Naruto came upon an alleyway and could hear people talking within it. He glanced to his right and saw a group of four people that were smoking. However, that group of people took notice of the blonde that was just standing outside.

One of them came up to the blonde, but this guy's rather tall and has some muscle. His skin is a pale blue-gray color with small white colored eyes. He's wearing a black tank top with blue jeans and a pair of black sneakers, "Hey, look who we got here." The pale skinned guy called out to the others.

Another came up to join him, but this guy wasn't as tall as the first one. He was a couple inches shorter, but this guy has dark colored eyes with black hair that framed his face, which he kept the rest in a ponytail. His skin was obviously tanner than the first guy. He wore a blue v-neck T-shirt and blue pants with a body mesh shirt underneath his T-shirt and also wore the same pair of sneakers like the other guy did.

The next one was a woman that has blue hair with amber colored eyes, which had ultramarine eye shadow. This one was about the same height compared to the second one. She wore a scanty robe, with a large hemline on the front, which exposed her arms, her back, the lateral part of her breast and her belly. Her fingernails were polished orange, which Naruto admired since that was practically his favorite color. She wore a pair of tight blue pants with white heels.

The final person was also the same height compared to the woman and the second guy that Naruto set his eyes on. This man had the same style hair that Naruto had, but with an orange color to it and brown colored eyes. He wore a black shirt with dark pants and a white belt on as well. His shoes were just like the other two guys, but were colored white.

"What are you doing here boy?" The pale man asked.

"Now Kisame, let's not try to sound like we're threatening him." The guy with black hair said.

Kisame turned to face his friend, "Shut up Itachi, it's not like we were going to do anything anyway."

The man with the orange hair sighed and walked up to the blonde, "I'm Yahiko and you are…"

Naruto was starting to get a bit confused, but decided to play along, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Yahiko patted the boy's shoulder, "Nice to meet you Naruto." Yahiko pointed back at the woman, "That there is Konan."

Naruto looked at her and now that he knew their names, he didn't see why he needed to hang around here anymore and turned his back to them, as he was getting ready to leave. The group jumped a bit, as Kisame quickly grabbed the blonde, "Where are you going? Why don't you hang with us?"

"Hey!"

The group looked past the blonde, while Naruto turned to see Ayame approaching. The brunette grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him away from them, "Leave him alone, he doesn't need to get involved with you all." She said.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow due to Ayame's action, "Look, the little girls doesn't want the poor boy to have any fun." Kisame said.

Ayame glared back at the group, "He doesn't need to be hanging with a group of fools."

Kisame growled slightly, "Why you…"

Yahiko held Kisame back and looked at Naruto, "Well, Naruto, if you need anything from us or just want to chill…" Yahiko handed the blonde his phone.

Naruto was shocked and before he took it, his hands roamed around his pockets to make sure that he wasn't being played. Surprisingly, his phone wasn't in any of his pockets and looked at Yahiko, as he took the phone, "I put my number in your phone."

Naruto flipped open his phone and opened up the contact, which only consisted of one person now… and that was Yahiko. Naruto looked up at the group and saw them smiling, "Until next time, Naruto." Yahiko said, as they walked back into the alley.

"Did you get his number too?" Konan asked.

Yahiko smiled, "Yep."

Naruto placed the phone back in his pocket and continued to head to school, which Ayame stuck by his side this time, "You shouldn't get involved with them. Those four are part of a group called the Akatsuki. They're a group of criminals who are no good and all they do is do drugs and start trouble."

"I think that I can handle it." He said.

A few minutes pass and the two were now approaching the school, "Listen, Sasuke said he's going to help you today."

Naruto turned to look at her, "I don't need any help with anything."

"Oh come on, we just want to help you fit in with everyone."

Naruto sighed in annoyance, "Hey Ayame! Naruto!"

The two looked to the entrance of the school and saw Tenten, Neji, and Sasuke coming to join them. Ayame smiled and instantly wrapped her arms around Sasuke and looked him in the eyes, "Your brother and his friends tried to get Naruto to go with them."

Sasuke sighed and looked at Naruto, "You shouldn't be hanging out with them. My brother and his friends are nothing but trouble."

"I've heard. That's all your girlfriend has been babbling about."

Ayame quickly glanced over at the blonde and felt a nerve hit, as the blonde saw that she looked like that he was about to attack him. Naruto ignored it, but if she had, it was never his style to fight back against a woman. Sasuke walked over to the blonde, "Come on, I'm going to…"

"No thanks." Naruto quickly replied before Sasuke could finish.

However, Sasuke grabbed the blonde by his shoulder before he took off into school, "Look, do you plan to graduate as an outcast? Or do you want to graduate knowing that you actually made friends from this school?"

Naruto remained silent and started to think what his family along with Jiraya wanted best for him. If they were alive, they would want to see Naruto go through school making friends and doing well in class. They wouldn't want to see him like he is now. The blonde sighed in defeat and the others smiled seeing that he made the right choice, "Fine, but I don't want you helping me." Naruto looked over at Ayame, "I rather have her help."

Sasuke's body tensed, I don't…"

"That's fine!" Ayame said and walked over to the blonde.

Sasuke watched his girlfriend practically take the blonde's side and began to wonder, "Fine, whatever." He said, as he walked back in the campus.

Ayame watched his dismissal and knew that he was upset, but she knew it couldn't be bothered with right now. Neji and Tenten walked over to the blonde, "Well, for starters, I'm Neji Hyuga." The pale skinned student held out his hand.

Naruto shook his hand, "Naruto Uzumaki."

"And I'm Tenten." The girl's hair that was shaped like panda's ears said.

Naruto never smiled, but he felt the small amount of happiness begin to form within his heart. Ayame quickly reached into the blonde's coat pocket and grabbed his phone. Naruto glanced at her and saw her entering a few digits. She held it out to him, "I went ahead and placed my number in your phone."

Naruto reached for it, but Tenten quickly swept it from her and also began to push on the buttons. Naruto began to get a bit aggravated, "I will too if there's anything you need help with." Tenten entered the last number of hers and saved it, as she held it out for him.

Naruto reached for it again, but this time Neji swept it and entered his number in it. A sweat drop formed on the back of Naruto's head, "You can count on me too." Neji said, as he saved his number in the blonde's phone and handed it to him.

This time, Naruto grabbed his phone and placed it back into his pocket. He looked at Neji and Tenten, "Thank y-…"

Ayame grabbed the blonde's hand and ran into the campus with him, "We'll see you two later!" She announced to Neji and Tenten.

Inside Konoha High

Ayame and Naruto were walking down the halls, while Naruto was feeling uncomfortable with all the other students eyeing him. It may have been one day, but that one-day can lead to instant judgment, "So, what school did you go to before this?" Ayame asked.

"I went to Fujimi Academy."

"In Tokonosu city? That's pretty far from here." (This'll be mentioned in my note at the end of this chapter)

"Yeah… that's where I lived with my family and Jiraya."

Ayame felt sorry for the blonde, but she had to focus at the task at hand, "Come on, I'll show you…"

Ding! Dong! Ding!

The two tensed up a bit, "Oh no, I'll just show you after school. We need to get to class." She said, as she grabbed his hand and ran for their class.

A/N: There you have it. Naruto is slowly starting to have a change in heart.

Anyway, for the title of this story, I can't think of anything better than what it is now. If anyone happens to know a better title, can you please let me know? I've tried to think of something, but I just couldn't find one.

Also, I used Fujimi Academy as his previous school, because it just came up, but it doesn't mean that this story will turn into a crossover with the HOTD group. I just mentioned that name since it was on my mind.

Yes, the Akatsuki is in this, but they're just a group of druggies and drinkers, you're typical punks. Also, there will be a few more groups (Might just use a couple of the names of groups from Durarara, since they seem cool).

That's all for now, if there's any questions, feel free to ask me by leaving a review or simply pming me.