Alright here's the first chapter. Thanks for the reviews so far!
Chapter One
The full moon shone its blinding light through the bedroom window; casting gloomy shadows across the walls and lighting up the blonde hair of a small boy. Eight year old Naruto sighed and gazed up at it sadly with wide blue eyes as he listened to the screams of his fighting parents.
"How dare you sleep with her? I'm your wife!" He heard his mother, Maiko call out angrily. Naruto heard the slap of a hand to bare skin and cringed.
"I have every right to sleep with her! She's ten times nicer than you are! I treat you better than you deserve, so shut your mouth!" His father, Ryota cried out. Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his fist as a tear trickled down his cheek.
"How dare you!" Maiko screamed in rage. "What have I ever done to you? If I went running off with some other man I'm sure you'd get jealous."
"Jealous? I'd be more than jealous! It's different went it's your wife!" He demanded.
"How? How is it? That woman is married too you know!" Maiko cried out in anguish.
"Yeah. To a dirty scum bag. She deserves better! I deserve better!" He screamed. "I'm sick of you!"
Naruto stood up angrily and walked to his door. He paused for several moments as he took deep calming breaths. He looked up and opening the door, ran downstairs and into the kitchen.
"Shut up!" He cried out loudly; his tears flowing more freely. "Stop fighting! Please!" His father ignored him as he shoved his wife into the hot stove making her cry out in pain when her hands met the red hot metal.
"Please stop!" She screamed; pulling her hands away from the stove and holding them out painfully. "Please, for Naru's sake!" Ryota shoved her again.
"What has he ever done for me? He doesn't even wear those glasses I wasted my good money on! He's a fucked up accident! What good is he?" He screamed, his voice gaining in altitude.
Naruto reached out and tried to pull his father away by the shirt; his small weak body struggling with the task. He tugged at the shirt, barely even making his presence known. He let go and clenched his fists before punching his father in the back. Ryota grabbed his hand and pushed him away.
"Don't you dare threaten me you filthy child! Get out of this house now!" He yelled, raising his hand.
Naruto stared in fear and stumbled blindly out of the room. He opened the back door and ran outside; racing as hard and fast as he could. Tears ran from his eyes, blurring his vision even further as he swept through the forest behind his house like a racing horse.
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Ten year old Naruto Uzumaki shot up in bed and wiped away the sweat that was forming on his brow. These dreams were occurring more often. Dreams from the past that he didn't remember and of when he didn't live at the horrifying orphanage, with the inedible food and the mouldy beds like the one he was laying in. He thought back on his dream and wondered once again if his parents were always fighting and how it was exactly that they died and he wound up in this hell hole. He sighed and rolled over, preparing to fall back to sleep. Before he was able to, the matron of the dorm he lived in swept through the door and roughly shoved him out of bed.
"Get up and get to work Fox." She ordered.
Naruto sighed inaudibly, picked himself up off the floor and picked his square, black rimmed glasses off of the side table. It had always been like this. They never called him by his name but instead opted to call him Fox because of the three parallel, whisker-like scars on each side of his face which gave him the impression of a fox. The matron always woke him at dawn and forced him to do his 'chores' which consisted of cleaning the entire floor his dorm was on. Naruto and the other six boys he lived with were supposed to rotate the chores but because of Naruto's constant pranks he was always punished by having to do their chores as well.
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Kakashi ran a tired hand through his silver hair and readjusted his mask and eye-patch. His one grey eye glanced up at the Suna Orphanage. He had finally found him after ten years of tireless searching. Now for his plan, he couldn't rouse suspicion, so he needed to do this undercover.
"Hey did you hear the orphanage passed another inspection?" he heard a passer-by ask his companion.
"What? Really? How do they get away with it? They treat those kids like slaves." The man asked. Kakashi didn't hear what the man's reply was as he had already begun leaping away on the roof tops. Inspection huh? He thought to himself, a plan forming in his mind.
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"Because all you snotty nosed brats are being 'freed' today Mrs Nakamura is expecting this place to be spotless. It's the least you can do for us after we fed and sheltered you." She continued.
Naruto felt a bubble of excitement erupt within his stomach. That's right he thought today we are all getting better homes. Yesterday a silver haired child worker wearing a weird mask had come to examine the Suna Orphanage and because the inspection was a random one Mrs Nakamura and her cronies were unprepared. The inspector had seen the way the children were treated, their poor living conditions and the injuries on most of their bodies and had immediately lodged a complaint with the department. A large number of children were taken immediately and the rest were going today. And I'm one of them.
It took Naruto three hours to wash and scrub the dorms clean and just as he finished two police officers entered and took him to their car. An hour later the police pulled into a neat two story house in the middle of a field. The house was old, yet still held charm within its sturdy structure. Naruto gazed excitedly outside and opened the car door. He stretched his tired limbs and waited as the policemen brought his things around. Together they walked up to the front door and knocked on the hard timber.
Within a few moments the door opened to reveal a boy around the same age as Naruto with spiky brown hair that fell into black eyes. He smiled up at them with a huge grin and Naruto noticed the two red, upside down triangle marks on both of his cheeks.
"Hello! Come in. You must be Naruto. Dad told me all about you!" he said looking at Naruto happily. Naruto grinned broadly and nodded as he walked in behind the boy. The policemen followed and were shown into the lounge room where the boy bounded off again.
"I'm just getting Dad!" He called as he ran up the stairs two at a time; almost tripping on the fourth step. Naruto hid a laugh and sat awkwardly on the lounge. He listened as the young boy told his father about the guests.
"They're here Dad!" He shouted loudly, although the police men didn't seem to hear. "This is awesome Dad. We're gonna be best buddies forever! I can tell!" Continued the boy. The father laughed and followed the boy back out into the main part of the house. When Naruto looked in the direction of the staircase he saw a handsome middle aged man coming down the stairs. He had his shoulder length dark brown hair done up in a high pony tail that reminded Naruto of a pineapple. A long scar marked the tanned skin above his nose and Naruto scratched at his own whisker-like marks. Gentle brown eyes gazed into Naruto's nervous blues and held a kindness Naruto wasn't used to seeing.
"Hello." He called calmly as he walked over. "I'm Iruka Umino, and this is my son Kiba. He's so glad Naruto was able to stay here." He said laughing. The policemen laughed and greeted him with a warm handshake each.
"Good evening. We're glad little Kiba is so excited." One policeman said smiling. "We have all of Naruto's goods here," he said indicating the one tattered bag on the floor. "We hope he settles in well. If you need anything, just call us." He added. Iruka nodded and smiled.
"Well thank you very much. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee before you go?" Iruka asked politely. The policemen shook their heads begrudgingly.
"I'm afraid we have to get back as soon as possible. Thank you for the offer though but we better be off now." One said and Iruka smiled and nodded.
"Well again. Thank you very much. I'll walk you to your car." He said smiling. They nodded and walked toward the door. They stepped outside and walked to their car.
"So that's Naruto?" Iruka asked. They nodded. "Ah I see. So he does have the scars." He said to no one in particular.
"We hope everything turns out right. Kakashi says the boy went through a lot in the orphanage." One said before opening the door. "Take care Iruka." He added before climbing into the car and waved.
"Bye. Thank you!" Iruka cried as they drove off. He walked back into the house and grabbed Naruto's bag. "I'll show you your room shall I?" He asked happily.
Naruto nodded shyly and followed him into a room beside the back door. He opened the door and went into the small, cosy room. "I'm afraid this is the only spare room we have. It's a bit small, but it does the job." Iruka said happily. Naruto smiled politely.
"Thank you." He whispered, staring in amazement at the pristine sheets and the soft carpeted floor. So much better then what he was used to.
"Will you be alright to tidy things up yourself?" Iruka asked lightly. Naruto nodded and waited for him to leave. Once he had left he began unpacking his bag; placing his dirty and tattered clothes into the drawers of his beside table. He soon heard Iruka and Kiba talking.
"Dad can't I go and help him? I wanna be a good friend." Kiba said in a whining tone. Iruka shushed him.
"I think he needs some alone time. He just got out of a really bad place; I'm sure he just wants to be left alone. Maybe later you two can play." He suggested.
Naruto sighed happily and sat down on the soft mattress. Sinking into the bed he laid back against the pillow and soon, with tiredness sweeping over him; fell into a deep sleep.
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The next morning Naruto woke to the strong scent of miso soup and his mouth watered. Licking his lips hungrily he forced himself out of bed and walked to the mirror. The room seemed hard to focus on, so he found his glasses amongst his belongings and put them on. His gaze became more focused, so he walked out into the kitchen, where the delicious scents grew stronger.
"Good morning Naruto." Iruka greeted from the stove. Kiba was sitting at the table so Naruto walked over and sat beside him, who grinned widely.
"Hello! Did you sleep well?" He asked cheerfully. Naruto nodded shyly.
"Yes thank you." He replied; a blush creeping over his cheeks. Kiba seemed to notice Naruto's awkwardness, and so, sat silently awaiting breakfast. Soon Iruka came over carrying two large bowls of steaming noodles.
"Here you go Kiba. And here's yours Naruto." He said placing the bowls onto the table. Naruto smiled and nodded a thank you before wolfing the food down like a starving child. He had never tasted anything like this before. He looked at the noodles suspiciously before quickly scoffing the rest and drinking the soup. Naruto looked up hopefully to see if there was any more. He was disappointed when he couldn't see any leftover food in the pot and so he got up from the table, his bowl in hand.
"Mr Iruka? What would you like me to do with my bowl?" He asked quietly. Iruka turned around in his chair and motioned with his hands for him to wait till he swallowed.
"Just leave it in the sink Naru and please call me Iruka." He smiled before turning back around to eat. Naruto nodded, mostly to himself, and carried the dish over to the sink. Halfway there he tripped over his feet and gasped as he heard the sound of breaking china. Terrified he fell to the ground, wrapping his arms around his knees and hiding his face. Iruka raced over to assist him.
"Are you okay Naruto?" He asked gently. Naruto cringed away from the helping hand.
"I'm so sorry. So very very very sorry. Please don't hurt me. I'm not usually this clumsy." Naruto stuttered as tears started to spill from his eyes. He felt a reassuring hand on his back but cringed away from the comfort.
"Listen Naru, I don't know what you've been through but I have never hurt a child in my life. It was an accident. Don't worry about it." Iruka said soothingly. Naruto looked up at him, and noticed something he'd never seen in the eyes normally directed at him; kindness and worry. He smiled weakly up at the man.
"I'm still really sorry." He said quietly and accepted the outstretched hand. Iruka knelt down and gave him a hug before wiping away his tears and smiling encouragingly. He walked over to the broken bowl and began picking up the pieces. Iruka laughed.
"I never did like this set anyway, so I guess you did me a favour. It'll give me a good excuse to go buy some decent ones." He smiled kindly. Naruto giggled and a pink tinge crept onto his cheeks. He scratched the back of his head nervously, not used to this reaction. Kiba grabbed Naruto's shoulder and led him back to the table.
"Don't worry about it Naru. How bout I get Dad to cook you up another bowl of ramen?" He suggested with a grin. Naruto guessed that ramen was the name of the heavenly mysterious noodles; he hastily nodded and waited happily.
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When Naruto went back into his room he was only just sitting down on the bed when he heard the gentle patter of footsteps outside his door and turned to see Kiba's head popping around the corner of the door.
"Hi Naruto. Do you want to play ninjas with me? I never have anyone to play with usually, and I thought you might like to…" Kiba trailed off unsure and Naruto smiled.
"Sure! I would love to! How do you play?" He asked in excitement. Kiba smiled and walked in further.
"You don't know how to play ninja?" He asked incredulous. Naruto shook his head, and Kiba went wide eyed. "Well…" He began.
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Shortly Naruto and Kiba were playing ninja in the garden. They bounced around the garden kicking and leaping at hidden creatures. Finally they grew tired and sat giggling on the lawn.
"Thank you for playing with me today." Naruto said quietly. Kiba smiled.
"Why wouldn't I play with you? You're the best ninja I've met yet!" Naruto laughed. "We're gonna be the best of friends aren't we Naru?" Kiba questioned happily. Naruto smiled and nodded.
"Yes. Best friends forever." They both smiled and laughed.
Kiba and Naruto became closer friends as the years went by and Naruto truly felt as if he belonged to the small Umino family. Soon he had left behind his timid behaviour caused by the two years spent in the orphanage and was being loud, joking and most importantly playing pranks on a helpless Iruka. They had entered and graduated primary school with satisfactory results and were in their second last year of high school when Iruka got a phone call one afternoon.
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"Hello." Iruka spoke into the receiver, laughter still in his voice. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Naruto was still staring wide eyed at Kiba who was laughing at the sight of a stunned Naruto covered in flour.
"Yo." A deep voice replied. Iruka went wide eyed and motioned to the fifteen year olds that he was taking the call outside.
"Kakashi what is it?" He asked.
"Iruka as you know it's almost Naruto's sixteenth birthday. I'm going to need you to move back to Konoha so I can ensure he goes through the changes safely." Came the reply. Iruka sighed and looked in the kitchen window where he saw Naruto brandishing a wooden spoon and chasing Kiba around the kitchen table.
"So soon?" he whispered.
"Yes Iruka. You know what could happen if this wasn't supervised. Naruto's condition makes it even more difficult then it usually is. I need you, Kiba and Naruto back here. The boys can finish their last one and half years in Konoha High." Although Kakashi's voice sounded like its usual bored self Iruka could hear the undertone of urgency in it.
"Okay Kakashi, we'll be there in two weeks tops." Iruka replied. "See you then."
"Bye and take care." Was the reply before Iruka heard the click that signalled the conversation's end. He sighed and glanced back in the window, Naruto had Kiba pinned under him and the boy appeared to be begging for mercy. My little Naruto Iruka thought is about to reach Maturity.
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Iruka got a new job in a distant town called Konoha. They moved in two weeks later and the boys were ready to start at their new high school.
Alright and there we have it. Next chapter the boys will be older. : ) Please Review!~