Sorry that it's late, minna-san!
Disclaimer: My psychiatrist tells me I hallucinate a lot. I guess I was just hallucinating when I believed I owned Naruto.
"Naruto-kun," Hyuuga Hinata said softly, taking the seat next to him.
Naruto looked at her. Now twelve, he had become colder and darker than he was before. His only friend was Hinata as everyone else was too scared to talk to him. "Hai?"
"Your clothes are a mess," Hinata spoke, poking at the fabric of his shirt. When Hinata had first met Naruto on the first day of the Academy, she had been a shy girl wanting to live up to her father's expectations. But then she saw Naruto being treated terribly by the teachers and still smiled at her afterwards. That day she swore to be someone like that, someone who was able to smile after being hurt, someone who was confident.
"Really?" Naruto replied, looking at his clothes. It was true; they were a mess. His navy blue long-sleeved shirt was torn on the sleeves and the ends of the shirt were fringed. His black shorts were also full of holes and someone had stolen one of his sandals, leaving him wearing only one shoe. "It's something I'm used to. I'll go check otou-sama's house again to see if he has anything else that would fit me."
Hinata shook her head. "No you are not. I'm going to make you your outfit!"
"You can actually make clothes, Hinata-chan?" Naruto replied with a smirk.
Hinata's face darkened. "Otou-sama made me. He said that a lady should know how to clean, cook and sew. I think he's just preparing me to become a member of the Branch House. He plans to make Hanabi-chan the heiress."
Naruto looked at her, his eyes full of resentment towards the Hyuuga clan. Hinata was the only person in the Academy who was close enough to him to make him reveal his emotions.
Hinata looked at him, her eyes full of insanity. Naruto cringed, wondering what was going to happen next. "Of course, I'll have to take your measurements and such. I might poke you with a needle a couple of times, but that doesn't matter, right Naruto-kun?"
Naruto just glared at her and looked away, wondering what he did to deserve such torture from his best friend. He was about to fall asleep when he felt Hinata's stance go rigid. Looking up, he saw Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's otouto and the "last Uchiha." Itachi had killed his clan three days after Naruto's seventh birthday. Naruto still remembered the night that Itachi had come to tell him that he had to leave Konoha.
Naruto awakened with a fright. Something bad had just happened in the village, he could sense it. His mother's blood held strong in him, despite him not having the proper training to control it. Looking around, he noticed he wasn't in his room. No, he was in his mind.
Zurui, what troubles you so?" Kyuubi asked from inside his cage.
Naruto looked at the Kyuubi, bowing before him. He had gotten used to the great beast calling him that name, and he didn't want to disrespect him. "Kyuubi-sama, my mother's blood is troubled. Something bad has happened in Konoha, but I don't know whether it is for better or for worse."
Would you care about which it was? Or are you just scared that something has happened to your four precious people?" came the response.
"I am scared, Kyuubi-sama. It is a feeling that I have never felt before, not even when I was beaten by the members of this village."
So you are scared of the unknown," Kyuubi replied. "It is a weakness, Zurui, one that you should not have. Remove it immediately. Now leave.
Of course, Kyuubi-sama." Naruto then pushed himself out of his mind.
Despite his talk with Kyuubi, Naruto was still troubled. Because of his lineage, he was meant to be a person who had no care for emotions, but he was still a child. A child who just wanted to feel loved.
Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Itachi. "Itachi-nii! What are you doing here?" It was then that he took in Itachi's appearance. He was tired and there was blood all over his clothing. "What did you do?"
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I have to leave Konoha. I…I killed my clan. I only left my otouto alive."
"Why?" Naruto asked patiently, although inside he was feeling surprise, pain, and remorse.
"That…That is something I was ordered not to tell you by your father. I can only tell you after your thirteenth birthday. I won't see you until then Naruto-kun, but remember your lineage. Remember who you are and never let anyone control you."
"Not even Kyuubi-sama?"
"Kyuubi-san is a special case. You'll understand when you're older. Now promise me that you will do as I've asked," Itachi spoke in desperation, knowing that he would be found if he stayed any longer.
"I promise, Itachi-nii."
"Arigatou, Naruto-kun." Itachi quickly left the room, leaving no trace of himself behind. And Naruto fell to floor and began to cry.
"Hinata-chan, it'll be all right," Naruto whispered into her ear. Her father was trying to arrange a marriage between the Uchiha and Hinata. Hinata had yelled at him, refusing the marriage, saying she'd rather marry her cousin, Neji, than the Uchiha. However, Hiashi had ignored her and so she had to watch what she did around the Uchiha.
"Naruto-kun, will you promise me something?" she whispered back, her voice so low that Naruto could only hear it with the Kyuubi's help. He nodded and she whispered, "If I ever have to marry him, help me run away. If I don't run away in time, kill me."
Naruto nodded once again, his face blank, although his eyes betrayed his emotions once again. Hinata was the first person that didn't know his secret that became friends with him. And she had continued to stay his friend even after he had told her.
"It's highly unlikely that you would ever marry him, Hinata-chan. Your bloodline would mess up his, and the Sharingan might not be present in a child between the two of you. That is why the council didn't accept the proposal in the first place," Naruto reassured her, although he was mostly reassuring himself.
Hinata smiled at him and whispered, "Arigatou." It was then that Umino Iruka came into the room.
Iruka was their teacher at the Academy. He smiled at his students as he spoke, "Yesterday you took the graduation exam and became Genin. Today is the day you are sorted into teams and leave the Academy." As he started the placement of the students, Naruto began to ignore him until he heard his name. "Team Seven will be Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your sensei is Hatake Kakashi."
Hinata saw Naruto's eyes go dark and cold and she felt his killing intent, which he had released accidentally. She nudged him, a knowing look in her eyes, and Naruto calmed down. "Team Eight will be Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your sensei is Yuhi Kurenai."
Naruto and Hinata continued to ignore Iruka until he said, "You are dismissed for lunch. Be back here in an hour to meet your sensei."
"Take this and go change," Hinata said, handing Naruto a scroll. The two were outside the bathrooms at the Academy.
"This is…?"
"Well I decided to make you a new outfit since you're now a Genin."
"And where is your new outfit?" Naruto asked.
Holding up another scroll, she spoke, "It's in here. I'll go change and if you're not done by the time I get back, I'll start using you as a model for my clothes."
"Fine. But only because you're my best friend."
"It's nice to know I'm appreciated for something."
When Naruto came out from the bathroom, Hinata was standing in front of him. She was wearing a blue turtleneck with a pattern of white lilies on the side with a short navy -blue skirt. Underneath the skirt she wore a pair of black leggings that reached her ankles. She wore on her feet blue ninja sandals. Her hitai-ate was tied around her right arm.
Hinata smiled as she examined his outfit. "Perfect! Now don't ruin it! It took me weeks to find the perfect materials to make it!"
Naruto sighed. His outfit consisted of a red short sleeved shirt, a black armless trench coat that reached his knees and a pair of black pants. He wore black sandals on his feet. His hitai-ate hung loose around his neck.
"Fine, Hinata-chan."
"Now go act colder and meaner than the Uchiha to the Uchiha!"
"Sometimes I wonder what happened to the kind and sweet Hinata that befriended me six years ago," Naruto replied with a smirk, walking away from her.
"I am kind and sweet, to everyone except you, otou-sama and Uchiha-san!"
Naruto just laughed and Hinata smiled, knowing her job was complete for the day. Naruto wouldn't attempt to kill his team members yet.
Naruto glanced at the Uchiha. As he had told Itachi six years ago, he wasn't worth remembering since he couldn't face reality. Now Naruto would have been happy to do that for the rest of his life, but then Itachi had to kill his clan and leave him alive. And now Naruto was stuck on the same team as him. But he couldn't do anything about it. He had to show no emotions. He would never attempt to get closer to his teammates. He had to keep his mask in place. His emotions must stay hidden, must always stay under the mask, beyond his eyes, locked away in his mind. And so it shall stay except with those close to him.
Naruto then turned to look at Haruno Sakura. According to the data recorded by the Academy, she was supposed to be the smartest girl in the class. However, that data also said that Sasuke was the best person in the class. Naruto knew that Hinata could easily beat both Sasuke and Sakura at the same time, but had held back on her abilities. Naruto had been proclaimed the "dead last" but seeing that he never did anything in class and had barely passed; it led one to wonder how many other people were holding back.
Haruno was a fan girl who cared more about her hair than being a kunoichi. Most likely, the only reason she joined the Academy was to follow Sasuke. This thought, however, led Naruto to inwardly frown. She had acted like a kunoichi before the Uchiha Massacre, before Sasuke was seen as the "last Uchiha". Naruto shook his head; he would figure this out later.
Looking up, he saw the door open and there stood Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi, looking at his team, said, "You three look boring, Meet me on the roof in a minute." With that, he disappeared using the Shunshin. Naruto sighed, having seen both the Sandaime and Itachi use that jutsu numerous times. He followed his teammates out the door, heading towards the roof.
Naruto sighed, sitting as far as possible from his team, and then turned to look at Kakashi.
"Well, how about we introduce ourselves first. Tell us your name, your likes, your dislikes, your hobbies, and your dream," Kakashi said.
"Ano, sensei, shouldn't you go first?" Sakura asked and Naruto just wanted to throw a kunai at her. Making Kakashi go first would mean that nobody on the team had enough confidence in themselves to go first.
"Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have some likes and a few dislikes. I have a lot of hobbies and a dream. Now you go, Pinkie."
Sakura scowled at her nickname. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…" She blushed and looked at Sasuke. "I dislike Ino-pig! My hobbies include singing. My dream is…." She blushed again and looked at Sasuke once more.
'A fan girl. Just my luck to end up with one,' Kakashi thought. "Next, the Brooder," he then spoke, looking at Sasuke.
Sasuke scowled as well. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There is little that I like. I dislike a lot of things. My hobby is training. My dream, no, my ambition, is to kill one man."
'An avenger. Great.' "Blondie, you're up."
Naruto quickly wondered about what to say and inwardly smirked, knowing what he was about to say would ruin Sasuke's day and make Kakashi wonder. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like my otou-sama, my okaa-sama, Hinata-chan, foxes, and weasels. I dislike snakes, fan girls, avengers, and most of the members of this village. My hobbies include training, visiting my father's grave and visiting my mother's body. My dream isn't for you to know."
Sasuke glared at him for the weasel comment, while Kakashi just looked at him. 'Well, he certainly is odd. Who are his parents? And how does he know Kyuubi and Itachi? And snakes…The fact that he hates most of the village is bad as well. And his dream, what could it be? I must speak to the Sandaime about him.'
"Well, tomorrow we'll be doing a survival test," Kakashi said.
"But we did those in the Academy!" Sakura yelled.
"This one is to determine whether you'll stay a genin."
"But we already passed the test!" came her response.
"This is the main test. It has a 66 failure rate," Kakashi said. This made Sasuke show a response and Sakura look scared. Naruto paid no heed to Kakashi, having read about the tests in his mother's journals.
"Well, meet me at Training Grounds 7 tomorrow at 5 AM. Don't eat or else you will throw up." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto shook his head. 'The Shunshin no Jutsu is so noticeable. Isn't there another way to get around?'
As he was about to leave, he heard Sasuke call out, "Wait!"
Turning around, he responded in a dark tone, "What?"
Paying no attention to the sound of his voice, Sasuke replied, "What did you mean by weasels?"
Naruto just walked away, saying, "I have no reason to tell you that."
Naruto sat by Kushina's bed, smiling a bit. "Okaa-sama, today Hinata-chan gave me a new outfit that she made herself. I love it. It made me really happy to know that she truly cared about me. I also found out whose team I would be on. I'm under Hatake Kakashi and my teammates are Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. Kakashi was otou-sama's student, right? I read about that in your journals. Anyway, okaa-sama, I have to maintain a mask around them. I don't want them to know who I am, how I feel and how I act. I don't trust them. The blood of a seer runs through me and it's telling me not to get close to them, that they will only bring me trouble. What should I do okaa-sama?"
Naruto kissed his mother's hand and got up, leaving the room. He didn't notice the hand that he had kissed had moved. And he paid no attention to the vase that sat upon the table by the bed, the vase that held dying sunflowers.
Kage: I'd like to thank Karone for putting up with my lateness! I hope you all find the symbolism in this chapter. Most of them are easy to spot. Oh, and as for why I skipped straight to the teams, Naruto is different! And I'm not following the canon storyline completely. The Forbidden Scroll incident will happen at a later date, if it follows my story.
Karone-sakura: Hey everyone! So sorry it's late. It's my fault. Well actually it was the both of us. Oops? Lol. She got it to me late and then it took me a while to actually edit it. Ah life does get in the way sometimes. Well I hope you all enjoy the chapter as much as I did!
Yuurei: I am Kage-sama's muse. I would like to ask you to review, please.