So, here's chapter three.
Before you read this chapter, I'd like to bring a few things to your notice.
This is NOT a fic where Naruto is all calm and badass. Yes, he WILL be much more powerful than his canon self, but, his characteristics and behaviour remain the same, probably less loud, but with the same enrgy and enthusiasm.
Another thing is the fact that, in this story, Naruto WAS attending the academy when he was kidnapped. Therefore, he knows and remembers the Rookie Nine.
It had been three days since he had left Masyaf, three days since his first Leap Of Faith. During the steep descent, he had experienced a foreign sensation, a type of raw, tempest joy, as he saw the the ground rushing up to meet him.
But now, after all that, after seven years at Masyaf with his master, his mentor Altaïr, he was returning, back to his home, The Village Hidden In The Leaf.
- Journey -
"Hokage-sama! We've caught the demon!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth. The naivete of the people of this village really astounded him sometimes. He lowered his head in guilt.
"Send him in."
Two ANBU came in, dragging a blonde-haired boy who happened to be struggling against the ANBU's grips. "You may go now," Sarutobi dismissed the two guards. In reply, the guards pushed the boy forward, leaving him sprawling on the floor. The Hokage showed great restraint in remaining still.
Once the two guards had closed the door, Sarutobi slowly walked forward, and ruffled the boy's head. Naruto looked up and grinned, but Sarutobi thought he saw a hint of moisture in the boy's eyes. He sighed.
"Now where have I seen this before?" he asked, a smile on his face. Naruto grinned cheekily in reply.
The old man's tone seemed to change quite suddenly.
"You know, Naruto...you always end up hurt after it. Smiling isn't going to wash it away. Why do you...keep at it?"
"Cuz I'm better than them, all of them, and one day, they'll all have to listenta' me!"
Sarutobi laughed, "Oh? And why would they do that?" he asked, though he knew the answer to that particular question.
"Cuz I'm gunna be Hokage! You'll have to hand over your hat then Jiji." The Hokage laughed, and tickled Naruto under his chin. "As one Hokage talking to the future Hokage, its pretty boring, you know..."
Naruto giggled, then hugged him. Sarutobi's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then his expression softened.
"Jiji-san, you're the greatest, ya' know."
Naruto exhaled.
The sun was at it's apex. After three days of travelling, he was finally at the last stretch. The density of tree-cover seemed to have increased. His tongue darted out for a second, moistening his lips.
'Seven long years huh...Wonder how the old man's doing?'
Of course, there'd be Iruka-sensei, and then Sakura-chan. He wondered what she'd say after she saw him. Their relationship, prior to his departure had been, well...on the more one-sided side.
And how could he not remember...the lone survivor, the genius, even at his age back then. Uchiha Sasuke would be interesting to interact with again. Unlike his relationship with Sakura, Sasuke and him had, surprisingly, held the odd civil conversation. It'd been strange, all those years ago.
When he'd look at Sasuke, he'd see just the faintest trace of himself.
They'd never hated each other to begin with, but there was no denying the fact that a certain untold rivalry existed between the two boys. Back then, they'd been like two polar opposites.
Sasuke was 'cool', never smiling, his jaws clenched shut and fingers always interlocked. Naruto, on the other hand, had been boisterous, to say the least.
In what was a huge shock to every single girl who dreamed of Sasuke and laughed at Naruto, the two boys had somehow, inexplicably bonded. Most of the times, whenever they would spy on the class hero, it was always him with his hands in his pockets, standing against a tree and taunting the 'dead-last', or muttering something to him, or engaging in a spar with him, even though Iruka-sensei had forbidden them to.
Or sometimes, the two of them would be sitting on the grass, knees bunched up, and playing a game, a sort of contest, to decide who ate not only their own lunch, but half of the other's lunch too.
Or, on the rare occasion, they'd even seen the two get into a full-blown fist-fight because Naruto had remarked something about the Uchiha symbol looking like a lollipop, or something like that.
All in all, it was the talk among the girls, how Sasuke never paid attention to anything except Naruto's occasional insults and jabs.
Naruto smiled wryly, thinking about all those murmurs that would run through when he'd walk into class everyday. And every time, Sasuke would be the only one who never looked at him like that, never eye him distastefully.
He'd be the only one to look at him, shake his head in mock disappointment and remark, "still retarded as ever."
Naruto didn't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, for him to have met Sasuke, and for them to have a forged that thin line that could maybe be described as friendship. Whatever it was, Naruto was sure it wasn't out of pity.
That was the one reason he'd felt happy back then. Sasuke hadn't talked to him merely because he was an orphan, and Naruto hadn't talked to Sasuke just because his entire clan had fallen victim to his elder brother.
He didn't like thinking it, but Uchiha Itachi had been the reason for him and Sasuke forming that bond.
But then, all of that had disappeared, gone in a puff of smoke when his entire life had changed. For the blonde-haired Jinchuuriki, life at the Academy was a welcome change, a place where he'd met others his age, people who didn't dislike for reasons he couldn't fathom. He'd treasured the time he spent there.
Life outside was...well, he couldn't describe it as 'harsh', for initially, that was the only life he'd known. Stay away from the people who are dangerous to you, seek help from the ones who would lend the same...common instinct that was hard-wired into any human being. He had grown up knowing naught but danger around every turn, stares and malicious whispers around every corner, and it had influenced the way he would eventually turn out. Even as a small, dirty boy running around in clothes too big for his size, he developed a sharp ability to sense malice, to predict what was going through someone's minds when their eyes made contact. His hearing had been trained to recognize the heavy footsteps of an inebriated citizen, or the light, rapid footsteps of a group of children playing.
Uzumaki Naruto had never known a mother's kiss or a father's support. Danger was his parent. The citizens were unwittingly his teachers, evasion, detection and sensing were the lessons and pain was the penalty. He didn't complain. How could he, when he still had a handful of people supporting him?
And then, finally, it snapped. His life at Konohagakure dispersed like a puff of smoke. He'd woken to a slight shaking sensation. Opening his eyes, he'd stared at the clear blue sky, before the inevitable 'Where am I now?' popped up.
And the man had slowly let him down, making sure he could stand. Gray eyes seemed to look into his own. Naruto tried to smile, but it was all rather too much, too foreign for the boy.
"Come, there is only a short way yet to Masyaf."
He tried to take in everything he was seeing. So this was where the strange man lived? It seemed some sort of fortress-town. A calm, liquid silence seemed to hang in the air, with the pleasant sound of a wind-instrument playing softly in the background somewhere. There was an air of calm, and peace, spiced with the fragrant scent of…happiness.
"Altaïr," the man had told him, was his name. When Naruto had first looked the man in the eye, it was not what he had expected. The man's eyes were…empty, like a bottomless pit. But the moment the man had noticed him staring, the barrier broke, the eyes flooded with emotion. The man had smiled, "Don't worry, the people won't hurt you."
When Naruto had entered Masyaf through the huge wrought-iron collapsible, his jaw dropped. In front of him stood a huge castle, and though it looked Gray from the outside, it was nothing but beautiful. And as he and Altaïr walked towards it, he could see many children abound. Some were playing, some seemed to be mock-fighting. His eyes lit up as he observed two boys engaged in a bout. Even to the untrained eyes of young Uzumaki Naruto, the bout seemed a spectacle to witness. And the more he looked around, the more curious he grew. As they walked, many would stop by what they were doing and greet his companion, the strange man, cheerily, and sometimes even with respect. When they would look towards him with interested smiles, he would quickly turn away, covering his face, lest they make a hostile move.
The place looked almost a world apart from Konoha's constant bubble and chatter. Here, things were a bit more...well...white, and the roads seemed very, very neat. It was cold, but not unpleasantly so. As they walked, Naruto gripped his companion's hand tighter with his little fingers. There were lots of people walking about, but none spoke too loudly, none were swearing vindictively. When they'd reached the entrance, a young woman had come out running, and embraced the strange man, before looking down at him. Her vivid blue eyes, somewhat like his own, seemed to twinkle, before she asked of her husband,"So this is the boy?"
As she bent down and ruffled Naruto's hair, he felt a strange swooping sensation in his stomach.
These...these people didn't even know him, and yet, they seemed so kind and affectionate. Why?
"Who.. who are these people, who are you?" Naruto asked of his companion. Altaïr's eyes seemed to dart towards his wife's before he looked down with a stoic expression.
"No one here will hurt you, my young friend. We are at Masyaf, my beloved home, and the home of the Assassins."
The little boy's eyes widened, as Maria Thorpe watched the conversation interestedly. The boy's lips seemed to quiver before he repeated the word he'd heard only once in his life.
"A-Assassins?"
Altaïr nodded, a rare smile seemed to flash for an instant.
"One of us."
Altaïr would never forget the smile that had crossed the young boy's face when he'd uttered those words.
- Two years later -
"Come on, surely you can do more?"
Naruto gaped at his friend. They had been sparring for two and a half hours already, and yet Darim seemed as if he had just taken a light jog.
"Get up !" Darim shouted again. Naruto obeyed grudgingly, feeling slightly wobbly.
They had been at it for months now, and he knew his stamina had increased by leaps and bounds. Although, it seemed, he was nowhere close to the Master's son. Darim was short, stockily built, and was three years elder than the blonde. Yet, even for his build, he was quick, dynamic and lithe in his movements. Darim gave him a moment's respite, before attacking a hole in Naruto's already weakened defence. Naruto felt Darim's palm make contact with his chest, felt himself fall over the edge of the huge fountain they were practising nearby.
He knew he would fall over, and splash onto the cold granite floor of the fountain, and Darim would laugh at him, and tease him for getting wet. He got ready for the impact with the water, and tightened his muscles. However, the fall never came. He slowly opened his eyes, to see Darim staring at him with jaws wide open.
"You...You…" he stammered, pointing at Naruto. Naruto looked down. He could see his feet standing upright on the water. There seemed to be teal coloured layer between his feet and the upper surface of the water.
'Chakra,' he realized, with a joyful leap in his heart. So this was what the infernal instructors in the Leaf's academy were rambling on about.
And then it struck him. He was able to control his chakra! He had been able to project it under his feet, out of pure instinct! And the moment this realization hit, he felt the chakra layer break, and to his dismay, he fell knee deep into the water.
"Ha!" Naruto grinned, the look on Darim's face had been priceless, when Altaïr had declared that he had awakened his 'chakra manipulation instincts', and that it was something only he could do in the whole of Masyaf.
So the meager education he had received at the Leaf turned out to be useful after all. 'The Leaf,' Naruto thought. He didn't know what to feel when he repeated the phrase in his head. It was his true home, and in his heart, he knew that that was where he truly belonged.
And suddenly, Naruto cricked his neck up, and his sprinting reduced to a jog, and soon a walk, and, came to a standstill. There, in front of him, it stood, a huge gate, signifying the entrance to his home.
The Village Hidden In The Leaves.
And somewhere, deep inside him, the cage seemed to resonate with the sound of a swishing tail, emulating a thousand whispers telling of madness.
'Glad to be back?'
As usual, please review. Its the least you can do to encourage/discourage me.
Credit goes to my friend for helping me with this chapter.
And finally,
Thank you Shawn-san and ThePizziaMan for reviewing !
Ja ne