If someone had come up and told Naruto a year ago that he was going to be one of the youngest genin that Konoha had ever produced, he would have laughed. However now looking down at the headband that he had grasped in his hand. The past two years had gone by like it was nothing. He had changed, he had grown as a shinobi, but also as a person.

When Rin had pulled him aside those two years ago and asked him to try and make friends, he thought it was a joke. She said it would be good for him to get some friends around his own age. She said it was unhealthy for him to spend all of his time stuck in a library. Honestly it was quite ironic hearing it from her, but it didn't make it any less the truth. To add salt to a wound, when he had gone out and made a weak friendship with a couple of students in his class, he had realized that Rin was right. That is was good for him... even though friends reduced his training time.

Now don't be mistaken Naruto's intelligence it the past two years had grown exponentially. His skill level had grown as did his ability to apply his knowledge to simulated combat situations. He had gone from only being able to manipulate wind chakra, to being able to manipulate wind, water, and lightning.

Sure he didn't know any jutsu to go with the affinities. However he could still manipulate the chakra into a deadly force. Although that wasn't the important stuff that happened during these two years.

Everyone wants to hear about the hero of the story progressing in power, and the cool new abilities he gains. They see that as the important stuff. However during these two years, they would be wrong. None of that stuff is important. This is the stuff that's important.

How Naruto had been worked into Ayane and Takeshi's life, or more specifically, how they were worked into his story.

Naruto had been topping the class charts constantly in the academy, much to the displeasure of other students in his class. He made them appear utterly inferior to him. However he didn't mind, he had been having quite the good time with his newly made friends... but he would never let them know that. In the academy as he grew he had developed a signature attitude that was completely his own in his class. In blunt terms, he was quite the jerk. It came to the point in class where he knew everything that was being taught and opted to read books in class instead. He even sometimes helped grading papers since the only thing that held him back on tests was how fast he could write the answers down.

He had grown to realize with time that both Ayane and Takeshi were both exceedingly intelligent in their areas of interest. Although the former it was much easier to tell.

They had formed an interesting relationship, the three of them. Naruto came to realize that Takeshi had quite the crush on Ayane, if it wasn't blatantly obvious the first day that he met the two of them.

Both Ayane and Takeshi lived together, under Ayane's family. Ayane's father was formerly a traveling trader that had since built up residence in Konoha a few years ago. Her mother was a former Iwagakure jounin that had defected from Iwa in the middle of the, and joined Konoha. That didn't stop her from having pride for her former village in the least. It was just as the war went on, and the yellow flash had gotten onto the field, it became glaringly obvious which side was going to win the war. Especially once Iwa's supply was cut off.

It explained Ayane's choice of clothing change she went through after a year of knowing her. Blatantly wearing a red shirt with a brown shinobi vest over it with pride. She may of lived in Konoha, she may have grown up there, but she never forgot where her families origins came from. It explained her incredible talent with earth jutsus quite easily as well.

Naruto and Ayane got along perfectly, to be honest there was even a slight crush in there on Ayane's part. However Naruto almost destroyed the entire friendship they had built up with one encounter around a year ago.

Flashback:

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Both Ayane and Takeshi had stopped by Naruto's house to see how he was doing as a spur of the moment type of thing. After a year, despite Naruto being cold at times, they both knew that he cared for the two of them. So they got past the times he would act cocky or rather rude.

They invited themselves into the house since Naruto kept his house unlocked anyways. As a kid he messed with people, pulling pranks on them. So naturally he felt he made quite a few enemies. So when it came down to them breaking into his apartment and breaking any piece of furniture he had, he quickly stopped buying furniture. He just opted to live like that of an actual ninja. The very basics of living were in his house. He had a bed, a desk with a rather worn chair. The only thing that actually stood out in his room was the absurdly large book case that was made of metal, that was fitted as if it was a safe. It had a lock and everything. Other than that there was nothing else that showed any real personality in his room. No pictures, no toys, nothing.

As such when people began to realize that he no longer had anything, they just stopped bothering and life continued on.

Yet... there is a reason why it is common practice to knock before entering. There was a Naruto sitting in the middle of the floor half naked with a bunch of light bulbs littering the ground, connected to his toes and fingers by shinobi wire. Each one was randomly lighting up in quick succession, until Takeshi had coughed into his hand.

Naruto stood up and turned around rolling his eyes at the two only friends his age in the door way. He had a toned body despite his age, but most shinobi and shinobi in training did. The tiny pink tint that came onto Ayane's face didn't help the situation any, as naturally Takeshi quickly noticed. This of course prompted him to quickly make his way to Naruto and usher him into his bedroom telling him, "Put some damn clothes on."

Naruto walked into his room and started rummaging through his dresser as he said in an overly loud voice, "It's not my fault that Ayane likes what she sees!"

This statement had caused Takeshi to roll his eyes, he had grown accustomed to Naruto teasing both he and Ayane despite the fact that Naruto knew he was trying to be with her. However it didn't help that Ayane had flushed a darker shade of red upon Naruto's statement.

Moments later Naruto walked out of his room with the only thing added to his former attire of shorts was a black tank top. The moment he was in the presence of his friends Takeshi spoke up, "More clothes."

Naruto smirked and ignored the statement going over to his sealed book shelf.

Ayane quickly realized that she was blushing like some childish fangirl and snapped out of her daze, doing her best to try and recover her hard exterior, "You know Naruto, you should really present yourself more appropriately in the presence of your betters." she said with amusement dancing in her eyes.

Naruto turned from the bookshelf after retrieving a book, and looked at the grinning duo, "Really? Well I will take your advice, luckily there is no one in the world that qualifies as my betters in my own home. So I am afraid you will have to deal with my toned muscles leaving you a blushing mess."

This statement of course left a couple shinobi in training rather disgruntled, but none the less carried on with their short visit. They really didn't talk about anything that amazing, in fact it was quite insignificant small talk that they made. It usually was just that. Naruto had grown accustomed to when he had friends occasionally they would just stop by his house and say hi, and frankly while he would never admit it, it was nice knowing there were people out there thinking about him.

Soon enough Takeshi had to leave. Around a month ago Takeshi had opted to go out and get a job. He didn't like the prospect that he was freeloading off of Ayane's family, despite his situation. He was able to get a job at a blacksmith's shop. The owner of the shop had a daughter in the academy, and after hearing Takeshi complaining about not being able to find jobs anywhere in the village, Tenten the blacksmith's daughter forwarded the boy to her father. Needless to say Takeshi got in shape quickly doing that job, and became quite a weapon specialist in the sense that he knew the uses for many different weapons in a short period of time.

This left both Ayane and Naruto alone in his apartment, and this was when Naruto initiated the conversation that nearly tarnished their friendship.

"Why do you keep ignoring Takeshi's affections for you?" Naruto said with a raised eyebrow, not taking his eyes off of the book in front of him.

Ayane had done a double take when Naruto had asked the question. She knew that that question was essentially the Shinigami. It would send her down a series of questions that she didn't want to answer, so naturally her response was, "I don't think it is any of your business whose affections I chose to ignore."

Naruto shrugged, he had actually prepared for this day for a long time since it rubbed him the wrong way every since he met them. So naturally he had taken the time to plan out any possible responses she could possibly give him, and he would give a counter response. "Well is there a reason you dislike him?" he questioned, essentially throwing the same question right back at her in a different context, much to her annoyance.

Ayane frowned realizing that Naruto's mind was made up on having this conversation. Sure she could walk out of the house, but it would only postpone the inevitable conversation he would bring up, and she doubted he cared if he brought it up in front of Takeshi or not. "Naruto you should know better then anyone the reasons why I don't like him. He annoys me, constantly seeking my affection. It leads to him embarrassing me in front our class, and Naruto even you must realize that despite how dumb he acts, he is a total nerd. Whenever he is not dead set on annoying me, he is off tinkering with inventions that will likely never amount to anything or reading books on practical ninja techniques that have no actual uses in combat."

Naruto held back a flinch at her tone. She had given a rather harsh, but accurate depiction of his friend's life style. However it was all perfectly fine, because he had a response to her annoyances and it was really simple. "Then why did you take the time to ask me out to have ramen with you last week?"

Ayane paled, she was a smart girl and she instantly knew where he was going with that statement.

"You say you don't like him because he is a nerd? Practicing things that have no practical use? Always having his nose in a book when he is not with you? That is what I do all of the time. Every moment that I am not with you two, I am either at the library, or at home practicing elemental manipulation to gain elemental affinities. In essence it is a completely useless skill, and impractical alone until I actually learn some actual ninjutsu." 'In theory...' he added to himself as an after thought. He in truth had found numerous applications of his affinities in combat, but she didn't need to know that.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair as the girl before him began looking at her feet, "You are being an idiot. Takeshi would do his best to give you the world if you asked for it, he even got a job because he wanted to start making his own way in the world, even though he has his future lined up for him through the academy."

"I have no qualms breaking this down right before you in your face bec-"

He was cut off by a seething Ayane, "Because your a fucking asshole!" She yelled at him giving him a questioning gaze.

Naruto sighed, "Yes Ayane I'm a asshole, I am not liked by people, as to why you and Takeshi do is a mystery to me. I care about you both, but I cannot stand every day watching you treat him like he is a immature fool, when you yourself are being a complete hypocrite. You push away the people who get close to you, I have seen how you act with you family. You keep yourself in some pathetic excuse of a shell so you don't have to get hurt by the people around you. You take out your frustration on the one kid in the entire village that willingly puts up with you abuse just so he can make you happy. That is pathetic, if I had someone like that... I would cherish them."

Ayane didn't say anything, she merely took a couple steps back unwilling to continue the conversation any further. She had left house moments later, and this would be the last time she stopped by Naruto's house or even made conversation with him for a good three months.

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People feel that the strengths and powers make the characters of a story. That their feats make stories characters amazing. They would be wrong, its not the strengths and feats that make the characters, its the blemishes that make the characters.

Now while Naruto and Ayane went through some tough times, having a strong friendship that developed since the beginning that was nearly shattered in a single conversation, Takeshi was the opposite. Their friendship only strengthened.

Flashback:

"My Mother fucking killed my father Naruto! Then she fled the village. Is that what you wanted to hear?" yelled an Irate Takeshi whom had tears in his eyes. The boys had been arguing for a good hour now, no longer having a designated topic to argue about, just ripping each other apart for the purpose of it.

Naruto did his best to look unaffected by the statement, however he did feel a twinge of pain for his friend. Was this argument really worth it?

"I hated you when we met. You were everything I wasn't. You were skilled, and knowledgeable in everything there was about being a ninja. You could impress Ayane in areas that I could never measure up in, no matter how hard I tried. She would look at you in ways that I could only wish she would look at me like that. I got mad, I got jealous, I even asked Ayane's mother for advice. You know what she said?"

Naruto could guess, but he knew this was one of those statements where he wasn't supposed to say anything and let his friend carry on as he let the information sink in.

"She said that I should give you a chance. That I should come to understand you? So I tried. Imagine when I found someone that I felt that I could understand. Someone that could possibly share similar hardships as me. Such as losing your parents due to something that is completely out of your control, and you don't know why. Then going through life trying your very best to fill in those voids with the people around you, yet they can never be filled. You can't even play dumb with me or try to deflect like you usually do. I see how you look at Rin, the Hokage, even the owners of Ichiraku Ramen. They aren't your fucking friends, they are the closest thing to family besides me and Ayane that you got."

Naruto grit his teeth at the fact that here was one of his best friends, the one who was often considered the weakest of the trio of friends he had made including himself, just utterly dissect his daily life as if he was reading a book. It was embarrassing enough when Rin took time out of her day to dissect his social flaws, he didn't need one of his best friends doing it. "It is easy for you to say, you have gained another family, whilst I'm still on my own."

Takeshi actually laughed, "Don't cut that bullshit with me. Replaced my family? You can't fucking replace family no matter how hard you try. Ayane's mom is never going to be my mother!-"

Naruto couldn't hold back his quick comment "In law on the other hand..." Naruto mumbled just loud enough for Takeshi to flush crimson in embarrassment rather then anger.

"She is never going to be my actually mother no matter how hard I try. Just Ayane's father will never be a real replacement for my own. You can give me the whole 'It is better to have felt love and lost it rather then to never feel love at all.' but Naruto that is bullshit. You can say that, but you will never have to experience that. At this point I honestly wish every day that I could trade places with you, you have Ayane's attention, you never had to experience losing your family. The difference is that you have people that love you, the core people in your life have never betrayed you. However the most influential people in my life and in my growth as a child deserted me."

Takeshi took a deep breath, "So this past year I tried to be more like you, in order to try and gain those things in my life that you had. Be it that supplement for family? The more then friendly affections of a girl? The feeling that you can honestly say that when you walk into a house, you can say 'I'm Home'?"

Takeshi pinched his nose as he started backing up from Naruto ready to exit the immediate area, "But now, I can think of nothing worse than being you. You think you situation is bad? Look around Naruto! There are people out there that are just as fucked up as you if not more so. My dad used to tell me 'Life is an interesting journey, 'cause you never know where it will take you. Through peaks and valleys? Twists and turns? Life is something that you need to take one step at a time, and not look back. You need to be thankful for the life you have, stop looking at what you Aint got, and start looking at what you do got.' Now the problem is I have tried to live my life like this. However to see a kid that I feel has everything, act as if he has nothing? It's pathetic."

Takeshi grit his teeth as Naruto just stood there looking at him with a glare. Sure he may of been a bit of a hypocrite quoting his dad. It didn't stop him from being bitter about the situation. However he was certainly surprised when he heard Naruto speak, "Your right..."

Takeshi's head sprung up to look at Naruto who was currently looking away.

"I have been looking at what my life has been lacking and I have forgotten about the things I have gained in this past year. So I'm sorry for this..." Naruto paused pursing his lips, he had never really given an apology before. Luckily Takeshi didn't intend to hang it over his head.

"Forget it... its sorted." Takeshi took a deep breath, "I am likely overreacting on the situation personally... probably because of Ayane." he rationalized with a frown on his face as he thought of the supposed girl of his dreams strictly crushing on his best friend.

Naruto frowned but said calmly, "I actually have some things I need to do... so..."

Takeshi looked up, broken from his thoughts. He didn't need to be told twice, and promptly headed out.

The truth was Naruto didn't have anything to do, he just felt that he needed some time alone for once to just think about his current position in life. It was a bit pathetic in Naruto's opinion where he considered himself smarter than his friend in nearly every way, yet he was the one that was imparting wisdom. Naruto knew if he honestly did look on his life at what he had, and what he didn't. He knew that in his opinion what he had far outweighed what he didn't. Sure he had questions about his past, but what orphan didn't? He was an orphan and to his knowledge he was a completely blank slate, unless there was something bad his parents did that he didn't know about. Any problems say with the people in town not liking him, or his teachers not liking him? He shouldn't of become such a problem around town pulling his pranks. It was his own fault that he became notorious, his reputation tarnished his early years. He had nothing and no one to blame but himself.

That was the day Naruto decided to turn his life around, firstly by talking to Ayane and telling her to pay more attention to Takeshi, he deserved it by now.

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Time Skip: 1 day

Yep if Naruto wanted to look back on the past of the two friends he had created during the academy, it was safe to say that they went through a lot of hardships. They were usually inflicted on the group because of Naruto. However his actions strengthened the trio. Standing before the Hokage, he could honestly say that he had never seen a trio of ninja that looked that strong together just as they were made. Perhaps it was the nature of their graduation, all of them opting to graduate at the same time, and requesting to get on the same team? Or perhaps it was the trust and faith they had in one another. Sarutobi knew as he looked over the trio of young kids before him that they were truly no longer kids, but young shinobi.

He was slightly against the prospect of this teams first mission being a C-rank. However through the nature of their graduation, and the time they had spent together, they already had the teamwork. They just needed the on the field experience. As such on the request of their sensei he gave them a tiny C-rank mission. One that he knew their leader could do with their eyes closed.

Little did he know that he had just sent a fresh genin cell on a mission to a place that was just about to break out in civil war. It was unfortunate that in the world of shinobi, nothing was ever what it seemed.

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(Currently unbeta'd will be posting the version I have gone over in the morning. Already pissed that I am 47 minutes late for what I felt was a personal deadline for this chapter XD...)

Anyways I am very unhappy with how this chapter turned out, and this is why I decided to make a new story rather then work on previous ones, so I didn't have to post this type of stuff. I feel that Takeshi's flashback was very bad. When I was writing it, I had a big picture in my head, but I realized in order to tie it together and shorten it into a chapter where you could see into his character, I had to change his background.

I felt Ayane's part was actually pretty good...

I wanted to take a crack at giving a small narrative as if you were more so reading the thoughts of someone writing a story, rather then reading the story itself. Sort of a test drive, doubt I will do it again despite it being fun. So that was mainly at the start of the chapter.

I don't know worried about how this chapter would be received. Both of the OCs still need a lot of development behind their belts. I just hope that I didn't make the characters a turn off with this chapter (This is more directed at Takeshi, since I felt I did poorly with his segment where as with Ayane I knew exactly where I was going with her.

Don't worry the story isn't going to turn into a situation where it follows the OCs, not in the slightest. In fact, you can expect to see a lot of Naruto in the coming chapters, as well as some friendly faces.

I am contemplating also introducing the third and final OC in this first part of the prologue, so I don't know.

x

As a final note, the ending wasn't rushed. I actually just wanted to keep you in the dark with who is the sensei, where the mission is headed etc etc etc.

You all are welcome to guess though.