The unlucky boy: There is the next chapter and in the next chapter we move on to time-skip, the graduation exam. I love it that you guys appreciate the story. Please review when you read the chapter. Keep reading and reviewing. :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto
Saki woke up to the bright rays of sunrise with a smile. This was arguably the best sleep she had slept ever since the massacre, without getting any nightmares to break her slumber. She realized she had clutched something in her sleep, and blinked when she saw that it was a hand. Her eyes followed the arm all the way up to his neck, and finally landed on a certain blonde. The boy sat asleep on the floor, and his head was on her bed, idly snoring away because of way she had clutched his hand. A faint blush lit up her face.
'Is he here all night...for me?' She thought, then looking at him closely. 'Whiskers? He looks like cute with them...wh-what am I thinking!?' She mentally shouted but her eyes didn't look away from his sleeping face. Unconsciously, she put her hand on his cheek, she touched whiskers. 'His cheek is soft.' She suddenly felt a warmth spreading throughout her hand, it made her comfortable.
"Well, I wonder if I can get up now?"
A certain voice startled Saki, she saw Naruto opening his eyes and stared her, a mischievous grin came on his face. Her face got red, she yelled: "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" she pushed him away, which made Naruto fall to the ground and hit his head.
"Ow." He moaned. "It's hurt, Saki." He said, rubbing his head.
She glared him fiercely, her face redded. "Shut up, idiot! It's your fault." She said angrily. "And why are you in the room? Didn't you try anything fun, do you?" The Uchiha asked him in a threatening voice, Naruto shrunk further under her gaze.
"No! No! No! I didn't do anything!" Naruto heard a certain old fox's 'Damn you, why don't you do anything, you idiot!?' words but he ignored him. "It's just that... I heard you outside the room, crying every once in a while, so I entered to see what happened to you." He answered sincerely.
"...Really?"
"Of course I do! Anyway, are you alright?." He asked worriedly. "You know, your nightmare?"
"I'm fine." She replied softly then smiling at him. "Thank you for being with me last night, I really felt good."
"Nah, no problem~." He sing-sang. "So...I'm getting changed and make the breakfast, after the breakfast I will take you to go get your things, okay?"
"Thank you, Naruto."
Two hours later
Naruto and Saki were walking back towards the Uchiha complex to pick up her things. The entrance was guarded by two ANBU, which halted them till Naruto showed them a piece of paper from the Hokage, which they were let inside afterwards.
Saki turned to Naruto. "What was that paper about?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
When she shook her head, he sighed. "That was permission from jiji to allow us in here."
"Wait why do we need permission to enter my home?"
"Beside the fact that your ENTIRE clan was slaughtered, that around ¾ of the compound was burnt down and not a building escaped damage, which could injure you badly, not to mention the fact that jiji don't want people snooping around…I don't see why you need it."
Once they reached the clan compound, you can see ninja squads with some ANBU clearing away the debris, and the bodies were left on the courtyard, covered with blankets and marked with a name.
"Also a ceremony will be held for the clan in a week, just thought you like to know."
When they reached Saki's house in the center of the district, she led him into a room.
"Alright, how are we going to get my stuff to your place?" Saki asked. Naruto smirked and pulled out a storage scroll.
"With this, take whatever you need and I'll seal it in here."
"...For a reason, I wasn't really so surprised when you know storage seals." She mumbled.
"Oh, sealing is number one." He grinned, Saki sighed and took the scroll and in forty minutes they were done. They came back to Naruto's apartment and getting ready for the Academy. Naruto sighed when he thought he had to go there but because of the mission, he couldn't do anything. However, Naruto felt something as the Sandaime sent him to the mission, he thought it could be not simply a mission and the Hokage could have other reasons for sending him to Academy but Naruto didn't know what they were.
Both entered the Academy and sat in their usual corner as students started coming in. The news of the massacre was known and many students approached Saki to console and try to befriend the last Uchiha even more persistently than ever before. Saki was really upset, she didn't need their pity, after all they just cared for her clan name or for her status. She turned around to find a certain blonde. He was joking and chatting with his friends, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba. Four them was dead-last team of the class who often skipped class, acted up in school and had bad grades...at least that was what people supposed. Kiba and Chouji were not without skills, Shikamaru had the superhuman intelligence of a Nara and Naruto...she got nothing left to talk about him. The dobe was nothing but his mask and he was a chuunin for god's sake! He totally could kick all student's asses easily.
Suddenly, Naruto turned and looked at her. He smiled at her, waving. She flushed and looked away quickly, which made Naruto get curious. 'Did I do something wrong?' but he said nothing, he was going to ask her later.
Just like that, the day went on, Naruto and his friends still acted up in class and had to accept their punishment later from Umino Iruka, even Shikamaru the lazy bum. Saki got disturbed from students of the class and she just TRIED to ignore them, Naruto saw that and just chuckled.
After school, she was coming back Naruto's apartment. The blonde went to ahead of her and which made the Uchiha get mad as he left her dealing with idiots in school, she told herself she was going to teach him a lesson once she came home. When she reached his house, she found a note on the table.
'Out to get groceries.'
She was furious, he left...again. 'That jerk!' She mentally cursed and headed to her room, then realizing she had no idea how to get her stuff out, went to the couch and sat down.
Twenty minutes later she heard the door open, when she was about to shout at said blonde for giving her a scroll that she didn't know how to unseal stuff from, he walked into the living room in a horrible shape. From face to feet, all bloodied and bruised, Naruto leaned his hand against the wall and panting heavily. Saki forgot about the scroll instantly, fearing about the blonde's welfare.
"Naruto! What happened to you?" She yelled, rushed to catching him just as he nearly sank to his knees. She stock him in the arm and went to the couch.
"Ah Saki, you came back." He said difficultly. "Didn't you read the note?"
"Yes, but why are you all beaten up like this? Ain't you supposed to be a shinobi!?" She screamed.
"Oh this, this is nothing, don't worry about wounds so much, they should be all healed up by tomorrow and I will be fine." He replied with a wry smile. "They, however, is quite ache. Man, I suppose it will be kind of hard to sleep with all this pain tonight."
"Damn it! Usuratonkachi! I really didn't understand you. You can totally defend yourself! Why didn't you fight back!?" She grabbed his shoulders tightly.
"Ugh...take it easy, Saki." Naruto moaned in pain.
"Ah, I'm sorry." Saki let him go.
"I'm alright and answer for your questions: I can't. You know I'm a shinobi, most of them are civilians, with some jounin and chuunin ninjas. One of our village's laws was not allowing shinobis to hurt civilians or they will get a punishment from the Hokage and the council. If I fought back, people hate me in the council would use that to chastise me and believe me, I will surely be worse than this." Naruto asserted solidly.
"...But it's not fair for you!" The Uchiha said with a scowl.
"Ninja's life is always saturated with injustice. In addition, I'm used to being these abuses." He said jokingly.
"How the hell can you be used to this!? I think you can die!" She snarled.
"I won't die with those but when the council get involved themselves, I'm screwed. Besides, I really don't want to hurt anyone."
Saki was speechless, here Naruto who was a chuunin, doing mission and protecting the village and they beaten the crap out of him, and to think he has been going through this...repeatedly. Years's worth of beating because the people that cared for him either didn't know what was going on or didn't have time to take care of it. Years of loneliness, with no one to care for him except the Hokage, but he probably didn't have time to visit him anyway or he simply...hide them from him. Years's worth of hell… Hell she just lost her parents for a couple of days and it sucked, think about having no one to care for you… If she was in his shoe, she would have been dead a long time ago.
How could he be so strong like that?
How could he be always happy and optimistic with his horrible life?
And especially...How could he smile like nothing bad happened?
"Well, if you don't mind, you can help me prepare some Mercurochrome, rags, bandages and water?" He asked. "Although I said that they would all healed up, I still want to clean the cuts and ease the pain."
"Okay, wait a minute dobe and don't move!" She scolded as Naruto was going to stand up.
"Eh? But I have to take my clothes to change."
"I'll take them for you. Just sitting there and wait for me. DON'T ARGUE!" She growled and Naruto squealed with fear, obediently following her order.
Naruto sat in the couch silently. A few minutes later, Saki brought the first aid kit out and walked up to him. She started cleaning and dressing wounds thoroughly, she had to make sure that they wouldn't fester. Looking at his injuries, Saki felt hurt in her chest, his clothes was covered by blood and tears. He even was stabbed. How could they do those to a 10-year-old kid as him? What did he do?
"Done. They're really bad, you need more rest."
"Well, if you think this is bad wait till it's October 10th, it will surprise you more than." He said indifferently.
"Huh, what do you mean? And October 10th...Wait! That day..."
"Yes, Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village and so many died, then Kyuubi is defeated by the Yondaime but Yondaime himself sacrificed his life..." Naruto let loose a barrage. "...but there is half the truth." He said in low voice.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. I mean that Konoha's hatred of the Kyuubi or anything related to Kyuubi is only rivaled by the hatred of Iwa for Yondaime."
"...I'm sorry, kit..." Kurama voiced guiltily in his head.
'No, it's not your fault when you're controlled Kurama.' Naruto consoled the fox.
"Wait, isn't tomorrow October 10th?"
"Yeah, and it's around the time I ask for an B-rank mission or higher from jiji…But I'm stuck looking after you, so I guess I either stay indoors tomorrow or end up in hospital as a bloody pulp. Luckily they still haven't found out where I lived yet, they still think that I move from 'hideout' to 'hideout', not that I'm complaining. It keeps them off my trail, although some shinobis try to find out where I actually live or usually stay at, I have at least 4 different places to go to if that happens." He grinned.
"Sorry…"
"Huh?" He looked her confusedly. "Why do you sorry?"
"All my life I haven't seen someone beaten so badly for just being born on the day of kyuubi's attack…"
"Awww thanks, Saki, never knew you cared for this poor dobe." Naruto flashed a foxy grin at her. Almost instantly she turned red.
"I WAS JUST CURIOUS YOU IDIOT!" She shouted. "Since you are a chuunin, why don't you just use henge or genjutsu, assuming that the dobe knows how to use them?"
"Beside the fact I technically haven't learnt it yet, most experienced chuunins and jonins can see through a henge and I sucked genjutsu. So when they find out that I was the one in the henge, there will be hell to pay." Naruto replied.
"Wait how do people know you haven't learnt henge yet?"
"Well, being dead last you have a reputation, also information about my progress get leaked into the public because most teachers their hates my gut." He sighed boringly. "In addition, they always suppose the 'demon' seem to be too stupid to do anything, except run from a mob.
"Guess your right…Wait, Iruka-sensei seems to like you. Are you sure he hates you?"
"I meant Mizuki, he is the one that usually rigs my tests to make them harder, points out my hiding spots and so on. Iruka-sensei on the other hand is like my father figure." He smiled happily when he thought about his respected teacher.
"Why do you call Iruka 'sensei', don't you know everything he teaches you?"
"Yes, but I call him sensei because he is the one of the only people that I know that could be bothered to teach me anything, or at least try. Though he didn't like me much when I first began through…Guess I grew on him." Naruto said the last part with a thoughtful expression.
"I see..." She said softly. "It must be difficult for you being in a mask."
"Well, it's not easy at all. In fact, I'm enjoying myself while I'm having the time." He winked at her.
Saki tilted her head. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"You know, I became a ninja when I was 6 and I spend the majority of my time training and doing missions. It was boring sometimes as I didn't have much time to enjoy my free life. Since coming Academy, I felt comfortable and more freedom of my life a little, I'm in there for a mission though." He smiled.
"You're weird." Saki sweat-dropped. "Ah, you just said that you're in Academy for a mission. What's that?"
"Collecting information mission."
Saki face-faulted. "What the kind of information you have to find in the Academy?"
"Well, there are lots of them." Naruto said. "It's not like that ninjas of the other villages don't spy on Konoha. That's all I can tell you." Saki nodded, understanding that he couldn't reveal too much as it's shinobi work and she wasn't a shinobi...yet.
"Alright, so one more question." Saki said quietly, she sounded confused.
"And?"
"Why did you choose Sakura out of everyone in the class to be part of the mask?"
Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious…"
"Right…."
"WHAT I AM!"
"Temperamental much..."
"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
"Man…It's going to be a pain living with you…I chose Sakura because she would go to support my mask, firstly, who would hit on someone who can screech like a banshee, secondly who would go for a fan-girl, thirdly she is piss weak. Happy now?"
"You know I can use this against you right?"
"And reveal that I'm in a mission and risk facing the wrath of the Hokage because of breaking a spying shinobi's cover, even though you are the last Uchiha…"Naruto was cut off as Saki stood up.
"I'm going to take a shower." With that Saki stormed up to the room and slammed the door.
Naruto just stared at the door, raising his eyebrow. Why did she get angry? What had he said wrong?
"Don't you really understand? Oh god, you're so denseeeeeeeeeee, kit.~" In his head, Kurama mocked.
'Shut up, I just don't understand girls, what a drag.'
"...I see you spending too much time with the Nara brat."
Naruto shrugged. 'He is good at shougi and I do like myself a challenge.'
Kurama nodded in agreement. "I can say that he is the smartest kid in your class, he is classified as a dead last though. He will be the amazing strategist in the future."
'I agree. And not only he but also many others.'
"Anyway, that Uchiha girl, if you look closely, you can say she has something for you."
'Alright, you might just be letting your imaginations run away with you.' Naruto sighed.
"I mean it, kit. You should watch her expression when she asked you about the pink banshee in your class." The fox chuckled.
'Okay, I don't want to hear your elaborate fantasy. I'm going to cook now and then I'll go to the library.' With that Naruto stood up, went into the kitchen.
After having the dinner with Saki, Naruto made his way deep into the library. He remembered when he told her that he would walk out, the Uchiha didn't show much emotion, but he could see the worry in her eyes and she didn't really want him to go. He smiled softly, it was a warm feeling to have someone care for him at least.
Once he reached the library, he saw the librarian. Ayumi, the librarian, was an 'okay' person in Naruto's opinion. She would smile at him-not the fake ones-and allow him to borrow a few books. She even had helped him read the difficult words when he could just read some simple words at that time. Sometimes, Naruto heard the librarian mumbled. "Just like Minato..." under her breath. He was puzzled. What did she mean? Besides, Minato was the name of Yondaime Hokage, right?
"Good afternoon, Ayumi-san."
"Oh hello, Naruto-kun, today you come to find more books?" She smiled softly and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, and some scrolls."
"Well, feel free to check and find what you need." The librarian said kindly.
"Thank you, Ayumi-san." He beamed at her.
The chuunin made his way to shelves in the library. Konoha Library was divided into two floors. The first floor was the civilian section where most of the books were on general subjects that civilians learn though there were a few on shinobi to give the civilian populace an idea what the career entails. The second floor was exclusive to shinobi only and you need to be one in order to enter.
It took Naruto a while to pick necessary books and scrolls up. At times, he opened a book, reading it with interest and he would took it if he wanted to dug around a little more.
After choosing some relevant books, e was heading towards his usual seat, a small table at one of the corners of the first floor of the library, when he spotted a closed book lying on top of a wooden table.
He frowned. It was a known rule that you had to return the book you've read back to its proper shelf. He clicked his tongue. "They shouldn't depend on Librarian-san to clean up after them." He climbed up a chair and reached toward the book. He pulled it toward him and blinked. "Sealing?" His eyes skimmed the plain cover-page. He blinked. "Jiraiya-sama wrote this?"
He opened the book gingerly. There was a warning.
Sealing is considered to be highly
dangerous and risky. If done wrong or
without proper supervision, it may lead
to severe injuries and may even result
in death.
Please proceed with caution.
A rational part of Naruto's brain told him to stop reading, but another part of him felt compelled and drawn to the book. His desire won out and he reluctantly flipped open another page. 'After all, I'm get stuck behind not having enough materials that I need to improve my sealing skills, this is my good chance and I can't miss it.'
He turned to the next page.
Sealing Jutsu is a type of jutsu that seals objects, living beings, chakra, along with a wide variety of other things within an object. It can be used to restrict movement among many things.
Sealing Jutsu is one of the most dangerous skills that can be acquired by a shinobi. Without the proper repercussions, it can lead to permanent injury, limb detachment, destruction of property, loss of the 5 senses and even death among many other things.
Sealing Jutsu is only limited to the seal master's creativity.
Naruto craned his head behind him. There were no signs of anyone near him. He took the book in his arms and brought it with him to his usual table.
There, he allowed himself to sink into the study of Sealing. He soaked up knowledge like a sponge. His eyes skimmed through the symbols, letters and numbers with ease.
It was as if the knowledge was already implanted at the back of his head and all he needed to do was pluck them out and review.
Unbeknownst to the young chuunin, the librarian observed him from outside. The woman mentally giggled, looking at the boy who focused on the book which she secretly put on the table for him.
'You must be so proud of your son, Yondaime-sama.' The woman who worked at the library smiled.
