The roof of the academy was covered in aging trees. The pale gray cement roof was covered in a thick mosaic of orange and deep red as the leaves piled up. Naruto enjoyed sitting on the roof, watching the the autumnal zephyrs tug at the leaves, gradually lifting and coercing them until they came free and drifted slowly towards the enjoyed how they would twist and bend, gliding every which way. Occasionally they would even blow upwards. But no matter what their movements were, no matter how erratic, they would always begin their inevitable decent back towards the earth. Their ending was always the same, but how they arrived was always different. They were unpredictable. No two leaves ever moved the exact same way. He liked that.
At the far end if the roof was a railing that overlooked most of the village. It was against this railing that their sensei was leaning, eyeing his team over. As Naruto, Sauske and Hinata entered the roof, their sensei beckoned them over to him with a wave of the hand.
"Come over here and sit" the man with face mask said. As Naruto strolled across the rooftop he felt a cool breeze settle upon him. He looked over the ledge at his home village. The afternoon light was soft, and bathed the village orange. As the sun moved ever slowly down, the shadows cast by the mountains grew, slowly lengthening over the village. The image it created was serene. Naruto couldn't help but feel calmed by the sight. When they all arrived in front of him, they sat in a semicircle. Naruto sat on the right, Hinata in the middle and Sauske on the left.
"Well" said the silver-haired ninja," I think we should introduce ourselves. Tell me your name, dreams, dislikes, likes and what you specialize in".
"Why don't you start first sensei" Naruto mumbled, looking past the man at the village below.
"well, my name is Hatake Kakashi, I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future...hm. And I have a lot of hobbies. I specialize in...everything" said Kakashi with a smile. When nobody reacted to his attempt at humor, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Geese, you guys are no fun. All right... start with the guy on the left". He pointed towards Sauske. Sauske looked Kakashi in the eye.
"My name is Uchiha Sauske. There are tons of things I dislike but I don't really like anything...and I don't want to use the word "dream" but...I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan... and to kill a certain man". When Sauske finished the last part Naruto began to shake. When Sauske stopped and turned to look, Naruto waved his hand to continue.
"My specialty is with my clans ninjustsus" Sauske finished, eyeing Naruto apprehensively. ' I knew it' Kakashi mused to himself. He eyed Naruto and when it became clear his trembling had stopped, continued on.
"The girl next" Kakashi said while pointing towards Hinata.
"M-my name is Hyuga Hinata" she began. "My l-likes are when I make my clan proud...and..." she stole a quick look to her left at Naruto, then quickly met Kakashi's gaze again. 'This could be interesting' Kakashi mused to himself. Hinata continued:
"My d-islikes are when i let p-people down. My dream is... to be accepted as leader of my c-clan and to make everyone proud. M-my specialty is the b-byakugan." she finished. 'Great, not a very individualistic person, is she' Kakashi sighed to himself. This was gonna be a tough habit to break. Kakashi turned his head to look at Naruto. As if sensing the stare, Naruto raised his head to stare into Kakashi's eye, his cerulean eyes piercing him.
"My name is Uzuamki Naruto. My likes are my last two sensei's and peace. I dislike being alone and I... hate killing..." Naruto paused, clenching his fist. Hinata looked at him with concern. Sasuke mumbled a slight "hm". Kakashi merely nodded.
"My specialty is...killing" Naruto spoke slowly, forcing the last word through his clenched teeth. How he disliked that word. He locked eyes with Kakashi again. This time, his face was stern and his eyes hard.
"My dream...no, I WILL become the Hokage and reshape this world that relies on ninja. I will do WHATEVER it takes to bring peace to the world". If it were not for his tone and serious face, Kakashi would have thought him joking. Kakashi eyed Naruto critically, his gaze hard and indomitable.
"You know, only the most powerful person in the world could do such a thing" Kakashi spoke seriously. Naruto's gaze did not falter.
"Then I will become the most powerful person in the world" Kakashi locked eyes with Naruto. The stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Kakashi broke into a smile. 'He sure has grown' Kakashi thought proudly.
Hinata was in awe. She had rarely heard from Naruto this last year, and for the once solemn boy to speak with such nobility and determination brought her much surprise. She realized she had her mouth ajar and quickly closed it. She smiled softly. This was the boy who she admired.
Sauske eyed Naruto critically. Was he crazy? What was with that childish dream. Besides, why should he care for others? Sauske saw how most of the villagers treated him, and if anyone had an excuse to hate humanity, it would be Naruto.'Whatever' Sasuke thought. As long as Naruto didn't hold him back, he could have whatever foolish dream he wanted..
The silence was broken by Kakashi.
"Okay, that's enough of that. We'll stop here for today. Tomorrow we'll have survival training".
"S-survival training?" Hinata questioned.
"Yes. But this isn't ordinary training, this is a test to determine who gets to stay a ninja". Kakashi paused to let it sink in.
"Wait a minute" Naruto interjected angrily. "Wasn't the exam what determined whether or not we graduated?"
"That only was to see who was most likely to become a genin. Only 9 of the rookies will become genin. The rest will go back to academy and have to take the exam again next year". Naruto's face was a painting of unbridled rage.
"Take these pamphlets and meet me where the handout specifies. Don't be late" and with that he was gone.
_
Later that night:
_
A fist crashed though the wall of Naruto's apartment.
"DAMN IT!" he screamed. He kicked his table against the wall. It crashed into the wall and broke apart. Naruto's breath was ragged. He fell backwards onto his bed, once more staring up at his ceiling fan, slowly spinning. Survival training? What did Kakashi mean that he could be sent back to the academy? He did the his share of the dirty work. Was it all for nothing? Was the murder in vain? Was that fatherless girl just unlucky?
"WHAT WAS IT FOR?" Naruto screamed. He grabbed a potted plant next to his window and hurled it, breaking the pot and his window. He sat up and covered his face with his hands. 'No...no I can't let this be a waste'. He looked up and recoiled in horror. He say the eyes watching him from the darkness of his room. He tried to look away but saw two little bodies laying on the floor, both bleeding with looks of terror on their face. Slowly they turned their heads. Then he saw their eyes. Their pleading eyes staring into his. Begging him to help them. Naruto fell over and threw up on the carpet. He quickly reached for a kunai. When he had one firmly in his hand, he raked it hard across the top of his arm, all the down to his fingers. The explosion of pain awakened him and wracked his body as he toppled onto the floor. His breathing was erratic and he eyed the room around him. It was full of blood as far as the eye could see. He slowly got up without the use of his mangled arm. When he was standing firmly, he limped over to his dresser. He leaned down and opened the bottom drawer and extracted one of many little glass boxes containing a syringe. With his free arm, he bashed open the glass case and grabbed the syringe. After testing to see if it was working, he jammed it into his neck and released the contents into his body. After a few moments of pain, he pulled the syringe out and fell back onto the ground...
later:
Naruto opened his eyes slowly, darting around his room. The apparitions and fake blood was gone. He looked at his arm, torn and mangled by his own hand. It was worth it, he thought. He slowly stood up and grabbed some gauze from the bathroom. He wrapped it tight around his arm. The wound would heal quick enough; in fact the blood flow was but a trickle. . The blood on the floor and the vomit... well, there were more important things to worry about. He limped into his bed and tumbled onto it. He laid there for a while, listening to the whirring of the fan blade above him. His eyes fell upon his now broken window and the moon just above the horizon. Its red hue and crescent shape made him freeze solid. The way the crescent was displayed with the stars around it struck him in a fashion he couldn't recognize, but sent shivers up his spine. Suddenly the image clicked in his mind. It was a grin.
_
Elsewhere
_
Kakashi leaned back into his chair and stretched. It had been several hours since he left his team and went to the Hokage's tower to review his teams files. He looked at the dossiers in his hand. Boy had that been an interesting read. He tapped his fingers repeatedly over the stack of files, trying to make sense of them.
"Finally finished?" an elderly voice called from behind. Kakashi turned to see The Third standing in the archive doorway.
"Yes sir" said Kakashi, unable to hold back a long, drawn out yawn. What time was it? 1, 2?Either way, it was late. Sarutobi walked over to the other side of the table Kakashi was seated at and pulled out a chair. He sat himself down with a slight "oomf" and leaned back into it.
"So...what do you think about them?" said Sarutobi. He gestured towards the dossiers. "Anything you wish to discuss?" Kakashi set his elbows on the table and rested his head in between his interlocked fingers.
"I had... a few questions, if I may be so bold Hokage-sama". Sarutobi chuckled.
"It's too late for this Kakashi, just ask".
"Well... it's about the three genin I've been assigned".
"Well, what about them?".
"I've been trying to piece together why you assigned the three of them to me".
"And what did you come up with?"
"Well... I understand about Sasuke. He's a lot like me when I was young, plus he needs someone to help him activate his sharingan and use it to its full potential". Sarutobi nodded.
"Then I read over the Hyuga girls files". Kakashi plopped one of the two dossiers he held into his hand on the table. "They were unusual for a Hyuga. Lack of self confidence, shyness you name it. She's like a permanent transfer student. The only thing I could come up with was maybe you planned for her to be paired with self team mates who could help improve her personality" Sarutobi smiled.
"You know you've always been a very insightful one, Kakashi".
"Well, Hokage-sama, that was where the my insight stopped". Kakashi set the final file on the desk and opened it up. Inside was a picture of Naruto.
"Here is where it got interesting".
"Oh?" Sarutobi responded knowingly.
"His internal guest aside, I've read some really disturbing things. It seems in the last year he has...changed. The night terrors, the visits with Ibiki, the anti psychotics and his extreme training. Quite frankly, I don't understand what I'm supposed to do with him." Kakashi paused. "I mean...I want to help him but... I'm not sure I'm the right person for the job". Kakashi sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Kakashi, you are the only person who can do it. Right now, his greatest enemy is-"
"-himself" Kakashi interrupted. Sarutobi closed his eyes and nodded.
"The only one who can save him from the hell he's created is himself. And your job is to help him realize that" Kakashi nodded and slowly stood up.
"I understand Hokage-sama" Kakashi turned and slowly began to make his way towards the door when Sarutobi called out to him.
"I trust that besides his mental condition, that you will also help with his physical one". Kakashi turned and saluted .
"Understood, Hokage-sama".
"Good, now get out of here and go to sleep. Maybe for once you'll be on time". Kakashi smiled sheepishly before disappearing in a whirl of leaves.
...TO BE CONTINUED
