The Arrival
Uzumaki Naruto didn't trust anyone, or rather, nobody except the Hokage. Old man Sarutobi had initially been one of the least trusted of them all, as with everyone who treated him with anything other than enmity.
They are the crafty ones, after all. The ones that think of betrayal, who plan to gain your trust, only to stab as soon as you turn your back in a sign of trust. They are the ones that plot intricate, clandestine machinations; they wait, the ones with patience and intelligence. He prefers those that are blinded with rage, dizzy with disgust. Those people that rush at him on legs unsteady from ale, those that charge in hordes, billowing out from the heavy, iron-clapped doors of common taverns. Those he can predict. The plotters, the thinkers, those with sinister hearts, they have a new idea each time.
But they all begin the same: gain his trust.
But, though it took nearly two years, the mayor had earned his undying loyalty and unwavering trust. Nothing but clear, personal admittance from the old man himself, and a clear, concise, irrefutable example, could shake his faith in the old man now.
And this, dear readers, was why the Hokage was so shocked to see Naruto trusting Iruka already! So when Naruto willingly accompanied his teacher, looking up with pleading blue eyes as Iruka petitioned for guardianship of the blond, Sarutobi was too much in shock to do anything but nod.
Now, Naruto was moving in. Iruka had told him where his modest home was, and had left to set it up. He had told Naruto to bring some of his more portable, smaller possessions over, and then he himself would get the rest.
Little did he know, inside the flimsy wooden crate he'd given the child to carry his belongings in, lay all of Naruto's worldly goods.
As the boy near skipped down the street, a broad smile stretched across his face, little legs pumping as he skillfully dodged thrown refuse, he ignored all his surroundings.
The directions became a mantra echoing in his head, the dissenters were mere obstacles in his path; the carriages lined up on the cobblestone road were unimportant, they were to be ignored.
For today, he had a home! Not a living space, like his alleyway hideout, or the generous inn room, but a home! And… he had gained one more member for his makeshift family.
(Horrified face) School starts tomorrow! (scream of terror echoes throughout the night)