Just like in my other stories, I advise you all to keep an open mind as your reading this.

So, the law (I think) demands I state I don't own Naruto and all in the Narutoverse, but I'm not in the mood… (*hears a lawyer coughing*)… to not listen to what the law demands!

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

There! Are you happy!? (*lawyers talk amongst themselves and wave for armed guards to stand down*) thank you! What's up with these dudes? Well, forget about my brush in with virtual lawyers and their HEAVILY armed dudes and read this story!

Note: Naruto is the same age as canon.

I now present (*drum rolls*) 'Anything but a Ninja'!

CHAPTER 1

An eight year old child sat smartly in a large room; his eyes were slowly scanning through a small textbook on his desk. The boy wore a long sleeved black shirt with brown shorts that stopped at his knees, he was barefoot. The place he was reading in was surrounded with books stacked up high in tall shelves and book cases. The room was designed in a way that the shelves were aligned in concentric circles (like the rinnegan) and the reading areas were at the edges and in the middle of the shelves. The place he was reading in was the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan library.

This peculiar eight year old was Namikaze Naruto. He had pale blonde and the deepest pair of blue eyes outside observers would ever testify they had ever seen sans with the rest of his family although it was more of a dull shade of blue. He nodded to himself and turned a page, "hello, Tou-sama," he didn't lift his eyes to look at his birth father, Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

The man was where Naruto got all his looks from and arguably where he got his brains from as well. Minato crossed his arms and tried to smile but it came out as a wince, "how many times have I told you to stop calling me 'master'?"

Naruto shrugged but kept on actively reading, "I won't stop calling you 'Tou-sama', Tou-sama,"

The blonde Hokage sighed in defeat and smoothly sat down beside his son, "why aren't you training with your siblings, kid?"

"I've told you; I don't want to be a ninja," he turned another page and from what his father could see he was reading cloth making, "why can't you accept that,"

"You're too young to know what you want. Don't you want to protect your home like Mito, Tenzo and Hina?"

"I've read in 'The Fire Country: Myths.' by Butatu Yumji that one doesn't need to be a ninja to protect his home,"

Minato paused and nodded slowly, conceding to that point, "then what do you want to be?"

"if you listened to me, even once, you wouldn't need to ask," Naruto closed the book and stood up, he walked to a book shelf and trailed his fingers on the books spines, he stopped and slide the thin book he was reading into what seemed to be a random spot between two other books. He hummed to himself, masterfully ignoring his father in favour of sauntering to another shelf and plucking another book out. When he turned back to the table he was reading at he was genuinely surprised that his father was still there.

"If you at least spent a bit of time with your family and not be gallivanting around the village or holed up in a library then I would have known,"

"You know very well that I have not too much in common with this family, Tou-sama. Plus its either your all training somewhere or eating," he walked to the table but this time he sat across from his father, the book he was reading was about the mechanics behind some inventions that couldn't be made finished,

"We also go to the park, visiting other families, among other things," Minato sat back in his chair and propped his feet on the table, "do you even know that your mother is pregnant,"

"longer than you," the boy flicked idly through the book, he then pulled out a small note book from his sleeve and a pen, he flicked it open and was comparing what he had written to what was in the text book, again he was ignoring his father who was open mouthed, "it was obvious, the way she would always run off to the bathroom in the morning, how Tsunade-obaa-sama and Mikoto-sama would always be giggling when they 'hang out'" the boy jotted down something most would consider a mixture of gibberish and gobbledegook, "oh and let's not forget the pregnancy tests she drops in the dust bin with her beauty magazines when she thinks no one's around," he allowed a longing sigh to escape his pale lips, "it makes me wonder if I'm some kind of phantom that no one notices I'm right there or something,"

"It's just that you're so quiet, that's a good quality a ninja should have,"

"And we're back to me being a ninja. I'm not going to be one and you can't force me to be,"

"Oh? And why not?"

"there's this proverb Hashirama-sama wrote in 'Life's Tree', he said 'you can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink'" Naruto looked up at his father and smirked fractionally, "do you want to risk your own son being a ninja when he has made it clear that he doesn't want to be one? He could get killed on his first C rank mission," he looked back down and smiled into his book before he jotted down another fact no one would acknowledge.

Meanwhile, Minato sighed in defeat and rose to his feet, "fine, you can be what you want to be. Speaking of which, what do you want to be?"

The blonde child paused in his frantic scribbling's and looked up at his father, "I want to be a lot of things," he coughed into his hands and looked away, "I want to be an author, a tailor, an inventor, an explorer, a diplomat," he smiled brightly, "I want to be everything besides being a ninja," the Hokage nodded slowly and walked out of the library. Naruto sat back in his chair and contemplated whether or not it would be a waste of time coming to dinner that evening.

"Drop that book Sochi; we're having dinner," he chose to go but he went with his own entertainment. Now though he knew he would be in a whole world of trouble if he didn't comply with what his mother had commanded him to do so he set a book mark in his book about the hidden sand and set it down on his lap. Normalcy returned not too long after this, "so, what have you been up to, Naruto-chan?" the red haired Uzumaki delicately tore into her roasted fish, "you weren't at training,"

"I was in the library, kaa-sama," the blonde boy answered flippantly as he too took a small bite of his fish and scrunched up his face lightly, "needs more fire," he murmured to himself as he reached for the pepper shaker and sprinkled a bit onto the fish, he took another bite and nodded in satisfaction, "I'm sure Tou-sama has informed you on why I wasn't there as well as why I haven't been attending,"

"He has but I don't understand why you don't want to be a ninja,"

"I don't like fighting, I don't like violence, and I don't like death, so I don't want to be a ninja,"

The youngest Namikaze, Hina, a fiery red haired girl of 6 years old watched her brother with pure, unadulterated admiration as she idly stuck some fish into her mouth, even going as far as to add in a bit of pepper, not too much though. The oldest child, Tenzo, was 10 years old and most of konoha's occupants confused him as Naruto's twin albeit he had whiskers symbolizing him as one half of the Kyuubi's container while his younger twin, Mito, had the other though she had red hair. Mito favoured cutting it short so it spiked up wildly.

"That's good and all but you don't have to be a ninja and fight, you can be a hospital medic or and academy attendant. Minato tells me that you have enough knowledge to teach the newer academy students and enough medical knowhow to treat most burns and abrasions'. I'm sure Tsunade would be glad to take you under her wings,"

The boy she was talking to was half listening; he was busy playing footsies with little Hina, "I can be a doctor but I will not be a medic nin, as well as I can be a teacher but not a ninja academy teacher," he frowned at his parents, "why can't you two be happy about my choices?"

The blonde father coughed lightly, "we don't understand why you don't want to be one. Most civilian children wish to be ninjas when their older, heck most children want to be ninjas,"

The boy frowned slightly and stopped playing with his sister, "I'm not most children,"

"Tou-chan, kaa-chan, if Naru doesn't want to be a ninja then he doesn't want to be a ninja. Please leave him be," Mito asked as she lightly glared at her parents,

Naruto though had lost his appetite so he stood up and bowed to both elders before he picked his plate up and walked to the kitchen, not once uttering a word. When he was sure they couldn't see him he set his plate down in the sink, his hands shaking, and rushed out of the back door. It was about 2 hours after sunset so the streets weren't too empty or too harsh so he sped through it in what most would consider a random direction. He knew his father already had his ANBU tail him so he was sure he could lose them. He slinked into an alley, slipped into an open baker's door and clambered out of a window just in time; a cat masked ninja entered in and wrongly deduced he ran out of the other door.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and lowered his head as he stalked through the small crowd, one destination in mind: The Nara Clan Compound. The guard's at the compounds gate didn't even have to ask for his identification; his pale blonde hair and the Namikaze clan symbol on his chest signalled who he was. The boy walked down the empty path and stopped in front of a door. He raised his still shaking hands and hesitantly, quietly, knocked on the door. He waited for about three minutes before someone answered. The Nara woman looked down and beamed at him, the smile diminished when the child didn't return the favour. She opened the door and he mutely entered, she then closed the door.

Her house was a humble place with humble furniture and humble decorations. It was a three roomed apartment that Naruto knew was fully stocked in case she ever had a visitor. He quietly walked to her dining room and sat down in a chair.

The woman though looked at him worriedly from behind her black rimmed glasses, "what's up with you?" she had jet black hair that was tied up in a messy pony tail and a healthy tanned skin. She was in her pyjamas; she had baggy black pants and a black vest shirt with her clan symbol on the chest, she also wore a long sleeping robe that was a deep red and dotted with her clan symbols.

"My parents," the woman sighed tiredly and sat down beside him, "they're still not happy I'm don't want to be a ninja. What do I do Yuma-chan; I'm not sure how much more I can take," the woman looked to be in her late teens, and none of her natural beauty hidden behind cosmetics.

The woman called Yuma pulled the boy into a hug, "keep doing what you've been doing," Naruto nodded into her chest and held her tightly, "are you hungry; I'm making my famous chicken ball sandwich,"

Naruto giggled quietly, "It's not famous if you're the only one that knows it, Yuma-chan,"

Yuma poked his side, eliciting another giggle and a small squirm, "hey, you know it," she pushed him away and put her hands on her hips, "now are you hungry or not?" Naruto grinned and nodded. She stood up and walked smoothly into the kitchen while Naruto walked to a section of her living room that had books stacked to the ceiling, "the library is getting a fresh shipment of insecticides this weekend," he heard the woman yell from the and a curious sizzling sound, "are you going to help spray the place down?"

"Sure," he plucked a book out and skimmed through it, he then dropped it back, "what about my custom orders?"

"The boss said there was a delay. Something about a broken wheel and dead horses," she came back into the room but this time she was holding a large plate that was filled with her 'famous' chicken ball sandwich (not sure if it's a real thing but in here it damn well is) so high it obscured her face. She proudly dropped it on a table, "dinner is served,"

Naruto hurriedly scampered to the table and began eating, fast, like Yuma. It was like watching two wind deities fighting in their home turf. It escalated so much that Naruto picked the plate up and ran into her corridor, straight for her room, while the woman yelled mild profanities and chased after him. Luckily for the boy he cracked open the door and handed the woman half a sandwich though she yanked his whole body out and sat on him while she finished up the sandwiches on the plate. Naruto pouted, "No fair!" he considered it a great mystery that the 19 year old petite woman could effectively hold him down even though she had never had any konouchi training.

"All's fair when it comes to food," she sighed and patted her belly, "I'm stuffed,"

"Yeah, can you get off me now?!"

"Oh! You're still down there? I completely forgot," she took her sweet time to get up and hoist him back to his feet. Yuma waved to him, "good night," and she closed her door.

"…tub of lard," Naruto grumbled-more like whispered.

"I heard that!"

"I know!"

"I bet you can't say it to my face, chump!"

"Go get your beauty sleep, you shrivelled hag!" he squeaked and ran into his room, promptly locking it as the woman jumped out of her room.

"say it to my face, pipsqueak!" she banged her fists angrily on his door, occasionally giving it a kick, "I'll have you know I'm in the top 5 best looking Nara woman for the third time this year!" she threw her shoulders into the door and winced when it didn't budge while at the same time cursing the fact that it was made up of really solid wood, "what?! You scared?!" Naruto giggled into his hand, "I can hear you laughing, short stack!" half an hour later of futile banging on solid wood without any ninja training to use her chakra, Yuma huffed and stomped back into her room to sleep, "see you tomorrow, buddy boy!"

Despite his happy mood, Naruto wasn't able to get a wink of sleep that night and for good reason too; Nara women were reputed for their fiery tempers almost as much as the half extinct Uzumaki clan members.

The next day, after sneaking past a very irritated Yumi, we find Naruto strolling towards the merchant district in the village, he slowed down when he caught sight of caravans making a circle with some of the foreign traders chatting in the caravan-made circle, "hey guys!" he waved to them.

One of the average looking merchants paused half way as he sipped his sake and turned to where he heard the awfully familiar voice, when he saw who had spoken he broke out in a grin and waved for his fellow merchants to look, "well look who we have here, its Naruto-cool!" the whole gathering of traders cheered and raised their cups at the now bashful blonde nine year old. Naruto blushed heavily and scratched the back of his neck as he shuffled to the closest seat which was beside the man who had introduced him, he lifted himself into the tall stool and a cup of apple juice was presented to him by a smiling woman, "so, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Master Naruto-cool?"

'Naruto-cool' shyly sipped his beverage and looked over the rim at the other merchants who were now aptly observing him, "come on guys! Can't I just visit you lot?"

"Aye, aye, laddie you can," an eye patch wearing fabric seller from Kiri said loudly to the collective agreement of his comrades. The old man waved for another cup of sake and began sipping it again,

"So what's new with you, yo?" a very young man from the other side of the make shift bar table yelled to the blonde child. Naruto grinned and waved at him from behind his cup,

"Nothing really. I just came before you had to go back to your villages,"

The woman bartender reached over the table and squeezed his cheeks motherly, "isn't that cute?" Naruto pulled away from her hands and puffed out his cheeks in defiance, the men and women had a round of laughter at his behaviour, the woman gently placed her elbows onto the table and propped her head on her hands, "how's your school stuff doing, cool guy?"

It wouldn't come as a surprise to the citizens of Konoha that the Yondaime's quiet but at the same time very social son that said son was very familiar with foreign merchants. Since one of Naruto's ambitions was to be a traveller he often frequented the trading caravans to hear the bucket loads of stories the traders had to tell. On some days these traders chose to bring their own children along to Konoha but it was mostly on eventful days like 'The Kyuubi Festival'.

One of the teachings his parents had embedded in his subconscious mind was that to be strong one needed a precious person to protect to be strong. Despite the fact that he had no desire to be a ninja or be in any violent path of life there were numerous ways to protect someone precious without injuring or taking another person's life.

These humble foreigners were one of his precious people. Each and every one of them. Even their absent children. He could proudly profess that he loved them; they were his family without the ties of blood connecting him to them. When he first came, he was about six; they had been immediately drawn into the boy's exuberance to learn everything that could come out of their mouths. It brought them warm inside, even the battle hardened eye patch wearing trader, to see the young Yondaime's son sit with them and declare them as his friends.

As of the present, the boy was fiddling with his cup, "well, my parents don't know it-I think-but I'm almost through junior civilian school. My sensei told me that I need four more years before I'm specially permitted to sign up for the senior civilian school,"

The eye patch wearing man perked up when he heard the boy, "you're smart; why can't you graduate earlier?"

"I'm not exactly a genius, Shinzo-Ji-san, and I want to spend as much time as possible with my age mates,"

"Smart move, kid," The youngest merchant, 17 years old, said as he raised his cup to the boy, "and give yourself some credit; you're too smart for your age,"

"Thank you, Aoba-san," his response was a smile and a nod. Naruto meekly slide his cup to the woman bartender to refill it and she gladly did so, and returned to her former position, "by the way, how's Gigi feeling?"

"She's fine; it was just a stomach bug. She told me to say 'hi' by the way," the teen named Aoba said.

He stayed until an hour before midnight and the kind ex-mariner, Shinzo, escorted the boy back to the Kage's mansion. Naruto, expertly, snuck past the fuinjutsu defences (mainly because he was a blood relative of the two seal masters that drew them) and slipped into his room. He was met with the sight of his younger sister, Hina, snuggled in his bed, sleeping soundly. The boy didn't have the heart to kick the little girl out of his room so he tip toed to his bed and tucked her in with his blanket, dropping the kid's story book she had been reading on his desk.

He then tip toed to his ward robe and removed a sleeping bag, he rolled it by his bed, in case his sister got worried and was looking for him, and tucked himself in for the night.

"Goodnight, Imouto," he whispered, knowing from the way the very sensitive girl shifted on the bed that she was slightly awake and aware of his presence.

Hina looked over the edge of her brothers bed and smiled tiredly, "good night big bro," she said with a cute yawn, she let her hands fall off the bed and hold his shoulder, Naruto slipped a hand out and grabbed the limb, "see you tomorrow,"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow,"

Authors note

Technically this story doesn't have an end, realistically speaking. still though, let me know what you think and on side note, if you guys have any suggestions about the name (like if its good as it is or you think you have a better one) then send it over PM or review.

Hope you like it!

Review!

B.j.