Dreams Of The Lost
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I an expert on the Naruto Universe. That said, I've read numerous fanfictions and read the manga years ago. While perusing the site, I've found myself stuck on this particular universe.
I'll update as I feel like it. As it stands, it takes about ten hours to write one chapter, another four or so to edit it, and another three to four hours of post-editing and fixing consistency issues. So, maybe one chapter a week? Eh, what comes will come. I want something darker than what I've been writing but at the same time maintain the innocence of youth. We'll see if I can pull it off or not.
If you are reading my Harry Potter series, it will continue. However, for now, this has occupied my brain for months and won't let me ignore it. Sorry, not sorry.
Warnings: This story will include: Violence, depictions of Child Abuse, Traumatising Content, Torture, Gore, Adult Situations, Offensive Language, and possible Light-Lemons focused on plot/character development.
AU: A neglected and abused Naruto tries to find a path that will allow him to live a comfortable life in a dangerous world of lies, secrecy, and death. Unknown Pairings (will be updated); largely discovery writing to sate an annoyingly dark, fickle muse.
Chapter 1: Ghost Child of Konohagakure No Sato
An explosion of sound and brightly colored flames lit up the darkened alleyway between two neglected buildings. Shouts of merriment and the high-pitched cries of excited children accompanied another intense display of fireworks. The flashes of multicolored light illuminated several broken planks that lay strewn across the grimy paved passageway. Two forms, dressed in dark clothing and dark gray flack jackets, appeared in the alley in a puff of gray smoke and dead leaves. The last vestiges of light reflected off their white, decorated masks as the two figures looked around.
"The Demon went this way," a low, warbly voice reported to his partner. The man with a boar-painted mask crouched down and brushed a gloved hand across the disturbed ground between the two broken boards. The hilt of his tanto, wrapped with dark blue cloth, on his back clinked as he leaned in to inspect the wood.
"He's bleeding. How can he have escaped for so long?" the cat-painted masked man mused in a jovial voice as he looked around the alley. "The boards are a distraction," he announced and pointed to a bloodied pink floral shirt next to a trash pile. Fingering the loop in the hilt of a long blade strapped to his right leg, he took a step toward the discarded garment.
"I think the kid is hiding in the building. Look, you can see where there is blood around the frame. It's small, so probably a handprint," the boar-masked shinobi commented as he gestured to the broken window.
"We fell for that trick already tonight. I'm not spending the entire festival looking for an injured child. He's run seven blocks with a kitchen knife stuck in his side. We've seen him take worse and live," the cat-masked man grumbled and crossed his first two fingers in front of him. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he growled as an identical copy appeared in a puff of smoke behind him. "Search the building," he ordered his clone. "I'll try the next alley. I have a feeling he's around here somewhere. He's just hiding from us... again."
"We're tasked with helping him. Well, as much help as you can give a Demon. It would be easier on all of us if he turned up dead tomorrow."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Boar. I know you hate the boy, but we are shinobi. We have a mission."
"It doesn't mean it wouldn't be easier and better for the entire village."
"Your wants and desires mean nothing to me, or the Hokage. You young Anbu," Cat grumbled before turning away. He extended his first two fingers on his left hand in front of his face before disappearing in a shimmer. Dead, multicolored leaves blew through the alley as another series of fireworks went off overhead.
"Come out, boy. I know you're hiding around here!" the boar-masked Anbu ordered. When nothing happened, the man cursed. "Just die then," he spat before rising from his crouch. "You'd do all of us a favor anyway." Without another word, he raised two fingers on his right hand in front of his face and body-flickered away. A gust of strong wind ripped down the small alley.
For five minutes, the sound of cheers and fireworks echoed around the passageway. White smoke wafted out between the broken boards around the window. As the next firework went off overhead, a young, blonde-haired boy, hidden in a trash pile near the broken window, rose without a sound. He clutched a small bloody knife in one hand and covered the bleeding wound in his side with the other. Squinting his eyes, the boy waited for the multicolored lights overhead to fade before he moved.
"Go," the exhausted and disheveled boy growled to himself. "Move!" he hissed before his leg started to lurch toward the broken window.
Naruto Uzumaki, the hated and hunted Demon-child of Konoha, fell face-first inside the abandoned building. He called this abandoned area near the outskirts of the village, close to the northern mountain wall, home since the matron of the orphanage threw him out three nights ago. After Kyubi Attack six years ago, the village had too many orphans and a limited number of couples willing to take in new children. The Council provided a tiny stipend for older orphans who couldn't or wouldn't live in an orphanage, but the matron told him she wouldn't report him missing until after the festival. He had the option of going to the hospital, as all the sponsored orphanages had the best medical attention and pre-schooling teachers the Council could find, but it would mean going through the thick mobs of angry villagers to get there.
"Bandage, bandage, bandage," Naruto chanted as he wobbled through the abandoned building toward the stairs to the second floor. He had a small stash of food and an old first aid kit hidden in one of the rusted lockers near the stairwell of the old gym. The sound of his gurgling stomach drowned out another boom of fireworks far overhead.
"Stupid Kyubi, stupid villagers, stupid dead parents," he babbled as he bounced off the off-white wall. He could see dark shapes in the almost pitch-black hallways as he searched for his stash, sniffing the air for the smell of anything out of place. He'd always known that his senses were better than the other children and often better than most adults. The shinobi always had better senses and were harder to avoid and outsmart.
"You should learn to walk quieter," a soft voice called from the shadows.
Naruto jumped and tried to brandish the bloodied knife toward the voice. His hand shook as the room seem to sway. He slashed the blade in front of him. "Gut... y-you," he croaked as pain from his side robbed him of breath.
"You couldn't scratch me with that knife, child," the soft voice countered from somewhere behind him.
Naruto tried to turn, but a soft hand, covered in fingerless gloves, closed around his right shoulder and gently pulled him down to the floor. A spasm of fire and pain wracked his body as the form of a dog mask appeared over him. "Rest, I have you. You're safe. For now," the female Anbu promised as she relinquished the small knife from his slack grip. "Rest."
The sound of slow, rhythmic beeping and a low whine of a machine roused Naruto from out of the darkness. He tried to relax as he strained his ears, listening for any movement around him. After two minutes of waiting, he cracked an eye and looked around through a tiny slit between his eyelids. He realized he was in a hospital room from the white walls, three beds, and numerous curtains on rollers attached to the ceiling. His time in the orphanage taught him to check his surroundings before moving around. A whisper of cloth on cloth, barely audible over the whirr and beep from the machines beside him, made him freeze.
"I know you're awake," a familiar feminine voice stated.
"You were the one that caught me," Naruto complained as he opened his eyes all the way. Her voice echoed around the room, making it almost impossible to determine her location. He thought she might be hiding in the shadows near the only door.
"It wasn't hard. You made a lot of noise stumbling around in the dark with a knife wound that should have killed you."
"I slipped the other two Anbu," he spat.
"You did," the dog-masked Anbu allowed. "One of them was young, but the other has no excuse. While I wait for my partner to return, how did you slip them?"
"Why should I tell you? You'll use it to find me."
"Is that such a bad thing?" the kunoichi asked. Naruto heard her move in the opposite corner from the door. Turning toward the noise, he realized the sound was a draft from the open window. Looking back at the door, he saw a dark form shimmer before the masked Anbu appeared at the foot of his bed. The pre-dawn light from outside the single window in the room reflected off her dog mask. "While I respect your desire for independence, running away from the orphanage was not in your best interest."
"I didn't run away. Baka Enri-sama threw me out three... four nights ago."
"Five children, two adults, and your caretaker all reported that you got into an altercation with four boys in the dining hall before you said you were leaving."
"I got into a fight, yes, but I left when it was clear the adults watching the fight weren't going to break it up. I went up to my room and locked the door. An hour later, Enri-baka opened the door with her key and escorted me out. By having Teijo-sama drag me along the floor by my ankle. The other children laughed."
Dog stared down at Naruto. He could see her olive eyes, expressive and lovely, in the slits of the white, painted mask. "I will inquire further," she promised in a low voice. "That was the last orphanage that would take you in."
"And the last one he will go to," a soft, friendly voice announced as the Hokage strolled into the room. Naruto never heard the door open. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the 'God of Shinobi' and one of the most influential men in the village, peered out from under his wide-brimmed red and white-bordered hat, the symbol of his station. "Naruto, I'm sorry this happened," he greeted with a grandfatherly smile.
The young blonde boy stared at the powerful shinobi he'd only recently come to know. Short, wide-shouldered, and weathered skin, the Hokage looked old and tired. The wrinkles and dark spots on his face seemed to emphasize his age as he stared into the man's dark, drooping eyes. The figurehead of the village came to him on the playground one day after his fifth birthday and talked to him about what he wanted for the future. The old shinobi claimed he'd come to see him in previous years, but Naruto felt he would remember someone as important as the Hokage coming to see him. "Hokage-sama, it isn't like you ordered them to attack me," he answered, not trusting his real thoughts aloud.
"I am the leader of this village, so their actions reflect me just as much as my actions and decisions affect them," the old man returned in a somber tone. "What they did wasn't right. I heard a little about what happened at the orphanage, and we," he declared, gesturing to himself and the dog-masked Anbu," will discover the truth."
"Uh... thanks, Hokage-sama."
"It is the least I can do. However, if you are lying, then there will be consequences. I don't believe you are, but now is the time to tell the whole truth. However, first, how are you feeling?"
Naruto stared the Hokage in the eyes as he took stock of his physical condition. "Minimal pain in my side," he reported as an aggressive growl from his stomach echoed around the silent room.
"And ravenous hunger, if my ears aren't playing tricks on me," the old man remarked with a sparkle in his eyes. "When is the last time you ate?" he questioned, his voice dropping an octave.
"Uh... maybe yesterday?" Naruto hedged, trying to remember. He'd eaten out of a takeaway box he found beside a dumpster, but he couldn't remember when it was. The last three days were like a blur.
"Well then, I'll have to get you some food that isn't the terrible hospital food." The Hokage looked to Dog once before turning back to Naruto. "While that's taken care of, we'll discuss a few other things," he said as he took a seat on the only stool in the room beside Naruto's bed.
The boy, wide-eyed, watched as the dog-masked Anbu faded to nothing before his eyes without a sound. With his limited knowledge, he knew the kunoichi was one of the best he'd ever seen perform a Body Flicker Jutsu. He turned to look at the Hokage. "Discuss a few things?" he asked.
"Yes," the Hokage muttered as he fished around in his white robes. He pulled out a long, simple, handcrafted pipe and stuck it between his yellowing teeth. "You can't continue fighting other children, and so far, placing you in an orphanage has had limited success. How would you feel about living on your own?" he questioned as a flame appeared on the tip of his outstretched index finger.
"I... I can live alone?" Naruto asked as he stared at the Hokage's finger. The heat of the flame tickled his sensitive cheeks. Living alone was something he'd dreamed about but never thought would happen. He'd never heard of a child under the age of nine living alone in the village. Even then, they were Genin and part of Konoha's Shinobi Force.
"Within reason," the Hokage allowed as he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with a minty smell that made Naruto's nose itch. The old man breathed out, expelling a bloom of white smoke as he looked Naruto in the eyes. "You are too young to live completely alone. I'm not so irresponsible as to leave a six-year-old child to fend for themselves. No, what I have in mind will allow you some freedom with a guardian posted nearby."
"Don't you already have Anbu watching out for me?"
The Hokage hummed and looked to a dark spot in the far corner of the white-walled room. "With limited success, it seems," he murmured as he nodded. "That won't change. Children are special in this village. They are the future, both the civilian and clan children. However, some children require special or more protection from outside influences. You already know we live in a dangerous world, Naruto."
"Like the children of the Clans. I see... minders... guardians? I see adults with most of the young clan children when they walk through the market," Naruto commented with a shrug. "I'm just a civilian orphan though."
"You are, for now. Have some faith in me, Naruto. I know more about what you could be than most in the village. If you apply yourself, stop getting into fistfights, and learn what the orphanage had to offer, you could be even better than a child born from a powerful clan. You're already giving my Anbu headaches I hear," the old man commented with a chuckle. "Do you still wish to be a Hokage, like me?"
"Yes, Everyone would respect me! You're the strongest shinobi in the village," Naruto shouted as he felt his cheeks stretch into a grin.
"Respect," the old man mused with a dark look in his eyes. The somber tone in the Hokage's voice dampened Naruto's enthusiasm. "Yes, they might do that," he allowed as his hat dipped low to hide his eyes. "The strongest shinobi in the village, you say. It takes a lot to become a Kage of any village. Do you have the dedication, will, and drive to push yourself farther than your peers? The only way to become a Hokage is to strive to be the best through hard work and dedication. It starts with a strong foundation and only grows from there."
"I want to learn all the cool jutsus!"
The Hokage shook his head, his hat coming up as he stared Naruto in the eyes. "Then you'll never make it," he stated in a firm but gentle voice.
Naruto rocked back as he blinked into the old shinobi's stony eyes. "Why?" he questioned, his heart hammering in his ears. "You know over a thousand jutsus! You're the strongest shinobi. I could do that too. It can't be that hard, Professor."
"I am known as the Professor, true. The shinobi who has learned over a thousand jutsus, yes? However, that doesn't mean if I didn't have a strong foundation of understanding how the justus operated, I would have gotten to where I am today. If I didn't take the time to build a strong foundation of knowledge on how each of the elements worked, then I would still be a Jonin. Knowledge, Naruto. You don't become the best by charging ahead without a plan. Sometimes, rarely, things work out well in the end, but more often than not, it leads to failure. If you do not take the correct precautions and learn the basics, then you could easily kill yourself performing a simple jutsu because you don't understand how it works."
Naruto blinked and scratched his head. The Hokage's odd way of lecturing confused him sometimes. "So... I have to learn... how to do the jutsu before I can do it?" he questioned.
"More than that, but yes. Reading, learning, and using the most dangerous muscle a shinobi possesses will help you become a Hokage."
"Most dangerous muscle?" Naruto mused as he looked at the ceiling. "My fists?"
"Your brain," the Hokage corrected in a quiet voice. Naruto thought he could hear the smile in the old man's voice. "You can survive the most dangerous missions if you learn how to use your brain. Now, I believe your food is here."
Naruto was trying to ignore the tantalizing smells coming from the foot of his bed. He hadn't heard Dog return, but the smell of cooked pork was unmistakable. "Thank you, Hokage-sama, Dog-sama," he stated as he took the offered bowl of broth, ramen, and pork chunks.
"While you eat, I'll discuss my tentative plan for your housing and schooling arrangements. Once you are done eating, I will listen to your story about the orphanage," the Hokage said as he placed two chopsticks on the small tray.
Naruto sat on his heels and stared at the incomplete scroll laid out before him. He struggled to read the blocky, handwritten notes on how to perform the Transformation Jutsu that he'd stolen from an Academy Student while they were at lunch. It had taken him several hours of watching each class practice the various graduating jutsus in the large training yard behind the Academy before he found a suitable target.
A week after the disastrous Kyubi Festival, the Hokage again apologized for the pain the other villagers caused Naruto and led him to his new apartment. The old man explained that the two-room flat was an older design for a single shinobi without a family or clan. Many young shinobi, mostly Genin and Chunin, chose to live in small apartments similar to the one Naruto received. The Hokage promised that he'd meet his caretaker the next day. It hadn't taken him long to get bored of sitting alone and ventured out from his new home in the north-western part of the village.
Looking for something to do and exploding with nervous energy, he'd decided a good prank or two would alleviate his boredom. While the pranks, an exploding mushroom and itching powder down someone's pants, on a bunch of low-lives in the Red Light District had gone well at first, the ensuing chase through the streets hadn't gone to plan. A dark-haired adult close lined him with his forearm and was choking him to death when Naruto lashed out with a dirty, blunt kunai he'd found in a garbage can. It wasn't until Naruto had regained his vision and balance did he realize the person he'd attacked was an Enforcer of the Konoha Police Force.
For a full week, he managed to elude the village police force's trackers. The blonde boy had the feeling they weren't trying too hard to find him but didn't want to go back to an orphanage, the hospital ward after a vicious beating, or go to prison. After watching a group of teenagers transform into adults to try to get into a crowded party, he found the answer to his problem of how to remain hidden without living deep in the forest around Konoha. The forest provided him with mushrooms, berries, and fish, but he didn't want to live out there forever. He knew the village's skilled trackers were closing in on his various hiding places. They'd already found his first and best hideout near Training Ground Eleven.
'Dog... Boar... Ram,' he thought as he struggled to read through the comprehensive notes. Whoever the dark-haired student was, he used a lot of big words that Naruto didn't recognize. Grumbling under his breath, Naruto tried to work out what the unfamiliar words meant from the words he did know around them.
"The shinobi can opt... opt... can something... make a cloud or not when transforming. This is ach... ieved... by how much chakra the shinobi uses. Too much chakra will create a cloud, and too little will aff... ect... the transformation," he read aloud. "Osu, so I just," he started to say when his ears picked up the soft sounds of footsteps on dry leaves.
Leaving the scroll on the ground, he darted to the bushes to his left and made sure he made a lot of noise as he moved through the leaves. Once on the other side, he crouch walked as fast as he could around the forested ground, careful to only step on hard surfaces to mask his movement. He'd watched the instructors at the Academy teach the students how to walk silently and tried to copy the lessons as much as possible whenever he walked.
"Father, my Bikochu smells that he went this way. It's weird, my Bikochu is almost afraid of whoever it is," a young boy's voice called through the forest.
"Are you sure you didn't just lose your notes?" a masculine voice questioned.
"No, father, and I need that scroll! I could have come out here and got it myself. Whoever stole it wasn't a ninja. It's probably Shiro or one of his group."
"Whoever had it, they left it out in the open. Can your Bikochu find if anyone is still here?"
"Maybe? They just ran away. Ugh! Whoever you are, stop stealing my stuff! I have an exam tomorrow," the boy thundered, his voice echoing through the forest.
Naruto remained completely still and held his breath as he listened to the two villagers talking. The word Bikochu tickled a memory in the back of his mind, but he couldn't remember what it was. The boy and his father spoke in low voices for a few minutes before the sound of one, softer, pair of feet shuffled off toward the training ground.
After a minute passed, the adult spoke into the forest. "Boy, I know you're out there. I was testing my son to see if he could find you. If you steal from an Aburame again, I will ensure you are brought before the Council. I know who you are. This is your only warning. If you want to learn something, ask for it, do not steal it," the man called before he left the same way he'd come.
Naruto looked up to see a black, long-snouted beetle-like insect resting on a knot above his head. The chitinous armor of the bug seemed to ripple moments before it took flight. He gulped as he tracked the flight of the Bikochu. The Aburame Clan were notorious trackers with their insect counterparts. During one of his failed pranks a year ago, the Jonin Aburame tracker was the one that found him and brought him before the Hokage. Settling down behind the tree, Naruto contemplated his latest heist and tried to remember everything he'd done wrong so he wouldn't get caught in the future.
Three days after losing the notes, he gave up trying to perform the Transformation Jutsu. His supply of scavenged food had run out, and he was shivering in the hollow of a large tree of his last prepared hiding place. He'd have to return to the village soon and hope the police wouldn't think of checking for him in his apartment. The chattering of his teeth almost drowned out the soft footfalls at the bottom of his tree.
"Naruto, it's time to come out," a familiar, feminine voice called. The boy wanted to groan as he squeezed his eyes shut. He remained still as he clenched his teeth to keep them from clicking together. "Your ability to remain noiseless for long periods of time is commendable, but not when you've been caught," the voice called again.
Just in case the dog-masked Anbu was playing a trick on him, he didn't move and tried to listen as hard as he could. He knew she hadn't moved from her spot, but a moment later, the voice came from much closer. "You're shivering," her soft voice stated from two feet in front of him.
Biting back a yell, Naruto opened his eyes to see the Anbu sitting on the branch in front of him. He hadn't heard her move. A shiver went down his spine. "You c...c...caughht me," he shivered as his teeth chattered violently.
"I've known where you were for days, young Naruto. I wanted to see what your plan was," Dog admitted.
Naruto thought he could hear a smile in her voice. "W...w...wh..hy haven't y...y...you t...turned me in?" he tried to get out.
"The Anbu are not the village police, nor do we work for them. They are looking for a large child or teenager from the descriptions given. The fools don't even know it is you they've been attempting to track. All they know is that a blonde boy evaded capture and gave a raw Chunin a new scar on his cheek for his trouble. The Chunin in question is on desk duty for the foreseeable future for body-slamming a child."
'So that's what happened?' Naruto mused as he rubbed his chest. His arms were cold, but he knew he had to rub his chest to keep alive. Juro-sensei talked about that in one of the lessons Naruto watched.
"Are you ready to come home? The Hokage asked us to keep watch over you, but you are responsible for yourself. We protect you from outside threats."
"W...why a...are you...u he...helping me?"
"Because you aren't a demon, Naruto. You're a young, confused boy in an unfortunate situation."
Standing in front of the long desk near the sliding wooden door. Natsu-sensei called, "Uzumaki, Naruto," as he circled a name on his paper. The tall, dark-haired Chunin looked around his classroom until his eyes locked on Naruto sitting at a long table in the back beside two other new students.
"Here," Naruto announced in a soft voice as he looked over his homeroom instructor. The adult with a gaunt face was one of the few instructors he'd liked to watch. Koudou Natsu, a civilian by birth, always kept the lessons interesting and worked with every student who wanted assistance. For two years, Naturo spied on the Academy instructors and everything they taught their young charges. He'd always wanted to become a shinobi. The Hokage promised he'd give Naruto the chance to become the best shinobi he could be, and Naruto made it his mission to be the strongest. Every scuffle and fight he got into was a lesson he learned from. The masses of angry villagers that chased him was a game for him to test his skills on. He'd become a terror to those who terrorized him.
That was, until the Hokage sat him down one afternoon on top of the Hokage Monument. The old man gave him a choice. He could continue stealing and causing mayhem before he eventually got into serious trouble, or he could learn how to channel that energy into something more productive. Naruto didn't care about the villagers, but the warning that he would be exiled or imprisoned if his pranks got any more dangerous scared him to no end. The idea of being confined again in a small room terrified him more than he was willing to admit. After that day, his malicious pranks stopped, and he put on his mask of a grandson the Hogake wanted to see. In return for his good behavior, Hiruzen allowed Naruto to go to attend the Academy.
"Everyone, pass up your information sheets," Natsu-sensei ordered with a wide smile. His eyes flicked over the five double rows of long tables in front of him. The worn tables, elevated by risers until the last table stood level with the instructor's head, displayed the marks and cuts of many years of bored students. "If you didn't fill everything out, that's okay. We'll have at least four years to get to know each other. Welcome one and all to the Academy! Since I'm your homeroom teacher, I'll be reviewing everyone's strengths and weaknesses as you continue to grow. Every three months, I will hand out a benchmark written test to see how much you've grown. Now, any questions before we begin?"
"When will you teach us a jutsu?" a purple-haired boy with white eyes asked in the front row as he pushed up his glasses.
"Mitsou-san, that won't be for a while. You need to learn the basics before you learn any jutsus."
"Aww! My brother knows a bunch of them. When can I catch up?"
"When you have the basics down. Now, speaking of the basics. Who knows the different hand seals used for jutsus?" the teacher questioned the class.
Naruto hunched his shoulders as the friendly teacher looked his way. Unease rippled through his heart at the idea of standing out. He'd learned being different made the villagers hate him more. Remembering his promise, his mask, he straightened his shoulders and tried to look friendly. If he could make friends in his class, being around children his age might not be so bad.
"Hitomi, come here, dear. Leave that nasty boy alone," a shrill, slender woman ordered as she grabbed her daughter's hand. The beautiful blonde villager glared at Naruto before turning away.
"Bye," Hitomi-chan called as her mother dragged her away.
Naruto felt the anger and hurt cut through his chest as yet another classmate was dragged away from him. He stared at the other children around the yard beside the Academy playing with each other in groups. Most played a tag-game of Shinobi and Marks, where one child was the client, or mark, with three bodyguards and the rest of the children tried to tag the mark. A smaller group of children played a game where the winner of the previous round called out a series of hand seals for the others to try and copy the fastest.
"Do you have any plans for this evening?" a soft voice asked as a large shadow appeared in front of him.
"Yes, Iruka-sensei," Naruto lied with a smile as he turned.
"How are your hand seals coming? Are you able to henge yet? I know that one has given you a lot of trouble," the friendly instructor asked as he took a seat beside the young boy.
Iruka-sensei was an instructor for another class but always made time to answer Naruto's questions. The brown-haired Chunin with a long scar across his nose was the one that caught Naruto spying on his class one afternoon a year ago and hadn't thrown him out of the Academy's training ground. He'd praised Naruto for his clever hiding place, on top of a cooling vent on the side of the building, and offered to answer what questions he could until Naruto officially joined the Academy.
"I'm still getting it wrong, but I'll get it soon enough."
"I have full confidence you will, Naruto-san. You're smarter than you realize. I know those written tests your sensei gives you bores you, but they are important. He mentioned that you failed to answer half the questions on your last test."
"I've been studying," Naruto complained as he crossed his arms. He tried to lean away from the over-friendly adult. "I almost passed this last benchmark."
"That you did. If you'd given more details or hadn't messed up the sequence on the hand seals, you would have passed."
"It's just hard to remember things when I'm sitting in class. I need to stretch my legs to make my brain work!"
"While I understand your plight, you've got to learn how to adapt. A shinobi must be ready to blend in and thrive in any situation they find themselves in," Iruka-sensei lectured with a smile. He paused and rubbed his chin. "That being said, maybe we can find something that will help you focus while taking a test. You said you need to stretch your legs to help stimulate your brain. Tomorrow, when you take your history test, try kicking your legs under the table. Be mindful of those around you, but maybe it might help stimulate your brain more."
Naruto wanted to laugh but didn't. "Thank you, sensei," he said with a smile. "I'll give it a try."
With a firm nod, Iruka-sensei stood and dusted off his pants. "I want the best for you, Naruto. I know you don't know what you want to do with your life after the Academy, other than becoming a shinobi, but I know you could do anything when you put your mind to it. You could even become the Hokage one day."
Naruto watched the strangely friendly instructor move over to one of the groups playing ninjas and marks before turning to stare at the mountain range behind the Hokage Tower. Four stone faces stared back at him. The strongest shinobi of their eras led the village through trials of fire, death, and devastation during the three shinobi wars. Now the village enjoyed a time of peace. He wondered what else the Hokage did, other than offering apologies for his villagers trying to attack a demon child.
"You, a Hokage?" a tall, gangly boy with one black eye said with a chuckle. "With your grades, you'd be lucky to get a job hauling trash. Hah, that should be your new name, Trash." The five boys behind the gangly boy laughed and jeered as they pointed at Naruto.
"He could be the Gomikage," another boy mocked, his braying laugh turning into a wheeze.
"That he could, if his grades fail to improve," Mizuki-sensei said with a tight smile. The adult had a gleam in his eye that Naruto didn't like. While Iruka-sensei cared about his students, Mizuki-sensei only helped the children of the prominent Clans. He never bothered hiding his disgust for the civilian-raised children attempting to become shinobi.
"He doesn't stand a chance," another boy commented with a snort.
Naruto did everything he could to keep calm. The villagers delighted in seeing him cry or get upset. "Washi-teme, I see you lost yet again to the Hyuuga. Maybe next time he'll give you a matching black eye," he jeered as he rose.
Washi growled and clenched his fists. He looked to Mizuki-sensei before a grin stretched his face. The bias teacher looked away as soon as Naruto provoked the other boy. "I'll give you two of your own," the gangly boy promised and swung at Naruto.
Trying to hide his grin, Naruto fell backward as the boy's fist shot past his face. He fell to the ground, kicking his legs out. His foot struck the boy's leg. The next moment Iruka-sensei was beside them, trying to get the screaming boy off Naruto. "What are you two doing?" he questioned in a hard tone.
" I fell," Naruto half-lied with a shrug.
"I'll beat you!" Washi growled and tried to swing at Naruto again.
"That'll be enough from both of you," Iruka-sensei scolded and yanked the gangly boy off the ground with one hand. "Naruto-san, you're dismissed for the day. Washi-san, I watched you attack him. You have detention for an hour."
"Why does he get to leave? He started it?" the braying boy questioned with a sniffle.
"Because I have eyes and ears all over this Academy. I know what happened," Iruka-sensei explained as he guided Washi to his feet.
"Iruka, he did start the fight," Mizuki challenge with a smirk.
"Under your nose?"
"I was looking at those two," the bias teacher explained as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "I could hear well enough."
Iruka-sensei sighed and stared down at Naruto. "An hour of detention for you as well. I expected better of all of you. Both of you get inside, classroom 2-C and 2-E," he ordered as he pointed to Naruto and Washi in turn.
Not bothering to speak, Naruto got up and dusted himself off. He strolled back to the main building with his hands behind his head. It might not be the worst thing to have an entire classroom to himself for a while.
"Osu! Osu! Osu!" Naruto chanted as pain wracked his legs. He continued to kick the worn, lumpy futon wrapped around the base of a thick tree deep in the woods. Normally, he'd use one of the training grounds, but teams of new Genin flooded the available practice areas in the last week.
"Strike, elbow-block, kick," he chanted as he flowed through the first form of the Taijutsu manual. The physical combat forms of Taijutsu were where his strengths lay. His sparing with other students reinforced his assumption that his endurance and natural speed surpassed his peers.
"Open-hand, knee, push, strike," he chanted as he struck the padded mattress as hard as he could.
Two hours later, he slumped to the ground, nursing his bleeding fist and rubbing his shins. Pain lanced through his body as his hands shook and his stomach gurgled. Rolling over on his side, he curled up into a ball and waited out the pain. It took ten minutes for him to be able to sit up again. Sweat soaked through his black shirt, and a ripe smell of sweat and dirt assaulted his sensitive nose.
An hour later, a brown-haired boy strolled out of the woods, a black rucksack slung over his shoulder. The boy had a goofy smile and a slight limp as he strolled down the street. He waved to a group of boys standing outside a restaurant. "Hey, Izumo, Eien," he greeted in a gruff voice.
The boys blinked and looked at each other before waving back with looks of confusion. Naruto tried not to laugh at the two boys he'd fought the previous night. They'd made a big deal about teaching the Demon-boy a lesson right before Naruto put them down with a vengeance. The bandages wrapped around the two confused boy's heads only added to Naruto's amusement.
"Rin-san, back again for more ramen?" a motherly shopkeeper asked as she looked up from a scroll. The plump woman with long blonde-gray hair smiled down at the brown-haired boy from behind the tall counter.
Naruto gave her his best smile and nodded. "Hai, Ano-sama," he answered and scratched the back of his head.
"You eat ramen like it's the only food we offer. Sadly, I'm all out from your last visit. I have a sale on some of my fresher vegetables. Farmer Koga-sama sold everything he could so his son could go to the Academy this year."
Naruto blinked as the family name Koga flashed across his mind. He thought he might know the raven-haired boy from the class next to his. "Uh, are they cheap? The caretaker won't like me spending too much," he lied.
"You'll have to bring your caretaker with you one day. She sounds like an amazing woman from everything you've told me," the shopkeeper said with a soft smile. "Now, I can bring the price down a little, but that's only because you're so cute."
Naruto left the shop with his purchases after the old crone secured his promise to escort his caretaker to visit her. He decided it would be the last time he used Rin to visit the store. Holding five cloth bags and three more shoved into his rucksack, he made his way toward his apartment. His room was on the top floor in the back, in the farthest corner the landlord could find for him. Careful of who might be watching him, he made his way through the shadows.
"My mom calls him a demon, but he's really like a ghost," a lank boy complained to his pudgy friend as they peered around the corner of an alleyway.
Naruto sat on a bench, pressing his new sling-bag into the small of his back so it would be hidden from sight. He'd left the Academy as fast as he could to get ahead of the two troublemakers in front of him. As soon as he was alone, he henged into one of his old man masks and waited for them to pass.
"Hey, oji-sama, did you see a blonde kid go by?" Takashi asked as he stared Naruto in the face.
"Blonde? Ugly faded orange jumpsuit?" Naruto asked with a heavy wheeze.
"That's the one!" both boys exclaimed as they looked around.
"He went that way, running as fast as he could," Naruto lied as he pointed toward the dirt path that led to the forest at the end of the street.
"Thanks!" the boys yelled as they took off as fast as they could in the direction he pointed.
"Bakas," Naruto muttered as he stood up.
"I thought you were the worst in the class," a drawling voice questioned from behind the low bushes.
Naruto cursed his luck and peered behind the bench at a young boy laying in the grass, staring up at the clouds. Shikamaru Nara was a recent addition to the Academy, having just joined a week ago when he was of age. He wasn't in Naruto's class, but he was one of the eight prominent children of the Clans enrolled in the same year. The Nara Clan was renowned for their laziness and genius-level intelligence.
"A prank is all," Naruto muttered before releasing the henge. "You got out faster than I did," he noted with a raised eyebrow.
"My classroom is closer to the entrance, and the longer I stayed in my classroom, the more likely someone would drag me off to do something troublesome."
"Have fun with that," Naruto commented as he rose.
"They call you the Demon Child of Konoha and the Ghost Child when the adults are trying to find you. Why? My father, for one, hates having to chase after you."
"Who knows," Naruto muttered as he slung his sling-bag across his chest.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled, his voice barely audible to Naruto's sharp ears.
Natsu-sensei strode into the classroom, late, carrying a large wooden crate. A loud thump resounded around the room when he dropped the box on the floor in front of his desk. Several black objects fell out of the open top. Naruto, looking up from his notes, blinked at the contents of the crate.
"Hard-plastic Kunai," Natsu-sensei announced as he picked one up off the top of the pile. "These have a dull point and don't fly as far as metal ones do, but you will get the feel of it, and..." he said, breaking off from his speech to look at Naruto. "These tools will be used as a disciplinary measure to incentivize the weak students to learn the material. Naruto-san, you failed the last benchmark. The only one to fail, I might add. Going forward, until your next benchmark, anyone in this class can throw one of these fake kunai at you. At any time during my class. If you are caught unaware, then you will suffer the consequence."
The instructor's grin didn't meet his eyes as Naruto stared at the dangerous replicas. The gleam on the edge of the kunai Natsu-sensei held made the blonde boy worried. "Aiming at the head," the instructor warned as he launched the toy from his hand. Naruto had a moment's notice to duck before the speeding projectile flew over his head. A loud thunk reverberated around the silent room. "Huh, maybe they aren't as blunt as I thought," the instructor commented with a shrug. Naruto glared at him. He knew the kunai had sunk into the wooden wall behind his head.
"As I was saying, aiming for the head is forbidden. Accidents happen, but these could still do some damage to regular people. It has been four months since you've started here at the Academy. Going forward, and until you graduate, if you fail a test, your fellow classmates can throw these kunai at you if they feel you aren't paying attention. You may block, dodge, or otherwise get out of the way as long as you stay in your seat and do not disrupt the class. If you are found with a sharpened toy kunai, you will be held responsible for any damage you inflict, up to and including detention. All of this is approved by the new Headmaster and Lead Instructor," Natsu-sensei announced.
"Some ground rules. My class is a pilot class for this program. All of you make up the bottom tier of the first years. In other words, you are the worst of your peers. If you do this in another class or with another instructor, expect the consequences if you are caught. When you launch your kunai, you will so silently. If I catch you, then I will ask you a question on the subject material we are working on. If you fail to answer the question to my satisfaction, then you will become a potential target for the rest of the week. However, if you get away with attacking the worst students, in this case, Naruto, without me seeing you, then I will ignore it.
Ah, I see a few lightbulbs over the smarter student's heads. Some of you see the second reason for this test program. You will become shinobi if you graduate. Silent attacks and strategic planning are key to becoming successful in our world. A shinobi who can kill their target without anyone knowing is the ultimate display of our skillset. Those of you who fail in your tests here will die to skilled shinobi even if you do graduate, it is only a matter of time. Every military ever created needs fodder. If you ignore what I and my fellow instructors have to teach you, then we have a monument in the middle of the graveyard that will have your name on it one day. Any questions?"
Naruto seethed inside as he watched his peers pick up their allotted four kunai. He wasn't allowed even one to protect himself because Natsu-sensei claimed that he'd failed every test so far. He knew he'd passed them, knew it in the depts of his soul that he was ahead of his peers, but no one listened to his pleas. Even Iruka-sensei said he'd seen his test results and was disappointed in one of his favorite students.
Iruka-sensei, the only outright friendly instructor to Naruto, taught the fourth-year students specializations that suited their abilities and shored-up any gaps in their knowledge before their final graduation exams. It hadn't taken Naruto long to realize the friendly Chunin was the only adult who cared about him, even if it was only about his academic achievements. Iruka-sensei sometimes went out of his way to visit Naruto while he was alone on the playground to give him pointers on how to improve his basic Taijutsu skills.
"One last thing," Natsu-sensei announced once everyone found their seats again. "You are striving to be shinobi. Secrecy is our code. If you talk about this program to any other instructor, you will be expelled. Lie, distract, or otherwise hide the truth if you get caught. Learning about secrecy is the last goal of this program. Outside this classroom, no one is to know about these kunai and what you are allowed to do. Hide your weapons and attack when you are sure you can hit your opponent or learn how to wait until you are guaranteed success. When you fail and get caught, this program will be the foundation you use to learn how to successfully answer the questions an interrogator ask you. In this case, they will be my fellow instructors. Now, we were discussing the four Hokages yesterday. Naruto-san, pay attention."
After a week of being attacked at random times, Naruto no longer took notes during instructor Natsu's homeroom class. He refused to call the mean-spirited Chunin his sensei any longer, which garnered him three detentions and a severe belting in front of the class. The material was easy, and he knew it all by heart, so he didn't need to focus on the lessons. After the second week, he did eventually admit that the only thing Natsu taught him was to always expect trouble from his peers and the villagers. When he voiced his opinion aloud in anger, his instructor just smiled at him, a smile that reached his eyes.
"Alright, class, take your seats. Take your seats," Natsu-time ordered in his rich, loud voice. "Take your seats so I can pass out your end-of-year marks."
Naruto, seated on the back row alone, stared at the blackboard, keeping his eyes wide open. He'd gone through a full year at the Academy, and he'd hated almost every day he attended the horrible instructor's classroom. The fake kunai attacks continued and, eventually, Natsu encouraged the other children to test their budding knowledge about shinobi tactics on Naruto whenever they felt like it. At least three times a day, one or more of the students in his class would launch a hard-rubber kunai or newly-created plastic shuriken at him when they thought he wasn't looking. The horrible instructor informed his class that if they passed the end-of-year exam, then they would be allowed to buy metal, if blunted, projectiles that they could attack Naruto with during the next semester. That knowledge alone pushed many of the students to do well and pay attention.
"Most of you did a fantastic job on your tests," Natsu announced as he shuffled a stack of papers in front of him. "One of you, no surprises here, failed every question except one," he remarked with a snort. "Why don't we let the dobe come up to the front first. Naruto, please come to the front of the class and bow to the others. Ask for their forgiveness for holding them back. Then I will give you your exam so you can review it before the next semester."
Naruto, keeping his eyes wide, moved to the far end of the room and descended the stairs, careful to listen for the tell-tale rustle of cloth. It was hard to hear over the laughs, shouts of joy, and general chaos the instructor's announcement brought. As Naruto stood in front of the class, he bit the inside of his cheek and bowed.
"I apologize for holding everyone back," he droned. The renewed laughter and snorts from his fellow classmates made him tense. He stood back up, ramrod straight, and looked at the smiling instructor. "You could have attempted more of the questions. It might have helped," Natsu offered with a sigh. "You were the first one to turn in your test. Take more time and think through the questions. At least guess on some of the questions you didn't answer," he snorted before passing Naruto a stapled stack of papers.
Attempting to hide his rage, Naruto went back to his seat and dodged a fake kunai aimed at his head. He stared at the toy on the ground before kicking it away. As he took his seat, Natsu spoke, "all right, you've had your laugh. As I call your name, come up and get your exam. Hyuuga, Hinata," he called.
Naruto ignored the general noise around him as he stared at the blackboard, ready for another surprise attack. He itched to read the comments about his exam but saw the look in Seishiro's eye. The stocky, loudmouth civilian was waiting for him to slip up.
After class, Naruto slipped out of the school by going over the back wall. He ran across the rooftops to one of his hideouts in the Leisure District, a boarded-up hostel, and slipped into one of the rooms he used for studying his trap-making skills. The forest of thin, brittle, clear wires networked through the small two-room suite. He arched his back and slid through the first two traps as he stepped over the double redundancy wires. Safely within his domain, he set his sling-bag down and took out the two exams. The one Natsu gave him and the answer key he'd stolen from his instructor's desk.
"This... is my handwriting," he complained as he stared at the graded sheet in front of him. "I answered every question, but this... what is this?" he muttered. 'The test wasn't hard. I've been listening to most of these lectures for almost three years now. I know all the answers to these questions. Sure, I might be wrong and got a question or two wrong, but not all of them! I know, for sure, that I answered every question with as much detail as I could,' he thought as he flipped through the five pages. Many of the questions on his test were blank.
'This doesn't make any sense. This... is my exam, but where are my answers?' Naruto complained as he compared his exam to the answer guide. 'For Kami's sake, this is my handwriting, but apparently, I only wrote only half of what I know about the subject of Kunai throwing tactics.'
"Next semester, I'll pay more attention to my exams. I know I know this stuff. What am I missing? Genjutsu? Am I just as crazy as everyone thinks?" he mused aloud as he stared down at the offending pages in front of him. "Next semester, I'll show them I can be a Genin."