Teammates

Chapter 1: Naruto

-o-o-o-

Naruto quickly hid under the cart. He shouldn't have pranked Konoha's villagers today. Especially today. He knew that. For some reason, whenever his birthday came around civilians always got angry at him. Not that it had to be his birthday for them to dislike him. For as long as he could remember civilians made their distastefulness of him known. The reason? He honestly had no idea, but whatever it was he'd make sure to correct them, should he ever find out why they hate him. He still couldn't help himself though.

As of now though, the 8-year-old Uzumaki waited till he saw the huge mass of civilians run past his hiding spot. When he saw all of them completely out of sight, he laughed, long and hard. Seeing all of them fully drenched in green paint and running around was hilarious. He loved pulling pranks, even if sometimes he didn't get away scot-free. Oh well, at least they now acknowledge his presence unlike his previous encounters with them.

Uzumaki Naruto, or the Prankster King of Konoha as he likes to call himself, ran full-speed to his favorite place to celebrate his birthday. Soon his so-glorified ramen stand came to view. Ichiraku Ramen was Naruto's haven, he could stay there for as long as he pleased since Teuchi and his daughter Ayame were one of the very few people that didn't glare, dislike, despise, hate, scorn, or more importantly call the young whisker-face boy a monster.

Entering the ramen stand in a blur, Naruto greeted his friends.

"Hey, Old-man! Two bowls of miso ramen!"

"Seriously Naruto, you make me feel so ancient…" Sighing the man replied.

Chuckling Ayame began to prepare Naruto's order as she greeted him.

"Happy Birthday Naruto-kun!"

"Thanks, Nee-chan!"

"As today is a special occasion, the ramen is on the house!" Teuchi informed the boy.

Naruto celebrated raising his arms in victory and thanking them loudly. After having way too many bowls of ramen. Naruto left to go play elsewhere, leaving a frowning Teuchi in a sad mood.

"That boy is going to leave me without ingredients someday…" Sighed the "old" man.

"He's still your favorite customer dad" Ayame reminded him.

-o-o-o-

Naruto ran to Konoha's playground, upon arrival some parents started retrieving their kids from the park after seeing him approach. Naruto being used to this kind of occurrence just shrugged, still hurt to know that nobody wanted to get to know him though. Soon most of the people left. Naruto looking over to find someone to play with, spotted some girls laughing. Running over to them, Naruto noticed they were laughing at someone, that someone crying as the insults and laughs were thrown at her. Instantly, he remembered what his Ji-chan said to him about defending his fellow comrades. He also remembered a similar situation happening before too, but put it on the back burner for now. He ran as fast as he could and stepped in front of the girl, glaring at the other girls that had stopped laughing.

"What do you think you're doing!?" He exclaimed, he noted by the look on their faces that they weren't used to being stood up to, and by the look of recognition on the main bully, he knew that he was in for some trouble. Or… not?

"N-no-nothing!" The main bully stammered, much to her lackeys' confusion. Before they could voice their puzzlement, however.

"B-b-bye" The bully shouted before running away. Her lackeys looked at each other before looking at the boy who was positioning himself in a fighting position while smirking.

"Ain't afraid to hit you!" he cockily declared. Not wanting to fight they quickly apologized and ran after their leader. Naruto inwardly laughs, his reputation of being a 'monster' was useful for a change.

Naruto turned around and looked at the amazed girl behind him. He noted that she was no longer crying and that she had pretty, short pink hair. He also noted that she seemed to be staring at him in confusion, he guessed it was his whiskers. They were his most handsome feature after all! He extended his hand to her as he asked,

"You alright?"

"Y-yes…" His clever mind picked up on the fact that she said it somewhat hesitantly.

"Those girls, they do this often?" He questioned, honestly irked they would bother her. She nodded, not trusting him he guessed.

"Don't listen to them! Whatever they say to you, ignore it!" He grinned at her.

"I-I c-can't… t-they say a-aw-awful t-things to me…"

'Hmm…' Naruto's brain is working at full capacity. Ramen will definitely be needed later.

"I know! I'll just have to train you." He finally said.

"W-what?"

"I'll train you! That way, you can defend yourself!"

"B-b-but-"

"No buts! We're going to train till we bleed!"

She blanched.

"'kay not that much, but still-" He tried.

"I-I-I don't even know you!" She interrupted.

"Oh…sorry, Uzumaki Naruto, future best ninja in the world! You?"

"…Haruno Sakura…"

"Hm, pretty name…"

"W-what?" She blushed prettily.

"I said you have a pretty name" He squinted. 'Hearing problems maybe?'

-o-o-o-

"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!" Naruto kept repeating as he faced his biggest opponent yet. Not even the Hokage's Anbu were this much of a hassle. "Damnit!" This was getting tedious. He'd have to come up with a new way to do this. "C'mon!" Oh no… it was starting to hurt. But it was almost finished, just a bit more! It was roaring now! It beeped…

Yes! Yes! Finally! Finally! His stomach will be sated!

"Finally!" He enjoyed his ramen in peace.

The 3 minutes it takes for ramen to cook is an eternity in the Uzumaki's clock. Still, he is grateful for instant ramen, he'd be completely broke if he bought out. Life is good though because ramen exists. At least in this boy's mind.

"Ahh…" He moaned, 'food of the Gods' was his train of thought at the moment.

After setting a rendezvous with Sakura for tomorrow, Naruto went to visit his Ji-chan and beg for some training and a bit of ninjutsu. After being denied the ninjutsu request and trained on his taijutsu, Naruto surprised the Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen, with an out of nowhere question.

"How do I help someone with their confidence Ji-chan?"

"Where's this question coming from Naruto-kun?"

"Eh… um, well, I promised this girl I'd help her and she looks kinda shy."

"Ooh, did Naruto-kun get himself a girlfriend?"

"Hmm, she is beautiful."

"Hohoho, wait-"

"Her eyes are very pretty and her hair is amazing."

"W-w-wait Naruto-kun!"

"Aside from her confidence, she definitely has potential."

Coughing into his hand, Sarutobi changed the topic. 'He's growing up too fast!'

"Anyway! Can you tell me about her?"

"I just did though."

"I mean her issue and personality Naruto-kun, not her looks."

"Oh! She's a nice person! Shy, kinda quiet, and smart, like bookworm smart!" After their introductions, Naruto discovered she's a bit of a nerd.

"Hmm, well, as you help her make sure to confide in her, building trust is essential."

"Confide?"

"Yes, trust in her and communicate, but make sure to listen to her as well."

"I… think I get it"

"Very well Naruto-kun, ready to train in taijutsu again?"

"For sure! I'll beat you this time!"

Hiruzen smiled. 'This boy's stamina, confidence, and enthusiasm levels are just as high as his chakra reserves.'

"Oh, Naruto-kun I forgot, compliments are also a great way to build confide-Ugh!" He tried to finish but Naruto charged at him and hit him in the gut.

'Duly noted' He smirked.