Chapter 2: Home Sweet Home
- "Someone is reading something."
The wonderful smell of ramen filled the area as I neared the humble restaurant. I let myself in and sat at an empty seat. There were a few customers that were ordering or in the process of eating, but they didn't seem to mind my presence. Surprisingly most of them gave me small smiles or the occasional wave. I responded to their greetings with a wave of my own before turning my attention to the two owners of the place.
Teuchi and Ayame were in the process of filling an order so I patiently waited for them to be done. I was soon lost in my thoughts and jumped when Ayame started to talk to me. "Wow Naruto you sure are quiet today. Is something on your mind?"
I shrugged and only said that my day could've gone better. I didn't have the energy to put on a mask after the shit show earlier today. I figured they would either let it go, or come to their own conclusions. My only focus was on the menu as I began the process of picking what I wanted to eat. Thankfully I could read the writing, no doubt because it was a requirement for the dream to play out.
She frowned at my vague response as she tried to figure out what the problem was. It didn't take long at all for Ayame to remember what day it was. She looked away in sadness when she realized that I didn't have a headband on. "Naruto… I'm sorry that you didn't pass today."
Teuchi heard what his daughter said and sighed in sadness as well. He hoped that the kid would pass so he could get closer to his goal. To make it up to him, Teuchi thought it would be a great idea to give Naruto a treat. "Hey kid, eat as much as you want today. You're gonna need it for the amount of training I know you'll put yourself through soon. By the time the month is over I bet you'll be in tip-top shape. You'll be a ninja before you know it."
A real smile lit up my face at their generosity. With a renewed sense of energy I exclaimed, "Thanks, guys! I'll definitely be strong enough to pass next time!"
A few minutes went by as I waited for my first bowl of miso ramen. I knew that the original Naruto loved it, so I probably would too. I spent the time waiting by looking around the restaurant. It's smaller than what I'm used to, but it gives off a comforting feeling. It kind of reminds me of a café I used to visit with its cozy environment.
Before long a bowl was placed in front of me. I wasted no time by immediately breaking out my chopsticks and digging in. Unlike the old Naruto, I didn't scarf down the food like it was going to be my last meal. I knew that I could have as much as I wanted for one, and it was also technically my first time trying it. I found that I loved it, much to my delight.
"It'll be a cold day in hell if Naruto ever loses his love of ramen."
XxXxX
Teuchi and Ayame were somewhat concerned over my recent behavior. I was eating much slower than usual and also talking in a softer voice. They were relieved that I still kept up my appetite despite the sudden changes. Eight bowls were packed away before I decided to quit eating. The crazy thing was that I never noticed how much I actually ate until I stopped.
"Ayame must have prepared a new bowl to switch out for my empty one whenever she saw me running low."
I could only stare in shock at the sheer amount of food that I sucked up like a vacuum. It was amazing how much food I needed in order to get full. I frowned at that thought, but put it aside for a different question.
"Where does he get the money to afford the obscene amount of food that he needs to eat on a regular basis? Naruto's not a ninja yet, and he's an orphan, so maybe he gets an allowance or something."
A memory came in not long after which confirmed my suspicions. Apparently the third Hokage gives him an allowance to use for each month. His apartment is also completely paid for until he becomes a ninja and collects his first paycheck at the mission center.
"Well, that's convenient. Wait, where did I hear that from again?"
I concluded that I probably heard it from a friend a few years ago and left it at that. After focusing back on the present I thanked Ayame and Teuchi once more for their generous offer, and turned to leave the restaurant. A few minutes later I was still walking in the direction of my apartment.
I stuck to the paths that my gut told me to go and soon stood in front of my door. The house key was grabbed out of my pocket without even thinking about it and used to unlock the apartment. Then I walked in and gave myself the full tour.
It honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There were a couple piles of dirty clothing strewn about my floor along with a few instant ramen packets, but not too much to be concerned about. I was happy to note that the fridge was even stocked with some perishable items such as various types of fruits, vegetables, eggs, and milk. Not a whole lot mind you, but enough for now. The only thing I had to throw out was the milk.
"Nope, not happening even in a dream. Goodbye shit joke from season one."
I peeked into the bathroom for a cursory check before I returned to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. As I sat down at the table I began to think about my next move.
"From what the villagers were saying earlier this hasn't been my first time trying to pass the exam. That must mean that this is my third time, which is the last time that I should be taking it. The series starts at the end of my next school year. Not that I'll be around long enough to see that through. Either way I might as well do what the dream wants me to and start some training."
The most logical thing for me to do was to see what I already had available to me. I searched my room and found various sheets of paper and books that held information on different topics. It surprised me with the amount of information that Naruto already had access to before the series started. Although to be honest any extra material was more than I thought he had.
"I guess he did try to get as much information as he could despite his situation."
The thing that grabbed my attention first was mostly hidden underneath a pile of papers. I picked up the innocent looking notebook and flipped it open to the first page. My mouth dropped open at the sheer amount of writing that was crammed onto it.
"This looks like the technique that the old Naruto used. How did I forget about his perverted jutsu?"
I read through the words immediately and focused on the many memories of Naruto using the technique in the show afterwards. I knew he used the jutsu a lot in the beginning, but some of the times didn't seem like they were from an episode. There were just too many details that went into a few of them. I plowed on regardless of my sudden doubts in order to accomplish my goal.
It felt like an hour passed as I went through all of my thoughts regarding two similar jutsu. They were the Henge no jutsu (Transformation technique), and the Oiroke no jutsu (Sexy technique). In reality only ten minutes were spent on regaining the memories.
With all of the information in place I decided to test out something else. I made the ram seal, but focused on a completely different form. A puff of smoke covered my body and when it left I quickly ran to the bathroom. The boy in the mirror was exactly what I wanted to look like.
I had messy black hair instead of a spiky bright blonde style. There were a few pieces spiking out in the back and it stopped a little bit under my ears. My light blue eyes turned a shade darker and my skin turned a few shades lighter. The most prominent features that I decided to lose were the fox whisker marks on my face. I spent the next minute just staring at my form and lightly pulling on one of my spikes to see if it was real. I made a fist pump after it stayed and kept the jutsu going as I grabbed 'my' old notebook.
"I might as well add on what I know since that's what he'd do in this situation."
Once my info was recorded on the next page I turned my attention back to the book pile.
"What should I focus on next? I know that Naruto wasn't very familiar with chakra control exercises. Maybe I should start looking for a book on that."
I skimmed most of the titles before coming across a promising one. The book was generically called 'How To Control Your Chakra'. As soon as I read the name I knew that it would be helpful. I flipped open the cover and began to read the basic summary.
"This book will show you how to access and mold your chakra in different ways. You'll be able to conserve more energy and have an easier time learning new techniques once you begin our control exercises."
"Wow, why wasn't Naruto better at ninjutsu if he had this already? Did he just not get to it before the series started? Or maybe he didn't put enough time into it..."
I turned to my bed, straightened my covers, and set the book on top of it. Then I began to sort through the rest of my books and scrolls to see if I could find anything else that's immediately useful. For now my search was mostly directed towards learning the three basic ninjutsu that I need to pass the next exam.
I kept on task and made sure to place books of the same subject together. Any loose papers were stacked neatly on my table until I got a chance to read through them. I also made sure to set the five history texts further away in a separate pile. Information on the village's past just wasn't going to be a priority for me.
It took some time, but I eventually found what I needed and held my prize above my head in victory. I looked down at the notebook again and laughed at the writing. "Badass Ninja Moves."
"Well at least he wrote them down. I'm actually not that surprised he did since he always yelled about wanting to learn new kinds of jutsu in the anime."
I figured that the notebook must have been used for school since that's where the first three jutsu are taught. I skimmed the first few pages to make sure it was what I needed before nodding to myself and setting it on top of my first book.
Another long time of searching for anything useful led me to discover a hidden gem. I pulled the book out of the large pile and looked through the table of contents. The deceptively small book held more difficult chakra exercises than the first one I found. I let out a whoop of joy and hugged it to my chest. The book tells the steps to learning various techniques including earth, water, and air chakra control exercises. I happily set it down on my bed and decided to call it quits for now.
My thoughts gravitated towards walking on water as I searched the closet and changed into a clean pair of pants. They were hidden in the back, and surprisingly a dark blue color rather than bright orange. My goggles and outer jacket were the next to go, which left me with my black t-shirt on.
With that done, I gathered two of the three needed books and placed them on a nearby end table. Then I scooped up the last one and walked towards the exit. The first chakra control book was coming with me since I planned on attempting at least one of the exercises in there today.
With my book in hand and my new look still in place, I cracked the door open. When no people met my sight on either side I slipped out of my apartment and headed to a rarely used training ground. It was time to test my control.
XxXxX
AN: Edited 7/22/19, 8/11/19
- Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! I'm happy that people like this story and I'll try to keep up with it more often. I hope you all like the changes :)
- I realized that I had to change some of the wording again to have it make sense after I edited Chapter 1.