Chapter 3: Growing pains
Growing is a normal part of every child's life. Each day, children all over the nations are measured and marked to the delight of their parents. With all growth, there is some measure of ache as their body adjusts to the new shape they're stretching into. Naruto was no exception. He grew fast. It seemed that, as the years went on, Naruto's body would pull every nutrient possible from anything that entered his mouth. His body stopped storing fat no matter how much he ate.
Normal children expected to enter the academy at eight years old, around four and a half feet, and approximately fifty-seven pounds. At seven years old, approaching his birthday, Naruto was four-foot-ten and approaching one hundred pounds. He often spends his days hanging out at Ichiraku's Ramen bar or with Kiyu.
The days he spends with Kiyu he spends talking about his problems, helping her train the techniques taught to her by her family, or helping her outfit their secret hideout. He was given an apartment by the Hokage and a small living stipend once he turned 6 and had an incident with the orphanage headmistress that wound up with her being put through a wall and Naruto being permanently expelled. With Kiyu's help, he was able to get a good grasp on his episodes. The orphanage incident was the last episode he had experienced in over six months. They celebrated the six month marker by buying a radio for their hideout and finding a way to set it up so that it got a signal but remained inconspicuous.
As the years rolled by, Naruto could honestly say he was happy. He never needed special accommodations. Just give him a friend, someone who believes in him, and an inhuman amount of ramen and he would feel satisfied. He felt like, as he approached the age where he was allowed to be admitted into the academy, working with Kiyu to both control his emotions and be comfortable with his body prepared him for anything the academy could throw at him. In fact, the only thing he felt like he had to be nervous about was who he would get placed with and whether or not he would like his sensei post-graduation.
As time progressed, he found himself speaking with his old man less and less. It wasn't as if he had a problem with the old man; rather, it was more akin to awkwardness. Listening to the Hokage take interest in his life without mentioning his outbursts or the measures it took to control himself felt like lying. He mentioned Kiyu in passing only once. Once he had mentioned he had been hanging around someone he felt a sort of edge to the Hokage's tone during the following inquiries.
It was a strange thought process because he genuinely trusted his Jiji, but there was something instinctual about that tone that made him afraid of getting in trouble and losing his only friend. He couldn't afford to risk it. He honestly had no idea what he'd do without her. He had been lonely before but when it was the only thing he had ever known it was manageable. Now, he's been the happiest he's ever been in his life and he just didn't think he could return to the way things were before without going crazy.
Speaking of crazy, pretty soon he was planning to enroll. Both he and Kiyu had been working extra hard to get up to snuff for academy standards in order to have a leg up on the competition and graduate as early as possible. Even now they were both down in the bunker reading up on Konoha history and practicing different standardized combat forms.
"Hey Kiyu." Naruto called out from behind a beginner's book on chakra theory. "Why do you think I have so much chakra?"
As an Uchiha, Kiyu had her chakra awoken at her compound at a very young age; An early start to chakra control was an important part of every Uchiha's career and daily life. She had offered to try and awaken Naruto's chakra once he had divulged that he had nobody to help him but, to her surprise, he already had access to his chakra. His problem was that he had so much chakra flowing wildly that when their chakras made contact even someone as untrained as her knew immediately that he had an inhuman, otherworldly amount of chakra and it was nigh impossible to access, let alone control or use.
Three strikes rang against the target dummy in rapid succession before Kiyu called back.
"Well *huff* if I had to guess *huff* *huff* it would be because of whoever your family was. Nearly all Uchiha have specific chakra patterns passed down to us from our families. Maybe you're the same?"
A lonely look appeared on Naruto's face as he stared off past his book for a moment.
"I'd like that. Ya know I've always hoped that, whoever my parents were, they were a part of the ninja who died during the Kyuubi attack." Naruto gave a sad chuckle.
"That would almost be better than if they were alive. That way, they would be heroes and I could have been taken from them; They could have loved me."
Kiyu looked back at Naruto from her position at the training dummy. She had always wondered how he held his head up and laughed and goofed off as much as he did. He had told her a lot about his problems and what he was going through. She honestly didn't know if she could be happy in his shoes. Suddenly, she bounded across the room and sat next to Naruto on the floor.
"Hey Naruto, I was thinking."
"You? Thinking? Uh-oh, somebody's gonna get it."
"Oh shut up, I'm serious! I've been thinking that we should go together to apply to the academy. That way, I could introduce you to my parents and we could find out which classes we share together."
Naruto looked at her strangely, head cocking over to the side. "You actually want me to meet your family? After everything I've told you. Even with all the things that are wrong about me?"
"You're my best friend Naruto, I like spending time with you. Sure, you're a bit funny in the head but so is Itachi and my clan practically kisses the ground he walks on."
Naruto went quiet for a few moments to think. When he finally spoke again there was a tinge of desperation in his voice when he spoke. "What if…..What if your parents don't want us to hang out together? What if they don't like me and I never see you again?"
Kiyu stood up holding out a hand that Naruto gingerly grabbed as she helped him to his feet.
"Then I'll ignore them and we'll meet up at the academy and our secret base anyway! Come on. Who do you think you're talking to? I am Kiyu Uchiha, future head of Konoha's police force and right hand woman to the future Hokage Naruto Uzumaki. Nothing can stop us!" She accented this exclamation with a short fist pump in the air.
Naruto walked over to the small table they had in their bunker and picked up one of the kunai they had smuggled down there. He gazed directly into the eyes of Kiyu, who was now looking confused and worried by the intensity Naruto was presenting. Naruto then used the kunai to cut his hand and hold it out, as if expecting a handshake.
"I promise you Kiyu, I will do everything possible hell, I'll do it even if it's impossible, I will make our dreams come true. No matter what."
Kiyu looked down at the hand offered to her and saw the cut that was already healed over. She only waited a moment before snatching the kunai from Naruto and doing the same with her hand and grasping his. "Naruto, no matter what I promise; We're in this together. Let's make our dreams come true!"
Once the handshake had concluded, they went about bandaging Kiyu's injured hand with the limited supplies they had available. They were smiling the whole time, despite some winces from the young girl. Once they had finished up their training for the day and headed up the manhole, they separated at sundown as was tradition. When Naruto got home he was still hyped up from the excitement of his steadily improving future. The smile never left his face; Not while eating his instant ramen, not while taking his cold shower, not while changing into the only pair of usable pajamas that he had, nor even when using mouthwash to clean up before bed because he had run out of toothpaste and couldn't afford to buy more. No, that smile stayed plastered on his face right up until the point where he was standing in front of his bed adorned with a singular, flimsy sheet.
"C-c-come on now guy. I can do this. It's been a great day. Sometimes I don't have them. I know I need lots of sleep to grow and improve my skills." Unfortunately, his round of encouragement didn't seem to be taking hold. "Ok, I'll make a deal with you brain." Naruto called out to the empty room. "I'm going to get up tomorrow and ask Jiji when both me and Kiyu can enter the academy. Do me this one solid and let me sleep and I'll treat us to a bowl of ramen after I get back."
Naruto turned off the only working lightbulb in his apartment, slipped under the covers, laid his head upon his pillowless mattress and closed his eyes, breathing deeply, in an effort to go to sleep.
"Hello guttertrash. Welcome back. I missed you."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sitting in his office, Hiruzen was taking a moment to bask in the quiet atmosphere provided by the fact that he had finished all his meetings and paperwork for the day. Pipe lit, he regarded a shelf across the room. On this wall shelf, there was memorabilia from each of the other Hokage.
The Shodai left behind a bonsai tree that was lovingly cared for by each subsequent Hokage after him, the Nidaime's place was unfortunately empty due to the fact that the Raijin was still missing, he had a spot reserved for the pipe he was currently smoking, and in the fourth's spot was a distinctive, three-pronged kunai. Hiruzen thought back through his life and stewed in his memories. Kami above was Hiruzen tired.
In a world where the average lifespan was thirty four, he supposed he had done well. Sixty years of service, one retirement with another on the way, thousands of completed missions, fifty million ryo bounty, you name it he most likely had it during some point of his career. Now though? He was just tired. He was tired of the difficult choices, tired of balancing politics, tired of his council of peers judging his every decision under the microscope. It seemed like, as the years rolled on, he had less and less willpower to expend. Sometimes he wondered if his position and his lack of rest was a result of the many mistakes he had made throughout his life. As he sat, stewing in the Hokage chair, his doors gently swung open to reveal a haggard looking Naruto.
Speaking of regrets, what he considered to be his most prominent regret was staring at him with sleep stained eyes; Or were those bags from lack of sleep? A deep sadness welled up inside of Hiruzen as he gazed at the child. He had always wanted to be closer to the boy, Kami knows the boy could use it, but between the inhumane amount of work the title of Hokage brings, the constant, near debilitating pressure from Danzo to produce a valuable jinchuriki soldier, and the needs of the thousands of villagers under his protection, it was hard to look at the boy as merely just….a boy.
Standing in front of him was the hope of the village, the legacy of one of the greatest shinobi mankind had ever produced, Konoha's great military equalizer, and a little child. Hiruzen knew that no matter how hard he tried, the bridges that are needed for the meaningful, nurturing relationship Naruto needed were impossible for him to build. So Hiruzen did what he always did when he interacted with the boy; He put his best foot forward and attempted to balance what he could give Naruto with what Konoha needed from the boy. Somehow, after every interaction he had with the child, he always felt like he failed. Snapping back to reality, Hiruzen realized the boy had asked him something.
"Ah, sorry my boy." A kind smile grew on Hiruzen's face. "Could you repeat that? I'm afraid I was in my thoughts there for a minute."
Naruto, who had been staring at the Hokage for nearly a full minute, sweatdropped at the perceived antics of his Jiji.
"Jiji you totally ruined the mood! I spent like ten minutes working myself up to ask you if I could join the academy this year and you didn't even hear me!"
Ah, so that was what he wanted. That actually works wonderfully. He was a tad too young right at this moment and his timing was off, this being directly in the middle of the school year, but having him sign up early and be prepared would be beneficial to everyone.
"Fufufufufu sorry my boy but I'm sorry to say that you can't actually join the academy today."
Naruto looked heartbroken at this revelation.
"But Jiji, why not? I'm old enough and I've been doing everything I can to prepare! Give me a chance please!"
Hiruzen sat his pipe down, got up from his chair, and crossed the room. Standing directly in front of Naruto, he placed a hand atop of the frazzled boy's head.
"Naruto, you can't join the academy today because they're in the middle of the semester. However, we can head over to the office and get you signed up for the next school year today."
"Really! Do you really mean it? Can we go now?" Naruto practically yelled in excitement.
"Sure sure, just give me a moment to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be and we can head off."
"Ah, hold up a second Jiji. I forgot something. Would you mind if I brought someone with us?" Naruto looked at Jiji with a face that practically embodies the sentence: please don't ask questions. Naruto's nervousness wasn't lost on the Hokage. "Well, it's good for the boy to have friends and it shouldn't take too much extra time to get two academy hopefuls taken care of. Why not?" Thought Hiruzen.
"Sure, Naruto. If you think your little friend can pass the aptitude test then by all means let's go get them." Work and responsibility be damned, he was going to spoil this child today; past mistakes don't erase the opportunity for future opportunities.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Standing in front of the Uchiha complex, Hiruzen could only stand slack jawed. "Of course. Fucking naturally. Why would I expect anything different? Damn it. Why Naruto, out of everyone in the village, did you choose to befriend an Uchiha?"
"Naruto, is this where your friend lives?" The Hokage asked with trepidation evident in his words.
"Yes Jiji. I'm here for Uchiha Kiyu, she's my best friend in the entire world. Is….is that an issue Jiji?" Naruto looked up at his surrogate grandfather with hope, fear, and a hundred other emotions flying across his features all at once.
There was a pregnant pause before the Hokage responded to the boy. This pause was due to the war waging in his mind. What was he supposed to say? What could he possibly do? It wasn't fair to the child. It wasn't fair to Konoha. Hell, it wasn't even fair to the Uchiha. Why then does this boy have to suffer like this?
"Naruto, this Kiyu…...do you spend a lot of time with her?"
Happiness danced across Naruto's features at the opportunity to finally discuss his best friend. Having held back for so long, once he started talking the information just came out as a flood.
"Every day Jiji! She's hilarious! We train, and read, and play ninja, and talk, and eat snacks, and listen to music…" The tirade lasted a total of ten uninterrupted minutes. By the time it had ended, Hiruzen was holding back unshed tears.
"Jiji, are you ok? You look like you're gonna cry."
"What do I tell him? What could possibly make this right? What is there to say that will prevent this disaster?" Steeling his features, straightening his back, and wiping his face. The Hokage knew what needed to be done.
"Naruto my boy, I'm just happy that you have someone you can depend on. It warms my old, tired heart to see you finally happy and smiling. You deserve all the happiness in the world my child." He really needed to get back to the office as quickly as possible. He had a disaster to avert.
"Jiji…..thank you. She means the world to me, Jiji. We're going to work together to make Konoha the safest, most perfect, and strongest village in all the elemental nations."
There was true conviction behind his words. The raw innocence and passion was moving, doubly so to Hiruzen who could see the combined attitudes and features of Naruto's parents in each and every word. What was the safest way to proceed through this encounter. The Uchiha didn't have the same level of perception as the Hyuuga, but they were more perceptive than most. Not to mention that he had been avoiding them for a while in an effort to distance himself on a personal level. In fact, the entire board of his advisors had been avoiding them recently.
Paperwork involving the Uchiha had all been placed towards the bottom of the stack and only addressed if there was no work left and he couldn't sneak away from the office. What justification did he and his council have for such behaviors? It was simple, a young operative inside the clan had informed him of a clan wide mutiny; The Uchiha were planning a coup. Anything and everything he could do to buy time, without direct conflict that is, to address this without ending in a full out civil war was a necessary tactic and employed frequently
If this little excursion should end in anything but disaster, Hiruzen was going to have to steel himself. He had to balance the professor, god of shinobi with the tired grandfather spoiling his adoptive grandchild without alerting either party to the plans being made in the background.
"Naruto, just a moment if you will." The Hokage addressed the young boy. "I have to tell you something before we proceed ok?"
Naruto looked back at the Hokage, hand perched to ring the bell and alert the guard to the presence of visitors. "Sure Jiji, you can tell me anything. What's up?"
The Hokage's expressions quickly sank into a blank, unreadable mask. "There is some political tension moving between the Uchiha and the shinobi and civilian councils. Things might get a little tense during this little trip, depending on who accompanies young Kiyu to the academy. Can I trust you to keep a level head and be respectful Naruto?"
Confused, the young boy looked up to see the serious face of his self appointed grandfather. "Of course Jiji! I'd never do anything that would get you or Kiyu in trouble."
"I'm sure you wouldn't my boy. I trust you." The Hokage sighed deeply. "Go ahead and ring the bell then."
Almost directly after Naruto pressed the bell, there was a guard at the gate inspecting them. The guard looked confused at the sight of the young boy, but when his gaze landed on the Hokage it hardened. "What can I do for you this day Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen gave the guard a small, disarming smile before answering. "Oh we aren't here for me today Uchiha-san. Young Naruto here requested my help signing up for the academy and he wanted to ask a friend of his if she wanted to go with him."
"I didn't realize the Hokage had time to address the concerns of every random orphan that knocked on his office door." The guard almost directly sneered. "Not that it's my business, but I would have thought there would be more pressing concerns occupying your time."
"Well you see Uchiha-san, Naruto here is far from some random orphan. I try to watch over him, make sure he's going down the right path, and keep him from getting into trouble; He's almost like a grandson in that regard. As for the work, Naruto just caught me at an especially perfect time, as I had just finished my last round of paperwork for the day, and this trip shouldn't take too much time at all; Not...that it is any of your business."
The guard snorted. "Sure sure, what's the name of the child you're requesting an audience with young man?" The guard inquired of Naruto.
"Thank you Uchiha-dono, I'm looking for Kiyu. Could you tell her that Naruto Uzumaki would like to know if she wanted to sign up for the academy today?" The formality was obviously foreign to Naruto's features, but you could tell he was giving it his absolute best shot.
"Please wait here." The guard then exchanged some words with another Uchiha who took off to look into the inquiry.
The boys only had to wait around ten minutes before a young girl could be seen practically dragging a middle aged woman to the compound gate. Kiyu looked slightly frazzled carrying a small sack filled with various objects such as pencils, spare paper, etc.. Behind her, the woman being dragged was very obviously her mother; The resemblance was uncanny. The motherly woman was soft in appearance, she obviously had some basic ninja training, as did all Uchiha, but the way she carried herself indicated she hadn't made it her occupation. Most likely, this woman had made genin but dropped out of the active roster in order to take care of a household and care for her children.
"Narutooooooo!" Kiyu yelled. "Just wait until I get my hands on you!"
Just like that, the nervousness in Naruto's features was gone. He wore a big smile that lit up the afternoon sky. Waving frantically, Naruto yelled back to the girl. "Hurry up slowpoke! We gotta go!"
Once the girl had made it to the gate she enveloped Naruto in a flying hug that quickly transitioned into a headlock. As she throttled Naruto, her mother turned to regard the Hokage. Pulling the dress and apron she was wearing up to avoid sullying it, the woman dropped to a knee.
"Please forgive mine and my daughter's rudeness, Hokage-sama. We were unaware that you would be visiting today."
If Hiruzen was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he coolly placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"Please Uchiha-san, there's no need for that. I'm just Naruto's grandfather for our excursion today. It would please me greatly if we could make this a casual affair." In Hiruzen's head, his thoughts were definitely of a confused nature.
"She must not be apart of the coup just yet. Perhaps this trip will be less stressful that I thought."
Surprise rang on the mothers face when she lifted her head to meet the Hokage's eyes.
"If...if you're certain Hokage-sama."
"Please." Hiruzen extended a hand as an offer to help her up. "Just Hiruzen if you would. We'll need to get a move on if we are to make the academy's official hours.
"The academy Hiruzen-san?" The mother responded, slightly uncomfortable with the sense of familiarity she was showing to what was essentially her military leader, but still curious.
"Naturally, it was my understanding that both of the younglings desire to sign up today."
"Oh! How wonderful!" Taking the hand and standing up, she looked past the Hokage only to see her daughter doing her best to strangle the life out of the young boy who had come to see her. "Um...Kiyu dear, I don't think he can breathe the way you're holding him. You don't want to kill your friend before the two of you can get signed up now do you?
The scene brought a smile to both the prospective faces of the adults. While the mother was busy breaking up the children and fussing over their slightly tousled appearances, Hiruzen was behind her deep in thought. "Just this once, let this turn out ok."
End of chapter 3
It's me, coming out with another update. I just wanted to state for the record that I want to attempt to be as real as possible to the characters in this fic. I believe that each character can and will struggle with decisions, pressure, stress, and screw up frequently. The intention isn't to make one dimensional characters who's motivations are stupid or unrealistic. Because of this, I decided to flush out Hiruzen a bit for this chapter. It's my hope that he, like every character I write, doesn't come off as intentionally cruel to Naruto. Rather, when you read the bits where Hiruzen stars you should get the impression that he's a man in situations where there are no correct routes. I always got the impression that Hiruzen was at the end of his ropes doing damage control. In the anime that turned out alright. In my fic, I want to explore what that would look like in an unforgiving environment. Maybe I succeed, maybe I don't. Let me know, feedback is always appreciated.