Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction based on the novel Daddy-Long-Legs using characters from the series Naruto. I own not the novel nor the series so, if you please, do not sue me for I own nothing but my computer. Future SASUNARU. Thank you.
"The Letters of Naruto Uzumaki to Sharingan Rooster-Head-sama"
Naruto looked left. Naruto looked right. Naruto looked down. Naruto looked up.
Finally he yelled, "TOKYO IS SO COOOOL!"
"Shut up you fool!" Neji hissed, hauling the hyperactive blonde from the middle of the road where he had stopped to gawk. "One would think you've never been to Tokyo all you life!"
Neji let go as soon as they reached the sidewalk where Iruka and Lee were waiting for them. Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Uhm, well, actually this is my first time here," he admitted.
The three stared at him.
"For real?" Lee asked.
Naruto nodded.
"Where the hell did you grow up? In a remote mountain?" Neji asked tactlessly.
Naruto bristled. "No! Just in a small village far from here!"
"Didn't you ever travel?" Neji persisted.
"Well the person I'm living with is very busy so he couldn't take me around much!" Naruto fibbed.
"Doesn't he give you enough allowance to visit places by yourself?" Neji continued.
"He's very protective of me!" Naruto retorted.
Neji opened his mouth to fire off another question but someone else's voice was heard.
"Why are you all bunched up standing there looking like idiots?"
Neji whirled around to see his cousin bearing down on them. They all greeted the older boy in their own ways—Neji with a mumbled "Sasuke" and a nod, Iruka with a wave and an awkward smile, Lee with glinting teeth and restrained friendliness, and Naruto with a scowl and a growl.
Sasuke just glared. "You're late. Let's go."
He quickly walked away towards a grand movie house. The four had no choice but to trot behind. There was a long line leading to the doors of the theater but Sasuke ignored it and walked up to the front where two hulking men stood.
"Sorry, we can't let anyone in until the gates are opened," one black-clad hulk said, holding out a muscled arm to prevent Sasuke from going further. "And there's a line so you have to go to the end of it.
"I have special tickets," Sasuke said, producing an envelope.
"So does everyone," the other hulk sneered. "Look pal, this is a premiere, everyone should have a special ticket to get in."
Naruto, who had been trailing at the back, inched his way forward. It looked like "Sasuke-bastard" was having trouble. Maybe he would be punched and Naruto could save him! And then the jerk would be in Naruto's debt.
"I suggest you look at those first before you say anything more," Sasuke replied coolly, shoving the envelope to the two.
"You little—" one guy started but the other man quickly covered his mouth. A bunch of tickets were thrust in front of his face and his eyes widened.
"Please forgive us sir," the bouncers quickly bowed. "You and your companions may enter."
The doors were opened and the five went in.
"Hey! Why are you letting them in? Why are you favoring them?" someone in the line shouted.
"Sh-shut up you punks!" one of the bouncers roared.
Naruto walked past, eyeing the two, who quickly resumed their bowed positions, and trying to catch a glimpse of the mysterious tickets that had scared the two men so much.
"Che, idiots!" the blonde muttered.
The two tensed and glared at Naruto. They were about to retort when Sasuke appeared beside the blonde.
"Hurry up, stupid!" he growled.
"Hey! Just because you're paying for us doesn't give you the right to call me names!" Naruto yelled.
Everyone, even the people waiting in line, visibly flinched as a cold glitter appeared in Sasuke's eyes. He towered over Naruto and pushed his face towards the blonde's.
"Just for that—" he whispered menacingly, "you're not getting any free popcorn!"
Naruto's eyes widened comically in dismay.
"WHAT!" he yelled, his arms flailing erratically. "You can't do that!"
Sasuke turned around in smug triumph.
"Oi! You're so mean! Can't you take a joke? Oi!"
Naruto's voice receded as the party went further inside. The people left behind sighed simultaneously.
"That kid was either very brave or very dumb," one of the bouncers muttered.
"Yeah," his partner nodded. "I thought he was going to be killed for sure."
"Imagine a young boy having the gall to stand up to one of the most powerful men in Japan and the owner of this theater to boot."
"I begin trembling in fear just thinking back on what happened!"
"Yeah," the man said, fingering the tickets with the special mark on them.
-
May 10
Dear Daddy Sharingan Rooster-Head,
I just had the best Golden Week of my entire life! The four of us went to Tokyo for three days. Neji stayed at his family's house. Iruka, Lee and I stayed at a hotel. It wasn't fancy or anything but I've never slept in a hotel before so I was really excited.
The first day we followed Neji around to this gigantic mall. He really knew his way around and he didn't need a map to know where the great shops were. My head already hurt from trying to look at everything at once just on the ground floor. Neji went to this ultracool sports shop and—have you ever been there? You should! It was great! They had equipment for all of the sports there is. And the shoes! There were rows and rows of really great (and very expensive!) shoes! Neji bought a pair that was so expensive that I almost had a heart attack when I saw the tag. I wonder what it feels like to just buy something you like without thinking of how much it is?
After that we met up with Sasuke-bastard to watch a funny, adventure movie about a guy who wanted to join a gang but ended up defeating all of them. There were these big guys at the doors who tried to prevent us from entering. I thought they were going to beat up Sasuke-bastard and I would have to show them my cool kempo moves but the jerk just showed them some stupid tickets and they were putty in his hands. Che! I hate that bastard. He thinks he's so powerful. And he even threatened not to give me any popcorn during the show! Do you see how mean he is? I swear I will defeat that guy one of these days. Anyway, his plan failed because some guy from the movie house gave all of us free big-sized popcorn and soda. I really liked the movie and the seats were so comfortable that I almost wanted to sleep.
The next day, Iruka, Lee and I just went around Tokyo. They were nice enough to tour me to the really cool places. Then on our last night we met up with Sasuke-bastard (jeez! doesn't that guy have anything else to do but annoy us with his presence?) and Neji again. We had dinner at this fancy restaurant that used so many forks and spoons. I kept using the wrong utensil! Neji kept staring at me in that superior way of his. Lee looked like he was so embarrassed of me. And I swear I heard Sasuke-bastard laugh at me once. But, of course, that was probably just my imagination. That jerk wouldn't know how to laugh even if you tickled him. Thank god Iruka was there! He managed to save me lots of times. And halfway through dinner I just let him pick up a fork or a spoon before I got mine just so I wouldn't make a mistake anymore.
Well, that's my big adventure in Tokyo. I've learned my lesson. Next time I go some place new I'm buying a guidebook!
Becoming a true-blue traveler,
Naruto
-
May 12
Dear Mr. Rich Man,
Here's your check for 100,000 yen. Thank you very much but I can't keep it. My allowance is enough for all of the shoes that I need. I'm sorry that I wrote to you about the sports store; it's just that I've never been allowed to enter one that big with that many types of merchandise before.
However, I wasn't begging! And I don't want to accept any charity from you more than I have to.
Naruto
-
May 13
Dear Daddy,
I wrote another nasty letter and I'm sorry for it again. I was just so mad, thinking that you were pitying me so much. But I was sorry right after I posted it. I tried to get it back but the mail clerk wouldn't give it back to me. When I started shouting at her, she had the people there kick me out of the place.
Anyway, it's the middle of the night now; I can't sleep because I keep thinking that I'm really stupid. I know you were just being kind, as usual, and I should have returned the check more graciously. It's just that I'm different from all the other boys. They can take things naturally from people. They have dads and moms and uncles and aunts; but I don't have any relations like that with anyone. I like to pretend that we're related like the way Kakashi thinks of you as his family. But I know that's not real. I'm alone—with my back against a wall fighting the world just to get some acknowledgement—and I get upset when I think about it. I try to put it out of my mind and just plaster a big smile on my face; but don't you see Mr. Sharingan? I can't accept any more money than I have to, because some day I'll want to pay it back. And even though I'll be the greatest author/illustrator in the world, I won't be able to completely face a really huge debt.
I love great shoes and things, but I won't risk my future just to have them.
You'll forgive me again, won't you? For being rude? I've got an awful habit of being too impulsive, especially when I'm mad, that sometimes I seem thoughtless or ungrateful. I never mean it. I just want to be honest with you. You're the only person that I will allow to know the real me. Not even Iruka or Kakashi (although he knows a pretty big chunk of my true self) will know the hidden me. And the real me is really very thankful because you've broken the spell of sadness of my childhood.
It's a quarter past two. I'll have Iruka mail this during his early morning jog (I don't think I'll be allowed to go to the mail office for quite some time). You'll receive it right after the first one so you won't get mad at me for very long.
Really repentant,
Naruto
-
June 4th
Dear Daddy,
Did you ever have a cute baby boy who was stolen in his cradle when he was just born?
Maybe I'm that kid! If we were in a novel, that would be the climax, wouldn't it?
It's really weird not to know what a person comes from. I can't help thinking of all the possibilities. Maybe I'm not Japanese. I do have blonde hair and blue eyes. Maybe I'm some sort of heir to the throne of England, or maybe I'm American whose parents went for a vacation to Japan and forgot me in a park. Wait, that last one doesn't sound too good because that would mean that I'm a lost item.
Has anyone told you about that one big scandal in my history of minor scandals during my Konoha Home years? I'm sure Ebisu-sensei didn't fail to tell you about that time that I ran away from the orphanage because he punished me for stealing cookies. But you have to know my side. Imagine me, a hungry seven-year-old boy in the pantry left alone cleaning knives with a plate of cookies just within reach. Would you expect a kid that young and starving not to cram one or four cookies in his mouth? And when you hit his head and twist his ears, and make him stare at all the other children eating their dessert warning them not to give him any because he's a thief, wouldn't you expect him to run away?
I only ran four miles. They caught me and brought me back. Every day for a week I was tied like a bad puppy to a stake in the back yard while the other children were out at recess.
Uh oh, there goes the bell. I better sign off. I'll write a more entertaining letter next time.
Good night,
Naruto
P.S.
There's one thing I'm sure of. I'm NOT a Hyuuga-Uchiha!
-
June 20
Dear Daddy Rooster-Head,
I promised I would write a better letter and here it is!
Last Saturday the whole dorm had this game where one person was a fox and all the other people were dogs hunting the fox. I became the fox and I had to throw these confetti on the ground to mark my "trail." I was given a head start before all the others tracked me down. I had a lot of fun and made the trail as hard as possible—I crossed over a small stream, climbed up trees, backtracked over a path just to confuse them. Nihihi, I did a great job and they never managed to catch me. After I was satisfied that they would be lost I went to the Ichiraku to get some ramen and wait for anyone who would manage to survive. An hour and several bowls later, Iruka came and then Lee and Neji together, and then three more people. They were all that was left! The others gave up after the trees part. Ha! They couldn't handle Uzumaki! Everyone was so tired that they ate almost as much ramen as I did. Afterwards some people were angry that I made the trail so hard. But the others were really surprised that I managed to do what I did. They even started calling me Kyuubi (that's the name I wanted to be called when I was a "fox"). I have a nickname now!
But my fun didn't stop there. The next day, Sunday, Sakura and I went on a date! Okay, okay so it wasn't really an official date but it was close. She and a classmate met Iruka and I for some ice cream. The classmate has a brother also going to our school. Her name's Temari and her brother's name is Gaara. Gaara's one of the guys who gave me his chocolate last Valentine's Day. Sakura-chan kept asking questions about the Uchiha-bastard. When I tried saying the truth about him like he's a jerk who's totally uncool and unfriendly she became violent. But Iruka managed to turn her back to her sweet self. And then, just as we were finishing our ice cream, Gaara arrived. When I thanked him again for the chocolates he gave me, everyone started coughing and Gaara went kind of red. I guess they were all eating too fast and the heat was getting to them. After the ice cream we went to see a movie and I got to sit beside Sakura-chan. I would have really enjoyed it but Gaara was seated beside me and I would always catch him staring at me! It was scary. I wanted to confront him about it and ask him what his problem was but I didn't want Sakura to think weird things about me so I just kept quiet.
All in all it was a great weekend. But, ever since that day, I keep bumping into Gaara in the school halls. He doesn't say anything to me. He just looks at me and then moves on. Thank goodness he doesn't live in the dormitory. Man, he's as weird as a Hyuuga-Uchiha. But he can't be a part of that clan. He's got red hair and this weird tattoo on his forehead. Wait, maybe I remind him of his sister. She has blonde hair too! Yeah, maybe he's lonely and wants a friend to talk to. Okay! Uzumaki, the friendly guy will take away Sakura-chan's friend's brother's sadness. If I do that maybe he'll tell Temari something like "That guy Naruto is a good guy. He made me feel less lonely." And then Temari will say something like "Naruto sure is a great guy" to Sakura-chan and then Sakura-chan will forget Sasuke-bastard and like me and I can ask her to a real date! Yes! I'll do it!
A man on a special mission of friendship and love,
Naruto
-
July 10
Dear Daddy Rooster-Head,
You're right! I really do have a talent! Naruto Uzumaki won the short story contest (with 1,000 yen as cash prize!) that the Monthly holds every year. And he's only a Sophomore! All the other contestants are Upperclassmen. Iruka says that when I saw my name posted I started doing this funny happy-dance. I don't really remember what I did.
The dorm's making this short movie about ninjas and lords and stuff for summer festival and I got a part as a ninja. I'll have a big fight to show my "bravery and loyalty for my sworn Lord." The Lord's Iruka so it's easy to portray loyalty to him. And Neji is his enemy so I won't have trouble fighting against him! Just he wait, I'm going to kick his ass! Oh, and I'm also helping out with the costume designs and props and set designs. I'm really such a useful all-around guy, aren't I?
Future writer/illustrator/actor,
Naruto
-
July 15
Dear Daddy Rooster-Head,
You won't believe the great thing that's just happened. The Umino family has asked me to spend the summer in their house in Izumo! Iruka says it's a house that's even older than the one I visited before. And it has its own hot springs. And it's really great and cool there even in summer! Sakura-chan has invited Temari and Gaara and they have accepted so I can continue my Operation: Make Gaara a friend so Sakura-chan will like me more.
But more than that, I'm really excited to see all of members of the Umino family again. I guess they liked me when I visited before and it's really a nice feeling to know that a great family likes me enough to invite me again into their home.
Very contented,
Naruto
-
Naruto hummed happily as he walked from the school towards his dormitory. He had easily passed a surprise quiz. The ninja movie was wrapping up and initial response to advertisements had been favorable. Gaara was slowly opening up to his overtures of friendship. Summer vacation was close. The sun was shining brightly. The flowers were blooming. The birds were chirping. All was right with the world.
He entered the cool hall of the dormitory. As he adjusted his eyes to the dimness inside he was surprised to see Kakashi standing in his path obviously waiting for him.
"Hey!" Naruto smiled brilliantly. "Whacha doin' here?"
Kakashi stepped forward holding out a white envelope, his one bared eye expressionless. Naruto's smile dimmed a little at the man's unusual seriousness. He took the envelope and tore it open. The note was short but it wiped away all of Naruto's happiness in an instant.
Don't accept the Umino's invitation. Go to Chidori Farm this summer. –Sharingan"I can't go with Iruka and Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered softly. "I have to go to the farm?"
He looked up to see Kakashi nod once. This time the man's eye showed something like regret.
"It is Sharingan-sama's wish," Kakashi said quietly.
Naruto's eyes brimmed with tears.
"But why?"
"He didn't give any explanations."
"But—but I was so excited and I made so many plans and—I don't understand!"
"I'm sorry. I only follow his orders. I'll pick you up again on the first Sunday of your vacation."
Kakashi walked forward. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"I'm sure he has a good reason for this," he said softly.
Naruto swatted the hand away, crumpling the note in a clenched fist.
"I don't care what his reasons are! I'll make him change his mind!"
The blonde boy rushed towards the stairs. Kakashi watched him disappear before letting his shoulders slump forward. He had told the truth. Sharingan-sama had not issued any reasons just an order. He turned to leave only to stop short at seeing a boy with brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and wearing the Shinobi Private High uniform blocking the entrance. The boy was eyeing the stairs. When Kakashi took a step forward, dark eyes were riveted on him.
"Did you do something to Naruto?" the boy asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Kakashi sighed.
"Why do they always think I'm the bad guy?" he muttered.
"What?" the boy asked walking forward.
"Nothing," Kakashi said out loud. "I didn't do anything. I'm just a poor errand boy who gets bullied by people around me."
The boy's face scrunched up with confusion. Kakashi took this advantage to walk quickly to the door and slip away ignoring the squawk of protest from the boy.
A few minutes later, Iruka knocked on Naruto's door. When no one answered he slowly opened the door and peered inside. He saw Naruto furiously scribbling something on a piece of paper, occasionally wiping away tears from his eyes.
ARC: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to all who reviewed! Your favorable responses give me the energy and the inspiration to continue. I humbly thank you.
Each chapter just gets longer and longer. I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
I've just been re-reading the first chapters of the manga…hmmm the possibilities…
-Dragon
