Ok, I am SOOOO sorry for the long update. My computer just crashed and I had to get it reformatted and lost the chapter I was working on. Also, I had a wedding to go to, and school is killing me. Geometry SUCKS!!! If anyone's willing to give me a few tips… I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!!
Ahem. Another important notice… Happy birthday Anne!!!! I know it's a little too late but hey, Happy birthday, ne?
Oh… some important announcements to make:
1) Someone asked me if Naruto and Sasuke are really related in the Manga… and the answer is no.
2) Someone said in their review that giving Naruto the Sharingan was dumb… well I had a few reasons why I did so. One to give Naruto a whole another side of family to deal with and I just felt like changing things a bit. There's been a few fic's where Naruto has the Sharingan, but most of them are poorly written.
3) Yaoi. Me? I have nothing against it, but I'm not really a big fan of it. If you're thinking "Then why the hell does she have so many Yaoi stories on her favorites…" This is a shared account and Anne has total control over the favorites and she is obsessed with that kind of stuff.
A few asked for Naruto/Sasuke and if you want to think that way… do so. Or you could interpret it as brotherly love/friendship between friends. Either way, I don't care.
4) I want pairings. Naruto/Hinata is probably going to be it, but I could have no pairings at all if things don't work out. So tell me and I'll consider…
Disclaimer: If I ever own Naruto, then Itachi would be mine!
I feel like this story isn't really good compared to all the others out there… and I'm feeling discouraged. Tell me if I need improvement or such. It's going to help out a lot. Thanks.
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"Oomph…" Naruto groaned as from the depths of his warm bed covers, an annoyance poked at his side quite harshly as he snuggled deeper into the comfortable layers of downy featheriness. It was too early, too cold for him to be awake at this hour…
"Nee, nee…" He incoherently mumbled as he waved the annoyance away. "…Go 'way. I'm still on the hundredth… ramen to go…" He turned over and curled up tighter as he dreamt on. It wasn't until something violently yanked his sheets away and pushed him to his feet.
Of course… one must always have some sort of conscious state of being in order to stay upright… which was what Naruto was precisely missing. Meeting headfirst with Mr. Carpet with the implied usage of gravity surely worked better then coffee itself.
"ITAI!! JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR YA OLD GEEZER?!! I WAS SLEEPING DAMN IT!!" Naruto roared as he rubbed his newly acquired bump on his head from his odd position from the floor. Just as he opened his mouth again, something orange hit his face; his jumpsuit.
"Baka gaki! How could you be thinking of sleep at a time like this! You're going to be late for your genin exams!" The Yondaime frantically ran around his son's room, getting the boy's ninja things, tossing various kunai holsters and shrunken pouches at the boy along with everything needed for a Konoha shinobi.
"…WHAT!!!???" Naruto leapt up to his feet as he viciously jerked off the orange material off his head and began pulling on his clothes. Tripping while trying to stuff one leg down the pants, as he met Mr. Carpet again- painfully on his face.
Muttering from his prostrate position, the blonde haired ninja retorted, "Some Hokage you are. Can't you even keep track of time?" Suddenly, his breakfast was dropped onto his face, eggs and bacon made up his face into an unusual mask that was laughable.
"Heh, sorry there Naruto… I guess that the omnipotent Hokage's hand slipped… a lot, eh?" His face split into a wide Cheshire grin, almost identical to Naruto's foxy smile. However, as powerful as Konoha's greatest leader was, he was totally caught off guard as Naruto's breakfast caught him head on.
"Ha! Got ya! So what were yapping about being omni-whatever?" Naruto crowed triumphantly as he laughed in childish delight, pointing a finger at the yolk covered Hokage.
Wiping his eyes clear of the breakfast, blue eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Oh that's it gaki… this means war!" With that, the Hokage hurled the entire slop of breakfast at Naruto, the plate shattering against the wall- Naruto having enough sense to duck.
It was then when chaos was ensured.
CRASH!
"Hee, hee! Ya missed, old man!"
TWACK!
"Not bad for a gaki… but your aim needs work! Here, let me demonstrate for you…"
WHUMP!
"Stop moving damn it! Stand still!"
CRACK!
"Now why would I want to do that Naruto?"
BASH!
"Kuso! Maybe this will work…"
CRUMBLE…
SHAKE….
RUMBLE…
"Oh Kami… NO NARUTO! NOT THE…"
CCCRRRAAAASSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
The Uzumaki household shook with ruckus and of breaking glass. This was not going to end anytime soon, seeing that both were well armed with arsenals of food and weapons of mass destruction.
"Ha! I got you! Oomph!" As soon as Naruto opened his big mouth, and seeing that the Yondaime was the great ninja that he was (and expert shuriken thrower), his mouth was literally became a bull's eye for the Hokage. "MMMRRUUMPH! MIE!!!"
The Hokage had the good sense to interpret the garbled message and wisely ducked as Naruto launched himself onto him with a loaf of bread and started to repeatedly whack his head while attempting to cling onto his shoulders.
Laughing at the end when both had agreed to a truce, Naruto felt a sense of happiness swell up in his chest as he watched his otousan help him to his feet and rubbed his hair affectionately. There was a sense of kindness that Naruto had seen only a few times in his life that was directed toward him.
"Look what you've done. This place is a mess, ne Naruto?" The older blonde chuckled as he carefully stepped around the disaster of food, ketchup, mustard, oil, and other unidentifiable particles that were an odd color. Looking over his shoulder he grinned as he said, "Don't worry about it kid. I'll hire a genin team to clean up. Who knows, maybe in a few weeks, it'll be you scrubbing the kitchen floor with your other teammates." He winked as he disappeared upstairs, and Naruto could hear the shower being turned on as the pipes moaned and groaned.
Naruto smiled, but this time…
"I'll be Hokage and then you all have to respect me!"
Rest of the class erupted into laughter as they scoffed at the impossible dream that was fantasized by the stupid deadlast.
"Yeah right!"
"Get real. Who'd want a flunkout like you as Hokage?"
Naruto plastered a wide smile on his face as he yelled, "Don't underestimate me! Being Hokage is my dream!"
He let the rest of the class laugh as he was still grinning as if he had already achieved the title of the fire shadow. But inside…
A terrible hollow feeling that made him hurt deeply from the inside out…
"Oy, aren't your cheeks ever tired from smiling so much?" Someone called out from the crowd as it broke Naruto's train of thoughts.
"Eh?" He squinted his eyes as he felt his lips still frozen in the same place. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Hey! You'd better not use up all the hot water!" Naruto exclaimed as he slowly came to a realization. He ran across the tiled floor, only slipping once as he caught himself just in time and thundered upstairs. Naruto pounded on the bathroom door as much yelling and cursing could be heard throughout the whole house.
Haruno Sakura sighed as she stared at a picture; there were two people in it. One had a serious and solemn face while the other was laughing and had an arm draped around the other's neck. Obviously they were close friends, almost brothers.
Yes, her eternal crushes together in one picture for her to stare hours and hours at, dreaming of endless ways how her dream date would turn out. She blushed as the aforementioned dark haired ninja crept slowly to her mind's eye, brushing his lips gently against her hand. The color of her cheeks darkened as the dark-haired Uchiha was replaced with the handsome blonde haired shinobi.
"…Naruto-kun… Sasuke-kun…" She murmured, as if tasting the way how their names sounded on her lips. Two perfect boys and only one of her… oh the awful thing about choices!
As if on cue, Ino appeared right behind the pink haired girl, eyes flaming with jealously and almost animal-like possession. "Hey, you'd better not take my Naruto-kun wide forehead girl!" She snapped, electricity crackling in the background as the two rivals clashed.
"Oh? And what about you Ino-pig? Aren't you president of the Uchiha-sama fanclub?" Sakura retorted as her inner thoughts brought up gruesome images of blood and gore. To hell if that pig thinks that she could have both! I'll kill her!
"Stupid forehead girl, and aren't you the leader of the Sasuke-kun club? Talk about selfish!" Ino's blue eyes flashed with anger as their other classmates hurriedly evacuated the desks around the two. Heavens know that they were fully aware of the dangers when Ino and Sakura fought.
"Ino-pig!"
"Wide forehead!"
"Pig!"
"Forehead!"
Now, Hyuuga Hinata hated it when people around her started to fight, especially when the people that were fighting were close friends. "A-ano… g-g-gomen… but S-sakura-san…Ino-san… please don't fight…" Surprisingly enough, her voice was loud enough to cause the mentioned female ninjas to whirl away from each other in a huff; their backs to back and arms crossed over their chests.
The Hyuuga heiress smiled weakly as she knew the reason why Sakura-san and Ino-san listened to her, and her alone. Club members had the obligation to listen to their commanding officers, and being the president of the Uzumaki Naruto-kun fanclub demanded respect.
Neji-niisan was a firm believer in fate and destiny, and maybe he was rubbing off on her. There was no possible way that someone like her could have ever been elected as the leader if it wasn't already written in stone beforehand. Since Ino and Sakura were both active participants in their own founded clubs and both wanted one for 'their' precious Naruto-kun, thus a new one was formed.
Both didn't want the other to be president, so that was when Hinita was chosen almost quite randomly. Her crush for Naruto was the only reason she tolerated the new responsibility. Besides, it was good for her self-confidence.
Needless to say, a temporally truce was forged between Ino and Sakura- both admiring their two ninjas as Hinata sadly watched from the sidelines wanting to speak to Naruto-kun, but…
How can someone as weak as her possibly talk to the son of the Hokage? How can she even look at someone who was considered a hero for some unknown reason?
Her eyes looked downcast as she played with her fingers, twirling them absentmindedly.
Naruto-kun… Her lavender eyes had a sad reflection as she watched the other two girls. Demo… how can I possibly compete with Sakura-san and Ino-san? Ano… it is hopeless…
As if some God up there heard her, a cloud of smoke suddenly 'poofed' up in the middle of the classroom, causing several people in the front row to cough.
"Oy! You couldn't have warned me before you went 'poof' like that?!"
Hinata froze- she immediately recognized that confident and bold voice…
"Ah gomen Naruto… but you didn't like it?"
"NO! NOT WHEN YOU GO ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS ON ME!"
The Hokage…
Hinata felt faint as Naruto turned his head around and suddenly his eyes lit up. What was nice about Naruto-kun this time was that he seemed to have a different change of wardrobe. He wore black shorts that came down to his knees, a long sleeved shirt that was a much nicer shade of orange than his bright jumpsuit, and over that was a black vest with a hood and the Uzumaki symbol on the back.
Her heart fluttered for a second but then it dropped rock bottom as the boy she loved so dear called out, "Hey Sakura-chan!" He chirped brightly, waving his hand at the pink haired girl.
Eyes wide with disbelief, Sakura was in a state of shock.
He… He… waved to me?
"H-hey Naruto-kun!" She stammered, waving back, ignoring the venomous looks that Ino was giving her with a promise of murder in her eyes. Hell yeah! Dreams do come true!
Hinata walked away, her head bowed down and she avoided anyone's eye contact. How of a fool she was to think that…
"Naruto, let me speak with your teacher to see if he'll let you take the test. Although you're a bit late… I think that he'll make an exception for you seeing that it was my fault, ne?" He winked at him and opened the door to the other classroom where the future possible ninjas were to perform the exam.
Suddenly, Naruto felt very uncomfortable as every pair of female eyes locked onto him- terror! He didn't like the way they were eyeing him…
"Err…" He scratched the back of his head, nervously backing up until he was pressed against the blackboard wall. Sweat bullets poured down the back of his head as his breathing became irregular. Was this how Sasuke felt all the time? No wonder the guy had so much stress!
Fortunately for Naruto the said so person called out, "Hey dobe, get over here."
Naruto had never been so happy to hear Sasuke call him 'dobe' in his life. "Oy! Show some respect Sasuke-bastard!"
He laughed as Sasuke made a sour face as he muttered something that the blonde couldn't hear. The tense atmosphere that Naruto was standing in dissolved almost instantly as classroom chatter was again buzzing throughout the room.
Naruto stood in the nearly empty room that he had his test in as he faced Iruka-sensei with a broad smile stretched across his face. The last of the smoke cleared away by an unnatural whirl of wind.
"Heh, not bad… yep! Not bad at all! Ne, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto rubbed the engraved leaf symbol on the smooth metal plate. Yes, the familiar feeling of the headband around his head made him feel secure again. "So, how 'bout you treat me out for some ramen, ne?" He didn't notice the slightly surprised look that his teacher gave him.
"Naruto-san… ah gomen, but what are you talking about?" Iruka's face was one of puzzlement and quandary. Naruto's smile crashed as soon as he saw that Iruka-sensei wasn't kidding around.
"Hey, hey! What the hell are you adding 'san' to my name? It's just Naruto! Geeze Iruka-sensei, are you feeling all right 'cause you're acting funny." Naruto suddenly had a cold feeling and the classroom seemed to shrink in size and the walls slowly crept in around him.
Still giving Naruto that funny look, Iruka politely opened the door for him as he said, "Congratulations Naruto-sa…" He hastily caught himself. "…graduate…" Somehow, even though those were the same words, they felt empty and hollow.
"You've passed…"
"Nee, of course Iruka-sensei! I'll be Hokage someday, so that's why! See you later!" He grinned widely and held up a thumb before he ran out, not even looking back as his head was tilted so that no one could see his azure eyes.
He didn't hear Sakura or Ino call out his name as he ran past them, nor stopped to apologize to Hinata when he knocked her over. He kept on running, as if it would make things better- dodging past the street vendors and polite greetings of the villagers.
It wasn't until he finally reached the top of the Hokage monument he collapsed, breathing harshly. His chest rattled, lungs burning for air. For some strange reason… his face was dry.
Maybe it was that crying didn't do much… and he was especially sick of moping around and waiting for things to get better.
"…So you figure it's noble to star in a melodrama and treat everyone around you like guests at your pity party? It takes a really big man to sit around and cry… you big baby!"
He hugged his legs as he buried his head in his arms.
Of course Iruka-sensei doesn't need to acknowledge me here… everyone else already does… why would his matter when I got the whole village?
He heard footsteps behind him as he said dully, "Go away…"
The footsteps didn't go away, instead a hand rested on his shoulder. For a while, it was silent, an eerie wind blew from the east, bring along leaves, whirling and spinning around Naruto.
Finally, the blonde opened his eyes and looked at the person behind him. Uchiha Itachi… golden boy's supposedly genius of a brother. "Nee, What do you want?" He asked, staring into the dark ebony eyes of the Uchiha prodigy.
Those eyes… were like pools of darkness, black and almost… scary. It seemed impossible that those very same eyes held tenderness for the precious people in his life.
"…" Itachi seemed to ponder this as it took him a while to respond. The wind blew stray strands of his hair into his eyes as he tucked the loose ends back. "An answer."
"Nani?" Naruto would have deadpanned, if not for that fact that he was too depressed to do so.
A ghost of a smile touched the pale lips of the ninja before him as he questioned, "What makes shinobi worthy of being shinobi?" His face told Naruto nothing as to what kind of answer he wanted.
Puzzled about this, Naruto cocked his head to the side and looked up as if the sky would hold the answers.
What makes a shinobi worthy of being a shinobi?
The twenty-fifth rule of shinobi conduct states that no matter what happens, true ninjas must never sow their emotions. The mission is the only priority. Carry that in your heart and never shed a tear.
But was being a shinobi only about rules and regulation? What about teams and comrades?
"A true shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower than trash… However, those who do not care and support their teammates… are even lower than that!"
But…
Naruto closed his eyes again and searched for the truth that would prevail. What would make HIM feel worthy of carrying the name of shinobi?
"Maybe I do hate the fox, but not Naruto. Not the boy. For him I have nothing but respect." Iruka-sensei raised his eyes defiantly at the sneering Mizuki. He was proud of that boy, and clenched his fists as he ignored the pain from his wounds.
" He's an excellent student. He works with all sis might, but sometimes even so, he's clumsy, a screwup… People have mocked him and shunned him… and it's given him empathy. He knows what it is to be in pain."
Naruto clutched the scroll tighter as he heard the words the wanted to hear all of his life. "That boy is no longer your demon fox! He is a citizen of Konohagakure…Uzumaki Naruto!"
Blue eyes slowly opened as the blonde turned his head slightly to look at Itachi who still had a placid face that was waiting for his response. It was as if he was…
"Congratulations… graduate!"
He knew the answer now.
"Acknowledgement." He simply replied with a wide grin as his eyes closed into happy crescent moons. "The thing that's going to make a ninja feel like a real ninja is someone to tell them that they're worthy of the name."
Amusement shone in the dark-haired teen's eyes as he allowed a rare smile to creep onto his face. "Well done… " He started to walk down the footpath back to the village. "…Naruto-kun. You've passed my test… I'll see you soon, little cousin."
For a second, Naruto's face was taken aback; he watched the retreating back of Itachi until he couldn't anymore.
Somehow… just somehow…
"Oy! Itachi! Wait for me!" Naruto pushed himself off the ground and started to sprint in the direction where the Uchiha had disappeared. As each step, something in his heart- a burden was slowly being lifted.
He was… shinobi of Konoha.