Chapter 2

"Damn it kid hurry up"

/Well it's not my fault that I have to wear these damn weights/

"Just speed up"

Naruto and Jiraiya have been on the road for four months and to Naruto it seemed like they were going nowhere fast. Apparently they were heading off to one of Jiraiya's contacts. By now Naruto had grown used to the old man's "hobbies" which consists mainly of, peeping, getting caught, and running away from a large pack of angry women. It was amazing how fast one could run when being hunted by the opposite sex. Naruto learned to never aggravate a woman, unless you wanted to be very sore in the morning. Also he learned some manners; it came in handy, because who could believe that such a polite little boy was associated with such a pervert.

But between traveling, running away, and other daily activities, Naruto was training. Right now he was working on Charka control, he had already mastered the tree climbing and water walking, and was currently working on a modified version of the Rasengan. At the same time he was also wearing weights, he had about 35 pounds on, but every week, Jiraiya would increase the load by 5 additional pounds.

"Hey kid" Jiraiya stopped.

Naruto continued walking, oblivions that he was now walking alone.

"Kid" the Sannin raised his voice.

The annoying nickname fell in deaf ears.

"NARUTO!" he shouted

Naruto looked up. / what/ he asked

"Glad to see I'm not talking to a tree"

/oh sorry/

Jiraiya smacked him on the back of the head.

/what was that for/ Naruto looked mad.

"That was for not paying attention, a shinobi should always be aware of their surroundings"

/speak for yourself, if you were aware of your surroundings the you would never be caught/

"Shut up" Jiraiya was not red in the face" anyway, kid"

/stop calling me kid/ Naruto interrupted.

"I'll stop calling you kid, when you stop calling me perverted sensei"

/but that's what you are/

"Shut up"

/anyway you were saying something before/

"Yes, since you have learned the sign language near perfect, I've deiced that its time for you to learn some code"

/Code/ Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"It's a common code that consists of finger tapping, you should find it useful as most leaf shinobi know it"

/ Cool, so when do we start/

"Right now, but kid, this code is simple and is only used in battle situations, it only requires touch, so don't depend on it for normal everyday communication"

/ You got it, perverted sensei/

"Why you"

Naruto ran down the forest path, being chased by a ticked Sannin, letting out silent laughter.

……………………………………………………………………………….

"We're going to stop in the next town, kid," said a tired Jiraiya

/Are you ever going to stop calling me that/

"You know our deal"

/whatever, but anyway why I we stopping/

"We need some supplies and I need to gather some information"

Naruto glared at him, 'damn perverted sensei'

After they found a hotel, Jiraiya left Naruto to his own devices, and left to "gather information". Naruto on the other hand decided to go to the park, the last few months left little time to play and he wasn't about to let this chance slip away.

The morning sun slowly warmed the air when Naruto found himself on a swing. I was almost like being back home, minus the cold stares. It was a nice feeling, when no one took their children away, calling him "demon". He enjoyed the peace he had; in Konoha everyone would just throw rocks at him, until he went away. Little did he know that things would change as a boy one year older, walked up to him.

"Hey, I haven't seen you here before are you new?"

Naruto just stared at him, wanting to respond, but couldn't.

"Oh sorry, my name's Harashi, what yours?"

Naruto just looked at the ground wishing he could respond.

"Can you tell me your name" said the inpatient kid.

/My name is Naruto/ he forgot that the Harashi didn't know sign language.

Harashi was clueless, but remembered that his mother told him that he should be careful about strange actions.

"What did you just do with your hands, can't you talk?"

Naruto quickly shook his head in shame; he felt the other kid was better than him.

"So what are you dumb or something?" Harashi said rudely.

He glared at Harashi, how dare he think that he was dumb, he had learned a whole language in only 5 months.

The other boy started to laugh,"So you are dumb, you're probably too stupid to learn how to talk"

He was now angry, he wanted to shout at the boy, he also wanted to lunge at the boy and hurt him, but the feeling quickly passed, he became scared at the thought that he wanted to hurt someone.

Harashi watched as fear flashed on Naruto's face. "Heh, well at least your smart enough to be afraid of me" he grinned a sinister grin.

He shouted out at some other boys at the park "Hey guys, I found a really stupid kid over here, he can't even talk and he not much younger then me"

Several other boys ran over, a mischievous glint in their eyes. Harashi turned to Naruto "get off my swing, or are you to stupid to understand that too?"

Naruto stood his ground, he wasn't going to leave the swing just yet, and he needed to know if this tow was just like the village of the leaf. He wanted to know if everyone hated him and just didn't see him here at the moment.

The boys started taunting him, calling he dumb, and pushed him around. Naruto was scared, not because he couldn't defend himself, but because he thought that he might never make a friend. A few tears fell from the blonde's bright blue eyes, he might always be alone. Sure he had perverted sensei, but Jiraiya didn't really understand that he needed something more then just a teacher.

As he fell to the ground, the other boys started to kick him, soon some of the other kids on the playground started to join in, until it turned into a giant game of "kick the dumb kid". After getting bored, everyone left to find something else to do. Naruto stayed still, his whole body was in pain, he didn't move in fear that he had broken something. He just waited, waited for the sun to dry his forgotten tears, he didn't know what he was really waiting for, but he soon slipped in to unconsciousness.

…………………………………………………………………………….

Jiraiya was quite pleased, he had a lot of new ideas for his book, and couldn't wait to start writing his first book, but fist things first. He needed to find the brat. Now where do you find a 7 year old? A park would be the most likely place, but considering Naruto's history Jiraiya was quite reluctant.

When he got there he found the park deserted, except for a lone figure that was lying on the ground not moving. As he approached the figure, he felt regret, he already knew who it was laying on the ground. Jiraiya quickly ran over to Naruto, and scanned the damage done. He didn't have any broken bones but was severely beaten up. Picking up the small boy, Jiraiya realized how light he was. Shifting his weight, the Sannin carried the boy into town and back to the hotel room, he would treat him there. Being teammates with a medic-nin did have its advantages.

With the boy, now taken care of, Jiraiya now recalled something that the Third said, just after he had returned to Konoha.

"Jiraiya, in your travels please be careful with Naruto, you must remember that he has had a very hard life and no family or friend to grow up with. It is amazing that he is still able to hold a smile on his face. Please let him interact with other children, but be aware. Some kids like to bully others because of their differences. And I would hate to see that happen to Naruto, he had to already face the negligence and hate of the village and bullying will only further hurt him. I trust you with this. "

'I'm sorry Sensei I've already failed you once, but not again" thought Jiraiya.

A moan of pain came from the bed, and Jiraiya turned around, to see Naruto trying to get up. He quickly went over to the boy and helped him sit up. Naruto coughed as Jiraiya gave him a glass of water.

"Naruto what happened?"

Naruto stayed still, he was trying to figure out why everyone hated him. He never did anything wrong, so why the cold stares, the names, the loneliness? He still remembered the names, the jeers, the shouts.

"Demon"

"Hell spawn"

"Monster"

"Abomination"

Tears welt up in his eyes as he remembered the countless nights that he spent alone. 'Why' he started shaking.

Jiraiya, meanwhile what watching the sudden transformation, he quickly wrapped a blanket around the boy in hopes to comfort him. 'Come on you've got to snap out of this' he thought

"Naruto, you can't let them get to you"

Naruto looked up. /why, sensei why/

"Because they're blinded by the past, they need someone to blame and it just happened to be you" Jiraiya signed, he didn't like having to lie to Naruto but he wouldn't be able to handle the truth right now. "But don't let them get you down, you need to be strong, prove to them that your better then them"

/ But why I'm I always alone/

"Your not kid, I'm here and don't forget about Sarutobi either"

/Thank you sensei/ Naruto smiled.

TBC…

Edited Jan 18th 06