Ugh. Sorry guys. I took a while, cuz I've been rethinking this whole story. Anyways, I redid my proglogue thingy. I've decided to take it slow -- bit by bit. Of course, the original Kira plotline will still be. Just, you know, wondering weather I should continue or not. Anyways, onward!

Naruto came, prepared with everything – a backpack, his ninja gear, notebooks, and a pencil. Coming in, he saw a man, average height, with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Hello! What's your name?" The man seemed nice enough.

"Naruto. I'm a new student."

"Welcome Naruto! Well, the year's only just begun, so I trust you won't have too much trouble catching up. Well, Naruto, why don't you sit over there." he said, pointing to an empty seat in the middle."

They went through class on the basic explanation of chakra – how it worked, how to use it, and an introduction into jutsus. The teacher, Iruka, asked questions and tried to involve Naruto into the lessons to make him feel right at home. To everyone's surprise, Naruto answered all of them correctly! At the end of the day, Naruto smiled and walked back home.

On his way, however, were three second years. They would take the test this year, and they stood in his way. They were much bulkier than Naruto was, and the adversaries stood in his way.

"Here's that new kid!" one said.

"So, what's your name, kid?"

Naruto may be a moron, but he wasn't a complete idiot. He could tell simply by looking into their eyes what they had in mind. "Naruto." he quietly said.

"Well, you must think you're rather something, huh?"

"No, I do --"

Before he knew it, one punched him. Then, two held him down, while the one seeming to be the leader began beating him up. After several blows, they opened his back. They smiled, seeing Naruto's widened eyes, and began ripping it. Then, taking his textbook, they burned it using some jutsu unfamiliar to Naruto.

"That'll teach you to be a kiss-up."

Returning home, Naruto had semi-healed bruises and was in bad physical condition... But that didn't bother him. How was he supposed to achieve his dream without any tools? All his equipment save his weapons were gone...

So, everyday, he would go to the library. He didn't tell anyone of his predicament – he would be laughed at, called weak, and that was intolerable.

For the first few months he could manage – the questions were fairly easy, and he could find the necessary information at the library. However, as the year progressed, teachers increased in their requirements, and he soon lagged in class. He would try the age-old 'dropping the pencil' trick to have a quick peak at some other classmate's book, but it didn't work out very well. Eventually, they began working on the henge jutsu when it was Naruto's turn to do it.

Stepping up, he hid his nervousness. Of course he didn't know how to do it! He had no clue.Oh, God...Stepping up, he used the jutsu, only to turn into a face-less teacher, three feet short, and bald. Naturally, the entire class began laughing. And Naruto loved it. Everyone, all forty people paid their full attention to him. It was as good as an encouragement. From that day foreword, he began fooling around and not paying attention in class. However, he could only progress with what was taught in class, as he didn't have a book. As a result, Naruto lagged even more.

Of course, he knew that only with true strength would he be able to get anything right... And of course, he practiced day and night on the techniques taught in class. However, it was either being recognized for once, or doing well in school... Being recognized won hands down.

Year after year, Naruto kept failing the exams... Graduation day was the worst. All the famous clan members would greet their children. Naruto sat and watched in the shade as children went home with their parents. As the school became empty, so did his heart. He had less and less hope. Eventually, he would do nothing at home but think of new ways to be funny.

As a new year began – his third, in fact, Naruto hopelessly trudged into the classroom. As he looked to the front row, his jaw dropped. There was that very same pink haired girl... Damn! What was her name? Haruno... Haruno Sakura. Haruno Sakura! All right! Yes! He was beaming with joy. This was his year. This was the year. Finally, after all this time, she had come. She would be kind to him, he knew it! This year, he would pass. May be would even be on the same team with her!

But no matter how much he tried, there was always that one person... That one, damned raven haired bastard who seemed so much cooler... The one who all the boys hung out with; the one who all the girls fainted at the mere sight of... The one who acted too cool for everyone else – who never spoke. Naruto hated him so much... but he wanted to be like him... so, so much. Just to have the respect and attention of everyone. Naruto wondered how that would feel – just once... Just... once... To completely annihilate someone in battle, and to have the face of victory... Victory, something Naruto had never yet tasted in his life. Was the sweet honey of victory truly so divine? Would he ever get it? No! Come on, Naruto. Now is not the time to doubt yourself... This is the year... This is YOUR year!

Every night Naruto took books from the library and began working on them, studying ninja scrolls, and began training harder to focus his mind and body. The books said, the harder on does physical training, the more mind and body would be aligned – and when that happened, easy chakra control occurred.

But what Naruto didn't know was, that no matter how much he trained, his mind and body wouldn't become more aligned... How could they? He constantly put on a mask, pretended to be what he wasn't, for eight ours a day... Like that, he would never achieve it. But that is something that has to be learned, not taught... The teacher thought to himself. He knew Naruto's real personality... and he wished, so badly, that Naruto would show it. You could be so damn great if you didn't hide it, Naruto... If the real Uzumaki underneath came up...

"Hokage-sama, he's nothing but a prankster..."

"Iruka, if I remember correctly, you were very similar to him yourself, were you not?" the old man questioned.

"Yes, I was... But it was only because --"

"Think about why he does it, and you may then find the answer... Think about why you did it... And you may find, he was very similar to you..."

"Hokage-sama..."

"Did you benefit as the prankster?"

"No, I did not."

"No, you didn't... But no one rushed you to the realization. That is because maturity is something that cannot be taught, only learned. Now, let him experience the same thing... Growing up is a wonderful thing, Iruka. Do not spoil it for him. Give him time, education, and compassion... and he will bloom wonderfully, Iruka, he will bloom... Just as you had."

"Yes, Hokage-sama... I will try."

Naruto trained harder than ever for the next three days – mostly on chakra control. He could make it into a neat ball now, a cube, and even into a cone – while spinning it at the same time. He spun it faster and faster until he reached his limit. He had developed this method of training when he first discovered chakra, Now, he could put about 70 into it, and spin it as fast as he could without losing control. One day, as he did his usual training and came to his chakra exercises, a thought occurred to him. What if I put... all of my chakra? And so, he put one hundred percent of his chakra into it, and began slowly spinning it. It got to a point where it had a pretty decent speed. Then, he made it go as fast as he could; the orb in his hand skidded and spun all over the floor, making smoke and dust come everywhere. Ugh.. I lost control... From then on, he found a new chakra exercise – maintaining control. He worked on his new move to add an extra impressiveness when he showed Sakura. And soon, the day came... "Hey, Sakura-chan! Check out my new move!"The poor cherry blossom turned red as all her friends laughed at her. Stupid Naruto... This is the fifth time in three days! All my breaks are wasted while Ino-pig flirts with Sasuke-kun... I should be the one flirting! Sakura sighed and went. This was too much. She had too much stress, and she was slowly breaking. Just a little more, and -- Naruto's new move caused a hurricane which made his lunch fly into Sakura's face.

"Oh... Shit... Sakura-chan, I am so sorry! I had no idea that --"

"Will... You... Ever... GIVE UP? I DON'T LOVE YOU FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Poof... She had reached her limit.

Naruto became very quiet. Using his own made up jutsu, he cleaned the mess in a flash. "I know, Sakura-chan... I'm sorry. I should've perfected it then showed you..." And he walked off... The fifth failure in three days. Ah, well... Good weeks and bad weeks...

INNER SAKURA: Man, that cleaning move is kinda cool... May be I can copy it and show what a perfect wife I'd be for Sasuke-kun! Nah! Too much effort... Plus, it's... Naruto...

Naruto stopped bugging her with his new moves after that. Of course, he still tried to get her during class, but his outside class efforts ceased. That fateful day came, once again. Naruto failed – miserably... And to make things worse, Sakura saw.

"Okay, Naruto. Go."

"All right." Come one, Naruto. I can't fail... Not again... "ALL RIGHT!"Naruto began. As he completed his handseal, the clone appeared.

"Excuse me, Sensei?" Sakura came in. Her jaw dropped as she saw Naruto's clone. Quickly hiding the fact that she had seen in, she continued, "I need to get my belongings..." And she left.

Naruto sat on the swings... again. He stared at the shadows of the dancing children, hoping, praying that one day his may dance one day... Dance with joy. Sakura had pretended she didn't see... But it didn't matter... Even after three years, he couldn't make his chakra control better...And so, he did exactly what Mizuki did... He learned the Kage Bunshin jutsu. He had only a bare look at the next one when Iruka had found him. As events followed, Naruto began realizing his chances were getting slim – not of getting Sakura, but of becoming a ninja if he kept this path... The only way he could become better was if he focused on himself.

Sleepily, he arrived at the academy the next day, wearing his ninja protector. The teams were made, one by one. "Sasuke Uchiha." The first name was called.

Oh, please! Please don't let forehead girl be on his team.

God! Please let me be on Sasuke-kun's team!

"Sakura Haruno."

Yes!

No!

Naruto's attention was perked up. God... Oh, please, Kami-sama let me be on her team. Even if I have to be with Uchiha bastard.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto sighed. His apprehensions were gone... But... Somehow, it didn't feel as satisfying as he had thought. Perhaps it wasn't so great. But he quickly pushed this thought aside.

ONE WEEK LATER

They went through some missions. As it turned out, being a ninja was rather... boring. All they did was annoying D Class missions, usually involving getting a lost cat, or cutting grass, etc. A typical mission:

"Hey Sakura-chan! I bet this mission's gonna be the one. Yeah! I can feel it."

"The one where you actually finish it properly?"

"Ouch, Sakura-chan. That was cold. I finish most of them."

"Beaten and bruised up. If you keep at it, your health will go down. Anyways, hey Sasuke-kun --"

"No I don't want to."

"Sasuke-kun, you have to eat."

"Leave me alone."

Kakashi watched his pupils' love life. Chuckling to himself, he thought about himself when he was a child. Yes, he was very similar to Sasuke... up to a point – the turning point was Kira.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Hey, she said bring back a dog. She didn't say which dog it has to be, right?"
"Dim-witt! You're gonna get us all in trouble!"

"Relax, Sakura-chan. You worry too much. You'll turn into a hag at this rate."
"WHY YOU LITTLE --"

Kakashi turned away from the beatings. 'Ouch... That must hurt.' he thought.

It was during the first mission that Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry sprouted. They were sparring together to warm up. Naruto was on the ground – Sasuke had just made a fatal blow to his head. According to calculations, he shouldn't have been able to get up for another hour at best. "It's over." Sasuke said to Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't look away from his book. "Sure?"

Turning back, Sasuke saw Naruto rushing towards him, stronger than ever. After the match, Sasuke analyzed the data and re-analyzed it... It didn't make sense... There was no way the Naruto he knew should've been able to do that. Meaning, there was something off about Naruto. Something he was hiding from everyong... Something wasn't right. Since then, Sasuke wanted to find out. He would always challenge Naruto, push him to his limits. He hated Naruto to his very core... or so he thought. But deep inside, each had an envy for the other.

The next day, Naruto woke up to the beeping of a very annoying alarm clock. Get up... Today's a mission... Get... up... Like every responsible, mature boy would do, Naruto simply broke his alarm clock in half and went back to bed...

"SHIT! MISSION TODAY!" Naruto jumped out of bed, changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, and rushed out.

"Where the hell is Naruto? Even Kakashi-sensei was on time today!" Sakura yelled, annoyed.

"..." Sasuke remained stolid as ever.

"Here he comes..." Kakashi said, bored. "As usual..."

"HEY ALL! MISSION TIME!"

"Yes, we know... That's why we're on time..." Sasuke retorted.

"Ah, calm down. Old man Kakashi still isn't here!" Naruto said.

What... an idiot... Sakura thought.

Naruto's face paled. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?"

"What brilliance... It's times like these when I say Naruto should be the teacher..." Kakashi said.

"All right! A C class mission!"

"Ahem, yes, well, your mission is to guard the bridge builder, Tazuna, to his country and guard him until the bridge is complete." The Sandaime said.

"SWEET!" Naruto said.

"I got these punks? Hey, are you sure I'll be safe with them?" Tazuna said as they went outside.

"Don't worry, I'm a jounin; you'll be safe with me." Kakashi assured.

As they walked, the usual happened...

"Hey, Sakura-chan! How 'bout when we get back you and I --"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Turning to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun! When we get back, do you want to --"

"No, I don't."

"But you don't even know --"

"Yeah, but it's you – meaning it has to something stupid." Sasuke said.

Soon enough, they reached the home of the bridgebuilder.

"Mom... They're going to die..."

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT! I'LL --" Naruto was cut off.

"Why are you getting mad at a child, idiot?" Sakura scolded him.
"There's no way you can win against Gatto..." Inari said...

"Hey, Inari, listen! I am a super hero who will one day become the greatest hokage of all time! I don't know who the hell this Gatto guy is, but he doesn't stand a chance against me!"

"What are you, stupid? There's no such thing as a hero... If you don't want to die, leave."

"WHY YOU --"

"Stop it, Naruto!" Sakura grabbed him..."I'm going to prove it... I'm going to prove in this world, heroes do exist...""Why do you guys bother to try so hard? No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatto's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work, when facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!"

"Whatever kid, I'm not like you..."

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country and yet you're being so nosy! What the hell do you know about me? I'm different from you! You're always clowning around and acting so cheerful! You don't know how hard life can be!" Inari erupted.

"So it's okay for you to pose as the star of tragedy and cry all day?" Naruto said calmly.

Sakura had never seen Naruto so... so calm, so truthful... So vibrant with life, and yet so quiet... Now Sakura began to notice it. Something was off... This Naruto wasn't the one she was used to. This Naruto was... stranger... Naruto was beginning to peel apart. It became harder and harder for him to hide his true self... And more and more it began showing.

"You just keep on crying forever, you idiot! You little sissy!"

After the argument, Kakashi went to Inari. "Can I join you?" he asked. "Well, Naruto didn't mean any harm by what he said... He just, sometimes doesn't use his head. Tazuna-san told us about your dad... Like you, Naruto also grew up without a father. Actually, he's never known his parents and never had a friend his entire life... The truth is, he's had a rougher past than you... But never once have I seen him cry or complain... He's always... Trying his best to get people to acknowledge him... For that dream he'd risk his life at anytime... He's probably sick and tired of crying... He knows what it means to truly be strong, just like your father. Naruto may understand your feelings better than anyone else's..."

author's note: I don't take credit for the conversation with Inari – that is directly from the Manga

Sakura had heard this all while standing behind a pillar... She had originally come to make sure Inari felt better, but at this, she just collapsed in tears... This was Naruto... Probably the strongest person on her team, and the way she had been treating him previously was horrible. The memory of 'Sasuke' calling her annoying for the first time came to her again, and she decided to be nicer to Naruto

Soon after, they began the tree climbing exercise... It was truly the first time Naruto understood Sasuke – the real Sasuke, behind the mask. They were so similar it was unbelievable. Both had determination to beat the other, both had skill, and both were close. After Sakura left, the two were left to try and beat each other.

Seeing that Naruto was getting closer and closer, Sasuke had no choice. "Um... Naruto? What... What was it that Sakura told you..."

"The great Sasuke stooping down to ask me for help? Well, I guess you'd hold back the team if I didn't." Naruto quoted him. And he told him.

"Um... Thanks..."

"No problem... Only now, you owe me one..."

The debt will soon be repayed." Sasuke smiled wryly.

From that day, every day, he and Sasuke would go out and try... That landmarking night when they reached the very top, he looked at Sasuke and nodded. Sasuke smiled and nodded back. That was the first time the two rivals became close to friends.

In the following exercises, Sasuke and Naruto continued their friendly competition, helping each others out. The final score: Naruto – 9; Sasuke – 10. Naruto was red with anger.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME? I'M GONNA --"

"I just did..."

"GRRR... SHUT UP, YOU!"

But in fact, the two of them became closer than ever. Naruto rubbed off on Sasuke; after all, the two hung out for eight hours a day on training, so, it was bound to happen. Sasuke would now smile more often, and once, amazingly, he even chuckled. He would now participate in casual conversations with all his team members (much to Sakura's delight.) The behavior followed through on following missions as well.Reaching home, the three went back to the academy. Iruka had called them for something.

Well, that's it for now guys. Anyways, so, next chapter -- the fateful dance of course. Followed by the Chuunin exam. Yup Yup.