Several weeks passed and Naruto was now ignored by most of the teachers and students. Which was fair considering he mostly ignored them. He lazed his way through the majority of classes, only really paying attention when it came time to spar or learn what little ninjutsu the academy was willing to teach them. His attitude didn't win him any friends among the students, but it didn't cost him any friends either. Well maybe the pink haired girl. She had gone from indifferent to annoyed and condescending, but seemed to be content to ignore Naruto in favor of staring at Sasuke.
"Hey demon boy, whatcha got for us today?" Kiba shouted, slapping Naruto on the back as he sat beside him.
"Nothing too troublesome I hope. The chickens were funny, but we were picking up feathers for over an hour afterwards," Shikamaru said, sitting on his other side and immediately slumping down.
"Nah, nothing today," Naruto said, hands behind his head, as he leaned back in his chair. "They're on guard now, so I'll have to wait until they relax before I can prank them again. Besides, I've got a much more difficult mission today."
"What's that?" Kiba asked, eagerly.
"Today I'm going to make Sasuke change his expression," Naruto declared dramatically. "Be in laughing in joy, or screaming in rage, I'll get him to react to something."
"So screaming in rage then?" Shikamaru said.
"Yeah, no way that you can make him laugh. But pissing him off should be fun," Kiba said, staring over at Sasuke. "I'm thinking we mess with his hair." Naruto smiled in agreement while Shikamaru sighed. Their first plan was simple. A bucket of glue over the door to fall on Sasuke when it opened. And it was foiled in an equally simple way, Sasuke was already in the room by the time they got there. During class they tried flinging spitballs and chewed up gum at him, but he batted them away with barely a glance. Lunch came around and Naruto pulled Kiba aside holding a rotten tomato.
"Okay, things haven't been working out so far," Naruto said.
"That's an understatement," Kiba grumbled.
"So it's time to change gears," Naruto said, ignoring Kiba. "Here take this tomato," Naruto handed Kiba a half rotten tomato.
"How long has that been in your pocket?" Kiba asked, eyeing Naruto warily.
"Not important. I want you to throw this at Sasuke as hard as you can," Naruto said.
"Isn't that what we've been doing all day?" Kiba asked.
"Yes, but this time, I'll be in front of him, talking," Naruto said. "If it distracts him, yay for us. But he's probably going to dodge it. And I'll get a face full of tomato," Naruto finished with satisfaction.
"And you want that to happen?" Kiba asked, looking at Naruto as if he was crazy.
"Oh come on, it'll be hilarious," Naruto said. "If that's not enough to get Sasuke to laugh, then well, I don't know. I''m not giving up either way, but how can you top that?"
"Alright. So long as it's you getting hit with the rotten tomato and not me," Kiba said, shrugging and taking the tomato. Everything went as planned. Sasuke ducked, and Naruto got a face full of rotten tomato. Wiping the tomato out of his eyes, Naruto looked expectantly at Sasuke who had a faint smirk on his face. Seeing Naruto's expression, Sasuke quickly wiped the smirk away, and walked away, rudely shoving Naruto out of the way with a shoulder. Kiba came over, trying to look solemn, but his lips kept twitching as he tried to suppress a smile.
"Looks like the plan failed," he said, trying not to laugh.
"We got a smirk out of him at least," Naruto sighed. "Then I think he noticed that I wasn't actually upset." Kiba just shrugged in response. They went on with their day, and as had rapidly become tradition in their class, Naruto found himself paired up with Sasuke for the sparring, after Mizuki whispered some instructions in his ear. Today Sasuke started with a fierce punch to the face that Naruto barely dodged, followed by a punch to the gut, and Sasuke throwing Naruto to the ground. Before he could stand, Sasuke kicked him in the ribs, making Naruto gasp in pain.
"Damn you, bastard," Naruto spat, forcing himself to his feet. "You really aren't holding back today."
"And you have been harassing me all day," Sasuke replied, punching Naruto in the face, who took the blow and grabbed Sasuke's wrist. Pulling Sasuke forward, he tried to headbutt him, only for Sasuke to jab him in the eye with his other hand.
"Ow, what is your problem?" Naruto asked, reeling backwards.
"You. Stop bothering me. You aren't funny, you aren't amusing, you are just a distraction from our studies," Sasuke said, throwing some more punches.
"Oh don't give me that crap," Naruto snarled, as he blocked. "You never smile, you never frown, you never make any expression at all!"
"So what?" Sasuke asked as Naruto tackled him into the dirt.
"So it's okay to admit you're in pain," Naruto hissed, even as Sasuke flipped him over and pinned him.
"No. It's not," Sasuke said, choking Naruto. His vision going blurry, Naruto slapped the ground twice to signal his surrender. Sasuke stood up and walked away while Naruto gasped for breath.
"I'm not giving up you bastard," Naruto muttered to himself as he watched Sasuke impassively watch the other students. "Believe it."
/*/
After school Naruto retreated to a hidden park near the outskirts of town. He sat and began meditating, focusing on Kurama's words.
"I've already taught you how to sense chakra and emotions, which you've mastered to the point of even being able to detect things like happiness and amusement. And you've learned how to infuse chakra in your body to help you move. Today I'm going to teach you how to project your chakra outside your body," Kurama said.
"Like a ninjutsu?" Naruto asked, cheekily.
"No!" Kurama roared. "For the last time, it's not a jutsu, it never will be a jutsu, and I'm not going to teach you any jutsus. Stop asking!"
"Fine, fine. So How does it work?" Naruto asked.
"First move the chakra to your hand, as if you were using it to climb. Then you push it further, to the tips of your fingers. And concentrate it and keep adding more and more. It should naturally overflow, and will look like streams of blue energy leaving your body. Focus on keeping those streams close to your body and solidify it into a claw to start. Eventually you should be able to surround your entire body in chakra and use it as a shield against any lesser attack," Kurama explained. "I'll run my chakra through you first to show you how it's done. Just let it flow naturally. And that girl showed up again. Go shoo her away so we can begin," Kurama added, exasperated
Naruto mentally rolled his eyes, before opening them and looking over to where Hinata was hiding. "Hey Hinata!" he called. He heard the girl eep in surprise and stand up.
"H-hey, Naruto. Um, how did you find me?" She asked, poking her fingers together.
"You were nervous," Naruto said, shrugging. "I told you before right? Anytime you want to talk or just hang out is fine with me. You don't need to worry about approaching me. Unless you're scared to talk with a demon?" he asked, smiling even as his stomach clenched with worry.
"N-n-no. I know better. You aren't a demon, no matter what the villagers say about you," Hinata said, her eyes on her feet. Naruto frowned.
"Hinata." Naruto said, lifting Hinata's chin so she was forced to meet his gaze. "I am a demon. I'm a nice demon, but I'm still a demon."
"No! You're a human! A brave wonderful human who cares about other people even though he doesn't have anyone to help him," Hinata protested, grabbing Naruto's shirt as her eyes started to water.
Naruto sighed, and gently pulled Hinata's hands off of him. He took a step back.
Hey. Can you do that chakra shield thing you were talking about for me? Naruto thought to Kurama. I want her to see the real me, instead of thinking I'm something I'm not.
"Hmmph, fine. But don't blame me when she runs away screaming," Kurama grumbled.
"Okay Hinata, I want to show you something okay? It's going to be a little scary, but don't worry, I won't hurt you, believe it," Naruto said out loud. Hinata gulped as her fear began to rise, but she nodded anyways. Naruto took a deep breath, and at his signal Kurama began pushing charka through his body. His whisker marks deepened, and his eyes went red. Red chakra began pouring from him, flowing over his body. The chakra around his hands formed viscous looking claws, his face was masked beneath the thick red chakra with his eyes glowing brightly through the chakra and fox ears forming on his head. Naruto fell to all fours as a tail sprouted and waved gently in the air.
"N-" Hinata tried to speak, before fear silenced her. She was frozen still, trembling faintly as she stared at Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto could even hear her heart pounding as she panicked.
"You see Hinata?" Naruto asked, his voice a raspy growl, "this is what I truly am." He stared at her, waiting for a response, but Hinata stayed frozen. "You may run away if you want. I won't chase you," he added. His voice finally snapped Hinata out of her panic.
"N-naruto. Y-you really are a demon," Hinata whispered, her voice quiet.
"Yes, I am," Naruto said, his enhanced hearing picking up her words. Her fear spiked for a moment before settling back down.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, bowing. Naruto just watched her, puzzled. She raised a trembling hand, before pausing. "M-may I touch you?" Stunned, Naruto just nodded, and she gently lowered her hand onto his head. Her hand went through the chakra and came to rest on his head, before running down his face.
"This is Naruto's face," she mumbled. Her hand cupped his cheek, even as she stared into Naruto's blazing red eyes. "And Naruto would never hurt me. He told me so. He protected me from bullies. He comforted me when I was sad. He offered me his friendship and company. He told me I don't need to be nervous around him." As she spoke her fear slowly subsided. Watching from inside him, Kurama snickered and cut off the flow of chakra, letting it dissipate and leaving Hinata staring a Naruto's suddenly very human looking face.
"Eeep!" she shot backwards, tripped and fell on her butt as she turned bright red from embarrassment. Naruto immediately rushed over, grabbing her.
"Are you okay? You didn't hurt yourself did you?" Naruto asked, looking over her carefully.
Um, um, um, um," Hinata stuttered, incoherently as her hands flailed around randomly. Naruto finished inspecting her, and hugged her impulsively.
"Thank you. Thank you so much for not running away and leaving me alone," Naruto said, choking up as he squeezed her close. Hinata's arms slowly closed around Naruto as she returned the hug. A warm emotion bloomed inside her, something that Naruto had never sensed before. She didn't say anything, and after a few more moments, Naruto released the hug. Hinata stood up, her face still crimson.
"Um. I should, um, go. I think, I mean, I need to, um, get going," she managed, before turning and running away. She paused at the edge of the park, turning around as that strangely warm emotion intensified until it was almost shinning to Naruto's mind. "I won't ever leave you alone!" she declared, before heading off.
"Well well well. What a precocious vixen," Kurama said, amused.
"Vixen? What? You never call humans that. Also what just happened? What was that last emotion there? I've never felt anything like that before. It was really...nice," Naruto asked, confused.
"I'll tell you when you're older," Kurama laughed. "In the meantime, get back to training. You saw how I did it. Now you try." Naruto nodded, and began to release his chakra, a faint blue light leaving his fingertips.
/*/
Later that night, Naruto climbed onto the roof of Sasuke's mansion, chuckling darkly as he went. He held a pair of scissors in one hand.
"Let's see you maintain that composure of yours with a giant bald strip down the middle of your head," he muttered to himself. He waited patiently for the lights to flick off in the house, and waited an hour more for Sasuke to fall asleep before slipping down to the ground and opening the back door. He snuck inside, pausing as he felt a flair of pain and panic. He rushed into Sasuke's room, slamming the door open. Sasuke shot upright in his bed, throwing a shuriken at Naruto's head.
"Crap!" Naruto yelped, ducking. Sasuke, still mostly asleep, made several handsigns.
"Fireball Jutsu!" he mumbled, breathing a flaming ball of fire and igniting Naruto.
"Crap, crap, crap, crap," Naruto shouted, rolling frantically on the floor as he tried to extinguish the flames.
"Naruto? What the hell are you doing in my house?" Sasuke asked, finally waking up. "Oh shit! You're on fire!"
"Yes, thank you Sasuke, I hadn't noticed!" Naruto yelled, still rolling around.
"Quick, this way!" Sasuke shouted, guiding Naruto to his shower and turning it on. A cloud of steam surrounded Naruto, but after several more seconds, the fire went out. "We have to get you to the hospital," he said, keeping his facial expression even, despite the distress he was feeling.
"Nah, I'll be fine," Naruto said, peeling off the remnants of his shirt. The skin around his face and upper body was burnt black, and Naruto winced as he began to peel the dead flesh off.
"What are you doing? We need to get you proper treatment," Sasuke said, his composure shattered.
"They wouldn't give it to me, even if I needed it," Naruto said, matter-of-factly. "Thankfully, I heal fast. See?" Naruto pointed to his face, where fresh pink skin was already forming beneath his burns. Sasuke watched, disgusted, as Naruto peeled off all the burnt flesh off. He gagged at the smell and retreated to the kitchen. After he finished, Naruto joined him.
"So what are you doing in my house anyways?" Sasuke asked, glaring at Naruto, though his emotions were carefully blank.
"I felt you panicking and rushed in," Naruto said.
"Felt me panicking?" Sasuke asked, arching an eyebrow as he radiated disbelief.
"Yup. I can sense emotions," Naruto said, as Kurama whispered advice to not trust Sasuke.
"That's ridiculous," Sasuke snorted.
"No, what's ridiculous are eyes that can copy any jutsu they see, trap people in illusions, and create black flames," Naruto countered.
"Fine. Wait, how did you know all of that?" Sasuke asked.
"Someone told me. Obviously," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. Sasuke thought for a second, but seemed to accept it.
"You sensed my nightmare. And that explains your reaction after my first spar," Sasuke said.
"Yup. You're pretty messed up. Most of the time, you're blank, like you aren't feeling anything. Which by the way, is sick. What is the point of being alive if you go through life numb to all happiness and joy? But now and then you feel really really hurt. Like your mind is screaming in pain. And then you clamp down on that and go back to feeling nothing," Naruto rambled.
"Feeling nothing is better than feeling that pain," Sasuke replied, coldly.
"But you haven't actually fixed anything," Naruto said.
"I will. One day I will kill that man, and then I will be free of this pain," Sasuke said, clenching a fist, as he radiated pain.
"Dude you just set my face on fire, and I'm in less pain than you," Naruto said. "Look, you've got your vengeance thing going on. But it doesn't sound like it's going to happen any time soon, right? So you need to get something else going on in your life. Or else you'll end up going crazy."
"Get out. Before I set you on fire again," Sasuke said, stiffening up as hostility poured off him.
"What is wrong with you?" Naruto yelled. Sasuke started to make handsigns so Naruto ran out of the house. "Alright, alright, I'm gone! You crazy jerk." Naruto shivered as he walked outside, his fresh skin exposed to the cold night air.
"That went well," Kurama snorted. "You almost get stabbed, you do get set on fire, your favorite slash only shirt is ruined, and for what? So we can confirm that yes, the Uchiha is in fact, crazy. So crazy that he'll literally stab someone trying to help him."
"Hey, he's not all bad! He was trying to get me to the hospital after I got burned," Naruto protested as he walked.
"Again kit, showing basic decency is not praiseworthy!" Kurama roared. "It's the bare minimum! You should expect everyone to at least treat you that well. One day we'll get you out of this village and you'll realize just how crappy this place is. Oh, right, and before you distract me further, the Uchiha brat was perfectly willing to keep you around after you broke into his house, but the moment you actually try to help him, he tried to set you on fire again."
"Yeah, but-"
"No buts!" Kurama yelled. "I don't want you hanging around him anymore, got it? At best, he'll just ignore you. At worst, you'll actually become his friend and he'll try and murder you for power later."
"You can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with!" Naruto yelled back. "You aren't my dad!"
"I'm the closest thing you'll ever have to a parent kit," Kurama said, viciously. Naruto flinched, and they walked in silence for a few minutes before Kurama spoke up again. "You're shivering. Come on, let's steal you some new clothes to wear."
"Right," Naruto said, perking up. He headed off to a warehouse he had broken into before. He slipped in through a tunnel he had dug long ago. He looked around the warehouse, squinting to try and see.
"There, kit, look," Kurama said. Naruto turned his head to see the moon shining on a pile of old orange jumpers. "Those are perfect! We'll finally get you in a proper fox color. Grab as many as you can carry." Naruto hesitated but put on on. Feeling how comfortable it was, he snagged as many as he could and pulled them out with him. They started walking home and Naruto put his hands behind his head as he looked up to the sky.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Don't apologize for standing up for yourself," Kurama replied. He sighed, "and most of the time, you'd be right. I don't have a say in who you are friends with. But the Uchiha," Kurama shook is head, "they grow more powerful by betraying and murdering their friends. Try and help him if you must, but don't get close to him. You can't trust him. Particularly since he obviously craves power.."
"Okay," Naruto said, brightening up.
"Oh, and we're intensifying your training," Kurama added. "You should have been able to dodge or block that fireball. Just taking it head on was unacceptable. I'll make sure to work you to the bone make up for it."
Naruto groaned as Kurama laughed as Naruto headed home under the moonlight in his new orange jumper.
Author's Notes: What to say about this chapter besides Sasuke is weird to write. Really, this whole part of the story is really hard for me to write, because it all takes place before the show begins. So there is less information on what is happening at that time, and who each character was. Which brings me back to Sasuke who is the top student by far, but at the same time, recently lost his whole family, and is actually less in control than he is by the start of Naruto.
On a side note, Naruto has become a full on empath by this point, though skilled ninjas can still hide their emotions from him.