"Get back here you damn fox!"
Several leaves dropped from the overhead branches as a young boy jumped along them. Turning around, the youth noted how the two bandits that were originally chasing him had somehow grown into twelve. Such a sight would intimidate most grown men, but the child had a big smile on his face. Several well-established lawbreakers struggling to keep up with a small child, he couldn't help but feel smug.
"What's wrong? I didn't expect such 'infamous' bandits to have such trouble keeping up with a kid."
Excitement sparkled in his deep blue eyes as his spiky blonde hair swished back and forth as he soared through the air. Several leaves rubbed against the three whisker markings on his left and right cheeks as he launched himself towards higher branches.
The boy, Naruto Uzumaki, turned around and crossed his arms to show how much better he was then his pursuers.
"Ya know, either I'm more incredible than I thought or you guys aren't as great of bandits as you say you are!"
Such a taunt would usually be followed by an immediate return to action, but instead Naruto began to question the legitimacy behind those words. Soon, a confident smirk stretched across his face as he looked down at his pursuers.
"You know what, it's probably both."
"You think you're hot stuff, don't you?" that deep voice quickly wiped the smirk off Naruto's face as he watched a large, burly bandit approach the tree he was currently perched on. Easily towering over the other bandits and possessing enough muscles that he could have snapped them like twigs made it painfully clear he was the leader of the bandits.
"Why wouldn't I? I just stole from you guys and you can't lay a finger on me," Naruto replied, cautiously backing into the trunk of the tree.
The moment his back touched the rough bark behind him, his small body was suddenly blanketed by a large shadow. All confidence vanished as the bandit leader lunged at him.
Naruto quickly jumped out of the way of the path of the bandit's punch, his eyes widening with shock and horror as he watched the entire top trunk of the tree fall alongside him.
Both crashing into the ground at the same time, Naruto blankly at the large dead section of wood then jumped onto his feet and take off.
He zigzagged through the trees, using anything he could to keep ahead of his pursuers. Unfortunately for him, nature was not completely on his side as a lone rock caused him to lose his balance and fall head first into a tree.
"OW!" Naruto cried.
The searing pain caused by his skin violently rubbing against rough bark was almost too much to bear.
"Not so smug now, are ya?" a sharp chill shot up Naruto's spine after hearing that. Looking up to find his pursuers in front of him, there was nothing he could do but stare in disbelief. Despite covering most of their faces with masks, he was sure that they were sporting the same smug grins he had earlier.
His eyes widened with terror as they approached their cornered prey until the ground collapsed beneath their feet.
In seconds, the bandits found themselves stuffed in a deep hole.
"Idiots!" Naruto laughed as he approached the trap. Looking down at them, he thrust his fist and grinned. "You fell for it, morons!"
The victorious child chuckled at the bandits struggling to untangle themselves from the nets spread across the bottom of the pit.
"Can't believe Smok thought that I would have trouble with you guys; it's almost disappointing how easy it was to get what I came for," Naruto murmured under his breath. Sneaking another glance down the pit, he once again afflicted with laughter. "Well, at least this whole thing will keep you guys out of trouble for a while."
"Like you're one to talk, you damn Demon Fox!" one of the bandits argued.
A solemn expression planted itself on Naruto's face as he processed those words. "Demon Fox"; being called that was like a stab to the heart.
His sorrowful face was soon replaced with a playful one as he unfastened his pants.
"W-what are you doing?" one of the bandits stammered.
"Just to give you guys a heads up, it takes two weeks to get rid of the smell," a devilish smile filled Naruto's face as he took aim. "Get ready!"
Various screams filled the forest as Naruto unleashed his final attack.
…
A large yawn broke through Naruto's lips, interrupting his attempt to count the stars that flew past him.
"So bored…" he murmured under his breath.
To him, the train ride back home was almost as boring as it was out of the town; the difference being that there was no anticipation for any kind of conflict. Fortunately for him, he did not have to suffer from boredom much longer for soon the train came to a screeching halt.
The child eagerly jumped off the top of the train and joined the crowd of passengers on their pilgrimage towards the exit. The moment he was outside, he was greeted with the sight of the sprawling metropolis of Hajimeni.
Naruto could remember the first time he first entered the city; seeing buildings that seemed to touch the sky was breathtaking. He thought that his home was as big as a concrete jungle could get.
Hajimeni, also known as the city of beginnings was split into several districts, each one defined by what it contains and who lives there.
"Alright, gotta head back to Zero District," Naruto thought aloud as he began leaping over the heads of the crowd.
Each district possessed a number that designated it from the others starting from one and ending with six. Zero District however was different. Unlike the others, it wasn't officially recognized by the city. Its name was the unofficially designation given to the slums, the remnants of the old civilization the citizens occupied.
When he first arrived not too long ago, Naruto was shocked by how one district could be so different from the others, a feeling that remained as he traversed through it once again. It was disheartening to discover how many people struggled in such a location.
At the edge of the district was a small house that looked as if it could collapse at any second. Several cracks littered the exterior of the building and from those cracks sprout several vines and various forms ivy. Any person would posses some form of hesitation to enter a building, but Naruto held no such reservation.
The child casually pushed the barely cobbled together front door and entered a room much bigger than the exterior of the house. Various pieces of paper and books were scattered across the floor, with even more sheets of paper falling from the ceiling.
Cupping his hands around his mouth, Naruto yelled, "Hey, Smok, I got the thing you told me to get!"
As if on cue, a puff of smoke appeared in front of Naruto. A hand soon appeared from within the smoke and desperately waved it away as its occupant let out several deep coughs.
"I think I got some in my lungs again…" Naruto shot a confused look at the girl in front of him. At first glance she looked like a normal girl about his age, but her scales and dragon like tail said otherwise. It's actually the fact that she's from the dragon race that confused him.
"You're a dragon, aren't you? How are you choking on your own smoke?" he pointed out.
"To be fair, everyone chokes on smoke…" Smok averted her gaze, pouting as she did so.
"You're hairs' on fire."
"What?!" Smok frantically patted the top of her head, only to discover her purple hair was fine. "Hey!"
Naruto was unable to contain his laughter as he pulled a small glowing red shard from his pocket. "Anyway, I got the thing you wanted."
"Whoa!" Smok's giant, red-violet eyes widened with amazement as she accepted the shard. "I can't believe you actually got it."
"It wasn't that hard," Naruto grinned. His sense of accomplishment shone brightly on his face. "It was just a couple of bandits after all."
"Maybe you got what it takes after all," Smok happily praised.
Naruto's grin grew even bigger. "So, when are we going to get to the others?"
"I gotta find out where they're at first, Naruto."
"Well, while you're at it, you think you can find a better method of travelling? Train rides are boring."
"Like what? Oo!" Smok's eyes immediately lit up interest. "How about flaming horse?"
"Are you crazy?! That would kill me!"
"A zombie harpy?"
"That's creepy!"
"Not to mention, I'm not a necromancer like the Artistes."
Hearing that filled Naruto with dread. "Wait… there are people that can raise the dead?!"
"Mm-hmm." Smok nodded her head. "Anyway…"
"Don't anyway that! How can you be so casual about there being people out there that raise the dead?!"
Smok innocently shrugged and suddenly dropped some money in her companion's hands.
"Why don't you head to the shopping district and get something to eat," she suggested. "I'm sure you built up an appetite."
"Huh? What about you?" Naruto questioned.
"The stuff I eat… I can't eat it around other people," Smok said with solemn eyes. "The taste of man's flesh just makes me crave more and more…"
"What?!"
"Just kidding," she assured her frightened guest. "I couldn't just do that if I wanted too. Too weak. Anyway you should get going."
"Right…" Naruto mumbled under his breath.
The young fox quickly exited the building and started his journey to District 2. Along the way, he heard a high-pitched cry, stopping him dead in his tracks. His curious nature effortlessly persuaded him to follow the cry to its source. Such sounds were not uncommon in the lawless zone known as Zero District, but something about this one was different from the others. It sounded like a child's.
Once he arrived at the source of the distressed cry, Naruto found a small, black-haired boy surrounded by three adult women.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to run into you," the boy apologized with tears in his eyes. It was the fourth time he had apologized, but it still didn't remove the nasty smirks they had on their faces.
"That's not enough," one of the women gripped the boy's gray hoodie and jerked him up to her face. "We were just minding our own business and you rudely interrupted our talk."
"I'm really sorry," the boy apologized once more.
"Maybe you shouldn't be so rough with the kid," one of her companions said. "He did apologize."
"What's with you and going all soft on whiny apologizers?" the other asked.
"What can I say? I'm weak when it comes to gentlemen," the second woman's face inched closer to the young boy's, the smile on her face frightening him despite her supposedly comforting words. "Especially very cute gentlemen."
"I'll give you that, he is a cute kid," a cruel smile crossed the woman restraining the child. "I just thought up a way you could make it up to us and you'll get something out of it too."
"W-What is it?" the boy fearfully asked.
"We're about to teach you a few secrets about wo-!" a swift kick to the face prevented the woman from further traumatizing the frightened child.
Before the others could react, Naruto grabbed one of the remaining women and threw her into her companion, the impact rendering them both unconscious.
"I've heard of easy, but this is ridiculous…" Naruto then turned his gaze towards the child he just saved and extended his right hand. "You okay?"
The child glanced down at the hand and slowly reached for it. Slowly standing on his feet, he replied with, "Yeah… Thanks for your help."
"It was nothing," Naruto then leaned towards the black haired child's left ear and whispered. "Just know that those are the kind of women that you'll want to avoid from now on."
Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to a strange sight on the ground. Resting behind the boy's legs was a monkey tail.
"Whoa! What's with the monkey tail?" Naruto questioned.
"I don't really know. I just have it," the boy answered.
Though he felt like he shouldn't be surprised to see a kid with a monkey tail, Naruto was still amazed. Perhaps he'll never get used to strange sights, despite not being so normal himself.
But that thought was soon pushed to the back of his head by the roar of his stomach.
"Time to eat!" Naruto eagerly jumped up to the roofs of the slums before turning back to the child he just rescued. "See ya, later."
With that succinct farewell, he began jumping from roof to roof on his way to District 2.