Ezeakel: The OC is the only main character in this story. As for Naruto, you will just have to see. No spoilers :)

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. ALL RIGHTS OF OWNERSHIP BELONG TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO.

ORPHANED CHAPTER TWO

"You are free for the day." Gin, who taught mathematics and science to the class, declared as the clock struck three. The excited students of the Academy packed their bags and ran their way to the clearing in front of the Academy to meet their parents to regale with them their first day at the Academy. Well most of them. Naruto feeling excited, made his way towards Reo as they were left behind in the class "Hey Reo! Why don't you come with me to eat ramen at Ichiraku's?" Reo contemplated Well I am free, but I wanted to train. Ehh...Why not? Reo nodded with a smile "Alright, but I can't spend much time, I gotta train y'know."

Reo had to start doing some physical workouts. During PE, he couldn't keep running for that long. Yeah, he had trained before, but he was very much behind the clan kids. Narutothe ever energetic ball of sunshine, outlasted everyone and was even gunning for the first place along with Kiba and Sasuke, which still boggled Reo's mind. He could run 8 laps; which isn't bad for an eight-year-old and certainly much better than many civilian kids, who could only do 3-4 laps, the max being 5 laps. Kiba lasted 16 laps and Sasuke 18 before collapsing. Naruto not even looking phased.

"It won't take long, I swear! Come, I've gotten so many things to tell! There was this one guy from toy's store who wouldn't want to sell me a fox mask, the bastard! Must've seen his face the next day when he opened the shop to sell toys to a kid! He even dragged his mom with him. All his masks were replaced with sex toys I flicked from another poor bastard in the red light district!" Naruto snickered to himself. Reo got confused as he hadn't gotten the 'the talk', unlike Naruto who learnt it on the streets. "The kid's mom jaw-dropped, and shouted 'PEDOPHILE' at him. Hmph. That would teach the bastard not to mess with me." Naruto got an evil look. Reo shrugged, completely missing the joke"Come on, I have to make it back by five."

Oi Oji-san! One bowl of Miso ramen and keep them coming!" Naruto said giving a grin to an old man wearing a white chef hat, and a young lady wearing a white bandanna and dressed in the same white robes as the old man. "I'll have what he's having," Reo ordered as he sat down.

"Is this your friend Naruto-kun?" The young lady smiled at them. "Yeah! He helped me by beating up those jerks!" Naruto beamed at Reo. "Is that so? Well, thank you Reo-kun for helping this little idiot brother of mine. My...aren't you a cutie?" She said with a teasing smile. Reo blushed and blurted out "Th-thank you." "Ayame, stop teasing the kid." The old man scolded his daughter. He turned towards Reo "Thank you for becoming Naruto's friend. He faces a very difficult life in the village."He said with a grateful voice and then turned away to make ramen. Ayame also flashed a smile and went away to take orders from other customers.

Reo turned towards Naruto "So tell me more about this village?" Reo had spent most of his time inside the orphanage. There was only one trip away from the orphanage to the Museum he had taken. Naruto took a thinking pose "Well there is the Hokage Rock...uhhh...Hokage jiji's office...ummm...Ichiraku ramen...uhhh" Reo sighed Well I would have to find out for myself he thought and changed the topic.

After about ten minutes, Ayame came with their ramen. Naruto eagerly broke apart the chopsticks and shouted "ITADAKIMASU" and started...-what's the best way to describe it-inhaling the ramen. Reo seemed disgusted at that sight.

Turning towards his food, he spoke a silent 'Itadakimasu' and started slurping the noodles gracefully. He paused. "Wow...this is good," Reo spoke feeling amazed at the food. Now he could see why Naruto loved that damn food so much. The food of the orphanage was made by a grumpy cook who always grumbled 'goddamn brats'. It tasted bland and Reo felt thankful hgot the opportunity to taste something other than that slop.

"SEE! I told you that ramen is the food of gods!" exclaimed Naruto, feeling happy that he found another ramen lover. Reo smiled and continued eating his food.

Reo's jaw dropped. While he had eaten one bowl, Naruto had drained five more bowls of ramen, their existence. He shook his head to break away from his shock and paid for his food with the money given to him by the matron. "Well bye, Naruto! I enjoyed myself. Let's do this some time again, eh?" Naruto turned to towards him and grinned "Yeah! I'll see ya later, Reo!" and walked away in the opposite direction.

Reo's mind wandered off to what the matron had said to him Well, I will have to pack my things which weren't that much. He owned a few clothes given to him by the matron. Whatever books he read were from the orphanage.

He soon made his way to the orphanage, left his bag in his room and went to meet the matron. He knocked on her door. "Come in" came the voice from within. Reo entered and took a seat. "Well Reo-chan, how was your first day at school? Did you make any friends?" Reo nodded. "Yeah, it was good. Iruka-sensei is a little boring, but nothing I can't handle, Mizuki-sensei took our stamina test. I have to improve in that department. Gin-sensei is alright, I guess. But that wasn't what I came here for." He cut to the chase bluntly.

The matron nodded. "You will be living in Apartment 008, Block E2, South Hashirama district on this map. These are your keys." She said and handed him the keys. "You will receive a stipend of 10,000 Ryo each month, which you can collect from your Chūnin teacher." Reo nodded and left her office.

He went to his room and started packing. He glanced at the books I am gonna miss 'em...Kami, I have to ask Oba-san where the library is in this village. He collected them and left to return them as he left the orphanage for good. He saw the matron standing near the entrance. He gave back the books to her and asked "Oba-san, do you know where the library is?" The matron replied, not surprised as she knew Reo's love for reading and learning "It is in the central district. Just ask around and you'll find it. You have to get a membership to get access though."

Reo smiled gratefully "Thank you very much, Oba-san!" he exclaimed a little too louder than usual. He then blushed as he realised he nearly shouted, and recollected himself. "I won't miss this place. But thanks for taking care of me." He said a little sad. The matron might not have stopped him from getting bullied and might have hit him unnecessarily when he had wanted to make friends with Naruto, but she took care of him and even gave him his books and clothes. "It's alright, it's my duty anyway." She smiled. " I'm going to miss you though. You were always one of the well-behaved ones" she added with a chuckle. She then said, "Well, I won't keep you for longer. Goodbye, and take care of yourself." With that, she left him.

Reo took in a breath as he arrived at his apartment. It was located in a very medium class locality. There was a commercial area nearby and a park two blocks later. He opened the door to his apartment and took a look around. It was a plain one bedroom apartment. The kitchen had all the counters filled with plates, knives, spoons, forks and any other necessary kitchen equipment. It was conjoined with the living room. There was another door leading to his bedroom. He entered his room. The bed was a single bed. There were a wardrobe, a desk and a shelf.

Reo hmm'd in thought as he set his clothes in the wardrobe Well, It isn't that bad though, the village seems to be doing rather well to give me a decent apartment. I have to get a bigger apartment after I become a ninja though. He had collected the stipend on the way from Iruka-sensei. He would have to go grocery shopping later, but first things first. Reo felt giddy as he stepped out of his apartment.

It took Reo twenty minutes to reach the library after doing a mix of running on the street and roof jumping he saw some ninjas do, which Reo also did after correctly guessing to apply chakra to his legs, if he was wrong...well let's not think about that. As he arrived at his destination, Reo examined it. It was a large building with a small courtyard in front of it. It looked like it had three floors from the outside.

Reo entered the building and noticed the librarian to his right, reading something. He made his way over to her and asked, "Excuse me Ma'am; I wanted to know if I could get a membership to the library?" The librarian glanced over to him as stopped reading whatever she was doing. "Alright, just fill this paper. There isn't any fee as this is government controlled." She handed him over a form and paper. Reo smiled gladly at that news.

He filled the necessary information and handed it back to her. "Ok...Since you are an Academy student. You have access to only the civilian section. You have to go through a door, which is guarded by an ANBU, to the shinobi section." She said warning Reo. Reo nodded and she continued "You get topics relevant to your curriculum in the civilian section in the last two sections." She pointed towards the signboards. "If you want any specific book, you can ask me." Reo asked, "Well then, do you have a guide book for the village?" The librarian answered, "There is, but I recommend you buy it from a shop. There is one on the next street." Reo gave her a polite smile "Thank you, Ma'am" and walked towards the last section.

He picked a book called 'Shinobi basics' Written by 'Tobirama Senju'. Reo's eyes widened slightly at recognition of that name. Tobirama Senju was the name of the...who was it...Huh! Yes! The nidaime hokage! He opened it and turned to the 'chakra control and ways to expand it' section.

Chakra control is one of the most necessary exercises for a shinobi. A shinobi can needlessly waste his chakra without good enough control. Therefore there exist few techniques to manage your chakra.

One of them is Leaf sticking exercise. The way to perform this exercise is to place a leaf on your forehead and to stick it on your head using your chakra. Too much chakra can cause the leaf to break, too little and the leaf will slip. This exercise can also be used to increase your reserves if you have academy level reserves. This is the basic chakra control exercise. It can be modified to make it more challenging ex: Sticking multiple leaves on your body, balancing stones instead or senbons, etc

The next exercise is the tree walking exercise. In this exercise, you have to walk on a tree by lacing your feet with chakra. The leg is said to have the most difficult tenketsu to control chakra. Again adjust your chakra, too much and you will be thrown of the tree. Too little and you can slip. This exercise can also increase your chakra if you keep at it. This exercise is meant for a genin, but it is safe for academy students to attempt it if they have mastered the Leaf sticking exercise and if you have large enough chakra. Again you can modify it Ex: Carrying a large stone while doing walking up the tree can upset your balance, etc

Reo then read about even the Water walking exercise and also said that there were other advanced exercises which one can learn or make one themselves if they wanted to learn iryo-ninjutsu or high-level genjutsu.

Medical Ninjutsu seemed helpful. Reo got up and searched for a book on the topic. He eventually found one 'Medical treatment procedures and medical ninjutsu' by 'Urashi Aizen'. He picked the two books and walked over to action and adventure genre in the fiction section. He picked a book about a samurai army which fights a group of demons in the fictional country of darkness. He collected the books and walked over to the counter. The librarian issued the books and wished him a good day. Reo took the books in a bag he brought with him and politely wished back the librarian a good day.

After getting that guide and a cook book, Reo bought groceries and hightailed back to his apartment. He saw his watch and thought, It's still 6:30 pm. Good, I can still train for two hours. He left his grocery bag and books, except 'Shinobi basics' at his apartment and walked off to the park.

He arrived at the park, gathered some leaves and sat down under the shade of a tree. He took a leaf and placed it on his head. In the same way he activated his chakra, Reo concentrated and found his chakra source. He imagined only a small amount of chakra flowing to his forehead. He let go of the leaf as he felt his chakra make contact with the leaf. The leaf promptly broke and the pieces fell down. Reo sighed as he picked another one, and did the same procedure. This time, it just slipped. Reo grit his jaws in frustration. This was going to take some time.

After doing the same thing after several times- Reo stopped counting after 50- Reo finally got the idea of trying to vary the chakra he applied, from very low, till the leaf stuck to his forehead. Damn, I feel exhausted. He looked at his watch. CRAP! IT'S NINE PM! He ran back to his apartment. He didn't even feel like making any food.

Ughhh...I'll just try making some salad. Reo held a knife and prepared to start chopping some carrot. "ACK!" He hissed in pain as he cut his finger and sighed. He cut some cloth from the sleeves of hit shirt and wrapped it around his finger.

He proceeded to chop the rest of the carrot and slid the pieces into a bowl. He did the same to some tomatoes and capsicums as said in the cookbook and mixed them up together. He added some salt and pepper and started eating his 'sub-standard' salad. Reo finished his meal and jumped onto his bed into blissful sleep.

(half a year later)

Reo had by now learnt all the three chakra control exercises in the book. He had also learnt rope escaping, the art of killing intent- which is forcing your chakra onto people with the intent to kill- and some amount chakra sensing. He had also by now could throw his kunai and shuriken at still targets accurately.

By practising the three chakra control techniques, his reserves were now at mid to high genin level, quite a lot for his age. He was thinking of already learning the three academy jutsus. He, along with Sasuke, was number one in bukijutsu class, though he still had a lot to learn.

He wasn't as good at taijutsu. He had practised the academy style, but he didn't like it much as 1) The form just felt weird and unnatural to him, 2) it's obvious everyone in Konoha knew the style, so he couldn't use it in spars and 3) clan kids like Sasuke, Kiba and Choji had their own unique taijutsu styles which were better than the academy style and could easily counter it.

Reo bit his thumb. Taijutsu styles, he presumed, were located in the Shinobi section. He would have to change his style immediately after becoming a genin or make one himself.

Still, he practised it to perfection, seeing there wasn't anything else to do. He was able to beat every civilian student, he could beat nearly all kunoichi except Hinata, he could beat even Naruto sometimes, loosing only because Naruto had the stamina that seemed never-ending.

Even though Sasuke and Kiba beat him in all his spars against them, Reo could get in quite a few punches on them.

He was exceptional in Chakra control classes, in which they asked the class to rotate a leaf on their palm. It was so stupidly easy for Reo, as he had completed other even more difficult exercises. He had modified the Leaf exercise by adding multiple leaves all over his body which was really exhausting for a few months, but Reo didn't feel a huge drain on him anymore.

He had even learnt some medical procedures like first aid and making certain healing creams from that book he read. He had gotten more curious about the subject and had read more about diseases and the ways to cure them.

He had managed to outclass everybody in studies, finding nothing better to do in chakra control classes. He had even finished the curriculum for history, science and mathematics of the second year. Iruka-sensei praised Reo repeatedly and scolded Naruto to follow his friend's example.

Speaking of Naruto, Reo went on frequent outings with him and even helped prank Reiji and Jūbo, when they started troubling them again. Reo had even started helping the hyperactive kid to study by promising him ramen and helped him perform the Spiralling leaf exercise. Naruto, as a result, had begun improving his grades to somewhere average, making Shikamaru who was the laziest kid, the deadlast.

Sasuke was at the top. Reo came in third after Shino, who was a tad better than him in taijutsu. Overall, things were proceeding quite well except in taijutsu.

His strength was alright he felt, performing 40 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 50 punches and 50 kicks every morning before coming to the academy. He had improved his speed and more importantly made a giant leap in his stamina. He could now run about 14 laps which though fell shorter than the 20 laps Sasuke did, were much better than the paltry 8 he did the six months ago.

Sasuke though had stopped attending the academy a few days back. Reo knew that this had to do with the Uchiha incident. Sasuke's own brother had massacred the entire clan, and according to the rumours, left his younger brother alive. Reo didn't know much about Sasuke, but he truly felt sad for him. If he had been left alive like the rumours said he had been, then it would be traumatising for him. He would be mentally unstable if that medical book about mental health was anything to go by.

It would be essential to make bonds with him, but he should be given some space for a while.

Reo hadn't liked him that much due to arrogant nature and felt that ego would blow some more, so he wouldn't be persuading any form of relations with him.

Right now, Reo was playing 'ninja' with Naruto in the park near the Hokage tower. Reo was hiding under the bench. He jolts up in surprise to a sudden contact and hit his head. "YEAH! I CAUGHT YOU!" Naruto began jumping excitedly. "Oww..." Reo came from under the bench rubbing his head. He hadn't really been taking the game seriously and had made a poor choice for a hiding spot.

A laugh which sounded coarse due to age was heard behind the duo "Ahh...The joys of childhood." Reo turned and widened his eyes "Hokage-sama!" he declared and bowed deeply in respect to the living legend. "You can rise Reo-kun" Reo widened his eyes at the fact that the man he idolised the most, recognised him. The Sandaime was the Kami no Shinobi(God of Shinobi). He didn't have any special bloodline but still became a legend by learning every shinobi art, giving him the moniker 'The Professor'. Reo dreamed of one day matching his idol.

He wanted to master every affinity in ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu. He aimed to be a well-rounded shinobi, refusing to give his enemies any weakness to exploit.

"JIJI!" Naruto shouted and ran up to hug him. "How are you Naruto-kun? Haven't seen you in a while." The Sandaime smiled in a grandfatherly way, returning the hug. Reo stood there surprised. He had read about the Kami no Shinobi. He had read about the man who took on entire battalions and came out unscathed. The man who took on two jinchūriki from Iwa, at the same time and defeated them. The place, it was written, was devastated. The ground had melted away, all signs of vegetation vanished and the entire landscape had been changed.

Now, seeing the grandfatherly side of him was quite surprising, reading about his ruthlessness on the battlefield. He shrugged. He supposed it was a mask to fool the people around him.

He straightened as the Sandaime's eyes fell on him. He smiled "There is no need to be so tense, Reo-kun. You can be casual around me." Reo nodded and felt his body relax. The Hokage smiled at Reo "I am happy Naruto has made a friend. I thank you for accepting him into your life." Reo smiled at his friend and said, "How could I not be his friend? He is a good guy and is fun to be around." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, feeling embarrassed at the praise and happy at the same. He suddenly grinned and said, "Reo's a good guy too! He is the only person who doesn't hate me for no reason. He is sometimes too stoic and boring, but he is funny in his own way! He helps me prank people and also helps me study."

The Sandaime smiled at that "It is very good that you are helping your fellow comrade, Reo-kun. The will of fire burns brightly in you." It becomes silent for a second and then the Sandaime speaks "Tell me Reo-kun, why do you want to be a ninja?"

Reo narrows his eyes in thought and thinks for a few seconds. He then looks at Naruto and then the village. He then answers, "Before entering the academy, I like most in my age group, thought that being a ninja was all about fighting a great battle using the flashiest jutsus. But after entering the academy and specifically reading about the role of a shinobi, I have realised that was very much far from the truth. A ninja kills, raids, pillages and even deals havoc on innocent lives." The Sandaime's eyes hardened at this. Naruto's eyes widened as he heard that. He had just wanted to win the villagers' acknowledgement, not murder people.

Reo continues, "But a shinobi also protects. This village has been standing tall and proud because of its shinobi. The shinobi do missions for clients for revenues, showcase their talents to bring the said clients and protect the nation from malicious outside influences.

I guess now, I can be a shinobi to protect this village and to increase its prestige. I am not really the most patriotic of people, but I kinda like it here. There is the library, which I love very much, there is Ichiraku ramen with Teuchi-san and Ayame-san, both of whom I kinda like and the scenery looks kinda good with the Hokage rock and the forest. Naruto, who is my best friend, lives in Konoha. So I guess that I would like to protect the village and the people I care."

The Sandaime gives a proud smile and Naruto looks like he going to start crying. Reo was Naruto's first and best friend, but hearing Reo say he would become a shinobi, a dangerous profession, to protect him was just too much pressure on his floodgates. He then smiles with determination. If Reo's gonna protect him, even he would protect Reo.

The Sandaime gives Reo a proud smile "That is a good answer, Reo-kun. Many shinobi graduate thinking that they would be fighting dragons to save princesses after they graduate. When the reality hits them, it's already too late. They break many times and forget who they are." The Sandaime says with a sad smile. Knowing one too many who went through that phase. He then continues, "To think you have learnt what your role is and that you've come in terms with it, says a lot about your character and maturity.

Remember, the will of fire isn't just a bunch of words in an inspirational speech. It is a concept that your comrade fights to protect your village, in turn protecting your loved ones, which bounds you both for a common ideal." He ends his speech and then smiles "Well I have to get going. It was nice to meet you Reo-kun. Take care of each other, Naruto-kun, Reo-kun." He then returns to his duties.

Reo stood there, The Hokage's words rising his already massive respect for him. His words imprinted onto him for life. Then he looks at Naruto, who too was looking at the Sandaime's back in awe, and grins, "Well, It's my turn now. You have one minute, get going." Naruto snaps his attention onto Reo, nods and scrams away to find a good hiding place. Like that, the two boys find a reason to push themselves to better protect each other.

I hope you guys liked that. Next chapter will be graduation day. I just don't see any reason to continue the Academy arc. I don't think I can make any more OCs, to give Reo a team, but tell me what you guys would like. Anyways, thanks reading my story, if you can review, I would greatly appreciate it. Have a good day ahead of ya.