(P.S. AN at the end of this chapter. Sorry for it being pretty short)
Chapter 3: A Fresh Start
The next morning came somewhat quickly for young Naruto. He groaned as the sun's rays shined down upon him through the window. He grabbed the pillow next to him and covered his face to block out the sun so he may try to fall back asleep. Of course, realizing he had a pillow is what actually made him not fall back to sleep. He opened his eyes and sat up to look at his surroundings. He was in a strange room in a bed that he knew wasn't his. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in the forest after talking with the fox and Aang. Now he was here in a comfy bed nowhere near the forest. Was it all a dream? Was everything that had happened the other night just something his mind came up with to combat the usual nightmares he had?
'It was no dream boy.'
Naruto yelped before losing his balance and slipped out of the bed hitting his head on the ground. He groaned while rubbing his head. 'Kyuubi?'
'Who else would be in here, the Shinigami?' The mighty beast asked rhetorically while they both heard a chuckle in Naruto's head.
"Don't forget about me." This time the voice came from Aang who was still inside Naruto despite everything that happened the other night. Since Naruto was the next avatar he should have been passed away to enter the Spirit World. Why he was still here being a mystery in itself.
'Aang? You're here too? I thought you would be gone after we merged.' A curious Naruto said while getting up from the ground and hopped back up on the bed. He sat down comfortably while looking around in the room seeing that there wasn't much here.
"As did I. It seems that something may be keeping me here instead of passing away like I summarized. I'm not sure what though." Aang said while thinking to himself a bit. He thought, and hoped, that when he and Naruto's soul merged and he became the new avatar that he would finally be able to pass on and reconnect with his friends and family.
'I think I know what's the problem.' Kyuubi said gaining both of their attention as Naruto appeared within his mind in front of the two. 'Aang is most likely still here because of the nature of the seal used to place me here. You should know that when you're in here time moves differently and slowly. The seal is meant to slowly siphon my chakra and recycle it into your own reserves as to make it so my chakra doesn't harm you in the long run.' The great chakra beast explained while Aang seem to hum before nodding, accepting the explanation.
"I guess that makes sense. Well, this actually works for you then. Until I am finally absorbed all the way into you I can act as a guide and help you in your avatar training." Aang said to Naruto making the young blonde smile and cheer in excitement. Aang chuckled a bit watching Naruto. He was a ball of energy like how he was back during his young days.
"Great! So, when can we start?" An eager Naruto asked while standing up straight from his down position in the ankle high water that was in his mind.
"Well first you need to find my books."
"Your...books?"
"Yes. During my time being alive I created several books that I always carried with me that held the information about bending the five elements to help the next avatar. I even wrote a book that held all the adventures and tales from the past avatars before me that I met and talked with." Aang said making Naruto have his eyes widen with at such information being held within books. He wasn't one for reading, but that didn't mean he didn't like to read. He just wasn't really taught how or well.
"That is good and all but where exactly are these so-called books?"
"They are actually back in that forest area where I found Naruto."
At hearing that Kyuubi could only scoff and lay its head down on its paws. "Good luck trying to get back there. I'm sure after the kid gets out of here that old fool for a kage will make sure Naruto stays away from that place or will have someone watching his every move."
Naruto frowned at hearing that but decided to wait to hear out the whole conversation before putting in his input. Aang sighed and rubbed his beard before snapping his fingers with smile.
"What if he sneaks there during the night? I'm sure even if someone was to watch him during the day they would have to take a break by nighttime or even head home. I'm sure there are many areas he could get through unseen." Aang said while the Kyuubi hummed while scratching its head with one of its claws.
"Possibly. Though he would have a problem if he tries going back to that orphanage. The caretakers there would sooner take the books away and throw him out again." Naruto frowned at hearing about the horrible orphanage he had to stay at. He would get back at that old lady for tossing him out on the other night and letting those villagers chase him. All he needed was some glue, feathers, eggs, some sewage, and perhaps a dozen toothpicks. Yes, he could see it now.
"What if he asks the Hokage about getting a place to stay for himself? From what I've seen from his memories he can properly take care of himself pretty well already." Aang asked while Naruto seemed to perk up at that.
"That would be nice. I could actually sleep in a real bed instead of on the floor. I'm sure I can convince Jiji to get me a place." Naruto said with Aang nodding his head in agreement. No child should have to sleep anyone during the night except for a comfy bed. Even though for most of his childhood he was traveling around with his friends and they didn't always sleep in beds. They had Appa though so it wasn't all bad. The big air bison made for a comfy pillow at times.
"Hmm, I suppose you can give it a shot. Not like you have anything to lose yet."
"Perfect! Then we have a game plan." Aang said with Naruto cheering to the side while Kyuubi just scoffed a little while hiding a small smile.
"Alright! Enough with the cheering. Get out of here so I can get some sleep." Kyuubi said while blowing at Naruto making him exit his mind.
(Outside)
Naruto shook his head and smiled a little before getting off of the bed he had awaken on. He needed to find a way out of this room and, from the loud growl of his stomach, get some food. Possible some ramen from Ichiraku's. Looking around the room he scratched his head since he couldn't find a door that led out of there before he turned around when hearing movement. The wall behind him had opened up and the third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in before smiling at him.
"Well, it's good to see you awake Naruto. Tell me how did you sleep?" Hiruzen asked while Naruto smiled back and walked over giving the old man a hug that he returned before walking the boy to his desk with Naruto sitting in one of the chairs.
"I sleep pretty well Jiji. Better than all the other times." He said with a hint of something in his voice but was squashed away when he looked back up with a wide smile. "Jiji can we get some ramen?"
The sandaime frowned a little at the tone of his voice at hearing how he's sleep better than all the other times. That brought some concern to him but he chuckled hearing Naruto asked about getting some Ramen.
"Sure Naruto, why not?" He said with the blonde boy cheering in his seat
(Ichiraku's)
Both Naruto and the Sandaime were sitting at Ichiraku Ramen with the Hokage smiling as he watched Naruto devour his fifth going on sixth bowl of ramen. He himself was only on his second.
"This is the best! Thanks, Teuchi-san! Ayame-nee-chan!" Naruto shouted out to the owner and his daughter who worked with him. They both chuckled and smiled to the boy. They always enjoyed his company here.
"No problem, squirt." Teuchi said while going back to making more of his ever-famous ramen to serve to the other customers. Ayame smiled and nodded back to Naruto before going to take other orders. Hiruzen smiled at the two, glad that there were some people here in this village to actually care and not hold anything against Naruto.
"Hey Jiji, can I ask you something?" Naruto asked him getting the old man to look at him with a bit of curiosity. Considering he was looking a little nervous about whatever it was he wanted to ask him.
"Sure, go ahead Naruto." He gestured to him while pulling out his pipe to smoke it.
"Well, I was wondering if it would be alright if I could get a home by myself?" Naruto asked while stirring his ramen around with his chopsticks. Hiruzen sighed while shaking his head.
"Naruto, you know I can't just let you live by yourself. Who would take care of you?"
"I could! I've been doing alright in handling myself since no one at the orphanage seems to notice or care about me." He said with the elder Sarutobi narrowing his eyes at hearing that. "I'm always asking for some food or have to dig through trash cans to find something to eat. And I don't really have a bed. Just a ripped cover to use while on the floor."
"I see." Hiruzen said while planning on making a surprised visit to that place and have a talk with the head caretaker about taking care of ALL the children equally. But could he really give the boy his own place to live in? It wouldn't be healthy for a boy his age to live all alone without someone keeping watch of him and helping him out.
"Please Jiji! I promise I can take care of myself!" Hiruzen heard Naruto speak and turned to see he was staring up at him with wide sparkling blue eyes. He couldn't hold the sweat drop that came at the back of his head. There was no way he could resist a face like that from him. So, sighing he relented and patted Naruto on the head.
"Alright, Naruto, I'll see what I can do. BUT, I'm going to have some of best shinobi watch over you and provide some healthy food for you. You can't survive on ramen all your life." He chuckled with Naruto laughing himself and smiled before going back to eating his ramen. Sarutobi chuckled more while watching the boy going back to consuming the starched filled food. Honestly where was he storing it all?
(Naruto's Apartment)
"Whoa!" Came the voice of an excited blonde child as he ran in the apartment building and went up the stairs before running into one open door that held a medium one-bedroom style apartment. The sandaime was right behind Naruto and was chuckling at the boy's excitement. While the place he found wasn't all that fancy, considering some parts of this place was run down, it was the best he could do for the lad. The apartment itself was in tip top shape though, mostly thanks to the landlord probably, and would be efficient for the young blonde.
"So, how do you like it Naruto?"
"I like it a lot Jiji, thanks!" The excited blonde yelled out before tackling the man into a hug with him chuckling and hugging the boy back. Turning his head at the sound of footsteps, Hiruzen smiled at the new occupant of the room.
"Ah, seems your new caretaker has arrived Naruto."
The boy raised an eyebrow at that before looking pass the old man and smiled at seeing who it was. "Itachi-nii-san!"
The raven haired ANBU gave a small smiled towards the blue-eyed blonde as he came and hugged him. "Good to see you as well Naruto. You seem to have a nice place here and all by yourself too." He smiled down at the boy while ruffling his hair a bit with Naruto pouting at the gesture. The third walked up to the two and gained their attention with a stack of ryo that he gave to Naruto.
"This will be part of your monthly stipend. Until you join the academy and become a genin you won't have a way of making money easily." The hokage spoke with Naruto nodding his head in understanding while taking the bills before putting it away in his gama-chan. Looking up to Itachi the third smiled and nodded to him before leaving the two to be. Itachi looked down to Naruto and saw the boy was moving around the apartment.
"Alright, Naruto. I'll be back to get some food to fill your fridge with." Itachi said with Naruto nodding back to him before deciding to get better acquainted with his new home.
(Forest of Death – Night)
The day had gone by and now Naruto finally was able to get away from his apartment and pass detection from those who were assigned to watch him. He made it back to the forest that he ran into the other night and followed the directions of the past avatar that resided in his head for the time being. Moving pass foliage and bushes of the like he made it to a clearing with nothing there. He was about to question if he made a wrong turn until the voice of Aang spoke in his mind.
"This is the area Naruto. All you need to do is walk to that tree with the three swirls." Aang said. Naruto listened to what he said and made his way to a tree that was probably the biggest in the clearing before seeing the carved swirls in it. They looked like swirls of wind to him.
"Now place your hand to the tree. This will be your first lesson in what I will teach you before I end up leaving your mind." Aang said while Naruto followed his instructions once more placing his hand onto the tree. He felt the engravings of the tree and felt how smooth they were. "Now, close your eyes and feel for the wind. Afterwards embrace it and let it flow with your body before commanding and pushing the wind into the symbol on the tree."
Naruto followed his instructions and closed his eyes. He could feel the wind blowing in the air and around his body. He tried reaching out for it but it was difficult for a while. His face was scrunched up in concentration. As much as he tried he couldn't get control over the wind. It felt like he could touch the wind and pull it, but it wouldn't come to his command.
"It's not working."
"Don't worry Naruto. It takes time. Do as I say. Breathe in and breathe out. Think about what the wind feels like to you."
Naruto nodded before closing his eyes and taking deep breaths of air before letting out. He continued to do this while feeling something moving in sync with him. He could feel it! The wind was slowly flowing in sync with his breathing around him. He gave one more long breathe of air out before pushing his hand to the tree with wind blasting into the mark. Naruto was surprised as he felt the wind being shot into the mark which he found out it was hollow as wind came out of several holes on the tree before the bark on the tree moved back into itself and moved to the side showing a door size hole.
"Step inside Naruto."
Listening to his new master he did as he said and took a step into the tree. When he did though he slipped and began falling down a slide of smooth wood with the door closing behind him. He gave a yelp and a yell as he went down the slide. At the end of it he fell face first to the ground.
"Ow." That was defiantly unexpected. All that was needed to make this more embarrassing would be pie that was at the end with his face smashing into it.
The laughter from the fur ball in his head was also not needed.
"Here we are. My own personal quarters that I've stayed in for all spiritual life." Naruto stood up while looking around at the place. It gave off a somewhat cozy feeling with it being in a tree underground and all. There were lit candles on the walls with banners on the walls. Each banner represented what he assumed to be the elements. There was also another banner that was a white lotus flower. Walking through the area he noticed several book shelves that held many stories and some that actually taught essential skills like cooking and setting up a campfire. On the other side of the room was a few cushions on the ground to lay on. He wasn't sure why all this was down here since he was positive Aang couldn't use all this or even made this.
"How did you get all this here?"
"Well, I didn't per say. You see I've had few people who I had been in contact with during travels. One day I had got a few of them to help make this place for me since I couldn't really keep a solid form to do all this myself. I used this place as a sort of home for those who wished to learn under me. It's the reason why a lot of those books on the bookshelves are on survival and skills one should learn." Aang explained while Naruto listen to him and walked around the area. He soon walked into an open roomed that held pedestals with several books on each one.
"Whoa. What's this room for?" Naruto asked while looking to see that each book was locked away except the first two books. Walking up to them his eyes widen when seeing the first book was titled "Avatars past and present" and the other only had the same sigil of wind like the tree had carved on it as well as one of the banners in the other room.
"These are the books I was telling you about. The first one is about all the avatars that I had met in my travels in through the spirit world and during my time alive when I needed assistance from one of my past selves. The other one is the book that will teach you on airbending. The other books will remain locked in their cases until you've gotten most of the basics and a little bit of the intermediate skills down. Once you are of appropriate level in airbending you will be able to unlock the next case Using airbending. The locks are much more complicated than what you did with the tree."
"So, these books hold what I need to become the avatar?"
"Yes. We should begin your training in the air element as soon as possible. So, go ahead and take the book and head to your right. There's a big open area used for bending practice."
Naruto grinned and nodded his head. Grabbing the book, he followed Aang's instructions and made his way towards the open area. What he saw was a large training ground that had targets on the wall and hanging through air. He looked around at the large room in awe before opening the book. He wanted to begin as soon as possible so he could unlock the other books to use.
"Alright, Chapter 1, Feeling out the element…."
(AND DONE! Yep this is a short AF chapter with a cliffhanger ending to Naruto's training but I can easily explain my hiatus. Through the coursing weeks of my school life I've been getting swamped with working projects, not to mention I had a job at my local Subway, which while being a good job I wouldn't want to go back there unless I really needed the job. So, with my school projects and work taking up a GOOOOOOOOOD CHUNK of my day, it left me wanting to relax and working on my story didn't pop up in my mind. Relaxing is me turning my brain off and playing some games or going on YouTube. Another problem I had was trying to come up with something for this chapter since I had encounter writer's block somewhere in the middle of this. Why? I don't know. I could easily think of what I wanted to do with this story in later events but couldn't get pass a point in this which kept me stuck. So, I decided to just get as much as I could out in this so I could actually move on to other parts of the story I actually have some idea of what I want to do. Now on to some other matters concerning the story. One thing that some of you may not like is the change to the harem…it's been shortened a good bit. For both the sake of this story and my sanity.
Harem List goes as
1) Hinata
2) Tenten
3) Haku
4) Fem. Kakashi
5) Fem. Neji
6) Fu
7) Samui
8) Fem. Gaara
Yeah, I cut a good bit of the females just because It became to much and some are seen already a good bit. Sometimes. Now what should expect next? Well, I'm not gonna leave ya hanging with Naruto's secret training. Next chap will continue off somewhere in the middle of it with a good time skip to probably two years. Anyways, I hope you enjoy what I have for you so far and do expect more in the future. I will be working NFoD and hopefully have chapter three of that out and ready sometime. Now I would also ask that you go to my bio and look at the current poll there. Jangoman flying off!)
