A Simple Courtesy

Once the true story behind the little orphaned blonde boy came to light, public perception of him improved… if not as much as the aged Hokage would have liked. The majority of the village's ninja and slightly over half of its assorted civilians and non-combatants accepted the boy as the Yondaime's heir and respected him for his unwitting sacrifice, though very few could say they felt comfortable being around the demon container for any stretch of time. Unfortunately, almost every other inhabitant of the village saw little more than the Kyuubi, beaten and broken, but not destroyed. In the aftermath of the demon attack, the two groups verbally clashed with each other on a daily basis. The arguing tended to become heated extremely quickly, so in an attempt to preserve the peace in his village, Sarutobi emplaced a law, which made all discussion of Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki illegal and punishable by a hefty fine. In a mostly unrelated move, the aging leader drastically tightened security to help protect the weakened village from the possibility of raiders or saboteurs. So many members of the KMPF and the ANBU skulking around the village also had the inadvertent effect of making it almost impossible for people to spread their personal views on Naruto, preventing the possibility of a civil war. The village fell into an uneasy silence about the whole matter; the problem was never resolved, merely buried.

It took Kushina several days to recover from her ordeal, but as soon as she was back on her feet, she buried her pain and sorrow and spent every possible waking moment with her son. She would never be the same again, though; four of her major chakra coils had ruptured from the stress she put on herself that horrible night. It meant she would never be a ninja again, and she spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital or with Tsunade undergoing experimental healing procedures. Ultimately, though, her son came first. Little Naruto had a doting mother, a father in Jiraiya, an aunt in Tsunade, a grandfather in Sarutobi, and a big brother in the fifteen-year-old Kakashi.

Jiraiya had been worried about his lack of talent as a father, but the young Naruto took to him immediately. For the first few years, it was a fairly easy life for the new family.

Shortly after Naruto's fifth birthday, he asked his tou-san why the two of them didn't look anything like each other, while most of his peers greatly resembled their parents. Jiraiya sat the boy down and told the story of how his father had died to protect everyone from the over-arching threat of a terrible demon that was attacking the village, how his mother had risked her life to save him and many others from a collapsing building, and a few other such stories of bravery. Little Naruto was silent for a moment, before he asked Jiraiya if it was his fault that his father were dead. Jiraiya shook his head no, and told him that it wasn't his fault at all, that Naruto and his parents were unlucky people who were brave enough to do something about the situation they were in. Naruto went quiet again before the big question was asked.

"Daddy…if Father killed the Kyuubi demon and Mommy saved me when the hospital crashed, what did I do that was brave?"

Jiraiya got a very serious look in his eye, and explained. "You did the bravest thing of all. You are the jailor of the Kyuubi demon."

Naruto looked very confused. "Am I doing it wrong? I've never ever seen the Kyuubi demon before."

Jiraiya got Naruto to pull up his shirt to show his stomach. "Watch." He put his hand over the seal, and channelled a bit of chakra. The seal became visible.

"Whoa!"

"That, Naruto-chan, is the seal where the Kyuubi demon is stuck. Just by living, you keep everyone safe from the demon."

"Wow!"

"Yeah, wow is right. Because of what you do, you are one of the most important people in the village."

A couple of months after that discussion, he followed in all three of his parents' footsteps and joined the ninja academy. Because of the peace Konoha was currently enjoying, minimum graduation age was twelve. Naruto was somewhat disappointed at this, as it meant he couldn't break any of his parents' records for early advancement, but was mollified by the fact that he was finally becoming a ninja.

By the end of the semester, it was clear that being a ninja was indeed his calling. Between the natural aptitude he inherited from his real parents, the lessons from his adoptive one, and his own desire to succeed, Naruto's place at the top of his class was all but assured. Report cards came home and Jiraiya was pleased to see a consistent set of 'First in Class' marks, with the occasional 'Second' or 'Third in Class' appearing now and then in the fields of taijutsu and written work.

One time Jiraiya jokingly asked why he wasn't number one at everything.

"Well…history is a little boring, and 'Shiro somehow enjoys that stuff. And Neji-teme is really good with that jyuuken of his." (1)

The Toad Sage just laughed and rubbed his hair.

"Naruto, let's go! You're gonna make us late, again!"

"Urusai, 'Shiro-baka! I'm coming!"

Through thick and thin, Naruto's best friend was Uchiha 'Shiro' Juushiro, a fun-loving boy who had somehow managed to activate his Sharingan in a bizarre shuriken accident. What made the situation truly odd was that only his right eye had activated, making him something of a curiosity for the other clan members. While he rarely excelled except at the written work, the boy sat comfortably in the top third of the class.

The two had met through mutual acquaintances, they would say when asked. The actual story went something a little more like this…

"Go do your homework or something!" Naruto snapped irritably at the three girls staring at him with hearts in their eyes. While his year was not as prone to the 'Fangirl Syndrome' as some of the others, there were still a few members of his class who spent much of their time staring at either himself or Neji while thinking up silly futures for themselves involving either 'genius'. While Naruto merely found them annoying, Neji took particular pleasure in crushing the poor children's hopes in as harsh a way as possible. Nevertheless, it was never long before the devoted girls were back at it again in the vain hope of scoring a date with their favourite boy of the day. For himself, Naruto wasn't entirely convinced that these girls did not have cooties. The idea of 'dating' was way off his radar.

"Hey 'Ruto-kuuuuun, it's HUG TIME!!!"

Naruto winced. Oh crud, please tell me it's not… yep, it is. Of course. To Naruto, Hiromasa Mitsuki was the most annoying person alive. She was the self-proclaimed 'best-kunoichi-everrrrrr' and so felt it was her right to 'date' whoever she wanted. And she wanted Naruto and Neji. Both of them at once. Some of her 'ideas' had seven-year-old Naruto very confused; this was a long way past playing House. But what he did know was that Mitsuki was scary, twisted, and most definitely to be avoided.

The other children were no help. She was the only person able to withstand Neji's anti-fangirl/fate rants, and so the Hyuuga boy did his level best to pawn her off on Naruto, who in turn tried to do the same back to Neji. It had a constant sticking point between the two boys for the almost entire two months they had been in the academy.

Mitsuki's latest thing had been 'Hug Time', where she jumped on to the boy of the day and latched her arms around his neck like a scarf. This was both annoying and dangerous, as she usually hugged with enough force to make breathing difficult. He had suffered through several already, and was getting ready to run when…

"OOOOOWWWW! WHO WAS THAT!!"

Some snickering was heard from a few of the kids in the front. Mitsuki lay sprawled across the floor, massive anime-style tears welling up in her eyes, as she feebly attempted to stand up. Apparently someone had tripped her.

Naruto let out a huge sigh of relief. Just as he turned away, one of the boys that had been snickering turned to face him, winked, and tossed a paper airplane at him. Naruto snagged it out of the air, and unfolded it to seethe boy had written 'Thought you could use some help :D' on the inside.

He looked back to see the boy, who he vaguely recognized as 'Juushiro' working away at the math problem they had all been assigned, as innocent as can be.

After school was let out, Naruto found the boy again as they waited for their parents. "Thanks. I owe you one… Juushiro, right?"

The boy grinned and nodded. "That's me, Uchiha Juushiro. Pleased to meet ya."

"Hey, you wanna come over? Tsunade-baachan is cooking tonight, and she makes crazy-good ramen."

"Sure!"

The two weren't actually able to play together that night due to an Uchiha clan gathering that Juushiro had to attend, but soon became greatfriends. Juushiro looked up to Naruto, one of the great heroes of the village and something of a prodigy when it came to the ninja arts, while Naruto appreciated Juushiro's quick wit, ever-present smile, and down-to-earth good nature that could be difficult to find in other Uchiha clan members. The two balanced each other out well, to an extent that their guardians commented on it. As young boys were prone to doing, they began making grand plans – Naruto would be the Godaime Hokage and Juushiro would be Head of the Council. Another favourite game of theirs was being on the same ANBU team, rescuing princesses and attacking enemy fortresses and carrying out dangerous spy missions deep in enemy territory.

The two ringleaders occasionally had other classmates join in, if uncommonly due to the slight stigma that followed Naruto, but didn't worry much about it. They were young boys, learning how to do the 'coolest job ever' and having a good time while doing it.

One thing Naruto would later comment upon was that the most annoying thing about Juushiro was his perfect attendance record…

"Naruto-kouhai (2), if you can't hurry up we're gonna be late!"

Naruto stuck his soaking wet head out the bathroom window and yelled back, "Shut up, baka! Gimme two minutes!"

He then immediately slammed shut the window, ignoring his friend's now-muffled expletives, before pulling a blue tee-shirt over his head, jumping into a pair of gray shorts, and racing downstairs to the kitchen. He grabbed three ration bars from their box in a cupboard, ripped one open and stuffed half in his mouth, grabbed his bento, waved good-bye to laughing Kushina and a bemused Jiraiya and charged out the door.

His dark-haired friend glared at him as the screen banged open. "Well it's about damn time, you blonde idiot."

Naruto glared back as best he could around a mouthful of 'Miso Ramen!'-flavoured ration bar. "Shuh uh, oo feakin oosah! Swee ih inpaw –"

"Swallow, then talk, 'Ruto."

Naruto grunted, but did as he was told. "I said shut up, you loser! Sleep is important too!"

The Uchiha boy gave a superior smile. "When you're out on a mission, you work all day and then take turns standing guard at night. Looks like I'm gonna be the better shinobi, huh Naruto," Juushiro mocked, as he tilted his head slightly to the right in amusement.

The blonde savagely tore off another over-large piece of ration bar. "Ah unna GILL OO!!"

"Too dumb to eat and talk…wow 'Ruto, I think that's a new low."

The two continued to mercilessly insult each other until they walked into the classroom. At this point, Juushiro grinned at a couple of his friends, briefly spoke to one, and then sat down in his usual spot near the back while Naruto followed him wordlessly. The blonde wasn't unpopular, but a combination of his 'village legend' status – even if no one knew exactly what he did – and the unease most of the adults showed around him ensured that the students kept a respectful distance, fangirls aside. It made for a somewhat lonely existence, but he wasn't worried – it just made him appreciate his family and true friend that much more.

Class was about the same as always. Juushiro and Naruto did their level best to avoid the notice of Naruto's fangirls while giving the chuunin instructor at least some of their attention during the theory portion of the day's studies. The two ate lunch together in the upper branches of a nearby tree, in a highly successful attempt to evade fangirls, while Naruto made a mental note to get Jiraiya something nice to pay him back for the tree-walking instruction. In the practical portion of the lesson, Naruto was paired to spar against a boy named Lee, whom the blonde felt a bit sorry for. Lee was a nice enough guy, and although he was unable to manipulate chakra, his taijutsu was…well, it was passable (3), and he was quite intelligent; nevertheless, a large portion of the class enjoyed picking on him.

Rather than truly spar, Naruto just dodged around in an attempt to let the other boy work on his technique. Lee noticed this right away, and gave Naruto an angry glance that just screamed 'Take me seriously!!' before simmering down into a slightly sullen, grudging appreciation. The two never spoke, but by the end of the practice, Lee had a small smile on his face.

Weapons practice saw Naruto and Juushiro tossing shuriken and kunai at the same training post. Juushiro was 'cheating' with his doujutsu; a glance at the other end of the field told Naruto that Neji was doing the same. The blonde swatted the raven-haired boy, laughed at the look of indignation he got, and proceeded to hit the bull's-eye twice and the innermost ring once with a single toss of three kunai.

The last half hour of the day dealt with chakra manipulation, meaning guided meditation. Desks were pushed to the side and the children sat on the floor as the instructor talked them through it. The whole process was very relaxing, and it was, perhaps surprisingly, a class favourite.

After the last class was concluded, the students were sent to wait outside for their parents. Juushiro was picked up immediately by one of his older siblings – a chuunin Naruto had met but never really spoken to – leaving the blonde to wait. And wait…and wait…until all but a couple of his cohort had left. Finally, the telltale swirl of air and leaves indicated a certain masked shinobi's arrival.

"It's about time!!"

"Ah, it's not my fault. I had to –"

"Oh forget it, niisan. But can you please be on time next time?"

"I try, I really do. It's just that the oddest things happen around me…"

"Whatever…" Naruto sighed, before giving Kakashi a soft smile. "You never change, do you?"

Slightly embarrassed, the masked shinobi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, I guess not."

"By the way niisan, how come you're here? Where's mom and dad?" The blonde ninja asked, realizing Kakashi had come alone this time.

"Jiraiya-sama was sent out on a mission; he probably left you a note explaining. Kushina-san is with Tsunade-sama again."

Naruto accepted this; he didn't like it much when his tou-san was sent off on missions, but after all, that was what ninja of Jiraiya's calibre did. Sure enough, when he got home there was a note taped to the fridge which told him that Jiraiya would be gone for three days, off to meet with a few of his informants. He sighed. Oh well…at least this means mom and baachan will be around more. Tou-san's ramen just can't compete!

For two years, this was Naruto's life. He was happy; not always overly so, but it was a good life. He enjoyed the day-to-day activities; school, goofing around with Juushiro and some of the other boys, special training with Jiraiya, Kakashi, and occasionally Tsunade…it was a good environment for an aspiring young ninja to grow up in.

Then, disaster struck.

Author's Notes:

(1) Keep in mind that Naruto is about a year older than the Rookie Nine. In canon, he joined their class after failing twice and being held back. His original age set included Neji, Tenten and Lee. Neji, being the rather arrogant, fate-obsessed guy that he is (before canon Chuunin Exams) dislikes Naruto for his natural skill, his popularity, and above all his seeming ability to choose his own fate. Naruto in turn thinks Neji is a self-absorbed jerk, hence the nickname.

(2) -Kouhai – the opposite of senpai, -kouhai is a suffix used when talking to someone of similar/slightly lesser rank with less experience. Just as Tenzou/Yamato might refer to Kakashi as Kakashi-senpai, Kakashi might refer to him as Tenzou-kouhai.

(3) This is Lee pre-Gai. He was extremely weak compared to his peers, but he never gave up. Gai saw this after they were placed on genin teams and turned the boy into the taijutsu monster he is in canon.

It is my firm belief that canon Naruto was only a 'dobe' due to the fact that nearly everyone around him discouraged him in one form or another. He has the genes of two powerful ninja; one of which may have been the most lethal ever to appear in Narutoverse. In addition, the guy is incredibly lucky, and has a knack for developing complex battle strategies mid-combat. Really, he should be powerful; a fact proven when one considers he went from being a rather inept idiot to a Pein-destroying genius in a mere three years. In this AU, Naruto has received a greater level of training and aid than canon Sasuke did – access to excellent facilities, jutsu scrolls, and talented teachers, just to name a few things. He has been kept (mostly) on a nutritious diet, which aids him both physically and mentally, and most importantly of all, great things are expected of him. Canon Naruto, when placed in a difficult situation where people are counting on him, almost always comes through. Here, most people expect for him to do extremely well at the academy and go on to carve his name into the history books, so…he'll find a way to do it.