A/N: This is not months late. I swear. You're imagining it. However, it is true to say that I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, that all belongs to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei; no matter how much I may wish that was just your imagination too.

Chapter 2: Motouzu's Wild fox

The warm rays of the morning sun slowly crept over Naruto's face, and the blond gradually opened his eyes. He sat up, yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes. "Damn sun." He grumbled and hauled himself from his bed, stumbling over to a small kitchen alcove. Naruto prepared himself some instant ramen for breakfast and plopped down on a small chair at a very messy table. As Naruto shovelled the contents of the ramen cup into his mouth, he thought about the events of the previous day. He recalled how everyone had booed him when he introduced himself, when he had been left all alone at lunch, and when that girl had turned her nose up in him. They all hated him. They always hated him. A knock came at the door, rousing Naruto from his reminiscing. He walked over to the door and opened it up to reveal. "Iruka-san!" Naruto greeted him happily.

"Good morning!" Iruka said kindly, Naruto gestured towards the inside of the house, and Iruka removed his shoes and entered. "So, how was your first day at school?" He asked as they both sat down at the messy table.

"Um, not so good…" Naruto mumbled, trying to avoid Iruka's gaze. He had known Iruka since he was very young, and knew that if you found yourself staring directly into his eyes; you'd be willing to tell him anything. It wasn't that Iruka was manipulative, he was just so kind and inviting, it was difficult to hide anything from him.

"Same as usual huh?" Iruka asked gently. "I know it's awkward for you to have to move school again, but what with my boss moving me here I couldn't really help it; I had to make sure you have someone to look after you. I'm sorry Naruto."

"Nah, it's OK." Naruto assured him. "I didn't really like the reputation I'd picked up in my last school anyway…" And then, without even realising it, Naruto noticed his eyes had wandered and he was now staring directly at Iruka; and once again, he felt like telling him everything. "It's just, this time I wanted to make a good example," He revealed. "But I screwed up again; everyone hates me, as usual." Naruto slumped over the table. "I guess I was never really meant to have friends."

"Now don't say that." Iruka said with a concerned frown. "Everyone deserves friends, you especially. You lost your parents at a very young age, and I know that's hard for you; but you have to learn to trust other people Naruto." He put a warm and reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You don't have to try and intimidate other people into liking you; you have to learn to let people like you for who you are. Those people are the real friends."

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "I guess so…" He got up and walked over to the kitchen. "Do you want something to eat Iruka-san?"

"No thanks, I'd better be going." Iruka stood up and made his way to the door. As he opened it, he turned back to Naruto. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

Naruto smiled widely at him. "Don't worry, I'm alright!"

"Good." Iruka smiled back, and left, leaving Naruto standing alone; facing a closed door.

Naruto looked down at his hand, as his last words echoed in his mind. "Don't worry, I'm alright!" He clenched his fist tightly. "Liar…"

"What!? You're serious!?" Ino cried in shock.

"Yup!" Sakura nodded happily. "I'm serious."

"Whoa, I can't believe it…" Ino placed her hand on a nearby desk, acting as if she needed it to maintain her balance. "I can't believe you're really going to tell him. After all this time, you're really going to confess to Sasuke!"

"Oh come on, it can't be that surprising." Sakura said.

"It's just so sudden is all." Ino pointed out. "What made you decide to do it anyway?"

"I don't know," Sakura shrugged. "It just felt like the time was right." But she was lying. She knew she was. Sakura knew that she was only going to confess to Sasuke to try and instill some excitement in her dreary and boring life. After yesterday's disappointment, she felt worse than ever before; and wanted more than anything to make herself feel better.

"But how do you know he's going to say yes?" Ino inquired.

"I don't." Sakura admitted. "I just need to get it out in the open, that's all."

"Well, at least you're finally taking the initiative." Ino noted. "I'm proud of you Sakura! Whether Sasuke likes you or not, at least this will finally bring an end to the whole thing."

Naruto walked in and took his place behind Sakura; the two girls completely ignored him. "OK Naruto, you know what Iruka-san said; you have to get them to like you for you! Try being nice to them, that'll work!" Naruto nodded to himself and waved to the two girls. "Morning!" He said cheerfully, neither paid him any heed, and they continued their conversation; Naruto slammed his head on the table. "N-No way…"

At lunch, Naruto spied Sakura again. She was on her own this time, and Naruto slowly approached her; thinking deeply in preparation. "OK, OK, apologise for yesterday and try and make conversation" He decided. "You can do this!"

Naruto went to talk to Sakura, when she spun around and bumped straight into him. Sakura hopped backwards and rubbed her nose in pain. "Ow! Watch where you're going!" She snapped.

"S-sorry!" Naruto apologised. "Sh-She's so cute…" He thought to himself as he stared admiringly at her.

"Look, what do you want?" Sakura asked, turning her face away from Naruto.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Naruto said. "I know I was a bit of a show-off yesterday, and you looked pretty offended by it. I just wanted to let you know I didn't mean any harm, I was just trying to make a good impression."

"Hmph, you call that a good impression?" Sakura hissed. "A stupid fake apology isn't going to get me to like you. You're rude and insensitive, and I don't like people like that."

Naruto began to quake in fear. "Uh I know that was the impression I gave, but that's really not the kind of person I am!" He assured her. "Y-you see, I'm used to getting respect through intimidation. I was just…" Naruto paused momentarily before continuing. "I was just trying to get people to like me…"

Sakura laughed, which shocked Naruto. "You think you can trick me with your little sad act?" She growled. "I don't believe a word of that crap! Just because people didn't get scared of you and think you're cool, you're trying to earn my pity? How dare you!"

"H-hey, I'm trying to apologise here!" Naruto spoke up. "I'm just trying to be a nice guy!"

"I don't care!" Sakura shouted. "Do whatever you want, just leave me out of it! I don't want anything to do with you!" She turned on her heel and went to walk away.

"No wait!" Naruto cried. "Please, hold on a second!" He grabbed hold of Sakura's arm, and she slapped him hard in the face.

"Don't you dare touch me." Sakura said as she tried to stifle tears. "I was hoping for…" She broke off and started again. "What gives you the right to approach me like this? I don't even know you." She stared angrily at Naruto, her teeth bared and her eyes watering. "I hateyou!"

Naruto's eyes opened wide in shock, and he was left speechless. Slowly, he released his grip on Sakura and she stormed off. A group had been watching the confrontation, and it quickly dispersed. Naruto crouched down, clasping his head firmly and choking on held-back tears. "Dammit!" He shouted angrily. "Why? Why do they always hate me!?"

"Because." A voice came from behind Naruto, and he spun around to see a boy in a Konoha High school uniform with a blank, expressionless face and spiky jet black hair staring back at him; sitting on a wall with his arm resting on his knee, his leg pulled in towards his stomach and his back resting against a wired gate. "You are different."

Naruto sat, slumped over his desk; the words that boy had said repeating over and over again in his head. It was as if he could tell exactly how Naruto was feeling, he understood him completely; more than anyone ever had. Naruto turned his head to the window and gazed outside at the light clouds crawling by. A raven slowly descended from the bright blue sky, perching on the windowsill in front of Naruto. It ruffled its wings gently, and Naruto fixed his gaze upon it; where it remained for some time, and when the bird returned his gaze, he felt as if its beady black eyes were boring into his very soul. Eventually, the raven took flight once more, and a single, jet black feather delicately floated down; cradled by the soft wind until it took its place on the window sill. Naruto turned his attention to the feather, fascinated. "That guy," He thought to himself. "Who… What was he?"

Finally, the school bell rung loudly; juxtaposing Naruto from daydream to reality and ending the school day. Naruto hoisted his bag up over his shoulder, and shuffled out of the classroom; desperately trying to avoid the burning eyes of his fellow students. As Naruto exited the school, he spied a spiky mound of dark, black hair and instantly recognised it. "Th-that guy!" He cried out loud, drawing some attention; but disregarding it. Naruto swam through the crowd of students, towards the mysterious boy; but halted after a few moments. "Wait… Last time…" Naruto recalled what had happened only a few hours before.

"I'm… Different?" Naruto said with a blank expression on his face, he scratched his head and confusion quickly turned to irritation. "Just what the hell do you mean by that!?"

"Relax." The boy replied calmly. "I'm not trying to insult you. If anything, that was a compliment just now." He swung his legs over the side of the wall, clutched the side with his hands and pushed himself off; flying gracefully through the air before landing with equally graceful ease, just in front of Naruto.

Naruto stepped back slightly, surprised and somewhat intimidated. "Who are you?" He asked cautiously.

"No-one really." The boy responded. "At least, not yet anyway."

Naruto scrunched his face up perplexedly. "I don't get you at all; I can't understand a thing you're saying."

The boy's composure didn't change at all, yet somehow it seemed as if he had chuckled at Naruto's statement. "Well, that doesn't really surprise me."

Naruto took a large step forward and grasped tightly at the boy's collar. "I'm getting sick of you saying stuff like that." He snarled; the boy remained perfectly cool and collected, and Naruto pushed him away irritably, annoyed that he had failed to intimidate the boy at all. The blonde stuffed his hands into his pockets and stormed off angrily. "You'll leave me alone if you know what's good for you, I'm in a bad mood."

"Why? Because of that girl?" The boy called out.

Naruto stopped suddenly. He slowly brought his hand up to his burning cheek, tenderly nursing the area where he had been slapped by Sakura. "What do you know about me?" He said very faintly, but the boy still seemed to hear.


"Not much." The boy answered. "But enough." He turned and walked away, whilst Naruto stood silently. "Never forget you are different."

Naruto continued to stand in place for several seconds, until a cool, wet sensation ran over his hand. He looked down to see the tears that had rolled over his hand, and quickly shoved it back into his pocket, then wiped his eyes vigorously with his sleeve. With that, Naruto walked back to class.

"That guy… He really is weird." Naruto recalled, still staring at the boy's dark, black hair. "Should I really want to talk to him again?" As the boy got further and further away, becoming lost in the crowd of students; Naruto pulled himself from the sight, and walked away. As he walked, Naruto's shoulder collided with that of another student, and he stumbled forward; losing his balance and tumbling to the floor, face-first. Students around him began to laugh uncontrollably, and as a furious Naruto lifted himself from the hard ground, he balled his palm up into a tight fist and prepared to punch the student behind him. But as Naruto swivelled round, he found an outstretched hand.

"Sorry about that." The bored, but distinctly concerned voice of Shikamaru said. "Wasn't looking where I was going, my fault." Naruto relaxed his hand and took the boy's hand in his own, allowing himself to be pulled up.

"I-it's OK." He stuttered slightly.

Some more students chuckled, and Shikamaru turned to the crowd behind him; glaring disapprovingly. "Alright, knock it off; nothing to see here." As the crowd dispersed, Shikamaru turned back to Naruto, and scratched his head embarrassingly. "Sorry again, you OK?" Naruto nodded, remaining completely silent. "The name's Shikamaru, Nara Shikamaru." He extended his hand again, and hesitantly; Naruto clutched it gently and shook Shikamaru's hand.

"I'm U…" He began, but Shikamaru interrupted.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I know; who could forget?"

Naruto shifted his feet awkwardly and stared at the ground. "S-sorry about that…"

"You don't need to be sorry." Shikamaru said, rubbing his neck tiresomely. "You didn't really do anything wrong, but that's not exactly the best way to make friends. Unless that was what you were going for, in which case you did a pretty good job."

Naruto chuckled nervously, but the laughter soon evolved into a deep sigh. "It's OK; I'm used to people not liking me."

"So, it's just as I thought." Shikamaru said to himself, staring at the depressive looking Naruto. "I feel sorry for this guy… I can't just leave him here. Man, this is pretty troublesome." "Say, um… Naruto." Shikamaru said. "Do you like shogi (1)?"

"Huh? Shogi?" Naruto said, surprised. "Um… Not exactly, I'm not really very good at it."

"W-well… That figures I suppose." Shikamaru thought. "Well, how about video games?"

Naruto began to grin, and felt more comfortable. "Y-yeah, I love video games! I'm not the best at all those role playing ones… And in racing games I always crash my car; but I love fighting games!" Naruto suddenly broke off from his excited rant and looked up at Shikamaru cautiously. "Why, exactly do you want to know?"

"It's just that, well; normally my friend Choji and I go to my house after school to hang out and play video games and stuff, but he has a doctor's appointment today. So I was wondering; do you want to like, hang out at my house or something?"

Naruto's jaw dropped, his mouth agape in awe. "L-lemme get this straight." He waved his hand in front of Shikamaru slightly. "You want me, to go your house, and hang it with you; both of us, together, doing things, at the same time?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Shikamaru confirmed.

Naruto spun around and drew his arms up into his chest, twisting excitedly with seemingly sparkling tears of joy streaming from his wide, happy eyes. "Iruka-san, truly you were right! I finally have a friend, and I didn't even need to do anything! Being yourself is a lot easier than I thought." He thought to himself joyfully.

"So um, you interested?" Shikamaru asked again, somewhat worried by Naruto's performance.

Naruto rubbed his eyes dry and composed himself before swirling back to face Shikamaru, beaming with his almost fang-like teeth showing clearly. "You bet! Let's go!" He grinned.

"OK, cool." Shikamaru beckoned Naruto to follow, and walked out of school; with a gleeful Naruto skipping merrily behind him. "Something tells me this wasn't such a good idea…"

"Oh-oh! And you know what we could do? We could play through allllllll of Street Fighter II together! It's like really hard but I know how to do Zangief's piledriver move so it's totally cool. Hey, hey Shikamaru; did you know that if you finish SF II as Zangief, you get to see a little scene of him dancing with…" Naruto rambled on constantly.

"Sweet, merciful, God. Does this guy never shut up?" Shikamaru shook with anger and annoyance; as he opened his mouth to say something he may have later regretted to Naruto, the boy heard a screech and the topic flew from his mind. "Did you hear that?" He questioned.

"Huh, what?" Naruto counter questioned.

"That screaming sound." Shikamaru said. "You're telling me you didn't hear it?"

"Hey, what's that?" Naruto pointed at a gathering of people, completely ignoring Shikamaru. The blonde raced ahead.

"H-hey, wait a minute!" Shikamaru called after him. "Damn it this guy's been nothing but a nuisance!"

The two barged their way into the crowd, and saw Sakura struggling against a large, bulky boy wearing a Konoha high uniform complete with gakuran. His greasy black hair had been creased into a puffy shape with copious amounts of thick hair gel, and his tattered moustache hung loosely to his oversized lip; while two huge, bushy eyebrows clung tightly to their position. The boy held a wooden sword over his shoulder, and was gripping Sakura's wrist tightly, whilst she tried her best to escape; her books already spilled across the floor and her satchel imprinted with a large footprint. "Let me go!" She cried, pushing against the boy's arm.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Not a chance, Sakura-chan!" The boy laughed, with the two cronies that stood behind him joining in. "Forget that poser Sasuke, you're gonna be my girlfriend!" Sakura bit the boy's hand, and he yelped in pain; pulling his wounded hand away from Sakura, who shovelled her books into her bag quickly and dashed forward, only to fall to the ground and land hardly on her knee. "Che." The boy rubbed his throbbing hand against his side and gripped his sword tightly. "You're gonna pay for that…"

"OI!" A loud and familiar voice spread across the scene, attracting everyone's attention. Naruto stepped into the space which had been circled by students. "Leave her alone."

"Naruto you idiot, get back here!" Shikamaru half-whispered, half-shouted. "You don't know who you're messing with!"

The large boy's stomach bounced as he chuckled. "You should listen to your pal, runt." He advised. "I haven't seen you around before, but around these parts, I'm the boss. Shinta Kawamaru."

Naruto took a few steps forward, blocking Sakura off from Kawamaru. "Uzumaki Naruto." He introduced himself.

Kawamaru exploded with laughter. "So you're that kid!" He said between laughs. "The idiot who got brushed off on his first day!" He pointed a pudgy finger at a seething Naruto. "You're a joke!"

Naruto stared back with furious, fiery eyes. "You're starting to piss me off." He stated. "I don't suggest you do that. Ever."

Kawamaru looked Naruto up and down, unconvinced and laughed slightly. "Why the hell not?"

"Just leave this girl alone." Naruto snapped back.

Kawamaru swung his sword forward, pointing it at Naruto; the tip only inches away from the blonde's face. "Or what? You gonna make me, whiskers?" This generated some laughs from the 'audience'.

"You, Sakura-chan was it?" Naruto said, without even turning to face Sakura. "I suggest you get out of here. This 'aint gonna be pretty."

Begrudgingly, Sakura nodded and began to run away, before she left she said coldly. "This changes nothing." Naruto did not respond, and Sakura dissolved into the crowd.

Kawamaru laughed again. "Getting the cold shoulder even from the girl you're trying to save? You really are a freaking joke kid!" Again, Naruto did not respond. Kawamaru walked towards Naruto. "Hey, what's with the silence, whiskers?" Naruto said nothing. "Answer me…" Naruto said nothing; Kawamura shoved his large, fat face into Naruto's and yelled. "ANSWER ME!" Splattering saliva over Naruto's scarred face. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM KID!?"

Naruto clenched his fist. "You." He punched Kawamaru fiercely in the stomach, and the behemoth gasped for breath; his eyes rolled back into his head, his sword bounced on the floor several times before coming to a stop and he dropped to the floor with a deafening thud; like a wounded bear.

"H-Hey… What the hell was that!?" One of Kawamaru's cronies gulped. "The boss, the boss just got floored! And with one punch!"

Naruto flicked his hand lightly and formed another fist, walking slowly forward. "What… Is this kid!?" The other crony screamed, before being sent to the ground by Naruto with a single punch, his body twisting unnaturally as he spun through the air and came to a rest on the ground below.

"You bastard!" The other crony shouted, and launched a punch at Naruto; who caught the attack easily, and sent the attacker careening backwards with a strong uppercut.

Naruto clicked his knuckles and dusted himself off. "Sorry Shikamaru." He said as he walked off towards the slowly setting sun. "I think I'm gonna go home."

Shikamaru stared, speechless; Ino was comforting a sobbing and restless Sakura, the young boy crouched down and asked his friend. "Are you alright?" Sakura bit her lip and nodded.

"Wow… He's everything they say he is." A gruff, excited voice said in amazement. "It's scary that he's at our school now."

"What are you talking about, Kiba?" Shikamaru inquired, raising up to level himself with his friend; an average sized boy with messy brown hair and red, triangle-like shapes painted on his face like tribal war tattoos.

"Huh, you mean you don't know?" Kiba asked back, Shikamaru shook his head. "That kid, that Naruto kid; he used to go to Motouzu High."

"That infamous school with all the gangs?" Shikamaru asked, finding it difficult to link the excitable, annoying Naruto with such a place.

"That's the one." Kiba nodded. "That place is nothing but trouble, and it's full of strong, violent bastards. But out of all of 'em, there was one that had control; one that dominated, through intimidation alone, like a cunning, wild animal."

"You, you can't mean…" Shikamaru looked towards his blonde haired classmate as he said this.

"Yep." Kiba replied quickly. "Uzumaki Naruto. They call him, 'Motouzu's Wild fox'."

Naruto walked onward, his gakuran billowing in the wind. "Man, today was another one of those days."

A/N: Aaaaaand done. Sorry for being so late . As usual, send all criticisms or nitpicks you may have; best way to earn experience if you ask me.

Notes: (1) Shogi is basically Japanese chess, it's Shikamaru's favourite game in the original Naruto manga; and pretty much the only thing he actually enjoys doing.