Hey everyone!
Sorry it took me so long to update. Hope you like this chapter :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I own all OC's.
-Six Years Pass-
A young boy held tightly onto the hand of a woman with deep red hair that reached down to her calves as they walked through the Village of Konoha. He wore a white t-shirt with an orange swirl on it and a pair of blue shorts. He looked around at the villagers nervously with his sapphire blue eyes. Many of them were glaring at him and whispering things to each other. His blond spiky hair covered his eyes as he looked down at the blue sandals on his feet.
He moved closer to the woman's side. "Kaa-chan," the boy said, tugging at the woman's hand, "why do the villagers hate me? They all love Tou-chan, but they hate me. I know they do. Why?"
The woman looked down at her son sadly before answering his question. "I don't know, Naruto. But I'm sure they don't hate you."
Naruto continued to look down at his feet, "But they're looking at me as if I'm some sort of monster."
Kushina gave one of her most fearsome glares to each person who looked at Naruto in any way that was unkind or hateful. "Just ignore them, sweetheart."
Just as they were passing the park, Kushina stopped and knelt in front of Naruto. "Now, Naruto, what has your father and I always told you?"
Naruto tilted his head to the side as he thought. He then grinned widely as he said, "Always eat my green vegetables because they will help me become a strong shinobi when I start the academy."
Kushina chuckled in amusement. "No, Naruto, not that one. Your father and I have always told you to ignore what other people think of you."
Naruto frowned, "Oh, that one."
Kushina smiled and ruffled her son's hair playfully. "But that other one is just as important. Now, go and play in the park, sweetheart, and I'll be back in a few minutes. Stay there until I come back."
Naruto grinned widely, "Okay, Kaa-chan."
Naruto made his way towards a swing set and sat down. He swung back and forth happily. "Kaa-chan's right. I shouldn't care what other people think, and I won't." It still bothered him, though. For as long as he could remember, the villagers had never liked him. He was always receiving hate-filled glares from them. But he never knew why exactly. His father was the Yondaime Hokage. Everyone in the village loved him because he defeated the Kyuubi which had nearly destroyed the village the night Naruto was born. But Naruto himself didn't have that luxury, despite the fact that he was the Yondaime's son. Once, some of the villagers had even gone as far as to beat him.
Naruto winced as the memory came back to him. His tou-chan, of course, had been furious. Naruto had never seen him so angry. And his kaa-chan…
The blond smirked. The villagers that had attacked him had to face the wrath of Konoha's Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. Not one of them was left unharmed. Ever since, not a single villager dared to approach or harm him. It was the only reason Kushina felt secure leaving him in the park while she went to do an errand.
Suddenly, Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a commotion towards the edge of the park. He looked over to see a group of boys, maybe a few years older than him, standing together. They were pointing at something and were shouting and laughing. Naruto's eyebrows knitted together as he frowned, allowing his resemblance to Minato stand out even more. 'What's going on?' he thought.
He made his way towards the group cautiously. He had already had a run in with a group of boys before, and he didn't come out of it without a few cuts and bruises. He strained to see what all of the commotion was about.
A young girl, maybe around the same age as Naruto, was sitting before the boys. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and Naruto could see that she was crying. Her short, pink hair had fallen around her face, hiding most of her features.
Naruto got ever closer, standing just a few feet away, and he could now hear what it was the boys were shouting.
"Forehead! Forehead! Forehead!"
"Look at the size of that thing! That's not normal!"
"Yeah, that's because she's a freak! I mean come on, who else in the village has pink hair and a huge forehead?"
"Yeah, you freak!"
"Freak! Freak! Freak!"
Naruto glared at the boys in disbelief. 'A freak? No one deserves to be called that.' "Hey!" He ran forward and stood in front of the girl in a fighting stance his father taught him. "Leave her alone!"
One of the boys grinned menacingly. "Oh yeah? Why should we?"
"Just because someone's different doesn't mean they're a freak, dattebayo!"
The boy folded his arms. "Hey guys, I think this kid needs to be taught a lesson." The rest of the group laughed and muttered in a way that made Naruto's stomach flip nervously.
The boy who acted as spokesperson for the group pulled back his fist. Naruto braced himself. The boy threw his fist forward.
"Wait!"
The boy paused just before his fist connected with Naruto's jaw. He glared at the boy who had spoken out. "What is it, Haru?"
"Kunio, don't you know who this kid is?" Haru asked nervously.
"He's just a kid who thinks he can mess with us!"
"He's the son of the Yondaime!"
The rest of the group stared at Naruto almost fearfully.
Kunio snorted, "So he's the one everyone talks about. Hah, who cares? I'm still gonna beat him up!"
The other boys looked at each other nervously. Then they turned and ran.
Kunio shouted after them, "Hey! Get back here you cowards!"
Naruto tensed as the boy turned back to him. "Fine," he said, "I don't need them. I can take care of you myself."
The six-year-old smiled slightly and chuckled.
Kunio frowned, "What's so funny? I'm about to beat you to a pulp and you're just standing there, laughing."
"I'm laughing because now you're the only one left; this is gonna be easy." Naruto attempted to remember a simple taijutsu move his father taught him. Though he knew he seemed confident on the outside, on the inside his heart was pounding and his stomach was doing backflips. 'I hope this doesn't end badly.'
Kunio growled, raised his fist and threw it forward.
Just before his fist connected with Naruto's jaw, Naruto ducked down. Because of this Kunio was thrown off balance. While the older boy tried to regain his balance, Naruto punched him in the stomach, winding him, before sweeping his legs out from beneath him in a circular motion, causing Kunio to fall flat on his back.
Naruto stood and glared down at the boy. "Get out of here," he said. "And if you or your friends come near this girl again, you'll regret it." However, he had no idea how to carry out that threat as he didn't know any other taijutsu moves. He just hoped that his minor threat would work.
It seemed like it did, as Kunio got to his feet and ran, leaving the park, holding his stomach tightly.
Naruto relaxed his stance and released the breath he had been holding in. 'I hope he doesn't come back. I wonder what Tou-chan would have thought if he saw me do that?'
He heard a small whimper and turned to look at the girl. She was still sitting on the ground, but she had stopped crying. Instead, she was staring at Naruto in shock. For the first time, he could actually see what she looked like. Her skin was fair and her forehead was obscured by pink bangs. She wore a navy long sleeved top with three slits along each arm, beige three-quarter length trousers, and dark red sandals. But the first thing Naruto noticed was her bright, jade green eyes.
Naruto's tanned cheeks grew a slight pink tinge. 'She's…cute', he thought.
He knelt in front of her. The girl cowered slightly as he did so. Naruto smiled. "It's okay," he said, "I'm not gonna hurt you." When there was still no reaction from her, he pointed to himself and said, "My name's Naruto. What's yours?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, and then brought her knees down from her chin. She sniffed before answering quietly, "Sakura."
Naruto grinned, "Sakura, huh? That's a nice name. Sakura, uh, why were those boys picking on you?"
Sakura sighed and pulled her knees back up to her chin. It seemed as if she was going to start crying again. "They were picking on me because I have a big forehead."
"Oh, is that why you cover it with your hair?"
She nodded, and then gasped as Naruto suddenly reached forward and moved her bangs away from her forehead. He stared at it with so much intensity that Sakura became paranoid.
Naruto then smiled and said to her kindly, "I don't see what the big deal is. Your forehead is big, but it's actually kind of cute." He blushed as he said this. "You shouldn't cover it with your hair, Sakura-chan."
Sakura blushed madly and blinked several times at what Naruto had just said. 'My forehead's cute?'
Naruto suddenly grinned widely and asked excitedly, "Hey, do you want to be my friend?"
Sakura stared at him in disbelief, "Why do you want me to be you friend? You heard what those boys were saying." Her expression changed to one of sadness. "I'm a freak."
Naruto frowned, "First of all, you're not a freak. And second, I want you to be my friend because I don't really have any friends, and," he blushed an even darker red than before and scratched the back of his head, "I like you. You seem really nice."
Sakura smiled at that, "I like you too. But before we become friends, we should find out a bit more about each other!"
Naruto tilted his head to the side curiously, "How do we do that?"
"We should tell each other a bit about ourselves."
Naruto smiled, "Okay! I'll start. My name's Naruto Namikaze. I'm six-years-old. My kaa-chan is one of the top kunoichi in the village and my tou-chan is the Yondaime Hokage. I'm starting the Ninja Academy next week and I want to try and become an even stronger shinobi than my dad. Oh, and my dream is to be the next Hokage, dattebayo!"
Sakura stared at Naruto in shock. "Your tou-chan's the Yondaime Hokage?"
Naruto laughed, "Yeah, he is. Now come on, it's your turn now."
"Oh, right. Well, um, my name's Sakura Haruno. I'm six-years-old. My kaa-san isn't a kunoichi, but my tou-chan was a shinobi. He was killed when he was on a mission two years ago. I'm starting the Ninja Academy next week and I want to be a strong kunoichi."
Naruto's whole expression saddened. "I'm sorry about your tou-chan."
Sakura sighed in response, "No, it's okay, but I do miss him a lot."
There was a minute of complete silence before suddenly something seemed to dawn on Naruto. "Hey," he said, "did you just say you were starting the Ninja Academy next week?"
"Yeah."
Naruto grinned, if possible, even wider than before. "Yes! That means we'll probably be in the same class."
Sakura laughed shyly, "I suppose so. Um, Naruto, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What are those things on your cheeks?" She stared at the whisker-like birth marks curiously.
Naruto wasn't expecting that. He rubbed the whisker marks on his cheeks. "You mean these? They're just birth marks. Kaa-chan calls them my whiskers."
A familiar voice suddenly called out Naruto's name. "Naruto?"
Naruto turned to see Kushina walking towards them. "Hey, Kaa-chan," he said with a smile.
Kushina looked at her son with curiosity, noticing a slight pink tinge to his cheeks. She then saw the young girl sitting down next to him. She looked back and forth between them before smiling softly. "Now, what's going on here?"
Naruto noticed that Sakura was staring at Kushina with wide eyes. "Sakura-chan, this is my kaa-chan. Kaa-chan, this is Sakura Haruno."
Kushina gave Sakura a soft smile, "It's nice to meet you, Sakura."
Sakura stood abruptly and gave an awkward bow. "It's nice to meet you too, uh, Kushina-sama."
Kushina laughed and knelt on the ground before her. "Just call me Kushina, Sakura. Now tell me, what happened? I know something happened, I can tell by the look on Naruto's face."
Sakura hesitated before proceeding to tell Kushina everything that had transpired minutes ago.
At the end, Kushina gave Naruto a stern look. "Naruto, what have I told you about fighting?"
Naruto's face fell and he looked down at his sandals, mumbling something that sounded like, "I only wanted to help."
Kushina simply sighed and smiled softly. "You're becoming more and more like your father every day," she said. "I'm not mad at you. I just hope you know only to use any taijutsu skills you learn for self-defence only. That is until you graduate the academy and become a genin. Then you can go on missions and kick some ninja butt."
The two six-year-olds laughed at Kushina's words. Kushina looked carefully at Sakura. 'Sakura, huh? She looks a lot like…'
Kushina smiled and asked her, "Sakura, would you like to come back to ours for dinner?"
Sakura shook her head, "I can't. My kaa-chan will probably be waiting for me back home. But thank you for asking, Kushina-san."
"No need to thank me, anything for a friend of Naruto's." She turned to her son, "Naruto, say bye to your friend, your father will be home soon with Akari and I still have to make dinner."
Naruto nodded and turned to Sakura, smiling widely, "Hey, Sakura-chan, is it okay if we could play tomorrow?"
Sakura returned the smile and nodded.
"Okay, we can meet here at the park." As Naruto was walking away, he turned and waved, shouting at the top of his voice, "Bye, Sakura-chan!"
Even as Kushina and Naruto neared the Namikaze Compound, Naruto still wore a large grin on his face and his cheeks remained a slight shade of pink. Kushina smiled fondly at her son. It was only very rarely he smiled like that. 'Usually he only smiles like that when he is around Minato and me, but maybe a friend is just what he needs.' The faces of the villagers flashed through her mind as she frowned. 'It's no wonder he doesn't smile as often as a child should. He's had a tough life so far. There are more villagers who are afraid of him than those who actually hate him. We had never realised how serious it was until that night…'
-Flashback-
-3 Months Ago-
Kushina set about making a start on the dinner as she waited for her husband to return home from work. Minato had told her that he may be late in coming home tonight as he was awaiting the return of a team of chuunin he had sent on a B-rank mission a few weeks ago. Kushina attempted to remember the last time she had been given a mission. Since Naruto was born, she had taken on fewer missions in order to take care of him. She didn't mind, she would do anything, give up anything, for the good of her little boy. It was also rewarding to see him do monumental things, such as taking his first steps, saying his first words, things she otherwise would not have witnessed had she been on a mission. Since she and Minato had their second child, a daughter, this had become even more the case. But it was in her nature to become restless if she wasn't doing something which would help exercise her skills as a kunoichi, namely missions and such. Maybe when Minato returned she could ask him if he could give her a mission, maybe a C-rank, something that wouldn't take her too far from home.
She smiled at the thought of the three most precious people in her life. Minato would come home, and Naruto would be with him, of course, as he had left a while ago to meet him, and her little four-year-old, Akari, was upstairs sleeping. She laughed, thinking of Naruto, 'That boy, he's so determined to become as strong as Minato, he even persuades him to try and teach him some taijutsu techniques nearly every night before he comes home.'
As if right on queue, Kushina heard the garden gate open and close. She heard Minato's tired sigh as he opened the front door. "Kushina?" he called out.
She met him in the hallway of their home, embracing him and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Welcome home," she said, smiling. She looked towards the door, expecting her son to charge at her, but Naruto was nowhere to be seen. "Minato, where's Naruto?" she asked.
Minato stared at her in confusion, "Isn't he here with you?"
Kushina shook her head quickly, "No, he left about an hour ago to go see you."
Minato's eyebrows came together as he frowned, "The last time I saw Naruto was this morning before I left for the Hokage Tower."
A pit formed in Kushina's stomach. "Oh no, what if something has happened to him?"
"Don't worry, Kushina, we're going to find him."
"Akari…she's upstairs sleeping."
"Don't worry, there are ANBU watching the house, she'll be fine." Kushina nodded and followed Minato as he left the house hurriedly.
They both ran across the tops of the houses, jumping from roof to roof. It was the easiest and fastest way to get around the village for a ninja. As they passed the streets, they noticed that there were very few villagers out, which was unusual as at this time of the night everyone was usually going out to dinners or parties.
Kushina looked around her in desperation, searching for her son. 'Where is he?'
She suddenly spotted several villagers running in the same direction hurriedly. Without informing Minato of her intentions she followed them.
Kushina followed them for several streets until she saw a large mass of people. 'What on earth is going on?' she thought.
She made her way closer to the crowd. By the way the villagers were shouting, there appeared to be a fight. Kushina sighed exasperatedly, "Why did they choose now to start a fight? I need to look for Naruto, but I need to intervene here before someone is seriously hurt."
She shoved her way through the throng of people in an attempt to get to the centre. "Hey! What's going on here?" she shouted. Kushina was known for her temper, so once the villagers watching the fight became aware of her presence, they quickly parted to let her pass. However, the men actually involved in the fight ignored her. Kushina stood at the front of the crowd in an attempt to see who was involved. It appeared to be four men against one. She couldn't see the one that was losing as whoever he was, was on the ground, obscured by the legs and arms of the four men as they viciously kicked and punched him. They had malicious smiles on their faces as they did this.
"Demon! We'll make you wish you were never born!"
"That's right, you freak!"
"We'll kill you! Just beating you up isn't punishment enough!"
Kushina heard a small whimper emerge from within the centre of the group of men. Her eyes widened. 'No way, is that…?' Her fears were confirmed when she caught a glimpse of blond hair.
Her hands balled into fists; she clenched them so hard that her knuckles turned white. Anger bubbled inside her as her body began to tremble with rage.
She spoke in a dark, malevolent voice, "How dare you…"
The men stopped the beating and turned to stare at the angry kunoichi.
They froze with fear and gasped as she gave them a terrifying glare that seemed to almost burn into their very souls.
"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY SON!" Kushina roared, running towards the men, who cowered before the raging woman in terror.
Kushina made sure the men got what was coming to them.
She glared at the severely bruised and bloodied men once she was through with them. From behind her, she heard a small, weak voice. "Kaa-chan?"
"Naruto!" She ran to her son and gasped as she saw the full extent of his injuries.
His face was swollen and bruised, blood trickled down from his mouth and nose. There was a cut above his right eye and his clothes were torn and dirtied.
Angry tears streamed down Kushina's face. 'How could anyone do this? He's a child!'
"Kushina!"
Kushina turned to see Minato jump down from a roof. He looked at the four beaten men on the ground curiously before looking at Kushina. "What happened here?"
Instead of answering him, Kushina bent down and carefully lifted the now unconscious Naruto into her arms. She turned back to Minato and said, "I stopped them from killing our son."
Minato stared at Naruto in shock before making his way slowly forward. "Naruto?" He moved Naruto's hair away from his face gently. After a moment he looked up at Kushina and she gasped a little when she saw something in Minato's sapphire eyes she had never seen before.
Pure rage.
"Kushina, please, tell me what happened," Minato said quietly. Kushina then began to fill him in on all of the details of what she had seen.
When she had finished, Minato turned and glared at the men on the ground and the still watching crowd. "How dare you harm my son," he said to the men on the ground, who looked away fearfully. Minato then looked to the crowd. "And all of you, you're just as bad as them! You all stood and watched as these men brutally beat a six-year-old boy! And what did you do to help him…NOTHING!"
The crowd cowered in the presence of the furious Hokage, the most powerful shinobi in the village.
Minato continued to glare at them. "Now mark my words, if any of you harm Naruto again, you will answer to me and my wife! We won't let you off lightly. Now all of you…get out of here!"
The villagers didn't hesitate to do as he said.
Once the crowd had dispersed Kushina put a hand on Minato's arm. "Minato," she said quietly, "we have to treat Naruto's injuries—"
"It's my fault."
Kushina started at the interruption. Minato turned to face her and the rage in his eyes had been replaced with sadness. "If I hadn't sealed that damn fox in him," he whispered, "this wouldn't have happened. It's my fault."
Kushina frowned sadly and cupped Minato's cheek with her hand. "It's not your fault, Minato, so don't think that. Now come on, we need to go to the hospital."
-End Flashback-
Kushina looked down at the smiling boy. 'Minato still hasn't forgiven himself. He says he has, but I know otherwise. It was only a few weeks ago that Naruto actually dared to leave the house, but only when he was with either Minato or me.'
"Kaa-chan?"
"Yes, Naruto?"
Naruto grinned up at her. "I can't wait to see Sakura-chan tomorrow! She's my first friend!"
Naruto released Kushina's hand and ran ahead through the entrance gate to the Namikaze Compound. He turned back to face her and placed his hands behind his head. "And guess what! Sakura-chan's starting the academy next week too! That means we're gonna be training together and we could be in the same class! I can't wait!"
Kushina smiled softly at the boy. "That's great Naruto. Now hurry up, we have to get dinner ready before your father comes home."
Naruto nodded and walked ahead of Kushina through the empty compound. There were houses and small stores on each street, but they were all empty. On the walls surrounding the compound was the crest of the Uzumaki Clan; a crimson swirl, commonly seen on the flak jackets of chuunin and jounin to symbolise the alliance between Konohagakure and the now non-existent Uzushiogakure. The Namikaze Clan had had no specific crest to speak of. Once Minato and Kushina were married, Minato — with Kushina's consent — had taken the crest of the Uzumaki and had it carved into the walls of the Namikaze Compound to symbolise the combining of the two clans. Of course, the crimson swirl would always remain the crest of the Uzumaki, and would not be changed to that of the Namikaze.
Minato had told Naruto that the Namikaze Clan had once been one of the greatest clans in Konoha, as great as the famed Uchiha Clan, but he had also said that not enough children were born into the clan, which meant that as old members passed away, their numbers slowly began to dwindle. Minato had been the only survivor of the Namikaze Clan when his parents had passed away, but now he had a family, and he hoped that the Namikaze Clan would one day return to its former glory.
Finally, their home came into view. The Yondaime Hokage's house was the biggest in the compound, as it was the traditional home of the Head of the Clan. It was cut off from the other houses. There was a large garden with a koi fish pond and a wooden walk way which encircled the house. Behind the house was an enormous space of land where there was another large pond, which was empty of fish, and the garden had been transformed into a training ground.
They walked through the front gate and up the stone path towards the house, and opened the front door. The first floor was fairly open, to the left was the living room and to the right was the kitchen. Straight ahead of them was the stairway.
Both Naruto and Kushina took off their sandals and placed them by the door before proceeding towards the kitchen. Naruto sat at the kitchen table and watched as Kushina began to prepare a meal.
Several minutes later, Naruto heard the door open and a voice call, "I'm home!"
Naruto ran out into the hallway. "Tou-chan!" he shouted happily.
Minato laughed, attempting to remove his cloak while ensuring that his daughter was still securely sitting atop his shoulders. Akari giggled at Naruto's antics. The little girl was two years Naruto's junior, and she, unlike Naruto, looked very much like Kushina. She had inherited her mother's deep red locks and violet irises, but the shape of her eyes was more like her father's. Today, much to her parent's surprise, Akari had decided that she wanted to accompany Minato to work.
The Yondaime ruffled Naruto's hair playfully, "Well, someone's excited to see me. How was your day, son?"
"I made a friend, Tou-chan!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.
Minato grinned widely, "That's great, Naruto! Where did you meet this new friend of yours?"
"In the park; her name's Sakura Haruno." A pink tinge appeared in Naruto's cheeks as he said Sakura's name.
"Haruno, huh… You don't happen to know if her father was a shinobi, do you, Naruto?"
"Yeah, she said he was killed in combat two years ago."
Minato sighed, "Ah, I remember now. Kai Haruno. He was a good man and a talented shinobi."
Naruto didn't appear to acknowledge what Minato was talking about, and instead continued to talk about Sakura. "…and she's starting the Academy too!"
Minato smiled at his son fondly, "Hopefully she'll be a good friend to you, Naruto. Did anything else happen?"
Naruto smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "Nope, nothing at all."
"Naruto, what have your father and I told you about lying?" Kushina was standing by the entrance to the kitchen, her arms folded across her chest and she was frowning disapprovingly.
Minato glanced at her curiously before looking at Naruto's guilty expression. "Would you care to fill me in Kushina?"
"Naruto was fighting with a boy in the park."
Minato's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Naruto," he looked back at the seemingly uncomfortable boy, "is this true? You never fight."
Naruto folded his arms. Of course his kaa-chan would have to tell his tou-chan everything. "Yeah, it's true. But that kid and his friends were picking on Sakura-chan! I just wanted them to stop. I didn't start the fight; that kid Kunio did! I only defended myself, like you showed me, Tou-chan."
Minato smiled in amusement, "Well, at least your reasons were understandable."
Kushina laughed, stepping forward, "I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing that you've taught him taijutsu so early." She smiled widely as Akari reached out for her. "Hello, sweetheart!" She lifted her daughter down from Minato's shoulders. "Did you have fun with Tou-chan?"
The four-year-old nodded, "Me and Tou-chan played!"
"Oh, what did you play?"
"Ninja!" Akari exclaimed loudly.
Kushina raised an eyebrow as she looked at her husband who was rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Hmm, I wonder what that involved."
Minato chuckled, quickly changing the subject, "Come on let's go eat, I'm starving!"
After they had eaten, Naruto left his parents and his imouto to go to his bed. He trudged tiredly up the stairs, exhausted from the day's events. He opened his bedroom door and without removing his clothes, flopped down on the bed. Just before sleep took him, he glanced at one of the photo frames on his bedside locker. It was a picture of him and his tou-chan when he was only a few months old.
Mikoto was trying to study scrolls, but Naruto was sleeping in his lap, and amidst all of the scrolls were several empty milk bottles. Kushina had told him that the scene was too adorable, which was why she took the picture. Naruto stared at the hitai-ate on his father's forehead bearing the symbol of Konoha and then at his face. Naruto's tired expression became determined. 'Wait and see, Kaa-chan, Tou-chan, when I graduate I'll be the greatest shinobi in Konoha, and then I'm gonna be Hokage someday.' Finally, Naruto couldn't hold out any longer and sleep took him.
-One Week Later-
"Naruto! You're going to be late!" Kushina shouted up the stairs.
"Okay, okay! I'm coming!"
Naruto thundered down the stairs blindly, he was trying to put his shirt on at the same time and it was covering his eyes. Somehow, he miraculously made it down the stairs without falling.
Hurrying into the kitchen, Naruto glanced around quickly. "Where's Tou-chan?" he asked. It was his first day at the academy, his father should be here.
Kushina, smiled softly before responding, noticing Naruto's disappointed expression, "He's already at the academy. He's the Hokage, remember? He has to be there early to make sure everything is ready for Konoha's future shinobi and kunoichi. You know he wouldn't miss your big day. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast or you're going to miss the initiation!"
Grinning widely, Naruto sat down at the table next to Akari — who had already finished her breakfast —, lifted the small bowl of rice and chopsticks, and proceeded to stuff as much rice as possible into his mouth without choking.
This was it, the day he had been waiting for. He was going to begin his ninja training! He was excited, but nervous at the same time. Hopefully, he would be a powerful shinobi when he graduates.
His thoughts suddenly turned to a certain pink haired girl.
Plus, Sakura was going to be there! Over the past week, they had become close, playing together almost every day. She seemed to be a different girl compared to the one he saved from the bullies. She had made friends other than Naruto, such as a girl named Ino Yamanaka. With her help, Naruto had been able to bring Sakura out of her shell a bit more.
Naruto's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Kushina's voice. "Naruto Namikaze you had better hurry up this instant!"
Naruto shovelled the rest of the rice into his mouth and followed Kushina and his imouto out of the house, struggling to chew and swallow his breakfast.
The whole way to the Konoha's Ninja Academy, Naruto was practically bouncing with excitement.
As the academy finally came into view, Naruto, Kushina and Akari joined the large crowd which was gathered there. The children were babbling excitedly while their parents looked on proudly. Naruto looked up at his mother to see her gazing down at him with the exact same expression upon her face. Akari, on the other hand, was looking around at the new faces with interest. Naruto grinned and, like his sister, watched the surrounding activities attentively.
Several ninja suddenly appeared in the midst of the crowd and attempted to get everything in order for the initiation.
They shouted, "Will all new students gather into three groups of fifteen."
Naruto fidgeted nervously, gaining him a soft, encouraging push from Kushina. He gazed around unsurely before spotting a head of pink hair.
He made his way eagerly towards Sakura. "Sakura-chan!" he called.
She turned and Naruto immediately noticed her change in appearance. Instead of falling across her forehead, obscuring it from view, Sakura's bangs were now held back with a red ribbon, revealing her forehead and allowing her jade green eyes to stand out. 'She's so pretty,' Naruto thought.
Sakura smiled when she saw Naruto coming towards her. She waved and shouted back, "Hey, Naruto!"
He scratched the back of his head, something he did when he was nervous. "I like your hair, Sakura-chan, and the ribbon."
Sakura blushed and fidgeted with a strand of her hair. "Um, thanks, Naruto," she mumbled in embarrassment. "Ino gave me the ribbon."
Naruto nodded, "Where's Ino anyway?"
"She's talking to those boys, Shikamaru and Choji, over there," she replied, pointing. "I think they know each other."
Before Naruto could reply, one of the shinobi appeared behind the two six-year-olds and ushered them into a group. Ino and the two boys, Shikamaru and Choji, were also directed to the same group.
Naruto stood behind Sakura as their group formed a line. Once the other group had also been organised the crowd fell silent. Everyone's attention turned to someone standing before the groups. Naruto struggled to suppress a laugh once he saw Minato. He was wearing the traditional robes and hat of the Hokage. Naruto thought that he looked funny.
Minato began to speak, "Welcome, everyone, to Konoha's Ninja Academy, and congratulations to those of you who were accepted."
Each of the children looked at each other in confusion. Naruto stared at his father questioningly. 'What does he mean?'
Minato chuckled softly at the expressions on their faces, including the parents, all except Kushina of course. "I can understand why there may be some confusion. None of you were aware that you can't simply attend the academy if you so wished. There were around one hundred children wishing to attend the academy, so over the past few months, each child was observed secretly by one of our ninja. Only a few days ago, this ninja came to me with these observations." He paused for a moment, looking around at the nervous faces of the children before him. "Less than half the number of children who were observed is here today."
A chorus of whispering broke out amongst the crowd. Minato continued on. "There is a reason for this." He folded his hands behind his back and looked at the children seriously. "Love the village and hope to preserve peace and prosperity. Have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard training and work. Be healthy in mind and body."
One boy shouted out, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Those three things are what are required to have what it takes to become a ninja of Konoha. Out of the one hundred children observed, only forty-five met these requirements, and they are standing here today. I know that all of you will one day make fine shinobi and kunoichi."
A girl raised her hand. Minato looked to her and smiled. "Yes, what is it?"
"Why did you make us line up into three groups, Hokage-sama?" she asked nervously.
"I will answer your question now," Minato answered with a smile. "Each of you, take a good look at the people you are lined up with."
Once they had done so, Minato once again spoke. "These will be your classmates from now until you graduate. You will learn together and train together, and when you graduate, two of your classmates will become part of your genin team. There is an instructor for each class. This instructor will teach you everything about what it means to become a ninja, and what you need to become a ninja."
Three shinobi suddenly appeared before the three lines. They stood for a moment before each making their way towards a line
Naruto looked hard at the shinobi standing at the head of their line.
He wore the standard clothing of a Konoha ninja; the dark green flak jacket, with a very familiar crimson swirl on the back, indicated that he was either of chuunin level or higher. His brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and there was a long scar across the bridge of his nose. His hitai-ate was tied in the traditional way around his forehead.
Once the three shinobi had taken their places, Minato said, "These will be your instructors from today until your graduate. Once you go to your classrooms they will explain more. Now, once again, I would like to say congratulations to each of you. Please follow your instructors to your classrooms. Your ninja training begins today." He nodded to each of the instructors.
The shinobi at the head of Naruto's group called, "Ok, you guys, follow me."
They followed the shinobi in single file into the academy. They walked through numerous corridors before coming to a classroom.
As they entered the classroom he said, "Sit in any seat you like."
Naruto and Sakura made their way to a desk two rows from the back of the room and sat down.
Once everyone was seated, the shinobi began to introduce himself. "Hello, class, my name is Iruka Umino, and from now until your graduation, I will be your sensei. Now, before we begin, I would like to get to know all of my students, and I would like all of you to get to know each other. Now starting in the front row I would like each of you to introduce yourselves, say one thing you like, one thing you dislike, and if you want you can tell us your dream for the future."
Naruto watched with interest as each student nervously stood and introduced themselves. As they did so, there were several students who seemed to stand out from the others.
There was a girl, who said her name was Hinata Hyuuga, who appeared to twiddle her thumbs when she was nervous, and seemed to be very shy. Her milky eyes stared down at her feet in embarrassment. But there was something about her that seemed strong to Naruto, despite her shy exterior.
There was a loud mouthed boy, Kiba Inuzuka, who at first stood out to Naruto because of the red, fang shaped birth marks on his cheeks. But all he seemed to do was boast about himself. Naruto frowned at this.
Then there was Choji Akimichi. As he introduced himself, he munched on a bag of potato chips. He was chubby, but it seemed like he didn't care, despite what other people in the class whispering about him. Naruto admired the boy for not reacting, until some poor, poor boy called him "fat"…
There was another boy who, personally, creeped Naruto out. He said that his name was Shino Aburame, and he liked insects. Every time he moved, an insect seemed to appear out of nowhere. His dark glasses and strange voice made him seem mysterious.
Then there was Shikamaru Nara. Naruto thought he was hilarious, even if he didn't try to be. When Iruka had told him to introduce himself, he didn't even stand, but instead stayed in his seat leaning his head on one hand and said, "My name is Shikamaru Nara… and it's too troublesome to tell you anything else." As soon as he said that he laid his head on the desk and closed his eyes. The whole class had burst into laughter whilst Iruka sweat-dropped.
Of course Ino then introduced herself as loudly as possible to the class. Sakura chuckled and Naruto had rolled his eyes at her antics.
Then there was a boy who interested Naruto greatly.
He said his name was Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't say much; just that he liked his big brother and that he hated people who acted like someone they weren't. He didn't have any dream in particular. He seemed nice and he was so sure of himself.
Naruto smirked. 'I have a feeling this class is going to be interesting with this kid around. Especially 'cause he's an Uchiha.'
Now it was Sakura's turn. Naruto gave her a gentle nudge, encouraging her to stand. She smiled nervously at him as she stood. "Um, my name is Sakura Haruno. I like my friends and I dislike people who are mean to me or my friends. My dream is to be a powerful kunoichi."
Iruka smiled and nodded, "Very good, Sakura. Now, who's next?"
Naruto stood and gave his fox-like grin. "I'm Naruto Namikaze. I like ramen and my friends." He looked towards Sakura who smiled up at him. "What I don't like is the three minutes you have to wait for ramen to cook, and people making fun of or bullying other people. And my dream is to be an even stronger shinobi than my tou-chan, and," a look of determination appeared in his expression, "to become the next Hokage."
Sakura simply smiled, as did Iruka. But some of the other students giggled or rolled their eyes.
Iruka stared hard at Naruto, 'He's definitely the Yondaime's son. It's too bad he has such a burden on his young shoulders. I'm sure he will be told of it in due time.' An image of the Kyuubi appeared in his mind. 'Even though kaa-chan and tou-chan were killed by the Kyuubi, I don't blame this boy for what it did, unlike most of the other villagers. They see him as the fox itself. Maybe one day they will see sense.' "Okay, I think that's everyone," he said with a smile. "Now, your training begins."
Pheww ^.^ another chapter complete ! It took me longer than I thought to write it. This chapter was mainly about Naruto and his childhood so far. I hope you liked it I will update as soon as I can.
Reviews are welcome; they help me with my writing. But please be gentle.
Thanks for reading!
BlueEyedBabyy
