Blue Flames

"I… Am the Kyuubi…?" whispered Naruto, his eyes widened slightly.

Mizuki grinned, removing one of the fuuma shuriken strapped to his back. "It's time to repent for your sin Naruto. No one will mourn over you death. Now stand still and it will all end quickly."

Naruto looked down, his eyes dark. Slowly, a small grin crept onto his face. "Heheh… Ha-ha… HAHAHAHAHA!!" Naruto began to roar with laughter, his head shooting up, eyes locking with Mizuki's.

"That's pretty pathetic sensei. You honestly expect me to believe such a load of trash? And of course, you seem to be under the delusion you can defeat me." He held out his arms in a pleasant shrug. "Well, you are a chunin. I admit that. But…" his eyes flashed. "I am a Nobody." He thrust his arm towards Mizuki, palm held open. "Fire!" at once, a ball of flame shot towards Mizuki, who dodged instantly.

"Don't get cocky, brat!!" he flung the weapon forwards.

"NARUTO!" Iruka, who'd watched the display silently, too shocked to make a move, suddenly came into play, diving in front of his student, letting the shuriken hit him dead on in the back. With a sickening crack, Iruka screamed as the shuriken lodged itself in his spinal cord. Naruto only noticed when Iruka's scream met his ears.

"Iruka-sensei…? Why?" breathed Naruto.

Iruka smiled, stumbling slightly. "Naruto… Mizuki doesn't lie… You do have the demon inside of you…" a little blood trickled from his mouth. "My parents were killed by the fox… And I always hated you for it… But…" tears formed in his eyes. "… I can see you're just Naruto Uzumaki. You are no Demon… Naruto…"

Before he could do anything his teacher slump forwards face down, whimpering slightly.

Mizuki cursed and drew another shuriken. "That fool. Always looking out for the students."

Naruto stared down at Iruka, and then looked up at Mizuki. "Sensei… Now I really have a reason to kill you…" His eyes seemed to ripple. Poetically, it looked as though a flame was burning in his eyes, dancing in the midnight wind. Mizuki narrowed his eyes.

"Time to die fox! Kage-shuriken bushin no Jutsu!" this statement was followed by the hurling of the massive fuuma-shuriken, which instantly multiplied into ten copies.

Iruka groaned, a little blood trickling from his mouth. "Run, Naruto!"

The boy didn't move, instead holding his palm out towards the oncoming projectiles. "Burn."

Violently blue flames erupted in a violent circle around the clearing. The shuriken were instantly ignited, the vibrant flames instantly appearing over the metal form, melting it quickly.

Mizuki himself was shocked by this; he couldn't possibly have learned a Jutsu so powerful in such a short space of time. He then realised he was trapped I the ring of flames.

Naruto grinned, holding his arms in a T like shape. At once, a dark black ring formed at the ends of his hands, a single flame inside each ring. These began to spiral, until they expanded into his individual chakram.

"You feeling the heat, Mizuki-sensei?"

The man gritted his teeth. "Like hell, brat!" he instantly went through a flurry of hand-signs. "Ninpou: Rasen-Konoha!" (Ninja Art: Spiralling-Leaf)

At once, a flurry of small evergreen projectiles zoomed towards Naruto, with the force of a bullet.

Before they could even get within three meters of the blond, they burned up from the intense heat radiating from his body.

"Let's dance sensei! Hastega!"

Before Mizuki could blink, Naruto was behind him, his hands enveloped in flames, the chakram's spinning like saws.

"I'll break you!"

Mizuki spun round, slamming a kunai into one of the blazing weapons, blocking the attack, but singing his hand. He screamed in pain, drawing back, only for Naruto to knee him in the chest. "You've hurt my teacher… You've called me a demon…"

Mizuki groaned, only to be kicked swiftly to the ground of the clearing.

Naruto landed beside him, the flames dying down slightly. Mizuki locked eyes with Naruto, only to see them sparking, as if the irises themselves were flames. Sparks were dancing in his pupil's, like a small firework. Naruto held his hand over Mizuki's chest. "I'm going to destroy you! I'LL DESTROY YOU!! FIR-"

"Naruto…"

The boy stopped the incantation, to see Iruka, staring pitifully up at the blond. "Don't kill him…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "B-but he…!"

Marluxia nodded. "Respect his wishes Naruto…"

The fire-user's gloved fist bawled up, before he let his arms slump to his side, and dispersed his chakram.

Mizuki suddenly laughed. "Hahaha! Go back and lick your wounds fo-"

He was shut up as Naruto slammed his boot into the older man's chin, knocking him out.

The boy then set to work on Iruka. "Please hold still, sensei…" he grasped the fuuma shuriken, and then gave it a tug, pulling it out the man's body.

Iruka screamed as the cool metal was drawn from his skin, the blood now trickling down his back.

"Don't move…" murmured Naruto. He held his hand over the wound, and then closed his eyes. "Curaga."

At once, the injury began to close up, being healed instantly by the miraculous spell.

Iruka groaned and rolled over onto his back. "Naruto… T-thanks…"

The blond looked at the now rising sun. "Iruka-sensei… Do I really have the fox inside of me?"

The scarred man looked at the boy for a second and sat up. "Close your eyes."

"But-"

"Just close them!" Naruto did so. Suddenly, he felt the texture of some sort of felt being wrapped around his head. As his eyes opened, he saw Iruka, without his headband, smiling at Naruto. "Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You're now an official ninja of Konoha…"

XXX

Sasuke raised his eyebrow as Naruto strode into the class, a huge grin on his face.

"What are you doing here, idiot? I thought you failed."

Naruto stuck out his tongue and pointed to the belt-style headband, the Konoha symbol shining brightly.

"I took a make-up test." Snapped Naruto, but the grin on his face signified that he wasn't seriously angry at Sasuke.

He sat down beside the raven haired boy, and began to have a one-sided conversation with him, Sasuke's only responses being slight grins and sharp glares.

A few rows behind, a navy-haired girl was staring longingly at the blond, a dreamy smile on her face. "N-Naruto-kun passed…" she breathed, relief apparent in her voice.

Meanwhile, two girls, one with platinum blond hair, the other with cherry pink, were running towards the class, both pressing into each other, eager to beat the other.

As they came to the door, they both tried to barge in, resulting in them both getting stuck.

Naruto noticed this, and sent the pair a rather amused look which they didn't notice.

When they finally managed to barge in, both grinned. "HAH! I BEAT YOU INO-PIG!" cried the pink-haired one.

"NO WAY, FOREHEAD GIRL! I BEAT YOU BY MILES!"

"YOU WANNA BET, INO-PIG?! I was here first, so I get to sit with Sasuke-kun!"

"Keep dreaming girl, I get to sit with Sasuke!"

At this point a group of girls had begun to crowd around the other two, every one of them arguing about who would sit next to their beloved Sasuke.

The blond jinchuriki whistled. "Whoo, Sasuke, you're popular."

"Shut up."

Naruto flashed a grin. "By the way, d'ya wanna get some Ice Cream later?"

The Uchiha cast an onyx black eye at Naruto. "The usual spot?"

"Duh."

This interaction caused the group of girls to gather at the end of the desk where the two boys sat, and send a united glare at Naruto.

"UZ-U-MA-KI…" droned Sakura (the girl with cherry pink hair)

The blond cast one eye in their direction. "Yes? If it's not anything important, please leave."

This caused a united shiver to tingle in the females. Though he may not look it, the entire class knew Naruto was a very dangerous student, if not an all-out-pyromaniac.

Ino, who happened to be a bit braver than the rest, spoke up. "Move it Naruto, I get to sit next to Sasuke!"

Naruto's next move infuriated the platinum blond; he ignored her and continued talking to Sasuke.

Before she could leap onto the whiskered boy, Iruka walked into the class, carrying the new team roster.

"Alright everyone, settle down! We've matched up the teams into an order which we thought would suit. Every team will be in a three man cell, consisting of two males and one female or vice versa. Is that clear?"

"A three man cell?" whispered Sasuke.

Naruto chuckled. "Basically means we need to use teamwork. A two man cell can be risky if fighting patterns don't fit, and a four-man cell is harder to promote team-work."

"Team Six is Natsu Yoshino, Rika Masashi, and Katsura Akira. Your sensei will be Asura Ryuga."

Iruka looked at the next name on the list, and smiled lightly. "Team Seven will be Sasuke Uchiha…"

Nearly every girl who had not been put in a team looked up, hope in their eyes.

"… Sakura Haruno…"

The pink-haired girl punched the air. "YAHOO! LOVE CONQUERS ALL!!"

"… And Naruto Uzumaki."

The blond groaned. "I'm stuck with you till I'm a chunin? Kami hates me…"

"I hope he does, you put me in enough trouble as it is. You deserve god's hate."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Marluxia had appeared, smiling smugly. Though no one in the class could see him, his ego seemed to increase the pressure in the room dramatically.

Of course, Naruto couldn't talk to him in public, as that would make him appear far more freaky than he actually was (And he was rather freaky anyway, what with the green make-up and spiked up hair!)

"I have an interesting ability you might find useful. I'll teach it to you after you've met your team." A small smile appeared on his face.

Naruto decided to ignore the graceful assassin, instead listening in on the other teams.

"Team 8 will be Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He'd heard of the ebony haired jonin before, who gained her reputation of being a high-class genjutsu user, without the use of a bloodline such as the Sharingan.

"Team 10 will be Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka dropped the clipboard on the desk and smiled. "Congratulations all of you. Your sensei's will come and pick you guys up shortly. Your mission briefing will be held before your team's first D-ranked mission. I'll see you all then."

Sakura hurried over, and buried herself between Naruto and his friend, before chatting eagerly to Sasuke, who didn't even bat an eyelash at her.

Naruto decided to lie back, and loll into a faint sleep.

XXX

A dark portal opened at the top of the Hokage's monument, and two figures stepped out.

One was a blue haired female with violet eyes and a large bosom. She had a bored expression on her face. Her hair trailed down to her hips, shining glossily in the sun-set.

The other was a tall man with a metal jaw-like structure around his lower mouth. He had brown hair with flecks of grey and pale green eyes with red pupils.

Both wore the same black coat, which resembled Naruto and Marluxia's.

However, they were not the only ones on the monument. A raven haired man with narrow eyes and a large lexicon sat cross-legged atop the fourth-Hokage's figurehead.

"Yo, Xigai, Kuxuzak." He muttered, casting one crimson eye in their direction.

The female grinned, then suddenly summoned two crossbow-like weapons and then dashed towards the man.

He sighed, and held his hand out towards her. "Aeroraga."

A huge wind, hurricane like in speed and strength, began to spiral around him, catching the girl in mid-jump and sending her cascading up into the air.

"You never learn, Xigai."

As the girl landed softly landed on the ground, she shot him a spiteful look. "Can't you let me win just once, Xhatiic?"

He snapped the book shut and folded it under his arm. "It's Xhat."

"Stop fighting amongst yourselves, Two, Six." Wheezed Kuxuzak. "We are simply here to observe Naruto and Marluxia. We must rename him and recruit him."

The raven haired nobody sighed. "How has the construction of the Castle gone? Nexim seems to be ignoring me. That really pisses me off."

"We are nobodies, Xhatiic. We do not feel emotions such as 'pissed off'."

Xhat nodded, and got to his feet, letting the book dissolve in a flash of white light. "Right then. Let's get started."

XXX

"Now, I may be a fresh genin, who doesn't know much about the ninja world… BUT WHAT KIND OF SENSEI TAKES TWO HOURS TO ARRIVE?!"

Sasuke cast an eye at the fuming Naruto. "He should have his reasons."

"HE'S PROBABLY JUST A LAZY GIT, WHO CAN'T BE BOTHERED!!" cried the blond.

Sakura shot Naruto a glare. "Don't insult our sensei, Naruto!" 'Though he is probably right, CHA!'

At that moment, the door opened, and a silver haired man with a leaf forehead protector walked in, reading an Icha, Icha paradise volume. He cast his one eye towards the three genin. "You team seven?"

A flaming chakram an inch from his face was his response.

Naruto stood on his seat, one foot planted on the desk, the kanji for 'PISSED' emblazoned on his head.

As the man went to tear the thing out of the wall, it disappeared in a small burst of flame, before reappearing in the blonde's hand.

He was taken slightly by surprise at this, but remained cool headed. "So… My first impression of you guys is that I hate you. Meet me on the roof."

He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The blonde's eye's narrowed. "Mine's much cooler than that…" he disappeared in a plume of blue flames.

Sasuke and Sakura were silent for a moment.

"So… Do you want to walk together Sasuke-ku-"

"No." the raven haired teen vaulted the desk and ran out the door, leaving Sakura on her own.

'YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, CHA!'

XXX

Kakashi couldn't help but stare with a bored expression at his newly formed team of genin.

A raven haired boy who was glaring impassively at the jonin, a squealing fan-girl who was cooing over the raven-haired boy, and a blond who just looked like he couldn't be bothered with anything beyond himself.

"Right… You guys are team seven, under me, your jonin sensei, Kakashi Hatake. So to start, let's get to know each other. Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, and dreams."

Sakura turned away from Sasuke to look at her teacher. "Shouldn't you give us an example, sensei?"

"Alright. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like some things, and dislike other things. My dreams…? Meh, I don't feel like telling you."

'HE ONLY TOLD US HIS NAME!?' the cherry-haired girl mentally screamed.

"Alright, Pinkie, you're up."

She glared, and then cleared her throat. "I'm Sakura Haruno. My likes are…" she glanced at Sasuke and giggled. "My dislikes are…" she sent a glare at Naruto, who shrugged innocently. "And my dreams…" she burst into a fit of giggles, with occasional glances at Sasuke.

Kakashi sweat dropped, and then glanced at Sasuke. "Ok, silent boy, you're up."

Sasuke folded his arms, and closed his eyes. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have very little likes, and a lot of dislikes. I do have a dream though…. Or rather an ambition; to revive my clan… And kill a certain man."

Kakashi stared for a moment, before glancing at Naruto. "You're up, Blondie."

Naruto grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like sea-salt ice cream, fire, and training. My dislikes are those who obsess over an idiotic fantasy…" he smiled sweetly at Sakura, causing her to shiver. "My dream…" he grinned. "Is to become a Nobody."

At this, Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "A Nobody?"

Sasuke glanced in Naruto's direction.

"Yes. I want to be a Nobody who has mastered all thirteen elements. I'm gonna be the best!"

The jonin closed his eye. 'A revenger, a fan-girl, and a boy who wants to be Nobody. Have I really sunk so low?'

"Right… We'll give you guys a genin exam tomorrow at 10:00 sharp. And don't eat breakfast…" a demonic-like aura surrounded him. "I wouldn't want you throwing up…"

"You think he's being serious?" muttered Naruto, after their teacher had disappeared via shuishin.

Sasuke shrugged. "I gotta go. I'll see you at the usual place Naruto." He stood up; his hands stuffed snugly in his pockets, and walked off.

Sakura glanced at Naruto. "So… You know where Sasuke hangs out?"

Her response was Naruto grinning, and then disappearing in a swirl of blue flames.

XXX

"You know, you really should pay for this one of these days…" muttered Naruto as he handed Sasuke a stick of the cyan-blue ice cream.

Sasuke took it, and mumbled faint thanks. "So what do you think of our new sensei?"

Naruto shrugged. "He seems lazy, unmotivated and laid-back. He's probably really strong."

The raven haired boy smirked. "How the hell'd you make that impression?"

The blond shrugged, and took a bite from his ice-cream. "I dunno. It's kind of a gut feeling."

Sasuke looked out at the water from the gangplank on which they sat. The sun was setting, casting a shining light across the surface of the water.

"Hey Sasuke…" muttered Naruto, a grin forming on his face. "I'll bet you don't know why the sun-set's red."

The boy cast an eye at him.

"You see, light is made up of lots of different colours, and out of all those colours, red is the one which travels the farthest."

Sasuke smirked. "Like I asked, know-it-all."

Naruto laughed, and then gave Sasuke a shove.

This caused the raven haired teen to glare, only to break into a small fit of laughing.

The two friends sat there, eating the ice-cream, and watching the crimson orb set in the distance.

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Next Time: Time to Bloom