Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Windows to the Soul"
by Chronos Astral

Chapter 2:

'Sensei'


"Itadakimasu." And with that said, the energetic blond began scarfing down on his beloved treat.

Uzumaki Naruto had never been happier since the few weeks his 'nii-san' had walked into his life. He had received the few things he had yearned for since the day he could process coherent thought. To be recognized. To be accepted. And to have a family. Being the spite of Konohagakure no Sato made these things hard to accomplish, but it happened, and once or twice, it moved him to tears.

"Nii-san! Four more bowls, please!" Naruto called out his order to the blue-haired man across the counter.

"Right away!" The young man grinned in affirmative before retreating into the kitchen area of the stand.

The outsider, whom Naruto simply addressed as 'Nii-san' for the lack of any other name to call him, was now an official part-time worker in the Ichiraku Ramen stand. With his cheerful disposition and friendly though quirky attitude had managed to attract a few more frequent customers to the small establishment, much to the approval of Ichiraku Teuchi, owner and proprietor of said stand. Even his daughter, Ayame, who would visit the stand on occasion, was thoroughly entertained by the man's curious and somewhat ignorant behavior. Teuchi's only few complaints with the man was that he had a tendency to get lazy and ask for numerous days off. That, and he had yet to reveal his name to him despite working for him for quite a while.

In the past weeks, the man had garnered a reputation for himself for his strange mannerisms when interacting with other villagers, earning vaguely renowned titles such as 'The Weirdo', 'Stranger', 'Oddball', and many others that illustrated his demeanor. These claims were founded in his daily activities that consisted of, but were not limited to hanging upside-down from a tree branch with a vacant expression, appearing from seemingly nowhere, talking to himself, quirky humor, sudden bouts of hunger, and even memory lapses. While Konoha had its share of strange people, like a certain green-clad jounin with a disturbing bowl cut and obsession of youth, this man was the cream of the crop.

Despite his small street fame, he was better known as the 'Demon's Consort' for his apparent liking of one Uzumaki Naruto. A large majority of the village who has seen the man in the company of the 'demon brat' would scoff in disgust at the notion. Often some would try to convince him that the child was dangerous though it proved difficult because of the man's strong bond with Naruto and the law that forbade them to reveal why he was shunned. At best, the man was ignored by most citizens while at worst, he was regarded with the same animosity as the blond boy he took willingly into his company.

Currently, he had barely enough money to get by, and so, had taken residence alongside Naruto in his apartment, using his earnings to help pay rent and supply them with food other than ramen (much to Naruto's displeasure). Very few knew of this arrangement which included the Sandaime and Teuchi. For days on end, Naruto would occasionally pester the man for his name and for him to open his eyes since he hasn't seen him so much as lift an eyelid. In the end, they stuck with each other like brothers.

"Ne, ne, Nii-san. Do you think I can study at the ninja academy already?" The boy asked mid-slurp on his 5th bowl. While quite young, the boy was offered a chance to attend the academy at his age by the Sandaime and, given his dream, he would have jumped at the chance right away. At least that would be the case if his 'Nii-san' allowed it. Naruto had taken to the man like a surrogate older brother, often asking for advice or approval for any decision on his part. The man had taught him many lessons on life and how to live it, as if talking through experience which made the man as invaluable to him as the lessons he taught. Slowly, the boy's personality was shifting from the loud hyperactive boy to a quieter and kinder one.

"Ninja academy? As in school? No way. School's boring and I'd be a horrible Nii-san if I were to subject you through that mental torture." The man grinned playfully.

"But I can't become Hokage if I don't study to be a ninja." Naruto whined.

"Don't worry about that. I'll teach you."

The blond's eyes widened in surprise and excitement. "You will!? You mean you're a ninja!?"

"Well, not exactly. I happen to know a lot about them and their skills. I even have a few reference materials from my travels. And I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't mind if we borrowed a few scrolls."

Naruto nearly let out a snicker once his 'nii-san' mentioned the word 'borrow'. The man's definition of the word was not lost on Naruto for to him, it meant secretly taking said object then returning it after they have no more use for it.

"Can we start now Nii-san?"

"Sure," He turned to address his boss. "Techi-san! I'll be taking another day off now!"

"It'll be coming off your pay and my name is 'Teuchi'!" The voice of the aging Ichiraku shouted back.

The duo exited from the stand and ambled their way to the nearest training area. Heated glares were sent their way, but they've been trained to ignore them and still put up a warming smile.

"So Naruto, are you aware of what a shinobi is or what he does?" The man asked, sitting on a log in the vacant training area. Apparently, he had killed the habit of getting the blond's name wrong after living with him for a while.

Being reminded of the lessons given to him, Naruto quoted a summary. "A shinobi is a master of stealth, espionage, and killing. He is trained to suppress all emotion and follow orders efficiently and swiftly. They are the living weapons and servants of the village they serve and their master, the Kage. A most efficient killing machine."

The man nodded in approval. "Very good. But what do you think a shinobi is."

At this, the blond smiled fondly. "A shinobi is a powerful warrior that lives to serve and protect the people they find precious to them. Despite their profession, they are also people, and therefore need to live with emotions so as to retain their humanity and heart. They also need comrades, friends that they can depend and trust, to draw strength upon even in the most crucial of moments. They fight for the good of those they have sworn to protect."

His quirky brother gave him a small applause. "Very good, Naruto. With that, I am ready to teach you the ways of the ninja."

And so, the older boy taught him the basics. From the three jutsu classes, chakra, weaponry, ninja ranks, the art of stealth, nindo, and a little history every now and again. With the morals of patience and the yearning for knowledge drilled into him, Naruto soaked it all up like a sponge, always listening intently to whatever words his 'nii-san' lectured to him, excited by many aspects of the ninja. The boy doubted that he would be taught with the same fervor and dedication by the academy teachers, considering his reputation, and was all the more gladdened.

Weeks turned to months, with physical training progressing far better than before. Tree-climbing and water-walking had nearly become as natural to Naruto as breathing, and he was slowly progressing in mastering most academy-level jutsu along with some of his own creation. At times, Naruto would be given scrolls to study. Some were attained from the man's travels. Others were borrowed from the chuunin and jounin archives. Even the forbidden scroll itself wasn't spared from their visage which had inclined Naruto's interest for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

But in the whole time he was trained, he noticed something about his 'nii-san'. Something was bothering him. His smile looked forced and at times his words were strained. With each time Naruto failed to get his jutsu right, he would sigh sadly, but not out of disappointment. He decided to inquire about it when the time was right.


It was a fine day in Konoha, a certain old man thought to himself. No meetings to attend. No missions to give out. And best of all, no damnable paperwork! All in all, a wondrous day for the Sandaime Hokage. From all the sitting he's done, he had decided to stretch his old legs with a long relaxing stroll in the village. It was a refreshing change too, since most of his paperwork were reports of strange disappearances of scrolls and books from the archives. There were also complaints from the academy and various stores about shurikens, kunais, and other weapons that have suffered the same fate. Even the forbidden scroll was stolen. And before he could conduct a proper investigation, the scroll was right back in its place.

Strange forces were at work here, but for now, he would put it to rest. His priority now would be to visit his favorite gaki and his new 'nii-san'. Being nearly swamped with work for the better part of these few months have made him much to busy to check up on the boy's progress, through from what he's seen of the blue-haired outsider, he didn't worry too much.

Putting his thoughts aside, the elderly Sarutobi spotted said blond walking with his hands on a nearby stream. Intrigued, the Hokage walked up closer. "Hello there Naruto."

The boy twisted his inverted body to view the older man. "Ohayo, Oyaji."

Sandaime raised a brow at this. The volume in the boy's greeting wasn't nearly as loud as it used to be, and while he was still called an old man, it was said in a gentler and fond tone, most probably from the influence of his new guardian.

"What's that your doing?" The old man pointed at the boy's hands which held him up.

"I'm doing handstands on the water. Nii-san says that it helps build strength, balance, and chakra control at the same time." Naruto answered while still walking with his hands.

The Hokage had to admit, he was impressed in the stranger's teaching. Fairly difficult, but quite efficient. He would have to make a note to apply something like this in the academy.

"So Naruto," He took a brief glance around. "Where is your nii-san?"

The boy did a few impressive cartwheels on the water's surface before replying. "He went out to get some food, I think. He should be back soon." As he finished, a young man with blue hair and long ponytail approached in a mad rush.

"Naruto!" He cried frantically. "Ichiraku is having a special today! Half-price on all ramen from now until lunch!"

"What!?" The boy stood upright at once. "Then we have to hurry!" And with that, the boy sped off like a bullet to his beloved stand. Despite the small few changes in his demeanor, his love for ramen still holds true to him.

The man turned to regard the Sandaime briefly before smiling. "Konbanwa Sandaime-san. Was I interrupting something?"

Konbanwa? But it's morn- A spark of realization hit the Hokage. Unconsciously, he looked up to the glaring sun. Indeed, it was still morning. Which meant...

"No disrespect, Sandaime-san, I also wouldn't want to miss eating discount ramen. Please excuse me." With a bow, the man turned tail and followed Naruto with the same speed.

"Wait-!" But he was already out of earshot.


"Ebisu," The Hokage addressed the jounin. A hint of urgency in his tone.

The man garbed in sunglasses and bandana stood in attention. "Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Send a message to Jiraiya of the Sannin. I want him in my office as soon as possible."

"Hai! Hokage-sama!" And the man immediately left to search for the Frog Hermit, starting with the bath houses.

The Hokage slumped tiredly with a sigh. It would make sense that it were him, considering the brief disappearances of a large number of scrolls. If this man is whom he thought he was, then that would spell trouble for the village, not to mention his perverted student or Naruto for that matter.


What do you think? I have a small backstory for the guy which will be revealed in time. Naruto will also get a bloodline!

As for his harem, it's still a little undecided, though I will have most of the girls his age in the list.

Not much of a story in this one. A little short too. Time-skip will ensue soon.

Review!!