Arrow: Hello everybody! This is the first chapter of the Defying Gravity rewrite and I am quite proud of it. Leave me a review and let me know what you think okay?
Disclaimer: I own nothing except future designs that will be presented later in the story. Characters belong to the manga-ka whose name escapes me at the moment.
Please enjoy!
Defying Gravity
Chapter One
The Beginning of the Past
The sun began to rise over the village of Konoha, the most powerful settlement in the land of Fire. The people saw themselves as superior as they were more tolerant of those from different nations and from other villages in their own nation as well. However, every village and even every civilization has a dark side and Konoha was no exception to that rule.
"Stupid demon brat!"
"Get out of my shop!"
"You killed my family, you monster!"
Yes, every civilization has a dark side and Konoha's was the villagers treatment of Naruto Uzumaki. Seven years ago, Konoha was attacked by a powerful demon, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Many lives were lost that day and the village did not believe they could stop Kyuubi. The Yondaime, the leader of the village at the time, created a special seal with the help of the Shinigami himself. The Yondaime, Minato Namikaze, sacrificed himself to seal the demon into the body of newborn Naruto. Now, none of the villagers, save for the retired Hokage, the Sandaime, knew about Namikaze's plan, but when the newly reinstated Sandaime tried to explain, no one believed him.
The villagers believed that Naruto was the reincarnation of the Kyuubi and needed to suffer as much as they all had. No matter what the Sandaime did, he could not protect the small blond boy from the abuse he received.
"Ha! Not so tough now are you, demon?"
"Hm, I wonder what color demons bleed."
"Shut up! Don't sully our language with your voice, demon brat!"
With every blow the villagers struck, a bit of Naruto Uzumaki's spirit died. No one had ever told him what had happened that tragic day, so he slowly began to believe what was said about him despite the Sandaime's protests. The blue-eyed boy thought that the old man was just pretending anyway; who could honestly care for a demon?
You are not a demon, kit! Never believe anything those self-centered bastards have to say! The seven year old looked around, wondering who had spoken. His forest clearing, where he went to be alone and weep, was empty except for him. Who could have entered his lonely sanctuary without him knowing? Kit, don't you realize that you are never alone? I have always been with you and I will always be with you. The voice had come from inside his mind.
Who are you?
My name is Kyuubi, little one. I am the demon fox that fought Konoha seven years ago.
A demon fox! Naruto was panicking. What was a demon fox doing inside his head?
Hush, kitling. Though he knew he shouldn't trust a demon, Naruto instinctively trusted Kyuubi's words. There now, would you like to know what happened that night seven years ago? The whiskered blond boy nodded. Very well. I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune and I did not attack Konoha. A small wolf demon cub had been killed by Leaf ninja and, as I was the King of Demons, it was my responsibility to find out what had happened and why. When I arrived in sight of the village, the ninja began to attack me and I retaliated. Soon, the Yondaime arrived and sealed me inside you with the help of the blasted Shinigami. The villagers and the council would not believe the Sandaime when he told them of the Yondaime's plan. He truly does care for you, Kit. Naruto had tears in his eyes. He wasn't the demon! The villagers were at fault, not him. None of this was his fault! Kyuubi mentally smiled at the boy. Kit, I promise that I will look out for you and care for you in any way that I can.
Thank you…Dad. The fox swelled with pride at his new name.
Your welcome, Kit. Now your Sandaime should know that I can talk to you. Why don't we go tell him what has happened, ne? His smile threatening to split his face, the blond Uzumaki sprinted through the Hidden Leaf Village, for once ignoring the insults thrown at him. These people would never stop and he knew that; he also knew that they would get more abusive as he grew older, but that was a problem for another time.
The Sandaime sighed worriedly. The team of ANBU he had sent to find Naruto had not returned with good news. He was reaching a full scale panic attack when his office door opened to reveal his surrogate grandson. The Uzumaki boy bounded into the room which was lit with the light of his smile.
"Hey there, old man!"
"Naruto! Where have you been? I have been worried sick about you!" Naruto hugged the elderly Hokage.
"I know everything! I know about the Yondaime sealing the Kyuubi in me. I know that none of it is my fault!" The Hokage was stunned.
"Naruto who told you all of that?" Naruto looked up at his grandfather figure and Sarutobi could see the treartracks cutting a path on the boy's whisker marked cheeks as well as the red rimming around his ocean blue eyes. "Why were you crying, Naru?"
" I was crying because I thought that I truly was the demon and that you were only pretending to care about me. Dad… I mean Kyuubi is the one who told me the story." The Sandaime was almost in tears, but quickly snapped to attention when Naruto called the Kyuubi "Dad".
"You… can talk to the Kyuubi? And you consider him your father?"
"Yep!" The Sandaime decided to let the "Dad" comment go for now and focus on the more pressing issue.
"What did he say?"
"He told me that I wasn't a demon and I should not believe anything the villagers say to me. Then he told me the story and promised to care for me in any way he could. He isn't bad at all!" Sarutobi was afraid. How far would the demon fox go to gain freedom?
"I need to talk to Kyuubi, Naruto. Will he speak with me?" Naruto was silent for a moment.
"Sure! He said to let you into my mind, so go ahead!" That was exactly what the Sandaime did.
Arriving in Naruto's mindscape was similar to walking in the slums of Konoha. How could such a sweet, innocent boy have such a dark and depressing mind was impossible. Did the Kyuubi have something to do with this?
"No, Sarutobi. The Fourth Hokage asked the Shinigami to set aside this portion of Kit's mind and house me in the worst conditions possible. The rest of Naruto's mind is bright as a starburst and happy as a haggler getting his asking price." The Third Hokage snickered at the Kyuubi's comparison. It seemed that the strongest and most feared demon in existence had a very good sense of humor.
"Well, it seems as though we know each other already, so we may as well proceed with the questioning. Is that all right, Kyuubi?"
"By all means, Hokage-sama, ask away."
"Why did you attack the village?"
"I didn't. A wolf demon cub had been killed by Leaf ninja for an unknown reason. As I am the King of Demons, it was my responsibility to find out why he had been killed and to decide the perpetrator's punishment. When I arrived in sight of the village, Leaf ninja began to attack me and so I retaliated. I believe that you know the rest of the story." The Sandaime nodded and grew silent, fuming uncontrollably. Naruto Uzumaki had endured undeserved hate and abuse because the feared Kyuubi was doing his job. Fury filled the old man directed at the villagers and the council for their treatment of the boy, whom no one realized was their beloved Fourth Hokage's only son. A great portion of his anger was directed at the completely unnecessary problem. Had the Leaf ninja not killed that cub or perhaps it was an accident and simply waited for the other demons to arrive so that they could explain themselves, none of this would have happened.
"There is no way to fix this, is there Kyuubi?" It was a rhetorical question but Kyuubi answered anyway.
"No. When will you tell Kit that his father was the one who sealed me inside of him?"
"When he gets older and we reveal to the entire village the mistake all of the villagers have made. I can't wait to see the council's face when Naru's heritage is revealed." The Kyuubi snickered evilly.
"I want Kit to be there so that I can see what happens." The Sandaime bowed to the Demon King and left Naruto's mindscape.
"Hey there again, old man! Did you get the answers you wanted from Dad?" The Third Hokage could almost see Kyuubi's happiness at being called "Dad" and smiled at the innocent curiousity in Naruto's eyes.
"Yes, Naru I did." The boy's infectious smile grew even wider and he spontaneously hugged his grandfather figure again.
"So what happens now?" The Sandaime was silent as he thought of all the possible courses of action and the reprucussions of those actions.
"You must remain in the apartment I have supplied for the time being. There is not much that I can do right now, at least not until I can convince the council of what happened. I don't know how long that will take." The blond's face fell. Nothing was going to change. Although he knew he was not at fault, the villagers would still hate and hurt him.
That is not true, Kit. They will still try to do those things but everything is going to change. The Hokage will try to help and you have me now. Naruto's face brightened. Dad was right, he wasn't alone anymore.
"Okay, old man! I better head back since it's getting late. See you!" Naruto shot out of the room, eyes sparkling and smiling once more. Smiling at the boy's actions, the Hokage's heart lifted. Maybe things really would start to get better. Well, an old man could hope.
Naruto Uzumaki ran through the back alleys, avoiding the villagers and the pain they would bring.
Kit, there is someone in the alley to your left. Turning instantly to the specified alley, Naruto strained his ears to hear. The painfully familiar sound of sobbing came from the darkness. It was a young child, possibly a boy or girl his age; deciding to investigate, the blond stepped forward into the dark alleyway. Instantly, the sobbing ceased and was replaced with a demanding, distinctly male voice.
"Who's there? If that's you, Itachi, then go away. I don't want to talk about anything right now!" Itachi… Itachi Uchiha! He was the ANBU who regularly escorted Naruto to the Hokage. The Uchiha clan was known for its famous Sharingan and lack of personality. Itachi Uchiha had raven hair and eyes to match paired with a pale complexion and two scars on his face. He looked like a ghost, in Naruto's opinion, and his habitual silence did nothing to help his case.
"I am not Itachi. Are you okay?" Sniffing, a young boy stepped into the dim light. He was definitely an Uchiha, the trademark black hair and onyx eyes were there, but this boy was different. He was Naruto's age and the fact that he had been crying was evident. His onyx eyes were rimmed in red and tear tracks cut clear paths down the boy's almost sickly pale cheeks. His white skin was flushed and he looked absolutely heartbroken. His gaze was suspicious as he took in Naruto's appearance.
"Who are you?" Naruto hesitated before answering, then he decided that he really had nothing to lose.
"I am Naruto Uzumaki. What is your name?"
"Sasuke Uchiha." The two boys stared at each other, a curious silence stretching between them.
"Why are you so sad?"
"My older brother picks on me, my parents favor him, I get compared to him all the time, and I think I have just been scarred for life."
"I am sorry about your brother, but at least you have one. All the orphans would die to have a brother or a family to complain about. I would do anything to have someone say they care about me. You are lucky." Sasuke's eyes were wide with realization.
"I… never thought of things that way." The raven stared at the blond, curious about him. "Naruto, I have heard stories about you, but you are nothing like everyone says you are." Naruto tensed, waiting for the other boy to strike or insult him.
"I am not a demon. I am not what the villagers say I am." Sasuke's eyes widened even more at the vehement denial.
"I don't think you are a demon. You are very nice and the first one to reach out to me when I was sad. Why, do you know someone in my family?"
"Just Itachi because he escorts me Hokage. He doesn't say anything except to tell me that I need to go with him."
"Then why did you help me?"
"Well, recently someone helped me and it made me so happy. I thought you might want the same thing." Sasuke smiled, a small smile but a smile nonetheless.
"Thank you." The two boys grew silent once more, just enjoying the other's company. Suddenly, Sasuke's expression changed and a nervous tension stole over his countenance.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't think I can face my family tonight."
"Why not?"
"I… I saw something. Something that was not meant to be seen."
"I am guessing it had something to do with your brother?"
"No. It was my father. I was already upset about always being compared to Itachi and I went to my father to ask him why he and my mother treated me like that. What I saw is what made me run."
"Sasuke, what did you see?" The Uchiha boy was silent, gauging how much he could trust the whiskered blond boy.
"I saw… my father… sleeping with a woman. She was not my mother." Naruto was shocked.
"I can understand why you wouldn't want to go back home after that. I am so sorry."
"Naruto, can I stay with you tonight? I really can't face my father."
"Sure, come on, my apartment is this way." The blond reached for the raven's hand. Sasuke took the tan hand in his pale one, not realizing he was sealing the fate of his heart and soul.
Running silently through the back alleys of Konoha's housing district, the boys reached the dilapidated building that contained Naruto's apartment. After they dodged the decrepit receptionist, they ran cautiously up the rickety stairway. After five flights of stairs, the raven saw a red door, the only door that was on this floor.
"Here is where you live?"
"Yeah, the Hokage gave me permission to live here. I will take the couch and you can sleep on the bed. Wait here and I will get food for tonight." At Sasuke's agreement, the blond left and the youngest Uchiha decided to look around the small three room apartment.
The main room was painted a beige color and had old wood floors that had termite damage. There was a table and two chairs of the same wood off to the side; the table was missing a part of one of its legs and was being held up by a flat rock. The chairs seemed dangerously weak, so weak that Sasuke was afraid to sit on them for fear that they would break. Part of the room was a small kitchen containing a microwave, a refrigerator, some counterspace, and cabinets. The cabinets were barely hanging onto the hinges, some had no doors and all were completely bare.
The rest of the main room was supposed to resemble a living room; a couch that Sasuke saw was obviously comfortable but he could also clearly see rips and tears in the upholstery. A mat was placed in front of the door, allowing anyone who entered to remove their shoes, and a small coffee table, once again with termite damage, sat in front of the couch.
The small bathroom was in better condition. All the utilities were working and it was clean. The toilet and shower were basic and the sink was extremely outdated. The mirror was cracked and missing in some places, but usable. However, the room with the least damage was the small bedroom.
The room was pristine, like the rest of the apartment, and probably the smallest room in the entire apartment. There was only a bed, bedside table, alarm clock, and a chest that was used for clothes. The bed was neatly made and the clock was an earlier model, but still in working condition. Every inch of space was being used to the maximum and kept in spotless condition. Sasuke was floored. He had heard of minimalism but this was ludacris. The minimalistic philosophy had been taken to the extreme and the blond literally had no possession that could not be used in multiple ways. The sound of the door closing alerted the Uchiha to the return of his blond friend. Sasuke gulped nervously. Would Naruto be offended that he had been looking around the apartment and kick him out? Taking a deep breath, the raven walked out to face the blond, hoping for the best.
Naruto looked around for his raven haired houseguest and found him walking out of the bedroom. As expected, Sasuke had looked around his temporary home and was afraid that Naruto would be offended by the action. The blond smiled warmly at his friend.
"I am not going to be mad if you looked around, Sasuke. Curiousity isn't a bad thing." The raven visibly relaxed and returned the smile with a small one of his own. "I don't have a lot of options for food, so I got ramen. It isn't the best food, but I can't buy much else." The raven haired Uchiha's expression was sad.
"Why do you have to deal with everyone being mean to you?"
"Because none of them like me."
"Why not?" Naruto hesitated.
Hey, Dad, should I tell him?
Yes, Kit. He is one whom you can trust. Let him be your friend.
"Sasuke, you know the story of the Kyuubi attack, right?"
"Yeah, of course. Everyone knows that."
"Well, the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi. He used a seal that had been created by both him and the Shinigami to lock the Kyuubi inside of a newborn baby. That baby is me." Sasuke's onyx eyes were wide.
"If the Yondaime sealed the demon in you, you should be considered a hero! You are the only thing keeping the Kyuubi no Kitsune from killing all of us." Naruto shook his head.
"The villagers believe that I am the Kyuubi's reincarnation, not the Kyuubi's prison."
"But… that's so stupid! You were just a baby and had no control over what was happening! This isn't fair!" Naruto smiled sadly.
"We – you, me, and the Sandaime Hokage – know that, but the villagers will never believe it." Naruto gently placed the ramen on the damaged table and they both sat carefully in the rickety chairs. As they ate the ramen, Sasuke was silently plotting to get better living conditions for his new friend – even if he had to defy his own family.
Arrow: What's Sasuke going to do? I don't know yet! Worry not dear readers, the second chapter is in progress but I ask for your patience. I have finals this week and I have no idea when I will be able to work on it.
Leave a review!