Hello readers!
At first I was going to do this story differently, but then I realized that there was a little problem when I started writing - I didn't know exactly when HIdan and Kakuzu were paired up in the Akatsuki. I ended up improvising and putting them in too early in the series! Sorry to disappoint, but this will be starting at the beginning of the series instead of in Shippuden. Hidan and Kakuzu still tie into my main plot, but it'll be a while until you get to see them again.
Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.
Only a few days in Konoha, and I'm already getting homesick…
Things have been pretty slow for me since the day I was released from the hospital. The doctors wanted to make sure I was completely healed, so they had kept me for a day and a half. I had always wanted to travel, however I didn't think I would be living somewhere else so soon. One moment I was living happily with Kazuo-san, and in another all alone in a strange, new place. I've been pretty lonely, and nothing seems to be going right, but I should be glad I'm still alive. The people seem nice and at least they want me healthy! I might as well take things in a positive light.
Sarutobi-sama was kind enough to lend me money and let me stay in a free apartment. I told him I would pay him back his money. His reply to that? "You've already been through enough, my child." I didn't really like the fact that he was pitying me, but I've decided to let it slide for now. He had also told me I should learn to defend myself while I'm in Konoha. So, he has enrolled me in the local Ninja Academy. In his words, "If you can survive the Akatsuki, then you should be able to become a genin." In Yoake, Kazuo-san had trained me for a while, so I took up the challenge. I could use the distraction anyway.
The layout of this city must take a while to learn, I thought to myself as I strolled along the streets. I woke up early this morning hoping to find the Academy on my own. Needless to say, instead of arriving right away I got lost in a flurry of dust and people. The next thing I knew I was lost in a food market with nowhere to turn. I was getting nervous, seeing so many people staring and sneering at me, as well as annoyed. Haven't they seen a kid before?
"Who is that? I've never seen her before."
"Is she an Uchiha?"
"No, they're extinct now. Besides, look at her eyes!" What's wrong with my eyes?
"That can't be natural. No one has eyes like that!" Apparently, I do.
"She must be tainted! Like that Kyuubi boy!"
"EXCUSE ME," I retorted to the mob, "You know I can hear what you're saying? I guess my judgment of your people was wrong; you're quite rude after all! " They looked shocked afterwards, and looked away as if I said nothing. Very rude indeed! I made my way past them and walked to a fruit vendor at the end of the street. An old woman was sitting on a stool staring into space until I started talking to her.
"Hello Ma'am! I was wondering if you could tell me where the Ninja academy is. It's my first day going there, and I got lost…"
"Oh, dearie!" She snapped out of her self-made trance and had a frantic look on her face. "Your first day at the academy? You don't even look prepared."
"Prepared?" I cocked my head to the side and looked at her skeptically.
"You have no books or ninja weapons with you! Do you even have a lunch, dearie?"
"Umm," I paused, "I didn't think about that. I guess I thought they would just tell me what I needed when I got there."
"Oh my, that's no good." The old lady shook out a paper bag and put a basket of strawberries inside it. "Here you are Dearie. On the house!"
"Wow! Are you sure ma'am? I don't have much money on me, but I could still pay-"
"Nonsense! It's the least I can do for such a sweet girl."
"Th-Thank you very much. You're the first person that's been nice enough to talk to me."
"Now, you see the street next to us?" She pointed to the right with her bony fingers. "Walk to the end of it, take two lefts and a right. It should be right there."
"Thank you Ma'am!" I started walking once again when she yelled at me.
"It's Sachiko!"
I had walked in the directions Sachiko had told me. Just like she said, the academy was in plain sight! I could see a fenced off area with a single two story building and a swing in the vicinity. It sure looked like a school. What with the lot of green grass and the…Hey, I thought there were supposed to be kids here! Unless…
"Oh no! I'm late!"
I rushed inside the building and wandered around hysterically. I had forgotten what classroom I needed to get to. Sprinting, I ran around the halls until I had encountered what looked like an instructor carrying a clipboard around with him.
"Hey!" I stopped in front of him and took a breather.
"Hello… May I help you?" The man who had his hair up in a high pony tail and a scar running across the bridge of his nose smiled.
"It's my first day, and I forgot what class I'm supposed to go to." I scratched the back of my head and chuckled lightly. This guy must think I'm a moron…
"Oh, that's not a problem. I had forgotten the roll sheet at the main office, so I have all the papers here. I can look to see what class you're in."
"Thank you so much!" I grinned ear to ear as he checked the sheets. "My surname is Yua."
"Yua, Yua…Oh! There you are!" He smiled back to me. "It looks like you're in my class, young lady. You're in luck!"
"Okay. Does that mean I'll be tardy to class?" I crossed my fingers behind my back and held my breath.
"No, I'll let you slide. You are new, after all."
I sighed in relief. Thank goodness! I'm glad I ran into him.
"Well, let's get going, shall we?"
I walked down the halls of the academy with my new instructor. I had forgotten to ask his name, but I figured I would hear it in class. After all, how else would the students call for him? We approached a sliding wood door. He put his hand to the groove in the side and turned to me.
"You ready?" He asked with a chuckle in his voice.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I was nervous, but ready for what lies ahead. I believe he saw the look in my eyes, for when he slid open the door he stood behind me, waiting for me to enter.
The former noise bustling inside the room immediately stopped when the door opened. An awkward silence was forming, but I didn't let it get to me. It felt as if the students were deer and I was the stream of light in their wake – They were surprised by my presence. I could almost laugh at the looks on their faces! Hah! That wouldn't start well, would it? I stepped down the stairs between the long sets of desks with a snide smirk on my face and stood next to the wooden podium on front of the classroom. The instructor followed me down and assumed his position.
"Good morning class! We have a new student. Why don't you introduce yourself?" He nudged my shoulder.
"Umm, hello everyone." I waved to the class. It seemed as half of the students didn't really care – a few of them were even sleeping. There were a few kids that stared quite intently though. "My name is Yua Ninamori. I'm originally from a village that's kinda far away. I…traveled to Konoha so I could become a powerful shinobi and integrate with your society. I've always wanted to learn to fight! I like exploring, catching wild animals and dancing every now and then. I also have a philosophy – Treat me with respect and I'll gladly reciprocate. Treat me like crap, and I'll rub your face in a pile of it."
"Well, that was…okay. Now then, where should you sit?"
"Iruka-sensei," a brown haired boy interjected. Mind you, his speech was slurred because he was shoving his face full of barbecue chips, "Why do we have a new student when the school year is almost half way done?"
"Choji has a point. We've already gone through so many lessons. How is she going to catch up with the class?" Another brown haired boy added. His hair almost reminded me of a pineapple. And he would be quite the tired pineapple, since he was a sleeping student to boot.
"To answer your question, Shikamaru, we're confident that she'll be able to catch up. Now Ninamori, you'll sit next to Kiba." Iruka pointed to a boy in a grey hoodie with red paint on his face. He looked like an energetic guy, especially with his companion sitting on his shoulder licking his face. He was sitting in the middle of the large desk. A blonde girl wearing purple was sitting next to him by the window. I've never liked aisles very much… I sat there anyway.
To my surprise, the cream colored dog on Kiba's shoulder jumped off him and climbed onto my lap. He was sniffing me closely when he started nuzzling against me. "Aww..What a cutie!" I patted his head to which he yipped softly.
"Heh heh, that's Akamaru." Kiba grinned and crossed his arms. "He sure likes you! You must be a good person."
"Hmm? How so?" I cocked my head, interested in what he had to say.
"I can tell. After all, he is my dog. He sure knows how to pick 'em! Hahaha!"
"So then you can understand canine speak? That's pretty neat."
"What? How'd you figure that out?" I have to say, he was pretty shocked by my comment.
"You look more feral than you may think Kiba. Other than that, it was more or less a guess." I smiled and winked at him, noticing a light blush tinting his cheeks. I waved it off.
Dang, I need to pay attention, I thought to myself. I listened to the lesson Iruka was teaching; they were reviewing chakra networks, and let Akamaru rest on my lap the entire time. I had to say, the day wasn't going as bad as I thought it would.
"Lunch time! Be back in an hour!"
As soon as Iruka stated it was lunch time, all the kids had begun running for the door. In a matter of seconds everyone was out of the classroom with the exception of a blonde boy sitting at a far desk in front of the classroom. He had leaned on the desk, his head buried into his crossed arms and breathing heavily. I approached the desk and tapped it a few times hoping he would notice.
His head shot up and arms flailed as he scanned the area. When he finally realized I was standing beside him, he straightened up and looked at me with confusion in his eyes. I smiled at him and sat on the desktop.
"Hey there. I noticed you were the only one left in class. What's keeping you?"
His eyes started to well up, but he kept his composure. He wiped his eyes with his white shirt and averted his gaze. "What's the point? I don't have any lunch anyway." He turned his body away from me.
"No lunch? Funny, I wasn't prepared this morning either! I was running around like a chicken without a head!" He giggled slightly and looked back at me. "But you know what? I have a couple baskets of strawberries with me, and I don't think I'll be able to finish it all." I held out the bag in front of me. "Would you like to join me?"
The boy looked astonished by the notion and had a stunned look on his face. "Y-You would share your lunch with me? Why?"
"I sure would appreciate the company. Come with me!" I smiled at him and held out my free hand. Sure enough, he took it, although very slowly.
We walked out of the building and sat by a shady tree nearby the entrance of the academy. There was a swing attached to one of the strong limbs. The boy saw it and sprinted to it, taking the ropes and sitting on the plank. I followed him and sat at the base of the tree next to him. I took the baskets out and handed him one.
"So, mind if I get a name from you?" I caught him shoving a strawberry in his mouth, just catching the slight muffle of speech in his munching. "Hey, what did you say?"
He gulped his strawberry down and licked his lips. "Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Naruto, huh? That's the first time I've heard of that name."
"Oh, really?" He seemed disinterested, but I could see why. He was scarfing up those strawberries!
"Yeah. It has a nice ring to it though! It really sticks out. I kinda like it."
"Heheh, thanks. You're, eh, Yua Namiko, right?"
Wow, doesn't he listen in class? "Um, not quite. It's Ninamori."
"Ohh…." He looked embarrassed at what he said. You could see the sweat droplets form on his face. "Sorry about that. Hey, thanks for the strawberries, by the way! They were really tasty!" I looked down to see his basket practically empty all for the tops of the berries he had devoured. He was really hungry, wasn't he?
"It's no problem." As I smiled, he grinned goofily right back. I was glad I could cheer up someone my first day of school. It really made my day better to see him smile. "So Naruto, do you have any friends in class you like to hang out with?"
"Not really…" Downtrodden, he hung his head low and stared at the ground. "I mean, there's Choji, Shikamaru, and Kiba that say hi to me, but no one really wants to get to know me…"
"What? How come no one wants to be friends with you?" This really confused me as well as interested me.
"Well, I don't know why…I just know the older villagers don't like me, so the kids don't like me either…"
"Hmmm…"
'"She must be tainted! Like that Kyuubi boy!"'
That must be it. But why a fox? I noticed he had scars on his cheeks that look like whiskers. But that couldn't be why, could it? That's just ridiculous!
"You know, this really irritates me!" Naruto gave me a curious gaze. "I don't have a clue why anyone dislikes you. They shouldn't be judging a person by their looks. It's what's inside that counts! It's what's in here," I said as I laid my hand over his heart, "Not what's on the outside." I returned my hand to its side. "It- it just…Rrgh!" I growled at myself. Not just from my frustration, but because of the anger I felt after hearing Naruto's predicament. I calmed myself down. "I'm sorry, Naruto. This just really makes me mad!"
"But why?" He looked concerned for me. No, it should be the other way around!
"Because no one should be treated like that! They didn't even give you a chance. It's so aggravating!" I pouted as if I was the one being ridiculed. Naruto had a sad smile spreading on his face – I assumed he hadn't been shown that compassion in a long time. I smiled right back at him and said, "Hey, I have a proposition for you."
"Proper – whaat?" The blonde boy looked incredulous! You would have had to be there to see the face he made. He can really make a person laugh, that's for sure!
"Haha!" I clutched my stomach and rolled to the grass for a little bit, then laid down to face him. "Would you like to be my friend, Naruto?"
His eyes brightened as if fireflies were aglow in his irises, even though we were sitting in shade. I couldn't believe how fast his moods changed, but I believed that to be a good thing. A happy Naruto is a good Naruto! His smile turned into a toothy beam once again. "I'd really like that Ninamori."
Hey, my first day didn't turn out to be so bad after all.
I'm glad I get to see some readers, but the lack of reviews I don't like. So I want 5 reviews from you guys before I write another chapter. Let's do it! :D