Kasek: So here's a Fantasy AU I got stuck in my head. Tons of ideas for this one too but I don't want to commit to it right now. Yes, it's a pretty cliché AU... it's not too imaginative or anything. I hope the writing's good, though.

Title: (Untitled)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Naruto sighed as he sat in his tree-top perch, rubbed the apple in his hand against his bright orange tunic, and took a bite out of it. He ignored the cries of the fruit-seller on the other street, who was apparently looking for him. His pointed ears flicked when he heard the town's very large main gates open and admitted a company of white-armored soldiers surrounding a white carriage, all riding white horses, the carriage itself being pulled by white horses.

Naruto took another bite of his apple- it certainly wasn't anything new. Nobles did that kind of thing all the time. Even from this distance, Naruto could make out the symbols on the flags they carried- the Hyuuga clan symbol. He disliked the Hyuuga- they were even more stuck up than most nobles, being pure-bred elves. He steered clear of them as much as possible.

As they paraded down the street to the Hokage's tower, Naruto noticed something about the lead soldier- unlike the rest of the soldiers, who were obviously Hyuuga themselves with their nearly-white eyes, the raven-haired soldier in front had similarly raven-colored eyes. Now, this piqued Naruto's curiosity- what was a non-Hyuuga doing leading one of their parades? Naruto narrowed his eyes when he saw the Uchiha's signature red and white fan emblazoned on his armor on the right side of his chest, opposing the Hyuuga clan symbol. So, that was what had happened to the last Uchiha? He hadn't payed any attention to what happened to the boy after his family died years ago- Naruto was too poor to really care about things like that, all it meant to him was that it was fewer people to look down on him. Perhaps it was true that the Uchiha clan was related to the Hyuuga clan, after all.

Naruto smirked as they came close to his tree. Right as the Uchiha boy was about to pass under him, he let go of his apple, letting it drop right in front of the horse's face, scaring it half to death and causing it to rear. The raven-haired boy pulled on the reins, and surprisingly got it to calm down within a few moments. He looked up, and spotted Naruto, who smiled, and jumped down, landing calmly on his feet. "Ah, sorry about that, I dropped my apple."

The other boy snorted in a manner similar to his horse, and snapped the reins, signaling the horse to keep marching. Naruto flinched when he saw the horse step on the apple, splattering its remains all over the pavement- there went the rest of his snack. It was a good thing he had managed to get as many bites out of it as he had.

Naruto watched as the rest of the procession walked by. However, as he watched the carriage pass by, his breath caught in his throat- inside was a beautiful dark-blue haired Hyuuga girl who was looking out the window, and who smiled when she saw him. As the carriage passed onwards, Naruto could not help but look after it and blink. Without even thinking about it, he began following it, hoping to catch another glimpse of the girl.

He climbed up the tree, and as the trees were lined all up and down the street, he leapt from branch to branch, staying behind the entourage. They stopped in front of the entrance to the Hokage's tower, where the Hokage, or leader of the city, himself- a wizened old elf named Hiruzen, dressed in the white and red Hokage robes and hat- stood to greet them, along with the Hyuuga clan leader, Hiashi, dressed in his white wizard's robe.

The Uchiha dismounted his horse, and after giving its head a stroke, moved over to the side of the carriage and opened the door, standing to the side while he held it. "Her grace, Fire Priestess Hinata Hyuuga."

Naruto's breath hitched once more as he saw the girl get out of the carriage. She had on a beautiful white hooded-cloak with red and gold robes underneath, and red flame patterns decorating the bottom of the cloak. He looked down at his own clothes- an orange-dyed leather tunic with similarly-dyed leather gloves and some blue jeans. She looked at him directly for a moment, smiling, causing him to blush intensely even after she looked away and walked towards the elder elves.

She must be able to detect chakra really well if she could spot me so easily... I'm not a professional thief for nothing. We're taught to suppress our chakra as well as possible... then again, I do have absurd amounts of it. Old man Hokage always lamented me not being a professional wizard... says I could become a magic user as powerful as the Yondaime Hokage...

Hinata bowed towards Hiashi and Hiruzen. "My mission was a success, Lord Hokage, Father. The spirits have left the Fire King's castle."

Hiruzen smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Hinata. You are of benefit to the city of Konoha, as always."

She smiled in return, though not that Naruto could see from his seat. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Hiashi grunted. "Come, Hinata. We return to the estate."

The young Hyuuga girl bowed again. "Yes, Father."

Both Hiashi and Hinata climbed into the carriage, and then the procession turned to the right, past the Hokage's tower and towards the Hyuuga estate on the western side of the city (Naruto always thought that a city should have taller buildings, but if they wanted to call it a city they could). Naruto stared after the procession for a while, and just as he was about to go on his way, he was startled by a voice behind him. "It seems someone has found a girl they like, eh, Naruto?"

Naruto nearly fell out of the tree, but he regained his balance and glared at the old man sitting in the tree behind him- none other than the Hokage himself. "I-it's not like that, old man!"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Suuure it's not. Your blush says otherwise."

As Hiruzen had pointed out, Naruto's blush had returned full-force when the old man had brought the subject up. Naruto frowned, and looked back as the last of the procession turned the corner. "It's... just a passing crush... not like I'd ever get to meet her in real life, anyways..."

The elderly elf smiled at the young boy. "Well, maybe if you decided to become a professional wizard like myself..."

Naruto scowled. "Not that again! Sure, I appreciate magic as much as the next pyromaniac, but... then I couldn't get paid to steal stuff. I like this job very much, old man."

Hiruzen sighed in disappointment. "Well, if you say so... Anyways, isn't it about time for you to report to Shikaku?"

Naruto yawned. "I guess so... got distracted by... Hinata, was it?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes... who knows, if you're lucky you might get a mission to steal..." He whispered something into Naruto's ear, causing the young man to blush even more intensely than before.

"You, sir, are a sick, perverted old man."

Said old man shrugged. "Be that as it may, you still need to support the guild and keep our economy going." The blushing boy mumbled something under his breath about the guild, but Hiruzen didn't hear it all- if he had to guess, the boy had just threatened to betray his guild if they ever made that a mission. "Well, I'll leave you alone. I have paperwork to do, after all. Good luck, Naruto."

--

Naruto sighed as he waited in line for missions inside the Knife Guild. He looked at the person in front of him in line, and the next in line to go in- Shikamaru Nara, a very lazy, very human thief who apparently dabbled in shadow magic, and was also the guild leader's son. He was wearing a brown leather vest with a grey undershirt, with his family's symbol on the sleeve- a circle with a thick bar going diagonally through it. Naruto's blush came back slightly as he spoke to the boy. "Hey, Shikamaru? I've got a question for ya someone else made me think about. Does the guild accept requests to steal..." He whispered the last part in Shikamaru's ear. The Nara's eyes widened when he heard it.

"Wh-what? Who on earth would make you think about that?"

Naruto's eyes shifted to the side. "...old man Hokage..."

The young Nara sighed. "Hmm... darn it, now the thought's stuck in my head, too. We can ask after I get my mission for the day."

Naruto gave a weak smile. "Th-thanks..."

An older man walked out of the room they were waiting outside of, and Shikamaru walked inside. Naruto waited nervously, and after a few minutes, Shikamaru popped his head back in. "Oi, come in, Naruto." Naruto gulped and nodded, walking inside after him. Naruto took a good look at Shikaku Nara, the guild head, who was sitting at his desk leaning back in his comfy chair. The man looked like an older Shikamaru, only with scars on his face and spiky fur on the collar of his leather vest. The man grunted as he looked at Naruto. "What's this I hear about a question about mission requests?"

Another gulp, and Naruto's blush had returned as well. "Well, ya see, it's... something that Lord Hokage mentioned, and it's... kind of embarrassing.. I can't even say it out loud..." He walked over to his boss and whispered his problem in Shikaku's ear. Said man's eyes widened, and a blush appeared on his own face.

"Not to say that we haven't... had requests like that, but... geez, even we have morals. And you said Lord Hokage implanted the idea in your head? I had heard he was a bit of a pervert, but that's a bit much..."

Naruto retreated to back in front of the desk. "Okay, question answered, then! So, do ya have a mission for me today?"

Shikaku nodded towards his son, who promptly left the room. The elder Nara sighed as he rubbed his forehead and took out a scroll. "I've got a joint-bodyguard mission for you."

A groan escaped Naruto's mouth as he rubbed his own forehead. He stepped forward and took the scroll, unrolling it and looking over the contents. "...C-rank mission... bodyguard for bridge-builder Tazuna... who're the guys I'm stuck with?"

The guild head shook his head. "Dunno exactly yet. One member each from us, the Sword Guild, and the Church. As per usual, I had to promise that you wouldn't steal anything before they agreed to it."

Naruto cursed his luck. "That's... just great. I hope I end up with a priestess, or at least a priest, cause those 'paladins' really get on my nerves. Priests are forgiving, and sometimes fun to tease."

Shikaku snorted. "No such luck. I'm told that they're sending a paladin. Like I said, dunno exactly who."

The young half-elf sighed as he rolled up the scroll. "Well, I don't have much choice, do I? See ya later, boss."

--

Naruto blushed when he realized exactly which Sword Guild member he had been paired with- Sakura Haruno, a pink-haired, apparently human girl he had long had a crush on. She was wearing a full set of silver knight armor with red underclothes, minus the helmet. She was also carrying a gigantic ax on her back. Maybe this won't be all bad...

Said girl frowned when she saw who it was. "Great, I'm stuck with you, huh?"

The young half-elf boy chuckled. "Come on, Sakura, I can't be that bad, can I?"

She was about to retort when they heard armor clinking. "So, you two are my partners for this mission?" They turned to the source of the noise, only to see the Uchiha walking towards them in all of his white armored, 'holier than thou' glory, his white cape fluttering behind him, his white-sheathed sword clinking against his left leg armor.

Sakura blushed. "Y-you're... Sasuke Uchiha..."

Naruto snorted. "Of all the paladins they had to partner me with..."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched for a moment. "Ah, you're that... so you're a professional thief, eh? You look like it."

A growl rumbled in Naruto's throat. "You think you're all that..."

Sakura bopped him over the head. "D-don't mind him..."

The Uchiha nodded, and walked over to the wall and leaned against it. "So, anyone know what our client looks like?"

Naruto grumbled to himself for a moment. "Bet he's some drunk fool human..."

"You got one out of three right, Whiskers." Naruto turned, but didn't see anything. "Down here." He looked down, and saw a balding, chubby, grey haired-and-small-bearded dwarf, with a towel around his neck and over his grey shirt. His cheeks were red, and in combination with the large sake bottle he had in his hands, he was probably drunk, if even just a little. "I'm the bridge builder Tazuna! I expect you three to protect me while I build my bridge!"

--

Kasek: So here's how this world works and stuff.

Instead of 'ninja', cities have three guilds and 'the Church'.

First there's the Knife Guild, which Naruto belongs to- this one specializes in professional thievery and assassinations. They do not take requests that take place within the walls of the city that they inhabit, and are on average the most expensive guild. Nobody really likes them, for obvious reasons.

Next is the Sword Guild,which Sakura belongs to- these guys all specialize in combat, so they take bodyguard and more direct killing missions (such as clearing out bandits or monsters). They host fighting tournaments monthly.

The third is the Staff Guild. If you want an example of a character that works here... hmm. I guess Hiashi might be a high-ranking member. These guys specialize in magic, and all that they allow themselves to be hired out for is stuff that specifically requires magic, like sealing, teleportation, or even tutoring others on magic- this last service is what generates the most revenue for them, as not only members of other Guilds but also many civilians like to learn magic. BTW, I kept chakra as the energy source of magic.

Lastly, there's 'the Church', also known by members of the guilds as either "Oh, them" (Knife Guild) or as the Shield Guild. They specialize in healing magic and protecting others. They do not actually charge money, but merely take donations from those who would give. Oddly, there is no one religion the Church as a whole adheres to- it varies from region to region. They were, however, founded in Konoha, and thus the 'Will of Fire' has the most followers out of Church members. Each religious branch has their own high priest or priestess- the Land of Fire's branch of the Church has Fire Priestess Hinata Hyuuga. There is also a supreme priest who is in charge of all branches of the Church, even though the Guilds have no singular leader.

Lastly, the Hokage is the leader of Konoha, who has earned his position from mastering the ways of all four groups. Many skilled warriors have followed more than one path, but a Kage is considered the pinnacle of achievement. Naruto doesn't care much for the 'thrill of combat', so the position doesn't intrigue him in the least. He does, however, like to blow things up, and knows a couple of basic spells for this express purpose. He has yet to need more than the basics for reasons I will not uncover here.

Races mentioned so far:

Elves- The Hyuuga, The Uchiha, Hiruzen.

Humans: The Nara, Sakura (supposedly, but... look at her hair!)

Half-elves: Naruto (also, yes, he does have his trademark whiskers here)

Dwarves: Tazuna

If I ever continue this, you can send in more races for consideration.