Wow! Thanks for the insight and you guys made really good points which would make sense in a neglect fic. On to the story.
He was going to be genin today. That's the first thought that came to his mind and he couldn't be any happier. He'd have missions that would take him out of this village and away from his 'parents'.
God, he didn't like those people. He went through hell because of their neglect and now they wanted to be a part of his life - after everything he had to endure because of them?
He would not hate. He would go to the point of no return because Ayame was like a sister to him and she was knowledgeable when it called for it. So he would listen to what she told him and not hate his family; that did not mean we was going to forgive them, no way. It did not mean he liked them either, hell to the no! They weren't parents for what they did, and he easily saw Naruko as the favourite that was chosen to live a good life while he suffered at the hands of the villagers. She had the opportunity to know what it was like to have a family; what it was like to be loved and comforted when she needed it, while he had none of those things - well, except for JiJi and Iruka but they still came a bit late into his childhood. Naruko was the favourite, not him, that's why they left him to rot so he didn't like her much either.
He decided to stop dwelling too much on these unwanted thoughts and look at the bright side of things. He was going to be genin! He beat the crap out of Mizuki to earn it and now he was one step closer of his life long dream of becoming Hokage. Minato wasn't his hero anymore. After everything, Naruto was surprised that he didn't despise the man. He was about to do his morning routine when a knock on the door stopped him. He got out of his bedroom and made his way to the entrance and opened it to see none other than Ayame herself on the other side, which was weird because she rarely visited his place.
"Hey Ayame-chan!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically; he was just too happy on the prospect of being a ninja and missions to care about anything else.
"Awww, look at you Naruto-kun! You already have your hitai ate on and you look so cute!" Ayame gushed.
"I'm not cute, I'm manly!" Naruto said as he pouted and puffed his chest.
"Sure, whatever you say," Ayam giggled and then smiled warmly at him. He deserved to be a shinobi. He always trained himself to exhaustion and now it was paying off. While many other's had tutors, he always trained alone and that made her frown.
"Naruto-kun, I really need to talk to you, if it's okay right now," Ayame said.
"Uhh...sure Ayame-chan! What is it?" Naruto asked curiously.
"...It's about Naruko,"
"Okay everybody, I want you to settle down," Iruka said to the excited academy graduates, who were busy chatting amongst themselves. He looked around and noticed that Naruto hadn't arrived yet. He would have just gone ahead and started classes but he decided to wait a little longer for the boy who always dreamed of being Hokage.
"It seemed just yesterday when you were just a hopeless knucklehead, eh Naruto?" Iruka thought and smiled fondly. Naruto had really grown into an exceptional person from his early days in the academy. Iruka knew Naruto struggled in the beginning because he had no one else to teach him, and even if Iruka would pitch in here and there to educate the boy, other teachers would sabotage or teach Naruto the wrong things. That made his blood boil.
You know what else made his blood boil? Naruto's parents, not siblings but parents. He wasn't at all angry at Naruto's siblings because he knew they couldn't have a say in the abandonment of Naruto. No child could ever be that cruel and from what he heard, Naruto would often be seen with his baby sister, both of his sisters yesterday eating food together, if the information he got from Teuchi was correct. That was proof enough to Iruka that Naruto's sisters wanted to be with their brother. So how could Minato and Kushina, as parents, leave their own child like that, their blood? It was inexcusable. They didn't have the right to call themselves parents after that. Iruka flopped in his seat and opened a book as he tried to drown out the chitter-chatter of his former students.
"Just give him a few more minutes before you start the speech," Iruka thought.
"Hello, is this seat taken?" Naruko asked, staring down at a shy Hyuuga girl, if those eyes were anything to go by.
"Uhh..N-N-o-o," The girl stuttered and looked away.
"Hey Naruko! Come sit with us!" Ino screamed to the girl.
Naruko made no indication that she even heard Ino. She knew all their names because her father told her on the possible candidates of people who she will be teamed up with and she hoped it wasn't any of those group of girls. She had been in this academy for five days, in which Naruto was absent, and she had a definite picture on who acts like what here. She knew their kind, fan girls. She hated girls who disgraced themselves as kunoichi just for an idiots attention, that idiot being the Uchiha.
Sasuke Uchiha, she only had one word when it came to that guy, yarou. He was an egotistical attention seeker who relished the spotlight and loved to show off, but what's worse was he was a brooder. She didn't like him at all and ever since she joined the academy, she had become the most popular girl, in male opinion, much to the chagrin of all those fan girls and herself. She had seen Sasuke checking her out a number of times in which she would always feel filthy when she caught those onyx eyes looking at her like she was a naked target for his pleasure, he wasn't the only boy doing that but he was the most noticable since he didn't seem ashamed of his tactics...Yarou.
Of all the people around here, she noticed Hinata a lot. The girl was so shy that no one would even make an effort in talking to her. There was also the days when Naruto was absent when she saw Hinata looking at the door, as if she was waiting for someone, and then sighing in disappointment when Iruka would mark Naruto as absent from the roster. The team placement had to be postponed because of the surprising arrival of her father, which was six days ago. But today was the day; she will be included in a team and Naruto had no choice but to be present or miss out.
"Thank you," Naruko said.
Hinata just nodded her head with her eyes downcast. She wasn't expecting anything from Naruto's sister sitting next to her, but was surprised when the blonde initiated conversation.
"Uuuh... Well, you already know my name and I know yours... I was wondering if you'd like to be friends. I see sometimes you're alone and I'm alone too so..." Naruko trailed off awkwardly. She knew how to make friends, but she didn't exactly know how to interact with a shy girl without possibly saying something offensive. It was easier talking to loud girls who loved to chat because they were more of an open book then a quiet person, but she would not let that stop her. She genuinely wanted to be Hinata's friend.
"Y-You...w-want t-to b-be f-friends...w-with m-me?" Hinata stuttered, looking anywhere but the girl, trying, in vain, to hide the blush on her face.
"Yeah, if that's okay with you," Naruko said.
She was rewarded with Hinata nodding her head, albeit crazily.
Hinata couldn't say anything. She was friends with Naruko, her crush's sister? She never expected that to happen. She didn't even have friends since no one could stand her shyness. She didn't know what to make of it, so she settled for looking in front of her and keeping quiet.
"Cool," Naruko said sweetly and allowed herself some time to think with the silence.
"Well, I gave him time. Maybe he isn't coming," Iruka muttered and was about to start his speech when he was stopped.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto greeted cheerfully as he made his way into the class.
Iruka looked at Naruto and was surprised to see genuine happiness on that face. He knew long ago about the mask Naruto would always put on as a defense mechanism, but today that mask wasn't present. He looked really happy. Iruka smiled. Even after all the crap that's been dumped on him, Naruto always found a way to persevere.
The teacher quickly schooled his face into that of annoyance.
"Naruto! You're late! What kind of ninja will you be if you kept skipping missions like you did classes!" Iruka said, using his big headed jutsu.
"I'm gonna be Hokage! Just wait and see!" Naruto said in glee.
"What are you even doing here? Didn't you fail the exam?" Shikamaru asked.
"Ha! If failed, then how come I got this!?" Naruto said, indicating to his forehead protector.
"Maybe because the Hokage gave you special treatment, since you're his son," Kiba sneered.
"...Don't you ever put me with that man again, Dog Breath. I earned this, by myself, through blood sweat and tears!" Naruto said angrily, glaring at Kiba.
"How?" Shikamaru asked.
"By beating Mizuki, who was discovered to be a traitor to the leaf," Iruka answered, looking at Naruto with pride.
"He beat a chunin?" Choji asked, surprised. Hell, everyone was except for Naruko.
"Alright enough of that. Take a seat Naruto so I can start my speech," Iruka said.
"What!? I don't wanna sleep because of your 'speech'!" Naruto pouted.
"You little brat! I'll have you know my speeches are interesting to listen to!" Iruka said and grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him to his seat. All the while the whole class laughed.
Iruka looked around, then quickly squeezed Naruto's shoulder gently to get the young blonde's attention.
"I'm proud of you, Naruto," Iruka said, softly smiling at Naruto.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said smiling back.
Iruka nodded, then made his way back and began his boring speech.
Naruto looked around and saw Naruko sitting next to the weird girl; it was Hinata, right? He made his way to them and cleared his throat.
"Hey...can we talk?" Naruto said seriously, gazing at a surprised Naruko.
"Sure, Nii-san, anything you want," Naruko said in surprise. She didn't expect him to come to her. Hell, she expected him to shun her, but the way he was looking at her made her extremely nervous.
He took a seat next to her and started.
"I don't hate you," Naruto said after a pause.
"What?" Naruko asked, confused.
"This morning, before I came here, Ayame came to my place...She told me what you told her," Naruto said looking at a very nervous Naruko.
"And...w-what do you think?" Naruko asked.
"I appreciate you trying to be there for me when you found out about me. I can honestly say that I can't hate you but I can't forgive you either, not yet. I need time," Naruto said, hoping he wouldn't have to explain himself further.
"What about Tou-san and Kaa-san?" Naruko asked.
"Don't talk to me about them. It will take time to forgive you but they are a different story. I don't want to talk about them." Naruto hissed the last part in disdain.
Naruko took his hand and put it to were her heart was.
"Take all the time you need, Nii-san," Naruko said honestly. She would do whatever it took to earn his forgiveness, but it seemed the subject of their parents was taboo for now.
"Uhh thanks...Could you let go now!?" Naruto sputtered with a blush.
She looked down and realized that she put Naruto's hand on one of her still developing breasts...but it was too late.
"Naruto-baka, you pervert!" Sakura shrieked.
"I'm not a pervert!" Naruto shouted, but he had forgotten to remove his hand away from Naruko. That infuriated some girls as well as guys.
"Get him!" some fan girls shouted.
"Geez, didn't know the guy was into stuff like that," Kiba muttered with a perverted giggle, visualizing the Uzumaki-Namikaze family fulfilling their incestuous desires.
"ENOUGH!" Iruka screamed when he realized no one was listening to his speech, all because of the regular troublemaker, Naruto.
Everyone quickly scrambled to their seats to avoid Iruka's wrath.
"Tch. If you were still my students...*Cough* Alright, It's time to put you into your teams..."
"...Team Eight will consist of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. Your jonin sensei will be Kurenai Yuuhi," Iruka said.
"W-We're n-not I-In t-the s-same t-team," Hinata stuttered in sadness.
"It's okay. We just have to make sure we keep in contact, right?" Naruko asked with a smile.
"R-Right," Hinata gave a small smile in return.
"Team Nine is still in circulation," Iruka said.
"I just hope I end up with Sasuke-kun, but if I ended up with Naruto-kun, that wouldn't be so bad," Ino said with a faraway look.
"What the hell Ino-pig! Naruto-baka?" Sakura asked.
"The son of the Hokage who beat a chunin? Yep, that's the one," Ino said with a dreamy sigh.
"Team Ten will consist of Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi and Shika-"
"WHAT!?"
"Geez, Ino, you don't have to scream. Troublesome," Shikamaru lazily said.
"There has to be a mistake, Iruka-sensei! Please tell me there was a mistake! These two are lazy good for nothings! I can't be on a team with them!" Ino ranted.
"Gee, thanks," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.
"The decisions are final, Ino. Your sensei is Asuma Sarutobi," Iruka finished, peering at the sulking platinum blonde.
"Sensei, why did you skip Team Seven?" Sakura asked and then noticed that Naruto, Sasuke, Naruko and herself were the only ones left who hadn't been picked.
"Weil because of a lot of...changes," Iruka said, rubbing his head.
"Changes?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, there was a hot debate on this team in particular. After all that, it was decided that Team Seven will consist of Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze-"
"It's just Uzumaki! That's what I grew up with and that's what I'm sticking to...Yes, I'm on a Team with Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.
"No!" Sakura wailed in despair.
"-Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha-"
"Yay, Sasuke-kun! Eat it Pig!" Sakura cheered, staring brazenly at a fuming Ino.
"Will you let me finish!? Sasuke Uchiha and Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze," Iruka finally finished.
Naruto and Naruko looked at each other. Naruko smiled at him and Naruto nodded his head. They weren't that close yet, but at least they had an understanding.
"Your jonin sensei will be Kushina Uzu-"
Bang!
"What the hell, man!? No way! I don't want to be in the same team as that woman!" Naruto shouted.
"What the hell is wrong with you kids!? Will you ever let me finish!?" Iruka fumed.
"I don't want to be near her, you hear me!?" Naruto shouted angrily.
"The decisions are final, Naruto! If you ever want to be Hokage then you have to suck it up! Part of being a shinobi is doing things that you normally wouldn't like," Iruka said. He didn't like this either, in fact, he hated doing this but the Hokage's word is law so he couldn't change it. That didn't stop him from voicing his disagreement to Kushina, who would hear none of it. But hopefully, there would be a silver lining to what he said next.
Naruto just sulked in his seat. His life was over. The world was ending. Why did Kami hate him? He never hurt anybody, even if they hurt him. This was so horrible.
"...But since there was an extra addition to the roster, then another sensei was assigned to your team. Your second jonin sensei is Kakashi Hatake," Iruka said.
"...What, that's it!? That doesn't change anything! Arg!" Naruto flopped in his seat; he felt like he was dying.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but please just bare with it. If I could, then I would change this, but I have no power over what's going on," Iruka said sadly.
Naruto just muttered under his breath and looked away in defeat.
All the jonin had arrived and took their respective teams and the only people left was Team Seven.
Naruto was upset, really upset. No matter what he did, Minato and Kushina always found a way to screw with his life. He didn't want to be near them! Why couldn't they get that!? They were not his parents so they should stop thinking themselves as such. He looked around and saw that everyone was bored. Sakura kept trying to start a conversation with Sasuke, Sasuke stared at Naruko and Naruko just glared at the Uchiha.
Naruto got an idea and went to the front door. He put the board eraser on top of the door-frame. He chuckled quietly, and then made his way back to his seat.
"Nii-san?" Naruko asked confusedly when she noticed what he did.
"Hehehe," Naruto chuckled evilly.
The door opened and in walked the cheerful Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze.
"Hey guys! I want you to meet me-" Her statement was cut off with the eraser landing on her face. She coughed a bit and then looked around for the culprit.
"Who did that?" Kushina asked, but received no answer.
She knew it was Naruto, her background check on her son was very horrific to put it lightly, but it helped her understand what he had been through. She had never cried so hard in her entire life.
"*Sigh* I want you guys to meet me at the roof," Kushina said, then shunshin out of the room.
They all made their way to the roof and saw Kushina and Kakashi waiting for them.
"Yo," Kakashi greated with a wave.
"Okay, sit down. Today, we're going to get to know each other," Kushina said as the children took their seats.
"We want you guys to introduce yourselves," Kakashi said.
"Shouldn't you guys introduce yourselves first so we know how to?" Sakura suggested then looked at Sasuke, who was still looking at Naruko.
"Okay, then I'll start. My names is Kakashi Hatake. My likes do not concern you. My dislike are none of your business, and my hobbies are classified," Kakashi said and received passive looks from everyone.
"I'll show you how it's done. My name is Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze. My likes are reading, training, and all my children. My deslikes are perverts, criminals and anyone who would dare harm my babies. My dream is spending more time with my whole family," Kushina said, smiling motherly towards Naruto, but received a frown from said blonde.
"Okay, now it's you turn," Kakashi said to the kids. He noticed Kushina deflate a little.
"My name is Sakura Haruno, I love reading and a certain someone. I dislike Naruto! My dream is to be with a certain someone and make a family together," Sakura said.
Everyone rolled their eyes at her, even Kushina, since it was plain obvious who Sakura was talking about.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are ramen, Ayame-chan and Iruka-sensei. My dislikes are...certain people. My dream is to become the best Hokage that ever lived!" Naruto cheered at the last part. He meant it too. He will be Hokage and he didn't need any help from his 'family' to achieve his dream.
Kushina looked down sadly when she heard him say that he disliked certain people. No matter how many times she went by it, she couldn't find an excuse for what she did to him and there was nothing she could say to change his mind. She wouldn't give up, though. She would work until her last breath to earn his forgiveness and having him in her team would at least allow her a start.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My likes and dislike are none of your business and my dream, no, my goal is to kill a certain someone and revive my clan," He said the last one staring shamelessly at Naruko which didn't go unnoticed by the mother, who gave a disapproving frown.
"My name is Naruko Uzumaki-Namikaze. My likes are Tou-san, Kaa-san, Narumi-chan and Nii-san. My dislikes are Uchiha-yarous. My dream is to be known as the best kunoichi that ever lived," Naruko said.
"Well now that we got that out of the way. I'll let you know that tomorrow you guys will be having a test to see if you're ready to be real shinobi," Kakashi said and waited for someone to scream, "But we already did the test!"
He was surprised when they all kept quiet.
"Will the test involve the two of you?" Sakura finally asked.
"Well, after discussing things, Kushina-sama and I decided that I will be the only one testing you. Don't eat any breakfast or you'll throw up tomorrow," Kakashi said as he shunshined out of there.
"Get some rest guys because you'll need it tomorrow. I'll see you at home Naruko and I would like to talk to you Naruto before you leave," Kushina said the last part to a retreating Naruto, who silently cursed a little too loudly.
Everyone left and now it was just Kushina and Naruto.
"Hello, sochi," Kushina said.
"What can I do for you... Kushina-sama?" Naruto asked, trying to dull his anger but failing miserably.
"Sochi, please don't call me that.. I'm so sor-"
"Save it! I don't want your apology! And let me get one thing clear, I am only in your team by FORCE and nothing else. Don't, for one second, think that everything's okay between us! You left me. YOU left ME! That's all the reason I need. The reason I haven't quit as soon as I heard your name is because I have a dream that no one will stop me from achieving. I don't hate you but I don't like you either. Just keep your distance and I'll keep mine, Kushina-sama," Naruto said with finality and left the heartbroken mother to her thoughts.
Kushina would not cry even as the tears gathered in her eyes. She didn't deserve to cry; she didn't deserve sympathy; she didn't deserve to be called a mother, a parent, after one of her children suffered so badly. She did deserve every word he said to her though and she knew it. It wasn't going to be easy getting her son back but Kushina refused to live a life without him. He was her son, her sochi, and it was time she took responsibility for her idiotic and careless mistakes.
She looked through all the records of people Naruto befriended in his life and found that Iruka really stood out. She apologised to Iruka, who was very angry at her and Minato - rightfully so - about what she did to her son and thanked him for being there for Naruto. The only thing Iruka told her was that he would only forgive her when Naruto did and she understood that. She decided to think of ideas to show Naruto that she truly did love him and she truly felt regretful for what happened as she made her way home.