Author's Notes: Ahem, awkward start aside... I am proactively working on Born Different, Blade of the Blizzard and A Fox-Bound Traveller as well, rest assured that these stories will get their justice and their following chapters soon... So please don't approach me with a mob and kill me and we'll be cool. P.S.: College is a bitch.
Aside from that, I hope you'll all enjoy reading as I did writing.
Harem(for now): Fem!Kurama, Anko, Fem!Haku, Ryuuzetsu, Yugito
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"'Kyuubi talking and thinking"
"'Jutsu'"
Right, enough waffling, let's get this started.
-Konoha, Winter (Three Years Ago)-
"Get that brat!" A chunin yelled, clutching a kunai tightly in his sweaty palms, as thunderous footsteps followed, a result of his and his two comrades' pursuit of a certain blond-haired child.
Indeed, that child was barely eight years of age, but no one was watching, and he was the hated nine-tailed Jinchuuriki. Surely, that made Uzumaki Naruto fair game to use as an instrument to vent their long-pent-up anger, right? To the group of chunin, it was certainly good enough, even whilst the blond they were chasing was hiding away in a garbage bin next to them.
'If I just stay very still... They can't find me,' Naruto thought to himself, hugging himself at this point as the lid was soon lifted off, revealing the sneering faces of the three chunin. 'Crap.'
"Found the brat!" One of them called out, rough hands reaching out to grab Naruto, soon dragging him out of the trash can. "You've been causing a lot of trouble, you realise?"
"Look, you've got the wrong guy! Like... Who even are you?! What did I do to you?" Naruto asked, only to be cut off by a hard punch to the gut.
"Quiet, freak!" One of the chunin screamed, slamming Naruto into the sidewalk soon after and attracting several eyes to the scene. "We didn't ask your opinion."
"Hey... Everyone's looking at us... I think we should stop-" One of the other chunin began to say, only to be cut off by a glare.
"We will stop when we've had enough," The first chunin grunted, pulling out a kunai and drawing it across Naruto's cheek, drawing some blood. "Now, let's get a souvenir..."
"Someone! Anyone! Someone help! Please!" Naruto cried out, his childlike instincts beginning to wail out in fear, as cyan-coloured sparks of energy emerged on his fingertips, the winter snow circulating them as he did so, causing the chunin to take a step back.
"What the..." The chunin began to say, before a shriek exited his mouth, cutting himself off.
"Leave me alone!" Naruto cried out, firing a pike of ice straight into the chunin's foot, causing the latter to fall to the ground as the blond stumbled back to his feet.
"Get him!" The injured chunin yelled, the ice crawling up and freezing his leg over, before shattering into a million shards.
Naruto quickly took flight, a bottle of sake smashing itself into the face of another one of the chunin.
'What the hell was that?!' The blond thought to himself, his legs running on autopilot as he dashed along, away from the pursuit of the last chunin, before a pair of arms pulled him into an alleyway, a hand quickly being placed over his mouth. "Mmmpf-"
"Easy, kid," A soft yet sly voice mentioned, "It'd be much easier for you if you calm down and take a breath." The voice mentioned as the chunin came dashing past, not bothering to check the alleyway as the hand came off. "See? Not too hard, was it?"
"Huff... Who... Are you?" Naruto questioned, coughing a little as a soft giggle was heard, his hand being shaken by another soon after.
"The name's Mitarashi Anko, kid, though..." Anko began to say, tilting her head a little as she giggled and smirked, "I think you're good enough. You can call me Anko."
"Mitarashi... Like Dango?" Naruto asked back, tilting his head.
"Yep, just like Dango, wanna go have some? My treat," Anko offered, her smile small yet sweet as she offered a hand.
"I don't know... Are you going to hit me like they did?" Naruto asked back, taking a few steps back just in case.
"Aww, c'mon, if I wanted to kill you, I would've done so already, wouldn't I?" Anko asked with a soft giggle, before pulling him along. "Just trust me on this... I promise that you'll like it! Kids usually like sweet things!"
"Well, alright, I'm surprised, is all, that you aren't actively going after me like the others..." He explained, following along as he looked up at Anko, blushing a little at her outfit choice. "Isn't it, umm... Cold?"
"Not quite, it is winter, but I'm alright with it... And we're here now!" Anko assured with a smile as she brought Naruto over to take a seat, "Oi! Boss, the usual, got it? And an extra portion of my new friend too!"
"Another loudmouth like yourself? Or another one of your endless dates that go nowhere?" The kindly, old boss asked back coyly, walking over and taking a quick look, "Oh? The supposed Jinchuuriki no less, you've outdone yourself, haven't you?"
"Hey! Don't call me out like that!" Anko exclaimed, blushing a little no matter how hard she tried to stop or hide it.
"Supposed? But, I am the Jinchuuriki..." Naruto began to say, before earning a chuckle from the boss.
"Kid, you're not the Jinchuuriki. There never was an attack, I'm certain that I, in my sixty years of living in Konoha, would've realised if one had happened," The boss joked back, shaking his head in amusement, "It's just a dumb myth that the gullible believe, that's all."
"Then, those chunin from before-" Naruto began to say, receiving a nod in response.
"This generation of shinobi is composed of nothing but fools... No offence, Anko," The old man stated with a huff, bringing up two identical plates of Mitarashi Dango. "To think masters of stealth and murder are unable to distinguish between comrade and target. You go to the academy, don't you, kid?"
"I do, what about it?" Naruto asked, slightly curious as he bit into one of the Dango. "Well, this is pretty good..."
"Don't bother going. At this rate, children there are bound to become cannon fodder should they graduate," The old man stated, shaking his head before pointing at Anko, "Anko, if it isn't too much to ask, would you take this kid under your wing?"
"So good..." Anko mumbled, chewing on the Dango before looking up. "Hmm? Well, okay! Heh... Can't say this kid hasn't fascinated me enough. Brings me to the next point... What's your name, blondie?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, though, the others at the academy just call me Naruto..." Naruto began to say, before chiming in with the next part, "I'll be Hokage one day, that I promise... And I never go back on my word!"
Anko and the man looked at one another for a moment, before turning back towards Naruto, seeming to be holding back their laughter.
"What?" Naruto asked, confused as he looked ahead.
"Oh my, you were serious?" The old man asked, stifling a laugh before his expression turned serious. "Apologies for my scepticism... But, it is simply unrealistic for you to become Hokage."
"Wha- I'll do it! I... I'll become strong, become Hokage, and then people will respect me!" Naruto declared as Anko quickly sat him down.
"If that's all you think it takes, Naruto, then you are sorely mistaken. Power and wisdom alone make not a Hokage... Personal connections do as well. The first Hokage was Senju Hashirama, and the second was his brother, Senju Tobirama. The third was the second Hokage's student, Sarutobi Hiruzen. See any correlation? There is no incorruptible process to these things, Naruto. The sooner you learn it, the better."
"Well... What about the fourth Hokage? Minato Namikaze?" Naruto asked, looking up defiantly as he did so, "Surely he wasn't appointed because of relation!"
"Hmpf, put aside the fact that he is, in terms of master-apprentice lineage, two steps down from the Third Hokage, then you'd be right, he wasn't appointed because of relation," The old man began to say, preparing another stick of Dango in the meanwhile, "But, consider this. We had just won a costly victory against Iwa, and the Hokage was getting crap for his weak decision not to take any land or demand compensation. Would it then not be wise for him to appoint a war hero to be his successor?"
"I don't get what that means... I... Is that good or bad?" Naruto asked, tilting his head whilst chewing on another stick of Dango.
"Well, put it in simple terms like this. I've fought in the war for years and haven't seen my family in years. My squad has been sent to fight an army of a thousand in open combat by a Hokage who publically wants leniency," The grizzled shop owner began to say, "In a vain hope of survival, I clutch my kunai, and then, out of nowhere, a bright yellow flash emerges, and all our enemies laid dead, a man with flowing yellow hair in the middle."
"That... Wait, old man, you were a shinobi?" Naruto asked, his curiosity perked once again as he asked.
"Yes, who else threw the Sake bottle?" The old man asked, "Anyhow... Minato Namikaze, whilst I've only ever seen him once, was a man amongst men. Revered amongst us regular shinobi, that's for sure. So, who do you think we'd rather see be a leader after the war? The Third Hokage? Who sent us to die? Or a man who prevented us from suffering that fate?"
"The... Err, second one," Naruto admitted, "The second one sounds better."
"Right. For a time, Konoha had something that had been long missing, hope," The old man began to say, with even Anko listening in now, "Hope for a better future, for a better tomorrow. You can only imagine how it felt for us, when that hope was taken from us, snuffed out and extinguished. Gone not with a bang, but with a whimper. It is often said that the nine-tailed fox had murdered him and his wife, but I believe not such a God amongst Shinobi would be bested by a mindless beast of instinct."
"I don't think the Kyuubi is a mindless beast... I should know, I am the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki-" Naruto began to say, only to be met with laughter soon after.
"Sure, sure, whatever you say, kid," The old man stated, chuckling to himself as he did so, "The Kyuubi died with the Fourth Hokage's wife, who had been the Jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed fox. It hasn't been seen since, and I can assure you, you're not the Jinchuuriki. You're not nearly as sturdy enough to house it, and you're no actual Uzumaki, you lack the red hair characteristic of them."
"But then, well... Why do the teachers at the academy keep calling me a Jinchuuriki and thus, scum?" Naruto asked back, "Are they lying?"
"Hmpf. They're fools buying into this nonsense," The old man grumbled, before continuing. "Though, pray tell, is that what they're focusing on teaching you at the academy? Instead of anything practical that a Shinobi can use?"
"Not at all... I don't know why, but..." Naruto began to say, scratching the back of his head, "For all my homework... Whenever I do get the right answers, they always mark it wrong... And when we do Taijutsu, they always hit me harder than other kids, and when we-"
"Alright, I've heard enough," The old man stated with a raised hand, seething and appalled by this revelation. "Anko, I have a request for you."
"Hmm? Does it involve any potential Dango discounts?" Anko asked, looking up soon after.
"Negotiable," The old man stated, "What say you train Naruto here? Say... After his usual classes at the academy? Maybe, four times a week?"
"Hmm, depends... What's the percentage?" Anko asked, a cheeky smile running over her cheek as she placed an arm around Naruto's shoulder. "I'll be paying for some of his expenses, such as medical bills and poison control... So do take that into account."
"Well, how does a 30 per cent discount sound?" The shopkeeper offered, causing Anko's smile to grow wider still.
"Well then, now we're talking... You, my friend, have got yourself a deal, though..." Anko began to say as she still held Naruto close, "Do tell me, why aren't you training him yourself?"
"I've got a damn Dango Stand to run," The old man stated with a huff, before continuing, "Also... I'm old now. You've got at least forty left in you."
"Fine, I'll take the kid under my wing..." Anko stated, pulling Naruto off his seat.
"Wait! Don't I get a say in this?" Naruto asked, being pulled along by Anko in a hurry.
"Any objections?" Anko asked back.
"Well, no-" Naruto began to say, only to be hoisted over Anko's shoulder and carried off.
"Then let's get going!" She giggled, beginning to walk away.
"Do bring him back here on Tuesday nights," The old man stated, pausing Anko in her steps as she turned around.
"Oh? And why should I?" Anko asked, leaning in slightly, "What's stopping me from killing him and burying his body under a tree?"
"First, I still have things to teach him, strategy is part of a Shinobi's required knowledge," The old man stated, "As for the second, you can't go without Dango, can you?"
"Well... One of those is correct, I'll refrain from mentioning which..." Anko explained, nodding her head before leaving with Naruto. "Also kid, be sure to be careful, don't wanna get lost in the forest next to my home."
"I'm now inclined to ask why...?" Naruto asked, being set down on the street soon after.
"Well, let's just say, the Forest of Death claims indiscriminately," Anko stated, before continuing, "Though... If you are the Jinchuuriki as you claim, surely you can survive a few giant snakes and spiders, right?"
Naruto shivered a little, as Anko tucked her hands into her pockets before waving.
"See you tomorrow, Naruto!" Anko giggled, as she walked away soon after.
"That was something... I'll admit," Naruto mumbled to himself, sighing as he walked across the streets, being quick to avoid any unwanted eyes on him as he soon climbed in through a window into his apartment, "Though, not the strangest encounter I've ever had..."
"I'll say," A feminine voice stated behind him, a pair of warm arms wrapping around his neck, "You've left me at home for so long, Naruto-kun..."
"Well, sorry about that..." Naruto began to say, placing a hand on the pair around his neck, "It's been another hard day today, though... At least people were willing to help me today."
"That's a relief, thought I'd need to bail you out again... Remember that time at the academy?" The voice asked with a giggle, as Naruto shared her playful laughter for a moment.
"Oh, don't bring that up again, I remember..." Naruto joked, "I was left strung up on a branch by my feet!"
"Well, it won't happen again... Why else did that tree burn down mysteriously, hmm?" The woman joked, as Naruto soon turned around.
"It won't, I promised myself that I won't trust the other kids so easily from now on..." Naruto began to say, "Though, now that I mention it, Kurama-chan... It's kinda hard to prove your existence to Anko and the old man at the Dango store..."
"Well, people believe what they want to, and what they can see and feel..." Kurama began to say, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on the blond's cheek, her nine vibrant orange tails flowing majestically behind her as her long, black hair obscured them slightly. "You know I exist well enough... So let them stay oblivious if they choose to. It matters only that we know of each other."
-The Next Evening-
"Err... Hello? Anko-san? I'm here!" Naruto called out, arriving at the same alley they had met at. "Huh... Maybe this wasn't that good of an idea... Come on... Think... What did she say..."
Naruto placed his hand on his forehead, trying his best to think of what she had said the other day, remembering only the line 'the Forest of Death claims indiscriminately', as he rubbed his forehead.
"Forest of Death, Forest of Death... Where is that..." Naruto mumbled, looking around before going over to the Dango Stand from yesterday, watching as the old man flipped through a stack of cards and played a game of solitaire, not looking up as the blond walked over.
"We're not open yet, come back lat- Naruto? Why are you here? Don't you have training now?" The old man asked, placing a card down as Naruto sat up on a stool.
"That's the thing... I don't know where I'm supposed to meet Anko-san... She mentioned the Forest of Death..." Naruto explained, sighing as he looked over at the flipping cards. "What's all this about?"
"It's solitaire," The old man explained, placing another card in the set before looking up again, "What? Never heard of it?"
"Am I supposed to have heard about it?" Naruto asked, tilting his head as he looked over. "Do you just put the same coloured cards on each other?"
"That's one part of it, yes," He explained, looking over soon after, "Not too good with puzzles, are you, kid?"
"No, I hate puzzles! The ones in the academy always wrack my brain!" Naruto stated, shaking his head fervently as the old man sighed.
"Well, believe it or not, there is a lot to be gained from doing puzzles from now and then," The old man stated, beginning to reshuffle the cards before laying them out in a solitaire format once again, "First stack is one open card. The second stack, one closed card and one open. Third, two closed cards one open, and so on. There are to be seven stacks in total in this form."
Naruto nodded, staying silent whilst watching as the grizzled former shinobi placed the cards in that shape.
"So, let's start with the most important card, you see this?" The shinobi asked, holding up an Ace of Spades, "This is called an Ace, and there are four of them in a deck of fifty-two cards..."
-Two Hours Later-
"And that's all you need to know," The old man stated, finishing another game of solitaire as Naruto seemed out of brain-power altogether, slumping over at his seat soon after, "I'd say give it a go... But, someone else might have other ideas."
"Eh- What...?" Naruto began to say, feeling a sudden sense of dread as a snake soon wrapped around his neck.
"There you are," Anko stated jokingly, the snake extending out of the sleeve of his trenchcoat. "And here I thought you were better at hiding."
"P-please... M-mercy..." Naruto stammered groggily, trying his best to fight back against the restrictive stranglehold of the snake around his neck.
"Oh no, you seem a little purple there, my friend..." Anko giggled, stepping over, an almost sultry grin on her cheek as she yanked Naruto off the seat. "And it so happens that I only grant mercy to those who deserve it."
"Sorry kiddo, you'll need to learn that, just like in solitaire..." The old man began to say, his voice trailing off as Naruto's vision went black, "There are some situations where there's no winning."
-Forest of Death, One Hour Later-
Naruto would soon wake up once again, head spinning slightly as he sat upright, looking over at a note that had been left next to him.
"Hmm? What?" Naruto mumbled, reaching over, feeling a slight tingle in his hand as he picked up the note, "If you're reading this... Lie down now... What...?"
The blond took a millisecond, before quickly shooting downwards and lying flat on his back, several fuma shuriken flying overhead, only for another note to fall flat on his face.
"Ugh... What... Now, if you've ducked down, you've set off another trip-wire, so I suggest jumping," Naruto read out, looking around as something underground seemed to click.
Not having much time to react further, the blond quickly lept up from his spot, a trapdoor opening up in his wake as the sheet of paper found itself impaled on several pikes at the bottom of the large hole.
"What the hell is this- Gah!" Naruto began to say, only to cut himself off as he called out, a kunai having been plunged into his leg. "Where- Ah!" He cried out again, taking another kunai to the arm.
"You're being far too slow... Come on now, go faster!" Anko giggled in the distance, kunai after kunai whizzing through the air, two more meeting their mark as about twenty littered the ground around Naruto's feet.
"Come on! This isn't fair!" Naruto exclaimed, beginning to barely be able to dodge some of the kunai.
"Come now, don't be afraid... Listen to me..." Anko began to say, soon appearing next to Naruto, "Wasn't it me..." She stated, holding up eight kunai in total in both hands, "Who invited you?"
"Wha- Oww!" Naruto exclaimed, getting sliced in the cheek by a kunai, his instincts kicking in soon after, as he lept over three kunai thrown at him. 'She's insane! She's going to kill me!'
"Don't be scared now... Destiny has thousands of faces... I bet you're wondering..." Anko began to say, dashing forward as she stabbed and slashed away, the blond barely managing to dodge the attacks due to their frequency and intensity, the purple-haired woman's ferocity seeming to increase with each passing second. "Why does it choose to wear this one?"
"Gah! Stop!" Naruto called out, taking a kunai to the shoulder, before he launched his arms back, forming a wall of ice before him, ducking aside to the back of a tree whilst a momentarily stunned Anko soon let out a soft giggle.
"My my... Well, you certainly have some surprises~" Anko purred, looking over at the trail of blood that the blond had left behind, "Let the hunt begin."
'Got to hide, got to hide,' Naruto thought to himself, hiding behind another tree, his bloodied jacket being left behind the initial tree as a diversion, watching as Anko seemingly took the bait. 'And... Ugh... Why is she wearing that... So... Distracting...'
"Sparing a glance?" Anko suddenly asked from behind him, a piercing pain emerging in his initially unwounded shoulder, "Don't worry, you aren't the worst person to catch a glimpse of me in such a manner... Least of all, your gaze isn't as lecherous~"
"I... Why are you... Doing this?" Naruto stammered, vision growing blurry once again.
"Well, let's just say that I've not got the most conventional training methods," Anko began to say, as the blond soon passed out before she pulled the needle from his shoulder, "And you, Naruto... Seem very promising indeed."
-One Hour Later-
Much as happened an hour prior, Naruto would slowly wake up again, vision blurring into place as he felt incapable of moving his arms or legs.
"What... The... Oh," Naruto mumbled, looking downwards as he realised the presence of a large snake, wrapped around him in an extremely constricting manner, as if literal chains were wrapped around him to hold him in place. "Someone help... What..."
The blond looked around, not even bothering to struggle at this point, as he tilted his head to the side, noticing a familiar trenchcoat being placed next to a large bonfire.
"Is that..." Naruto mumbled, face turning slightly red upon realising the implication, as a familiar-looking woman walked back into view, laid bare for the most part, save for the short skirt she donned, alongside the mesh clothing that practically hugged her figure underneath. 'I... Do I say something...?'
"Hmm? Oh, you're awake. Welcome back," Anko joked, putting on her trenchcoat once again soon after, "Why the look? Saw something you shouldn't have?"
"... Yes," Naruto admitted, looking down at the ground soon after.
"Well, aren't you honest, you've succeeded where many men would've feared," Anko joked once again, stepping over soon after, "So, do rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 regarding your training session just then?"
"Is a negative point possible?" Naruto asked, still looking down in shame as Anko sighed bemusedly, lifting the blond's face by the chin soon after.
"Come now, I would've given you a 3 at least," Anko stated, releasing the snake's grip, and letting the blond fall to the ground soon after. "You weren't all that bad if I'm being very honest."
"I, wait, what?" Naruto asked, enthusiasm raising a little once again, "You think so?"
"Yes, I think so. You've managed to dodge most of my attacks back there... Now, whether it was skill or luck is debatable, but... You certainly could've ended up a lot worse than those bandages wrapped around you. So, as a reward..." Anko began to say, giggling as she leaned in to place a quick peck on his cheek, "Keep working hard, and you might earn a lot more."
The blond sat still for a moment, face turning slightly red as he soon nodded. "Err... N-noted... I'll be sure to work extra hard, then."
"Now, come on! Let's go get some dango!" Anko exclaimed, hoisting the blond up by the arm before running off out of the accursed forest.
-The Dango Stand-
"It's almost closing time, go home!" The old man called out, back facing towards the front as Anko and Naruto approached.
"It's us, old man! We're here for some dango!" Anko called back, as the old man turned soon after.
"Ah, it's you two, just a moment, I'll have it ready for you right away," He assured, going to the kitchen area as he did so, "How was the training, kid? Go well?"
"It went alright... Anko-san says I did well!" Naruto exclaimed, a small smile curling up around his lips as the dango was soon served to both of them.
"That's good, keep up that consistency and you might actually become a decent shinobi," The old man stated, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, as he moved soon after, seated opposite his two companions, before producing a deck of cards, "So... Shall we play a game?"
-Three Nights Later-
"We're here again, old man!" Anko called out, dragging along a more heavily bandaged Naruto, with a kunai still sticking out of his back, "Don't worry about the last one, I need to be more specific when pulling it out later!"
"Good to see you still being so disciplined," The old man stated, sitting at his usual spot as Naruto and Anko took theirs, a plate of dango served at the side of the table, whilst all three picked up a pair of cards each.
"Well, I'm not dead yet, so I suppose I'll go on with it..." Naruto joked, looking over at his cards, "Usual Blackjack rules?"
"The usual. Why don't you draw first?" The old man asked as Anko giggled over her cards.
The blond nodded, picking up the top card from the larger deck. Naruto grasped at gossamer dreams, believing himself worthy of their raiment. Yet still, his shoulders sagged, burdened by the failings he had hoped to shed. Another set surpassed 21. Yet, he knew better than to complain. Lady Luck formed a fickle dealer, doling out hands that often seemed destined for loss. Whilst to some she granted pairs and trios, he found only scattered singletons in his grasp, causing him failure after failure, one after another.
"Bust," Naruto stated, setting the cards face-down on the table, picking through his pocket before passing some Ryo to Anko, a pair of cards being dealt to him once again soon after.
The blond contemplated it, he contemplated forfeiting based on the arbitrary values of his initial pair. Yet resigning forfeited the small hope still promised in newly drawn suits. So he persisted, chasing vainly the quixotic dream of threading together a redeeming endgame. The odds mounted against him, each turn of the wheel further depleting his slender reserves, as he laid out his trio of cards once more.
"20," Naruto stated, only to be driven into further disappointment, giving Anko a further amount of Ryo.
"Aww, cheer up, Naruto-kun, it can't be thaaaat bad..." Anko joked, nudging him playfully on the shoulder as the cards were dealt once again.
"No, I suppose it could've been worse," Naruto joked back, sighing as he reached for his new pair of cards.
Still, he clung to faith that the river might yet reveal the card to make sense of this losing streak. For now, his steadfast strategy remained simply to stay at the table, come what may. One of these times, surely, it must pay off.
"Ace-ace!" The blond cheered out, placing the cards on the table, receiving a good amount of his Ryo back soon after.
Perhaps, still, should he choose to remain by the side of these two strangers Lady Luck had dealt into his life, Naruto would have a chance at happiness after all, a chance to be more than others made him out to be. For now, that mattered little, as laughter rained out through the night.
Author's Notes 2: Definitely haven't been reading some Osamu Dazai for that last section there... Anyhow, I hope you've all enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Admittedly, it took a long time to get out, and I can't promise a proper schedule... So I hope this story, at the very least, finds you well.
But, as always, be sure to let me know what you thought about this story in reviews or PMs, I'm intrigued as to what you guys think about it.