Book 1: Dancing With Lightning [Naruto]

Enter Mizu Hoshino

"Hoshino-Sama! Please hurry up!" Akira called through the door. "You'll be late for class!"

"Yes, yes, Akira-San! I'm coming!" Hoshino called back. He slipped his grey tunic shirt over his head rapidly, and made sure his arm guards were fastened properly. He could feel the clan symbol glare out on the back of his shirt; not literally, but figuratively.

"Hoshino-Sama!"

"Right!"

He slid the door open and hurried out. "I'm sorry for the wait, Akira-San."

The older ninja gave a tired smile that reflected how many times he must have been in the same situation. "No worries. Now hurry up; you'll be late."

Hoshino nodded and rushed down the hall, apologizing over his shoulder for his lack of grace and dignity. He got to the main room of the house and grabbed his ninja tools before bolting out the door.

He ran straight out of the clan compound and headed for the Academy.

I'm going to make it... He assured himself. I'll be fine.

"Hm?" He looked up and saw that the Hokage monument had been vandalized completely, paint of bold colors was splattered all over the faces of the former leaders.

Hoshino stared at it for a few moments before starting to chuckle. He covered his mouth to stop himself from bursting into full out laughter. "Now that's what I call artistic expression!" He exclaimed with a smile.

He continued on his way, snickering a little bit. I wonder who had the guts to do that...

Turns out that person was Naruto Uzumaki.

"Did you see the Hokage faces?" Choji asked as they waited for Iruka to arrive.

"Yeah, it's probably why Iruka-Sensei is so late. What a drag." Shikamaru answered, quite obviously bored, like he always was.

If it had been anyone but Naruto, Hoshino would have found it rude and disrespectful. But it was Naruto, and so Hoshino simply found it amusing. Hoshino had always admired Naruto. For some reason, the entire village seemed to ignore his very existence. Yet he stayed strong and didn't let that get to him.

"Do you think Naruto will be in trouble?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Definitely." Hoshino stated. "But probably not too much." He added, seeing the worried look on Hinata's face. He tried to hide a smile; Hinata had always harbored a huge crush on the blonde boy.

He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Not bad, Naruto... not bad at all." He murmured quietly.

Hoshino was sitting in the back of the class in order to avoid Sasuke's pack of fan girls, who were in the middle of tearing each other apart to see who would sit next to the Uchiha.

Shikamaru cast a look at him. "It never stops, does it?"

Hoshino sighed. "It seems that this behavior has yet to cease." He placed his hands on the desk. "Poor Sasuke..."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Whatever."

Iruka suddenly burst into the room, carrying a tied up and disgruntled Naruto. "I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto!" He was shouting.

Naruto only rolled his eyes in response as Iruka continued to lecture him. Hoshino looked at him in curiosity. After Iruka finished ranting, he untied Naruto and told him to sit down. Naruto took his seat on the bench in front of Hoshino's.

Hoshino tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm a fan of what you did to the Hokage monument." He whispered.

Naruto only glared at him. "Yeah, right." He scoffed, turning away from him.