It's said that everything happens for a reason. That our lives are already laid out in front of us. Others would believe that fate is a cruel mistress, one who loves to see people curse their rotten luck. But the reality of it is that we are fated to fail by our hands. That we will be drowned by our own flaws, and the only way to surpass our own flaws is to own up to them. To accept who we are and improve ourselves. To embrace the people around us who see past our flaws. Fate is a cruel mistress, but ignorance is the true reaper.
And it was fate that brought them together.
The moon popped out from behind a few trees, draping her beams anywhere they could reach. She watched as a boy sat alone in a park, her beams turning his blonde hair almost silver. The boy in question was half-heartedly kicking his legs, pushing himself on the swing. It swang a few feet above the ground, but it didn't do much to brighten his mood. Most people would be concerned to see a boy that young, alone in a park at that hour, but he wasn't just any boy.
His name was Uzumaki, Naruto. Konoha's infamous fox demon boy. And unlike most children, he wasn't afraid of being alone in the dark. It was quite the opposite, he enjoyed being alone at this hour. The moon and the stars looked beautiful, and more so when no one was there, trying to run him out. At this hour, there weren't many people out, just the occasional drunk who would stumble by. But the most they could do was throw insults and empty sake bottles at him. At a young age, Naruto had learned to get up and hide in the forest once he caught wind of one. They can't do anything if they can't find him.
To his left, he heard the slight rustling of leaves. His mind started to create a million connections of what it could be. Maybe it was Tora, the infamous demon cat. His eyes brightened up as an idea popped into his head. If he managed to catch Tora and bring her back, maybe they would realize that he was already a capable shinobi. Maybe they would let him live out his dream of being a shinobi without finishing the academy. Maybe it will make people stop looking at him like that in the streets. It was childish hope but that didn't stop him from trying.
So from his pocket, he pulled a kunai. Most of the kids in the academy were only allowed to use the wooden kind, but he had gotten his hands on the real thing when a nice girl named Tenten grew tired of him using his teeth to cut down his traps in the forest. He quietly inched closer to the bush, making light clicking noises. Cats come to you when they hear that sound? Right? "Tora? Come on out, kitty." If anyone heard his tone, they would have assumed he was ill, Naruto was loud, obnoxious, and annoying to most.
He pushed aside the leaves and was surprised to see that there was no cat there. Instead, there was a girl. She was crouched down, her teal eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and her pink hair had leaves and sticks poking out of it. "Oh? You're not, Tora. Sorry."
The girl looked up, just having noticed the boy. Her eyes widened as she tried to put as much distance between her and the blonde. "Don't look at me!" She had thrown her arms in front of his face, so she didn't catch his wincing. "I'm ugly!"
The boy squatted down, confused. "No, you're not. Who told you that?"
The girl froze. The other girls in her class often made fun of her, calling her ugly. She had started to believe it too, so the comment caught her off guard. "I- I'm not?"
"No."
"But- but my forehead's so big!"
The blonde tilted his head in confusion. "No, it's not. It looks like a regular forehead. Everyone else is just being mean." He held his hand out. "I'm Naruto."
The girl wiped her nose with her arm, using the other hand to take his. She let herself be pulled up to her feet. "Sakura." She took the time to properly take in his face, those whisker marks were impossible to miss. "Aren't you that fox demon boy that my parents always say to stay away from?"
The twitch in his cheek told her that she had struck the wrong cord. "I'm not a demon. Or a fox. I'm Uzumaki, Naruto. And I'm going to be Hokage!"
"Well, as someone as hated as you, it's going to be impossible."
Naruto opened his mouth to argue when the sound of running footsteps caught his attention. He grabbed Sakura and pulled her back down to the bush, covering her mouth with his hand as he listened. There were four people. Kids from the shortness of breath. That relaxed him a little yet also confused him. Aren't kids usually at home with their parents at this hour? Why was everyone gathering in the park? This park? Sakura bit his hand and he hissed. "What was that for?" He whispered.
Sakura pushed him away, making her way to the gathering group. They were... an unusual group at that. Naruto followed a few steps behind. He recognized two of the four because they were in the same class as him in the academy. The first was Uchiha Sasuke. He was the coolest kid in his class, though he would never say that to his face and feed his already big ego. Sasuke had a bag slung over his shoulders like he was going somewhere. The second was Hyuga Hinata. Naruto didn't know her very well, besides the fact that she was shy and kind to everyone. He often saw her near Shino and it made sense since they were both very quiet.
The other two, he didn't know. But one of them had the same silverish-gray eyes, Hinata did. He was probably a Hyuga as well. The boy was older than them by at least a year and has this hopeless air to him. The second boy... Well, Naruto didn't know what to say about him. He looked about his age and wore a smile that was too perfect to be genuine. He was pale-skinned, with black hair, and black eyes. Now that he thought about it, he looked a bit like Sasuke. He shook off that last thought and addressed the elephant in the room. "What are you doing here?"
Sasuke was the first to answer. "I could ask the same from you, dobe."
"I was playing. What else?"
The Hyuga boy furrowed his brow. "At this hour?"
"Well, yeah... Fewer people here call me a demon." Silence fell over the group. "But what about you guys? I know for sure most of you should be home with your parents."
Sakura looked at her feet. "I was crying and lost track of time. My parents are probably worried sick right now."
Sasuke sighed. "I'm running away. My family doesn't want me around so there's no reason to stay there."
"Neji-nii and I have been disowned. So we don't have a home to go back to."
The unnamed boy looked at the group. "My brother died, and I knew that if I stayed, I would die too." He said that with no emotion. What even was this guy?
Naruto was about to say something else when he heard more footsteps. These were slower, like someone out for a stroll. But whoever it was, he wasn't going to sit around and find out if they have a vendetta against him or not. "Hide!" He hissed and ran into the treeline. Something in him was relieved when they did the same.
They hide in trees and bushes, pressing their little hands to their mouths to keep themselves quiet. There were two men, old from the sound of their slow footsteps. When they came to a stop the group could finally get a good look at them. The first was easy to recognize, it was the Hokage. Next to him was a man Naruto didn't know but the slight hitch in the unnamed boy's breathing told him that he might know who it was.
The two elderly men were a little too far to hear, but Naruto could pick up a few things here and there. Danzo was talking about retirement. That Hiruzen wasn't in his prime anymore, that it was in their best interest as well as the village's if he stepped down and appointed someone else as Hokage. To which the third dismissed, going on about still having a few more years left in him, and how he was still yet to find someone who was perfect for the job. Danzo's disapproval seemed to grow the longer their conversation went on.
And in a second, the whole course of history was changed. Danzo drew a blade, slashing the man who was his teammate and friend. The children could only bite the insides of their mouths to keep themselves from screaming. The third was kicked aside as Danzo got to his feet, addressing a pair of anbu who had appeared before him. "Get the boy. Bring him to Root, his training is to start as soon as possible. As for this," he waved his hand around in a dismissive matter, "the third was murder by an unidentified nin of Kumo. You are dismissed." The anbu nodded, disappearing in a second. Danzo took one final look at the dying man in front of him before walking away.
Once Naruto was sure the man was nowhere near, he jumped down from his tree and towards the man who had treated him as his grandson. He kneeled beside the old man. "Jiji?"
The old man chuckled. Naruto could always bring a smile to his face, even in the final moments of his life. "Naruto? I don't have much time. So I need you to listen." The boy opened his mouth to protest but the old man beat him to it. "It's not safe for you, or anyone, now that Danzo is going to take over. You need to leave the village, and take these with you." He made a series of hand signs, and in a soft puff of smoke, a set of large scrolls appeared. "Whatever you do, don't let anyone get their hands on them. And Naruto, do take care of yourself. I'm sorry I could not have looked after you better." Hiruzen looked up at the moon and took his final breath. What a way to go, bleeding out in front of a gang of young children.
Tears started to well in the blonde's eyes. This wasn't like watching a rabbit die in one of his traps, death wasn't an unusual thing to him. But this? This was different. Watching someone you care about die in front of you, while you could do nothing to stop it, tore open a hole in his chest. One that would mostly never close. However, he forced his tears back and stood up. "You heard the old man. It's not safe for us here."
Sakura stiffened. "But... But where would we go? How will we get past the gate? I don't want to leave my parents." Tears of frustration started to spill.
The unnamed boy looked at her. "Then you'll die. If they find out that you were here, they'll kill you. My former master is a cruel man and is not shy about murder. You have proof in front of you." He pointed to the corpse. "Tell me, do you want to die?" His tone sent chills down his spine. Seriously, who even is this guy?
Sakura swallowed. Naruto had pulled some rope from his pocket, he always carried some and started tying one of the scrolls so it sat against the base of his back. "Are you coming with me or not?" He turned his attention back to the group. "You two," he pointed to the Hyuga, "don't have a home to go back to," he turned to Sasuke, "you were running away from home. And you, I don't know you or what you're doing here in the first place." That turned everyone's attention to the unnamed boy.
The boy bowed, grabbing some of Naruto's rope and a scroll. "Sai. My name is Sai. I am one of the many children Danzo-sama has turned into soldiers. I wish not to die. I want to live for both myself and my brother." Naruto remembers Sai having mentioned that his brother was dead. It was not the time to ask, so he tucked away the question for later. "I will go with you, since it seems to be the most reasonable choice, oddly enough."
The group started to tie scrolls to their back, and as there were a total of seven, Neji took an extra as he was the oldest out of all of them. There was still one more scroll. With a heavy sigh, Sakura picked it up and tied it to her back. "Okay. Lead the way." And so they run into the night.
The main gate stood tall, even in the dark. It was guarded by two chunins. How were they going to get past them? "Look." Neji pointed to a covered merchant's cart not too far from a bar. "It seems like they'll be leaving soon. We can climb in and stow away."
"What if we get caught?" Sasuke reasoned.
"Do you have a better idea?" The Uchiha offered nothing. "Exactly." They dashed quietly to the cart and crawled in. Settling in down in the tightly packed spaces between large barrels and crates. Naruto wasn't a fan of staying still for too long. So to keep his mind and hands busy, he pulled a series of random things from his pockets and started to fit them together. The group sat there, an air of anxiety waiving between them. No one spoke out of fear of being too loud. Even Naruto, who was fiddling with something, had opped for things that didn't make any noise. Pipe cleaners, fabric, and a scrap of leather. Huh? What else was that boy hiding in his pockets?
Hinata's head started to bob when two slightly slurring voices approached the cart. She sat up, all her previous exhaustion leaving her body. "Konoha sure had some of the best liquor. Don't they, Shouta?"
"They sure do, Kyo." The second burped. "Sadly, we should get moving."
The cart swayed and stuttered before it started to move forwards. Sakura bites her knuckle to keep herself from yelping in surprise. There was a sudden shout and the cart came to a stop.
Shouta yelled back. "Come on! We've passed through here before. Can't we just leave? We're kinda behind schedule here."
One of the chunins sighs. "Sorry. No can do. Some important things have happened around here. We just need to do a quick search, then you'll be free to go."
The kids stiffened. It didn't take a genius to know that they were going to be discovered. Sasuke glared at Neji out of the corner of his eyes. Outside a set of light footsteps could be heard. The voice was gentle yet muffled. Sasuke stiffened. He recognized the voice. "New orders. I'll be conducting the search. I'll make it quick." The footsteps got closer and in a rustle of fabric, the cart was uncovered. However, instead of alerting the others, the anbu took them in. He performed a series of one-handed hand signs, a set of smaller scrolls appeared there and were set on Sasuke's lap. The anbu then pressed a finger to the mask's porcelain lips. The covering was returned and the anbu declared, "everything is clear. You can leave."
The cart jolted forward and set off into the night. Sasuke was still getting over his shock, looking between the canvas covering and the scrolls now on his person. The cart didn't stop until way later into the night. When Shouta and Kyo decided to rest, whether it was parking outside of a tavern or an empty clearing somewhere.
Luckily they never had to worry about food. Shouta and Kyo worked for a company that sold a variety of exotic fruits and juices to high-paying lords and nobles. If they were hungry, they would just have to reach forwards to the nearest crate and grab whatever fruit there was. They did agree to only talk and go to the restroom whenever Shouta and Kyo stopped for the night. Naruto rolled his eyes and started to teach the gang simple sign language. It was perfect for communicating without making noise. Sai caught on quite quickly, while Sakura and Hinata were close seconds. Sasuke at first refused to learn anything from the dobe but gave in when he realized that he was the only one not included in the conversation. They also took the time to go over the scrolls the third had given them.
There were many forbidden jutsu, techniques, and seals. Naruto's eyes widened at the sealing scrolls. It was written by an Uzumaki and rewritten by the fourth. He had almost let out a squeal of joy, luckily, Sasuke shoved a dragon fruit between his teeth before the sound came out. The blonde blushed, biting into the fruit. No one had told him that you shouldn't eat the skin. Guess some things need to be learned the hard way.