Chapter 7: Childhood

“What did I get myself into?” Naruto muttered as he kept his head close to the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the training yard outside. He glanced at the large group of students chatting about random events behind him before sliding on a pair of worn headphones and throwing his hood over his head. He peeled the seal off the side of both headphones then stuck on another set of seals. The calming music enveloped his senses and causing him to melt to the symphony of pianos.

He glanced at Gazeru and snorted at her attempt to hide from him, after all, he can sense her emotions now. After purchasing a run-down building that used to be an established tool and weapon shop before the Kyuubi attack, Gazeru began visiting him every day. She would come and help him repair the three-story building almost every day with Taksuki and Dina; this lets him become more accustomed to their spiritual and mental energies. Another consequence of all their daily meetings was making him snap and enroll with the Ninja Academy early.

Weeks of his favorite swordswoman pestering, the brunette heiress subtle encouragement to enroll early and the Anbu constant sinking caused him to storm into the Hokage Tower. He immediately enrolled with the special requirement to not be in the same class as Tatsuki. Much to his surprise, Taksuki was actually 12 years old; making it very close to her graduation date and she would not be in his classes. Hinana decided to enroll him with the students his age, a class full of commoners and heirs.

Luckily Dina was in class with him but he was still upset with her passive form of encouragement and that she never helped him in stopping Tatsuki. He decided to choose a seat in the far back, away from the other early students and stare into the windows.

He noticed the Anbu agent stand up suddenly and disappear, probably due to a direct order from the hokage. He inwardly chuckled, ‘She is going to come back, I feel it.’

The blond started observing his future classmates now that her eyes were off his back. He glanced at every early classmate and realized that he knew a few of them. He immediately noticed a brooding black haired male sitting in the front seats of the class, his hands clasped together and his eyes staring forward as if something was happening before him. He was Sasuke Uchiha, the subject of many childhood rivalries when they were seven years old. He wondered what caused the once energetic and haughty young man to lose his spark.

The second person he noticed was a purple-haired girl who was sitting at the end of the middle row seats. He doesn't remember her name but he remembers she used to be very nice to him and would play with him every so often. Her mother used to hand him pocket money from time to time. ‘What caused her to be depressed like Sasuke?’ He pondered, ‘Was there another attack on the village?’ Subconsciously he connected their change to a single large event in the village.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

He turned his attention back to the purple-haired girl and was startled to see she was looking back at him. Her pupil-less, lavender eyes seemed to stare through him and made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Without a prompt, she stood up and started to walk up the stairs towards him. Most of the class did not notice her unusual behavior, except for a pink-haired boy who seemed to be in everyone's business.

“Hey,” He called out. “What’s up Hinata? Did something happen?”

She shook her head then continued on her way. Her reaction garnered the interest of Sasuke, the pink-haired boy, a black hair female, and a platinum blond boy. Her steps were steady and she kept her eyes on Naruto; a shimmer of realization in them.

She slid into the seat next to him, blocking his exit way and whispered, “Naruto?” Her voice trembled a bit.

Naruto sat up straight and slightly leaned away from her. “Um. Yes, but also no?”

She quietly sobbed a bit then gently wrapped her arms around his and cried on his shoulder. He didn't know what to do so he patted her head. They did this for a few minutes until her sobbing stopped. She wiped her tears from her eyes then gave him a bittersweet smile. “I’m so happy you are back. I wish mom could see you.”

The blond stared at her for a moment then muttered, “What happened?”

Her smile disappeared and she just looked into his blue eyes, “Mom...died.”

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. “She was so nice to us.” He felt her nod. “I wanted her to meet my moms… I guess I can take you to come with me. I’m sure they would love you. They may never be your mom but they could be your aunts.”

She nodded in his shoulder again then broke the hug. “Thank you, Naruto.”

He flicked her forehead. “I’m Na-chan, remember?” She blushed out of embarrassment. “And I’m going to call you Plum as I did three years ago.”

Naruto then whispered in her ear, “Also, my reappearance in the village is supposed to be a secret. Just tell people I am a long lost friend, the name is Mito Ina.”

She nodded her head while holding his hand under the table. “Un.” She rested her head on his shoulder, letting most of the stress and fear she has felt in the last few years melt.

He looked down at her and brushed a stray hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

She turned then opened her eyes; they were sparkling with happiness. She shook his shoulder lightly as she exclaimed. “Na-chan! Should we play Tag?” Her bangs shook from her excitement.

Naruto rubbed his cheek then muttered, “I don’t know how…”

Hinata, adored in a large fluffy jacket, hopped up from the ground and touched him. “You are it. You have to touch me.” She laughed while running away from the confused blond.

“W-wait!” He scrambled to his feet, chasing after the laughing girl.

A man stepped forward, his veins around his eyes bulging as he was giving the young blond a death glare. He prepared a hidden strike hit him in the back when he felt a sharp pain in his legs. He collapsed on the ground with a thud, briefly seeing the figure of a young woman before his vision turned dark.

“Hitomi… please remember your status.” A thin, well-dressed man said, approaching the woman.

The purple-haired woman gave a slight chuckle. “And you should remember your place.” She pointed at her deceased clan member. “Clean this up and hide it from my husband. The clan won’t notice the disappearance of another branch member.”

The man bowed then disappeared with the body. She turned her attention to the two laughing five-year-old. Her expression turned soft as she watched her daughter hop over rocks and roots much to Naruto’s annoyance. The sounds of their soft laughter soothed her as she followed them in the shadows, pondering about the future.