Naruto : Venom

Chakra was never brought up again. Being a shinobi was never brought up again. I went about my life, acting like I normally do. I was the perfect child. I was always polite, always doing what I was told. I never went against my caretakers.

Until nightfall. Once my caretakers were asleep, I would practice molding chakra. I would move it around my body trying to get used to how it felt. It felt good. Amazing even. I wouldn’t stop just because I was told no. Something so small like that could never stop me. It just forced me to be sneaky, which is perfectly fine. Shinobi need stealth in addition to chakra.

I never had any idea why they were so strongly against shinobi. I never asked. Whenever a shinobi came to our bakery my caretakers were always polite and never rude. Well being rude to a paid and trained killer is a really bad idea, but they treated everyone the same.

All but one person. They wouldn’t serve one person, and his name was Naruto.

...

Naruto only tried to enter our bakery once. I barely saw him. I was sitting on the counter snacking on a sweet roll when otou-san started yelling.

”We don’t serve your kind! Get out of here! Go on! Scram!” Otou-san shouts at a blindingly orange blob while he wields a broom in a threatening manner.

The orange blob -er kid yeah that is a kid- looks heartbroken.”I- I just wanted some bread. Please?”

”No demon child! Leave this instant!”

The child hangs his head in defeat and practically limps out of the store.

”Good riddance! Alvarcus! Don’t talk to that child.”

I am flabbergasted. Fujita is livid at that poor kid. ”Why otou-san? What did he do?” Maybe he stole from us before?

”He is a menace and a hooligan! My son will not associate with scum like him!” He’s still glaring at the retreating child.

Otou-san hates that kid at first glance. Who was that poor child? He can’t be much older than I am. Where are his parents at? Someone that young shouldn’t out wandering around on their own. The only person who was treated that poorly was Naruto, the entire village acted that way to him.

Oh. Naruto. That was him. No doubt about that. Poor kid.

He never came back. I never saw him again, not until the first day at the academy.

...

”Alvarcus! You’re 8 now! You know what that means!” Okaa-san is terribly happy today. You would think it was her birthday not mine. ”You get to go to school!”

Oh. Yeah that is right. That is this year, the year I get to crush my caretakers dreams of me being a timid baker by becoming the one thing they demanded I never become; a brutal, lying, cheating, murdering shinobi. This is going to be fun.

”Okaa-san, otou-san, I don’t want to go to school.” I think it is best to try to ease them into this. No need to drop a bombshell on them.

”Don’t be silly Alvarcus, you can’t stay home all day! You’ll have so much fun there! You’ll meet kids your age, learn interesting things, read new books! I know how much you like reading. I swear you need to go outside more! It seems like no matter how much sun you get you’re always pale.”

”Okaa-san I read outside all the time! Besides, that’s not what I meant. I don’t want to go to school. I want to go to the Academy.” Dead silence follows my declaration. No one moves. No one breathes.

”No.” Fujita replies.

”Yes. I want to.” I will not give up on this.

”No!” He said more forcefully.

”Yes!” If he wanted to escalate this, then fine.

”My son will not become like him!”

”I want to protect my family!” I yell in his face.

Fujita and Namika are stunned into silence. I’ve never yelled at either of my parents before, I don’t think I’ve even raised my voice at them. I’ve always been a perfect mild mannered child.

”Shinobi lie. They cheat. They steal. They kill. I know that! I don’t want to do that! I want to protect my family! There are shinobi out there right now! What is stopping them from getting us?

Other shinobi! I don’t trust them! What happens if we get invaded? What happens if Konoha falls? Who is going to defend us? Who is going to protect us from those who want to hurt us? From those who want to kill us?”

Both of my parents look shocked. They have nothing to say. There is nothing to say.

”No one. That’s who. No one will come to save us, no one will protect us. Since no one else will, I’ll do it. I’ll protect our family.”

Fujita and Namika look at each other. They’re both close to agreeing. They need one more push.

”Please kaa-san? Please tou-san? I want this. Really. I do.” Never before have I called my parents that. I’ve always been formal. I’ve never even called them parents to myself before.

They have always been landlords, caretakers, never parents. But they grew on me. I meant every word I said. I would protect my family. I will! I will get them to agree, and then I will show them how good a shinobi I can be!

”Okay. You can.” Kaa-san whispers. Tou-san looks shocked that she caved in so soon.

”Namika, what about...” Tou-san halfheartedly tries to come up with a reason for me to not become a shinobi.

”Fujita. Look at him. You see the fire in his eyes. The furnace in his heart. He truly wants this. Look.”

He does. Tou-san stares at me for a long time. He is internally fighting something. I can see it. Half of him wants to give in and let me become a shinobi. The other half is demanding that he shields me from that life, the life of a killer. After an uncomfortably long time, he makes up his mind.

”Fine. We will enroll you to the Academy on one condition. This is non-negotiable. If you can’t do this then you can not go. Understand?” He put both his hands on my shoulders and came down to my height. He stared me straight in my eyes. I nodded.

”Good. My one condition: you can not die. I forbid it. Under no circumstances are you allowed to die. You must always come back home to us.”

”Yes tou-san. I agree.” I never planned on dying to begin with. It will be easy to stay true to that. Hopefully. There is a ridiculous list of monsters out there. Good thing I plan on my name being on that list.

...

One Month Later, First Day of the Academy

”Do you have all your supplies?” Kaa-san is worryingly running around and gathering up pointless things for me to take to the Academy.

”Yes kaa-san.” I groan out. We packed everything I could possibly need last night, she made a huge event out of it.

”Your notebooks? Pencils? Erasers? Bento?”

”Yes kaa-san. We went over everything three times.” That’s not including the two times we went over the list last night. Yes, she made a list.

”Let’s check one more time just to be safe.” She reaches out for my bag.

I pull it out of her reach. ”We are going to be late! I can’t be late on my first day!”

”Oh fine! They grow up so fast! Just last month you turned 8! Already so independent!”

”Let’s go!” I grab her hand and start pulling her out of our house. ”Come on slowpoke! Let’s go!”

I am so excited! I get to go to shinobi school! I’m going to learn how to walk on walls! How to spit fire! How to make earth walls! How to shoot lightning like laser beams out of my eyeballs! Okay, maybe not that last one. I don’t know if anyone can do that. Maybe I could invent the technique?

”Come on kaa-san! Hurry up!”

...

Later that Day, At the Academy

I was wrong. I hate this. I hate this so much. Why do I want to do this? Awesome elemental powers are not worth this. Nothing is worth this.

They are teaching me math. MATH. Math for 8 years old kids. I know my damn multiplication tables already! I vaguely recall calculus and statistics! I can’t believe I’m sitting through math for kids. I’ll take a page out of Shikamaru’s book and nap. He is already doing it anyways.

I put my head down on the desk. Close my eyes and -

”Alvarcus! Shikamaru! Wake up! You can sleep at home!” Damn it. Stupid Mizuki-sensei. Making me stay awake. This is the worst first day ever.

Don’t get me wrong, being in the Rookie Nine’s class is definitely going to be interesting. I even have a nice spot way in the back corner. Ah, kiddie characters. They look so much like the anime. But not animated. You know if they were real this is how they would look. Because they are real. That’s right, it is official.

I am in the Naruto universe or utterly insane. Better than that I am in Naruto’s class. This is where the plot happens. This is where the cool things start.

This, is the beginning.