Before anything else, let's address the elephant in the room:

Yes I haven't updated Naruto, Squad 7 Captain. I probably won't for a while. At the moment, I'm a very busy adult trying to adult and doing too many adult things. That being said, yes I overworked myself hard this last year.

This is a story I've had budding in my head for quite some time. I've taken this to paper twice before and I didn't like the outcome, but I'm aiming for a third time. This is actually the fourth draft now. It's been a difficult story that I want to get and interpret in a way that I approve of.

For reference, since this is a modern AU take on the Naruto world, I made them use Yen instead of Ryo.

So you all know, this chapter might seem like I'm bashing characters like Sakura or Ino, but I'm not. Just know that.

ena:ena

Tempest: Season 1, Episode 1: Enter Naruto Uzumaki!

"Hey guys, c'mon! I already gave you all the yen I had yesterday!" A boy gulped as he held his hands up in defense. In front of him, two black haired kids were glowering down at him. One with green eyes and spiker hair got closer, causing the troubled teen to flinch as he placed his arm on the stone wall behind him. He looked at his arm near his head before looking back into the angered eyes of his bully.

"You see, I have a strong feeling you're lying to me." In a fluid motion, the bully's other hand grabbed the boy's collar, making him gag and raising him a few inches. "I would very much advise against lying to me, brat." The boy let out a gulp and started to chuckle nervously.

"I-I think I have some money in my backpack." He whimpered out, making the man smile and drop the boy with a squeak.

"Smart kid," he turned to his bowl-haired buddy. "Check the kids bag, Jun." The other boy nodded before rummaging through the boy's backpack. The boy looked at his bag being invaded and attempted to stand up before he felt a foot slam down on his unkempt black hair. Struggling, he was able to lift his head enough to see the teen smirking, his foot on his head and his hands in his pockets.

"What do you think you are doing? You're just trash, you got that?" He chuckled darkly as his buddy, Jun returned to him.

"Kid was holding out. Still had 1,000 yen on him." With a small laugh, the bully turned back to look down at the boy.

"Now Konohamaru… You know Takeshi doesn't like when you hold back money from me." Takeshi said as he frowned down at the boy. "You're practically begging to get hit now." By now, Konohamaru was trying his best to hold a strong face, but he could feel the tears welling in his eyes.

"I didn't mean it Takeshi. I really-"

"Shut up, crybaby." Konohamaru yelped and held to his words as Takeshi hissed at him. "Just looking at your whiny little face pisses me off!" Takeshi lift his foot up from Konohamaru's head, rearing it back to slam into his face. Before he could react, a hand grabbed Takeshi's sole of his foot, making him lose balance and fall over on his back. In the confusion, Jun looked to his fallen friend before turning to look at Konohamaru, a fist blocking his field of vision. From the ground, Takeshi growled out.

"You bastard… Naruto." As he glared at the blonde figure above him, Jun felt down on top of him. He scrambled to get his buddy off of him. As he pushed the unconscious Jun off of him, he looked up to see a quick fist followed by darkness. From the floor, Konohamaru quickly scrabbled up.

"Naruto! I didn't need any help!" Standing in front of the boy, a blonde man in a white short sleeve dress shirt turned to him.

"Oh shut up Konohamaru. You know I was gonna help anyway!" Konohamaru rolled his eyes before moving past the blond towards the two unconscious bullies. "Dude, he had 5,000 yen in his pockets! Score!" Naruto let out a small smirk as Konohamaru took back his money before a loud voice echoed throughout the courtyard they were in.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Both boys turned towards the voice, Naruto already groaning at seeing the person.

"Oh great. King of the turds himself is here." Walking up angrily, a man with long black hair that was kept in a ponytail walked up. He was dressed in similar attire as Naruto, except he wore a black suit and looked much more professional than the scraggly dressed blonde.

"Fighting on school campus again? You must have some nerve to always be doing this!" The man said sternly, as if we were scolding the boy in the politest manner. Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Hey, I wasn't the one that started it this time! They were bullying Konohamaru and gonna beat his ass, so I just returned the favor!" He let out a smirk as the man scoffed before scrunching the bridge of his nose.

"All I saw was you beating on Jumichika and Toryaga. You know I can't believe you. You both are pathological liars that only want to not get caught." Konohamaru chuckled at his assessment. He personally wouldn't label them as pathological liars, but that is what the school saw them as. If the shoe fit, he always thought.

"Well, I mean no one wants to get in trouble Mr. Hyuuga, but it's for real! Naruto was protecting to me from these jerks!" Naruto relaxed a little and gestured a thumb to the 10th grader behind him.

"You heard the kid Neji. All I was doing was protectively beating some ass. You know how that is, right?" Neji let out a low growl at the disrespect Naruto used to address him. With a sigh, he regained his composure and took a neutral stance.

"Be that as it may, I am still the Student Council President and I cannot stand for such antics like this to go on in my school." In a dramatic fashion, Neji turned away from Naruto, his voice lowering. "Mr. Uzumaki, you will report to detention later today. No club activities. I want you to go straight to Mr. Sarutobi's classroom as soon as the day ends. Do I make myself clear?" He turned back to Naruto, only to see him and Konohamaru crouching, using their hands to talk for Neji, both snickering like children, making the elder student turn red in anger.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME, YOU DUMBASS?" Both Naruto and Konohamaru recoiled from the screeching sound of the president, causing Naruto to fall onto his backside.

"Oi oi, I heard you, calm down!" He shouted out, waving off the president, infuriating him further.

"2 hours! Got it?" Before getting a response, the president walked off, anger radiating from his body. In the courtyard still, Naruto turned back to Konohamaru as soon as Neji was inside the school building.

"What a turd, amirite?" He snickered a little, making Konohamaru laugh in agreement. Without warning, he hopped up from the floor, his hands behind his head now as he walked back to the building. Konohamaru gulped and scrambled to catch up to the ever quick walking blonde.

"Hey, slow down! You're such a fast walker!" Naruto made a confused sound and looked back to see the black-haired boy catching up to him, seemingly running in a slight jogged pace.

"Keep up slowbro." He let out a chuckle as, Konohamaru steamed, adjusting his running walk pace to match Naruto's walk.

"I'm not slow! You're just stupidly fast! Probably from being so stupid and lame!" Naruto let out a small 'hmph.'

"Probably. Or maybe I just got places to go. You'll never know." Konohamaru rolled his eyes at Naruto's failure to be wise. Try as he could, Naruto would never be wise. There was no doubt in Konohamaru's mind about that.

"Well, at least you got dad as your detention advisor. He knows how much you look out for me. Would be a lot worse if you got Ms. Yuhi." At the mention of her name, both boys stopped in their tracks. They both shuddered at the thought of spending two extra hours of the day with Kurenai Yuhi, the schools fitness instructor. Not only was she super passionate about fitness and health, she had a stern belief that every man in the world is nothing but a pervert. It didn't help that she has caught Naruto and Konohamaru peeping before, forming a very strong bond of hatred from the teacher to them.

"Yeah, thank God about that. Kurenai would probably make me stay all night and force me to super scrub and clean the gym." He mentally groaned at the thought, losing his color as Konohamaru chuckled.

"Well, who knows. Dad doesn't wanna be here all night, so he might even let you leave early." Naruto smiled before turning towards the boy, with them now standing in front of the classroom of 2-A.

"That's good. Neither do I. Get to class brat. We're both late now." Looking surprised, Konohamaru looked at a nearby clock in the whole. After a brief pause, he shouted in surprise.

"AAAAAAHHHHH! MR. EBISU IS GONNA KILL ME!" He shouted, scrambling down the hall, leaving a trail of dust and wind in front of the confused blonde. Standing there, Naruto had a deadpan look on his face.

"Why is he so dramatic?" As Naruto pondered this question, the door to his homeroom slammed open. With an audible 'huh', Naruto turned to see the face of a very angry woman standing in front of the doorway. After a few seconds of silence, Naruto realized his mistakes as his face morphed to one of extreme panic.

"Wait wait wait, it's not what it looks like! I didn't mean to be late. I'm so sorry Ms. Kato!" Naruto begged out as the older woman grabbed his ear, making him exclaim in pain. Shizune Kato dragged Naruto into the classroom, his cries of pain drowning out the constant snicker of all his classmates. Like Naruto, they all wore the same outfit; guys wearing black slacks with a belt, as well as a short white sleeve buttoned-up shirt, while the girls mostly wore black skirts, with white buttoned up short sleeves. His teacher wore a long black skirt that cut off below her knees, as well as a long sleeve white buttoned up shirt with a black vest over it. On her face, she was wearing an expression of rage. In a motion quicker than any high school teacher should be able to move, she released Naruto's ear, placed both her hands on his shoulders and began to shake him senseless.

"Why does it seem you are always skipping my class? Do you just enjoy staying after class Mr. Uzumaki?" She spat out, practically fuming from the ears. In her hands, Naruto went limp, tears in his face as he was still being shaken back and forth.

"So…So sorry Ms. Kato…." He muttered, his soul already leaving his body.

"I expect to see all your essays tomorrow morning. I hope you all aren't planning on starting it tonight! I'm talking to you especially, Mr. Inuzuka" She let out a small laugh, making several of the male students blush, as well as make the named student look away with his cheeks rosy. Shizune was relatively young compared to some of the teachers, only being 23, with her closest senior being Kurenai at 25. Because of her young age, she had a joy toying with certain students that she knew had a schoolboy crush on her. She mostly used it to make sure they were actually learning material, in foolish hopes to one day impress her. As she collected her files, she noticed a certain blonde teenager, facedown on his desk. With a sigh, she straightened out her papers.

"I'm assuming it was Konohamaru again, wasn't it?"

"Takeshi and Jun. Those assholes tried to take his money." His voice muffled as it was still against the wooden desk. Shizune let out another sigh, rising from her desk.

"I don't understand why they still choose to punish you. It's clear to see that your pretty much the only one keeping the underclassman safe. That stupid student council president," her face tilted downwards in thought. She knew exactly why they always punished him. As far as this school was concerned, Naruto Uzumaki was nothing but a delinquent that got into Konoha High by pure luck. Granted, he wasn't the smartest student they had, but that didn't mean he didn't always try his hardest. She let out a small growl at her thoughts before hearing the scratching of a chair going backwards against tile. She looked up to see Naruto rising from his seat, a smile on his face.

"It's all good Sissy! I'm perfectly fine with getting detention if it means that those little guys ain't getting picked on." Shizune smiled at Naruto's proclamation before his words registered in her brain.

"Hey, don't call me that here brat! You know damn well to call me Ms. Kato" She growled, smacking the top of his head making, him yelp in pain. After a few seconds of nursing his bruises, he looked back at Shizune before, tilting his head in confusion.

"Hey, how tall are you sis?" Her angered face morphed back to her normal one as she looked up in thought, her thumb on her lip.

"I'm around 5'6". Why?" He grinned, jumping up close to his teacher, making her take a step back from shock.

"Looks like I'm catching up on you!" He gestured above him, showing off the fact he was now 5'5". He smirked as she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over the papers in her hands.

"Took you long enough shorty. Now get to your detention before you get in trouble. I'm heading to the teachers lounge and I want to lock up the room." Naruto nodded, grabbing his bag and heading out the door, waving goodbye to his teacher. As he left she let out another sigh, grabbing the keys to the classroom. As long as she could remember, her family had always been friends with the Uzumaki's. She remembered meeting the obnoxious blonde 6 year old when she was 12. He was an annoying little kid, but always put his heart into everything, and it sort of stuck with her. He was always willing to do anything for her and treated her like his big sister, so the role kind of stuck. This was her first year teaching at the prestigious Konoha High School that Naruto was attending and she made him swear to not tell anyone about their relationship, fearing it might make the other teachers and students judge her, more than they already did. Being a young teacher really came with a lot of handicaps. She really wished she wasn't as hard as she was on him, but she couldn't let her students see any weakness from her. She was a recent college graduate, and she had to earn her respect throughout the school.

Naruto was groaning. Despite his enthusiastic exclamation to Shizune, he was utterly tired of staying after school in detention. He had gotten detention so much, his mother had gotten to the point of not expecting him home until after 7 pm. On occasion, some days he wasn't home until 11, based on the amount of trouble he found himself in that day. As he walked down the hall, he barely noticed a shadowy figure step out in the hallway.

"Hey, I can see you. Quit trying to be all mysterious." He heard a small chuckle and watched as Jun and Takeshi stepped from the shadows, making Naruto groan. "Great. It's you two. What do you want?" Takeshi let out another growl, cracking his knuckles in the process.

"What do you think, idiot? We don't take to kindly to being snuck up on and getting sucker punched. Just thought someone like you would be better than doing that to people." Behind him, Jun slammed his fist into the other, making Naruto roll his eyes and give them a toothy grin.

"Sorry, it just happens when your face is so punchable, you know? I just can't help it." Jun let out a growl and took a step forward before Takeshi stopped him, placing a hand on his chest.

"Calm down here Jun. You really think Naruto is stupid enough to try and fight both of us? Even he's not that stupid." Naruto shrugged, crossing his arms and looking towards the ceiling in thought.

"I dunno. I'm not huge on taking on weaklings, but I'll gladly take out some jerks that want to step up." Takeshi frowned, releasing his hand from Jun's chest.

"So be it, brat." Jun immediately went forward, ready to strike Naruto. Quickly, Naruto's form changed from his passive mocking stance to one ready for combat, both fists in the air and aimed at the large man. Ready to fight, he barely heard the yell behind him. In a swift motion, he turned, unready for the fist inches from his face.

"Shit!" He shouted out, getting hit and knocking him towards Jun, who wrapped his arms around his waist, using his momentum to slam the blonde to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. From the ground, he looked up to see Takeshi and Jun, alongside another kid with black hair and one with brown hair, all grinning mischievously.

"No sucker punching, huh?" Naruto was able to cough out, his breath returning to him a little bit. Takeshi let out a shrug, looking down at the blonde.

"I never said we were above it, did I?" He snapped his fingers, causing the other 3 boys to start kicking down at Naruto, who curved himself into a ball to avoid most of the damage. He let out several grunts of pain as they continued kicking before he heard a shout.

"Out of my way!" All the bullies looked up, as well as Naruto peeking out of his defensive ball to see a backpack fly into one the bullies faces. Almost instantly, a blur of a person flew forward, it's knee connecting with the face of the brown haired kid. Jun and Takeshi let out a gasp as the kid fell next to Naruto, falling unconscious. In the moment of confusion, the black haired man threw off the backpack, shaking his head. As he collected his bearings, the blur was on him instantly, throwing two punches to the stomach. He keeled over from the pain, unable to see the third punch connecting with the side of his face, rendering him unconscious instantly. With an annoyed grunt, the blur turned his attention to the final two bullies as the boy next to him slump to the floor like a sack of rocks. Naruto uncurled himself and rose shakily, a grin on his bruised and beaten face. Near the hallway walls, Takeshi clenched his fists in anger, Jun doing the same next to him.

"Sasuke Uchiha… What the hell are you doing here?" He asked through gritted teeth. Sasuke stared down the two boys, his face looking apathetic.

"I'm here taking out the trash." Takeshi narrowed his eyes, his fists shaking. He wanted to go after Sasuke badly, but he had better self-control then that. Despite being the most popular student at Konoha High School, Sasuke knew how to handle himself in fights. Most of his fights were always saving Naruto, as no one wanted to go against him, with him being one of the sons of Fugaku Uchiha, the CEO of Uchiha Corp.

"Get out of the way Sasuke! This doesn't concern you at all." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the disrespect Jun threw towards him. He took a step forward, angering Jun. In an instant, Jun yelled out, rushing to throw a punch at Sasuke. "Bastard!" As he swung, Sasuke was able to grab Jun's fist, guiding the fist away from him and pulling him closer. As he fell forward, Sasuke sent an elbow forward towards his face, knocking Jun down with a distinct cracking noise. Before the boy could fall, he quickly sidestepped the now unconscious Jun. Takeshi felt his legs shake slightly as he watched Jun fall.

"Whatever! You win Uchiha Sasuke! I'm out of here!" He quickly ran away, with neither Naruto nor Sasuke willing to catch him. Naruto let out a small chuckle while Sasuke 'Hnn'ed.

"Thanks for the save Sasuke. They decided to sneak up on me." Sasuke shrugged before walking over to get his backpack.

"Learn to defend yourself idiot." Naruto pouted his lip before turning away from him with his arms crossed.

"There were 4 guys! Even you wouldn't be able to stop them had you not suprised them! No one could have!" Sasuke let out a rare chuckle, and shook his head.

"Yeah sure thing. Let's go Naruto. Let's get some ramen or something." Naruto instantly turned to the raven-haired boy, joy on his face, making Sasuke laugh slightly. Despite being super popular and the center of attention, it wasn't what Sasuke wanted. He'd rather blend into the shadows and just be a normal person, but due to his popularity, he was who everyone wanted to either be or be with. He hated how everyone kissed up to him. Naruto had been there since they were little and never cared about Sasuke's high status, which is why Sasuke actually liked the blonde. Naruto treated him like a person and that's why he was able to share his rare smiling moments with him. With all his popularity, he still considered Naruto his one true best friend, and didn't care what people said about him.

"I would love to get some ramen. Need some after those ass whoopings I just dealt, you feel me?" He blew on his knuckles and shook them, as if to say he just beat them all. Sasuke let out a chuckle before starting to walk down the hall.

"Yeah totally. Let's get moving."

"Thanks for the meal!" Naruto shouted, his hands clapped together as the steaming ramen was placed in front of him and Sasuke. Their waitress let out a small giggle at Naruto.

"Enjoy your meal you two. If you need anything, you know where to find me!" She bowed slightly before sending a genuine smile to Naruto, who gave her his biggest smile, making her giggle before walking away.

"Let's dig in!" He snapped his chopsticks and quickly dug in, slurping noodles quickly, making his friend shake his head.

"She was so into you, and then you act so mannerless." He took his chopsticks and started slurping quietly, making Naruto turn to him in confusion.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Ayame?" He pointed a thumb to the server, who happened to be looking at him as he pointed at the brown haired waitress that had just served them, startling her. Sasuke let out his sly smirk once again.

"Well, so much for not letting her know you're talking about her." He tilted his head slightly before looking towards the ramen line, seeing her looking directly at him. He quickly turned beet red and looked down at his bowl, his hand back on the side of his bowl.

"Aw crap, now she's gonna hate me. Ichiraku is my favorite place too! Damn, now I need a new place to eat, oh man." Sasuke looked towards the waitress who couldn't help but laugh at the blonde's embarrassed look.

"Yeah, something tells me you won't have to worry about that." He muttered, slurping up some more noodles. He looked back to his side to see Naruto still looking red with his face in his bowl. "Calm down. She's not going to hate you. Never really pictured you as the freak-out type when it comes to girls. That is, if you even like girls." He felt the jolt of Naruto's uneasiness set in as Sasuke's mouth twitched upward, his trademark smirk on its way. Naruto shot up from his ramen bowl, a shade redder before and glaring at the boy.

"Oh HA HA! I've had no interest in being with anyone and you know that!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, swallowing the line of noodles in his chopsticks.

"We both know that's a blatant line. You just like an asshole." His voice was quiet now. He knew Naruto was going to flip at his words, but he didn't care. Sasuke would never stop trying to get Naruto to give up on his unhealthy crush.

"Excuse you, but Ms. Sakura Haruno is not an asshole. Maybe you're just the asshole, Sasuke." He stated through a smirk, taking another slurp of noodles. It bothered Sasuke that he referred to Sakura with her full name. Essentially, she was the only person he ever talked formally to, including their teachers and headmaster.

"I'm just saying. You know she's an Uchiha fangirl. And she's been nothing but rude and mean to you." Then again, who isn't a jerk to you, Naruto, Sasuke thought, sipping his noodles as he toned out Naruto's long winded and obnoxious defenses for Sakura.

As long as they had been friends, Naruto always seemed to find and bring out the worst in people. It felt as if most people that met him were always angry or hated him in some way. It never made sense to Sasuke how people just had some innate hatred for his best friend, who was actually a very good person. Everyone knew that he was a savior of sorts to all the underclassman, as his past as a huge prankster allows him to move around the school quietly and save the victims of the upperclassman. Despite the many times he had saved people from getting beaten or their money stolen, everyone overlooked it. This wasn't the first time they had joined up to try and beat Naruto, which is why Sasuke always liked to stay at school a little late. No matter what, he always had his friends back.

"-So yeah, I think that all adds up to a really cool person! Right? Hey, are you even listening to me, Sasuke?" Sasuke snapped out of his train of thought as Naruto was inches from his face, glaring at him. Sasuke growled and pushed the blonde away, his hand on his face.

"Too close, you idiot!" He hissed out, pushing Naruto back to his side of the table, causing his chair to tilt slightly. As it bounced back and forth, Naruto glared back at the raven-haired boy.

"I could have DIED!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, lifting his bowl to drink the broth. On the other side, Naruto placed his chopsticks on the table, looking outside. "It's getting late. Doesn't the Uchiha Prince have to get home?" Placing his bowl down, Sasuke looked at his watch.

"Yeah, it's already 8. I guess we spent more time at school than we meant to. You got the bill, right?" Sasuke smirked and was already up and halfway to the door by the time his words hit Naruto, who was in the middle of drinking the broth in his ramen.

"Huh!?"

"Grummy cheap Sasuke…" Naruto mumbled, pocketing his wallet and grumbling. He looked up and placed his hands in his pockets, walking in a grumpy fashion. Luckily for him, Ichiraku Ramen was near his house and was on the route from school to home. Opening the door, he could hear the television blasting some action drama. Closing the door behind him, he wore a scowl. In front of him, a redheaded woman was slouched on the couch, her long hair covering her face and chest and snoring loudly. She was wearing blue sweatpants and a large green shirt with a giant Konoha logo on it. He looked from her to the TV, which was blasting loud.

"She's such a deep sleeper…" He muttered, flipping the TV off before grabbing a blanket. "I guess she was waiting up for me, heh." He smiled as he covered her, making sure she didn't get too cold. After a few seconds, her snoring stopped and she shuffled into a more comfortable position, a smile on her face.

He walked into the kitchen to see a pot of ramen boiled and ready for whenever he had gotten home, making him smile. His mom knew him too well.

"Thanks for the food." He said quietly, careful not to walk his mother, as if his shouting would even wake up that rock. He slowly began to dig into his ramen with a smile. Ichiraku was one the best ramen shops he had ever been to, but it had nothing compared to his mothers cooking. She was a whiz with anything culinary, but her ramen was easily top tier. He had no doubt she could win cooking competitions with just ramen alone. He always joked that if she ever found herself laid off from her job as a fire fighter, she should be a cook at Ichiraku.

After his meal, he carefully left enough ramen to fill up 3 more bowls, as his mother would get angry if he left her any less, and he began to clean the pot and all the messes he made. After a few minutes of cleaning and placing things into their dishwasher, he turned the lights off and headed towards the living room. He let out a smile and gave his mother one last good night before turning the lights off and heading towards his room down the hall, hopefully to get a good nights sleep.

"You don't look good at all. Nice shiner by the way." She stated, referencing the bruises on Naruto's face. She knew her son was involved in lots of fights. It hurt her to see Naruto with bruises, but she also knew she had to not make them a big deal and to let him deal with them.

In the doorway to their kitchen, Naruto was standing, all color drained from his face. Inside the kitchen, his mother was chuckling, drinking a fairly large glass of tea while sitting at the table. "When did you even get home?" He shuffled in, slamming his body into the other chair around the table, his head slumping down.

"Like 9:30. It wasn't even late. Why am I so tired all the time?" He let out a sigh, raising his head to look at her. "I thought you people were supposed to be strong." She rolled her eyes, taking another drink.

"My family isn't really a 'you people' you know that, right? And it doesn't matter. Maybe you got your fathers weak genes. He was always bad at walking up early." With another load groan, Naruto slammed his face back into the table.

"Dad sucked." He hissed out, earning another laugh from his mother.

"Be that as it may, I have to get to work," she glanced over towards the clock. "And it looks like you're going to be late for school… Again." In an instant, Naruto hopped up, looking at the clock in the kitchen before exclaiming loudly.

"Oh crap! Sissy is gonna kill me! Love ya! Bye, Mom!" Naruto shouted out in one breathe, rushing out of the house in a gust of wind, making his mom shake her head.

"Always such a weird one, Naruto."

"You are lucky I don't make you stand outside all class!" Shizune shouted at the whimpering Naruto. Because of his comments yesterday, she now noticed the size difference between them and was slightly irked that she couldn't literally look down at him anymore.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Kato." He bowed to her, apologizing profusely. She let out a sigh, facepalming slightly. She supposed she could let him off easy, seeing as he was only late by 10 minutes.

"It was only 10 minutes, so I guess we can just ignore it this-" Before Shizune could finish, the door to class 2-A slid open, revealing a well-dressed face with 2 pale angry looking eyes glaring at the blond in front of him.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Neji's voice boomed, making several students gulp. It didn't matter where they were, the Student Council President Neji Hyuuga let out an intimidating aura that frankly scared most students. They wouldn't dare cross him ever, but then again, most students weren't Naruto. While bowing, Naruto turned his head to the left, able to make out Neji's face from his peripherals.

"What is it now, Neji?" Shizune frowned at Naruto's disrespect, but she had also expected it. As long as she had known him, he only showed very few people the respect they deserved. Everyone else was dude or just their first name. Neji's brow visible furrowed disapprovingly at Naruto's demeanor, but it was quickly erased by a calm exterior.

"It has come to my attention that you seemed to have skipped detention with Mr. Sarutobi last night." Naruto's skin visibly paled as Neji started to drown on about the integrity the students have and how their word is their bond.

Oh crap! I totally forgot about that stupid detention after Takeshi jumped me! Maybe… Maybe he will believe me about them jumping me and let me off the hook! I know he will believe Sasuke, as Naruto thought about his options, he turned his head slowly to match Sasuke's monotonous gaze. Almost instantly, Sasuke shook his head, making the blond growl slightly. You bastard! He hated it. But he knew Sasuke was right. They wouldn't believe that Sasuke fought and if they did, he would get in trouble as well, and while Neji Hyuuga certainly didn't care about Sasuke getting in trouble, the fire the school would get for an Uchiha getting in trouble wasn't worth it to anyone.

"Do I make myself clear, Naruto Uzumaki?" Collecting himself from his thoughts, Naruto heard the tail end of Neji's speech, confusing him greatly.

"Huh?" Naruto's head titled slightly, as if a giant question mark was over his head. Shizune let out a sigh in annoyance at her pseudo-brothers response, as Neji visibly grit his teeth in anger.

Does it physically hurt you to pay attention sometimes? She thought to herself while Neji readjusted his composure.

"I said you will be with Ms. Yuhi's from after school until 10 pm. She will sign a paper saying you can leave at that time." Naruto gulped out, pulling at his collar slightly.

"T-this is such an inconvenience for Ms. Yuhi though! She wants to go home too, you know! She doesn't want to just be at the school all the time." Neji smirked slightly, crossing his arms.

"Actually, I made sure. She has a lot of things to do to prepare for some school activity's coming up. You're going to help her set up for all those activity's all night. She is incredibly grateful for the giant workload you are taking off her shoulders." Naruto let out one last gulp before finally hanging his head in defeat. After all this, he had to admit that he lost to Neji.

"Okay, sure thing Mr. Hyuuga. Ms. Yuhi's class at 3:30 until 10. I will be there." Naruto's voice sounded defeated, which was music to the president's ears. He took a quick bow to Shizune.

"Sorry for interrupting your class time Ms. Kato. Carry on." With that, Neji was gone and the only sound in the classroom was the sound of the door sliding shut. After what seemed like a few silent minutes, Shizune sighed and pointed to the chairs. She felt like all she was doing was sighing these days.

"Just go sit down, Naruto" With his head hanging in defeat, Naruto slowly trudged to his seat in the back of the class.

"You're late." The intimating red eyes of Kurenai Yuhi pierced through Naruto the second he had stepped into the office of the school's fitness teacher. Unlike the other teachers at Konoha High School, Kurenai wore a plain white t-shirt, with a dark blue track jacket over it, as well as super black tights that went to her knees. No matter the situation, Kurenai was always in outfits that granted her the most mobility. Looking at the clock, Naruto noticed it red that the time was only 3:33.

"But, Ms. Yuhi, It's only three after. I did have to walk all the way across campus to get her." He was careful to use his formal speech, in hopes that if he was proper, she wouldn't be as harsh to him as she could be. She crossed her arms and glared at him from her office chair, making him gulp.

Oh crap, I hope she is gonna be gentle…

"3:30 means 3:30, Naruto. Another slip up like that and I'm sure I could find more stuff that need cleaning around this school. Might take another hour or so too." She smirked slightly. Say what you want, you could tell she personally enjoyed making Naruto's life a hell.

Oh damn, she's going in rough! He exclaimed, tears falling down his mental images face like waterfalls.

"You're right. I'm really sorry about that, Ms. Yuhi. W-won't happen again." He stuttered out, making her roll her eyes and rise from her chair angrily.

"Let's cut the crap. I know you're a delinquent and you know that too. So let's cut all this chatter and just get straight to work. Are we on the same page?" Rather than argue, Naruto knew the wise choice would be to simply agree with everything she says, no matter how untrue they were. Receiving a nod from the blond, she smirked slightly.

"Good. Now basketball season is approaching. I'm going to need that basketball court nice and clean. All waxed up. I'm sure you know exactly where all that stuff is, right?" Naruto let out a small gulp. It was gonna be a long night.

"I swear that woman is a freakin' slave driver!" Naruto exclaimed to himself, lazily walking down the darkened streets of Konoha City at 11 pm. In the end, Kurenai had pretty much made sure Naruto made anything that had to do with physical sports look as if it was brand new. Not only were his muscles aching from all the labor, but his brain was already shut off and ready for the next day to begin.

"This is the worst experience I have ever had with that woman! I swear she just wants to make sure my life is the freaking worst ever!" He continued to grumble to himself silently as he walked next to the dark shopping district of town. Walking down the district, he saw the familiar Ichiraku Ramen, lights off and already closed. Because ramen wasn't exactly the most profitable business, the shop was further away from the shopping district, slightly isolated. As he got closer, he noticed there was a light in the back of the restaurant still on.

"That's weird…" He thought to himself, taking a few steps towards the window, allowing him to see the dark shop there, lightly lit by the faint glow. Naruto had gone to this shop since the day it had opened, over 15 years ago, and he had never once seen Teuchi, the owner, keep anyone past 10:30. He looked towards the door and noticed that it had been left slightly ajar.

"I'm sure Teuchi is just finishing up work, that's all. But still…" He pursed his lips, edging himself towards the door. "I'm sure Teuchi will forgive me if it's nothing, but it's better to check it out." He gently pushed the door open, entering the dark and quiet restaurant. Crouching a bit, Naruto stealthily moved through, heading towards the dim light in the kitchen.

The silence was almost deafening in the usually loud kitchen. Everything was clean, so it was obvious they had already closed up for the day. Upon closer inspection, he saw a few pots and pans still in the dishwashers sink. It was suspicious, but he had to make his way to the office. The office was open by a few inches, light escaping from the room.

He opened the door with a slight creak. The room was incredibly messy, papers strewn about the floor and desk, file cabinets crashed to the floor. Despite all the calamity in the room, it was the center of the room that drew all of Naruto's attention.

"Teuchi?" In the center of the room, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi Ichiraku, was laying on a file cabinet. His face was bruised and bloody, as if his skull was cracked open. Ignoring his stealthy approach, Naruto immediately ran to the restaurateur.

"Teuchi! Oh my God, what happened?" He nudged the man, getting no response. It was obvious the old man was already unconscious. He gulped before reaching for his cell phone, quickly dialing 119. He stood in the office, his heart rate escalating with the ring back tone.

"119, what is your emergency?" A calm woman's voice answered the phone, allowing Naruto to calm down slightly.

"Uh, yes hello. I'm N-Naruto Uzumaki. I'm at Ichiraku Ramen and the owner is here with me, bruised and bleeding. I don't know what to do. The door was open and the lights were on." He stammered out, looking at Teuchi, pacing around the room.

"Okay sir. Would you be able to- "She stopped abruptly, startling Naruto. Moving the phone from his ear, he looked at it to see the battery icon flashing red.

"Shit! Really? The perfect time. God damn detention!" He growled out, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "They should be on their way still. I should stay here for them." He remarked to himself, looking around the messy room before hearing a bang hit the wall. He quickly looked over towards a second door in the office; one leading to the backend of the restaurant.

His stealth back, he slowly crept to the back end of the office, making sure not to mess with anything around him, in fear that it would potentially tamper with the evidence. The back door was a fairly solid metal door that matched the white brick walls of the office. He gently placed his hand on the door, opening it slowly.

The alleyway was dark, a faint light from the restaurant lighting it up. Stepping out slightly, all Naruto could make out was a dumpster, as well as a small garage like area, which he only assumed was for deliveries. Closing the door slowly, he snuck through the alley towards the garage, where the sound came from. Against the wall, Naruto scooted towards it until he was able to make out some quiet voices.

"Quit squirming around, I swear to God!" It was a faint angry whisper, but Naruto could barely make the words out. Gulping, he inched forward, trying to get some vision on the scene. In a crouch, he was able to look into the garage, his eyes widening.

In front of him, a masked man was holding the neck of Ayame, the brown haired waitress that had served him and Sasuke the day previous. Her arms were missing from view, but from the angle she was at, Naruto could easily tell that her hands were tied. Near her neck, Naruto could make out a faint glint of steel. Turning away from the image, Naruto stuck to the wall, his breathing intensifying.

"Was that a knife? No way. Ichiraku is getting robbed. He's the one that hurt Teuchi… He reasoned with himself a little more before finding the courage to look back into the garage. His eyes widened as much as they humanly could. Inside, he could clearly see the thick watery tears of Ayame's coat her cheeks. She was in trouble. And all he was doing was sitting here, getting scared for himself. What an asshole.

With no hesitation, Naruto moved from the corner, rushing into the dark garage.

"Hey! What the hell is going on here?" Suddenly, both the mugger and Ayame's eyes turned to Naruto. All the attention was on him and, frankly, it made him incredibly nervous. He would have to play this super well to make sure Ayame wasn't hurt. The masked man turned to Naruto. From this close distance, he definitely could see the knife pressed against Ayame's throat.

"Listen to me. Buzz off brat. This doesn't even remotely concern you." Just like that, the robber's attention was back onto Ayame, completely dismissing Naruto. He grit his teeth and took a step forward, glaring back at side of the robbers head.

"Well, you have a knife to a girls throat, so yeah it does concern me just a bit." The man let out a sigh, looking down to the ground, as if to contemplate a thought. After what seemed like a few minutes, he turned back towards Naruto.

"Listen kid. One more step and I'm going to make you really regret coming in here. Understand?" As if to act defiant, Naruto took a small step forward. The man breathed in before chuckling.

"I warned you, dumbass." In a fluid motion, the masked man pulled out a handgun from his jacket with his free hand. Naruto quickly froze in fear, his eyes looking down the barrel of a gun and his hands now in the air. Next to the gunman, Ayame started to shake, more tears flowing down her face.

"H-hey, let's j-just take it easy, a-alright?" Naruto stammered out, staring at the gun, making the man laugh.

"All that bravado, gone in an instant. I told you not to butt in kid. Now get out of her before I decorate this garage with your fucking brain." He turned his head back to Ayame, a smirk on his face. "Now run along." Naruto grit his teeth, anger on his face.

This is stupid! I don't want to get shot, but I just can't let this jerkwad hurt Ayame! What do I do? How do I solve this? I don't know what to do. Shit! Naruto was lost in his thought as the mugger growled back at him.

"Did you hear me, brat? I said get fucking lost!" He shouted out at Naruto with a booming voice. In that same instant, Ayame let out a scream, slamming her side into the mugger, making him lose his balance. Moving without thinking, Naruto shifted forward and swung his fist towards the man, hitting him in the face, causing the man to fall to the ground, as well as drop the gun.

"Son of a bitch!" The man exclaimed, already picking himself up. Thinking quickly, Naruto bolted towards the gun the man had dropped. Clasping the cold metal weapon, he was able to get the gun and take aim at the man, but the mugger was faster. Before he could fully aim down the sights, the man had already risen and dived at Naruto, getting his hands on the gun and pointing it upwards, not letting Naruto fire at the man. In the corner of the garage, Ayame was hidden in the darkness, watching in horror, half of her wanting to run away to her father's side, while the other side wanted to help Naruto fight the mad man.

After an intense power struggle, Naruto could feel the other man start to gain the upper hand. In an instant, the gun slipped from is hands, back into the muggers and Naruto felt a hard blunt attack from the butt of the gun, causing him to fall back on his behind, eyes shut in pain. With a deranged cackle, the mugger aimed at him.

"That was good try, but I win. Now you get to watch as I kill your little friend." He looked to the corner with a deranged smile, his mask now off, thanks to the fight. Slowly, he inched towards Ayame, who was frozen in fear.

"I'll teach you both to mess with the Mizuki Gang!" He grabbed ahold of Ayame bound arms, making the tears come back. She was still frozen, unsure of what to do. Ichiraku's most well-known patron came to save her, but here he laid before her, bruised and beaten. She was glad someone had come. It had given her hope in her situation. But as quickly as the hope had come, it had faded as she was back in the crazed man's arms, the cold steel pressed against her temple.

"P-p-please d-don't…" She whimpered out, only making the man smile wider.

"I was supposed to only hurt you and your father, but now… I'm sure Mizuki will understand. Nothing quite like a dead daughter to get your piece of shit father to start paying his dues!" He shouted out, cocking the gun. She gulped and shut her eyes, unable to look. From the floor, Naruto let out a scowl and start to rush towards the man, hoping to be faster than his finger.

"NO!" BANG

It all happened so quickly. Naruto was glad to see that Ayame was unharmed. Realizing that, he looked down towards himself, feeling immense pain in his heart. His shirt was painted red, a thick liquid oozing out of the left side of his chest. He looked back up to see the gun facing him, a small hint of smoke coming from the barrel.

"Shouldn't have moved brat." He smirked at him, pulling the gun closer and making it face upwards with a bent arm. The liquid coppery taste suddenly overtook his mouth, making him gag. He coughed out the red liquid on the floor, still in disbelief at the blood dripping from his mouth.

I… I can't move. My body isn't listening to me… Am. Am I gonna die? He thought to himself, trying to desperately move his body. With a thump, he fell to his back, blood still oozing out of the wound. He couldn't do anything. His vision started to go black around the edges. He was stuck at an angle that give him a perfect view of the man and Ayame, her face drenched with dried up tears.

N-no… He tried to move to no avail. No matter what, his body refused to listen. His hear had started to ring, drowning out all other sounds. He couldn't hear them, but he could still see them. He had forced Ayame to her knees, a sadistic grin on his face.

No… He felt a twitch, but he couldn't have been sure if it was his dying brain playing tricks on him. Tears were forming in her eyes again. She looked Naruto in the eyes, a lone tear sliding down her cheek as the man placed the gun behind her head.

No. No, this isn't the end. He can't let it end like this. He couldn't let it end like this. He won't let Ayame be hurt. He refused to let this man win. A surge of strength hit Naruto, as if all his pain disappeared. In an instant, he felt strength flow into him and he jumped up, a fierce glare in his eyes.

"How in the actual hell are you still alive?" The man moved his gun from the back of Ayame's head towards Naruto, who was now standing, his right arm covering the bullet hole on his left side. His entire school attire was drenched crimson, but he still stood his ground.

"Can't… Let you… Hurt her." He wheezed out, making the man roll his eyes.

"You're just pathetic now. Die already!" He shouted, his patience hitting an all-time high. In the same moment, Naruto felt the world slow. The sound of the gun firing echoed slowly in his head, giving him the perfect amount of reaction time. With his free hand, he held it up, open palmed towards the gun, the bullet stopping in midair.

"What the… You sick freak!" He let out a few more shots, them all stopping halfway between him and Naruto. Outside the garage, the wind picked up, roaring now against the former silence. With a fire in his eyes, he looked down towards Ayame.

"Duck!" As soon as the words left his lips, Ayame plunged down, her chin smacking against the concrete flooring. At the same time, the wind spiked higher, speeding up with Naruto's yell.

"Hiyaaaaaa!" The wind, as well as the bullets in midair all made a sharp whistle before turning against the man, whose eyes widened in fear. In an instant, he was made mercy to elements. With a deafening howl, the wind slammed into the man, pulling him off his feet and into the air. He flew several feet before slamming into the wall leading to the main restaurant, the cement cracking behind him. Naruto took a step forward, pushing his hand further, making the wind speed up and push against the man more.

"You fuc-" He attempted to shout over the wind, but Naruto made one final push, making the wind push harder and breaking the wall, sending him flying into restaurant floor. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground. Breathing heavily, Naruto lowered his hand, making the wind stop. He felt his hand go limp and couldn't move it anymore. His vision was fading fast, but he was able to turn towards Ayame, a smile forming at the edge of his lips.

"Are you okay, Ayame?" Before he could hear an answer, he felt the darkness take over his mind, causing him to topple forward into a puddle of his own blood.

"Naruto?" The still bound Ayame rushed to her saviors side, trying to help him as much as she could. Unsure what to do, she heart the faint sound of police sirens near the restaurant, them steadily getting louder. With only one thought left, she put all her remaining strength into her throat.

"HELP!"

Alright, how's that for an intro chapter? Literally took me 5 tries and a few MONTHS to get it right. I'm in a grove now, so it won't be that bad the next few updates. I'm clocking in this chapter at 9,000 words, so I'm going to try and set that or a little more as the standard for this story.

I hope you enjoyed. Leave a comment or favorite and let me know what you liked or didn't like.

Episode 2 out soon.