001

Oh how he hated the winter.

Snow blanketed the land and the temperature plummeted to unsavory levels, giving the wind an icy bite to it. The boy shuddered as a gale swept through the frozen forest and tightened his scarf.

'Stupid snow...' he grumbled to himself as he trudged along the beaten path. The faster they reach a town, the faster they could find warmth and more importantly, food. At best, they could survive another 2 days with the rations still left.

Glancing ahead, he caught sight of his traveling companion. She was currently chasing after a rabbit a few paces ahead of him. Like him, she was clad in a black cloak. It had extra padding sewn in to better stave off the chilling cold. Her fiery skin shone like a beacon against the ivory landscape and her long, sanguine tresses fluttered behind her like a cape of sakura petals. But what stood out the most about the girl were the 2 district horns perched atop her head.

The girl suddenly turned to face him and a smile lit up her features. "Nao!" She exclaimed excitedly.

The boy's eyes suddenly widened when he saw her barreling towards him. He braced himself as much as he could but the slushy terrain didn't leave him much room for solid footing. The girl slammed into his chest with incredible velocity, knock the boy off his feet and sending them both crashing to the ground.

The boy grunted from the impact and shivered when he felt snow slip inside of his jacket. Glancing down at the bundle in his arms, he couldn't help but smile as she giggled into his chest. "You're going to be the death of me you know that?" He chuckled as he ran his fingers through her hair. The girl lifted her head and grinned brightly, revealing a maw full of sharp fangs.

"Nao..."

"Hm?"

The boy suddenly stopped, resting between the girl's horns. She was staring up at him expectantly, concern etched into her features. "Mari?"

The boy smiled as he pet her hair one last time. "Of course. I did say I would protect you forever," he grinned at her. The girl's eyes began to water and a silly smile spread across her face. "Once we get out of here, we'll go see the world and I'll be your-"

Uzumaki Naruto...you fail!

The words echoed in his mind, a constant reminder of his inaptitude. Today was the graduating ceremony for his class at the academy. The other student were showing off their new headbands to their parents who were gawking in awe. Each and every graduating student had received one to signify that they were now official shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.

Running a finger across his goggles, the blonde gave a heavy sigh as he pushed himself off of the swing. "Who wants to be a ninja anyway..."

Naruto silently trudged along through the forest. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and his eyes were unfocused. he sighed. He wasn't the smartest in class, but he at least managed a passing score on the written test. His Shurikenjutsu was...acceptable and Taijutsu was probably what he excelled at most. And even then he stood no chance against the Uchiha. But the absolute bane of his existence was Ninjutsu.

The final graduation requirement was to show proficiency in Ninjutsu by way of performing the Transformation technique and Clone Jutsu during an evaluation with their sensei. Unfortunately for the blonde, his chakra control was so lacking it might as well be nonexistent. Even at such a young age, Naruto had more chakra than even the average Jōnin. But he couldn't properly mold it, which lead to atrocious transformations and dysfunctional clones.

"Maybe Hokage just isn't in the cards..." the boy said to no one in particular. He hated the idea of giving up on his dreams, but how was he supposed to become the strongest, most respected ninja in the village, if he couldn't even graduate the academy. Maybe he could talk to the old man. There was no way that all of the blood, sweat, and tears he' shed his entire life could be for naught. Could it…?

Naruto stumbled into the sunlight and found himself standing on the edge of the field. He brought his hand to his brow to block out the sun and get a better lay of the land. The field was rather expansive in size and gave a clear view of the mountains. A deep river bisected the glade, splitting the Forrest in half. On one side there were three wooden posts that were spaced apart evenly and beyond them there was kunai shaped stone.

The blonde glanced around in confusion. He'd never seen this training ground before. Or at least that's what he assumed it to be. Walking forward, something floating in the river caught his eye. Whatever it was, it was long, pink, and drifting about aimlessly. As he drew closer, he slowly started to make out the shape of a person. They suddenly dipped below the surface and disappeared from sight.

After a few moments, blonde's eyes widened when the person had yet to resurface. 'Oh no they could be drowning!' Kicking off his sandals, Naruto made a break for the riverbank. He unzipped his jacket and tossed it aside only to slip and fall face first into the dirt.

"The hell..." Naruto turned around to see he had lost his footing on a pile of clothing, which he assumed belonged to the person in the river. A sense of urgency quickly reinvigorated the blonde when he remembered that said person was still possibly drowning. He shot to his feet and turned back to the water only for a figure to burst out from beneath the surface.

Naruto stood paralyzed at the sight before him. It was a girl, around his age if he had to guess. A long, flowing mane of pink hair flared out behind her but truly what drew his attention were the small pair of horns protruding from the top of her head. Their gazes locked and Naruto found himself lost in her radiant cyan eyes, which were further accentuated by her red eyeliner. Even with a fish hanging from her mouth and blank expression, the boy was completely mesmerized by the beauty before him. It wasn't until she leaned her face in close to his that he noticed her state of undress.

"Y-Y-You're naked!" Naruto stammered, his face turning every known shade of red.

The girl spit the fish back into the water with a smirk. "And here I thought you were dead or something," she said walking past the stunned blonde. "What a shame. I was hoping it would be salty like the ocean," she said downheartedly as she licked her forearm.

Naruto finally recovered from his stupor and turned to the girl. "But this is a river...the ocean is a long way from here."

"Well obviously," the girl rolled her eyes. "But it's the most ocean-like place I know," she sighed. "You can't seem to take your eyes off of me so you must be quite the pervert," she grinned.

"What? No!" the blonde blanched. "I was walking and I saw you and I thought you were drowning and I was gonna jump in to save you and could you please put your clothes back on now!" He exclaimed, slowly turning an even deeper shade of crimson.

The girl stared at him briefly before bursting into laughter, much to Naruto's annoyance. "How noble of you. Risking your life for someone you just met. I appreciate it, thank you."

Naruto felt his face heat up at the alluring smile she flashed at him. "Y-Yeah whatever," he grumbled as he turned around to hide his Blush and give the girl some privacy.

A few minutes passed and Naruto found himself standing on the edge of the river. He was so lost in thought staring at his reflection that he almost didn't hear the footsteps approaching from behind. He spared a glance over his shoulder and saw it was the girl. She was clad in the traditional attire of an ANBU sans the flak vest. It was only now he noticed the tattoo on her shoulder.

"You're an ANBU?"

"Something like that," she grinned. "What about you? Orange isn't exactly a good for a ninja," she queried. Naruto looked himself over and merely shrugged. He was clad in a mesh shirt with black pants and sandals. The collar, sleeves, and middle stripe of his jacket were black and the rest was a bright orange. A red insignia of the Uzumaki clan sat in the middle of his back.

"There's no better color," he said simply before turning back to the river. "Besides I'm not a ninja. I can't be one..."

"Can't?" The girl's eyebrow rose.

"Yeah…I failed the academy graduation test. Again. Someone who can't make a simple clone isn't fit to be a ninja. Let alone Hokage," the blonde laughed grimly.

"Hokage is a bit of a pipe dream if you can't become a ninja," the girl reasoned with a shrug.

"Tell me something I don't know," Naruto sighed. He picked up a small rock and tossed it at the river. It skipped five times before losing momentum and sinking into awaiting abyss. "I just kind of figured that if I became Hokage, I'd finally fit in. I don't have a family and I'm not from some prestigious clan. I've been on my own my entire life, looking out for just me," he spoke.

"Everyone treats me with hatred and scorn, avoiding me like the plague. If I became Hokage then they'd have no choice but to acknowledge me. I'd finally have some place I belonged..."

He didn't know why he was opening up to a complete stranger. But it felt good to finally speak his mind for once. And the girl was still there so she seemed intent on hearing his words, which was a first. It was a nice feeling.

"Oh I see..." she said reaching into her back pouch. "You're just like me." She withdrew a small black choker and encircled it around her neck. Upon settling in place, a red sealing matrix spread across the thin fabric. "I'm always alone too, thanks to these horns," she said gesturing to the growths on her head.

"Life isn't going to hand you anything you know," she continued. "You have to take what you want by force. If there isn't a place for you, then go out and make one!" She proclaimed.

Naruto only rolled her eyes at her words. "Yeah, it's not as simple as you make it seem," he scoffed. A grunt escaped the blonde when his equilibrium suddenly shifted and he was left lying on his back. His eyes snapped to attention at the girl, who was now straddling his waist.

"But that's the fun part!" She beamed. "Life would be boring if everything was easy!" Before Naruto could react, she leaned in close to his face again, this time running her tongue across the whispered grooves of his cheek.

"W-What are you doing?!" Naruto stammered, staring at the girl incredulously.

"Wow..." she grinned as she licked her lips. "Your taste really makes my heart race," she spoke, sitting up in his lap. "It bites and lingers..." She licked her lips once more. "The taste of danger."

"W-What?" The poor boy managed to peep out.

"I'm sorry, would you have preferred a kiss instead?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side, causing her bangs to sway.

"A K-Kiss?!"

"Of course!" The girl smiled. She leaned in close to his ear and Naruto shuttered as her warm breath tickled his neck. "It's a very special thing you know..." she whispered huskily.

At this point Naruto was practically short circuiting and the girl couldn't help but giggle. He was actually rather cute. Pushing herself up, the girl dusted her pants off and offered a warm smile to the blonde. "I've taken a liking to you."

"Neh, how's about becoming my Darling?"