It's not like that! Chapter 1, a naruto fanfic

Title: It's not like that!

Rating: T (I doubt I will raise it, but it could happen)

Author: Cherry-hime (That's me!)

Warnings: Poor writing skills, OOC (nothing too bad, though), shounen-ai (it might venture into yaoi), my annoyingness and slow updates, mild spoilers (except in this chapter I tell you the true identity of Naruto's dad so if you don't want to know just yet, don't say I didn't tell you), I'll probably add to this list.

Disclaimer: Naruto and anything associated with it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and others and in no way does this fanfiction attempt to infringe or earn a profit from the anime, manga or any other merchandise. (yeah, I like being official so no one can say that I didn't have an official disclaimer)

Summary: Uzumaki Naruto had mountain sickness. Who the hell puts a school in the mountains!? And why, might he ask, are they so few students enrolled this year? What has he done to deserve this-oh yeah...that.

Oh yeah, if you haven't caught the drift by now, this is Sasunaru/ Narusasu/ I don't really care which order you put it at the moment. If you do not like this pairing, then please, do not read.

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Chapter One: Mountain Peak School

"Eheheheh." A blond boy scratched his head while a vein pulsed a red-haired woman's forehead, "C'mon, really! It's not like that!

"Uzumaki Naruto," she barked, in a surprisingly gentle voice forced into a frightening tone, "Remember what I said I'd do if you pulled this one more time?"

"-But I really don't see what's wro-"

"AUGH! That's it! I'll send in this form!" Green eyes flashing, she was all but screeching at her son.

Uzumaki Naruto, however, would not give up. Making his face into the cutest pout ever known to Uzumaki Kushina, he turned to his mother and begged. Fortunately, being his mother, she was able to fend it off.

Poor Naruto. Truthfully, he did not understand. His mom was not a mean person, but also, she was not a person that could easily read when someone was lying or not. Let me explain. Naruto is a boy of sixteen and very simple minded. He has a favorite food (ramen) and a favorite color (orange) and even a favorite animal (foxes), but what he also has is a delusional disorder. (1) Every once in a while, he thinks he's in a world of ninjas where he is a cursed child with a nine-tailed demon fox sealed inside of him. To Naruto, these are not illusions or hallucinations but a reality that he is a part of and he doesn't talk to anyone about it. On various occasions, his father, whom he believes in his world to be dead, tries to contradict Naruto's belief. Naruto hates himself for hurting his father, but he also hates his father for interrupting his goal.

Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato were not geniuses when it came to psychology of children and had no choice to use their last resort to help their only child. Naruto was to go to a 'special school' instead of Konoha High School (where all his friends were going) because his parents could not handle him when he went into one of his 'episodes.'(2) Naruto had the kind of parents that were loving, but a bit clueless. They tried their hardest and even though they were sometimes harsh on their son, there was nothing they did that could explain why Naruto's mind was like this.

That night, Kushina spent hours on the computer and telephone registering her son for Mountain Peak School that specialized in psychological healing with results guaranteed.(3) Minato was upstairs helping Naruto prepare his belongings, as this was an overnight school (not a boarding school, since it was technically a place of medical practice).

"Dad," Naruto whispered, his voice dripping with tears, "Why do you and mom hate me?"

Minato rounded on his son, "We do not hate you Naruto. If there's anything you must know, that's high on the list."

"Then why-" he paused for a minute before raising his voice, "WHY DO YOU NOT BELIEVE ME! I SEE IT WITH MY OWN EYES. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT IT'S NOT REAL?"

"Naruto, calm do-"

"NO. I won't. Because for all I know, this doesn't really exist. And the true 'world' is the one only I see."

Minato put his hand on his son's shoulders and guided him to his wooden chair. There was sadness in his deep blue eyes. "Naruto. My son." A kiss on his forehead. Naruto stared blankly ahead. "I love you. I don't want you to go. I want you to live normally. But, your brain isn't letting you. I want to believe you. I really do. We live in this world. You have to except it."

Naruto frowned. The fringe of his bangs hid his eyes. "Go away."

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Kushina bit her nail. Her teeth clicked together and the nail broke off into her mouth. She chewed. On the glowing screen in front of her, the cursor hung over the 'submit' button. Footsteps sounded much too heavy on the wood stairs. Nervously, she clicked and hid the page. Relief flooded through her when she saw hair much too long and smelled the spicy soap her husband uses.

"Minato," Kushina sighed at the sight of her husband. Taking his wife into his arms, Minato hid his face in her fiery hair. It wasn't exactly as if Kushina was afraid of her son...she was just afraid that tension would cause her to snap at him in a way she couldn't take back. Obviously, she'd heard the dispute that'd taken place in the room with orange walls.

"Minato," Kushina repeated, more demanding this time. She felt him tremble, but raise his head none the less.

"Kushina, my wife. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to help him. I know how much you love him and I do as well. You sent the form, correct?" The warm-hearted woman nodded. Minato backed away from her, but held her firmly and lovingly by her strong shoulders. "Do not get me wrong, I am not giving up. A leader is nothing without his subordinates. An enigma cannot win without supporters. In this case, as his parents, we are his base and this school is possibly our back-up." A blue tear drifted out of the female leader's eye which her partner quickly wiped up. "Don't forget, darling, that we have not lost. The enemy is the complicated human brain, not our son. And this is not just a flowery dedication. I believe that we can win. I love this family. I love you for bearing such a marvelous son who I adore."

With that, both adults went to their room, which was on the first floor and prepared for bed. Above, Naruto lay awake in his bed, tears streaming down his face. Don't think that anyone hates anyone else. Naruto looks up to his father. He greatly admires his mother. He just feels so betrayed. Wouldn't you feel the same if sometimes you thought you were a genin shinobi in the Fire Country who has a dream to be Hokage? What if you could not tell which reality was...well, reality? The poor boy felt shunned and alone in ninja Konoha but he also felt alienated in city Konoha. Sometimes, as a comfort, the blonde boy pretended that there was no reality. That he didn't exist. That was the only place he felt true comfort.

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Knock, knock, knock.

"Ng...Kakashi..." Naruto mumbled in his half-asleep state.

"Naruto," his real mother's voice called him. Drool leaked out of the side of his mouth along with a snore. "Naru-to!" Her voice became more urgent.

"Sa-! Mom!" he awoke and sat up, "What?"

"We're leaving in half an hour, be ready, dear."

"Ahh! But it's only six thirty!" Naruto whined. No response indicated no arguing. Showering in three minutes then tossing on a black tee shirt and long orange shorts then running a comb through his hair, Naruto was ready to go eat breakfast.

"Raaamen!! But, mom, you never-" Naruto cried in joy when he saw the delicious miso ramen waiting for him. His mother smiled slyly at him. Not even bothering to finish his questioning, an 'Itidakimasu' was said and Naruto's nose was buried in the bowl. Just as Naruto was finishing, his father entered the kitchen with his green work vest, blue pants and shirt and white cheif's coat on. Minato was actually mayor of Konoha and declared that he got to choose what uniforms they wore. Naruto grinned foxily at his father who did the same. Naruto waited as his parents ate breakfast and made conversation. No one mentioned what was to come. They all treasured their last moment of the 'normal' routine together. To Naruto, it was heaven. There was no one he loved more than his parents. Even his best friends at school, Saito and Rae did not bring the same clarity that his family did. Even if they were sending him to a crazy school.

Just like any other day, the Uzumaki's piled into their car and made comments about work and friends. It was not forgotten. It hung over their hearts, unbearably heavy, but only when they got further into the mountains and reached 8,000 ft did their laughter fall silent and apprehension settled in.

"Dad," Naruto said in a kind of voice that made you feel like there must've been some hidden emotion, but the facade was too strong.

Kushina tensed, but didn't let it show. "Hmn?" Minato answered casually.

"It hurts..." now there was strain in his voice, "There's someone in Kono- I mean, the other 'world' that betrayed me. He left me. And the thing is, even though he's the one I'm closest to, I can't figure out what his name is and I can't truly see his face." Minato looked like he wasn't listening and instead, concentrating on the road, but he was hanging onto ever word. Kushina tried to listen intently, but also tried to keep the air that she wasn't as involved as she wasn't addressed. "I think...whenever I feel the pain of never truly being able to see him, I feel so connected to this world. I think he's the one loophole...showing me the right path. Even though he's the only one I can truly trust."

"Naruto," an image of Yondaime Hokage flashed in front of the boy's eyes as his father spoke, "You are strong."

And with ears popping and slightly labored breath, they pulled into a small gravel parking lot in front of a stone building covered in moss and vines. It was a grey, cloudy day and evergreen trees hung low, concealing the building which was relatively small. The most notable thing about the school, however, was that the roof was gold. Or, at least, it seemed to be. Flaxen metal shone golden in the morning sun. Naruto grinned. Ominous, sure. Frightening, yeah. Creepy, a bit. But, if this was his new school and temporary 'home', then he wouldn't let it beat him! No, the will of Uzumaki Naruto was stronger than letting him be discouraged. Sure, he'd never been the same since the 'episodes' started, but nothing could change his nindo(4).

Soon, the Uzumaki's were trudging up the redwood stairs that led up to beautifully carved oak doors. With each step his size 10 shoe took, Naruto imagined himself getting that much stronger.

"Wuahh! Mum, dad, you're so slow! We'll never get anywhere walking that slow!" A grin plastered to his face, the fox boy bounded up the stairs to wait for his winded parents. Just as he was laughing at the couple still running up the ten flights Naruto had just conquered, the creaking of the heavy doors sounded. Footsteps followed that and a smug grin on a pale face. Looking over at the stranger with a mixture of innocent surprise and annoyance, Naruto just barely stopped himself from screaming.

"Uzumaki Naruto...they said you were exccetric, but I never expected you to be this dobe," the voice of the ninja known as Naruto's 'best friend' spoke to him out of the mouth of this stranger.

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(1) "Delusional disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a psychotic mental illness that involves holding one or more non-bizarre delusions in the absence of any other significant psychopathology (signs or symptoms of mental illness). In particular, a person with delusional disorder has never met any other criteria for schizophrenia and does not have any marked hallucinations, although tactile (touch) or olfactory (smell) hallucinations may be present if they are related to the theme of the delusion. A person with delusional disorder can be quite functional and does not tend to show any odd or bizarre behavior aside from these delusions. "Despite the encapsulation of the delusional system and the relative sparing of the personality, the patient's way of life is likely to become more and more overwhelmed by the dominating effect of the abnormal beliefs". (Munro, 1999)"

-Wikipedia

(2) First of all, later in the story I will have flashbacks to his 'episodes.' Also, I used this word because I want you to think of each Naruto episode as one time he goes into his state of delusion. It's sort of a lame pun I worked into this story.

(3) Sorry that I keep adding these, but I need to. Personally, I'm not saying that I agree results can be guaranteed. Sometimes a patient just can't heal. Just want you to not think too poorly of me.

(4) Way of the ninja...sort of like a philosophy

Truthfully, I thought this whole story crashed and burned already, but I decided to publish it anyway. I hope you had fun trying to decipher it. Please review, maybe to point out tips? I'd appreciate it. Since this is a more serious story, I do realize Naruto seems very OOC, but since he has this condition, I hope it explains him enough. Flames are welcome? Yes, but please explain your insultsJaa nee, Cherry-hime