FicWad

For the disclaimer, please refer the the previous chapter.


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Chapter One: The Apprenticeship
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On the day of the set meeting Naruto came huffing and puffing into the clearing, definitely late. Kuze-sensei had held him back after class. 'He was concerned about who was teaching me? Pah! He just wanted to get away with messing with my head! The stingy bastard.' The boy felt a victorious smirk etch onto his face upon remembering the last two days.

The first day after meeting the old man, now his sensei, didn't seem unusual at all. People glared, various others tried to stomp his spirits (not that he'd let that happen!) and it was its usual lonesome day at the academy filled with boring lectures about shinobi history. The second day, however, had to have been the most enjoyable day of his life yet! Beating the day Old man Hokage stayed with him the whole day on his birthday, counting the present! (And that was saying a lot because the Hokage gave him his beloved goggles!)

He'd woken up earlier than usual, and went through his normal routine (ramen, shower, and orange jumpsuit) fully expecting it to be as horrible as the last, and dashed off towards the academy. Being early for once, he was able to choose a seat in the middle row, rather than in the back, and savored the frustrated look on his sensei's face when he realized talking in low tones wouldn't work today. Naruto was lucky too, the chunnin lectured the class about the uses of chakra and what situations the different types are used for. It was only an introduction, the man didn't go into detail about how to do these "feats of chakra", but it was way cool! He didn't know a shinobi could use chakra to increase their speed!

Then, at the end of class, Kuze-sensei had them do the usual sparring. He was paired with one of the most talented kids in class, as usual (Naruto secretly thought the teacher had two motives to this, for him to lose pathetically, and to boost the boys ego), Hyuuga Neji. He had never sparred against him before, so he didn't know what to expect. Right off the bat the boy dashed towards him, (with weird lines/bumps forming near his eyes) but unlike any of his usual matches, Naruto didn't stand his ground, he jumped back and did the seals for bushin no jutsu. Just as the boy was about to reach him, Naruto kicked the loose dirt into the air and did the last seal, "Bushin no Jutsu!"

Well, it was a good plan, too bad it didn't work. The dust would hide his movements as he escaped the dust cloud, while he had the illusionary clones move further into the cloud. Neji should have seen the two bushin, and thought one of them were the real Naruto and chased after them while he snuck up behind the boy to attack. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't understand the Byakugan's powers. Neji just jumped out of the cloud and attacked him while he believed the boy to be chasing after his bushins. Luckily for his ego, however, the dust cleared enough for the class to see his two (excellently!) crafted bushin before he was distracted enough to drop the illusion. Unfortunately, he was beaten up pretty bad; somehow those light punches hurt a lot!

Even still, the loss was still a victory in Naruto's eyes. He got to show his classmates he was better than them at bushin no jutsu and show his teacher up! A good day, indeed. It was only tarnished, slightly, by the "concerned" comments from Kuze-sensei when he replied that an old man fixed the mistake he made in the monkey seal. Besides that, though he had a few of his classmates ask him how he made two! Not that he told them (he really didn't know himself), but people were interested in who he was (or rather his jutsu, but it's the same thing, right?), and that could never be a bad thing.

He was broken out of his reverie by a cuff to the head. "You're late, brat."

Naruto just grinned and answered, "Kuze-sensei held me back, old man; he wanted to know who was teaching me and told me how "concerned" he was for my welfare. Said that taking advice from strangers was a bad thing! While I'd usually think that's good advice, but he's just upset that someone is helping me."

Jiraiya was just staring at the boy in complete disbelief. He'd said that all in one breath! Realizing something, though, he'd hit Naruto in the head again. "I thought I told you to call me Jiraiya-sensei! Anyways, I looked up some on your academy records for the past two years and I noticed some discrepancies. Ever since you've received this "Kuze" fellow as your teacher your grades have been in the dead last position, comparing that to your former level in the high average, I get the impression this guy has some vendetta against you." Jiraiya paused for a moment, allowing the boy to digest the information. 'The fact that I know what that vendetta is, and most of the village shares it, doesn't make a tiny bit of difference...'

While the vocabulary was above Naruto's level, the point behind it all was clear. Naruto's face was filled with rage, and not a small level of hurt, at the implications. "You mean he was deliberately failing me?!"

His new sensei nodded his head, and dryly inserted a comment; "What? Not protecting 'Kuze-sensei' now?" The blonde's glare just made him chuckle. "Now, usually this type of change would be taken as a sign that the student wasn't fit for ninja training, the first year is mainly history after all, and while they could pursue further training, the student would be given less attention as a "hopeless case" sort of thing. He planned it out well, slowly you would fall further and further back behind your classmates and with that faulty seal I doubt you could have passed the genin graduation test."

Naruto was looking depressed at this, he'd held out on the hope that his sensei didn't totally hate him but this just cemented it into "fact". "But he'll fail me anyways, and then next years teacher will dislike me too for having the "dead last" label. How will I ever become a ninja now?"

"You'll become a great shinobi because you have one of the Legendary Sannins as a sensei! I, the Toad Summoner Jiraiya, will make you into the best ninja Konoha has to offer!" Jiraiya did a pose and observed the kid's reaction to realizing just who was taking him on as his student. He wasn't disappointed... well, maybe a little.

"Oh really! Wow!" His blue eyes brightened, the dullness of the depression fading from his eyes as he listened to the elderly shinobi's speech. "Um, Jiraiya-sensei? What's a sennin?"

The man fell out of his pose in shock. "It's not sennin, its sannin! And how can you not know what it is, don't you listen in your history lessons?!"

"Yes... well, no, they're so boring!"

Jiraiya sweat dropped, 'Maybe this will be a bit harder than I thought... Still, the kid has spirit.' He let the thought drift from his mind as he remembered what he was doing before his student showed up and had his trusty "Icha, Icha" notebook in his hand moments later.

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There had been about five minutes of wonderful silence in the clearing before Naruto became bored enough to the point of rambling. "Sooo... What'cha gonna teach me, sensei?" A reasonable question, too bad it has to be so annoying to Jiraiya's distracted mind. Still, it successfully brought the man back to the present and onto what he was supposed to be doing.

Setting down the notebook he took a closer look at his pupil. 'Hm. Short for his age, I know that isn't genetics, I'll have to ask what he eats.' The sennin blinked before smacking himself in the head, 'How could I have missed that outfit? It's an abomination! Right, I'll have to talk the kid into something that doesn't make him look like a circus freak. He seemed to have good stamina, judging from the way he kept expending that chakra... Okay, food, clothes, and chakra control.'

They were sitting across from each other, Jiraiya still observing his student, Naruto barely sitting still in anticipation. "First off, I need to understand your habits a bit better. What do you eat daily? How many hours of sleep do you get? Those sorts of things."

Naruto looked confused for a moment upon hearing the word "habit", but brightened at the other questions. Those questions are easy to answer! "Ramen! It's the best food in the world! And I go to sleep whenever I'm tired, I don't know how many hours..."

Jiraiya's face was an odd mixture of disbelief and anger, and his tone of voice had a little bit of both. "Ramen!? That's all you eat?" Upon Naruto's hesitant nod, Jiraiya was too angry to speak. 'What the hell was the boy's caretaker's thinking? Didn't anyone ever tell him that you need nutrients to survive? I'm surprised he's even grown as much as he had!'

Naruto, given time to get his composure back, stood up to the challenge of protecting the good name of ramen. "Hey! There's nothing wrong with ramen! It tastes really good!" He wasn't prepared for the cuff on the head.

"Damn it! Naruto, don't you know that ramen has little, if any, nutritional value? You can't survive on that stuff! I'm surprised you haven't become sick! How could your caretaker allow you to eat that stuff day after day?" This wasn't good, was even the boy's guardian against him? No one sane, or with good intentions, could allow a young boy to eat that day and night! Jiraiya felt a headache starting.

The orange clad boy sat back down in disbelief, but still determined to protect his favorite food. "I'm still alive, aren't I? And I have no caretaker! I take care of everything by myself." Naruto looked depressed upon hearing those words come from his mouth, it's not like he wanted to live alone, but no one besides old man Hokage and this old drunk seemed to like him. Who would want to take care of him? Besides! He did things better on his own. Of course, the fact that he didn't have any memories to compare that statement to probably allowed him to believe in it so much.

The toad summoner sighed. 'Why did I have to choose this week to feel charitable?' Glancing at the seven year old, he came to a decision. "Alright, brat, since you're my student now I might as well make it official. I'll speak with the Hokage, if he agrees you'll be my apprentice and fall under my guardianship. That way I can make sure you don't kill yourself." Pushing himself to his feet he started walking in the direction of the Hokage's tower. "Come on, brat, we might as well do this now."

While hopelessly confused, Naruto ran after the man and was soon filling his ears with a play by play of his fight with Neji.

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"You can go in now, sir." The secretary at the desk answered, not even bothering to look up from her paperwork. While Jiraiya was amused by this, (they'd just walked in the door and are allowed access without her even looking up?) he was also aware of the security problem. 'Ah well, I'll mention it to Sarutobi-sensei.' he thought while motioning to Naruto to follow him into the Hokage's office.

It was rather late for team assignments, so he wasn't surprised when no one was waiting or in the office. The Third Hokage was resolutely filling out paperwork and looked rather happy that someone came to distract him, however, the smile just fell off his place when he noticed who entered. "What did he do now?"

Jiraiya sent an amused glance at Naruto and shook his head. "He didn't do anything... well, not as far as I'm aware. I'm here about a different issue." The aged Hokage waved his hand towards the seats in front of the desk and suddenly looked a lot more interested, even more so when he noticed Naruto was being quiet, and Jiraiya's thoughtful expression.

The toad sannin didn't bother with small talk, or censoring his response. Sandaime was well aware of the issue with the council. "Did you know this boy has no caretaker whatsoever? And that his teacher was deliberately failing him and purposely taught him the monkey seal wrong?" By the defeated expression on the Third's face, and later on the anger at hearing the exploits of the academy teacher, some of this wasn't new information.

"I was aware that Naruto didn't have a caretaker, I've been paying his bills and apartment rent, and making sure his check was getting to him, but I couldn't find anyone willing to take another orphaned soul into their home." The Hokage was rubbing his temples in frustration. "I didn't-" He would have continued, but he was interrupted by the boy they were discussing.

Naruto's eyes snapped up to the man at hearing who was sending those checks but the part about him paying his bills confused him. "What do you mean you were paying my bills? The apartment manager takes it out of my monthly check when it comes!" He was inwardly grateful to the man for providing for him, but the idea that someone else was slighting him wasn't something he wanted to believe at the moment.

The Hokage just looked furious at this piece of information and turned to look out upon Konoha without giving an answer. After a few minutes of silence, where one just looked at the two serious faced men in confusion while they contemplated how far the villagers went in their misguided attempt at revenge.

"Alright, Jiraiya, what did you come here for?" The Third Hokage had turned back to his two guests, incidentally turning his back towards the view of the village.

Naruto may be confused, but he hated being ignored. Standing up and pointing accusingly at the most powerful ninja in the village, the boy yelled; "Hey! Answer me! What do you mean you were paying my bills, old man!"

Jiraiya was starting to get a touch annoyed with the young blonde's loudness and answered in a less-than-tactful manner. "He meant what he said, brat. Someone was ripping you off." He ignored the disapproving look his old sensei gave him and answered his question. "I want to make Naruto my apprentice. There's no way I'm going to allow some creep to ruin the makings of a good shinobi. Besides I need a student to pass my skills onto, he seems good as any."

The Hokage raised his palm in a quieting motion. "That's enough Jiraiya. It seems like a good plan, I'll draw up the papers. Of course, this is only if Naruto agrees and you are planning to stay in Konoha for the most part."

"Yeah, I'll be sticking around." Both men turned to Naruto in search of an answer.

Naruto, while the two were ironing out the details was looking at the floor with a mix of emotions. 'So all this time I've been paying that whole amount for nothing? I barely had enough to eat with what he always left me with... Grr... Why do people do this? What did I ever do to them?' He glanced up when the he heard the Hokage agree to make him the old drunk's apprentice. 'And what will this apprenticeship entail? He said something about being my guardian to make sure I don't kill myself, but that doesn't mean he'll be nice or anything.' He sighed. 'Ah well, at least I'll learn some cool jutsus! And old man Hokage doesn't think it's a bad idea...'

"Naruto? Do you want to become Jiraiya's apprentice?" The Hokage asked the orange clad boy.

After a moments hesitation Naruto nodded.

"Alright, tomorrow it will be official. I hope you know what trouble you're going to put me through with the council once they hear this bit of info, Jiraiya. You won't have to listen to their "outrage" for hours on end." Jiraiya didn't look the slightest bit sympathetic, but instead amused. "Naruto, you are still going to attend the academy, but your teachers will be aware of your apprenticeship. They'll pay less attention to you now because you have another teacher, but your tests and practicals have to be observed by your master, or in this case, Jiraiya. He'll alert me to any unfair scores and keep this teacher from failing you without cause."

Naruto's bright grin was back with a vengeance. He couldn't wait until Kuze-sensei and his classmates heard about this! "Right!" He glanced back and forth between the two before giving the Hokage a hug and whispering, "Thank you."

The Third just chuckled and patted him on the head. "Now off with you! I have to complete my work."

The Toad Sannin and his student were almost out the door, discussing something, when he heard Naruto yell, "What?" Startled, he looked up only to see Naruto stare incredulously at Jiraiya. "What do you mean by 'get packing'? I'm not moving anywhere!"

Laughing, he just shook his head. 'I don't think either of them have a clue as to what they're getting into. Ah well, it'll sure be amusing to watch!'

Jiraiya's eye twitched, before he yelled back, "Of course you are! Do you think I'm going to leave my new student alone to destroy his body with ramen and wear colors that scream 'Kill me or I'll continue to hurt your eyes'? And this way I can make sure you are training the way I tell you to!"

Naruto's face was red with anger. "There's nothing wrong with ramen! And you wouldn't know fashion if it came back and hit you in the face, you old drunk! How do I know you're not some creepy old guy who preys on little kids?"

The "Old drunk's" eye just twitched before letting out a frustrated yell. "You get back here you little brat!" Needless to say, Naruto didn't, and the Hokage office was empty of all but an amused old man.

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End Chapter
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Notes: I'm not sure if I got the characters correct. I need to do some touch up on the Naruto series outside of fanfiction, I think, and this chapter probably needed more editing, but shrugs I hope you liked it. Please let me know either way.