Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Because You Never Knew ❯ Part 2 ( Chapter 2 )

This was already typed before and I just made some last minutes changes. The thing about Obito being Naruto's dad - WRONG! IT WAS A MISTAKE! MIS-TYPING! I made the fourth's name Kaoru since we do not know his real name yet. So Yondaime=Uzumaki/Kazama Kaoru.

A big thank you goes to Ravenshaelo for beta-eding this chapter! Let's all give her a big applause!

Well, now that that is sorted out, enjoy!

BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 2

Naruto entered the building and found Sasuke and Sakura waiting for him, Kakashi standing behind them reading a copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

"You're late." Kakashi said, closing his book.

"Sorry." Naruto mumbled.

They made their way to the exam room and Kakashi bid them good luck. There weren't many taking the Chuunin exam - not like the last time at least. But there was a generous number of people. It really was pretty much the same. Ibiki was the head examiner and they pretty much had to do the same as what they did the last time - only this time, there were nineteen questions instead of nine and the time limit was just forty-five minutes instead of one hour. Like before the last question was revealed in the last few minutes. Those who were new to the exam quit immediately. But what came as a surprise was that the papers were checked and those with blank papers, even though they agreed to take the question, were failed immediately. Naruto wasn't stupid. He had studied several books and scrolls from the school library and asked Iruka to tutor him in several things. So he managed to answer eleven questions, hence he was not disqualified.

Anko made her grand entrance and told them to come to the Forest of Death the next morning. Nothing was different from this level from the one in the previous exam, except they had only three days to get to the tower instead of five. Naruto made a suggestion to attack the closest team, use everything they had, get the scroll and get it over and done with. Surprisingly, they got lucky that the team they attacked had the other scroll and that they were rookies from the Grass village.

They were the fifth ones out of the fourteen teams to arrive at the tower. Naruto was in his own world completely. He was so busy staring at the moon that he didn't even realized Sasuke approached him.

"What's with you dobe?"

"Huh? What's what?" Naruto blinked.

"Ugh! What's wrong with you?" Sasuke snapped.

"Nothing. You want something to be wrong with me or what?" Naruto asked.

"I was just asking!" Sasuke snapped again.

Naruto stared at the ground. "No need to shout, Sasuke. I'm not deaf." He said softly.

Sasuke sighed. "Look, can you just stop being weird? If you don't, I'm telling Kakashi-sensei!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure." Naruto said, and sighed. "Go tell Kakashi-sensei if you want. I don't think he'd care anyway. He's got you to fuss about."

Sasuke blinked. Just then, an elite chuunin led them to a waiting room where they were offered food and drink and a place to sleep if they felt very tired. Naruto took the opportunity and immediately went to sleep. When he woke up, the second part of exam was over and it was time for the preliminaries. Sakura went first and fought against Tenten and she won. Then came Neji with some Mist ninja. Three matches after Neji, Sasuke went next, against a grass-nin and it was no surprise that he won the match. Two matches later, Naruto was next and he was against Kiba - Again! Kiba landed on hard punch on Naruto's jaw line that sent Naruto flying several feet back. He didn't even bother to dodge it. He got up, a bit fazed from the punch and gave Kiba a sincere smile.

"Nice punch, Kiba. It really hurt." He whispered and faced the examiner. "I give up."

"WHAT?" Sakura and Sasuke yelled in chorus.

"What on earth?" Kakashi mumbled

Naruto looked up at his teammates and teacher. He gave them a small smile before shoving his hands into his pocket. Without another word, Naruto left the arena and headed outside - ignoring all of Sakura's calls and Kakashi's orders. He didn't want to deal with any of them yet. They'd do fine in the second round because Sasuke and Sakura had improved greatly and Naruto knew that they'd be chuunins by the time the exam was over. He'd deal with Kakashi later but just not now. He went directly to the fourth's head and sat there again. His cheek hurt! A presence made itself known to him.

"Naruto."

"Ero-sennin." Naruto greeted. "You're back."

"You quit?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I felt like it."

"I see." Jiraiya sighed. "I've been here for three days. I'll be leaving again soon. Come, let's get that cheek of yours fixed and have dinner. Ramen right?"

"Your treat?"

"Sure." Jiraiya said and ruffled Naruto's hair.

*

Naruto had some sort of healing balm applied on his cheek and the bruise slowly began to fade. They were seated at the Ichiraku, wafts of steam rising from the bowls in front of them. Naruto stared at his bowl, every once in a while blowing the steam away to let it cool down, chopsticks poised in his right hand.

"How have you been?" He asked, not bothering to look at the sennin beside him.

"All right. I've written six books that are now on their way to stores nationwide!" Jiraiya said proudly. "I'll be going out again to stay in Earth Country and after that Lightning Country for a while. Maybe a year or two, or perhaps more. Depends though. One has got to keep their business in check right?"

"Yeah." Naruto said, smiling up at him. "You do that."

Naruto went back to eating his ramen. Jiraiya stared at the kid before him and his eyebrows knitted together.

"Naruto, you've changed."

"I've been getting that a lot." Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of noodles.

"Because you make it obvious." Jiraiya said. "It can alert people and make them concerned."

"Last time I checked, no one cared." Naruto said and took a sip of his tea. "I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of acting happy all the time. I'm tired of being called an idiot and being looked at as if I'm some sort of -" Naruto stopped and shook his head. "I - I want to be like him."

Jiraiya understood what Naruto meant perfectly. Naruto had been forced to wear a mask of happiness. The person before him was the one without the mask. He looked older than his age and his eyes reflected things that a child his age shouldn't have witnessed or have gone through - even for a shinobi. Gone was the carefree look that he usually wore. Now, he was just someone who was hurting deeply. Jiraiya found himself not able to stand such a sight. Even as a container of the Kyuubi, he did not think it was fair for anyone to go through what Naruto had gone through. "Your father liked miso ramen too. Fell in love with Hana because of her ramen. Well, at least that's what he told me."

It caught Naruto's attention completely. The boy turned to face him, eyes wide and suddenly glowing with happiness. "Really? He liked miso ramen too?"

"Yup. With a passion. I guess your love for ramen came from him." Jiraiya said, and rubbed his chin. "And his stubbornness. And his I'm-not-giving-up attitude." Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair. "You're a chibi version of your father actually. Except maybe for your hair. It may be blonde like his, but it's not as wild and stiff. And the shape of your eyes, face and nose came from your mother. Yes, definitely your mother."

Naruto was looking up at him with an awed expression. "T-tell me more?"

Jiraiya smiled. He pulled out some cash and paid for the ramen, before motioning for Naruto to follow him to the Hokage monument. They sat there, Naruto with an ice cream cone that Jiraiya had got him on the way. They sat on the fourth's head and stared out at the evening life of Konoha.

"Was he smart?" Naruto asked.

"Very! You wouldn't believe what a smart ass he was. And your mom was his match." Jiraiya said and gave out a hearty laugh. "Let me tell you what happened when your father first fell for your mom." Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "He saw her teaching at the academy when he was doing his rounds. Your mother was a pretty woman. Long auburn hair and dark eyes. Good figure of course." Naruto gave Jiraiya `the look'. "She was instructing the children who had gone wild in the classroom. She somehow got fed up with the whole affair and failed to notice the Hokage by the classroom door. Hence, when she flung a book to get one of the children sitting beside the door, it hit him squarely on the face. It had been a scandal and your mother became a bit famous for being the first one to hit the Hokage. It was unintentional, but it caused a riot. Kaoru was teased mercilessly by his friends and by me of course. In concern, Hana had rushed up to him and checked if he was okay. I don't believe it was love and first sight or any of those cheesy things, but they got along after that. I think it was Hana's invitation to ramen that triggered it." Jiraiya bit his lip. "Yeah, it was definitely the ramen." Naruto was still looking at Jiraiya with an awed expression in his face. Jiraiya ruffled his hair. "It's getting late kid. Get some sleep."

Naruto suddenly lost his happy expression. "You're leaving again, right?"

Jiraiya swallowed and nodded. "Yeah."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning at nine." Jiraiya answered and noted how blue eyes stared at him with a begging look.

"C-Can I go with you?" Naruto's lips trembled. "Y-You don't have to train me if you don't want to. I - I have to master the jutsus my father left me anyway and it will take some time. I - I won't be a bother. I - I promise." Naruto dipped his head. "J- Just don't leave me here. Take me with you."

Jiraiya cursed the villagers for giving the boy a hard time. He could bet his cash that his teammates were not that nice to him either. And of course, Kakashi was most probably bowing to the Uchiha brat. Jiraiya could not find it in himself to refuse the boy. Kaoru would not have wanted that. "Just make sure you're at the gates by nine tomorrow all right? Pack the things that you need. We'll be gone for a long time. And don't be late. "

Naruto looked at him and smiled. "I won't!"

"I'll tell Tsunade that you're coming with me." Jiraiya said.

"Okay!"

"Now go get some sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Right!"

*

Once Naruto got home, he began to clean up the house. He emptied the fridge and took the garbage out. He placed his clothes neatly in the closet and packed the things that he needed the most. When he was done, he placed his backpack in the living room and readied the clothes he'd wear for traveling - black baggy pants, a black t-shirt and his other clean orange jacket. Satisfied, he set the alarm and went to bed. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow.

The next morning, he woke up before the alarm sounded. He took a shower, dressed, had some breakfast and then got ready to leave his apartment. Sandals on and backpack strapped on his back, Naruto gave his home one last long look. This was where he had lived all his life, where every crack on the wall was a memory of how he vented out his frustration and anger. This was where he cried himself to sleep and where he stayed safe from the angry gazes of the villagers. Naruto wasn't leaving permanently, but he would be gone for a long time.

The funny thing was, he wasn't going to miss it. What was he going to miss? Iruka, definitely. Sakura? He didn't think so - not the punches and yelling, not to mention the bitching at least. Sasuke? Maybe, but not very much. Kakashi? Maybe. Naruto pondered on it for a while. Yes, he decided. He would miss Kakashi. Even though he didn't really gave Naruto very much attention, he was still there for him - more or less.

He tore his gaze away from his house and headed for the door, only to feel a familiar presence outside. He opened the door and found Kakashi ready to knock.

"Sensei." He said, looking up at the tall masked Jounin.

"I came to tell you that there will be no training today. Sakura and Sasuke are taking the day off to rest." Kakashi took a long look at the backpack behind Naruto, and how full and heavy looking it was. "What are you up to now, Naruto?" He asked, sighing.

Naruto walked past Kakashi and locked the door. "I'm going with Ero-sennin."

"What for?" Kakashi asked, suddenly worried. "I won't be training Sasuke for some time now. I've taught him all he needs to know about the Sharingan. Sakura is training with her father. I actually came here to give you some training."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "After what?" He snapped. He suddenly winced and took a step back. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at him.

"After what?" Kakashi repeated. He was offended and definitely felt - hurt?

Naruto swallowed. "I'm sorry. I'm not entirely in a good mood. I must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Forgive my rudeness."

"What do you mean, after what? I - I don't think I'm getting the full picture here."

"Just forget it all right, Sensei? Could you do that for me? Please? Just this once." He said, and checked if he locked the door right. "I have to go. I don't want to be late for Ero-sennin. I don't want to be left behind."

"Why did you quit the chuunin exams?" Kakashi suddenly asked.

Naruto remained silent for a while. Then he gave him an answer. "Because I felt like it."

"You felt like it." Kakashi repeated. "What kind of a reason is that?"

"It's good enough." Naruto said. "I have to go." Naruto turned and began to walk away, when Kakashi's hand planted itself firmly on his shoulder.

"Why are you leaving? Please tell me that at least." Kakashi said, voice husky and deep all of a sudden. Naruto jerked out of his grasp and gave him a strong hug. "N-Naruto?"

"You may have not liked me the way you did Sasuke and Sakura. But just to let you know, I will miss you." Naruto whispered and without another word, he released his hold on Kakashi and darted off down the street towards the gate, leaving a baffled and shocked Jounin. On his way to the gates, he stopped by at Iruka's bid him goodbye and promised to write. Naruto reached the gates and found Jiraiya waiting for him. Naruto took one good look at the Konoha, and turned his head away, not the least bit perturbed as the gates closed with a loud booming sound.

Today was a start of a new chapter in his life. And he was looking forward to it.

TBC

Again, mis-typing! I made a serious error about the fourth being Obito. I have changed this to Kaoru okay, people? Hope that's cleared!

Tell me what you think! Ja!