Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

The Strange Kid

Chapter 3: The Strange Kid

Three weeks passed by surprisingly quickly. I performed well at the academy, and I was already promoted to the next class level. My new 9-year-old classmates were only slightly more mature than the 8-year-olds. At least I could say I was above my cousins. I did not mind their presence, however, and sometimes even practiced with them after school. I did not worry about spending time with them because the age gap made it unlikely we would become too close.

The weekends off were a nice break. I spent my time exploring the village, getting to know it very well. The villagers mostly paid me no heed, which was to my liking. This was no Boston, but it was still interesting to watch the people go about their daily lives and even sketch a few scenes in my notebook. I had to make the best of my present situation if I wanted to survive.

One day, suspicious activity from a blond boy caught my attention. He looked about my brother's age, so I guessed he was 11. He was dressed in orange with goggles around his forehead. What caught my interest, though, was the fact that he was leaning over the roof of what appeared to be a shop, holding a bucket. He carefully placed the bucket on top of the partially opened door and then taped a string attached to the bucket on the wall above the door. Grinning, he leapt off the roof onto the ground.

I strolled closer, stopping beside him to examine the trap curiously. "What do you think?" the boy said, his blue eyes shining with excitement.

"I think you better hide before someone walks through that door," I replied.

The frowned. "But that would ruin the fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Suit yourself." I, for one, did not want to take the blame, so I moved across the street where I could still observe the action. Not a minute later, the shop door opened, and the bucket flipped over,  hanging by a string and spilling dirt onto the head of a middle-aged woman. From the looks of it, there were worms in there too! The woman screamed. I stifled my laughter, but the boy let it all out.

As expected, the woman became enraged at the boy and chased him when he fled. I climbed a tree to wait for them to return. I had almost dozed off by the time the two of them trudged back to the shop. The woman was gone when I made it across the street, and the boy was unhappily sweeping up the dirt. He brightened when he saw me. "Are you here to help me clean up?"

"Pfft. No way," I said. "You're the one stupid enough to get caught. And for what? A pretty standard prank even if well-executed."

The boy glared at me. "Oh yeah? Do you think you could do better?"

"Yeah, I think I could." I was not known as a prankster back at home, but I did dabble in the practice every now and then for my own entertainment.

"Prove it! Prank someone right now."

I shook my head. "Things like this take time to plan."

"Fine. Meet me here next week and show me your prank. We'll see who's the best."

I stared at him blankly. Was he really challenging me to a prank battle? Oh well. It was not like I had anything better to do. "You're on. See you later, kid." I turned my back to him and started down the street.

"My name is Naruto!" the boy shouted after me. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

I merely held up my hand in acknowledgement.

I spent the entire week contemplating my plans for a prank. Once I figured it out, I gathered the necessary materials and waited for Friday. That night after everyone in my house was asleep, I sneaked out into the village to set up my prank. Before I headed outside, Kotaro gave me another mysterious letter: