Awaken from the Ashes (Naruto Childhood Friend Story)

Prologue 1: Meeting

Before this story begins, I would like to repeat my warning from before: this story will contain spoilers for Naruto Shippuden. If you haven't finished it yet and don't want it to be spoiled, I suggest you don't read this. Also, as another warning, the prologue is really long. You've been warned. Enjoy the story!

"Kaya!" The girl's mother called from outside her room, prompting the girl's eyes to shoot open. Remembering what that day was, the girl threw her blankets off of her and quickly got out of bed, any remaining tiredness gone and replaced with pure excitement. She got dressed in her new outfit, the one she got specifically for this day, though she had every intention of wearing it often. As she slipped on her lavender cut-shoulder shirt, her leggings that only went to her knees and her light beige skirt, the girl couldn't help but bounce in excitement. She finished getting ready by tying a cute lavender bow in her long medium brown hair before finally exiting her room.

Although some people may have been uncomfortable if they were her, Kaya didn't mind that her shirt failed to hide her large, unique birthmark on her shoulder. She'd never been ashamed of it, nor did she feel any need to hide it. Besides, she thought the fact it was shaped like a star was cute! She felt it was one of her most identifiable traits, so she didn't care whether or not others saw it.

Her mother was standing at her door, smiling brightly when the girl stepped out. "Are you ready for your first day at the academy?" She asked. The girl's light blue eyes sparkled at the mention of the academy, and she quickly nodded her head, not even trying to hide her pure excitement. Her mother smiled again before leading the girl to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Although she tried finishing her food as quickly as possible, the girl had to slow down when she nearly choked on a piece of toast, but she couldn't help it! She would finally be starting at the Shinobi Academy today!

She had practically dragged her mother the whole way there, urging her to walk faster. When they finally got to the doors, the girl gave her mother a quick hug goodbye then ran inside before her mother even had a chance to respond. She found her classroom easily, and when she walked in, she noticed many people already there and she wondered how many of them she would become friends with. She took a seat in one of the empty spots at the side of the classroom, a few rows back beside the wall with the door. There was no one sitting in the spot next to hers, but she didn't mind. That spot can be reserved for her future best friend!

The six year old waited anxiously for the last few people to pile into the classroom before the teacher finally arrived, ready to start the class. "Hello everyone. I am your new teacher, Iruka-sensei. I hope we have no issues this year. Let's start with introductions since we're all new here." He started, then looked to one of the kids in the class to start. The kid stood up and gave his name, and when he sat back down, the next kid stood and said his name. This continued around the class until finally it was the girl's turn.

She shot out of her seat and raised her hand excitedly as she introduced herself. "I'm Kaneko Kaya! I'm going to be a powerful shinobi so I can help lots of people!" She smiled. Kaya sat back down, happy with her first impression. She listened as the others introduced themselves, but it was one boy in particular that caught her attention.

The blond haired boy stood up when it was his turn, just like everyone else had, but for some reason, almost everyone was giving the boy strange looks. He didn't seem phased by them, though, as he spoke. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the Hokage, dattebayo!" He introduced. When he spoke, everyone seemed either uninterested or disgusted by his presence, which caused Kaya to fill with curiosity. The boy sat down in his seat, upset about the lack of interest in his introduction, but seemingly not surprised by it. Had he done something to make others not like him?

Kaya couldn't ignore it, though she tried to listen to the last few introductions. She just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something going on with the boy, and she wanted to find out exactly what it was. She couldn't imagine he could have done something so horrible that everyone disliked him, so why did they look at him like that?