A Subtle Shift

1| A Subtle Shift

Naruto has always been alone.

From day 1 to now, 16 years later. It wasn't particularly something he enjoyed, rather, something he preferred. From a young age, Naruto wanted nothing more than to be noticed, and he used to pull annoying pranks to get their attention.

Eventually, though, he figured that it never really worked and the only thing it did was make him get looked down on more. So he didn't necessarily give up, but he succumbed to their wishes of never seeing his face. Of course, he had to resort to stealing, and he did that a lot. No matter how ashamed he was of it, he needed it to survive.

Hiruzen had provided him with a home to live in when he was younger, but aside from that, he was neglected. Deprived of his needs, and with being denied access to be a ninja, his apartment rent had gotten too much for him to handle, and he was evicted.

So he made a bunker, funny enough.

It took him three and a half years, but it was stable and hidden away from everyone. He originally planned to build a house, but he realized if he didn't have a permit to be building, they'd most likely take it down.

Anyway, as for being a ninja, he trained himself. The only way he really learned how to be a ninja was from watching the other student at the academy train. He'd watch them for hours on end and take notes, which helped him immensely. His aim was impeccable, and so was his reflexes. Still, the trickiest thing was learning how to handle, control, and contain his chakra.

And that's where Kurama came in.

It took Naruto up until he was 7 years old to finally find out about the Tailed Beast inside of him, and that really only happened because he felt Kurama trying to take control of him out of anger, and though Naruto managed to suppress him, he was still curious. So, after 3 years of bickering back and forth, short conversations turned into long and deep ones.

And that was that. Naruto had managed to befriend Kurama, and he taught Naruto everything to know about chakra.

Of course, Naruto wasn't nearly done mastering chakra, even now, but that didn't matter—Kurama still had a lot to teach.

After the death of the Third, caused by a man named Orochimaru, who came looking for a kid named Sasuke Uchiha (who ended up not abandoning his village, so all that chaos that occurred wasn't worth it in the end), Naruto kept his distance from the village even more. Hiruzen neglected him but at least he tolerated him. With the new Hokage in place who knew nothing of him (and if she did, she didn't particularly care), he officially had nobody. No matter how shitty the Third was, Naruto preferred him.

He preferred a shitty provider than nobody at all.

That day in Konoha, Naruto's sixteenth birthday, was as drowsy as ever. It was normal, like any other day, but Naruto didn't mind. He stopped celebrating his birthday when he was 10, mostly because they were always filled with loneliness and tears. He felt more at peace when he let it pass by like any other day. And besides, birthdays were overrated.

Naruto Uzumaki sat on the roof of a tall building, legs crossed as he watched the civilians go about their day down on the ground. Moms interacting with each other and children chasing after another as they let out screeches of happiness.

Naruto never wanted any more than to protect his happy village, despite the several hate crimes against him. He saw the beauty of Konoha over the hatred, and that mostly drove his dream to become Hokage (even if that meant achieving that goal his own way).

He'd been watching for more than an hour. It was pretty entertaining, in Naruto's opinion. He saw the same people every day when he watched, but he also saw their different stories at that. For example, that kid with short and choppy black hair—he sneaks out every night without his parents finding out. And that girl he's friends with has a major crush on him, but she mostly watches him longingly from a distance.