Naruto: A Different Life

Chapter Two: Searching

        As the sun peaked over the mountains and a new day began, Naruto mused over how long it would be until his absence was noticed. A day? Two? Or would they be so glad he was gone not even notice or care. Whatever the answer Naruto knew one thing: he needed to find a place to rest before continuing on, away from his previous home. His legs were sore and he suspected, in the hours he spent trekking quietly through the forest, he had gone over fifteen miles from Konoha without a break. If they did send someone after him he needed to find a good place to hide for the time being.

            "Where can I go to rest?" Naruto muttered to himself. After another half a mile he came across some rocks that formed a sort-of cave. After squeezing through the small opening he saw that it was more spacious in the inside. It was large enough so the kid could lay down and not be totally claustrophobic. The small, spacious, cave was cool to the touch and dark enough so Naruto could get some rest. He curled up of the floor, using the backpack as a pillow and fell asleep.

            He dreamed of a space with a few inches of water covering the floor and a voice telling him to never return to Konoha.

            That became Naruto's life for the next four days. Walking constantly during the day and night with a few hours of rest when he became exhausted. Every time he closed he slept the deep voice told him to keep going.

                        Iruka's P.O.V. (sort of)

            "Goodbye class! You are dismissed!" Iruka-sensei said to his students. He sat down at his desk as his pupils filled out the door talking with each other. As the last one left he fell deep into his thoughts.

            Naruto was gone again today. This was the fifth day he was absent in a row, Iruka mused to himself. I should probably ask the others if they have seen him. With that thought he stood and traveled to the other sensei to ask them about Naruto's whereabouts. Each one said the same thing: They haven't seen him in five days.

          At this point Iruka began to feel very uneasy. Now that he thought about it Naruto hadn't pulled any of his stupid pranks around town recently. Nor had anyone complained about his behavior in general.

            "Sensei?" a quiet voice called, derailing his train of thought.

            "Oh hello, Sakura. Do you need something?"

        She stared up at him with her large green eyes before answering. "Not particularly, but Hinata wanted me to ask you something." Iruka looked over Sakura's pink head and spotted the shy girl hiding behind the door frame.

        "What did Hinata want to ask me?"

        "Um..." Sakura looked behind her at Hinata and sighed. "She was wondering if something had happened to that boy Naruto. She said she hadn't seen him around recently."

        Iruka frowned. Apparently he hadn't been overreacting. "You can tell her that I am not sure but I was going to check on him now. I'll let her know tomorrow if there is something wrong."

        The little pink haired girl smiled and said thanks. After she skipped away Iruka gathered up his stuff and left the ninja school in a hurry.

        He sped to Naruto's apartment and peaked in the window; the curtains were drawn to tight to see inside. He then tried the door and found it was unlocked.  

            "Naruto?" he called as he pushed open the door with a slight creak. "Hello Naruto?" He walked inside and yanked the hangings open to let in some light. What he saw made the blood leave his face.

        The room was empty. A thin layer of undisturbed dust covered most surfaces. His drawers were open and his cloths gone. Iruka then checked the kitchen and found Naruto's stash of ramen gone.

        He walked back into the main area and stood in silence for a moment. I slight breeze blew in from Naruto's window, which was not all the way fastened close. A corner of a poser above his bed fluttered. A dark shape flashed underneath the paper. Iruka walked towards it, kicking up some dust along the way, and tore down the poster.

        Hidden behind it was a roughly carved cubby that was six inches long, twelve inches high and three inches deep. Nestled inside were two journals. One was a dark blue and the other was an orange one. Iruka pulled them out and examined the blue one.

        On the inside cover were the words "Naruto Uzumaki's Ninja Journal: 2" scrawled messily. Iruka started to flip through the pages: noting the quick sketches of weapons, buildings and people (in truth, while a little messy, they weren't half bad). About half way through he came across an entry with a bold word that caught his eye: Monster.

October 10

Today after my ninja lesons with Iruka-sensei I went into town. When I was ther I saw this relly cool mask in a shop. Whil I was looking at it the shop keper saw me and yelled GO AWAY YOU BRAT! Behind me I coud heer a lady say 'why do they alow him to wander around by him self? He shood be locked up like the monster he is. MONSTER. Is that what I relly am? Every one thinks so. I heer them all the time constantly (Iruka-sensei taght me this word yesterday!)saying it behind my back.

            Happy birthday to me. Naruto Uzumaki.

        Iruka stared at the six-year old's writings in shock. He quickly scanned the remaining pages and frequently saw references to similar occurrences. He then grabbed the other journal and hurried to the Leaf shinobi main office to report his findings to Lord Third Hokage. He would know what to do.   

Time Lapse

        Iruka arrived to the office and dashed upstairs to the Hokage's office. He paused and took a calming breath and knocked.

            "Come in. Oh, why hello Iruka. What brings you here today?" The Hokage sat behind his desk with tired eyes and a smile for his visiting shinobi.

        "It's Naruto, Lord Third," Iruka said as calmly as he could.

        The old man mad a 'tsk' noise and sighed. "What did he do this time?"

        "He's gone."

        The old man shot to his feet in alarm. "Gone? What do you mean he is gone? Where did he go?"

        Iruka stared at the floor for a moment before meeting the angry gaze that was trained on him. "He isn't in the village. I think he had left a few days ago. I went to his apartment and saw that all the surfaces were coated in a thin layer of dust. I am so sorry."

        The Hokage slowly sank back into his chair and sighed. "Where do you think he has gone? And for what reason do you suppose he left." Iruka walked up to the desk and handed the old man the journal open to the page with the entry he had read in the apartment. As he read his eyes narrowed.

        "Why did no one notice this behavior sooner? The more pressing question is actually why hadn't his absence be noticed earlier."

        Iruka felt his cheeks grow a bit warm with shame. "It is all my fault. I didn't pay much attention to the fact he was missing so much class. He would usually attempt to ditch the lessons. The matter came under my consideration when one of his classmates said she hadn't seen him around at all."

        The Hokage sat in his chair deep in thought for a few moments before he rubbed his temples and looked up at the shinobi still waiting for a response. "Well I suppose the only thing we can do is send out ninja looking for him. Send out Kakashi's team, he is the best tracker we have.

        "Yes, Lord Hokage." As Iruka turned to leave the Hokage called out one last thing.

        "Iruka! Know that we must find him-- not because he has the nine-tails in him but because he is a citizen of the Leaf Village." The door closed with a Boom and Iruka raced to the ANBU headquarters to relay their new orders.