Creating Our Home Abroad (Modern Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter One

Sunday 8/23

Fresh air fills my nose as I hop out of the back of the truck with all our stuff. Looking up, I see the entrance of the apartments that will be my home for the next year. It is comforting and scary all at once. There are two floors of apartments in building three of the Sleepy Willow's apartment complex. It isn't anything fancy, the outside flooring and stairs are concrete, and the railings are black painted metal, and the brick is off white with dark gray accents. We finally made it to Konoha after months of planning this year to study abroad.

Nervousness floods through my body by creating tenseness in my back and shoulder as I imagine all that could go wrong. While I am internally spiraling in fear, a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders and bring me out of my negative trance. "Ertha." My best friend, Jade, sings, "You aren't letting nerves get the best of you, right? Come help carry a box or two. We need to get this unpacked as soon as possible so we don't get charged extra." Her voice helps calm me down, and I shake my arms to expel the negativity from my body. She stands two inches above me at five-foot-nine inches with an excited grin on her face. Her light blonde hair hangs just above her shoulders as her blue eyes seem to sparkle.

Today is going to be a good day for both of us, and I won't let anything ruin that for me. Now that my head is in the right place, I grin like an idiot and run to our stuff and grab two medium-sized boxes and start happily marching to apartment 133 on the first floor.

Quickly finding the apartment, I set the boxes down and pull out my key to unlock the door. As it opens, there are two doors directly to the right and left, the hall continues to the back of the apartment and opens up to the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The walls are a cream color, the floor is dark hardwood, and as we walk into the open space. While the apartment is pre-furnished, the furniture is tasteful and comfortable. I set the boxes down in the living room and break out into a grin from excitement.

Feeling more energized from this move than ever, I prance to the front door for another load of boxes. As I reach for the doorknob, I hear Jade talking to a scratchy mid-pitched voice over by the truck. There is a tall blonde with what looks like whiskers on his face offering to carry boxes into the box. I walk up to them with a confused face and ask the stranger, "Who are you?" He glances up at me with the kindest smile I had ever seen on a person.

Getting a closer look at his face I could see his ocean blue eyes and his beautiful white smile makes him quite the attractive man. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I live upstairs in apartment 234. I saw that you two were moving in, and I thought I could lend a hand." He scratches the back of his head bashfully with his adorable smile adorning his face.

I look at Jade with a nod. "I think we could definitely use the help! Thanks!" I jog over to the truck and grab another couple of boxes to haul into the apartment. "My name is Ertha Rink and if she hasn't introduced herself yet, that's my friend Jade Willis." My voice gives out a little from strain as I put on a grin to match his. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" Naruto walks up next to me and grabs some boxes. Of course, he doesn't struggle with the weight like I was. Even Jade is stronger than me.

"So, you go to Konoha University, right?" Jade asks as we walk towards our apartment. Seeing Jade this excited and friendly was rare and I realized that this was the start of our independent lives. These independent lives would change our futures forever which made me just as excited as Jade was.