Chapter Text
Konohagakure was an impressively large sized village, home to the bravest ninja the world had ever seen. They were nestled among trees and from their name sake, hidden by the leaves. Excitement was not hard to find within the village, as it had birthed and released upon the world the dreaded Orochimaru; a vile killing machine, who cared for no one else and sought only after his own selfish desires. It had also fallen victim to the worlds strongest monster, Kurama: the nine-tailed beast. They had survived, and in fact, trapped the beast within the Hokage's newborn; Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto could be described with many different words, depending on whom was asked. Boisterous, loud, talkative, prankster, just an overall knucklehead. While others could look deeper and describe him for what was truly underneath; a persistent, stubborn, caring, kind, incredibly selfless individual who would give his life, just to give another person a chance at their own.
Naruto was naive, often leaping into situations where he used his heart in place of his brain. This caused many issues amongst his team and any mission group he was sent out with. While Naruto meant well, and many knew it, the others would get very frustrated because of his actions.
~*~
"What!?"
A shrill voice broke through the hallways, echoing through-out the Hokage's tower. The birds outside the window squawked and flew off at the sudden outburst. Lady Tsunade grunted, pushing herself up from her seat.
"Well if you weren't so quick to jump into battle and let everyone anger you so much, this wouldn't be an issue, Naruto!" Tsunade yelled in reply, slapping her desk with her opened hands. Naruto watched the heated reaction from his elder, knowing better than to argue or anger her further, he retreated with an inaudible grumbling while crossing his arms across his chest. She was right after all. He was a hot-head and jumped into battle from bait. If he had just stopped to think and prepare, many issues would not arise. He shook his head, refusing to think about it. It wasn't a flaw that he reacted with his heart and saw things so passionately, it couldn't have been, and he blinded himself with that thought.
"Fine" Naruto replied grumpily, flopping into the chair opposite the Hokage; slumping down with his arms still crossed and a pout upon his face. This blew!
"I'll take it a little easier on you and appoint you Iruka. Try not to turn him into a drunk, would you?" Lady Tsunade eyed the blonde haired genin as she grabbed a file and returned to her seat. Naruto glared at her before leaving the room without another word. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed.
"These shinobi are going to kill me"
Banned from missions. Appointed a babysitter. He would be continuously watched and trained on controlling his temper, until they found it acceptable to release him back to his team. Until then, he was limited to mainly the village and was expressly forbidden from pursuing absolutely anything that had even an inkling to do with Orochimaru.
Naruto had no idea how long it would take for him to gain control of himself. He had no clue of how this would go or if it was even possible.The sheer thought of it was almost enough to make him want to go on a rampage. Almost. It did nothing to help that he had to watch everyone around him travel like usual, even his own team mates.
"Naruto!" A familiar voice spoke up loudly behind him, the tone full of excitement and familiarity. Naruto turned around, the sulk-filled expression that took over his features was enough to arouse curiosity from his mentor. The younger was doing nothing to hide his frustrations with the ruling, and he did not care in the moment whether it seemed childish or not. While he loved Iruka like an uncle, possibly even as a father, he hated this whole situation.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei" Naruto mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest yet again.
Iruka laughed, scratching the back of his head.
"Calm down, your excitement will give you a heart attack. Why so glum, kiddo? This wont be so bad, we get to spend time together after all" Iruka smiled, his eyes twinkling in his optimistic views. Naruto watched him for a moment, mulling over the thought of finally spending time with his former leader. Ever since he had graduated and Iruka had missions to attend to and protecting the village, Naruto rarely got any time with him these days. Perhaps it would be nice to get some quality and teaching time from the man who saw it all in him even before he did.
Iruka watched the disappointment dissipate from Naruto's features, smiling himself.
"That's better! I knew you could do it" Iruka chuckled at himself before motioning for Naruto to follow him with a tilt of his head. The day was nearly over, noted by the sun looming just above the mountain tops. The soft hues of orange and pink stretched as far as the eye could see. Voices slowly filled the streets as folks came out to eat and gather supplies, or simply say hello after a mission well done. The two Shinobi walked in silence towards their forever agreed upon meeting place. Naruto was easy to open once he had a belly full of Ichiraku Ramen.
"Two bowls, please. My treat." Iruka pulled himself up onto a stool and ordered, watching as Naruto took the seat beside him.
"So, tell me, Naruto...." Iruka started, leaning forward onto his elbows on the edge of the table. His calloused fingertips pressed together.
"Mmm?" Naruto hummed his acknowledgment to the statement, waiting to see what it could be about.
"Why were you so angry about having to have me around?" Iruka turned to face Naruto, shifting in his seat so he could have a better look.
"I don't want someone watching my every step, keeping me home every day. Everyone else is off becoming Chuunins, and I'm still a Genin. Instead of going out and strengthening up, I'm now stuck with a glorified baby sitter to keep me in my play area" Naruto explained his frustrations, hoping Iruka understood that it wasn't him that he was disappointed in; he loved that man, but he wanted to be off becoming better, stronger, and not cooped up in town watching as everyone else grew. He was useless this way.
"Naruto" Iruka spoke softly, waiting until the blonde looked at him.
"I know you. I know it has to suck, and you'll be able to go back out before you know it, but for now it's safest, and wisest, if you stay here and work on your impulse control. Your anger needs some help, too." Iruka smiled as his bowl of food was placed in front of him, nodding a thank you as he reached for chopsticks.
"It's not baby sitting, and it's not punishing you like some irresponsible child who needs an eye on them all the time. It's to benefit you and keep you, as well as all of our people, safe. If you want to become Hokage some day, then you have to see how this can only make your life better. Now, and in the long run." Iruka turned his head, ignoring his food for a moment so he could make sure that Naruto was still listening to him, that he understood all the words he was telling him. He knew this had to be frustrating for the young Shinobi, if anyone knew Naruto inside and out, it was Iruka. He knew the big ball of energy was quick on his feet and let his actions go first before his thoughts. Despite the amazing journey the kid had been on, and all he had gone through, this could prove to be his hardest challenge yet. Self controlling his impulse and emotions.
Naruto remained quiet in thought as he chowed down on his Ramen in a much more slowly and civilized fashion than his usual barbaric way. The ones around him were astonished.
Was he already training?
Iruka chuckled to himself at the thought.
"I understand, Iruka-sensei. Thank you." Naruto handed his empty bowl over the counter before leaving the food shack.
"Hey, not so fast. Don't forget you have a tag-along for a while" Iruka quickly put his bowl onto the counter with a bow of his head before running after Naruto, refusing to let him get away. Naruto groaned loudly.
"Oh coooome oooon!" Naruto threw his arms into the air before tilting his head back.
"Can't you let me go train? You don't have to be around me all the time, it's not like I can jump into anything crazy in town" Naruto mumbled, turning to face Iruka.
"No, Naruto. I can't trust you to not leave the village"
"You- you're not gonna follow me into the bathroom, are you?" Naruto raised a 'brow before squishing his face into a pointed stare. Iruka's eyes widened, flailing his hands in front of him to exaggeratedly point out no.
"That's not gonna happen!" Iruka laughed, shaking his head.
"I don't know who's going to suffer more in the end, you or me" Iruka dropped his hands as he sighed, watching Naruto's features soften as he chuckled too.
"Look, kid, lets make the most of our time together, okay? I'll teach you some new tricks and you can show me what you've learned over all these years" With his mini pep-talks out of the way, Iruka started off towards the training grounds. Naruto paused, watching his former-sensei's back retreating further and further away. After a beat, he snapped himself out of his daydreaming trance and rushed to fall into step with the taller man.
~*~
The night had fallen heavy over the village, the moonlight frosting his features as he walked through the mostly-silent streets. Soft sounds of animals roaming and some last minute activities from people who were up far later than they should be, could be heard fluttering through the air like little chirps of reminders that families and lives existed within these walls. Everyone's lives except for Naruto's. His life was silent. The only reminder that he still existed, that he still was alive, was the hounding reminder that he was a danger. He was a ticking time bomb that could erupt at any given minute of any given day, and it was only getting worse. All someone had to do was anger him, and with each passing day, this task was getting more and more simple it seemed. All someone had to do was involve someone he cared about or loved, and he quickly became a massive ball of nerves and rage. He was unsure of how to handle himself anymore. Perhaps he truly did need to be taught how to control himself and the caged up beast within.
Naruto wandered into the outskirts of the village, jumping up to the very top of a tree and glanced out over the horizon. Life was unfair in many ways, he had learned that very early in life, but this seemed even more-so unfair. His heart yearned to roam, screaming to him to go. Just go. It was always harder when you are told no.
Naruto heaved a sigh as he scanned the distance a little longer before jumping back down to earth; Fighting the instincts that were pushing for him to disobey the direct orders given to him. He was going to listen for once. Not for himself, not for the Hokage, but for Iruka. He respected him a great deal and he wasn't going to get him into trouble or betray the man, as Iruka had always had a lot of faith in Naruto. For as far back as he could remember, Iruka was always in his corner cheering him on and telling him he could do it. Naruto was going to reward all of Iruka's hard work through the years and remain in the village; even if he hated it.
Naruto was a Jinchuriki; A host to a powerful being known as the nine-tailed fox. With it came incredible amounts of chakra. If Naruto got too worked up or overly angry, Kurama would slowly bleed his powers into Naruto and assume control of his entire being. When the beast felt a significant change in mood, he took advantage. Whenever this happened, anyone and everyone around him was the enemy and had to be in fear. He had harmed many people over time, and this fact killed him inside. He never wanted to harm anyone, especially those he loved.
As Naruto remembered the faces of those he had hurt, Sakura, Jeraiya, and the others, the realization that this training could do nothing but be beneficial started sinking in.
Naruto ran his fingers through his hair and jumped down, making his way back toward his home.
He looked around the small shambling shack of an apartment he lived in. The room was small, simple, and open. A makeshift bed sat in the middle of the room, a blanket haphazardly strewn atop with a pillow laid sideways. The attached kitchen had a space along the wall for a cooking fire and bar to hang a pot, a rusted refrigerator that sat wedged within the corner, and a basin to wash his dishes. An old white chipped kettle sat atop the counter. A restroom was the only other door in the home.
Dust decorated the corners of his ceilings and dust bunnies were his roommates. He always thought of how he ought to get to cleaning, but it only ever got that far.
Naruto shut the door behind him, hanging his single key up then heading to the fridge. The contents within were sparse, but enough to keep him sustained. Grabbing a drink, he closed it and headed toward his bed. He was unsure how much sleep he was going to get that night, but he would at the very least attempt it.
Tomorrow had to be a better day. It had to be. He was going to start his training, and the sooner he started all this nonsense, the sooner it would all be done. Right? Naruto hoped.