Chapter Text
All it took was a rock.
And not a particularly big or all-powerful, narrative-haunting rock either. It wasn't a massive boulder or a magic stone but rather an ordinary pebble comfortably wedged into wet mud and overgrown moss. But even so, that seemingly irrelevant piece of earth was all it took to completely rewrite a story, to create a new timeline.
Isn’t that fascinating? How can even the smallest of details lead to such dramatic divergence in fate? Is this the will of the spirits who exist beyond human comprehension? To dictate and control so thoroughly through the flap of a butterfly's wing that it’s impossible to even claim their interference. An interesting theory certainly, but not one that would ever be considered by our protagonist whose entire life is about to change…
Because of a rock.
—
The skies above Konoha were practically glowing with how sunny it was, but that was normal for this time of year, anticipated even. In fact, today was in all respects completely ordinary: birds were singing, flowers were blooming in the Yamanaka store, the people of Konoha were bustling with midday energy, a young man stood eerily still in front of a large polished stone (not to be mistaken with our plot-defining rock) as he had been since dawn, the average office-bound ninja was sobbing over mountains of paperwork left by last night's "Eh... I’ll finish it tomorrow", and of course, the distant maniacal laughter of a 6 year old was somehow outmanoeuvring the mob of professional, orange -yes, orange- ninjas, hell-bent on hunting the little shit down.
Ah yes, ordinary.
“What? Can’t catch a little kid? Losers!” The “little shit” in question, Uzumaki Naruto, taunted at the top of his tiny lungs, grinning like the idiot he was while bolting down the open streets of Konoha with a familiarity that only proved just how ordinary this scenario was, bright orange paint smudged on his face and clothes; evidence of his most recent prank that he was currently being chased down for.
“Stop moving you little rat!” A chuunin practically screeched back, followed by the unanimous curses of the rest of the mob; it was pretty embarrassing to be outrun by a literal child, no matter how much of a monster the child was in the eyes of the villagers.
'Monster', what a peculiar way to describe Uzumaki Naruto, one of the many orphans roaming the streets of Konoha but the only one so hated by its residents, the only one some would argue was the cause for so many orphans plaguing the righteous conscience of Konoha. The Jinchuuriki of the nine tails.
Not that he’s aware, of course; all he knows is that right now the villagers are angry at him for something he did. Not some weird grudge for something he doesn’t even understand. Instead of the disgusted glares and cold shoulders he’s used to, he's actively being chased down by actual shinobi! How cool is that! And the best part? They can’t even catch him!
Naruto giggled as he dodged the hands of a ninja covered head to toe in orange paint. ‘How did that even happen? I only used mini water balloons…’ He thought absent-mindedly.
Still moving at a speed highly impressive for his age and enjoying every second of it, Naruto couldn’t help but let his mind wander as he got comfortable dodging and running simultaneously. 'Is this what it feels like to be a cool outlaw vagabond?’ He thought, like from that one worn-down paperback that he stole from the orphanage’s tiny reading corner back when he used to live there, he still has it tucked away in his apartment’s bedroom, 'Maybe I should reread it when I get ho-’
“I swear if you don’t stop moving!” One of the orange ninja’s deft hands swiped and missed Naruto’s collar by a mere inch, a little too close for comfort, successfully pulling the boy out of his own head just in time to dodge the next attempt made for his collar. The village pariah realised he needed to wrap this up quickly before his luck ran out and he had to deal with the consequences of his actions. Eugh.
Spotting his escape just ahead of them, Naruto quickened his pace and veered directly for the entrance of one of two really tall rival department stores. The mob, subsequently realising he was planning something, doubled their efforts in trying to catch him by speeding up as well, but what they didn’t take into account was the incredible agility and stupidity (or genius?) of the child they were chasing.
By the time Naruto reached the front of the two department stores, he was running too fast to change directions, as was the crowd chasing him; he could see the teenage cashier through the store’s windows, looking rather terrified and most likely thinking he was going to run straight into the building.
But he didn’t.
What he did instead was jump… at the lamppost conveniently stationed directly in between the two department stores. Grabbing onto the pole with one hand and swinging himself around it like he did regularly at the playground with the monkey bars. Naruto managed to stop his momentum and watched with glee as the orange ninja mob weren’t so lucky; they practically crashed through the automatic doors, limbs tangled together and curses that would make sailors blush being thrown at every angle.
Laughing to himself, Naruto quickly detached from the pole and snuck his way into an incredibly narrow and easily unnoticeable alleyway in between the two buildings, walking in with the kind of confidence that betrayed his experience. Soon enough he wouldn't be able to fit inside, but that was a problem for future Naruto to deal with! Now he had the privilege of making his way through a maze of tight squeezes and even tighter corners.
Humming to himself, Naruto finally broke free of the seemingly endless alleyway and started the trek back to his apartment. Taking a detour through one of the thin woods that littered the outskirts of Konoha: worn rock paths and clear skies were evidence of how often this trail was used by pretty much the whole village; it was empty now, most likely because it was still midday and everyone was either working or studying. Studying… Hm. Either way it was a safe route.
It was a safe route.
…
‘That was fun… Prolly won’t be able to show my face in the Hokage Tower for at least a month though.’ Naruto thought, grinning with his hands held behind his head in a confident strut. Suddenly he felt as though he were forgetting something, something that his wandering thoughts were trying to remind him of.
‘Hokage tower...?' No, that wasn’t it, but it felt relevant.
‘A month...?'
‘A month.’
“The academy!” Naruto blurted out before he could control himself, startling a wild rabbit into hiding. But damn! How could he forget? He was going to start the academy in less than a month! That’s why he was in the Hokage tower this morning (the orange paint was just a side job) the old man called him in to share the awesome news! Naruto’s going be a ninja!
Unable to control his excitement, Naruto sped up and began practically skipping down the worn path, giggling to himself like a schoolgirl in love with her professor. The surrounding area of the path was beginning to dip and dip until eventually the trail was elevated quite high above the rest of the woods, but the path itself was wide enough that nobody had ever considered it necessary to place fencing. Naruto didn’t know why the trail did what it did, but what he did know was that he was going to be a ninja! He didn’t pay any mind to the trail; he’s walked it enough times that he could probably go blind!
…
Naruto could see the end of the path, he could see where the surrounding terrain finally evened out with the trail just ahead, and beyond the last of the trees stood a vegetable stand currently left unattended up against one of the many apartment buildings of Konoha. He broke into a sprint, laughing freely because his day just couldn’t get any better!
He’ll snag a tomato or two to snack on while climbing the stairs to his own apartment; he’ll reread that paperback for maybe the thousandth time again and enjoy it as much as he did the first time he read it. And the story will progress as it should.
Naruto will join the ninja academy; he’ll receive the same treatment he always has and lash out as he always did. He’ll be a troublemaker, dead last, an idiot. He’ll grow as a ninja, get stronger and face enemies beyond his comprehension. He’ll find those worth fighting for and fight with every last inch of everything he has to offer, and he’ll eventually achieve his dream.
Ah…
“Ah?” Was all Naruto could let out as he suddenly tripped on a rock, a tiny, irrelevant pebble. A sickening weightlessness filled his core as Naruto lost his footing and fell down the steep side of the mini mountain the trail was raised on. Tumbling wildly, Naruto tried to grip the grass, rocks, mud- anything! To try and slow his momentum, but it only resulted in his hands and arms scraping against the rough terrain. Naruto found that he couldn’t scream; the world was moving too fast. His back and chest kept colliding with hard-packed dirt, knocking the wind out of him.
‘No!’ Naruto thought as he continued to crash down the hill.
‘No!’ Naruto thought as his shirt snagged on a stray branch, tearing both it and the skin on his side.
‘No!’ Naruto thought as his shin hit a log hard enough to send bolts of electricity up his spine.
“No!” Naruto cried desperately as he slammed headfirst into a giant tree at the base of the hill.
He felt something slash across his face, through his eye.
And then he didn’t.
And then it was dark.
Naruto was currently sitting in the dim reading corner of the orphanage, too small to be considered a library or even a reading room at that. He was alone in the sense that there weren’t any other orphans in the area, all of them were outside playing. Naruto was still being supervised, of course. Who would be dumb enough to let a monster go without a watchful eye?
Naruto had asked the matron in charge of watching him why he couldn’t join the other children outside; she responded with a disgusted scoff and continued to ignore him.
Naruto didn’t ask anymore questions.
“The cow goes moo moo!” What he did instead was practise his reading skills, he’d never seen a cow before. He thought it was a good idea to widen his (already massive) depth of knowledge by investigating these animals and the noises they made. The matron didn’t seem to care.
“The cat goes nya nya!" He already knew the sound a cat made, they were everywhere in Konoha. They were nicer than the villagers. The matron sighed.
“The dog goes wan wan!” The matron was starting to scowl, he didn’t know why. Maybe she was just having a bad day?
Naruto gasped in all his 4 year old excitement as he turned the page of his picture book.
“Kon kon goes the fox!” Naruto practically squealed, he loved foxes! They were orange, which is his favourite colour! They had whiskers just like him, and they were so fast and cool and-
The matron slapped him.
It happened so quickly he didn’t have time to process it before the burning sting settled into his cheek. She was leaning over him with an expression so full of hate Naruto couldn’t help but shrink, feeling as though he was guilty of something really serious, like that one time an older orphan stole money from the head matron's purse.
But Naruto didn’t steal anything. He didn’t push anyone or talk over an adult, so why?
“I knew it. You are truly a monster.” She spat, looking as though she wanted to hit him again, and Naruto wanted so badly to run away from her and hide under his covers. But he couldn’t. He was frozen. Feeling his eyes well up but unwilling to let the tears spill lest he anger the matron even more.
He didn’t ask why.