A New Start

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

 

 

 

Chapter two

 

(Six days later)

 

Naruto walked out of the forest and found himself on a road leading to a familiar place. Hey Kyuubi, does this place seem familiar?

Hai kit, I think this is that place called Wave? The fox answered.

Naruto questioned, Wave? Oh, you mean where Inari and Tazuna are?

And the bridge where you guys fought that Mist ninja Zabuza.

I wonder how everyone is doing.

Why don’t you go find out?

Naruto finished his talk with Kyuubi and continued on his way. He paused at the bridge and stared up at the sign. Hey Kyu, do you see this?

The sign said “The Great Naruto Bridge; The Bridge of Heroes”.

Heh, Seems like someone appreciates what you do as a ninja.

Yeah, I just wish my so-called friends in Konoha felt the way they do.

Don’t think about them too much. This is your new life and they have no place in it.

You’re right, I won’t think about it anymore.

Kyuubi rumbled gently, soothingly, knowing how much the Rookies had hurt him. They had literally turned their back on him. When he needed their support the most, they left him alone; they abandoned him.

Within a few minutes Naruto was once again in familiar surroundings.

“Nii-san?” a familiar voice called. Naruto turned to see Inari moving quickly towards him. Naruto waved to the boy as he stopped in front of him.

“Hey Inari,” Naruto said smiling at the boy. Naruto grunted as Inari suddenly threw himself into Naruto’s arms.

Inari started firing off questions, “So you here for a reason? Where’s everyone else? Why are you here alone?”

Naruto laughed softly and answered, “I’m just passing through, in Konoha, and I’m moving to another village or city. ”

Inari laughed and tugged on Naruto’s arm. “You have to stop by and stay for a while at my place. Mom and Grandpa would never forgive you if you didn’t. ”

Naruto laughed again and followed his “little brother” through the village. He could stay for a couple days; he had nowhere he needed to be. Naruto saddened at the thought, but Kyuubi’s rumbling quickly soothed him.

 

 

Naruto laughed as Inari filled him in on what had been going on in their village since he had last been there.

After he had arrived earlier, Tsunami had invited him to stay for at least a couple of days before leaving, giving them time to see what had been going on with Naruto since he had left. After his explanation of what had happened in Konoha, Tsunami had made dinner. Naruto had agreed to stay, much to Inari’s delight.

Now, as he lay there in his temporary room, Naruto’s thoughts drifted toward his new life. He knew he couldn’t be a ninja anymore, but he had no idea what he was going to do.

You’re going to start over, and to do that you need to find a place where ninjas don’t exist.

I know that Kyu, but where are we going to find such a place?

We’ll just have to keep looking until we do.

Got any ideas on where to start?

What about in the shadow lands?

Shadow lands? I’ve never been there.

I’ll show you the way, kit. We should probably leave in the morning though.

Why?

We don’t want Inari and his family to get in trouble with any of the other villages because of us, right?

Would they really get into that much trouble?

We don’t really know how the council will act; knowing that one of Konoha’s allies is housing someone they banished. Better safe than sorry.

I guess you’re right. So we leave first thing in the morning?

It would be best.

Okay then. And with that Naruto fell asleep.

 

 

(Early the next morning)

 

Naruto woke up with the sun the next morning. He stretched and felt all of his muscles and bones pop back into their right places. Then he rolled out of bed and got dressed. He threw on a black three-quarter sleeve mesh shirt and a royal blue t-shirt over the top of that, and then he pulled on a pair of black Shinobi pants and his sandals, completing the look.

Kyuubi rumbled in approval in his mind. Over the course of a few months he and Kyuubi had started to get along better. Kyuubi had always been there for him, he couldn’t think of a time when he didn’t have the demon. But now, as the demon’s red hot chakra pulsed through his body, Naruto was comforted. The burning was familiar and soothing.

Naruto shook himself out of his thoughts and grabbed his pack and headed for the bedroom door. He paused before changing his mind, instead making his way to the window. Throwing open the window, Naruto took one last look at his familiar surroundings before heading out.

He landed softly on the ground. Shifting his pack to a more comfortable position, Naruto started walking.

 

 

(Three hours later)

 

Naruto paused to catch his breath. He had passed through Moon not too long ago. He had wanted to stop in one of the villages there, but had thought better of it. Better not let anyone see him, less chance of him getting caught.

He had been walking for three hours non-stop, but it wasn’t the time spent walking that made him tired, rather, it was the mountain that he was hiking. It had started to get gradually more and more steep, the higher he went.

A half an hour later he reached the top. Kyuubi rumbled in his mind and Naruto obediently turned to take in his surroundings. There, surrounded by mountains, was a small valley.

The Shadow lands lie on the other side of the farthest mountain.

This place would be perfect for a hidden village.

What are you talking about, kit?

Think about it Kyu, Naruto coaxed, its well hidden, and completely unreachable unless you knew exactly how to get here. It’s perfect.

Kyuubi thought for a minute, and then he said, what about your new start? I thought that you wanted to start over in a new city?

I do, but I’m not going to stop being a ninja no matter where I live. You just can’t forget things like that. I was thinking that we’d go to the city for a few years, and once the Ninja world has forgotten about us, we’ll come back here and offer those that were forgotten a new start. You know a village for people like us; outcasts.

Kyuubi thought about the idea for a minute and then said, The Village Hidden in the Mountains.

Huh?

That’s the name we’ll give the village.

It’s perfect. Naruto finished his mental conversation and resumed walking. Kyuubi said that he’d reach the city by nightfall if he kept moving.

 

 

(Nightfall)

 

Naruto paused once again to catch his breath. As he stood there, he once again took in his surroundings. This time instead of seeing mountains, he saw buildings. The city was lit up with bright colored lights, all the buildings had them.

Naruto made his way down the slope and strolled into the city, his new home. He passed many buildings in his search for a room for the night.

A bright sign reading “Kou’s Restaurant and Lounge” caught his attention. Seeing as this was probably the best place to grab a bite to eat, Naruto headed for the entrance.

Naruto walked through the doors into a tastefully decorated place. The walls were painted a dark blue with a black trim. The tables were made with a dark wood. Naruto liked the place already, and he hadn’t even tried the food yet.

Naruto headed straight for the bar. Standing behind the counter was an older man with grey-streaked brown hair and aged warm brown eyes.

“Hello,” Naruto said taking a seat.

The man gave him a warm smile as he walked over and said in a way of greeting, “Name’s Kou Akira, what can I get ya?”

Naruto smiled back and answered, “I don’t have very much, but I would like something good.”

Kou eyed the kid sitting at his bar. The boy looked young, really young. Kou could also tell the kid had been through a lot. The boys’ bright blue eyes held a world of pain and wisdom, like he had been through the wringer too many times to count.

Kou liked to kid right off and decided to take a chance. He looked the boy right in the eyes and said bluntly, “Ya need a place to stay?”

Naruto looked shocked for a second, before he hesitantly nodded.

Kou’s smile grew softer as he replied, “I can offer you a roof over yer head and job if you want it.”

Blue eyes turned weary in an instant, and he asked, tone skeptical, “Why would you help me? You don’t even know me.”

Kou felt for the boy. He’d had a hard life and apparently trust didn’t come easy. So Kou did the only thing he could think of doing, he told the truth, “I like you kid. I can see that you’ve been through a lot, but you have kept you heart pure, and I admire you for that. I’ve decided to trust my instincts and take a chance on you.”

Naruto still looked skeptical, but he agreed, “Sure, if you really want to.”

“Good, now that’s settled. What’s yer name kid?”

Naruto looked thoughtful for a second before he answered, “Akihiko, name’s Akihiko.”

 

 

A/N: and here’s the long awaited chapter two. Naruto’s new life has begun. Next chapter, our fox meets his new family and Kou decides to start teaching “Aki” about running the restaurant and about cars.

Read and Review. Ja Ne