Naruto sat quietly on the bus, the only passenger besides the driver. His gaze drifted out the window, soaking in the golden sunlight and the serene countryside. He knew he wouldn't see these sights again for three long years. When that time passed, he'd finally return to the village he once called home.
XXXXXXXXXX
Seven Years Earlier
A small, nervous eight-year-old boy stood inside a large apartment, wide-eyed at the space around him. It was spotless—no trash scattered around, no hateful graffiti screaming 'Die,' 'Demon,' or 'Monster.' Most importantly, it was far away from the cruel villagers who despised him.
"Well, Naruto, what do you think?" came a warm voice from the doorway.
Naruto turned to see Iruka-sensei smiling at him. "It's amazing, Iruka-sensei! Are we really going to live here?"
Iruka nodded with a gentle smile. He never blamed Naruto for what happened the night the boy's parents died. To him, Naruto was just another lonely orphan who didn't deserve the hatred the world had shown him. That was why Iruka had taken on this mission.
"That's right, Naruto. We'll stay here until you turn eighteen."
"What happens after that?" Naruto asked.
"Then we'll go back to Konoha," Iruka replied.
Naruto froze in fear. "No! I don't want to! I don't want to go back to where they hate me… where they tried to kill me!"
Seeing the panic in Naruto's eyes, Iruka knelt down and placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulders.
"It's okay, Naruto. Ten years is a long time. The Hokage believes that by then, people will have learned to accept you."
"But why do I have to go back at all?"
Iruka spoke softly but firmly. "Naruto, you understand why people have trouble accepting you, right?"
Naruto nodded slowly. The Hokage had told him everything before sending him away. "It's because… I'm the Kyuubi."
"No, you're not!" Iruka said sharply. "Never say that again! You're the Kyuubi's container—a jinchūriki. You carry the Kyuubi inside you, but that doesn't make you the same. The jailer isn't the prisoner."
"Then why does everyone hate me?" Naruto cried. "They almost killed me, remember?" He squeezed his eyes shut, trembling as the memory of gasoline and searing pain flashed through his mind. "If it's not my fault, why did they do that to me?"
Iruka wrapped his arms around the boy, holding him close. "Because fear makes people do terrible things. But their actions were wrong, Naruto—not you. None of it is your fault. Do you understand?"
"I… I think so," Naruto whispered. "But… why do I still have to go back there?"
Iruka let out a soft, weary sigh. "Because, Naruto, someday you'll possess tremendous power. For better or worse, you're the living legacy of the Fourth Hokage."
(He didn't know Naruto's true parentage—only that the Fourth had sealed the Kyuubi within the boy.)
"And that power you carry will one day serve the village."
Naruto looked up, his blue eyes clouded with anger, but he held his tongue. Iruka and the old man were the only people who had ever treated him with kindness; the last thing he wanted was to say something that would make Iruka turn away from him too.
Iruka smiled, breaking the tension. "Tell you what—let's unpack later and grab some dinner. I'll be doing most of the cooking from now on, but tonight, we'll eat out and explore the city a bit."
"Really?" Naruto's face lit up, his earlier gloom forgotten. "Can we get ramen?"
Iruka chuckled, his smile widening. "Of course."
As they stepped out of their new apartment, Naruto suddenly looked up. "Hey, Iruka-sensei… what's this place called again?"
"Tokyo," Iruka replied with a hint of pride. "We're living in Tokyo now."
XXXXXXXXXX
"You're the student enrolling at Youkai Academy?"
The driver's gruff voice snapped Naruto back to the present. "Uh, yeah, that's me."
The bus rumbled into a long, shadowy tunnel. "I should warn you," the driver said, his tone dripping with mystery. "Youkai Academy is a *veeeeerrry* terrifying place."
When Naruto glanced up, the man's eyes seemed to glow faintly in the dark.
Naruto just shrugged and turned his gaze back out the window. "I've seen scary before," he murmured. For a fleeting second, he thought he could smell gasoline—and his nose twitched unconsciously.
XXXXXXXXXX
The bus hissed to a stop in front of a lone scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head.
Far in the distance, a dark silhouette of a massive building rose against the horizon—his new school, he guessed.
Setting his backpack down, Naruto took a deep breath and looked around. The Hokage's letter hadn't said much—only that he'd be attending a *very special* academy for the next three years.
He wasn't permitted to leave until graduation. After that, he'd return to Konoha, become a Leaf ninja, and serve the village once more.
For a moment, his hand drifted to the hitai-ite on his forehead—the one Iruka had given him. He ran his fingers over the metal plate gently, feeling the weight of the promise it carried.