As tends to happen however, he found himself watching the glow of his alarm clock for half the night, willing time to speed up to whole while, and when he finally woke up the next morning – not having even realized when he had fallen asleep – he bustled around his apartment getting ready, with more energy than he'd had the entire past week combined.
...
That day's Academy lesson was thankfully conducted indoors, with a primary focus on reading, writing and math, and as soon as classes were over, Naruto was the first one out the door.
He'd seen and passed by the entrance to the Archive Library before, of course; it was near his home, built right under the Hokage monument. But the sign had always looked so official, and the long doors too foreboding.
Climbing up the stone stairway, he hesitated before the entrance. Reaching out with a hand, he pushed the doors, and despite their size, they opened silently.
Inside, a bored-looking chūnin was sitting behind a black counter, and beyond that – Naruto felt his eyes widen as he saw a huge expanse of bookshelves, with tomes and scrolls crammed into every open space from top to bottom. There was even another stairway that led downstairs, to a whole other floor of bookshelves that stretched from wall to wall.
"Pass?" the chūnin grunted, not looking up from the book in his hand.
Naruto froze. His hands tightening over the strap of his bag, he looked down at his toes, wondering if he'd misheard Iruka (or Kotetsu, he supposed).
"I..." he started out. At the sound of his voice, the chūnin looked up, and as recognition flitted across his face, for a second, Naruto thought he was going to yell at him to get out. But to his surprise, the chūnin put down his book and scribbled something on a piece of paper, before ripping it out and giving it to him.
"Here's your Academy student pass," he said. Naruto hesitantly reached for it, wondering wildly whether the chūnin would snatch it back at the last second with a sneer. But his fingers wrapped around the paper, and the chūnin let go. He returned to his book.
Slowly, Naruto turned around, looking out once more at the bookshelves.
"First floor only," the chūnin added in his bored voice. Nodding, Naruto shot off before the chūnin could take back the pass.
With his head wrapped in his scarf, he'd sneaked a few times into the public library before, but that had held nowhere near the amount of scrolls and books that he saw here. And it was far quieter here: There weren't any bored, mischievous children parked here by their parents, or feeble old women yelling at the librarian that their dog was missing.
Naruto came to a stop before a bookshelf marked "Academy Level," and craning his head back to scan the labels on the scrolls, he let out a slow breath. He'd learned the characters for 'Taijutsu,' 'Ninjutsu,' and 'Genjutsu' just a few days ago – and they were all here. Spotting a stool nearby, he dragged it over and climbed on top.
On the very first shelf, the very first scroll was 'Taijutsu for Beginners.' Naruto reached out and pulling it out, was surprised to feel how heavy it was. Gingerly, he unfurled the thick paper – and let out another shaking breath at the sight of the detailed illustrations. His gaze raced from each stance to the next, taking note of each individual adjustment of the feet and hands...
Naruto began to shake, and not trusting himself, he carefully rolled the scroll back up. His eyes felt hot, and he had to remind himself that ninja didn't cry. But it took all the willpower he had to force back the tears, and only when his eyes were completely dry did he allow himself to open the scroll up again.
He knew, now. These scrolls would be his teachers. His parents. His friends.
...
One year later...
"The next bout will be between...Naruto and Nogi!"
A girl wearing her hair back in a ponytail stepped out nervously onto the wooden platform. The platform, which had been smooth and unblemished at the beginning of the year, was now scarred with numerous marks of past fights, serving as a reminder of how far they had come since then.
Opposite her, a young boy with red hair leaped lightly onto the platform, making only the slightest sound as he landed. He stood relaxed and comfortably, with his hands hanging in front of him. His name was Uzumaki Naruto.
Nogi hated him.
At first, it'd been fun just because he was so easy to make fun of with his stupid hair, and she never got in trouble for picking on him, because nobody else liked him either. When her papa came home late smelling of beer and yelled at her mama and told Nogi to pick up her "damn" toys, there was nothing that made her feel better than running outside and taunting him with Funa and Yasu.
Naruto never said anything back, but he never cried either, so it was easy to pretend that he wasn't – well – one of them.
He was weak too: Nogi always relished her matchups against him in taijutsu, and always used extra force than necessary when pushing him down to the ground, even though she always got in trouble with Iruka.
But gradually, at some point over the year, Nogi had suddenly found that he wasn't quite so easy to push down anymore. His awkward movements at the beginning of the year were gone, and one day, he even managed to connect a kick. It was stronger than she'd expected, and she was sent flying off the platform.
Her friends were immediately at her side helping her up, but when she looked up, Naruto was already getting off the platform, without a second glance at her.
Nogi hated him.
It was now the end of the year taijutsu evaluation. She lowered into her preferred starting stance, a compact and defensive one that still gave her enough maneuverability to jab out and go on the offensive in an instant. She hadn't fought against Naruto since he'd kicked her, but she knew that she couldn't underestimate him anymore. The only one who seemed to be able to knock down the boy nowadays was Sasuke, and well, nobody beat Sasuke.
"Begin!"
Nogi tensed up, readying herself. But to her annoyance, Naruto didn't move. He just stood there, watching her with a blank look on his face, and after a few seconds, she couldn't hold it in anymore. His red hair taunted her, filling her with anger, and she charged at him.
Her hands were outstretched, and she threw herself forward – when he stepped aside. She felt something smash down on her back, and grunting in pain, she fell flat on her face. Before she could get back on her feet, she felt Naruto kick down on her side and shove her off the platform. She landed roughly with a loud thud, and coughed as a cloud of dirt erupted around her.
"The winner is Naruto!"
Nogi forced her sore body to turn around, and seeing Naruto's back as he walked off the platform, she felt hot tears begin to form in her eyes.
She really hated him.
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