Still smiling he walked into the store, ignoring the people glaring at him and shopping with a new found purpose: a brand new place, a brand new audience and something new to do. Time for school.

He picked out a black fitted sleeveless shirt with red highlights, dark red cargo pants and black sandals. And a few pouches for his upper arms and legs and some new kunai and senbon to finish it off.

As he was looking through the stuff on the shelves, he felt eyes on the back of his neck. He looked around a saw a man in the corner of the store. It was the shop owner, glaring at him the entire time he was in the shop and scrutenizing every step Naruto took. Naruto ignore it, but that didn't mean he didn't notice it. It was irksome, infuriating even, that people were so dense to not see him for who he was.

He put on a smile, as genuine as he could make it. His blue eye sparkled with enthausiasm. The shop owner might be an ass, but he and the others in the store were leaving him alone and that was enough reason for Naruto to be happy right now.

He calculated the price of his items on his way to the register. Naruto had learned by now to always know the price in advance and count out the money before paying. Usually, he'd put the money on the counter and then bolt before the cashier was able to tell if it was the price they asked or not. He was glad it wasn't the shop owner himself standing there. That would have caused trouble.

As he stepped up to the register, he gave the cashier a big, toothy smile. "Hiya!" He yelled enthausiastically, almost dancing on the spot with all the energy he felt.

The man behind the register raised an eyebrow. "Hello." He said shortly. Naruto stopped mid-step and stared at the cashier with big eyes before he looked around him a little confused. "You mean me?" He asked the cashier, pointing at himself. Did the man just really greet him back?

"Of course, boy, you greeted me, so I greet you back. It's common practice." The man replied a bit harshly. Naruto slowly nodded, standing up straight and looking up at the man. "I know that. I-It's just... people usually ignore me..." He looked down, feeling sad. People were mean to him all the time and he didn't like it. But this man wasn't mean. Not really. Naruto liked him.

"Well, I'm not. Now give me your items so I can ring them up." He was still being crude with Naruto, but the fact that the man treated him as a person was enough to make Naruto happy. "Yes, sir!" Naruto replied, hurrying to put the items on the counter so he wouldn't upset the man and then standing there expectedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

The man sighed and started totalling the items. It came to the same total as Naruto had calculated. Naruto stopped bouncing and looked at the man with big eyes again. "A-are you sure?" He asked shyly, amazed that the man was honest about the pricing.

"I didn't make a mistake, boy. Don't think you can get a discount." Naruto hastely shook his head. Why did he say the wrong thing again? The man was being nice, well at least somewhat normal to him and he was blowing it with his questions. "No, no, I'm sorry! That's not what I meant. U-usually people ask me double the real price." The energy at the beginning of his sentance was quickly replaced with sadness as Naruto turned his gaze downwards again.

"Like I said before, I'm not. Now pay and leave." The man grumbled, but Naruto noticed the man throwing a quick glance at the shop owner that was still standing there, glaring at Naruto. Naruto nodded and put the money on the counter, a little over the amount nessesary because he didn't have exact change. The man took the money and tucked it in the register before handing some change back. Naruto stared at the change in his hand. The man put Naruto's item into a big and tossed it roughly towards Naruto, who caught it before it could fall while clutching the change, caught a bit off guards because he was still processing the fact he even got change. "Now scram, boy." He man said. He turned his back to Naruto as soon as he finished speaking, so he missed the big smile and nod Naruto gave him before happily stepping out of the store.

He walked out the door, but stopped just outside, stepping to the side to leave the door unblocked. For him this was within earshot of the store clerk. "You should have charged that demon double, not given him change!" He heard another man say loudly. It wasn't quite a yell, but there was anger in the raised voice. Naruto was pretty sure it was the shop owner.

"I made him leave as fast as possible, without pulling any attention onto him. Shouldn't you be glad that most customers didn't even notice him?" The clerk snapped back. Naruto's smile felt strained, but he didn't drop it. Did the clerk really just get rid of him as fast as possible? But it had felt as though there was something more to it when they talked inside the store. He was kind, right?

As Naruto mulled this over, he started walking through the village. Both his eyes were dulled equally as he walked through the village. For the first time in a long while, he was oblivious to his surroundings, pondering what had just happened in the store. He was sure he hadn't imagined the kind undertone in the store clerk's voice. Maybe there actually were still people in Konoha that didn't have a problem with him. A thought like that made Naruto feel a little happy inside. He needed more of this.

Sure, the ANBU were kind, Dog was too and even Cat was nice enough and Naruto know they cared about him, but their paths had been forcefully intertwined and had worked out somehow. Like family. The store clerk was kind to him by choice. Granted that the man tried to hide it, but he was kind non the less. It was very different from the ANBU under orders. And if one person being nice to him by choice already gave him a good feeling, then maybe finding more people like that would do Naruto a lot of good. Him choosing to go to school might actually be more beneficial than just having new subjects for his pranks. Yes, this could work out in two ways, more victims and maybe some friends. Some could even end up being both. All of Naruto agreed to this.

He made his way to the Hokage tower and avoided the main entrance by leaping up towards the window of the Hokage's office. He took a quick peek inside and saw the Hokage was talking to the three he met in front of the store along with a Jounin. Naruto figured he must have misjudged their age and that they were two years older, not one. Genin, probably getting a new D-rank mission or getting back from one. The first was more likely than the last since Naruto had just walked into them at the store and they didn't seemed to be in mission clothing.

Naruto sat down beneath the open window, listening to the conversation inside and wondering about the impression he left on the three and if he would be mentioned. He seated himself sideways so he could look inside. The first thing he heard was the last part of the sentence of the Jounin instructor. "...ready. They have improved quite a lot and I think they need field experience." Was the man pleading for a higher mission for his Genin? But they must have graduated only a few months ago and judging by the girl's reaction and the boys their stances, the Jounin must be exagerating about their progress. "It would be most youthful to give them the experience they need to improve themselves!" The Jounin pleaded, his voice raised in what could only be described as pure enthausiasm. His pose was cartoony with the way he clenched his fist in front of him and sparks seemed to flutter around him. His pose gave off the same enthaustiastic aura as his voice did. "U-uhm, Guy-sensei, please calm down a bit." The girl said quietly.

"No, Tenten, Guy-sensei is right, we must be youthful!" One of the boys echoed their Sensei. It was the one who had called back an apoligy over his shoulder when they ran away in front of the store. The boy was dressed pretty much the same way as his Sensei and was even mimicing his pose.

The last boy, who had been most defensive, remained silent and observant. Maybe a little brooding. He also stood a bit more to the side, like he didn't feel or didn't want to be a part of the team. "Well, I'm sure we can find an appropriate mission. A low C-rank within the boundries. I'll have it looked into. Untill then, here are a couple of D-rank mission scrolls for you for tomorrow." The Hokage replied.

"Alright, let's go!" Guy-sensei exclaimed, pointing towards the door like an epic adventure lay before them. He kept to pose for a few seconds, but when not even his copy image student responded the way he expected, he slowly lowered his hand and moved it towards himself to cough into his fist. "Unless there is something else." He said as though he hadn't already cued them out.

"Well..." Tenten started, looking between her teammates. "We were at a store and something happened. We thought we should tell you, Hogake-sama." She continued.

"Yes, a most unyouthful boy scared Tenten." The green clad student was still bubbling with enthausiasm, even as he recollected the events from earlier the day. He had liked the blond boy and he didn't understand why Tenten had been that afraid. Yes, the first look the boy had given them had been a bit creepy, but he figured the boy might have been insecure and had found it easiest to approach the girl in the group. But Tenten had told him afterwards that the boy had seemed to switch personalities as soon as only she was in view of the boy.

"He was really creepy! It was like he switched between different persons. He looked at me with such an creepy evil smile, it made me feel terified! But when he talked to Lee and Neji, he seemed innocent and insecure. He switched like that a couple of times. It was really creepy!" It seemed the only real word she wanted to convey was 'creepy'. Naruto chuckled softly from his place beneath the window and a small twitch from the Hokage told him that he was discovered. Ah, well, he wasn't truly trying to hide anyway. "I haven't seen him before." She continued. "We thought that maybe he doesn't come from Konoha and that someone should look into this." She finished looking stern for such a young girl.

She got a small chuckle from the Hokage instead of the sympathy she was looking for. A look of indignance crossed her face, but she quickly hid it like the professional Shinobi she was. "Ah, excuse me. Yes, of course it was the right thing for you to report it to me." The Hokage smoothly recovered from his initial reaction. Tenten immediately mellowed down a bit, probably relieved that she was at least taken seriously for reporting something unusual. "But I know the boy you are referring to and I can assure you he is very much part of the village. He is a bit younger than you, so maybe you just haven't noticed him before?" The Hokage questioned calmly.

"Well, maybe, but non of us have ever seen him before and with his hair colour, he should have been easily recognisable." Neji said in a boring tone. He did want to know about the blond boy, but he didn't want to show just how much, if at all, he was invested in finding out who the boy was. The Hokage nodded his head while humming to himself a bit. He was thinking over the situation and was curious to see what kind of reaction Naruto would have if he called him inside. It was a thin line between being on Naruto's good side and becoming a target for his pranks for the forseeable future. "Well, then, there is only one way to solve this, I guess. Naruto, why don't you come inside." In the end, curiosity kills the cat, right?

A heaving sigh alerted the Genin and Jounin to the presence of the boy just under the window. It sounded exasperated, world weary and dreadfully strained. As Naruto stood, the first thing they saw was the blond hair emerging. He stood up with his back towards the window, deliberately showing his back first. Not to give the impression he was just sitting there, but to allow his temporary new toys to exchange a look.

And that is what they did. Non of them had sensed him sitting there, not even Guy. Then again, he was definitely not a sensory type and neither was Lee. Tenten usually noticed things, but she wasn't a sensory specialist either. Neji was able to, but only with his Byakugan active. But still, a ten year old boy shouldn't be able to hide himself this well.

Naruto turned around with a big innocent smile and his blue eye sparkling. The Hokage let out a silent breath or relief. He had caught Naruto in a good mood, it seemed. He didn't fear the boy, not any of his personalities, but the Hokage had a high preference to not be at the receiving end of Naruto's pranks.

"Hiya, Jiji! What's up?" The sigh they had heard outside the window didn't match the cheerful boy that stood before them now at all. All four of them felt a creepy sensation running down their spine, thinking that it couldn't have been the same person, but they also paid attention to the reaction from the Hokage. He didn't seem phased by the boy. Instead the Hokage looked happy and relieved to see him.

"Naruto-kun, did you meet these people earlier today?" The Hokage asked, sounding a bit more innocent then his eyes gave credit for. They were shining with mirth, much like Naruto's blue eye.

Right, straight to the point, then. "Oh, well, some of them, but not all of them, though I have met all of them, just not all of them today." Naruto answered, avoiding looking at the Shinobi. He pusposely gave a vague answer that was still true. He had met Guy before, but not with introductions and not while either of them were showing their faces. But Guy's manerism gave him away. Naruto easily figured out he had met Guy before.

The Hokage hummed amused at the look on the Genin's faces. "This is the boy you meant, right?" All three of them nodded still staring at Naruto

"Well, then let me reassure you that Naruto is indeed a citizen of Konoha." The Hokage continued. "If that was all..."

"Wait." Neji interrupted. "He has Shinobi clothing and weapons on him, but we've never seen him at school."

"That's because I start next week." Naruto said in a cheerful voice, clear of any doubt.

"You are?" The Hokage asked.

"Of course I am! I should be in school, shouldn't I?" Naruto turned to face the Hogake and gave his biggest innocent smile he could muster.

"Right... Well, there you have it. Naruto will be joining the academy starting next week. Dismissed."

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