Throughout the day Naruto had tried to talk to either his mother or father with little successes, at least beyond them saying happy birthday. When they weren't telling him to eat to help keep his strength up, they were moving around the house setting up everything for when the clan heads and their children arrived for the party.
Since they were young the clan heirs and the Namikaze triplets had been forced to interact with each other, their parents trying to ensure they would all get along when they were older and running the village themselves. Naruto was sure the fact at least all of the main clans had children the same age was not a coincidence.
However out of all of the other clan heirs the only one there age that Naruto ever actually got along with was Shikamaru, and even then, they only ever really played shogi together, and even then they did not play it that much. Shikamaru was currently winning their little competition at twenty-four wins to Naruto's seventeen, but according to the lazy boy he was the only person outside his clan that had ever actually beaten him, so that was probably good.
He did however get along well with Itachi, the oldest of the Uchiha children. While they didn't speak often the few times they did Naruto enjoyed his company, and the older teen was probably the only person that didn't treat him like he was completely made out of glass.
His brother Sasuke on the other hand was a whinny little mummies boy, that followed his brother around like a shadow. Unfortunately he was also one of Erza and Mito's friends, so he was around more often than not.
Naruto was still trying to talk to either both or even one of his parents when the party started, and it was all but hopeless then because they were too busy talking and socialising with the other adults. Naruto just found a quiet corner of the room to sit in and watch as his family moved around the room, laughing and talking to everyone.
No one seemed to even notice him other than Shikamaru sending him a nod with his usual bored expression on his face, though he thought he saw his sisters sending him odd looks out of the corner of their eyes.
"Happy Birthday Naruto." A calm and stoic voice spoke out from behind Naruto.
Slowly turning to look at the person that had walked over to him while he had his eyes closed, Naruto let a small smile cross his lips when he saw the ever stoic Itachi taking moving over and taking the seat next to him.
"Hey Itachi…thanks I guess." Naruto replied softly his eyes still scanning the party going on around him. It was strange really, here he was sat in middle of a party that was being thrown for him, but yet he felt like a stranger.
The two quiet boys sat in silence for a few minutes after that, both simply watching the other people in the room until the older teen finally decided to speak again.
"I see you found that scroll I recommended, I can sense the chakra flowing through you now. It is odd though as something about your chakra, it feels and looks odd, unnatural almost." Itachi said a speculative look on his face as he looked at Naruto.
Looking at the teen out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto wasn't surprised to see his eyes flashing red with his Sharingan as the older boy stared at him.
It was true Itachi had told him which scroll he needed to find to unlock his chakra, not that anyone other than the two of them knew this fact. While everyone else saw him as nothing but a weak sick little boy, Itachi said he saw Naruto's potential and that he wanted to help ensure that he could actually reach said potential. He told Naruto what scrolls to read, recommended different training methods that he would be able to do until his body was stronger and even showed him the proper way to throw the kunai he stole.
Making sure not to look like they were doing more than exchanging pleasantries after seeing his mother glancing in their direction, Naruto not answer verbally or immediately, instead he gave Itachi a small nod.
"I was able to sneak out last night and unlock it, though it wasn't exactly like the scroll said it did push me in the right direction." Naruto finally replied to Itachi an inquisitive look on his face as he once again tore his gaze away from the party, instead turning it onto Itachi.
"Good." Itachi said simply.
It was then that Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a fist sized scroll, placing it on the younger blondes lap as he did so.
"Your Birthday present, your room looked a little bare the last time I saw it and I thought you might like something to put on the wall…" Itachi said his voice as calm and toneless as usual.
Raising an eyebrow at the teen's words, Naruto unrolled the scroll to see the kanji for the words 'Underneath the Underneath'. It was a popular saying in Konoha to look underneath the underneath to find the truth, and was actually one of his own favourite sayings. There was a little string on the top so it could be hung up, and Naruto was sure Itachi had written it himself.
However it was what was on the back of the paper that really caught his attention, a small smirk crept onto his lips as he saw what was on it, before he forcibly pushed down his smile. On the back of the scroll there was a storage seal, small enough that it would go unnoticed unless you were looking for it and set out so that it would be completely invisible when he hung it up.
Naruto already knew that his real present was sealed inside it, most likely so his parent or sisters didn't find it and try and take it off him. That was probably why Itachi had asked about him unlocking his chakra, he wanted to make sure Naruto would be able to open it later when no one was watching.
"Thank you, I think you might be right and my room could do with a little personality." Naruto said the smile once again coming to his face as he did so.
The only response he received in reply was a nod from the older boy, before Itachi stood up silently and walked off without a word, not even looking back at Naruto as he did so.
( - )
The next hour or so was mostly the same as the first one was for Naruto after Itachi left, though his sisters and a few of the other clan heirs had come over at one point or another to engage him in conversation. They did not stick around for long though.
Naruto was not really that surprised, he did after all know that he made the others uncomfortable, they didn't know how to act around him and were often worried about offending his sisters or even his parents by saying the wrong thing. His usual sickly appearance had that effect on a lot of people, both kids his own age and the adults. He was the son of two powerful ninja one of which was the Hokage himself, and with him being so weak and looking so sickly it just didn't fit in with their idea of what a son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki should look like.
Even his Godfather Jiraiya acted weird around him, if not outside tried to ignore him. The pervert would spend most of the time during his visits either talking with his father and sisters, or perving on his mother only to get his arse kicked.
Even now Naruto saw the man's face was swollen after probably getting a beating either from his mother or some other other woman, who had no doubt punched him for making a comment about their bodies. It did not seem to effect him as he was still smiling and talking to people as if nothing was wrong even as he started turning purple from the bruises that formed.
Naruto was about ready to head up when the sound of a glass ringing reached his ears and he turned to see his dad in the middle of the room, his mum stood next to him with a large smile as everyone turned to look at them.
"Attention everyone, I have an announcement! Erza, Mito could you come over here for a moment?" Minato said a large smile on his face as he gestured for his daughters to join him.
Naruto watched with narrowed eyes as his sisters moved to stand in front of their dad, getting up from his seat and moving closer so he could see, as the crowd started to block his view. He went mostly unnoticed though even as he watched his dad kneel down in front of his sisters while there mother continued to look on with a proud expression on her face, and when he saw it Naruto felt a hollow feeling begin to form in his stomach.
"Now after talking it over with your mum, and seeing how much work you have been putting into your training we both agreed you are ready. So first thing tomorrow, I am going to start teaching you both the Rasengan! Happy Birthday girls!" Minato said a happy expression on his face as he saw the joy on his daughters faces.
The room soon burst into cheers as Mito and Erza both started grinning and ran over and hugged Minato, Kushina soon bending down and turning it into a group hug.
Naruto felt the hollow in his stomach get worse, the feeling spreading and his heart beginning to beat faster and faster, the room beginning to spinning around him as it did so. He saw Itachi watching him while leaning against the wall to his left with his usual blank expression, his eyes flashing red for a moment as if waiting to see what Naruto was going to do.
When the room finally did stop spinning around Naruto could only feel numbness for a moment, the feeling spreading throughout his whole body momentarily, only for it to be rapidly replaced by a cold rage.
Naruto went to step forward only for someone to grab his arm and hold him in place, and he wasn't overly surprised to see it was Shikamaru. The usually lazy boy was giving him a worried look while his hand gripped his arm in an iron grip, shaking his head slightly as his eyes moved from Naruto to his family as they pulled away from the hug.
"It's not going to change anything Naruto, just let it go…" Shikamaru said his tone serious as he continued to hold Naruto back.
For moment Naruto thought about listening to his friend's words, the rational part of his mind telling him Shikamaru was right and that kicking off right now in the middle of the party, would not change a thing. But the other part of his mind, the part that was consumed by his anger was louder.
Jerking his arm from Shikamaru's grip, Naruto turned his glare on the boy and snarled slightly. However what he didn't know was that as he glared, his sclera started to bleed to black and his irises started to blaze a deadly crimson red. The young Nara's eye's widened in shock and he backed away in slight fear, but in the time it took him to blink Naruto's eyes were back to normal and he was moving towards his family.
It wasn't until he was stood right in front of them that Kushina noticed him, by which point he had set his face into a blank expression. For a moment he saw her eyes widen at him, like she suddenly realised he was there before they moved to the others then back to him. He saw the flash of guilt in her eyes, but it was only there for a moment before they seemed to harden with resolve.
"Naruto dear..." Kushina began her voice quiet as she reached her hand out to him.
Naruto however didn't give her the chance to make an excuse.
"Are you going to lie to me again and claim the Rasengan is part of their training to help control the fox's chakra?" Naruto asked his voice harsh, though not overly loud as he was aware that he did not want to draw to much attention to what was happening.
His words though despite being spoken quietly did manage to get around the room, those who were standing closest to the group turning so they could watch the ongoing drama. Not that it really bothered Naruto though as he could see it was making both his mother and now his father uncomfortable quite uncomfortably.
"Naruto please, we can talk about this later…" Kushina said her voice still quiet as she looked around her nervously.
"NO!" Naruto said his voice rising slightly as he did so.
Now everyone's attention was on him, including his wide eyed sisters.
"You always say we'll talk later, or that you need to focus on Erza and Mito's training because of that bloody fox! I've had enough or your lies! I've had enough…just tell me the truth. You were never going to train me, were you…?" Naruto said beyond caring as he vented the anger he had been building up all these years.
Silence, heavy and thick silence settled throughout the whole room as Naruto's voice carried across the room. Naruto could see the adults sending each other looks…yet no one seemed surprised to hear his allegations against his parents.
Finally after what seemed like forever Minato stepped forward, standing between Naruto and the rest of their family and sending Naruto a sad look as he sighed. Naruto could also see Jiraiya moving to stand next to his father, his face stern but mostly blank.
"Your right Naruto…we never intended to train you. But you have to understand why, understand that your condition makes it too dangerous. Your body is too-." Minato began to say crouching down slightly so he could talk to his son on his level.
"Weak! That's what you think isn't it, that I'm weak." Naruto sad his ire increasing as he gave into his childish fit of anger, which was not surprising really as he was actually a child.
The words seemed to hit his family like a physical blow, making his father Minato flinch while Kushina, Erza and Mito looked away from him. Finally it was Jiraiya who snapped, stepping forward and starring at Naruto with an impassive face that made the young blonde's body tense.
"That's exactly why kid, you are weak. Your body is not strong enough to go through the strain of Shinobi training, you can barely carry yourself from day to day. It's time you saw the truth Naruto…you will never be a ninja…" Jiraiya said tired of all beating around the bush, it was time someone told the boy the truth, it was the best thing for everyone involved.
Naruto had started taking steps back the more Jiraiya spoke, his words ringing in his head over and over. The tears he had been holding for so long finally started to escape his eyes and stream down his face as people backed away from him, no one seeming to be able to look him in the eye as he ran from the room.
...
If you're too impatient to wait for updates, the story's already at chapter 96 on P atreon.
p atreon.com/sybife