A morning unlike any other

The typical day for one Naruto Uzumaki began like any other; mostly anyway.

Open your eyes. Whine about waking up. Roll around in bed. Begrudgingly rise. Bathroom activities. Cold shower. Instant ramen. Clothes. Slapping the rest of the sleep away. Go to the academy or ditch.

Many times, the only deviation from this daily schedule would be the words of complaint about the three minutes it takes to make instant ramen or choosing between clothing to wear for the day. To this day, Naruto could never understand why it was called instant ramen and why it needs three minutes to cook. If it was instant ramen, then why wasn't it instant? Isn't that openly mislabelling a product?

Regardless, the day was typical. Or at least it should've been until he sat down in his seat. Now, he gathered the attention of everyone in the room as he suddenly stood up with a surprised yell.

"What is it Naruto?" queried Iruka as he put down his chalk and stared at the bewildered blonde.

"That!" he said, pointing in front of him. "You don't see that?"

Iruka tilted his head in confusion as he searched for what Naruto mentioned. "See what Naruto? I don't see anything."

"But it's right there! A circle thing is floating right in front of me!"

Kiba snickered. "Sensei. I think Naruto finally lost it." Everyone laughed to Naruto's disbelief.

"I'm not crazy and I'm not lying! There is something there!" he shouted. "Why does nobody believe me!"

"Okay, Naruto. Calm down. Maybe you didn't have enough rest today. Go to the infirmary and get checked."

"But-"

"No buts." Naruto lost all fight within him as he nodded and left the room with his books per Iruka's request.

In the hallway, he sighed. "I swear I'm not crazy. Why can't anyone else see it?"

[Press it.]

He stopped at the sudden words in front of him. "What the?"

[Press it.]

[All will be clear.]

{~Focus~}

With nothing to lose, he did. At first, nothing happened. The button didn't change in any shape, color, or form so the sudden effect was unexpected. Blinking multiple times, he noticed that the circle and its word was gone. However, that's not what captured his attention.

It was the abrupt brightness boost of the world like someone decided that the world was too dark and magnified it that threw Naruto off. The trees outside were greener, the sky was bluer, the ground was a brighter shade of brown, the white walls seemed cleaner through parts of it was worn out. Then there were the details.

The almost invisible stain on the corner of the doors of a classroom, the very small broken part of the window, the slightly cracked floor, the multiple scents of lavender, flowers, sweat, wood, and others, his flawed and dirty clothing, the small ant walking right beside him, and many more. There was just so much of everything.

Eventually, he reached his destination, and the scent of medicine and hospital invaded his nose. He took a step back as the sudden discomfort created a pit in his stomach. One deep breath later, he entered, to his displeasure, and was glad that nobody was there. Finding a free bed, he went to it and laid down.

His senses were out of control and it was highly distracting. One second he was going through memories and discovering hidden details in them, and another moment he was smelling coffee and hearing footsteps from an unknown direction. To his amazement, a lady wearing a lab coat came to the infirmary with a drink at hand and very familiar footsteps.

"Hello," she greeted cheerily. "Sorry for not being here. I was getting my morning drink. Can't live without it you know?" Slurping it one more time, she sat down on her desk. "What can I help you with?"

"Uh. Nothing actually. I was too tired because I slept late last night and my teacher sent me here to get some rest."

"Got it. Go ahead. Continue what you were doing. I'll be here if you need anything." She smiled as she patted Naruto's head.

"R-right."

He couldn't believe that someone was being nice to him. She even smiled at him and gave him a head pat.

Do it again.

"U-um..."

"Yes?"

"Could you...nevermind." He turned around immediately and escaped to his bed. 'AHH!! So embarrassing! Can't believe I was about to ask for that! What am I? Three?'

The nurse shrugged and went back to doing her reports, and Naruto chose to hit the books. Normally, he would stare at the title and do something else, but he had a good feeling. Maybe today was the day that he won't nearly die of boredom.

A minute passed. Five minutes passed. Half an hour passed. Nearly an hour passed and there were no signs of Naruto stopping. He was so into the book that Hana, the school nurse, didn't bother reminding him to return to class. It was certainly admirable that kids can have that level of focus and she knew what it feels like to have someone destroy your concentration. Hence why she let him do whatever he wanted for however long he wanted even if she had an ulterior motive to satisfy her curiosity.

Was she going to be scolded later? Sure. It'll be worth it though. Her personal belief was that she would rather meet a person before judging them. Meeting Naruto Uzumaki, she was glad that she stuck true to her ways. He was no monster. He wasn't a demon. He is just a boy. A boy who has unfairly received harsh treatment from a village. Why the Hokage never explained Sealing Jutsu to the ignorant civilians is something she is starting to question.

Perhaps the Third being her grandmaster could earn her the right to have a meaningful conversation. Surely he can make time for Tsunade's protégé.