A/N: Hey! So this is the first chapter of my very first fanfic. I'm new here so all comments are appreciated. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but please don't flame. I hope you enjoy the story :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. However this story and the OC are mine.

Chapter 1: Meeting You

Part 1: Naruto

It was a beautiful October morning in the village of Konoha. The sun was shining, the autumn leaves coloring the village in a mix of red and gold. The streets were buzzing with people. Everyone was happy. Everyone but one small child.

Uzumaki Naruto was not having a good day. The four-year old had accidentally dropped a plate when he had wanted to eat breakfast in the orphanage, and all hell had broken loose. Naruto took his punishment without a word. If he screamed they would only hit him more. He had adapted, it had become normal. But this morning the beatings were extra harsh. October tenth was approaching after all.

Naruto may have been young, but he knew that the beatings, the glares, the insults and the loneliness were always worse in October. The closer his birthday came, the more he had to go into hiding. So after the beatings that morning, he had run away from the orphanage and had kept running. He always went into the forest, finding that when he went there, no one came after him. In the forest his wounds got the chance to heal. When he saw some early drunks, he had to turn to another side of the forest. He always tried his best to avoid them, as they were the ones who would usually beat him. So he ran and ran until he was out of breath.

He hunched over near the base of a tree. Cradling his broken arm. His ribs felt like they were on fire, he was seeing spots and feeling sick. His legs hurt, his back was torturing him. He was covered in bruises. And it hurt.

Naruto may have become accustomed to the beatings and may have seen it as something that was an everyday occurrence, but that didn't lessen the pain, it didn't lessen the hurt and loneliness he was feeling. He just wanted a friend, he just wanted to be accepted.

Of course he had wished for far more things than that but it would mean the world to him if only those two things would come true. Besides he knew… those other, secret wishes would never be granted. The wishes he shouted out in his heart when the glaring was so bad it was suffocating, when the beatings got so bad he just wanted to die, when he watched those families from afar…

But he knew it was impossible for someone to love him, to care for him, to worry for him. He knew he would never have someone to hug or cry with. Never have someone who would cook for him, scold him or fuss over him. Someone to just be there with him, talk to him, play ninja-tag with him, someone who would lift that blanket of intense loneliness that was almost suffocating him. But of course even though he didn't have those things and knew, just knew he would never get them either, he kept smiling, kept getting up again even though he was constantly brought down. He wouldn't let them win, never! Because I'm Uzumaki Naruto! He thought.

Naruto tightened his grip on his arm, curling into a smaller ball. The tears came, just like they always did. And like always he cried alone. His small form hidden by the leaves and branches of the tree he was hiding under. His orange shirt and brown shorts blending in with the autumn colored leaves.

He thought back to the times he saw kids with their family; playing, laughing, being happy. Kids running out of their house, knowing that their parents would be there for them, to welcome them, to fuss over them, to get angry at them… For the millionth time, his thoughts wandered to his own parent. Who were they? Had they abandoned him? Were they alive? Dead? Why weren't they here with him?

Why did you leave me, mom, dad? Why am I here alone?

And as he cried, the skies darkened. As if feeling his sadness, his pain, his suffering, his scathing loneliness, the sky opened its heart and it rained. As if crying with him. He sat there leaning against a tree, sobbing and listening to the rain. And it soothed him, just like he imagined a mothers hug would. He felt at peace. A small smile lingered on his face as he closed his eyes and whispered two small words to the wind. "Thank you…" He relaxed, letting his guard down for the first time in months, and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Part 2: Minato & Kushina

In heaven there was a red-headed woman, she was crying, clinging to her blond-haired companion. They sat before the river of life; watching over the living world. They both had a look of agonizing pain, regret, sadness, longing and love on their face. Reflected in the river they saw a malnourished and hurt five-year old boy, lying against a tree trunk, a small smile on his face as he dreamed.

The two of them had been watching him all this time, every step of the way. When the two of them had died, Kushina had gone to heaven and Minato had been eaten by the Shinigami, doomed to fight the Kyuubi for all eternity. But Kami had decided to grant Minato's soul heaven too, because he had so selflessly sacrificed himself for his village, saving millions of people.

"Minato…" She whispered. Her voice rough and strained by tears and sadness. Minato tightened his grip on his red-headed companion.

"Yeah, Kushina-chan?" he whispered in an equally tired voice.

"I…I can't watch him like this. Naruto-chan didn't deserve this…." Her breath catching in her throat, a familiar itching beginning in her nose and in her swollen eyes, her usual fire dimmed by the grief of seeing their child so broken. Helpless to do anything about it. Minato screwed his eyes shut, clenching his teeth as he answered.

"I know…I'm so sorry." He had sacrificed his son, his life for a village that now treated their savior as if he were the shit of the world. And it hurt him, because he had wanted a happy life for Naruto. He had wanted a happy life for the villagers too. He had wanted them to see his son as the hero that had saved them, not as the monster he had defeated. He was just so disappointed

"It's so sad that they see Naruto as the fox instead of the hero that saved them. I really thought that they would understand... I didn't want Naruto to bear this burden alone." Minato told his wife. She closed her eyes and leaned closer to him. But he had been the Hokage. It was his duty to protect his village and all the villagers in it. Even if it meant that he would die and leave his son to bear the burden that he had left. Kushina calmed down and took a look at her son again, drinking in his features, as she had done so many times before.

"Naruto's become so cute. He's totally your mini-me." Minato smiled.

"He's got the shape of your face and his nose is definitely yours." Kushina made a noise in the back of her throat, agreeing with him.

"He's a bit on the thin side though. If I were there, I would probably be feeding him tons and tons. I... would have him started on chakra training and he would be friends with Mikoto's son. Sasuke, right? And Hikari's cute child Hinata. Maybe they'll end up together when they're older." She sniggered.

"Ah, but I don't think it'll be easy for him. All those Hyuuga's are so uptight— No sense of humor. Hikari is probably the only one that can smile and not have her face cracked. Tch. I swear all of them have a stick up their ass the size of the Hokage tower!" Minato and Kushina smiled at that.

"If I was there, I would kiss him goodnight, and read him a story every night." Minato continued.

"We would all have diner together, unless one of us was on a mission. I wonder what he would think about me being the Hokage. Would he be proud? Or would he hate me for all the expectations he has to reach?

We would all go to Ichiraku's and all have some ramen. I would take countless of pictures of us as a family. And of course with Kakashi-kun, too. When he was older, I would teach him the Rasengan and Hirashin. He would probably love the jutsu library that we have built in these years." Kushina nodded against his shoulder.

"If, if…Only if. We can't do anything but watch. And it's so… frustrating. Not being able to do anything."

"We're only able to watch…"

"If only someone… someone cared enough. I wish Naruto had someone to protect him and teach him. To love him, like we would have loved him…" Kushina closed her eyes and a silent tear dribbled down her cheek, as she cried for her broken family, for the helplessness she was feeling and for her son that nobody loved.

Part 3: Miu

Tsukino Miu was hungry. No she was absolutely starving! She had eaten nothing but shitty ration bars and now that the mission was complete she was eager to get some real food. "Hey guys, I'll see you later okay!" She waved her farewell to her teammates and took to the rooftops, going in the direction of the dango shop she had fallen in love with. Her black haired ponytail trailing behind her.

It had been six months since her parents had died and she had moved to Konoha. She had been doing missions ever since, gaining quite a reputation. She still missed them a lot. They had gotten so close after the clan massacre four years ago. The three-story house was still too empty sometimes. But she was glad she had made some amazing friends.

She walked into the dango shop, immediately seeing one of said friends devouring dango as if her life depended on it. She sat down in front of her and called her order.

"Good morning, Anko. Scarfing down dango again, I see." She said, a smirk on her face.

"Goof mornging, Miu-chan." She answered with her mouth still full. At Miu's glare, she swallowed the dango she had been eating before talking again.

"Good to see you again, I was getting bored! Tch! No one can give me a spar like you can. Are you up for one?" She asked. Meanwhile Miu's dango was given and she, like the dignified clan leader she was supposed to be, picked up the dango sticks and started inhaling them. Anko grinned at her and she just shrugged. Her clan was dead, her parents were gone too. There was no one to berate her for eating like a pig. Really sometimes they had been even worse than those Hyuuga's. And man, they totally had a stick up their ass the size of the Hokage monument!

"Sorry, today's a no-go. I have a report to write and I want to finish that medical seal I was working on. What do you think of tomorrow?" Anko of course crossed her arms and pouted like the fourteen year old she was. But then she just shrugged and agreed.

"Tomorrow morning, then?" Miu nodded.

"Wanna join me for my morning run again? It would be fun just you, me … and Gai." She asked her friend, who effectively choked on the dango she was eating. Miu just laughed in her face, her sapphire blue eyes twinkling as her friend struggled to breath and helpfully thumped her on the back.

"Y-you, bitch! You're evil! No thanks! You're totally the only one in Konoha who can keep up with that…. Thing! He wears green, damnit! A green spandex!" She shivered only thinking about it.

"And he talks about the fires of youth?" Miu laughed at the wide-eyed expression on the other Kunoichi's face.

"Miu! Don't say that, okay! I get sick of hearing it. And do you know what's worse?! That Genjutsu that just appears out of nowhere behind him. Last time I saw it, I almost went blind. I'm scarred for life!" She ended, dramatically waving a stick full of dango around, before swallowing them. Miu just raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't you traumatized with the snake man, already? I don't think it can get anywhere near as bad as that." Anko just shrugged again.

"True. And it's probably the same for you. I swear your clan members let you fall on your head with how you turned out." Miu grinned at her.

"That's probably true. Who knows right?"

Anko had been the first friend Miu made when she came to Konoha. She had come to eat some Dango, trying to eat away the grief. When they had noticed each other, they had promptly started a glaring match. After that they had both acknowledged each other and eventually they had become really good friends. Telling each other things that they had never talked to anyone else about. Anko about her time with the snake bastard and Miu about her dead clan and their inhuman training and expectations of her.

Miu and Anko both finished their dango and talked about their missions, catching up with each other like they always did. They both got up after a while.

"Ah, I have to go and write that damn report. I'll see you tomorrow morning, eh Anko. Oh and just so you know, I am not going drinking tonight. If you come ask, I'll wake you up for the run-of-doom." Anko paled, making Miu smirk.

"I won't!" Anko quickly responded. Miu nodded.

"Good. Bye Bye!" she waved her friend goodbye and took the road home, instead of the roofs. Miu enjoyed the scenery. The beautiful trees covered with the colors of autumn, the kids playing around and the parents watching with an amused or sometimes worried smile. She watched as they laughed together. How nice…. She was glad that these kids could live so carefree. There was no war to worry about. She didn't have that kind of childhood, having been trained ever since she started talking. There had been no time to play…

She looked up at the sky. The clouds that had gathered that morning were gone and the sun was shining again. The rain that had fallen this morning had been strangely soothing. It had reminded her of her parents.

She entered the woods. Following the path almost subconsciously. Instinctively she released a chakra pulse to see if there was someone close by. Normally people wouldn't come here, but she had many enemies and it would never hurt anyone to be on guard. So she stopped dead in her tracks when she found another chakra signature. It was big but uncontrolled. A kid that had potential, probably from a ninja clan. She followed it and found the kid she had sensed.

It was a blond kid, well had been a blond kid. His hair was matted with blood, his clothes were torn. Standing from here, it seemed as if he were dead. But Miu could see the slight going up and down of his chest to know he was alive.

The medic in her kicked in and she smoothly made her way to the small child. She made some hand seals and ran a glowing hand over his body. He had three broken ribs, a broken leg, a cracked sternum, his back was badly hurt and he had numerous bruises over his body. Her eyes narrowed as she probably guessed what had happened. Who would do something like this to a child? She got up and for a second wondered where she would take him. The hospital or her own home? Well she was only a few steps away, so she went home. She directly went up to one of the guest rooms and laid the child there.

First she cleaned his wounds and then closed them up with medical ninjutsu. She wetted a towel and gently washed his hair and face clean. When she was done she got a better look at him. The boy was definitely malnourished. He had cute blond hair and his cheeks had three cute whisker like markings. She gently traced them. The kid totally had an angelic face. And it made her angry at the bastards that hurt this child. No matter what they did wrong, no child deserved to be beaten up. If she hadn't been there he would have died. By his injuries or because of hypothermia.

She had never seen him before, but that couldn't mean anything. After all, of the six months she had been here, she was almost always on a mission. She just met up with her friends, trained, made new seals and sometimes worked in the hospital.

She gently brushed his blond locks and got up. She went to her room, got the scrolls she needed and went back to the guest room. The kid would definitely get up disoriented. It would be better if she was here so that she could at least explain the situation.

She sat down at the desk and started writing her mission report.

Part 4: Hiroshi & Kazumi

Up in heaven another pair sat at the river of life. They watched their daughter with proud reflected in their green eyes. Glad that she had grown into a beautiful, strong and responsible woman.

"Did you see how she handled those bastards?" Hiroshi, Miu's dad asked his wife.

"She got that move from you, dear." His wife responded with a grin.

They both laughed at her scarfing down dango's with her friend.

"I think it's better that she was released from the chains of the clan. She has become more free, she dropped the masks that she used to wear around us. It's like she's finally experiencing what she should have as a child." Kazumi said, a sadness in her eyes. Hiroshi laid his hand on his wife's hand, a sad smile on his face.

"That's true, I'm just glad that we're still able to see it from here. Even though she may not know it, we're always watching over her. It's been only six months, but I'm so proud to have seen her grow like that. I just wish I could have told her." Kazumi just nodded her head. And they both sat there watching as their sixteen year old daughter went home.

The two of them suddenly focused again as they saw a familiar blond.

"Hey, isn't that…" Kazumi began, as she saw the bloodied kid, her daughter brought home.

"I think it is. Minato's kid, right?"

Hiroshi and Kazumi looked up as the mist on their right side began to dissolve. Two figures became visible, slowly revealing a familiar blond and redhead. Both of the couples looked at each other in shock. Kushina and Kazumi both raised a finger at the other at the same time.

"Aaaah!" they both called out.

"Kushina!" "Kazumi!" The two women bellowed at the same time again. They both got up and ran into each other's arms. Not believing they were meeting their friend here in heaven.

The men finally snapped out of the shock and got up too.

"Hiroshi!" Minato called out with a grin on his face.

"Minato, how have you been?!" Hiroshi called back just as enthusiastically. To hell with the clan customs! They were dead and could act like they wanted to! That's why the two of them ran up to each other, embracing each other in a manly hug.

When both couples were finally done, they broke out of their hugs and looked their friends over again with a smile.

"I can't believe you guys are here!" Hiroshi commented.

"Yeah! How is this even possible?" Kushina replied.

Conveniently, just at that moment an angel arrived. And all of their eyes turned to him. "I'll explain it to you."

Part 5: Miu and Naruto: first meeting

Miu sighed as she put down her pen. She threw her head and arms back and stretched out her sore muscles. Her damn mission report was finally done. This was the only part she hated about being a mission leader. It was way too much work… luckily her mission had only been two weeks. But it still was a lot to write down. She rolled it up, put a seal on it and put it in her scroll organizer. She would go and deliver this to old man Sandaime tomorrow. She pulled out another scroll and left it on her desk. She got up and made her way to the door. It was almost 7 o'clock and she was hungry. She glanced at the kid still sleeping in her room and went to prepare dinner for two. She wasn't in the mood for something complicated, so she just boiled some rice, fried some chicken and made miso soup. She put the tea kettle up and made some green tea for herself.

Uzumaki Naruto slowly woke up from his sleep, as he groggily opened his eyes to an unknown ceiling. Huh, where am I? He looked around the room. By the light falling in from the windows he could make out that it was evening already and that they were in the middle of the forest. Forest… all the memories from the day rushed back to him and when he inspected his body, he saw he was already healed. A frown marred his small face as he looked at his body in confusion. Okay this was just ridiculous. He knew healed fast, but he had never healed this fast before. By moving around too much, the slightly damp cloth that was on his forehead fell down on his lap and he looked at it, almost questioningly. Was someone taking care of me? But he quickly shook that thought out of his head. Not possible. Though he couldn't deny that there was this small little hope welling up inside of him. He was roughly brought out of his musings when his stomach growled loudly. He covered his stomach in embarrassment. He hadn't eaten since yesterday night. He had dropped his plate full of breakfast this morning, which had lead him to escape another beating to the forest. That lead to him being here. Where was 'here' anyway?

He smelled something delicious and slowly made his way out of the bed. Following his nose, he carefully made it down to the kitchen. He was shocked at how big this place was. He just hoped that it wasn't someone who would trick him again. The first time he had trusted a caretaker at the orphanage he had almost died from food poisoning. And after that, when he had trusted a child that wanted to play with him, he had been lead to a house filled with drunks who had beaten him inches to his life. From which he learned not to trust people too quickly.

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin when someone put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked up and was met with smiling face of the woman who was kneeling in front of him. Her smile was so gentle is made his heart squeeze. How could she look at him like that?

"Hey there, kiddo, good to see you're awake, did you sleep well?" she asked him in a gentle voice. Naruto just stared at her dumbly, that little ball of hope growing bigger. Why was she being so nice? He absolutely loved it, but he was afraid that in a few seconds she would realize who he was and that those gentle eyes would turn on his with just as much hate as the rest of the villagers. And he would hate that, because he would be all alone again.

He wasn't able to look away from her warm blue eyes. She's so nice, Maybe I can even trust her. He stared at the woman in front of her. There was no deceit in her eyes. Only sincere happiness.

"Ah…" he mumbled. Not really knowing what to say. No one had really wanted to talk to him, except for old man Hokage on his monthly visits to the orphanage, and he hadn't been allowed to tell him anything.

"I'm Tsukino Miu." She suddenly said and Naruto looked up at her again. she smiled at him reassuringly.

"What's your name?" she asked him and he was kind of shocked that she didn't seem to know him. Everyone seemed to know his name, always saying it as if it were a curse.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He finally said, at this Miu looked shocked for a second, before a wide grin spread on her face.

"That's a beautiful name, Naruto-kun!" Said boy blushed crimson red at the praise.

"Ah, thank you, Tsukino-san." He said, fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

She picked him up with ease, gaining a squeak from the small boy in her arms, as she surprised him. She put him down on a chair in front of a small feast. His eyes widened and his mouth watered at the sight. It looked delicious, nothing like the food he got from the orphanage that always seemed too black and too bitter to eat. But Naruto had never complained, even when he saw that it was different from the food that the other kids got.

Tsukino-san sat down on the other side and looked at him. "I'm sorry, it's nothing much, but I wasn't really in the mood to cook long." He looked up at her, a bit shocked. This was nothing much?! It was more food than he had ever gotten to eat in his life! He just shook his head and hesitantly picked up the chopsticks. He looked up again, and the woman just smiled at him and clapped her hands together, shouting an 'Itadakimasu' before picking up her own chopstick and starting to eat. Naruto just watched her and he looked down at his food again.

He almost fell of his chair as he felt a hand rest on his shoulder again. He looked to his right to see the woman who had been sitting right in front of him a second ago. How the hell was she able to move so fast?! She had a concerned look on her face as she asked him if he was okay.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked him. He just shook his head.

"No, that not it…" he said.

He looked up at her again and saw a confused expression on her face. Then her eyes just lit up and he was a little taken aback by the grin marring her face.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun." She said as she patted his head. An action that confused him a little. Where had he seen this before? "You can eat if you want. Don't hold back, okay?" she added as she got up and went back to her seat. She sat down and began eating again. Naruto picked up his chopsticks again and picked up a bit of his rice and brought it to his mouth. It was delicious. He didn't remember eating something so delicious ever in his life! He looked up at the woman that just gently smiled again.

"Do you like it?" She asked softly. He smiled at her, a real genuine smile as he nodded enthusiastically.

"It's delicious! Thank you!" He exclaimed. She just grinned at him.

"Then you should keep eating or it'll get cold!" He nodded and dug into this delicious meal, telling her that he loved it every once in a while, meaning every word of it.

It hurt… Seeing this kid's eyes that looked upon the world with such a distrusting look, seeing him so wary and on guard hurt her. A kid shouldn't have those kind of eyes. Those kind of tired eyes that had seen too much for his age, he shouldn't have those shadows lurking behind them, telling her of a hard and dark past. He shouldn't have that questioning look as she patted him on his head. As if he had never been touched gently, as if he had never been smiled at, as if that simple touch was a puzzle to be solved.

He shouldn't be enjoying her food so much. He should be picky, not look at it as if it was the biggest feast he had seen.

He shouldn't have been like this if Konoha claimed to be the most peaceful, the most merciful village in the whole elemental nations. He shouldn't have looked as if he had been isolated and hated all of his small life. He shouldn't have looked as if he had only gotten garbage to eat.

He was probably an orphan.

She smiled at him gently as he ate her food and smiled a smile so pure it made her heart break.

Who would have mistreated this child so much he had turned out this way? Underneath the table her fist clenched painfully hard, her anger rising. Who would have dared to treat this child as if he were a punching bag? She would get them for sure… if she could just find out where he lived. Probably the Konoha Orphanage… she had been meaning to go there. Maybe cook a meal for these kids that had lost their families. If she had done that, would she have found this child alone somewhere? It didn't look like he had a friend. His eyes would've been a lot brighter.

Somehow his eyes reminded her of her own when she was his age. Getting trained every day to a breaking point, having no friends, there was almost no one she could trust, people always wore a mask in front of her. Probably trying to gain the favor of the future clan head. There had been so much deceit… but at least she had had her parents and …

Wait a minute…

She looked at him again. blond hair, blue eyes. That smile… whisker marks on his cheeks.

Uzumaki...

He reminded her of him. Her dad's best friend, boyfriend of her mother's best friend… practically an uncle to her.

Namikaze Minato, the yellow flash of Konoha… had a kid?