I am a novice at this so please bear with me as I write my first true fanfic. I have a few others in the works, but this is one that I hope will be a flagship for things to come if it turns out well. I welcome any criticism and comments, even if they aren't constructive, as long as they aren't straight out general flaming, mostly because flaming does no good to anyone. While the main character is an OC, I will try my best to make him and any other OC characters that my appear fit in, although I will try to keep them to a minimum. A few characters will be OOC because of the way this story goes, taking an alternate plotline, with a semi-strong Naruto. Big thanks to LuciferDragon for beta-reading. Oh, and no owning Naruto for me.

Duck, jump, dive, dodge, punch, kick, run.

Day in and day out, Haru's routine remained the same. Get up, get dressed, steal some scraps, and keep himself alive from the bullies that tried to steal his spoils. His one dream was to be a ninja, but those aspirations were knocked down by his inability to even get the application fee. His hair, an interesting mix of both silver and golden locks, got in his face as he ran. They were larger than he was though, and with longer legs, and despite his best efforts, they caught up to him. Surrounding him, they taunted their target, who raised his fists, and prepared for the worst.

This bunch seemed worse than he had dealt with in the past, and they all had knives. A gang, he assumed, which meant that this was going to hurt pretty badly. Haru, being the mellow, kind hearted child he was, spoke out, "Aww, you bunch of wimps, you couldn't touch me if it was a hundred on one!"

The group lunged as one, and Haru was immediately fighting for his life. How he wished that he had the powers of a shinobi… But even as he swung a leg around and took down one bully, he was punched in the gut by another. His eight-year-old body was weak, compared to their fourteen-year-old ones. A knock to his head sentd him sprawling. Him being taller than average definitely didn't help in a fight like this. He was one person, and they numbered ten.

There wasn't a chance in the world he could win.

Not until each of them hit the ground almost simultaneously. The group dropped like stones as Haru felt himself being picked up by a pair of strong arms.

A sudden cloud of smoke enveloped Haru's vision and when it cleared, Haru was dropped unceremoniously on carpet. A man looked down at him, wearing a vest and a headband. Most of his face was covered by a black mask, and half of the remaining was covered by the headband. "Seems like you got yourself in a bit of trouble back there..." Haru just stared at his savior. This was Kakashi Hatake! He had been saved by a ninja, and that was amazing in itself, but to be saved by this man of all people...it wasn't possible. His head started to overload, and Kakashi caught him just before he fell. Sighing, the elite Jounin put his charge on the couch and started to make some tea.

Kakashi had been on his way home when he saw this kid running away from a group of older boys. Having nothing else to do, he followed, and was rather surprised at how well a fight the lone child was putting up. Nonetheless, he decided to step in, and quickly took down the gang. Bringing the kid home, he wasn't expecting his new charge to faint on him. Kakashi could feel the kid's chakra reserves were huge, which was surprising in itself, as most civilians had barely any chakra. Hell, the reserves within himself were possibly less. Kakashi would bring this mystery to the Hokage tomorrow morning. For now though, he might as well make sure that his guest was comfortable. Not to mention get him to take a shower!

As Kakashi walked back into the other room, the mystery sat there, his eyes wide and calculating. He seemed to be deciding whether to make a break for it, so Kakashi moved towards the couch and sat down. Yes, this boy would definitely need a bath. For now though, Kakashi would settle for some basic information. "So what's your name?"

"Haru"

"And your age?"

"I'm eight"

"Parents?"

"None of your concern."

"Place of birth?"

"Konoha. What's with the questions?"

"So you're an orphan?"

"I am now."

"Ever thought of being a ninja?"

At this question, Haru looked strangely at the man beside him. Never mind the other question, what was with that question? He answered carefully, "Yes … ... why?"

Kakashi didn't bother to sugarcoat it. "Because you have more damn chakra than any kid your age!" Haru just stared. Apparently no other ninja had noticed this and told the kid. Kakashi stared back, albeit with only one eye.

Kakashi sighed. "I'm taking you to see the hHokage tomorrow morning. In the meantime, take a shower. It's over there." He jerked a thumb towards the shower's location. "You can sleep on the couch, but don't try to run away." With that, Kakashi walked back into the kitchen, leaving Haru to his thoughts.

The next morning Kakashi started off towards the Hokage Tower as if he hadn't a care in the world. The child beside him was in some new clothes, courtesy of Kakashi., Nothing fancy, just a pair of shorts and a T-sShirt, but it was his first new outfit in months.

Haru was scared out of his mind, and though it didn't really show through, Kakashi was a Jounin who knew how to read people. As the duo approached their destination, Kakashi sighed and turned to his young companion. "Be as polite as you can. I'm not sure how many manners you have, but acting rude isn't going to earn you brownie points." Haru nodded and the two went inside.

And the first part is done. And it's short. I will try to make chapters longer. Any questions will be answered either on here or via PM. Thank you very much for reading, and I can only hope that this story gets better and better, though the above text isn't too bad for a first try I would say.