Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or characters, but I can pretend to. Dattebayo.

The paths we chose

Many people consider me stupid. An idiot. Dead last. They thought that I would never amount to anything, that I truly was a waste of human space, of human consideration, undeserving of love. At first, I thought it was my fault. I blamed myself, and I tried to do everything in my power to make it up to them, to show them that I wasn't worthless. That I was somebody.

So, I acted like an idiot, like a clown, a fool, to get they're attention. Because if they laughed at me, it was so much better than them glaring. If they laughed at my pranks, then it was like they were laughing with me. And then I wouldn't be so lonely. I did everything to show them I was a good kid, that I wasn't a demon like they called me behind my back.

No one believed me, at first. Even I didn't believe in myself. But…I wanted someone to call family. I wanted to call someone family so badly, but no one wanted to take placement. No one wanted to be associated with me. And I didn't know why. I had never been a bad kid, other kids were a lot worse than me, I always thought, as I saw they way they treated their parents. If I had parents, I'd follow them all day. If I had a big brother or sister, I would have them teach me, play with while the parents were gone. Maybe an aunt, or an uncle, or grandparents…

But I, who has been alone since I could remember, who had never known human kindness, or love, wanted those things so badly, but for some reason could not have. I wanted a family, I wanted some one to take away all this pain. Just one person, I wouldn't be greedy. But if there was one person in this world for me, one person who wanted me in anyway, then I would make sure to do everything for them. I would never let anyone hurt them.

One day, a day I loathed, but other kids celebrated, my 6th birthday, the old man Hokage, who I thought was the closest to a grandfather and family as I would get, had decided to take me on a walk with him through the park. We talked, like always in the rare chances he could sneak away to be with me. But on this day, after hearing some kids talk about it while playing in the park by myself, I was curious to what actually a Hokage was, and I flat out asked him.

The old man had this weird smile on his face as he answered the question. A very strong ninja who was in charge of the village, but usually stuck behind a desk doing paperwork that should be left to people who actually knew what the paperwork was. I must have had a weird look on my face, because he was laughing. "Why would someone do that? I want to fight, why stay here?" A look came over the old man, later I recognized it as a grandfather's fondness, or something akin to it.

"Because, this village is my home. The village where my family, my precious people, live, and they in turn love this village as well. And though I don't agree with many of the citizens and ninja all the time, they too, are my family. And I will do what I must, to protect them, and this village."

He left a while later, and I was left to think about what he said. The village, with these mean people, were his family? This village, where his precious people were? If it was me, I'd just move my precious people away, some where much better.

A few weeks later, I was walking through the park, bored, as no one wanted to play with me, and their parents yelled at me to go away, calling me those names again. So, I was surprised, that further along the, were a group of kids, bullying a little girl. Normally, I wouldn't bother, seeing as I had my own fair share of troubles, and that their parents would probably find me later and beat me up…again.

But, the little girl was crying so loud, and asking them to leave her alone, but they just wouldn't. And I could not just walk away, no matter how many times I tell myself not to get involved in things. It was just a part of my nature. So, in a surprise attack, and in a rare display of skills that I never allowed myself to show, I took out the kid that looked like a leader. A girl with purple hair, and a nasty face.

The other kids around the little girl now turned on me, and the nasty purple haired girl got up, a bruise forming on her cheek, her lip busted, and a little blood came out of the corner of her mouth. Her voice was annoying and shrilly, "How dare you hurt a girl?!!" Her friends repeated this, along with other things. I shrugged, glaring at the little group, "I could say the same. But, seeing as your going to the ninja Academy, that means you want to be a ninja. And just cause you're a girl, doesn't mean you get mercy."

With that, they now were beating me. I would like to say that I had magnificently beat them all, but 7 kids on one, the odds had never been in my favor. But at least I could say I gave them a good hit here or there, and a lot of them had lost some baby teeth. They left me in a heap, as they ran off to tell their parents that I had ambushed them, and revenge will be sought later on. Once they were out of view, I just sat up, not really affected by them. I've had worse. Much worse.

"Ano…are you Uzumaki Naruto? The kid I hear about that the parents say is bad?" I turned at the voice, to find a girl with soft pink hair, tears running down her face, and a bruise on her cheek. This must be the girl they had been picking on, though I had thought she ran away. I nodded, waiting for her to run in terror like the rest. To leave me to my misery.

But, I was surprised, when she crouched down beside me, and kissed my tender whiskered cheek. I must have looked funny, because she giggled cutely, and said, "Arigatou, Naruto." And with that, she ran off, and I could hear someone calling the name Sakura, and a bit far off, I saw her hug an older woman with pink hair.

I sat there, until the sun began to set, more than capable of getting up, but I felt so grounded, that I barely began to move. Someone had said thank you…someone had noticed me…and they kissed me on the cheek…and it was such a pretty girl too. Pink hair, just like her namesake. A goofy smile came on to my face, as I headed to Hokage tower. I was let through, even this late, because the old man had done something so I could.

I knocked, though I normally just burst in, and when he let me enter, I still had a bruise and some cuts, and blood on my shirt. The old man was frantic, as he came over to check if anything really bad had happened, and I put a hand on his, and stared him straight in the eye,

"Jiji-san…even if it sucks to be a Hokage, and you get hurt a lot, to protect people, you still feel really good right here, right?" I pointed with my other hand towards my heart. The old man looked at me here, that same weird look on his face. "Yes…how would you describe this feeling, Naruto?" It took me awhile, to find words that could just describe this sensation inside of me, this overwhelming feeling.

"Like a really hot fire, but it's really small right now…but it feels like it's going to get bigger…and I feel…not really happy…but happy…I don't know how to describe it." The old man smiled at me with what I later learned a very proud, nostalgic look. "That is how every Hokage feels, when he protects his loved ones, protects his family." I looked away for a bit, trying to figure out just what this feeling was. It was some girl…some very pretty girl…who thanked me, who had kissed me, despite knowing who I was… And I felt that the flame inside of me strengthened by a gust of wind and the thought of her, brought more breath into me, more life and fire.

For the first time in my life, I truly became serious about something, as I looked the old man in the face, no fake grin or smile. And I said, "Then my path is to be a Hokage, Jiji-san. And that hat belongs to me." The old man laughed heartedly, taking off the hat and plopping the over sized object on my head, not fitting quite yet, and picking me up with ease despite his old age. He carried me to the window, where the sun was falling and twilight was settling in. He spoke up, in a very cryptic sentence.

"You still have far to go, Naruto-kun, not even into the night yet, to the darkest times…but I believe with all my heart, that you will become the new burning fire in the sky, the new sunrise, when the time comes." I won't say that I completely understood him, he was an odd guy some times, but deep down, I felt like on some level, I understood perfectly.

"You say the weirdest stuff sometimes, Jiji-san." He laughed again, as we stared at the last tendrils of light fighting back the twilight.

Author Commentary:

ZOMG!!! I thought this was AWESOME!!!! First person of Naruto, and how he came about with the decision to be Hokage, and his future love for Sakura. You see them all the time, but I usually suck at one shots, and I could leave it just there…but now I really want to create a story out of it too…AHHH!!! Sometimes I hate being creative, because I always jump from one thing to the next, because just a slight variation in the original story I plan, creates a whole new story with me. So I'm constantly making 4or 10 stories with just one basic idea or twist. GAHHHH!!!!

Anyway, I hope you all liked this, despite it's shortness. To me, not really cutesy, but Sakura had been a big impact on him, while he was pondering just what exactly a Hokage was.

Again, this may be just left as a one shot, which actually wouldn't be bad, but with me being me, it might turn into another full blown story, and then I'll veer off track and create a new one. We shall see.

OHHHHHH!!! IMPORTANT!!!! To me at least. If someone wants to make a picture of that last scene with the Hokage's foreboding words, I would so say go for it (as long i know about it), because I loved the imagery impact. You know, the old man holding onto Naruto who was wearing the hat, facing the big windows of the office, and you can see the village and the sky, and the approaching darkness barely kept away by the last of the setting sun. Because I was getting goose bumps at the whole thing. And I would love to put my own pictures on the net, but I don't have the capacity (my lap top sux, I kid you not. It sometimes shuts off because it overheats, and the memory is shit. It constantly smells like it will spontaneously combust), or the cool art programs like photoshop, coral, adobe, and what not. Yep, all I got is good ol' no use paint. *quietly cries as she stares at the expensive programs and scanner in want*.

Well, read it, review it, love it! Later.

Love to laugh, because that is the only way to live- Tiffany Carr

Wolf