Konoha's resident jinchūriki was walking down the street to her home, her hands in her pockets and a frown on her face. She was looking to be about 7 or 8 years old, standing currently at 4'2. She had Sapphire Blue eyes, and shoulder-length Red hair with blond highlights.

She had just been to the playground where adults were yelling at her for trying to play with a pink-haired girl who usually got bullied. She kicked a empty can aside as continued her way home. Naru sighed tiredly as she neared her apartment building.

''Ah well, tomorrow's another day,'' she thought. ''Maybe I'll find someone who wants to be friends tomorrow...''

As her door came in sight, Naru felt that something was wrong; it was slightly ajar. Running up the last few steps, she got at her door and opened it. The villagers had broken open her door and messed her apartment up, again.

''Damn it!'' Naru inspected the damage done. "Why can't they just leave me alone? It's always me they decide to bully at the academy, it's always me the teachers blame, it's always me when something bad is going on!"

Why her? The question was something she often pondered on. Why was she always the one to get abused in the orphanage, school, and by every adult in the village? Though Naru appeared to be stupid on the outside, she definitely wasn't on the inside.

Naru looked around her demolished apartment. The couch was ripped open, the kitchen was full with glass shards and spoiled food and his bedroom was in the same horrible state as the rest. Graffiti adorned the walls, spelling out hurtful things.

Naruto fell to her knees, Tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't do this any longer. No, not anymore. Never again.

"I- I can't stay here any longer," Naru said to herself. "I…I just can't!"

Naru stood up and went to her closet and took out her backpack and began to gather her things. Ten minutes later she was done, her bag packed with essentials and a few things dear to her, like the ramen bowl he got from her Jiji.

"I'm sorry, Jiji, but I can't stay here any longer- I won't stay here any longer. I…I just…I'm sorry."

Naru looked down and frowned, her clothes were too bright, meaning she'd be easier to spot when she tried to leave. Quickly she took off her beige shorts and green shirt, packed them and put on her only pair of black pants and shirt. She put on the black goggles she got for her last birthday from the Third and shoved them up to cover her forehead. She strapped her kunai and shuriken pouches on and made her way to the door while putting on her backpack and strapping it tightly.

Later

Naru panted heavily, cursing under her breath as she finally made a stop, just a mile or so out of Konoha. She felt a mixed feeling of anxiety, sadness and euphoria in her stomach. She could barely believe she got out of Konoha without being spotted.

'It's…it's over…' she thought, actually smiling for once. 'The beatings, the glares, all of them…no more…'

Sighing, she tightened her backpack, and now began to calmly walk as she looked for a new home.

One Day Later

Naru's Stomach growled, and she sighed. 'To bad I already ate the Ramen.' She thought. 'I should have stretched that out a bit more…and these damn cuts are not making it any better.' Just a few hours ago she was attacked by a lone wolf. Though after a few minutes of fighting it ran off, it still messed her up. Her clothes were now tattered, she had cuts across her right arm, and the wolf got lucky and there was a small gash across her head.

'I should have left a little more better equipped…' she thought. 'Then again, none of the stores would sell me what I needed…'

However, she then sniffed her nose. 'Is that…a fire?' she thought. 'Fire means people, and people mean food!' she then followed her nose, and soon enough she came across a small campsite. There were five people gathered around a campfire, with three different tents set up around the fire.

What got her by surprise was the age of a few of the people with them. Three of them looked to be about as old as she was, while the other looked to be about as old as Iruka was, if not younger.

The first she noticed was the only girl in the group. She was around 3'8" with slightly tanned skin and long wavy blonde hair that went just past her shoulder blades, green eyes and was wearing a dark blue tank top with black skin tight shorts covered by a dark blue battle skirt. On her back was a strange barrel-looking object with a strange smaller-barrel on top of it, that looked a bit like half of a binocular, and a pair of knives strapped to her thighs.

The Second was male. He was about an inch or two taller than Naru, with short brown hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing a dark red/black t-shirt with arm warmers and a pair of black/red shorts along with a pair of shinobi sandals. He had two Ninjoto's strapped on his back in an X formation, with a similar barreled object, minus the smaller barrel on top of it.

The third male was probably the tallest of the other two at 4'1. He had short brown hair along with the oddest eyes Naru had ever seen, they were green with golden flecks in them. He was wearing a dark green t-shirt and a pair of black khakis'. He had another barrel-like object, but it looked more slim, and seemed to have a 'pump' on it.

Finally, the eldest of the whole group. He looked to be around his mid-twenties or so. He was standing at 6'2" with Long Brown hair tied into a long spiked ponytail on the top of his head, and dropped down to the back of his head. He also had Grey eyes, and surrounding his left eye was some Crimson War-paint stilled like a slash. He was wearing what looked like a customized Jonin uniform that was almost entirely red, with leather shoulder guards, chest plating, pants, and boots with steel knee guards, and bracers. His Hai-ate was around his forehead and a ninjato on his back that was next to another barrel-like object, only it was bigger than the other's.

What was strange, was that the older man's Hai-ate was different than the ones Naru had seen from the few books on the elemental nations. It didn't have an image she was familure with, for it looked like a storm cloud with a lightning bolt erupting out of it. (A/N: If you've played Adventure quest worlds, you will recognize this as the 'Blood Ninja' armor.)

"So, Jon-Sensei," said the brown-eyed boy. "Are we heading back to Sutōmu in the morning?" 'Jon-Sensei' nodded. "Indeed, Yorudan." He said. "Same deal as before, we back up at 0700 sharp. Pack up your stuff, and we should be at the docks by 0900." Yorudan nodded.

While they were talking, Naru, as silently as possible, crept into one of the tents without the others noticing.

Or so she thought.

When she entered the tent, Jon glanced up at it. "We seem to have a visitor." He said, not loud enough for Naru to hear, but the others nodded.

"Who is it?" the Green/yellow eyed boy asked.

"Some little girl, about our age." The only female of their group said.

"I'll check it out." Yorudan said, standing up. "Since I doubt it's some bandit. I'll be right back Ryu, Hikari, Jon-sensei." The others nodded and Yorudan made his way towards the tent.

Inside the tent, witch apparently must have been their supply tent due to the numerous scroll's and crates, Naru had managed to open one of the Crates, and sighed when she saw the sight of some actual food. Just nutrision bar's, but it was better than nothing.

Just as she was about to open one of them up, "Hungry, I guess?" Naru jumped in surprise as she glanced back at the entrance, where the brown-haired boy, Yorudan stood at the only exit of the tent.

Scared, Naru dropped the bar, and ran behind a large crate. "Hey, calm down!" Yorudan said. "I'm not hear to hurt you. I'm just curious as to why you're trying to steal from us." Hearing no reply, Yorudan sighed. He then made a few hand signs, and in a puff of smoke an identical clone of him appeared. "Stay here." He told the clone, and it nodded.

Slowly, Yorudan started walking to where the girl was hiding. When he rounded the corner, the girl was curled up in a ball, her eyes shut tightly, and her arms wrapped around her legs. "P-please D-don't hurt me!" she stuttered out, her voice filled with fear.

Yorudan blinked in surprise. "Why would I hurt you?" he asked.

"B-because everyone else does." Naru said, her grip tightening around her legs. "I-I was just Hungry! I didn't mean to-"

"Hey ,Calm down." Yorudan said, raising his hand. "It's alright, and I'm not gonna hurt you. If you were hungry, all you had to do was ask." Opening up one of her eyes, Naru looked at the boy. For some reason…she believed him.

"R-really?" she asked. Yorudan smiled and nodded. "Really." He said. He then reached into the crate, and pulled out the nutrient bar. "Here, go on ahead." He said, handing it to her. Though hesitantly, Naru reached out and grabbed it, and proceeded to unwrap it.

"So," Yorudan said as he sat next to her. "What's your name?"

She was about to take a bite into the bar, and froze. Usually people would glare, or hit her when they find out who she was. "I-If I tell you…will you promise not to hate me?" she asked.

Yorudan, once again, blinked in surprise. "Why would I hate you?" he asked. "I just met you!"

"Everyone else does…" Naru said, looking at the bar. "the adults would glare at me, and the kids would run away from me…"

Yorudan sighed. "They hate you just because of your name?" he asked, and Naru nodded. "Well, I swear on the Honor of the Takeo Clan, I will not hate you because of your name."

Naru blinked in surprise this time. He really swore on his clan about that? Naru glanced at him once again, and for some reason…she felt that she could trust him.

"N-n-Naru U-Uzumaki." She stuttered as she closed her eyes tightly again, waiting.

Yorudan simply smiled. "Nice to meet you Naru." He said. "My name's Yorudan Takeo, now that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Snapping her eyes open, and looking at Yorudan, and was surprised to see him smiling, while most others from Konoha would be moving away from her. This only convinced her more that maybe…maybe she could trust him.

"N-no…but…why don't you hate me?" she asked.

"Like I said, I can't hate someone I just met, and has done nothing that would cause me to hate you." Yorudan said.

Relaxing a bit, Naru stopped clinging to her legs, and she started to sit cross-legged. Yorudan then gasped seeing the condition her body was it. "What the hell happened to you?" he muttered, suprising her. "You look like you got mauled by a bear."

"Wolf, actually." Naru said. "about an hour ago, I managed to scare it off…"

"You fought off a wolf on your own?" Yorudan asked, and Naru nodded. "Wow, your tougher than you look Naru-chan." Naru blushed a bit at that. "T-thanks…but it was really luck…" she said.

"If you want, I can bring in one of my friends to check out those wounds." Yorudan offered, and Naru tensed up a bit. "A-are you sure?" she asked. Yorudan nodded. "of course, Hikari-Chan wouldn't mind. Just stay here for a moment." With that Yorudan left. A few seconds later, he came back with the blonde-haired girl. When she saw Naru, gasped at the sight of her bloody body and rushed to her side "Oh, you poor thing," she murmured. "What happened to you?"

"She said she got attacked by a Wolf." Yorudan said, coming up to her side.

"Where are your Parents?" Hikari asked as she treated her wounds as best as she could.

"I don't have any," Naru answered sadly "and the orphanage kicked me out, even though I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't break anything and I ate everything they gave me and didn't complain when it made me sick either!" she protested fresh tears streaking her face.

Now, if Yorudan and Hikari were not mad before, they were both PISSED. OFF.

"What is your name?" Hikari asked kindly hiding her rage at the atrocities done to a kid just as old as she was.

"N-Naru U-Uzumaki" Naru said.

"Don't you have any family?" Yorudan asked. "Any at all?" Naru shook her head. "Not that I know." She said. "Well, there was Jiji, but he wasn't really family."

"Where are you from?" Yorudan asked, hoping that if she told her he could ask his Sensei if they could level the place to the ground.

"K-Konoha." She said, shocking both of them.

"Konoha?" Yorudan asked, and she nodded. "That seems like an awfully long way from here."

"I ran away." Naru said. "I…I couldn't stand it anymore. The beatings…the hated glares…I…I just…" the more she talked about it, the more her eyes watered up.

However she was caught by surprise when Yorudan put his arm around her shoulder. "It's alright, Naru-chan." He said in a reassuring voice. "Their not here, and we won't let them hurt you. They cant hurt you now."

Naru looked up at Yorudan, who was smiling warmly. "Y-you mean it?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I Promise it." Yorudan said. "And I always keep my promises to my friends."

Naru could not believe what she was hearing. "F-friend's?" she asked, and Yorudan smiled and nodded. "Yes, friends." He said.

Naru had a shocked expression on her face before smiling widely and jumping on him, and giving Yorudan a tight hug as he blushed.

"Thank you so much!" She muttered over and over again as she held Yorudan like a life-preserver.

"Y-your welcome Naru-chan." Yorudan said. Hikari was grinning at this. 'I think things are gonna be getting Pretty interesting now.' She thought. "Naru-Chan, would you like to meet our Sensei?"

Naru stopped hugging Yorudan for a moment, and looked at Hikari. "A-are you sure?" she asked.

"He actually already knows you're here." Hikari said. "All he wants to do it meet you." Naru thought about it for a moment. "Ok." She said.

Smiling, Hikari and Yorudan guided Naru out of the tent, where they met Ryu and Jon still at the Campfire.

When they approached, Jon looked up and smiled. "Ah, so our little…'Intruder' shows herself?" he said. Naru tensed up a bit, but when Yorudan put a hand on her shoulder, she calmed down a bit. "Do you have a name, child?"

"Naru Uzumaki, sir." She said as she sat in between Yorudan and Hikari. Jon smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you Naru-san." He said. "I am Jon Ikari. The Jonin Sensei of Training group #457."

"I'm Ryu Hisanaga, CQC Specialist in training." Ryu said, waving at Naru.

"And I'm Hikari Junsuina, Sniper in training." Hikari said with a smile.

"Well, you already know me, Yorudan Takeo, Demolitions/Heavy Weapons specialist in training." Yorudan said.

"Now, that introductions are out of the way, would you please tell us why you tried to steal from us?" Jon asked.

"W-well…I…I was hungry." Naru answered. "And…back at…my Old Village…People wouldn't let me eat usually…even if I paid them…" Jon Raised an eyebrow at this. "Why?" he asked.

Naru then explained how she was born on the same day as the Kyuubi attack on Konoha, and how most of the village hates her, calling her a Demon, saying that she's the cause of the attack, beating her, telling her she was worthless, the attempted rapes (Witch none of them succeeded thanks to a Silver-haired, and purple-haired ANBU members thankfully), and how the only people that treated her like a human being were the Ramen store owners, the Hokage, a handful of her classmates, and a few of the ANBU members.

At the end of her explanation. Hikari's mouth was being covered by her hands, her eyes in tears. Yorudan just staired wide-eyed, Ryu's eyes were twitching dangerously as his fingers rapidly touched an L-shaped device on his hip, while Jon, though his outside looked calm and observant, inside he was fuming. There thoughts were very similar:

'What kind of sick, twisted, Phsycopathic madman would put a girl, no older than us, though that kind of shit? No wonder she could barley trust anyone'-Yorudan

'My god…It's a miracle she hasn't broken yet'-Hikari

'I AM GOING TO KILL THOSE BASTARDS!'- Ryu

'I know I&T Torcher methods that are more merciful than this. '- Jon

"You poor thing…" Hikari muttered as she put her arm around Naru.

"Sensei, Permission to go over to Konoha and level that disgrace of a village to ground zero?" Ryu muttered, barley holding back his rage.

"As much as I wish to do so, Ryu…" Jon said. 'And I REALLY want too' he added as a thought. "We can't. We're on a Training mission."

"But that's Bull!" Yorudan shouted jumping up. "NO ONE deserves that kind of treatment! A Village that runs like that doesn't deserve to exist!"

"Yorudan, don't let your emotions control you." Jon said, calmly. "Even though I agree, this isn't something to possibly start a War with another village."

"But Sensei-" Yorudan was cut off when Naru grabbed his hand. "Yorudan-Kun, please don't." she pleaded, not even noticing she said 'Kun'. "I…I don't like the Village either. But…there are still people who were there I care about…Ayame, Dog, Neko, Jiji…please…I…"

Yorudan looked into Naru's eyes, and sighed. "Right, Sorry Naru-Chan." He said, sitting back down.

Jon raised an eyebrow at this, but grinned as an idea came to mind. "Naru-san," he said, drawing the girl's attention. "If you wish, since in the morning we will be heading back to our home, we can take you too our home if you wish."

Naru's eyes widened. "Y-you'd let me come with you?" she asked. Jon nodded. "Of course." He said. "SutōmuGakure often takes in Orphans such as yourself. And we can guarantee you, that you will be treated like any other citizen would be."

"SutōmuGakure?" Naru asked. "I never heard of that before…"

"Very few have." Ryu answered. "SutōmuGakure, or 'Village Hidden Among the Storms' is a Village hidden behind a massive storm that surrounds our home. Only a handful of people know the secrets as to how to enter and exit the village through the storm."

"You don't have to come if you don't want too." Yorudan reassured. "We can just give you enough supplies to make it to one of the nearby villages if you want."

Naru thought about it for a few minutes. On one hand, if she went with them, it would mean they would have to watch over her, possibly maker her a burdon. And even though they said so, she wasn't sure if the Village would see her they way they say they will.

However…where else could she go? She hadn't really thought that far ahead in her 'Grand escape' scheme. And Jiji could send someone after her…

Also, for some reason…she wanted to stay with these people. They were the first people outside of Ayame and the others that actually showed her kindness, treated her well, and actually want to help her. And she felt…attracted towards Yorudan for some reason…

"…I guess…I'll go with you." She said, with determination in her eyes.

Jon grinned at this. "Well, then it's decided." He said, standing up. "You'll come with us to SutōmuGakure in the morning. But for now…" he yawned. "I think we should get some shuteye." With that, Ryu extinguished the fire, and the others went to their tents.

Yorudan offered Naru his own Sleeping bag. Though hesitant, Naru accepted. Hikari made one last check on Naru's injuries before leaving.

Naru felt safe and warm wrapped up in the blankets as she slowly drifted off to sleep "Yorudan-kun, can you sleep with me tonight?" she asked "I-I don't want to be alone."

Yorudan blushed but complied anyways "you're not alone anymore Naru-chan, I promise." And with those comforting thoughts Naru drifted off to sleep clutching to Yorudan like a teddy bear.