This is out a little later than I had intended. I wanted to get this out a day earlier, but hey, at least I finished it. This is a partner-fic, of sorts, to "Name", as they were both thought up and inspired at the same time. However, it is quite a bit different from "Name".

Naruto: As always, this guy doesn't own me, or anything Naruto related. This story is his, though.

Hanabi: Now read. We hope you enjoy.

Demon.

Beast.

Monster.

Was he? Wasn't he? He didn't know.

What was he?

For what reason did he exist?

This was all he wanted to know.

But he didn't.

Naruto sighed. What use was it to contemplate all this? He brushed the hair out of his eyes, and gazed upon the village in bitter contempt. He did not so much as hate the village, but rather, he felt unwelcome and out of place. For all of his life. He would often ask himself what was the reason for their smiles, for what did the continue to live. He wanted to know.

He had no such reason.

And yet he was still here. Naruto's gaze drifted to the cloudy sky, perched upon the Hokage mountain. If he had no reason to live, why was he born in the first place? He knew. He was born for the sake of others. For their sake, for the sake of the village and all those that condemn him, to this very day. He was born for the sake of others, and yet it is for them that he must die. Naruto wondered why this was so. Was he so unlucky to have been the only child born on October 10th? Not that it matter anymore. What's done was done. This only fueled his desire to learn his reason for continuing to exist. He didn't want to die. As such, it was only natural for him to seek out why he shouldn't die. A reason to exist.

'Why am I thinking about this?' Naruto asked himself, eyes downcast, knees hugged to his chest. This certainly wasn't the first time he'd sought the answers to his questions. Was there any use to still asking? Conflicted emotions ran through him, and Naruto found he was suddenly tired. So tired.

'Enough.' He pushed away everything, but he knew it wouldn't last, for his personal demons would return. Naruto gave a shuddering sigh and picked himself off the ground. 'I need to relax.'

From his perspective, very little was left unknown to him. He could see to the farthest reaches of the village, and much further. Only a few moments had passed until he had found the perfect place. A park would do nicely.

:ooooo:

It wasn't a long trip, no. It was no more than a minute later that he had reached his destination, and already he felt slightly better. Slightly. The park was virtually empty, and there didn't seem to be a soul in sight.

Surveying the park, he noticed it was rather run down, but the swings and benches seemed to be newer, as if recently just replaced. The playground equipment placed here had seen better days, but they were not unusable. It was then he heard the soft crunch of sand near him, and he whipped his head in the direction it came from.

It was a small girl, making Naruto wonder how he had not noticed her. She had long hair reaching far past her neck, and wearing a young child's ninja suit. A ninja, or at least one in training, was she? She had to be at least five years younger than him, which would make her around seven years old. He also quickly noticed her white eyes. This would make her a Hyuuga, would it not? 'Just like that girl in my class...' He mused to himself.

He noticed that she was staring at the park swings in puzzlement, and was so deep in concentration that she had not noticed him yet. What was she doing? Naruto found it quite funny, really, but refrained from laughing at her expense.

The girl furrowed her brows in frustration. It seemed she had had enough, for she turned around to find something else to do, but she was surprised to find an amused boy staring at her. She flushed, realizing that he had been watching her. She scowled.

"What do you want?" She asked, irritation clear within her voice. Naruto remained silent, debating whether or not to answer the girl, before deciding he should be polite.

"I just came to relax, that's all." He stated calmly. He had no intention of dealing with an angry girl, child or not.

"Really." She clearly didn't believe him. She probably thought he was mocking her, if her glare was any indication.

"Really. I just happened to notice you... staring... at the swings as I arrived just not." It was a small white lie. He had been observing her for a small while.

Her glare weakened, and she relaxed slightly. "I see."

Naruto stared at her again, before deciding it wouldn't hurt to introduce himself. It didn't seem like the girl wasn't leaving anytime soon, and he was going to be here for a while.

"... I'm Uzumaki Naruto. And you?" The girl seemed surprised, before she caught herself and introduced herself as well.

"Hanabi. Hyuuga Hanabi. It is... nice to meet you, I guess." Naruto nodded. Another name to add to the small list of people he knew. Hanabi turned to direct her attention on something else in the park.

Silence once again blanketed the park. There was a wordless agreement between the two. They would each engage in their own activities and leave each other alone.

Naruto had found the grass nearby a suitable resting bed, as he lay down to rest. He watched the clouds slowly float by. His thoughts slowly ceased, and his mind was blank. He had not a thought in mind...

Why?

What?

Why do I exist?

No, this isn't what he had come here for.

For what do I continue to live?

Naruto growled, and clenched his fist. He quickly sat him, clenching his teeth in frustration. Would he never be free of torment? The thoughts continued to echo throughout his mind, it would continue to do so until Naruto decided enough was enough.

'How much until I think of this no more?!' The thoughts of his existence's meaning didn't cease.

Standing up, Naruto attempted to distract himself, an escape from the reality looming behind his thoughts.

"You... stupid thing!" Naruto's attention was quickly brought to the little shout of anger. It was Hanabi. 'What is she doing now?' He decided this would be a nice way to get away from his thoughts.

As Naruto reentered the park, Naruto quickly noticed the seething young girl was glaring at him. It was quite unnerving. "Y-Yes?" He asked.

Hanabi didn't answer, only continuing to glare it him, before she turned back to the swings. To anyone else, this would be a more than comical sight, but Naruto didn't seem to think so. 'Why is she angry at me?'

It didn't take long for Naruto to notice the angry young girl's attention was almost fully on the swings. Was she angry at the swings?

"H-Hey," Hanabi turned to glare at him. "what's wrong?" Naruto was a bit more than nervous as Hanabi scrutinized him.

"... These... are swings, right?" She pointed at said swings. Naruto slowly nodded.

"... How... do..." Hanabi started, before trailing off. Was she embarrassed?

"Yes?" He urged her to continue. Hanabi flushed.

"How do you... how does one play on the swings?" There was a pause, a silence between the two.

"Well?!" Naruto resisted the urge to laugh. She didn't know how to swing? 'How can you not know how to swing?' It was only a moment before Naruto remembered this was a Hyuuga he was dealing with. As such, it didn't seem she would have much of a childhood, for she would have to uphold her 'dignity'.

"Ah, well. It's hard to explain." He started. "Why don't you watch me do it?" Hanabi fervently nodded, eager to find out the 'secret' behind the swings. Naruto sat on the swings, and kicked himself forward. Slowly, the swing began to speed up, and he was reaching much higher heights. Hanabi watched with raptly watched him, making sure to remember all that Naruto was doing.

Naruto slowly stopped, and got off the swing. "You try."

Hanabi nodded, a clear show of determination in her eyes. As she sat on the swings, she began pumping her legs back and forth, just as Naruto had. Slowly, but surely, Hanabi was swinging. "Alright, Hanabi! You did it!"

Hanabi got off the swing, she cheered and jumped in joy. Naruto watched bemused. It wasn't often a Hyuuga was jumping for joy. Hanabi stopped and turned to Naruto. "I did it!"

Hanabi smiled at him.

Naruto froze, a strange emotion rushed through him. It wasn't bad it all. It was... nice. What was it?

"I should be getting home, shouldn't I?" Hanabi broke Naruto out of his thoughts. It was then Naruto noticed the dark starry skies above them, and realized just how long he'd been here.

"... Naruto, right?" Naruto gave a questioning look towards Hanabi, before nodding.

"Then, Naruto. Let's... let's meet here again tomorrow. Is, is that alright with you?"

The strange feeling once again ran through him. A warm, nice feeling.

"Sure." He answered, though his mind was not truly paying attention to his actions, only what he felt just now.

He almost didn't register the fact Hanabi had left and said her good-byes. He only remained there, standing, contemplating.

He smiled.

:ooooo:

Day, weeks, months. He kept on meeting with Hanabi. It was honestly the happiest time of his life. All those times, he had felt the strange warmth course through his body. He felt happy.

And he realized why.

Hanabi had acknowledged his existence.

Hanabi was his friend.

Just because he had helped her.

"Oh, Naruto. What are you doing here?" An old voice said behind him. Naruto didn't bother turning, nor answering, he knew who it was just by the voice. It was the Hokage of the Konoha, Sarutobi.

Naruto was once again atop of the Hokage mountain. Naruto found it was soothing there; a warm benevolence filled the air there.

"Hey, old man." He broke the silence between the two.

"Hm?" The Hokage certainly noticed the brighter attitude of the young lad, and while he could not be there for Naruto, he could only thank whoever it was that helped him.

"The Hokage, he... he helps the village, right? No matter what, he has to help and protect the village, right?" This was an odd question, but Sarutobi wanted to see what Naruto was thinking.

"Why, yes, Naruto. The Hokage is the leader of the village. As Hokage, he must always be there to protect the village from whatever dangers there may be. The reason we are called 'Kage', or rather, shadows, is because as a Kage, we must cast our shadow over the village to hide it from the dangers that seek it."

Naruto was silent. A brisk, warm wind blew. He stood up and turned to the aging man, and finally spoke up.

"Old man... I want to be Hokage. To protect everyone, to help them from their troubles. I'm going to be Hokage."

'I will make them acknowledge Uzumaki Naruto's existence.'

This certainly turned out a lot more differently than expected. It's not that I'm unsatisfied with it, but I'm just really surprised. Part of me is wondering how it turned out this way. As with any good writer, I'll leave it up to you readers to decide whether this is good or not.

Naruto: And, as always, review.

Hanabi: He'll accept any constructive criticism you have for him.