Once upon a time in the small Kingdom of fire country there lived a lovely young woman named Hinata. She appeared to be quite plain at first glance, but whenever someone took the time to really look at her they would easily marvel at her simple yet stunning beauty; she had smooth pale skin, long black hair with blue overtones, and large lavender eyes that could pierce even the darkest soul.
Hinata lived in a great manor estate which was situated at the periphery of a large forest and at the same time was only a short distance from the capital of the Kingdom, the city of Konohagure.
She was as kind as she was beautiful and her gentle spirit should have endeared to her many; however, she was unfortunate in that she had a family that seemed unable to appreciate what a blessing she truly was; and instead of seeing her gentleness as a joy to be thankful for they saw it as a debilitating weakness.
Her mother died when she was young; around the same time her father's twin brother was killed in battle and Hinata's father, always too proud for his own good, became cold and bitter. He remarried after a few years in the hope of having a son to inherit his estate. His new wife was a beautiful social upstart and was the man's mistress before she was his wife. Her ambition made her cruel to her stepdaughter who she viewed as a threat and her cruelty only worsened when she found herself unable to have anymore children after a very difficult birth which produced another girl, Hanabi.
Hinata's father, Hiashi, resigned himself to raising his orphaned nephew, Neji, as his heir and this only fueled his wife's rage. But since she couldn't take it out on her husband she forced it upon young Hinata.
All day and all night the poor girl was forced to work as a servant in her own home. Over the years it seemed as though everyone had forgotten that she was the true heir, in fact, they seemed to forget that she was a lady of the house all together. Because of her low status and the fact that her father pretended that she didn't exist, even the servants treated her harshly.
She had very few friends, but she had been very lucky over the years to meet people who cared for her deeply. Within her own household were two young men; a stable hand named Kiba and the gardener's son, Shino. They looked out for her as if she was their own sister and she loved them as brothers. As she grew up they provided the only love and affection she ever received. Later on she made several more friends, mostly passing acquaintances or friendly faces at the marketplace, but two people in particular became very precious to her; two girls named Haruno Sakura and Tenten.
Hinata counted these precious people as her greatest blessing and because of them she kept her spirit as pure and gentle as it had been when she was born. No matter how cruel her family was, no matter how hard her stepmother tried to break her spirit she refused to break under the strain.
That is the background to the heroine of our story, now on to the 'hero'.
Konohagure was a city known for its simple beauty and esoteric architecture. Airy, spacious, and clean it was unique among all cities for its healthy and vibrant residents. Situated in nearly the direct center of fire country it was the heart and pride of the nation. It was here that the leader of the land resided; the Hokage. As the city was the heart of the country, the heart of the city was most definitely the magnificent palace in which he resided.
The people of fire country were very fortunate for not only did they live in peace and prosperity they leader was a model of virtue. Strong, handsome, valiant, and uncommonly kind to his people he was beloved like no other. He did, however, have one trait that was feared by many…a temper.
NARUTO! Get back here NOW!
A young man with spiky blond hair and clad in a lurid orange cloak ran down the halls laughing wildly holding a near empty paint can and hot on his heels was his trusted friend and bodyguard, Lord Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke, unlike the prince, ran for fear of his life because close behind them ran Naruto's father the Hokage!
"God help me!" Sasuke thought to himself as he tore out of the castle and sprinted down the marble steps, following Naruto into the nearby woods. Why me!
Minato-sama, had expressly ordered him to keep an eye on his son and prevent any more pranks, but the damn blond slipped away. And why should it be his fault that he was so twisted as to decorate the portrait hall with green paint!
After about twenty minutes it appeared that they had managed to lose their pursuers. Naruto collapsed on the ground and Sasuke leaned on a tree panting heavily. Once he caught his breath he turned to the blond menace and in a poisonous tone said, "What on Earth would possess you to do such a thing Naruto! Your father is going to have both our heads!"
"Hmmpf!" Naruto huffed as he brushed off his friend's worry.
Sasuke snapped, rare emotion clouding his tone, "Naruto-sama! Beyond the actual damage the sentimental damage is overwhelming! Don't you have any respect for the Hokage who founded and ruled your country?"
Naruto stopped snickering and he dropped his 'smiling idiot/prankster' act. Few ever saw him in this light, only Sasuke and Naruto's tutor, Iruka-sensei, knew how mature he could be and it infuriated them even more when they watched him make a fool of himself.
"I know, but I can't stand it. They rule my life as it they were still alive and kicking. It's always about how great they were and how no one thinks I can compare. One day I am going to be Hokage and earn the respect of the people and my father all on my own merit not theirs!" Naruto sat and rubbed his now tired face.
Sasuke sighed and took a deep breath before responding, "Naruto-sama, no one is going to respect you if you keep on acting like an idiot."
"I know, but they won't even look at me except when I'm causing destruction. I'm not going to be ignored."
Sasuke really didn't know what to say to that. He had a similar problem; his older brother was a legendary knight and his father's pride and joy. Growing up it never seemed to matter how hard he worked for it was never quite as good as his brother's accomplishments. He wanted to love his brother but in the end he became nothing more than a barrier to overcome.
By the time he was thirteen he was sick of being second best in all things, so he left his household and took up residence with the 'foolish' prince. His family thought that he was a failure for taking this route, but this was about making his own path.
Naruto had an incredible legacy to live up to as well, and from the moment of his birth events conspired against him to make everything as difficult as possible. When Naruto's mother was in labor, her husband was in the midst of a terrible battle with a power fox demon.
The Hokage was able to kill the monster, but being immortal it couldn't really die. Therefore, the soul of the beast had to be sealed inside a newborn child. And the only newborn in the hospital had just happened to be the Hokage's own son.
The few who knew of the secret couldn't help but think that the boy was cursed. Despite assurances that he was merely the vessel they harbored the idea that Naruto was more demon than human and few ever came to respect him.
Growing up in this atmosphere it did seem that Naruto could never please anyone and therefore acted out. His father was busy at all times and never seemed to have time for the boy, this made Naruto act out even more in the deluded belief that bad attention was better than no attention.
Over the years he matured, but his pranks and cheerful attitude were an integral aspect to the mask he had created in order to deal with his situation and he didn't know how to cope otherwise.
Pulling off his trademark orange cloak and tucking it away, Naruto walked to a ridge and starred at the sight of Konoha bathed in the glowing hues of the sunset. It was beautiful, he thought to himself.
"Iruka-sensei is going to kill me isn't he?" he asked quietly.
It had actually been awhile since his last prank and he was beginning to regret his foolishness. But he had just been so upset, he needed to do something and it had been the first thing that came to mind.
Earlier that day
Naruto had woken in a good mood and so far it had been a good day. He met with Iruka-sensei for breakfast; he trained with Sasuke and for once beat him in a sparring match. His instructor Kakashi-sensei gave him rare words of praise and he swelled in well earned pride.
He turned down his teacher's offer of Ramen in the hopes that he could have lunch with his father and tell him of his day; maybe he'd be proud for once.
Walking to his father's study he heard raised voices coming from inside. He thought maybe now wouldn't be a good time, but the day had gone so well already that he couldn't help himself; as he was about to knock he heard footsteps from inside the room draw close and he stepped back as the door burst open.
And out stormed Sasuke's own father, he glared venomously at the boy before disappearing down the hallway. Naruto didn't doubt what the argument had been about, the man had been trying to force Sasuke to come back home from the moment he had pledged himself to serve Naruto. It should have been seen as an honor to have one's son serve the future Hokage, but no one thought so, almost everyone believed it to be a waste of the young man's talents.
Naruto was still beside the open door, in this position he could hear everything without being seen. Fate conspired for him to be in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time.
His father, Minato-sama, sighed heavily and spoke to another in the room, "Sasuke-kun has the right to make his own choices in life but….I can't help but wonder if maybe his father is right. Maybe he is wasting his talents with Naruto. I'm starting to think the boy is completely hopeless."
Naruto froze and found himself unable to interrupt or turn away.
He could hear his father walk further from the door and had to strain his ears in order to catch the next bit. "I'm starting to think I should remarry, I need an heir the people can believe in."
At this Naruto slid away as silent as a ghost.
And while his father remained ignorant, his companion in the room was not.
End flashback
His father's words didn't merely hurt his feelings, it killed him inside. Of all the people in the world he wanted his father's love and respect the most; but he had now lost all hope in receiving it.
Sasuke would have been blind to miss the black cloud surrounding his master. This was far from his usual state and he was very worried.
"Naruto-sama, please, lets go home. We can clean up the mess and after a few days no one will care anymore." He knew he was telling a white lie, but he did suppose they would at least get over it in a week or two.
Then he heard a loud popping noise and looking around he noticed that not only was the can of paint missing but all traces of paint on their skin and clothing had disappeared.
Naruto looked at him ruefully, "it was just a Justu; we don't have to clean up."
The prince's best friend looked at him in unabashed wonder before breaking out in a laugh and tugging him back home. This was why he swore himself to the blond menace; it was because he never ceased to amaze him.