Different Circumstances

A/N: This story was adopted from Tani Glace. I am currently editing and reworking the story. Yes, she knows that I am messing with the parts that she has already written. The prologue and first couple of chapters will stay mostly the same. There will be lots of spoilers for the series in this story.

Warnings: AU after the Valley of the End, Yaoi/Shonen Ai

Summery: On the road of life many paths cross. Some paths cause our own to veer off in a new direction. When two paths cross for a second time what new direction with the lives take?

Preface

Tani set up a timeline for this story using Airdates from the series. I have edited this timeline to better fit Japanese culture and to make it more realistic. For this series I will be using the moniker KE or Konoha Era. Year One in KE would be the year Konoha was established. Because we have not been told the exact age of Konoha these numbers are estimated by various ages of characters. Sarutobi Hiruzen (the Third Hokage) was about 69 when he died. We know that Konoha was already established when he was being trained by the Senju brothers. We do not know if he was born before or after the founding. Hashirama was fairly young still when Tsunade was born and still fairly young when he fought Madara. So I am making an educated guess that Sarutobi was born within the first ten years after Konoha was established.

Feb. 27, 0075: Naruto becomes a Genin

April 29, 0075: Start of the mission to Country of the Wave

May 10, 0075: Battle on the bridge

Oct. 10, 0075: Naruto turns 13

April 21, 0076: Chuunin exams start

May 28, 0076: Chuunin exams interrupted by Orochimaru's attack

July 2, 0076: Sasuke defects to Orochimaru

July 29, 0076: Naruto leaves to train with Jiraiya

May 10, 0076: Prologue

The sequence of events, up until Naruto leaves to train with Jiraiya, is totally cannon with one change. The events that follow Naruto's departure from Konoha are AU, but they will loosely follow the cannon.

Prologue

Images passed before him like a reel of film. Things that he had tried hard to forget: Sasuke lying on the ground pierced through by numerous senbon and apparently dead - Haku dead, Zabuza brushing the 'tear' from the boy's eye - The snow falling on a hot day to cover two bodies and then melting away leaving nothing behind - Standing before two empty graves and deciding on his new way of the ninja.

No Naruto didn't really care much for that dream. He'd only had it once before, on the night after those events had occurred. He sat up and scrubbed the sleep from his eyes.

He and Jiraiya were in an inn that night and, for once, Naruto had to be quiet while getting up, as the old pervert was actually asleep and not writing or out harassing the local women. He got up and curled himself into the open window.

In the distance the sky was just starting to turn pink with the dawn. He shook his head at himself. He'd been sleeping poorly over the last two months; two months since Sasuke had abandoned everything in exchange for power; two months since Sasuke had left behind everyone who cared about him for the sake of revenge that he might never achieve.

Naruto knew that the chances of Sasuke becoming strong enough to kill his brother before Orochimaru took over his body were slim. His friend had chosen the easy path to power and in doing so sacrificed the only chance he had of having a normal life.

Naruto knew that Sasuke might never have been happy so long as his brother lived, but that thought provided very little comfort to his friends. Naruto especially. Sasuke hadn't just been Naruto's friend; he had been the closest thing to a brother that the blond had ever known, but instead of asking for help Sasuke had been determined to do it alone. It was kind of ironic considering how heavily Sasuke's power now relied on Orochimaru's.

Jiraiya gave a snort and turned over in his sleep, causing Naruto to look over at his master and give a weak smile. The Sannin had been training Naruto hard over the last month and for once Naruto had been paying attention.

True, the blond was still the same hyperactive dunce that he'd always been, but he had started to put forth a true effort in learning. He'd taken on a serious air and truly listened to what he was being told. He'd always been a hard worker but more so now than ever.

It was the effect of having a purpose in his life, a purpose that wasn't wholly selfish. He wanted to save his friend, his brother and he was willing to kill himself trying.

Again the image of Sasuke ridden with senbon came to mind and it drew Naruto's thoughts back to his dream. Why was he having that dream now?

A little voice in the back of his mind whispered things to him as he tried to think.

"Do you have a precious person?"

"When a person has something precious to protect, that is when they can become truly strong."

"I will make his dreams come true."

"You are like me, you know how it feels not to have a purpose."

It sounded too much like Haku. Then his own voice rang out in his head, "I think that under different circumstances we could have been friends."

Something seemed to click in Naruto's head and he mentally counted the days since he had left Konoha. "One year… one year ago today you died," he whispered into the silence.

He had not known the self proclaimed tool for long, but in that short time Haku had made an impact on Naruto's life and forever changed the way the blond thought of things. "Too bad things weren't different," he whispered again, "I could have used a friend like you in my life right now."

Naruto looked back out the window to watch the sunrise even as he heard Jiraiya stir behind him.

He silently made a vow to himself as he watched the light grow ever brighter on the horizon. It was the same vow he had made many times before, but each time he made it he felt new resolve. 'I will protect my precious people.'

All I have done to the prologue is edit for spelling and grammar.

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