AN: So, I hope you enjoy this. Don't forget to tell me what you think
"W-What happened here?" a small blonde boy asked, no older than 5 years old. He had just succeeded in running away from the village that hated him so much, though, that was several days ago. He hadn't stopped running since, his black t-shirt ripped and torn in several places as were his pants. His unruly blonde hair was full of twigs, mud, leaves, and who knows what else. He was currently standing at the edge of what appeared to be a massacre, and entire village and it's residents lay around on the grounds or in craters made in the sides of some of the houses. There was blood everywhere, and probably about a third of the bodies were mutilated, so much that the boy nearly lost his stomach as he surveyed the area. Finally, he heard some whimpering, though it was weak and pitiful, which reminded him of when he would be starving.
"Naruto! Naruto, where are you?" a familiar voice yelled out, and Naruto grew scared. It was somebody from Konoha, he knew that much. Instead of waiting, he ran towards the whimpering, which was coming from a small green wooden shack, painted on the front with blood. Naruto ignored that part, jumping through the door just as the bushes rustled, revealing an ANBU with a Neko mask. He was so concentrated on being quiet that he didn't notice that a girl around his age, face full of fear and sadness, was slowly crawling towards him, her long, firey red hair dragging on the ground. Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the girl tug on his sleeve.
"A-are you h-here to k-kill me?" the girl asked, fear evident in her body language.
"N-no, I'm hiding!" Naruto whispered in a hushed tone, trying to not make as much noise as possible. The girl relaxed visibly, though tensed as she heard somebody.
"P-please don't leave, I-i'm s-scared!" the girl whispered back, truly scared after what had happened to all of her friends and family. Naruto turned, slightly surprised, finally taking in the girl. She was truly around his age, a tan T-shirt on with plain black pants, though both were covered in dried blood and presumably tears.
"Naruto are you there? It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you, I came here to help you," the Neko ANBU said, knocking on the building before walking in silently, her purple hair sticking up from behind the mask. At the sight of the ANBU, Naruto backed up a considerable distance, the girl following suit.
"I-I don't trust you! I j-just ran f-from you g-guys!" Naruto yelled, visibly frightened. The girl hid behind Naruto, completely terrified of the masked person. Before the ANBU could say anymore, a large shadow, came across the room.
"Kukuku, my servants told me there was activity in this area, but I never expected to find my dear Anko," the person casting the shadow said, moving so that the three could see. The Anbu, Anko apparently, gasped.
"Lightning blade!" a voice shouted, and the pale man with long black hair that was now turned to the door simply tsked.
"My, my, Kakashi, impatient, I see," the pale man said, narrowly dodging the attack by jumping back out of the doorway, Kakashi changing course mid-flight to attack.
"W-who was t-that?" the red-head asked, scared as she grabbed onto Naruto's left arm, startling the blonde.
"That was Orochimaru. C'mon, let's get out of here before he comes back!" Anko yelled, grabbing both children before disappearing in a shunshin, leaving Kakashi to face off against Orochimaru on his own.
Konoha, Hokage's office
"Hokage-sama!" Anko yelled, busting through the doors, all the while carrying Naruto and the girl.
"Neko, is everything alright?" Hiruzen said, jumping up from his desk and scattering papers everywhere. He rushed over to the ANBU, grabbing Naruto.
"Inu, he's facing off against Orochimaru by himself! The entire village of wolves has been massacred!" Anko exclaimed, in a fluster.
"Weasel, go help out Inu. Anko, explain, please," Hiruzen said, holding a terrified Naruto in his arms, while Anko was still holding onto the red-head.
"We were tracking Naruto as you ordered, and we were able to catch up to him as he entered the massacred village. He must've spotted us or something, because he took off and jumped into the nearest building, and that's where I found him and the red-head. After trying to talk to him, Orochimaru appeared, saying something about servants and activity, and within seconds, Kakashi attacked, trying to strike Orochimaru down. As soon as Orochimaru engaged Kakashi, I grabbed the kids and escaped," Anko explained, still quite flustered.
"Naruto, are you ok?" Hiruzen asked, receiving a feeble nod from the petrified blonde. "Good, because, as of now, I will be doing something I should've done in the first place. Naruto, I am adopting you!" The elderly man had the look of determination on his face, one that could only be described as a grandfather protecting his grandchildren.
"W-where a-ar-are w-we?" the red-head asked, looking up to see the Hokage's office.
"Shh, don't worry, you're safe now. We're in Konoha," Anko said, trying to sooth the girl to no success.
"What's your name, little one?" Hiruzen asked, calming down and sounding gentle.
"T-Tayuya," Tayuya said, crying softly as she buried her head against Anko's ANBU uniform.
"Well, Tayuya, you're going to be safe now, I promise that," Hiruzen said, smiling gently. The red-head looked up, wiping her tears away. "Now, let's get you and Naruto to the hospital, to make sure that the both of you are truly fine. Anko, if you could, escort these two to the hospital, and make sure that if any nurse or doctor gives any trouble, inform me, please." Anko nodded in response, bending down so that Naruto could hold onto her back. She disappeared once again in a sunshin, leaving the elderly man to groan. 'Dammit Minato, why did you have to escape your position like that?' Hiruzen thought, cursing his former successor. He sighed, and went around the room, gathering the fallen papers.
AN: So, how was that? Good? Bad? Needs work? Don't be afraid, put it in a review. Before anyody complains, this will be a pairing of Tayuya and Naruto, though, that won't be until after the Academy Arc. Also, each chapter will be a complete Arc, maybe a half-arc, depends on the length of said arc, so, it will take longer for the different Chapters to be published, thus meaning it could take me a week, or it could take me a month, it all depends. Hope you enjoyed, and a three year time-skip is up next.
