Welcome to my first story! Please keep in mind that English isn't my native language. I can and will appreciate any and all adequate criticism. If any of you have any questions feel free to ask them in comments section, I will try to answer as many of them as I can.

Disclaimer — I don't own Naruto and it's original characters.

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Prologue

Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, was tired. Throughout the night he had to wait for his son to be born and repel several attempts of the unknown foe to kidnap his child and kill his wife. But all this paled in comparison to the danger he faced now, namely, The Kyubi.

Amazingly enough his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, had enough strength left to set up a barrier that left Kyubi isolated from the rest of the village. This, however, didn't solve the problem itself. Both parents knew that there is only one way to stop the rampaging Tailed Beast, which consisted of sealing it in their newborn son with the usage of the most powerful seal in existence — Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

"I hope someday you will be able to forgive me, Naruto..." Said the Fourth sadly before he started to make necessary hand-seals.

Before he even finished by clapping his hands, a shadowy figure could be seen materializing seemingly from nowhere behind his back — The Shinigami.

Raising his tanto in front of him, Minato looked one last time on his wife and son before plunging the blade into his stomach, Shinigami mimicking his actions.

Being one of the most competent seal masters in existence, he was able to make several changes in the initial seal. One of them started working immediately and ripped Kyubi's chakra in two different parts: Yin and Yang. Whereas Yin part he sealed in himself almost immediately, Yang part managed to break free for long enough to stab both Minato and Kushina, narrowly missing Naruto. With one final roar Kyubi was sealed inside the baby, while his Yin part disappeared inside the Shinigami's stomach together with Minato's soul.

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As soon as Kushina's barrier disappeared, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, shunshined to the sealing altar. What he saw, though, made his stomach drop.

Minato was lying on his back, in the pool of his own blood. His cut open stomach and bloodied tanto made Hiruzen realize exactly what he did. But before he could even take one step, his attention was brought to the crying baby, lying on the altar near similarly dead Kushina.

Baby's golden hair and blue eyes clearly showed the aging Hokage who's son he is. What shocked Hiruzen the most, however, was three prominent whisker marks on each of the baby's cheeks. "Minato..." Sadly sighed Hiruzen before making his way to the crying baby. He picked Naruto up just just in time for several ANBU to appear before him.

"Lord Third, what…" Trailed off one of the operatives as soon as he caught sight of the baby.

Seeing that Naruto's unique traits is going to complicate the situation, Hiruzen quickly gave several orders in attempt to distract them. "I want every single member of the council present in the council chambers as soon as possible." Ordered the aging Hokage in a tone that left no room to argue.

As soon as last ANBU disappeared after taking one last glance at Naruto, Hiruzen exhaled in sadness and relief. "I can only hope you knew what you were doing, Minato…" Sighed the Third Hokage one last time before making his way to the Hokage Residence.

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Roughly half an hour later council chambers was filled to the brim. As soon as Hiruzen delivered the news of Minato's death almost every single member of the council erupted in uproar. Only the likes of Fugaku Uchiha, Shibi Aburame, Hiashi Hyuga and Shikaku Nara remained relatively calm and collected. Before the aging Hokage could call for silence, however, someone addressed the issue few noticed up until now.

"Hokage-sama..." Spoke up one of the civilian councilors, "What this baby is doing here?"

The silence was deafening. Several aging councilors, such as Homura, Koharu and Danzo immediately realized who, or what, was the baby.

Hiruzen sighed sadly. He planned to address this issue after he established at least some sort of order. 'I hope they will see reason before acting...' Thought the Third tiredly.

"His name is Naruto… and he is the new Jinchuriki of the Kyubi."

Sarutobi regretted his answer immediately when council chambers erupted in uproar anew. This time, though, Hiruzen didn't wait for everyone to settle down. "Silence!" Shouted the aging Hokage before releasing sizable amount of killer intent.

"I will not tolerate such attitude in regard to a child!" Stated Sarutobi. "Moreover, I am making his status as a Jinchuriki an S-rank secret, any mention of his 'condition' to anyone outside of those currently present will be punishable by death." Continued Hiruzen firmly.

"I suppose adopting him into a clan would be impossible?" Shikaku spoke up for the first time during a meeting.

"Indeed..." Sighed the Hokage "Adopting Jinchuriki into a clan can be proven disastrous, and because of this he will be placed in the orphanage." 'At least there he will have a chance for normal childhood...' Thought Hiruzen sadly. "Now, I believe we have more pressing matters to discuss." He continued before anyone could argue.

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Life wasn't kind to one Naruto Uzumaki. At the age of three he already acted more reserved and cautious than most adults or even several shinobi. The reason for that kind of behavior was harsh treatment he received from basically almost everyone around him. Every time he tried to strike a conversation with someone his age, at least one adult nearby would insult him by calling him either 'demon brat', 'monster', 'murderer' or several other names before telling other children to never associate with him. This greatly confused and angered Naruto, since he knew that he did nothing to deserve such treatment.

In fact, the only person in the whole village who treated him with kindness was the Hokage. Old Man, as Naruto called him, would often check up on him in the orphanage and treat him to some sweets. Their meetings usually didn't last long since Hokage had a lot of responsibilities, but it was enough for Naruto to respect and admire the man.

The Fourth, however, didn't escape Naruto's attention either. Hiruzen more often than not told the boy stories about him. The man fascinated Naruto, or more specifically his history. Minato Namikaze didn't come from some famous clan and his parents weren't a particularly strong shinobi, but it didn't stop him from becoming one of the most famous and feared ninja of his own time. Shinobi such as him gave Naruto hope that someday he will be able to prove himself and show everyone that he isn't the 'monster' that people saw in him.

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Naruto, now four years old, stood in his newly acquired apartment. It wasn't too spacious but at the same time had everything one person, let alone a kid, would need: bedroom, small kitchen and a bathroom. The reason he got the apartment, though, was non too pleasant.

'At least I won't have to put up with those jerks anymore,' Naruto thought bitterly.

Several days ago his heavily drunk caretaker decided that 'demon brat', apparently, stayed at the orphanage for long enough, and literally shoved Naruto out on the street. Normally, such an act would do nothing to really upset Naruto, after all, he already got used to such harsh treatment. No, what really upset him was the fact that the day caretaker decided to throw him out was his birthday, namely, the October tenth.

The blond didn't understand why would someone want to commit such an act in a day that, at least according to Hokage, supposed to be full of entertainment.

"I suppose that after all those years I really should have known better..." Sighed Naruto while he rested on his new bed. 'At least Old Man gave me this apartment,' thought the blond while recalling how the aging Hokage let Naruto stay with him in the Hokage Residence until suitable apartment could be found.

The Hokage himself, obviously, wasn't amused. Naruto shuddered remembering the look on Old Man's face that promised pain and misery. 'It's not like he didn't deserve it...' Naruto pondered silently before shifting his attention to several scrolls and books lying on the nearby table. 'On the bright side, I will finally have enough time to myself to start training with those scrolls Old Man gave me,' contemplated the blond with no small amount of anticipation.

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Flashback

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't a happy man. Because the village lacked suitable candidates for the position of the Fifth Hokage after his successor's untimely death the Third was reinstated in his position. And while this allowed him to help Naruto from his position of power, it was obviously wasn't enough. Since caretaker at the orphanage, unfortunately, treated Naruto just as harsh as any other villager, Sarutobi was forced to make a decision: he could either let the boy stay with him or get the blond his own apartment. And while letting him live in Hokage Residence would definitely be a better choice in any other case, putting Naruto under an imaginary spotlight wasn't in Hiruzen's best interests. That left only one option, namely, letting Naruto live all by himself.

Before he could ponder over his decision some more, however, he was interrupted by a loud crash and a quiet voice coming from the library. And while the Third had confidence in his guards and security overall, he always approached the unknown with caution, especially in his own home.

Upon walking into the spacious room, his attention was immediately brought to several spikes of blonde hair sticking out from behind one of the tables. "Naruto?" Hiruzen began uncertainly while slightly dropping his guard.

"One second!" Replied the blond before quickly standing up from behind the table with several scrolls in his hands. "Sorry for the mess, several of those scrolls were surprisingly heavy." Continued Naruto with a slight smile.

"What are you looking for?" Asked Sarutobi curiously with a raised eyebrow. It was then that he noticed at least a dozen different scrolls and books lying in several piles across the table Naruto was occupying.

"Taijutsu and Fuinjutsu scrolls and books, I thought that since I will have more free time from now on, I might as well start my training." Explained Naruto while sorting through several newly found scrolls.

Hiruzen was briefly surprised by blond's choice, namely, fuinjutsu, before remembering how Naruto idolized the Fourth. 'Who knows, considering who his parents were, he might even surpass Minato...' Thought Sarutobi before walking up to Naruto.

"Since you are so determined to begin your training, I might as well help you get started." Offered the aging Hokage before helping Naruto decide which scrolls should he start with.

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Since then, a little over a year has passed. During first several months Naruto adjusted to both his new home and his training regime. Naruto's physical exercises mostly focused on building up blond's speed and reflexes, as well as his sensory abilities. Each morning since establishing his training schedule Naruto would run a couple kilometers around one of the most secluded training grounds, do several stretching exercises and practice his aiming and throwing skills with shuriken and kunai. After finishing his target practice the blond would do several hundred push ups, squats and pull-ups before proceeding with his hand-to-hand combat training.

Naruto's taijutsu training consisted of several different styles which mostly utilized quick and precise strikes to the target's weak spots and nerve endings. For that purpose he read several books on human anatomy. And although studying several styles at once meant that he would need more time before he could practice more advanced techniques, it gave him an edge in actual combat, namely, unpredictability.

However, if there was an area in which Naruto could be called a prodigy, it would definitely be fuinjutsu. Despite the fact that he had to start almost from scratch and practically relearn calligraphy, Naruto successfully made his first working storage seal in a matter of weeks. In the following months the blond managed to perfect the formula and learn it's several versions. Since one of them allowed the user to choose what exactly the seal can be used on, Naruto was able to save a lot of time by utilizing it in his apartment as some sort of vacuum cleaner. The blond would have started working on explosive seals, but decided against it, at least until after he was confident enough in his speed and reflexes. Not to mention the fact that more complex seals require a great deal of chakra control, which Naruto severely lacked.

Today, though, Naruto decided against training in favor of short stroll in secluded area of the park. Despite the fact that it was the middle of December and majority of trees were covered in snow, the blond didn't wear anything warmer than a jacket. For some reason, he always had a strong immune system and never got sick.

Naruto came to an abrupt stop, however, when he heard someone softly crying while another, slightly older voice, was loudly laughing. After pinpointing the direction from which the sound came from the blond immediately ran to investigate. The sight that greeted him upon reaching the origin of the voice made his blood boil. Small girl, no older than four or five, was kneeling on the ground and crying, while in front of her stood three obviously older boys, each wearing a smug looking smirk. Naruto didn't think twice before making his presence known.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you are doing?" Interjected the blond.

Hearing someone from behind them made three older teens turn in the direction of the voice. Upon seeing Naruto, one of them gave the blond a scowl.

"What do you want? Get lost, 'demon', or do you want us to beat you too?" Asked the boldest one with a sneer.

Upon hearing someone who sounded like he was her age, Hinata looked up to see a blond boy with three prominent whisker-like marks on each cheek. Even thought she didn't understand why older teens called him a 'monster' or his reasons for helping her, Hinata couldn't help but worry for his well-being.

"Who said I'll be the one beaten? You three look pretty weak from my point of view." Replied Naruto with a taunting smirk.

Just like Naruto had expected, one of the teens immediately rushed at him with his left hand balled into a fist. When he was close enough, the blond dived under the blow and elbowed the charging teenager in his left kidney, forcing him to kneel in pain. Not waiting for the older boy to get up, Naruto quickly turned around and punched the kneeling teenager on the back of his head.

After others have seen how quickly Naruto got rid of his attacker, their eyes widened in fear and they ran past Naruto after taking with them their unconscious friend. Unfortunately, it didn't stop them from insulting the blond.

"The adults were right about you, you are a monster!" Shouted one of the bullies one last time before running off. Naruto sighed audibly band turned to face the girl he 'rescued'.

"Are you alright?" Asked the blond while offering her a hand.

Hinata, for her part, was still shocked that someone decided to help her, not to mention the fact that the boy looked no older than her. She hesitantly took the offered hand and stood up before taking a small step back. Hinata shyly ducked her head when Naruto glanced at her questioningly. "Y-you are not m-mad at m-me?" She asked softly. The byakugan princess was greatly puzzled by his behavior, since nobody outside of her clan ever made friends with her. 'He probably just doesn't know who I am...' She thought sadly.

"Why would I be?" Asked Naruto with curiosity and confusion.

"B-because I'm a Hyuga..." Hinata replied quietly, mentally preparing for new round of verbal assault. To her surprise, though, the boy didn't start to insult her.

Naruto read about several most influential clans in Konoha, Hyuga Clan being one of them. He didn't meet any other Hyuga personally, but he did, however, ask Old Man about them while studying. From what Naruto could gather, Hyugas were supposed to be mostly emotionless and very strict in almost everything. Hinata, so far, was a complete opposite. 'She probably doesn't have any friends because of her family,' thought Naruto with understanding before making a decision.

"What's your name?" The blond asked kindly with a slight smile.

Surprise must have shown on her face, because the next thing she knew, the mysterious blond started to explain his reasoning.

"Don't get me wrong, I won't try to assault you. I read about your clan, and as far as I know they supposed to have a very uptight nature. Since I'm not an expert in this kind of thing, I can only guess that you don't have many friends?" Continued Naruto softly.

To say that Hinata was shocked would be an understatement. No one ever offered her to become friends. Even inside her clan she was treated harshly by other kids because of her position. Hinata, despite her timidity, wasn't about to pass up such an opportunity.

"H-hinata H-hyuga..." The girl introduced herself quietly.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Replied the blond with a rapidly growing smile. Before he could continue, however, a loud voice calling out for Hinata caught their attention.

Naruto's smile vanished, replaced by disappointment. 'I will just have to find her later,' decided the blond, before looking at the pale-eyed princess once again. "Unfortunately, I have to go, I will see you later, alright?" Naruto offered gently.

"A-alright..." Replied Hinata feeling equally disappointed.

Seeing her saddened face, guilt took over Naruto and he, without thinking, hugged her, before quickly making his way into the woods.

Hinata stood stock still as she watched him go. Slowly, a small smile and a rose blush appeared on her face.

Less than a minute later, one of the guards assigned to her appeared from the trees and approached her. "Hinata-sama! Please don't run off like that." He said before regaining his breath. "Let's return to the estate, it's already getting late." Continued the guard.

"S-sorry, it won't h-happen a-again." Shyly stuttered out the princess before following her escort and caretaker out of the clearing.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Hiruzen Sarutobi was watching the whole scene through his crystal ball with a slight smile. 'At least Naruto won't be so alone anymore,' thought the aging Hokage before focusing on his paperwork once more.

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Here goes the first chapter. I posted it this early so you could comment on my mistakes and let me know how to improve.

As you probably already guessed, the main pairing in this story will be Naruto and Hinata. I hope people that don't like NaruHina won't base their opinion solely on my romance choices (even thought I have no idea how people can dislike the most adorable character in all of Elemental Nations).

Sadly, I can't promise you a concrete deadline for my next chapter, but I will try to write it as soon as I can.

P.S. What you see is a slightly edited version. Though, I am pretty sure there are many more mistakes to correct.

Until then, goodbye and take care!

ImaginaryStranger