This is my first attempt at writing anything for Naruto so I hope it goes well. What I have planned honestly might be a bit ambitious for me but I'm damn well going to try. This story is mainly about the mother-son like bond that will form between Naruto and the main character. Although they won't even meet for a while. I might have a romance for the main character but as of right now it isn't planned. This was originally going to have the reincarnation but kept past lives memories thing but decided it wasn't working. Author's note at the end of chapters will often have information I will most likely not explain within the story.

:WARNING: THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES PHYSICAL CHILD ABUSE :WARNING:

Kazue
(About seven years old)

I am Kazue Ueda, the only daughter and child of Nobu Ueda and Michi Ueda of the Ueda clan. Michi, my mother, is the picture you'd see under the words 'perfect' wife. She was quiet, spoke only when spoken to, did everything my father asked, and was beautiful in the way all good mothers were. Nobu, my father, was an aggressive, stubborn, and sly man who had managed to weasel his way into being one of the Head's most trusted advisors.

It was unfortunate that I inherited more of my father's looks than my mother's. My mother had given me nut brown eyes and skin a bit darker than most of the Uedas', telling me my mother had married into the family. Everyone, except for a few outside my mother and myself, was a pale white while we were, as my mother had described it, a fawn white. My father had given me my copper brown hair, common in the family, and sharp features.

The Ueda clan(1) based itself in a small village within the Land of Fire. It's a very strict and formal clan with lots of rules and clearly defines what men and women should be. I have to be told often to act like the woman I am, though my mother insists I'm only a child when it's just us. My clan also has something against shinobi that no one will explain to me. The answer was always that they were scum, trash, shit, etcetera, etcetera. This dislike was also shared by the village so I've never heard anything good about them.

Since none of the adults that took care of me could give me a satisfying answer I thought asking my father might clear things. It had cleared things up but not in the way I wanted. My father was always busy so I didn't interact with him much. What I knew of him came from brief moments he was around and what others said of him, both good and bad.

All I asked was "Why do we hate shinobi?" and suddenly I was on the floor. My face stung and tears welled in my eyes but I couldn't figure out what had happened. I couldn't help but cry at the pain. No one rushed over to comfort me like they usually would, though. When my vision no longer blurred I could see my mother and nanny frozen in place, their eyes moving from me to my father. Horror didn't show on their faces but I could see the terror in their eyes. My father was yelling at them as he pointed to me.(2)

"Does she not know her place?! What have you been teaching my daughter that makes her think she can speak to a man first?!" The woman just lowered their heads, not a word passing either lips. Nobu huffed as he left and only then did they rush towards me.

Soothing words were uttered by both of them as my mother stroked my hair. I held onto her tightly as my body shook with the force of my sobs. We stayed like that till my sobs turned into sniffles. It was then that I could tell my mother had been crying also. I learned that I hated seeing my mother cry.

(About eight years old)

Before me stood a man that looked a lot like Nobu but seemed… Happier? Other than the big genuine smile on his face and black hair it would seem I'm looking at his twin. I'm pretty sure it's his twin.

Mom, Nana(3), and I were walking around the small marketplace due to a trade caravan visiting for a brief time. We hoped to find some unique trinket or sparkly piece of jewelry. And then this stranger came up to my mother and had hugged her. Only me and Nana hugged her and even that was when no one else was around.(4)

"Kazue, this is your uncle Jurou." He was introduced to me after he had put mom down. I bowed and the man shook his head and laughed.

"No need for the formal stuff, little one. We're outside of that stiffy compound." I straightened up as I looked at him in confusion. He laughed once again and ruffled my hair. I turned to my mother in hopes of some answer as to how this man is an Ueda but she was too busy looking at him with… Love. It was then that I realized that my mother had married the wrong man.

No one has ever spoken of Jurou so I could only assume he had been removed from the clan. Something that was common in our family unsurprisingly.(5) Someday I would probably be a disgrace to the clan also. It was clear that I wouldn't get an explanation as to why he was disgraced, though.

He lead us through the market, having us stop at stands he thought to be worthwhile. I tugged at my mother's clothes whenever something caught my eye. She looked for a moment then smiled down at me before she resumed talking with Jorou.

"Come, child. Let's let them catch up." Nana grabbed my hand and lead me away. I looked back and saw that the two hadn't even noticed our disappearance. A laugh escaped me, Nana pretended not to notice. We stopped in front of a stand selling spices. The vendor and Nana immediately began bartering, conversation slipping in every now and then.

"How do you deal with the bandits?" The vendor scowled, his eyes briefly settling on a group of people not far off.

"The head of the caravan hired some shinobi. Big mistake if you ask me." She nodded in agreement, a scowl of her own forming.

"Dirty bastards." Guess she had forgotten I was here. The group seemed to be able to hear the conversation also. Some seemed indifferent and some frowned. Were they shinobi? Or just people that didn't think as lowly of them?

I slipped out of Nana's hand, she didn't notice, and began moving slowly towards the group. If someone of my clan saw me I would be in a lot of trouble and I'd rather not have a repeat of last week when Nobu found me playing in the mud with some village boys. I'm still in some pain and the word 'whore' rings in my ear.

A boy with white hair in the group suddenly looked right at me, halting my steps. I tried to swallow the fear, clutching the bag in my hand tighter, before continuing. He continued to stare and a few of the others raised their eyebrows at me. Before long I stood in front of them.

"There something you need, kid?" One of mother's lessons was replaying itself in my head. 'A good hostess always makes sure her guests feel welcomed.' This wasn't my house but I wanted them to feel welcomed, just a little.

I dug into my bag and grabbed onto what I was searching for. My hand stretched towards them, some treats in it. "Want some?" All of their eyes widened and a few chuckled. The eyes of the white haired boy narrowed.

One with blonde hair stepped towards me and grabbed one. "Don't mind if I do!" He popped it into his mouth. That seemed to be a signal of okay for the rest because they quickly took some too. Except the boy.

"Don't like sweets." He answered before I had even questioned him. I stared at him for a moment and then dug in the bag for the apple Nana had bought for me earlier. More laughs came from the shinobi as I handed it to him, surprise clear on his face.

"Thanks, kid. What's your name?" The blonde man spoke for them all, smiling softly at me.

"Ueda, Kazue. And you?" I spoke quietly. I hadn't expected to interact with them beyond giving them the treats. My name seemed familiar to them, at least my last. They tensed as I introduced myself.

"Namikaze, Minato. Ueda huh? Your family doesn't have much love for us shinobi so why are you talking to us 'scum'?" He wanted to repeat what Nana had called them, I could tell, but didn't most likely because of me.

So they are shinobi! The need to question them about everything rose within me but I quickly squashed it. "A good hostess makes sure her guests feel welcomed. Whether they're scum or not… though you don't seem like scum to me…"

He was about to respond but Nana interrupted him, shouting "Kazue!" at me. She ran towards me and snatched me away. I hissed as the action sent a shock of pain throughout my body. The shinobi stared as we left.

"What were you thinking talking to them?! They could have stolen from you!... Or killed you!" Nana rambled on in her scolding of me. I ignored her in favor of trying to contain any pained cries that threatened to escape me.

It wasn't long before we were once again by mom and Jurou. Their conversation stopped in favor of looking at me with concern. "Let go of her! You're hurting her!" Jurou shouted at Nana and she in turn released as if she'd been burned. The crowd around looked at us for only a moment.

"I apologize, Kazue, but I had to get you away from the shinobi."

"Shinobi! What were you doing near shinobi?!" My mother looked frightened and I immediately felt guilty over causing her trouble. Jurou looked concerned over my mother's words, though.

We left for home soon after that.

(1) A completely civilian clan that views women more as objects rather than people
(2)After this moment, she won't refer to him as her father
(3)Real name is unknown to Kazue but the woman was her mother's midwife and is now the nanny. Nana means 'seven' in Japanese but Kazue is using it in the English way (grandmother) somewhat. She prefers it over nanny. Whole family confused but goes along with it.
(4)Affection in public view is frowned upon by the clan
(5)You are disgraced in the eyes of the clan if you leave it for any reason other than the arranged marriages. It's the most common reason someone is disgraced but there are of course other ways. The common reason they leave is because they don't agree with clan ways.

Well, first chapter is done. Thanks for reading! I'm willing to answer questions unless it's something later explained in the story. Special thanks to my sister, Morgan, for helping me revise.