((Some may or may not remember this fic. Well, I took a meeting with the former author of it, who gave me the okay to adopt it as my own. Hope that clears up any confusion.))

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or some of the skills that I'm going to use in the story… but I so own Yota!

Chapter 1: The talent seeker.

"Ah, man… what a day…"

Today was just one of those days. It was one of those days that even for our favorite blonde haired, blue eyed, whisker-faced knuckle head ninja-to-be, when everything in all its possibilities went wrong. The 5 year old child sat alone in the safe place of a canopy, hiding from the downpour of rain that was falling from the sky. He was already soaked; no point in catching a cold.

It was hard to believe that it started off like every other day for someone like him…

Flashback

From a safe distance, a blonde child sat alone in the swings, staring longingly at the other children who were playing ball with each other. There was a blonde and a pink haired girl sitting over to the side, playing in the flowers, and two other children, one portly, the other with a pineapple hairstyle sitting more so towards the walls of the ninja academy, chatting and reading manga together. Yes… they all seemed to having such a good time together, laughing and playing around… but the boy would not join them, no, not on his life unless they said it would be okay… and as fate would have it, the ball that a couple of students were playing with fell towards him. He watched it roll towards his feet, but hesitated to pick it up.

"Hey, you over there!" called the voice of one of the boys who were playing with the ball. The blonde had noted the boy's style of clothing, wearing what looked like an Eskimo's fur coat, and brown bottoms. He had some red marks on each side of his face, and wild brown hair. His pet dog barked a lot louder than his voice… still, he was pretty boisterous… "Hey! Bring us back our ball!" He called out again.

The blonde had so far stayed clear of the others… was this kid inviting him over? Stunned for a moment, and afterwards smiling, the spiky haired boy moved off of his seat on the swing, and picked up the ball. He started over towards the group of kids, unaware that around the corner, adults were arriving. He reached the boys with a typically wide smile. "Here," he said in a slightly worn voice, handing over the ball. "That's you guy's ball, right?"

The boy with the jacket eagerly took the ball. "Alright, thanks man! Hey, why don't you play with us for a while? My mom won't be here for a while, so you can play with us 'till I have to go, right?" The spiky blonde was surprised, in the least. He was inviting him to play! Everyone else has simply shunned him away, but these kids were nice, they would let him play with them! He felt truly happy for once, he felt like there was a place for him with these guys. Man, there could be nothing in the world better than this right…?

"Kiba! What have I told you about messing around with that boy?" The blonde immediately frowned, he was right, nothing would be better than that moment. At that exact time, a woman had come from around the corner, and saw the whole scene. She rushed to her child, and held the boy in her grasp a bit close, pulling him away from the blonde. "M-mom, what are you-?" He couldn't finish; his attention was brought to the intense glare that she directed at the spiky blonde. "Kiba, stay away from that boy! He's nothing but trouble, just a monster." The child flinched and stepped back. She said it, and he was sure all the children heard it, because half suddenly looked up at him in surprise. The boy who just offered him a place in there game had all too suddenly brought the look of fear in his eyes, too. No, it wasn't true, he wasn't a monster.

"Monster! Stay away from these children! Go!" With her purse in her left hand, she swatted the boy away hard, hard enough to knock him back to the ground. That was it; that did it. Whatever happiness he still had crumbled at that point, and he immediately turned to run, feeling the pressure on him. The two girls that sat in the flowers only watched concern, and from a distance, a pearl eyed girl in hiding did the same.

End flashback

He sighed. Life could be so… so… why was everyone mean to him? That was why he pulled pranks, that was why he always the one to suffer. Why was he called a monster al the time? The questions strained his mind for answers that just weren't there. He simply wished that maybe… just maybe somewhere out there, there might have been at least one person besides the old man, one person who would look at him with eyes of kindness, not disgust. Everyone here was so mean… life was just plain mean… He was so occupied in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that he had company under the abandoned home's canopy.

"Man… this weather sucks…" The voice all too suddenly shook the boy from his thoughts, and scared him a bit, causing a sudden movement away form this new occupant. "Wha- who are you! Where did you come from?" The startled boy said shakily, which had caused the man to look down on him with curious eyes. "Hmm…? Oh, sorry if I scared you, kid. This rain is really getting to me." The man said in a tired tone, running a hand through his brown hair. "You asked for my name, hmm? Well, give me your name, and I'll give you mine." A dandy tone stuck to his voice.

"N-naruto… Naruto Uzumaki. You aren't from around here?"

"Oh my, no. I'm a… traveler, if you will." He said to the young boy, smiling. Standing up, he looked at Naruto with a bit of pride in his eyes as he spoke, "You can call me Yota. Yota Suzuki, potion maker, and all around talent seeker." Naruto was a bit confused already. "Wait… poshon… maker?" Yota sighed. "'Potion', my dear boy. I'd love to explain… but this is just not the place." The blonde frowned. He was curious, darn it, and this was one of the only people that would talk with him. "Well… I have a house! Wanna talk there?" He said suddenly. Yota sighed. "Ehehehe… kid, your parents wouldn't-" Naruto cut him off. "Nuh-uh, 'cus I don't have any parents..." This actually surprised the man for a moment. A kid without parents…? Those marks on his face, that hairstyle… Arashi? Is this…? "You know… that sounds nice. Let's talk more at your house." The boy brightened immediately, nodded, and they walked off, neither aware of the weird future they were setting up…

Well…? Reviews, if you will, tell me what you think so I know what to shoot for next time. Pairings are mostly open, so comment away.