HELLO FANFIC READERS! This is Sixsamchaos coming at you with my first Naruto fanfic. I hope you all will enjoy my story and post up any reviews or comments you may have. Constructive criticism is desired, but outright flames and trolling will be ignored! Hope you like this new spin on the Naruto universe.

Now for the disclaimer!

Sixsamchaos does not own Naruto in any way, shape or form. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I also don't own anything from other animes, books, movies, games, etc. However, I own the plot of my story, and my OCs.


Darkness.

This was the sole word that could truly describe the emptiness of the void. Nothing existed within the dark abyss except for a lone figure. Although light no longer existed within this realm, one could have guessed that the figure was male even though his features were hidden underneath a hooded cloak. Standing rigid and strong despite the lack of ground, the man merely stared into the darkness before sagging slightly, an aura of sadness suddenly enveloping his form.

"So, my visions have come true. My ultimate nightmare has been made reality."

Sighing, the man stared into what had once been his home one last time before turning around and waved his right arm to the side. Suddenly, a swirling mass of golden light appeared before him, forming the entrance of what appeared to be a tunnel. Refusing the urge to look back once more, the man took one step into the portal before entering completely. As the golden tunnel began to close, the light that had once illuminated the empty realm vanished, returning the darkness to its rightful place.

*The Land of Sound*

Within a darkened dead end alley of a shanty town, a tunnel of golden energy suddenly materialized from thin air, as the cloaked man emerged and for the first time in decades stepped onto solid ground. As the tunnel closed and the energies dissipated, the man inspected the alley before nodding in approval at the lack of an audience. It would have been difficult to remain hidden if a crowd of confused and most likely scared people were to see him emerge from a divine-looking tunnel.

"Hey!"

"Stop that thief!"

Startled from the sudden yelling, the man looked up to see a ten-year-old boy carrying a paper bag run into the alley followed by two angry men. Skidding to a halt at the sight of the cloaked figure, the tired and dirty child looked up with fear in his eyes before facing the two men. Switching his attention to the two men who stood at the end of the alley, the man saw that they were well-built and were cracking their knuckles, smirking at the cornered child. Although surprised and a little uneasy about the cloaked stranger, the two men were happy nonetheless to see the dirty kid trapped and began to approach them.

"Thanks for helping us corner this little brat, but we'll take it from here," said one of the two men.

Glancing at the frightened boy, the man looked into his dark eyes and saw fear, pain, and loneliness. It only took a second for the man to step in front of the child, causing the two men to stop their approach and frown.

"This doesn't concern you stranger. So unless you were the one who made him steal our bread, you will let us teach that brat a lesson," ordered the same man.

"I had no involvement with the theft, but I will not allow you to beat on this child."

"Then we'll just have to beat you first," growled the man's partner before both adults charged the cloaked stranger.

The cloaked man sighed before he quickly dodged the first man's right hook and responded with a swift kick to the back of the head, sending his opponent head first into a group of trashcans. He then sidestepped to dodge the second man's lunge before giving him a quick chop to the back of the head. Sighing once again at the two unconscious men, the cloaked figure turned to the huddled boy before stepping closer. However, seeing the boy flinch made him reconsider and instead decided to sit down in front of the child.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Why did you steal from those men?"

"I...I was hungry."

"Do you have a family? A home?"

The boy shook his head.

The cloaked figure looked down for a moment.

"Do you want to come with me then?"

The boy's eyes widened in surprise before staring into the bread he had stolen, as if considering his offer. A moment passed before the boy nodded his head, but his eyes held confusion within them.

"We are both alone, and I know that neither one of us want to be alone anymore."

"What's your name mister?"

"Xander. Yours?"

"Zaku Abumi."

Although Zaku couldn't see it, he had a feeling that his cloaked savior was smiling underneath that hood.

"Well then. Shall we get going, my friend."

Zaku smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

*Five Months Later*

It was early morning when Xander and Zaku entered a small town somewhere within the Land of Sound. Due to Xander being from another realm and Zaku being an orphan, the duo had traveled from Zaku's hometown to other villages and small towns with no set destination in mind. During those five months since their surprise meeting, Xander had taught the boy how to fight and defend himself with some basic martial art forms as well as how to hunt and cook animals that they had caught throughout their travels. In addition, the duo were able to gain a little income by doing odd jobs for various farmers and villagers who wanted some cheap labor. Although it was a little difficult with Xander's insistence to keep his cloak on at all times, the duo were able to scrounge up enough money to at least purchase some supplies or a decent meal once in a while. Currently, the two were resting at a local tea house and decided to have some tea and dango.

"Okay. I think I finally know why you keep wearing that cloak and never want to let me see your face."

"Oh? So you believe you have figured out the reason," asked an amused Xander. It was the norm for the duo, as it wasn't long from their first meeting that Zaku had questioned the older man about his state of dress. Instead of answering, Xander made a deal with the child that he would allow him one chance a day to guess as to why he was wearing a cloak all the time. So far, Zaku had yet to correctly guess the reason and was unable to see his friend's face. However, through their time together, Zaku was able to sense Xander's emotions and feelings despite the lack of facial features.

"Yeah. I bet your face was burned badly during an accident and you lost your eyebrows."

Xander laughed before ruffling his companion's hair much to Zaku's annoyance. "Sorry, kid. Your wrong again."

"Oh come on! One of my reasons had to at least be close!"

"Close is not correct, my friend," replied an amused Xander.

"Just wait. I'll figure out the reason tomorrow!"

"Whatever you say," chuckled Xander.

*CRASH*

"Hey! I thought I told you to stay away from this place," yelled a voice from behind the restaurant.

Xander and Zaku shared a glance before getting up and heading towards the noise. Walking around the small shop, both males were surprised to see the shopkeeper brandish his broom at a bandaged up ten-year-old boy. The boy had old bandages covering the majority of his head save for his left eye and was wearing raggedy clothes not unlike Xander's cloak and Zaku's clothes. The shopkeeper noticed the duo's presence and turned to them with a apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry about disturbing you two. I was just trying to stop this little street urchin from digging through my trash again."

Xander sighed. "No, sir. You weren't. Please go wrap up our leftovers. We'll take them to go and take care of the boy."

Recognizing the slight annoyance and edge from Xander's tone, the shopkeeper nodded and quickly went back into the shop. Sighing once again, Xander asked Zaku to take out the spar bandages, as he walked over to inspect the slightly hunched boy. However, the bandaged child stepped back with a narrow eye, obviously suspicious of the two newcomers. Xander ignored the glare and merely kneeled in front of the boy.

"Relax. We are not here to hurt you. We just want to help."

"Yeah, you are. So did the people at the hospital and the debt collectors before them," replied the boy sarcastically.

"Hey, man. We're just trying to help," growled Zaku, as Xander sighed again.

"My name is Xander and my friend's name is Zaku. We just want to help you. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"Why would you want to help me?"

"Because we know what it's like to be alone," replied Zaku in a somber voice.

The bandaged boy stared at the ground before grunting and reluctantly allowed Xander to inspect his bandages. As Xander began replacing the old bandages with new ones, Zaku quickly went back to retrieve their leftovers before returning. Handing a dango stick to the boy, Zaku gasped at the sight of the boy's severely burned skin.

"It's not polite to stare, pal. Name's Dosu Kinuta by the way," grunted Dosu, as he gratefully ate the treat with gusto.

"Sorry," muttered Zaku, as he awkwardly looked away.

"There. I'm done," said Xander as he stood up.

Sighing at the small relief to his hunger, Dosu looked up to the man. "So what happens now?"

"Do you want to travel with us? You don't have to be alone and dig through the trash anymore," spoke Zaku, having already caught on to Xander's intentions.

Dosu chuckled a bit before standing up, his hunched back making him slightly shorter than Zaku. "It beats staying in this dump to die."

And so a new friend was made.

*Two Months Later*

Two months have passed since Xander and Zaku had met Dosu and things were going smoothly for the trio. Xander and Zaku informed Dosu of their method of traveling and were delighted to see the bandaged boy having no problem with it. Not long after their meeting, the duo learned that Dosu had come from a small family of farmers. Unfortunately, a fire had broken out one night and had cost Dosu not only his parents' lives but also the majority of his face. He was now unable to see through one eye and was plagued by periods of pain from his burns. To make things even worse, Dosu lost his family's property and remaining possessions to a group of debt collectors that have been a pain at his family's side for years. Although Xander and Zaku were sorry for their new friend, they new better than to show pity to the bandaged boy, as Dosu was not subtle when it came to his views on sympathy. On the other hand, Xander was delighted to hear that Dosu had some knowledge on farming and knew about the various berries, herbs, and mushrooms that were edible, having been taught by both his parents. This made things easier for the hooded man as he had been teaching Zaku survival skills that Dosu not only knew about but also ones that involved defending himself from animals and bandits.

It wasn't long until Xander began to train the two in martial arts, especially when facing opponents who would most likely be bigger and stronger than them. It was through this time that Xander learned that Dosu was able to use his smaller stature to make himself more agile and went for hard and fast striking tactics. However, Zaku seemed to be more about charging headfirst than analyzing his opponents, hoping to catch his opponents off guard and unbalanced. It didn't take long for Xander to see that Dosu was the brains, while Zaku was the muscle. In addition, it was during these little training sessions that Dosu seemed to be more intrigued about his new companions. To him, Zaku seemed like an annoying neighbor with his temper and his boisterous attitude, but Dosu knew that when it came down to it his fellow orphan would have his back no matter the odds. However, Xander seemed to be the biggest mystery, as Dosu didn't even know what the man looked like. The bandaged boy was surprised to hear that not even Zaku knew Xander's appearance, but sweat dropped when his friend began listing the many guesses he had used thus far. However, Dosu's attention was also on the cloak, as it seemed to shroud Xander in darkness no matter how the man moved, as he couldn't even see Xander's hands let alone the rest of his body when the trio worked their training sessions. An even greater mystery was the fact that even though Xander was entirely covered Dosu seemed to sense what the older man was feeling.

"We're here."

Shaken from his thoughts, Dosu looked up to see that they had reached a town that was nearing the outskirts of the Land of Sound. Turning to Zaku, Dosu saw him merely shrug his shoulders before following their unofficial leader into town. As it was mid-afternoon, the trio saw that the town was busy with its daily business, and people were scurrying to and fro with their daily routines. Unfortunately, the sight of two ragged young teens and a fully cloaked man brought some attention to the group but it seemed that no one wanted to approach them. Ignoring the looks, Xander led Zaku and Dosu over to a small restaurant for some food. While normally fine with their hunts, the cloaked man knew that his two companions would like something a little more than burnt meat and herbs from time to time. Although raising a brow at the group's attire, the waitress didn't make a comment and simply took their orders. Just as she left to get their meals prepared, the trio looked up to see a young girl approach them, holding a basket of flowers.

"Excuse me. Would you like to buy some flowers. They're cheap."

Dosu and Zaku shared a glance before inspecting the newcomer. The girl seemed to be around their age and appeared to be just as ragged as they were, wearing a battered light blue kimono that was torn in several places, smudged with dirt, and reached down to the girl's knees. Her hair was extremely long and was tattered with dirt and some leaves. However, it wasn't her appearance that had captured the two rather it was her eyes. Her eyes were black and mysterious but they were empty of joy or happiness. Instead, they held only pain and loneliness. A loneliness that Dosu and Zaku were all too familiar with, and somehow they knew she could see it in them as well.

Xander examined the offered flowers, not lost on the sudden change of emotions. "Withered roses. Beauty that has experienced pain and despair."

The girl tensed, as Dosu and Zaku turned their attention to cloaked man. "We cannot give you money, but we can give you something you want more." The young girl looked confused, but both boys shared a glance, knowing where their friend was going with this.

"And that is?"

"Companionship." Zaku and Dosu sighed. Throughout their time with Xander, the two boys had come to learn that their cloaked friend would always help people in need. It didn't surprise them that Xander had offered his friendship to the stranger, as he had done the same with them.

The girl turned to the two boys, hoping to find an answer to her confusion. Zaku grinned, while Dosu merely offered a nod, although the crinkle in his eye showed that he had a slight smile as well.

"Why?"

"The three of us are just like you. We suffered and we were plagued by neglect and loneliness." At this, Xander turned to his two friends and they somehow knew that he was smiling at them. "You could end your loneliness. You could come with us and be with friends."

The girl looked down, unsure about the sincerity of Xander's words. "What he says is true."

The young girl looked up to see Dosu offering her a hand. "I was just some street rat that ended up crossing paths with him. I was a total stranger and yet he still helped me. Gave me something worth living for again."

Zaku nodded. "He saved me from getting beaten by two shopkeepers. He made me feel like an actual person instead of an homeless orphan."

She stared at Dosu's offered hand, deep in thought. After what seemed like an eternity she slowly took Dosu's hand, and for the first time in a long time she smiled. Unknown to either of them, Dosu felt his heart skip a few beats and his hand felt electrified. Nonetheless, both he and Zaku returned the smile with their own. At this point Xander stood up to go get the food that the group had ordered.

"So, what's your name," asked Dosu.

"Kin. Kin Tsuchi."

"Nice to meet ya, Kin," grinned Zaku, as he and Dosu introduced themselves to their new friend.

It was at this time that Xander had returned with their food, and it seemed he had bought some extra for Kin. "I've got our food. We can talk on our way out of town. We have a lot of walking to do."

This got the rest of the group's attention. "Oh. So we finally have a definite destination," asked Dosu.

"We are going to Konohagakure no Sato. The shopkeeper recommended it as a good place to live in."

"That's a ninja village. Are we going to become ninjas?" Zaku and Dosu shared a glance before turning back to Xander, intrigued by Kin's words.

Xander chuckled. "Only if you want to. You can inform me of your decision during our journey."

As the group got up and followed their cloaked friend out of town, Zaku turned to his bandaged friend. "Dosu. I have a feeling our lives are gonna get a lot more interesting."

"I think they got interesting the moment we met him," chuckled Dosu, indicating Xander.

Kin sighed. "I just hope we get there safely."

"Don't worry. I can handle anything thrown at us, and I hope you three are ready. I plan on training you very hard throughout our journey."

The three ten-year-olds shivered as they heard Xander laugh a little evilly. Suddenly, the trio were more afraid of what Xander had planned for them than any wild animal or bandit did. However, the fear disappeared when Zaku decided to open his mouth. "Alright. I think I know why you keep wearing that cloak!"

Dosu sighed, while Kin looked at Zaku and Xander with confusion. This was going to be a long trip.


Please send me any questions or suggestions you guys or girls might have.

I will also appreciate it if any of you authors will allow me to use your OCs. Just send me a PM and we'll chat things out.

Again, Please Review!

P.S. : Sorry if any of the characters are too OOC. However, I believe characters without backgrounds are free reign when it comes to telling their histories.