Author's Note: Hey there guys, it's been awhile. Too long. As promised a long time ago, though, here is the first chapter of the reboot of my first ever story. I do hope you enjoy it. Leave a review if there is anything that you want to see from it.

Chapter 1: Will You Be My Friend?

"Hey fag, where are your parents? Oh, that's right, they're dead. They're probably happy, they didn't have to see how much of a loser their kid became." A large, brutish looking 15-year old said with a sneer to the smaller blond kid wearing a black t-shirt and orange shorts with the whisker scars. Unbeknownst to either of them, the conversation was overheard by a wild-looking boy of 12 in an oversized gray hoodie and black shorts on with traditional tribal tattoos on his face, who didn't like the tone of the larger boy one bit.

'No one has the right to talk to another person like that. Who does this guy think he is?' The tattooed boy thought. He rounded the corner to the dark alley where the two were having their confrontation. The blonde kid was valiantly fighting tears, but the words of the older kid were haunting, and he couldn't help but feel that they might be even a bit true. After all, he had never known his parents.

The large kid was laughing nastily at the distraught state of the whiskered blond. "Aww, is the little baby going to cry? Who's going to hear you? You have no mommy or daddy. No one wants you. Why don't you just disappear and do all of us a favor?" The brute said, and with that sentence, the blond boy finally broke. He was sobbing quietly, and something within the tattooed boy snapped as well.

Before he was even aware of what he was doing, the tattooed boy was running towards the larger kid who was laughing so much that he didn't even notice anything until the fist hit him directly in the nose. There was a sickening crunch, and blood started pouring out of his nose, and he fell to the ground. His laughter suddenly turned into a whimper of pain, and his frightened eyes looked up at the 12-year-old boy who was suddenly looming over him.

"What gives you the right to talk to someone like that? I would say to another human being, but calling you a human would be an insult to the rest of us. Get out of here before I start kicking you like the rabid animal that you are." The tattooed boy growled menacingly. The brute quickly backed away, giving the tattooed boy a wide space and exited the alley. The blond boy collapsed to his knees in his misery, trying his damndest to pull himself together.

It wasn't until the tattooed boy pulled him to his feet that the whiskered boy noticed that things had changed. He immediately started to try to fight back against what he assumed was another and more vicious threat.

Upon seeing the reaction, the tattooed boy let go of him and backed away, holding his hands up, one of them throbbing silently from hitting the other kid.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I would ask if you are okay, but I think that's a stupid question at this point. Can I ask your name?" The tattooed boy said in the voice that he would use to calm the frightened animals that he helps look after. The blond boy didn't answer for a few moments, but the tattooed boy was patient.

"...I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said, and the tattooed boy flashed a quick grin, showing enlarged canine teeth.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba. It's nice to meet you Naruto. I'm sorry we had to meet like this, though..." Kiba said, scratching the back of his head. Naruto was quiet again for a few moments.

"Why did you hit that kid? Why would you bother for someone like me?" Naruto asked, and his voice was curiously devoid of any emotion. Kiba frowned at that.

"Because he had no right to talk to you like that. Just because you may not have any parents does not make you less than human. He was a jerk and got what he deserved." Kiba said, and Naruto smiled slightly. Kiba noticed his bright blue eyes for the first time, and how they lit up with his smile.

In that moment, Kiba decided that he was going to be there for Naruto. He wasn't going to let anyone take the light out of his eyes like that again if he could help it.

"Hey, I know we just met, but I think you're pretty cool. Would you like to be my friend?" Kiba asked, extending his hand. Naruto looked at his hand, then back up at Kiba. Kiba wasn't surprised to see suspicious eyes looking at him.

"I get you wanting to help someone else out, but you don't have to be my friend out of pity." Naruto said, and turned his back on Kiba. He started walking out of the alleyway, but Kiba caught up to him and stopped right in front of him, blocking his way. Kiba was unhappy to see more tears threatening to fall from those expressive blue eyes. Before he knew it, his arms were around the other boy, hugging him.

Naruto was shocked, and almost started to fight it, but a piece inside of him, a piece that he had tried to bury, was yearning for the human touch and connection. Unsure of himself, and terrified beyond words that he was about to break something incredibly fragile, Naruto raised his arms and wrapped them around Kiba in return. Kiba was ecstatic that he wasn't being pushed away.

The two boys stayed in their embrace for a few moments more before pulling away.

"It isn't out of pity. I want to be your friend. Please let me." Kiba begged, feeling slightly embarrassed at begging, but he didn't really care. Naruto, on the other hand, was warring with himself. He had never really had another friend, and here was another boy who was begging to be his friend, had even punched another boy who was bullying him. But was it only a trick to get close to him, so that he could hurt him later?

"...Okay. I'll be your friend." Naruto said quietly, and Kiba grinned at Naruto, and Naruto found himself smiling at Kiba.

Over the next few months, the two became inseparable. Kiba quickly became aware of how little Naruto had in the way of material possessions. He had been left a little apartment in the most run-down side of the village. He barely had enough money to eat on and was constantly tormented by everyone around him. Kiba just couldn't understand it. He noticed that it wasn't only the other kids who treated Naruto like trash, but also most of the adults. It infuriated Kiba.

It wasn't until half a year later that Naruto felt that he trusted Kiba enough to tell him why everyone else hated him.

The two had been walking around the village, avoiding the populated areas, and Kiba had noticed that Naruto looked especially sad and tense that night. Normally, Kiba wouldn't try to pry, preferring Naruto to tell him when he was ready, but as the night went on, he didn't seem to get any better. Kiba finally broke down.

"Hey Naruto, you seem down today? What's up?" Kiba asked quietly, making Naruto, who had been consumed with his own thoughts, jump slightly.

"There's been something that I've wanted to tell you for awhile now, but I... I'm so scared that I will lose my only friend.." Naruto said in a wretched and broken voice.

"I don't care what it is you have to say to me, you won't lose me. You and I are best friends!" Kiba said, but that seemed to make Naruto even sadder.

"Maybe not anymore. Before I say anything, I want to thank you for being there for me, and always standing by my side when it would have been easier for you to give in to the hate that everyone else shows me. Now... I have a secret. Everyone in the village knows about the attack that happened 12 years ago, and the adults remember the terror of the Kyuubi. Everyone thinks that the Kyuubi disappeared and, in a way, I guess he did, but he is still here in the village. The Fourth Hokage used a Forbidden Jutsu to seal the Kyuubi into a newborn child... Into me. The adults know this and hate me because of it, and the kids just follow suit." Naruto said in his detached and emotionless voice that Kiba hated.

For a few minutes, the two continued to walk around, Kiba in his thoughts, and Naruto watching Kiba carefully, waiting for his cue to run. When Kiba looked him square in the eyes, stopping them both in their tracks, Naruto almost left, but he wanted to hear what Kiba had to say.

"I have been with you and gotten to know you for the past six months. You are not the Kyuubi, you are Naruto. He may be sealed inside of you, but that does not mean he IS you! I can't believe that everyone is so blind that they can't see what is right in front of their face! This is why everyone treats you like you don't deserve to live?! That is despicable!" Kiba said explosively, and Naruto jumped back in fright, thinking that Kiba was going to attack him after all, until the words sunk in.

"You... you don't hate me?" Naruto asked quietly, and Kiba saw the 12-year-old kid that Naruto really was shine through for the first time. Something inside of Kiba spoke up, and Kiba grabbed Naruto and crushed him in a giant hug, crying slightly.

"Of course I don't hate you... I could never hate you Naruto. You mean too much to me. I just can't believe that you have had this bad of a life for something so stupid..." Kiba said, and Naruto wrapped his arms around Kiba, hugging him back and burying his face in his neck to hide his own tears.

Author's Note: End of chapter one! I hope that you like it. Let me know what you think!