我慢強い (Patience): chapter 00

A/N: This is a sort of in-between story for when I can't continue with 'Lost Cause' or 'Frostbitten'. Of which the latter will be updated before the 15th of this month (September). I find that I sometimes lack the motivation to continue a project so directing my attention elsewhere seems to help prevent this.

Anyway, this is a sort of introduction chapter but I hope you will enjoy gaman-tsuyoi.

Summary: As a no name orphan Junko knew she would always be at the bottom of the pile, that didn't mean she wouldn't fight, she would endure any hardship thrown at her without so much as a complaint.(semi) Self-insert, Mild AU

Disclaimer: Naruto is the creative property of Masashi Kishimoto, I am in no way affiliated with him and thus receive nothing for writing this. Only my character Junko is mine.


My earliest memory is of the cold seeping into my bones. It was cold and wet and lonely. I couldn't move from where I was rolled up in a thread-bare blanket. I could only cry in the hopes that someone would find me. I don't know how long I laid there, shivering, wailing as the cold turned into pain before going completely numb. Eventually a man stumbled upon me and in a flurry of well concealed panic I was rushed to the hospital.

My second memory is of the first orphanage of many where I spend some time. Why did it stick out so much? Because I could faintly remember one of the care takers muttering profanities as someone else was placed besides me in the crib. There were just too many children for all of them to have their own sleeping space. My vision was still blurry, but I could make out a bright yellow blob next to my head. No yellow wouldn't be the proper way to describe it, it was more like the sun. Bright and warm and familiar.

I was moved from place to place many times, sometimes staying for a few days, sometimes for a few weeks. But no one had the time or funds to take care of one as young as I. Every now and then I would see that small sun again, which I later learned to be a small boy's hair, but neither of us stayed in the same place very long. Sometimes I would catch snippets of conversations when I was handed off to the next lady. There were mentions of destruction, funds and a demon.

At the age of two I could walk, talk and was conscious enough not to make too much trouble. I was packing some of the meagre belongings I had so I could be shipped off to the next orphanage. Clothes were provided there as I didn't have any of my own and the only thing of value I had were a small stuffed animal I had found one day and a couple of Knick knacks some of the older children had given to me for my birthday (which I now knew to be in the middle of winter).

There were little resources for individual attention here as noticed by the very hectic daily routine. The boy with the sun like hair was here too. He looked sad, miserable even. The care taker didn't pay any attention to him, and when he did catch her eye she would send him a glare so fierce it made even me back away. The younger children were kept away from him by the older ones and if you did offer him any kindness you would be shunned too.

I looked at the Calendar that marked my next departure. Another week so what did I have to lose, no one noticed me sneaking around anyway. Quietly I sat down next to the sunny haired boy. "Hi." He looked startled that I had spoken to him. "I'm Junko, who are you?"

He was reluctant to speak to me, perhaps out of fear that I too would lash out at him but slowly he opened up. Some of the other children had started noticing me spending time with the Sunny haired boy (who I now knew was called Uzumaki Naruto) and were quick to shun me too. As a two year old (going on three) I should have minded if it were not for the fact that I was actually almost 24.

I cocked my head to the side as I compared our diners. While it wasn't the best food there was to offer, it was still edible… in small portions. Plain rice with a small bowl of very watery miso and a couple of vegetables. While mine still looked relatively ok, Naruto's Miso looked even more watered down with a significant lack of tofu and vegetables. On top of that it seemed as if his rice bowl was only partially filled. I switched our bowls without a word.

"You can sleep with me again." I gently tugged him along from his corner to my small bed. Of course I was referring to the memory of him and me sharing the same crib, but I doubt he remembered. The sleeping hall was filled to the brim with children but none had to sleep on a make shift cot on the floor like Naruto. The covers were old, the matrass was anything but comfortable but it did the trick. The night was just a little bit warmer and more comfortable with Naruto by my side.

Once again I was packing my meagre belongings, I had already said my goodbyes and was only waiting for one of the shinobi to take me across Konoha once again. It was unfair how I was shipped of every so often, but there was just not enough space for another orphan. It was even more unfair how a boy as nice as Naruto was treated as a monster. I could only hope that he wouldn't be alone all the time.

I've been staying here for four months now, December finally passed by and with it my third birthday. I was left to my own devices most of the time since I was still too young to properly help out with the chores. So like any other good little girl I tried to read. Starting with picture books, slowly tracing the words and calling up my previous knowledge. Needless to say I didn't make any progress.

Right before I turned four I switched orphanages again, a lot of the older kids were leaving, having found jobs or having graduated from the academy. It was there that I saw Naruto again, still small but his eyes were as bright and shone with determination. It was probably then that I finally decided to call him my hikage. My sunshine.