~Prologue~
Being an orphan was no fun. This was not news to Naruto. He would never have expected it to be. Not having parents tended to be a bit of a bummer for anyone, young or old. He could put up with being a little unhappy, he had an optimistic disposition, after all. But that disposition only went so far. He could be pushed into negativity if the situation was right.
But what made the situation just so for pessimism? Well, being kicked out of playing ninja by the other orphans never hurt (or did hurt, his feelings, that is). Then being yelled at by the employee on watch at the orphanage for "scaring the other children" (which wasn't true either, the little girl had started crying because she tripped over a root that was in front of him, but that didn't stop it from being his fault). After that, Naruto decided to hell with them and hopped over the back fence. If he couldn't enjoy himself here, he would find somewhere else to get his jollies. He decided that the marketplace would be a great place to pull a few pranks. He liked pranks. They made people mad over something other than the other reason they were always mad at him for (which he didn't know, but was sure was worse than being a prankster). As soon as he got close to the market, however, an old man began yelling at him to get away from them. He kept shouting nonsense about how Naruto would "ruin the food with his evil nature". A woman much younger than him came out of the shop and escorted the senile grandpa back inside, but the look she shot him as she did so was one Naruto was very familiar with. It was a look cold, mean, and utterly unpitying. It was a look that froze him in his tracks.
It was a look that made an optimist a pessimist, if only for an afternoon.
Naruto tucked himself into an alcove between shops after that and sulked. He was six, after all. It wasn't like he was going to get into an ennui brought on by the cruel nature of mankind. So he sulked. He sulked for a good long while until the sun began to set and the sky turned orange. If he wasn't in the orphanage before it got dark, he'd get in trouble. As if he wouldn't get in trouble anyway...
So, he decided to head "home". Naruto sighed, looking up from the swirls he'd made in the dirt with a stick he had found, and stood.
He slowly began to walk towards the orphanage, not really in the mood to be yelled at for leaving or being late or whatever other reason they would come up with when he got there.
In another lifetime, Naruto would go right and take the fastest route to the orphanage. He'd get off with a mild scolding and a night in the drafty old attic. In that lifetime, he would go on being lonely and hated for another six years. He wouldn't know of his heritage for another four after that after great death and destruction. He wouldn't learn his biggest secret until a manipulative white-haired bastard told him out of spite.
In this lifetime, however, Naruto went left and saw a giant ferret carrying grocery bags.
A/N: Hoo boy. How long has it been since I've written anything on this site? Four years? Oy.
Anyway. Hello again, FFN community. I hope you enjoyed the introduction to my (sort of) new story. It always bothered my how Naruto never really had a reliable guardian when he was a kid. Sure the Sandaime Hokage watched over him when he could and Iruka looked after him during school hours, but he never really had anyone to teach him how to do anything. That's why I've always taken umbrage with people who say Naruto is stupid. Of course, he's inexperienced, he didn't have any real educational basis in his life until he was twelve. Can you imagine how much more stupid we'd all be if we didn't start school until we were twelve? Also did Kushina and Minato just not have any friends that would have been ok with looking after Naruto? Were they really that unlikeable?
Thus, Maru and her fabulous ferret Chi were born. I hope you enjoy their antics.
Edited: 1/8/19