Hurt and Healing

By: moonlightstar12

Summary: Sasuke is an orphan. So is Naruto. Both orphans are hurting but one doesn't know how to express it. What happens when the two meet and choose to stay together but one sees how the other expresses their pain and chooses to help?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! I certainly wouldn't be writing on a fan fiction website if I did, now would I?

A/N: The only reason I'm updating so fast is because its the summer time. During school I won't update as fast!

A/N 2: Sasuke and Naruto live on different sides of town! In this story Kyuubi is not inside Naruto!

Why am I here? What did I do to deserve this?! WHY!? thought a blond haired boy with bright blue eyes and slightly ripped clothes. Somewhere in the middle of a really dark alley sat Naruto Uzumaki.

To some people on his part of town he was called Fox Boy because of the whisker-like marks on his cheeks but to most he was nobody. To most people he wasn't even good enough to be named. In fact, he wasn't even good enough to be looked at. Most just completely ignore him but the few who do look at him with eyes full of hate and disgust. Why they did this, he had no idea but no matter how confused he was the looks never stopped.

Naruto was sitting on a makeshift bed he had made out of stuff he found in the trash trying to figure out why he was hated so much.

"Why do they all hate me? Did I do something wrong? What did I do!?" thought Naruto out loud as he lay on the makeshift bed. Naruto was currently laying alone on his bed face first bawling over the fact that no one liked him.

At least thats what he thought. He had a few friends that visited him occasionally but they couldn't come very often so he didn't consider them as his friends. More like people who didn't see him as a monster or what ever it is the villagers see him as. He didn't see them anymore so he was completely alone now.

"Why did those people stop coming to see me? Did I scare them away or something? Maybe I did!" exclaimed Naruto as he jumped from the bed wide eyed. Maybe the reason everyone hated him was because they were scared of him?

He didn't know but didn't have time to think on that thought because as soon as he jumped up his stomach started to growl.

He blushed indignantly and then he walked out into the streets and shivered a bit at how cold it was and the fact that the few bystanders were glaring daggers at him. That same question appeared in his mind while he walked the streets looking for food and water. Why do they all stare at me with such hatred and loathing?

For about thirty minutes he walked down the streets of Konoha looking for someone who would pity him enough to give him something to eat or drink.

In this part of Konoha the villagers weren't very generous. He'd be lucky to get food every week and water every five days, this week being no different.

Even though he came out to get food and water around everyday he got food and water about once every few times he came out. Some would wonder how he managed to live on such poor conditions but they just shrugged it off and classified it as none of their business or concern.

Naruto wandered aimlessly around his part of town looking for food. About an hour later he accidentally ran into a brown haired man with brown eyes (1) and a scar across his nose. The man was a bit startled by the interaction but managed to look down at the pathetic looking boy in front of him. Naruto didn't even bother to look up at the man's eyes. He thought the man's eyes would just have the same look of hatred and disgust in it like everyone else in his part of the village. Instead he stared down at the ground and apologized while still refusing to look at the man's eyes.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you! I wasn't paying attention!" said Naruto.

"Its quite alright! I see you didn't mean it!" replied the man cheerfully.

Upon hearing the cheerfulness of the man's voice the blond decided to risk seeing another disgusted look and raised his head to look up at the man in front of him. He looked pretty average. The only abnormal thing about him was the scar across his nose. But that wasn't what caught his eye.

It was his eyes.

This man's eyes were different.

His eyes weren't filled with hate and disgust and loathing like all the other villager's eyes. His eyes were filled with cheerfulness and joy and behind all that concern. The blue eyed blond never seen anything like that before. At least never directed at him. He was overjoyed at the fact that someone looked at him like he was a person and not some monster.

"What's your name Mr.?" asked Naruto with his eyes sparkling at the man's cheerful looking eyes.

"My name is Umino Iruka. What's your name?" replied the man now known as Iruka.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." said Naruto as he suddenly quieted his voice and looked back down to the ground, his eyes fading back to a dull blue. His eyes weren't always dull blue but every since he realized he was alone they faded from a really bright blue to dull blue.

"Well Naruto do you have parents?" asked Iruka.

Naruto's head shot up at that word and his eyes were wide from shock and fear and his voice was shaky. "M-m-m-my-my p-p-pa-pare-parents?"

(1)

"Naruto! Come here for a minute!" yelled Kushina.

"Coming Mom!" replied Naruto in his squeaky 7-year-old voice.

Naruto came running from the hallway to the sound of his mothers voice. His mother had bright reddish-pink hair that was hanging down over her shoulder and down to her back.

"Your father and I are going to the store. You go over to the your friend Sakura's house for now. Okay?"

Naruto's eyes brightened from the thought of going to his friend's house. "Okay Mama!"

Kushina smiled warmly at him and called her husband.

In a flash of yellow a Naruto look-alike sped past them and stopped about an inch from Kushina. The only thing different was that this person was a lot older and had to hairs coming over his shoulders.

"Minato! Bring Naruto over to Sakura's house please." said Kushina to the man now know as Minato.

"Fine, fine! Come on Naruto!" said Minato.

Naruto was happily bouncing up and down waiting for his father to lead him over to Sakura's house. He quickly followed and then started to lead them over to Sakura's house. He got there first and started to rapidly knock on the girl's door.

"Yes? Who is it?" asked Sakura's mother.

"Its me and Naruto!" replied Minato.

Sakura's mother opened the door with Sakura standing shyly behind her mother.

"Hi Sakura!" exclaimed Naruto.

Sakura quickly ran from behind her mother and up to Naruto. "Hey Naruto!" exclaimed Sakura.

While Sakura and Naruto started to talk to each other Minato asked Sakura's mother if Naruto could stay at their house until they got back from the store.

"Of course he can!" said Sakura's mother.

"Good! We'll be back! Later!"

Naruto stopped talking to Sakura for a minute to tell his daddy 'goodbye' then hurriedly started to talk to Sakura again.

The thing is that when Minato and Kushina left Naruto never left Sakura's house. He never left because his parents never came back. He didn't leave when Sakura and her family moved out of the house. He didn't leave when storms came that would have driven most people out of the house. He didn't leave when a new family tried to move into the house but got kicked out because Naruto wouldn't leave the house. He didn't even leave when the landlord sold his house. He stayed at the house until the landlord forced him to leave.

He didn't leave because he believed what his parents said. He believed that they would come back just like they said. So he waited and waited for three years, waiting for his parents to come back. His mind was in so in shock from the fact that his parents weren't coming back that his mind refused to believe it. He refused to believe that his parents weren't coming back. That his parents weren't able to come back. That his parents were dead...

Naruto suddenly ran away. He didn't know why he was running but for some reason he wanted to run. He wanted to run away from Iruka and everything else. He wanted to run and run until he was at his home and when he ran there he wanted to run into his mother's arms. He wanted to run into his parents arms and stay there.

Naruto ran and ran for a few hours with his eyes closed for some reason and suddenly he collapsed on the ground crying from the flashback and the pain in both his legs from running and his heart from the memory.

The last thing he felt and saw was a black haired boy with eyes that are as black as night holding him and bringing him into a shadowy place in what looked like an alleyway.

He managed one question before he passed out.

"Who are you?"

A/N:

(1) I completely made up the death of Kushina and Minato!

Please R & R!