Alright, next chapter up. Hope you enjoy it.

Previously: The children were sleeping at the moment, looking different from when they had originally arrived in Konoha. The black haired child had had a henge added to his seal as well and now sported an overly large set of eye-brows. There was an up and coming Taijutsu master who now carried a slight resemblance to the boy. Hopefully the child would find acceptance with the 'Green Beast'. The fact that the kid would only ever be able to do Taijutsu was not lost on the old man. Sarutobi continued to look at the child for a moment longer before he came upon a name.

"Rock Lee." The newly reinstated Hokage said. Looking towards the other child, who now had more then a passing resemblance to the fourth, he sought for a name. He smiled as he found one. Whether because of the destruction that was stopped by the child, or the fact that he was extremely hungry, we will never know.

"Uzumaki. Uzumaki… Naruto."

Chapter 2: Masks of friendship

The third Hokage looked over the pile of paperwork on his desk and sighed. Normally he might weep over the loss of anything resembling fee time due to the veritable mountain of white on his desk. But not today. No, he would have welcomed paperwork at this point. No, he sighed at what the paperwork represented. The loss of a valued subordinate. Haruno Shia had been killed in action, defending her charge.

Uzumaki Naruto.

The old man took a long drag off of his pipe and held the sweet smoke in his lungs for a moment, before letting it out slowly. To date, the boy had over eighty assassination attempts on him. Over fifty assassination attempts had been by enraged villagers. Most had failed before they got within thirty feet of the boy. Shouting to the whole village 'DIE DEMON' kind of alerts others to your intentions. Thirty had been by professional shinobi. All of which had been leaf ninjas. Of the thirty, ten Genin did little better then civilians, though a few had been able to graze the boy's neck with kunai. Fifteen Chunin managed to attack the boy before being killed. Most of them had been able to do little more the ruff him up, but a group of five had put him in the hospital before being dispatched. The last five were Jounin. Two had chased him and his guardian through the city and separated them. The boy had been a bloody mess but was saved by ANBU. The last three had almost succeeded, leaving the boy still unconscious after three days and killing his Jounin protector. Those three were being interrogated at the moment.

Haruno was not the best Jounin that the leaf had to offer, but she had been one of the only Jounin willing to take the boy in, as she was unable to have children herself. There was also the fact that her family, a sister and her daughter, had amazingly not been affected by the Kyuubi's attack. That is not to say that she loved him like her own child, but she made sure that he was taken care of and protected him with all of her ability.

Eighty attempts on the boy's life, within three years. If it was not for the Kyuubi healing the boy, one of those attempts could have ended his life. There would have been more if he had not implemented his law against speaking about the demon, or its container.

The boy was getting older now and Sarutobi feared that he would begin to ask questions as to why bad things continued to happen to him. Why people looked at him with such loathing and disgust. The other boy, Rock Lee, had been taken in and treated like all of the other children at the orphanage, Sarutobi was happy to remember. He knew that would change once he entered the ninja academy though. He made a mental note to start putting things in motion. First and foremost was the placement of Uzumaki Naruto. Guardianship of the boy was drafted into an A-Rank mission with S-Rank pay, lasting as long as it took to put the boy into the academy. The money raised many a shinobi's curiosity. The mission details left much to be desired. For many, the pain was still too recent, and by the time they could get over their bias of the boy, they would not be needed. There were a few that had happily applied for the position, however, two had been found to be spies and four more wanted to kill the boy. Any morally half decent Jounin left simply did not want to deal with a kid.

If the boy was to be what the Yondaime wanted, better care would need to be taken. At this rate he would resent the village and attempt to go rogue before he became a Genin. It seemed that the boy would be going to the orphanage then. An ANBU agent would be assigned to watch him at all times to prevent any more attempts to kill Naruto. ANBU would be able to diffuse any situation before the boy was even aware, which is what the Hokage needed now that Naruto was getting older. It was curious though; the boy's physical development seemed to be going at a quick pace but had stopped suddenly. The other boy, Rock Lee, had gone through something similar, but had continued his growth, if at a slower rate. Their mental development seemed to be on par with their peers though. It seemed that the seal did more then hamper their development then the Third would have thought.

(XxX)

"Children, today we have…" The director of the orphanage glanced at the squirrel masked ANBU that had brought the boy in, but looked away quickly. "Someone new joining us here. I'm sure you'll all make him feel… right at home." She finished. Some of the children seemed interested, but many could care less and ran outside to play in the large playground behind the orphanage. She showed the demon brat where he would be staying for his duration there. Teri Kin loved children. She felt it was her life's passion to take care and nurture them to be the young men and women they would one day become. At least, that was how she felt before the Kyuubi attacked. She had come from a long line of shinobi, but chose to fallow her calling instead. All of her family, except for her retired grandfather, died in the attack. Her grandfather died shortly after, and much of her kindness went with him.

Now she was a taskmistress, implementing strict rules and harsh punishments. And she was going to be damned if that demon brat was going to get away scot free. Even if he was protected by that senile old man they called 'Hokage'.

"Rafu, come with me." Kin said to one of the largest of the young boys at the orphanage.

(XxX)

Naruto watched as the boys (and one or two girls) played a game with a ball in the middle of the yard. He had never seen a game like this before, and while he didn't know how to play, he wanted join them. Up until recently he had lived with his caretaker Haruno-san. While other boys and girls had mommies and daddies, he had Haruno-san. He was happy with her, she talked to him and taught him things like how to eat with chopsticks and that walking around naked was not acceptable. She had also attempted to teach him how to read, but he could only grasp the very basics. She was a nice lady, for the most part, and never looked at him with the same hurtful eyes that everyone else did. She even introduced him to, what he felt, was Kami's gift to the world, ramen. Not to mention she protected him from the bad people.

Those bad people… they hurt him, and they sometimes hurt her as well. He didn't know why they wanted to hurt him, but Haruno-san had tried to explain something to him once. She had said that good people sometimes do bad things when they are scared. But why would the bad people be afraid of him? He wasn't very scary. In fact, the few times that he had tried to scare Haruno-san, she had laughed at him and told him he had to get better if he was to sneak up on a ninja. He didn't really understand that, but there was something that he did understand. He didn't like to see the people he cared for hurt. Haruno-san didn't get better fast like he did, and it made him angry that people would hurt her. He wiped away a tear at remembering that the old man with the funny hat told him that Haruno-san had been hurt too badly. So bad that she wasn't going to get better. Naruto had seen more death before he was three then many ninja do in peace time, and while he had seen it, the concept was still out of his reach. He knew she wasn't coming back, that it was the bad people's fault, and that it made him sad and angry.But Oji-san had told him that he was going to go to a place where there were lots of kids his age, and that made him hurt less.

"Hi! I'm Sora, what's your name?" A slightly older girl asked him? Before he could answer several other children showed up, curious as well.

"Ano… I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto told them with a bright smile.

"I'm Miko." Another girl introduced.

"Kichi." Yet another girl said.

"I'm Jiro." A boy this time.

"Kano." A rather rotund boy said.

"Lee!" A boy with thick eyebrows said loudly.

"And I'm Nori." A girl from behind them said quietly.

"Do you want to play with us? The big kids are playing ball right now, but we can play Onigokko." A chorus of agreement met this statement. This was one of the few games that Naruto had played and he readily agreed.

"Oi, since you're new, you can be the Oni!" The boy named Jiro said. Naruto nodded and gave chase as the other kids scattered. Naruto had almost caught up to one of the girls five minutes later when an older boy stepped into his path. He was running too hard to stop and ran straight into the boy, nearly knocking the other kid off his feet, while he fell to the ground. Naruto picked himself up quickly.

"Gomen nasai." Naruto said. "Eh, what's your name?"

"You can call me Rafu-sama. Teri-san says I'm supposed to put you in your place." Rafu said, before pushing the boy back into the dirt.

"Hey! Stop that you big bully!" Miko shouted at Rafu, before she too was pushed into the dirt and scraped her knee.

"Don't do that!" Naruto shouted as he got up and punched the boy in the gut. The punch was sloppy but well aimed and knocked the wind out of the bully. Another kid that Naruto hadn't noticed came up from behind Rafu and punched Naruto in the head.

"There will be none of that, you little monster. Here not an hour and already starting trouble. Go to your bed, you'll stay there until supper." Kin said as she stormed over to where the boys were.

"But Teri-san, Rafu started-" One of the children defended but was silenced quickly.

"Don't lie, Kichi, I saw the entire thing." Kin said loudly. "I won't have trouble makers go unpunished. Go!" She shouted at Naruto. Naruto could only stare at the woman in shock of the unfairness. But he kept his mouth shut and did as she said. He saw the look in her eyes, cold and hurtful. Would she turn out to be like the bad people? Naruto wondered as he sat on his worn cot in the corner of the room, staring out the window at the other kids playing. He had been able to hit the older kid at least. That made the injustice a little easier.

(XxX)

Naruto was slightly confused the next day. When he went outside to play with the other children like before, they were hesitant and scared, or looked at him with anger.

"Teri-san says you're a bad boy!" One of the children shouted before running away.

"Nani? I'm not…" Naruto's words died on his lips though as Rafu and his gang showed up again.

"They don't want to play with you, bad boys get them in trouble. And hurt if they don't stay away." Rafu told him.

"Yeah, and Teri-san said she'll give us something good if we make you cry." A pig faced boy next to their leader said. Another boy on the other side of Rafu didn't say anything, and threw a punch at Naruto. The surprise attack managed to unbalance the small boy and the others took advantage. He hurt, his head, his ribs, his legs and arms, but that pain was quickly going away. Rafu on the other hand was sporting a black eye and one of his cronies had a busted lip. They were tough boys, flaunting that they were stronger. He wasn't a bad boy, and he knew that. As he saw it, Teri-san wasn't one of the bad people; she fit into a new category. Mean people. As he got up to his feet though, he couldn't help but grin. It was unfair. It hurt. But it was… fun.

He didn't know why the fight made him feel this way. Why it made his blood pump faster. Why he waited with excited anticipation of where his next punch would land, despite the fact that he would receive at least three before he made a hit. It was a challenge, and he loved it. He would have to get stronger, to better defend himself. If the other kids weren't willing to stick with him while he was being blatantly bullied, then maybe they weren't worth it.

"Hi, Naruto-kun. I'm Lee, do you want to play?" The thick browed boy asked. Naruto looked at him for a moment.

"You're not scared of the bullies?" Naruto asked. Lee shook his head.

"Nope!" The boy told him.

"Okay, Fuzzy-brows." Naruto said brightly, a smile replacing his small grin, beaming with happy innocence only a nearly four year old could possess.

Maybe one of them was worth knowing after all.

(XxX)

Naruto and Lee played that day, even though Naruto thought that Lee would leave once the bullies showed up again. He was surprised the next day though, when not only did Lee stay by his side, but actually helped fighting them. With the addition of Lee, the bullies had been forced to recruit two more boys. No one walked away without something to show for it. One day after Naruto had noticed that Lee sported the same grin that he usually did after a fight, he tried to describe the feeling the fights gave him. He was surprised once again to find that Lee understood exactly what he was talking about and experienced the same thing. A friendship was born.

After that, the two boys tried to turn the fights into a game. Who could land the most hits while dodging as many as they could, or who could out run them the longest. There was never a real winner, as both got beat soundly, but they were improving. Teri-san had noticed the friendship and tried to separate the two by punishments. When that didn't work, she used the same tactic on Lee that she did with Naruto. Encourage the fights and turning a blind eye to them while spreading lies amongst the children. Neither boy noticed that the fights began to hurt less after a while, or that they were lasting longer against more people then they had before.

(XxX)

"Report." Demanded the Hokage from the Cat masked ninja in front of him. This would be second report that he had received on Uzumaki Naruto in the last year. The first ANBU assigned to the boy, Squirrel, had watched the boy for the first six months and dropped the assignment after that. It was reported that he was being taken care of, though a bit of a troublemaker, according to the ANBU. Cat had taken the task next.

"Twelve assassinations have been averted within the last six months. I believe you have the reports, but I will say that the closest any of them got was the perimeter of the orphanage." The ANBU told his superior.

"And of his well being?" The old man asked, lighting up is ever present pipe.

"The Uzumaki boy seems to well cared for. He eats properly, maintains his hygiene, and sleeps at regular intervals." The ANBU reported.

"What do you know of his education?"

"Teri is a strict teacher and supervises the general education of the orphanage children. The boy is well versed in reading, writing, and basic math and science. Better then most, I would think." Cat added as an after thought. It was true that Teri Kin supervised the education of the children, but she took a personal interest in the Uzumaki boy. Needless to say, he had learned his lesson quickly. The boy saw solitary confinement as a worse punishment then getting beat up.

"Very well, if that is all, you are dismissed." The Hokage said, going back to his paperwork. The Cat masked man seemed to hesitate for a moment, something that ANBU were trained never to do.

"Sir, technically, the boy is being cared for, but, due to interference, he has become something of a social outcast." The ANBU began.

"Explain." The Hokage prompted, his face even.

"From what I understand, the head of the orphanage, Teri Kin, has encouraged several children to bully and fight him and another child on a daily basis. The other children will have nothing to do with the boy for fear of the bullies or Teri's punishments if they interact with him." The Hokage's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You mentioned another child who receives that same treatment?"

"Hai, there is a boy who, despite Teri Kin's efforts, stands by Uzumaki. It seems that when she could not dissuade the boy from being friends with Uzumaki, she encouraged the other children to treat him the same way."

"And why, pray tell, was this never brought to my attention?" The Sandaime asked, deceptively calm. The Cat masked man gulped.

"It was not brought to your immediate attention because, while no mention was made in the official report Squirrel left, his personal notes stated that you were aware of the situation, sir. That it had been made into a test of sorts. I would not have mentioned it at all if I didn't feel that it was taken too far recently. That as well as the fact that the boys seem to… Enjoy the conflicts. I've never seen children this young have an aptitude for fighting. From Squirrels' personal notes, it seems that when the fights started, the boys were subdued easily. But within three months the time it took to subdue them had doubled while fighting four more children then they began with. Many of the boys stopped fighting them and Teri was forced to get older children to help them. The last fight I saw, yesterday, included three ten year olds and two seven year old boys."

"Academy children." Sarutobi thought out loud. If it was true, then he would see to it that those children never made genin.

"Yes, most of them are. The younger ones have little grasp on the basics, but the older ones are only slightly below their age in academy Taijutsu." Cat finished. Sarutobi contemplated what he had been told. Teri Kin was obviously one of those people that would exercise their authority to the fullest without actually getting their hands dirty. She would be removed and replaced within the week.

It seemed it now was his time to step in. The boy seemed to be able to take care of himself, even in the face of adversity. The Third was sure that Uzumaki Naruto would be able to handle the responsibility of living on his own, even if he was technically too young to do so. He would be enrolled into the academy within the next year or so, so exceptions could be made. If the other child Cat had mentioned was as good as the ANBU made him sound, then the boy would be going to the academy as well when he was old enough.

"And the other boy?" The Hokage asked.

"Rock Lee."

(XxX)

"Out, out, out!" Teri Kin shouted at the two children in front of her. It was ridicules. A four and a half year old and a five and a half year should not be able to fight ninja trained academy children. Granted, the two had gotten their asses kicked, but two of the almost genin had gotten broken bones from it. The first was from a block the Lee brat had managed to make, breaking a kid's elbow. The demon brat had done the second one, a broken knee from a well placed kick. She was at her wits end. Nothing she did seemed to faze these boys and now she would have to explain why academy children were injured under her watch. She wanted them gone. Out. Was hoping that they fell down a hole into bamboo spikes too much to hope for?

"But, Teri-san-"

"Out! Both of you. Now!" She screeched. Kami how she wished that one of the ninjas that she had paid had succeeded in killing the boy. Without even a chance to grab anything that belonged to them, though they had little more then a pillow to call their own, Naruto and Lee found themselves kicked out of the orphanage with nowhere to go. The two walked through the village aimlessly, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Why would Teri-san make us leave, Naruto-kun?" Lee asked his friend.

"I don't know, Fuzzy-brows… But I don't think she liked us very much." Naruto said. He was stating the obvious and they both knew it, but neither could find an adequate reason for Teri-san's actions. The real question that Lee wanted to ask was why the people were looking at Naruto like he had done something terribly wrong to them. It didn't make sense to him. They were too little to have done something so bad as to deserve those looks, which Lee was getting as well now. It was nearing dark when the boys heard a poof from behind them.

"Good evening children, might I ask why two young boys are wandering around the village at this time of night?" Naruto and Lee turned around and were shocked to find an old man in some funny robes behind them. They didn't answer for a moment, but Lee spoke up first.

"We were sent away… Teri-san told us to get out…" Lee trailed off emotionally, the horrible truth more real now then ever. The reality seemed to dawn on Naruto at this moment as well. They had no home, or food, or anything. The two looked on the verge of tears when the old man spoke again.

"Don't worry, children, everything will be fine." The old man said. "Walk with me, and I will show you where you can live from now on."

And he did. On the way he explained that Teri-san had been properly punished and that they did not have to worry about her or her punishments from now on. They would live together in a small apartment and get a monthly allowance for food and supplies. In exchange, the boys would have to promise to not start any trouble with their neighbors and keep the apartment clean. There was one more thing that they had to agree to.

"You want us to become ninjas? Like Haruno-san?" Naruto asked excitedly. Ever since he knew what a ninja was, he had wanted to be one. And now he would be get his chance.

"Or those people who jump on the houses or run on walls?" Lee asked just as excitedly. He had always been in awe of the things that he had seen those people doing. He would be able to do those things too now.

"After graduating from the shinobi academy, yes, you may one day become as skilled as them." The old man assured, not looking Lee in the eyes. Naruto and Lee looked at each other for a moment, and then back at the Hokage, stars shinning from their eyes.

"YES!" They both shouted, and the Hokage was sure he would be slightly deaf for the next few days.

(XxX)

The boy's excitement had dimmed considerably a week later though. Naruto would not be able go to the academy for another year and a half, so the boys would have to be in different classes. They got over this quickly though, when Lee said that he would show Naruto everything that he learned. The weeks until the academy reopened for the year flew by quickly. As promised, the boys kept the apartment clean and stayed out of the other residents' way. They tended to stay in the house or out in the woods, avoiding the majority of the villagers if possible. The looks that Naruto had received had not lessened. In fact, they increased as more people realized who he was. Lee received a portion of the same stares, at a lesser level, for being seen with Naruto. The question as to why still remained, but no answers were forthcoming.

Another six months had passed by. Lee was showing Naruto everything that he had learned, or tried to in some cases. A few months into the year, the instructor, fed up with Lee's lack of understanding or use of chakra, requested a Hyuuga to see if something was wrong. It was at this time that the Hokage allowed Hyuuga Hiashi to evaluate the boy and explain his findings. According to the Hyuuga, the boy had 'underdeveloped chakra pathways', and would never be able to use chakra. The boy was devastated, but was determined to become a great ninja using only Taijutsu when the Hokage told him of the ancient ninjas who did not have chakra to aid them in times long past.

(XxX)

For Naruto, the looks that the villagers gave him hadn't changed. He now avoided many different stores because of the 'Mean People' that owned them. Lee was accepted at more stores then him, but sometimes with barely hidden hostility, or over shown pity. For Lee, the looks had changed from all cold to some cold and some pitying from those who knew of his 'condition'. Worst of all were the children, who laughed at the fact that he could not use chakra, giving him the title 'dead last'.

"Why do they look at us so?" Lee asked the clouds from atop the apartment building.

"I asked Oji-san about that once." Naruto spoke up from the stairs. "He said he would tell me when I was older, that I wasn't ready to know yet. I hate it when he says that." Naruto complained. Lee silently agreed.

"Maybe they would look at us differently if we gave them a reason to look at us." Lee thought out loud.

"All I want is for them to accept me. Maybe they would accept us if we showed them something different then us." Naruto said, adding to Lee's thoughts.

They made a promise that night. They would become accepted. They would change the way the world looked at them. Even if it meant being something they weren't. Lee had explained that some ninjas used masks to hide who they were. They would just hide for a while until they found what they sought. The question was, what did they use as a mask? For Lee, the answer came a few months later when the Hokage introduced him to a man named Maito Gai, a Jounin who chose to use only Taijutsu to fight. Lee had found the flames of youth. Gai took guardianship over his mini clone shortly before Naruto was to join the academy, leaving the boy happy for his friend, but sad the he had left.

Naruto's answer came to him one day during the New Year's festival. From his apartment he could see a small gathering around a man in brightly colored clothing and face paint. The man performed tricks and harmless pranks on those around him, much to the joy of his audience. Naruto would give anything for people to look at him with the same happiness that they showed this man, and decided then and there that he had found his inspiration.

A clown.

(XxX)

Lee's and Naruto's friendship waned over the next few years. Lee was constantly busy with Gai and Naruto filled his time with pranks. Eventually the two stopped seeing each other all together. Naruto's only happiness was the laughter of his classmates, the fact that they were laughing at him was ignored, and the Hokage that would visit him sometimes. The boy felt that he had found acceptance in the old man who would take him out to ramen sometimes or give him things he desperately needed. At some point the boy forgot why he wore the bright orange jump suite and did the stupid things he did. Or why he never bothered with the tests that he knew he could pass. It didn't matter though. He had the laughs and the attention of the Hokage. Life was good.

You can only lie to yourself for so long.

(XxXEndChapterXxX)

Alright, that's the end of the second chapter. Tell me what you think, and where it might improve. Reviews are welcomed.