This is my first fic, so hopefully it goes well. I'm not great at writing, but I hope you guys enjoy it! Let me know any ideas you may have in the reviews, I could possibly put them in. Pairings are undecided, so leave suggestions! This'll be a one shot for now, but if enough people like it I may continue!
Nine months before Naruto Uzumaki is dropped off at Konoha's orphanage, a child named Ace was left on the doorsteps of Konoha's appropriately named orphanage's; Home for All, back door. Hearing a quiet knock, the matron of the home walked over and opened up the door, noticing a small newborn tucked against the side of the door, wrapped in soft, dark orange cloth. Under the child was a plain orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling. Looking around, the matron, named appropriately Kyoko Yoneno, picked up the frail baby. Noticing a note simply reading 'Ace', she smiled and brought him inside.
Kyoko soon found out that Ace was a quiet but intelligent and playful child. For months, she had been raising the child as part of her orphanage. After nine months of raising Ace, disaster struck. Ace had recently learned to walk, and would scramble as far as he could before an older kid or the matron found him and brought him back inside.
The day before the Kyuubi attacked, the tiny curly-haired, freckled Ace disappeared into the forest behind the orphanage. Unable to find him, the two oldest kids ran to the matron for help. "Ms. Kyoko! Ace ran into the forest again!" Chuckling, Kyoko stood up and patted the children's heads. "There, there, I'll go get him. I'm sure he couldn't have gone too far." Standing up, Kyoko stretched before donning a light coat and heading out towards the back. Noticing a pair of small footprints leading deep into the forest, Kyoko followed the steps in. As she walked, she heard a loud, menacing roar that echoed far across the forest. Spinning wildly in place, Kyoko saw the raging crazed fox of legend; the Kyuubi no Kitsune who was in the middle of Konoha, thrashing around in the village as shinobi who looked like mere ants swarmed around it. Eyes wide in shock, Kyoko watched the Kyuubi swipe away several formidable shinobi for a brief moment before rushing off even faster towards Ace, who was in the opposite direction from the furious tailed beast. Even across the village, Kyoko could feel the Kyuubi's ominous chakra as it spread throughout the Land of Fire's hidden village. Though she had faith in the shinobi of the village, she felt an increasing sense of despair with every massive thud that came with quakes throughout the ground. Panicked, Kyoko rushed through the forest in search of Ace.
Hours later, Ace returned to the orphanage, everyone in a desperate panic due to the Kyuubi's sudden attack on Konoha. It was the next day that he was told Kyoko was found crushed by a hurled tree while searching for him in the woods behind the orphanage. Feeling immense guilt over the elderly woman's demise, Ace missed the arrival of a newly arrived orphan, with blond hair and sharp blue eyes reminiscent of a clear sky.
4 years later, as winter fell upon the Land of Fire, a storm hit Konoha. Unfortunately a lightning bolt struck the power station. Several power lines went out, and most of the village was shrouded in near-complete darkness. As a Kumogakure ninja attempted to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress, Ace was slowly making his way around the orphanage. Standing up on a chair to pick up an unlit candle he saw on the dining hall table, he rushed to the bathroom before taking a peek outside the door. Seeing no one, he locked the door and leaned against it. Flicking his wrist, the candle suddenly lit on fire, casting a dim glow to cover the formerly dark room. The four-year smirked as he unlocked the bathroom door and made his way over to the dining room window, where he fell asleep until the next day.
As usual, Ace ate a quick breakfast of bread in the morning before heading out for the day. This time, he went to the park, where he typically hung out with academy students who told him tales of the academy. Unfortunately, they weren't there today, so Ace decided to force himself to interact with other children around the area. As he was about to ask to participate in some shinobi exercises (because he refuses to lower himself and 'play' with other kids) he noticed a lonely blond sitting by himself on the swings. Thinking that it'd be better to talk to someone instead of running from some slow whiny civilian, Ace made his way over to the solitary toddler who looked to be only months younger than him, a year at most, and greeted him.
"Yo! My name's Ace! Who're you?" As if shocked to be spoken to, the golden-haired child stared up at him with his mouth hanging up before grinning and declaring, "I'm Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! You wanna be friends?" Ace could only gape at the enthusiastic boy before shrugging and responding just as eagerly.
"Sure!" After hanging out for the day (because despite his new friend's efforts, he refused to be caught 'playing' with anyone), his new companion told Ace that he had to return to the orphanage, so before leaving himself, Ace asked the blond where he lived. The dark-haired boy knew that there were only two orphanages in Konoha, so the chances of Naruto living in the same one was quite high. At the same time, Ace had never seen the flaxen-haired boy around the neighbourhood, and Ace knew that he had been all over the place. Despite this, Ace had spent a lot of time in the forest behind the orphanage, especially after the previous matron's death due to his adventurous self. Deep in his thoughts, the ebony-haired boy missed Naruto's answer, and looked up. "Wait, what did you say?"
Regardless of Ace's lack of attention, Naruto spoke again. "Home for All! Konoha's orphanage!"