Author Note: Welcome to my first committed fanfiction! I've been a fan of the Naruto series since its inception. I became inspired to write this piece after over-indulging in other fanfictions, doujinshi, and general NaruHina fluff.

Fair warning. The story will start off slow, so if you're expecting immediate romance please have patience!

"Disembodied voices of higher beings."

"External Dialogue of Lesser Mortals."

'Structured Thoughts'

Now, enjoy!

Setsuri

Chapter One

"A timely preparation for future eventualities."

He was falling, he was cold, and he was tired. So tired. How long had he been fighting for? It seemed like all his life. He just wanted peace, some semblance of real tranquility. She had given it to him or at least had attempted to. Why had it taken him so long to notice? It was too late now.

Naruto was falling, how long had it been now? The blonde wasn't sure anymore. His chakra had been ripped from his body and used against him, that was why right? The young man felt cold as the air whipped against him in his descent, it was the middle of winter, wasn't it? The war hero was tired, his body felt like lead. He wouldn't be able to rescue her now.

'Did she even want to be rescued anymore? She had gone willingly after all, hadn't she? Did it even matter now? But If that was true why had she been crying? I didn't want to see her cry… I never did like to see her cry…'

"Kit…are you giving up?"

The blonde wearily opened his deep blue eyes taking in his new surroundings as they changed. He'd been summoned to his mindscape, gaining a temporary escape from the realities of the current situation. Instead of falling he was now standing and staring at a serene blend of obscure colored mist. He turned around to stare before him at a rather dejected mountain of rust-red fur. The embodiment of pure chakra that sat looming over him glared with eyes the color of blood, slit pupils judging him apprehensively. The young shinobi's body language said it all, but the Kyūbi wanted to hear it for himself.

"I'm sorry Kurama... I have nothing left."

"What do you mean? I can probably muster up more chakra before you hit the ground. It'll only-"

"I have nothing left! My clan was wiped out before I was even a thought. My parents died before I was even an hour old! Jii-Chan died before I even hit puberty! Ero-Sennin died before I became a man! Hell, he'd probably be disappointed to know that I'm about to die before I could really become a man..."

Naruto paused and thought about it for a second, then grabbed his face and leaned forward groaning in disappointment and shock, "Oh Kami! I'm going to die in a shitty way, and as a virgin! D-Dattebayo…" This got a smug chuckle out of the old fox before the depressed blonde continued with his monologue.

"Temē, I mean… Sasuke, never really came back. The Sasuke that I got back wasn't the one that left. Hell, even the one that came back left as soon as Kakashi-Sensei let him! -ttebayo! I spent so much time and effort chasing him trying to bring him back to the village. The Sasuke I knew ended up only being a ghost, and I was alone again in the end..." mumbling the last part sourly the young man plopped down with a sigh, disheartened at the admittance as he rested his arms over his knees. Naruto looked completely dejected and defeated at this realization.

"Was he ever really there to begin with?"

This retort earned the Bijū a sharp look as Naruto glared up challengingly at the red-furred monster from where he sat in a more defiant posture. Kurama bared his teeth, leering down in return, and after a pause, Naruto's features softened, sadly returning his gaze downward towards his hands resting on his lap.

"...No matter how much he hurt me, he was still my brother -ttebayo...even if he ended up the way he did..."

Both embodiments of sentience sat in silence for a time reflecting on their shared experiences. Around them played scenes from Naruto's past. Always struggling, always training, always fighting, always hurting, and what did he have to show for it? He thought being acknowledged would cure his loneliness, alleviate some of the pain, but becoming the infamous war hero just made him feel even more isolated. No one saw him for him anymore, those that did know him personally never seemed to have time for him now, no one except…

"I regret not approaching her sooner… M-Maybe if I had, things wouldn't have turned out this way… It's my fault..."

"Naruto…"

Naruto smiled darkly as he balled in on himself, tears burning the edges of his vision as his body flooded with regret and guilt, "Maybe this is my divine punishment, I mean I made her suffer for years. If that genjutsu was an accurate display of her memories that means she's at the very least liked me for over a decade. Hell, that means she acknowledged me before even Iruka-Sensei did, and how did I repay her? By being a big idiot…Dattebayo. I even flirted with Sakura in front of her, even after she told me that she loved me and almost died for me, twice! I couldn't even bring myself to approach her after Neji… How cruel can I be? I'm nothing but a stupid coward, dattebayo!" he chuckled his tone filled with mirth.

"Kit, you weren't exactly the most socialized human, and you were dealing with your own problems. I'm pretty sure she understood that."

"That doesn't change the fact that I hurt her, and have been hurting her for years! -ttebayo! If I had the chance I'd go back and make it up to her. Maybe….maybe then things would have turned out differently. Do you think when I reincarnate next time Old Man Six Paths can set something up? I wouldn't even mind if I became her pet rabbit or something, dattebayo!" Naruto pleaded morbidly, resigned to his fate, but with a small flicker of hope.

Kurama was stunned by the boy's complete abdication. Naruto was really giving up. Had the boy finally reached his breaking point? Giving the broken man a remorseful look before quickly recovering the monstrous vulpine-like creature shrugged, playfully giving the blonde an arrogant smirk. Kurama in fact was gathering chakra to save the idiot. Throughout their conversation, the nineteen-year-old's body had still been plummeting to the earth and Kurama wanted to distract him from the pain and anxiety of the situation.

Out of all the humans, the Kyūbi had met over the years this one deserved more. He was treated no better than any Bijū. The humans always used Naruto as a tool, a weapon, and ignored his wants and needs when the crisis was over. Who had been there for him when he was a weak kit going to bed hungry at night? Who held him after the war when he struggled with nightmares for months? Kurama knew Naruto well. Even if the boy could hide his feelings and thoughts from everyone else, it was hard to shield those emotions from someone living in your head. The Kyūbi saw and felt it al,l as if it were his own personal experiences, every betrayal, every infliction of pain, physical or not. No...this boy deserved more, and Kurama would make sure Naruto achieved some happiness in his life if he could help it. Grinning with cunning that only an ancient nine-tailed fox could muster he turned his chakra pools inward.

"...Sure Kit, I can try to talk to him about setting something up."

"Kurama...will it hurt?"

"Not any more than when Mandara ripped me from your body. I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you, Kurama...and again I'm sorry."

With his last words to the fox, Naruto directed his consciousness outwards. Opening his eyes to the real world the defeated blonde was once again aware of the sting of the cold wind on his cheeks as he tumbled through the winter air. Naruto's tanned skin was burning from the chill as his body gained momentum.

Despondent blue eyes drifted upwards to gaze at the false sky of this strange land his team had been drawn to during their mission. He could still clearly see the hole his chakra has pierced through the miniaturized moon that glowed in the night sky. It reminded him of her, and those eyes her clan was famous for.

Naruto lifted his hand, still firmly grasped in his firm grip was a charred piece of scarlet that had been carefully knitted throughout their journey. He had seen her working on it as he watched her every night. All that work, carelessly obliterated in an instant. Naruto chuckled at the irony since his own will and dreams had been destroyed just as easily.

Bringing the small bit of comfort closer to his chest Naruto tried to get his breathing under control as the ground drifted closer. The Jinchūriki now fought against his primal instincts that screamed for him to save himself. He had to remind himself that Kurama had assured him it wouldn't hurt. It'd be over in an instant. Would they be able to find his body? How would they feel after he was gone? Would they succeed in their mission without him? It didn't really matter anymore, now did it? Taking one last deep breath to steel his resolve Naruto looked back up to the moon. It really did remind him of her eyes, those gorgeous pools of pearlescent lilac. Usually hidden behind indigo as dark as the night sky. With that last thought, there was nothing…

...and then there was pain everywhere. Groaning, a young child slowly opened their bruised, but shining cerulean blue eyes. The first thing the battered boy noticed was the pain encompassing his small frame, then he saw that it was snowing. Looking around sky-blue orbs locked onto large pools of milky lilac staring down at him. Tears brimming the ethereal gaze, threatening to fall along a delicately round pale face, framed by indigo.

"Wha…?" Was all the young Naruto could muster. He didn't know if it was because his body was in so much pain, the dizzy falling sensation he was currently struggling against, or those large eyes that kept him pinned to the ground. After another moment of fighting to gain his bearings, a bleary-eyed Naruto slowly sat up.

"I'm s-sorry." a voice whimpered barely above a whisper. Naruto turned to focus on the voice. Returning to gaze at the pretty eyes before the pearlescent pools snapped shut as something scarlet was thrust under Naruto's nose, "Y-your scarf, they ruined it."

As more of Naruto's surroundings came into focus he saw a girl no older than himself kneeling in front of him. Displayed in her hands were the remains of a scarf torn to shreds. A sudden tidal wave of emotions washed over the young boy. It felt like someone had punched him in the gut all over again. What was this feeling? It was overwhelming, disorienting, familiar, yet foreign.

"A-are you okay?" the girl asked in concern lowering the object to look at him with worry filling her large pupilless eyes. She seemed scared, or distressed, not of him, but for him? This was a strange feeling that was developing in his gut right now. Naruto wasn't sure what to make of it, but he didn't want the girl to look so sad and scared.

Even though it seemed every part of his body was sore and stiff Naruto managed to brush the snow off of himself, making an effort to smile at her reassuringly, "I'm okay! I'm used to it! How about you? -ttebayo, are you okay?"

He observed her more intently as the current situation came flooding back to him. The girl had been being bullied by some older kids when he tried to intervene. Then said jerks had knocked him out. Naruto's large blue eyes carefully inspected the nervous girl, trying to notice if those mean older kids did anything to her besides saying harsh words to make her cry. He didn't want to see her cry either, but it would be better than seeing her hurt.

"I-I'm okay...Here's your...s-scarf?" The girl tried again to give him the remnants of scarlet yarn. Naruto smiled again, shaking his head and waving his hand dismissively. The article of clothing had been destroyed, what use did he have for it now? The girl was nice, but her logic was weird.

"That's okay, you can keep it! Dattebayo! We should probably head home anyway, it's kinda cold out here." To prove his point the seven-year-old started to shiver, rubbing his arms vigorously at the realization that he was freezing. His hands were pink and numb, as were his face and ears.

'How long was I out for? Has she really sat in the snow this whole time waiting for me to wake up? Why would she do that? Isn't she cold? What a strange girl.'

The girl stared at him for a long moment seeming to be unsure about something before she tucked the remnants of yarn into her pocket and nodded in agreeance. With that, the duo went their separate ways. Naruto wouldn't let his weakness show, but in reality, he was cold, hurt everywhere, and felt kind of sick. Not quite as sick as when he drank spoiled milk on accident, but an unfamiliar unsettling feeling deep in his gut.

It didn't take long for Naruto to make it to his apartment. Upon entering the young boy shouted a less than enthusiastic "Tadaima..." being answered back with a familiar silence the orphan was quick to kick off his shoes at the genkan, hurrying to the bathroom to start his bathwater. While waiting for the bath to fill Naruto decided to strip out of his wet clothes and eat a quick cup of ramen.

The bath warmed him up considerably and helped reduce the remaining soreness he had been feeling. Sometime later Naruto decided to get ready for bed. Sleep claimed the worn-out child quickly, and from his subconscious, a large figure obscured by shadow watched as his dreams danced around through his mindscape.

"Rest easy Kit, you've earned it..."

The next morning Naruto got ready for school. He'd been in the Academy since the start of spring. So far the experience was less than what he had hoped for. What does being a ninja have to do with books and homework? Not to mention the other kids weren't as friendly as he hoped. They were just as bad as adults. He wouldn't give up on trying to make friends just yet though! Maybe they'd been in a better mood since the Rinne Festival ended recently? The villagers always seemed to be happier around that time of year, though he didn't understand why.

Once Naruto left his apartment he was quick to head off only to abruptly skid to a stop, slipping in the snow and almost falling as he made it to the main road. What was this feeling in the air? It was suffocating, it made him feel sick, and all the hair on his body seemed to stand on end. The blonde child raised his hand to grasp his jacket uncomfortably. It was becoming hard to breathe.

Hesitantly Naruto started forward again cautiously trying to figure out what this feeling was. He didn't feel like he was in danger, but his body was humming. Looking around he flinched catching some of the cold glances he'd been noticing more frequently. Was that where the feeling was coming from?

"Be strong… A Shinobi endures after all…"

Naruto quickly looked around unsure if he heard that out loud. It didn't seem like it. Either way, it was good advice, he was after all training to become a great shinobi, maybe even Hokage someday. Nodding in determination the reassured boy put on his biggest smile and continued on his way. Naruto couldn't let these people intimidate him, especially if one day he was expected to protect them, even if they hated him now eventually that would change.

Naruto was relieved once he got to class, the heavy feeling wasn't as thick in the air here. The cheerful boy looked around for a free spot with his large blue eyes. Today the young Uzumaki noticed something strange, every time he would focus on one of his classmates he'd get a different range of funny feelings that'd become stronger the closer he got to the individual. Naruto didn't like a lot of the sensations he was feeling, even if they weren't as overwhelming as the ones given off by the adults earlier.

That was until his gaze landed on a familiar indigo-haired girl. She was sitting in one of the higher-up rows towards the back of the classroom. Wearing the same berry violet coat she wore the previous day. Just gazing at her gave Naruto a strange heavy feeling, but it didn't seem directed at him like when he was looking at the other students. Humming to himself in thought, the young boy decided to investigate and walked carefully up the steps to look down at her. The girl seemed distracted, her head turned towards the window. Naruto smiled mischievously, careful to stay quiet as he closed the distance. Patiently the intrigued boy stood hovering next to her waiting curiously to see if she'd notice his presence.

After a brief period, the girl sighed, turning back to facing forward, flinching when she finally realized the boy was standing next to her. Naruto's smile faltered for a second, was she like the others? Was she going to ignore him too? However, his thoughts were shaken up by a sudden warm feeling permeating from the girl erasing the heavy feeling he had been emitted from her before.

The withdrawn girl still wasn't looking at him however, her eyes directed downwards as she shifted uncomfortably, but Naruto didn't mind, all he could think was, 'This feels nice…'. With that in mind, the young blonde nodded to himself coming to a decision he plopped down in the free seat next to the timid girl, basking in the unfamiliar warmth she exuded. This earned him a surprised squeak from the hesitant girl.

Naruto waited in comfortable silence giving the girl a couple of sidelong glances to gauge her tolerance of his presence before mustering up his biggest smile turning to face her while leaning against the desk, resting his whisker striped cheek in his palm, "I didn't know we had class together, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! What's your name, dattebayo?"

"H-Hinata, Hyūga Hinata…", the girl murmured after a long pause still avoiding eye contact with the boy.

Naruto nodded in recognition, chuckling in restrained giddiness. 'She didn't ignore me! Someone's actually talking to me without getting mad!' Leaning back in his seat Naruto interlaced his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. The nervous boy was trying to give off a look of boredom and apathy when in reality he was feeling the complete opposite.

Hesitant to press he weighed his options before deciding to press his luck, "Do you mind if I sit here today, Hinata-Chan?" He finally asked quietly, giving her a sidelong glance to ascertain her reaction.

The girl stiffened for a second, giving him a whirlwind of different sensations. Warmth, tingling, heaviness, the sensations pushed against his chest and stomach in alternating waves making him feel dizzy. There were too many changing feelings at once, making it hard for Naruto to concentrate.

"A-anou...I-I don't mind N-Naruto-K-Kun…" the girl who was now known as Hinata finally replied looking up as she began pushing her index fingers together in a nervous manner, her eyes darting towards him for a second before she quickly looked away.

Naruto blinked in confusion for a second unable to fully trust his ears. Instead, becoming distracted by a faint rosiness dusting her cheeks. Silently he hoped that she wasn't coming down with something. He felt guilty since she had stayed out so long in the snow yesterday because of him. Yep, Naruto definitely needed to sit here today and keep an eye out for her in case he needed to notify Sensei of her condition. Hinata had after all told him she didn't mind sharing seats with him.

Suddenly a disturbance at the front of the class drew both of the children's attention. A dark-haired boy dressed in blue flocked by a group of girls made his way into the class. The sight of the said boy immediately gave Naruto a twisted feeling in his stomach and a burning in his chest. Inwardly the blonde swore, but he wanted to give the girl a good impression of himself so outwardly Naruto reserved himself to just glaring at the newcomer.

The socially inept orphan found that some people didn't like when he said those kinds of words out loud. Naruto once had a crazy old lady practically force-feed him soap of all things for it on one occasion, after tanning his hide. Just remembering the memory made him shudder, Naruto hadn't been able to sit properly the rest of the day, and all his ramen had tasted awful. It had been a very dark day in his young life indeed.

Uchiha Sasuke, for all the disinterest and hostility Naruto experienced, seemed to be blessed with the complete opposite, and worse didn't even appreciate it. Since the start of the school year, Naruto had tried to beat him in all the practical evaluations and was up-showed by the stuck-up Uchiha every time. Slowly the orange-clad Uzumaki lowered his hands reaching into his pockets that had been slowly dampened in the warm classroom, his mouth twisting into a mischievous grin.

'Today I'll put you in your place! Everyone will see you're not so special!'

In the blink of an eye, Naruto had leaped on top of his desk throwing two partially melted snowballs into the direction of his ire.

'I have him this time! There was no way Temē would have expected-' Naruto's thoughts were cut short, first by disappointment, because of course Sasuke would dodge, and then quickly replaced by horror as the pink-haired girl behind the raven-haired boy had not been as fortunate.

'...Shi-Shimatta...'

Naruto spent the first half-hour of class nursing wounds received from inciting the wrath of one irate Haruno Sakura. Something Naruto hoped to not repeat any time soon. Normally he'd be tripping over himself to try and get on the girl's good side, but now the terrified boy just shuddered, feeling a chill go down his spine at the idea. Somehow Naruto just knew it wasn't a good idea and would lead to more pain in the future.

After morning instruction Naruto followed the rest of the class outside as their instructor had stated they were going to be going through Kata drills and some light spars. Supposedly it'd warm them up before they'd be released in the afternoon. The Uzumaki boy didn't understand how that'd work since it was cold outside and they'd be exercising outside, but he was looking forward to trying to wipe the smirk off of Temē's face.

Maybe if he beat the popular jerk the other students would acknowledge his awesomeness! So far Naruto had at least found one person who tolerated his presence, which gave him hope. With that train of thought, Naruto stole a glance at the shy girl while they made their way to the school training field. He had worried that Hinata would be mad at him when he accidentally hit Sakura with his snowball assault meant for Temē, but surprisingly she wasn't.

In fact, Hinata had that same strange look on her face that she had the previous day when he got beat up by those bullies. Naruto didn't know exactly how he felt about that, but a small part of him felt hopeful, he'd have to see where things went. All he knew, for now, was that as long as Hinata kept being nice to him she'd definitely stay off of his list of prank victims for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't long before the class moved from their Kata exercises to being split up into teams for spars. Naruto was getting excited as he waited his turn. It was interesting to watch the other matches. The blue-eyed boy couldn't tell if he was starting to finally retain the information from class, but it felt weird that he was starting to recognize the mistakes his peers were making before Sensei even said anything, and the instructions were starting to make sense.

"Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto you're up! And remember to behave this time!" the teacher called from where he was writing on his clipboard.

Naruto grinned confidently as he approached the practice ring, making the seal of confrontation they were taught to signify the start of the match. It was annoying listening to the others cheering for Temē. Why couldn't they cheer for him for once? What made the Uchiha so cool? Naruto didn't see anything special about the clan, or specifically about the boy currently glaring at him.

As soon as the signal was given Naruto launched into his assault. Normally he would have just launched forward with a half-hazard punch, but for some reason, his body moved on its own and he swung into a butterfly kick instead. This caught everyone off guard since that wasn't something they'd been taught in the academy. Sasuke saved himself by stumbling back falling into the snow. Naruto was so surprised himself he failed the landing, losing his balance and falling face-first onto the cold wet ground.

Groaning Naruto pulled himself up into a kneeling position wiping the frigid moisture from his face. 'What the heck was that?!' He thought, perplexed by his reflexes.

Hearing someone approach Naruto looked up to see his most recent instructor appearing just as bewildered as he felt. This was Umino Iruka, a young man who could barely be considered an adult. He had become the class's newest teacher after Naruto chased off the other two the previous semesters. So far the scar-faced brunette seemed to be a master at ignoring Naruto's antics, at least until today, and he hadn't even done it on purpose!

"…Naruto, please try to keep the advanced moves for when you're a bit older. I don't need yourself or each other trying to do things you're not ready for." The Chūnin admonished, earning a chorus of stifled giggles from the rest of the class. Naruto looked down, his face burning with embarrassment. Soon the boys restarted their match that quickly ended as it normally would have. Though Naruto was suspicious that his earlier surprise got under Sasuke's skin because it certainly didn't feel like he had pulled his punches.

While Naruto sat on the ground nursing his bruises, Sasuke scoffed as he hovered over him haughtily, "You're a hundred years too early if you think you can beat me, Usuratonkachi." he scoffed before returning to the sidelines.

Normally this remark would have spurred Naruto into a tantrum, but for some reason, it didn't bother him as much today. He still glowered at the taller boy before getting up to make his way back over to the sidelines purposefully plopping down on the opposite side of the training area from the other boy. Naruto didn't feel like dealing with any more insults delivered from the loud following that seemed to swarm the Uchiha, or the arrogant show-off himself.

Now that Naruto thought about it, why had it seemed just the other day so important to have all that? Yeah, sure it would be nice if the other kids were willing to play with him, or just do anything besides glare and mutter under their breath about him, but did he actually want to act like that guy? Naruto wanted people to like him for himself, it wouldn't do to emulate such a jerk. The Uzumaki was brought out of his musing by the appearance of a shadow and being washed over by that still new but refreshingly warm feeling.

"A-anou, are you okay N-Naruto-Kun? Sasuke-San seemed a bit hard on you t-today." came a small but sweet voice.

Looking up Naruto was once again lost in pools of milky lavender framed by indigo. Suddenly all the thoughts that had been weighing him down evaporated, and he felt washed over entirely by that sensation of warmth. His earlier embarrassment and humiliation didn't seem so important now. The Temē being a smug bastard seemed so insignificant compared to this. Someone was actually concerned about him! Someone was actually talking to him and didn't have that look in their eyes!

"Thanks, Hinata-Chan, I'm fine now! Dattebayo!" he answered, beaming his best smile. Well, at least the best he could manage under his current condition.

It wasn't long before the students returned to class to discuss their assignments that were due later in the week, and training they were expected to practice at home. As soon as Iruka-Sensei dismissed the class Naruto was quick to turn to the shy girl that had been such a soothing balm for the otherwise bad day.

"Hey, Hinata-Chan e-etou…" The blonde blushed unsure of himself again. Naruto wasn't one to act shy normally, but this felt important and he was afraid of it backfiring on him as other interactions had in the past with other students.

"...Y-Yes N-Naruto-Kun?" Hinata asked, turning to him, tilting her head giving him her full attention.

Taking a breath to try calming his nerves, Naruto fidgeted shifting his large sky-blue eyes as uncertainty overwhelmed him. "D-do you mind if I sit next to you tomorrow? Te-I uh mean Sasuke might still be mad at me. Not that I'm afraid of him! -ttebayo! I-uh….umm..."

Naruto continued to stumble over his words as the girl studied him carefully. Hinata seemed to be looking for something intently before she slowly gave him a small smile and nodded shyly. Her affirmation stunned Naruto, but he was quick to recover, flashing one of his large smiles again, "Great! See you tomorrow Hinata-Chan!" with that he was quick to run out of the classroom.

And so began Naruto's new routine. Every day that class was in session he'd sit next to Hinata, at least on the days he chose to participate. Even though her presence was comforting, the lonely boy still found the uncomfortable heaviness that was thick in the air unbearable at times. It didn't help that for the most part he was ignored by everyone else, especially his teacher.

Even when Naruto played pranks, got loud, or tried to generally bring attention to himself, Iruka-Sensei would just act as if nothing happened. Sure, the Scar-faced sourpuss reprimanded him when he almost decked Sasuke that one time, but it hadn't been worth the thrashing he received in return from the popular boy.

Naruto even caught Iruka-Sensei giving him that look on occasion when he thought Naruto wasn't looking. However, the attention-starved youth did notice that sometimes when acting up there'd be a flicker of something else, or a feeling similar to what he sensed radiating from Hinata. At least before the sensation was replaced with that all too familiar feeling the rest of the villagers seemed to put off, granted it wasn't as intense as what other adults seemed to emanate.

After school still sucked, besides the monthly visits from Hokage Jii-Chan to give him his allowance, or his infrequent meals from Ichiraku's, Naruto didn't have anything else to occupy his time before he was expected to return to that dreaded apartment at night. Fortunately, with the weather becoming more tolerable, Naruto could go train in the woods surrounding the village. However, the nice weather and budding trees also brought him a sense of anxiety.

Running through the woods throwing rocks at his designated targets with practiced ease, Naruto's mind wandered to the source of this new feeling of agitation. The coming of spring meant that soon his first year at the Academy would be over and that meant everyone was going to go on break for a month. That meant all the kids from clans were going to get specialized training from their families, and Naruto would be alone, again.

Gritting his teeth as the familiar twisting feeling burned in his chest. Naruto pushed himself to train harder weaving through the thick underbrush. He couldn't fall behind, he needed to use this time to train twice as hard, no ten times as hard! That way he could show everyone how awesome he had become at the end of the month! Then they would have to acknowledge him!

A sudden snap of a twig caught Naruto's attention causing him to stop and quickly turn around seeing nothing. Perplexed, the breathless boy tilted his head in confusion, focusing on the bushes wary of a wild animal while trying to regain his breath. Naruto didn't want to get chased by a wild boar again. He was already worn out from training for the past few hours.

A sudden tidal wave of suffocating heaviness froze Naruto in his tracks. The sun-kissed Uzumaki had never felt anything this intense before. The boy's small body trembled uncontrollably registering instinctually with dread even if he didn't know the cause. His body understood, he was in danger.

From the treetops overlooking the petrified youth lurked a figure cloaked in shadow. The foolish monster was alone for once. Had it given the ANBU the slip once again? It didn't matter, life rarely gave you opportunities. Gripping the kunai in their hand the silent assassin mustered up their nerve and pounced with the grace of a cat, eyes locked on its unsuspecting prey. It'd be over in a moment, the bane of the village would perish today!

In a flash of brilliance that shimmered between fiery gold and illustrious orange the assailant's descent was cut short. The last image to pass through the would-be assassin's mind was the young boy slowly turning his head up to look up, eyes a deep scarlet, pupils morphed into sharp slits, his small body covered in a strange aura reminiscent of flames as bright as sunshine. In the next instant, the predator became the prey, their body torn apart mercilessly.

As the aura died down another presence approached, albeit more hesitantly. Naruto didn't even look away from his handiwork as he felt the person approaching, not feeling in the least threatened by the newcomer.

"Kakashi...or I guess you're going by Inu right now? Keep a better watch over the brat. You wouldn't want something to happen to your precious Sensei's legacy after all."

Naruto spoke with a voice much too deep, guttural, and mature to belong to a seven-year-old boy. His eyes were wide, still blazing scarlet as he glared at the man wearing the kabuki mask signifying his place in Konoha's Spec-Ops ANBU Force. If the man was surprised he made no move to signify as such

"Don't worry, he's not aware, nor will he remember this...mess." The possessed boy emphasized his point waving his small hand to signify his blood-splattered clothes and the remnants of the body scattered around the clearing.

After a pause, Naruto slowly lifted his shirt exposing his tattooed flesh to the adult who was watching him suspiciously. "And as you can see, the seal is still perfectly intact. I'm rather fond of this...vessel and will not see him damaged anytime soon. As long as Naruto feels an attachment to this village I will act according to his will, even if he doesn't remember. Now if you don't mind, I have a brat that needs to be cleaned up, and you have a report to give your Hokage I presume?" Naruto smiled toothily before turning to leave. He hesitated for a moment, stopping to let out a long-drawn-out sigh Speaking without facing the masked man.

"You know, you could make an effort to give him more of your presence outside of the mask. You're not the only one suffering alone because of that night."

With that, the Kyūbi-possessed Naruto quickly disappeared. The man called Kakashi never once made a move to stop him nor pursue him. Kurama was aware that said shinobi could track Naruto down at any point using his canine summons so he wasn't concerned about when the boy's body would inevitably give out from the stress of his chakra surging through Naruto's underdeveloped system...

Kakashi for his part didn't know what to think about the current situation. It had been a routine assignment of watching Naruto from the shadows. Unfortunately, at some point, he'd lost track of his young charge. It seemed that was all it took for some fool to take advantage of the situation.

Digging through the carnage for any form of identification the young ANBU soon realized the poor bastard had been some Chūnin whose team was meant to be guarding a nearby checkpoint. Why was the man so far from his post? Did he know Naruto trained in this area frequently? Had he been planning this attack for a while? What would have happened if the Kyūbi hadn't decided to protect Naruto?

Standing back up Kakashi contemplated his options. There were too many unknowns, and questions left unanswered. What was the best way to handle this situation? On one hand, the Kyūbi seemed to be able to easily take over and possess Naruto. To the point of effectively turning a trained shinobi into nothing more than dog food.

On the other hand, Naruto's seal was still intact, and it seemed the Kyūbi had become attached to his young Jinchūriki. To the point of even stating he'd support Konohagakure if that was Naruto's wish. Well, after chastising Kakashi for slipping up with his sworn duty. Actually, how did the fox know his name?

Looking around at the remnants of one of his compatriots Kakashi weighed his options once more. How would the Hokage take the news? Would he even believe Kakashi's account? Would this put Naruto in even more danger? The young ANBU was torn between his duty to the village and his fallen sensei.

At last, Kakashi came to a decision leaping off in the direction of the outpost. After all, it wasn't unusual for a ninja to meet their end because of a dangerous animal. His teammates just needed to be convinced, well after Kakashi made sure they weren't complicit. The young shinobi's left eye glowed threateningly at the thought. If that had been the case, well, Konoha wouldn't miss one low-ranking team, the forests were full of wild animals after all.

It was late evening when Naruto stirred. 'What happened?' Groaning he sat up and noticed his clothes were soaked while also covered in mud and foliage. The young boy was confused, sore, and too tired to really care about much else. Maybe he ate poisonous mushrooms again? Everything seemed fuzzy, and his memory was coming up blank. Hokage Jii-Chan has warned him to be careful when foraging in the forest.

Naruto's thoughts were cut short by a familiar presence making itself known. Looking up disoriented youth noticed a tall lanky ANBU that had shadowed him most of his young life, well one of them anyway. Inu was usually pretty lax compared to some of the other ANBU the Uzumaki had to deal with. Inu never spoke to him of course, but he never gave him that heavy feeling either. Instead, the ANBU gave off a more complex feeling Naruto couldn't place. It was like a mix of what he felt when he'd return to his apartment every night, but also how he felt greeting Hinata every day at school. It was a very disorienting sensation for sure.

"I-Inu-San? What are you doing out here?" the young boy stammered, rubbing sleep from his eyes, inadvertently smearing mud down his cheek. The strange man's answer was to tap Naruto's chest and then point towards the horizon. Bring to boy's attention the time of day.

"Ah, yeah...I know it's getting late. Hokage Jii-Chan's probably mad that I'm not back in the village again, huh? He sure has gotten more strict since I started going to the Academy, dattebayo…" the boy grumbled before sneezing. This was followed by a shiver as the evening breeze licked his skin.

The ANBU tilted his head studying Naruto carefully for a long moment before he knelt motioning for the dirty child to climb up onto his back. Naruto shifted uncomfortably, feeling a mixture of guilt and embarrassment. His tune quickly changed as he was assaulted by another chilly gust of early spring air.

Awkwardly Naruto scrambled onto the masked man's back. The lonely orphan wasn't used to being this close to anyone, it was so rare that Naruto found himself savoring the moment. As Inu-San lept from tree to tree back towards the illuminating light of the village Naruto sleepily nuzzled into his back. Is this what it would have felt like to have an older brother maybe?

'Hehe...Inu-San smells like puppies', with that last thought of irony Naruto drifted back to sleep. His dreams were filled with visions of a kind yet sad smile hidden behind a mask, dogs, and warmth.

Author Note: And so ends the first chapter! Confused? The inspiration for the opening scene was taken from "The Last", except taking away Naruto's plot armor. This is a divergence fic after all! The main plot idea being along the lines of "What if Naruto became friends with Hinata first?", sprinkled with a bit of meddling from Kurama that'll be delved into with future chapters. I'm still unfamiliar with 's formatting, so if you have any suggestions or tips, I'd be very appreciative!

Disclaimer: You may have noticed I have a tendency of writing in Japanglish. I tend to watch my anime in subs only, so to me, certain Japanese words sound better. Not to mention many don't have a direct English meaning. (Dattebayo being an infamous example.) I am not fluent in Japanese by any means, but to help my readers I'll add a brief list of words at the end of each chapter for reference.

Keywords:

Setsuri - Providence

Kyūbi - Directly means "Nine-Tailed", specifically refers to the Nine-Tailed Beast.

Jii-Chan - Endearing/Familiar way of referring to one's grandfather.

Ero-Sannin - From "Densetsu no Sannin" meaning "Legendary Three Ninja", Loosely you can interpret it as a title "Legendary Ninja Pervert".

Dattebayo - Does not have an English equivalent, and very hard to put the explanation into words. It is an exclamation intended to add emphasis to a statement or phrase. The intent is to emphasize or add energy to the speaker's words. Pretty much "I'm awesome, and my words are awesome!" in a childlike manner. Usually used by children to get an adult's attention when they're being ignored. Naruto tends to use it when he's emotional, making a statement, or generally excited (positively and negatively), a nervous verbal tic.

Temē - Rude way to say address someone as "you", kind of like saying "Hey, Asshole!" or "Oi, Bastard!", usually used by unrefined individuals, generally punks.

Bijū - Tailed Beast

Genjutsu - Illusionary Technique, meaning the arts of illusion and hypnotism

Anou - "Um…", Used when you know what you want to say, but don't want to be direct. Can also be used when speaking to someone you're not familiar with.

Tadaima - Shortened from "Tadaima Kaerimashita" meaning "I just came home" or "I'm home", habitually announced when arriving home, usually answered back with "Okaerinasai" meaning "Welcome back!" or "Welcome home!"

Genkan - Traditional Japanese Entryway, where you take off your shoes.

Shimatta - Weak expletive for when you screw up by generally doing something stupid. Not generally considered actually cursing. English equivalents include "Crap…" "Dammit..."

Kata - Means "Form" in relation to Martial Arts, Like breaking down the steps.

Etou - "Um…", Used when you want to buy time to think about what you're trying to say.

Chūnin - Middle Ninja, Journeyman Ninja, Mid-Level Ninja

Usuratonkachi - Literally means "Thin Hammer", generally used to call someone useless, an equivalent to "Loser".