Chapter 1:
Five years after the Kyuubi attack
It was a clear night in Konohagakure, the shinobi village in service to the Land of Fire, one of the five major Elemental Nations ruling the large continent. Arguably the most powerful of the five Great Hidden Villages, Konoha endured and survived attacks from the others and their allied minor villages in three separate large-scale conflicts called the 'Great Shinobi Wars'. Even more impressive, they came out among the decisive victors in each of those wars.
Thanks to the Leaf's powerful, and somewhat eccentric, shinobi in service to the village that helped secure those victories, it was a quiet and peaceful night for citizens of Konoha without any fear of unprovoked attacks from outside forces. Despite that, members of the Uchiha Police Force were diligently keeping the peace with their silent patrols on the streets and rooftops. In addition, the special operations force ANBU, while unseen, also watched for any danger from the shadows.
A few staggering rabble rousers, emerging into the seedy night from dank and dimly lit bars, they swore loudly as they stumbled along the uneven path. Being highly intoxicated and due to the late hour, they were expelled from the taverns by bartenders who were closing for the night. They were making their own way home and happened to glance up, spotting a lone old man walking down a dirty and poorly maintained street, a good sign that he was in one of the poorer parts of Konoha.
The old man ignored them, an intent look on his face as he went about his business, a clear destination in mind. Ordinarily, they might have been tempted to hit the old man up for a few quick Ryo, but after blinking and looking carefully a second time, they recognized the ensemble the old man was dressed in and quickly reconsidered hurrying about their business, eager to avoid any trouble. A wise decision, without a doubt, as even though they were heavily concealed by high-level genjutsu, a squad of ANBU, Konoha's elite special forces, were easily keeping pace with the old-looking man from the rooftops, slipping between shadows silently and unseen. It wasn't because they considered this man a threat like one might think.
Instead, they would give their lives to protect him from any slightest indication of danger coming from any direction.
This particular old man who happened to be the leader of the village and, commander-in-chief of its military, was known as Sarutobi Hiruzen, or the Third Hokage. He was dressed in a simple black shirt, and black ANBU pants along with a pair of black shinobi sandals. Over this however, he wore a white full-length cloak with red accents flared out at the bottom as he traveled silently down the street, at a brisk pace, toward an old and decrepit apartment building. He stopped in front of its entrance gate for a moment and shifted the front brim of his large and iconic conical Hokage hat up to glance at the fresh graffiti covering the front of the building and its perimeter wall. He sighed despairingly as he stroked his graying pointed goatee and read over the painted text.
"It's already been years since the Kyuubi attack. Why do the people of this village still carry so much hatred?" he thought angrily as he pushed on the creaky gate, nearly knocking it off its hinges before opening it and continued onward into the building. The four ANBU guarding him split up, with two going inside after him in almost invisible blurs while the other two took up vantage points on the rooftop.
After making his way up several flights of stairs to the top floor, he arrived at the door to the apartment belonging to one Uzumaki Naruto. The young boy was living here by himself, ever since he was forced out of the orphanage over a year ago. The Hokage happened to be dining at a small ramen stand one night when he came upon the young boy digging through the trash for scraps. Taking pity on the poor and clearly starving child, the Hokage had bought him a bowl of ramen which the small boy had devoured with an enthusiasm that both surprised and worried the old man. Over the course of the evening, and following another five bowls of the delicious ramen, the Hokage had convinced the boy to share his story. He was saddened to learn that Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage which was established to care for the village's orphans more than a year ago and been forced to scavenge through dumpsters and trash cans for food. With no other options, the Third had to give him a place to live in since none were able to adopt him due to politics involved.
As soon as he moved in, the tenants all immediately moved out…even the landlord. In all senses, it was an abandoned building slowly falling into disrepair. Only the occasional Genin team hired by the Third himself to do maintenance on the building barely kept it from being unsafe to live in for the young boy.
He raised his hand to knock on the door, having come here to check in on Naruto and hand him an envelope holding this month's allowance. Waiting patiently as the knocking echoed almost forebodingly throughout the hallway, the Hokage's thoughts began going over what had been happening to this child not for the first time…and certainly not the last time.
He couldn't help but blame himself for not being able to save his former successor, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, from sacrificing himself to seal the Kyuubi into his own newborn son, Naruto, during that disaster on October Tenth so long ago. Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who was already fatally wounded from when the Kyuubi inexplicitly broke out of her seal while giving birth, sacrificed herself holding the demon fox down with her unique chakra chain jutsu to help her husband complete the sealing process.
If only Hiruzen had managed to get there before the Fourth's Shiki Fuin sealing ritual took place, he would have gladly taken Minato's place in the Shinigami's stomach. That would have at least allowed the young man to live in order to be able to take care of his son and protect him from those who resented his jinchuuriki status.
Instead, after the deaths of Minato and Kushina, Hiruzen, even as he mourned his beloved wife's death, was forced to come out of retirement and retake the Hokage hat until another suitable replacement could be found. Somewhat regretfully, he was also forced to keep Naruto's parentage a secret; even from the child himself.
Minato had made many enemies throughout his career and many nations and villages wanted h8m dead. Spies abroad had informed him that celebrations were held all over Iwagakure in Land of Earth when it got out that Minato, their hated foe, was finally dead. The third knew that if Iwagakure ever found out Minato had a son, they would have stopped at nothing to kill him out of spite alone. He knew they would never risk the chance that Naruto might one day weild the same techniques his father had used to single-handedly decimate a large portion of Iwa's army in one battle in the last Great Shinobi War. That would include sending assassins after an infant. The Hokage could not risk that with his village still recovering its shinobi force from the war and the Kyuubi's destruction; at least until Naruto himself grew up to be strong enough to defend himself from most adversaries.
Unfortunately, due to his parentage being secret and having to be hidden among Konoha's many orphans as a legitimate ward of the village's civilian council, this left him alone to face the coming animosity. When it was leaked that the Kyuubi was sealed into this young boy, most of the village believed him to be a true reincarnation of the monster itself instead of being its container.
The Hokage and many other respected shinobi did try to stem the coming storm by publicly announcing that Naruto was just a human child who had the misfortune of being chosen to carry a heavy burden. For that, he should have been viewed as a hero. The villagers, in their grief and hatred over losing their beloved Fourth Hokage and many of their loved ones, ignored their pleading and tried to openly attack and kill the infant anyway.
After seeing his ANBU stop so many attempts, the Third became angry and passed a law forbidding any talk of Naruto being the Kyuubi container on pain of death. He hoped that the hatred would not be passed down to the child's own generation at least, though he knew that was a fool's hope at best.
In the years since the attack, quite a few shinobi, like the Yamanaka clan head and the famous Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan, found themselves blocked in every attempt to take Naruto in thanks to the village's civilian council making it a mission to put up impassable red tapes in order to keep the child isolated as much as possible.
Blinded by their hatred toward the Kyuubi, the civilian council refused to believe the child could not be the demon fox and kept finding ways to discreetly have their ward die early without intervention from the Hokage. They began by denying him even the basic necessaries of life by often having him kicked out of stores and restaurants and overcharging him for anything, even expired food. It was only luck that there were no attempts to attack Naruto outright due to the ANBU standing guard around him in the shadows almost all the time.
The old man had to allow a small smile as he remembered how his most powerful, and rather anti-social, ANBU, recently promoted to Commander, was quite protective of the cute and innocent infant back then.
The Hokage, in all his power, could not do much as the civilian council members were careful and there wasn't any evidence that they were going behind his back. Instead, he could only watch over Naruto from afar as the child continued to become more isolated from everyone in the village. Even the children his age avoided him due to their parents warning them to stay away from him without any explanation.
The old man was brought out of his grim thoughts by the cold silence that followed his knocking. It unnerved him somewhat, since he felt this wasn't due to the stillness of an empty apartment.
His shinobi senses, refined by age and experience, told him this was unnatural.
To confirm, he waved a hand and two ANBU seemed to melt out of the walls on both sides of the door. They immediately went down to one knee where they stood in salutation to their leader.
"Has Naruto-kun left the apartment at any time tonight?" Hiruzen asked the dog-masked ANBU with gravity-defying silver hair kneeling to his right. This particular ANBU captain was called Inu or, more famously, Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan whenever he wasn't wearing his ANBU mask.
"No, Hokage-sama. He entered the apartment mid-afternoon and hadn't left since. Before that, we followed him through his usual routine. Aside from eating lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, nothing of interest happened today." Inu replied quickly. The Hokage seemed to contemplate this for a moment before the ANBU added.
"But…he seemed out of it. I think he's depressed."
A small shiver went down the Third's spine at this observation, and one thought went through his mind out of instinct.
It couldn't be. It should be impossible for a young child to think about …that.
He immediately pointed his index finger at the door and four ANBU, the two guarding Naruto plus the two that followed the Hokage into the building, quickly surrounded the door with two on each side. Inu, on the right side, picked the lock almost instantly and slowly opened the door. When it tapped fully open against the wall, all four masked shinobi quickly zipped into the apartment with a textbook crisscross entry procedure. The Hokage, walking calmly but decisively, then immediately followed them in.
The first thing he noticed was the deep darkness and the unnatural quietness permeating throughout the entire apartment. Even if Naruto was sleeping, shallow breathing should have been heard at least.
Inu and his partner were standing in the unlit kitchen to the left and the other two ANBU took positions in the empty living room to the right. After a quick scan, all five noted some dim light leaking out from under the door to the bathroom down the hallway opposite from the entrance. The Third desperately hoped that the young child was just taking a bath and ended up falling asleep.
Inu shattered that hope into a million pieces.
"Hokage-sama, I-I smell b-blood. So…much of it." he whispered haltingly with his uncovered eye widening behind his ANBU mask
Not wasting any time, the Third, with speed not seen by any for years, blurred to the locked bathroom door and, using nothing but his natural strength, easily ripped it off the frame with a thunderous crack of its cheap plywood construction around the hinges. Tossing the door aside with the ANBU immediately moving up behind him, Hiruzen prepared himself for what was beyond…and still could not contain his shock.
Blood.
If one had to describe the horrific sight the Hokage and the ANBU saw in the tiny bathroom in one word, it was simply that.
There was so much of that viscous life-giving liquid covering nearly every inch of this enclosed space in large splatters and blots. The cheap tiled floor was covered wall to wall with a thin sheen of bright red color, because the water overflowing from the bathtub diluted the blood. Also, next to the tub laid a rusty and chipped kunai, apparently discarded by a random shinobi long ago. It was nearly covered handle to pointed tip in that vital liquid as well.
It was at this moment that the Third made the grisly discovery.
A blood-soaked blond boy was slumped down in the tiny bathtub filled to the brim with red water. His eyes were closed, and his face was deathly pale with shallow cheeks. His left arm was sticking out over the edge of the tub, his limp hand hovering over exactly where the rusty kunai was located.
The last thing to hit everyone was the putrid metallic smell of dried blood in this tiny space.
The Third had to choke back some vomit, and it was only thanks to his years of seeing death and gore on the battlefield. One ANBU with him wasn't as steeled against this sight and smell, and immediately took his mask off to vomit his last meal onto the hallway floor. Inu slowly removed his mask, revealing one wide eye and his mouth obviously agape behind his facemask. He became still and unable to speak, not believing the sight. The last two ANBU stepped back in shock and had to turn away. They were all used to seeing this kind of scene involving adults, but not a child so young like Naruto.
Snapping out of his shock, the Hokage quickly moved to Naruto's still body and scooped him out of the bathtub, getting blood everywhere on his white and red haori; not that he even bothered caring.
He cradled the small and fragile body to his chest as he checked for a pulse. It felt like an eternity as he held his breath until he finally found one tiny heartbeat, but it was barely there. He then quickly searched for any cut on the neck or the arms to stop the bleeding. To his surprise there were none, not even a scar.
"Why…" a small and weak voice barely reached Hirzuen's ears. The old man immediately stopped his frantic checking and looked at Naruto's face. What he saw broke his heart.
Coldness, despair, and crushing emptiness were all he saw in this child's half-open eyes.
"Why…didn't…I die? I wanted…to." the pale boy managed to whisper out. Hiruzen began to tremble, and he had to allow some tears out as he clutched the fragile boy tighter to his chest. His four ANBU couldn't stand to watch this and went off to pretend to check the surroundings while dealing with their own emotions.
"Naruto-kun, you need to tell me why you did this." the suddenly frail old man choked out.
"I'm tired…of not being seen. I want to…exist." Naruto tiredly whispered out before breaking down sobbing softly with an anguished expression. Each wrack of the boy's sobbing form was like a knife stabbing directly into Hiruzen's heart. "I c-cut m-my wrists…f-four times. Every time, I-I go to sleep, but I still w-w-wake up…with no c-cut."
It must've been the Kyuubi's chakra. How ironic…your 'curse' saving your life. the Hokage thought sadly as he watched Naruto slowly fade away into unconsciousness, now completely exhausted. At this point, he finally stood up, carefully wrapped up the naked boy with his ruined haori, and quickly carried him out of the apartment.
He then made a beeline for the hospital with his best speed, and Inu was hot on his heels while the other ANBU remained behind to clean up and try to get over what they just saw.
Next day at the hospital
The Hokage marched into the front lobby of the hospital with a tall jounin by his side, both carrying grim expressions on their faces. This new man wore a regular Konoha jounin outfit, with a heavy green long-sleeved shirt and a loose red cloth vest layered over the flak vest being the only variations. The hitai-ate was displayed on his forehead with clear pride, and he had his long dirty-blond hair tied into a high ponytail. The man's face was a mask of determination warring with worry. It was hard to tell which was the dominant emotion due to the aura surrounding the man and the nature of the situation at hand.
The receptionist gasped and stood to greet them with a nervous expression. The pair spared the woman a very brief nod, if such a gesture could even qualify as they strode past her, urgently making their way towards their destination to the high security ward on the third floor. Upon arriving at the correct floor, they continued briskly to Naruto's room that was currently under heavy watch with two guards at the door and an ANBU hidden in the ceiling inside the room.
The Hokage immediately dismissed the guards with a gesture. As they entered the room, he then waved his hand to allow the ANBU to appear from the ceiling. It turned out to be Inu.
Glancing at each other briefly, all three men then had a quick look at Naruto in his hospital bed. He still looked pale and unconscious. A small and pained intake of breath from the new man was the only sound anyone made.
While the blond jounin stood still, staring almost despairingly at the patient, Inu and the Hokage immediately set about activating several of the various security seals built into the room. After a moment of tense silence, the Hokage finally spoke up.
"Yamanaka Inoichi, nothing that happens in this room leaves it. Is that understood?"
The answer was a grim nod from the now identified head of the Yamanaka clan, and one of the top experts in mind arts.
"Now, I wish to thank you for discreetly taking care of the ANBU who were with us, as well the doctor who was here last night. I doubt they would miss the memories anyway, and we absolutely have to keep this to as few people as possible." the Hokage offered with a sad smile.
"I wouldn't want to remember this either if I had a choice, Hokage-sama. To think this child is the same age as my daughter…" Inoichi trailed off as he stared sadly at the feeble blond boy sleeping peacefully in the bed. This was the child he and his wife wanted to adopt since birth. He felt red-hot anger flare up inside against this village's civilians for impeding them so much and had to work to remain calm lest he lose his professional composure.
The Hokage nodded before turning toward Inu.
"Inu, would you like to have your memory from last night altered?"
The ANBU slowly took his dog mask off to reveal a man with one lazy-looking eye; the other was covered by a small black eye-patch designed to fit inside his ANBU mask. A dark blue spandex facemask covered the bottom half of his face all the way up to his nose.
Hatake Kakashi shook his head in response, a morose look in his eye as his posture slipped that small bit in response to the harrowing situation at hand.
"No, I need to remember this, Hokage-sama. I don't like it, but it'll encourage me to make sure he's better protected from now on. I refuse to fail Naruto a second time." he replied in an unusually serious tone for any anyone that knew him personally. The Third nodded again with a sad smile before turning back to Inoichi.
"Inoichi-san, as we have discussed before, I would like for you to go into Naruto-kun's mind and completely remove any trace of the past few days from his memory. Then go back to the time he just left the orphanage and work from there to the present, altering some events he encountered in subtle ways that may help him feel a little better about himself. Even random acts of kindness from non-existent strangers will help. As for why he ended up here, perhaps a minor accident involving him hitting his head should work and explain the foggy memories he may have after this. If you wish to object about any ethical issue with this, now is the time to do it and I will note it in the report that I'm making for Hokage's eyes only."
Inoichi shook his head. "How could he object to this? No child should ever have to think about committing suicide." He then walked over to Naruto's bedside and pulled up a chair so he could sit comfortably as he dived into the boy's mind. Upon reaching up to the boy's forehead with his hand, the Hokage decided to give the clan head a warning.
"Be careful, only Minato-kun knew exactly how the Kyuubi's seal works, and you may encounter the beast in there. If you do, give it a wide berth and try your best to fix the memories. It should not be able to harm you, but it may attempt to speak to you. Be wary of it."
Inoichi only hesitated for half a second before touching his hand to the boy's forehead. The closing of his eyes and slight slumping of his shoulders were the only signs he had successfully entered Naruto's mind. The Hokage sighed as he sat in another chair.
"I hope this works." he mumbled as he and Kakashi watched over the two blondes.
Two hours later
Inoichi blinked awake as he removed his hand from Naruto's forehead. The Hokage and Kakashi looked up at this movement, and they were surprised to see the blond jounin shoot up out of his seat with his body trembling from unbridled rage.
"How dare they…" he growled out quietly before exploding.
In a silent fury, Inoichi slammed an angry fist into a nearby wall, cracking it a little. Afterward, he had to work to regain control and managed to calm down a little.
The Hokage and Kakashi were stunned to see the normally calm clan head fly off the handle like this. They decided to give the blonde a minute to calm down before speaking.
"Did you see anything notable?" Hiruzen finally inquired after an eternity of tense silence.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing, Hokage-sama!" Inoichi bit out. This odd statement confused the other men.
"That's the thing. This young child was never attacked. The worst they ever did physically were selling him bad food and throwing him out of stores and restaurants. Apparently, they didn't see the point of directly harming him since it would most likely mean their death due to your law."
The Hokage nodded for the blond to continue. Inoichi let out a pain-filled sigh as he stared down at the unconscious Naruto with trembling eyes.
"They just acted like he didn't exist. They ignored him and cursed him anywhere he went. The only times he actually got positive attention was whenever he saw you or ate ramen with a middle-aged man and his daughter. He has been dealing with that ever since the first memory he could remember. I wonder which is worse…physical harm or having your entire existence cursed and denied anywhere you went?"
The Hokage's expression slowly became grim as he began to understand what the clan head was getting at. Kakashi was now glaring intensely at a particular spot on a wall. After a moment of silence, the Third finally spoke up.
"Do you think you did enough alterations that his mental state might be improved after this?"
"It's hard to say but in my study of his mind, he was so desperate for attention that a single encounter with a kind stranger boosted his belief in his existence exponentially. I created and scattered several 'encounters' like that throughout the past year and altered some of the negative events he encountered to have somewhat better outcomes. I even put myself in one of the new memories so he would feel comfortable talking to me if he sees me again around this village. I will likely introduce my daughter to him to be friends at that point."
"The civilians will object to seeing these two together." the Third stated calmly.
"They all can go to hell for all I care!" Inoichi snarled in response, before taking a breath to continue calmly. "My wife and I have allowed ourselves to be pushed around by them and their bureaucratic red tape whenever we tried to adopt young Naruto. We've dealt with it long enough, and if we cannot go that route, then we will involve ourselves in his life another way. It's not like they can legitimately order us to not to treat him like the human being that he is."
The Hokage nodded in response.
"I couldn't agree more. I will support you and whoever goes this route fully. Did you do anything more in his mind?"
"I couldn't because I'm sure he'd notice. I believe when he wakes up, he should be in a better mood. Even then, I still hope he will become friends with my daughter and the others. That will go a long way toward validating his belief in his existence." Inoichi spoke in an analytical tone.
"Very good…what about the Kyuubi? Did you encounter it?"
"No, Hokage-sama. I easily felt its presence in the mindscape, but Naruto's memories were located far away from the Kyuubi, so I was able to work unimpeded." Inoichi replied with apparent relief.
"Good. The Fourth did an excellent job with the seal then. Now, I need you two to understand why none of this leaves the room." the Hokage began with a firm gaze at the two men before continuing. "If news of this got back to those who are still angry about the Kyuubi, they will believe whatever they were doing was working and will intensify their efforts, making this worse and isolating him even more. I do not want to see a repeat of what I've seen the night before. Naruto-kun and suicide should not exist together in the same sentence. I know you believe this as well."
The other two men nodded in firm agreement. The Third sighed before putting his hand up in a half ram seal and whispering 'Kai' to release the security seals in the room.
Inoichi slowly rubbed his palm on the young blond boy's forehead with a sad expression before it changed to one of full-on determination. He then excused himself to leave.
Kakashi, sensing that Naruto was coming out of his sleep, decided to put his dog mask back on and returned to his hidden position on the ceiling. Hiruzen calmly straightened out his Hokage outfit a little bit before taking a seat next to the bed. It wasn't long before the young blonde began to stir and yawn, as if he was waking up from a long and fulfilling night of sleep. The other two occupants of this room immediately noticed the changes in the little boy's cerulean blue eyes. They weren't as empty or soulless as before. They showed some of their usual brightness with some visible confusion as the boy took in his surroundings.
"Hokage-jiji?" Naruto muttered in surprise as he saw the Third and then surveyed the hospital room with a confused pout. "What…what am I doing here? Did something happen?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage known as the famed 'God of Shinobi' and 'The Professor', was suddenly stumped and silently cursed his stupidity at forgetting to ask Inoichi for details regarding the supposed 'accident' that had the boy land in the hospital. He heard the tiniest bit of snickering and glanced menacingly in the direction of the hidden Kakashi. The corners of his lips barely twitched upward when he heard a gulp. "Yep. I've still got it."
"Naruto-kun, I'm glad you're ok…and you're in the hospital. I was told you were admitted here unconscious after you hit your head. What was the last thing that you remember?" he tried to fish the fake event out without suspicion. He saw Kakashi shrug and make a 'so-so' gesture with his hand out of the corner of his eyes. He frowned in slight offense…maybe he should make the one-eyed ANBU a sensei for three brats as punishment.
While the old man was contemplating unfair punishments, young Naruto was concentrating to remember what 'happened'.
"I was…walking through the park and I saw a girl trying to climb a tree." Naruto muttered as he continued to work through the fogginess in his head. "All I could remember about her was that she had long brown hair. I didn't even see her face. I was watching her and she suddenly screamed and slipped off. I…ran toward her and tried to save her. I guess I hit my head when I jumped under her because that was the last thing I remember."
The Hokage nodded empathically while inside he was considering giving Inoichi more pay for this.
A brown-haired girl in this village? Needle in a haystack.
Still, he'd make sure the boy wouldn't needlessly look for the 'girl'.
"That's right, Naruto-kun. That child and her father brought you in asking for you to be admitted. That was two days ago and you have been sleeping since then. That was a rather nasty lump you had on your head." the Hokage continued to spin off the 'event'. He saw Naruto brighten up considerably at this 'act of kindness', which made his heart clench painfully. Just how deep was his need to be acknowledged?
"Is…is she still around?" the child inquired hopefully.
"Unfortunately, not anymore." Hiruzen's heart almost broke at the boy's visible disappointment before he quickly continued. "It turns out she's the daughter of a traveling merchant and they have left the village. She was playing in that park to pass the time while her father did some business. She did leave the staff a message to pass on to you, however."
Naruto perked his head up, waiting to hear the message.
"She wanted to thank you for saving her…and that she hopes to see you again eventually." the Hokage said with a warm smile. Naruto's smile was enough to brighten up the room. The Third saw Kakashi give a thumb up for his acting…maybe he'd put off making the jounin a sensei for a while longer.
"Now…Naruto-kun, you get some rest and I have to get back to my duties. You will be released tomorrow morning. Get some sleep in the meantime, all right?" The Third stood up, getting ready to leave. Naruto gave an enthusiastic nod; his smile still plastered on his face as the old man stepped out and closed the door. Kakashi immediately appeared at his side.
"Keep an eye on Naruto-kun and let me know of any change. In the meantime, make a list of the stores and restaurants that kicked him out or overcharged him. I will personally take care of them. We're going to make sure things improve, if only a little, for him from here on." the Hokage dictated to the ANBU. The dog-masked man nodded as he took an orange book out of nowhere to begin reading it.
Soon at Yamanaka Flowers
Inoichi let out a weary sigh as he took his shoes off in the entranceway of his home. A beautiful brown-haired woman with almost gem-like green eyes appeared to greet her husband with a chaste kiss.
"How was your day, darling? They called you away so suddenly." Yamanaka Hoshi asked with some concern as she noticed her husband seemed to be rather melancholy about something.
"I can't tell you since Hokage-sama declared this a village secret. I'm sorry, my hime."
Hoshi nodded in understanding, knowing this was quite serious.
"However, whatever happened today has finally convinced me to get off my ass and really do something about our blond comrade." he said resolutely. It didn't take long for her to determine who her husband was referring too. Naruto was a frequent topic of concern and discussion for the couple. They had made repeated attempts to adopt the boy only to be frustrated at each turn, by the heavily biased Civilian Council.
"Ignorant, hateful bastards, the lot of them," Hoshi swore quietly, cursing the civilian populace who all hated Naruto with a passion. "What was the Niidaime thinking, creating a Civilian Council. This is a shinobi village."
"I know, dear. I don't like it either but for now, all we can do is bide our time and wait for the opportune moment. Shikaku and Chouza definitely do not like this either, and neither do most of the other clan heads, either. The Auburames never show any real emotions but Shibi once spoke up in Naruto's defense. Even Fugaku has made repeated protests at the Council meetings, demanding to be allowed to adopt the boy," he muttered before shaking his head with a sigh.
He wasn't sure what to think about the Uchiha clan. There were a lot of rumors surrounding them. Claims by a prejudiced few that they were growing too powerful and that this couldn't be tolerated. They were ardent supporters of Naruto, and a paranoid few claimed they wanted to use the boy in one of their secret plots. "When the time comes - and it will - we'll make our move and deal with the lot of them. Danzo and the others will not be able to do anything to retaliate against us. We'll take back our village from these monsters who would prey upon a helpless child who could not defend himself."
Hoshi grinned devilishly and embraced her husband.
"You know that kind of talk is a big turn-on for me." she murmured lowly before kissing him softly.
"In the meantime, the adoption route isn't working. We'll have to go another way." the blond man declared as he moved out of the embrace and stepped into the living room.
"What're you thinking?" the brunette asked softly at his side and saw that he was gazing lovingly at the living room's large bay.
Meanwhile, at the Hyuuga Compound.
Located in the center of the compound, the large Hyuuga clan meeting hall was where the elders and leaders of both main and branch families met to discuss any issue about the clan or the village. Right now, it was filled to near full capacity with many members of both branches awaiting news about a special event happening now.
The young clan heiress Hyuuga Hinata was one of the many members kneeling properly on the well-polished main floor, her hands clenching tightly at the fabric of her richly appointed lavender kimono. She was fervently attempting to remain calm despite the scrutiny of the Hyuuga Elders. The reason why she was nervous was because she was left alone, away from her parents who usually protected her from those that hated her shyness and gentleness. These were traits apparently unbecoming of a Hyuuga heiress in the eyes of the more arrogant and prideful members of the clan.
Ever since Hinata was born, all she knew was scorn from most of the clan's main branch for her kind nature. All Hyuuga clan members were supposed to be strong and take pride in their clan being arguably the most powerful in the village, always competing with the Uchiha clan for that position. The fact that she hadn't shown the 'required' amount of clan pride was a point of offense for the older Hyuuga. Instead, she preferred to see herself as equals with others, including the branch members.
This was a sore subject for many, especially when a branded branch member named Neji was clearly the clan's rising prodigy; not her or any one of the other main branch members. Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan head Fugaku already had a talented child in Itachi, who was just promoted to ANBU at age ten and would make captain rank before long.
The only solace Hinata got from the constant harassment by the entire clan she might one day rule over was her mother and father. Her mother loved her unconditionally and allowed her to be who she wanted to be. Her father, while stern in public, cared for her deeply and refused to take the elders' negative words about her to heart. She believed that she would survive even the most horrid treatment as long as she had the love and support of her parents.
This day was grating on her already low self-confidence, however.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the main doors to the meeting hall slowly opened to reveal one Hyuuga Hiashi, Hinata's father. The entire hall fell silent with his presence, since being the powerful head of the clan demanded that respect. Hinata almost jumped up in delight, and had to work to keep her composure as a 'proper' Hyuuga in front of the others.
Any hope of this being a happy occasion was shattered when she saw something wrong in his grim expression.
"I bring you mixed news. We have given birth to a very healthy infant. Our newest daughter's eyes are excellent and she will be a strong member of this clan. She shall be called Hanabi, and it is my hope that this clan will help her grow into an outstanding individual." the clan head spoke with a hint of fatherly pride, but there was no happiness in his voice.
"However, due to complications during childbirth, my wife Hyuuga Hitomi passed away peacefully in her sleep after living long enough to hold and name Hanabi."
The room remained deathly silent. Only one sound could be heard, and it was coming from Hinata. She was slowly grinding her teeth with misting eyes, and her hands were now clutching desperately at the fabric of her kimono as she was trying to keep her composure for a while longer.
"With this sad news, there will be no celebration and I wish to retire with my daughters to our house to grieve in privacy for the rest of the day." Hiashi finished with a tone that left no room for objections. He gestured for Hinata to rise from her kneeling position and allowed her to walk past him as he closed the doors.
The entire room then broke into whispers.
"My daughter, you may go ahead. I will retrieve your new sister and join you soon." Hiashi spoke with as much affection he could spare in his tone. Hinata did not object as they split up, and she quickly picked up her pace toward their house.
Hiashi arrived a few minutes later with a tiny bundle in his arms to hear loud sobs and wails filling the house's common area. After a brief second of searching, he found his eldest daughter kneeling on the floor by the living room table. Her head was buried in her arms resting on top of it as she continued to cry loudly, her tears wetting her kimono that became loose and disheveled from apparently running the rest of the way here.
As if sensing the mood, the little bundle in Hiashi's arms named Hanabi began to wail loudly too. Sighing painfully, the father of two could do nothing but take his seat by Hinata with a soothing hand on her back as he allowed a few tears to run down his cheeks as well.
Later that evening in the Uchiha Compound.
Thunk. A pause, then another thunk, followed shortly by another, and another.
Standing in the spacious backyard of the main dwelling of the Uchiha Compound, a young girl with dark raven hair was determined to progress in her efforts to become better. She had recently celebrated her fifth birthday and like all the previous ones that she was old enough to remember, her father had been absent. Her mother had done her best to ensure she remained oblivious to this but she noticed. She always did. Setsuna was the second child and only daughter of Fugaku, the Uchiha clan head and his wife, Mikoto. All her life, she had lived in the shadow of her prodigy of an older brother, Itachi. She loved her father and craved his approval, but knew that she would never live up to the standard set by her father and clan.
Setsuna had a relatively lonely childhood. Her mother worked in the village as a nurse at the local hospital while her Father served on the Council and managed the affairs of their clan. Her only other relative was her brother, whom she loved and idolized. Itachi always did his best to make time for her, to help with her training and occasionally read her stories before bed when he was not on missions. He never saw her as second place, as just a girl, like her father and the rest of the Uchiha elders. He called her his little hime and never failed to cheer her up when she was down, after listening to the rest of the clan whisper about how she should have been a success like Itachi. A worthy son and heir for the Uchiha clan.
Hearing her mother calling her name, Setsuna retrieved her kunai from the targets and replaced them inside the pouch strapped to her hip before heading inside the house. Her mother had prepared dinner and even though she wished she could continue practicing, her growling stomach made itself heard, insisting that it was time to eat.
"Setsuna, dear. Go wash up, then come back and set the table for me, please." Mikoto said with a warm smile for her daughter.
"Yes, Kaa-chan," she replied quietly before heading to the bathroom to wash her face and hands, pausing a moment to glance in the mirror. Her dark raven hair hung loosely about her shoulders, a few stray locks dangling lazily over her right eye. Her eyes were green, like her mother's. She sighed again, hearing her father's criticism on the few occasions he had observed her training. "You still haven't activated your Sharingan. Your brother had already activated his and gained a second tomoe by the time he was your age. I'm disappointed." He said turning away without another glance, his harsh tone crippling her self-esteem. She shook her head to banish her father's voice and finished before heading back out to help set the table. She had just finished and was helping her mother place the dishes of food on the table when she heard a series of loud screams echoing throughout the compound.
Startled, she nearly dropped the dish in her hands as her mother left to go investigate, warning her to stay put. A few seconds later, she heard her mother scream and panicked, racing to find her. In the entryway to their house, she saw her mother lying on the floor a few feet from the open door. She was motionless, with dark crimson liquid oozing from a huge slash wound in her chest. Standing in the doorway holding a bloodied katana, was her nii-san who looked at her with an emotionless expression. She froze terrified as he slowly stepped towards her.
TBC
So... that's the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I want to start by saying that I borrowed parts of this chapter from another author. I have messaged him about it and am awaiting a reply about it. If he protests, I will likely remove the story. I assure you all that only this first chapter will have elements from his work. The rest will be entirely my own. I merely felt his premise of attempted suicide better suited my story rather than a village that physically abused and attempted to assassinate a defenseless child. Don't worry. Naruto's outlook on life will improve from here on out.
As for the characters, I intend to develop them uniquely according to my own tastes. I would like to say that this will be a harem story with Naruto as the center. Naruto will likely have the kekkei genkai as well as other special abilities. I won't make him godlike, so don't worry about that. I don't know who all will be in his harem, but I do have plans to include Hinata and Hanabi for certain as that is one of my favorite pairings for Naruto harem stories.
For those who are concerned, I made Sasuke a girl in this story for reasons that will be revealed further in the story.
I don't, as of yet, have a very clear idea where this story is headed or how long it will be, but I do have several ideas I am working with that I have always wanted to see in other Naruto stories. Unable to find a story out there, despite numerous attempts, that satisfies all my desires for a Naruto story, I am making my own. I would also welcome suggestions and ideas from others though I do not guarantee I will use them in my story. I welcome all criticism, both positive and negative as it helps me improve my style. Right now, I'm still a fledgling writer. With that said, I hope you enjoy the story, and if you're willing, leave a review to tell me what you think.
Always devoted to your service and pleasure,
White Glove Literature.
