-Hana-

Hi all!

So, first off, I would like to address those of you who have migrated over from the original story. I'm sorry that I'm making you guys read these chapters again, it's just that I got so caught up in the semantics of making sure that everything I do makes sense that I kind of let the story quality dwindle.

I am not sure if I can call what I'm doing a proper rewrite because of how little was actually written, so just consider this as more of a re-organization of the first few chapters so that it may hopefully flow a little better.

Now, for everyone else;

Hello and welcome to my Naruto Fanfiction!

A few things you may want to know before you decide to spend your valuable time on this story:

Naruto is going to be different in this story. He's still going to be the same knuckleheaded goof we all fell in love with, but due to certain circumstances he is going to behave a little calmer rather than rambunctious.

Naruto is going to have the Wood Release or Mokuton in this. The whole concept of this story was birthed from an idea I had that takes place in this chapter, you'll know what I am talking about when you get there.

The pairing in this story is going to be NaruIno. Firstly, because I absolutely love that pairing, and secondly because it feels kind of like a no-brainer to me but I haven't really seen applied elsewhere. Ino loves flowers, Naruto can control flora. It makes perfect sense in my head okAY!

My chapters aren't going to be terribly long, but hopefully that means I can make relatively consistent updates (unless my muse leaves me of course).

Well, I suppose that is it, this was a pretty long author's note, so I hope I didn't scare many of you away. Hope you enjoy this first chapter, and I should have the second chapter up soon because it is already written, I simply need to make a few changes.

(Commercial District, Konohagakure no Sato – Year 73)

Naruto was bored.

The seven-year-old boy wandered around the village in search of something interesting to do. He didn't have any pending work from the academy and didn't particularly have any friends to speak of.

This aimless wandering of his led him to the shopping district in his home village of Konohagakure.

Shinobi and Kunoichi of all ages wandered around looking for various ninja tools and gear to help them out in their missions. Civilians walked around in search of groceries or clothes or provisions. Children dragged their parents along from shop to shop in hopes of being able to score some candy or toys.

Really, a normal day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Naruto briefly wondered whether it would be okay for him to join any of those groups and spend some of his money too. His small hands moved to cup his dear wallet, Gama-chan.

The toad-shaped wallet had been a gift from Jiraiya the last time the white-haired shinobi had visited the village and Naruto absolutely loved the little thing. He never left his house without it.

He shook it against his ear to check how much money he had left after spending so much at Ichiraku's. Ramen was undoubtedly his favorite food. The kind old man and his daughter made the best ramen in the village (and he would know, he had made sure to try every single other restaurant in the Commercial District).

After a moment of consideration, Naruto decided to save the money he had left for another time. It might be a while before he was given any more money. He even bypassed a little piglet plushie that he kind of wanted.

Just as he was about to give up on his search and return home, a startled gasp caught his attention.

His brown eyes wandered over to where he assumed the source of the sound was. It was a general store. It was a humble little store selling civilian wares and general provisions. Umbrellas with cute designs on them were hung near the entrance, possibly because of the approaching rain season.

Outside the store was a young girl who looked about his own age. She was crouched over with her back turned to him, so all he could make out was her short bubblegum pink hair which was tied back with a red ribbon. She wore a short-sleeved red qipao dress and dark green bike shorts.

She was sobbing lightly.

Naruto grew concerned for the girl, she looked like she could use some cheering up.

"Are you okay?"

He sounded nervous; he hadn't really spoken to many people outside his family. He hadn't made any friends in the academy yet, and the civilians kept their words to him to a minimum. Out of fear or respect, he did not know. Either way, he did not like it.

The startled girl whirled around; her green eyes met with his. Her pink hair was worn in bangs, almost self-consciously covering her forehead.

Her tears seemed to have dried up and her eyes widened when she realized who she was looking at,

"You're Naruto Senju."

The blond's throat tightened when he recognized the look in the girl's eyes. She looked at him with the same sort of admiration as some of the villagers shot him, her eyes shone with respect he hadn't earned yet and hence felt undeserved.

Although he wanted to scowl, he didn't let his displeasure show on his expression. His objective was to cheer this girl up after all.

"That's me," he nodded stiffly.

The girl straightened up and got to her feet,

"Wh-what can I do to help you Sen-Senju-sama?"

The girl was behaving like a nervous wreck and Naruto didn't like it one bit, he was just a kid like her and didn't want to be treated special just because of what legacy his family held. He wanted to be judged on his own merits.

He grinned as a show of good faith,

"You can start off by telling me your name," he said, "You already seem to know mine."

"My name is Sa-Sakura, Sakura Haruno."

She shrank after every word and tried to hide behind her bangs. She rubbed her eyes to wipe away the last of her tears.

"Nice to meet you Sakura," he smiled gently at her, hoping to make her feel a little more comfortable.

"Nice to meet you too, Senj- "

"Please call me Naruto," Naruto didn't let her finish. His words were kind, but firm. He really hated being referred to as by his family name.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-san."

Naruto wanted to groan at the added honorific, but at the very least she was calling him by his own name.

Sakura suddenly seemed to realize something and stiffened,

"I completely forgot to ask you, Naruto-san, did you need something from our store?"

Naruto shook his head,

"I just came over because I saw you were upset, so I wanted to cheer you up a little."

Sakura's eyes widened again, and her cheeks reddened. She then smiled,

"Thank you, Naruto-san. I am feeling better already."

And she did feel better, she had been having what could possibly have been the worst morning in her short, seven-years. She had been feeling like the world was crumbling around her until the bright and sunny blond showed up to brighten up her day.

Sakura turned around and picked up a potted plant from the counter and turned back around to face him. In the pot was what appeared to be a wilted flower. Its stem was thin and had patches of brown on it, its petals were shriveled up and discolored. It did not look very healthy.

"I was upset because my friend, Ino, gave me this flower when we became friends a week ago and I promised to take care of it," she began to tear up a little again, "But when I went to water it today, it was like this. I really thought that I was doing a good job at keeping the flower healthy!"

Sakura had felt like she couldn't do anything right when she found Ino's flower on the verge of death that morning, if she couldn't even keep a mere flower alive, how could she convince her parents that she was ready to join the Ninja Academy?

Sakura held up the flower pot to Naruto's face.

Naruto recognized the name, Ino Yamanaka. She was his classmate in the Academy, she was pretty but she could be a little vain at times, in Naruto's humble opinion.

He carefully picked up the pot. He remembered his academy sensei saying something about how every living thing possessed some kind of energy called 'chakra'.

Jiraiya had been teaching Naruto how to use his chakra every time the older shinobi visited, which was every few months or so. The last time Jiraiya visited, Naruto learned to expel some of his own chakra. This is what had earned him Gama-chan.

Since chakra was energy found in living things, Naruto figured that maybe if he tried the same on the flower then maybe it could help out in reviving it. Surely, it couldn't do any harm.

Naruto focused and let some of his chakra flow into the potted flower.

The young girl stared with rapt wonder as the once dying rose regained its vibrancy and color. A once muted and sickly yellow turned bright and full of life again.

A sheepish Naruto handed the flower back to her,

"I'm not sure how I did that, but your flower is fine now!"

Sakura squealed in excitement and hugged Naruto. The boy flushed at the sudden contact.

Realizing what she was doing, Sakura untangled herself from the boy and blushed in embarrassment,

"I'm sorry about that, Naruto-san. I did not mean to do that."

Sakura was ecstatic. She had no idea how Naruto had managed to revive the flower, but she now had a second chance at keeping the rose alive.

Naruto awkwardly chuckled,

"It's fine."

"Ino gave me this yellow rose because she said it means friendship," Sakura said, accepting the flower pot, "I think this flower just made me another friend."

If she didn't have both her hands on the pot, she would have been crossing her fingers in hopes that the boy would accept her veiled request.

Naruto's grin widened; he had just made the first friend who was the same age as him.

"I'd love to be your friend Sakura!" He paused, "on one condition though."

The girl tilted her head in confusion. She was worried whether the boy would make some exorbitant demand, he was practically royalty in the village after all.

"Please just call me Naruto."

Sakura nodded enthusiastically,

"Okay, Naruto!"

"What's all this commotion?"

A new voice took the two children out of their conversation, Naruto turned around to see who he assumed to be the owner of the store and/or Sakura's father.

At the doorway stood a kind-faced man with blue eyes and dull-pink hair which was styled into the shape of a cherry blossom. He also had sideburns which flowed into his angular moustache and had a bit of stubble on his chin. He wore a dark, loose-fitting kimono-shirt which had a green, inner-lining and sleeves which extended beyond his shirt.

His kimono shirt was held closed by a simple obi along with burgundy colored three-quarter pants, and a pair of simple slippers. He also wore a simple silver necklace with a pink cherry blossom design on it with a single deep plum petal.

"I made a new friend Daddy!"

Sakura's father examined his daughter's new 'friend' closely. Of course, he knew who the boy was. Naruto Senju was well known within the village walls, notorious prankster and great-great-grandson of the Shodai Hokage.

And a fact that only ninja were aware of, the boy was also the container of the Kyūbi no Kitsune. The nine tailed demon fox that had attacked their village over seven years prior.

"Hello there, Senju-san," the pink-haired man said, "My name is Kizashi."

The man continued,

"I'm glad you were able to befriend my daughter. I'm afraid she doesn't have many friends other than that Ino girl she met recently."

Sakura flushed in embarrassment at being called out, but didn't say anything.

"Do you attend the academy Naruto?"

Naruto nodded at the question.

Kizashi continued,

"Sakura has been trying to convince my wife and I to enroll her in the academy next year and I was hoping you could help her get along with the other children. She isn't from a prestigious clan like most of the others and she's also a little shy."

Sakura's flush deepened. It was true, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to make any friends except Ino and she had voiced these concerns to her parents.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He couldn't very well help Sakura make any friends when he didn't have any himself,

"Um, actually sir-" he trailed off, but then noticed the downtrodden expression on the older man's face. Naruto plastered a grin on his own,

"Of course, I'll help out!"

Kizashi smiled at the boy. The pink-haired man knew that he was asking a lot from the boy it was a little unfair, but he just wanted his daughter to be happy and possibly enjoy the last vestiges of her childhood before she was to became a soldier for Konohagakure.

"Besides," Naruto looked at Sakura with a grin, "What are friends for?"

Hi again!

So yeah, I pulled a little sneaky on ya. You probably expected the flower scene to happen with Ino, but here it is with Sakura instead!

Why did I do such a thing, you might ask? Well I just really like it when Sakura is nice to Naruto and I think they can have a bomb ass friendship if she wasn't so Sasuke-obsessed. Also, I wanted to make the NaruIno a little more fleshed out and having them as friends from even before the story proper starts would kind of ruin that, I feel.

The next couple chapters are going to be flashbacks that chronicle what was changed from canon to get to where I am, because I have made some very obvious changes in my story.

Naruto is a Senju, for starters. Also, it seems like he isn't ostracized by the villagers in this one, so I wonder how that would turn out for our little blond ball of sunshine.

Any suggestions are welcome!

That's all from me, so don't forget to read and review!

BAIIIII!