Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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'Person thinking'

"Person talking"

"Jinchuriki talking inside his head with Bijuu"

'Bijuu thinking'

"Bijuu talking"

"Bijuu talking inside jinchurki's head"

Chapter 2 - Childhood. Kind of.

In some parenting books it is said that the most important formative years for a child are between ages 1 and 4. It is in this interval that a child must learn to be sociable, to play well and connect with others, as well as to ask for help. The reasoning behind this is that, in doing so, a child then becomes pleasant enough to get the acceptance of his peers and the support of his elders and thus, acquires the two most important resources necessary to achieving success later in life.

But what do you do when, no matter how sociable or likable you really are, your elders still don't like you and your peers still don't accept you? What happens when, no matter how much you put yourself out there, those people just don't seem to see you for you? And worse, what happens when they actually hate you?

This is the challenge that five-year old Uzumaki Naruto was facing at the moment. He tried to be nice, to play with the other kids, but their parents would look at him with hateful eyes and would tell their children not to play with him. Even worse, on his previous birthday, some drunk villagers found him and decided to beat him to a pulp. He ended up in the hospital with several bruises that hurt him really bad. However, he recovered quickly, much quicker than the doctors had expected, or so he was told. So, after only two days, he was released from the hospital and back to the orphanage.

The orphanage… it used to be nice until he turned three and a half, when, somehow, all of a sudden, the matron and all the other grown-ups started calling him names and keeping him away from the other kids. They started calling him 'demon'. They only gave him scraps to survive off of and stopped buying him new clothes. He ended up having to wear pants and shirts that were clearly too short for him.

'Oh well. I guess I at least have those.' He thought to himself.

Knowing that he wasn't allowed to play with the other kids anymore, Naruto started spending much of his time in the less populated areas of the park. Somehow, he felt that nature called to him. He felt content at the shade of the trees, feeling life all around him. It is in the shadow of the leaves that he found his refuge.

As for his life in the village in general, he knew that people hated him by now. He didn't know why, but he knew that he wasn't liked. He did feel an intense desire to feel accepted though, difficult as it may be to achieve such a dream.

He knew that one day, the villagers will accept him and will see how cool and awesome he was. Somehow, he knew that he was awesome. The villagers just couldn't see it yet. He will show them. Yeap, he surely will.

This however, didn't change the fact that their rejection hurt. A lot.

And so, torn as he was, between pain and hope, Naruto wondered the less frequented alleys of Konoha, knowing that at least here, he was less likely to get bullied.

As he was walking, he heard the sound of a little girl begging not to get hurt. He decided to follow the sound and soon came upon a group of three boys bullying a little girl with dark blue hair, pale skin and white eyes with no pupils. Her eyes distracted him for a second but he soon refocused on the matter at hand – trying to figure out what they had against her.

"Your eyes are weird. What's with those weird eyes? Hey boys, let's teach this weirdo a lesson that she shouldn't come where she doesn't belong."

"Yeah! Let's!" the other two boys shouted in support of the older boy who was, apparently, the leader of the group.

Naruto, seeing this, just couldn't stand for it. He knew all too well what it was like to be judged for something out of your control. So, deciding to step in, he ran towards the three boys and punched the eldest one in the face after which he shouted "Hey, stop picking on her! She didn't do anything to you! Leave her alone!"

Getting his bearings, the older boy responded "Hey, look, Demon Brat is here to protect Weird Eyes."

At this, the other boys started laughing.

"You want to protect her? We will beat you instead!" And thus, the three boys proceeded to pummel Naruto into next week. Once they were satisfied, they left, but not before shooting one last kick in Naruto's stomach for good measure.

Hinata was stunned as she witnessed the entire scene. She knew about the boy from the escort who, at one point in the past, had told her that he is nothing but trouble and that she should stay away from him. However, his actions today spoke a completely different story. With this in mind, she decided to see Naruto with her own eyes and not through the words of her elders. She approached the boy carefully, to check on him and asked: "Are you alright?"

Naruto, wanting to appear strong, struggled to his feet and, smiling with a big foxy grin, answered "Oh, that, hehe, it's nothing. I'm used to it. Also, I heal really fast so it's no biggie!"

Hinata giggled at his answer and wanted to respond but, before she could say anything else, her escort appeared and pulled her away from Naruto saying "Hinata-sama, do not concern yourself with the likes of him. He is just trouble. Come now, we must return to the compound in time for dinner."

"But he saved me from those bullies!"

Seeing the scene unfold, Naruto didn't want to cause Hinata any trouble. So, despondent, he told her that it's ok and that she should go.

Shy as she was, Hinata didn't get to say anything else as she was dragged back to the compound by her escort. That evening however, after dinner, she pondered deeply about what happened. About the boy who showed strength and care like the knights in shining armor that her mother used to read her about before she passed away. She resolved that he was her hero, her inspiration and, one day, she would be his princess.

Seeing that dinner was approaching, Naruto went back to the orphanage to get some food, such as it was. When he arrived, he knocked on the door. No one answered. He shouted the name of the matron. None answered. He shouted again while knocking more aggressively. On his third try, the door opened suddenly and Naruto almost stumbled inside. The matron however stopped him forcefully which stunned the boy momentarily.

"You are not welcome here anymore, Naruto." The stern voice of the matron left no room for debate. Naruto however, decided to play the fool and attempted to get some answers out of her.

"Why? What did I do?"

"This place has no room for demons. Now go!"

"But where? I have nowhere to go."

"I… I don't care. Goodbye."

And with that, she slammed the door in his face. Evening was upon him and his stomach started growling with hunger. Naruto however, couldn't care less about it right now. For the first time in his life, he felt utterly hopeless. He ran to his favorite tree in the park and started crying. He just sat there and cried for Kami knows how long. Evening soon turned into night and it started to get cold. He only had his T-Shirt and his undersized pants on and some shoes on his feet.

He was so cold… He had nowhere to go… Nothing to eat…

'I'm… I'm gonna die!'

Despair took him and, for a few minutes he had a panic attack, since, for the first time in his life, he realized just how helpless he was. Panic soon turned into anger and anger turned into a determination harder than steel.

'You think I will just give up without a fight? I will show you. I will show you all who Uzumaki Naruto really is! I will be the greatest that ever was!' the greatest at what he did not know, but he knew that he would become great. So great in fact, that everyone will acknowledge him.

With that in mind, he stood up, fists clenched tightly to the point that his knuckles turned white and his nails cut slightly into his palm. It was at that point that he realized that his claws had extended a bit. He also noticed just how fast his wounds were healing. As he calmed himself down though, he noticed that his claws retracted back into normal nails and that weirded him out for a second, but didn't think much of it afterwards. His stomach growling once more reminded him of his more pressing matter.

'I need food and I need to get warm. Hmm… there was this berry bush not far from here. Maybe I can get by with some berries until the morning. Then, we'll see what happens.'

Nodding to himself, Naruto started to look for the bush with berries. He was very familiar with the park and soon found it. Hungry as he was, he dug in as much as he could. The berries were sweet and, luckily for him, plentiful this time of year.

As he was munching, an imposing, shadowy entity opened one of its eyes and studied the boy closely from the depths of his mind.

'The boy seems to show an admirable determination and will to live, for a human. Maybe he is worth the effort after all…'

Having eaten his full, Naruto decided it was time to find shelter. It was night however, and it was dark. But luck was on his side again and the sky was clear and the moon was full, giving him the bare minimum required to see where he was going.

He wondered the streets for a while until he found some large boxes in front of one of the houses in the neighborhood. He took the boxes into a more remote area of an alley and started working on his shelter. He placed two of the three boxes one inside of the other to strengthen the shelter. Then he used the third one to make a door of sorts so he could protect himself from the draft.

'Well, it's already late and I don't think I will find anything better for now, so I guess sleep time it is.'

The following morning found Naruto feeling like he had just woken up from the dead. All his joints were stiff as if he hadn't moved them in ages. He quickly concluded that sleeping on hard surfaces so close to the ground was not a good idea. But hey, at least the shelter kept him somewhat warm so that was good.

He resolved to solve the shelter problem today. But, as soon as he got up, his stomach started growling, letting him know that he needed food. Again.

'Maybe I should have left some berries for today as well.' He thought to himself, a bit disappointed that he didn't think to save some for later.

Getting out of his shelter, he started wondering the streets looking for ideas on how to improve his living conditions.

Steadily, he entered a more populated area, close to where his orphanage used to be and, before he knew it, he was walking by the Hokage tower.

Hiruzen decided that enjoying the crisp light of the August sun would be nice for his old bones. So, instead of taking to the roofs, like most shinobi do, he walked to his office this day. Imagine his surprise when, just in front of the entrance to the Hokage tower, he ran into none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

"Ah, if it isn't Naruto. How are you, my boy?" As he asked this, he remembered with shame that he hadn't checked up on Naruto for the past year or so.

Seeing him, Naruto ran straight to the hokage and hugged him for dear life.

"Hokage jiji! I need your help!"

As he witnessed the young maelstrom clinging to him so desperately, Sarutobi's expression grew grave. He was already aware that someone had leaked Naruto's status as a Jinchuriki to the public, and that this made his life incredibly difficult in the village. He already felt like a failure as far as his responsibilities towards Naruto were concerned. Seeing him like this now, he was worried that he was about to add yet another bullet to his list of failures towards him. He knelt in order to be closer to Naruto's eye-level and, warmly but sternly asked: "What happened? Tell me."

"The orphanage lady kicked me out! I have lived on the streets last night and I have no place to go!"

"Hmm, it seems I need to go straighten things out with her."

"No! Don't! I… I don't want to go back there…"

"Why? Did she harm you?"

"Well, in a way… They don't give me food and the clothes you see on me are all I really have. They won't let me play with the other kids and they keep saying I'm a demon and that I should stay away from them…"

"I see…"

"Jiji… Am I a monster? Am I a demon, like they say?"

"Naruto. You are NOT a monster. You are NOT a demon. You are Uzumaki Naruto. Don't let anyone make you think otherwise."

Hearing these words of encouragement, Naruto's eyes glistened with a happiness and relief that broke the old Hokage's heart. No child should have to endure this kind of pain.

"So, you don't want to go back to the orphanage then, is that right?"

"No… I did make a house for me last night! It wasn't much but it was mine and, well, I didn't feel so good in the morning because my body hurt all over, but it felt good to have something of my own!"

Smiling warmly, Sarutobi replied "Tell you what, how about we get you a little house, all your own? I am quite busy so I won't be able to come check on you that often, but I will do my best to come by at least every once in a while. What do you say?"

Naruto beamed at this idea. He was incredibly excited to have his own home. Before he could say anything though, his stomach growled once again, signaling his hunger. Looking down, he said to himself: "Man, I shouldn't have eaten all the berries, now I have nothing to eat…"

Hiruzen picked up on his words and, again, felt a knife cut right through his heart. Steeling himself, he decided that the paperwork can wait.

"How about we go grab some breakfast, my boy? My treat."

Excited at the prospect of having a free breakfast, Naruto grabbed the Hokage's hand and together they walked to a restaurant where the owner was forced to accept that they would feed "the demon" seeing as he was there in the company of the Hokage no less.

After a filling breakfast, the Hokage and Naruto made their way to a landlord in one of the less expensive districts of the village. It was situated somewhere between the center of the village and the red lights district. Far enough from trouble but close enough that the prices of the apartments were fairly low.

Sarutobi discussed with the landlord about Naruto's lodging ensuring that the lodging cost was covered by the Hokage's office directly. After getting the key and ensuring that all appliances worked as expected, he ensured that Naruto had the fridge full with the necessary food for at least a month.

After that, he brought Naruto to a bank where he produced Naruto's monthly stipend.

"Naruto, my boy. This money should cover what you need to buy for a month. I will come by and bring you the necessary money every month, ok?"

"Thank you, jiji! You're the best!"

As they made their way back to the apartment, the Hokage started to think about the security implications of Naruto's new living conditions. As such, he resolved to have ANBU rotate and supervise young Naruto in order to ensure his safety. Now that his status was not a secret to the adults anymore, he wanted to make sure that he is protected when he is not around.

He imposed the secrecy rule on the adults after his status was leaked to the public in order to ensure that the younger generation would not inherit their hatred, but it seemed that the parents still found ways around it and Naruto ended up isolated all the same.

Hiruzen hated himself for his failures towards the boy and knew that, unfortunately, he could not do much about the situation without resorting to incredibly drastic measures.

Once at Naruto's new house, Sarutobi addressed Naruto once more: "Naruto, I am quite the busy man, so I won't be able to stick around as much as I would like. However, if you have a problem of any kind with the villagers, come over to my office and we will figure something out. Sounds good?"

"Yes, jiji! Thanks again!" After saying this, Naruto started to gain a thoughtful look on his face.

"What is it my boy?"

"Umm… Well, can you teach me how to read?"

"What brought this on?"

"Well, the matron at the orphanage started teaching the other kids how to read but she never let me join them. And, and, I know that it helps with knowing useful things, like how you helped me with the house and the money and…"

At this, Hiruzen interrupted Naruto and stated. "No problem, Naruto. When I come by with the monthly stipend, we will also spend some time learning how to read. Also, whenever I get some free time from my work, I will do my best to help you with this task. How does that sound?"

"You're awesome, jiji! Thanks a bunch!" Naruto hugged the Hokage tightly as he answered. To Naruto, the Hokage had done more in the past 12 hours than anyone else in his entire life. Needless to say, he immediately became one of his precious people.

The following week, Hiruzen bought Naruto books on reading and writing and discussed on how they were going to proceed with teaching him those skills. For the most part Naruto would have to learn on his own, which would make things slower, but at least he wouldn't be treated badly as he studied. Hiruzen would stop by every other week to help him with his studies and calligraphy.

Walking towards his office, the Hokage stopped by his secretary's desk, determined to make sure he would be there for the boy as much as he could, given his many responsibilities. If teaching him to read and write was all he could help Naruto with at this stage, then he was determined to accomplish it.

"Sumire-san, please ensure that every other Sunday, between 2:00 and 5:00 pm I have my schedule free. There are some matters that I must attend to in that interval that absolutely cannot be delayed or ignored. It is safe to say that the security of the entire village is at stake."

Sumire, his secretary, was completely taken aback by the Hokage's sudden request. Seeing his determination and the seriousness of the situation however, she immediately complied without asking for details.

"Also, Sumire-san, should one Uzumaki Naruto ever come by, please make sure to treat him kindly and allow him to see me, unless, of course, I am in another meeting. Should I be in a meeting, kindly ask him to wait until I am finished."

"Y-Yes, sir. Duly noted."

"Thank you, Sumire-san. That is all."

As he reached his desk, he sat down and looked to his left towards the wall where photos of the previous Kage were displayed on a single row. 'Minato, I know I cannot raise Naruto the way I wanted. I know he will face much hardship going forward, but I will do my best to help him where I can.'