Chapter 1: A Fleeting Leaf

"Naruto?"

...

"Narutooo?"

...

"Naruto!"

Startled from his daydream, the young boy in question's gaze shifted from the sunset in front of him to the owner of the voice calling him out. Simultaneously, the three butterflies that had nestled on his face fluttered off, evoking a sad stare from the child.

"You really have an obsession with anything that has wings." The voice giggled out. "Is it butterflies now?"

"It's not the wings." Naruto pouted. "It's that they can fly. They're free. I wanna' be free like that, ya' know?" Naruto said. He was still watching as the trio fluttered off into the distance, disappearing into the blinding light of the falling sun. A pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around Naruto's neck, pulling him back into a warm embrace.

"Ya' know, huh? Well, if I had the option, I'd lock you into a tiny bottle and carry you around with me forever. Until I were taking my last breaths. And then, I'd release you, but only on one condition. Do you know what that is?" A soft voice whispered into his ears. Naruto shook his head no.

"If you'd promise me to never allow anyone to hold you captive again. To take your wings and follow them wherever they may lead you only, but only if it's led by you. Never anyone else. Do you understand what I'm saying, Naruto?"

Looking up, Naruto prepared to once again shake his head to show he didn't, but upon gazing into the eyes in front of him, an understanding of some sort resonated from deep inside of him. He nodded his head yes, and the smile bestowed on the women staring down on him only further confirmed his convictions.

"It's a promise, then."

Though it was the most prominent village in the region dubbed 'The Land of Fire', Konohagakure was prone to having rather cold fall and winter seasons. The quick temperature drops during the nights were typically the first signs of said change, and a young Hinata was experiencing this for the first time as she shivered against the cool chill rushing past her body.

It was a little past two in the morning, and the light from the full moon perched in the sky was the only thing illuminating the outside training ground she was practicing in. Sweaty and at a loss of breath, Hinata stared down at the dirt covering her covering her feet and the specks of blood lingering on the tips of her fingers. Usually a quick dip in the nearby stream would be enough of a cleanse to hide her late night excursions, but because of the rain fall from the evening prior, things had become much messier than she had anticipated. And with the cold weather, it would surely result in her getting sick.

Sighing, she relented to her fate and began the process of undressing. Risking the chance of sickness was worth avoiding the punishment from her father if he found out she had been sneaking into the compound after hours. But before she could finish, the sound of something falling came from just on the other side of the compound's wall. This was concerning enough considering her former fears of being found out, but was doubly so because, to her knowledge, the area next door to the Hyuga estate was abandoned. It belonged to the former Yodaime, but was left unoccupied after his untimely passing.

Steeling her resolve, Hinata took a deep breath before making her way over to the wall. Part of her training in gentle fist meant learning how to channel chakra to the just the tips of her fingers for maximum efficiency, and as a by-product she quickly learned the basics to chakra control and manipulation. The process of sticking to solid surfaces was much easier, after all.

Placing one foot on the wall, she slowly began to ascend it until she was just able to peer over the edge. The overgrown grassy terrain made it hard to pick out anything in particular, but luckily for her, the source of the commotion was next to the sole tree in the backyard. Beside it sat a young boy, rubbing an apparent wound on his head. Looking closer, Hinata could see that there was quite a bit of blood leaking from it.

Without much thought, she climbed over the wall and dropped into the foliage below her, alerting the boy to her presence. "Who's there?" He called out, quickly standing up to his full height to see better. Blue eyes locked with milky white as Hinata came to stand right in front of him.

"Y-you're injured," Hinata said, reaching behind her. She pulled out a small container, opening it up to show a white paste. "This'll help. I-it's ointment."

For a moment, the blond boy only continued to stare at her inquisitively. Slowly though, a warm smile developed on his own face. "I'm fine! Don't worry!" The boy replied, but as he was doing so the wound above his eye began to leak into it, causing him to awkwardly wink at her. Sighing, he flopped back down to the ground. He had calmed himself, seeing as she couldn't have possibly been too much of a threat. Noting her worried look, he offered her a reassuring smile. "Maybe I'm not?"

Hinata moved a little closer before kneeling down in front of him. He watched as she took some of the ointment onto the tip of her fingers, and it was only then that he noticed how bruised and battered they were.

"Hey, hey! You should be using this on yourself! Your hands are all bloodied up!" He exclaimed. Hinata shushed him angrily, a display that he knew wasn't normal even after only knowing her for a few minutes. They both stopped momentarily to listen for any signs of movement, before releasing synchronized sighs.

"I'll be fine. This ointment helps really well, the scars should be mostly healed by tomorrow. For both of us." Hinata stuttered out in reply. "B-besides, I have more at home."

"You're a Hyuga, right? I can tell by the eyes. I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said, this time giving a bright grin. Hinata blushed, looking down as she prepared the bandage wrap for him.

"H-Hinata Hyuga. Um, could you turn around so I could put this on please?" Hinata asked. Obliging, Naruto quickly spun around as Hinata moved closer. She wrapped the bandage around his head twice, pulling it tight before tying it for security. Sighing, she moved back and a small smile of happiness adorned her face. "There, it's done."

Turning back around, Naruto gave a short bow to show his appreciation. "Thanks a lot! You're pretty good at this, I'm taking it you're training to become a shinobi?" Naruto asked. Tentatively, Hinata nodded to confirm his words, looking down at her damaged hands.

"I-I'm not very good, though. It's taking everything I have just to learn the basics from my clan. They're people my age much better than myself." Hinata replied. The downtrodden look on her face bothered Naruto, so much so that he felt the need to take action. Walking forward, he instinctively pulled the girl into a tight hug, oblivious to the fact that she had turned as bright as a tomato in response.

"You're giving it your all, that's all that matters! Trust me, your hard work is going to payoff, that's what I was always told after all! By someone very important to me." Naruto said, pulling her into a tighter hug. "Don't give up!"

Releasing her, Naruto stepped back and placed his hands on his waist as he looked around. "Now, I guess I better get started. You wouldn't happen to know anyone named Kakashi Hatake, would you?" Naruto asked. Hinata, still bright red with steam pouring from her head, shook her head to show she didn't. "Guess I'll have to do some searching. Well, thanks for all your help anyway! Hopefully we'll meet again!"

With that, in a impressive showing to Hinata at least, Naruto leaped up to the top branch of the tree they were under before launching out into the night sky, disappearing over the same wall she had climbed over. With him finally out of her presence, Hinata released a breath she didn't notice she had been holding and collapsed down into the grass below her, staring up into the starry sky above. The dull aching in her fingers were but a distant memory as she quickly ran through the events that just took place. She had so many questions, but quickly realized she had no way to answer them. After all, she only had his name, and she had never even heard of an Uzumaki.

Standing up, she prepared to head back over to her home. After all, she still had to clean and take care of herself. Though, she figured that she could continue with her night training for just a little longer. It would be a waste to stop after all of this, she mused to herself. A single thought, however, couldn't stop running through her young mind, even as she tried to banish it.

'C-cute.'

The streets of Konoha were, expectedly, rather empty for it to be around three in the morning. Still, Naruto himself didn't exactly have anywhere else to go, so he figured he might as well spend his time looking for his target. Kakashi Hatake was a man described to him only as having 'immense power and a quirky personality', along with 'a mop of silver hair unbelonging to one so young'. Truly, the descriptors were a great help.

It was to Naruto's surprise then, when he ultimate spotted someone who fitted the description. Standing in front of a large stone monument, Naruto could tell that the moment he had taken notice of him, his own presence had been spotted as well, though no effort was made to show that such was the case.

Figuring he had no reason to hide, he found himself walking up to the monument, only then noticing that it was filled with engraved marks of names. "Are you Kakashi Hatake?"

"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" The man asked in reply. His sole visible eye hadn't left the memorial before him, particularly a specific spot. Naruto had given up on trying to find what specifically, figuring it was useless among the numerous names of what he could only think were fallen shinobi.

"I was told to find you if I ever needed help. And wellâI need it." Naruto said, looking up at the man. "Can you help?"

Finally looking away from the monument, Kakashi's lone visible eye widened ever so slightly when it finally landed on Naruto. A small chuckle escaped his hidden lips, prompting a confused look from Naruto. "Sorry," He said, noticing the boy's stare. "Well, I was just reminded of something funny. That's all."

"So you're Kakashi-san after all?" Naruto said, releasing a sigh. "I honestly didn't expect to find you so fast. This is great!"

"You're alone?" Kakashi asked. A silent nod followed his words, and a solemn look adorned his face as he watched the young boy's mood visibly change. "I guess you wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case. So, how can I help you Naruto?"

"I want to meet the Hokage." Naruto said sternly. His cerulean eyes stared piercingly into Kakashi's lone onyx one.

"I guess that's to be expected," Kakashi said, holding up his right hand in the air. In mere seconds, a hawk landed down upon it with a small sheet of paper adorned to his wrist. Taking it, Kakashi pulled out a pen and wrote a small message on it before attaching it back to the patiently waiting bird, who immediately took off into the distance afterwards. "Well, follow me then, yeah?"

Silently, the two left the monument and found their way into the village. Naruto was noticeably taking in every site that he could, like a kid inside in a candy shop. "All of these shops. I can't imagine what it looks like during the day. It's probably too many people to move!"

"Is this your first time in a prominent village?" Kakashi asked. Naruto nodded to confirm his question. "I see. We're almost there."

Ahead, Naruto could see what he could only describe as the biggest building he had seen in his life. Just behind it, however, stood a monument that caught his attention. "Is thatâ?"

"The Hokage monument." Kakashi finished for him. "We'll get a better look once we get closer to the top." Just as the shinobi said, as soon as they began scaling the stairs of the building Naruto was previously staring at, he was welcomed to a much clearer sight of the stone faces he was seeing. "These are the faces of all the former Hokage's. Well, outside of Lord Third of course, who's still with us."

"Former Hokage's, huh." Naruto mumbled. Following his gaze, Kakashi could tell that his focus was on one in particular, but he decided to stay silent. Eventually reaching the rooftop, Naruto was greeted with a much more spacious sight than he was expecting. And all the way at the other end stood the lone other person sharing the space, their backside the only thing visible as they peered seemingly peered out over the village.

"I'd like to say it's been a long while, but truthfully told, I never got the pleasure of meeting you on that fateful night," The man said, turning around. Silhouetted by the full moon's light, Naruto could only clearly make out the mark centered on the top of his head garment. The Third Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-kun."

"Likewise," Naruto said, giving a small bow. He looked at Kakashi briefly before continuing. "I was told to seek you if I ever had any problems."

"Well," Hiruzen said, offering a warm smile. "I wonder what these old bones can do for you after such time?"

Reaching forward, Naruto handed him a small scroll he had pulled out of his blue vest. Taking it, Hiruzen silently scanned over the contents of it as Naruto and Kakashi waited patiently. Closing it, Sarutobi closed his eyes and turned back towards the balcony. "Follow me, Naruto-kun."

Making his way over, Naruto stood a little ways behind the Hokage as the two now had a full view of the village. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing. Like I told Kakashi-san, I've never been inside one of the major villages before. I can't imagine how many people there are." Naruto replied. Kakashi, just a little ways behind the boy, smiled behind his mask. Truly, it was like staring at a ghost.

"I've watched over the villagers of Konohagakure for almost all of my life." The Hokage said. His eyes had never once left the village, and Naruto's eyes had never once left him. "Whether it be as a formal shinobi of the Konoha ops, or in the shadows as a member of the Anbu, Konohagakure's safety has been my priority for as long as I can remember."

Finally turning around, his eyes locked with Naruto. The child stood in front of him, his left hand nestled cozily inside of the pockets of his orange shorts, and his overall posture relaxed and composed. Yet, from years of experience, there was something Hiruzen could see only inside of his eyes. A determination.

A knowing.

"What do you hope to become, Naruto-kun?" The Third spoke out, moving his hands behind his back. "You're found your way to Konohagakure. Home. What is that you seek?"

Naruto, gaze never leaving the older man's, stayed silent. Kakashi, still stationed behind the two, looked between them discretely. It was concerning. For some reason, he had the distinct desire to reach for his kunai. This only happened in battle.

"I..." Naruto started. "I don't want anything. From this village or from you."

His eyes momentarily glossed over, and he became silent again. Finally, he closed them and took a deep breath before again matching the Hokage's gaze. "I just want a place to call home. I don't know if that's going to be Konoha, but for my own reasons I'd at least like to try. For my own reasons."

"I see." Hiruzen said. "Do you mind if I share with you a quick story?"

Naruto shook his head to show he didn't. Hiruzen smiled down at him. "Long ago, when the village was first being created, the very first Hokage was faced a conundrum. You see, there were these things called tailed beast. And they held tremendous power. Of unbelievable degrees."

"Now, it comes without question that being able to hold control of over these tailed beasts would grant anyone in possession a large advantage over anyone who could harm them. As a result, large disputes began to break out over the major shinobi allied districts over them. It wasn't until the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, stepped in with his ability to temper the tailed beast that these issues came to a stop, and for that, he had a proposal."

Naruto, from Hiruzen's point of view, was listening intently to his every word. And as such, he continued on. "The proposal was for the tailed beast to be distributed amongst the villages, in order to insure a balance and sense of fairness. After all, if the tailed beast were distributed fairly, there could be no argument to make, correct?"

Naruto stayed silent, as did Kakashi who had continued to listen silently from behind them. However, he figured he alone was aware of the increased level of shinobi presence in the area. Outside of the Hokage himself, of course.

"And so it was done. But to do so required a sacrifice, a grave one. A human life. A Jinchuriki." Hiruzen continued. "Naturally, Konohagakure was given one as well. The strongest of all. The Nine Tailed Fox."

From the distance, Kakashi caught sight of an Anbu stationed on the building across from him. Prudently, they gave a signal hand signal. 'Neutralize target.'

"From all of this then, it makes sense that a village without a Jinchuriki is at a severe disadvantage. After all, they're the core of the lasting status quo. They're importance can't be understated." Hiruzen finished, the smile slipping only a little from his face. "Do you understand, Naruto-kun?"

"I do." Naruto replied. "And, well...sorry."

Hiruzen, to his credit, had the foresight to at least reach out towards the boy. However, before his body could even process the command to do so, Naruto silently vanished from the rooftop. Only a small wisp of wind, fluttering the clothes of both Kakashi and Hiruzen, were the only signs that he had been there.

By the time the Hokage's hand had managed to fool heartedly grab out towards the empty space, the two were surrounded by Anbu operatives, who waited as the elder man composed himself.

"Kakashi," Hiruzen called out, staring down at his own hand that held nothing.

"You have a mission."

this ran way longer than i had planned for an intro chapter.

not much to say but welcome. i'll try to respond to questions and what not the best i can throughout so leave your thoughts. godspeed, friends.