Naruto 1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nor will I ever. This is the first and last disclaimer. **

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><p>He was lonely, but it didn't bother him.<p>

_He was always lonely._

The blond boy sat there, observing the other kids. They knew how to have fun while he didn't.

_He was never allowed to know. _

He wanted to speak out, but couldn't.

_He didn't have a voice. _

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><p>An old man sat patiently, staring into his crystal ball, watching and waiting. Hoping someone would approach the boy, but he knew it wouldn't happen.<p>

_It never happened._

It killed the man to see this, he loved his village with all his heart. But this boy was special, he was the son of his predecessor. Or successor. The old man didn't know what to call him, so he just stuck with referring to him by name.

'_Minato'_ The name rattled around in his head.

'_I'm sorry.' _

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><p>Pale, lifeless eyes stared, today was one of the special days. It was the day he was able to pick up his daughter. Being the head of a clan, he had responsibilities. He felt the tugging at his hand, his daughter telling him that it was time to go, but he paid it no mind. He was more concerned with the battle raging in his mind.<p>

'_Help him'_ The elegance of the voice rang throughout his head. It was his wife's, his long deceased wife. The words had never been said to him, but he knew his mind rang true. She was a caring women, kind, patient, beautiful.

'_Hitomi' _ her name was on the cusp if his lips, begging to be released, but he stood strong. He was a powerful man, he didn't succumb to these desires, no matter how much he wanted to.

His attention was shifted to his daughter. It pained him to say it, but he didn't deserve her. She was just like _her_. Which is why he needed to pretend. Pretend she meant nothing, when she really was his world. His last semblance of sanity. Without her, he was nothing.

He pushed her away, fearing that if he showed he cared, the bastard elders would take her and give her that damned seal. They hated his wife, which meant that they hated her in the same way. They would rather see her ostracized than give her the seal and be done with it. Which was exactly why he did what he did.

He pushed her away from him, in favor of her sister. The elders liked her, felt she was a fit heir. The man didn't think so. She would never change the clan. No matter how much he loved her, he wasn't comfortable with her desires. His brother was dead because of the damned ways of the past. He would rather be killed than watch that happen to the rest of his clan. Or even worse, his daughters.

No, the older one was the last hope for his clan. The last chance for his clan to change their ways. She would change it, make it better. Get rid of the seal that tortured so many. His youngest daughter wouldn't do that. She was brainwashed from a young age. She had a superiority complex the size of a mountain. She felt she was better than her sister, but he knew better. He could see his eldest pulling her punches, lowering her stand.

He would never acknowledge it. If the clan believed that he knew his eldest was strongest, she would be marked immediately. This was the best way, the only way to save his daughters until his eldest took over.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a scream, it made his blood boil, but he would always remain stoic.

He watched two boys bully the blond, punching and kicking. But that wasn't the most startling part. That was the fact that the boy wouldn't fight back. It was obvious his arm was broken, but aside from his scream, he made no sound. Just sat there with tears in his eyes. But the man could tell he would not let them spill.

_He respected that._

He looked over to his daughter, expecting her to pull him away, but was shocked. She stood there, crying. Her tears flowed much more freely than the blond. She looked up to him, as if asking for permission. He simply nodded.

_That was all she needed._

The bullies quickly ran, realizing she was a ninja in training. Being civilians, they knew they stood no chance. She looked at the boy and he seemed to recognize her, which was a good sign; they were in the same class. She began to speak, but noticed he was passed out. Most likely from pain.

It seemed that ANBU around the location began to notice and picked up the boy with no speech, leaving the girl confused. Soon, she felt her fathers hand wrap around her wrist as he began to walk away. She quickly followed, listening to her father.

"Try to get to know him, Hinata. He may help your pitiful abilities." It pained him to say it. But he needed to keep the guise up.

"Y-yes father" She stuttered fearfully. A flash of pain struck his heart. He hated hearing that tone.

_He hated being what he wasn't. _

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><p><strong>Sorry about this short chapter. It's just the prologue, so you can expect longer chapters<strong>. **I've had this in my head for a while, and I decided to finally write. Also, Naruto is over. It leaves a void in my soul that can only be filled by FanFicion. Plus, NaruHina is canon. So Naru/anybody else is dead. Woohoo! **

**Please, favorite, follow, review especially. I love criticism, whether it be good or bad. I want to improve my writing, and that's the best way. Please do it. Your comment can be anywhere from**

"**You suck, nerd" to "Your writing is great and i love you and i want to marry and have babies with you." Please don't say that though.**


	2. Chapter 1: Friendship

_**Chapter 1: Friendship**_

"Ahh. Naruto-kun, it's good to see you awake." The boy identified as Naruto looked up into the eyes of an old man. They seemed so caring, wanting to help him. But he knew better. Everyone would betray him, it was just a matter of how long. But he had a mask, one that would never go away. He quickly readjusted his face into that of an enormous grin.

"Hey old man!" He beamed at him. "Where am I?" He said looking around. He knew exactly where he was.

"You're in the hospital, Naruto-kun. Those bullies broke your arm, and a few ribs. They were taken into custody by ANBU a few minutes ago." Naruto didn't care. It wouldn't stop anyone from hitting him. He stopped hitting back long ago. That just caused more bullies. "You're in the hospital. It seemed a girl from your class helped you." Naruto knew that she was in his class. But was embarrassed to say that he didn't know her name. So he played a fool.

"Really! Who?" He practically shouted. The name just wouldn't come to him.

"A girl by the name of Hinata Hyuga" He offered another smile. "She looked quite upset when she saw what was happening."

"Really?" Naruto was genuinely confused. He only saw her face for a few seconds before he passed out from pain.

"Really" he assured. "Naruto, I really think you should try and get to know her. You don't have friends, especially that are you're age" He was wrong. The young boy had no friends. He knew they would betray him. Like everyone else, but he kept his mask up.

"I have plenty of friends! I have you, Iruka-sensei, Ayame nee-chan, and Teuchi-Jiji!" He defended himself with the people that hadn't betrayed him yet. But it was only a matter of time.

"But they're all older than you, Naruto-kun" The man responded. "If you want to be Hokage one day, you need friends your age" He smiled. That was probably the only thing Naruto was honest about. If he was Hokage everyone would have to respect him. He desperately wanted that.

"Okay, Jiji. I'll try." No he wouldn't.

"Maybe she'll even help you graduate a year early!" he suggested.

Naruto thought about it. He was about to enter year three out of four in the academy. In one week to be specific. If he could graduate at 11 he would be one step close to Hokage.

"I told you I'd try!" Naruto droned.

"Thank you, now rest a little." He smiled one last time before leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

'_Hinata' _He mused. '_She's probably just like everyone else. But if she can help me succeed like the old man said, why shouldn't I try?'_ It was those thoughts that stuck with him as he drifted off to sleep.

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><p><em>One week later: At the academy<em>

Naruto sat at his desk, alone. This was the usual since his first year at the academy. He kept his eyes peered for Hinata. But she hadn't entered, or she was in the crowd that surrounded Sasuke Uchiha. The one person that he hated more than anyone else. He thought that he was better than everyone else, something Naruto strongly disagreed with. In Naruto's eyes, Sasuke was nothing, while Naruto was the best.

Naruto was dead last, and he knew why. Teachers sabotaged his tests, giving him jonin level questions. They thought they were pulling the wool over Naruto's eyes. But they were wrong, he knew. He's always known. He refused to bring it up to the Hokage. There was no point. The next teachers would do the same thing, and the teachers after that. So Naruto just ignored it and hoped that he could get by on natural talent alone.

That wasn't the case. He had been taught the wrong forms for years. The only reason he knew how to throw a kunai or shuriken was because of observation. He was starting to get down the basic Taijutsu stance as well. But he wasn't quite there yet. This would be considered prodigy traits for anyone that wasn't named Naruto Uzumaki. Suddenly, he was pulled from his thoughts by a soft voice.

"M-may I sit here?" She asked timidly, pointing to the seat next to Naruto.

'_Perfect'_ Naruto thought. She had come to him. He put on a grin and nodded.

"Sure! Hinata right?" Better to make a good impression. She nodded. "Cool! I'm Naruto!" he told her as she sat down.

"I k-know. We've been in the s-same class f-for three y-years" She looked away, blushing.

"Yeah, but you never know. To be honest, I don't know the names of half the people in here!" They both laughed a little. It confused Naruto a little when she looked down to the floor and started to play with her fingers. He was quickly dazed out of it when Iruka walked in, however.

"Welcome to another year at the academy!" He said with a large grin. "There will be a new system than the one you guys are used to!" The class burst into a loud buzz. "Quiet down!" He yelled, using his infamousBig Head Jutsu. "Instead of the old system, where you would move classes. This begins your first year of serious shinobi training. This will be your only class for the next two years, or until you graduate." He stated. "To help with your training, please welcome Mizuki-sensei!" He said as a gray haired man walked in.

"Hello class!" The man identified as Mizuki started. "I hope you can remember where you're sitting. Because that's where you'll be sitting for the rest of the year." The class burst into chatter and shouts. Most of them being about they couldn't sit next to 'Sasuke-kun.' That annoyed Naruto to no end.

"I guess if we're going to be sitting next each other for the rest of the year we might as well get to know each other!" Naruto grinned. "I'll start! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, my favorite I like ramen and my few friends. I dislike people that think they're better than everyone. My dream for the future is to become Hokage!" Naruto smiled a genuine smile. The friends part was a lie, but he needed to keep his ruse going. "It's your turn Hinata" He exclaimed.

"U-um okay. My name i-is Hinata h-Hyuga. I like flower p-pressing and Hanabi-Chan. I dislike p-people who l-look down on m-me. My d-dream for the f-future is to change my c-clan for the b-better." She said, again timidly.

'_She seems to have good intentions. But i won't matter in the future. She'll hate me soon, just like everyone else.'_ It was inevitable with the young Uzumaki. Nobody remained his friend. Hit was a fact of life for the Uzumaki. He couldn't trust.

_Trust had nearly killed him._

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><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_He was devastated. He had no place to live. The orphanage had chased him out, and broke a few bones in the process. So there he lay, nearly dead in the street. Nobody around to help him. Laying in a pool of his own tears and blood. _

"_Why me?" He questioned. "What did I do? Am I just a monster? That has to be it! That's why nobody loves me, I'm just a monster. Nobody can love a monster!" The thought rapidly came into the boy's head. He had heard the head of the orphanage call him a demon, monster, bastard, murderer. If there was an accusation, he had heard it. _

_He was broken out of thoughts when he heard a voice. It was soft, gentle. Almost, kind? He didn't know what that would sound like. He just guessed. _

"_Are you okay?" a woman in her twenties asked him, genuine concern in her voice. "Do you need help?" He could only muster a weak yes._

"_Here. Let me help you up." It wasn't a question. "What happened?" She asked._

"_They made me leave! They me up! I don't have any where to live, I'm just a monster!" The woman gently urged him to calm down._

"_You're not a monster! here, let's go back to my house, get you cleaned up!" She had already started carrying him there. "You must be hungry!" He nodded. "Well, let's get you something to eat at my house." The conversation was taking the thought of pain out of the boys head. They continued to talk. He didn't even notice the look that the other villagers were giving him. He was too excited that he finally had someone that seemed to care for him. _

_The blonde was surprised when they stopped. "Is this where you live?" he asked. She giggled at him._

"_Of course, dear" She giggled again. "Let's go inside!" She smiled again._

_The first thing the blond noticed when he entered the building was the strong smell. He couldn't place it, but it was very unpleasant. _

"_Honey, I'm home, and __**he's**_ _here with me!" He didn't even notice the malice in her voice. He was more concerned with the other person in the house. Would he like him too? A hard smack to his head knocked him out of his thoughts. He fell to the ground, looking up, he saw a beefy, bald man holding a broken bottle. He was fuming. In the kitchen, he saw the woman. Looking through an assortment of knives. _

"_Heh, demon. todays the day that you die!" The man took another swing with his bottle. The boy barely managed to roll away. But couldn't avoid the stab to the leg that the man gave him. Kicking away the man's hand, he started to limp to the door as fast as he could. But fell to the ground when another object made contact with his head. He felt the back of his head and could tell that it was bleeding. He fell to the ground, and crawled to the door. Put was pulled back. The man punched him in the face a few times._

"_Honey! I've found a good knife!" He heard the women yell. The man continued his series of punches and kicks until his wife arrived. _

"_You're stupid, demon. You should know that everyone hates you." She said as he felt a sharp pang in his stomach. He slowly faded to black, and woke up in the hospital a few days later._

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><p>It was that moment that Naruto decided to stop trusting. She turned on him fast, but he knew others were biding their time. Waiting for him to let them in completely, before they turned their back on him. He was stirred out of his thoughts when a hand gently tapped his shoulder.<p>

"N-Naruto-kun, you should p-pay attention. Iruka-sensei is t-talking about g-graduation." She shyly stated. Naruto nodded and started to listen. Apparently, once every sixth months, you have an opportunity to graduate. It seemed like quite the opportunity. So Naruto made a resolution that he would be able to graduate at the very next chance he could.

His thought quickly shifted to the girl sitting next to him. She seemed so nice, innocent, and kind. She had saved him once, and he was grateful, though he wouldn't admit it. But she made sure he paid attention too, Hinata seemed to want him to succeed. Maybe she was different.

_Maybe._

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><p><strong>Woohoo. I decided that I wanted to release this as quick as I could to make up for the very short prologue. So rather than make a 3-5 thousand word chapter, I decided to make a shorter one to go with the prologue. A note on my upload schedule, I'm going to try to update every other Friday. It will get done if I give myself a hard deadline. <strong>

**Also, please let me know how I did on the flashback. I tried to give a valid reason as to why Naruto didn't trust anybody, and a traumatic experience seemed like the best way to do that. **

**And before I forget. I started with the dub. So I will be using the English jutsu names. But, I really like how the suffixes sound. So please, if I mess up, don't be scared to tell me! I want to improve, not continue my bad habits.**

**Review please! **


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Naruto, Adventure, Romance