~~~Naruto : New Beginnings~~~

Summary : Naruto is not taken care of by the Third Hokage as he should have. A sudden and surprising meeting with the only kunoichi of the Sannin changes his life forever. What will it lead to between the two? Will Tsunade be able to break through his shell and let him accept her? What secrets do Naruto's heritage hold and how will it affect his life when he lives with the legendary Slug princess from a very young age?

Well read on to find out…

"Thank you, please come again!" the owner of the Dango stall owner waved his new customer with a bright smile. The customer himself waved back with a smile, opening the package in his hands to smell the heavenly scent of sweet dumplings.

Both of them went by their ways, unaware of a pair of baby blue eyes watching them intently, hiding in the corner of the nearby alley. He put his finger innocently near his lips, eyeing the freshly cooking food with a look of desperation. His stomach grumbled in anguish, making him bite his lip in nervousness.

"I'm so hungry, it's been two days since I have found anything to eat in the garbage heaps." he thought sadly. He wanted to ask the man, if he could spare a stick for him, but he knew the man wouldn't give him. No one would ever help him, why he didn't know, but it was fairly certain in his mind.

"Should I take it without telling him? But that would be stealing…" his thoughts trailed off uncertainly when another grumble came from his stomach, which was screaming for some food. Especially, after the heavenly looking food's smell had struck his nostrils.

"It won't hurt him if I took a stick or two, he has so many. Plus, Kiara needs it too…" he thought, seeing the bags of ingredients by the man's side, while he let the dumplings cook slowly and called for some customers. The little boy tiptoed softly to the side of the stand, doing especially much to hide his shining bright golden locks. He glanced his head up slowly to see the man talking to a customer and turned his eyes to two sticks that were almost cooked and looked ready to eat now, packed in a plastic take away bag.

He gulped his hunger down and smiled, putting his hand out slowly and slipped the package containing the two skewers in his tiny hands. He crouched down and started to crawl away with a smile, thinking no one had noticed. But that was as far as his luck really went.

"THIEF! SOMEBODY CATCH THAT BOY! HE STOLE SO MUCH FROM ME!" the man shouted, making everyone in the district stop and turn to the owner of the stand. The curious eyes of passerby's followed his accusing finger pointed to the blonde boy, who himself was trembling in nervousness when he saw the hateful glares being sent his way. He saw one man picking up a bat and another picking up a shovel and he instantly dashed away into the alley he came from.

"CATCH HIM! THE DEMON IS SHOWING IT'S TRUE COLORS, LET'S GET RID OF HIM TODAY!" the owner of the stand shouted, giving the small group of people that were now forming a mob their much needed motivation. They chased the blonde blur into the alley, watching as he jumped over a bunch of crates with surprising agility and skidded down under a broken table.

Some of them stumbled from the obstructions, but two of them cleared them forcefully and followed the blonde, calling for their comrades in chase right behind the boy. Naruto glanced back and saw the man glaring at him murderously, having picked up a large pitchfork from the last alley and dashed away in another alley to take himself away from the main streets and avoid anymore attention. His eyes watered as he slipped past a garbage heap, almost stumbling, but caught himself and forced his weak legs to make up some more speed.

"Please stop chasing me. It was just two skewers of dumplings, I'll pay them back after I have the money…" he thought in fright, but didn't say anything out loud. He knew from experience pursuers got even angrier whenever he said something to them, and yelled curses and death threats at him. His feet blurred through many small objects with well timed jumps and slides underneath small spaces. It was the only thing keeping the two off duty chunins from catching him that were chasing him like wolves going after their prey.

His breathing was ragged when he turned to watch the two lead pursuers not even winded out. He didn't have much energy left in his frail and malnutrition struck body. He was quick and agile, but he didn't have the energy to keep it up right now. Even with his legendary stamina, he needed the food to keep it up, which he had been devoid of completely for the last couple of days.

He turned around the end of the alley, and watched he had come into the main shopping district of the village. He glanced back to see the two lad pursuers point and snarl at him and he turned his eyes around, back to his front. He ran in front of a liquor store and saw a really pretty blonde woman come out with many bottles of sake in her hands while her face held a giddy smile in it. He tried to slip past her to her side, and into the next alley, but it didn't work out as he had expected it to.

His vision blurred slowly and faded into a whiteness, before he tried to regain focus only to see the world around him quite misty. His feet stumbled on themselves and he crashed into the blonde woman harshly.

"HOLY SHI-" she cursed out loud when a small blur ran into her stomach, and crashed straight into her. The numerous expensive liquor bottles stumbled and fell down on the ground, the shattering of glass ringing in everyone's ears, taking her to fall down on her butt along with them. Her hazelnut eyes focused in on the reason for her loss of such fine drinks in a murderous aura. Naruto got up hazily, his eyes focusing in on the world as he tried to regain his bearings.

He sat up on all fours, the glass of the many broken bottles embedding itself in his hands and legs. He winced and took the package of dumplings which was surprisingly still alright. He picked them up in his bloodied hands when the two pursuers were almost onto him.

"THERE HE IS! NOW WE'LL SHOW YOU, YOU THIEF!" one of them shouted, making Naruto's eyes widen before he stood up and dashed away again. His legs and hands screamed in agony from the pain of the embedded glass, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop, for he knew what his fate would be if they caught him.

"HEY YOU! COME BACK HERE!" Naruto heard the third female and new voice, and winced when he pulled out a large piece of glass from his palm and turned into an alley again to throw off the three pursuers. Naruto looked on ahead and trembled in fright as he saw the end of the alley having nothing but a large wall in front of it. He turned around to see his two pursuers grinning evilly, and he choked back a sob. His bloodied palms outstretched themselves with the now blood covered package of food in his hands.

"Please take it back, I'm sorry." he spoke up shakily, with his trembling hands handing them the package back. Both of them laughed outright at his offer making his eyes water. He took a couple of steps back and hit the wall with his back when he saw them move forward to him.

"You think we care about those stupid dumplings? We are going to give you the time of your life today gaki. You shouldn't have shown your colors if you knew what was good for you." one of them said evilly, making his shimmering eyes watch the weapons in their hands being raised. He knew what would follow and how much it would hurt.

"Please let me go, I won't do it again. I promise." he pleaded softly to them with a choked sob and bit his lip when they cackled again at him.

"Yeah you're right about that. When we are done with you, you won't be able to do anything again demon." the second one said with a grin. He slid down across the wall, his body weakened even more from the numerous bloodied wounds. His mind turned hazy and his eyes showed him a milky white world. He didn't even register the first harsh blow in his chest when he passed out from complete exhaustion.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" a murderous female voice roared at the entrance of the alley. The two stopped their attacks at the lifeless yellow and red ball on the ground. Both turned to see Tsunade, standing there with rage filled eyes. She was leaking killing intent like none they had ever felt before.

"T-Tsunade-sama?!" one of them stuttered out, making her sharp eyes turn to him. He couldn't help but gulp, as visions of torture and death of hos own-self passed through his eyes before he fell unconscious. She turned her eyes to the second one who was on his knees and about to pass out from suffocation, when he felt a chop to his neck to put him out of his misery and fell down in a heap of dust. Tsunade turned her eyes to the end of the alley, and her eyes widened when she saw the state the little boy, no older that six or maybe seven was in.

She rushed to his side and pulled out the glass shards from his bruised body.

"Take….it…." she heard him whisper when he came to for a moment. She watched the clutched and bloodied packet in his small hand he was trying to hand her. She took it and opened it up to see two ruined skewers of dumplings and heard him mumble something more.

"I won't….steal…again…please let me go…it hurts…it really hurts…." he wheezed out in a whisper with heavy and strained breaths. Tsunade couldn't help but let a tear drop to see how his lifeless blue eyes which weren't even focused in completely on his surroundings, pleaded to her for mercy. She forgot all about her fear of blood in an instant, her arms scooped the small form of the boy up in her arms. She cradled him gently to not hurt the small boy even more than he was right now.

"Shh, it'll be alright. Sleep now." she cooed him softly, and watched his heavy eyelids drop completely when he fell limp in her arms. She held his small form in her arms gently. He looked so frail and light, almost as light as a feather. His golden locks still shone from some places where the blood from his head injuries hadn't seeped through.

Her eyes hardened to glaciers that only a shinobi of her caliber could possess, when she stood up and rushed past the streets. The people saw the only kunoichi in the Sannin squad, rush past them with a small body, barely recognizable as a boy, zoom her way past them. She entered the hotel she was staying in, and ran up the stairs at breath taking speeds towards the room she had booked.

Shizune was going about drinking he coffee and reading a scroll of medical ninjutsu, happily humming away while strolling in the room. She yelped out loud in a shriek when the door was blasted of it's hinges and flew straight past her face, embedding itself straight into the wall ahead.

Her saucer wide eyes saw the heel of her master come down, as she ran past her and straight into the bedroom with something strangely vague and familiar to her held in her arms. Her nose caught the scent of iron and her eyes widened even further to see wet and crimson blotches staining the floor where her master had stepped just now.

"Tsuna-" she trailed off when she was pushed to the side, courtesy of an irate Tsunade coming out of the bedroom.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" she roared, making Shizune gulp and stumble back. Shizune glanced at her master nervously, to see her almost perfectly fine, except her kimono blouse that was red in the front and reeked of blood.

"Tsunade-sama… were you attacked?" Shizune asked the blonde woman, who was rummaging through the closet like a madwoman.

"Damn it…SHIZUNE!" she roared, making the black haired girl stiffen immediately.

"Hai!" she said robotically, seeing those hazelnut eyes glaring at her.

"Fresh Towels, wet…NOW!" she ordered and the girl nodded. She went stumbling out of the the room to get some, while Tsunade re-entered the room and put a clean towel on the blonde boy's head, who lay unconscious on her bed.

She applied pressure on his head to stop the bleeding from his head wound, no doubt from a strike by the impact of a blunt object with his skull. She wiped off the blood and started pulling out the glass shards from his body to avoid any infections before she went on for further treatments.

"Tsunade-sama the tow…" Shizune trailed off when Tsunade had snatched the cloths away from her hands snippily.

"What took you so damn long?" she mumbled angrily, and raised a couple of her fingers up. Her fingers glowed green and she ran them along the side of the blonde's ragged clothes, slicing them cleanly, to give her access to his bodies hidden wounds. Shizune didn't even notice her master's lack of fear from seeing fresh blood, when both saw the body hidden underneath his clothes.

His small and unmoving form was barely anything like what a child his age should be. His body had bones protruding from them showing the state of his malnutritioned muscles and barely any fat was visible in his body. He was covered in bruises, that were freshly red, to some that were purple and showed they were a little older.

Tsunade snapped out of her musings and turned to glance at Shizune. Her apprentice was covering her mouth with her hands, and staring at the small boy with horror stricken eyes.

"Shizune, start working on the cuts and stop the bleeding. I'll take care of the rest." she commanded loudly making the raven snap out of her thoughts and nod instantly.

"Hai!" she exclaimed, and put her green glowing hands on the blonde's sliced and blood covered legs. Tsunade put her palms on his head, only to see some sort of healing factor accelerating her healing attempts by quite a large margin. She ran her hands down to his chest and hovered over the blue bruises. As soon as her hands passed the stomach, she felt a strange chakra fluctuation in the boy's coils before she resumed her healing on the boy.

Both master and apprentice examined his little body for an hour, before making sure that he was completely fine and moved away from their patient. Tsunade flopped down on the couch in the living room with tired sigh.

"Shizune, water…" she mumbled tiredly, as her apprentice put a glass of water in her hands. Tsunade gulped it down in one go and rubbed her temples with her head thrown back. She had gotten quite lax, to think she was exhausted just from a little healing.

"Tsunade-sama, who is he? Where did you find him?" Shizune asked, breaking her out of her thoughts and got another tired sigh from Tsunade. She recited her meeting with the blonde boy in her head, and didn't feel a bit of loss from her liquor bottles, having forgotten it in favor of the little life she had just saved.

"He ran into me when I came out of the liquor store. All my bottles were broken when his running form brashed into me suddenly and before I could say something, a couple of guys shouted that he was a thief and he took off. I had forgotten to pay the owner so I rushed to where he had gone after a few minutes when I had paid him off for the bottles. The two followers were beating down on him mercilessly, no doubt for stealing so I knocked them out with my killing intent and then took the boy here…" the blonde recited, making the black haired girl nod. But still something didn't click.

"But to beat a child down even if he stole, like that. Something isn't right Tsunade-sama…" Shizune surmised. Tsunade had an inkling of who the boy was with his whiskers, but she wasn't sure and it was good to keep it to herself for now.

"What did he steal Tsunade-sama?" she asked, trying to make sense and Tsunade closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands remembering the boy's last whispers and the look in his eyes.

"Two skewers of dumplings." she answered making Shizune gasp. Tsunade herself couldn't believe the punishment that had been dished out on the boy just for two dumplings.

"Just that?!" Shizune asked incredulously, and Tsunade nodded. It threw Shizune for a loop, and Tsunade stayed silent for a while, pondering on her own thoughts. But Shizune could see why he would steal them, when she remembered the state his malnutrition was causing to his body.

"He must have been quite hungry…" Shizune said softly, making Tsunade hum in agreement. Both knew the condition of the boy, it showed them how much he ate on a regular basis. Shizune eyed the buxom blonde curiously, who hadn't opened her eyes yet with a small smile. At least something nice had come out of the precarious situation she mused happily.

"But you got over your fear of blood Tsunade-sama." she said with a little happiness, and Tsunade smirked herself. Just seeing the little boy in that condition made her see visions of losing a loved one from the past, and she would have been damned if she had let him die.

Both ladies sat by the boy's bedside for hours, watching him breathe softly and rest his tired and mangled body to the fullest. Late in the night, the boy's consciousness came to and he flickered his eyes open.

He let out a soft moan in pain, making the two ladies jerk awake suddenly, only to see him trying to sit up. Tsunade watched the blanket fall off, and her eyes widened to see his torso devoid off any and all bruises now. It further solidified her assumptions on who the boy possibly was.

Naruto's wide curious eyes blinked themselves into focus when he took in his surroundings. He was in a warm bed with a blanket, and without any shirt on to top it off. He didn't feel any pain too like he should have from the beating he had taken. He turned around to see the two ladies staring at him curiously, before stiffening and scooting away unconsciously. He watched the two warily, to see what they wanted with him and then his eyes took in the blonde woman. He remembered her from earlier, she was really pretty when she was up close too.

"Where am I?" he asked softly, but in a guarded tone making the two woman smile. He still watched them warily, while Shizune decided to take the charge.

"You are in our hotel room, we brought you here because you were hurt and treated you." she explained, throwing the blonde boy in for a loop.

"Why would you treat me?" he asked innocently, making the two ladies blink at his question. Naruto couldn't understand why they did that, no one ever helped him, that was a fact everyone knew.

"Because you were hurt and needed our help. What else?" Tsunade explained in a soft voice, but Naruto was still confused.

"I still don't understand." he said, making the two ladies frown when they saw his honest confusion. It was like no one had ever helped him before, both thought unanimously. Naruto then realized something and nodded to himself.

"If it's about me breaking your bottles from earlier, I'm sorry." he apologized in his soft tone, that suddenly seemed a lot more scared and frightened.

"It's alr-" Tsunade was cut off as the blonde continued on his babbling.

"Look I'll pay you back when I have the money. I don't have it now, but I promise you I will…" he said and Tsunade tried to stop him, when both Tsunade and Shizune saw his eyes shimmer with unshed tears.

"Please don't hurt me, it was a mistake. I felt dizzy and weak and lost my balance. I didn't want to break them." he mumbled apologetically, making the two have no time to try and stop him. Tsunade decided to cut his confusion short, and spoke up to break up his scared mumbles.

"We do not want your money, so don't worry alright?" she said softly, to calm him down. But it did anything but what she had intended for the boy. His eyes widened and the unshed tears streamed down his eyes quickly, dropping on the blanket. He backed up into a corner and curled himself in a ball.

"No please not that, I promise I'll pay you soon. Just let me go." he whispered with a sniffle, making the two look at him with a lost look.

"Just… what? What are you saying?" Tsunade asked softly, when she saw his hell frightened expression. She tried to calm him down, but he was hiding himself even more from her.

"Please don't touch me, I don't like that. I'll give you the money…just not that…please…" he sobbed hysterically, making the two ladies grow even more concerned for the boy.

"Just what? Tell me, why don't you want me to touch you?" Tsunade cooed gently, and tried to sit closer to him, when she saw his eyes widen in horror and he clutched his knees tightly to his bare chest.

"Don't come any closer, I don't like that. I'll give you the money. Just don't touch me… it makes me feel…" he sobbed, as Tsunade sat a little away from him and looked at him with warm and caring eyes, which scared him even more on the inside.

"It makes you feel what?" she asked in a soft motherly voice, and gulped a sob when she saw the pure pain and anguish in his eyes.

"Dirty." he whispered in shame, making Shizune and Tsunade's eyes widen in horror. He couldn't mean what they thought he did, both thought at the same time. Tsunade stretched her hand forward, and watched him flinch when it touched him, as if she was made of acid.

"Don't touch me please…" he pleaded with a sniffle, making Tsunade's heart twist in a clench. She let a smile to reassure him grace her lips, and watched him like a mother would watch her child, increasing his fear ten folds unknown to her.

"It's alright…" she cooed softly, and put her hand over his when she met his wide eyes, and was about to coo him and calm him down even more when something unexpected happened.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" he roared in a scared voice, and let out a purple pulse of chakra. Tsunade saw his eyes turn crimson with two tomoes circling them wildly for a moment, only before she was launched back into the wall from the powerful pulse he let out of his whole body. Her back met the wall, and indented it with a bang, as she slid down with a groan.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Shizune shrieked at the unexpected event, and rushed to her downed master who was groaning in pain. Tsunade turned her eyes to the blonde, ignoring her aching head and watched him fall sideways,straight into another state of unconsciousness, no doubt from letting out all that chakra.

"I'm alright…" she mumbled, rubbing her throbbing head and caught Shizune's wrist, who was checking for injuries on her head. Black eyes met hazelnut ones to see Tsunade have a pure concerned expression in her eyes.

"Check on him Shizune, see if he didn't hurt himself…" she whispered and Shizune nodded, rushing back to the unconscious boy's side. Her hands glowed green, while she hovered them over his body to check up on him. She saw his wounds were already closed, so he didn't open any of them, but he had pushed out almost all of his chakra out unconsciously, and had fallen unconscious yet again. This time though, from chakra exhaustion.

"Tsunade-sama this isn't good…" she said out loud, as the buxom blonde made her way to her. She herself checked his condition, and knew what her apprentice meant in an instant.

"His body doesn't have the strength right now to recover from chakra exhaustion. We need to feed him something Shizune, anything…" she mumbled while running diagnostics over the boy's unconscious form.

"Shizune go and get me some energy drinks and food pills. We'll feed him in his sleep, to make him recover forcefully." she commanded, and Shizune hurried away with a nod. Tsunade brushed his head gently, to take off the blonde locks covering his eyes, and couldn't help but let her feminine side gush over how soft and silky they were. He looked so adorable sleeping like that, with his small purrs that he was letting every now and then, a little sleepily. The way his whiskers twitched slightly every few times she had stroked them gently, she had to resist the urge to just crush the boy in a hug.

Shizune came back with a few bottles of energy drinks issued to the ANBU Black Ops, and Tsunade's special blend of food pills in her other hand.

Tsunade placed the blonde's head on her lap gently, and watched him nuzzle in on the new-found warmth with a soft smile. She tickled his sensitive cheek with her finger, watching his whiskers twitch every now and then and let out giddy giggles. Shizune smiled watching her master play with the blonde as if she was a little girl. It had been so long since she had seen such a smile on her master's face.

"Tsunade-sama…" she called out, handing her the drinks and pills which the buxom blonde woman took with a grateful smile. Tsunade took out a pill and put it in his mouth, she raised his head up with her arm, and made him gulp it down with the energy drinks and threw the now emptied bottle aside. Both ladies sat on the bed by his side, each in deep thoughts of their own.

"What do you think he meant by that Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked suddenly. Tsunade didn't need to ask what she meant, since she herself was wondering what had happened to the boy to cause such fright, that too from just a mere calming touch by her. She had seen many traumatized children in her medical carrier but his reaction had been the most violent she had ever seen.

"I don't know Shizune…" she said in a completely lost voice. Her soft eyes staring at the blonde boy lovingly. She felt the need to know him more and help him out of his problems as much as she could. He was an innocent child, who was just all alone and needed a guiding hand to help him.

"I just don't know, but I'll find out. That's for sure…" she whispered making her apprentice smile at the pure determination shining in her eyes. She sat by an armchair to be there when the boy woke up, or she was pretty sure he would run off when he got the chance, without her getting to talk to him.

~~~Next Morning~~~

The sun shone in the distance, while it's rays trickled past the windows in the room where two blonde's slept their way. Tsunade's eyes flickered open, and focused on the boy who was curled up in a ball to snuggle in the warmth his bed was providing him. Tsunade couldn't help but gush how cute his soft purrs were when he slept, no matter how long she looked and heard them.

Shizune stepped in the room with a yawn, and handed Tsunade a cup of coffee that she took with a grateful smile. Tsunade wondered how to go about trying to peel off the defenses that the little boy had built up all around him. They couldn't even get close to him without scaring him off.

"Tsunade-sama why isn't he in the orphanage? Shouldn't the village be taking care of him like every other child?" Shizune asked and Tsunade glanced at her before turning her eyes back to the blonde. Another point in favor for her guess to his identity she mused and shook her head.

"I don't know Shizune, but I'm going to file out all the information the village has on him when I go and settle my account problems with Sarutobi-sensei today." she said in a firm tone, making her apprentice nod her affirmative at her answer.

Tsunade didn't want to make any guesses before she was absolutely sure of who he was. Her eyes trailed down to the torn off shirt kept by the side of his bed, and then back to Shizune while she nodded to her to gain her attention.

"Shizune take my wallet and get him a pair of clothes before he is up. We'll change him up into them, he can't go on roaming about like that." she said and Shizune nodded with a bright smile. Tsunade giggled seeing her daughter-like apprentice jump off with a hop in her feet. The girl adored children and loved shopping for them. She herself was worst for the children she adored, and would have gone herself, but she didn't want to leave him alone when he woke up.

Author's notes :- This is the first chapter of my first story. Please review it and tell me how you feel about it. Naruto will be paired up with someone that I will decide in the future, but rest assured it won't be Sakura. It will mainly be about how Tsunade breaks through his emotional barriers and gets him to be close to her. Expect quick updates for the next few chapters if I get enough honest reviews and responses from readers. So I'll see you next time then.

PS :- Please forgive any mistakes I might have made, this is my first story so be a little lenient but do criticize any mistakes in reviews, I'll be sure to read all of them.