6:00 AM

This is my first attempt at a cross over. I hope you guys like it. If you like it please review if not and leave some constructive criticism for me to take into account. As some of you might know this chapter started out as two individual chapters, I decide two combine them and fix them up a little, because I really didn't like the way they flowed when I read them. Any way enjoy the story.

And of course I don't own Naruto or Soul Calibur.

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No man ever thinks that a small change of direction makes a difference. But the fact of the matter is that it makes all the difference.

Anything can happen with small twist of direction.

---

"NARUTO!! Wake up already!!"

The screeching voice traveling through the hall of the orphanage came from director of the orphanage, who at this time was trying to wake up a sleepy six year old.

-BANG- BANG-

"Wake up, we're late!"

The shocks of being woken up while his feet being tangled in the covers were primary factors as to why the sleepy blonds head slammed onto the floor.

"O-OWW!"

After having a bit consciousness smacked into him by the floor, Naruto gave the director a yawned, "I'm going, I'm going.."

Late? What's going on today?

As Naruto shuffled out into the hallway still in his pajamas, he noticed all the other orphans were already dressed, bags in hand, and ready to go…. Where?

"Hey, what's going on?" Naruto asked one of the older kids walking by.

"To the field trip, dummy, where else?" he replied.

"Huh? What field trip?" he asked scratching his head with a bewildered look, trying to remember what he was talking about.

Suddenly the director appeared in front Naruto with a upset look on her face.

"Naruto you're still not ready? Do you at least have your bags?"

With a look of desperation she knelt down, licked the tip of her thumb, and wiped some dirt off the tip of his nose.

"Naruto you're a mess… Have you been playing outside in the trees again?" asked the director in an exasperated voice.

"Uuuuhh… No Miss Cooks…" he replied with a grin and a lie only a 6 year old would come up with.

"Uh-huh… I've told you before to stop climbing in the trees. You could fall and hurt yourself. Now hurry up and go get dressed. We're leaving in a few minutes."

"B-but… fiiinne.." He dropped his head and walked to his room to get ready.

---

All the other kids were in awe by the great Hokage monument. Naruto on the other hand got bored within 5 minutes. Boredom soon made his head fill with thoughts of mischief.

'I wonder if I can climb all the way to that guy's nose?'

He was literally shaking with excitement from the thought of being the booger of the last of the four bigheaded rock guys, or at least those were the words going through his head.

"Oh no you don't!!"

Just as he started running for the giant heads the tour guide grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and held him in the air while his legs were still running.

"Don't even think about it! You're staying with the rest of you're group. You got that you little twerp?"

"Let me go you old hag!" He yelled reaching out to the wall as if it was a treasure beyond imagining.

"Fine go on you little brat…" She said dropping him on his rear. "I'm sick of you kids anyways!" she yelled a vein throbbing out of her temple. She stormed off leaving Naruto to his fun and mischief.

Finally being left alone Naruto took off running to the cliff wall… in the wrong direction.

---

A slender figure was walking gradually down the streets of Konoha with a look of complete unpleasantness on her face. Huruka was a woman of average beauty. She had shoulder length brown hair that she just let hang. She had brown eyes that told a lifetime of trials. She was about 5'5 and was only semi-athletic, smoking didn't exactly encourage her to get out and exercise.

She had gone out for a walk after the day's events to cool off and maybe buy another pack of smokes. Huruka had just been having a crappy day all around. She had just moved into her new house and out of nowhere a baseball came crashing through it. It just reminded her that nothing ever goes the way she plans.

As she walked through the street she took a quick review of her life. She was going to be thirty-seven in two months, she had no husband or boyfriend, she lived by herself, and so far her smoking problem hadn't gotten any better. The one thing in her life that gave her any satisfaction was her job.

She was a freelance writer who wrote random articles for magazines, but she also wrote her own novels. Lately she had been trying her hand at love novels, but the ridiculously new hit "Icha Icha" series was making things difficult. It was a pain so much so that her latest novels weren't even selling because of it.

She looked at all the people around her, all the happy faces. Couples holding hands, parents playing with their kids, she hated being alone. Doing nothing but writing help her social life, but she wished in did. Hell she'd settle for a rat if it would keep her company.

She was a child of three. She was smack dab in the middle and had fallen through the cracks made by her older brother and younger sister when it came to support and loving from their parents. She knew they had done their best even if it wasn't exactly the most pleasing of things to go through.

Her father had passed away a few years ago from lung cancer. Ironically enough that hadn't helped her quit smoking much. She cut down but it still wasn't good. She used to smoke around two packs a day. Now she's gone down to pack a day.

Huruka and her mother hadn't gotten along since she had decided to become a writer. Her mom thought that it was a waste of time and effort and Huruka's book sales weren't helping her case.

She got along fairly well with her brother and sister even if she did favor her brother. He had taken her in for a while before he got married and got a new place with his wife.

She and her sister had always had a competitive relationship. Huruka was a struggling writer while her sister was a successful actress. Their mother hadn't been happy with her decision either but had quickly been swayed by the money she was making.

Since her father had died they got together a little more often than they used to, hoping to spend just a little more time with each other…

She heard an ear-shattering thunderbolt that brought her back from her thoughts. She looked up and realized it was going to storm soon so she sped up her pace to get home, not wanting to be out during a thunderstorm any longer then she needed to be. She hated it when it rained, ever since she was little she would huddle in a corner the second she heard thunder.

She sped her steady jogging up into a panicking open run. She was nearly home when she made a wrong turn without noticing into an alley. She quickly noticed her mistake and was about to turn around when she tripped over something lying on the ground.

She stood up abruptly to sound of another thunderbolt. She was about to take off again when she noticed what she tripped over. At first she thought it must have been a trashcan but as she took a closer look at it she saw that it was just a little kid…

Huruka did a quick double take and inspected the object even more closely. It had battered clothes on, it had eyes, hair, limbs, and it was breathing. Yes just as she thought it was a little kid.

It was a kid!

" Oh crap, kid are you okay!?" she got no response. Panicking and not knowing what else to do she picked the child up and ran to her house, this time in the right direction.

---

Huruka stormed into her house and slammed the door. Thankfully it didn't start to rain until after she got inside. She laid the seemingly dead kid on the floor over a blanket. She checked to make sure it was still breathing. She let out a sigh of relief the second she saw its chest rise.

She sat next to the child and examined it more closely. From the looks of it the child was just sleeping. It had untidy brown hair and its skin covered in layers of dirt. It smelled horrible, like dumpster. Its clothes were all worn out and smeared with grime. Over all the kid looked like a mess.

After a few minutes Huruka decided to clean the kid up. She grabbed a wet paper towel and started to wipe it across his face. She continued doing this until she noticed a pair of wide blue eyes gazing at her.

Not exactly sure why she stood completely still and let the room sit in an uneasy silence.

That is until he started screaming.

Before Huruka could react, Naruto jumped off the floor and started running around the house as if he were a wild chimp. He ran through the living room to the kitchen and through the living room again. Jumping from couches, coffee tables, shelves, and ceiling fans. He left nothing unbroken as he made his rampage toward the front door.

He was just a few inches away from the door out of nowhere Huruka tackled him to the ground with enough force to get him steady, but not injure him.

"CALM DOWN! Is this anyway to thank me for saving you" Huruka yelled as she put the surprisingly agile toddler full nelson.

"Let me go you hag!" yelled the frightened child. He had no idea where he was the last thing he remembers is falling asleep in some alley and then he wakes up in some strangers house.

"Will you stay still?! You might be hurt!" Huruka hollered to the little kid.

Very slowly the child quit squirming around Huruka's arms his crying was reduced to soft sniffles. The sniffling sounds coming from the child soon came to a complete halt as he relaxed to Huruka's hold.

"Where am I?" The child asked quietly.

"You're in my house. I brought you here after I found you in some alley." She stated softly as she laid her head on his breathing a sign of relief.

"Look kid we have to clean you up you might have a cut that'll get infected so I have to check, ok?" she stated with serious voice. The brown haired child nodded 'yes' to her.

Huruka lifted the kid up and carried him to her bathroom. She turned on the shower and undressed the child. She couldn't tell at first but no she was sure that the kid was a boy. She rolled up her sleeves as she put the boy in the shower.

She started to shampoo his hair in an awkward silence, until he ultimately broke it with an over due question.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Huruka Anaki." She said as she started to scrub harder at his scalp. She was amazed at the amount of mud trailing down his face. "What's yours?" His brown hair started to disappear.

"Naruto Uzumaki" he said as blond hair started to appear.

---

Even though the rags he called clothes were torn, had cuts, and holes in them. Huruka was surprised to see that Naruto wasn't hurt at all. He didn't have any cuts, bruises, or anything for that matter to show for his rough appearance.

After an hour of washing, cleaning, and scrubbing Huruka dried and clothed the now clean Naruto. They went on into the kitchen so they could find something to eat.

The small blonde was now sporting some clothes that Huruka had been planning to give to her niece. He was making a face and staring at the big heart on his chest. Although it wasn't either one's first choice it would have to do for now.

The somewhat failure of a writer was rummaging through her fridge for something the kid could eat. By the looks of it he could use a little food in him.

"Let's see what I've got here…"

'Juice, beer, spoiled milk, beer, a rotten apple, beer, bad cheese, beer, cold pizza, and more beer…'

As Huruka pulled out the pizza to heat up she made a mental note to add grocery shopping and A.A. on her "to do" list.

Taking two small glasses from the cabinet above her Huruka poured both of them a little juice.

-CLINK-

Naruto still fixated on his new attire was broken from his trance by the juice presented to him.

Without waiting another moment the toddler chugged the juice. He felt as if he hadn't had anything this good in his life.

Still not knowing what to say, Huruka took a few stalling sips from her glass. She sat listening to the patter of rain on the roof and windows while watching the boy. Carefully setting down her juice the writer asked the unavoidable question.

"Hey kid."

Naruto who was now drinking her juice too just said, "hmmmm?"

"Why were you in that alley back there?"

"I got sleepy, so I laid down."

"That's a pretty stupid thing to do kid," said Huruka as she got up to get the pizza from the microwave.

"So how'd you get in that alley anyways?"

"I got lost," he said as he took a giant bite of pizza.

"How long were you lost?" asked Huruka as she took a bite of her own pizza.

"A week."

Ackckkckc… cough* cough*… "A week?!" she said after she almost choked to death on her pizza.

"Yep." He finished off his food.

"Your mom and dad must be worried sick about you!" she said matter-of-factly.

His expression changed slightly, he lowered his head just a bit and looked at the table.

"I… don't have… a mom or dad," the six year old said quietly.

"Ohhh…"

Not exactly sure what to do or say Huruka laid her pizza down and offered it to him. She sat there quietly watching him as he devoured her food.

"Sooo… you don't have parents but you were away from somewhere. Where do you live?"

"I was in a place with a bunch of other kids like me."

"Like you?"

"Kids without moms or dads."

"Oh an orphanage. You must have lived at the Cookdale Orphanage. It's the only one on this side of Konoha."

"I dunno… the director's name was Ms. Cook."

"That sounds about right then. So what happened? How did you get lost?"

"I don't remember… The last time I was with everyone we were looking at these big heads. I went to go play… then I was alone. I tried to find them but I didn't know where they were."

"Did you try telling someone you were lost or going back home?"

"I didn't know the way and people wouldn't listen to me when I was trying to tell them."

"Well you're ok now. I'm gonna get you back home. Ok?"

-CRASH-

A sudden flash of lightning reminded Huruka that it was still raining outside, and from the sounds of it the storm was getting worse.

"Never mind… We're gonna wait here for the rain to stop, then I'll take you back to the orphanage."

"OK… You got something to do around here?"

"Nope, not exactly used to having here." Huruka looked around her place for something to keep the kid occupied. Finding nothing, the search led her to one very important conclusion. She was very boring.

Hoping that the people that lived here before her had better social lives, she looked through one of the rooms. At one of the four corners she found a deck of cards.

"How bout I teach you a card game." She said as she took them out of the box.

"A game?"

"Yeah, it's called poker."

--

A few hours later the rain still hadn't let up and Huruka was losing badly.

She was astonished by how lucky this kid was. Even with no idea how to play he was winning almost every hand. There were a few times she caught herself telling him he lost even when he had actually won, especially when he got the royal flush.

If the math was done she owed him 20 packs of cookies, 5 tubs of ice cream, and 10 juice boxes.

Huruka looked at the clock, it was past ten o' clock. There was no way she'd be able to take Naruto back tonight.

"Well we better get some rest," she sighed.

"It looks like we're gonna have to go back first thing in the morning, it's too late now even if it wasn't still raining."

When she didn't hear a response she looked over to Naruto who was already dosing with his head on the table, clutching yet another royal flush.

Huh… This kiddo really does have some good luck. He must be tired…

---

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

Huruka woke up that morning to the annoying beeps of her alarm. She glanced at the clock as she pulled off the covers.

6:00 A.M.

She stopped at mid pull when a thought came to mind.

'It's way to early to get up.'

But just before her head could hit the pillow, she noticed something that was off about this morning. At the other side of the bed, there was a small lump.

'What the hell? What is that?' Huruka slowly grabbed the bat under her bed, ready to strike if it was one of those cat size rats again. (They are very dangerous)

Quickly she tore the cover off as if it were bandied. Only to see that it was Naruto, quietly snoring in his sleep.

Huruka took a deep sigh of relief. She set the bat lightly on the floor and laid down next to him. He stirred a little. The brown haired woman saw this and gently stroked his head.

She chuckled slightly, the writer had to admit it. The kid was cute when he's sleeping. After stroking his head for a few minutes, Huruka fell back to sleep.

---

After doing her morning ritual to get ready for the day she went outside to get a smoke. When she came in after her nicotine-fix she heard a clinking sound coming from the kitchen.

"Hey kid didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to dig in other people's fridge's without permission?"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you smoking is bad for you?"

"Well I'm older than you so you have to listen to me not the other way around. What are you doing over there anyways?"

"I'm trying to open this bottle. I'm really thirsty."

"What bott- wait no! That isn't for kids to drink. It's for grown-ups."

"But that's all you got in here."

"Well…how bout we go and get some breakfast and then we'll get you back?"

"Ok… but I want waffles!"

"Ok"

"And chocolate milk…"

"Ok"

"And bacon…"

"Ok"

"And…"

"Whoa kid, hold your horses there. I'm not made of money here."

"You sure do have a lot of this stuff only grown-ups can drink."

"Yeah well that's my medicine…"

"Are you sick?"

"Well there are a few places that it a disease. But lets forget about that, lets go."

--

After a costly breakfast they decided to go ahead and walk to the orphanage, which wasn't all that far away. After a little while of silence Huruka let in to her curiosity.

"How old are you anyways?"

"I'm 6. How old are you?"

"It's impolite to ask a lady that question."

'I can't believe he made it for a week! He's only six'.

After another long silence she kept probing.

"Sooo, do you know what happened to your parents?"

"Ms. Cook said they died."

"Ms. Cook sounds pretty blunt."

"What's blunt?"

"Eehh, nothing." She really didn't feel like explaining things. "Did she tell you anything about them, or about what happened to them?"

"No, she just told me that this old man brought me to the orphanage."

"What old man?"

"I dunno his name but he wears white pajamas and a weird hat."

"White pajamas and a weird hat?"

"Yeah, he lives by the four big heads."

'He must be talking about the Hokage… But why would the Hokage take this kid to the orphanage?'

"Do you have a mom and dad," he asked as he tried jumping onto her back.

"I have a mom, but my dad died a while back." She helped him up and carried him piggy back stlye.

"How'd he die?"

"He was really sick."

"How'd he get sick?"

"Years and years of smoking."

He stared at her cigarette as she went to take a drag of it. She caught herself mid-drag and looked back at Naruto.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

"Huh?" Naruto had no idea what that meant.

"Hahaha, That's what my dad used to tell me. I used to say I would never say that kind of thing."

"When he would tell you that, did it work?"

"Not at all…" She said thinking back.

They saw the orphanage up ahead.

"Hey look we're here," he yelled.

"It looks like it," sighed Huruka. She felt a little put out that the walk was over already.

They knocked on the door to the office once they got inside. A frazzled middle-aged woman came to the door.

"Ms. Cook look, this is my new friend, Huruka."

There were a few seconds of silence before

"NARUTO!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" cried the director as she squeezed the life out of him.

"Ms.—Cook—I—I—can't—breaf," said the blonde who was turning blue in the face.

Ms. Cook got up and hugged Huruka.

"Thank you for finding him. We were looking for him everywhere."

"You're—welcome—but—could—you—let—me—go?"

Huruka who already couldn't breathe that well from her habits was grateful for the air.

"Well it looks like your home now kid. So I guess I'm gonna get outta here."

He didn't seam to hear her as he was greeted by all of his friends in the hallway. Not wanting to interrupt his reunion with his friends she turned around and left. As she was crossing the yard to the street she heard a call from the door. Turning around she saw the kid in the doorway waving.

"Thank you Ms. Huruka!!"

You're welcome kid.

Huruka waved back and went home.

--

A few days later it was sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky. A certain brown-haired writer was sitting on a park bench lighting her first cigarette of the day. She was trying to get started with her new novel but it was coming along slowly.

She sat there thinking and her mind drifted to a certain rambunctious kid she had met just a few days before.

I wonder how he's doing. What's he up to now?

Huruka took a deep drag on her cig and hung her head back over the top of the bench. Suddenly there was a loud voice right next to her.

"HEY YOU! YOU'RE STILL SMOKING?"

After nearly giving herself whiplash from jerking forward to look for the source she saw none other than Naruto standing in front of her.

"Huhh? Yeah and what are you doing here?"

He pointed his finger accusingly at her and said, "You still owe me 10 juice boxes!"

Huruka looked at him for a moment before saying, "Heheh, Ok kid. Let's go."

Naruto ran ahead of her towards a store. Our brown haired writer walked calmly behind him, taking the last few puffs of her cigarette.

'Guess I'll finish this now…' she heard yelling for her to hurry up.

'Or maybe not'

The smoker for 16 years flicked her cigarette away and continued to step on it as she walked towards Naruto.

---

Well that's it for the new chapter 1. I know I said this is going to be a cross over they will show up later on.

Please review with any constructive criticism or just let me know if you like it.

*_*