Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This applies to all chapters.

Warnings: YAOI; SasuNaru, bad language, unorthodox methods, sexual activities, sexual harassments, bullying, minor character death. Ballet dancing!Naruto.

Genre: This is a romantic drama, like most of my things. I've tried to be as romantic and sensual as possible without making them out of character.

Summary: Uzumaki Naruto has dedicated his entire life to the art of ballet. It isn't until a tragic accident occurs that he – for the first time – feels something akin to love for someone else.

IMPORTANT: This is a story written in third person: about Naruto's life. There is a sister-story to this! It is named Untouched: The Persistence of Loss. It's also written in third person: about Sasuke's life.

Untouched: The Cross of Change

Written by Venerate

Prologue

When Uzumaki Naruto was seven years old, he was full of energy. His stamina was incredible, and his eagerness would never be outmatched. He could go on and on for ages; running around, talking, laughing, doing cartwheels and running around. He got lost several times, as the nanny didn't stand a chance against the blue-eyed seven-year-old. It was impossible to get a hold of him once he had set his mind on hiding from his babysitter.

His parents were very busy people. His father was Namikaze Minato, Konohagakure no Sato's mayor. He was often away on business trips, and when he wasn't, he had meetings and papers to sign. He was the very definition of a workaholic, bringing all sorts of assignments home.

His wife, Uzumaki Kushina, wasn't much better. She tried to avoid her home as much as possible, meeting her friends and picking up hobbies that required her presence somewhere else. Anywhere but her empty home where her loud, seven year old son lived. She hated the guilt that flowed inside of her each time she got in her car to go to her friends or to her favourite art gallery.

She just didn't know how to handle the bundle of energy on her own. He was so alike her, but she couldn't understand how her parents had succeeded in raising her.

True that she could have shared her responsibilities with the nanny, but she never had the courage to face the person who had, so far, raised her wild son. Minato was the one hiring nannies and babysitters, since she didn't get along with them too well. She was a kind person by nature, but the guilt she felt upon hiring nannies turned her into a monster.

To one of her closest friends, she voiced her thoughts. It felt good to clear the air, only to realise that her friend, Inuzuka Tsume, had had the same problem with her son Kiba. She was a busy woman as well, always with her dogs, training them and taking them to competitions. While Kiba had been unbearable as a younger child, he became more manageable after he joined the local soccer team.

So Kushina did what she believed would be the best for her son: she signed him up for a list of activities, in hopes that it would bring her son closer to her yet again.

It didn't work. Naruto was a bit too clumsy and wild for most sports. He wasn't suited for tennis, soccer or baseball. He didn't seem to be made for any sports involving balls and team tactics. In a desperate attempt to get Naruto to calm down and use his energy, she signed him up for what she herself had been doing as a young girl.

Ballet.

Perhaps their shared interest would lead them back together, and Naruto would stop referring the nanny as his mother.

Naruto's first ballet class ended in catastrophe. Yet, Kushina felt in her gut that this was right. This would fit Naruto so well. She took him to more classes; sometimes forcing her hyperactive son to go, sometimes bribing him. After a month's worth of classes, Naruto was actually starting to like the dance.

When the media found out, Minato's life became a living Hell.

He attended press conferences, defending the dance of ballet – no, it was not only for gays and girls. He had to ignore how his co-workers joked behind his back. He pretended not to notice the odd stares he got as he demanded the day off so that he could watch his son's first ballet show.

Kushina didn't suffer as her husband did, and she failed to feel the sympathy that Minato wanted.

They got a divorce a year after Naruto started his ballet classes.

Despite that, Naruto's endless energy seemed to remain – it kept his mother at distance, but he didn't care. He wanted to do the ballet, as it had become his goal – his dream – to become the best ballet dancer in all of Asia. He worked as hard as he could, his body and mind completely absorbed in his new love.

Kushina took her son with her as she moved out from Minato's mansion. They moved into an average house with a small garden, close to the ballet studio. The shows that the ballet club held became more and more popular. Soon, the tickets had become very expensive, and the upper-class of their town was always there to see the young children perform and dance.

In a frantic attempt to get close to her son before it was too late, she became Naruto's manager. She hired a personal trainer for her now eight-year-old boy. Understanding Naruto's dream to become the best, she promised her son that she would help him on his way there. It wasn't until then Naruto grinned big at her, hugged her, and called her mom again.

To Be Continued