Mira: Alright, I'll admit it... I have fallen to the NaruGaa/GaaNaru shipping. I have truly become a Yaoi fan-girl. So, this needed a new story! And also gave me to desire to continue everything else!

Uzumaki Naruto took after his mother in most things, including personality. However, after being continuously ignored and berated he eventually gains more of his father's traits, and awakens his mother's Yin Chakra type. Shrewd, determined, and quite he watches the world around him and tries to determine the most advantages he can find for himself. All the while trying to fix his terrible chakra control, conceal his excitable need to shout, Handle his sudden violent tendencies, calm down his unconscious obsession with ramen, control the odd glowing chains that try to protect him, understand his sentimentality to the color orange, and figure out his attraction to the color red...oh yea, and the giant angsting furball he sees when he sleeps.

Chapter 1: What is a precious person?

The leaves blew over the village in the same serene dance they always did. There was a saying that, unlike the rest of the world Kohona was unchanging. Even if the village were to be destroyed beyond recognition… It would be rebuilt in a copied image of what it once was. Not a single thing changed or missed. And in a sense it was. It had been and was the most powerful of the five, the most peaceful… But then again, you can't trust words from the mouths of humans.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't sure what to believe. Everything…was a lie. Kohona wasn't peaceful. It was ignorant. It was blissfully unaware of others outside of its own consciousness. Too arrogant, too foolish. He had come to think of Kohona as a person. After all, the old man always said that Kohona was the villagers and the people within themselves…

Naruto hated those villagers. They ignored him, while they never openly hurt him, other than a few hits and pushes. They never helped him. If they saw him coming they looked the other way. If he was hurt or hungry they looked at him with satisfied expressions. If he was lonely or sad they would stand away speaking about him in tones he could hear. Some were more outgoing in trying to break him. Not enough to permanently harm him… But enough to crush the small hope he had managed to scrape together.

The hope that was once again missing as he sat on his swing...the only constant in his life he could say he enjoyed. Since he had first sat there no one else dared approach. Mother's warning their children they would catch something. There were a few parents that didn't tell their children to stay away of course, but they never helped him either. They mostly just ignored him, the few times they did speak with him, they were nice. Well, kind of, to them he was just another kid that they didn't really care about. And that was the nicest he had ever been treated…

However like everyone else they forgot him easily…

It was lonely in Kohona.

He wished he didn't have to be so alone.

Sighing deeply he allowed his gaze to drift up toward the sky above him. The sky was a bright sapphire colour, as it lay above the Hidden Leaf Village. The sun shined a bright, golden glow, as its warmth graced the land. However, as this treasure was always present in the village, no one appreciated it. He stared at the sun, with a small grateful smile crossing his face. Even if he was lonely, he was grateful to be alive another day. Another day with the Owner of the Ramen stand and his daughter, another day with the Old man. Even though there were only a few reasons, they were more than enough. And they happened to be the most he had ever had, not to mention the only. They were the things he cared about, and remembering them, always made him forget about how he was treated. At least for a little while.

He sighed and closed his eyes as he felt his stomach start growling. Speaking of the ramen stand...he supposed it was time to eat. He swayed harshly before hopping from the swing he had been sitting on. Another frown crossed his face as he saw a group of adults and kids in front of the academy again. Usually, he would watch them, but today...he just didn't feel like it. He had always been so determined to make others notice him, to gain some form of attention. But lately...he found he was starting to prefer the quiet of being ignored as opposed to being watched with suspicion and yelled at all the time. It was all bad or negative anyway, and frankly...it was starting to scare him. Some of the looks he had been given lately...

He walked the back alleyways of Kohona; he would never walk the main streets unless it was needed. He sighed as he thought about his precious people. And maybe that was it... He had finally been acknowledged somewhat...but it didn't fix everything like he thought it did. It didn't change the way others thought of him...it didn't change the crushing loneliness and pain he felt. If anything...it made him realise just how horrible he felt. Those precious moments of positive attention made being without it ten times worse.

They were not really his precious people if he really thought about it. He would not give everything for them, they just acknowledged him, so he returned the favour the only way he knew how. They didn't go out of their way for him. The ramen family didn't seek him out or help him when he was in trouble, all they did was give him discounts and sometimes free meals. And the Old man only made sure he had his allowance and his home. They were important things, of course, food, money, and shelter. But wasn't that just human decency? Wasn't that how they were supposed to be in the first place? So what made them precious?

He frowned as his thoughts brought him back to the existence he called life. He despised this village. He hated every member. He even felt remorse toward the ones he had deemed precious. They acknowledged him, but they never did anything. Oh, they were not like those people. The ones who did nothing. The ones who ignored his existence. Even the ones that openly hated him were better than them. At least they would sneer and cheer on whoever was hurting him sure, but at least he existed. The people that ignored him were the worst. They just ignored the beating, glanced and ignored as he was pushed down.

No his precious people were not like them, but they never made life easier. They smiled at him and were kind. He did appreciate it, however, it was not what he needed. He did not need someone to smile at him and not take action. He did not need someone who tried to sympathise but then they go back to their warm home and family. No, he needed someone to be there for him continually, to never abandon him in any situation.

Something that would never happen if things stayed the way they were... So while the people that ignored him were the worse, he was learning something from them. And that was because he was learning from them. They didn't actively try and hide, hurt, or take things from him. So he noticed when they bought specific foods at the market, noticed how they treated other kids hurts, saw them correct their friends on their fighting stances or kunai holding, listened when they talked about training, or cooking, or painting, or cleaning, or anything they could talk about. He listened to everything. He learned from listening. And he could only listen when he was being ignored. So maybe...being ignored was better? And if he ignored everything and everyone in return...well maybe he would be left alone, and maybe they would feel as miserable as he did too. Maybe...

He sighed as he walked through the alleyways. The darkness had never bothered him, and he got over the creepy noises. The feeling though, the feeling of being stared at, watched,…hunted, it would not leave him on this trip. He sighed, as his pace hurried slightly. He needed to get out of here, maybe see those three that acknowledged him. He was grateful to them; they did accept him, at least a little bit. And even if he felt worse afterwards...it was better than this unease that he was feeling now. He walked swiftly through the alleyways.

He took the familiar turns of the darkened area. Even with the bright afternoon sun, it was darkened and dismal. He wondered if there was ever a time, that light touched this area. He sighed once more taking another turn. As he walked this small corridor, he felt something near. He frowned lightly and paused for a moment. Sometimes it was best to simply stand still, that way you can see what the disturbance is. This time he was right in that thought. He glanced around him taking in the dark shadows and dim light when suddenly something flashed nearby.

He ducked under an object that was flying toward him. He blinked and looked behind him to see a large butcher knife, implanted into the wood of the building. He childishly felt bad for the knife; it would probably hang there all alone for a good while. He turned around toward the nearing footsteps. There were two men. They were rather big, and even Naruto could smell the stench of alcohol. Naruto knew something bad was going to happen.

Naruto crouched lowly near the wall of the building he was behind, trying to not be seen as it would just lead to more trouble. Unfortunately, they already knew he was there. "Here, demon…" One said in a sneering voice. Naruto knew he was calling for him; he was the only one that the villagers called that. Alternatively, they called him Fox. He did not know what was so bad about that, he happened to like foxes. He whimpered slightly, as the other broke a beer bottle on the stone wall, nearby. He then slapped his hand over his mouth, no use they had heard.

His lungs were burning and he could no longer feel his legs. The crimson life liquid still dripped from his skin, even though the cuts had somehow vanished. He panted as he continued to run; he knew they were not far behind. Sure, he could hear the clumsy villagers, but he could not hear the others. The ones that used the trees. The ones that liked shadows, and wore those headband things. The Old man had called them ninjas. He did not like the ninja's they were mean, and crueller than the normal people. He tried to get air into his burning lungs. This had been happening all day.

He wondered what was so different about this day, then the others. Luckily, he had been able to lose the villagers, hours after the beginning and the rest in the forest. It would seem though, that they had merely gone to get help from the others. However, he was glad he got that small pause; he knew that without it, he would not have made it this long. Every attempt he made to go toward the Hokage tower to hide with the Old Man was blocked off. He again wondered why they were trying so hard today. That is when he noticed the laughter coming from the village. Happiness, cheering, shouting, fireworks, and the smells. He had forgotten what day it was.

October 10, the day the Kyuubi was defeated, and his birthday.

He would be 5 this year. He remembered because he began the Academy next year, with the others of his age group. He should have paid attention to the calendar. It was never safe to go out this day. The Old man always says to stay at the apartment and wait for him. He came toward night time and spent the rest of the evening with him. Naruto had been foolish to not glance at the calendar before leaving earlier.

He panted once more, and jumped away from the knife that hit the tree he had been by, he took off running again. Self-survival the only thing in his mind. They had already caught him twice. He would not allow them to catch him again. The hatred that lay deep inside him was rising. It was bubbling and trying to raise to the surface. He was sick of this, the whole situation. Let them be tortured and tormented, let them be chased like a wild animal! 'It's alright Naruto...Survive.' Naruto stopped at the voice. The voice had always protected him. It always told him to hold on, and one day he would be happy. Now it was telling him to release the anger. He would do anything for the voice that kept him alive.

He panted leaning against the wall, he had tried fighting them off, but even the odd power he had gained after the voice had spoken did not work. His body was not used to it, and he did not know how to use it. So fighting had only drained him, and now he was covered in blood. In addition, it all belonged to him, a testimony to his failure. He leaned against the wall, weary and weak. He could barely move and he wondered if he would die this day. He whimpered as they surround him, the mob had grown. Usually, by now, the Old Man would be here, but he was not.

'Don't be afraid, they have probably distracted him, or tricked him somehow. Humans can be cruel creatures. But don't give up, Dattebane!' The voice said.

He nodded but backed up as they neared him. Weapons of every kind in their grasps. He leant back into the wall, which was his only pillar, as well as his prison. A beer bottle, smashed into the side of his head, blood once more trailing down across his face. He knew he could not escape, not on his own. He slammed his eyes closed. At least he could try to ignore the pain. The child closed his eyes, as the mob grew closer.

Slowly tears fell from his eyes as he finally succumbed to the fear he felt. Not even the anger he had felt earlier was there anymore, all he knew was that he was hurt and terrified. All he wanted...all he wanted was to live, to be saved. He couldn't even do what the voice said anymore and hold on. He was so scared...

'Why do I have to be alone? Why, why, why? I just want...I just want someone to care...like a family...I want my dad...I want...I want my mom!'

'Naruto!'

Naruto wasn't sure what happened one moment he was closing his eyes to a dark alleyway and angry people walking toward him. The next thing he knew was everything was bright. Gold light shined through the darkness of his closed eyes. Slowly he opened his eyes and was surrounded by shining strands of red. The red surrounded him as if it was protecting him, while gold light shone through the threads making them shine and sparkle. "Naruto." At the sound of his name something that felt like arms tightened around him as he was pulled back to a soft form, and something warm and solid pressed into his head. "I'll always protect you..." And finally, everything faded away.