—Please forgive the horrible writing in the first three chapters. They are in the process of being edited. The writing gets better from chapter 4 onwards—

Betrayal

Italics – Setting or human thoughts

Bold – Bijuu or Summons speaking

Bold Italics – Bijuu or Summons thinking

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1

October 10th

It was a few hours till dawn. The sky was still pitch black.

Visibility was not an issue. The various burning buildings made sure of that.

The Nine-Tailed Fox had just attacked Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves, wreaking havoc and leaving destruction along its path. Not to mention taking countless lives. When all hope was nearly lost, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, sacrificed his life to condemn the beast but even he could not kill such a foe. The demon was sealed within an infant child born just moments prior to the beast's rampage. His name was Uzumaki Naruto. The boy was the legacy of the Fourth, the pariah of Konoha, the future Hokage.

Since that fateful day, Naruto was left parentless and had no family whatsoever, as far as anyone knew. October 10th proved to be the darkest day for all the citizens of Konoha. Many loved ones perished, their homes were completely destroyed, and over a third of the village was in ruins from the beast's tear. Everything had fallen into chaos. In order to reestablish some semblance of peace, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the former Sandaime Hokage, had to step up and retake his position as leader of the village.

The Third was walking through the debris ridden streets, taking in all the agony his beloved village had to go through. The entire village was his family and it hurt him to see all the pain and anguish on each and every citizens' faces. There were families weeping for the loss of their loved ones, Iryo-nin were frantically running around trying to assess all who were injured, many children were utterly frightened at what had just transpired, and dead bodies littered the ground. It brought a tear to his eye when he saw a small boy no older than four years old sitting at the foot of what seemed to be the corpse of his mother.

Alas the Will of Fire was dim.

In Hiruzen's arms was a baby boy with a little tuft of blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes that were curiously looking at everything around him. Hiruzen gazed down at the boy and smiled. Throughout all the grief and despair, something good had come from it. He knew the boy was going to be a phenomenal Shinobi one day, just like his parents were. The old man caressed the boy's cheek and touched his newly formed whiskers, a physical indication of his burden.

In that moment, he promised to protect this boy and wouldn't allow anyone to harm him. He knew that many civilians and Shinobi alike would blame Naruto for the attack of the Nine Tails as well as see him as the said demon, but he would try his very best for Naruto to have a normal childhood before learning of all the facts.

Hiruzen pondered what he'd do when Naruto came looking for answers and arrived at a logical conclusion. 'I'll tell him everything when he becomes a Jonin,' he wished the time would go by slowly but unfortunately in the Shinobi world, it never does.

Finally arriving at his destination, Hiruzen made his way to an orphanage for select children. This orphanage was built near the outskirts of the village and consisted only of children of Shinobi and those who had special conditions.

As soon as Hiruzen made his way inside the compound many of the staff immediately made their way over to him.

"It is a pleasure to be of your assistance, Sandaime-sama," said a Chunin named Heiwa Seishin while bowing. The Hokage greeted him with a smile and wished that all his subordinates weren't always so formal but allowed it due to the current events.

"Thank you, Seishin. It is nice to see you again," the once retired Hokage replied.

"Thank you, sir," said Seishin, while maintaining his bow.

"Please, rise. I am here to drop off this young boy. His name is Uzumaki Naruto and he is only a few hours old. I expect him to be treated well, any misdeeds against him will cost you severely." stated the Hokage, directing it to all the staff.

Usually the old man was very polite and easy-going but when there were serious predicaments, he would become the wise battle-hardened veteran known across the entire Shinobi world.

"Your will, Sandaime-sama!" chorused everyone present in harmony. He nodded in thanks.

"Sandaime-sama, a few papers will need to be filled out for his living arrangements," said the Jonin in charge of the place, Jōnetsu Tamashī. She was an aged woman whose family founded this orphanage from the beginning of Konoha under the Shodai Hokage.

"Of course, I'll be happy to sign them." said the aged Shinobi. 'Now that I'm the Hokage again, I have to face my most fearsome enemy, paperwork., he thought, dreadfully.

Jōnetsu handed Hiruzen a couple of documents to fill out for food, nurturing, special care, and other things of the sort. After they were done, Hiruzen took Naruto into his new room. When he opened the door, he saw that there was another child present who was maybe three years old. She sat with her back facing the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. She had her head down, resting on her knees, and every so often, he had heard a sob coming from the distraught child.

Hiruzen's heart clenched as he slowly made his way over to the girl and tried to comfort her.

"Hello," greeted Hiruzen in a way a grandfather would speak to their grandchildren. The girl looked up and tear stains were easily visible upon her face. Her eyes bloodshot from crying. She had light brown eyes and purple hair that was messily tied up. "What's troubling you? You can talk to me."

"M-My uncle died. He was the last family member I had and that demon fox killed him. I was watching through the window and saw him get bitten," the girl stuttered before she broke down again.

Hiruzen's heart went out for the girl. Many people lost family members on this horrendous day but this girl was only three and lost everything. This was the worst day of Konoha's history indeed. Hiruzen sat down next to the girl and wrapped one arm around her and kept the other firmly holding Naruto.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this. Your uncle was a brave man. I'm sure he was thinking of you the whole time," comforted the old warrior. The girl looked at him once more and wrapped her small arms around the Sandaime for consolation. Then she noticed the small baby in his arms and that put a smile on her face.

"Aww he's so cute. What's his name?" Inquired the unnamed girl. Hiruzen smiled at her before looking down at Naruto fondly.

"His name is Naruto," said Hiruzen with a sad smile. "He was born today and he lost everything he had. His parents died protecting him."

"Oh…" said the purple-haired three-year-old feeling sorry for the little boy. "Can I hold him?" she asked with a pleading smile on her face and her arms outstretched

"Go right ahead," said the Hokage, passing Naruto gently onto the girl's lap. At that moment, Naruto decided to wake up. His sparkling blue eyes flitted around before he stared up at the little girl's light brown ones and he gave a toothless smile. The Sandaime smiled at their interaction and knew that she'd be good for him.

The boy would face many struggles in his life when he grew up and to keep him sane, he needed at least one person to look to for comfort. Of course, the Third would try to help him as much as possible but the council would strongly disagree with the Hokage having personal relations and showing favoritism with people other than family.

The little girl touched Naruto's cheek and caressed his whiskers, making Naruto close his eyes and lean into the touch, enjoying the feeling.

"Why does he have whiskers?" the little girl asked as she continued to show him affection.

The Sandaime sighed and tiredly rubbed his eyes. That question was a more difficult question than she knew.

"I can't answer that question, my dear. But I'm going to tell Naruto when he's older and if he wishes, he will tell you too," The girl nodded sadly. "Remember, this is a very big secret, please don't ask anyone else about this." She nodded once again and turned her attention back to Naruto.

Hiruzen watched as the girl was about to poke Naruto's cheek but Naruto suddenly grabbed her finger and held it in his little palm surprising the girl. 'His reflexes are already so fast,' he thought. There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto would become a force to reckon with.

The two children continued to play when Jōnetsu walked in.

"Hokage-sama, I have brought young Naruto's living requirements," she said while slightly bowing.

"Ah, yes, thank you very much," Sarutobi said with a polite tone but inwardly frowned at her bow. This woman was a comrade of his back when he was an active Shinobi but did not treat him as a familiar. He wished everyone wouldn't always be so formal with him.

"Jiji, you're the Hokage?" Inquired the little girl in awe. She was not suspecting this old man to be the leader of the village.

Hiruzen laughed at her shocked face and smiled. "Yes I am. I was the Third Hokage but the Fourth died today and I'm afraid I have to retake my position. It's tragic and no one in the village is capable of doing so at the moment."

His gaze shifted from the girl to Naruto. He wondered if Naruto would also want to be Hokage when he grew up as both of his parents wanted to. Their shared dream had brought them together. It was a beautiful love story.

"What might your name be?" The Hokage asked.

"I'm Mitarashi Anko," she said proudly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sarutobi replied. "Naruto here is going to be your new roommate so do this old man a favor and look after him, all right?"

She nodded vigorously, honored to be given a task by the Hokage so early on.

Jōnetsu and Hiruzen set up Naruto's crib and had made multiple formulas for him in case he was hungry.

"Thank you for all your hard work, Jōnetsu-san," said the Hokage

"It's my pleasure, Hokage-sama," the old woman replied.

-xotwod-

A year passed by and Anko was inseparable from Naruto. She always looked after him and almost never left his side. At eighteen months, Naruto learned how to walk and it was exhausting chasing after him but it was fun. Naruto lightened everyone's mood and was never a bother. He considered Anko to be his very best friend, but in all honestly how could he not? They literally spent every moment of every day together.

Anko was four now but she enjoyed spending time with a one year old. There was certainly never a dull moment. Naruto even managed to use chakra already. He could go half way up a wall when he sped around the compound which left all that have seen him do such a thing in awe. Although accidental, it was nothing short of amazing. Not even Anko learned how to use chakra yet. She was jealous of him at first, pouting every time she saw him do it, but learned to control it by making a mental note to make him teach her once he figured out how he did it.

Two more years had gone by. Naruto was nearly fully articulate and was showing a strong potential to become a phenomenal ninja. He had very good reflexes for a child and his chakra usage was becoming nearly second nature.

But on this day, Naruto was feeling depressed. His best friend Anko would be starting the academy soon meaning she wouldn't be able to spend as much time with him as she used to. Naruto was currently laying down on his bed and staring at the ceiling when the subject of his despondence came into the room.

"Hey Naru," she greeted cheerfully, but her smile dimmed when she saw the look on Naruto's face. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked sitting down on his bed and gazing at him imploringly.

"Nothing," he replied in his stubborn, childish voice. His chubby cheeks seemed to get bigger making his whisker marks stand out even more. Anko smiled at his antics. He was so easy to read.

"Hurry up and tell me or I'll throw all your manga out," she threatened, she was lying but Naruto was too gullible to notice.

"No! You can't do that, I haven't finished all of them yet!" Naruto yelled in distress, his sparkling blue eyes became wider in fear for his books.

"Alright, relax," Anko said, laughing. "Just tell me what's got you so bummed out and I'll leave your books alone."

"I was just kind of sad that you're gonna be going to the academy now and you won't spend time with me anymore." He said sullenly. Anko glanced at him once and punched him on top of his head. "OW! Hey!"

"Relax, Naru, I'm still going to be your best friend. Just 'cause I'm going to the academy doesn't mean I'm not going to have time for you anymore. It just means I'll have to do a whole bunch of cool ninja stuff before I become the best kunoichi this village has ever seen." She said adamantly which immediately brightened Naruto up and he laughed.

"Can you teach me the stuff you learn?" Naruto asked pleadingly, gracing her with his signature puppy dog eyes that always managed to make Anko give up. It was unfair. Those big blue eyes were a damn weapon.

"Sure, gaki, if you teach me how to walk on walls with chakra." Naruto grinned and nodded repeatedly.

He grabbed her hand and led her to the clearing behind the orphanage. The orphanage was surrounded by trees and would give them ample room to practice to their heart's desire.

"Tamashī-baachan told me not to do it on the walls anymore because I kind of damaged it last time," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Anko laughed at Naruto's predicament and ruffled his hair.

"You still have to teach me," Anko demanded, "Just do it on the trees and then tell me how to do it."

Naruto nodded and the two made their way to the nearest tree.

"So, what you have to do is focus your chakra on the palms of your feet and imagine them sticking on to the surface that you're walking on."

He then did a ram seal to focus his chakra and after a few seconds he started casually walking up the tree as if he were on the ground. Anko was staring at him with her jaw wide open. Even though she's seen him do this countless times, it still never failed to amaze her.

Anko then began to laugh at the fact that a three year old kid, with no training whatsoever, could do the tree climbing exercise when kids four times his age could not.

"That's so cool, gaki. Now, let me try." Anko then followed Naruto's steps and tried walking up the tree. She barely made it two steps before falling down and landing on her butt.

"Ite-te-te-te" Anko moaned in pain, rubbing her backside. "Gaki, did you lie to me? I did exactly what you said." She said fuming at the young blonde.

"I didn't lie, Anko, I swear," the young boy said quickly, raising his arms in a gesture of surrender. "But I might have forgot to mention that you need to use a su-sufi-" he cut off, unable to pronounce the word.

"Sufficient?" Anko supplied, hiding a smirk at the young boy's inability to pronounce a word.

"Yeah, that. You didn't use a su-ffi-ci-ent amount of chakra. If you use too little chakra then you won't stick and if you use too much then you're gonna end up bouncing off." He explained, sagely, sounding like a true professional.

"Might have helped if you mentioned that before," Anko muttered, and then a thought came to her mind. "Hey gaki, where did you learn all this stuff anyway?"

"Tamashī-baachan always brings me books when she goes to the library," He said brightly, and then dimmed down. "The other people don't like me much."

Anko internally was pissed off at the other staff members. They never treated Naruto with kindness and always berated him for little things. He hadn't done anything wrong but they treated him as if he were a nuisance. Most of the time Naruto is quiet and keeps to himself but still receives glares. He hadn't done anything wrong but they treated him as if he were a nuisance, much to Anko's confusion.

She snapped out of her musing and tried cheering Naruto up. "Don't worry about them; they're all just a bunch of idiots. Ne, ne, let's play a prank on them when they least expect it, okay?"

Naruto instantly agreed and the two spent the rest of the day messing with the Chunin. Screams arose from all parts of the compound followed by the names of the two pranksters being shouted.

-xotwod-

The next day was Anko's first day at the academy. She and Naruto were walking down the streets of Konoha heading towards the academy. Naruto was still feeling slightly depressed that he wouldn't see his friend as often as before and Anko was feeling a bit nervous about her new experience. She had a right to be. The academy would be the main part of her life for the next six years.

Many thoughts were going around Anko's mind as she and Naruto were walking. 'Would she fit in? Would she be able to do all the things her classmates could? Would her teachers like her?'

Anko was never one for caring about what others thought, but once you've made it passed all of her defenses and layers, she was still just a little girl. She didn't want to be made fun of for being an orphan or for being too weak. Words were cruel and as much as she hated to admit it, it got under her skin.

She just wanted to be…well, she just wanted to be herself and not be criticized for it. She dealt with enough of that at the orphanage. The other kids in the orphanage all called her "eggplant" for the color of her hair, something that she had no control over. Even though the nickname was hardly diminutive, Anko hated being insulted. All the kids called her that, all save for Naruto.

Anko looked down at her blonde companion and smiled. She was glad for his presence. Something about him always calmed her down. He emitted a kind of warmth that anyone would find comfort and solace in and she was grateful that he was always there for her.

The two future Shinobi were so captivated by their respective thoughts that they wouldn't have noticed that they reached the academy if Naruto hadn't bumped into another first year academy student.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

Naruto looked up and saw piercing dark gray eyes looking back down at him. He was over a foot taller than him. His face was hidden behind a black mask that only exposed his eyes. His shaggy silver hair was wild and seemed to defy gravity as it was spiked all over. He was wearing a long sleeve black windbreaker and a gray pair of shorts. Although the air was still warm, he had an olive green scarf around his neck.

"Sorry," Naruto apologized and looked down. "It won't happen again."

"It better not," reprimanded the boy. He turned his gaze to Naruto's companion and his eyes widened a bit before going back to their original shape. "What's your name, miss?"

Anko raised an eyebrow in response. She saw how he had just treated Naruto and didn't like it one bit. "The name's Mitarashi Anko, remember it. Now, apologize to my friend."

Naruto looked up, surprise evident on his features, and Anko winked at him making him slightly red but smiling nonetheless.

"Hmm?" the silver-haired boy pondered. "Nah, he's just a squirt. Anyways, I'm Hatake Kakashi, pleasure to make the acquaintance of such a beautiful girl."

Anko blushed slightly, not used to being given compliments, and lowered her gaze.

"Orientation is going to start soon. Do you mind if I escort you?" asked the silver-haired boy, holding out his hand towards Anko.

Naruto watched the boy with his normally light blue eyes narrowed. Unbeknownst to him, their color had considerably darkened. Anko was his best friend not Kakashi's. Naruto didn't particularly care if he was talked down to, but no one would hurt Anko.

"Sure," Anko tentatively took his hand, her face becoming more flushed. "Let's go."

She never looked back at Naruto.

If she did, she would've seen the look in his eyes.

If she did, she would've seen the change in his posture.

If she did, she would've seen his clenched fists.

If she did, she wouldn't have left.

AN: Please review. I would be grateful for any constructive criticism. Flames are appreciated as well.