Naruto skipped forward happily. He had found a new park yesterday. It was a little while away, but Naruto didn't mind. He was just so happy.

A new park meant new kids. New kids meant people his age who didn't hate him.

Yesterday, they had actually played with him and let him kick their ball with them. It had made Naruto so happy!

Ahead, Naruto could just barely see the first greens of the park. He let out a whoop and picked up his pace. Several young boys were already there. They chased each other around the open field with shrieks of excitement.

"Hey! Can I play?" Naruto called as he entered the field. He trundled over the group of boys and smiled brightly at them. The tallest of the boys, a child with brown hair, grinned in return.

"Sure! We're playing tag! Do you wanna be it? You have to chase us," He told Naruto before speeding away as quickly as his young legs could carry him. Naruto gave another whoop as the other three boys split in different directions.

Naruto picked a dark-haired boy who was a little taller than him and set off.

"I'm gonna get you!" Naruto declared buoyantly.

"Nuh-uh!" The other runner glanced back to stick his pink tongue out with defiance. Naruto grinned and sped up. He tapped the boy on his shoulder before darting away with a shriek.

Playing with others was so much fun! It almost felt like what Naruto imagined having friends to be like.

They played until high noon. By that time, Naruto's stomach was going wild in its attempts to express its emptiness. Naruto was beginning to regret leaving home without breakfast. He had wanted to get to the park early to play longer, but now he wished he'd taken the time to make some ramen or something.

"Okuha! Okuha, its time to eat!" A mother's voice cut through his inner musings. From the edge of the field, a dark-haired woman stood in a bright blue skirt and pink blouse. 'Okuha', the dark-haired boy Naruto had first tagged, stood in surprise as the woman made her way over to their group.

"Did you have fun playing with your friends, Okuha? Oh! Who's this?" The woman asked as she noticed Naruto's strikingly blonde hair. Her gaze had swept over the other boys with age old familiarity, but she had never known Okuha to play with a blond-haired child before. However, once she got a better look at the boys face she reared back with shock.

"You!" She hissed with venom. Her face grew pale and her hand shot out to grab Okuha's upper arm in a death grip. Though she pulled the boy behind her, her iron gaze remained rooted on Naruto's horrified face.

"Okaa-san! That hurts!" Okuha whined as he pulled slightly against his mother's hold. The woman's head jerked around to look wildly at her child. She searched him up and down; looking for some sort of injury or blemish. Once satisfied that her offspring remained in good health, the mother turned to the other children.

"Tsuna, Kyuhei, Ryouta, come here." The woman gestured sharply for them to shift to her side. When the boys did so in confusion, the woman grinned madly.

"You think you can play with my child and my child's friends? You can't, and you shouldn't. You're just the dirt beneath our feet, brat. You, you vile creature! Your own parents didn't want you! They, they weren't even married. Why, I'll bet, your mother didn't even want or love you! Get out! Get out of my sight, you monster!" By the end of it, the woman's voice had risen to an enraged shriek. Red painted her cheeks with furious anger and her chest heaved as her lungs worked to supply her with air.

Meanwhile, Naruto had taken several steps back from the angry mother. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks while his chin wobbled. The child sniffed once and bolted for home.

He shouldn't have gone to the park again. He should have known something like this would happen.

Naruto let out a choked sob as he dashed around the corner. Up ahead, his bright apartment building gleamed like a beacon of safety in the noon sun.

It took Naruto record time to run up the steps and unlock his door. A moment passed, and Naruto through himself onto his bed. He vigorously buried his head in his pillow and let out a loud sob.

Why did they hate him?

He didn't understand! Naruto couldn't remember having done anything to make anyone mad or upset. He always smiled, and he always tried his best to please everyone. Even Jiji admitted he was well behaved.

Naruto sobbed loudly into his lumpy pillow.

Had his parents really hated him? Did his mom abandon him?

Knock! tap! Knock!

Naruto blinked. Who was that? Jiji only came on Fridays. It was Monday. Naruto waited for his visitor to knock again but didn't hear anyone. Timidly, the boy wiped at his snot and tear covered face and wandered over to the door. He was too short to peer out of the peep hole so he just made sure the bolt was pulled before he crouched and peered out.

No one was there. A letter sat on his rough looking door mat.

Naruto blinked. He slowly undid the bolt and stuck his head out. He looked one way down the hallway and then the other. No one was there. Slowly, as if he was afraid it might bite him, Naruto gingerly picked up the letter. He held it between two fingers and kept it away from him as he returned to the interior of his apartment. Naruto locked the door behind him with his free hand. Then he turned to the letter.

It hadn't blown up or eaten him yet. Naruto supposed that was always a good sign. Cringing, Naruto carefully opened the envelope.

Nothing happened. No explosion, poison, or fire. Carefully, he shook the envelope slightly and was fearful when he felt something that was not paper move. Naruto carefully felt the letter and found a slight bulge to one side. Two circular objects and something that pooled around his fingers like water greeted him.

It didn't feel like something dangerous. Granted. Naruto didn't know what it did feel like… but it didn't feel like an explosive tag or poisoned kunai. Naruto frowned before deciding to risk it. It was either going to kill him or it wouldn't. No point in being a baby about it.

With shaking hands, Naruto flipped the enveloped upside down and shook. A letter fluttered to the ground by his feet while a silver chain tangled around his fingers. For a moment, Naruto was horrified at the sensation. Surely, someone had put some sort of deadly trap within it. Yet, even when he squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, nothing happened. Slowly he dared to open his eyes.

Surprise tugged at his eyebrows when he realized that the chain in his hand wasn't ninja chain for a trap, but sterling silver for a necklace. At the end of said necklace, two silver rings hung. One held a large diamond, the other was a plain band. Both held some sort of inscription on the inside. Naruto peered at them. They looked like… wedding rings? Why would someone give him wedding rings? He wasn't married.

Naruto looked closer at them to read the inscription. He wasn't very good at reading yet, but he could sound out words that he had trouble with.

"I… love you… puh rrr ee tt eee… pretty boy. I love you pretty boy." Naruto read falteringly from the plain band. He blinked at the sentiment. Normally, the term 'pretty boy' was used in a derogatory manner to describe boys or men that looked too frail or pretty or unmanly to fight or do heavy work. Naruto had never heard it as an endearment before.

He turned to the other ring.

"I love you-r… red … hair. I love your red hair." Naruto read out from the ring with the diamond. He liked this one better. Momentarily he wondered how pretty the red hair of the bride must have been to receive a complement engraved on a wedding ring. He shifted slightly, and his foot caught on the letter that had fallen out earlier.

"Oh!" Naruto gasped. Maybe this would explain the rings!

Opening it, Naruto blinked at the messy script. This would be hard.

"Dear Naruto,

Your p-parents loved you ve-ry much. They loved each o-ther very much. P-lease … re-mem-ber that." Naruto read out falteringly. For a few moments, the boy just stared at the note in shock. He looked back at the wedding rings before suddenly clutching them close. If the note was true… these were… probably…

His parents'.

These rings were his parents' rings. Naruto almost burst out crying right there.

After years of being alone, he finally knew something about his parents.

Well… actually the rings told him several things.

His mom had red hair.

His mom thought his dad looked like a pretty boy.

His dad liked his mom's red hair.

His parents were married, and if the note was to be believe, they had actually loved him.

Naruto grinned through a sudden flood of tears. His parents loved him. They actually loved him!

Naruto grinned harder and ran to the bathroom to put the chain carefully over his head. He was never going to take it off! Naruto was determined to wear the necklace to the day he died. He couldn't afford to lose something so precious!

As he was looping the chain over his head, Naruto had a stray though. Who had taken the time to write the note and give him the rings? Naruto looked blankly at his reflection. Someone had given him the rings and told him about his parents.

Naruto had another fact to add to this parental fact list.

Someone that had known his parents close enough to have been entrusted with their rings was still alive.

That person had cared enough, at least for his parent's memory, to give Naruto the rings when he was upset.

Naruto felt equal parts of joy and determination rise up within him. Somebody had cared enough to be nice. Somebody had known his parents enough to talk about them and to him on a personal level.

…

Naruto was going to find them.

"Believe it!"

I will not be posting a notice on here about the next part of this series. If you want to know when I'll be posting the main Sannin Switch, you'll have to either keep an eye out, or follow my accounts. That said, I hope you enjoy this story, its a prequel to a HUGE fanfic I plan on continuing somewhat soon. If you want my update schedule, its available on my profile page.

~Blitza