Why was he alone? Why didn't people like him? Did he do something wrong?

These were question that eight year old Naruto Uzumaki asked himself quite often. He didn't have a bad life. At least comparatively to what it could've been. He had a decent home. He lived in the civilian district in a one bedroom apartment that he didn't have to pay for. He had clean clothes. He wasn't sure who washed them but he suspected that it was the purple haired lady in the mask. And he received a weekly stipend so that he could get food.

But that was one of the less decent parts of his life. The stores in the civilian district would charge him a lot of money for simple things and some wouldn't sell to him at all. He didn't think it was very nice but he had an alternative. He would go to the slums to buy food. He was sure that, if he had parents, they would tell him not to go there. Every time he went there he felt as if someone were watching him. But the people there were nicer to him than the people in the district he lived in.

He felt loved when he went there. The ladies on the street always treated him kindly and would help him buy food because they said that not everyone there was nice. But they would never tell him their names. They always told him that they were his Nee-chans and that was all he needed to know.

But at the current moment he wasn't sure what to do. His stipend hadn't come in the past two weeks and his food had run out. He was starting to get hungry. So he decided to do something that he was sure that he shouldn't. He was going to steal.

He dressed himself in black. He pulled on a black hoodie and pulled the hood low over his head so that no one could see any of his distinguishing features. He sighed and set out. He could have gone to his Nee-chans and asked if they could help him, but he didn't want to make a nuisance of himself. Besides if he did this correctly his victim would be none the wiser.

Naruto made his way through the back alleys and streets of the village until he got to the main shopping district. If he was going to pull this off this place would be the best spot to do it. He sulked along the edge of the streets and kept his eyes sharp for his unsuspecting victim. He made himself small in the shadows so that people would overlook him. Ah, there was someone. He spotted a dango shop that was ahead of him and on the other side of the street. A man was sitting next to two women and he appeared to have his wallet just lying out on the counter. And it appeared to be quite full. Perfect.

Now, he couldn't just run up and snatch it. He needed to cause a disruption first. 'Hmmmm.' He noticed that the shop had an alley next to it. It probably had a side door where they took the trash out of the kitchen. That was perfect. He smirked and moved silently across the street and weaved through the crowd.

He made sure that the man and the wallet was still there before sliding into the alley. He waited for about five minute before the side door opened. He bolted into the doorway and rammed his shoulder into the man's, who was taking out trash, hips which in turn sent the man tumbling into one of the shelves and made a terrible clatter.

He sprinted through the shop with a grace that one would not expect from one so young and he soon found himself at the front of the store. His vision tunneled on the wallet and he leaped into the air before planting both of his hand on the counter. One of them landed on the wooden surface and one on the wallet. In the same move he pulled up his legs and knees to his chest and thrust them out over the other side of the counter between the man and the woman sitting next to him, effectively clearing the wooden barrier. He landed solidly and took off in a sprint away from the shop with the wallet clutched tightly in his fist.

The man looked around in bewilderment, "Who the hell was that?"

The woman who sat next to the man had light brown eyes with no pupils and her purple hair was tied up into a pineapple shape. She was dressed in a tan trench coat and a burnt orange skirt. She appeared to be about sixteen.

"Fuck if I know. He seemed to be in a hu-HEY! Where the fuck is my wallet?!" The girl screamed in outrage. Her mind replayed what just happened and she growled, "That punk took my wallet! I'll kill him!" She jumped out of her seat and took off after the kid.

The girl's companion had a chunin vest on over a red vest and she looked to be about eighteen. She had red irises and she had her face in glare as she sighed and ran after her friend, "Anko! He's just a kid let it go!"

Naruto bolted through streets and the crowds. 'I can't believe that worked!' he thought to himself. 'Now all I have to do is make it to the slums.' He had to find one of his Nee-chans. His grin faded when he felt some whiz past his head. He glanced behind him frantically and saw a girl running towards him with a fierce glare on her face. He looked down at the wallet in his hand as he continued to run before glancing back at the furious girl. Suddenly it felt as if a boulder had settled in his stomach as he thought with fear 'It's her wallet isn't it? I guess I should give it ba-THAT WAS A KUNAI!'

He had to duck as another one of the throwing knives thudded into the merchant's stall he had just ran through. 'SHE'S a NINJA!' The blond's flight or fight reflex kicked in upon the realization that he had just stolen from a ninja. The act of which was already heavy crime but when ninja were involved it probably meant a bad beating for the perpetrator. He redoubled his efforts to get away from the girl. He cut into an alley that fenced in halfway through. His mind worked into overdrive as he leapt onto a metal trash can and used it as a stepping stone to a dumpster. He jumped off the dumpster, clearing the distance and getting over the eight foot tall chain link. He landed in a roll so he could recover faster and exited to the alley to the streets. He stopped for a second in surprise before exclaiming his thoughts, "That was COOL!"

"When I catch you, I'm gonna skin you and put you in a bag of salt!"

"Anko! Calm down!"

Naruto's head snapped to the alley where he saw the girl in the trench coat clear the fence in one leap with her red eyed friend just little behind. 'Crap, I thought I lost them.' He took off again but his lungs and legs were starting to burn from the excessive running. He started slow down but he fought through the pain. 'C'mon, Naruto. Just a little longer. We're almost there.'

About a minute and a half later Naruto entered the slums and made a beeline for the house where his Nee-chans lived. His breath, by then, was coming out in short ragged bursts as he sucked air and his legs felt like jelly. He could hear the two women behind him gaining on him by the sound of their sandals hitting the pavement. He put on a burst of speed just as he neared the house and ducked into an alley. He exited the other side and immediately cut to the right and up the steps of a rather large building. He burst through the door loudly, startling the women inside, and shut it quickly before collapsing to the floor.

He started to suck air with earnest to ease the ache in his lungs. 'I-I did it. I stole from a kunoichi and escaped.' He heard a rush of movement as the women in the house start to converge on his position in front of the door. A small smile of contentment spread across his whiskered cheeks as he saw his Nee-chans enter his field of vision and instantly start fretting over him. Most of them were clad in kimonos of different colors and designs. They ranged from tall to short and from black haired to blond. There were no more than twenty of them and Naruto knew none of their names. He only knew that they legitimately care for him. As they got closer and the women were able to see his face, a chorus of 'Naruto-kun' and 'Naru-kun' rung out from the girls.

"What's wrong with him?" A girl who was about eighteen in a red kimono with a pink Sakura petal design on it asked worriedly. As Naruto continued to try and catch his breath a woman of about twenty-five knelt beside his head and pulled it into her lap. She looked up at all the other and sighed, "He appears to be out of breath. Let him recover and he'll tell us." Just then the door to the building burst open making the women scream and Naruto's eyes widen. Standing in the doorway was the girl that was chasing him and her red eyed friend. They both were a bit winded with the black haired woman being the worse off of the two. Naruto was nervous when the broke down the door but he was honestly scared when the trench coat girl's pupil-less eyes locked onto him with a face that resembled thunder.

The girl growled and held her hand in his general direction before yelling, 'Striking Shadow Snakes!' Snakes emerged from the sleeve of her coat and shot for the blond whose cry of panic was silenced as the snakes coiled around his smallish frame and started constricting. The snakes began to pull back into her sleeve bringing Naruto with them still trapped helplessly in their coils.

Anko glared daggers at the little blond who was suspended in the air before her, "I finally caught you, you little blond prick."

"Put him down!"

Anko turned her glare on the brunette girl who had spoken up. Said brunette was returning the glare but the trench clad kunoichi could easily see that she was frightened. 'Heh. She's quaking in her boots.' However the Anko did not put the boy down. In fact the snakes coiled tighter around the boy if the sound of his ribs grating together was anything to go by. She growled to the girl, "Hell no! This little shit stole my wallet. That's a crime if you didn't know. He's in trouble. And he pissed me off."

The brunette in the pink kimono that had spoken up frowned, "But you're hurting him! He can't even talk to explain himself." It was true. Naruto's face had slowly begun to turn blue in the snakes' grip. He couldn't breathe let alone talk.

Anko shrugged and kept the jutsu active, "He'll be fine. If anything he will just pass out. He might have a cracked rib or two."

One of the older women, the blonde one who had pulled the blond into her lap, stood up angrily, "How can you say that?! He's just a kid! I'm sure he had his reasons!" She turned to the red eyed teenager and pleaded, "Please don't take him in. Just let him off with a warning."

Said red eyed teenager turned to Anko started to try and persuade her friend, "C'mon, Anko. He IS just a kid. Maybe does have a reason-"

"I don't care!" Anko shouted forcefully, "I don't wanna hear his pathetic sob story. I'm sure it will be very touching. He can tell it to the Hokage while he's explaining why he stole from one of his kunoichi. YOU come on, Kurenai." And with that the purple haired girl exited the house and took to the roofs and headed for the Hokage's office in the administrative part of the Academy.

Kurenai turned to the women in the house with apologetic look as if she wanted to say something but instead exited the building and leapt after her friend.

Hokage's Office

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not say he was enjoying his day. There had been a particularly big inflow of paperwork today. 'Ugh. Minato. I hate you for dying. This is just soul killing. You're a bastard for not telling me how you got this done so fast.' To say he was pleasantly surprised to see two of his upcoming kunoichi burst in his door with the body of a child in one their jutsu would be bit of an overstatement but it was a distraction from the monotony of doing paperwork.

"Ah, Kurenai-chan and Anko-chan. What can I do for you?" his voice was calm and friendly but his eyes were focused on the child that was still in the coil of snakes.

Anko spoke up first as she finally dropped the technique and the snakes disappeared in a puff of smoke. The action however dropped the boy unceremoniously onto the hard floor of the office. Anko shrugged and thought 'He was passed out anyway.' She turned her attention to her Hokage and frowned, "That little bastard stole my wallet. I know that is a crime. I didn't know what to do with him so I brought him here for his punishment."

Hiruzen let his eyebrows rise in surprise. Thieves that young were usually warned away from Shinobi by their predecessors. He looked at the two, "That's surprising. You both seem a little winded. He must have given you quite a chase."

Kurenai chose to speak up this time, "If I'm to be completely honest I don't think he knew he was stealing from Anko. Her wallet was lying out in the open between her and a civilian at the dango stall we were at."

Hiruzen chuckled slightly, "So you're saying he wasn't targeting her? He just thought it was the civilian?"

"That is what I believe, Hokage-sama."

Anko looked back in between the two with growing annoyance, "Wait a second! I think we're getting off topic here, Hokage-sama. It doesn't matter if he intended to rob me or not. The fact remains that he did. He is still a thief." 'The little shit isn't getting off so easily.'

Hiruzen nodded and took the pipe out of his mouth, "You are right, Anko-chan. But before I administer any punishment I would like to hear the boy's side of the story. If he was able to give two chunin-level kunoichi a chase then maybe he could be potential Shinobi." The snake summoning girl huffed but reached into her pouch and rummaged around in it. Eventually she brought out a capsule filled with smelling salts. She picked up the blond and set him up in a chair. The blond, being unconscious, slumped in such a way that the hood fell over his face. Anko cracked open the capsule and held it to his nose under the hood.

The boy woke up with a disoriented jerk and groan of pain. His blue eyes open fully and scanned the room that he woke up in. When he saw the Hokage sitting in front of him Naruto inhaled a gasp. That proved to be a mistake as his chest erupted in pain that made him see white. He cried out loudly and doubled over in the chair as he curled his arms around his ribs. Kurenai , who was standing near him, flinched and went to kneel next to him when she remembered that he was a thief. Anko suppressed a wince out of pure spite but felt a little bad for hurting him.

"Can you speak, child?" Hiruzen asked simply.

Naruto looked up and nodded, "Y-yes." On the inside and on the outside the blond boy was crying a bit, 'Ow. This really hurts.'

Hiruzen's eyes widened considerably as he heard the response from the child in front of him. He knew that voice. "Naruto? Is that you? Kurenai, remove the hood." Kurenai nodded and slid the hood back off the kid's head revealing a mop of spikey blond hair, whiskered cheeks, and pain filled blue eyes.

There two audible gasps in the room; one from the Hokage himself and the other from someone else in the room that technically shouldn't be making noise. Hiruzen glanced quietly to the rafters in the room and shook his head slightly before turning to the boy.

"Naruto-kun, why were you stealing? You know that's a crime."

Naruto, for his part, felt a bit guilty and pulled the woman's wallet from the hoodie's pocket only to have it snatched away by said woman. 'That was rude. I was going to apologize.' He sighed and turned to his grandfather figure, "I'm sorry. I know it was wrong. It's just that the stipend hasn't come in a while and I was getting hungry-"

He was cut off by an audible growl from above. Hiruzen just facepalmed and looked up, "If you are going to continue making noise then just reveal yourself, Neko." A few moments later a female in Anbu attire, Neko mask, and purple hair landed beside the Hokage and Naruto's face lit up happily.

"Hey, you're the purple haired lady that washes my clothes and watches me." The blond boy exclaimed happily. 'She's really nice.' A throbbing pulse of pain from his ribs quickly sent the smiling blond back to cringing. Anko soon found herself under the intense glare of the Anbu in the Neko mask and she had to admit that it made her sweat a little.

Hiruzen was surprised by Naruto's outburst but didn't comment on it for now choosing instead to inquire about what the blond mentioned beforehand, "What do you mean? Your stipend comes every week."

Naruto shrugged and shook his head, "It hasn't come in two weeks. I ran out of food…Sunday I think. By the way, do you have anything to eat here, Hokage-jiji? I'm really hungry." At this Neko's hand began twitching toward her mask but she controlled her natural motherly instincts. Hiruzen, being the God of Shinobi, didn't miss this and smiled but inwardly he was pissed off.

'I will be having a chat with those fools at the bank' Hiruzen thought bitterly before turning to Naruto with a stern gaze, "I'm not saying what you did was a nice thing, because stealing is never right. You should have come straight to me Naruto-kun."

Naruto wrung his hands guiltily and sighed, "I know…but I didn't want to cause trouble. You're always so busy."

"I know, Naruto. And I apologize. I can see you are hungry and I'll let you go soon but I have a question to ask." Naruto tilted his head in confusion but stayed quiet. Sarutobi took his silence for a gesture to continue, "Naruto, despite it being a bad thing, you gave two of my more prominent Kunoichi quite the chase. That's impressive for one who has had no formal training. Have you ever thought about becoming a Shinobi?"

"No. Not really." Naruto replied casually. 'But now I am.'

Hiruzen smiled and pulled an Academy application paper and started filling it out, "Well, if you entered the Academy right now you could be in a class of kids your age. They entered at seven though so you'll be a year behind. All you have to do is sign your name right here." The old Hokage slid the paper toward the boy and laid the pen he was using right below the spot where he had to sign.

Naruto picked up a pen and deliberated in his mind for a second. 'Why would I be a shinobi?' He looked at the Neko Anbu, then to the two women behind him, and then finally to the old Hokage himself. 'They all seem to be proud. It's in their eyes. I want to feel like that. To be proud of myself. Maybe if I was a ninja then people would like me better. They would acknowledge me.' Naruto grinned to himself and shrugged as he signed the paper, "Sure. Why not? I'll give it my best shot."

Hiruzen smirked and took the application, "That's all I ask of you, Naruto-kun." 'Your parents would be proud.' The old monkey then whipped out a mission scroll and began scribbling over it fiercely before handing it to the violet haired woman beside him, "Neko. I have a new mission/request for you. You will receive B rank mission pay every two weeks for as long as you carry it out. Do you accept?"

The cat masked Anbu quickly read over the scroll before turning to the aging Hokage. The people in the room could practically hear the happiness in her voice, "Hai, Hokage-sama. I accept." She then removed her mask and set it down on the table before walking up to Naruto and smiling, "Hello Naruto. I've looked after you for a long time but this is the first that we've ever been properly introduced. I'm Yugao Uzuki."

Naruto returned her smile with earnest, "Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki…" He turned towards Hiruzen for a moment before looking back, "Future Hokage."

Anko snorted at this but the other three adult in the room seemed amused. Yugao chuckled a bit and crossed her arms, "Future Hokage? Well if that your goal then we have work to do. C'mon, Naruto. Let's go get something to eat first then we're going shopping."

"For what?"

"Why, your Shinobi supplies of course. You can't train to be one without them." With that said the violet haired lady grabbed his shoulder and they both disappeared in a shunshin.

A Couple Hours Later

Naruto could honestly say that this was the best, most confusing, and life changing day he'd ever had. He had woken up an orphan with no money. And now he was an Academy student with a guardian. That was what Yugao had called herself. Apparently Hokage-jiji had offered her the assignment of becoming his guardian. But he didn't see why she would when she could be out doing awesome ninja stuff. But he wasn't going to start complaining. He wasn't alone anymore! And his guardian had already begun to teach him things to catch him up with the other academy students such as the names of all the Hokage and what they were famous for.

"C'mon, Naruto! We're in a hurry. We need to get your new clothes and then move you into my apartment."

Naruto jumped and realized he'd been lagging behind while he was going over the events of the day. He jogged to catch up and fell into step beside the purple haired woman. He looked around and noticed he was still getting those borderline hateful looks from the villagers but he was too happy to care. He looked up with the grin that had refused to leave his face since they left the Hokage's office, "Where are we heading anyway, Yugao-san?"

He didn't an answer right way. Instead he was pulled inside a store that had all the dangerous toys any sane mother wouldn't let their kid play with. He instantly loved it. There were kunai, shuriken, swords, spears, staves, and all the other beautiful things Naruto wanted to touch. But sadly it was not to be. He was pulled away into the clothing section.

Yugao grinned down at the boy, "Sorry, Naruto. You can't get any of the goodies today. Graduate from the academy and I'll buy you anything you want. But today we're just here for clothes."

"But Yugao-saaaan."

"No Buts."

Naruto sighed in disappointment but soon got over it. He would love to have something else to wear beside all the white stuff that had been given to him. The two walked around laughing and picking out different things for the blond to try on. Finally, Naruto decided on something rather unorthodox. He had picked out an outfit that consisted of a pair of slightly baggy, grayish-blue, pants that were made out of a durable but surprisingly soft material. The pants were tied off at the bottom by ankle wraps. The torso piece was an indigo, sleeveless undershirt that fit him like a second skin with blood red trim along the collar and arm holes. On his arms was a set of long, fingerless, gloves that were the same color as the undershirt and stretched up his arms stopping a couple of inches above the elbow.

As he walked out of the changing room the blond couldn't help but think something was missing from his outfit. 'Ah well. It still looks good.' Naruto thought to himself.

When he paraded his outfit in front of his newly appointed guardian she nodded approvingly, "It looks good. The colors are interesting but pleasant. I approve. C'mon let's get this stuff paid for." With that said Yugao went to get a few spare copies of the outfit. Naruto however had eyes spread wide in wonder. The reason being a man with spikey gray hair, a crooked hitai-ate, and that beautifully simple item that was covering most of his facial features. 'That's what it's missing! It's so cool and mysterious. I have to know what he got it!'

And with that thought Naruto found himself tugging on the bottom of the masked shinobi's flak jacket. He had surprised himself with the speed he was able to get next to the man but his mind was in other places as he gave it one last tug. The man looked down lazily and his voice was just at laid back, "Yes?"

Naruto grinned wicked and pointed up at the man's mask, "Where'd you get that? My outfit is missing something and the mask would be perfect. It would hide my features and annoy people."

Kakashi was taken aback but secretly pleased that one so young had also discovered the greatness of his mask, especially this young one. He gave an eye smile, "This mask? Well, this one wouldn't fit you and I have them made out of a special material that's quite pricey. I order them from a custom maker."

Naruto seemed a little downcast at that. Yugao-san was already buying his outfit which wasn't cheap and he was sure that she wouldn't buy him a mask that wasn't entirely necessary.

"Oh. Okay. Never mind then." Just as he turned to leave the man to his business he felt a hand on his should stop him.

"But, I do still have my old mask from when I was your age. IT should fit you for a while until you start to really grow. Do you want it?" He got a nod from the boy so he continued, "Are you sure? Sometimes the mask can be a heavy burden." He got another nod. Kakashi gave a nod of his own and a connection seemed to be made between the two as the Copy Ninja opened a scroll and unsealed a mask that was identical to the one he was wearing but small enough to fit the blond. The gray haired jounin lead Naruto over to a secluded area and proceeded to slip mask over the blond's head and fix it in such a way that made it seem like the thing just melted into the undershirt.

Naruto thought it looked cool on the spikey haired man but wearing it was a different experience. It was ten times more awesome. It was silky soft and formed to his facial features like a glove. He didn't dare look in the mirror because he might die from how epic he knew he must look. Before he could thank the man he felt something being slid into his hand. He looked down and read the title out loud, "The Way of the Mask. What's this?"

Kakashi grinned slightly under his own mask, "That book will tell you everything you need to know about the mask from how to care for it to how to eat with it on. I wrote it myself."

Naruto nodded in understanding before grinning broadly under the face cover, "Thanks…?"

"It's Kakashi, kid. I have to go now but I think we'll be seeing each other around. Take good care of that."

Naruto nodded and waved as Kakashi walked away deeper into the store. He instantly buried his nose into the book eager to learn its lessons. And that was how Yugao found him after she had paid for all his clothes. When she saw what was on his face her eyebrows rose, "Where'd the mask com from?"

Naruto looked up slightly confused because he had been paying attention to his book and not her voice, "Hmm? You say something, Yugao-san?"

The purple haired woman had enough patience to not smack the boy upside the head but a vein throbbed on her forehead regardless as she spoke, "I asked where you got the mask." Naruto visibly brightened even though his eyes were the only indication.

"Oh! Kakashi-san just gave it to me. It looks good doesn't it?"

'Ah, that explains it. Well, he seems to have instantly started channeling Kakashi.' Yugao thought with a wistful sigh, 'Hopefully I can keep him from being late and reading smut. I won't allow those.' She nodded to the boy and led him out of the store and towards his apartment where they would pack his things and bring them to hers.

Later that Night in Naruto's New Room

'Ahhh, I could get used to this.' Naruto thought as he peered out of his NEW window from his NEW bed. He was lying comfortably on his back with his hands tucked neatly behind his head. The blond let out a sigh of contentment as he gazed out over the village watching as the sun set over the horizon. He had to admit that it was an amazing view. He smiled and it was visible seeing as he abandoned the mask for sleep. Yugao's apartment was on the top floor of a particularly high complex that was taller than the buildings around it. He loved it already. He loved the way his life had changed. It sudden and unexpected to be sure and he hadn't entirely wrapped his head around the whole idea yet. But he couldn't complain. How could he? He was starting his training slash conditioning tomorrow. Yugao had made it clear that she only teach him what he needed know until he progressed farther in the academy. Again, he had no complaints. With another sigh he turned over on his side, pulled the covers up, and closed his eyes.

Just as was on the cusp of unconsciousness Naruto heard the door to his room creak open a bit. He knew it was Yugao and smiled gently but kept his eyes closed. However, the blond was surprised when he felt a weight beside him as she sat down and leaned over him a little. It was obvious that she thought he was asleep. She ran a hand over his yellow locks with a small smile and kissed his cheek like a loving mother. Naruto was shell shocked to say the least but kept his eyes closed and breathing normal.

"Sweet dreams, Naruto-kun. I hope you'll be happy here." Yugao said before getting up from the boy's bed and retreating out of the room leaving the blond with an unfamiliar but undeniably pleasant, warm, feeling in his chest.

Smiling as he finally slipped over the edge Naruto replied to no one in particular, "I already am."

Hey, I'm back. And this is my rewrite of The Broken Ones. Sort of. It will not be Naruto and Anko centric this time because I'm handling it differently. The pairings will be undecided until they truly begin to matter. Which won't happen until Shippuden Era. I'm a fan of Naru/Ank and Naru/Hina. But shit happens so we'll all just wait and see how things unfold. I have so many things in store for this though. I think. Just bear with me. We'll get through it together. Feel free to drop a review or PM.