His name was Naruto and that was all he could remember about his past. He had been found on the shores of a continent, which he later found out was named the Earth Kingdom, and was nursed back to health by an elderly woman. She had helped him understand their language and taught him the history of their world. Naruto had then witnessed the village that had always loved the elderly woman turn on her just because she had come from another country, namely the Fire Nation. He was small back then, no older than five years old, but he had been forced to watch his only precious person being killed just because of where she came from.

So, from then on, Naruto traveled through the Earth Kingdom in search of knowledge and to improve his fighting style, which he had discovered to be earthbending. He had wandered for years, facing death several times, before coming across a small city not touched by the war. There he found a new purpose: protecting the blind daughter of a nobleman, her being only a few years younger than her new guardian. At first Naruto had believed her to be just a little, helpless blind girl, but he should soon be proven wrong.

That day came when she got lost in the nearby mountains and by accident discovered her own way to "see".

"Your only job was to protect her! How could you have let her sneak away if she was always supposed to be in your sight?" asked Lao Beifong, the father of Naruto's charge, as he and his wife glared at said blond-haired teenager.

Naruto stood before them, his long spiky blond hair kept in a low ponytail, dressed in loose robes that looked to be more suited to an airbender than an earthbender. The colors were a burnt-orange color with black trimmings and attached to his waist was a strange sword instead of the usually used hammers. So all in all he didn't look much like the standard type of earthbender. Although with his blond hair, blue eyes and whisker-like marks, Naruto seemed like a stranger in almost every part of the world.

"I will find her at once, Lord Beifong," Naruto said and, after a respectful bow, he left the main room in search of the ten year old girl.

Naruto searched all of her hiding places, both in and out of the estate, and was now searching up in the mountains. Naruto knew the mountains like the back of his hand, mostly because he often went there to practice his own bending, but he feared a blind girl could easily end up lost or even killed up there. The last thing he wanted was to find the dead body of his little charge in some pit just because he allowed her to slip from his sight for ten minutes. He had no idea how she had been able to do that in the first place.

It was then that Naruto felt tremors coming from inside a cave, followed by the sound of a little girl screaming. In an instant, he shot into the cave, using his feet and earthbending skills to have some sort of vision in the dark, and before long, he found the blind girl. Naruto calmly knelt down at her side and found that she hadn't cried in pain but out of grief. Her blank eyes were wide open, tears sliding down her cheeks, and she backed away from him the moment she realized she wasn't alone.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed, not knowing who was in the dark with her, but Naruto simply reached forwards and placed his hand on her head.

"Toph, relax!" was all Naruto had to say, before the blind girl went from being as far from him as possible to burying her face in his chest.

Naruto stayed there, holding his charge, and allowed her to cry as much as she needed. He understood that she wished to be treated like the other children instead of being treated like a glass doll. The last three years had allowed him to bond with the child and she in turn began to open up to the companion she had never seen. Toph had always come to Naruto when she needed an outlet, but lately these moments had become rare and even he had to face her angry side increasingly often.

"I-I'm so s-sorry," Toph cried and Naruto pulled her close, hoping it would somehow stop her crying.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I may not understand what you go through each day, but I will never be angry with you. You live a much harder life than most of us, but because you still carry on, you are also stronger than any of us could ever hope to be," Naruto said, his voice echoing through the cave system, but despite his best efforts his words only seemed to make Toph cry harder.

"I'm so scared… I-I'm lost… Where am I?" she asked, but it sounded more like a plea for help, as Naruto moved his fingers through her black locks.

"You're safe; the earth around you will always protect its children. Believe it, Toph. Wherever there is earth, she will protect you if you allow it," whispered Naruto, who could feel Toph's breathing calming down and her tears slowly stopped.

"H-How can it protect me, i-it's not alive," she asked, her confusion muffling her grief for the moment.

"Of course she is. Everything around you is alive and willing to protect you if you know how to ask. Toph, would you like to know how to ask for her help?" Naruto inquired. Toph pulled away and turned her face towards his voice, "looking" up to him, dried tears now all that remained of her former mood.

The strong, yet still fragile child nodded with a smile on her young face and Naruto, in turn, wiped away her dried tears.

"Then come and I will teach you."

(Three years later)

"You're not my boss!" screamed a now thirteen year old Toph Beifong at her long time protector.

"I never said that I was, I only stated that facing multiple earthbending masters in a tournament requires more thought than you are currently giving," stated Naruto.

"So you think I'm not good enough?" she shouted, while glaring in his general direction.

"No, I know you are skilled enough but the fact remains that there is the possibility of you being hit. At the moment your body isn't strong enough to take a hit and keep fighting," Naruto said, keeping his temper in check.

"You're treating me like my parents do!" Toph retorted.

"No I'm treating you like a friend. I know it's hard to believe but there is a difference between worrying and pampering," the blond said but still Toph glared at him.

"I'm going tonight and I order you not to follow me!" screamed Toph, not realizing that this was the first order she had ever given him, yet he still remained calm.

"Very well, Ms. Beifong, I shall not follow you."

Well this is my first FanFiction I have ever written and so I figured I should be on my two favorite things. So please review, give me your ideas, and PM me if you have any questions.