Naruto: Cautious Ninja

Eight years after Kyuubi attack…

It was a nice, warm and sunny day out in Konoha, and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was really the perfect day to be outside, especially for all the children cooped up at home. The younger groups were out on the playgrounds, kicking ball, playing tag, hide-and-seek, and all manner of fun that they would normally do out on a day like this. It was literally a cauldron of excitement brewing in the parks.

"Hey, Sakura! Check this out!" a blonde haired girl in an orange shirt with her hair tied up in a high knot exclaimed as she ran up to her friend, who was picking flowers in the park's clearing. The addressed youngster looked up to see Ino stop and pose in front of her. "What do you think?"

Spotting the large purple flower slipped into her companion's hair, Sakura smiled and leapt to her feet in excitement. "Wow, Ino! Where'd you get that?"

"From the woods over there," Ino exclaimed while pointing. She brushed her hair back in an attempt to look more mature. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Yeah! It is!"

While the two compared collections with one another from the flora they had already managed to pick, they suddenly picked-up on a big commotion somewhere nearby and looked up to see all of the kids on the playground suddenly run off. Boys and girls of all ages scrambled over the equipment en masse before disappearing across the plain, running out of the park or to their parents.

Things quickly went from excited to deathly quiet after that, something that puzzled both girls out on grass since the sight of the children leaving all at once made it seem like they were running from something scary. Hell, they pretty much left everything that they had with them behind; balls, toys and stuff in the sand box.

"Hey, what's going on?" Sakura asked, looking around worryingly.

After a few seconds of scratching heads, the two friends then saw a boy with blonde hair appear on the empty playground. Wearing a slightly grubby white shirt with shorts, he stared after the kids that had run off in confusion before spotting Sakura and Ino. He then ran over to them, the two girls backing away a bit until he stopped in front of them and smiled.

"Hey, can I play with you guys?" the newcomer asked with a grin.

Sakura and Ino looked unsure at each other at first. But after a few seconds of deliberation, they both glanced back at the stranger and smiled. Looking him over there didn't appear to be anything scary about this boy. He seemed pretty nice to them, so why did everybody else run off? This question however went on unanswered and the two youngsters approached the smiling boy with open arms and smiles of their own.

"Sure," Sakura chirped, stepping towards the stranger and holding out the flowers she was still holding. "We're trying to find as many of these as we can."

Ino also walked up to him and showed off the piece in her hair with a big grin. "The one who finds the most interesting ones wins."

Naruto laughed a little at their activity and went on to inspect the bunch the pink haired girl was holding out to him. "Hunting for flowers? That's a silly game."

The girl clutching the collection of daisies and poppies puffed her cheeks out indignantly, "No it's not!"

Giggling excitedly, the blonde held up a fist and grinned at them, "If it's a competition then I bet I can find the best!"

"Uh-uh," Ino replied immediately while pointing at her chest. "I bet I can find the best before you can! My family owns a flower shop and knows everything about plant life, so I know what the best flowers are."

"Alright then," Naruto spoke up confidently while pointing at both of them, "Whoever finds the best flower in the next five minutes wins!"

"Okay!" both girls said in unison. On their count, the trio then broke away and began roaming the playground for the eye-catching plants they could find. They had to search high and low if they wanted the best, with Sakura immediately going to a cherry blossom tree and Ino retreating to the base of an oak for some wild blue bells. Even Naruto had his share of fun picking daisies from the side of the sandpit.

Unfortunately, before their little challenge could gain any real traction Sakura, who was busy pulling flowers from her tree, was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind, which had her look over her shoulder. There she saw her mother, a tall woman with shoulder-length golden blonde hair, green eyes and wearing white robes smiling down at her. She took the girl gently by the hand and began leading her away from the park. "Come on sweetie. Your father wants us home now."

"B-But wait mom, I haven't finished playing with my friends yet," the pink haired girl exclaimed in protest, looking across the park to see Naruto staring after her with a handful of grass and chrysanthemums. He also looked across to see Ino being led off by her father as well, both girls looking back towards him in confusion.

Mebuki smiled sweetly at her daughter. "You can spend time with them tomorrow, okay?" She looked back across at the youngster standing by the playground. "I'm sure he'll be here waiting for you."

"Umm… o-okay …" Sakura replied, allowing herself to be led away. When she looked back at the confused boy she had just met she waved at him, which he returned after a moment of pause. He didn't seem to know what was going on or why she was being led away so suddenly, but after a few seconds of watching the girls leave with their parents he looked away, appearing a little hurt. The pink haired girl looked back with worry. 'H-He didn't even tell me his name.'

To Naruto, it was a familiar sight seeing kids running away from him or being dragged away by their parents, but for whatever reason he had no idea why. Was he sick? Was he scary? Was he hideous? Was he a bad person? To a kid only eight years old and incredibly impressionable it certainly seemed that way. What else was he supposed to think?

He'd heard people's whispers, seen their stares and seen how the villagers acted around him. They were always pushing him away, ignoring him or sneering at his face.

These were mostly the parents and the adults. The children naturally followed what their parents were doing and ran away from him… most of the time. Those youngsters who were the exception, the ones that didn't know him, were always nice to him the first time around. But then when he went to see them again to play they either ran away, hid or ignored him.

Perhaps the two nice girls he met today would end up like that tomorrow. Perhaps they wouldn't. He wasn't sure, but it was still a very upsetting thought.

Upon seeing a couple more potential friends get dragged away from him Naruto looked down at the ground in disappointment. He dropped the flowers he was carrying and shoved his hands into his pockets dismissively, kicking at the earth before following the footpath out of the park.

Since there was nobody here anymore what point was there in hanging around?