Child of the Fire Country

'Why did they go? I...I thought that they liked me...'

Naruto stumbled down the deserted street, under the beaming light of the morning sun. His head was hung in great dismay.

The dull, resonating ache of loneliness bit at his insides again. It hurt when he realized that he could barely make friends, let alone keep them...

He sniffled quietly to himself as he trudged along his usual path, and then stopped, noticing two people ahead of him.

Naruto gave them a brief, but observant glance. They wore green jackets and fish-net shirts, and had forehead protectors with the Hidden Leaf symbol on them. They were ninja...Chunin, he had heard was their rank, and they looked much older and more experienced than the Genin he had seen outside of the academy.

They smirked at the small boy.

"Looks like the beast still walks these streets freely..." One of them muttered. The other stared at Naruto soundlessly, a look of utter repugnance in his eyes.

The blonde haired boy looked at the two shinobi again for a moment, and then continued, too broken-hearted to listen to any derogatory comments they may have saved for him.

Angered by his innocent gesture, the silent shinobi shot forward and grabbed hold of Naruto's arm, and squeezed threateningly.

"Ow! Hey! Let go of me!" The boy yowled, not expecting an attack from a member of his own village.

"Did you let go, demon?" The enraged ninja hissed, "Did you let my sister live? She's dead now...and you...you're still alive..."

Naruto had no idea of what the infuriated ninja was speaking about. The troubled Chunin grunted in surprise when his companion halted him with an outstretched arm.

The other shinobi did not want to linger, "Enough Takeshi, you know the law. Besides we have a mission..."

"No." His partner hissed again, hoping to get some kind of retribution: that hurting the boy may hurt the Kyuubi.

Naruto felt tears sting his eyes. Why did people hate him so much?

He held his ground, knowing he could not outrun them, and prepared himself for a flogging that never came.

"Stop it."

The voice was young, like his, but obviously aware that what was happening was wrong.

Takeshi and his partner observed the young boy indifferently.

"Oh…it's just that little Uchiha kid, you know, Itachi's brother."

The distraction snapped Naruto's attacker out of his rage.

"Don't you have a mission, you said? You should go. He didn't do anything to you." The boy with the onyx eyes spoke again.

Naruto only stared at him.

The two Chunin begrudgingly admitted that the child had a point. Without a word of apology, they left, promptly forgetting about Naruto. The young Uchiha approached him.

"Are you okay?"

Naruto nodded with an impressive poker-face, knowing that deep down his heart was still in tatters.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uzumaki Naruto..."

The sound of pain in the blonde's voice unnerved Sasuke. What had they done to the boy who called himself Naruto? He had seen him around the village from time to time, but Sasuke hardly knew a thing about him

"I recognized those two," Sasuke added, "They aren't friendly. You should stay away from them."

Naruto could not bring himself to answer. He was so rattled with pain from what Ino and Sakura, and then the chunin had done. Trying to make friends with Sasuke seemed ridiculous.

Naruto looked at Sasuke who wore an expectant expression.

"...thanks..." He said quietly.

Too embarrassed to let the other boy see him upset, Naruto fled, returning to his apartment where he could be alone cry.

It was noon. Naruto had not wasted much of the day before he had gotten a grip. He had taken a number of his few but valuable possessions (which included lots of instant ramen) and packed them in a bag. He had gotten the idea to sneak away. 'Most of the time when people don't say mean things to me, they ignore me. If I am so good at not get noticed, I can probably get out of here and find a better place.'

This was it, he decided. He could take a hint. Maybe there was another place he could be treated humanely. Maybe he would build a thicker skin out there in the world. Maybe he would find a way to get people to respect him.

'If I can find a place where they won't recognize me…then…someone may like me!'

His hopes were not very high, of course, but he was willing to take a chance. Additionally he was unsure of where he could go after escaping Konoha. His plan was to take the road to a new town and cross his fingers.

Naruto left his apartment and slinked through the lower district, effectively packed up for a journey, and wore a determined expression on his face. He stuck to the dark alleyways; devoid of the bustling foot traffic out on the main road. It was not worth it to endure the pain any longer if there was a chance he may discover acceptance elsewhere.

At that thought of finding a new home, he recalled Sasuke. He had been nice and helped him without being asked. But Naruto kept in mind that Ino and Sakura had been nice earlier...and they had turned on him.

He shook the idea from his head. What was left in Konoha that he could possibly stay for?

'No...this time I can do it. People won't hate me anymore.'

It was a relief when he passed through the wooded area near the village gates. There were few people here and he did not have to put much effort into sneaking. It was quiet and peaceful, and it helped give him the strength to press on and seek happiness.

Yellow-blossomed forsythia bushes lined the gate. The flowers smelled nice and he slowed down a bit to admire them.

A small voice nearly made him jump out of his skin.

"Naruto?"

The blonde boy turned around and faced the voice's owner. It was a girl.

She had black hair and silvery-white eyes. He recognized her in a moment.

"Oh...Hinata, uh...hi."

Naruto had first met the shy girl near the Ninja Academy. While he sat gloomily on his swing, he noticed a girl sitting at the base of the tree in total silence. He had realized she was quiet and shy, but had grown accustomed to her presence as she would often sit with him near his swing almost every day.

She was not a talkative companion, but she was far more pleasant than most people who acknowledged him.

Hinata observed him quietly.

"Naruto, are you alright? You s-seem upset." Her stuttering was still understandable, even with her soft voice.

He looked at her sadly, "No Hinata, I...I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"...yeah. Don't worry about me, I'm okay."

Hinata noticed the backpack he had with him, and she quickly put two and two together.

"Are...are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah..."

She looked distressed, "W-where are you going?"

"I...I don't really know."

They were both quiet for a moment.

"I see..." Hinata spoke quietly.

Naruto still felt the dull ache in his chest. The loneliness had become a cage that he so badly wanted to escape.

"Well, I just hope y-you'll come back s-soon then..." She informed him.

The blonde boy was confused, "Why would ya' say that Hinata?"

A blush crept up over her cheeks.

"Um...w-well, you see...I..." She found it very difficult to articulate, "I know that I'll miss you every day by our t-tree...until you come back..."

The hope that had been dwindling like a flickering ember inside of Naruto quickly flared up.

'Hinata will miss me? She wants me to come back...so then...maybe I will!'

Naruto grinned at her reassuringly, "Sure thing Hinata! I'll be back soon, and then we can sit under our tree all the time!"

Hinata smiled in response, "R-really? That would be wonderful."

He was suddenly invigorated and ready to explore, and he rushed out of Konoha's gates, calling over his shoulder, "I'll see you soon, Hinata-chan! I promise!"

It was something that she nearly died with joy from hearing. Not only had he given her the honorary suffix, but he had promised to see her soon.

And Uzumaki Naruto never breaks a promise.