chapter 5 The shy princess'

It had been a couple of weeks and Kakashi finally managed to return home, they had finally found that base that Anko had remembered the only problem no one had been there for at least three months if not more. Basically Anko was pissed the entire trip back, and after all of that Kakashi was looking forward to getting back home and checking in on Naruto. He opened the door to his apartment feeling better just stepping inside of the door.

"Ah Kakashi you have finally returned!" A very loud voice said and Kakashi sighed, he had forgotten about him.

"Hey there Gai was it? How was Naruto, any problems?" He caught the look in Gai's face and decided to sit down for this one. Gai filled him in on the two ninjas that had attacked Naruto; Kakashi knew that something like this might happen the only problem was that he had hoped to have been there for him. He heard how the two ninjas were executed although their contact was never found.

It was hearing this that Kakashi was thinking of starting Naruto on his ninja training at the moment, Naruto needed to be able to protect himself as it clearly showed that he wouldn't be around to protect Naruto all the time. He had to make sure that Naruto could be able to defend himself when the time came.

"Thank you Gai, thank you for keeping Naruto safe," he finally said to him.

Gai grinned at him, "It was no trouble at all, although he was scared by the ordeal he seems to have come around."

Kakashi was glad to hear it, "So where is he?"

"Naruto, your father is home!" he called out and what came out would be something that gave Kakashi nightmares for two months. Naruto ran out dressed in a neon green one piece suit just like Gai's. He stood beside Gai giving a grind and a thumbs up at his father. Kakashi's only visible eye twitched at the horror before him. He was hoping that he was asleep or caught in a Genjutsu.

"Daddy you're back!" Naruto said happily.

Kakashi was too tired, and too sore to move, plus there was the shock to his system. On the one hand he wanted to thank Gai for saving his son on the other he wanted to kill him in ways that would make the most diehard ANBU throw up. So he would form a compromise, he would give Gai a fifteen minute head start before he hunted him down.

-One Year Later, Naruto Age 5-

"Again Naruto," Kakashi said.

Naruto was in training gear as he practiced another attack combo one a training dummy, he had been at it for a couple of hours now and he was tiring. Kakashi watched on as he pointed out flaws in Naruto's stance or movements.

Things had changed a bit for them in that year, they have moved out of the apartment and Kakashi went back to his family home. It was a modest place, but it had a very large backyard with a high brick wall that fenced out the home. It was so strange being back here, the place had to be cleaned up when he got there and he started to tidy the place up when he moved back in. He remembered all the memories of this place, all those long forgotten things that came rushing back. How his mother would be cooking in the morning, how his father would train him like he was doing with Naruto now.

The only thing that had been a major problem had been that one room, the room that his father had taken his own life in, for months he couldn't face that room. But in the end he figured if he had to live in this place he would do something about it. It had been a large tea room but he turned it into a training room, the room was so different now that he sometimes forgot what had happened in it.

Naruto of course had loved the new home, he spent all week running around, playing everywhere and loved the large yard. There was a few trees and he kept on trying to climb them, he kept falling but he only dusted himself off and tried again. It was like he refused to ever let anything beat him, something Kakashi knew he got from his biological father.

For that year he also started Naruto on his training, he was only focusing on physical skills at the moment, when he was a bit older he would train Naruto in chakra. He still went on mission and apparently Naruto had taken a liking to his 'uncle Gai', although Kakashi refused to let him be alone with Naruto for more than a week. It had taken Kakashi over a week to 'unbrainwash' him from Gai's influence that first time. Iruka still helped out as well, and Naruto at least had someone to play with at times thanks to young boy.

Although Naruto had trouble making some friends, sometimes other kids would bully him or pick on him, others would just ignore him. Kakashi knew that the kids were most likely told this by their parents who were in turned 'warned' about Naruto by certain members of the council. Kakashi really wanted to shove a kunai into those men but he knew that technically they hadn't broken any laws. He just hated how Naruto would look so lonely at times when he thought no one was looking.

Kakashi was brought out of his memories seeing Naruto panting and sweating and figured it was enough for the day. "Okay Naruto good work, I want you to shower and change and for doing such a good job, I'm taking you to the park today."

"Really? Cool! Thanks dad!" He ran off suddenly filled with new energy. Kakashi smiled behind his mask at the boy's antics.

Meanwhile across the city at the same park that a lot of families brought their children too, another parent was with her own daughter that day.

The young Hinata Hyuga had been taken to the park by her mother this day, the young girl was never very good with other people, unlike the rest of her clan she was always shy around others even the other children of the branch family. But because she was of the main house the children were wary of playing with her so she was left alone a lot. Thankfully her mother noticed this and took her out with other children now and then, the only problem was Hinata was too shy to go up most of the time. She would play by herself at times wishing she could just go up to someone making a friend.

At the moment she was watching a group of kids play and she wanted to join in but she was too afraid. What if they didn't like her? What if she said something stupid and they made fun of her? What if she wasn't any good and they didn't want her to play? Thoughts like this plagued her entire life as far back as she could tell.

So she sat with her mother who was worried about her daughter. Hannah Hyuga had hoped that getting away from the clan home would help her daughter be more open but she seemed to be having some trouble here as well. She knew that her daughter was a very kind girl and would make lots of friends if only she wasn't so shy. Honestly she didn't know where she got it from, or why she was like that. She knew that her husband was worried as well, especially if the clan elders thought that their daughter wasn't good enough to be the heir and maybe another member of the family should take the role.

She knew that her husband never liked the cage bird technique used on the rest of the family and certainly didn't want them to bare it like his twin brother and his family had to.

She stood up and Hinata did the same without a word, "Why don't we get something to drink?"

"O-okay mommy," She said in her usual quiet voice.

They walked on and she noticed a tall man with large silver hair with a small blonde boy. It was a bit odd, the man had a mask on despite him being in more casual wear and had a headband over his eye. The boy had blonde hair and strange markings on his face, with a black shirt with an orange swirl pattern on them.

"Dad after this can you teach me more cool ninja stuff?" The boy asked excitedly.

His father sighed, "Yes, yes, I swear Naruto for a boy your age you seem to like training. Most kids want to play instead."

"Well...I don't really got many friends," He said and suddenly his face took on a sad look.

It was then that Hannah knew the couple, by now the entire Hyuga clan knew of Naruto Hatake and his role as the prison for the Nine Tailed Demon. However it was never spoke outside of the Clan as per the law and the children were never told. Although she had overheard a few of the branch family members expressing concern for the safety of their children.

Personally she wasn't sure what to think and maybe it was time for her to find out for herself what this Naruto was like. After all he seemed nice enough as it was, she walked up to them and Kakashi noticed a Hyuga woman walking towards them. Everyone knew a Hyuga when they saw them, the pearl eyes were a dead giveaway plus they always carried themselves with this type of elegance. She wore a blue and very expensive komodo, had long dark hair and a very beautiful features and it soon came to him who exactly it was.

"Good morning Hyuga-sama," Kakashi said with a slight nod of his head.

"Good morning to you Hatake-san." She said politely.

"Please drop the 'san' I never like that stuff anyway." He waived it off.

She looked at him, everyone knew the legendary Copy Ninja but she had expected a bit...more. He was way too relaxed and seemed bored. He didn't carry himself like a warrior and you'd never know he was with the way he talked.

Naruto looked up at the lady, she seemed kind of pretty but then he noticed something else, there was a small motion behind the lady and Naruto went to look. He walked around her to see a small girl roughly his age with short dark hair hiding behind the lady.

"Hey what's your name?" he asked.

The girl made an 'eep' sound and clutched her mother but looked at who asked. She looked to see a boy with golden hair and blue eyes looking at her confused, Hinata wasn't sure what to do. The boy had asked her a question and it was rude not to say anything but she couldn't seem to find her voice.

"Her name if Hinata, now introduce yourself," Her mother said softly.

The girl released her mother's clothing and her cheeks flushed a bit, she fiddled with her fingers looking down a bit, "M-my name is H-Hinata Hyuga."

The boy only smiled at her, "I'm Naruto, you want to go play?"

Hinata looked up both socked and surprised, no one had asked her to play before but he seemed to want to. She looked up at her mother and she could see the woman smile and nod at her, Hinata gave a small smile and nodded.

"Cool, let's go play!" He grabbed her hand and quickly led her away as she blushed a bit.

"You don't mind Naruto playing with her?" Kakashi asked watching the children.

"No, he seems like a nice boy and my daughter has trouble with making friends." She said a small smile on her lips seeing her daughter play with another child like a normal child should.

Kakashi nodded his head, "Naruto has the same but for...Other reasons I'm afraid. I think Hinata is the only child that agreed to play with him like this before."

"Then maybe they'll be good for each other", she said watching.

Naruto couldn't help but be happy, for the first time ever he had someone to play with, sure she was kind of strange, her cheeks were red a lot, she had eyes like she had never seen before. They were all pale and with no iris in them, she talked kind of funny but she seemed really nice. They started to play on the slides and jungle gym. He helped her out here and there and then they got to something he always wanted to try, the seesaw.

"Hey come one Hinata I always wanted to try this," he took her hand leading her to it. He looked at it confused not sure how you got it started, normally he only saw kids while playing it not how they got on or off. "Do you know how it works?"

Hinata nodded, "Y-yes, one goes on first and jumps up, then the other has to j-jump onto it when the o-other part goes down."

"Oh okay, then you go on first then."

Hinata got on the smallest one since it looked to be built for kids their age. She had never got to play like this before, Naruto was just so fun to be around. He made her smile and feel happier then she had been in a very long time. Plus that smile of his somehow always made her feel something, like when you felt the sun on your face on a nice spring day. It was warm and comforting, she only felt like this around her mother.

Hinata prepared herself and jumped up, Naruto quickly got on, he barely made it onto it but he got on. Then he got ready and jumped up, both children had never been on something like this, the way they rushed up into the air and just stopped and then came back down was a new type of fun for them. Their parents looked on happy to see their children play like this.

It had been a very long time since they started to play and Hannah noticed the time, she walked over to the playing children. "Hinata it's time to get back home now."

"Y-yes mother," She said and looked to Naruto.

"You can get off first," Naruto smiled at her.

She nodded and got off, unfortunately Naruto was about to get a very important lesson, a lesson in gravity. He hadn't expected to fall faster than the last time, the seat hit the ground hard and he bounced off and landed onto the ground on his back. Hinata gasped and ran over to him worried.

"N-N-Naruto are you okay!?"

"Ow, next time I got to remember to be careful," he propped himself up and gave her a smile. Hinata's worried look melted at his smile and she couldn't help but smile back. Then Naruto frowned a bit, he hadn't enjoyed himself like this in a long time and he didn't want to stop, but he knew that her mother had her reasons for going.

Hannah Hyuga walked up glad to see the young boy was okay although she kept a slightly passive face as was the way of the clan. "Hinata you can say goodbye to your friend but I can take you back here and you two can play again another day."

Naruto blinked a few times, he never had a real friend his own age before. He looked at Hinata then, "Hey Hinata...are we...you know...friends now?"

Hinata blushed as her fingers were interlaced, the truth was she liked Naruto and she did want to be his friend. She looked at her mother with hope filled eyes and her mother only smiled at her, Hinata brightened up looking at him and gave a shy smile and nodded her head.

Naruto's return smile was large and full of happiness, he finally had made a friend a real friend. "I'd like to have you as a friend. Hey dad you think Hinata-chan can come over and play some time?"

Hinata was surprised again, she had never had a friend to just go over and play with. If this was what a friend was like then she enjoyed it. She hoped that Naruto's father said yes, and that her mother would allow Naruto to come to the Hyuga compound sometime. For the first time in her short life Hinata felt like there was something to look forward to.

"Well I don't see why not that is if Hyuga-sama here doesn't mind," Kakashi smiled at Naruto ruffling his wild hair.

"I think something can be arranged," She told the group. They said their goodbyes and she led her daughter back holding her hand. She could see how happy Hinata was and was glad that her daughter finally found a friend in Naruto. She of course would talk to her husband about this but she knew how to get him to see her way, after all what kind of wife couldn't keep their husband in line?

"So Hinata what do you think of Naruto? He seems like a nice boy," she asked her daughter.

"I...I like him, he's fun...and...and...makes me happy," She blushed looking at the ground.

"That's good then Hinata," she said to her.

-Uchiha Compound-

Fugaku Uchiha wasn't very happy, which was hard to see at times, he usually wore such a hard expression on his face. But things were not going well, first off someone in the group had hired those damn ninjas to take out the boy last year, he hadn't sanctioned that and now the boy would be watched even more closely. His people had told of how ANBU members were making passes over the Hatake home now and even at times would make a pass by the demon-boy when they saw him.

He knew it was the Hokage's doing, the old man had to have gone senile to let that boy live, he was a danger to the entire village, if the seal on that boy failed the demon could get loose and then it would be the end for this village and everyone in it. They had lost a few promising Uchihas that day and he knew that if the demon got out again there would be no stopping its rampage. He signed as he walked through the large home, he looked out a doorway seeing his oldest son Itachi overlooking his younger brother's training.

Sasuke even though his own son so far hadn't shown the same level of talent as his older brother, it would seem that his youngest child did not measure up, it was a pity but then again to match Itachi would take a miracle, his oldest son was a prodigy. Not any other clan could lay claim to such a ninja, not even their rivals the Hyuga Clan. But there were other things that worried him, over the years Itachi was getting more and more distant.

It was getting harder and harder to understand what was going through his son's head, and it was starting to worry him. He had no idea why but it did, and the more time passed the more worried he what Itachi would do. He wasn't sure what but it was obvious that he didn't have the same respect for the Clan like other Uchiha members did, in fact he kept his distance from the clan all except for his best friend Shisui Uchiha.

Fugaku would send for the boy, he would order him to keep an eye on Itachi, and report anything out of the ordinary. He knew the boy was loyal to the clan first than to his own best friend so he didn't have to fear about the boy telling Itachi.

He watched as Sasuke missed a target with a kunai, Fugaku sighed and hung his head a bit. Why couldn't his youngest son have the same talent as his older brother? He walked away wondering if maybe Sasuke would be better off with a life outside of being a ninja? After all it was obvious that unless things got any worse Itachi would lead the Clan.

Sasuke had seen his father there and when he saw how disappointed he was in him, Sasuke felt a deep shame. All his young life he just wanted to make his father proud so why couldn't he do it? Why was his brother so much better than he was? Young Sasuke just didn't understand why he felt like he was so weak all the time. He knew that his family was supposed to be the strongest there was but if he was weak what did that make him?

"You shouldn't let what he thinks get you down little brother," Itachi said walking over to him, "He doesn't know everything or what real power is. Keep at it and prove him wrong."

Sasuke looked up to his older brother, he was everything that he tried to be. He trained so hard to be as good as Itachi but never seemed to have the power to get there. But he wouldn't stop he would be as strong as his brother and he would make his father proud of him one day. He wouldn't rest until he had proven himself to his father and clan that he was more than just the 'younger brother of Itachi', he would one day be on par with his older brother.

Sasuke got up and went back to work training, he was tried and aching but he wouldn't stop until he reached his goal, not matter what the cost. Itachi looked on, no emotions on his face but he could see that Sasuke had potential, he just needed the right motivation to let it out. Out of all the clan it was his younger brother that had the only true potential because he worked hard. The others had gotten lazy and lax, well not him he would prove just how inferior this clan was to him.

He just wasn't sure how, and besides this village offered him nothing anyway. He had no challenges, nothing to truly test himself, he had to go out on missions to find challenges and even those were disappointments. He walked away leaving his little brother to his training as he thought more about his future in this village and with this clan.

Next up Chapter 6: Naruto vs Anko