I have been typing this story for far too long xD I have it written out in a notebook and now I have to type it. It takes so long D; but I finally got the first chapter typed up, so yay! I hope you like it. Also there won't be any action from the Akatsuki until later chapters, and they won't be involved in the main scheme of things either. This fanfiction is basically about how Naruto and Sasuke get together. I will eventually write a sequel to this fanfiction dedicated to the Akatsuki. Last but not least, I do have this fanfiction completed, like I said earlier, I just need to type t xD. Anywho, enjoy.

Warnings: Yaoi, OOC Naruto, self harm in later chapters, depressing things, death, slight gore later

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 1: Who Was That?

The fact that I have to walk home alone in the dark scares me. Anything could happen at any time. Someone could jump me. They could kidnap me, even though I have no idea why they would want me. They could kill me. I have no idea what to expect. You see, I'm not that liked in our town; Konoha. They all see me as some screw up, that I should have never been born. That I should leave the town and never come back. They think I'm just another orphan that can't do anything right, well they're right.

My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I had no parents until just last year. They are nice people, for the most part. The thing that I don't really like about them is that they have a set of rules in which I must follow, if I don't follow the rules then I'll get punished.

Rule 1: Finish all my homework before I do anything moderately fun.

Rule 2: Don't speak unless given permission.

Rule 3: My room must be clean at all times.

Rule 4: The music cannot be loud enough that they can hear it, and I can only listen to music that they approve of.

Rule 5: I cannot close my bedroom door.

Rule 6: Never bring someone over without a two day notice. If I do bring someone over and they don't like the way that they looked, acted, or smelled like, they would forbid them from entering the house.

Rule 7: I must follow all orders given to me without hesitation.

Rule 8: I have to do my own dishes and laundry.

Rule 9: I can never fail any classes. I can only have a B or above, they don't tolerate anything below a B.

Rule 10: If my parents aren't home, then I cannot do anything that has to do with the living room or the kitchen.

Rule 11: No dating.

Rule 12: Being gay is a sin.

Rule 13: I cannot miss any school.

Rule 14: No technology of any sort in the house.

Rule 15: I cannot leave the house after 10:00 p.m. unless permitted.

Rule 16: No swearing.

Rule 17: No fighting.

Rule 18: I can never invite a Haruno, Yamanaka, Hatake, Inuzuka, Hyuuga, or an Uchiha over to my house. I cannot be friends with them either.

Rule 19: No talking back in a rude or disrespectful way.

Rule 20: Come straight home after school, and no joining after school activities.

Rule 21: No dyeing my hair, no scary clothes, and no getting any piercings or tattoos.

And finally, Rule 22: Never tell anyone about what happens at home.

I have managed to deal with these rules for the most part, but then they always end up adding new rules if I do something they don't necessarily like. I don't mind the rules as long as I have someone to finally call my family. I just don't want to have to go back to having nothing again is all.

I see a dark spot up ahead of me so I slow down and look around cautiously. I don't see anyone, although I guess it is pretty late. I speed up, walking as fast as I could without sprinting through the darkness. I look to my right because I heard something, but when I do that I bumped into something pretty hard with my head. I hold the spot that got hit and back up. Shit that hurt. As I was backing up I bumped into something not so hard. Oops. I try running forward, but I get stopped.

"What are you doing out here so late, Naruto?" An all to familiar and unwelcoming voice says sending chills down my spine.

"Uh, I ... I was just going to the store to uh ... pick up some stuff for my mom. W-what are you doing?" I try to smile as I turn around to see Gaara's killer glare staring right at me.

"That's none of your business." Gaara's glare hardens making me shrink back and advert eye contact. I have yet to meet someone who's glare is scarier than Gaara's. All I need to do is stay calm and not do anything to get him angry.

"S-sorry, I just ... I shouldn't of asked. It's none of my business anyway."

"You're right about something, it is none of your business." This is exactly what I wanted to avoid, Gaara is getting angry. He is one of the easiest people to piss off. All you have to do is breath wrong and he gets pissed. He is normally only mean to me, or if I'm around. Things that I can't do anywhere around him to ensure my safety; at least for a little while anyway is:

Gaara's Rule 1: Don't talk to him much.

Gaara's Rule 2: Don't look at him for any longer than three seconds.

Gaara's Rule 3: And don't ever piss him off, he is really dangerous and unpredictable whenever he is pissed. Oh, and you don't want to get into a fight with him wither, you are almost guaranteed to lose ... miserably.

"I'm sorry." I say quietly as I fidget with my hands and look away.

It's been like this for ten years. When I was six I started giving up on making everyone like me. That's also when I stated getting bullied pretty badly in school, the streets, the stores, pretty much anywhere besides my own home. I would skip school near the end of first grade quite frequently, until Iruka started to get worried and he started coming to my house to see where I was. It was a good thing he did too, I was a mess. I was either always sitting in my room crying or staring at the wall blankly. I had no energy because I would never eat, and the food I had in my house was either gone or spoiled.

In the second grade Iruka was made my homeroom teacher. He never gave me any form of special treatment, but I could tell that he liked me the best out of everyone else so that made me really happy.

In the third grade I started to be my normal self again. What really surprised me is that I even made a friend. We're still best of friends to this day too. His name is Kiba Inuzuka. He is one of the very few people that I feel like I can be myself around.

In fourth grade Shikamaru moved here to Konoha, Kiba and I quickly claimed him as one of us before anyone else could try. Both Kiba and myself found him to be really strange, but he never judged us about what we did or said. If we were doing something stupid, he would always say 'This is such a drag' or 'You're so troublesome' but he would always some with us no matter what we did.

In fifth grade it all started going downhill. Kiba and Shikamaru both started to get bullied for hanging out with me. Even though they didn't care, I did. I knew how it felt to get bullied, so I tried to push them away from me. I went as far as to tell them that I hated them both but that failed because as soon as I said I hated them I started to choke up. At the end of saying that I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Needless to say, they didn't believe me one bit. Apparently they also knew what I was attempting to do the whole time, well, Shikamaru did anyway.

In sixth grade I started to get bullied really badly again. I was a total wreck. Kiba and Shikamaru were worried about me so they ended up telling Iruka. Last time the bullying only got my when I was outside of my house, but this time I eve got bullied at my house. They would go as far as to come to my house just to beat me up. It was weird but for some reason I started to like the pain of getting beaten up. It reminded me that I was still here and alive. Iruka ended up coming to my house after school everyday and talked to me. He would stay for dinner and play games too. He would even stay until I fell asleep sometimes too.

In seventh grade I heard about self harm. I wasn't sure what it was but I had a good idea but just to make sure I was right, I went to Shikamaru and asked him about it. He was a little surprised but he told me about it. I don't know why people would want to hurt themselves to feel relief, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

In eighth grade someone was dared to tell me that they loved me. She did the dare and she also asked me out. I was definitely suspicious but I went ahead and said that I would go on a date with her. When we went out into the town together she was looking around like she was expecting something to happen. Well something did happen, I got jumped by her friends and as I was getting beaten up she just stood there laughing. You could say I learned my lesson.

In ninth grade when we were all freshmen in high school, I saw an openly gay couple for the first time. I didn't really know what to think to be honest. I went to Iruka and asked what it was like to be gay. You could say that he was a little surprised, but that would have been an understatement. When I went to ask him, I hadn't thought of him as gay but I was just wondering if he knew what it was like. Well, that day I found out that my favorite teacher was gay.

In tenth grade I got adopted. I was so happy that I would finally have a family, but then they gave me their rules for what I can and cannot do in their house. At first I was stressed and I didn't really know how to react to any of it. When I found out that I couldn't have Kiba up I was pretty sad. I asked Kiba what his family did to my parents. HE didn't know so he asked his parents but they also didn't know. One day I broke one of my parents rules and my dad beat me giving me four bruises. He told me that it was a warning for if I broke any more rules. I couldn't help it, I ended up breaking almost all of the rules at least once. The punishments got worse each time.

In eleventh grade, my current grade, nothing has really happened yet. I only got beat up five times for the whole four days that school has been in, so I guess that's an improvement. Kiba and Shikamaru aren't in my homeroom so I never get to put my guard down, not even for a second. Especially if people talk to me, like my current situation.

"I'm going t-to uh ... go now, I'll see you in school." I turn to leave but of course he had to go grab my shoulder and turn me around.

"What did you say to me?" I could hear a slight hint of venom in his voice.

"I-I'll see you in s-school-" My voice quivered and I looked down to the ground.

"Are you giving me an order?"

"N-no! That's not it! I-I-I just ... meant to say ... uh ... bye." I write a mental note for another one of Gaara's rules.

Gaara's Rule 4: Don't give him orders.

"I better not see you in school, Uzumaki. If I do then you-"

"Drop it Gaara." We both look back over our shoulders seeing nothing but a shadow. The one who said this stepped a little closer and that's when I saw his eyes. It's like they pierced right through me. Who is this? I've never seen Gaara hang out with him before. Is he new? His voice seemed so calm and smooth. It almost had a soothing affect on me, almost. "He's not worth our time." I don't know if I should be offended or grateful to this stranger.

Gaara huffs letting go of my shoulder and walking to his ... friend? I think they're friends anyway. I see the other guy glare over at me before leaving with Gaara. Who the hell shit in his cornflakes? I straighten out my shirt heaving a immense sigh. I then continue to the store grabbing a couple things. When I get to the checkout I look up at the clock behind the cashier and I almost had a mini heart attack. My parents told me to be back by 10:30, it's currently 10:25. It takes 10 minutes to get back if I'm lucky. Just my luck.

I grab the bag off the counter and sprint out the door and down the street to get to my house. On my way I saw Gaara's red hair on the opposite side of the road, thankfully. He was alone though, where was the other one? All of a sudden I bump into someone, again. I take a step back and look up. Those eyes. They look like the ones from just a little while ago but they were different somehow. More relaxed? Slightly more feminine I guess. Even though they looked calm, they still had the same piercing stare.

"I-I'm sorry!" I quickly continue my sprint to my house. I'm not going to make it. My house was just in view but I could see my dad through the window going to turn the porch light off. If he turns that off then I'm going to get in trouble. Just a few more seconds. Can't my legs move any faster?

Then it happens, the light goes dim one second before I hit the door. With incredible force if I may add. I try opening the door but it was already locked. I hear the door being unlocked and it opens. My dad was standing there arms folded across his cheat with a stern glare on his face.

"What do you want?" He had a threatening tone in his voice that made me want to just turn around and leave.

"I ... I just about made it, can I please come in?" My dad holds out a hand and looks down at the bag in my hand. I hand the bag to him and look back up at him.

"No. Go sleep with the dog." He shuts the door in my face with great force making me flinch. I clench my fists an turn around walking to the back yard where my dog slept.

"Hey Kyuubi." I walk up onto the back porch and sit next to him. He was a pretty big dog. No where near as big as Kiba's dog Akamaru though. But since he was so big he did a pretty good job at keeping me warm. He must have known what was going on because he sat up and licked my cheek laying back down closer to me. "Thanks Kyuubi." I lay down next to him and push against him. It was a lot colder than it usually was.

xxxxx

"Get up you idiot, you're going to be late for school." I groggily open my eyes and look up at my mom standing in the doorway. I could hear a very faint rumble in Kyuubi's chest so I reach over and pet him telling him it's okay. If you couldn't tell, he kind of hates my parents. I stand up and dust myself off. "What? No thank you for waking me up?"

"Oh, sorry. Thank you for-"

"Yeah whatever you ungrateful little shit. Just get ready and get the hell out."

"Okay." I walk into my room getting changed. I had no time to take a shower so I had to skip it, which really sucked because I probably reeked of dog. I grab some milk and drink it putting my cup in the dishwasher and grabbing a slice of ham. I walk to the back door and put my shoes on opening the door. "I'm off." I step outside closing the door behind me. Kyuubi was sitting in front of the steps panting and wagging his tail. I throw him the slice of ham and he catches it. I quickly pet his head once more before running off to school.

xxxxx

Homeroom is so boring. I sit there doing nothing , homework, more nothing, or reading. Everyone in my homeroom hates my guts which makes it even better. Whenever someone passes me they either hit me, kick me, pinch, punch, slap, flick, poke, tease, take my stuff, mess with my hair, pull my shirt, step on my feet, brake my pencils, tear my homework, and they like to tie my shoelaces to the desk if they can do it without my noticing. And since I sit in the front row, this stuff happens quite frequently. This is also a big factor in why I do nothing in homeroom. Also if you were wondering why don't the teachers do something about it, I'll tell you why. They don't like me that much either so they all tend to turn a blind eye on the situation. I ended up stopping trying to get their help when I noticed this.

"He actually came today, he's sure got guts." A boy's voice said walking through the door. Of course I came to school today, either way if I come or not I'll get beaten. My parents would beat me if I didn't go and you people would beat me if I did go.

"He smells like a dog too." The boy's friend commented making them both laugh. I'm sure you'd both smell like dog too if you were made to sleep right next to one for a night and then be deprived of a shower the next morning.

"I told you he's part animal." I glance over to them seeing Gaara glaring at me so I quickly return my gaze back to the front of the room.

"Let's go teach the little dog a lesson, shall we?" Gaara stands with his two other friends and walks over to me. Shit. As soon as there was no longer any light on my desk, which I was looking at, I look up at the three boys looking down at me. I really don't want to have to deal with this right now.

"It's not very nice the eavesdrop you know." You know what, I'm going to get beat up no matter what so hell with it. I'll probably regret it later but I don't care.

"It's kind of hard not to hear you three with your loud mouths."

"Are you seriously talking back to me?"

"Uh yeah, that's kind of how conversation works you know." I decided to push my luck even more and smirk slightly.

"You're pushing it Uzumaki."

"Oh I am? What exactly am I pushing right now? All I'm doing is talking to you."

"Will you just shut up?" I could see Gaara getting really pissed right now, maybe I really did push it to much. I should probably stop.

"Why should I?" What is wrong with me? Why didn't I just shut my mouth?

"That's it Uzumaki."

Gaara punches me, sending me flying out of my seat and I hit my head off the wall that was next to me. I sit up cringing at the pain that shot through my head. Just as I stood up, Gaara punches me again. After a couple of minutes of getting beaten like a punching bag, I see a walk into the classroom and over to us. He puts a firm hand onto Gaara's shoulder making him and the other two stop what they were doing.

"I think you should stop." I carefully sit up and open my eyes the rest of the way and look up at the man. He had white spiky hair, a band over his left eye, and a mask covering everything else but his other eye. "Go on down to the principle's office and explain what you were doing." Gaara glares at the man as he rips his shoulder away from his grip and leaving the room. I look back up to the man who was holding out a hand as he smiled down at me through his mask. I slowly take his hand and he pulls me up. "Are you alright?" I nod and he grabs a tissue from beside him handing it to me. "Your lip is bleeding." I take the tissue gratefully and wipe my lip, true enough, there actually was blood. I'm not surprised in the slightest though. "I'm Mr. Hatake, but you can call me Kakashi. You don't have me for any of your classes yet, do you Naruto?" I stop wiping away the blood and stare up at Kakashi shocked.

"How do you know my name?"

"I was a friend of your parent, well, your real parents. They asked me to keep an eye out for you and help you if you were ever in trouble."

"You knew my parents?" Kakashi put an arm around my shoulder and took me out of the room.

"I'll tell you about them on our way down to the principle's office."

"My parents can't know that I got into a fight." I start to panic.

"It'll be okay Naruto. You aren't to blame for this fight."

"You don't understand, they'll-" I stop and think about what I was just about to say. I see Kakashi frown at me from the corner of my eye.

"They'll what?"

"Nothing, they should understand." I look up smiling to him. I need a subject change before he catches onto anything. "Oh, about my parents. What were they like?"

"They were actually really great people." Kakashi smiled turning his head back to in front of us. "Everyone in the whole town loved them, well, most of the town anyway. Minato; your father, was actually the principle here long ago. Also meaning he was my principle, boy do I give him props for never giving up on me." I look up to him.

"What do you mean? Were you mean or something?"

Kakashi chuckled slightly. "Mean is an understatement. I guess you could of called me a little hellion to say the very least. Even with me being the way I was, he never gave up on me no matter what I did. He told me that if he gave up on me, then he wouldn't feel fit to be a father. One would normally think that I would have stopped with my little rebellious streak after that, but if you thought that, you were dead wrong. I made it, oh, probably fifty times worse on him. I got into trouble more often, meaning I had to go down to his office a lot. You could say your father and I had a pretty strong bond. He even invited me over to his house to dinner every know and then. I rejected him multiple times, but I eventually said okay since he was starting to get on my nerves. That's when I got to meet your mother, Kushina. She was a lovely lady, she could be extremely frightening at times though." Kakashi chuckles a little bit. I smile and drop my head to the floor. They sound so awesome.

"What did you do to make her so irritated?"

"Many, many things. If I did anything bad around her then she would straighten me out. There was this one time that I got into a fight with my, at the time, acquaintance. Kushina and Minato just happened to be walking by. She separated us and started to berate us, in the end she made us make up. Our punishment was to talk down the street holding each other's hand. She had something that most people now-a-days couldn't ever dream of having."

"What could that be?"

"Easy, a loving heart." A loving heart? I smile.

"I think I do."

"Do what?"

"Have a loving heart." I put my fist up to my chest over my heart and grin from ear to ear. Kakashi smiles reaching a hand up and messing up my hair.

"That you do. Don't ever let that part of you die, it proves that your parents will live on in you." Kakashi stops. "Oh, that reminds me. Wait here." He goes into a room and comes out with a book a minutes later. He hand me the book and I hesitantly take it.

"What is it?" I flip it over in my hands to look at the back.

"A present. Your parents told me to give it to you on your sixteenth birthday, but, as you can see, I kind of forgot. Look at it when you get home."

"But I want to look at it now." I whine and Kakashi laughs lightly shoving me forward continuing to walk to our destination.

"You can live until you get home."

"Fine." I huff and hold it close to my chest, a smile creeping up on my lips. I haven't been this happy in a long time. "Thanks for this Kakashi."

"It's my pleasure." We stop in front of the principle's office.

"Can you at least tell my what it is before I go?" I eagerly turn to him in hopes that he would actually tell me. He pondered it for a minutes as if he was actually thinking about telling me, but he just smiled.

"Not a chance." He pats my back as I give him a disgruntled look. "Go on and get in there." I frown and take a deep breath.

"If you say so." I walk through the doors.

"I'll see you around Naruto." I turn around to see Kakashi leaving, did I seriously just make a new friend? My smile grew as I walk into Tsunade's office. She looks up from Gaara with a very peeved glare. I immediately hide my smile and hold my present closer.

"Gaara, you may leave. Go wait in the waiting room for someone to come get you." My heart stops. If someone is coming to get him, does that mean she's going to call my parents? I start to feel light headed as Gaara passes me with a glare. "Naruto, you don't look to well, you just got really pale. Take a seat and relax." I grab the chair and sit myself in it nervously. I take a series of deep breaths until I felt better. "Naruto, this isn't your first time here with me, why are you almost having an heart attack now?"

"I just ... don't want my parents to know."

"Naruto." Tsunade started with a disheartening sigh as she leans back in her chair. "You know that I have to call them."

"I know, but can't you just make an exception ... just this once?" I know she has to call. I'm just being wishful.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I can't." I anxiously mess with my hands and stare down at the book. "Naruto, tell me what happened."

"Gaara and his friends were picking on me. They then came over to me and I might have possibly made him mad by talking back to him. Then he punched me and it just carried on from there."

"Okay, so you're partially to blame." I lower my gaze to the floor. "I'm going to call her now." She picks up the phone and dials my home phone number. It rings for a little while, and then it stops and I could hear a muffled 'hello?' "Hello, Mrs. Haruka, this is your sons principle. He has gotten into a fight this morning and I'm afraid that someone is going to have to come pick him up. Okay. Thank you. Sorry for the trouble. Goodbye." She hangs up leaving a thick air in the room. "She's coming to get you."

"Okay." I say quietly as I pull my present from my chest. "Can I open this?"

She looks over to me. "It's yours, isn't it?" I nod. "Then you don't need my permission ." She smiles at me and goes back to her work. I carefully rip off the paper and shove it into the garbage can. A book. I slowly open the book and look at the inside cover. Something was written on it.

To Naruto,

From your mother and father.

I smile and flip the page gently and see lots of pictures and words. It's a photo album. I look over the pictures with a smile creeping onto my face. There was a some written words next to one of the pictures.

This is Jiraiya, he was a very nice man, but at

times he could be a giant perv. But no matter how

pervy he may be, you can always rely on him. He

was your father's teacher too. Jiraiya and your father

were very close, you could practically call him part

of the family. That would make him your uncle, Naruto.

I know that if you ever meet one day that you two will

get along just fine.

My mother's handwriting was beautiful. She also seemed like a really sweet person, which made me want to meet her even more than I already wanted to. As for this so called Jiraiya character, I'm not to sure about him. He looks creepy, but both of my parents trusted him so he couldn't be to bad. He did teach my father after all. I flip the page and see Kakashi. He was with a man with blond hair, and another person around his age that had black hair.

The man with white hair is Kakashi, I suspect

by know you have met him since you have this.

He was such a troublemaker, but your father and

I loved him just like he was out own child. I

wonder how he will turn out in the long run. I

hope he's an at least somewhat responsible adult

now. You are very lucky to have someone like him,

Naruto, keep that in mind. Oh, and if you're curious

to who that little boy with the black hair is, he's Obito.

Kakashi and him fought constantly. In the end they

were the best of friends.

Who is the man with the blond hair? I want to know. I glance over the pictures again and see one where Kakashi and Obito were wrestling, the blond man was laughing nervously, a red haired women looked like she was yelling at the two. I smile warmly and turn the page, only to be interrupted by someone opening the door behind me.

"Hello Mrs. Haruka, thank you for coming." Tsunade says as she looks up from her work in front of her.

"I am terribly sorry for Naruto's behavior, I will make sure that this never happens again." My mom grabs my wrist. I quickly close the book and tumble out the door. I get into the front seat of the car and nervously stare out of the window. "Seatbelt, Naruto." Her voice was stern. I hurriedly put on the seatbelt and hugged my book. When we got to the house we went inside without speaking a word. I take my shoes off and start to pace to go back to my room, but of course my mom had to stop me.

"I have done so much for you, Naruto! I have only asked that you follow our rules, and this is what you repay me with?!" She smacks my cheek forcing me into the wall. "What the hell is this stupid thing you have been holding all the way home?" She tries to take it, but I had an iron grip on it. "Let it go Naruto!" I normally would obey, but not with this.

"No!" She grabbed the closest thing to her which just happened to be an umbrella and she started to hit me with it.

"Give it to me this instant!"

"Mom, wait! Please stop!" I let go of the book with one hand to grab the umbrella. Well, that was clearly the worst mistake I could have ever made. She immediately grabbed the book and opened it. I quickly try and grab it, but she smacks me once again.

"What the hell is this?"

"A present."

"You know that you aren't supposed to take presents unless it's your birthday! Who gave this to you?"

"It was for my birthday though, Kaka-" I stop, remembering rule number 18. My parents, for some odd reason, don't like the Hatakes.

"Who?"

"Kakatsu." She glares at me suspiciously then directs her glare back to the book.

"I have decided a fitting punishment for getting into that fright today." I don't like where this is going, but I'm ready. I can handle any form of punishment. She walks into the living room and I follow her, slightly confused. When I saw that she was standing close to the fireplace, my eyes shoot wide open. What the hell is she planning? "This punishment is for getting into a fight, and also taking a present when it isn't your birthday." She holds up the book, and throws it into the blazing inferno. Instantly getting engulfed by the hungry flames. It all seemed to go into slow motion as the photo album my parents gave to me was sent to it's doom. I felt the warm tears stream down my cheeks.

"NO!" I lung myself forward to grab it, but my mom grabs me holding me back. "No, no, no! Let me go!" The tears were steadily steaming down my face now. How could she do this!? She finally lets me go and I lung for the book pulling it out of the fire. I drop it as soon as I pull it out because it burnt my hands. There was still a fire on it so I quickly put it out. I wipe away the tears and look at the book. The edges were all charred. The cover took the most damage. I grab it once more when I deemed it cool enough, and hugged it to my chest hurrying back to my room.