A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of runaway stories where Naruto and Hinata travel to one of the Hidden Villages! Each story will share this first chapter, but afterwards they diverge into different tales, and how the characters turn out will depend on where they go and who they met.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

Chapter 1 Runaways

Naruto Uzumaki, age 7, orphan, has survived yet another beating at the hands of the villagers. And this was one of the bad ones. In the good ones, either the white-haired ANBU Dog or another named Weasel would stop them quickly, leaving Naruto with only a few bruises. But neither showed showed up today. In fact, the last time Naruto saw Weasel, he was leaving the village the night of the Uchiha Massacre. Strange.

So, without his protectors there was no one to stop the villagers from turning him into their personal punching bag.

Self-defense was out of the question! He tried that once, and suddenly HE was the aggressor, or at least that was how everyone else would see it. They already thought he was a monster for reasons unknown to him, no need to make it worse. Calling for help was a no go too! Almost everyone either ignored it or joined in.

As far as he knew, only five people cared for him: Dog, Weasel, Teuchi and Ayame from Ichiraku Ramen, and the Hokage. Months after the orphanage kicked him out, the Hokage got him a small apartment. It wasn't much, but it kept him dry when it rained and gave him a bed to sleep in. Teuchi and Ayame were the only ones who didn't kick him out of their venture nor did they overcharge him for rotten goods. It's one of the reasons Naruto always ate ramen. That and it was just so good!

None of the other kids hung out with him because their parents told them not too. Anyone whom he tried to get close to would either reject him or be pulled away from him. As a result, he had no friends.

Now the young blonde was limping home. The boy's nose was broken and bleeding, his right eye swollen and his green goggles broken. His white shirt was torn and covered in dirt and some blood stains. There were cuts and bruises on upper body, and Naruto could tell he had a few cracked ribs. His right shoulder was dislocated and his arms hung at his sides, also covered in bruises and cuts. His orange pants were also in tatters His left ankle was twisted so he had to shift his weight to his right.

Normally, when someone is injured like this, they go to the hospital, but Naruto wouldn't risk it. The doctors and nurses didn't like him either, which was why he always wanted someone he trusted to stay with him whenever he went. However, the Hokage was in an important meeting, and he had no idea where the others were since Ichiraku closed early that day.

By the time Naruto got home, most of his cuts and bruises were gone and he felt his ribs fixing themselves. He never understood where his healing factor came from, but he was thankful for it.

Before entering his apartment, Naruto slammed his dislocated shoulder against the door, popping it back into place. "Owwwww!" he yelled. Once he enter, he crashed onto his couch and grunted painfully as he worked on his ankle.

'Why? I don't get it! Sure I've pulled a couple of pranks, but none of those justify this kind of punishment! Besides, they hated me before I started pranking, so what is it?'

Naruto thought hard, but couldn't think of anything he did. And it infuriated him as much as it infuriated him that he was too weak to do anything about how he was treat. 'One day, I'll be strong and people will acknowledge me for me and start treating me with respect!' Naruto thought optimistically.

'But…' A thought suddenly crossed his mind. 'I can't get stronger here. Not with the way people treat me. The teachers don't help me at all! And… I'm scared that one day, one of the villagers will actually kill me. Even if it's not their intention, one might accidentally go too far. I, I gotta leave.'
-

"Get up!" Hiashi commanded as his eldest daughter laid on the ground. He had literally trained her to the ground and he was disappointed by her performance. "I said GET UP!"

"F-father… please" Hinata pleaded between breaths. Hiashi had been relentless the entire training session. A few of her chakra points were closed and his last blow damaged her lungs. "I… I can… b-barely… breathe… and… m-move."

"Is this all you've got? How disappointing! You're my heir and yet you're weaker than a Branch Family member!"

"I… I'm sor…"

"SILENCE!" Hiashi yelled. "You're always falling short! Your weakness is a disgrace! YOU are a disgrace! A disgrace to me, and a disgrace to our clan!" Hiashi turns away and stops at the door. "Take her to the doctor," he told the Branch member next to him. "I want her in healed in time for training tomorrow." The servant nodded and did as he was told.

Meanwhile Kō, Hinata's caretaker, approach the clan head. He had short, brown hair, white, pupil less eyes, and wore a black kimono. "Pardon me sir, but don't you think you're being a little, um, rough with her? She's only 7 after all."

"If she's to take my place as head of our clan, she needs to toughen up, or the elders will walk all over her," Hiashi answered.

"But calling her a disgrace? Don't you think that'll have an adverse affect on her?"

"On the contrary, it'll give her the motivation to prove me wrong. Now I have some work to do in my office." Hiashi walked away to his office.

'I hope you're right sir, for Hinata's sake,' Kō thought.
-

The doctors managed to reopen Hinata's chakra points and heal her lung. Luckily, it only sustained minor damage, though she was told not to do anything too strenuous for a while. Unfortunately, knowing her father, tomorrow he would be just as hard on her, if not harder.

Currently, she was in her room, sitting on her bed, crying as her father's words repeated in her head. "You are a disgrace! Disgrace… Disgrace" That word echoed in her mind. Was she really that bad, that weak? Her father seemed to think so.

Or maybe it's something else. Is he mad at her for being kidnapped, like Neji? After all, it resulted in the death of his brother Hizashi. Or maybe he was taking out his frustrations from the loss of Hitomi.

Whatever the reason, Hinata couldn't take it anymore! 'If, if all I am is a disappointment, then maybe I should leave! Yeah, I'll runaway! That way, I don't have to suffer anymore, and father doesn't have to deal with me.'

Drying her tears, Hinata started to pack some clothes, then got ready for dinner. 'I'll leave when it's dark, after dinner. It'll give me cover. And besides, it may be a while before I can take a nice hot bath and have a good meal.
-

Naruto was dressed in his orange jumpsuit, a large, black bag slung over his right sholder. He pack a spare set of clothes, a canteen, his broken goggles, and as much instant ramen as he could fit in there as well as the supplies to cook it. The inside of his apartment was had a bunch of explosive tags he 'borrowed'. He didn't like doing it, but it was necessary since no one would sell him any, and not just because of his status in the village.

Now, Naruto waited near the gate in the shadows, out of sight. As he waited for for his distraction, he found himself thinking about what he was leaving. Despite the pain caused by the villagers, he had some good memories. Idle chat with old man Hokage, ramen at Ichiraku, ice cream with Weasel (though Weasel never had any), the time Dog got him his green goggles for his fifth birthday, the time he got orange paint all over Iruka-sensei, and sitting on top of the stone head of his idol, the Fourth Hokage.

It may be years before got to do any of that. But he made up his mind. He was gonna leave. He was gonna get stronger. And maybe one day, he'll return, if only to see the few friends he had. And eat tons of Ichiraku ramen of course.

Unbeknownst to him, however, another runaway was a short distance away.
-

Hinata waited near Naruto's location in a similar fashion, though neither knew the other was there. She wore her cream-colored jacket and blue paints. Around her neck was a necklace with the Yin Yang symbol on it. It was given to her by her mother on her third birthday. She had a dark blue bag over her right shoulder with food, a canteen, colored contact lenses, spare clothes, her medical cream, a ruined red scarf, and a picture of her four year old self, her mother, and her father.

And now as she waited for an opening, she too thought about what she was leaving. Kō would have a heart attack when he learned of her departure. He had cared for her since she was nearly kidnapped. And then there was her little sister, Hanabi. She was only 2 years old and she was leaving her to their father.

But like Naruto, she made her decision and she was sticking to it. Besides, Hiashi seemed to favor Hanabi anyway.

Suddenly, an explosion could be heard in the distance, which drew the attention of most of the surrounding shinobi, leaving only two chunin to guard the gate. 'Well, that was lucky. I wonder what's up with that explosion, though?'

The two chunin looked in the direction of the explosion to see smoke rising. The one on the left had long, spiky, black hair, a bandage that ran over the bridge of his nose, and dark eyes. The other one had long, brown hair that covered his right eye, dark eyes, and wore his protector like a bandana.

"Hey, Kotetsu," the brown-haired one said. " What do you think that was?"

"No idea, Izumo," he answered. "Should we go check it out?"

"Course not! We have to guard the gate in case whoever did that tries to escape!"

Suddenly, they heard a noise to the far left. "What was that?" Kotetsu asked.

"Might be whoever is responsible for that explosion. Stay here! I'll go check." Shortly after Izumo left, Kotetsu heard another noise to the far right. "Huh, is there another one?" He left to check it out.

As soon as both chunin were out of sight, the two children ran to the gate. They froze once they saw each other.

'Huh? Who is she and what's she doing here?' Naruto see the pack on her back. 'Is she running away too?' Naruto thought.

Hinata, however, recognised him. "N-Naruto?!"

Before either could question the other's presence further, they heard the chunin returning and ran through the gate and out of sight. Once they were far enough away they stopped and turned to one another. "Ok, I think it's safe to stop here," Naruto said. Sitting on the nearest rock, he ask, "So, um, you know my name but I don't know your's. So, who are you?"

"O-oh, right. I, I guess I n-never told y-you my n-name last w-winter." Naruto was about to ask what she meant when he finally recognised her. Last winter, during on of the Hidden Leaf's rare snowy winters, he saw a couple of kids picking on her and told them to leave her alone. He pretended to perform a jutsu, then used the confusion to tackle the leader. The bullies dragged him off their leader then beat him up and ruined his red scarf before leaving. Hinata was about to thank him when Kō appeared and told Naruto to get lost. Hinata tried to protest, but Kō interrupted her and said there was something wrong with that boy and that she should stay away from him. He then told her it was time to go but before they left, she picked up Naruto's discarded scarf and took it with her. When asked why she had it, she'd say it was personal.

Back to the present, Hinata introduced herself. "I, I'm H-Hinata Hyūga." Naruto nodded and after a moment of silence, Hinata asked the question on both their minds. "Um, n-not that I m-mind your presence, but, um, w-why are you o-out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Naruto retorted. "I mean, don't you have a family?" Naruto didn't know much about the Hyūga, but he did know they were a big family, something he wished he had, or at least one family member. Not to mention well respected and rich. And there was one more thing. Some kind of power or something. "And what about you friends?" Hinata's face went from nervous to sad, which did not go unnoticed by Naruto. "Hey, if you don't want to talk about it…"

"N-no, it's fine." Hinata told a deep breath and continued. "W-well I am, err was, the heiress to the clan, meaning one day, I would have taken over one day."

"Woah, really? That sounds awesome!" Naruto said excitedly. He couldn't see why she would leave.

"Yeah, it does." Hinata said softly. "I u-use to be s-so excited about o-one day l-leading the H-Hyūga Clan. B-but for the last t-two years, my father h-has been, uh excessive, in his training methods."

"Excessive? What do ya mean by that?"

"Um, m-most sessions end with me p-passed out a-and taken to the d-doctor."

"WHAT?!" Naruto was outraged and made no effort to hide it. He always thought a father was suppose to protect and care for his children, not harm them. "Why would he do that?"

"Shhhh! Someone may hear us!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head and apologised. "A-as for w-why, I h-have a few suspicions, b-but the point is t-that to him I'm n-nothing but a disgrace." Hinata finished sadly.

"Well, I refuse to believe that! And I know you'll prove me wrong while we travel together!" Naruto said.

"T-t-travel, t-t-together?"

"Of course! No point in both of us leaving alone, ya know. I mean, I don't have anywhere specific to go," Naruto said, excited at the prospect of having a traveling companion and maybe a new friend. "Unless…" Naruto started.

"No, no, no!" Hinata quickly said, then she blushed in embarrassment at her small outburst. "I, I mean, I'd l-love to t-travel w-with y-you."

"ALRIGHT! We're gonna have lots of adventures and get real strong! Believe it!" Naruto shouted before doing a happy dance. Hinata couldn't help but giggled at his antics. Naruto managed to take away her worries, at least for the time being, and her crush on him seemed less then a crush (No, not love, not yet). Naruto then remembered Hinata said earlier about being quiet in case anyone was nearby. Smiling sheepishly, he apologised. "Opps. Sorry, forgot about keeping quiet."

Hinata performed a quick check with her Byakugan and saw no one else was around. "D-don't worry a-about it Naruto. Y-you didn't a-attract any u-unwanted a-attention." Naruto sighed in relief and started rummaging through his bag. Meanwhile, Hinata stared at him. "Um, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Y-you know why I l-left, but um, I d-don't know y-your reason."

Naruto's stopped what he was doing and sighed, , which made Hinata regret her words but before she could take them, he sat back down on the rock he was sitting on earlier. "Hinata, what do you know about me?"

Hinata thought for a moment, thinking back to all the things she heard about him, as well as her personal experience with him. "I know t-that you're an orphan, a-and that y-you l-like to p-pull pranks. And…" she sighed, "A-and for s-some reason, y-you aren't h-held in high r-regard in the village."

"That's putting it mildly," Naruto grumbled quietly, but Hinata still heard him and gave him a questioning look. "Let's just say you're not the who's been in need for medical attention often." he said, looking down.

Hinata's face was struck with horror. "You mean…"

Naruto nodded. "And it wasn't always drunks. A lot of them were very sober. And worse, when people passed by, they would either ignore it, cheer them on, or join in. In fact, in my entire life, I can count the people who care about me on one hand." He raised his hand to show her and started counting down those people. "Old man Hokage, Dog, Weasel," Hinata looked confused til Naruto told her they were ANBU, "Teuchi and Ayame from Ichiraku. That's it."

Hinata shook her head. "N-no, you have o-one more person," she said, blushing. Naruto looked confused and asked who else. "W-well, uh, m-me."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Hinata."

She blushed deeper. "N-no problem. B-besides, I sh-should be t-thanking you for h-helping me l-last winter."

Naruto continued to look through his bag. "Damn it!"

"W-what's wrong Naruto?"

"Forgot my sleeping bag."

"Oh, s-same here." Hinata said as she thought back to what she packed.

"Oh well, we'll grab some camping stuff at the next town." Hinata nodded and the two of them slept and were lucky no one found them.
-

"Report," the Hokage told the ANBU in front of him.

"Sir, the explosion was indeed located at the de… err Uzumaki's residence," the ANBU corrected. The Hokage caught it and gave him a glare but then just sighed and motioned for him to continue. "We search the wreckage but found no sign of a body, leading us to believe the child was not at home at the time." The Hokage sighed in relief. Naruto was fine, though homeless once again. He'd have to find him a new one, after punishing the ones responsible for blowing up the first one. "However," the ANBU continued. "We've searched the squad I sent to search for the boy came up empty handed."

"Are you sure the ANBU on that squad are reliable?" The ANBU knew what he meant. Hiruzen wasn't questioning their skill, but because Naruto was the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, many of his shinobi proved to be unable to separate their duty from their personal feelings in regard to the boy.

"Dog is with them." Dog returned last night shortly before the explosion. In fact, he was in the middle of his mission debrief when Naruto's place exploded.

"Send him to me." The ANBU nodded and disappeared. He then dismissed his hidden bodyguards.

Minutes later, a man with white hair in ANBU armor and a white mask with red lines around the eye holes and two on each side in the middle. "Reporting."

Hiruzen activated the privacy seals in his office. "You can remove your mask, Kakashi." Kakashi nodded and took off his mask. He wore another mask, this one dark blue, that covered his lower face. He took out his forehead protector and wrapped it around his forehead, then lowered part of it to cover his scared, closed left eye. "I'm told you can't find Naruto."

Kakashi nodded. "My nin-dogs were unable to pick up his scent from his home due all the smoke, ash, and residue. It has been determined that the explosion was caused by about ten paper bombs."

"Yes, and thankfully there's no evidence that Naruto was in there when it happened. Hopefully, we find him soon and catch whoever is responsible.

"About that." The Hokage raised his eyebrow. "During our search, a shop keeper came up to us to report some stolen explosive tags. When asked who he thought was the culprit, he said Naruto." The Hokage scoffs. It wouldn't be the first time someone accused Naruto of a crime he didn't commit. "I doubted it too, at first. But then he told me how many were missing. Ten. And he claimed Naruto attempted to buy them earlier. Coupled with the fact that he's nowhere in the village and there has been no trace of an infiltration…"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying, Kakashi."

"Yes, I am," Kakashi said solemnly. "Naruto may have left the Hidden Leaf. The question is why."

"I'm afraid the answer is quite obvious. The village has completely disregarded Minato's dying wish to have his son seen as a hero. And the few people who do haven't been able to be there for him often. I've been busy as Hokage and you've been busy with the ANBU. And then there's Itachi's betrayal," The Hokage said. A part of him wanted to tell Kakashi the truth of the Uchiha Massacre, but Itachi was adamant that no one know the truth, not even Kakashi, Naruto, and his little brother Sasuke.

"Damn it!" Kakashi said, temporarily forgetting he was in the presence of a Kage. "I've been so busy wallowing in self-pity and throwing myself into my work, that I failed to be there properly for his only child. Sure I was there a few times, but…"

"Enough Kakashi!" Hiruzen shouted. "We're both guilty of failing Naruto. I couldn't keep the fact that he's a Jinchūriki a secret from the public like I did with Kushina. Or like my predecessor, the First Hokage, did with his wife. If I had, things would have been different. But that's neither here nor there! Right now, we need to focus on finding him before anything happens, and I don't need you stuck in regret. So as of right now, your mission is to find Naruto and return him safely to the Leaf!"

"Yes, Lord Third!" And with that, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The Third Hokage sighed and looked out the window. 'Naruto, where did you go?'
-

"Kō, please fetch Hinata. She's late for breakfast." Kō nodded and headed for Hinata's room. Hiashi was at the dining room table with Hanabi eating breakfast. Minutes passed before Kō rushed back into the room, a panicked look on his face and a piece of paper in his hand. "What's wrong?" Hiashi asked as he brought his fork up.

"Hinata's gone!"

Hiashi dropped his fork. The noise it made was the loudest thing in the room. Finally, Hiashi spoke. "What do you mean she's gone?" he demanded.

Kō handed him the piece of paper in his hand. It was a letter from Hinata

Dear Father,

By the time you read this, I will be gone. I'm sorry but I couldn't take it anymore. The pressure, the injuries, it was too much. I don't know if you're mad at me for the kidnapping or something, so I apologise for anything I did. And don't worry, I took colored contact lenses to hide my Byakugan, so if anyone sees me, none of them will know about my eyes and take them. I don't know if I'll ever return. If not, I want to say that even though you haven't been these last two years, I still love you, father, and I'll miss you. Tell Hanabi and Kō I'm sorry for leaving and that I'll miss them too.

Love,

Hinata

Hiashi's eyes widened as he read Hinata's letter. "Father, what did Kō mean? Is sister not here?"

"Finish your breakfast." Hiashi commanded before motioning for Kō to follow him. They went into his office. Activating his privacy seals, he turned to Kō. "I need you to gather some trustworthy men and find her. And make sure to keep it quiet. I don't want the elders finding out, or they'll use it as an excuse to seal her." Kō nodded and left while Hiashi plopped down into his chair. 'Hinata, where did you go?'
-

Hinata woke up, wondering why her bed was so hard. Then she looked around and remembered her situation. She had run away and by coincidence, ended up traveling with her crush. Naruto was still asleep and muttering something about ramen, which caused Hinata to giggle.

A few minutes later, Naruto woke up. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked around and saw Hinata with something in her hands. "Morning, Hinata."

Hinata turned around and started blushing. "Oh, g-good m-morning."

"Whatcha doin?" Naruto asked.

"J-just putting on t-these c-colored contacts," Hinata answered.

"Oh that reminds me! I was wonder, what's up with those weird eyes of yours?" Hinata looked down, depressed that Naruto thought her eyes were weird. When Naruto noticed this, he quickly added, "I didn't mean it in a bad way! I mean, my whisker marks are kinda weird, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with that."

"I k-kinda think they m-make you l-look cute," Hinata said, too quietly for Naruto to hear.

"Hm, what was that?"

"N-nothing. A-anyway, my c-clan possesses a kekkei genkai." Naruto looked confused. "T-they're abilities that are p-passed down and can't be t-taught. My kekkei genkai i-is called t-the Byakugan. M-my eyes g-give me near 360 degree v-vision, see t-through most s-solid objects, and see c-chakra."

"Woah, your eyes are awesome!" Naruto shouted, making Hinata turn red as a tomato. "Wait, so why are you hiding them?"

"L-like I said, only the Hyūga h-have the Byakugan. A-and because of t-that, people c-come after o-our eyes." Naruto grew angry at that. "I n-need to h-hide my e-eyes so as n-not to a-attract attention."

"Who would dare try to hurt you for your eyes?" Naruto said angrily. It sickened him to think of the lengths people would go to for power.

"W-well, the H-hidden Cloud tried w-when I was 5. B-but my father stopped m-my kidnapper."

"Alright, I see your point. I'd hate for anything to happen to you." Hinata blushed red once more, then finished. Now her eyes were dark purple with pupils.

"So, um w-where are we going Naruto?"