Uzumaki Ricky: WAZZUP! Uzumaki Ricky here and I'm proud to present to you MY take on Aengus' challenge. Here's the challenge:

"CHALLENGE

According to Erik Erickson, German-American psychologist noted for his theories on the development of children, because of Naruto's childhood as the outcast child that no one wanted or had time for, Naruto has severe attachment issues and problems socializing with others his age, not to mention a terrible fear of adults. Instead of him being the loud idiot that is portrayed in the manga and anime, Naruto should be very quiet, shy, extreme nervousness, with excessive smiling and nodding. In essence Naruto does not trust anyone, a severe inferiority complex, all the while being one of the most competent and caring ninja in the village. Sasuke cannot be his friend in any way, shape, or form; he is the main antagonist to Naruto's growth and relationships with others, sometimes even going out of his way to try and ruin them. During the main story, a kunoichi begins to have feelings for him and must convince him of that fact.

Conditions: No yaoi, no good Sasuke, no Harem (he's going to have enough problems with one girl), no 'over-night' change for Naruto, no Naruto/older women (ex. Anko, Kurenai, or Tsunade), while I would prefer a Naruto/Temari, I won't insist."

I've been itching to take this challenge ever since I heard about it! by the way, since I'm a hardcore NaruHina fan, this will be a NaruHina fanfic (DUH)! Well, that's enough of my rambling. START THE FIC!

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I be writing this? (Obviously not!)

"Talking"

'Thinking'

emphasis on certain words

"Inner (You know, that little voice inside your head (No, not like a Bijuu inside a Jinchuuriki) talking"

'Inner thinking'

Demon or evil voice talking

Demon or evil voice thinking

(Author talking)

Naruto: Life of a Shy Jinchuuriki

Chapter 1: An Undeserved Beating

(WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A BEATING THAT SOME! I'VE TRIED TO TONE THIS BEATING DOWN WITHOUT TAKING AWAY FROM THE DESIRED EFFECT! I WILL INDICATE WHEN IT WILL START, SO THAT ANY READERS WHO DISPISE THAT KIND OF THIS ARE ARE AT LEAST A LITTLE SQUIMISH WILL BE ABLE TO SKIP IT IF THEY WANT TO! REMEMBER, I HATED HAVING TO WRITE SAID BEATING! BUT, YOU GUYS NEED TO GET A GOOD IDEA ABOUT WHY NARUTO'S GONNA BE SO SHY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!)

It was a calm, serene in the village of Konoha. A night that just makes you wanna lie down and look at the stars. Many people were enjoying this wonderful evening. But, one of the select few who wasn't was an 8-year old boy in an orange jumpsuit who was hiding in some bushes in the park. This boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Naruto had ocean blue eyes, blond spiky hair, and three whisker-marks on either cheek. When he was sure it was safe and that he'd lost his pursuers, he he climbed out of the bushes and made his way home. He was halfway there, but when he turned a corner...

"THERE IT IS! YOU WON'T GET AWAY THIS TIME, YOU LITTLE MONSTER!" One of the villagers yelled when he saw Naruto.

Naruto had accidentally turned onto one of the few streets in the village that was busy at night. As soon as Naruto heard the man yell, due to being chased down and beaten by the villagers for most of his life, was extremely timid and practically afraid of his own shadow. So, seeing all the villagers turn their attention towards him and glare at him with their eyes full of anger, hatred, and grief, terrified him beyond rational thought. Naruto's eyes, out of fear, grew as large as dinner plates when he saw them look at him. At first, Naruto was too scared to move. But then, as the angry villagers all began to walk towards Naruto, he turned tail and ran like hell, fearing for his life.

'W-why... W-why d-do they a-always h-hurt m-me? W-what did I d-do to d-deserve t-this?...'Thought the frightened blond (that's right, he even stutters in his thoughts.)

As soon as Naruto started to run, the villagers tarted to chase after Naruto with. He turned corner after corner, trying to lose them. But, eventually, Naruto ran inside an alley and hit a dead end. With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, he turned around and saw a small mob of villagers blocking his only escape route. Naruto backed up until he hit the wall behind him, afraid beyond imagination. As the villagers stepped closer, Naruto had only one thought running through his young mind.

'T-they're g-going to k-k-kill me t-this t-time...'

(Beating starts)

Just as this thought crossed Naruto's mind, a kunai knife was thrown by one of the shinobi in the crowd and embedded itself in Naruto's left shoulder. Unprepared for this (Would you be? No? Didn't think so), Naruto fell backwards and landed on his ass while letting out a loud cry of pain. As he tried to stand, he attempted to remove the kunai. While he was doing this, one of the villagers walked up to Naruto and kicked him in the gut, HARD! Then, that same villager grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his shirt, brought him up to eye-level, and let him go, punching him in the face during his decent. As soon as the punch made contact with Naruto's face, it busted his lip and sent him flying into the crowd.

"YOU WON'T ESCAPE THIS TIME, YOU DEMON BRAT!" One of the villagers in the crowd shouted.

Surrounded, with no hope of escape, and with a busted bleeding lip, Naruto started to panic. He looked around for some some gap in the crowd that he could run through to escape, but to no avail.

"W-why? W-why are y-you d-doing t-this t-to m-me?" Naruto asked with tears in his eyes.

"Why? WHY? YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHY, YOU LITTLE BEAST! YOU TOOK A LOT OF PEOPLE WE CARED ABOUT AWAY FROM US! NOW, YOU"RE GONNA PAY!" Shouted one of the villagers, throwing a bottle at Naruto.

The thrown bottle made contact with Naruto's head, leaving a gash on the back of his head. The villagers then started to close in on Naruto and beat him within an inch of his life. They cut, beat, and stabbed him repeatedly until he was a mass of bruises and small shallow cuts, some of them actually overlapping. Throughout the entire beating, Naruto was screaming in agony, begging them to stop. Then, as Naruto wearily tried to stand, one of the shinobi villagers then kicked Naruto in the face, knocking him flat on his back. The villager then drew his katana from it's sheath on his back and was about to stab Naruto in the heart with it, until...

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" He heard four irate voices shout.

They all turned around and saw a sight that truly terrified them...

In a nearby bar (a few minutes earlier)

Chouza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Tsume Inuzuka (with Kuromaru, (you know, that big wolf-like dog with an eye patch over one eye that she had with her during the Leaf Destruction. Yeah, that one.) waiting outside, of course) were sitting at a table in their favorite bar drinking when they heard a child cry in pain. Upon hearing the sound, they all jumped to their feet.

"Did you guys hear that?" Tsume asked her three old friends.

"Yeah." The other three replied.

"I'll go get some ANBU! You guys find out what's happening and try to stop it!" Tsume told them.

"Alright." The three all replied. They then rushed towards the source of the sound.

When the trio finally made it to the source of the sound, Tsume arrived with the ANBU. They couldn't see through the crowd, but could tell that the child's screams were coming from the center. Then Tsume, in a shocked tone and disgusted tone, exclaimed...

"I smell... blood!"

Everyone who heard her had the same thoughts running through their heads. 'That child's cries of pain are coming from the center... and Tsume/Lady Inuzuka smells of blood... Could they actually be...' (Note: Honorifics are not necessary to add if you are friendly with or are close friends with the individual.)

The crowd then shifted slightly... Just enough for them to, for a mere second, see that the villagers were beating a blond spiky haired boy in a torn, blood-stained orange and blue jumpsuit.

'NARUTO-KUN!' The four clan heads exclaimed. Having been close, personal friends of the Yondaime Hokage (a.k.a Minato Namikaze a.k.a Naruto's dad), the four were outraged to find these villagers trying to beat him to death.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" The four shouted irate clan heads shouted.

The crowd of villagers turned around and saw the looks on the faces of the four clan heads. All four of them were angry enough to make Orochimaru shit himself and emitting enough KI (killer intent) to bring a demon to heel.

"What. Are. You. DOING?" The four of them shouted

"Gulp... W-we're f-finishing what the Y-yondaime H-hokage s-started." One of the villagers stuttered out, about ready to crap herself.

"Finishing what the Yondaime Hokage started? FINISHING WHAT THE YONDAIME HOKAGE STARTED? ALL YOU'RE DOING IS BEATING A POOR, DEFENSELESS CHILD TO DEATH! YOU KNOWING VIOLATED THE SANDAIME HOKAGE'S LAW TO NOT ATTACK THE BOY WITHOUT PROVOCATION, BECAUSE OF A PITIFUL EXCUSE LIKE THAT!" Shouted Chouza.

"Y-yes." The villagers all said.

"Do you remember what the Hokage said the punishment for breaking that law would be?" Asked Shikaku coldly.

"Gulp... N...no."

"You'll find out soon enough." Inoichi said in an irate tone that was dripping with venom.

"Deliver their punishment." Tsume spat out with venom dripping from every syllable.

Then, the ANBU started to punish the villagers (and when I say punish, I mean kill). While this happened , the four clan heads quickly made their way to Naruto. When they got to him they started to feel guilty about not arriving sooner. Naruto was pale, covered in cuts and bruises, and looked like he had one foot in the grave.

"Chouza, Shikaku, Inoich, I'll take the boy to the hospital!" Tsume exclaimed, picking up the bloodied and apparently half-dead boy.

"Why you, Tsume?" Asked Inoichi.

"Isn't it obvious? Even if it's just barely, Tsume's the fastest out of the four of us." Said Shikaku.

At that, Kuromaru let out a low growl.

"Sorry... I mean she's one of the fastest out of the five of us." Shikaku said.

"Very well... Tsume, you and Kuromaru get Naruto-kun to the hospital as fast as you possibly can. We'll get the Hokage and meet you there."said Inoichi.

Then, they all headed out. Tsume and Kuromaru ran towards the hospital as fast as they possibly could (which is pretty damn fast, considering Tsume's likely rank as a Jounin and the Inuzuka clan's techniques), while Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chouza ran to get the Hokage.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Uzumaki Ricky: Well, here it is. The first chapter of Naruto: Life of a Shy Jinchuuriki. So Please, review. Make sure to tell me what you thought. Oh, and, if you don't like the name, please let me know. UZUMAKI RICKY IS OUT!