"Hey, whatcha doin?" a boy with dark brown hair asked, staring at the blonde before him.

Naruto had been sitting comfortably before hand, in a complete state of concentration, but this boy had pulled him from his trance.

"I'm focusing chakra," Naruto replied quickly, "And I need to concentrate. So if you don't mind."

The boy looked around for a moment before he returned his attention to the blonde, "Why're you doing that in the woods? You should get home...the woods are dangerous."

"I'll be fine," the nine year old boy replied, his concentration once again broken, "Could you leave me alone now?"

Naruto once again entered his meditative state, but before long he was interrupted from his thoughts: the boy was poking him with a stick.

"That's it!" Naruto yelled, but as he got up, he heard a stomping through the woods before being knocked away by an older girl.

"Leave my little brother alone you monster!" the girl yelled, kicking debris at him.

The other boy tried to stop his sister, but Naruto had already fled from the scene.

"Don't you ever talk to that thing!" she scolded the boy, "He's dangerous."

Naruto had barely made it out of that situation; he knew that if other people had seen it, it could've turned into a full scale fox hunt, with him playing the role of prey. The only reason he'd managed to survive the last one was because a lone ANBU had risked his own safety to pull Naruto out of the mob. The boy was certain that, had the ANBU not saved him, he wouldn't be alive today.

Unfortunately, the number of people that treated Naruto with kindness was extremely limited: Snake, Inu, Weasel, Iruka, the Hokage, old man Ichiraku, and his daughter Ayame. At least there were some people that cared, but they could only do so much to stop the people that wanted to hurt him. And those people far outnumbered the others.

"Hey, Naruto," a tan, dark-haired man stated cheerily, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

Naruto jumped reflexively, still slightly panicing over the earlier event.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, Iruka-sensei," the boy quickly replied, his dialated pupils staring directly into those of his teacher.

"What happened?" Iruka asked, crouching down to Naruto's eye level.

"...Nothing sensei," Naruto tried to lie, thought he could tell it wasn't working.

"...Alright, if you tell me what it is, I'll take you out for a few bowls of Ramen."

The bribe worked immediately; Iruka could tell by the bright glow seeming to radiate from Naruto's eyes. He couldn't help but feel like he'd been had.

Ten bowls of Ramen and one depressing story later, Naruto was sitting with Iruka in silence.

"Why do people hate me, sensei?" the boy asked, his eyes on the floor.

"I wish I could tell you, Naruto," Iruka replied steadily, "Let's just say that they can't let go of the past...or their own sins."

"What's that mean, sensei?" the boy asked. Obviously trying to comprehend what the man before him was saying was giving him a headache.

"You'll understand one day, Naruto."

"...Okay, sensei, if you say so."

Iruka smiled at the boy as he began to finish his eleventh bowl. It was amazing how quickly he could shift between emotions.

"Anyway, I'd suggest you get home now, Naruto," Iruka continued, paying the bill, "It's getting late, and you have school in the morning."

Naruto's eyes popped open and he began to choke on his food.

"And for Pete's sake slow down!" the man finished, performing the hymlic maneuver to unhinge the ramen from the boy's throat.

"Alright, sensei," the blonde replied, gasping for air, "But could I get you to walk me?"

"Of course," the man answered, ruffling the boy's hair, "This way I know for a fact what time you got home...so you can't use that as an excuse tomorrow if you're late."

Naruto smiled and began walking with his sensei in tow; they both knew that wasn't the real reason Iruka was walking him home. After all, a ninja's best work is done at night.

- - -

"Byakugan!" Naruto's voice reverberated off the walls in his livingroom once, before everything fell silent again.

The Hokage had given Naruto a few books for his ninth birthday a few weeks prior, and one of the books, 'A History of the Clans and Bloodlines of Konohagakure," had caught his attention. Naruto knew there were techniques that only a few people could learn, but this book introduced him to jutsus that only people with a certain lineage could learn. The first thing Naruto did after reading through each section was attempt that clans bloodline limit. Naruto had no known family, so he concluded that it was possible that one of his parents could've been from a clan with a bloodline.

He'd already tried the Mokuton bloodline, hoping he was the direct descendant of the first Hokage; he was wrong. The next ones he'd tried were a little different: the Akamichi body expansion, the Sharingan, and a few other minor ones. When Naruto turned to the second to last section and found it relatively empty, he got confused. The only information the book offered on the reclusive 'Hyuuga Clan' was a picture of the Byakugan eye, how to activate it, and a breif history of the clan itself...that was it.

There was, however, the information Naruto needed in it. After the required handsigns and focusing his chakra to his eyes, he felt he should call out the name of the bloodline...just for good measure. He wasn't too surprised when nothing happened, he gaze traveling down to the pupilless eyes of the Hyuuga man in the picture.

With striking force, Naruto's head exploded in pain, and, as he hit the floor, he started screaming. Anything was better than this pain: let him die, give him back to the mob, send him through torture, just get rid of the pain. But as quickly as it appeared, it was gone...and Naruto's vision began to return to normal. No, not normal, it was better than normal; all the colors around him were crisp and sharp and everything was the perfect tone. He could see into the nooks and crannies of his apartment and even behind him.

"Wait...behind me?" Naruto asked himself as he lifted his leg behind him, "And below...? What about above?" The blonde lifted his hand in the air, "So this is what the Byakugan does? What else can it do...?"

Naruto began to ponder on the subject, but his enhanced vision subconsciously focused on the clock in his bedroom, and he knew it was time for him to go to bed. Iruka was going to flip when he saw Naruto in the morning.

- - -

Naruto opened his eyes with a start and glanced over to his alarm clock before nearly screaming; he was going to be late.

"Gotta hurry," Naruto shouted repeatedly, pulling on his clothes, "Can't be late!"

Naruto found his orange jacket in his bathroom and, as he was zipping it up, turned to see himself in the mirror. His grin broadened three-fold when the eyes that were staring back at him were blue and pupilless.

"I can't wait to show Iruka-sensei!" the boy yelled, running and jumping out his window. As he did so, the wind the he broke through forced itself into his room and blew the book Naruto had been reading to it's final section. Only part of a word 'Nami...' could be read before the wind forced the book shut.

- - -

"Nara, Shikimaru," Iruka called out.

"Here" a lazy voice replied.

"Pick your head up Shikimaru," Iruka responded as the boy began to lower his head to the desk.

A grunt was his answer.

"Haruno, Sakura," Iruka continued.

"Here sensei," the pink-haired girl replied happily. At least someone was happy to be there.

"Hyuuga, Hinata," the man called out.

"Hai, here, Sensei," was the meek response.

"Uzumaki, Naruto."

The room was silent.

"Naruto?" Iruka called out again, lifting his head from the roll call sheet, "Has anyone seen Naruto?"

Hinata began to shift nervously in her seat. It was no secret that she was fond of the boy, so much so that the only person that couldn't seem to tell was Naruto himself. But there was always the problem of the 'Clan', and Hinata feared she may never have the chance to be with him. Her father would never allow it.

It was at this point that Naruto burst through the classroom door, orange jumpsuit and all. His spiky blonde hair was all anyone could see until he looked to Iruka with his eyes closed and began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, sensei," Naruto began.

"I'm sure," Iruka replied flatly, "I'm sure you have a good excuse?"

Naruto nodded his head, "I was working on learning a jutsu last night and kinda lost track of time."

"Oh?" Iruka asked, slightly intrigued, "Well, since you worked on it for so long, I'm sure you wouldn't mind coming to the front of the class and showing them what you learned!"

Naruto lowered his head and began his trek to the front of the class; immediately Iruka felt sorry for him. He had never once seen Naruto walk with his head down, even after people insulted him or threw things at him he would always wear a smile.

As Naruto took his place at the front of the class, he lifted his head, and Iruka began to wonder. He realized the boy didn't want anyone to see his eyes; that was why he was staring at the ground, but before Iruka could say anything, the entire class felt it. There was a sudden surge of chakra and the veins around Naruto's eyes bulged, leaving them clearly vivid; when the blonde opened his eyes, the entire class shuddered...everyone except for a certain blue-haired Hyuuga.

"Byakugan!" Hinata nearly yelled, abandoning her seat and running to the front of the classroom to get a better look at her crush, "Naruto, you can use the Byakugan!"

Iruka jerked in surprise; not only had Hinata completely ignored the rules of the classroom, but she'd spoken loud enough for everyone to hear her and she didn't stutter! Iruka walked around Naruto to look him in the eyes; sure enough, he was staring into the pupilless eyes of the Byakugan.

Iruka walked over to the door and turned to face the class, "Naruto, Hinata, I need the two of you to come with me. Class, another teacher will be here in a moment, so behave yourselves until he gets here." With that, Iruka escorted the two outside the classroom and into another.

"Hinata, Naruto, I would like the two of you to wait here for a few minutes. I'll be right back, okay? I need to get a substitute teacher to the classroom and call the Hokage.

"Is this really that big of a deal?" Naruto asked, feeling that too much was happening for his sake.

Iruka was about to answer when a meek voice interrupted him, "Yes it is, N-naruto-kun," Hinata answered, "The Hyuuga Clan t-takes great p-pride in keeping the secrets of our bloodline."

"And the fact that you activated it alone brings even more questions," Iruka finished for her, seeing she was having a bit of difficulty talking to the boy, "Anyway, I'll be back in a few minutes."

After a few moments of silence, Hinata felt the pangs of curiosity hit her, and she couldn't seem to stop herself from asked any questions. "S-so, N-naruto-kun," she began, catching the boy's attention, "H-how d-did you a-activate the Byakugan?"

"I was given some books by Ojii-san," Naruto replied, "For my birthday. One of them was a book on the clans of the village...so I decided to see if I had any of their blood in me. I don't know who my parents were."

"I see..." Hinata responded sadly.

"So I went through every one of the bloodlines in the village until I came to the Hyuuga bloodline. It had practically no real information on it at all, but it had enough for me to try to activate it. And when I did...well, this is the result. It hurt much worse the first time though."

"Yes it did..." Hinata agreed.

"Might I ask what this is about, Iruka?" the two heard an elderly voice inquire outside the classroom.

"Something you'll want to see, Hokage-sama," was his reply.

"And might I ask why I'm here?" another man asked. Hinata paled; she'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Iruka opened the door to reveal the two children, and the three men stepped inside the classroom.

"Alright, Iruka," the old man asked, expecting the worst, "What has Naruto done and what's it have to do with Hiashi's daughter?"

"Actually, it isn't really Hyuuga-san's daughter that this concerns. I just didn't feel it wise to leave Naruto in a room alone for too long and felt Hinata was the best choice to keep him out of trouble."

The Hokage nodded his head in agreement, "So what is the purpose of calling us here?"

When Iruka called to Naruto, the boy opened his eyes and, before activating the Bakugan, the words 'Don't tell me he's...' could be heard.

There are few things that had shocked Hyuuga Hiashi in his lifetime, and even fewer that he'd actually expressed...but now, staring at the boy everyone called a monster, Hiashi let his mouth drop. Naruto was a Hyuuga.

"I guess it's in his blood..." Hiashi stated, trying to calm himself.

"That wasn't very funny, Hyuuga-san," Naruto replied, a pout on his face.

At first, Hiashi tried to brush the comment aside, but the look on Naruto's face had already finished Iruka and the Hokage off...and before he realized it, he, too, was laughing histerically at the statement...and the bewildered look on his daughter's face beside the blonde only added to the hilarity.

After a few minutes, the adults had calmed down and were now discussing the next possible action.

"He'll have to be moved into the Hyuuga household," Hiashi stated bluntly, "I'm afraid we can't have unmarked Hyuuga blood running around the town freely...it's the way of our clan."

"I understand you reasoning, Hiashi," the Hokage replied, "But I can't have him branded. If he is, we both know what will happen."

"Yes...yes we do," Hiashi replied, "Then I'll have to make him a Main house member."

"How do you plan on doing that?" the Hokage asked, his curiosity evident.

"I'll adopt him. The elders won't like it, but I am still the head of our clan, and so long as I am, they'll hold no power against me."

"You're certain about this, Hiashi?"

The Hyuuga clan leader motioned for the Hokage to follow him out of the room into the hallway and, as the older man closed the door behind him, Hiashi began to speak.

"We both know who's son Naruto is," Hiashi stated, "And I've never been a big fan of leaving him out in the world on his own. Even some of my own clan hold what he carries against him, but if he's my child under my protection...no one will be able to touch him."

The Hokage nodded in agreement.

"But the honest truth is...I want him around," Hiashi continued, "You saw what happened in there. I haven't laughed like that since...I don't know when, and he seems to be able to help my daughter as well. I think having him around will be a very good thing for the Hyuuga clan."

"If you think this is what's best, then by all means," the Hokage replied, "But rest assured that if anything happens to Naruto while he's there...if anyone tries to brand him or eliminate him...I will see to their punishment personally."

The statement made Hiashi feel uneasy inside; there was always the possibility that a rogue shinobi would attempt to do something to the boy, even if he was within his protection. The only option Hiashi could think of was to put guards on the boy when he slept, other than that he'd be on his own.

"Iruka!" the Hokage called out. After a moment, the man opened the door and he and the two children filed out. "I would like you to continue your class. Take Naruto and Hinata with you."

"The two of you will come to the Hyuuga compound after class," Hiashi stated, "I'll be sending house guards to escort you. You are to wait here until they arrive."

"Hai, Hyuuga-sama," Hinata replied.

"Hai," was Naruto's response.

Hiashi nodded his head, and he and the Hokage began to walk down the hall.

"Behave yourself, Naruto," the Hokage called out to the blonde.

Naruto grimmaced. It was like the old man could see into his head.

When Naruto entered the room, he could feel the eyes upon him; while he was normally looked upon with disdain, he could see the curiosity on the faces of the children before him. They'd thought they had the boy figured out; now they knew that he was a complete mystery. But there was still one guarenteed stare of animosity: Naruto could feel the hate radiating from a boy by the name of Uchiha, Sasuke.

The rest of the class was quite uneventful, the only thing of any interest was Iruka's lecture on the basics of a finer form of chakra control, and before they knew it, the class was over and the children filed out into the courtyard, slowly disappearing with their parents until only three were left.

"Who do you think you are?!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto, now that he was certain the three were lone; his fists tightened into balls, "I've been trying to activate my Sharingan for years and yet here you are, activating something you're not even supposed to have!"

"Get over it," Naruto replied bluntly, "I don't care about your sharingan, and my activating this has nothing to do with you. Leave me alone."

"No! I won't stand for this!" the boy yelled as he pulled out six shuriken and twirled them at the blonde.

What happened next was something that Hinata would never forget. In movements so fast that they were hardly noticable, Naruto had forced chakra into his arms and hands and caught all six of the throwing weapons; he'd unintentionally mastered the Juuken chakra technique.

As Naruto dropped the weapons to the ground, he deactivated his Byakugan and turned away from the raging Uchiha. "I said leave me alone."

"Fine," the boy replied, the malace in his tone unmistakable, "I don't need weapons to deal with you!"

Naruto and Hinata could both feel the surge of chakra gathering in Sasuke's lungs, and before either one could say anything, he released the fire infused chakra in a single, giant burst. "Giant Fireball!"

When the smoke cleared, the only thing that was visible was the scorched earth where the two had been standing. "Serves you right, loser," the boy commented to himself.

"Your act of agression could be taken as a direct threat to the Hyuuga Clan," a man stated from behind Sasuke. The boy quickly turned around to see a Main house Hyuuga guard carrying both Hinata and Naruto in his arms.

Sasuke scoffed at the man before turning around and walking away.

"Your instructor and the Hokage will be informed," the guard stated as he sat the two children down, "Don't think you'll get away with this without some form of punishment."

As the boy made his way out of sight, the guard turned to face Hinata and Naruto, "Hinata-sama, Naruto-san, please come with me. I've been ordered to escort you to the Clan grounds."

"Thank you, Yami-san," Hinata replied, bowing.

"Yes, thank you," Naruto agreed, "I don't know what I could've done against that justsu of his."

"From what I saw, you handled yourself pretty well," the man replied as they began walking, "You managed to stop every one of his shuriken by focusing chakra into your arms. I think our style of fighting will be perfect for you."

- - -

"I cannot allow this!" one of the clan elders piped up, his tone barely above average, "We cannot allow that monster into our household!"

"I agree with Elder Iroku," an elderly woman agreed, "There's no telling what he may do once he's here. Why not simply brand him and let him live outside the house?"

"I, for one, will not allow this," Hiashi replied, his stern tone forcing the woman into silence, "And the Hokage agrees. If he is branded, it is likely someone from our main house will execute him."

"Do you not trust our family?" another elder asked.

"It isn't a lack of trust that makes me say this," the clan head corrected, "I am simply not oblivious."

"If I may speak freely, Hyuuga-sama?" one of the elders requested.

"You may."

"I don't know what you feel towards this boy, but I feel I am speaking for this entire council when I say that we want nothing to do with him. The boy brings chaos wherever he goes, and I feel he may bring an end to our order if you take him in."

"I see your point," Hiashi agreed.

"But, if I may be so bold, Hyuuga-sama?" another man asked.

"Feel free Hizashi."

"I feel as though the chaos this boy brings may make our ties stronger. I've always felt as though the clan has needed something more to it. We are practically machines. I feel this boy may bring to this clan what it is missing."

"Spoken like a true leader," Hiashi complimented, "I've decided to take Naruto in as one of my own. He will be a Hyuuga."

"Hai, Hyuuga-sama," the elders replied in unison.

- - -

Hiashi, Hizashi, Negi, and Hanabi were all standing outside when Hinata and Naruto arrived. After a few warm greetings and Yami informing the Main and Branch heads of the Uchiha incident, Hizashi knelt down to introduce himself to Naruto.

"My name is Hizashi," the Hyuuga man told Naruto, "I'm the brother of Hiashi here and Hinata's uncle. I am also the Branch Clan head."

"Branch...?" Naruto asked, confused.

"You'll come to understand our ways soon, child," Hizashi replied, "But until then, I'd like to welcome you, on behalf of all the Branch house, to the Hyuuga Clan."

Hizashi bowed to Naruto and the blonde returned the courtesy.

"My name is Neji," the younger Hyuuga replied, "I am Hinata's cousin, Hyuuga-sama's nephew, and heir to the Branch house."

Naruto bowed to the slightly taller boy before he turned to Hiashi.

"This is my youngest daughter, Hanabi," he introduced, but the girl stayed hidden behind his leg, "And she is a little shy of new people. I'm sure she'll get used to you."

Naruto bowed to her and she nodded her head slightly in response.

"And if you didn't know, I am Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga Clan," Hiashi continued, "You'll be learning a lot about the Hyuuga clan in the next few years, and there will be certain things expected from you as such. You'll be intoduced to a few others today before we return to your apartment for your belongings.

"At the end of this school year, you will be removed from the academy to be home schooled until your final year of the academy, where you will return to finish your more practical classes and pass your final exam to become a shinobi of the Hyuuga Clan. Are there any questions?"

Naruto shook his head. If he was expecting anything from joining a clan, it most certainly wasn't this.

"Good, you will be attending your home schooling with Hinata here," Hiashi stated, motioning to his daughter, "As she will be removed from the academy classes until the final year as well."

Naruto nodded his head dumbly.

"Very well, let's begin the tour," Hiashi finished, motioning Naruto inside.

It was true, Naruto wasn't expecting much from joining a clan; he didn't think they'd even allow him to join a clan seeing how everyone seemed to hate him, but this was the farthest from what he'd expected. He was being indighted into the prestegious Hyuuga clan...and the whole process just seemed to confuse him. The only thing that really crossed his mind as he was guided through the halls of the building was a single thought: "What did I just get myself into...?"

A/N:

For those of you that don't know, I got ANOTHER Anya/Ayame comment. This is the EXACT same as the original chapter one, but I had to upload it again seeing as it's been over 60 days since I posted chapter 1. Okay, now that I got that out of the way...enjoy the story! If I've made any more name errors, let me know!