Scars of the Past

Chapter 1: A Fierce Guardian

A/N: I do not write Yuri, or Yaoi. Also, this is NOT NaruAnko. I haven't decided the pairings yet...

I am neither Japanese, nor obscenely rich, and thus do not own Naruto.

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Naruto was having a really, really bad day. To start with, today was October tenth, a day when people seemed to hate him the most. Usually, he'd be chased whenever he ventured out of his apartment, and often he was even beaten by drunken villagers. This year, he'd decided to stay inside until it was over, but that didn't help. They simply came looking for him. He shuddered, as he heard them coming up the stairs; by the sound of their steps, some of them were shinobi. This was bad, very bad. If it were only villagers, the most they could do was beat on him. Ninja however... Fearing for his life, Naruto jumped out of his window, desperate to escape the mob he knew would be breaking down his door soon.

He saw the smoke rising from his apartment, as he ran through the crowd, desperate to put any distance he could between him and his pursuers. Huffing, he slowed to a stop in front of a small restaurant, specializing in dango. There was only one person there, a woman who looked to be somewhere around eighteen. She wore a tan trenchcoat, a tan miniskirt, and when she turned to face him, he could see that her shirt was made of fishnet. She smiled at the goofy-looking boy, and tentatively, he smiled in return. Suddenly, he heard the sound of an angry mob catching up to him. He ran, and on her stool, Anko growled. Naruto ran as fast as his short legs could carry him... right into a dead end. The mob advanced slowly, and he could see that many of them were chuunin. He trembled in fear, seeing the murder in their eyes. He could tell that most of them were drunk; it would take a miracle to save him now.

Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a tan blur leapt over the mob, landing in front of him, a kunai at the ready in her hand. One of the leaders of the mob, a special jonin, demanded, "Get out of our way, snake bitch! We're gonna give the demon what's coming to him!" She hissed, and several large snakes erupted from her sleeve, binding the man and dragging him towards her, until their noses were almost touching. "You wanna say that again, punk?" The terrified man turned white, and fainted. She tossed him aside, and, with her other hand, she lit a flare. "Five... Four..." The mob began running away as they heard this, but they were blocked by a wall of mud. "One." A man was standing on the wall, an ANBU with the codename of Hound. His spiky silver hair stuck out from under his (ANBU) mask. Several of his fellow ANBU joined him on the wall, and they began arresting all who were there. Naruto clung to the back of Anko's leg, trembling, and she attempted to comfort the boy, picking him up, and holding him in her arms. She didn't know much about little kids, but it seemed to work with other parents... Her eyes widened as she considered that idea. Parenthood? She felt for the kid, she really did, but adoption? She wasn't sure she was ready to be anyone's mother.

She looked down to Naruto, a small smile on her face. "Hey kid, mind telling me where you live?" He shook his head sadly. "Bad people burned it." Had the ANBU not been taking away the last of the villagers, she would've gladly set her snakes on them. How could they do this? Were they really that stupid? She sighed. "Tell ya what kid, how about we go see the Hokage. I'm sure he'll want to hear about this." Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi had chosen that moment to check on Naruto with his crystal ball. He smiled as he saw Anko holding the boy protectively. "Perhaps now that she's seen what the boy has been going through, she'll consider..." He chuckled. "I must admit, it's hard to imagine Anko as a mother... But I have a feeling she'll take to the boy, especially considering how similar their backgrounds are..."

Five minutes later, Anko walked into the Third's office, with the blonde four-year old on her back, asleep. She looked nervous, but determined, as if she'd come to a decision on the way there, which, thanks to his crystal ball, he knew she probably had. "Hokage-sama, I would like to request... an adoption form, for Uzumaki Naruto." He smiled at her. "I'm sorry, Anko, but I cannot allow you to adopt him as Naruto Mitarashi." "But why? Surely you don't see him like... like that, do you?!" He held up his hands in a placating guesture. "Calm down, Anko. I said that he could not become Naruto Mitarashi. I never said that you couldn't adopt him at all." Anko was puzzled. "What's the problem with my last name?"

He sighed. "It has nothing to do with you. What I am about to tell you was originally intended to be a secret until the boy came of age, but, seeing as he has a guardian now, I believe that it is alright to reveal this." She nodded, though she was still confused. She already knew about the demon sealed within him; what more could there be? "As his future guardian, you have the right to know... That Uzumaki was his mother's maiden name. His father's name was kept a secret, because there are many relatives of those he killed in the last war who would gladly take their revenge on little Naruto. His real father was Minato Namikaze, my successor." Anko's eyes widened. "Well... that explains a lot..." Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "How so?" She removed the blonde from her back, and cradled him in her arms.

"It always kinda bothered me when I thought about it; Why this particular child? Mix that with his incredible resemblance to the Fourth and it seems painfully obvious." He smiled. "We probably wouldn't have been able to keep this secret for long, anyway. This village is filled with shinobi, after all, even though most of them are blinded by their hatred for the boy. Someone would've figured it out eventually. I am only glad that he has found someone such as you." She smiled, blushing faintly at his praise. She'd always liked the old man; he'd been the one protecting her, when she finally managed to escape from the Snake Bastard. He smiled in return. "Mitarashi Anko, are you willing to become Namikaze Anko, for Naruto's sake?" She frowned. "Is that even legal?" Sarutobi chuckled. "The last remaining member of a clan is automatically clan head, and thus has the right to accept into the clan anyone he or she deems worthy. In short, so long as Naruto says yes, it's legal." She gently shook the boy awake.

"Hey, kid." He smiled. He said, "Hi, nice lady." She chuckled. "My name is Anko." He grinned. "Mine's Naruto!" He looked over to the Hokage. "Hey, oji-san, what are you doing here? Where is here?" Sarutobi chuckled. "You're in my office, Naruto." His eyes widened. "Oh yeah! I was running, and there were some angry people were chasing me, and Anko-chan saved me! She was so cool!" She smiled. "Thanks kid, but the ANBU took care of most of it." He grinned. "You're still the coolest, Anko-chan." She surprised both of them by giving Naruto a fierce hug. He was shocked into still ness for a moment, but then he hugged her back, smiling. Sarutobi waited until they were done, and then addressed Naruto. "Naruto, I think you'd be interested to know that Anko here wishes to adopt you." Naruto's eyes widened, before he leapt in the air, with a cry of "Awesome!" She smiled at the young boy's antics. The Third continued. "However, this is not possible. You see, Uzumaki was your mother's maiden name." Naruto looked confused, so Anko explained. "That's what her family name was before she married your father." "Oh."

"Anyway, Your father was the head of a very powerful clan, of which you are now the last member." Naruto's face fell. "Just when I thought someone was gonna adopt me..." Anko smiled at him reassuringly. "Cheer up, kid, the old man has a solution." Sarutobi sighed. "I was getting to that. As the last remaining member of the clan, you are the clan head, which mean that you have the right to accept into the clan anyone you find worthy; in a way, you'd be adopting Anko... if you said yes, of course." Naruto's excitement returned. "So tell me, who was my father?" The Third smiled. "You are the son of Kushina Uzumaki... and Minato Namikaze." Naruto's eyes bugged out. Even he knew that name, the name of the legendary Fourth Hokage. He passed out. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes to see Anko standing over him, a worried expression on her face.

"You okay, kid?" He nodded. "Wow... the Fourth Hokage..." He grinned. "I'm gonna be the greatest Hokage ever! Someday, I'll be even better than he was!" His eyes sparkled, and for a moment, Anko was disturbingly reminded of Guy. She smiled at him. "To do that, you're gonna have to train hard every day. Are you sure you can handle that?" He punched the air. "Believe it!" She sweat-dropped. The Hokage interrupted, asking, "Naruto Namikaze, do you accept Anko Mitarashi into the Namikaze clan?" He grinned. "Of course!" He turned to her. "Anko Mitarashi, do you wish to become Anko Namikaze?" She bowed. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He nodded. "It is done." He handed Anko the papers he'd filled out while waiting for her to arrive. She signed, and helped Naruto do the same. He bear-hugged her. "Yay! I finally have a mom!" She smacked him in the back of the head playfully. "I'll take care of you, kid, but don't call me that. It makes me feel old." He grinned. "Okay, mom!" She rolled her eyes, and after getting the key to the Namikaze compound from the Third, she ran along the rooftops to her apartment, Naruto grinning on her back.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Namikaze compound, Anko's belongings sealed into a storage scroll in her trenchcoat. Unlocking the gate, they entered a winding path, surrounded by trees. They came to a bend in the path, and their eyes widened when they saw their new home. There was a tall, three-story house in the middle, with a few smaller houses flanking it. They were all painted a deep, forest green, and had been covered with grass mats, to look like trees when seen from a distance. Anko leapt to the roof, and pulled off the covering of the central house to reveal an old, Japanese-style roof. She pulled off the coverings of the others as well. As they explored the building, Anko noticed that the place was eerily clean for being abandoned all these years. Minato must've made a seal for that before he left...

They each found a room that they liked; Naruto's was on the top floor, in what used to be a study. There were many windows, and, needless to say, it was packed with jutsu scrolls. Anko's was one floor down; it had a single window, facing the east. The kitchen on the ground floor was well-equipped, though of course the cupboard were empty. There was even a machine especially for making ramen in one corner. After unsealing her stuff in her own room, Anko took Naruto to a nearby dango shop, so they could get to know each other better. Naruto's grip on Anko tightened as they passed the burned-out shell that used to be his apartment, but he said nothing. When they arrived at the shop, they sat in a small table off to the side, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention.

They waited for a few minutes... and then a few more... Finally, Anko got tired of waiting, and used her striking shadow snakes to drag over a waiter. "Are you going to serve us or not?" He paled, but his gaze fell on Naruto, and his expression turned into a sneer. "We don't serve the likes of him." She growled. Just then, the manager walked up. "Ah! Anko-san, our favorite customer!" Then, he noticed the waiter, still bound by snakes, and about to fall over. He sighed. "What did he do?" His eyes drifted to Naruto's 'whiskers'. "Ah." He turned to the man. "You're fired. You know that's not the way we run things here. Get out of my sight." The man rushed away hurriedly, not wanting to be attacked again by the crazy snake lady. The manager apologized, and took their order himself. Anko turned to Naruto. "Hey, kid. You ever had dango?" He looked puzzled. "What's dango?" She smacked her forehead. "We'll have the usual, please." He nodded, and carried their order to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, a waitress came out with their order, 30 sticks of dango apiece. Naruto looked at his, his eyes wide. "Wow, that's a lot of food!" Anko chuckled. "Don't worry, kid. If you can't eat it all, I'll help." Five minutes later, Naruto was on his twenty-fifth stick, and showed no signs of stopping. Anko was on her fifteenth stick, eating a bit more slowly. When they had both finished, Naruto sighed in contentment. "That was good..." Anko nodded. "The wonders of dango." A few seconds later, Naruto's eyelids began to droop, and a minute later, he was fast asleep. Anko paid for their meal, and left for their new home, Naruto on her back.

Two years passed. Naruto and Anko got along well together; Their days together were spent either playing around the house, or going out and playing in the park, though most people called it the forest of death. Every now and then, they'd go to a park that was a bit more public, but all of the children were kept away from them by their parents. Still, they had each other, and they were happy. Word had gotten out that Naruto was really the Fourth's son, so there were some people that treated them nicely, but for the most part, people still acted like he was the plague, and avoided him at all costs.

Anko would often go on missions, and leave Naruto in Kakashi's care; however, she warned him that if Naruto got even a small glimpse of any of Kakashi's Icha Icha books, there'd be hell to pay. He took the warning to heart, and, not wanting to lose his manhood, he bought a safe, and locked them up whenever Naruto wasn't around. He enjoyed playing with the boy; the kid was practically a ball of energy, and often Anko would come back from a mission to find Kakashi laying on the floor, completely worn out, and Naruto riding on the back of one of his larger summons. There were no more attacks, and the two were happy. Anko had finally given in, and allowed Naruto to call her 'mom'. Finally, his first day at the academy came around. "Bye, mom! I'll see you after school!" She smiled. "Go get 'em."

His first day was fairly uneventful; Most kids seemed a little nervous around him, though a few were pretty nice, and there was even an odd group of girls over in a corner, sending him looks he didn't quite understand. He was too young yet to know the irksomeness that is fangirlism. After class, there were a group of them chasing him, and he ducked into a bush to avoid them, only to find someone else already there. The kid had on white shorts, and a dark blue shirt. He raised an eyebrow. "Hello. Are you hiding as well?" A shrieking mass of girls rushed by, upset at having lost their quarry. Naruto nodded, pointing a thumb at the mob. Sasuke chuckled. "My brother warned me about those. He called them fangirls." Naruto smacked himself in the head. "Mom said something about those on my way out, but I wasn't paying attention." Sasuke nodded. "Apparently, they'll go away if you ignore them... Or, at least they should."

Naruto shuddered. "I hope so. By the way, what's your name?" Sasuke stuck out his hand. "Sasuke Uchiha. And you?" Naruto shook it. "Naruto Namikaze." Sasuke's eyes widened. "You don't seem that bad to me..." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, your parents warned you about me?" Sasuke shook his head. "No, just my father. He's been acting kinda weird lately, though... Anyway, he told me to stay away from you. I wonder why?" Naruto shook his head. "I have no idea. Mom says she'll tell me once I become a genin. She said it's not my fault though..." Sasuke shook his head sadly. "Man, this doesn't make any sense..." Naruto chuckled. "According to my mom, life almost never does. Then she starts ranting about someone she calls 'that Hebi-teme'." Sasuke shrugged. "Wanna be friends?" Naruto grinned. "Hell yeah!"

And that was how their friendship started...

Naruto enjoyed himself at the academy. Sure, the lectures were usually kinda boring, but he didn't wank to let Anko down, so he did his best to pay attention. He and Sasuke got along well, and were constantly tied for the top spot in academics. Naruto took first place in Taijutsu, thanks to his incredible stamina, but lost to Sasuke in Ninjutsu, due to his horrible control. The teachers learned to fear the times between classes, for the two boys were almost always pranking someone; when they ran out of ideas, which wasn't often, they would ask Anko for advice, and sometimes their traps were truly humiliating, though they never actually hurt anyone. Anko liked the dark-haired boy much better than most of his clansmen, and would often invite him to spend the night at the Namikaze house. Naruto and Sasuke were the best of friends, and they were both very open, and kind to their classmates. In time, the other students realized that Naruto was actually a nice guy, and they didn't avoid him so much anymore.

However, their happiness was brought to a sudden end, in their fourth year. Sasuke was about to go to sleep; he was spending the night at Naruto's house, and he was worn out from the massive game of tag they'd played earlier. Anko had joined in, and created around thirty snake clones. He heard his door swing open, and he was surprised to see Anko standing there, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong, Anko-san?" She hugged him fiercely. "Your family... they're all dead." Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. There was no way... was there? "How?!" She released him, and looked him in the eye, not relishing what she was about to tell him. "Your brother, he... killed them all. Everyone, even your father and mother." Sasuke broke down completely, and Anko held him for an hour or so. Naruto came in; his mom had told him first, and he'd wanted to give her some time to make his best friend feel better. "Sasuke, I... if there's anything I can do..." Sasuke nodded, and wiped his eye. "Just... promise me, that you'll never go away." Naruto held out his fist. "I promise." Sasuke punched it. "Friends forever, right?" Naruto nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Friends forever."

The next day, Naruto and Sasuke skipped class. The Uchiha compound was eerily silent in the morning light; Anbu had already disposed of the bodies, and the whole place smelled faintly of antiseptic. Sasuke retrieved his things from his room; from now on, he'd be living with the Namikazes. This place was no longer a home to anyone, and especially not to him. Perhaps, with time, he'd get over it, and maybe move back, but he didn't want to live alone. He was surprised to see a small scroll on his bed, locked with a blood seal. Biting his thumb, he spread some of his blood on it. He opened it, and was surprised to see a note from his brother, along with two jutsu shown below it. He read the letter first.

"Dearest brother.

How I wish it hadn't come to this. The Uchiha are planning a coup d'etat, a complete takeover of Konoha; you have not been told this because of your age, and your connection to the Namikaze boy. Even as I write this, I have been ordered to stop this from happening; If you are reading this, either they are all dead, or I have failed. Either way, I implore you, do not follow in our father's footsteps. He sought power for the Uchiha clan, simply because he thought they deserved it. Being an Uchiha does not guarantee strength, nor does it give anyone the right to take such strength by destroying others. Please, become strong, not for yourself, but for those you hold dear. I will love you, always. Farewell, little brother.

PS: Below, I have included two of my favorite jutsu; I encourage you to let your friend learn them as well. They are the Shadowclone and the Exploding Shadowclone techniques. Use them well."

Sasuke held the scroll to his chest. Never in his life had he imagined that his father would do something like this, but it did kinda make sense... Sasuke sighed, his heart heavy. Even his mother had been in on it... He rejoined Naruto and Anko in the courtyard, and together, the three of them headed home.

After that day, Sasuke was quieter than before, though he made a more serious effort to make friends, taking his brother's advice to heart. He detached the note on the scroll his brother had given him, saying he'd found it when he was getting his stuff together, which was technically true. The two boys mastered the Shadowclone jutsu midway through their final year, but the exploding version was a bit trickier; they either blew up immediately when summoned, or not at all. They moved all of the scrolls in the Uchiha library to Sasuke's new room in the Namikaze house. It used to be a normal library, smaller than the one Naruto inhabited, but still large enough to fit all of the scrolls. The previous occupants were moved to an empty room, also on the top floor. Sasuke's room was opposite Naruto's, and had as many windows. All the floors in the house were wood, and he loved the feel of it as he got out of bed each morning.

Their last two years at the academy passed fairly uneventfully; Almost everyone in the class liked the boys, and the number of fangirls had not decreased, much to their dismay. Most of them were only minor annoyances, but two of them stood out especially; Sakura Haruno, who chased after Naruto from sunup 'till sundown, and Ino Yamanaka, her best friend, who was after Sasuke. After they passed their test, the two boys sat together, and prayed that they would be on the same team, and that it didn't include any of their fangirls. They groaned simultaneously when they heard that Sakura and Ino had passed. After all of the tests were done, Iruka, their teacher that year, walked to the front of the room, an expectant look on his face. Soon, all was quiet, as the new genin waited to hear their team assignments. "Team seven, you are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Namikaze," Both boys cheered loudly at this. "and Hinata Hyuga." Sasuke looked to Hinata, and smiled, and her faced turned bright red. Ino and Sakura sent her annoyed looks.

"Come here tomorrow, to meet your jonin sensei. Class dismissed!"

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A/N: So, what do you think? Please, read and review. I still haven't figured out the pairing for this yet, though it probably won't be NaruHina, so any input you have there is appreciated as well. The reason this probably won't be NaruHina is that pretty much all of my other stories I'm working on are NaruHina, and I got tired of it; I want to try something new. One thing: This is most definitely NOT a NaruAnko fic. She is his mother, not his girlfriend.