I changed Naruto's heritage too. If some of the characters are OOC, don't complain because this is an AU fanfic, meaning some of them will be OOC.

Disclaimer: I don't even think I could own Naruto.

Chapter One: Unheard Wishes

"There it goes again. Walking like it's human!" a village complained. The thing in question didn't look as he walked on. The thing was only three. He didn't understand why none of the women would hold him and patch up his boo-boos. He didn't like how none of the men wouldn't laugh with him and pat him on the head. Nobody would touch him as if his skin had some sort of disease. He didn't wince when a glass bottle was thrown at his head and missed. He just continued his way home. The orphanage caretaker threw him out a few months earlier, so the Hokage gave him an apartment to live in.

The apartment was empty of life and was cold. The white haired boy didn't care. He closed the door and locked it in silence. It didn't matter anymore if he talked or didn't. Nobody cared if he even got up every day. The boy sighed and imagined a better life. He closed his eyes real tight and opened them to see if it was just a dream. Sadly, he was still living a nightmare. The boy didn't smile. He didn't understand smiling. He walked into the kitchen and opened one of the lower cabinets. An old kunai was the only item in the cabinet. The little boy grabbed it and sighed. He brought it to his arm like he saw the academy kids do onto the dummies. He was a dummy. He had no soul and was only a punching bag.

The hospital's bright lights were the next thing the boy saw. He groaned and squinted. How did he end up here? It was dark out, and one person sat in the visitor's seat. The boy didn't look at the old man sitting there. He stared at the bandages that trailed up and down his arms. Back in the beginning, the boy had an ability to heal quickly, but nowadays, only life threatening wounds heal quickly. The boy hated bandages, but he figured they'd be off soon anyhow.

"Naruto, that was a bad thing to do," the Third said. His voice echoed with pity. Naruto didn't care. Nobody cared about Naruto, so, in turn, Naruto cared for nobody. "I didn't think it would come to this, but, Naruto, I'm sorry. It's to help you." Naruto didn't look into the eyes of the Hokage because he didn't want to see the nonexistent anger or the constant sadness. He looked over when another presence entered the room. A brown haired adult stood there and smiled at Naruto. The little boy glared at the twenty-year-old Jonin as he stepped closer to the bed. "Naruto, this is Uzumaki Tora. He's your new guardian." Tora carried a bag that Naruto figured was clothes. "You'll be living at his place." Naruto's stomach dropped. His apartment was his sanctuary from the world. He didn't cry because his tears were all gone. "He'll take you home tonight. Be good for him, please." Naruto glared at Tora, who only sighed, as the Third left the hospital.

ICECOLD

Living with Tora was different. Naruto didn't trust the Jonin one bit. He would watch Tora make their meals and do laundry. He was watching to see if the older boy poisoned him somehow. Tora would take Naruto to and from training. During the first few days, Tora tried to get Naruto to hold his hand but failed. He compromised and had Naruto hold onto his pant leg. The apartment was bigger than Naruto's and gave Naruto his own room. He didn't play with any of the toys in case they were watching him, but Tora got the boy to play with them during the second day.

"Hey, little man, how we fairing?" Tora asked as he stirred the soup. He looked back at Naruto, who sat on the counter. The boy's hair was getting long. "Tomorrow, you're getting a haircut." Naruto shrugged and didn't care if his hair was a little shaggy. Tora pulled out some bowls and handed them to Naruto. "How does a kid get white hair?" Naruto jumped off the counter and took the bowls to the table quickly. Tora followed with the pot of soup.

"I had white hair forever," Naruto said. Tora looked at Naruto in shock. This was day five in their time together, and this was the first time Naruto said anything more than one word answer. "Nobody tells me anything, so I don't know." Tora put the soup on the table and crouched down to Naruto's height. He opened his arms, which Naruto ran into. The toddler was crying. "Not bad. Not bad." Tora held Naruto and nodded. He rubbed the crying kid's back like a parent would.

"No, Naruto, you aren't bad. You're a good kid," Tora said. He stood up with Naruto still in his arms. His mind was on his original reason for taking this job. Tora was an orphan, but it wasn't from the Kyuubi attack. They were killed on a deep cover mission in a no name town. Nobody looked at Tora the same after the funeral. All the academy kids were afraid of him because they heard the rumors of his father's insanity in the end. Everyone expected him to be like a ticking time bomb. Everyone was looking towards his explosion. "Life is rough." Naruto wiped his nose on Tora's shirt and wanted to disappear from Konoha. "Only heroes survive the roughest parts with their heads high." Tora put Naruto onto the chair with a booster seat and ruffled Naruto's hair. "You're a hero." Naruto looked at Tora and wanted to smile like Tora was. He smiled like Tora and found it felt funny. It was a good funny though.

Life with Tora took a turn after that. Naruto opened up more and started to trust the teen. Tora never called Naruto any mean names, hit him, or starve him. He didn't get angry if Naruto did something he shouldn't have. Naruto still wouldn't hold his hand and didn't smile often. Tora understood though. He let Naruto go at his own pace. Every day was a new surprise for Tora as Naruto slowly the teen into his world. Some days were good, and some days were bad, but they made it through.

"I don't like that story," Naruto said. Tora sighed and put away the fairy tale book. Naruto had kept asking questions about the princess and prince. He didn't understand love yet. "Dragon was cool." Of course the kid would like the dragon. Most boys did. Tora liked the stories from his childhood and tried to get Naruto to like them too. Naruto pulled the covers up and went to sleep. Tora smiled at the kid and smoothed down some of the white hair that stuck up at odd angles. Naruto sleepily moved and sighed. "Night, Daddy." Tora froze. Naruto said it in his sleep, so it might just be something he was dreaming. Life with Tora wasn't forever. The Jonin frown and walked out of the room. He wasn't fit to be a parent to any child, much less Naruto.

ICECOLD

Naruto hated it when Tora left for missions. He was babysat by Tora's little sister, Hikari, and she wasn't that bad. Naruto just didn't like strangers. Hikari tried to make the best of her time with the child. He liked it when she told bedtime stories from her head. He asked her why Tora didn't, and she replied that Tora was uncreative and would rather read. He liked it when her bedtime stories were about brave warriors versus the prince and princess.

"What's your last name, little guy?" Hikari asked after a week with Naruto. She remembered when Tora introduced them, he never said Naruto's last name. She accepted his white hair and whisker scars immediately by calling him cute. Naruto remembered that she was the first person to hug him. She scared him during the first time. This was about the fifth time Hikari came and babysat the boy. "Tora never told me, so I've been wondering." Naruto looked up at her from his puzzle.

"Don't gots one," Naruto said with a shrug. Hikari found out why Tora refused the Hokage on giving the boy up to another shinobi. The kid was fun to be around when he trusted you. He didn't smile all the time like other children, but you could see the happiness in his eyes. "Tora says many don't gots last names." Tora told Hikari a secret before he left, and it made her worry. "Tora says it doesn't matter. He's my family now!" Naruto didn't smile, but his eyes sparkled. Hikari smiled and walked over to see if the toddler needed help. Tora's pride and joy sat on the floor next to her and told her about his favorite Tora Fairy Tale, one she heard a thousand times over.

ICECOLD

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but Tora died on the mission," the captain said. The Hokage lingered in the background with a crying Hikari. Naruto was confused. Tora was dead? "Naruto, Tora isn't coming home." Naruto felt the tears as he looked around the beaten team. Tora was gone. Tora wasn't coming home. "Naruto, he wanted to tell you when he got home that he adopted you. You're now Uzumaki Naruto, Tora's pride and joy." Naruto ran to Hikari and cried into her pant leg. It wasn't possible. Tora was a hero. Tora wasn't able to go away forever. Hikari picked the toddler up and tried her best to sooth him. He cried himself to sleep and dreamt of one of Tora's fairytales.

The funeral was small. Tora's team showed up with Hikari. Naruto was there of course. He hung with Hikari in the front. Some of Tora's classmates, friends, and teachers showed up as well. They didn't glare or shout at Naruto for being there. They barely noticed his existence. Naruto watched them place the casket on the pyre and start burning it. Hikari held his hand and gave it a tight squeeze as the flames dance. The smoke went up into the sky, taking Tora's soul with it. The team captain was the one to hand Naruto Tora's hitai-ate and dog tags. He ruffled Naruto's hair.

"You were his pride and joy. Every mission or training session, he'd talk about you with a smile on his face. Naruto, continue to make him proud," the captain said. Naruto nodded. They buried Tora's ashes next to his parents' headstones. Tora's headstone described Uzumaki Tora as a precious son, brother, teammate, and father. Naruto cried when they finished. Hikari stayed with him as the others disappeared. The items in his hands felt cold suddenly. Naruto wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"I wish him back. Just like the fairy tales," Naruto said. Hikari didn't say anything. Naruto needed her, and she didn't know what to do. This was Tora's job. He comforted people better than her. "Hikari, I want to be ninja like Daddy." Tora's name became Daddy to Naruto after the announcement of the adoption. "I miss him." Hikari picked the toddler up and hugged him close. Tora and Naruto knew each other for nine months but formed a lifetime bond.

ICECOLD

Naruto was put under the watch of a pair of Jonin that didn't live with him. One watched him from midnight to noon while the other watched him from noon to midnight. He was told their names were Aoi and Aka, but he couldn't tell the difference between them. They were forever strangers to Naruto. He continued to live at Tora's apartment, but he spent most his time in his bedroom. Tora's room was untouched. The strangers didn't disrespect his wishes about them not entering that room. They stayed in the shadows wherever Naruto went. He didn't like them, and the only time his life grew brighter was when Hikari visits. She would drag him out of the apartment to do something fun, and the shadows would follow because they don't trust anyone.

It was funny how Naruto discovered his jumping love. He had climbed the tree outside the apartment building to think. Hikari told him that she'd be gone for awhile. She worried too much about him. He was depressed, but no doctor would look at him unless he was gushing blood. Naruto frowned and looked at the end of the branch. He noticed a pouch tied to the limb, so he slowly crawled over to the end. Just as he grabbed the pouch, the branch snapped, sending him to the ground.

"Naruto," the Hokage said. Naruto looked over at the old man as a nurse was putting a splint on his left wrist with another one being on his leg. There were a few cuts and bruises, but the broken bones scared the Hokage the most. He was told by a doctor that it was only Naruto's leg and wrist that were broken. "What were you doing up there in the tree?" Naruto pulled out the pouch from his pocket. The Hokage sighed and chuckled. "Of course it would be for something simple." Naruto didn't tell the Hokage about the thrill of the fall or how he thought he could touch the sky if he went high enough.

In two months, Naruto managed to avoid his watchers and complete seven jumps that were labeled suicide attempts. The first jump after the tree was off Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. He walked away with a dislocated shoulder and a few other bruises. Hikari didn't know about the jumps because her mission was a long one. The second jump was off a high tree branch. Naruto broke a finger and got a concussion from that one. The next four jumps were off various houses in Konoha. Naruto didn't always break a bone or dislocate something. His bones healed after a few days though. The Hokage noticed it was healing slower nowadays. Naruto didn't. His seventh jump was off the Hokage's Tower. Internal bleeding went into play, but Naruto was up and out of the hospital in an hour.

"My greatest jump!" Naruto announced to no one as he looked over the edge of the Fourth Hokage's head. He stepped back and prepared to run. What he didn't know was that the monster inside him layered him in chakra to decrease the amount of damage this jump would cause. It took seven seconds for Naruto jump off the edge with a running start. He outstretched his hand to the sky because he wanted to reach Tora. Down he went after a second. He felt tingly and chalked it up to being fear instead of chakra underneath his skin. The impact was painful. Thankfully only Naruto's femur broke, but there was some internal bleeding. Naruto was knocked unconscious to add that in.

"Hey, little boy," a voice said. Naruto groaned and cracked his eyes open. He didn't reach the sky; he didn't reach Tora. "Little boy, are you okay?" Naruto looked over at a man with pale eyes. He looked worried, and that made Naruto afraid. The white haired child jumped up and tried to punch the adult before the adult got him. "Hey now! I didn't do anything to you!" The man tapped Naruto's arms, and they became painfully numb. Naruto was amazed. He went to kick the man and got his legs tapped too. He collapsed to the ground. "You're a tough little guy, aren't you? I'm Hyuga Hizashi." The man was friendly. Naruto giggled as he tried to move his arms and couldn't. "A masochist as well. I watch you jump from different buildings. Why do you do it?" Naruto stopped and felt as if he were in trouble.

"I like it," Naruto said. He twitched all his fingers to make sure that even though he couldn't feel them, they could move. Naruto looked up at the morning sky. "Daddy is up there. Hikari says so." Hizashi nodded and sighed. "I can never get high enough. Daddy is with his daddy and mommy, but I want him here with me." Hizashi patted the kid's head and knew of Uzumaki Tora's death. "I'm bad." Hizashi shook his head. He took Naruto's tiny wrist in his hand and worked on unsealing the chakra points.

"No, you aren't a bad kid. People just can't see you," Hizashi said. He smiled at Naruto and noticed that even though the kid wasn't smiling, his eyes sparkled. "You have to stop jumping off those buildings through. Your dad might be sad if he knew that you were hurting yourself again." Naruto nodded and looked at the dirt. Hizashi finished with the one arm and started on the other. "You've only got one life. You should use that life to show everybody who Uzumaki Naruto is instead of who they think he is." Naruto looked at Hizashi and nodded. This was the third time an adult accepted him. "My son is just a year older than you and is so confused. Maybe one day, you two can be friends." Naruto nodded. Hizashi took Naruto's ankle and worked on the leg this time. "You and my son, Neji, are special. You know what life is like in its roughest moments." Naruto frowned. "Don't frown. It makes you look sick." Naruto shrugged as Hizashi grabbed his other ankle. "Want to come get ramen with Neji and I?" Naruto nodded and was bouncing around like a normal child as soon as he was let go.

"Where is Neji?" Naruto asked. Hizashi walked beside him and pointed to a little boy sitting on a crate. Naruto ran over and looked at Neji. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto stuck out his hand like he saw adults doing all the time. "I want to be your friend." Neji looked at the hand and then at his father. Hizashi shrugged and watched his son smile at the white haired boy.

"I'm Hyuga Neji. You're my first friend," Neji said. He shook Naruto's hand and smiled at him. Neither child would understand the events that followed that morning. Neji would forget the name of his first friend, but he never would forget the smiling blue eyes his friend had. Naruto would eventually forget what Neji looked like and figured he died too. "Why were you sleeping on the dirt?" Naruto blinked at the innocent question. He gave off his eye smile and shrugged. Neji frowned and looked mad.

"I was lost and just fell asleep!" Naruto said. Hizashi walked behind the two boys as they headed towards Ichiraku's. He smiled at how Naruto was animatedly retelling the story of Sleeping Beauty. The child was highlighting mainly the dragon part. Neji was in awe. "Hizashi, thank you." The older man was surprised. Naruto was never known to show manners to anyone outside the Hokage and Hikari. Hizashi smiled as a way to show the boy that the thank you was accepted. "Neji! Do you know any good stories?" Naruto was a good kid. The village just had trouble seeing it.

Naruto went looking for Neji and Hizashi a couple days later. He asked the Hokage about the father and son, but he wasn't given any answers. Hikari let it slip on accident about the Hyuga Estate. Naruto was there in seconds and argued with the guard. He wasn't allowed to see Neji. Neji was a caged prince while Naruto was a lowly peasant. The white haired boy didn't give up. He sat outside the estate for a week. Day and night was spent there. The guards finally told him about Hizashi's death. As soon as they said that, Naruto ran home and hid in his closest. Tora and Hizashi were the people to get close to him; they died. It was his fault.

ICECOLD

Naruto hated people. He only ever talked to Hikari and the Hokage. His eyes stopped smiling, and he became a somber child. Hikari worried about him a lot, but, as a Jonin herself, she wasn't able to stay by him every day. Three weeks after Naruto's fourth birthday, Hikari wasn't able to stay with him forever. She was killed on a solo mission by a traitor on her team. Naruto went to the funeral and watched the body burn with a heavy heart. He ignored the whispers behind him because he was a hero like Tora told him all those months ago. He was like the warriors in Hikari's stories.

Nobody looked at Naruto anymore. They were counting down the seconds until he snapped. He came home every day to a gloomy apartment. He stayed out of Tora's room and went straight to his own room. The only books Naruto had in his room were fairy tale books. He couldn't read, but he liked looking at the pictures that Tora showed to him first. Between the ignoring and the loneliness, Naruto snapped and ran away, carrying only an old kunai of Hikari's.

It wasn't far from Konoha when he met her. Yuhi Kurenai was just a nineteen-year-old Chunin returning from a simple C-ranked mission. She was tired and needing a shower, but something about this white haired boy interested her. He looked into her red eyes and only thought of the people he feared the most. The Uchiha clan was known to physically assault the boy for no reason. He hated her red eyes and backed away in fear. She didn't know and reached out towards him.

"Back away!" Naruto cried as he pressed against a tree. She looked hurt but didn't come any closer. She didn't look nice. He could smell blood on her. Blood was a bad sign. "Stay away, Uchiha." Naruto's voice cracked as he started crying. Kurenai noted that he was armed and wasn't dangerous. She took a step closer with caution. Naruto tensed up and brought the kunai to the front. His eyes spoke fear in volumes. "Please." His voice went soft as she took another step forward. Naruto recalled one of Tora's training sessions to review different scenarios of arresting a criminal. He brought the kunai to his neck. "Don't. Stay away." Kurenai froze and tried to figure out how to continue. She moved slowly to reach the ninja wire in her pouch, but Naruto watched her. As soon as she made a move too quick, he did as he promised. "Sorry." Naruto, in shock, put a hand up to stop the blood and dropped the kunai.

"It's going to be okay," Kurenai said as she rushed over. Naruto didn't object to her picking him up because right then his vision started swaying. He watched the forest fly by. He felt his eyelids getting heavier. He closed them just as the last of the forest disappeared. Kurenai kept talking to him the entire time. She told him story after story of a warrior. "It'll be okay." Kurenai practically stumbled into the ER of the hospital. The staff working there caught sight of the little boy in her arms and turned their backs. Kurenai couldn't believe this. "How can you just stand there and watch a child die!" The so-called medics looked at her briefly. They would rather waste their chakra on a person with no chance instead of a child with a chance. "Just heal him! That's your job!" A scrawny medic came forth and stopped the blood. He quickly stitched up the rest. "Thank you." The doctor looked at the Chunin.

"He's in your care now. When he's cleaned up, put bandages around his neck to keep from being messed with. Bring him back in a week to remove the stitches," the medic said quickly. He shook his head as he walked away. Kurenai left quickly and went straight to her place. She had no clue where Naruto lived, and she wasn't about to hand a blood covered toddler to the Hokage. She placed him on an old changing table that was in the bathroom still. She sighed and remembered her mother changing her brothers every hour almost and how her older brother would laugh and make funny faces to distract them. The memories turned to sadness as she left the room to the basement for her youngest brother's old clothing. Her brothers and father were killed by the Kyuubi, but she never hated Naruto. She couldn't see the Kyuubi in the angelic face.

"Daddy?" Naruto murmured as he woke to the bright bathroom. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. This wasn't right. He should be dead. Panic started to bloom in his chest as he looked at himself in the mirror. His skin and clothing were soaked in blood. He took off his shirt and let it drop to the ground. The stitches were new. He traced each one. Suddenly, his hand was slapped away.

"Don't touch those," Kurenai said. Naruto glared at her and flinched as she looked at him. He was confused. "I'm Yuhi Kurenai. Not an Uchiha." Naruto nodded. "A medic put the stitches on you. He instructed me to give you a bath before applying bandages. Your clothes were dirty, and I don't know where you live." Naruto nodded and held out his arms to her. He wanted off the changing table. Kurenai let Naruto undress himself as she started filling a bucket with warm water. Naruto watched her. "I'm not going to poison you. That would be foolish." Naruto didn't say anything. He didn't trust this pretty stranger. She was like the princesses from Tora's fairytales. "Here, let's get you bathed." Naruto surprisingly let her pick him up and put him into the water. It didn't matter that he was bloody. She didn't seem to care about touching his skin. "Let's clean off the blood before giving you a nice bubble bath." Naruto didn't say anything as she gently washed away the blood, using the water from the bucket. "Don't talk much, do you, little guy?" Kurenai caught Naruto's little eye smile as she finished washing off the blood. Naruto sat in the tub as she filled it up with warm water and bubbles.

"You're a princess?" Naruto asked. Kurenai was a bit taken back. The kid, when not afraid, had a soft voice. "Daddy's fairytales had lots of princesses, but they never saved a prince. I'm a prince in Daddy's fairytales. I'm a hero in Hikari's stories!" Naruto never smiled with his lips. He had a cheery look in his eyes that betrayed his blank face. "I like the dragons and monsters the best." Kurenai smiled as she washed his hair. White hair on a kid? Strange, but possible. Jiraiya had white hair as a child. "Hikari never like the monsters. She said that I was not a monster because monsters live in closets and under beds." Kurenai rinsed out the kid's hair. He talked about Tora and Hikari a lot. He stopped talking when the last of the water was gone from the tub. Kurenai picked him up and took him back to the changing table. "Kurenai, one day, I'll marry you." The nineteen-year-old smile and ruffled his wet hair.

"You're going to have to learn to smile like everybody else first," Kurenai said. Naruto distorted his face in an attempt to smile. He remembered the smile he gave Tora, but he couldn't smile anymore. It wasn't recognized anymore. "It's okay. You've got to break the height problem too, so why don't you become tall and strong and then come see me." She tapped his nose as he glared at her. "Diapers or underwear?" She held up one of each, and Naruto pointed towards the underwear. Kurenai let the boy put the underwear on himself and helped him with the rest of his clothes because they weren't slip-ons. She finished buttoning up the top shirt and smoothed down Naruto's hair a bit. The white bandages on his neck were a glaring reminder of something she wanted to forget. "You're a cutie when you're clean." Naruto looked at himself in the mirror and shrugged. "Let's go get something to eat." Naruto held his arms out to her again, and she gladly picked him up.

They went to Ichiraku's, and Teuchi remarked to Kurenai that her boyfriend was a little short. Naruto didn't like the eyes that the owner's daughter, Ayame, was giving him. He never liked the nine-year-old because she freaked him out with her loud voice. Kurenai laughed as Naruto scooted closer to her as they ate. He sighed and looked at the old stand runner. Teuchi was one of the only people in Naruto's life that was always around. He always had a smile for the boy.

"Naruto," Kurenai said. Naruto blinked and looked around. People were starting to come in, meaning Naruto had to leave. "Why don't you lead the way to your home?" Naruto nodded and took her hand. She didn't object and walked with him to a nice looking apartment building. The sun was setting behind it, and Naruto knew he should be getting to bed soon. "I'll go up with you to make sure you're comfortable." Naruto didn't care. He let her follow him to the room. The door didn't have a doorknob with a keyhole. The doorknob was completely smooth, but Naruto still needed a key. He touched the spot a regular keyhole would've been and then opened the door. "Chakra?" Naruto nodded and let her pass. He shut the door and looked at her. "Okay, I might as well just ask it. Why are you so focused on dying, Naruto?" Kurenai knew this kid's hospital history and could see the scars on his body. Naruto didn't shrug or give any response. He walked over to the couch and picked up a discarded teddy bear off the floor. It was almost depressing because the apartment held very little life. "Why is all I'm asking." Naruto blinked back the tears. No sense crying again.

"Daddy and Hikari are in the clouds. They're waiting for me. I just know it!" Naruto said. Kurenai felt bad for the boy. The apartment looked like it was perfect for a single dad and his toddler, but when you took away the dad, the child is the only thing that lives in the apartment now. Tora made many mistakes, but as he died, he never regretted adopting Naruto. The toddler standing before her looked tinier in the apartment than outside it. "Bye, Kurenai." Naruto wasn't pushing her out the door, but he wanted to be alone. His eyes looked tired.

"Okay, see you later, Shorty," Kurenai said with a smile. Naruto glared at her as she left. The Chunin stopped outside the apartment building and looked back at the window she was sure belonged to Naruto. The little toddler was the toughest guy she knew. "Be brave. Life will turn around for you." Naruto never heard those words, but he watched Kurenai leave and thank whatever god there was that she didn't stay. He didn't want her to see him cry because he was alone again.

ICECOLD

"Naruto, are you listening?" the Hokage asked. Naruto hated it when the Third visited because he always tried some psychology bullshit on him. "Naruto, four-year-olds aren't supposed to have scars on their arms and neck like yours." Naruto covered the scar left over from his meeting with Kurenai with his hand. He wouldn't look at the old man because he was avoiding the truth. "Okay, Naruto, you're now going to be taken care of by a Chunin." They were downgrading his protection. "He will protect you until I deem him to be dismissed." Naruto rolled his eyes and looked around. The door opened.

"Hello, Naruto. I'm Uchiha Itachi," the newcomer said. His dark eyes were friendly enough, but there was something in the shadows. A past pain that was eating away at the Chunin. Naruto thought it was weird for boys to have long hair as he stared at Itachi's little ponytail. "I have a feeling that we're going to be great friends." Naruto looked at the boy's clothes. Itachi wore almost the same uniform as the Academy teachers except he didn't wear the vest and his collar was high. Naruto suddenly knew where he heard Itachi's last name from. He screamed and ran back the hall to his bedroom. "Naruto?" Itachi looked worried. He went to get the toddler, but the Hokage stopped him.

"Naruto is afraid of your clan. He's had many bad run-ins with Uchiha. Show him you're different," the Third said. Itachi nodded. At nine years old, he wasn't a genius for nothing. He picked up a discarded bear and walked back to the room. He gently knocked on the wooden door and heard movement behind the door. "Itachi, don't be afraid of him. He's harmless to everyone but himself." Itachi looked at the bear and was reminded of his brother, Sasuke. Naruto was afraid of him just like Sasuke was when the toddler first saw one of Itachi's jutsu.

"Naruto, I'm an Uchiha, yes, but I'm not like them," Itachi said. He wasn't sure the boy could understand him. He tapped on the door again. "I would never hurt you like they did. You're a good kid. I understand why my mother is always scolding my father for letting them hurt you. I'll protect you from them for now on. I promise." Itachi didn't know what to say. He tapped on the door once more and heard the lock click. The door opened a crack for Naruto to look up at the Chunin. "Here, I've brought you your bear." He held the bear out, and Naruto opened the door completely. He held the stuffed animal close and looked at Itachi with calculating eyes. "What? Something on my face?" Itachi was worried about the kid because Naruto was very wary of him and looked ready to scream again.

"Can you tell really good fairytales? All kinds?" Naruto asked. Itachi looked into the innocent blue eyes and knew Naruto was serious. The Uchiha prodigy was never told a fairytale from his father, but he remembered some of his mother's. He smile and nodded. "Good. The last ones couldn't. I didn't like them. They never showed me their faces." Naruto took Itachi's hand and brought him into the room. Itachi sat in the rocking chair as Naruto brought over the fairytale book. "If you need help, my daddy left this behind." Naruto had smiling eyes. Itachi instantly liked this kid. He wasn't like his brother in the least. "We're friends?" Itachi nodded and picked up the tiny child. Naruto was tiny for his age.

"Let me tell you a brand new fairytale tonight before bed. Why don't you tell me about you?" Itachi asked. Naruto looked at the bear and shrugged. Itachi knew that look on Naruto's face. What was so interesting about me? He wore it many times. "I want to know all about you. You can be like my second little brother, and I'll tell you about me." Naruto gave his little eye smile and began to tell Itachi about his street adventures, Tora, Hikari, his jumps, and Kurenai. Itachi nodded and smile through the good parts. Neither of them noticed that the Third watched for a minute before leaving just as Itachi started telling Naruto about himself. The Hokage had a feeling that Naruto and Itachi were going to be best friends, almost brothers. He wasn't sure of the future of Itachi though.

ICECOLD

Naruto made a mistake with Itachi. He trusted the Uchiha too much. Itachi was a bad person. The four-year-old couldn't see the evil, but the eight-year-old experienced it firsthand. He tried to keep Itachi in the village, but he lost. Itachi smiled at him and slipped a package into his pocket. Naruto looked up from the ground and knew he had some broken bones from his battle. Itachi took his ANBU sword that he used to kill his family off his back. He removed the sheath and looked at the blade. Naruto wasn't able to move. He wasn't ready to die yet.

"Naruto, you're my favorite brother," Itachi said. He placed a foot against Naruto's shoulder and sighed. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in this mess. Don't worry too much. I'll make sure you don't suffer too long." Itachi raised the sword. "Naruto, take care of that package for me. I'll be back for it one of these days." He stabbed Naruto in the abdomen and made sure to go through to the ground. "Goodbye Naruto. Pray you live." Itachi took off as Naruto looked at the sword and felt numb completely. His vision faded as Itachi disappeared from sight. Nobody remembered the white haired boy that was involved in the massacre.

"Itachi…don't…leave…me," Naruto whispered as he passed out. The wind took the words and blew them into the distance. Never to reach human ears. The first raindrop landed to make it look like Naruto cried before millions of drops started coming down, washing away the pain and trust of Uzumaki Naruto.

How was that for a rewrite? Don't worry. Kurenai is in the next chapter a little bit more.