KC (Kiya-Chan): Hello to all who have ventured here!

DB (Demonic Brat): This story is being written by the both of us XD.

Both: We hope you enjoy! We do not own Naruto or it's characters.

CH 1

A young blonde of sixteen placed his final bag in his mothers carriage. Sighing the boy glanced over his shoulder and took a last look at their old home. True, he was used to moving around from town to town, but that didn't stop the dread from weighing down his heart. Although he really should have seen this coming, his mother was never one to stay in one place for too long. "Come along Naruto, we need to get going."

"Alright Tsunade." the blonde sighed, hopping up onto the carriage to sit next to his mother Tsunade. Out of all the towns he have lived in he liked this one the most. To be completely honest Naruto had grown to love this rather large town. Here no one looked twice at his unusual bright blonde hair and extremely hyper and cheery personality. Even his lack of attention towards woman, having no father and living alone with a gambler as a mother was easily excepted, which was a very rare thing.

Despite her gambling problem Tsunade made pretty good money. Her husband had left her his trading company when he died. But bad luck hit and all ships were badly damaged or sunk in the ocean thanks to the large storm that hit six months ago. Of course Tsunade not knowing of this until it was too late, gambled away almost all of their money. So when news of the tragedy finally reached them the fortune was gone and they where in debt, forcing them to sell almost all their precious items and move on.

Tsunade glanced at her son her milk chocolate eyes showing concern. She forced a smile trying to keep a positive attitude. "Look at it this way Naruto," she started with a small laugh. "It's another adventure and a new home."

Naruto looked over at the blonde woman his blue eyes a little distant, but a smile on his face none the less. "Just like usual." he said. "New home and a new adventure."

Two weeks later Tsunade stopped the horse and carriage in front of a small cottage. It was quaint, with flowers growing all over the yard. The cottage was completely made of wood; different from the brick home they had been living in for the last six years. There was a small kitchen with a wood stove, a sitting room area with a fire place, one main bedroom then a small set of stairs to a small attic like bedroom.

"This is homey." Tsunade commented, placing her small pack down in the sitting room. Naruto walked in and looked around suddenly feeling cramped. "I'm sure it will grown on you. We are starting completely from scratch Naruto, we both have to make changes to our life styles."

Naruto half ignored his mother as he stared at the high ceilings feeling a little bit better about their new home. "Can I have the upstairs room?" he asked, already walking to the stairs not waiting to hear her answer. The room was just barely tall enough for him to stand in. The room was about a foot smaller then the sitting room, a small hay mattress sat at the far end of the room, a window to his right that looked over the yard; a horse barn on the far side of the field. What he loved most about the room though was that the windowsill was big enough for him to sit on and a place to keep the few books he got to keep. Beyond the field and horse barn was a forest, the forest seemed absent of life. The gray trees and dark leaves gave it an eerie haunted aura. Even the birds refused to roust in their branches. Naruto stared at the shadowy forest in mild curiosity. It gave him the creeps .

"Naruto, come down here there is someone I want you to meet!" Tsunade called from the bottom of the stairs. The teen placed his knapsack on the hay mattress then descended the stairs. "Kakashi, this is my son Naruto. Naruto this is Kakashi, we are renting this place from him."

Naruto held out his hand and shook with Kakashi. "You look like a sturdy young man." Kakashi commented cheerfully. Judging by Kakashi's voice he sounded as if he was merely in his thirty's though his hair was completely gray. He wore a mask over the bottom part of his face, including his nose, and an eye patch over his left eye. "I'm sure you'll be able to plow the land and take care of the crops just fine."

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked, releasing the elder mans hand. "What do you mean plow the land?"

Kakashi looked over at Tsunade a little confused. "Didn't you tell him?" he asked the elder woman.

"I told him we were both going to have to make changes, he ran up stairs before I could tell him everything." she stated with a slight shrug. "He's a fast learner, I'm sure he'll pick it up."

"I haven't worked a day in my life!" Naruto exclaimed, doing his best to make a point.

"Well it's never too late to start." Kakashi and Tsunade stated in unison. Naruto sighed tiredly as he ran his hand through his already messy hair. He just didn't have the will to argue today.

"I'll leave him in your capable hands Kakashi. I should finish unpacking." Tsunade smiled. Kakashi nodded and walked out the door, leading the annoyed teen out the door and to the horse barn.

Two hours later Kakashi and Naruto had plowed a fifth the land. Tsunade had been right, Naruto was a fast learner and plowed even a little faster then Kakashi. Both men stopped to take a short break sitting on stumps on the side of the field. "Kakashi, what are these woods?" Naruto asked curiously before taking a swig of his water.

Kakashi looked over to the dead woods and shook his head. "Never go in there Naruto." he stated, authority in his voice. "Those woods are cursed, anyone who goes in there never comes back. They say there is a monster that lives in a castle that kills anyone who dares to enter his domain." Naruto audibly swallowed staring wide eyed at the forest. Kakashi smiled his right eye almost gleaming. "So I expect you to stay away from the forest at all costs."

Naruto nodded vigorously turning his attention back to the gray haired man next to him. "Will do, no doubt about that." he stated.

"Good boy." Kakashi laughed, rubbing the kids head and messing his hair up more then it already was. "Even though we still have a lot to plow we better head to town and get seeds. I heard they were having a sale and let me tell ya, seeds are becoming pricier every year. Let your mother know and we'll get going."

"Okay." Naruto laughed, running back to the house to inform Tsunade,then meeting Kakashi out front who had two horses saddled and ready.

Naruto looked around in wonder at all the wild life that surrounded him. Sure he had traveled a lot since he was young and he was used to it really. The only thing that was different this time was he had a new found appreciation for nature. All the tall trees, the flowers in more colors then he could imagine, the birds singing their happy tunes and the bee's buzzing and going about their business.

The village was a short distance from the cottage, five minutes by horse and twenty by foot. When they entered the village everyone was friendly, saying hi and good afternoon. Kakashi stopped in front of a small shop, seeds hung to dry by the door and flowers growing in small pots outside the small window. Kakashi led the way into the flower fragrance shop where a cheerful blond girl with baby blue eyes greeted them. "Hey Mr. Hatake, what can I do for you today?" she asked, barely glancing Naruto's way.

"Well we need crop plants, like tomatoes, corn, and green beans." Kakashi answered looking around the shop. "An apple tree and an orange tree wouldn't hurt either."

Naruto was used to others doing business for him, though for the first time he felt kind of useless. He looked out the window and spotted a small book shop. "Kakashi I'll be right back." Naruto called to the gray haired man, who merely said not to take long. Feeling giddier then a kid on Christmas Naruto all but ran to the shop. He stopped at the door and opened it slowly, a bell above the door signaling his presence. He looked around the small shop and found it a little disappointing.

"How may I help you?" a tall some what bulky man, with long gray hair asked while popping out from behind a shelf practically scaring Naruto out of his skin.

Naruto jumped looked up in shock at the book keeper. "Hi, I was just hoping to look around a little." he stated trying to lower the rapped beating of his heart, thanks to the mans sudden appearance. Now that the surprise was over he could not help to feel slightly embarrassed like a child caught in a room he shouldn't be in.

The book keeper looked Naruto over before a wide grin crossed his features. "You must be the Uzumaki kid!" he boomed, smacking Naruto's back a couple of times nearly knocking the wind out of him. "Sure, sure look around and borrow what ever book you like!" he exclaimed merrily.

"You mean I can borrow what ever book I like?" Naruto asked in shock, his giddy attitude rising again.

"But of course." the man stated. "My names Jiraiya, it's good to finally meet you."

Naruto blinked twice, turning away from the books he was looking over. "Finally?" he asked curiously before turning back to the books to look as he listened to the elder man.

Jiraiya grinned and shook his head. "It's nothing to concern yourself with my boy." Naruto's eyes finally caught the title of a book that sounded interesting. Jiraiya noticed this and plucked it off the shelf to look it over. "Yes, this is quite the book. Tragedy and adventure, sound like something you like?"

"Sounds exciting." Naruto said happily. Jiraiya nodded and handed the book over saying to keep it as long as he needed, but to be sure to return it in the same condition. After promising to do so Naruto left with a new book in hand.

"Hello." Startled Naruto looked up to find a pink haired girl standing by the door waiting for him. She batted her unusually long lashes and stared at the blonde with knowing green eyes. "How are you doing today?"

Naruto stared at the girl taking a step back, the girl taking a step to stay in the blondes space. "Uh, hi." he muttered stepping back again, this time stepping around the pinkette to head back to the flower shop.

"Hey, don't just ignore me!" the pinkette called after him.

Naruto ignored her as he reached the flower shop. "Are you ready to go Kakashi?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. Kakashi looked at at the irate blonde noticing a flash of pink walk by the window. He chuckled and wished the flower girl his best wishes before leaving with the blonde. The ride back to the cottage was just as silent as the ride to town, the sounds of the birds songs was the only noise with the horses hooves striking the ground with each step. Kakashi kept glancing at the blonde who's hair was more disheveled then when they had been working the field.

"You two certainly took your time." Tsunade commented, looking from her project of rearranging the sitting room.

"Tsunade, you should of waited for me to get back." Naruto exclaimed, moving beside his mother to take over moving the heavy sitting chair. "You might hurt yourself."

Tsunade could feel her anger getting the better of her. "I think I can move a simple sitting chair brat." she growled out. Kakashi watched the bantering exchange between the two and shook his head, wondering if these two were truly related.

Slowly time passed and both Naruto and Tsunade quickly became accustomed to their new way of life. Naruto came to learn that the pink haired girl who started chasing after him was very well known thanks to her large amount of wealth. Her name Sakura Haruno. Naruto quickly got tired of the girl, wishing she would just leave him alone. No such luck, it was apparent that this girl was quite spoiled and used to getting what she wanted no matter what the costs. In this case she wanted Naruto.

Two months passed and the crops were coming along well. Naruto was so excited about it all, reading all he could during his free time. He really enjoyed the book keepers company, even though he was quite the pervert. Jiraiya and Tsunade clashed horribly so Naruto did his best to make sure they did not cross paths more then necessary.

"Naruto, you know that you will eventually have to get married and move out." Tsunade said one evening that winter while sitting in front of the fire. Naruto blinked in surprise and peered at his mother over his book, he had no idea where that came from, such a random thing to say. Slowly Naruto closed the book on his lap to look up at the blonde woman who immediately looked sorry that she had said anything. "I'm just saying, you just turned seventeen and for six months now a girl has been chasing after you like none other."

"But, she's so frustrating!" Naruto tried to explain. Tsunade raised a blonde brow at this motioning for him to continue. The young teen ran a hand through his hair, pulling at it slightly trying to decide how best to explain the situation. "She's desperate that's all it is. Sakura Haruno irritates me. She doesn't know when to take a hint and she redefines arrogance. If she was quiet and a little less crazy then perhaps I would peruse her, but I can't stand her."

Tsunade nodded and smiled in understanding. "So someone more like that Hinata girl."

"Hinata?" Naruto asked tilting his head to the side in confusion. "Who is that?"

The blonde woman smack her head with the palm of her hand. "The quiet girl who's always following you." she stated, Naruto's confusion merely grew. "In other news, I have to travel back to our home town. Apparently there are a few papers that were not ready before we left. I have to go back and sign them. The trip should take no longer then four weeks, plus I'm going to travel with a caravan headed the same way."

"It's the dead of winter!" Naruto exclaimed as worry pooled in his stomach. "That is the worse idea you could possibly have!"

"These papers are very important." Tsunade explained as calmly as she could. "I'm gonna have Kakashi stay with you while I'm away."

Naruto shook his head. "Take him with you." Naruto urged. "I'll ask Jiraiya if he could stay while you are away."

Tsunade shook her head in disgust. "I do not want to pervert any where near here." she scorned. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest in determination. Tsunade let out a frustrated sigh as she tugged at her hair. "You are as stubborn as your father, you know that." Naruto merely grinned at this as he sat back in his seat with content.

The next week Tsunade left for town, leaving Naruto and Jiraiya at the cottage.

KC: Well there you go ^^

DB: We hope enjoyed. Reviews, favoriting, and alerts are always appreciated!

KC: Followers are also very much welcomed! Until next time!

Both: Bye!