A Proper Start {A Naruto Fanfiction}

Chapter 3: Starting over

Disclaimer: None of the characters, or artwork is mine. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto, Shounen jump, and the respective artists from deviantART, and the rest of the internet. I only write about these characters for fun. But if I did own them, they would be completely different, and have nothing to do with all of that "Sage of the Six Paths" crap.

Naruto woke up slowly, blinked his eyes, and began to become aware of his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was a dull, burning pain on his chest, and on his face. It didn't hurt that badly, although he expected it to be gone by now The second thing he noticed was a constant pressure on his chest weighing him down. Naruto looked down, only to be surprised at the sight of a female ninja. Naruto immediately became terrified. Whenever there were ninja involved in his life, there was always pain. Naruto recognized this early on, and it has served him ever since. Naruto attempted to wriggle from underneath her, but inadvertently roused her in the process. As the girl began to stir, he to immediately raised his hands up and surrender. "Please don't hurt me! I promise I haven't done anything, please take anything you want!" he cried. Anko shot up at the loud declaration. After she had digested what he had said, she immediately felt sick to her stomach and immensely sad for the boy. "Shhhhh, it's OK, I'm not going to hurt you." She slowly crept her hands around the boys shoulders and held him close. Naruto immediately resisted, and attempted to wriggle away from her grasp. "I'm not a monster! Please I haven't done anything!" He screamed. "I know, And I'm sorry that those villages of treated you so badly for so long..." she said. "I promise that that's all over now. I'm going to be your new mom from now on. Is that okay?" Naruto was shocked, no one had ever shown him this level of kindness before. It made him feel sort of good. 'But what if she's just trying to trick me?' "How do I know you're telling the truth?" He whispered, still crying. 'Damn those evil villagers!' she thought. ' with the power he holds, he could raze this village to the ground if he wanted to! Those ungrateful bastards.' " Naruto, I've been through what you're currently going through. I've been hated, despise, ignored, beaten, and ostracized. I even know the truth behind those eyes..." Naruto gasped at this. He then noticed a glimmer of light coming from this woman's face. 'Tears?' He though. He gasped again. 'she's crying for me?' She looked at her eyes again, only to notice that they slowly hardened, and condensed into sheer determination. "I promise, that you'll never have to be alone again. I'll be with you for as long as you live. Do you understand?" She finished there, not trusting her voice to speak again. Little did she know, Naruto was in a similar situation. It was a couple minutes of silent crying, before Naruto could respond. "Hai..." he said softly. She smiled, "Good. Now let's go home." She said. Naruto's eyes widened, "Wait, the nurse said that I couldn't go home for another week! Besides, what home?" Anko grinned at this. "Gaki, one thing you'll soon learn about me, is that I'm not one for rules." Naruto grinned, "Hai, Kaa-san!" Anko frowned at his smile, confusing Naruto. "Gaki, one other thing you must know about me, is that because of me having a similar past, I know all the tricks and trades. So drop your mask." She said. Naruto frowned and cocked his head, "Huh?" "What I mean is, act like your True self. Don't cover it up, or act like someone else just to please me. When I signed on to be your new mother, I signed on for you. Not the mask your wearing now. So drop it." Naruto's face relaxed, still smiling as he nodded. Anko smiled, "Good. Now let's go!" In one swift motion, Anko grabbed Naruto, then launched herself through the window and slid on a rafter towards their new house. Behind them, one certain nurse shook her head. "I have a feeling they'll be back sooner then I would like." She turned, then smiled. "Well... Maybe like isn't the right word."