CHAPTER ONE
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NARUTO WAS WANDERING ALL over the Leaf village, eager for any adventure. He had an extreme case of boredom from a D-Ranked mission he had to handle earlier that day, and unfortunately was one-upped by Sasuke once again. It was tiring, having the same thing happen to him over and over, only in different ways. With furrowed brows and a pout, he walked along a stone road with his hands shoved in his pockets stiffly.
"That Sasuke. I'll show him!" He muttered under his breath, kicking a rock in his path.
Soon enough, he landed right in a field of flowers, the calm wind causing them to flow to the side slightly. His eyes widened at the sight. Dozens of kinds of flowers took over the large field, huddling in their own separate groups.
The next thing he saw was a girl around his age, bending down to pluck a sunflower to add to her collection. She was singing to herself, not too loudly but not too quietly either. The sun shone down on her, but it looked like she didn't mind. He had immediately given her a nickname, one that represented her well.
But that was a secret.
"Hey!" Naruto jogged up to her and she stopped abruptly, adjusting her posture to look at the yellow-haired boy.
"Hello!" She grinned sheepishly at him, her crystal-like eyes shining in excitement.
"Um, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. Instinctually, he looked down at the grass-covered ground, waiting for the loud yells or scoffs that would fill the air once she realized who he was.
She didn't care about who he was, or what he represented, though. Not one bit.
"I'm Yuri! It's nice to meet you, Naruto." Her lashes brushed the brim of her cheeks as she gave him a kind, close-eyed smile. "You're a ninja, right?"
He bit his lip in a relieved manner. "Yeah. I've been a Genin for a while."
"That's so cool!" She gushed, rummaging through her basket to find something.
At her remark, he gained an ounce of his usual confidence. "I've been wanting to do it, ya know! I want to be Hokage someday, and the only way to do that is to become the best shinobi."
She nodded quickly, listening to every word he would say. She admired how passionate he was about his dream.
She then brought out a lily flower and held it up to his hair, her basket still swaying from her extreme case of movement.
He hesitated for a moment, reading the situation. He did that almost none of the time, but this was a rare moment, so he analyzed. Why was she being so nice to a person she just met? Why was she carrying around a basket of flowers? Why was she wanting to give him a flower that represented her name? Yuri.
Nonetheless, he bent forward just a little bit, so that the flower would sit on the curve of his ear.
She jumped a little out of happiness, clapping her hands together.
Tears slyly made their way out of his eyes and he didn't notice until one fell to the ground, catching his attention.
"Why are you crying?" Yuri asked in a concerned tone, reaching her hand to his face to wipe his tears delicately.
More tears formed at her touch. "Because you're one of the first people who I've met that didn't run away from me, or call me a monster. You're really nice..."
He took a deep breath. "So,"
"Thank you."