I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
A Demon's Life
"What do you really know?" Naruto asks, tilting his head cutely to the side. "Do you know the pain of having everything ripped away from you and being left in the darkness?" Here he paused, seeming to await an answer but the stunned silence was unforthcoming. "Yes…you do know how it feels to lose a loved one, to be powerless to do anything to save him, and can only watch helplessly while your hero dies. But there were others; your friends, your mother and your grandfather. They were always behind you, silently supporting you, keeping you from falling into that black hole. You were able to trust them. So tell me this, do you know how it feels to be hated irrationally for something you couldn't control? And it was only because of this presence that you didn't go mad altogether. Do you know how it feels to not be able to trust anyone? Because as soon as they hear your name they try to kill you? To be utterly and completely alone, constantly surrounded by enemies with no one to watch you back…" Naruto trailed off and continued eating. His stunned teammates and sensei could only stare at him in detached horror, but Inari still hadn't gotten his pint across.
"You'll die." Naruto glanced up at Inari but seemed to be debating whether he should actually say something. "You'll go out there being a happy idiot knowing nothing of real pain, then die a fool's death." He seemed to be oblivious of the tears rolling down his face and onto his plate of untouched food.
Watching him warily, Naruto asked "What do you mean by real pain? Physical pain? Because I can tell you all about it if you wish. But first, what does it take to kill a human?" Refusing to break eye contact, Naruto calmly waiting for Inari's answer.
Losing some of his rage, the young boy replied "To stop their heart?"
"And you know how easy that is to do?" A reluctant nod. Naruto's team watched him curiously, not sure where he was going with his topic. "Good. Now…what does it take to kill a demon?"
"You…you can't…"
Giving Inari a brilliant smile the blond container praised him "Exactly!" Then, seemingly finished with the conversation, continued eating.
Sharing looks, his two teammates bluntly asked for an explanation "Naruto, what are you talking about?"
Pausing mid bite, he looked over at the other three members of Team 7. "What do you mean Sakura-chan?"
An annoyed huff explained it was Sasuke's turn to speak 'Naruto'. "Dobe, he's called the Demon of the Mist, by your logic that means you can't kill him. Why do you look so happy about it?"
Understanding lit his eyes and to everyone's shock, he laughed "He's not a demon, he's completely human!"
Scowling, Sasuke looked to see if anyone would question his insane teammate, only to find everyone looking at him expecting a translation. "How do you figure that, dobe?"
Hesitantly, Naruto gave his answer "If you gouged out Zabuza's eyes would they grow back?" A stunned silence was his only reply. With no answer the boy stubbornly plowed ahead "If his throat was slit could he still breathe? If gutted would he survive? If he was tortured would scars remain? If he lost a…"
"No!" Inari's voice cut through Naruto's questioning "If that happened he would die."
Another brilliant smile was thrown his way "That's why he's not a demon." Standing up, he made to leave the house when Inari spoke up.
"But what makes you think that you will not die?"
Naruto paused on the threshold, his answer leaving the others too shocked to call him back as the door silently swung shut behind him "…because, I'm a demon…"