Pain and suffering. These had been the only constants in the young boys life so far. This was an existence that no child should have foisted upon them, but through circumstances beyond his control this was his. The villagers were after him again, hunting down the defenceless child. The screams of 'Demon' and cries for Justice echoed through the night. Others had the decency to be honest. They growled for vengeance like a pack of bloodthirsty animals, the gnashing teeth of these particular monsters gleamed brighter than the rest. The only silver lining would be that through tragic cirumstance, tonight would be the night he would learn why it was he was so reviled
As a young child he couldn't wander down the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village in the sunlight for the glares and cruel words whispered in secret. Little Naruto Uzumaki heard every vile syllable those worms would spit at him though. Before. he never would've dared to walk the street at night for that was when what little protection the blonde boy had would vanish, in the darkness of night there was no one who would come to his aid in a hurry. The more ambitious amongst his haters would take advantage of this to ambush him.
This would signal the coming of that murderous chorus that plagued his nightmares. The smack of their fists upon his seemingly fragile frame, the sickening slices of their blades through his skin, the thundering of their venomous words seeping into his skull. It was far worse than any imagined night terror. His dingy apartment his only Sanctuary, there he would remain locked away in it's relative safety as the sun set each day.
When the only thing one can be sure of in their life is miserable, endless pain, then there were a few ways their mind would develop to adapt. They could crumble to pieces, both spiritually and physically, slip into a perpetual depression of self-loathing, forever coated in a fine sheen of tears and blood, crying out for the answer to why they suffer so.
Little Naruto had been here but found no satisfactory answer. Such an unfulfilling path it was. So he looked elsewhere.
Another way the mind could bend was to take the pain and focus it into overwhelming anger and hatred. Let the misery fuel your rage and unleash it like a hurricane upon any and all who have wronged you. Make them suffer your vengeance and weep in hopelessness for they have no one but themselves to blame for what had come back to haunt them. This was a path embraced by a similar young boy in another Hidden Village miles away from little Naruto. A red-headed, young boy who was robbed of his mother at birth. One who shared the same burden as our hero.
Speaking of heroes, there was the path of endurance: To take all the slings and arrows and rise above it all, to work tirelessly to prove them all wrong. To endure through pain, trials and tribulations. To persevere through all adversity, as sure as sun rising in the horizon, he could cast a blindingly glorious light upon them all and they would see him for the wonder he truly was. Naruto Uzumaki the peerless Hero and greatest Hokage of all time!
Yes, that would sure would be great. Narutos had choice seemed clear. With the Third Hokages help, the only parental figure in the boy's life, he had signed up for the Ninja Academy. He'd been determined train to as a Shinobi and earn the respect of the village by becoming Hokage. No longer would he be that 'Demon' boy, pariah of the village, but a Man who commanded the respect and adoration of all who looked upon him. So for a while he was the struggling hero, choosing to endure all the pain of his past and the fresh insults laid at his feet daily, both by his Academy peers and the Adults, focusing on nothing but the straight-shot path ahead that would deliver him to the better life he dreamed of.
There was no rest from the suffering though. In fact, all Naruto had done was make it mandatory that he appear at the Academy for it every day. The other kids in the class thought him a joke because of his failing grades and hilariously inadequate level of skill. It was no fault of his own, though. The instructors were ripe with those that looked at him with disgust bleeding from their eyes. They wasted no time in sabotaging his training, rigging his written tests and excluding him as far as they could to satisfy their hatred. They thought him some idiot, a brainless moron that they could shun and ridicule. But this 'idiot' took away the one thing he could from the Academy, the transformation Jutsu, and used it to his advantage.
As to be expected, they'd never let him access the Academy or Public Library, least of all without supervision and heavy limitations on what he could read and take. But it was under the guise of a nameless, unassuming student that Naruto could sneak in when their guard was down. He vowed that if others wouldn't teach him then the boy would educate himself on everything he'd need to make his dreams a reality. However without the presence of a Master, the young pupil found himself overwhelmed by the wealth of information. Fighting Styles, Chakra Theory & Control, Elemental Jutsu, Strategy & Tactics, Genjutsu and so much more. He could read and practice all he wanted, with mixed success, but he could make little progress on his own. He had access to knowledge but did not possess the required Wisdom and Experience needed to put it to proper use and the Instructors were in no hurry to lend him theirs.
His struggles were meaningless and soon he succumbed to horrifying despair. He'd been denied the only avenue he had to a better quality of life. It was at this lowest moment that he came to a shattering conclusion: There was nothing left... They had broken him.
The path of endurance was cut short. The child took to his knees as the hopelessness of this reality at last sank in for he could delude himself no further. His heart fell...
He stepped out of his dreary little apartment in the dead of night and brazenly sauntered through the streets, his eyes glassy, unfocused. Those legs that could leap and bound with limitless energy were dragging through the dirt, their owners head fogged, his gait was that of the walking dead.
Naruto always had heightened senses for some reason, so he could hear his stalkers as they tracked his every move but the usual fear and flight reaction this sparked in him out of instinct was silenced tonight. The boy instead walked into some seedy back alley in a bad part of town and waited for them, the bleak walls grew darker still as his hunters blocked out the light from the street. They crowded the entrance, encroaching upon him and yet he turned to face them with a smile, welcoming them with open arms.
The greeting was not received well. The Demon was provoking them! It dared to mock them and so they were united in thought that they would suffer him no longer! With a deafining frenzy of angry cries they charged the stupidly smiling boy with blunt weapons, kitchen knives, bottles and some wished to savour in the psychotic satisfaction of tearing into him with their bare hands. They unleashed upon him all their accumulated rage that had festered from the pain the Nine-Tails had caused them all those years ago. At long last, the Demon had left itself open, vengeance was theirs for the taking!
Naruto did not share in the frenzy, for he was lost in a state of drunken bliss. His mind was shattered, he'd opened his eyes to the stupidity of his struggling. Resolved in his grim acceptance that he would never understand the reasons for the Villagers hatred, nor would he understand why the children ostracized him from their games. Forever it would be unknown to him how their spite could extend so far to not only ruin his childhood but destroy what little future he dared to dream of. Pain was the only truth of his life and now in the middle of this severe beating as the injuries piled on, his skin ripped and split, bones shattering and splinting... Naruto had come to Love... Adore... and... above all else... Crave the only thing he could count on!
"Heh…ha, ha, ha… BWHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAAA!"
Blissful, insane laughter roared over above all else. The sickening sounds of pounded flesh, the snarling and barking of the mob. It drove them ever wilder with rage that even in this glorious time of retribution the Nine-Tails would laugh at them, showing what a truly remorseless Devil it was. One of them would take no more of its torment. Taking up a steel pipe, he stood at the ready behind the laughing, bleeding container of the beast and struck at his skull with all his might...
...
...
...
Darkness.
It surrounded him entirely. His weary eyes cracked open just a bit as consciousness returned to him but there was only more empty blackness. The pain had stopped. That delicious and seemingly endless flow of agony was gone. He lamented that perhaps his body had taken all that it could. At his breaking point, the Reaper must've come to ferry him away for his soul would no longer be tethered to a lifeless corpse. Indeed, he felt as though he were floating along on the old River Styx. This coldness seemed to fit the description of death. The empty blackness was a surprise, wasn't there something about a bright light at the end of a tunnel or some nonsense?
Seems those non-believers might be right about what awaited us all after death: nothing but an empty void and rotting in the ground you fell on… Yet that didn't seem entirely accurate… Naruto noted that he was aware of it all, that he could think to question his situation… Experimentally he tried to move his hand and found it responding rather easily, though facing some strange resistance. Likewise, wiggling the fingers on his other hand and wiggling his feet proved that he was still very much alive and moving.
He'd been steeling himself for death but now the child could breath easy after releasing a calming sigh of relief… Only to choke, going wide eyed with panic when he inhaled a mouthful of dank water. Scurrying around and coming to his knees, soaking and cold, Naruto discovered he'd been floating face down in shin-high water inside some dark tunnel that looked to be the interior of a sewer pipe.
It made him turn green, fearing to think on what he had just drank... Quickly spitting and spluttering in a panic, thumping on his chest to clear his airways! It was a sickening experience but when it passed... he could at last take stock of his surroundings.
It confused him, mere moments ago he'd been enjoying the orgasmic destruction of his tender young body at the hands of the hateful villagers but now here he was in this sewer. So, had they dumped his body down here once they were finished with him? If so, why wasn't he injured?
Standing on his feet, amazed that he could, he examined himself for any damage. To his further shock there wasn't a mark to be found, add to that, his clothes weren't mussed in the slightest... aside from being soaked through of course.
He started to walk straight ahead, as good a choice as any with no clear exit. As he walked... in a way he felt called towards somewhere... the notion was reinforced when he started to notice the water around his feet was starting to get warmer the deeper he went. He'd noticed the place lacked the distinctive smell of a sewer. As he thought about it, the water he'd choked on had tasted empty… just empty… not how he imagined liquid human waste would strike his tongue.
The temperature continued to build bit by bit and Naruto could hear, even feel, the rumbling of something shaking through the air and water. His spine tingled, his body shivering with excitement as terror gripped him.
Naruto no longer feared pain, he relished it, thoughts of the villagers and where he was now became unimportant at the prospect of some new fresh horror waiting ahead.
His focus on the growing sound of heavy growling, the ripples tickling at his shins in the water. The boy was trembling with anticipation, his mind abuzz from wondering what he was about to stumble upon.
That was when he came to the only obstacle in his path. A giant gate, the bars thick as tree trunks and a paper seal plastered on it seemed to serve as they only thing keeping it closed. The water was at its warmest here and the rumbling had mysteriously stopped. Just as he was starting to worry about how to get by, he spotted that the space between the bars was easily wide enough to casually saunter through. The only thing that gave him pause was wondering why this gate was here... Was its to keep others out… or to keep something in?
"Ah, so you've come to pay me a visit, have you?"
The deepest, most demonic of growling voices rumbled through the air like a storm. Naruto shuddered with fright as he looked into the bleak darkness behind the bars. The abysmal black shadows suddenly cleared away in flash of swirling red to reveal what was hidden beyond the gate. A giant red furred fox, laying down with its head resting upon its crossed paws, the claws gleaming in the low light. Nine mighty tails curled behind it, swishing with frightening majesty. It bared its fangs in a twisted mocking smile that never ceased. Searing red-slited eyes burned into Narutos wide blues as they shook with fear and trepidation.
"I've been expecting you. It's been nearly a decade yet only now do you grace me with your presence... hm, hm, hm"
The fox quipped sarcastically, chuckling in dry amusement, eyes unblinking as they stared down at him.
"Do forgive me"
Arching a curious eyebrow at that unexpected response from the young boy, who instead of quivering with fear was smiling like a lunatic... sheer fascination glittering in his excitedly darting eyes "Had I known the great Nine-Tails was awaiting me, I'd have arrived much sooner" the boy spoke with an airy tone of voice, not sounding like he comprehended the gravity of his situation.
He had known what this creature was the moment he had set eyes upon it. It was no secret everyone thought him some simple-minded fool but Naruto was smart enough to recognize the infamous Tailed Beast that had nearly destroyed his Village. The lessons on that were frequent enough. The only real question he had was to do with why it was here before him when it was supposedly destroyed by the Fourth Hokage.
"However… If you were expecting company, you might've tidied the place up"
Naruto shot back with a smile, fixing the sewer with a disapproving glance. Having his mind broken and becoming addicted to the pleasure of pain had left him a little more open-minded. Worst case scenario was that this was all some delusion he was going through while in the throes of death, if not it was an excellent opportunity to shoot the breeze with one of the most monstrous creatures in existence. Perhaps he may yet make history: Being slain by the Nine-Tailed Fox! Not a glorious footnote for them to put on his grave but it was something.
The fox's smiled curled up the sides of its face, the boy knew what it was yet had the audacity to speak in such a manner. How amusing "The state of your mind and soul are not mine to control, child" at least not presently "Rather, if you're going to play host to such an honoured guest then YOU should provide better accommodations?" the Fox bit right back with snide contempt.
The Fox expected him to be floored by what it said... it widened its eyes in surprise when the boy suddenly rushed up to the bars with an excited look on his face, almost leaning in past the bars and breathing heavily with a crazed smile "My Mind and Soul? Host? Guest?" Naruto asked rapidly, losing the breath to give his words thoughts, talking raggedly "Those are some interesting things to be saying, oh great Nine-Tails, the implications are…" he took a deep calming breath as his lungs strained in their emptiness, stepping back to let his mind set.
Naruto looked at the fox, the seal, the gate, all around him. Soaking it all in as if only seeing it now for the first time "Tell, do tell… Whatever do you mean? Is it not true that you, the Great Nine-Tails, were destroyed by the Fourth Hokage 7 years ago?" he asked, yearning for the answer as desperately as a lost soul in the desert prayed for water.
The fox had growing concerns about the mental state of its host. Though it wondered... perhaps if he was already broken then... he could be manipulated. Besides, it rather enjoyed being called the Great Nine-Tails, with nothing else to do it could spare a few moments to indulge the unhinged Child "A Tailed-Beast cannot be killed or destroyed, at least not by traditional means. Though, I've no desire to speak of that night..." it growled in remembrance, being given just a taste of freedom only to be enslaved and then re-sealed all over again "But here's what I will say… The Fourth Hokage could not destroy me, so instead sealed me into the body of a new-born child…" the Fox spoke slowly, it wanted to savour the slow realization and the despair of the child as the truth dawned on him.
"That child was-"
"It's me"
"…It's you…"
The mighty Tailed Beast growled out in frustration, this child was seriously not playing from the script, didn't he understand how this was supposed to go? How could he so casually blurt out what was supposed to be a life shattering revelation like 'It's me' as though it were nothing?
Naruto stood with his back turned to the fox, his shoulders shaking which got the Beasts attention, making it perk up as it thought it was finally going to see its host fall to pieces as it was hoping for. Yes, he could hear the shaky breathing, the sound of what was clearly the beginning of tears and… no… wait… he was…
"Heh, heh… ha, ha, ha… GHAHAHAHAHAAA!"
Naruto hugged his sides, shaking and stumbling as hysterical laughter tore through him. Falling onto one knee as he physically tried to keep himself together while the Fox watched with disbelieving eyes. He suddenly turned back to look at the Tailed-Beast sealed within him, a creepy smile on his whiskered face. Dangerous dark shadows looming over his eyes "Thank you… for enlightening me…" Naruto whispered. The Fox actually felt a twinge of something when looking at the boy, its pride would never identify it as fear... a chill, perhaps...
"You don't seem too upset..."
"UPSET!?"
The water violently splashed away as Naruto screamed out and twisted around completely to face the jailed creature once more "Because of you and Fourth Hokage I-!" his would-be rant descended into a gargled fit of frustrated grunts and growls. his face twisted with such maddening, frustrated anguish and unbridled hatred that just had no proper outlet, nothing to do and nowhere to go with all this venomous spite! Sighing, done... done with being a petulant little child.
He had evolved beyond such petty concerns, even more so with this new development.
"But… had it not been for you I never would've discovered the pure, joyous pleasure in Pain" he whispered in a faint, longing voice. Falling to his knees and staring up at the Nine-Tails with a delirious grin "Thank you for showing me the way, I understand now" cupping his hands in the water and splashing it in his face, falling back and submerging himself completely while the Fox grew increasingly baffled.
Naruto emerged, his spiky blonde hair flattened, shaking his head and clearing the hair from his eyes. Gazing at his surroundings... Idly wondering.. was this his subconscious... this place had to be somewhere, someplace inside of him for the Nine-Tails to b here, right?
Well, no matter, he understood enough to know roughly where he wanted to go from here. That was enough.
"I feel such relief… as though I've been... Reborn"
The Fox looked down at the boy as he seemed to float... both literally in the water and metaphorically. Ideas swirling around in those blue eyes of his that were filled with renewed purpose. They locked with the slitted reds of the Fox one more time "And I shudder to think what the future has in store for the two of us…" rising from the water and coming to awkwardly linger around the bars, leaning on one for support "Death was the way to go before... but now I'm eager to live, desperate to see the future…" The Fox was decidedly startled but couldn't fight a smile. It was starting to recognize some of what it could see in those crazy blue eyes.
"Unfortunately... those Villagers would see me dead…"
While it feared it may come to regret what it was about to do, the Tailed-Beasts curiosity was peaked and it wondered where the boys mind was heading. Not to mention it sniffed the possibility for freedom in the air. This child, however damaged in the head he may be now, was in the perfect position to be the key to his cage.
"Well… If you'd care to co-operate with me for a bit… I could see to that problem…"
The Third Hokage walked with an echoing patter to his steps down the hallways of the Village Hospital. Over twelve hours ago there had been a disturbance in the middle of the night, a near-by Chunin on patrol witnessed a sudden explosion in an alley-way where a mob of villagers were gathering and jumped across the rooftops towards the scene to investigate.
There he witnessed as the container for the Nine-Tailed Beast sent a group of disgruntled civilians flying out into the street with a single swipe of his arm, grabbed another by the scruff of their shirt and sent them to join their friends with a decisive boot to the gut. The boy was badly injured, the Chunin could see several fatal cuts and lacerations marring his body, his face a bloody and mangled mess as well as profouse bleeding from a dent in his skull.
Bleeding all over with more than a few broken bone and exuding a malicious red chakra from his body that had frozen the Shinobi with fear. As soon as he recovered enough to move, he sent a distress call and soon a team of Jounin and Anbu arrived just in time to get the situation under control. An enraged Naruto pummelled his aggressors into submission relentlessy as the team prepared to intercept.
Intervening just before any loss of life could occur, a brief battle ensued, the boy was like a wild animal and was able to inflict serious injuries upon the containment team. As unlatched as the beserk boy was, their superior skill and numbers eventually overwhelmed him. They were eventually able to subdue him by casting a Deep Sleep inducing Genjutsu, they could then pass him over to the sealing corps.
Once they'd cleared that the Beast was not in danger of escaping they brought the boy to the Hospital to be treated for his critical condition. That brings us up to present.
The Hokage looked through the window into Narutos room. The boy was unconscious, bandaged from head to toe, nothing but his left eye uncovered and blood-crusted blonde hair poking through the wrappings. Because of the intensive care required, Hiruzen hadn't been able to oversee the treatment himself. He had to be briefed by doctors who had shared with him how grevious the injuries were.
The boy was holding together by the flimsy seems of his skin by the time they were handed his bleeding carcass, frankly there was little doubt in anyone's mind that the boys time among the living was concluded.
Miraculously... he had endured in what must've been searing, agonizing pain. The Hokage attributed his survival to the intervention of the Beast within and the childs natural strong will.
The doctor came to his side as he examined his surrogate Grandchild. Handing the worried old man the report, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened it after giving the son of his successor a final sad glance. However, as he read the report his eyes widened with shock. It was more than just brutal injuries to his body, what was detailed in here held very grave and serious implications...
Sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught the Hokages attention. Looking up he saw Naruto stirring, at first he jerked around like he was convulsing but then the sound carried to his ears.
"Heh, heh, heh… Khaaahahaha…"
Coughing and spluttering accompanied the boys ragged laughter. Concerned, the Hokage dropped the report down to his side and cautiously entered the room. The boy seemed to settle down as if in response to his presence.
Closing the door behind him, the Hokage chanced a small breath. The atmosphere in here was shockingly heavy, he felt himself growing tense... the way he had only felt when in a life threatening battle on the field. It seem ludicrous but Hiruzen couldn't help but fear the somehow nearly-dead boy laying on that bed would suddenly lunge out and attack him... Where these fears were coming from, he couldn't even begin to place
"…Ah… Lord Hokage…"
Naruto spoke, his voice muffled. Though what could be heard was raspy and gutteral both from dehydration and no doubt serious injuries to his throat and neck. His single exposed eye opened up to reveal the dull-faded blue of this childs once bright and starry eyes. There was a dark amusement in his voice that made the Hokage sweat, only made worse at the following stabbing words that allowed for no arguement.
"May I speak with you?"