Note: Hi! Thank you for clicking this story, which had been nagging me since the other day while taking a bath. You see, I've had read some stories where Naruto was a boy and that his friends learned about what his childhood was like before and the likes, and it triggered some gears in my mind and this idea popped. I think this is unique because in here, the villagers will realized what they had done to Naruto when he was little and took the opportunity of him being a child once again to compensate for their wrong deed. Hope you'll like it!
Sasuke held little Naruto's hand as they walked through the crowd that were smiling pleasantly at the latter. Sasuke's lips quirked upward, forming a small and genuine smile as the villagers greeted them, however, little Naruto was frightened at what the villagers might had in their minds to hurt him.
Everyone stared incredulously at the blonde boy, who was wearing an oversized and battered orange jacket, in Sasuke's arms when Team Kakashi, along with the previous four Hokages, returned after Kaguya was sealed successfully.
The Third reanimated Hokage was consoling the terrified blonde boy after the seal was completed since said boy only recognized him. Apparently, the blonde boy's memories seemed to revert back to when he was a child and did not recognize anyone, but the Third. And, because he and the rest of the reanimated Hokage had to depart the world of the living, he explained to the boy that Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were his friends and would not hurt him. The boy thankfully understood everything, but the thought of his old man leaving and his new found father brought tears to his eyes and he could not help but plead for them to stay.
It was a heartbreaking sight to see the boy cried to sleep and Sasuke had to carry him.
And that was how the now awake boy found himself in the arms of the raven haired teen and looked down meekly when they arrived at the group of ninjas from different nations, staring at him. When he looked up at the person carrying him, he saw something in those onyx eyes that stared back at him. He could not put it into words, but he was compelled by some sort of force telling him that he knew the person from a long time ago.
Sasuke took note of his friend's attitude towards the others. He expected for the boy to be loud and energetic, but no. His friend instead, seemed so meek and terrified of whatever it was and he wondered why. The boy was not the one he knew before though he could also say it to his self since he used to be kind and respectful when he was young, and not arrogant like he was now.
"What happened?" asked Tsunade, approaching Sasuke.
"Kaguya did something during the last minute. It was supposed to hit me, whatever it was she did, but Naruto had pushed me aside, and…this is the result." Sasuke replied as he gestured to the boy, Naruto, who immediately shied away from Tsunade. He then explained that apart from Naruto being a small kid again, he said that Naruto had no recollection of the battle and the people he befriended except the Third.
Tsunade frowned briefly at that before it morphed into a gentle smile and looked down at the kid, who gazed warily at her. She then reached out, touching Naruto's cheek, when the boy flinched violently and swatted the hand away as he latched to Sasuke, who was taken aback by the sudden negative reaction and so was she.
. . . .
It had been a week since the Allied Shinobi Forces arrived back to their villages. It had been also a week since the Hidden Leaf Villagers had a celebration for defeating the enemy and had known of Naruto's condition.
And, it had been a week; too, that little Naruto remained inside his room in Sasuke's apartment, which he bought right after their return.
The meeting that occurred some days ago had finally ended, and since then, Sasuke had been busy in settling down for a while as he took care of the blonde, who had not spoken at least a syllable since then, which worried him and the others. He would have Iruka or Kakashi to take care of Naruto, but said boy would latch at his leg and never let go. So, they all agreed to let the boy be under in Sasuke's wing until they find a formula to solve the problem that was little Naruto.
Sasuke was on his way back home with groceries one morning. He left his apartment so early when Naruto was still asleep to do some D-rank missions he was assigned last night and used his earned money for groceries. Before he left though, he wrote a note saying…
'There's food in the kitchen. Eat it.'
'-U. Sasuke'
…and left it on the nightstand in Naruto's room.
When he returned, it was the usual and he found it quite uneasy since he knew Naruto was inside the apartment, yet nobody even mind to greet him when he said 'I'm home.' So, with a sigh, he padded inside to the kitchen and settled down his bags of groceries. He then took out the contents one by one and placed it in the cupboards and others in the refrigerator. Once done, he stood from his crouch, dusted his palms, and went to see Naruto in his room.
Sasuke knocked on the door before opening it, knowing Naruto would ignore him.
There, inside, Naruto stood before the window, watching the kids outside play tag with a forlorn expression plastered on his face.
"Why don't you go out and play?"
Naruto flinched visibly, and Sasuke felt guilty for scaring the boy. The raven haired teen thought that the blonde boy knew he was there since he knocked before coming inside, but upon observing the latter, he found out that the boy was out of it.
Turning around casually, Naruto looked up at Sasuke.
"Don't you want to go out and play?" asked Sasuke once again.
The boy tilted his head down, staring at the floor. He wanted to go out and play, but he was afraid.
"C'mon. Speak to me, please?" the raven haired teen pleaded as he crouched down to the boy's level. Though hesitantly, he heard the boy mumbled something under his breath that he could not catch, so he gently asked said boy to repeat it louder.
"I…I do…" said Naruto in a small voice.
"Then, let's go out. I'm sure you'll find someone to play with." Sasuke smiled, glad that little Naruto was now responding to him.
"…No…I-I'll just stay here…" stuttered the boy, almost afraid, and Sasuke did not fail to notice it.
Sighing, the teen said, "Come on, Naruto. It's been a week and you never went outside. Do you know that it's not good for you?"
Naruto shook his head.
"Well, now you know. So, let's go out? I promise no one will hurt you, and in any case, I'll protect you."
At Sasuke's phrase, Naruto's eyes instantly brighten up a little.
"Promise?" asked the boy.
"Yes, I promise."
"You'll never go back to you word?"
"No. Never."
"Okay."
. . . .
The villagers smiled when they saw Sasuke holding Naruto's little right hand as they both walked the path to the park. Everyone greeted the boy, their hero, and were smiling pleasantly at him while some took the time to smother him, which almost resulted in panic attack had Sasuke not took him away from the crowd upon noticing his discomfort.
Sasuke was happy for his friend. He had seen Naruto when he was a child at the park one time, but he never paid heed to him since his mind was focused on his revenge to his brother. He had no idea of what kind of childhood Naruto had since he never socialized with the latter until they were put on the same team, though he merely interacted with him. He did not acknowledge Naruto's strength back then since he was the dead last of their batch, but as time went by, he noticed the blonde's fast growth. That was when jealousy started to grow inside him, and he did not like it. So, he did everything to take down the wall that was Naruto in order to gain strength. He came to hate the blonde until their first C-rank mission where he gained his Sharingan and saved Naruto's life. He did not know why he did it back then, and he knew he did not care if any of his teammates died, but it was different to Naruto. It was only during the recent war that he found out the answer.
Naruto was similar to him. They were both alone and felt no one acknowledged their existence and or strength. Both did their everything to be recognized.
They were similar in more ways than Sasuke thought.
But, apart from those similarities, one thing had struck him.
They were brothers.
While Sasuke was happy to back home and with his brother-like friend and rival, Naruto was terrified.
He found it odd; the villagers who used to shun and scorn him were now smiling at him for some reason he did not know.
The smiles were all pleasant and genuine, but for the blonde boy's mind it registered as figures in human appearance with an evil smile reserved only for him to see and noticed. He looked up at his current guardian, who noticed his slight movement and turned to smile at him. The smile the raven haired teen gave him was similar to the others; evil. And so, frightened, he snatched his hand away and run off to opposite direction.
Sasuke gasped. "Naruto! Wait up!" he yelled, chasing after the boy.
Due to his nature as ninja, it was easy to catch up with his small charge though he had to give it to Naruto, who was fast for his small stature.
The blonde boy kept on thrashing in the raven haired teen's hold, and the latter had to embrace him tightly, whispering soothing words and reminded the boy of his promise, which worked.
Sasuke did not know what it was that made little Naruto run off. He thought maybe it was because of the crowd that kept on smothering the poor boy with their hugs, so he just carried the boy in his arms and flickered away to the park where no one was around, thankfully.
Settling the boy down, Sasuke crouched down and looked at those sad and scared blue eyes that were stuck on staring the dirt under their feet. The teen reached up with his left had to lift the boy's chin that was surprised at the action and looked at the teen with wide eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Sasuke with a frown that only showed concern for his friend. "Tell me…please." He added.
"…The…villagers…"
"What's with the villagers, Naruto?"
"I…I don't know." The boy looked down when he felt the hand holding his chin loosened. He could feel the teen's confusedness, so he said, "I mean…they hate me."
"Why would they hate you?"
"I dunno. They just do. I heard they said I'm a murderer…" the boy whispered the last word; his heart beating fast as the thought of Sasuke knowing the villagers' reason would change the teen's view of him and started hating him, too, which only brought tears to his eyes.
"Hey…don't cry. You're not a murderer, okay? You killed no one and would never kill anyone." Except those you knew should die. Sasuke added to himself.
"Really?" inquired Naruto, looking hopefully at Sasuke.
"Yes." The teen smiled gently at the boy. "You're my friend and you're like my brother to me. We're family, Naruto. Remember that. And I promise I'll never leave again."
"Again?" the boy cocked his head to the right.
"Oh. Um. No, I mean…" Sasuke stuttered before he sighed in defeat. "Just…just forget the word 'again'."
"Okay."