Aureate Bastion - Platinum Prologue

*sigh*

I feared this sort of situation would arise eventually. Now, here I am at the hospital at a bit after 10 PM. Visiting a child no less.

I pause at the sliding door to the hospital room numbered 306 to collect my thoughts.

It pains my old heart to have to come here for a reason like this, but I must steel myself now. This isn't going to be an easy conversation.

I slide the door open and walk in, closing the door after me. I look to the only occupied bed in the room. The figure of a young boy with shoulder length dark hair, sitting up in the bed is illuminated by the moonlight filtering in through the windows; bandages and adhesive patches visible on him even in the dim light. His blank expression as he stares ahead at nothing draws my attention, and my presence draws his. He turns to face me as I walk closer. As I approach though, his formerly blank expression shifts to one of surprised recognition, then to one of fear, before settling on what I feel is a look of despairing acceptance. He then looks away from me again.

Having a child of my own village look at me with fear and show such a hopeless expression, feels like a stab to my old heart. A 10-year-old boy shouldn't have to show such an expression.

I take a seat on the chair beside his bed. I notice him tense up as I sit.

I need to talk to him in order to understand and hopefully fix this situation.

"Good evening child" I address him gently. "How are you feeling? The medical report says you aren't hurt badly and should be fully recovered soon. Would you like to talk about what happened?"

The boy doesn't turn to look at me, nor does he respond to my question. I wait for a moment before I ask something else, but his eventual response stops me cold.

"Are you here to execute me?" He asks sombrely, as he turns to face me; his desperate eyes reflect the moonlight, making them appear even more silver than normal.

Execute him!? What does the boy have going through his mind at this moment for him to ask me something like that? The situation is worse than I thought.

*sigh*

"No child, of course not." I respond to reassure him. "You are the victim here this evening. Why would you think you were going to be punished?"

The boy's gaze shifts down to his lap, before he gives his response.

"Because I injured a shinobi, and...and" he pauses a bit in his response as his expression turns sour. "Because I'm from a family of traitors, traitors who got people killed. The guy who I hurt said that you would execute me as punishment in place of my parents. In place of my family who died before the village could exact justice on them."

I stare at the boy for a few moments before I close my eyes.

Why did things have to end up this way? The boy not only has to live as one of the many orphans from the incident 9 years ago, but he also has to live with the stigma of being the progeny of shinobi who betrayed us. How many more of our children are going to have to suffer the choices of we who came before them.

I open my eyes to meet the boy's gaze, and give him my response.

"I see." I say gently. "Can you please tell me exactly what happened to you this evening?"

The boy turns his gaze to look out the window before he begins to give me the details of what happened to him.

"It rained today so there was lots of extra mud to play with in the forest." He begins, a bit shyly. "So, I was going home a bit late today after playing around a bit too much."

His statement causes me to smile a bit.

I remember hearing that he liked to play with dirt and mud when he was younger. He must be embarrassed that he still enjoys doing so.

"So, I was running back to my apartment when a couple of men I don't know walked out in front of me and blocked the path." The boy continues. "I was going to go around them but one of them called out my name, so I stopped to see what they wanted. They asked if I was the traitors' son. I was wary of them then, but answered 'yes' anyway. They told me they had a bone to pick with my family and I should follow them to sort it out. I'm... I'm sick of people giving me shit because of my parents, so I told them to leave me alone and went to leave, but one of them turned out to be a shinobi. He grabbed me and easily threw me into a nearby alley."

An experienced genin shinobi, I believe the report said. The boy is lucky to not have been hurt any worse than he was.

After a slight pause the boy continues.

"The shinobi was no slouch and he quickly grabbed me in an arm lock from behind right as I got back up." The boy frowns as he continues. "The other man came closer then and punched me in the face. He said he was the dad of one of the kids from my academy class who I had hurt in training... He also said that his son's aunt, his sister, was killed because of my parents. The shinobi who held me also said my parents killed his father which left him and his mother to take care of themselves. That was why they were coming after me."

The boy pauses for a bit again.

I can't believe these men thought that assaulting a child, whose only real mistake was being careless during training, was an appropriate action. The foolishness of people never ceases to disappoint me.

"They then started hitting me, telling me how much they hate my family, and telling me to get out of the village. It hurt, but I eventually managed to push the older man away and get a good hit on the shinobi. I think I broke his arm or something, because he growled something fierce and was really angry. Angry enough to pull out a kunai and charge at me, that is. That's when the other shinobi, a jōnin I think, came and stopped them."

Yes, I read the report, so I know who it was that saved the boy; what an odd twist of fate. For it to be a student of this boy's late father's to be the one who saved him this evening. I'm not sure if he knew who the boy he saved was, but I hope he did it with that knowledge in mind.

"The jōnin knocked out both men, and took me here and checked me in." The boy finishes his story up. "I don't know what he did with the two men, though I guess the one I hurt is here somewhere too."

"That he is." I respond. "His right forearm is broken rather severely, but his arm will heal with time. He is kept restrained in a different wing of this hospital at the moment. Though, I would like to know how a young boy like yourself managed to break an adult shinobi's arm so easily."

"I have a lot of free time." the boy answers. "When I'm not at the academy, I spend time out in the forest playing and training by myself. Not many other kids like to hang out with me. But... I, look am I in trouble here or..."

So the boy doesn't have any friends it seems. That isn't pleasant to hear.

He looks away from me again. I reach out to put a hand on his head. He shut his eyes and tenses up, but relaxes after I place my hand gently.

"You aren't in trouble" I tell him, as he looks back at me. "As I said before, you are the victim here, you aren't responsible for the actions of your family members or anyone else. You are a child of this village, and as such you are one of my children too, and I don't take people attacking children lightly in my village. The men who attacked you will be punished for their actions."

He looks down at his lap once more as I remove my hand. A pained expression on his face again.

How should I reassure the boy that he is a valued member of this village? I should try encourage him to_

"I want to betray the village!" The boy's sudden statement derails my thoughts. So much so that I don't respond before he continues. "I want to do like my family did and betray the village, so I can make all the cruel and ignorant people hurt like I do."

He wants to... I see. I can't let him stay like this. I don't need any more children growing resentful because of the whims of adults.

"You want to betray the village?" I ask him, but he doesn't look at me. "You want to hurt the people who have made you hurt?"

"I do." He says quietly. "I have no friends or people to stop me. I can do it!"

He wouldn't say this to me if he seriously intended to go through with it. I believe he is venting feelings he doesn't know how to handle. I need to make him understand his feelings and the meaning of what he is saying.

"Tell me child, do you know any good people in this village?" I ask him. "Do you want to hurt them too?"

"NO, of course not!" He turns to me with his immediate answer. "I don't want to hurt everyone, just... just, the ones who..."

He trails off, even more confused now. I see it in his eyes, before he avoids my gaze once more.

Good. He has positive feelings in him as well. He is just looking for a way to cope with the negative feelings that surround and fill him. I think I know what I need to tell him now.

"Child please listen to me now, and let me tell you a bit about humans." I begin, drawing his attention back to me. "When a person is hurt by someone, whether it is physical pain or emotional pain it doesn't matter, they suffer, and suffering begets suffering. A fundamental desire of people is to be understood, so when one suffers, it makes them want to hurt others in return, so that they can let others feel what they are feeling. Getting revenge on an individual, revenge on a group of people, or revenge on the world as a whole, this is where people often end up when they experience suffering."

The boy looks down at his lap, a deep frown marring his face now. I continue though, before he misunderstands my intent.

"There are plenty of people who gain or use their strength for vengeance." I tell him. "But I know that only a truly strong person can see past their own suffering and forgive those who have wronged them. Understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness are the first steps towards overcoming pain, and are marks of wisdom and a strong heart. Do you want to be a strong man?"

The boy stares directly into my eyes for a few moments, before responding.

"How?" Is what he says, never once breaking eye contact. "How do you forgive people? I don't know how to forgive the ignorant kids, and the spiteful adults. I don't know how to forgive them... forgive the people who... who left me like this."

I see. He resents not only those people who shunned and derided him for his family's choices. He also resents the family who left him alone with this stigma on his shoulders.

"I even don't know if everyone in the village deserves to be forgiven." He continues as he looks out the windows again. "I'm not the only kid that gets treated badly. There are others that people shun and kids pick on. How can I forgive them when they don't act like they even feel guilty?"

Other children being mistreated? Who would be... please don't tell me it's who I think it is! I need to ask.

"Who are you referring to with that?" I ask with some trepidation. "What other children are the villagers mistreating?"

The boy turns back to me and looks me in the eyes.

"The Red-haired girl" he responds, confirming my suspicions. "The villagers don't attack her or do anything aggressive to her, but I see it every so often, some give her hateful glares when she isn't looking, but most just coldly ignore her altogether. The other kids don't seem to hate her but they still don't hang out much with her and they pick on her sometimes too. I have seen it at least once, as she stood alone in a park... she looked really lonely, and it's because of this village."

...Another one of my failures that pains this old heart of mine. The daughter of those two, the daughter of that man. Another child who I have failed, and now gathers resentment, where she should be finding her happiness. I need to start seriously trying to correct this.

"Indeed, the villagers who scorn you and others may not seem to feel guilty, but they too are hurting." I tell him softly. "Even years later they still feel the pain of loss, and it clouds their hearts and fills their minds with negative thoughts. For some, those feelings of pain will lessen with time and eventually be forgotten. However, some people let the dark thoughts and feelings fester in their minds and hearts, and with time it only gets worse. Not everyone has the strength to overcome their suffering, and they lash out at others and at the world. Which in turn causes more pain and suffering, and only serves to propagate the shadows that fill people's souls."

The boy now looks up with contemplation in his eyes. After a few moments of silence, he turns back to me and speaks.

"If I forgive them now it won't make them change; not today, not tomorrow, not next week either." He says, as his gaze meets mine unflinchingly. His silver eyes piercing straight into my own. "But if I am strong, and I keep taking their resentment and keep forgiving them, you think that things will change someday; that they will change someday?"

"I do." Is my immediate response. "If you learn to be strong, and keep demonstrating forgiveness and understanding, then eventually they will learn it too. Eventually they will understand, eventually they will accept the past, and eventually they will learn to forgive and forget. The people will forget their grudges, and they will forgive your family for what was done."

Please understand dear boy. There is meaning in learning forgiveness. Please take my words to heart!

The boy looks down in contemplation. I continue talking for a bit more.

"It won't be quick, and it won't be easy." I state. "However, it will happen eventually. It will likely never happen though, if you don't start it yourself child."

I hope I can get through to him. If I can get him to change, maybe there is hope for these children's future, hope that his daughter too will become strong. Strong enough to overcome the burden she holds, to find happiness, and find the strength to forgive us, to forgive us all.

The boy continues to sit and think on all I have told him.

I know. I know what might help... well, I hope it helps. It holds the possibility of leading to disaster, but... but I will put my faith in these children. Like their parents would have done.

"I mentioned before that people desire to be understood" I say, drawing his attention, hopefully for the last time tonight. "Perhaps you should seek out those who are like you, and work through this together. If you can understand each other then it will be a good first step towards learning to be strong, and together you can learn forgiveness."

"What do you mean?" He asks me, his brows furrowing in thought.

"The red-haired girl, you said she was lonely." I respond, hoping this will work out for the best. "How about you become her friend, and become friends with other children who are alone and hurting like you are. Then you can work together to become stronger and change the people's hearts by showing them your fortitude and your forgiveness."

It would do both of them a world of good to have a close friend to lean on and talk to. She could use a friend who understands her, and her infectiously positive attitude could do this boy some good.

"You want me to be friends... with a girl?" He asks unsurely. "I don't know about that. I don't really get along well with girls."

*sigh*

... preteen boy. Right. I guess he is still at the stage of not wanting to associate too much with girls. That does complicate this, but I guess I can't force people to be friends. I can only put the thoughts in their minds and let them decide how to deal with it themselves.

"I... see." I respond slowly. "Well... you should still make some close friends. People who you can play with and can help you out with training too."

The boy looks down, unsure about something.

"It's... not that I don't want friends to play and train with." He starts to say, but pauses for a while before continuing. "I just... don't know how to be friends with others. I mean, training with others is fun but most of the other kids can't play or train as hard as I do, and I have to be careful not to hurt them when we spar, like I did to that shinobi who attacked me earlier. I like training and I like fighting, but I don't really like hurting other kids. It's...it, just doesn't feel right."

I see that deep down he has the same gentle heart that his mother had... That is an odd thing for him to say though. His grades at the academy are not very impressive if memory serves me correctly, but then, neither were his father's...well it isn't incredibly important at the moment. I have got what I came here for and I have tried imparting some wisdom into the boy. It is now up to him to decide what he does with this.

I get up from my chair. He looks up at me searching for something. Answers I am sure.

"I have heard your story and your feelings, and I have told you what I think about it." I tell him as I turn and head for the door. "It is now your turn to think about what I have said and decide how you want to take my words."

I stop at the door before I open it and look back at the boy sitting in the bed, his silver eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.

"I have faith in you. Faith that you can become a strong shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and a strong man." I say, then I turn around and open the door.

"I... will think about it... Hokage-sama." He says to my back. "Thank you for talking to me tonight. Have a safe trip home, and a good evening."

I step through the door and turn around to close it, saying my last words to the boy this evening at the same time.

"I will." I respond with a smile. "Thank you Zen. Have a good evening yourself, get some rest my boy. I think you need it."

I close the door, and start the long walk back to my office. I have a few things to do before I can return home.

*sigh*

I am not going to get much sleep tonight. I can just tell. Oh well, that isn't anything new. This is how it has been for decades now. I just hope these children can find the strength to move on through the encumbrance we have placed on them. Minato and Kushina, Zenjirō and Miyu, your children are suffering right now, and for that you have my apologies. However, I sincerely believe that there is still hope for them and for us; hope that our mistakes won't be their undoing, but the weights that they bear in order to get stronger and grow up into fine adults someday.

Once I leave the hospital I gaze up at the night sky, with all its stars shining brightly.

Keep watching over them from the other side. I know you will be proud of them when you see them again someday...

... "Ow, my neck... I am getting too old for this".

= = = = = = = = = = End of Chapter = = = = = = = = = =

Good 'insertTimeOfDay' Readers, and Thank you for your purchase of this Chapter of Aureate Bastion. You spent your hard earned time reading this (time is money after all), so I hope you enjoyed it. I don't own any part of the Naruto Franchise, I only own what comes out of my own mind... for what it's worth.

This is the Zero Chapter. The Prologue. It doesn't really tell you a lot about the story or where I intend to take it from here though. So, I'll use this section here to give it a better description then. Please bear with this admittedly overbearing chunk of Author Drivel from here down. It's not important to the story, just a little 'get-to-know-you' talk regarding the story I plan to write and my writing style. Skip it if you want.

Okay, let's start with plot things. In this story I have replaced two characters with Original Characters. If that is enough to turn you away, good bye and have a nice life. If not, allow me to explain further.

Firstly, Naruto, everyone's favourite protagonist (boy does he get around on this website). I have gender swapped him! Gone he is in my story, and return he shall not, in any capacity. Minato and Kushina's one and only child was born female, and was given a female name to go with it (Naruto is not a name you use for a girl, just no). This is why the story has the Naruko.U character tag.

The other original character, the boy introduced in this chapter... Well, I don't want to spoil it yet. I will say however, that it is another member of the Konoha Rookie 12 that he will replace. And it will likely be guessable after chapter 1 who exactly it is that he has replaced. Likely.

Continuing on from those two changes, I have added supporting OCs and changed some history to help include my new characters into the Naruto storyline. Mostly I changed things for the sake of added drama between characters later on. You'll have to wait and see for specifics though.

Apart from those specific changes, and any organic deviations that follow from them, I will keep as much of the original Naruto story as I can. Big things like the Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru, The Akatsuki, Madara, etc... all that stuff will still happen. It will definitely happen differently than in cannon, but changing a few characters won't stop those people from working towards their goals. The fun is in seeing how it deviates in my opinion. Little things will mostly all be different though. I will try my best to make it fresh... when I actually get to the cannon start, that is. Gotta build the world a bit yet.

Universe mechanics next. When you read almost any fictional series, you build up your own internal understanding of how the mechanics of the author's universe works. It is pretty much NEVER going to be exactly like the original author sees it in their mind (I'm assuming you haven't used ESP to read their mind that is), and that's okay. In my story I tried to create the mechanics of the universe in a way that fits with the original cannon material. I couldn't do it though, the original is just too loose and flip-flopity for my tastes, so I changed some things and tightened it all up. So I warn you now, when characters in my story describe how their world works, it may not align with how you see it. I only ask that you don't write it off because it doesn't show things working how you envisioned them working in your mind. Maybe you might even come to like how I see it, you never know.

That's about all for story stuff, technical writing things now if you're still here.

In case you weren't aware, I am writing this in first person, present tense. Please ping me if you see I have deviated from that POV at any point in time in my writing. I will correct it. I do all my own planning, proof-reading, and post-proofing analysis, so please forgive me if I miss a thing or two here and there. Literature is an art, and I do pride myself on my English skills. However, I am only Human.

The POV will change around during the course of the story. With hopefully all the main characters getting a chance to let you inside their minds at some point in time. Because of this format though, you will have to put up with having a narrator with varying levels of reliability. Some characters will be less knowledgeable or less observant than others, and that should show in how they narrate the story. I chose this format so the story would hopefully feel more personal, yet with the multiple different POVs it will give you a varied view of the events. From the myriad of POVs, you the reader will be able to choose which one you want to believe and which view you want to accept as the 'truth'. Though, as with reality, no one person's view is an absolute truth.

I think that's about it for now. If you have stuck around through all that, you have my most sincere gratitude, and I hope you enjoy the story I lay out for you. Chapter 1 is done and will be put up not long after this one is. I wouldn't leave you with only this prologue for too long. Expect the next chapter to be longer than this though. Much longer.

I'll be back soon.

Magnanimous_Z