Konoha
Konoha
October 11 3:00 a.m.
Pain. Pain, that was all he could think of, it was all he could feel as he drifted off in the darkness of unconsciousness. You think that you couldn't feel pain in the cold envelopment of unconsciousness. It numbs the outside world. Because the outside world was too much to take. Too much to bare. Too much to contain without wishing they would get it over with, end it and kill him. They being the people who were doing this to him. The villagers who seemed to hate him so much, that made him feel so unwanted, so alone… so unloved.
The pain he felt was not something physical, no. it was his emotions, something spiritual that he could recall even here in the state. The darkness fed off him and this feeling making him weaker by the second. Naruto was dieing. Naruto was losing the will to live, to go on to stand up. Even though his burden was trying to preserve them by heeling his wounds, it wouldn't make a difference if he didn't get up, didn't move on. It tried to reach him but he wouldn't respond to her still blood curling presence or aura.
They had only stopped because he had given up. He had curled up into a ball and just laid there as he was kicked for stealing air, bruised for trying to run, and stabbed for existing.
They had left him for dead around midnight.
As if some spell had trapped them into doing it. Into harming a little child no older than five and three hours. Around his small frame there was blood of course, not all of it his. The blood cam from the hands that held the empty bottled of saki that had broken eventually against his body filling the abusers' hand with glass, the bloody knuckles of fists that had pounded against the small child. He had repeted a single word a few times before going silent.
"Why?"
This only seemed to anger them more. He soon stopped saying it when his jaw had broken. This anger had only confused him more. The Hokage had told him that you should never be afraid to ask questions. So why was he now?
Other things littered the ground as well. Bloody knives, glass obviously, rocks, alcohol, fire, most of the wooden planks had broken and would probably be used again next year in the festival. Vendors would say they had worked on the demon once, they should work again. The one thing that seemed to have any sentimental value in it was a small trampled plush toy, the reason he had gotten caught. The plush toy was in the shape of a small smiling sun of red and orange. It once bright orange was dulled by dirt, while the red overwhelmed it in muddy footprints and splashes. The sun's once happy smile was even bigger now that it was flat giving it a gleeful and insane looking appearance like it was reveling in the blood of it's owner. The gift had been a birthday present from the Hokage, the only person that showed any genuine concern for the well being of the boy. But, sadly the old man could not be everywhere at once. Thus Naruto's current condition. The reason that the blond boy felt the open pain despite his lack of consciousness. Was because he was betrayed.
((flashback))
"hi what's your name?" a woman said as she leaned down towards him. Naruto tilted his head to one side in a cute manner before answering slowly.
"Naruto."
"That's a nice name." the woman replied. "do you want to go get something to eat? My treat." The woman said. Naruto slowly raised his head and he shook it up and down several times. Much quicker than he had moved before, showing his enthusiasm.
The woman giggled falsely. "Hi my name is Myumi, Myumi Fujiwara."
((Flashback end))
Tears poured down the boys face as this memory surfaced in his state. He would never trust somebody like that again pounded through his head.
The pretender had led him into an alley a few miles back. Only to laugh insanely when several people with various kinds of weaponry jumped out. He had run entirely on instinct after that barreling straight into the men in an unexpected maneuver catching the men by surprise. He had run on through the back alleys, leading them away from the streets as they would just get more help from other people like them. It had looked like he would escape this year as he instinctually pumped chakra into his legs in pure desperation to get away. That thought came crashing down on his head as he crashed headlong into some ones stomach. Stunning Naruto and knocking the wind out of the man.
"You little shi!" the man slurred obviously drunk. Naruto paid no heed as he was still sitting on the ground completely dazed. The man kicked him in the side of the head further disorienting the poor boy. "I'll teach you to mess with me."
He and his buddies then proceeded to pound the crap out of him. Breaking to ribs and giving him several bruises. It was this scene that the men and one woman had come to like flies to honey as they began to join in the fray as they fell on the child like wolves. That was all that he could remember.
He finally gave in to the darkness and his body stiffened before it relaxed. The heavens opened up, as if in an effort to help revive him, or at least clean his wounds…something was looking down in pity at least, Naruto reflexively go told them to go shove their pity up their ass and that he wasn't falling for it this time. He had learned his lesson- Everything came with a price, and he didn't have anything to give, so why bother.
"Naruto." A far off voice called Naruto promptly ignored it.
"Naruto." It called again. "Get up." The voice had said this with such firmness that he actually looked up. He couldn't see much, but the sound off water reached his ears, the sound of rain. His eyes focused a bit more as if washed out by the rain. But not enough to take in any of his surroundings. But in front of him, he did see, something glowing a soft golden white.
"Get up." The voice said again, and Naruto narrowed his eyes to gain focus. It was a hand in front of him. And probably not a normal one at that. He slowly reached out and touched the hand. Strength slowly filled him. With slowly renewing vigor he tightened the grip on the ethereal hand. The entity deemed that his grip was strong enough and hoisted the child into the air. Naruto hung there far longer than the laws of physics would probably allow. A feeling of weightlessness surrounding him and suddenly as the rain had started, it stopped. The being of light vanished to before he could get a proper look at it's face as well. Naruto stumbled with the loss of support as well as his vision wavering a little, but he did not fall again. The boy seemed to hear a contented sigh followed by a light chuckle, but he checked it off to his injuries. Still disoriented he stumbled forward out of the alley. Coming right up to the village gates. Uncomprehending to all the celebrations still going on, he stumbled under the heavy eyes of the two doormen that had gotten the unlucky task. And Naruto stumbled out of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Completely unmissed and unnoticed. Some would say he had simply vanished others would probably agree. For as the boy stumbled on the blood he left behind was literally sucked into the ground at an alarming rate. As if the ground wanted to claim back the clay it had given up. The foot prints the boy left were pushed back up, and the tree branches pulled away from him forming a path to heaven knows where, the branches that he did touch and broke, bent back as if it had never happened the some with the leaves disturbed by his passing as well, and tomorrow when it was noticed that he was gone skunks would conveniently decided to make temporary home all trough out fire country, along with their cousins, the weasels, and the only thing that remained of his passing were the tears that hit the ground and stayed there like jewels, these tears would be taken by the animals and the forest- Payment. These tears would be coveneted and would have many uses. Tears shed by one touched by a being of light, though this property would fade in Naruto after a while, the tears wouldn't.
(Back in Konoha)
in the alley way that was covered by blood that would stay there until a frog summon would crush it in the coming years, a small plush toy of a golden sun, now clean and round, smiled a little brighter, and collapsed in on itself until it vanished. The only thing it left behind was burning of the retinas of a certain Hokage and an ANBU squad the light though a little brighter, with a little gold and white flecked with black, and was an unmistakable sun yellow. Oh, and the only clear spot on the wall spelled out the shining yellow and white kanji.
'He may… MAY, forgive, but he'll never forget the good or bad.' a little farther down it said…
'Lucky you.'
Following that in a similar manner it said, something in comprehensible in another language. The words faded soon after they were read. Leaving behind them nice, and shiny clean spots in the shape of the very words that had been there, comprehensible or otherwise. The spots, though, seemed to sparkle in the moonlight keeping the legible in the dark.
"I want those who are responsible for this found, and brought to me." Stated the aging ninja. Sarutobi sadly shook his head as he left, the ANBU leaving their leader in poofs of smoke to carry out their assigned task. Nobody saw a tear fall from the Professor's eye following one of the age lines on his now grief wrecked face.
The group of drunks were identified a week later. But as for the group who tricked Naruto, they were, strangely, never found. Nobody tricks a fox ands lives without regret, and boy… would they learn to regret it.