Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Fear. Fear was all Naruto Uzumaki, the ten-year-old resident of Konoha, revered, all the demon brat knew. Born and raised in it, living in it, basking in it. He and fear were old acquaintances, but that didn't mean they were friends. Naruto Uzumaki hated fear, or at least hated the fact that it affected him so much, more than anyone else.
No one else was on a constant lookout for someone trying to hurt him or her. No one else was afraid to step outside their own home for fear of someone being there waiting for them, or being seen by an enemy. While Naruto and fear were well acquainted, he and hate might as well have been related as much as they encountered each other.
Everywhere Naruto went, he encountered hate. He found it when he went to the grocery store and was overcharged for the simplest foods that were already expired or rotting. Hate was ever-present when he went to the clothing store and was either given clothes too small, too large, or clothes that made him stand out in the crowd, not a good thing in that he became an easier target for more hate and perhaps even fear as well. He'd encountered the same hatred when he'd revealed his ambition to become a ninja, and was only given the dullest of weapons and the lowest quality ninja gear. He figured that since everyone wanted him to fail from the beginning, then he ought not to try. Yes, he and hate were as close as could be.
But as most know, hate is a double-edged sword. As much as the villagers of Konoha hated Naruto Uzumaki, he hated them twice as much. Which was a lot of hate for one person, especially one so small. But he did; he hated them, and that was something that would never change. Or more correctly, Naruto would not allow it to change. Fear and hate were the most constant things in his life, and they motivated him.
Naruto Uzumaki ran through the forest of Konoha, chased by a group of vengeful villagers. Shouts of 'Kill the demon,' and 'don't let him get away', could be heard throughout the forest. Naruto himself was exhausted. He had scratches all over his face from the bushes he'd ran through, twigs and leaves were sticking out of his hair, and his clothes were caked in a heavy layer of mud, effectively slowing him down. He could almost smell the hate rolling off of the mob, but there was something else too. Fear.
If he wasn't running for his life, his heart beating frantically trying to pump blood to his lungs as he gasped terribly in an attempt to get fresh oxygen, he would have scoffed. What were the villagers afraid of? They weren't the ones being chased down in an abandoned forest on the outskirts of Konoha, about to be decapitated by crazed villagers!
"There he is! Get the demon!" Someone roared behind him.
Naruto's feet pounded on the earth as he ran as fast as he could. Sweat drenched his body as tears streamed down his face. He was so ashamed that he feared them but at the same time ashamed that he was afraid.
"I don't want to die!" he screamed as he ran, all the while sobbing and gasping for air.
Only the heavens could hear his desperate cries of fear and sorrow.
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Naruto wanted to groan in pain. He couldn't move a single part of his body. He could tell he was lying on the ground though. He was so stiff and his joints so swollen, he didn't think he could move his head. He heard someone approaching and pretended to have fallen unconscious. As they moved ever closer, he could hear voices.
"What were you thinking, Haru? Bringing a human to our village!" an angry male voice bellowed.
The cold rage in the man's voice made Naruto want to shiver, but he restrained himself, keeping completely still. In his utter exhaustion, he couldn't move any part of his body anyway.
"W-well, it seemed like a good idea at the time," a younger male voice replied, fearful and pleading. "He was hurt, big brother! He'd been chased by a mob and would have been beaten to death. They called him things like demon, hell spawn, and monster! It was just so wrong... I couldn't let them hurt him! Please understand, big brother!"
Naruto felt his heart swell with gratitude at those words. This person had saved him and seemed to care about his well-being… a first. But his elation was quickly snuffed out as the first voice spoke again.
"Naturally, my heart bleeds butter milk, but what you did is still unacceptable. Your purposeful indiscretion of our hidden location could seriously compromise us in the future," the man explained, rage in his tone of voice. "Do you not realize what a disservice you've done to our clan, Haru?!"
"Oh, relax, Kyuichi," a calm, nonchalant male voice answered. "It's not as if the boy actually knows where he is. He was unconscious the whole journey here. Also I'd like to take this time to remind you that Haru had help in rescuing the boy, so stop picking on him."
"Fine, Kisho. We'll do things your way…." Kyuichi growled, "but if anything—and I mean anything—goes wrong, you'll suffer the consequences." He stormed away without saying another word.
"You can stop pretending now… he's gone," Haru whispered to the still figure of Naruto.
"Yes, he's gone… for now, at least," Kisho replied in a relaxed tone. "He'll be back, I'm sure. He's way too intense, isn't he? I tell him all the time that he needs a girlfriend."
Naruto opened his eyes but couldn't move his neck, being much too stiff. However, he forgot about his earlier misfortune as he took in the curious sight before him.