It was the eighth anniversary of the Yondaime's triumph over the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Of course there was a grand festival, but that was mostly for the children who were too young to remember that terrible night. When the children were out joining the forced festivities, the older survivors clutched their discounted sake and drowned their sorrows so reality lost its harsh edge.
But in the shadier part of Konoha, where the cheery atmosphere couldn't quite reach and vendors didn't dare put up shop, a small boy sat huddled at the center of a mob of drunkards.
His once bright blond hair stained red and pieces of glass tearing into his skin. Tears and snot dripped down his face as he cried, terror freezing him in place.
His face was swelling and limbs bruising, but that only spurred his attackers on. After all, if the demon could bruise in its mortal shell, whats to say it can't be killed?
Ghastly cheers resounded in the narrow street when yet another bottle was thrown over the boy's head, alcohol seeping into his wounds, both old and new. Screams of agony could be heard when a few more daring shinobi arrived at the scene. They got creative with the weapons in their pouch and the jutsu in their arsenal.
The sickening stench of burnt skin permeated the air and the boy struggled to curl into himself more.
Limbs broken and twisted, it was a wonder how the boy was still alive. A horrendous amount of blood stained the ground and seeped into the rags he called clothes.
The once clean shirt was dirty and tattered, stained from both dirt and spilled blood of past run-ins like this. The poor boy couldn't imagine why he was the only one treated like this, why they would do this at all. He desperately wanted answers!
"Why?" he sobbed. "Why d'ya do this?! I ain't done nothin' to ya! To any of ya!"
A hush fell over the crowd as his words fanned the flames if their anger. How dare the demon speak out to them, to plead its innocence using that wretched face in mocking trickery?! One of the civilians came forward, more than willing to speak for the others.
"Because you've been abandoned by God! How could anybody love a demon like you? You've lost your humanity and now you must pay for your sins! REPENT!" With his part said, he lunged forward and gouged the boy's pretty blue eye out of its socket.
The resulting scream was unholy. The boy thrashed wildly, clutching at his now empty socket as gore fell from the wound.
ANBU decided to intervene at that moment, having been tasked with watching over the young Uzumaki. They held no love for the boy, but they were loyal to the Hokage, and the Hokage didn't want the brat dead.
However, there was a fine line between maimed and dead.
So when the crowd became a little too gung-ho about their self-appointed mission to end the Kyuubi, they thought it best to step in before things escalated further.
"I'd think it wise to stop here, Mr. Shinohara," came the emotionless voice of the shinobi with the snake mask.
"Why do you protect the demon?! Is this what the village stands for?! Well, I won't have it! We might have been repaid in blood, but only its life can pay for its sins!"
"We will use lethal force if you do not step down. I ask you again, please step down, Mr. Shinohara."
The old civilian clenched his jaw, glaring furiously at the boy behind the ANBU. He could see that some of the more minor scrapes and bruises were healing right before his eyes. This was too good a chance to pass up. They might never get the opportunity to kill the demon before it matures and comes to power!
Foregoing any and all of his common sense, he raised his hand and crushed the boy's eye to permanently weaken the demon. He felt a sick pleasure at the feeling of soft delicate tissue squishing between his fingers. He might be damning his soul, but it was for the greater good.
"I will kill the demon fox tonight!" he roared and aimed to charge at the boy. He didn't get very far though, as the snake ANBU unsheathed their tanto and sliced into the back of his neck. The short sword didn't cut through cleanly but stuck in the spine. It would surely kill him.
Rising from their kneeling position, Snake faced the crowd once more, before they calmly spoke.
"Do you stand down?" While it was phrased as a question, they said it more like a command. The effect was instantaneous. Frightened civilians lost their fight and fled the scene, the more arrogant shinobi grumbling and shooting them venomous glares while slinking into the shadows. Snake then addressed their partner.
"Monkey, get the body. You take Mr. Shinohara to the morgue and I'll head to the Hokage Tower to inform Sandaime-sama of what has transpired on this night." Monkey nodded and grabbed the body, settling it under their arm.
In unison, they hopped onto a rooftop before body flickering to their given destinations, not paying any mind to the small shivering form of the broken boy.
-LINE BREAK-
Naruto was shocked and in agony. Although he could feel the pain lessening as the minutes ticked by, there was still a burning sensation where his eye had been.
All his life he'd wondered why he was hated by the village, and today he had finally solved the mystery. God hated him, so it was only natural everyone else did as well. After all, he had no parents and his pranking hobby hadn't gained him any love either. Really, it was a wonder that he hadn't figured it out sooner!
Still curled on the ground, little Naruto let out a choked sob. So as long as God hated him, he couldn't be loved? All his efforts for recognition and acknowledgment were in vain?
That had to be the most painful thing that happened to him on this night his realization that his efforts were useless. That he couldn't fight against the hand fate had dealt him. He wanted to be loved. Who didn't? The only problem was attaining that love. He'd have to find a way to redeem himself in the eyes of God.
By now the largest of his wounds had closed and his bones had started mending. Naruto got up from his fetal position, being mindful of the still fragile bones.
He resolved to go to the small apartment he called home and think over his situation a bit more. Who knows, maybe he'll find the solution to his problems tomorrow at the academy. He could always ask Sandaime-jiji. He seemed to know everything!
So he slowly and carefully limped, holding his hand to the still painfully burning eye. He didn't know if that would grow back, as he'd never actually lost a limb before.
It felt odd to know that he wasn't whole anymore. He found it ironic that when most people said they didn't feel whole, they meant it metaphorically, while in his case it was meant in the most literal sense possible. He hoped this wouldn't interfere with his dream to be Hokage. That would suck.
Soon enough, he finally stumbled into his small and dumpy apartment. The knob to the front door was broken, graffiti and holes littered his dirty walls, and most of his possessions were upturned or broken.
Sadly enough, this wasn't exactly a new scene to the young boy. For all he could remember, it'd happened at the orphanage. Now they'd just followed him here as well.
He sighed, already wishing to sleep in his surely ruined bed, but started setting things back in order. Not that there'd been much when he left in the first place.
Naruto stood back, feeling dead on his feet now that everything was done and over with.
The boy shuffled towards his bedroom, stopping in the doorway to lean against the wooden frame. Just as he'd predicted, they'd gotten to his bed too. Broken glass tore at the hard mattress and small dead animals littered the sheets. While he was sad at the loss of innocent life, he wasn't phased by these acts of violence anymore.
Instead of grieving, he simply grabbed his ratty blanket, cleared a spot on his dull wooden floor, then settled down to sleep off the stress and fear of the day.
While the damp patches of animal blood felt uncomfortable, he paid it little mind, focusing on getting some rest.
Happy birthday, Naruto.
Hello. I know I should focus on updating Cries of the Forest, but I also have so many plot bunnies to try out! All of which I really want to share in the Naruto fandom, regardless of completion.
On the bright side, I do give the green light for adopting my story ideas, (as long as it isn't just copy 'n paste and I'm credited for my work.) Really, I'd be quite flattered if anyone wants to use my ideas.
But there's more to come, and sporadic updates suiting my schedule! I'm sorry.