Tears streamed down scarred cheeks, and fisted hands rubbed harshy at swollen red eyes. The citizens of Konohagakure looked down at the small child, faces twisted into looks of vengeful glee. The "Demon Brat's" cries for help fell upon deaf ears. The six-year-old had the made the unfortunate mistake of venturing outside the "safety" of his apartment on his birthday.
It had started with hateful glares, and whispers, "the Kyuubi dares to show himself infront of us?"
"Shh, it's forbidden to speak of it infront of that, thing," another hissed.
"But, today of all days? It has the ordacity to show itself to us?!"
Things had only gotten worse for the poor boy. Children that he knew, and went to school with, threw rocks at him: getting praise from their parents. Other civillians and few shinobi joined in by beating him.
"It's trying to mock us," slurred a rather drunk, portly, old man. With a bottle of sake in hand, his cheeks flushed, he crouched down in front of the demon vessel. The stench of alcohol flooded the child's nose, and made him turn his head away, trying to get the smell away from him. "Oh, what's this," rasped the old man, cocking an eyebrow, his face grew even more red, "Do I disgust you, the demon child?"
The Kyuubi container looked at the man, afraid to answer. If he did answer, they would twist his words. If he didn't answer, they would punish him for being disrespectful. He couldn't possibly hope to win. Sniffling he opened his mouth to speak, only to have sake splashed in his face and soak his small frame. The liquid burned his swollen eyes and left a bitter taste in his mouth.
The old man chuckled, looking down at the bewildered child. He looked around at the other villagers, all of them seemed pleased with his work. One villager, with black hair and eyes, smiled in wicked delight. He mumbled to the woman next to him, who in turn, passed along his message. The group surrounding the demon all took a few steps back, snickering to themselves. The drenched boy noticed this, and instantly knew something horrible was about to happen. The dark haired man stepped forward, wearing the symbol of the Uchiha clan on his shirt. He quickly ran through a few handseals, took a deep breath and cupped a hand around his mouth. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu," he exhaled, sending a large ball of fire twoards the Kyuubi brat.
A blood curdling scream ripped through Konohagakure. The boy convulsed violently, clawing at his own skin in an attempt to rid himself of the horrid pain. He was being cooked alive, his blood evaporating in the air. His skin burned off only to be regenrated and go through the terrible process all over again. He rolled on the ground, painging his muscles and tender new skin: his last attempt at putting out the fire.
The Uchiha grinned from ear to ear, satisfied with his handiwork. The brat was finally getting everything that he deserved for murdering his brothers.
Laughter began to chorus through the group, blending with pitiful cries for help. Faces contorted into looks of absolute pleasure at the euphorious sound. Children looked on in horror, but were quickly replaced by looks of fascination and delight. Their parents only encouraged them to join in on the fun.
Behind large stell bars, red eyes glowed in anger. Lips curled back into a ferocious snarl, revealing menacing fangs. Nine tails whipped about violently, making splashes in the murky water, as the beast growled, "they will pay."
Soon the boy's thrashing intensified as an eerie red chakra escaped from his skin. The chakra formed into a tight ball above the boy's somach before it pushed out, violently shocking the crowd backwards. The villagers all stumbled backwards from an uknown force, and landed on the ground, falling atop each other in a mess of tangled limbs. They lifted their heads and looked a the boy. Their looks of anger converted to fear at the malicious chakra and killing intent. Many were frozen to the spot, trembling and seeing their own deaths.
The boy stopped his convulsing as the chakra faded into the air and killing intent receeded. It was easy to see he was still alive, if the rising and falling of his chest was any indication. He was unconcious. His brain had shut down as a last means of defense. Blonde hair and skin slowly regenerated. He now resembled the brat all the villagers hated, instead of tortured and burned corpse.
Blue eyes fluttered open only to find themselves in a large corridor, whose walls and ceiling were lined with steel pipes. Over the whirring of water the boy could hear guttural growls. He slowly treaded through the knee-high water towards the noise.
After getting lost several times, he soon came to a stop infront of large barred doors. The queerest thing about the doors was that there was no lock, only a piece of paper with the kanji for "seal" on it. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that the growling stopped.
Behind the large doors, two slitted red eyes opened and landed their gaze upon the small boy. They eyes narrowed as they looked over his jailor. The growling started back up again as the beast muttered, "you are weak."
The blue hues looked up, displaying no defined emotion; simple indifference. "A fox," his young monotonous voice drawled.
A large vulpine-like hand shot out at the boy and wrapped clawed fingures around his smal frame. He was soon lifted up towards the large fox's face, staring him straight in the eye. "Are you going to eat me? If you are, then get it over with. You shouldn't play with your food."
The large beast smirked, nine tails swaying in delight. The child was amusing, speaking to him, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, in such a manner. "I am not here to eat you," the voice, obviously masculine, boomed, "in fact, I'd like to make you an offer. One that you have no choice but to accept. But first: what is your name, kit?"
"Naruto," he murmed, never dropping his unblinking gaze, "who are you?"
"The Kyuubi no Kitsune, lord of the Seven Hells."
"You're dead. The Yondaime killed you."
"The Yondaime sealed me," Kyuubi replied as he loosened his grip on the boy. Resting the boy in the palm of his hand, he gestured towards his small stomach with his nose, "inside of you."
Naruto lowered his gaze towards his stomach, and placed a hand protectively over it. "Are you the reason why I've been called a demon?" The Kyuubi nodded slightly, Naruto's expression never wavered. Half-lidded eyes found their way back to Kyuubi, as if in a trance. "What is this offer you were talking about? Surely there's something in it for you. I've fallen for this trick too many times." This was the first his face showed any real expression. His eyebrows furrowed as he waited for a reply.
"Kit, do you hate this village?"
"Yes..."
"Do you want revenge for the way they've treated you all your life?"
Naruto nodded his head in response.
"That's what I want. I've seen everything through your eyes, and it disgusts me. Demons wouldn't even do something like what these people have done to you. Blaming you for something you had no control over."
He twitched, face showing some form of shock. Someone other than the Sandaime cared? That was simply unheard of. A ghost of a smile was now taking residence upon his face.
"The offer I'm making you is for your own safety. When I saved you, the seal reacted to my chakra. This seal was slowly combining our chakra together. Now that you received my chakra in such a large burst in order to save you, it's working even faster. You will have absorbed all of my power by the time you are at least eighteen. When this happens, you will become a demon. The new Kyuubi, demon lord of hell.
"If you don't learn how to control this power properly, then it will destroy you from the inside out. I am offering to train you. Not only will I train you how to control this power, but I will also teach you the skills to become the strongest shinobi in the world. With this new power, you will be able to get your revenge. Do you accept my offer, Naruto?"
Naruto stared long and hard at the Kyuubi. I'll become a demon, he thought, just like the villagers said I was. Now I'll just rub it in their faces. They made me this way. I will have my revenge. Naruto smiled, a true genuine smile. He didn't care that he was becoming a demon. All that mattered was that somebody else cared. Someone that cared and wanted to help him reach his new goal. Someone other than the Sandaime. "I accept, Kyuubi-sensei," he whispered, trembling with delight.