This is my first fanfic ever!
Please read and review! Reviews and critiques are MUCH appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If that wasn't obvious enough...
Kurenai Yuuhi's gaze lifted from her cup of tea, her eyes red as the Sharingan itself. Kurenai adjusted her chuunin vest, which was being worn over her traditional dress made out of bandages.
"I kinda wish that the dango restaurant wasn't closed today…", Anko Mitarashi said, sighing in disappointment. Kurenai looked at her best friend, who was sitting on the stool to her right.
"Dango, dango, dango." Asuma Sarutobi said, chuckling, from the other side of the table. He sat back on his stool, grinning as he took out a cigarette and a lighter. "Don't you eat anything else? It's like you're addicted. That kind of scares me sometimes…"
"Aww, you're so sweet. Hey – you're one to talk. Who's the person who smokes cigarettes 24/7 because of his addiction to nicotine, eh?" Anko said, grinning from ear to ear as Asuma scowled darkly. Anko made a face, and stuck her tongue out.
Asuma was about to lash back, and Kurenai was about to intervene and perhaps scold them for acting like academy students, when a scream of sheer terror erupted from outside the store. A boy no older than 4 years old was running past the restaurant. An enraged group of civilians and shinobi were chasing him, various weapons in their hands, some of said weapons looking so scary that people would shudder to think how they were used.
The trio looked, slightly confused, as the boy exerted as much force into running as was humanly possible by his aching muscles. Suddenly, the boy's foot went off balance as it hit a banana peel carelessly left on the ground.
The three chuunins winced as the mob jumped upon and attacked the boy like a pack of wolves hunting a deer. Asuma, Kurenai, and Anko were shocked when they realized that none of the civilians in the restaurant or on the street were even paying the kid any attention, let alone helping.
Anko's fists were clenched, fingernails digging deep into the palm of her hand as she heard what insults the mob was spewing. Her fists were trembling, turning white with the force she was subconsciously applying.
"Demon brat! This is what you fucking deserve!"
"You killed my husband and my eldest son! This is revenge!"
"You don't deserve to live, you son of a bitch!"
Anko was sitting on the ground, sobbing as rocks were thrown at her and citizens swung at her with baseball bats, pieces of wood; anything that they could reach.
"Snake bitch!"
"Whore!"
"Your master killed my father and took my brother! This is my revenge!"
"You'd have to be a fucking MORON to trust Orochimaru, slut!"
They watched in horror as the boy's face became matted with blood as blows rained down. Kunai knives plunged deep into his flesh. Baseball bats smashing across his cheeks, causing his face to become covered with cuts and bruises, turning his face into a mess of purple and red, black and blue. Punches and kicks aimed at his torso, causing him to cough and vomit blood.
Asuma drew his trench knives; chakra quickly creating a blade of pure blue chakra around the actual metallic blade. He growled at the injustice, and he and Anko quickly leapt from the restaurant, and moved in between the mob and the child, who was sporting multiple stab wounds, and bruises and cuts all over and was sobbing gently.. Kurenai, not one to quickly anger at things, followed suit calmly.
"Aah. Kurenai.", one of the civilians said loudly, emitting an aura of pure drunkenness, while he sauntered up to the front of the mob. "Y'know, the Kyuubi killed your parents too, if I remember correctly." He smirked. "Why don't you join u-…"
The man was immediately silenced with a fist to the face, courtesy of Anko, who was now shaking with rage.
"Why are you defending the demon? Don't you realize? He's the one who attacked the village years ago? He killed countless shinobi, and even the Yondaime.", another man shouted.
"He may take that form, but he's still a fucking demon! He KILLED my family!" a third person yelled, lunging at the boy with a pitchfork.
Asuma parried the attack, and promptly sliced the man in the stomach with one of his chakra blades. He emitted a vengeful wave of killing intent, causing the front lines of the mob to take a surprised step backwards.
Kurenai made a couple of hand signs, and placed the mob under a simple sleep genjutsu. It was effective against the civilians, but the shinobi were easily able to defend themselves.
Suddenly, with a nod from the leader of the mob, the shinobi bent on revenge charged, kunais in hand.
Anko released some snakes from her hands using her summoning contract, and they slithered towards the shinobi. They bit down on legs and arms, and since they were poisonous, a bunch of the attackers died slowly and agonizingly. Using a fluid style of taijutsu, she was able to knock out multiple other mob members.
Kurenai made more hand signs, and then yelled "BINDING TREE ILLUSION!"
Some of the shinobi were suddenly immobilized by the illusion of a tree sprouting and wrapping around their limbs, and Kurenai promptly slit their throats.
Asuma's chakra blades easily sliced through the weapons of his opponents. With a little effort, he was able to incapacitate the rest of the opponents.
The three of them cautiously approached the boy. He bore a striking resemblance to the deceased Yondaime. He had messy blonde hair, and he had cool, blue sapphire eyes. The boy slowly inched away from them, his eyes becoming wider and wider as they came closer.
Kurenai's motherly instincts kicked in, and she picked up the boy, and pat his back, trying to sooth him. But he was struggling, and kicking around, constantly trying to scream.
"No… no… don't hurt me… please don't!"
The three sported angry looks on their faces as they realized how many times someone had to have been beaten in order for them to not trust people to that degree anymore.
"Don't worry, we're not here to hurt you." Anko said with a forced smile. The boy stopped struggling and looked at the three of them, eyes wide.
"In any case, I'll get the Hokage." Asuma muttered bitterly. "You two get this kid to the hospital. He looks awful." The two kunoichis nodded in agreement, and the three of them left the scene.
…
"… and so you say you beat the mob and came here and here we are now?" the Sandaime asked, a little sadly, as he paced the tiled floor of the hospital room.
"Absolutely, Hokage-sama.", the three said in unison.
"Is that all? If so, you may leave now. Rest assured, he is in safe hands. I thank you for your selfless effort and…", the Sandaime said.
"Wait." Kurenai interrupted.
Slightly surprised, the Sandaime looked up, a little confused. "What is it?"
"While they were attacking him… they constantly referred to him as a … demon? Why is that?", Kurenai asked.
"Oho! Why is it that you want to know this? Has the famed Ice Queen of Konoha melted at last?", the Sandaime said, with a chuckle. Anko and Asuma laughed at Kurenai's expense, who was now starting to blush furiously.
"N-n-no! I'm just curious – that's all!" she reassured them.
The Sandaime's mood suddenly turned a little bit more serious.
"What do you 3 know about the Kyuubi?" He asked, seriously.
"Well, it was the Nine-Tailed fox… and it attacked Konoha, and the Yondaime killed it and sacrificed himself for the village?" Kurenai asked, a little confused.
"Why does this have anything to do with the boy?" Anko asked, thoroughly confused.
"That's a common misconception, unfortunately." The Sandaime said darkly. "The Bijuu, the Tailed Beasts, are demons, giant masses of evil chakra. It is physically impossible for any mortal to destroy one."
"Does that mean that the boy we saved is…" Asuma started, slightly taken aback.
"No. The boy, Naruto, is NOT the Nine-Tailed Fox." The Sandaime interrupted, a bit harshly. "Rather, the Yondaime was forced to seal the Kyuubi into a being. And seeing as any normal object was too weak to handle the Kyuubi, he was forced to choose a human."
Realization started to dawn on the 3 chuunins, who started to widen their eyes in shock.
"No, not any human wouldn't do." The Sandaime continued, a grave look in his eyes. "The human had to be a newborn, seeing as the chakra coils within his or her body had to be incomplete – not fully mature, for it to work."
The cigarette in Asuma's mouth dropped onto the ground. The flame on the end immediately died.
"B-b-but why would they attack the kid… I mean Naruto… if he's just a kid… and not the Kyuubi itself?" Kurenai asked, shaking a little bit in discomfort.
"Since the Kyuubi is sealed within Naruto, if Naruto dies, so does the Kyuubi." The Sandaime responded concisely.
"But he's just a child…"
"How could they be so cruel…"
"Even if he is the container – there's a difference between the jail and the jailed…"
The Sandaime chuckled, his mood lightening up considerably.
"I'm glad you 3 feel that way. Unfortunately, many people lost family in the attack and were hurt deeply and personally. And seeing as the Kyuubi isn't right here, Naruto seems to be like its representative."
The 3 chuunins were about to continue ranting and protesting about unfairness, when the Sandaime raised his hands.
"That's enough. The story of Naruto being the container of the Kyuubi is strictly an S class secret, and if any of you mention this to anyone, I might have to execute you. Go along now." The Sandaime said. "I'm extremely grateful that you 3 came to Naruto's aid, but there's no longer any further need for your work. Good job. Consider this a mission successful."
And without another word, the Sandaime pushed them gently out of the hospital room door and closed it with a slight slam.
'I'm sorry, Minato' the Sandaime thought sadly, facing the child, who was peering at him curiously. 'I failed you.'