Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Title: Like a Boy
Author: HPFan126
Language: English
Genre: General
Rating: T
Summary: Girls are supposed to be weaker than boys. Girls aren't supposed to be a better shinobi than a boy. Girls aren't supposed to be better than boys. This is what most people but Naruko Uzumaki isn't like most people. She thinks the opposite and she will prove everyone in her village wrong about what a girl should be like. Originally from THfreak122.
"What are you doing, Naruko?"
Naruko looked down from the tree and frowned at the sight of Itachi raising his eyebrows at her. She opened her mouth to tell him, it was none of his business but the words soon turned to a scream when she finds herself waving from the. This wasn't going to end well that much Naruko could be certain! And she was right because the next minute she fall down from the tree and landed on her butt.
Damn it, she was so close into reaching the top of the tree but Itachi just had to ruin her concentration.
Sighing, she stands up and started to clean herself off the dust while looking at Itachi with a raised eyebrow and frown. The older boy rarely visits her these days because of his job as well as his family and, usually he does give some kind of warning when he visit but asking a question isn't the warning. So it is a curiosity on why he chose today to visit and how he knew where she was. Or maybe he is just a very good shinobi like that. Still why was he here?
She shook her head and mentally scolded herself for thinking like this. She should be happy to see Itachi because she hasn't seen him for a good three months and if he wanted to visit her then, she shouldn't questioned him.
"If you couldn't tell Machine-san, I was practicing my chakra-control," Naruko said sardonically before giving him a big smile. "Iruka-sensei taught it to me, last week, Machine-san!"
Itachi raised his eyebrow at his nickname and Naruko simply gave him a small smirk, crossing her arms at him. He could raise his eyebrows all he wanted but she wasn't going to change his nickname. He should be used to it by now anyways! She has been calling him that for the past year and he still raises his eyebrow at it. He shook his head and ruffled her hair, making the blonde scowl as she tidied her hair. She gritted her teeth when she saw that a strand of hair was still stuck on her forehead.
It took her an hour to tidy her hair and now it will take the same amount of time to do it! She sighed. Maybe it will be better if she just cut her hair short at least then she won't have to waste one hour to do it.
"I could tell, Naruko," Itachi said dryly, looking unimpressed at her tone. "But I wish to know why you're doing it? An academy student shouldn't be doing this exercise."
"Well it's because recently I've been having trouble doing the bunshin jutsu and I didn't know why until Hinata-chan used her Kekkai Genkai," Naruko said looking at the trees. "From what she can tell, I've got a lot of chakra and she said that it almost automatically means I've got bad chakra control! Since I didn't want that, I went to Iruka-sensei and explained to him about my situation and asked him if I could learn some more chakra control exercise."
"…So he taught you tree walking," Itachi stated.
Naruko nodded and looked at the older boy properly. There was something different about him and she couldn't really tell what it was. Was it the way he looked? No not really, the only real difference she could see in him was some stress lines. That could be because of his work since she heard from Hinata that being a ninja could be really demanding. Through, she wonders what type of jobs he has been doing for the past four months.
It wouldn't hurt for her to ask right? No it wouldn't since he hasn't seen her in the last couple of months and so it would only be fair if she asked.
"Hey Machine-san, have you done any cool missions so far?" Naruko asked, smiling at the older ninja. "Like protecting a Daimyo's daughter perhaps? Or have you been off escorting a Daimyo? Please tell me!"
The Uchiha heir raised his eyebrow at her and gave her an emotionless look. Naruko pouted at the older boy, realizing he wasn't going to give her the information what she wanted anytime soon. He expects her to tell him everything and he won't do the same for her! That isn't fair! She wanted to know more about the type of jobs he does! She leaned closer to him, hoping it would cause him some discomfort, which would lead him to start talking about the job he have been doing. The boy didn't open his mouth or seemed too bothered with her closeness.
Damn it, why couldn't he act like a normal human being?
"No, I haven't been doing those things," Itachi said as Naruko moved towards the trees.
Naruko frowned at this. "Really? Don't you have these kind of exciting jobs since you're jounin?"
"Jounins can sometimes do dull jobs Naruko. We don't always protect a Damiyo's daughter or the Damiyo himself," Itachi explained and Naruko shoulders slumped at this. "Just because someone is a jounin, doesn't mean we are excluded from doing those dull jobs."
"That sucks! I don't want to do those boring D-rank missions that oji-san describes!"
Itachi shook his head at her and for a brief moment, Naruko thinks she saw his lips twitching at her but it was gone before she could decide whether it was really happening or not. For her sake, she'll say he was laughing at her words and not acting like some kind of machine as he usually does. She would like to believe he didn't act completely emotionless to her and that she could make him talk a lot. Well actually the last part is true since today have been the longest she heard him talk.
Now she would make him talk more but, she still had a chakra control exercise to do and she wants to master it before the three weeks are up. So with that thought, she runs towards the tree with intent of mastering the tree-climbing exercise.
She wasn't going to get stronger by not doing those exercises.
Itachi watched closely as Naruko reached the fifth last branch of the tree. The little girl eyebrows were all scrunched up and she was biting her lips as she climbed further up the tree and he couldn't help but muse about what he knows so far about the girl:
She was the strangest girl in Sasuke's class, as his little brother will say whenever he speaks about his school and classmates. That was actually one of the kinder comment his brother told him since most of his comments about her were, unfortunately a little bit…sexist. However his brother will admit he sees her as his rival since she is just as strong, through a little bit weaker and that was his brother's words not his. It's because of this that Sasuke was working even harder than usual; something his mother had taken note of.
Itachi mentally frowned at the thought of his mother. He hadn't missed the sad and guilty look on his mother's face whenever Naruko's name was mentioned. At some point, he thought it was because she feels a little bit pity for the girl but dismissed it because his mother felt guilty and not pity for her. It wasn't like him to dig around but he was weak against curiosity, so this wasn't any different. So he goes to his mother room, hoping to find a clue when he spots a familiar picture. He sees his mother and a young red-haired woman hugging each other. Now, it shouldn't interest him but it did since, the red-haired woman looked a little bit like Naruko and with a closer-inspection, he figures the woman was Naruko's mother.
An interesting fact to learn but he doesn't dare confirm it with his mother since it'll make her suspicious about him and he can't have that. Now another interesting thing to learn is just who is Naruko's father might be. He has suspicions on who it might be but if he is right, then it'll be problematic if the little girl learns about it.
Telling her is tempting but only because he is curious about her reaction towards it. He has only known her for a year but she is still quite a puzzle to piece, especially when it comes to her emotions. One minute, she is a happy girl and the next minute she is a sad little girl. It is because of this, he wants to learn more about her.
He learned a lot of things about her from Sasuke, through the way he describes her is harsh but his little brother is jealous. His brother may deny it but he could hear it in his tone and the way he describe the girl's strength. Yes, Naruko have a lot of strength but not only in the way his brother described. She is strong because she can still give a smile to people. He knows of her burden, not only because of him being her ANBU guard but also because he was there when the Hokage announced it to the village. He was still a child then and he still had his family so, he didn't understand the villager's anger towards the baby. Now he understood but it disgusts him to see how the villagers would even deny the girl the right to live.
It's a good thing Naruko doesn't know this or else there will be a huge consequence that much he can be certain.
"Oi! Itachi-san! Look how high I reached!" Naruko yelled, snapping him from his musings.
He looked up to the tree and nearly raised an eyebrow when he sees that the smiling girl was standing on the last branch of the tree. It looks like Naruko only have a few meters before she reaches the top of the tree. It was impressive to see one as young as her to reach this far and not seemed very tired.
He wasn't going to tell her this or Naruko would get an even bigger ego.
"So what do you think about it, Itachi-san? Impressive, right?" Naruko asked giddily, waving her hand at him.
"Hn."
Naruko scowled and Itachi held himself back from laughing at the girl. It would cause him nothing but trouble if he actually shows this girl some emotions but it was really tempting with her scowling and crossing her arms like that.
He let out a small chuckle as soon as the girl turned her back and continued doing her exercise. He leaned against the tree and stares at Naruko, who seemed to be confused as she walked up the tree. It was unusual for the young girl to look confuse.
His eyes widened when he sees her legs wobbling and he was half-tempted to go run to the tree, to make sure she doesn't fall down on the grass but he stops himself. Instead he forced himself to watch her while asking her the question:
"Naruko, are you okay?"
She looked down on him and for a brief moment her faced showed hesitance but it was soon replaced with her having a huge smile. He didn't relax when the girl nodded her head and told him shakily that she was all right. He didn't believe her because her face was still pale and she acted like she had seen a ghost when she looked down at him.
What was happening to Naruko?
He glanced at Naruko and mentally frowned when he sees that the young girl was falling. He needed to get to the girl before she hits the ground so with that thought, he runs to her and gets there on time to catch her. He sighed when Naruko looked up to him with dazed eyes. This girl causes more trouble than she's worth that much is certain.
"You need to pay attention to your surroundings, Naruko."
The blue-eyed girl nodded her head and asked softly, "Itachi-san is it possible to remember things that happened on the day you were born?"
Itachi blinked his eyes at this question and answered, "It's possible and it isn't completely unheard of. Why do you ask Naruko?"
Naruko gulped and answered, "Because while I was doing the chakra-control exercise, I suddenly remembered something…I think I saw a blond-haired man crying and he was telling me that he was sorry for leaving me alone in the world. He tells me that he and my mother loved me so much."
"I see…" He really didn't.
"Itachi-san, what does it mean? Do you have any idea on who my father might be? A-And he mentioned that he and my mother loved me so much, that they were sorry for leaving me alone in the world!" Naruko said with tears flowing out of her eyes. "I mean I should be happy they didn't mean to leave me, that they are dead and haven't abandon me like the kids said they did…so why am I crying? I mean I should accept the fact they are dead! I shouldn't cry over it because they have been dead since I was baby!"
Itachi awkwardly patted the young girl's back. He wasn't sure what to say to cheer the girl up since he wasn't really the comforting type. In fact, he had never seen a child or woman cry before but that's because he never saw his mother cry and Sasuke really didn't cry that much. Even then, he left the cheering him up to his mother so, this really was a new experience for him.
"I've no idea on who your father might be but I can tell you why you're crying over it," Itachi said and Naruko looked up at him, sniffing. "You're crying because you finally know the truth and the truth hurts you so much that is why you're crying. You're crying because you knew from the beginning they were dead but you still have hope that they are alive and to know they aren't, hurts you. And finally, it is because they are your parents that you're crying."
"Really?"
"No but that's only one way, we can interpret it," Itachi said, truthfully.
Naruko smiled slightly at his words and wiped her tears with the sleeves of her clothes before saying, "He actually expected me to forgive him for leaving me alone in this world." She laughed bitterly. "I'm not that type of person! I can't forgive him easily for leaving me all alone in this world!"
Itachi nodded and asked, "Do you hate your father then?"
Naruko blinked her eyes at him before furrowing her eyebrows and crossing her arms. He could see the conflict in her eyes and it reminds him again that the young girl was still a child, through she sometimes act like she isn't a child. He quirked his eyebrow when Naruko clenched her hand into a fist and slammed her fist against the tree.
Why did the child do something so stupid as to punch a tree?
"Ouch!" Naruko yelped as she rubbed her knuckles that were now numbed with pain. "Why the hell was there a tree here!"
"We are in a forest, Naruko. Of course there are trees," Itachi said, dryly. "Now, answer the question."
Naruko flushed in embarrassment at this fact and gave a sheepish smile before slumping against the tree. She crunched her eyebrows and licked her lips before pursing her lips into a thin line and then tilted her head before sighing. She looked up at him and took in a deep breath before saying:
"I don't know if I can truly hate him since I barely know him…and he did look sad and it sounded like he and my mother had no choice but to leave me alone in this world," Naruko answered honestly, looking down at her hands. "I can't hate him because of that and I barely knew the man so I can't hate him. If I hate him then it makes me seem petty and I don't want to be seen as a petty person."
"You know you sound like a wise old lady when you put it that way."
Naruko glared at him and said scathingly, "If I'm a wise old lady then what does that make you? A boy that loves to kill so many people?"
Itachi didn't blink at Naruko comment but he grimaced at her words, knowing what he would soon have to do in a couple of days time. There was no other way and he wished he didn't have to do it but orders were orders, even if the order hurts him.
"…So Itachi-san, why have you decided to visit me today of all days?" Naruko asked, grinning at him.
"Hn."
His lips twitched when Naruko shook her head and sighed at him, before grabbing the stick beside her. Well it seems like the little girl was determined to get to the top of the tree and knowing her, she won't rest until she does it. Naruko was stubborn like that but this was her charm.
He hopes that part of her won't ever change.
Naruko immediately goes to the orphanage when she feels like she couldn't do anymore chakra-control training or until she was hungry at the very least. This had been her ritual for the past two years and it was a ritual that no one knew. Not even Hinata knows she visit the orphanage every Saturday and that is the way she will keep it. If she tells Hinata than the girl would ask why she does it or what happened that day and Naruko wasn't ready to answer either questions.
Naruko shook her head at this and rubbed her neck, fingering the branded mark on her neck. Everyone in the orphanage had a letter branded on them in some part of their body and hers was on the neck. The matron had branded her with the letter M and she still remembers the day when the Matron decided to do it. She remembered what caused her to get the mark even through, it had been four long years since that day.
She had been four years old when it happened and it wasn't like she wanted to get into a fight with one of the boys. They had been arguing over the closet. The boy had argued that there was a monster in the closet while she argued there wasn't a monster in the closet, since none of the older kids were scared of the closet. She didn't remember exactly who it was but one of the boys insinuated she was the monster and of course, she didn't take it too well. She lost her temper at him and punches him in the face. The boy punched her right back and that continued on, until someone yells that the matron was coming.
It took them a few minutes to realize what that meant and when it finally hit them, they tried to get rid of any evidence that they have been fighting. If you caught doing something bad then the matron would punish you in the worst possible way and the punishment will remain with you for the rest of your life as the other kids would warn her. Almost none of the kids like her but they always put aside their differences because they only had each other. The matron isn't someone you can trust, as the orphans in the orphanage would warn people. She may look nice on the outside but she was the devil in the inside.
Naruko never knew how right they were until the matron had stormed into the room and smirked at the sight of the bruises on her and the other boy's face. She gulped as she remembered how the woman had hauled her and the boy into her office. She gritted her teeth as she remembered how the woman took out a hot needle and wrote the letter M on her neck and the letter T on the boy's neck. Till this day, she remembers why the woman marked her with the letter M.
"The letter M will do you good! The letter M is the first letter of the word, monster did you know? And that's what is what you're! A monster! You're not human! You will never be human!"
Those have been the matron words as she pressed the hot needle on her neck. She wanted to forget the hatred and the twisted joy in the woman's eyes as she said this. She wanted to forget the fear in the boy's eyes when he saw that he was going to be branded too. Yet, she couldn't forget it because of this village. She can't forget because this village shows her the same type of hatred as the matron. However unlike the matron, they kept their hatred in control. She wanted to know what she did to deserve so much hatred from them.
She was just a kid! She hadn't done anything to deserve such hatred, did she?
"It has been four years since the incident and yet, you still visit this place, Naruko-chan," A familiar voice said-his tone disapproving.
Naruko turned her head to see the Hokage looking at her with disappointed look and she furrowed her eyebrows at the man. Normally she would apologize to him but she is confused on why he isn't in his office doing work. Didn't he always tell her that being Hokage was a tiring job? So wouldn't it make sense for him to make his job less tiring by actually doing his work? She really didn't understand adults.
"Hokage-ojisan, aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Even the Hokage is allowed to leave the office every once in a while," Sarutobi answered, lilting his smoking pipe. "I can't always be stuck in the office, I do need a break from it after all."
Naruko wrinkled her nose at the smell of smoke waffling her nose. It really burns her nostrils with its horrible smell and it really isn't good for the old man's health. Doesn't he know that? Most likely he did but it wouldn't hurt to remind him again, would it? The horrible smell attacked her nose again and Naruko decided it wouldn't hurt her to tell him.
"You know Hokage-ojisan they say smoking is a horrible habit to have! People have died because of smoking and I'm sure you don't want to die anytime soon so, why don't you quit smoking?" She suggested, wrinkling her nose. She then added thoughtfully, "It'll certainly make you live longer!"
"I won't die because of this Naruko! I survived three wars after all!"
"Just because you survived three wars, Hokage-ojisan, doesn't mean you're not human!" Naruko said, frowning at his words. "You really should care about your health, Hokage-ojisan! Smoking too much can lead to death, you know!"
"And who told you this?" Sarutobi said, chuckling.
"I read a lot of books, Hokage-ojisan," Naruko said, scowling. "And in one of the books that I read, there was this boy and his sick father…"
Naruko told the story for a good twenty minutes before realizing the Hokage wasn't paying attention and she wouldn't have realized it if he hadn't said, that's nice Naruko. Honestly this wasn't the first time the old man didn't pay attention to her lecture on smoking. It seemed that almost every time she gives him the lecture, the man had turned her off and starts daydreaming. Really when will he start paying attention to her lectures? She really wants to know.
"You're not paying attention to my lecture are you, Hokage-ojisan?" Naruko said, crossing her arms at the man.
The old man had decency to look embarrass and said, "Sorry, Naruko."
Naruko crossed her arms and shook her head at him before turning her body around and said several cuss words under her breath. It is a miracle that she still keeps giving him the same lectures on the same topic to the old man. She should give up on him and tell him on his dying bed that it was his damn fault for dying because he didn't listen to her.
"Naruko-chan, can you promise me something?" Sarutobi asked, drawing her attention back to reality.
"What do you want me to promise?"
"That you won't come back here ever again," He answered, pursing his lips at her.
Naruko blinked and blinked, hoping that the old man was joking about this but the seriousness in his eyes told her he wasn't joking. He really wanted her to stay away from this place! He wanted her not to visit the place that had been her living hell! Was he mad? She needs to visit this place! She just has too! He doesn't understand a damn thing! He doesn't understand that she needs to confront this place. He hasn't known what she was like at that time. He didn't know how her life and the other kids life were like.
What he saw that day was just one of the worst crazy ideas that the matron had.
"Well?"
"No, I can't promise you this, Hokage-ojisan! I just can't!" Naruko said angrily, narrowing her eyes at him. "Coming here is the only way I know that I'm strong! That I'm not some weakling or coward! By not coming there then I know that I'm weak, that I'm a coward!"
"And do tell me how does coming here every single time tells you that you're not a weakling or a coward, Naruko? Tell me!" Not once since she met the old man had she ever heard him raised his voice at her and to be honest, it frightens her.
"Because I want to be able to look at this place without having this stupid need to cry! I want to tell myself that I'm never going back to that hellhole!" Naruko said, gritting her teeth. "I want to be able to tell myself that I've survived this place and that this place hasn't affected me so badly! I want to look at the toys and remember how the other kids used to play with them with happiness! I don't want to remember all of those horrible times! That's why I visit this place!"
"Naruko-chan…"
Naruko stiffened at the mention of her name before looking down at the ground. She can remember the blood that spilled from the other kids and their crying faces when they realized they were going to die that night. She remembered their cries and screams but most of all she remembers, the matron cruel laughter.
It felt like only yesterday.
"Naruko, can you tell me what happened that night before we saved you and the others? None of the other kids will speak about it."
Naruko closed her eyes as the memories rushed through her mind. The horror looks on the kids face at the sight of a foreign shinobi in their orphanage. Her crying when she sees the matron smiling so cruelly and twisted at them. She could hear the pleas of the kids when the matron declared to them that each one of them would see the 'wonderful' Nin. She could remember shaking in fear whenever a name was called and the guilt and relief she felt when she didn't hear her name. She remembered the cries of the people, the man killed.
No matter how hard she tries, she can't ever forget that day.
"You don't want to know what happened, Hokage-ojisan," Naruko whispered hoarsely as another memory flashed through her mind. "We all made a pact that we won't ever talk about it…we want to forget that horrible day happened! You just need to know we were only lucky we had survived and that it is because of that night, I won't ever let myself become weak or be scared ever again. I won't let another kid go through what we went through."
"Was it that horrible, Naruko-chan?"
"If we had been stronger and had some courage then maybe the others would have survived," Naruko said softly. "We may have been kids but we looked out for each other and to us, we should have done something that night! We shouldn't have been scared or so weak! We were lucky that a team of ninjas heard our cries."
"Naruko…"
"I was weak, Hokage-ojisan! I couldn't do a damn thing except cry while they died! I should have done something! I should have been stronger!"
Naruko shook her head at him and quietly said, "Maybe I'm strong and maybe I'm not but there is one thing certain! I'll become stronger! I'll be strong enough to protect myself better! And I'll become strong enough to save people, especially the people that are close to me and that includes you, Hokage-ojisan! And I swear this on my deceased parents' name. I do not want anyone to suffer like we did."
Naruko didn't notice the proud look on the Hokage's face, as she had been too busy looking at the abandon toys, remembering the people who had died that horrible night.
Sarutobi had no doubts that Naruko would one day become strong enough to fulfill that promise. When that day comes, he would be happy to pass the hat onto the girl.
Naruko favorite day of the week was Friday, not because it was the last day of the school's week but because it was the day that she gets her stipend from the Hokage. It is on that day, she can put the money on her account and see just how much money she saved over the years. It is then she debates whether she should take money out of her account or not. Now she doesn't like spending her money and when she does spend on her money, it is either on food and other necessary things. Occasionally, she spends the money on books but only when she thinks she deserved it.
She will never know how this Friday would be different from all of her other Fridays.
It was another typical school day, she answered the teachers' questions when they called her, which was often very rare but today it had been different since most of the teachers called on her. She had tied with Sasuke in taijutsu, which was now becoming an occurring theme. She got into a huge fight with Ami about her parents and had gotten into another fight with Sasuke's fan club over the rumors that had been spread around about her.
Now normally, she would ignore those idiotic rumors but today's rumor wasn't the usual case.
"Naruko-chan, you need to calm down! You know what they are saying isn't true!" Hinata whispered furiously, holding her back from hitting Sakura and Ino in the face.
Naruko scowled and angrily said, "I know it isn't true! But I want to know where the hell they get the idea that I l…li…like the stupid bastard Sasuke! We can barely stand each other!"
"Don't call Sasuke-kun a bastard, hussy!" Ino and Sakura yelled in unison. "And how dare you think that Sasuke-kun will look at you in that way!"
"I call him whatever the hell I want!" Naruko snarled, glaring at the two girls. "If I call him a bastard then I'll call him a bastard! And for the last fucking time, I don't like your precious Sasuke-kun because frankly that's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard! How the hell can I like that bastard when all we ever do is fight! And secondly, have you seen me mooning over him! I call him a bastard for goodness sake! How does that show I like him! Tell me, does it show I like him in that way?"
The girls looked at each other and frowned before shaking their heads at her. Now they were getting the point of her not liking him! She can't imagine herself liking the bastard or any boy in fact. She was only seven years old for goodness sake! How can she like a boy when she herself isn't mature! She can imagine being friends with them but that's it! So why can't these girls understand this? Seriously, it is rumors like these that make her pissed.
She waited till the girls were gone before turning to her best friend, who shook her head at her. Naruko shrugged her shoulders at her best friend and said, "Why are the girls in our class a bunch of idiots? And who the hell was the idiot who came up with that stupid rumor, huh? What the hell made them think I actually like that bastard?"
"I presume it is because of the amount of times that the two of you had been caught fighting or it might have to do with the fact that you always throw insults at him."
"I won't argue about the insults but we don't fight!" Naruko said, frowning. "We have…friendly spars, not fights."
"Yes, yes," Hinata said, waving her hand dismissively. "And I help Kiba with his pranks."
Naruko arched her eyebrows at this and tried to imagine her friend doing pranks with Kiba. She could imagine Hinata using her Kekkai Genkai while the feral boy does his thing and her friend warning the boy when the teacher is just nearby. She could imagine her friend chastely scolding the boy for not listening to her. Oh she would pay a lot of money just to see that happen but she knows Hinata would never act this way. Not because of her father but because she doesn't want to tarnish her clan's reputation.
It must be tough being the heiress of a famous clan.
"I was simply thinking that it must be tough for you since you are the heiress of a famous clan." Naruko admitted. "I mean you got to have a lot of responsibility right?"
"I do." Hinata admitted sadly. "But it is okay, I am used to it Naruko-chan. I am going to unite my family together."
She frowned at her and was about to open her mouth to ask her what she meant but closed it when she saw the sad expression on Hinata's face. Naruko was so used to seeing other expressions on her friend's face and sadness just wasn't one of them. To be honest, she rather not see her friend behave like this and it pissed her off to see her friend so sad.
What happened to Hinata's clan to make her seem so sad?
"Hinata-chan, what happened to your clan?"
Hinata fiddled with her fingers for a bit and just when Naruko was about to say that it was alright not to tell her, her friend started to tell her what happened. She listened patiently as Hinata informed her about the cursed seal mark that is branded on the branch family. It makes her angry that someone would do this to them. She thought that no one but the matron would do things like this but to hear Hinata's clan doing this, makes her sick to her stomach. Being branded wasn't nice because it was a constant reminder that things just are out of your control.
She wanted to tell Hinata that being branded wasn't nice but she saw that she didn't have to, when she sees the sadness in her friend's eyes and hears her friend's dream. To others, it may sound silly but Naruko liked her dream. Unlike the other kids in their class, her friend's dream had to be one of the most admirable dream to have and the one with a good cause.
"You know Hinata-chan, I like your dream! I think it is the most admirable dream a person can have when they have a situation like those!" Naruko said, cheerfully. "And you know what! If you work hard enough than one day you'll accomplish this dream of yours!"
"Y-You're not angry with me?"
"I was angry at first because I don't like the idea of being branded since it makes it seem like your life isn't yours to have! But when I heard that you want to stop the barbaric practice then I stop being angry at you because you want to stop it, and not many people would do something like that, you know!" Naruko said softly, rubbing her neck. "And you would do anything to accomplish it, right?"
"O-Of course, Naruko-chan!"
"All right then! I'm going to help you accomplish your dream!" Naruko said firmly, flashing a smile at her friend. "Because friends help each other! And I'll be there for you when you tell them that you're going to demolish the act and tell them that you found a way to get rid of the mark!"
"T-Thank you, Naruko-chan…no one have ever believed in me!" Hinata mumbled, staring at her.
"Did you say something Hinata-chan?"
Hinata shook her head and Naruko shrugged her shoulders, telling her best friend that it was time for them to play a game of hide and seek.
Not once had she realized that today was the day where her life will changed for good.
The rest of the school day after that went normal and her chakra-control training had went for four hours straight. Naruko hadn't even realized it till she had looked from the top of the tree to see the clock saying it was eight. That was even late for her but for the past couple of days, she had been training till nighttime.
She was on her way to the Hokage's tower when she smelled a familiar smell.
It was a disgusting smell that she had wished not to remember until she became a genin but it seemed like she wasn't that lucky. The smell of blood was so thick that it eerily reminded her of that night, the same night when she got her freedom as well as the night where many orphans had lost their lives.
She couldn't ignore the scent and she was curious to know where the scent was coming from and why there were so much blood.
Naruko scrunched her nose as she followed the scent of blood. She had passed a couple of civilians, who had gave her the usual icy glares but she was too anxious about the scent of blood to glare right back of them. Something horrible has happened and she was too curious to know what happened. She can't ignore the scent until she finds out what happened.
In the back of her mind, Naruko wonder why couldn't the civilians smell the scent of blood.
The scent of blood was very powerful when she saw that she was getting closer and closer to the Uchiha clan's home. Naruko gulped nervously and wonders if it would be a wise idea for her to go inside the home. The Uchiha clan head didn't really like her that much while the opposite can be said for the Uchiha Matron.
But even through she was scared to know what was happening her curiosity overweighed her fear.
Hesitantly, Naruko entered the Uchiha's clan gates and gasped at the sights of so many corpses in the ground. There were men, women and children on the ground, their eyes were void and all their faces had the same expression, shock, anger and even fear. She could see just how much blood had been spilled and she wonders how it happened. But most importantly:
Who the hell did this?
Naruko continued to walk through the grounds, searching for any survivors or clues for who the culprit might be. It would be better to go to the Hokage and report this but she knows that she had no chance of getting there on time to inform him that the Uchiha clan was being massacred. She was fast but she wasn't the fast enough to get to the Hokage on time.
She stopped walking when she sees Itachi standing beside one of the corpses, with an unconscious Sasuke. He looked very serious with his eyes narrowed and she wondered if he knew what happened. If he knew why the clan had been destroyed the way it was. She bit her lips and nodded her head. Of course, he knew. Itachi knew everything and so of course, he knew what happened.
"Itachi-san, what is happening?" she asked hesitantly. "Why? Why are only you and Sasuke-teme are alive? Who killed all of these people? And why did they do it?"
"I killed them all," Itachi answered coldly. "To measure my capacity."
She wanted to protest that he didn't kill them but when she sees the blood dripping his hands, she realized with a heavy heart that he had done this. Her knees buckled but she forced herself to stand up properly and to face the man who killed his family. She believed him about killing them but she can't believe him to measure his capacity. She remembers the way he spoke of his family fondly and this conflicts with what she sees in front of her.
She doesn't believe he actually killed them to measure his capacity.
"You're lying! Tell me the real reason of what happened!" Naruko cried, clenching her hands into a fist. "The Itachi I know would never do something like this without good reason so tell me the truth!"
Itachi was quiet at her words, giving her that same passive expression. Naruko clenched her hand into a fist and continued to yell, "You are lying about all this because…" she allowed herself to cry. "Because you hate killing people and so please tell me the truth, why?"
"I killed them to measure my capacity," Itachi answered, giving her the same impassive look.
"Then, why the bloody hell did you leave Sasuke-teme alive? If that was the case," Naruko cried, rubbing her eyes. "Why kill all the innocent kids as well then? They are just like me and Sasuke, bunch of kids." She sobbed harder. "Why kill them all? They didn't deserve to die! How could they measure your damn capacity huh?"
"It was essential."
"E-Essential?"
Naruko didn't know why she was crying about their deaths. She hated the Uchiha clan because of how arrogant they were and the only people that she did get on with the clan had been Itachi and the late Uchiha matron. Yet, she didn't understand that the boy that she looked up too had done something as horrible as this. In all the time she spent with him, he never gave a hint that he would do something as terrible as this.
"It would be worthless…to kill someone like my foolish brother…if he wants to kill me then he should curse me! Hate me!" Itachi said.
And with that Itachi left her standing on the streets of the Uchiha's clan along with an unconscious Sasuke. Naruko looked at the unconscious Last Uchiha and tried her best to carry him towards the nearest hospital, knowing that the boy needed all the help he can get at this current point.
Naruko had never felt so sad before especially now as she looked at her unconscious classmate. He had just seen his whole clan being murdered right in front of him that had to be a horrifying experience for him. It must have killed him to come back home to see his brother murdering his family and only to learn that his brother did it to measure his capacity. She wasn't even part of the clan and yet she felt pain for what happened.
She hated Itachi for doing this to his brother.
It was lucky that it was dark and the streets were empty. Naruko had no idea to explain herself to them because frankly the civilians were completely unreasonable at times. They come up with the most unreasonable stories when it came to her and the stories won't be any different if she carries an unconscious person. It also doesn't help that Sasuke was a member of a clan that was well loved by the civilians.
Speaking of Sasuke, the boy was really heavy.
"What the bloody hell does the bastard eat? Rocks?" Naruko asked herself as she forced herself to walk towards the hospital that was barely a few feet away from them.
She frowned as the Uchiha boy tighten his grip on her shirt and muttering words such as smell and mother, causing her to flush red in embarrassment. It would be tempting just to leave him lying on the streets but even through at times, she says that she hated the guy; she wasn't cruel enough to leave him laying on the dirt when it was freezing cold.
"You know, you are lucky that I am feeling pretty decent today," Naruko said softly, grimacing. "Or there would be no chance in hell that I am doing this."
The Uchiha boy didn't say anything and honestly she really didn't expect him to answer her. Without any hesitance, Naruko kicked the hospital doors with as much strength that she had, which wasn't that much.
The hospital was empty, which was highly unusual for her to see but not unpleasant to know. It had been months since she last came here and nothing had changed, the walls still had its peeling paints and absolutely no music was playing. The only thing that changed was that they added more pictures and posters, a couple of more magazines.
If they did this to make the hospital seem less gloomy than it really wasn't working.
No one had noticed that she was here even through she was carrying Sasuke, which wasn't that odd. Adults often pretended that she didn't exist and if they do acknowledge her, it wouldn't be with a smile but an icy glare. If she wasn't lucky, they might whispers words behind her back. Words that reminded her of the horrible matron.
The receptionist didn't look away from her magazine even through she was standing right there.
"Excuse me?"
The receptionist still didn't look up.
"EXCUSE ME!"
The receptionist looked up from her magazine and looked ready to scold her but closed it when she saw the whimpering Uchiha on her back. She gave her an accusing look at her like she thought that she had been able to send the boy to the hospital.
Naruko was a lot of things but she didn't have the strength to send someone to the hospital yet.
"What did you do to him?" She hissed.
"I didn't do anything to him!" Naruko snapped, glaring at the receptionist. "I found him laying on the ground in the Uchiha clan's compound, unconscious!" she gulped. "The Uchiha clan has now been wiped out."
The receptionist looked at her in disbelief that was soon replaced one of accusation, which was directed at her. Is she stupid? Naruko thought. I am just a kid, how the hell would I be able to wipe out an entire clan!
"Are you stupid or something? The boy here is unconscious and he needs help! So Kami help me and get this boy some help! I have nothing to do this!" Naruko yelled, gesturing to Sasuke. "I don't know what the hell happened to him except he saw his brother wipe out his whole clan!"
"H-Hai!" The receptionist cried as she quickly searched for the medi-nin to help Sasuke.
Naruko quickly laid Sasuke on the couch and wrote a short note, explaining to the medi-nin about what happened to him. She left out the reasoning on why she was there or how she knew that it was Itachi. It was cruel for her to do this but Naruko hated doctors with a passion.
Any type of authority shouldn't be trusted especially one that can kill you. This was the main reason why she had decided to go back home and allow the medi-nins to take care of him because they didn't like her at all.
Yet…
"My, My haven't you grown a lot Naruko-chan."
The blond-haired girl looked around the hospital reception to find the source of that voice but found no sign of the voice. "You can never find me, Naruko-chan but I can always find you." The voice whispered in her mind. "I know everything about you, things that you wished to forget."
Naruko gulped nervously and clenched her hands into a fist as she made her way out of the hospital and into the busy streets. Who was this voice and why was it talking to her? This voice, it sounded very unfamiliar to her and it frightened her. She licked her lips and tried her best to ignore the voice that was now reminding her of the awful things that she had wished to forget.
"You wished to forget of your past, you wished that you were born into a famous clan just like Hinata-chan, don't you?" The voice whispered. "There are days when you have the urge don't you? The urge to throttle her."
The blond-haired girl whimpered at the voice and shook her head violently at the voice, reminding herself that wasn't the case. This voice scared her, made her think of things that she doesn't wished to hear. It will be a good idea to ignore this voice.
If only that was easy.
"You envy your classmates especially Sasuke." The voice whispered. "No matter how hard you work, no one had acknowledge your strength but when it came to Sasuke, everyone praised him of being a genius."
Naruko bit her lips at the voice, trying her best to get rid of the voice and its dangerous words. They were saying things that weren't true in fact they were saying things that were outrageous.
That was what she kept telling herself.
"You are tied with him for everything yet no one praises you. You got very good marks for being a kunoichi yet the praise is handed over to Ino and not to you." The voice whispered. "Don't you want to have revenge against them, test your capacity just like Itachi?"
"No!" Naruko whispered hoarsely as she slumped against the wall. "I-I don't want it."
"You're lying! How many times have you ever thought of giving them a piece of their own medicine?" the voice asked. "How many times have they ever denied your rights?"
"Stop it!"
"And how many times did they ridicule your dreams! How many times have they left you crying? When did this village show that they cared for us?" The voice asked her. "Never! I bet that they will be spoiling the Uchiha boy once it is confirmed that Itachi had indeed killed his own clan."
"That isn't true!" Naruko said. "They care for us! They saved me from that place."
"Only after one of the kids had escaped from it and even then they came for you at the last minute only after they asked them why they didn't save you." The voice whispered. "They would have left you to die if it hadn't been for them."
Naruko shook her head at the voice and firmly said, "You're lying even if they haven't asked them, and they would have saved me."
"Would they? Didn't you think it is odd that they keep staring at us with such icy glares." The voice whispered. "Don't you think that it is odd that they kept calling you a demon? Or how they always seemed to accuse of things that you can't do. Haven't you ever wished to torture them for all the things that they have done to you."
The blue-eyed girl didn't answer instead closing her eyes in sadness and pain as she tried to control her ragged breaths. How did this voice know so much about her secrets? How did it know so much about her? The voice was saying things that she wished to bury.
"I know a lot of things, I know all about your past." The voice whispered. "I know from a very young age that all you ever wanted was to be accepted and to be loved by the people of this village just like Sasuke." The voice laughed. "You're pathetic, what makes you think that they will ever respect you and your dream?"
"W-Who the hell are you?"
Replies to Reviews:
Danizinhachan: It's good to know that you love this story and yes, Minato and Kushina loved Naruko more than Ami parents love her. If Ami was in Naruko's shoes, she would definitely going to cry as for the end pairing, well it is a secret but you can always try to guess who and tell me who do you think it is.
Flames of Youth: Good to know you think the story is great and how you liked the fact that I'm fleshing out her growth. It'll be unrealistic if she suddenly gets strong overnight without some kind of training beforehand.
Little Bookwyrm: I'm happy to know that you like I'm continuing the story and it's no problem.
Windninja1000: It's nice to know you think it is a great chapter and I hope this chapter was worth it.
Movielover312: I'm happy to know you love this story and my next update won't be a while so, you might have to wait patiently for it.
Kunoichi of the Moonlit Night: I'm glad you are enjoying this story and that you think Naruko is great. I hope this chapter was acting on its promise.
Thank you for reading!
I would like to hear your thoughts on the chapter as well as who you think Naruko would be paired with in this story and the reason why you would pair her with the character.