Sakura stood alone in the clearing, her heart twisting with pain. Naruto had been suffering all this time, and she had been blind. How many times had he been bullied? She had seen the look of resignation on his face when he was surrounded. How many times had he been ignored? She had never seen him during lunch, probably because he left to eat by himself. How many times had she ignored him? Countless times. She had failed at applying the most basic of shinobi skills: observation.
She sat down, afraid her knees wouldn't support her weight. She would apologize to him. She would stop ignoring him - How could she have been so cruel? The leaves swirling in the air provided no answers.
Sakura got up shakily. She wasn't sure how she would make up for her actions, but she definitely needed a trip to Hearty Produce. That would come later, though. First, she needed to confirm a suspicion that had been brooding, deep within her mind.
-X-
Naruto ran all the way back to his apartment, tears blurring his vision. He fumbled with the key, dropping it several times before finally managing to unlock the door. His shuriken set tumbled from a listless hand, bouncing into the living room. As soon as he was inside, the door firmly shut, he held his head in his hands and cried.
It wasn't true. Nobody liked him. Who would even want to be around him? Jiji. But he had been one of the few exceptions. Everywhere he went, there were whispers, sometimes angry, sometimes fearful. Even in the Academy, his classmates never wanted to work with him during group projects. It was part of the reason he skipped class so often, so he wouldn't have to deal with the feeling of being the one left out, the only person who didn't belong.
But Sakura had helped him without expecting anything in return. And it wasn't the first time, either. She had helped him clean the walls after he painted those animals. She had offered pencils when he left his at home.
His stomach churned with guilt. How had he thanked her? He had yelled at her. The image of her face, twisted with hurt, floated up from the recesses of his mind. He slammed his hands over his eyes in an attempt to chase away the image. It didn't go away. He had never wanted to cause her pain, but she had given him no choice.
What would happen to her if the villagers found out she was helping a bad-luck fox? They would think that she was bad luck, too. They would avoid her, whispering about her just like they whispered about him, throwing her glares filled with hatred. When she saw this, she would drift away, and he would be alone again.
He thought of Teuchi. The villagers hadn't liked it when Teuchi gave him free ramen. They whispered about it, just like they whispered about bad luck and foxes.
It would be better if she stayed far away from him. The villagers wouldn't hate her, and he wouldn't have to feel sad when she stopped being his friend. He would ignore her. Make it clear that she shouldn't be around him. Yes. That was what he would do.
He wiped away his tears and stood up, still a bit unsure of his decision. Suddenly, he was standing in front of the bathroom mirror. He splashed water on his face, trying to wash away the tears and snot. The guilt stayed.
Maybe he would apologize first. And explain why she had to stay away. She would understand. She had to. Then life would return to normalcy. He would be alone and she wouldn't be hated. With a lighter conscience, he picked up his shuriken set and squirreled it away in his closet, next to the rest of his meager training supplies.
But another part of his mind hoped that she wouldn't understand, that she would be his friend. Friend. He didn't have many of those.
Hope was a dangerous thing, and he wanted to crush that feeling himself, before it was crushed by rejection. But he let the hope remain. He would take his chances. Leave himself vulnerable because there was a chance that it would be different this time around.
He could hope.
-X-
She found herself buried among piles and piles of history books, flipping through the pages in an attempt to confirm her theory. All of them said more or less the same thing. This was getting her nowhere.
Then again, history books could lie and mislead, especially if they were intended to be read by Academy students. Getting up from her seat, she headed to the archives to get more accurate information.
The documents available to Academy students were limited, stuffed into a few shelves near a corner of the library. Her movements stirred the dust on the shelves, tickling her nose. This section of the library was rarely traversed.
She had found them. Declassified accounts of the event written by eyewitnesses.
It appeared out of nowhere, bringing with it an aura of power that could be felt by shinobi and civilians alike. The demon crushed an entire section of the village under its weight. The warning bells rang out, rousing the village from its slumber. Shinobi forces scrambled to stop it, but their attacks were largely ineffective. The demon was simply too powerful. Some perished in combat, while others were simply in the way of the demon's senseless rampage.
Chaos. Collapsed buildings. The earth was trembling, the night filled with ghastly roars as the demon fought against the shinobi. Civilians and children were being evacuated into overcrowded shelters. The Academy was destroyed.
I remember the feeling of overwhelming fear as a ball of chakra formed at the demon's maw, the sphere almost bigger than the recently-finished face of the Yondaime. It fired a massive ball of chakra at the Hokage Rock, but the attack disappeared before it hit. No doubt, the work of shinobi...
It disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving destruction behind. We were later told that the Yondaime Hokage had sacrificed his life to seal the demon. It was a tragedy...
Konoha was subdued in mourning the day after. We lost our Kage that night, and with it, some of our spirit. The rebuilding went slowly. Smiles and laughs became rare. Funerals were held, one after the other. The Sandaime returned to oversee a village in despair. Some villagers were in denial. They clung to the bodies of their loved ones and refused to let go...
The Yondaime had sacrificed his life to seal the demon. Seal. That was why the villagers treated him so. That was why Naruto believed he was a fox.
But it wasn't fair! Naruto would have been just a baby then. It wasn't his fault. He didn't choose to have the fox sealed within him.
Anger bubbled within her. The Yondaime's actions had subjected an innocent child to the hatred of the village. The anger deflated as soon as she remembered that the Yondaime himself had given his life on that night.
But there must have been another option at the time. No, there had been no other options. If the rampage had continued, Konoha would have been reduced to ruins. The Yondaime's seal had saved Konoha, yet it had also doomed Naruto to a hollow childhood, hated by the village that had been saved by the seal that he carried.
-X-
Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but kept his eyes on the door. Any minute now, she would come in with her friend Ino. Hopefully, she wouldn't try to avoid him. He would walk up to her, and ask to meet her after school at the clearing in the park. At the clearing, he would apologize. He would explain, yes. He would explain why they couldn't be friends. And she would understand. Or she might not. But either way, he would explain.
Ah, there she was, stepping in with her blonde friend right behind her.
He walked briskly to the entrance. She saw him coming, and separated from Ino. A strange expression was on her face as she waited besides the door, but it wasn't one of fear or hatred, so he didn't mind.
He was standing right in front of her now. He looked into her eyes, bright green eyes, and then all he could think about was how those eyes had looked so pained when he had yelled at her. It took him a few moments to remember what he had set out to do.
"C-Can you meet me? This afternoon, after school? At the clearing?" he finally managed.
He waited until she gave her answer, then turned and went back to his seat. She had agreed. It would be okay. He would apologize. He would explain. And maybe he could hope.
-X-
She unsealed the bento one more time, checking to make sure that it wasn't damaged in any way by the sealing process. Ino, sitting on a desk, observed quietly from her position, her legs swinging.
"You're planning to give that to Naruto-san?"
"Yeah. I've been ignoring him all this time. I have to make up for it somehow." Guilt wracked her yet again. She resealed the bento and rolled up the scroll.
"What are you going to do with the groceries? Are you going to become his personal cook or something?"
"No, I'm not going to become his personal cook, but I am going to make sure he has the supplies to cook his own food. I have a feeling that he doesn't get enough to eat," she responded, tucking the scroll away in her pack.
Ino nodded in agreement. "He does seem rather skinny. And he's not in an orphanage either, so there's no one around to make sure he has enough to eat."
This brought up a troubling thought. Naruto had to have been in an orphanage at some point. Based on the actions of most of the villagers, Sakura doubted that the people who ran the orphanage had brought him up in a warm and caring environment. Likely, their hatred of the fox sealed within him would have manifested in harsh words, frequent reprimands, and limited food.
"Are you okay?" Ino asked. She had jumped down from her position on the desk, and was now standing in front of Sakura, waving her hand in front of her friend's face. "You're spacing out again."
"I'm fine. Just thinking," Sakura muttered. "If you have time, could you-"
"Yeah, I'll help. It's for a good cause. I'm not heartless, Forehead. I know you're busy with training and all that. But you're getting me pudding. Custard pudding."
"Thanks a lot, Ino," she said with a beam. "I really appreciate it."
"Don't worry your forehead about it," Ino said, waving off her thanks. "I'll have it for you by Friday at the latest. Now go make your food delivery."
-X-
The sky was downcast, cloudy. The trees didn't seem as vibrant as they did the day before. The wind moved noisily, carrying fall leaves with it. Everything seemed gray.
Naruto fidgeted. It wasn't the best time or place for an apology.
But she came anyways, braving the wind, uncaring of the airborne leaves. He didn't have any excuses now.
He looked her in the eyes. He would do this right. No backing out.
"I wanted to apologize for yesterday," he said sincerely. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."
She looked surprised, but he barreled on.
"I also want to tell you, you shouldn't help me any more. People get hurt if they help me. I mean I'm happy that you helped me with those fourth-years yesterday, but it's not worth it if you're getting hurt."
He stared into her eyes, trying to judge her reaction.
"I'd like to apologize, too," she said. He frowned. Why was she apologizing? She didn't do anything wrong.
"I should have noticed how the villagers were treating you, but I ignored it. I ignored you. For that, I'm sorry."
He watched as she pulled something out of her pack. It was a scroll. He stared in fascination as she unrolled it and pressed her palms against the paper. Out of the paper appeared bags of groceries.
She fumbled with the scroll again, her face flushing. A bento box emerged in a puff of smoke.
"I wanted to give you this," she said, presenting the bento.
Naruto hesitantly extended his hands and wrapped his fingers around the box. It was real. The wood felt smooth. He lifted the lid slightly, the smell of tempura wafting out.
"I also have groceries," she said gesturing to the bags sitting on the scroll. "You don't have to carry the bags. I'll show you how to seal them into the scroll, and you can unseal them and put them in your refrigerator when you get home," she rambled on.
"Thank you," was all he could manage. "Thank you," he repeated.
And Naruto smiled.
-X-
She remembered the look on Naruto's face when he saw the bento. A look of happiness mixed with disbelief. He had held it gently at first, as if not sure that the box was real. Then he had held it close to his chest, as if was the most precious thing in the world, more valuable than gold and jewels.
Afterwards, he had watched attentively as she demonstrated the proper usage of sealing scrolls. He had picked up the sealing technique after a few tries. Naruto wasn't stupid. He just didn't have anyone to teach him.
He had confided that it was his dream to become a powerful shinobi, one who could earn the respect of the villagers. She could see his wistful look in her mind's eye. All he wanted was to be acknowledged.
For now, she would help by getting him groceries every week. He would need the nourishment for his shinobi studies.
A powerful shinobi. She thought of the legends of the Sannin, how they had earned their name on the battlefields, defending Konoha. One step at a time, she reminded herself.
Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake.
-X-
Ino scanned through the list, occasionally scribbling down a name. She had been doing this for a good chunk of an hour. It was monotonous, but who could say no to free pudding? With that thought, she went back to work.
-X-
On to the next name. Fortunately, most of the people on the list were shinobi. Sakura could find their pictures from old bingo books. Unfortunately, said old bingo books didn't really photocopy well. She had had to copy the pictures herself with the Transformation.
Well, at least her job as a human copy machine earned her lots of practice in the Transformation. In the space of a few days, she had become so proficient that she only needed a single hand seal to perform the jutsu. She knew that she could get rid of the seals entirely after enough repetition, though she still couldn't make the leap. Maybe she would investigate half-seals later.
Sakura left the library with mild chakra depletion and a sense of satisfaction.
