Hello my lovelies. So I've actually written a lot but I wrote so much that I had to split them into two chapters. So I actually have another chapter already ready to go after this! I'll post that one in a few days. I don't want to overwhelm you guys with content after all. And again, this chapter is longer than usual. Hope you enjoy!
P.S. I really appreciate the reviews and participation. I read them all~
"Kyuubi Speech"
"Midnight Speech"
"Everyone else's speech"
Chapter 18
On with the story
Last Chapter…
In the real world Naruto was curled up to Kurenai in the same way that he was curled up to his Mother in that cage, face buried within their breasts. After a while the boy finally fell asleep. Kyuubi watched him for a time before dozing off with him. The coming days would be a trial.
Two week later...
Dull blue eyes stared into a mirror, the boy's expression solemn, quite frankly depressing. Naruto was in his "dobe" form, his henge in place which changed nearly everything about his appearance. All except his voice. At this point he'd changed so much from under the influence of his mother that Naruto was barely able to fake the "dobe" voice. It took a lot of concentration and was nigh impossible in his current mental state. Naruto hadn't spoken much at all in the past week.
He had been staring into the mirror for hours trying to stretch his usual cocky, bright and cheery smile across his chapped lips. No matter how hard he tried the smile wouldn't form. A sad imitation was the only thing that would creep upon the boy's face. It was probably better to not smile at all rather than give such a fake display.
Seeing his own pathetic expression made him want to cry but he had been trying not to, it had been all he could do recently. The reason Naruto had spent so much time in the mirror was because today was the first day he'd return back to school.
School was out for longer than normal after the holidays because of the attack at the festival. The entire village was in a state of alarm as news spread about the event. Most believed the attack to have been perpetrated by another village so everyone was on edge. Many people kept their children home so school was canceled all together until things settled down. Even still, school was only out for one week and started back up about a week ago. Despite that Naruto didn't attend. He was in no state to be around the normal daily lives of his peers. Even today he still didn't think he was ready but Kurenai and Iruka, who had become somewhat of surrogate parents to him in the past weeks, insisted he needed to try to get back to normal. So today would be Naruto's first day back.
Naruto hadn't seen any of his peers in two weeks. Sasuke and Hinata found it rather difficult to see Naruto since there was a permanent guard posted outside of Naruto's apartment and Naruto was essentially under house arrest. Though this wasn't for lack of trying on their part.
As Naruto continued to try and form a smile a pair of arms carefully wrapped around his waist, squishing the fabric of his orange jumpsuit.
"You should really eat something before school Sweetheart." Spoke the tender voice of Naruto's mother who squeezed his malnourished body tightly from behind.
Naruto placed his hands over his mother's, staring straight ahead.
"I'm not hungry." He managed to whisper through the link.
He didn't dare try to speak out loud for fear of the pathetic noise that might escape his throat. Kyuubi frowned when hearing his response, turning the boy around to face her. She then cupped both sides of his face with both hands.
"You have to eat something. A growing boy needs nourishment." Kyuubi insisted.
Naruto cast his gaze down while wrapping his scrawny arms around his own empty belly.
"Demons can go months without food." He responded back solemnly.
Naruto hadn't eaten in nearly a week. Kyuubi shook her head before taking a step aside and dropping the top to the toilet so she could sit down. After settling down she pulled Naruto atop her lap, the boy now straddling her thighs.
"You are still half human. You can't go as long as a full demon." She went on.
That fact caused Naruto to visibly flinch.
"I wish I were." He said as his face began to scrunch up.
The topic was clearly upsetting him. This time though the boy didn't cry. His body wouldn't let him. Kyuubi observed him closely before reaching off to the side to turn on the sink faucet. She let water pool in her hand before placing her furry palm near his lips.
"We can only play with the cards we have been dealt Sweetheart. At least drink something. You shouldn't be doing this to yourself." Kyuubi lectured while pressing her palm closer to his lips.
Naruto turned his head away.
"I can't. If I drink anything then I'll cry in front of them. I can't control it. It just won't stop coming." His eyes scrunched up again in distress.
If he wasn't so dehydrated he would have been weeping at this point.
"Please drink something Naruto-kun." Spoke a weak voice through the demonic link.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"Midnight! How are you!?" Naruto called out quickly.
There was a long pause before Midnight responded again.
"I'm fine…Naruto-kun. Please…drink." Her voice pleaded to him once more.
Even just hearing her voice Naruto could tell how weak she was.
"Ok Midnight. Anything for you. Please don't leave." Naruto responded in a panic while leaning forward to desperately sip from Kyuubi's hand.
"Thank you Naruto-kun. I…lo…" The girl's voice was fading away, not able to finish her sentence before disappearing completely.
"Midnight? Midnight!?" Naruto called out desperately only to hear an echo of silence.
As soon as Naruto had finished gulping down the water that Kyuubi had in her hand tears began to form in his eyes. He began to shake uncontrollably. Kyuubi watched him silently, pouring another pool of water in her hand and pressing her palm against Naruto's lips, the boy now drinking willingly.
For the past few days Midnight was able to establish her connection with Naruto, but only for a few moments a day. Every time they spoke it was very brief, and Midnight sounded extremely weak. The conversation would often end with her voice fading away. She still didn't let Naruto see her, and he knew why. His mother wouldn't say but he knew. They were torturing her and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
He still had to pretend he didn't know her, didn't know anything about the black furred demon which came to his defense during the festival. He had to in order to protect her.
Knowing that she was still alive but being unable to feel her, to touch her, to feel her arms wrapping around his body, it was almost as bad as if he'd lost her that day. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He barely slept, barely ate, barely drank, barely spoke. Naruto needed her and he could hardly function without her.
Later…
Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha early this morning, he wanted to get to class early so he wouldn't bring attention to himself. A ways away a man followed behind inconspicuously. He wore normal attire yet Naruto knew him as the shinobi assigned to be Naruto's personal guard. Or more accurately, to watch Naruto and make sure that another incident didn't occur.
These watchmen were closer to parole officers than real Guardians, and they did nothing to stop the hateful glances of any villager who caught sight of Naruto. Naruto didn't think he could take any more glares so he took the long route with the least amount of people. Eventually he'd even begin traveling via rooftop. He just didn't want to be seen today but he had to make sure not to move too fast otherwise he'd alarm his "bodyguard."
As Naruto traveled to school Kyuubi decided to make her daily visit.
In a dark dungeon room Midnight lay on her back, sprawn out across a table made of stone. The jagged edges of the table dug into the girl's flesh but that wasn't anywhere near the worst thing Midnight was experiencing.
Kyuubi's ghostly form appeared in the room just as a blade pierced Midnight's flesh. The girl was laying down with her arms and legs forcefully outstretched like a starfish, cold metal shackles digging into her wrists. There was a large open wound in her belly, a man bending over her with a surgical knife. He wore a complete surgical outfit while exploring Midnight's insides while she was still awake. On the other side of the table Ibiki stood with his arms folded.
"It's quite fascinating. Despite multiple weeks without food or water her muscles show little signs of deterioration. I predict that she could survive for months without either." The surgeon said before making another incision and scanning a different section of the girl's insides.
Midnight stared up at the ceiling, twitching and convulsing with a far off gaze on her face. She didn't make a sound on the outside yet inside her head was another story.
"AHHH FUCK FUCK FUCK AHH!" Midnight's voice echoed through the demonic link.
Kyuubi from the side walked next to the table, looking down on the scene. The girl's body was mutilated grotesquely in multiple ways. Kyuubi ignored this however, focusing on Midnight's pain stricken face. She reached a ghostly hand down to caress the black furred fox's face.
"Midnight please stop this. This has gone too far."
Kyuubi spoke quietly, not that she needed to since her presence couldn't be detected by anyone except those who could experience the demonic link. Midnight didn't answer immediately, the girl keeping her vision focused on the ceiling.
"You...say that every day. You already...know my answer, GAHHHH!" The girl whispered through the link as her back arched from the pain of another incision, catching the attention of the the surgeon who looked at her face.
"Subject shows remarkable pain tolerance. It's unknown whether this is because of a strong will or the subject's perception of pain is less profound than a human's." The surgeon spoke out, more to himself.
There was a recording device nearby.
"Trust me, she can feel this just like anyone else. Her body is simply more durable. I'd say it's a double edged sword. That extreme durability is combined with near identical pain sensitivity to humans." Ibiki commented which made the surgeon nod.
Kyuubi's eyes narrowed as the two men spoke casually as if they weren't putting Midnight through excruciating, inhuman amounts of pain.
"We can find another way Dear. This is too extreme. I know you could have escaped days ago." Kyuubi continued to press the matter.
"This is...the most efficient...way." Midnight retorted in a extremely quiet, strained voice.
Kyuubi stared at her for a time. Suddenly the woman's eyes widened as realization hit her. This was a new look on Kyuubi's normally calm face.
"You aren't just doing this to cure Naruto's sensitivity to human judgement." Kyuubi spoke out, the women beginning to connect the dots. She then looked at Midnight in disbelief. "Just how far ahead have you planned?"
In response to Kyuubi's question Midnight slowly began to turn her head to stare Kyuubi in the eyes. To Kyuubi's surprise a devilish smirk appeared across Midnight's fox-like muzzle. Kyuubi was taken aback.
"You truly are amazing Midnight. I can't say I approve of your methods but...just please be careful." Kyuubi spoke tenderly while caressing Midnight's face again.
"Of course Kyu-chan." Midnight whispered before arching her back as another shock of pain trailed up her spine. Ibiki stabbed a pencil into Midnight's right eye. Her smirk was pissing him off.
Kyuubi was junted away from her connection to Midnight, the woman forcefully returned to her cage. She stood in the middle of that familiar grassy field, her hand, which was just a moment ago outstretched to caress Midnight, now returning back to an elegant position against her pelvis.
"Oh Midnight." Kyuubi whispered solemnly before kneeling down in the grass with her hands placed gracefully atop her own lap.
"My children, please forgive me."
With Naruto…
Like he planned, Naruto was the first to arrive in class. Instead of taking a position seated near the center of the room Naruto sat down in the furthest corner possible. Just this position alone was extremely different from the choice the "dobe" would make. The Dobe would want to be at the center, bring as much attention to himself as possible.
After a few minutes the first student entered. Hinata. A pit formed in Naruto's belly when seeing her. He wasn't ready.
Hinata moved to take her normal seat, usually sitting right next to Naruto. Of course she had no interest in being the center of attention, she just wanted to be next to him. Her expression was gloomy as she walked up the stairs of the auditorium-like room. Though before she slid into her isle Hinata's eyes widened as she noticed the silhouette of a lone figure sitting in the back corner. Naruto!
Hinata hesitated for just a moment, fidgeting with her fingers. Even from this far away she could see that something wasn't quite right. He was avoiding her gaze.
She took slow steps up towards Naruto until she was standing at the edge of his aisle.
"Hello Naru-kun." She whispered cautiously.
Naruto didn't respond immediately, keeping his head turned away from her. His slender fingers were tightly gripping the baggy fabric of his pants.
"What will she think when she sees me like this?" Naruto thought to himself in a panic.
Hinata waited patiently, fidgeting still.
"I've missed you Naru-kun." She spoke out again tentatively.
After a bit of hesitation Naruto finally responded, turning his head to look up at her. Seeing his face, his eyes, it broke her heart.
"Oh Naruto." She whimpered before jumping into the aisle and wrapping her arms around his neck, embracing him in a tight hug.
Naruto froze, trying his best to calm himself.
"H...Hinata-chan." Naruto responded in the quietest voice she'd ever heard.
Hinata pulled back to stare at his face. Hinata could barely take it. She rubbed his cheek, biting into her bottom lip. She didn't know what to do. What could she do? She could tell he was growing more upset by the moment.
"It's ok Naru-kun." She said while placing a gentle kiss against his forehead and sitting herself down next to him.
She squished her hip into his and took one of his hands, squeezing it tenderly. Naruto finally turned his head away, raising his free hand to cover his mouth. He was struggling but the boy managed to fight away the tears.
"It's ok...it's ok." Hinata continued to whisper.
She kept to his side, she'd try to be his rock. After what he went through Hinata understood, as much as she could anyway. Still, she didn't know the half of it.
After a while other students began to enter, their mood much more jovial. This was just a normal day for them. No one even noticed Naruto and Hinata in the corner of the room, not even Sasuke as he entered with his hands tucked into his pockets, drawing the admiration and swooning of the girls in the room. He seemed especially agitated to Naruto's eyes. Naruto could tell that the boy's fists were clenched in his pockets.
Finally Iruka and Mizuki entered the room from the doorway to the office which connected directly to the room, unlike everyone else who came in using the door connected to the school hallway. He held a clipboard, gathering some papers along the nearby teacher's desk. After the bell rang Iruka began to call role.
"Choji."
"Here!"
"Ino."
"Present!"
"Naruto." Iruka called out to be met by silence.
Sasuke visibly gritted his teeth. In the past week Naruto's absence had been one of the most spoke about subjects on everyone's mind. Iruka refused to give an explanation. No one seemed to know a thing. Some thought that he might have died.
"H...here." A quiet, shaky, high pitched voice called out to fill the otherwise empty air.
Almost immediately everyone's head swiveled over to the far corner, a shocked expression on most of their faces.
Naruto was holding up a trembling hand, his gaze averted away from the peering eyes of his fellow students. His posture was all wrong, meek, no longer holding the confident visage of his usually Dobey self. Sasuke had a rare look of surprise and confusion on his brow.
"What the hell happened to him? What is going on?" Sasuke thought to himself.
Despite growing closer to Naruto over the past months Sasuke was instructed to still keep his distance from Naruto while in class, treat him like he normally did before the reveal and not as the powerhouse he knew Naruto to be.
"It's good to have you back Naruto." Iruka called up with a reassuring smile.
Naruto slowly nodded his head and dropped his hand, nodding a bit in acknowledgment but still unable to look anyone in the eye. Iruka continued role call but most eyes were still focused on Naruto.
"Sakura...Sakura." Iruka called out twice, making the girl swivel her head around to pay attention to the chunin.
"Oh sorry, here." She called out before sneaking a glance back at Naruto.
"What happened to him?" Sakura thought to herself while fixated on Naruto's meek appearance.
Her thoughts mimicked the thoughts of pretty much everyone in class.
"Class!" Iruka shouted out, making everyone snap to attention and focus on Iruka.
His face was uncharacteristically angry.
"You will give me your undivided attention. Understand." The chunin commanded.
Quite frankly everyone was thrown off by his tone.
"Yes Sensei!" They replied back in unison.
Nodding in satisfaction Iruka ran the class as normal. Despite Iruka's assertiveness many glances were stolen in Naruto's direction throughout the lesson.
When the class went on it's first break Naruto stayed inside the class as everyone left. Sasuke, seeing that Hinata was tending to the blonde, decided to leave with everyone else. Out in the yard Naruto was the number one topic.
"Dude did you see him? He's like a little mouse. What do you think happened?" Kiba questioned in alarm while sitting near his crew.
"Beats me. Something serious clearly." Shikamaru responded back half heartedly.
"Was he always that skinny?" Choji asked as he stuffed a potato chip in his mouth.
"Something is definitely wrong." Shino whispered cryptically.
In another group, this one filled with girls, a similar conversation was happening.
"I've never seen Naruto so sad." Sakura commented in concern.
"Yea, it's kind of freaking me out." Ino responded back.
The gossipping continued until the break bell rang. Everyone reentered class to see Naruto and Hinata still in their same spot. They couldn't help staring.
"Hurry back to your seats now." Iruka called out, again catching everyone's attention.
He had left Naruto to Hinata's care. Watching over Naruto for the past few weeks with Kurenai had taught him a lot. His goal today was to try to make things as normal as possible.
"Alright, I hope you remember the tests that you took before the break. They are fully graded but we are going to have a refresher." As Iruka explained this there was a series of groans.
This was the most boring part of class. The refresher usually involved just reading out loud, Iruka giving the class the ability to ask questions. He'd usually randomly call on people to read or answer a question to test their knowledge.
"Naruto, you had the lowest grade on the exam. I want to make sure you are getting the material. Please come to the front." Iruka called out causing all heads to swivel over to Naruto once more.
A sense of severe dread welled up in the blonde haired boy.
This was pretty common. He'd usually get the lowest grade on all tests and quizzes and then be called forward to read at least one answer he got wrong and read the correct answer out loud. Naruto didn't move right away, his eyes widening as he looking pleadingly towards Iruka.
Iruka was fully aware of Naruto's condition but truly thought this was best for the boy. It had been over two weeks already. Normalcy had to start somewhere.
"Please Naruto." Iruka spoke out gentler this time, gesturing towards the spot right next to were Iruka stood.
Hinata gave Naruto's hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. The didn't seem to help much at all. Realizing that he wasn't getting out of this Naruto slowly stood up and walked past Hinata towards the outside of the isle.
There was complete silence as he walked to the front. Naruto had his head bowed, his sleeved arms wrapped around his belly, shoulders hunched.
"Naruto…" Sakura thought to herself, completely dumbfounded.
Off to the side Sasuke gritted his teeth.
"What the hell?" The boy's thoughts were more of anger than pity like most others.
Who the hell did this to him!?
Naruto stopped in front of the class, turning to face them. As he did Iruka handed the boy a sheet of paper.
"We'll just do the first question. What is the proper medical treatment for someone who has broken their ankle on the field?" Iruka asked while looking down expectantly at Naruto.
The answer was written on the paper. He just had to read it. The room was so silent that the ruffling of the paper Naruto held could be heard as his dainty hands trembled. After a moment small watery drops began to stain the page.
"Th...the proper...treatment…" Naruto spoke out in a whimper, his high pitched voice cracking.
He was trying to put on that cocky smile but was failing miserably. Ino was covering her mouth with both hands, tears forming in her eyes. Most of the girls in the room had similar responses.
Being unable to take it any longer Iruka took the page away from Naruto before placing a hand on the back of Naruto's head and letting Naruto lean his forehead against Iruka's chest. Naruto then broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably into Iruka's vest in front of everyone.
By now many had broken down as well.
"Naruto? Iruka sensei, what happened!?" Sakura called out desperately while wiping tears from her eyes with her forearms.
"Dude you ok?" Kiba called out, the boy clearly distraught.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry…" Naruto whispered in a muffled voice.
Hearing his voice did very little to calm anyone down. If anything it made the situation worse. Iruka pulled back just a bit, dropping down on one knee in front of Naruto.
"Naruto, drop the henge. It's ok. It's time." Iruka instructed, causing a fearful, conflicted expression to appear across Naruto's face.
The boy shook his head, glancing to the side to see everyone watching him before quickly shifting his gaze away in shame.
"It's ok. There is no need to keep up the facade. Not anymore." Iruka spoke gently while staring into Naruto's dull blue eyes.
Naruto hesitated for a long while before finally giving in. He nodded his head slowly before being surrounded by a large cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared a series of gasps echoed through the room.
The person in front of them was completely different from who they knew as Naruto. The person was quite noticeably shorter than the "dobe." Naruto's hair was no longer spikey and unkept, instead his silky blonde locks flowed down to his calves. His face was a lot more feminine, more rounded, holding much softer and delicate features. If possible he was even skinnier. The top half of that orange jumpsuit was hanging off of his shoulders, appearing multiple sizes too large. The sleeves of the jumpsuit now very noticeably covered his hands and hung past his fingers.
When Naruto raised his arms in and attempt to wipe away his tears the sleeves of that jumpsuit fell back, revealing just how scrawny and feminine his arms and hands were.
"Is that really Naruto? The hell is going on?" Kiba called out abruptly, his shocked voice filling the empty air.
"Yes, this is Naruto. The real Naruto." Iruka explained while standing up and placing a hand gently along Naruto's shoulder. The effeminate tween wrapped his arms around himself once more, turning his head away from the class.
"Naruto, I'd like you to go home for today. But I want you back here on time tomorrow understand?" Iruka commanded. Without looking up Naruto nodded his head before sprinting out of the room. The look on everyone's faces said it all.
"Listen everyone." Iruka called out, drawing everyone's attention.
Literally every single person besides Sasuke and Hinata maintained dumbfounded expression.
"Naruto lost someone very close to him during the attack that happened at the anniversary two weeks ago." Iruka explained.
A look of realization showed on the classes faces.
"The Naruto you knew, that you've spent time with for the past few years. That's not the real Naruto. For reasons that are no one's business but Naruto's and a select few individuals, Naruto maintained a facade all of this time. That facade is now over. You will treat Naruto with respect. Taking care of a damaged ally is one of the top measures of a true shinobi." Iruka lectured.
He could see that what he explained was a lot for them to take in.
"For today class is dismissed. When you come back tomorrow I expect you to treat Naruto like you would any of your other classmates. Dismissed!" Iruka commanded.
Almost immediately they began to gossip and chatter, there was only one topic on anyone's mind.
Hinata got up after most everyone had left, making her way down the aisle. She left the room, walking by herself down the hall and towards the road towards the Hyuuga compound.
"What do you know about this?" Came a voice from behind her.
Hinata turned around to be met by the serious expression of Sasuke. The events of today clearly having a powerful effect on him.
"I can't say." Hinata stated quietly causing Sasuke's eyes to narrow.
"But you do know." Sasuke spat out accusingly.
Hinata stared at Sasuke for a while, thinking about her response. She and Sasuke had become close in the past few months as well. At least they weren't strangers. They both had a direct stake in Naruto's wellbeing, not to mention they were frequent sparring partners. Some would even say they were friends though that was up for debate.
"If you are meant to know then Naruto will tell you directly." Hinata stated resolutely before turning her back on Sasuke and moving to walk away.
To her surprise Sasuke grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She turned her head to stare at him, the boy's teeth gritted. They maintained their silent stare for a few moments before Sasuke released his grip, letting her leave. Hinata's gaze lingered on him for a while with an understanding expression before she continued on her way.
Sasuke maintained balled fists before disappearing from sight.
Thanks for reading. Please review~