Five: Life and Death

Disclaimer: You know it. I know it. I don't own Naruto.

"So you want some more, brat!"

"I think he likes it!"

"Don't worry demon child, we'll give you more!"

Each punch landed with a sickening thud. With every blow bruises formed on his face, his torso, his legs. The sadistic bastards didn't rush their punches. They swung with deliberation, putting all of their weight behind each and every excruciating hit. It wasn't long before the bleeding mass ceased to resemble Uzumaki Naruto.

The blonde genin grit his teeth and took the pain. Already his left eye was closed and swelling, his gums were bleeding and he might have fractured a rib. Or three. He had learned long ago that it didn't pay to fight back. They'd only come back with bigger numbers. Naruto couldn't help the hate these people felt. After all, he was the reason their beloved Yondaime was taken away from them. He was the reason Konoha's most beloved Hokage sacrificed his life.

Kyuubi's fault anyway. Can he help that the people thought he and the demon were the same?

It was always easier to place the blame on someone else. It kept you from remembering that you did nothing to help during the time your aid was most necessary. It gave you something to keep from destroying yourself in self recrimination. It kept the guilt at bay.

"Demon brat!" A punch

"You killed my family!" A two by four

"Here! A beating is too good for you!" Kicked by a geta

I am not a demon.

"I don't know what the council is waiting for. They should just kick you out of the village!"

The Kyuubi and I are not the same.

"Take this kono gakki!"

I am not a demon.

The blonde cried out in pain, much to the satisfaction of the drunkards. They laughed at his bleeding form, spitting on his face and showering him with curses. But they would not stop. No, their cruelty took on another level as the beatings continued to worsen, breaking the boy in ways he never thought was possible. Naruto held back his tears for as long as he could, but even his now incredible tolerance for pain was getting stretched and strained. The tears washed down his face as the genin cried out, eliciting another wave of malicious laughter.

"I am not a demon!" A bamboo cane struck him in the face. "Kyuubi-baka. Your parents probably abandoned you because they knew what kind of a danger you were to them." Another laughed with scorn.

"Ha! That's a laugh! They left because they can't stand to have a demon for a son!"

As much pain as the physical blows caused him, more pain was created by the constant taunting. Naruto had grown up as an orphan, never knowing his parents. Even as a child the welfare people had been treating him badly, often leaving him to sleep without meals or else feeding him nothing but poorly cooked instant noodles.

The psychological and physical torment lashed at his soul, numbing him from the head down. No longer did he think about resisting the urge to cry out. Naruto screamed until his voice was hoarse. He yelled and he whooped. He cried out in pain.

Still, no one came to help.

By the time they were done Naruto could barely move, let alone hope to get up. The demon fox's impressive healing powers helped a lot in these situations, but even that particular advantage took some time before it kicked in. Crawling, Naruto propped himself up on a tree, wincing as his battered body slowly succumbed to unconsciousness.

"Naruto!"

That voice. The voice of an angel. Had he taken too many blows? Was he imagining it all? A single blue eye trained itself on the source of the voice. Naruto's vision was to blurry to be of any help, and already he was so tired….

"Eh? Would you look at that!"

The men turned to see the attractive woman from the Ichiraku running towards their direction. To their surprise, she came up to the Kyuubi brat and gave him the once over, making several attempts to rouse him out of unconsciousness.

A wiry man with a scar running down his cheek spat in disgust. What the hell was she helping that demon child for? Didn't she know what he did twelve years ago? Admittedly, the thought that a baby could slaughter entire families newly born isn't quite the most logical idea.

Then again logic always takes a back seat to powerful liquor.

Scarface motioned to the two others. They hefted the two by fours they were using to beat on the blonde genin while their leader shouted with a slurred voice.

"Oi!" A perfectly proportioned oriental face turned to face him, anger and unshed tears in her eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing, girl!" The girl's pretty face turned to a scowl.

"I'm trying to make sure this child doesn't die," she snapped. "What in heaven's name are you trying to do? Kill him?" Scarface laughed, the stench of sake erupting from his mouth.

"Death is too good for that Kyuubi brat."

"Kyuubi?"

"Yeah! Don't you know you're helping a demon?"

Yukio turned from Scarface to Naruto's battered body. "The only demons I see around here," she emphasized "is a group of drunken louts who don't even have the decency to leave innocent children alone!"

"Bakayaro! Stupid demon lover!"

"That brat killed out families!"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you telling me a twelve year old boy who won't even fight against bullies is capable of taking innocent lives? I find this hard to believe," Yukio stated. "I for one think that you're all crazy with the sake."

"Kuso!"

"You think just because you're a woman we won't give you the beating you deserve?" Scarface lifted his hand from his sleeve, revealing three shuriken in his right hand. "I think I'll make that pretty face of yours bleed before the night is through," he seethed. The other ruffians lifted their weapons, intent on making good on their threat. The drop in temperature surprised all of them. For some reason it was slowly growing colder. Each of the men dismissed it as imagination and charged at the woman in front of them.

A blast of white chakra slammed all of the drunkards to the ground. Scarface stared at the woman in front of him, wide eyed and shaking with fear. A pair of mismatched eyes stared down at him from a beautiful face. The left eye blue, the right eye green. Sheer malevolence emanated from the woman in huge waves of white chakra.

Red lips parted to reveal a full set of canine teeth. The silk kimono fluttered in the air, driven by demonic energy as raven hair with streaks of white danced in the chakra-induced windstorm. So… The voice was still hers, even if it had demonic undertones now. You wish to beat up demons while they're down eh? The men cowered at her feat, soiling themselves when their bladders refused to hold their urine back.

Let's see how you handle one who actually fights back.

Scarface's lips quivered. "Mercy," he pleaded.

Words said in vain as a storm of chakra and elongated claws ripped apart their bodies, spilling blood over the cobblestone streets. A cry of sheer terror echoed throughout the alley.

A/N: Welcome to the life of Uzumaki Naruto. I've been getting a lot of reviews by people who want to see the developing romance with Yukio and our favorite Dead Last (according to Sasuke anyway) genin. However a few notes that may answer some of your questions.

Yes, Sasuke will still leave for the Hidden Village of Sound in this universe. It just so happened that Yukio stepped in some time before he actually left in the anime and in the manga. That will still happen, but I think I'll be putting it in a whole 'nother story. Maybe a sequel, time willing. Basically in the Naruto timeline, this is just after Naruto got Tsunade back and Jiraiya was starting to teach him the basics of controlling demon chakra, making this a few months after the chuunin exams in which Sound attacked hidden Leaf.

Hope that clarifies things. Please review