Friends.

Makoto Hyoudou never had the opportunity to understand what having friends felt like. It was a very strange concept, as it involved going outside of your comfort zone and making conversations with unknown individuals, something she despised very much.

In the past when she was a gullible and cheerful child, she did try to make a few friends, but unfortunately, those children didn't like how shy and awkward she was. Everywhere she went, the heartbreaking feeling of rejection followed her and painted her life with the colors of loneliness and sorrow.

Damaged and defeated, her tiny heart slowly got used to the pain and accepted the fact that she was never going to make any friends. But everything changed when she met him, a boy far older than her who always had a dazzlingly bright smile on his beautiful face.

Shiro.

He became her anchor, one who lifted her from the depths of loneliness and self-loathing by giving her something that she needed the most.

A friend.

Shiro became her friend, the only person in the world who accepted her just how she was and never complained about anything. Sure he was a little older than her but she didn't care at that time. At that time, all she wanted was a person to hang out with, no matter how old or young he was.

Everyone around her tried to tell her to stay away from him, but she didn't listen to them. And why would she? They weren't there to help her when she was crying alone. They were not there when she was eating alone at that school desk. They were not there when she was walking to her home with no one to accompany her.

They were never there.

So, she refused to listen to them when someone finally decided to be there for her. Shiro changed her life, not only by helping her and being by her side, but also by introducing her to more of his friends.

Soon, before she knew it, she was surrounded by flocks of unknown people who were eager to be her friends, all of them being boys for some reason, but again she didn't care because all of them were nice.

Too nice.

Throughout the next few years, they helped her with everything: her homework, her projects, and even her classes. If that was not enough, they never hesitated to play many different games with her, their favorite being the one where they used to touch her body a lot.

She didn't like it though, as it made her very uncomfortable, but she never complained about it because she feared that they would leave her if she did. Their friendships were very precious to her, treasures she didn't want to lose at any cost, as they were the only friends she had. Everyone else had left her side a long ago, even her mother and father.

She was already as good as dead to her parents, as they refused to have a child who was friends with a mob of students inappropriately older than her. She couldn't blame them for it though because she knew how society judged and treated parents who had daughters like her.

So in order to save them from further embarrassment, she secluded herself in her own dream world, a place far away from reality where no one could interrupt her and her friends.

For the first time in her life, she was truly happy to be alive because she had everything she wanted.

'Everything.'

Until she found out the dirty secret of her best friend Shiro. He was a maniac, a monster worse than the ones mentioned in fairytales, and his friends were no different.

All of them were wicked human beings with intentions so evil that her soul froze when she first heard about them from her classmates.

"Predators..."

That's what the girl from her class had called them when she first saw her with them. At first, she was confused as to why someone would call her friends predators but as time passed away, she began to notice that the girl wasn't wrong.

The people she had called her friends for years were disgusting individuals who delighted in the sufferings of young girls like her. She didn't know how she was unable to see it before—well, of course she knew—but after that wakeup call of a day, everything those people did to her body began to appear to her as they truly were—depraved and criminal.

Afraid of her own safety and crumbling reputation, although partially self-inflicted, she started to stay away from them. However, that didn't work out for her, as they refused to leave her alone. She was their prey after all and like the pests that they were, they began to follow her everywhere, even to her house.

No matter what she did, she was unable to keep them away from her and soon, she yet again found herself trapped in another hell, one that she created for herself.

Months went by, but no one came to her rescue that time, not even her parents, who refused to take help from the police, because they knew that the boys had access to unimaginable amounts of money and power. Getting out of trouble through corrupt means was nothing new to them. She had seen them do it many times when they were friends and she was sure they would do it again if forced to.

Seeing that there was nothing but suffering waiting for her in the forthcoming years, she decided to accept it with a sad smile on her face. It was nothing new here. Countless girls like her were going through the same thing at the hands of other monsters and she was no different.

So with tears in her eyes and a fake smile on her face, she endured everything that those monsters did to her.

Touching.

Groping.

Abuse.

They did everything to her and would have even finished with the final deed too but didn't as they deemed her too beautiful, young, and important for that. She was their favorite and they didn't want to risk permanent physical damage to their favorite toy in making.

'Too young…'

Was she not too young for everything else they did to her?

Those atrocities were engraved inside her mind like a permanent stain on a delicate surface and had been haunting her ever since.

In pursuit of light in her darkness-filled world, she ended up falling deeper into a void far worse than it. The pain that she used to feel when she was alone was nothing compared to the pain she suffered at the hands of those people. It was inexplicable, so much worse that she couldn't even describe it even if she wanted to.

Even if she could, she had nobody to speak to. Aside from those evil people, no one cared about her existence, not even a single soul and that filled her heart with more misery and sadness.

What was the point of living if people around you didn't even know anything about you? Her classmates, people who had spent a whole summer with her in that godforsaken room, were completely oblivious to her existence, to such an extent that she was sure they couldn't even get her name right if asked.

Then again, she had never been noticed by people, to begin with. Ever since her lonely childhood, she had been a victim of bullying and dismissals. Unlike those rich and vibrant people, who could make friends in an instant, she was miserable and shy.

Her life was meant to be a tragedy, at least that's what she used to think until she met him.

A boy with hair as bright as the sun and eyes as blue as the deepest ocean, those were the physical traits that she couldn't help but notice when she first saw him. He was different, something that she immediately took note of. Unlike others, he didn't make fun of students like her and even helped a few of them who were having a hard time making new friends. But that was not the thing that made him different in her eyes, not at all.

The thing that made him different was his lack of response to her perverse attitude towards older boys. When he first saw her with those boys, she had expected a lot of reactions from him like hate, disgust, and even some taunting but he completely surprised her with the beautiful smile that he flashed her that day.

It was amazingly heartwarming and for once, after so long, made her feel very happy for some reason. But as they say, every good thing must come to an end and her happiness was no exception.

In a matter of days, she saw him getting lost in the hordes of those countless cold-hearted people who showed no care about their classmates and her well-being. Although it did hurt a little for a while, she never gave it much thought, as she was already preoccupied with the troubles that refused to leave her alone in the form of those boys.

Everything returned back to how it was before the day she first saw that blonde-haired boy and before she knew it, she was begging and crying in front of her tormentors again. As usual, they never heeded her pleas but that's all she could do at that moment, as there was little, if any, hope left in her heart anymore.

But.

Fate decided to alter her life once again.

How?

By placing her right beside the ray of hope that could save her from the darkness of her life.

Naruto.

That was his name and she refused to forget it at any cost as it was the only name that she made an effort to memorize after a long time.

The amount of surprise and happiness that swelled within her heart when the teacher told her to sit beside him was unimaginable. It was as if she was given an opportunity of a lifetime, one that she needed to take up at every cost.

And that she did. Ignoring the fear of rejection that told her to stop talking and look away from him, she chose to strike a conversation with him in hopes that he would not ignore her like others.

He didn't disappoint.

No matter what he might have thought about her after listening to her classmates, he still had the decency to not ignore her like them. Being the decent human being that he was, he chose to talk to her, even going as far as to talk about her loneliness and the connection to those boys.

But nothing in the world could have prepared her for what he did next.

'I will be your friend, Makoto.'

He offered her an invaluable thing.

His friendship.

"Makoto!"

"Ha!" Brown silky hair flew high in the air as Makoto stumbled on her feet and fell straight to the ground, courtesy of one Naruto Otsutsuki who was walking cluelessly beside her. "Oww…" She groaned lightly as a flicker of pain shot right through her rear due to the impact. It was painful, but not that much. She had endured far worse than this without even blinking an eye in reaction.

"I'm sorry-"

She interrupted the stunned boy by waving her hand in dismissal. "It's ok, N-Naruto. I'm fine-" Karma hit her back when the boy decided to interrupt her by sitting beside her and placing a hand on her bruised knees. Before she knew his other hand was already deep inside his bag and was searching for something.

"Aah!" Naruto exclaimed when he finally found the thing he was looking for. "Here it is." His eyes twinkled with mirth as they stared at the healing cream that was resting on the palm of his hand. It was something that his mother had always placed in his bag so that he could patch himself up if he ever got injured. Fortunately, that never happened.

"Here, let me apply this cream on your knees and your pain will vanish in a second." He chirped jovially and motioned his cream-covered fingers towards her knee, only to blink in worry when she recoiled back immediately.

"What happened, Makoto?" He asked her but got no answer. Confused, he looked up at her face and gasped when he saw tears streaming down from there. They are miserable and for a moment made him worried about her well-being.

"Are you not ok with me touching you? If that's the case then you can apply it yourself. I won't mind." He suggested but yet again was met with nothing but silence from her side. 'What's wrong with her?' Naruto couldn't help but notice the sudden change in her behavior. She was not a shy person, not at all.

"I-I'm fine, Naruto."

The amount of uncertainty and fear in her voice as a result of her sudden change in demeanor put Naruto on edge, something he was thankful for because his mother prodded him to become fairly proficient at reading people's intentions. Mustering some courage, he yet again tried to apply the healing cream on her knees, but just like the last time, the girl recoiled back as soon as he extended his hand towards her.

Fear.

Embarrassment.

Guilt.

He could see them funneling through her eyes, the same beautiful brown orbs of tears that she was trying to protect from his gaze at any cost. What made her so shy and uncomfortable all of a sudden? 'Is it my presence?' Naruto hoped not; otherwise, there was no way he would force himself to remain close to her and if that happened, she would run back to those vultures.

'Vultures.'

A sudden burst of alien black emotion flashed through his eyes at the thought of those boys. It was all because of them she was like this, he was sure of that. Makoto might not tell him or anyone about those monsters out of fear, but Naruto was completely sure they were doing inappropriate things to her. Otherwise, there was no way boys around their age would hang out with a girl as young as her. It was creepy and vile and he was done not intervening when someone he cared about could very well be in danger because of them.

"I won't hurt you, Makoto."

He didn't know why he said that, but at that time, it was the only reasonable thing his mind could come up with. And imagine his surprise when the girl immediately relaxed and glanced at him with those hope-filled brown eyes of hers.

Realizing that the method was working somehow, he immediately closed the gap between them and began to apply the salve on her bruised knees while ignoring the grunts of pain that escaped her lips. It was for her own good and if she was not going to take care of herself, then he was going to do that for her, whether she liked it or not.

'Why?'

"Why?"

"Because you are my friend, Makoto." His instant reply caused her eyes to dilate.

A comfortable silence fell upon the two, as Naruto continued to mend her bruised knees, while Makoto just stared at him with tears in her big brown eyes.

It was surreal and sad at the same time.

It was surreal because she could clearly see that what Naruto was doing held no vile intentions hidden within. It was a pure and selfless effort of care, one that she had internalized was not meant for people like her.

Yet it was also sad because she knew it was transient, as sooner or later, Shiro would enter her life again. He and his friends constituted an incurable disease that she had already resigned herself to. No matter how far she traveled with Naruto on this path of friendship, Shiro would find her and haul her back to the darkness-filled valley hidden in parallel.

"And I must take care of my friends, you know."

A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder as he said it, causing warmth to blossom inside her body as she listened to his words of conviction. They were otherworldly, almost believable too, had she not been aware of the sad reality around her.

There was nothing Naruto could do for her in that matter and if she had to be honest, then she preferred it that way. Naruto was nothing compared to those monsters. Sure he had a nice mother and good personality, but in the end, he was just another human being who would be crushed if he dared to protect her from those people.

The amount of power those boys had in their hands was unimaginable and she feared that if Naruto tried something against them, then he would be trapped in that hell with her, or even worse his mother too. As desperate as she was to escape from her personal hell, she would not knowingly endanger others in attempts to help her.

"Y-you should not worry about m-me that much, Naruto. We just became friends a while ago."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Makoto? Friends are friends no matter how old or new they are. You being a new friend doesn't mean I don't worry about your wellbeing, idiot. For me, you are just like an old friend already and no matter what happens I will always be there for you."

His powerful and impassioned statement rendered her silent for a moment as she was digesting what she had just heard. 'Is this how friendship works?' She couldn't help but wonder about the authenticity of the statement because, in the past, she was fooled by one such statement badly. That boy promised her the same thing Naruto was promising, the only difference being the amount of sincerity in their voice. While Naruto was trying his best to appear sincere, Shiro on the other hand, never tried to appear sincere at all.

For him, she was an innocent prey, one that he could fool easily, and she being the desperate and lonely girl , never gave his vile offer a second thought and accepted it wholeheartedly.

The experiences that followed her foolish judgment broke her completely and made it hard for her to believe someone, especially when they were trying to get near her.

Yet she didn't let her past incidents distort her present judgment this time. With a beautiful but fragile smile on her face, she raised her hand slowly and motioned it towards his wrist.

"H-here…" She grabbed his wrist gently and pushed it towards her knee, "now you c-can apply it as much as you want."

Her voice was soft and almost inaudible, but she knew the boy heard her very well because in a blink of an eye, his hand was on her knee and was rubbing it with the utmost care, something that no one in the past had done for her.

She knew it was useless. There was no way their friendship was going to last more than a week. It was bound to be severed, either by the truth of her past or the danger of her present. As far as she knew, a boy would never remain friends with her after learning about her past. It was horrible and she couldn't blame people for hating it and judging her harshly for it. The scars of the past were something that she herself hated to no end and wanted nothing more than to get rid of them.

"You should be careful, Makoto." Her eyes drifted towards his face and blinked when she saw genuine worry there. She would not admit it, but it felt nice seeing that on his face. "These injuries can sometimes leave lifelong scars on your body, you know. And if that happens, then everyone will make fun of you because of them." Just like that, the happiness vanished from her face as he slapped her with the sad yet true reality.

"Hey, don't become sad again. I was just joking, Makoto."

He was, but for her everything that he spoke was true. "Y-you were right though, Naruto. People will h-hate me if I get scars." She murmured pathetically.

"Well, first of all, you are not going to get any scars, Makoto. And even if you end up with some, then you should consider them to be marks of experience rather than shame by know-nothing idiots."

A strange emotion spurred within her wet eyes as she saw him firmly state those words with that bright smile on his face.

"I will never leave you alone, even if you get hundreds of scars on your body."

- Playground -

Creak.

Creak.

Creak.

That was the sound the swing, on which Makoto was sitting, was making. It was awful, one that she had always associated with wearing away as it reminded her of the life she was living, but today, something was different, very different.

The sound was not coming across as intolerable today. Instead, it was sounding pleasantly similar to the harmonious chirping of the morning birds.

'How?'

Her heart couldn't help but wonder. In the past, she had played on countless swings around the town but none of them had been able to alleviate her mood, unlike the one below her was doing today.

So what was so different about it?

"You love swings?"

Her answer came in the form of a question from Naruto, who right now was standing behind her, modulating the swing back and forth as slowly as he could.

'Naruto…'

Her vacant eyes flooded with torrents of happiness and warmth as they meandered over to the face of the boy. It was captivating as ever and she couldn't help but curse herself for staring at him like that.

"Yes." To avoid any further embarrassment, she decided to indulge in the conversation, as it was far more important than some stupid thoughts that her mind was processing.

Creak.

She blinked when she was once again pushed high into the air by her friend.

"Then why don't you play with other children in the playground?"

If there was someone else at his place then Makoto would have reacted by hiding her face between her knees, but fortunately, he was Naruto, a boy who had just proved that he could be the kindest guy if he wanted to.

"Children don't like playing with a girl like me, Naruto."

After so many years, she was finally gaining her confidence back as she could feel it in her veins. The more she spoke to him, the less nervous she was being in front of him. It was almost surreal how fast that was happening as it only had been hours since she had met him if she remembered it correctly.

Creak.

"What do you mean by a girl like you?"

Makoto stiffened. 'A girl like me…' How in the world could she tell him about her life? It was a tragedy, one that she wanted to protect from everyone's eyes.

"A girl who hangs out with older boys…" A bitter chuckle escaped from her mouth. Yet she couldn't, and wouldn't, hide her situation from him. If she wanted to be his true friend, then she was supposed to share everything about her life with him, no matter how good or bad, as long as they were true.

She didn't want to build the castle of their friendship on the shaky foundation of lies and half truths.

"Pff!" Her hair fluttered wildly in the winds as she abruptly looked over her shoulder to see Naruto while he was speaking. "As if that should matter at all, Makoto. I don't know what kind of friendship you had with these boys, but I'm sure you won't need them anymore since I'm here with you from now on."

Makoto's heart leaped further than any swing could ever leap.

"I'll be your best friend."

"A best-"

"But only on one condition."

An ominous void threatened to engulf her heart once again as she listened to him silently.

'Condition.'

Was he going to take advantage of her loneliness too? She wasn't sure and that's why decided to question him.

"Condition?" She sounded vulnerable, so much that the boy behind her almost stopped nudging the swing.

"Yes." Regardless, he stood firm.

"What condition?"

Naruto's small hands clenched around the rope of the swing, making it stop abruptly midway through the harmonious swinging. "You have to stop seeing those boys from now on."

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two as Makoto tried to find some words in order to respond to him.

"I don't know what, why, and how, Makoto, but those boys give these negative vibes which I don't like." He lied as he didn't have the courage to speak the truth, especially when it involved some not so normal topics.

"I don't want to be near them." The uncertainty and sadness in his voice were enough to put his friend on the edge, something that he noticed immediately when he saw Makoto stiffen slightly.

"I-I don't-"

Creak.

Naruto smiled when she closed her mouth. "Shh… I was joking." He whispered, fully aware of the turmoil he had just made her experience in the past few minutes. "If you want to be friends with them, I have no problem. They are your best-"

Creak.

The swing returned to its stationary position as Makoto abruptly stood up from it and turned her face towards Naruto.

"I accept your condition."

"Huh?"

"I-I said, I accept your condition, Naruto. I won't go near those boys ever again."

The breeze picked up the pace around them.

Creak.

Naruto's small hands finally let go of the ropes that were supporting the swing.

"Thank you."

He didn't know how to describe it but knowing that she won't go back to those vultures felt good.

Really good.

-END-

Here it is, the long awaited update. Sorry for the delay.

If you guys have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me.

I saw that you guys were confused about the whole Ōtsutsuki thing as the surname. Well it's being used by Layla because she saw it written on the blanket in which she found Naruto and she liked it. The name also helped them to settle in Kuoh easily as it sounds way more natural than Phenex in Japan.

Another question was about Naruto acting like a baby. Well… he is a baby. He will mature eventually though, so don't worry about it.

Also, I'm sorry if I made some of you guys uncomfortable with this chapter but it was necessary for Makoto's development. Again, I'm sorry.

Anyway, if you still liked the chapter then don't forget to leave a review.

Thanks.

Stay safe.