Makoto knew making friends was hard. Hell, it was one of the toughest jobs out there if you were an introvert and unfortunately, she happened to be the one in her small family.

It was because of it, that she had a very dull and lonely childhood as she had never tried to befriend anyone. For her, it was something impossible to do and so, she told herself that she was fine the way she was and didn't need any friends.

"It worked too."

Yes, for a few years her strategy worked just fine for her as she went along with her boring life with no one by her side. But after meeting new people and seeing how they behaved with each other, she couldn't help but yearn for a friend of her own too.

For the first time in her life, she wanted to make true friends, and that she did, the only drawback being that those friends were not her friends to be exact. They were predators and she was their victim. "Sad life…" Makoto whispered, remembering her past life with a scowl on her face.

After seeing the results of her first attempt at making friends, Makoto decided to go back to her original plan of being alone. She didn't need friends. She was fine without them. At least that was what she used to think but everything changed when she met Naruto. He changed everything and made her life exciting and pleasant.

"But even now I can't make friends." Her face withered a little as embarrassment began to creep up on it.

In her fairly long stay with Naruto and Layla, Makoto got to learn many things. Be it drawing or cooking, the family of two never left any chance to spoil her and teach her new things but they forgot about one major thing.

"They forgot to teach me how to initiate a conversation with a stranger." Her lips formed an adorable pout as her eyes wandered over to the other side of the dining table where Naruto and Layla were sitting alongside the newly added member of her family.

Seeing them both trying their best to start a conversation with Vali was making her feel like a useless bag of garbage. Seriously, she needed to find a way to join the conversation otherwise the new girl would end up getting all the attention of her small lovely family.

' Speaking of them…' Makoto turned her eyes a little to look at the face of the new girl and immediately frowned when she saw the look that was lingering there. It was shocking, full of lust and affection, the latter being more prevalent. 'Why does she have that look on her face?' The poor girl couldn't help but ask herself. Fortunately, her question was answered in an instant when she followed the line of Vali's gaze. Her hungry and love-filled eyes were looking at none other than… 'Naruto!' Makoto's senses went on alert as soon as she realized the gravity of the situation.

'She wants Naruto…'

Her heart sank a little as she uttered those words in her mind. New or not, the girl, who was sitting with her family, was beautiful in every aspect, and Makoto knew that if she wanted to, that girl could easily take Naruto away from her. 'Noo…' She wouldn't let that happen. There was no way she was going to let Naruto be snatched away by a new girl. ' He is mine and mine…' Her train of thoughts stopped abruptly. ' Ok, Aunty too. He is ours and ours only.' The conviction on her face doubled as she finally stood up from her chair, ready to confront the girl who was trying to lure Naruto with her charms.

"Excuse me…"

-oOo-

The first thing Vali noticed as soon as she entered the house was how cozy and beautiful it was. Decorated with plants and rocks on the outside, the inside of the house was equally beautiful and serene too. If she had to describe it she would say it was one of those houses about which she had only read in the fairytale books during her childhood.

'I always wanted to live in a house like this.'

While the elegance and serenity were the major factors that made this house amazing for Vali, the fact that the people, who wanted her to live with them, lived here made the house even more extraordinary for her. Unlike her previous houses, be it the one that her father owned or the one where Azazel lived, this house was giving her a positive vibe. It made her heart comfortable if it was even possible.

"So how was your trip, dear?"

Her beautiful hazel eyes turned towards the direction of the voice and dilated slightly when she noticed it was that lady who had asked her that question a few seconds ago. "Umm…" She hesitated, her mind finding it hard to shape a reasonable answer for that question, especially when Naruto was sitting beside her.

"Was it uncomfortable?"

The warmth and affection in Layla's voice caught Vali off guard. She was not used to being treated normally by people. Aside from her mother, no one had shown her that kind of affection, not even her caretakers, colleagues, or Naruto. So to be subjected to it all of a sudden was a little surprising for her and she wasn't prepared for it. "I-It was fine, Miss Layla…" She paused, mentally applauding herself for remembering the lady's name just at the right moment. It would have been an embarrassing site if she didn't.

"Aww…" Layla cooed, finding the whole ordeal amusing and cute. 'Azazel was right. She is so cute!' Her heart leaped with joy again when the girl lowered her head to hide her face from her. Incidents like this were the reason that made her accept Azazel's offer. The moment he told her the girl's story and showed her a picture of her, Layla knew she was making the right decision by letting the girl live with them. Otherwise, there was no reason for her to even talk to that man let alone accept his ludicrous suggestion.

"Anyway, your name is Vali right?" Naruto's question changed the atmosphere of the room in an instant.

Vali, who was trying to hide her face as best as she could from the lady, immediately focused her gaze on the boy. "Yes." She answered, sounding a little hurt and confused by the question. 'Did he not recognize me?' An awful thought began to thrive in her mind but before it could turn into something big, Vali crushed it. There was no way Naruto could forget about her. 'He said I'm very cool.' And as far as Vali knew, people never forget someone who appears cool to them. It was human nature to be attracted to cool and good-looking beings.

"Hmm…" Naruto hummed, eyeing the girl up and down as if he was trying to remember something. "I think I have seen you somewhere before." He was sure he had. Her eyes, her lips, and her face, Naruto was sure he had seen them somewhere before.

'Of course, you have, Naruto. I'm your eternal rival.' Vali answered in her mind. "Yes, you have Naruto. We met in that clearing years ago when you came there to train." Realizing it was best to not hide anything from him, she decided to guide him to that particular memory of them.

"Ahh!"

A small smile flickered on Vali's lips but if someone was to see close, they could see a tinge of sadness lingering beneath it. It was both pleasant and painful to see that Naruto had to be reminded of who she was. Pleasant because it made her realize how naive Naruto was when it came to things like that and sad because it insinuated that he undoubtedly forgot about her soon after their first meeting. "Yes…" Yet she did not attempt to argue with him on that. For her, as long as she was near him, she was fine.

"Wait, if you are that girl from that clearing then that means you are a dev-" Naruto paused, biting his tongue to stop himself from saying something he wasn't supposed to say in front of Makoto. "You are like me too." He improvised but failed to notice the effect his words had on Vali.

"Like you?" Red doused Vali's face again. "Yes, you can say that…" Lips stretched in a small smile, she whispered as her eyes found it hard to stay on his face for long. They were shifting back and forth so that she didn't end up showing the shimmering happiness within them.

"Ahh… well then I'm glad you came here to live with us Vali!" Naruto's lively face and his bright smile sparked a chain reaction within Vali's heart and soon, the girl was looking down at the ground again.

Layla, who was watching everything from the side, didn't fail to notice the attitude and mannerisms of Vali when she was talking to Naruto. Cool and calm as the girl might try to appear on the outside, Layla could see the cracks in her demeanor. 'She is embarrassed…' Her lips curved upwards as the realization finally dawned on her. 'She is just like Makoto…' While it was just a simple observation from Layla, the female Phenex didn't know how true her statement was. ' Speaking of Makoto…' She turned a little to look at the girl and was more than amused to see the look she had on her cute little face. 'My my… she is jealous…' A smirk flickered on her lips when she saw how fiercely Makoto was staring at Vali. 'Should I have a little fun?' She asked herself but decided against it due to the simple fact that Vali had joined them just a moment ago. It would be very rude if she tried to joke with the girl on her very first day here.

"Excuse me…"

But that didn't stop Makoto from doing so.

Faster than one could notice, Layla snapped her head to the side when she heard Makoto's voice. 'Oh my… she is going to do something cute today.' Finger resting beneath her lower lip, she smiled at the girl as she waited for the drama to unfold.

"Huh?" It was Naruto who reacted first to Makoto's intervention.

"What is your name?" Makoto asked and sulked immediately when Naruto gave her a deadpan look in answer. "W-what? I forgot to ask her name, Naruto." She tried to explain herself but the boy kept staring at her blankly.

"Vali."

Makoto breathed a sigh of relief when the girl answered her question before Naruto could embarrass her any further with his staring. "I see," She whispered, her feet strolling towards the girl at a rhythmic pace. "Nice to meet you, Vali-san!" As soon as she reached close to her, the first thing Makoto did was place a chair between Vali and Naruto's chairs. 'If she wants to flirt so badly, then she might as well do it with me instead.' For her, Naruto was someone she couldn't share with anyone except for her aunt. So Makoto had no problem with being a little mean today.

"Nice to meet you too…"

Makoto blinked when Vali trailed off abruptly but soon realized it had more to do with her being dumb than anything else. 'Wait, I forgot to mention my name…' She gasped as tints of red shaded her cheeks. "My name is Makoto Phenex…" She immediately introduced herself, forgetting not to emphasize the Phenex part to let the girl know just how close she was to Naruto and her aunt.

"I see. Nice to meet you, Makoto-san."

Makoto smirked at Vali as she realized that she had just asserted her dominance over a girl she had just met a while ago. It was a huge win for her according to her mind.

"I never knew Naruto had such a cute sister…" And just like that Vali spoiled Makoto's dance of victory in a matter of a few seconds.

"Huh?"

It was Vali's time to smirk now. "I said I never knew Naruto had such a cute sister." Her smirk turned vicious when she saw Makoto squirm in her seat. 'You really thought I didn't know anything about you, Makoto. Hehe, fool! I know everything about you and your family." Every word Vali spoke in her mind was true. There was hardly anything she didn't know about Naruto's family. He was her savior and so it was natural for her to find out everything about him so that she could understand him better. And the fact that the information would help her in fighting him in their fated match was a bonus for her.

"I'm not his sister…"

Vali raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She asked and looked at Naruto for further explanation.

"Eh, she is right. Makoto isn't my biological sister," Naruto was quick to clear the confusion. "We adopted her when I found out about her situation." He knew he had said something unnecessary when both Layla and Makoto facepalmed at his statement.

"Her situation?"

The whole room went silent as soon as Vali uttered those words.

-oOo-

Freedom.

It was one of those things that one doesn't appreciate while they have it and only recognizes its worth when they lose it or are forced to give it away.

Shiro was no exception to that.

Throughout his whole life, he had taken freedom for granted and only realized how important it was for survival when it was taken away from him. What he used to think was useless to be held in high regard soon became one of the most necessary commodities he wanted to have in his life.

He wanted to be free again, just like how he used to be in the past. In the past, he was an unrestricted individual, one who could do anything and get away with it because he had money.

'Money…'

It was the thing that ruined him or as he says made him what he was in the past. "A monster." A small smile flickered on his dry lips as the rays of freedom finally reached his eyes. 'I missed this so much.' His eyes dilated with happiness as he realized that he was finally free.

"I am out of that hell now…"

His heart couldn't help but beat erratically as the sensation he was feeling at that moment was out of the world. It was surreal and he wanted to savor it as much as he could.

"This air, these trees, and this city, I missed them so much!"

In his life there had been very few moments where he had been so happy as much as he was today. Today was different. It was very different from all the days he had lived in the past. Today he was finally free from the place that he called hell.

Hell.

Hate flickered within his eyes as he recalled the reason he was forced to live the most crucial period of his life in that hell. In the period when he should have been trying to establish a family with a beautiful girl, he was forced to live a life similar to that of a beggar. It was anything but fun and full of pleasure.

"All because of that girl…"

A familiar face began to form in front of his eyes. It was a face that he had come to despise the most during the time he had spent in prison. "Makoto…" Shiro whispered, his voice filled with scorn and anger. "You made my life hell." If not for her, he would have been living a normal life just like everyone else. But no, that girl ruined everything.

Everything.

She took away everything from him. His friends, his family, and most importantly his perfect life. Before he had met her, his life was perfect. It had everything one wanted to have in their life. Money, sex, entertainment… you name it and Shiro had it. Along with his friends, he was living a life parallel to a fairytale. But everything changed when he met her, or more precisely after two years of meeting her.

"At first everything was fine."

Their relationship was progressing exactly how Shiro had planned it to progress. There was friendship, fun, and most importantly pleasure. The sole reason he became friends with her was because of that one thing. He was at the climax of his teenage phase back then and his hormones were in a mess. He wanted pleasure, no matter how he acquired it, and in the pursuit of that, he ventured on a path that was not appreciated by society, at least the part of the society which was poor.

He became what people call a predator but if he had to be honest, Shiro didn't care what people thought of him. For him, as long as he was getting his fill full of pleasure, he was fine. Good or bad didn't matter to him because he had money and money erased the boundary that existed between the concepts of good and evil. As long as he had money he knew he was invincible and that feeling of being unstoppable brought a sense of arrogance with it. He felt he was entitled to the best of the best that existed out there. Be it the most luxurious car, the most expensive food, or the freshest of skin, he was entitled to each of them. He wanted nothing but to savor things that others couldn't, and that led him to scour for younger girls.

As far as he understood, the younger the girl, the more desirable they appeared to the people who had an unimaginable amount of power within their grasp. For him, the younger girls were not only pure but also easy to tame. They were naive and easy to manipulate. So even if he did something out of the limits to them, there was no chance that he was going to face any consequences for it.

"She was no different from any of them."

Makoto was like every other girl he had previously ravaged, lonely, sad, and waiting to be taken advantage of. She was the perfect specimen and Shiro was not someone who would let a girl like her get away from his grasp. He wanted her, he wanted her badly. She was beautiful and young, everything that his heart desired. Her smooth skin and innocent face only added more to her value.

"It was so easy to fool her."

It only took him a week to deceive her. Her desire to have a friend was what led her to him and he was more than happy to be that friend. At first, he conjured the act of being her friend, a person who was going to be there for her whenever she needed him, then when he deciphered that she was entirely within his grasp, he moved on to the next phase of his plan.

"I introduced her to my friends."

Once Shiro did that, he knew there was no going back for Makoto now. Every chance she had to escape was long gone. Now the only thing she could do was fall deeper into the pit of lust and abuse that he had created just for her. For a whole year, he abused her to his liking and the girl had no option but to endure everything.

It started with small intentional touches to her sensitive parts, and before the poor girl knew what was happening to her, Shiro was already enjoying every inch of her body with his friends. From her small soft hands, her slender feet, to her still growing assets, Shiro left no part of her body untouched. For him, she was all his to enjoy and left no opportunity to not do so.

"She was beautiful…"

Shiro's lips curved upwards into a cruel smile as he remembered the struggles that Makoto used to put against him. They were amusing, to say the least, but unfortunately for her, they had no power behind them to push him away. If anything her struggles only made him punish her even more. Why? Because the cries she used to let out after that used to fill his heart with pride. They were the source of his arrogance, something that never failed to remind him just how much authority he had over someone else's life. That fact alone was enough to make him climax sometimes.

"But then everything changed all of a sudden…"

The smile disappeared from his face as memories of the past began to fill up his mind again. Shiro didn't know what went wrong or what changed that day but after that day, Makoto changed forever. She found something that he had never thought she would find in her life ever again.

Courage.

She found courage, something that she needed very much to stand against him. At first, Shiro couldn't believe what was happening. Makoto, a girl who didn't even understand the difference between sex and teasing, was standing against him, him of all people. She was defying his orders, was calling him names, and most importantly was telling him to go away.

It was the worst day of his life. He couldn't understand what was happening and why it was happening. Wasn't Makoto supposed to be his little toy for her entire life just like every other girl he had abused before her? Or did she forget how much power he possessed? Whatever the reason was at that time, it stunned Shiro to his core. For the first time in his life, someone, especially a girl, was standing up to him. And the fact that the said girl was none other than his Makoto only turned the situation even crazier.

Fortunately for him, his every question was answered within the upcoming days when he saw that boy walking out of the school with Makoto.

"He changed her. He took my Makoto away from me."

It was because of that boy and his smart hot mother that he was sent to prison. Intoxicated by the money and its power, Shiro totally forgot that people, who had more money than him, existed in his world too. Unfortunately, that boy and his mother were one of those people. They had power that even he couldn't dream of having. That lady managed to defeat his father in the battle of money and that led to his downfall.

"But now that I'm back. I'll take my revenge." His hands twitched with excitement, ready to feel the touch of Makoto's skin again. "I'm sure her skin will be as smooth as it used to be in the past…" The cruel smile returned to his face, this time even more fierce than before.

"Sadly she wouldn't be pure anymore." The smile faltered a little as the thought of someone else stealing her virginity plagued his mind for a second. "I was waiting to take it on her twelfth birthday…" He grumbled, no doubt disappointed with how things have turned out to be.

Shiro was supposed to be her first in everything but sadly fate took that chance away from him and gave it to that boy.

"I'll kill him in front of her…"

His body trembled with excitement at the mere thought of killing that boy.

"Hehe… But before killing him, I'll rape that-"

Closing his eyes, he let the darkness overwhelm his vision as he took a deep breath to savor the newfound freedom and the pleasure that was awaiting him in the future.

-oOo-

Vali knew she had asked about something sensitive when the whole room went silent just as she finished with her question. 'What do I do now?' She didn't know how to handle such a situation as she had never been in one before. "Umm…" Still, she decided to relieve the tension by being considerate of their privacy. "If you don't want to share it with me then it's fine." She looked at them again and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw smiles return to their faces.

"I'm sorry, Vali," It was Naruto who spoke first. " But Makoto's past is something that none of us likes to discuss in front of others." His eyes softened as they wandered to his side to catch a glimpse of Makoto's face. It was riddled with sadness and shame, something that he despises to see there.

"I see," Vali whispered, looking at Makoto with confusion and curiosity. The girl had secrets that she didn't know. ' Interesting…' Was all she could think at that moment. "If that's the case then I totally respect your decision. I won't ask anything about her past ever again." She was lying. There was no way she wasn't going to dig through her past now after seeing the reactions of her new family. If there was something that was hurting the girl and their family then she was going to find out what it was and would destroy it.

"Aww… you are so sweet and well mannered, Vali." The atmosphere in the room lightened up immediately as soon as Layla decided to join the conversation again. "Your Uncle was right, you will be a perfect addition to our little family." Her soft hands traveled to Vali's face and cupped her red cheeks within them.

"Welcome to our family, Vali."

Vali's heart skipped a beat as the weight of Layla's words finally fell upon her shoulders. Short and insignificant they might look to others but for her, they were the most precious thing at that moment. 'Is this how it feels to be loved and welcomed by someone?' She asked herself, not knowing what she was supposed to feel and do now. In her life, only her mother had told her that she loved him. Aside from her, there had been no one who had welcomed her like how her new family just did.

Layla.

Vali looked at the lady and couldn't stop herself from smiling when she saw nothing but affection and honesty on her face. It was extraordinary.

"T-Thank you."

"Aww… you don't have to thank-"

"Haaa!"

Everyone in the room was startled when Naruto, out of nowhere, began to gasp heavily.

"Naruto!" Layla was quick to react and immediately positioned herself beside him with Makoto and Vali soon following her lead. "What happened, dear?" She asked him, her voice filled with concern and fear as she saw beads of sweat roll down his face.

Naruto, who was still gasping for air, finally composed himself and stood up from his chair. "I-I… It's nothing." A weak whisper escaped his lips, something that only made the situation worse for the other three occupants of the room.

"You are sweating heavily, Naruto." Makoto placed her hand on his forehead and began to wipe away the excessive sweat. "Something is surely wrong." She whispered, her eyes not leaving her face for even a second.

In response, Naruto did something that made everyone even more worried. Instead of answering the question, he untangled himself from their grip and ran away to the entrance of the house.

"Naruto!"

The boy didn't look behind and before the girls knew he was already outside the house.

-oOo-

Darkness.

Shiro knew it very well. It was a state of pure madness where nothing was visible to the naked eye, only the mind could see and function within it. The decision you made in that state depended on the type of person you were. Some people never abandoned themselves to it, and always tried to find a way out of it while people like him relished the comfort and separateness it provided them.

It was in the darkness where he always showed his true self to others, especially those girls who left the comfort of light and stupidly followed him till they reached the darkest corner of their life.

In a way, darkness was his true friend. It was there when he first began his journey of pleasure and followed him even to the hell that was that prison. Unlike other people in his life, it never left him alone. But that doesn't mean Shiro never gave anything to darkness in return. He gave it what he knew it desired the most.

Shiro gave darkness things to conceal from the prying eyes of people. It was a fair trade in his opinion, one that for sure would have solidified their friendship for eternity.

But he didn't know how wrong he was.

"Who is there?!"

Shiro's heart was beating erratically, this time with fear instead of excitement.

"Hello?!"

His lips that were sporting a cruel smile for most of the day were now parched dry, begging to get a taste of a liquid, no matter what it was.

"Shiro…"

Shiro gasped as fear and a feeling of dread doused his face in an instant. "W-who?" Mustering up some courage, he decided to ask the individual for his identity.

"How does it feel?"

Another wave of fear shook Shiro's body. "Feel what?" He questioned, trying his best to catch a glimpse of his tormentor but unfortunately for him, the darkness around him was making it hard for him to do so. It was so thick that he couldn't see a single thing around him.

"To be abducted and rendered useless like this?"

Shiro's face withered at that comment. The tone the unknown man was using wasn't sounding normal at all. It was filled with anger and hate, something Shiro was able to notice as soon as he was kidnapped by him outside of prison. "See, I'm going to ask you one more time… who are you and what do you want?" He whispered in hope that this time the man would answer his question.

"Naruto…"

It was at that moment Shiro saw them. Shining ominously in the darkness, two red orbs of wrath and resentment were gazing at him fiercely. They were terrifying and captivating at the same time.

"N-Naruto…"

Shiro knew that name very well. Even if he tried to, he could never forget that name. It was etched into his mind for eternity.

-Back at Otsutsuki Residence-

Revenge was supposed to be bad. It was supposed to be a horrible thing, one that was shunned by every hero and religion out there.

"Then why am I feeling so happy?"

Damp blue eyes looked at the sky and vanished in the darkness as the curtains known as eyelids slowly draped themselves over them.

"It's over."

He whispered.

"It's all over."

The happiness in his heart began to dwindle as the memories of the past began to plague his mind.

"I killed him."

A hollow feeling began to expand inside him.

"I avenged her."

But before the feeling could engulf him within itself, an image of Makoto flashed before his eyes and hauled him back from the vale of darkness that was trying to consume him alive.

"Makoto…"

Tears began to trail down his face.

"As long as I'm alive…"

His lips trembled as cries began to escape his mouth.

"No one's gonna ever hurt you again."

The transparent drops of sadness finally fell from his face and tainted the ground beneath him.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Blood.

Flesh.

Distorted eyes.

Impaled organs.

Severed fingers and limbs.

Dead bodies.

Were the only things left in the darkroom now. What used to be an area that those treacherous beings called home was turned into a vacant hell of red color, decorated with the bodies of those monsters, in turn leaving behind a monster born out of an innocent child.

" Makoto… "

-END-

Here it is, the update, a little late but here nonetheless.

If you have any questions or suggestions, do let me know through DM or you can join my discord (the link is on the profile).

Also, don't forget to leave a review. They motivate me to write.

Thank you.

Stay safe.