Hey everyone!

Welcome back!

I know last chapter might have been a slight of a mood killer. But I did want to tell it from Sasuke's perspective. So I started from where it felt right. But now, finally, the truth of the incident is here... How it happened - the beginning of the web of hidden truths.

Hope I can keep you all on your toes.

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*****TRIGGER WARNING! THIS CHAPTER TALKS ABOUT RAPE. PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU MIGHT BE TRIGGERED. ACTUALLY, PLEASE DON'T CONTINUE THE STORY IF YOU HAVE SUCH TRIGGERS. *****

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Again, you already know this. Disclaimer here. I'm don't any of the characters, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto; just this single plot going on is from my imagination.

That's it for now, let's get back to the story!

Chapter 7: The Truth

Konohakure no Sato

Everyone in the Hokage's office seemed to be in their own thoughts as they listened to Sasuke's story.

Iruka squeezed Sasuke's hand to show comfort. Sasuke took that as assurance and once again continued the story. "I broke the silence between us and…."

~~Flashback~~

A minute later, Sasuke finally broke the silence and brought forth his questions.

"What was that, Naruto? Did something happen? Why were you crying for so long? How did you even know that hole under that bridge? Only the Uchiha's knew about that place."

Sasuke waited for the answers. To him, Naruto remained silent, trying to process his thoughts, probably deciding what to tell and what not to. So Sasuke let him take his time. About five minutes later, he finally looked up at Sasuke and started to speak in a soft, pain-filled voice.

"Nī-… Sasuke, it is complicated… I hadn't come to the academy for the last week. So today, when those boys were whispering about what had happened last week, I got curious. But when I heard about the ma-massacre, … I-I couldn't comprehend it. The U-Uchiha's, m-… your clan, w-were l-like f-fa-family to me". Naruto seems to have lost his voice again and he stuttered the last few words in an almost inaudible whisper.

Sasuke tried to understand what he had been told. He knew the Uchiha's were a huge clan. But he had, not even once, seen the blond inside the estate. So he couldn't believe what this crazy blond in front of him was telling him. "B-But…", he started.

"Nīsan, they were family to me 'cause I stayed there during my childhood." Naruto cut him off. Sasuke was surprised when Naruto called him 'Nīsan' but let him continue.

"I was there during my childhood because I was raised by the Uchiha's until I was three. Sasuke, I know you were told it was your imagination by our parents and brother but do you remember a girl with bright blond pigtails and light blue dress chasing you in your house backyard all the time?", Naruto asked.

Sasuke recollected those memories. The ones that his family had made it clear to him that those were just his imagination and to let them go. He couldn't understand how Naruto knew about those imagined memories. But as he remembered that girl and looked at the blonde in front of him, he could see the similarities, including the three stripes on the cheeks. He realised that they might have been true all along and the only conclusion to that was….

"You're a girl", he stated.

Naruto gave a slight nod in return.

"You're that girl. B-But how is that possible? How is it that, if you are that girl who used to call me Nīsan and chased me around our backyard, then what was the reason that you suddenly left that Kaa-san, Tōsan, and Nīsan told me you were my imagination? Why did you leave?" He questioned, still trying to make sense of everything.

"My birth parents died the day I was born. So Jiji, I mean, the Hokage gave my responsibilities to your parents as they were supposedly really good friends with your parents. From the day after I was born until I was three, I lived with you all. Kaa-san and Tōsan raised me as your younger sister since no-one at that point knew of my existence outside of the Uchiha Clan."

"But right after my third birthday, I was forcefully removed from their care and placed in an apartment to live alone, away from you all. Jiji said that the council got to know of my existence and immediately over-ruled Jiji's decision and removed me from the Uchiha Clan's care and also forbade everyone within the Clan to ever come or be seen near me. So Kaa-san, Tōsan and Nīsan decided to put a Genjutsu on you and make you think that I was from your imagination instead; especially since we were extremely close till that point." she paused after telling him this so that he could process the truth.

"Y-you m-mean, you are my Imōto?" Sasuke asked with fear.

Naruto gave a sad nod and looked down to avoid eye contact. Sasuke realised that she was afraid of what his reaction would be next. He immediately closed the distance between the two and pulled her into a tight hug. They both held on to each other, the last family alive. Their emotions reeling. Finally, both relaxed and sat back on the chairs. But this time, neither let go of the other's hands. Naruto decided to continue.

"When I was removed from the Uchiha's care, Jiji told me to take the identity of a boy as I would have to live alone and he would be safer as a boy. Kaa-san, Tōsan and Itachi-Nīsan still came and discretely met me once in a while for quite some time. They helped me by getting me groceries, clothes and necessary items. But they couldn't meet me too often or stay too long as that would raise suspicions. Once Itachi-Nīsan got into the ANBU, he used to come more often as my ANBU guard. But in the last few weeks, they all seemed to suddenly have become distant. Then, since last week, I hadn't seen even one of them. This should have itself given me a sort of signal, but I didn't realise it. Then t-today when I heard about the m-ma-massacre, it was like my already broken life, completely sh-shattered. I didn't know what to do Nīsan. So I ran and hid in the spot I used to hide when we played hide and seek."

Tears had once again started to roll down her cheeks. He again hugged her and let her cry onto his chest. Her pain was clearly seen. Sasuke admired the strength his Imōto had shown. He finally realised what she had to go through. Not only to be separated from the family who had taken care of her since her birth, but also for her to not even be informed about their cruel deaths. Then it hit him. That his chibi Imōto hadn't attended the academy in a week. Even without knowing about the massacre. He immediately wondered why.

"Naruto, w-why hadn't you attended the academy the whole of last week?", he asked after she had calmed down.

Immediately, he saw shame fill her face and eyes and tears started to pool up in those beautiful cerulean blue eyes. She looked did at the floor and avoided even to look at him. He tried to make her look up, But she refused. Her body started to shake uncontrollably.

"Imōto, look up", he said as he put a hand on her chin and lifted her head up. "You can tell me anything, alright? I won't leave you. As your Nīsan, I will protect you. Please tell me what happened", he begged. Naruto trembled and looked like she was contemplated for a few minutes. Finally, she took a deep breath and started.

"Ni-Nīsan, my life changed totally after I was left to live on my own accord", she slowly whispered. "For some reason, when the villagers saw me, they always mistreated me. At first, it was just a slap or someone would kick me out of their shops. Then all of them started charging me double or even triple for anything I bought. T-then the beatings started…. I would be cornered by a small group of people, and they would beat me up and leave me a some alley. No one would come and help me even if I begged. This would sporadically get more intense on a few days and even as time went on. But it was always the worst around my birthday."

"The first birthday after I was left alone, they beat me so much that if Tōsan hadn't found me along with a few ANBU, I think I might have died. The frequency and the intensity of these attacks by the villagers increased as time went by. So much that Jiji had assigned an ANBU detail for me. They couldn't attack back at the villagers but they were to stop anyone from taking it to a severe state. When Itachi-nī joined the ANBU, he used to take on a position in my detail whenever he was not on a mission. It looked like the intensity had reduced since the ANBU detail would always protect me."

"But last Thursday evening, the ANBU just left in a hurry. Probably, it was the night of the massacre…" she received a nod from Sasuke and so she continued, "At first, nothing happened. Still, I had a bad feeling, so I hurried off to my apartment. But right be-before I reached the alleyway towards my a-ap-apartment…." She suddenly burst into tears unable to stop the memories. Her body shook uncontrollably.

Sasuke's waves of anger had risen to unprecedented levels as he heard his Imōto tell him about her life after she had been forced out. He felt anger toward the councilmen and the villagers. 'How could those people do such a thing to his Imōto? Such a kind and innocent soul.' He wanted to crush all those people that laid a finger on her with such ill-intensions. But when she spoke of something that had happened to her, her distraught state scared him. On one hand, he wanted her to tell him so that he could help her. On the other, he didn't know if he would be able to help her in any way. He tried to console her enough that she could speak up.

After another few minutes when her sobs turned into hiccups and her shivers reduced, she finally told him. "A man stood in my path and forcefully pulled me into a dark corner… H-he th-then raped me Nīsan", she cried. "I feel so disgusted. I hate myself. I remember him touching me. It was horrible. I just wanted to kill myself. I want to kill myself. I want Kaa-san. I want Tōsan. I can't take this any more Nīsan. I don't want to live anymore".

She uncontrollably cried, thrashed and fell to the ground. Sasuke seemed to be frozen after he heard her revelation. He couldn't believe the truth. He could never again trust these villagers or this village itself. They were worse than Itachi-Nīsan. They stole the innocence of his sister, his Imōto. He just wanted to destroy this village on the whole. Every single one of them. He wished his parents were here. He wished his Kaa-san was here. She would have known how to help Naruto. She would have been able to console her. He wished his Tōsan and Nīsan were here, they would have protected her and prevented this from even happening. But she knew none of that was possible.

He blamed Itachi even more now. If not for his actions towards his own clan, the ANBU might have been there to save her from that disgusting monster. He blamed himself for not being there for her along with the rest of his family. Finally, his mind came back to reality and he saw the state his Imōto was in. He knelt next to her and tried his best to console her. He slowly stroked her back and whispered calming words. They both remained in that position for a while.

After about half an hour, Naruto's sobs died down and her exhaustion took over and she fell asleep in Sasuke's arms. He slowly took her to his bedroom and placed her on the bed. He tried to remove her hands so that she could be positioned correctly but she refused to let go of him. So he lay next to her and held her tightly as she slept.

His mind wouldn't allow him to get any rest that night. He kept thinking about how much Naruto had suffered, how much pain and torture the villagers had put her through. He thought about how to go about things now that he knew the whole truth. One thing he knew for sure was that he wouldn't let her live alone from now on. He would be there for his Imōto. He would protect her and prevent any such incidences from ever happening again.

He realised that they needed to speak to someone and let them know what had happened to her. They couldn't let the matter be hidden any longer. Naruto seemed to be close to the Hokage and even called him "Jiji". So, he thought they could approach him the next morning and tell him the situation and take his assistance. With these thoughts, Sasuke succumbed to his exhaustions in the early hours of down.

~~End of Flashback~~

Done with this chapter.

So, what do you think of this chapter? Do let me know!

Also, Naruto has gone through I lot. So her mind was really fragile and that's why she had suicidal thoughts. Sasuke also started to become an overprotective brother, which is necessary after what Naruto had to go through.

As always, read and review! Would love to hear your opinion of the story.

That's it for now. See you soon, in the next chapter.