Hi! So, I am back, with another part to my story. I got a few good reviews, and I wanted to say, thank you for taking the time to review. You all mean the world to me, even though there are only a few of you. I try to read every review.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Demon talking"
'Demon thinking'
:I
Chapter 2
Ino ran in first, and then Choji came in eating potato chips, and finally, Shikamaru. They all looked to Naruto, and Sakura said uncertainly, "Should I give you all a moment?"
Naruto took a deep breath, holding it in slightly, and then exhaled softly, "No, you would want to hear this too, but, please, listen to me, don't jump to conclusions, and just, just don't hate me..." Everyone settled into chairs with frowns on their faces. "I was born, October tenth, the night of the Kyuubi attack. The Fourth Hokage, after battling it for a long period of time, realized that he had to seal it away. The fox couldn't be killed, because it is a corporeal entity, kind of like how a god cannot be killed… He had to use someone whose chakra coils had not been developed, so only a baby would do… I was the one he sealed it into."
Naruto waited as Sakura, Ino, and Choji gasped with terrified expressions on their faces, and Choji stopped eating his chips. She sighed, but noticed that Shikamaru did not do anything. He had a puzzled look that she knew well from watching him play Shogi with Asuma-Sensei. Naruto closed her eyes. "I am not the demon. When a weapon is sealed into a scroll, the scroll is still just a scroll, right?"
"…Right." Sakura said uncertainly, her voice wavering.
"I was an orphan, a female orphan. The villagers resented me, and, as much as he tried, the Third did not have enough time to look after me and take care of the village. He made a law that no one could talk about the Kyuubi, so the next generation would never know. The punishment of breaking that law is death, unless the Hokage or I give you permission to tell someone. I grew up with ANBU watching over me."
"One day, one of my protectors helped the villagers beat me. After that, the Hokage put a henge over me. I looked like a boy, so that no one would think of…you know… but the whisker markings on my face can't be covered with Genjutsu. He put me in the orphanage, hoping they would treat me right."
"I was still beaten, but by the care-takers, and the Head of the Orphanage never contacted the Hokage, or ever brought me to a hospital. By the time Jiji had weeded out all the ninja that hated and resented me, I was six, and had been living alone on the streets for two years. He still placed competent ANBU, that didn't despise me, to watch over me, but he also gave me an apartment. He paid for the bills, and I grew up there. He often came over during his lunch break, giving me food as well as making sure I had some emergency money."
"He even took care of me after beatings, while sending ANBU off to capture the villagers." Naruto took in a shaking breath, and said, "Last night was no different than any of the others I have suffered through. Some drunken men decided they should mess with 'the demon brat'," Bitterness rang in her voice, "So they attacked me on my way home from training. They beat me, and left me in an alley. Those fools think that a simple beating is enough to kill me. The Kyuubi heals me."
Sakura grew angry surprisingly fast, and Ino had tears streaming from her face. In seconds the young blonde was trapped in a hug by both teenage Kunoichi. Gentle Choji and lazy Shikamaru stood up with a gleaming fire in their eyes, and whispered menacingly, "I'll kill 'em."
There was silence until after the enraged boys stalked out of the room in search of Kiba, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Shino. "…Do you want us to tell the rest?" Ino asked in a soft tone. Naruto nodded tiredly. Ino swiftly barged out of the room, and in moments, whispers, gasps, and multiple proclamations of, "I will kill them", "Make them pay", and Sasuke's, "I will annihilate them all" were heard through the flimsy hospital room door.
Silence reined again, and then every Shinobi and Kunoichi alike started to chuckle in a menacing way. Naruto grew nervous, When Kiba said, "So, she is not the demon?"
Shikamaru sighed again and said, "No, she is like a sealing scroll for a sword, but not the actual sword." Kiba responded with a, "Oh, okay!"
Akamaru then barked loudly. "Okay, I can ask." Kiba responded. He then stuck his head in. "Do you, umm mind if we…umm sniff you? You know, to get the scent of those bastards who did this to you." His face was as red as a tomato.
"Umm, okay…Sure…" Naruto said confusedly. Her face felt hot.
The dog lover and his partner in crime made short work of gathering different scents, and then sorting through them. While that was going on, Kakashi alerted Tsunade on Naruto's situation. All she asked was that the men be brought to her alive. She does not care if they are beaten, so long as she does not have to heal them. She wanted to punish them too. They messed with the wrong girl.
Later that night, screams could be heard all over the village, and the people of Konoha wondered why the Hokage didn't send ANBU to calm the situation.
In the morning, Tsunade came into Naruto's room, and asked, "Do you want to beat the stuffing – I mean help punish the men responsible? You can if you want to." Naruto nodded, and Tsunade escorted her to a cell in the Hokage tower. With the lights on, she recognized one man in particular. He sold her rotten food all the time, threw things at her, vandalized her home, stole her belongings, and had multiple times led some of the attacks on her.
It turns out he was the one who suggested to the other men that they should mess with her. Naruto tentatively sat next to him. She reached out to slap him, and the minute her hand touched his skin, her pent up fury and hate was released.
"You are a bastard!" She screamed, pouncing on him like a lioness. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" She screeched over and over again. Her shouts then turned into wordless roars. She growled and clawed at his face, broke each of his fingers, and dislocated his left shoulder.
The beast within her responded to her pent up fury, making her long, silky hair become wilder, her eyes blood red with cat-like slits as pupils, and her whisker marks darker and thicker. Her incisors lengthened, and became sharper. Her fingernails were long and dagger like and more durable.
The others backed up to the wall.
Just as she was about to get up and leave, she remembered something. She sent a jolt of chakra though his body, just enough so that he would wake up. She leaned in closely, and whispered, "You said that the mark of a demon was the whisker marks on my face." Naruto cackled at his horrified face, and gouged three long whisker-like cuts into each of his cheeks. "Now everyone will know that you are a demon."
With that, she brushed her hands on her pants and left the room, her appearance back to normal. Shikamaru kicked him into the nearest wall and followed the jinnchuriki out.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"…Yeah, I think so." Naruto replied. She sat down on the bench, on the opposite wall of the Hokage's office.
"I talked to my parents last night… We feel that you shouldn't be living on your own, that it is too dangerous, and so, we want to invite you to live with us. With the Nara Clan as an ally and the village will know that you are under our protection. Tsunade says she agrees." Shikamaru offered.
Naruto gave a small smile, "I wouldn't want to…cause any problems, if…"
"You wouldn't cause problems." Shika insisted. "We all know that you are not a monster, and the entire clan thinks of you as a hero." She still looked unsure. "My father said he knew your parents and would be willing to try to persuade Lady Tsunade if he could tell you about them."
Naru's face lit up. "Really?" Shikamaru nodded. "Then I shall accept your gracious offer."
Shikamaru smiled, and grabbed her hand, dragging her out of the tower and towards the Nara Compound. Naruto blushed, but thankfully Shika did not see it. The two ran through the village.
Three streets away from the tower, they stopped in front of a one story building with the Nara symbol, a circle with a line going through it, on the door. "Here we are." Shikamaru said, opening the door and taking off their shoes, as custom dictated.
Immediately after the young blonde and genius stepped over the threshold, a woman with long, dark brown hair that was the color of roasted chestnuts, and chocolate brown eyes, came running out of what Naru could only assume was the kitchen. "Shikamaru, you're home!" she exclaimed, hugging Shikamaru. "And you brought Naru-Chan!" She swapped Shika for Naruto.
"Does this mean you will be staying with us?"
Naruto would have responded, but she was too busy being strangled in a bone-crushing hug.
"Mom, you're suffocating Naruto, and yes, she is staying."
"Yay!" Mrs. Nara squealed before running off to tell her husband. "Troublesome woman." was mumbled with a smile from Shikamaru.
"That would be my mom, Yoshina Nara. My father's name is Shikaku Nara." Shikamaru explained to a very dazed Naruto. "She is always like that, except when she is nagging us, or worried."
"Okay." Was all Naruto could think of saying.
"C'mon" He said with a smirk. He led her into the family room. "Dad, this is Naruto Uzumaki."
"Pleased to meet you." The Head of the Nara clan said lazily.
"You too, sir." Naruto said shyly.
"No need to be so formal." He said sighing.
"Let's show Naru-Chan to her new room!" Yoshino exclaimed brightly. Both teens nodded and followed Lady Nara down a hallway. Mrs. Nara led them past two doors, pointing out the kitchen and the bathroom, and then stopped. "On the right is Shika's room, and on the left is yours." She opened the door on the left and then stepped back to let Naruto inspect the room.
Naruto walked in, and took a look around. There was a queen sized bed, the frame made out of a deep mahogany wood, a large dresser, a walk-in closet, a desk and multiple selves. Everything was made out of the same dark wood. The walls were already painted orange, and there was a window with light blue curtains. There was a desk lamp upon the desk, along with an orange and blue note book labeled Naruto. There was dark brown hardwood on the floor, with an orange shag rug in the center.
She looked at Yoshina, confused. "It is for you to write your thoughts and experiences in. You don't have to use it if you don't feel like it." Lady Nara explained.
"It's beautiful, thank you so much." She said with tears in her eyes.
"We should probably go get your stuff now. The others are there packing it all up for you." Shikamaru said.
Naruto grabbed Shika's hand and started pulling him out the door, smiling broadly. "Let's go."
I hope you liked this new addition to If I Die Tonight. Please read, and if you want to review, that would be awesome. Thanks again to Shikamaru'sLove!
:I