This chapter is rewritten
'No. No. No, No, NO, NO, NO! It can't be him, he left the village 4 years ago...but he is the only one that calls me 'Bastard' and gets away with it.'
Natsumi, however, didn't take this insult lightly. She and Sasuke didn't get along, sure, but no one insulted her comrades and got away, regardless of how she felt towards them. She rushed to attack the hooded person but stopped on the spot when she heard a name come from Sasuke's mouth.
"Naruto, is it...is it really you?" The hooded person smirk and put down his hood, revealing his spiky blonde hair, cerulean blue eyes, and whisker marks.
"I'm glad you haven't forgotten me...Sasuke."
Both Natsumi and Sasuke stood in shocked stillness. Sasuke got out of his shock first and his face turned from shocked to serious. Sasuke then started to walk towards Naruto.
"Hehe, sorry about not telling you about me leaving. It's not easy to tell someone about your plans so soon after hearing your parents...well, you know. I hope you understand." Sasuke said nothing until he stood right in front of Naruto and hit him in the head as hard as he could.
"OW! Geez, what was that for?"
"You inept loser! Do you have any idea how worried and heartbroken me, my family, Hinata's family, and our friends' families were when we heard that you left the village?! You pull something like this again, Naruto, I'm going to make sure you regret it!"
Naruto's grin quickly returned. He and his sensei knew it all along. He did have people in the Leaf who missed him dearly.
"Don't worry. I don't plan on leaving my friends again anytime soon."
The mist started to disappear and everyone could see everyone clear as day. Naruto saw his master standing between Kakashi and Zabuza and then he got very shocked looks from Kakashi and Hinata, Hinata more so.
Meanwhile, Natsumi remained immobile, too shocked to do or say anything.
'It's him. There's no mistaking it. Those whisker marks, that blonde hair. It's really him. We finally meet again, brother, after four long years.'
Natsumi had heard of people crying tears of happiness, but she didn't think she could do such a thing until. Before they got out of their shock, Natsumi ran towards Naruto.
"BROTHER!" She cried happily, opening her arms to hug her long lost brother, only to hug nothing but air. Natsumi falling forward shocked everyone, but it paled to the shock they felt when they saw that Naruto now stood in front of Hinata. No one except Ryu, Kakashi, Haku and Zabuza could track his movements.
'What? How can Naruto travel such large distances so fast. That was mid jonin speed, but I didn't sense any chakra in his feet. Naruto...just how strong have you become?' Kakashi thought.
'What just happened?Was that really Naruto or someone else?' Natsumi thought.
'Amazing! How can Naruto be that fast, did he learn some sort of jutsu? No, he can't use chakra so how can he be that fast?' Sasuke thought.
Hinata's breath hitched in her throat. Who would do something so cruel as to place a genjutsu in front of her, just to distract her from her duty? 4 years have passed since she last saw her crush, no, the love of her life. For 4 years, she cried herself to sleep, wondering when she would ever the sunshine of her life again. Now, here he stood, right in front of her. Tears slowly came to her eyes as he gave her one of those foxy grins she had missed so dearly. She dared to reach out her hand and slowly brought it to cup one of those cute whiskered cheeks she adored. "Naruto...it's you...isn't it?"
Naruto slowly brought up an arm and pressed the hand resting on his cheek closer to his face, leaning into it slightly. "It's me, my dear princess."
That did it. She threw her arms around him, hugging him desperately and started to cry.
"Naruto, it's you! It's you, it's you, it's really you! I'm so...so...oh, Naruto…"
Naruto wrapped his hands around her and gently stroked her hair.
"Shhh, I'm here now, love. I'm so sorry I left you in the village. I promise you, Hinata, I will never leave you again. I'm here to stay, and I'm here to stay with you, my dear." With every soft and sweet word entering her ear, Hinata tightened the embrace, terrified to let him go.
Meanwhile, when Sakura heard Naruto's name for the first time as a child, she never thought that she would ever see him, but then she remembered what her mother told her. She called Naruto a disgrace, a waste of space, a demon. She stared at him with hatred but it floored her to see that Hinata, the ice queen of her class, showed actual emotion for the first time after their days in the academy, and to none other than the demon!
Kiba never thought he'd ever see Hinata cry. She even had her arms around someone who he had never even seen in the village. That infuriated the feral genin.
'I'll show this blonde bastard who the alpha male is. I'm gonna rip him apart in such a fashion, Hinata won't be able to look at any other man but me, thus making her mine forever.' He thought to himself, licking his lips at the prospect.
Shino, now conscious, held his stomach while looking at Naruto. Like the others, shock gripped him when he first saw the blond, then a smile hatched on his face. For the first time in four years, his first friend stood in front of him, safe and sound.
Tazuna had no clue of the happenings in front of him, but since those guys saved his life, they couldn't possibly have any loyalty to Gato so that made him happy.
Speaking of Gato...the sound of clapping aired arrogantly through the air as they turned to a pudgy old man with a cane.
"'The Demon of the Hidden Mist?' Pathetic! You look more like a baby demon, Zabuza. Look at yourself, how could you let yourself get beaten by a bunch of children and babysitters. Though, if you actually had gotten rid of them, I never would've paid you anyway. You can die, Zabuza, as you are now obsolete. Men, kill them all, but leave the girls. I've especially got my eye on that lavender haired girl. Oh, what I could do with that pearlescent skin…"
As he spoke, Naruto grew more and more angry, but then this asshole just had to speak about Hinata, his princess, in such a way. He took one step in Gato's direction and filled his vision with color with one powerful blow to the face, sending him flying unconsciously to a wall in the distance.
"You don't dare lay a finger on my princess…or else you die!"
The thugs nearly soiled themselves as they didn't see the attack until Gato flew past them. The speed and power he just displayed easily trumped what they believed Zabuza could do.
"Calm down, you dumbasses! It's just one kid against all of us! Let's make this brat cry to mommy!" With that, they started their assault at Naruto. When Kakashi, Sasuke and Natsumi saw this, they dashed towards Naruto to save him, but before anyone could move, Ryu stood between the Hidden Leaf ninja and the boy they wanted to save.
'He's just as fast, or maybe even faster, as/than Naruto.' Kakashi screamed.
"Look mister, you need to move, my brother needs my help!" Natsumi screamed.
"He is more than capable to defeat these guys. Just leave it to him." Ryu spoke seriously.
"He's my brother! He needs my help, and I'm going to help, even if I have to go through you do it!" She moved towards Naruto but Ryu just use his kiai and all the Hidden Leaf genin dropped to their knees, gaping.
'H-he damaged us without even touching us? Is this guy is even human?' Kakashi wondered
'What the heck did he just do?' Sasuke thought. Natsumi couldn't think because of the terrified shock she felt from Ryu's increase of focus on the kiai he used on Natsumi.
"I will not repeat myself, he don't need your help so don't interrupt him, and do not even think to use your sharingan, it is useless against me." Ryu said. Kakashi just stopped for the umpteenth time today.
'How the hell did he know what I was going to do?' Still, he looked towards Ryu with his sharingan eye. He couldn't believe that the man before him didn't have a single drop of chakra, yet possessed such an enormous amount of power. Kakashi came out of his thoughts when he heard a loud scream. All of the ninja looked towards the origin of the scream.
Again, they stood in shock at the sight of the unconscious and broken bodies of the thugs and Naruto held one thug by the collar and he punched that thug in the gut, making him spit up some blood and then fall unconscious.
'In that entire fight...no, it wasn't even a fight, he crushed them all like ants; he didn't even get a single scratch nor a single drop of blood was spilt on his clothes. What the hell happened to you in these past 4 years, Naruto?'
"I told you he didn't need your help." Ryu said and started to walk towards Tazuna, leaving several shocked genin from the Hidden Leaf. Then Naruto came in front of Zabuza and threw Gato in front of him
"I think you have some business with him, so I would suggest that you should do it soon, because as soon as you're done, the villagers will have their pound of flesh from him." Gato lay on the ground as he saw his empire falling apart before his eyes. He had to do something in order to save himself. Zabuza lifted Gato by his collar and snarled.
"You know, Gato, you're lower than the dirt beneath our feet. Did you really think your merry band of ragtag mercenaries could kill someone like me?!" Gato clutched at his collar and turned to Ryu.
"P-please...save me...I can and will give you anything you want...money...power...women...just name it, but please...save my life...and kill them." He begged quiveringly.
Everyone tensed up. This man who knocked than several genin without touching them could do a lot more than just scare them if he agreed with the deal. He stopped Kakashi and Zabuza's attacks with nothing but his bare hands, too.
'If the man accepts Gato's request, it will be very difficult to defeat him. He's no ordinary man, that's for sure.' Kakashi thought. Ryu chuckled which got him confused looks from everyone except from Naruto who just shook his head at Gato's plea.
'This 'Gato' creep is done for.' Naruto sighed mentally.
"There is nothing you can give me that I don't already have or desire, so I can't help you. Also...I don't take orders from anyone, especially from overfed, arrogant slimeballs like you."
Gato paled because his trick didn't work. The ruined man stood ready to curse them all to the lowest regions of hell, but before he could speak, a kunai went into his neck, killing him instantly, and then Zabuza hurled his body into the river and turned his attention towards Ryu and Naruto.
"I'd like to thank the both of you. Thanks to you, I can go and help rebellions in the Village Hidden in the Mist. If you need help from either or both of us, just let us know, we'd be happy to help."
The four exchanged bows, then Zabuza and Haku departed, using water and ice shunshin. That left seven Hidden Leaf ninja, Tazuna and our two martial artists standing on the bridge. Naruto then turned to his three friends.
"Hinata, Shino, Bastard, you all look well."
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO CALL MY SASUKE A BASTARD?! YOU NO GOOD D-" Sakura screeched, only for her rant to come to a merciful end by Hinata with a swift chop to the neck.
"Still having trouble with fangirls, I see." Naruto chuckled. Sasuke just ignored that remark. "Hey Shino, how have you been? Taking care of the beetles?" Shino nodded coolly, but anyone could tell by the energetic buzzing in Shino's system that the sight of his first friend made him very happy. Naruto turned towards Hinata. Before Naruto could ask Hinata about life without him for her, which he could presume didn't go so well, someone else spoke up. Someone he didn't want to see or hear, at least for now. Kushina Uzumaki appeared with her team of ANBU. She stared at him with tears in her eyes and he stared back at her with a blank expression.
"N-Naruto, I-is t-that you?"
"Yes, I am Naruto. Umm, I don't think we've met, who are you?"
Kushina stood in shock and hurt of the fact that her son did not recognize her but still spoke.
"Son, it's me. It's Mommy." Naruto just looked at her blankly.
"Sorry, Miss, but I have no parents. I'm an orphan." This shocked everyone present, saved for an unconscious Sakura, and Ryu who only sighed.
As if nothing else could further Kushina from the inside. She fell to her knees and wept. Natsumi went to her side to comfort her. She then turned to Naruto, remorse in her eyes.
"Brother, I know we have more than wronged you throughout your life, and I'm sorry we didn't realize how important you were to us until four years ago, but we want to make it up to you."
"What you're saying is going above and beyond my head. I must not have been clear so let me reiterate. I am an orphan, or is the better word 'worthless' or 'dead weight?' Yeah, dead weight seems right. I was nothing but dead weight to my family so they abandoned me. Well, this man in the cloak is more than just my teacher. For the past 4 years, he's been and is my family. The only family that I have. The family I never had. Do you understand?"
That got another set of shocked looks from them, especially from Kushina. When she heard him call himself "deadweight," she nearly shattered from the inside. She immediately thought back to what Minato had told him when he asked why he couldn't train with them.
"You're worthless, Naruto."
She cursed herself for not going to comfort her son, for failing him in his time of need.
"Naruto, I won't say that I understand how you feel, because I don't. I know that you're angry. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you might hate them, but at least just listen to them. You must understand; they wanted to be sure that the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox would be put to proper use, lest it corrupt the user."
Ryu put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Naruto, what I have told you? Emotions don't make you weak, they make you human. Just let it out." Naruto nodded his master like he would an older brother and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they saw only one emotion in his eyes.
Anger.
He calmed himself and turned to Kakashi with a more composed look on his face.
"Kakashi, I know that Natsumi needed to control her power or it would have caused big problems for the village, but tell me, is that any reason to ignore your other child? Also Natsumi, at some point in time, contributed to my lonely childhood, but it wasn't anything meaningful, it was nothing but childish innocence. I am not angry with her, nor do I blame, nor do I hate her. As for hating my former parents..." He started, pointing a finger Kushina and indirectly including Minato. "I don't have the strength to hate them. I can only be disappointed. Kakashi, you told me to listen to them, to look at things from their point of view. Why should I listen to them? They never heard me cry. They never felt my pain. They never showed me a single ounce of compassion. I don't have the strength to hate them, Kakashi. They deserve nothing from me, least of all my hate!"
This statement shocked them more than anything they had seen since Naruto arrived. Kushina always feared that her son wouldn't forgive her, but to think he wouldn't even consider them his family anymore…!
Ryu already knew everything that Naruto had just said. 4 years of living together certainly went a long way towards building trust. When Naruto went into detail about his miserable life in the Leaf, he immediately went after several mountains and trees in anger.
"Because of them, I had no one when I was growing up. When Natsumi wanted anything, she always got it, but when I wanted even the smallest thing, I was ignored like, treated as if I were invisible. They always made time for her, no matter what. I never got so much as a minute with them."
The leaf ANBU standing behind Kushina lowered their heads. Itachi and Shisui cared an awful lot about Naruto. When he had left the village, the whole Uchiha clan spent days, weeks, and even months searching for him, coming up empty every time. They severed their friendship with the family of the Fourth Hokage as they had practically shoved Naruto out the gates. Knowing that he had suffered so much before Itachi met him made them wish they had known him sooner so they would have protected him earlier and much more often.
"They always made time for her, but when I wanted to spend my time with them, they were always busy and shoved me aside, like some dog on the streets! When Natsumi got so little as a paper cut, they always got the absolute best treatment for her. When I almost died countless times at the hands of the same villagers I'm supposed to feel safe around-in fact, let me tell you this, Kakashi. When I was a child, they did everything they could to kill me because they believed that I was the living reincarnation of the damned Nine-Tailed Fox!"
Tazuna may not have known Naruto very long, but for a child to have go through so much neglect from his family and abuse from his people...just what sort of morals did the Hidden Leaf Village have that made it okay for them to treat their young like this?
Kakashi stared at the ground in sadness. Everyone had told him how badly his sensei had failed Naruto as a father. He didn't want to believe it at first, but everything Naruto just said validated everything the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, the clans who cared about Naruto more than anyone else, told him about the estranged child.
Kiba looked like he could care less, but deep down, he suddenly felt angry for the blonde newcomer. Treating runts like garbage didn't sit well with the Inuzuka clan. A pack takes care of their own, and for Kushina, Minato, and Natsumi not to care for and love Naruto like they should have, it made Kiba shocked and appalled.
"They didn't so much as step one foot towards the hospital. I didn't think I'd ever despise myself for existing. If it I didn't have Shino, Sasuke my favorite bastard, and Hinata my princess to live for, those villagers would've gotten their wish right there and then. Think about it; if you almost died and your family never noticed you, what would you have done, Kakashi?"
Nothing but the softly blowing wind filled the air after Naruto finished. Sakura, bless her heart, still lay unconscious from her screeching.
Shino had his head down, but he clenched his fists. The hive in his body buzzed angrily after hearing what his friend has gone through for so long. He felt a renewed sense of hatred towards the Namikaze family for deserting their son in his time of need. His hive stopped buzzing so urgently when Naruto said that without him, he would've killed himself, which made him scared and happy.
Sasuke ground his teeth and dug his nails so far into his palms, they drew blood. His hatred towards the Namikaze family for what they put his best friend, his beloved loser, through only increased as he got older. When he found out that Naruto left the village, he grew reserved and the pleasant Sasuke Uchiha side only came out around his family and his friends. Outside, however, he would brood and train to bring Naruto back to the Leaf. He knew his friend had a miserable childhood, but for them to neglect him that much…!
Hinata's tears fell freely down her face as she heard how much the love of her life had suffered. Before Naruto left, she couldn't look anyone in the eye and she would speak so soft, almost no one could hear her. When she met Naruto, she slowly and slowly came out her shell, even though she hadn't grown as strong as the clan would've liked her. Then when Naruto left, she trapped her emotions in a block of ice and the gentle and loving Hinata Hyuuga vanished. The strong, formidable, ice cold Hyuuga heiress took her place, something the elders liked very much. No one ever believed Hinata would ever show such emotion again, so imagine how strange it looked for Hinata to cry in broad daylight. Well, seeing the one you love appear in front of you after 4 years of nothing tends to do that to you.
Natsumi hung her head in shame. She knew that she had a hand in the events that made Naruto leave the village, but her heart soared with happiness after learning that he didn't hate her, despite everything. Kushina and Natsumi both kept their eyes on the ground. It hurt so badly to hear a once vibrant young boy say such scathing things to them, but they needed to hear this. They needed to know how badly they failed Naruto as a family.
"My son, I'm so sorry. I never knew that you had to go through such horrid things. If you could've told me of these things at least once…."
"Let me stop you right there. Do you remember what happened every single time I tried to approach you for anything? Think about it." Naruto spoke, his voice cold as ice. Kushina thought back to the few memories she had of Naruto. Whenever he wanted to speak about the beatings he got from the villagers…
She always hit him and locked him in his room without food for days.
How could she have hit him without knowing why he came to her? What drove her to lock him in his room like some prisoner? How can she possibly call herself a mother, let alone a good one?
"All I wanted was my mother and father's love. Instead, I only got beaten for no reason. No, I'm wrong. I did get beaten for a reason. I always got beat because unlike me, Natsumi has chakra could be used to defend the village."
Kushina reeled in shock. How could her son think that he suffered because of his lack of chakra?
"Kakashi, as you know, both of my former parents were orphans, but because of their hard work, they rose through the ranks of ninja. They became my heroes and I wanted to be just like them, chakra or no chakra, because I thought they were true shinobi, not just some power-hungry ninja. I was wrong then, too. They're just the same as power-hungry ninja. They were orphans because they lost their family, but even though I had a family, I had to live like an orphan because I didn't have power. I would always ask myself...Do I have right to exist? Does anyone love me? Does anyone care if I live or die? There is a saying that 'To love without condition, to talk without bad intention, to give without reason, and to care about without expectation is the heart of a true mother.'" Naruto spoke with a sad, almost quivering tone, yet despite all this, he controlled his emotion. He never raised his voice once, every word that came out of his mouth had truth behind it.
Kushina's world practically crumbled. Her son actually thought that she and Minato would do anything for power? Did they set Naruto so far aside from them that he started to doubt his own existence?!
"Before I met Hinata for the first time, I was going to kill myself."
That very statement shocked everyone, Hinata then grabbed Naruto desperately.
"What did you say?! What were you thinking?! You were going to kill yourself?! Do you have any idea what it would do to me if you did?" Hinata said, tears still running down her cheek. Naruto embraced her, missing her scent of lavender for 4 whole years.
"Like I said, I was going to kill myself before I met you. You gave me a reason to live, Hinata."
This statement made Hinata's heart warm up in happiness. Not only has her love returned to her, but he remained alive because of her.
"I'll tell you why I wanted to die later." Everyone nodded at that, save for Kushina, whose hands gripped her long red hair. Why would her son even think about killing himself? Is it because of their neglect or something else? Still, she could not deny that she had ruined her son's life, but thanks to Hinata, he had a reason to live. Kushina cursed her own name, thinking that she couldn't even call herself a human. Maybe calling herself a demon would fit her for what she did to her son.
"Naruto, you don't ever have to want to kill yourself again. There are a lot of people who really care for you. I'll never leave you to suffer again...because...I love you, Naruto. I love you so much."
"And I love you, Hinata my dear princess. I have three reasons for being here. Shino's here, Sasuke the lovable bastard is here, and also, you're here. I do not care about anyone in this world except you, my master Ryu, also my other teachers from the Leaf and my friends." Naruto finished with a grin. Hinata went red as a tomato. "When we took care of those thugs of Mr. Tazuna's house, we heard about you, your team and Sasuke's team fighting on the bridge. Out of three of you, I wanted to see you again the most."
"Where the hell were you all this time, loser?" Sasuke asked
"Well, I spent all this time training with master Ryu and some of my other masters. I can't tell you exactly where I was, bastard, but I will say that I couldn't reach any of you from there."
"Then there's one more thing I want to know. Are you coming back with us to the Hidden Leaf Village?"
Naruto just stared at Sasuke while considering his answer.
"DAMMIT, JUST SPEAK IT UP ALREADY, LOSER!"
"Hey, you don't have to yell, bastard. I'm sorry, but...I can't go back to the Hidden Leaf Village."
"WHAT?!" Everyone practically screamed.
"Naruto, I know you are angry at your parents, but everyone really wants you back so please come back to the village with us." Kakashi pleaded.
"Look Kakashi, I know there are a few people back there who really care about me." He looked towards Hinata, Sasuke, and Shino "I know it will hurt them that after all these years, they have finally found me only for me to not go back with them...but with the exception of my friends, the entire village caused me nothing but pain. They tortured me, almost killed me, just because of these whisker marks. Thanks to some people, I am still alive but the most important thing is that the people, who once I considered as my family, forgot about my existence. How can you ask me to go in such place where I am not needed?"
"Naruto, I know that you were wronged and that's why we want to make it up to you. I am really sorry for what we've done." Kushina sobbed.
"This is why I don't want to go back to the Hidden Leaf." Naruto sighed.
"W-what do you mean?" Kushina asked, shocked.
"You want me back now because of your grief, not because you love me…"
"No, we really do love you, my son."
"What you think is love, I see as pity. That's the last thing I need." Naruto said, a little annoyed from Kushina's interruption.
"Naruto, you're getting it wrong."
"Actually, Kakashi, I'm not. Tell me, when exactly did you find out I was missing?"
"…A week after your birthday?"
"And how, pray tell, did you find out?" Naruto asked.
"I pointed out that you were missing..." spoke Natsumi, slowly realizing Naruto's point.
"Do you understand now? Do you see why I don't want to go back. I will thank you, Natsumi. At least you remembered that you had a brother. Still, if Natsumi hadn't pointed that out, I think they never would have realized that I was gone."
Kushin clutched her chest, horrified that she had wronged him to this extent.
'Is this really true? If Natsumi didn't point it out, would we have never realized that Naruto was missing? Is grief, not love, really the main reason why we wantNarutoback in our lives?'
"Look, Kakashi. I don't hate my former parents, or my sister, but I no longer care what happens to them anymore. Once, they were a big part of my life, but now they are nothing but a bad memory and that's how I want it to be; a memory. Nothing more and nothing less.
Hinata cupped Naruto's face and looked into his calm blue eyes.
"Naruto, I can't begin to understand how painful it would be for you if you were to come back to the Hidden Leaf Village. The villagers treated you like trash, but there are still people who really care for you and they want you back."
'I want you back, Naruto. I want you to be back in my life again.'
"Please come back with us, Naruto." Naruto looked to a different side, but she forced to him to look in her eyes. It almost made him laugh. "Naruto, please...for me?" Naruto's cold eyes softened and he just shook his head.
"Hinata, this kind of decision requires time. I need to think about it"
Hinata nodded, satisfied somewhat.
"Ok then, let's go back to Mr. Tazuna's home for some rest." Naruto looked at Ryu who just nodded at him. Naruto sighed and nodded, earning sighs of joyful relief. When they started to leave, Kakashi went up to Ryu
"Ah...Mr. Ryu, I would like to have a chat with you. Would you please stay here?" When Naruto heard this, he stopped and looked at his master. Ryu smiled and made a shooing motion with his hand.
"So, Mr. Ryu, can we know where you found Naruto?"
Naruto started to walk towards Tazuna's home with Tazuna leading. Sasuke and Shino stood by Naruto's sides. Sakura, now awake, followed Sasuke like a puppy. Speaking of which, Kiba, who bore his fangs in anger took up the rear with Kushina and Natsumi, who stared daggers at Hinata for occupying their son/brother and finally Hinata walked with Naruto, grabbing his arm and staunchly refusing to let go. Naruto smiled and wrapped the arm around Hinata protectively.
"I missed you…" Hinata sighed.
"I missed you too, dear." Naruto replied.
And cut,
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Special thanks to MODdenial,
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