6

Not an hour after running away from the shop and Sasuke, Naruto sat atop Hokage monument, having taken the clothes Sasuke had handed him back to his house and throwing them at his bed, not particularly caring whether they fell on the floor or not in his upset state. He now watched the afternoon bustle of Konoha, forcing himself to calm down and think about what had happened.

I shouldn't have run from Sasuke. He thought.

You were upset. It's understandable, given the circumstances. But, you know he'll want to know why once his Uchiha ego kicks in.

Naruto scoffed and then choked on a short laugh, imagining the old Sasuke, knowing exactly how he would have reacted had he been left like that. That hypocritical bastard would have raised hell had I done what he did to me, yet he complained when I tried to bring him back.

He felt more than saw Kyuu's grin. I would imagine that this Sasuke is of the same mindset, especially after he referred to you as a friend in public. He'll feel foolish.

I know. That and he stood up for me. I wonder why this Sasuke was so easy to befriend. It took years for him to acknowledge it before.

Perhaps he had a bad day and a different approach softened him up. The whole 'I'm gonna be Hokage' thing didn't go over so well with him last time when you all introduced yourselves to Kakashi. It just made him think you were even more of a dunce. This time around, your goals seem quite a bit more similar to his.

When we were kids, I couldn't ever imagine the Great Sasuke having an off day. I finally realized he was like me, lonely; he'd just taken a different approach to hide his pain. Naruto sighed deeply and shook his head.

What is it? Kyuu asked when she felt more than saw a grim look surface on his face

"What am I gonna tell him? About why I ran off?" he said aloud.

"How about the truth?" Naruto's head whipped around. He relaxed when he saw who had addressed him, but waited until the third hokage sat on the edge of the monument next to him to return his gaze to the village.

xXx

Sarutobi decided to explain his presence.

"I'm assuming you were talking about Sasuke Uchiha. The boy came by my office asking if you'd been by. He told me you'd run off after he explained what the shop owner did. I assure you, I'll have a talk with him."

"As much as he needs it, please don't. He'll only get angrier. Probably do something stupid." Sarutobi nodded in understanding. The two of them sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.

"Why did you run?"

Naruto straightened. He stared blankly at Konoha, vaguely in the direction of Tobi's shop. "I…I can't tell you."

Sarutobi studied the boy next to him, seeing Naruto's jaw clench.

"You're protecting him." He stated. Naruto whipped his head around to stare Sarutobi in the eye. The old man flinched at the hard, yet vulnerable look.

"I would never protect someone like him! But…it's more like I'm protecting myself. You're the Hokage. I'm a hated part of the village. If I tell you why I ran, you'll be obligated to do something about it. Not only because of your position but because you care about me. If you do, how do you think others in the village will retaliate?"

Sarutobi nodded slowly in understanding, but he looked at Naruto with sad eyes, knowing he couldn't do anything about the boy's abuse without a confession from him.

"If I knew whether he does the same thing to anyone else, I would have told you immediately, but as far as I know, I'm the only one."

"Tell me, theoretically. What does he do?" Sarutobi nearly plead. For years he had suspected, but that had been the only thing he could do. Just as Naruto said, he was obligated to lead the village. He couldn't favor just one person. He could only do something if Naruto told him about his abuse. And it seemed that the man-turned-boy was still very much in the mind-set of his childhood years. He'd forgotten he could protect himself. But, as much as he wished to, he also knew that Naruto needed to get past this himself.

He watched as Naruto rolled the thought over in his head. The blond was scared but Sarutobi wanted to hear his suspicions confirmed from Naruto's mouth, even if he could do nothing with the words.

xXx

Kyuu seemed to understand Sarutobi's meaning in asking about Naruto's treatment in that manner. She spoke gently to Naruto.

Tell him. He cares for you. He was worried, if the fact that he came looking for you counts for anything. He'll respect your wishes.

"I…" Naruto sounded lost.

He'd kept the secrets of his past for years, if not the majority of two decades. He'd hidden it in the back of his mind, covering it up with a fragile mask. When Naruto had come back at the event of Sasuke's death, he'd finally forced himself to break the mask off, forgetting what it hid from his own mind. With the additional pain of witnessing Sasuke's death and then the shock of seeing him alive again not a day later, Naruto's emotions were a confusing tumult. He needed to speak to someone other than Kyuu, who already knew what he was going through.

Tell him. She urged gently. He won't judge you.

Naruto quietly began his story.

"There…there was a boy in this village, who, anytime he walked outside after dusk, had to start running anytime he passed an alleyway. The only reason he didn't just stay inside after dark was because the academy's classes didn't end until it was almost nighttime. He was afraid because, ever since he'd been really young, he'd been attacked. The first time it happened, he was six and had just started school. He knew enough by then that nobody in the village besides his gramps," Sarutobi's eyes hardened at hearing the familiar nickname. "would do anything to help him, but gramps wasn't in the village; he was gone on a mission. So, the boy went back to his empty apartment to nurse his wounds. He was out of school for a week. No one checked on him.

"From then on, the boy was commonly pulled into alleyways or abandoned houses by masked adults, unable to see anything but their eyes. The adults got smarter and smarter, only hitting or cutting him where his clothes would cover the wounds. By the time he was eight, there were probably at least fifty different people who beat him on a regular basis. They called him demon and monster. Told him he was a mistake and should never have been born. There was one particular villager, a man who treated him like he was less than dirt. The man beat him worse than anyone else did, more frequently, too."

Naruto had gotten quieter and quieter throughout the story, an almost deadly calm descending on him. Sarutobi noticed that there was a glimmer of hatred in the blond's eyes. He was amazed that that Naruto hadn't killed the shop owner yet, for Sarutobi was sure that was the man Naruto was talking about. Naruto continued after a short pause for breath; he was getting lost in his own story.

"By the time the boy turned ten, the man didn't just beat him or cut him anymore. He raped him. He made the boy beg and cry with his eyes because he'd stuffed the boy's mouth with dirty rags. He enjoyed tormenting him. He made the boy look into his eyes as he fucked him, and made the boy clean him up afterwards with his mouth. Then the man beat him worse for touching him, saying that he didn't deserve to touch him, even though the boy was beaten even worse if he refused to touch him.

"The boy tried many different routes to avoid his abusers, but, even though it worked for some of the people, the man always found him. The man raped him at least twice a month, making sure he could still walk, and did it even more as he got older as the man figured that, because he'd gotten away with it so far, he couldn't be caught. When the boy became a ninja, he was able to avoid the man the majority of the time, but then, the man found out it was easier to catch him right before he got into his apartment. Of course, the man was still careful never to do anything before it got dark."

Sarutobi realized that Naruto was now talking about himself in the future, since he'd only now been a ninja for two days. He was horrified that he'd never even noticed it had gone that far. He resolved to find a way to take this man out of Naruto's life.

"The man's attacks on him grew more frequent until the boy was sixteen, although they'd stopped for a while when he left the village for a few years, when they suddenly stopped altogether, when most of the villagers grudgingly recognized him as a hero for saving the village. The boy kept turning around, running past alleyways, until he realized that there wouldn't be any more attacks. Then… one day, the boy walked into a clothes shop with a friend."

Sarutobi sucked in a breath, knowing Naruto was now speaking of the present day, and of why he'd run.

"He saw the odd colored eyes, the same eyes of his attacker, in the face of the owner of the shop. He froze up and ran the second his friend got him away from the man. The boy's friend didn't understand why the boy was so frightened, and was going to ask, but the boy disappeared before he could…"

Naruto left off there, not knowing how to end his story, as it was still ongoing. He dared a quick glance at Sarutobi, not wanting to see pity, but seeing it anyway, along with generous helpings of sadness and anger. When the man spoke to him, turning to meet the blond's eyes, Naruto could see the sun glitter off the sheen of unshed tears.

"If he, or anyone else, touches you again, don't expect me not to do anything." Sarutobi let out a shaky breath. "I'm so sorry, Naruto"

The blond nodded slowly. "It's not your fault. The majority happened while you were away and after you were gone. You couldn't have done anything, and I don't plan on letting it happen a second time. This time around, I know how to get away without having to retaliate.

"But-!" Sarutobi began. He could tell that Naruto was only speaking with bluster, not realizing that he wouldn't be able to do as he was saying if he was still afraid of the man.

"I know! Stop dwelling on it." Naruto interrupted him. "It's already done and over, and it won't happen again. He will die before he lays a hand on me again."

How will you kill him if you go into a panic every time you meet his eyes, Kit? Kyuu said sadly. Naruto ignored her.

Sarutobi sighed, seeing that Naruto wanted no help. "What are you going to tell the Uchiha?"

Naruto, sensing that he was trying to change the subject, smiled gratefully. "I don't know. But I won't lie."

The old man nodded, deciding not to ask why Sasuke seemed so important to him. He settled on another question. "How did you become a hero?" He asked, referring to Naruto's story.

A sad look passed over Naruto's face. "One of my sensei's- and, no, it's not Kakashi- past students attacked Konoha looking for me. He had destroyed nearly the entire village by the time I got there. We fought and I won, but, before he died, he used the last of his chakra to bring back everybody he'd killed."

"Why-? A look of understanding passed in the Hokage's eyes. "You know, don't you? About the Kyuubi, I mean. That's why that man attacked the village, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Naruto had planned to tell him that he knew about Kyuu later, but by the way the conversation had gone, it would have been hard for Sarutobi not to realize it.

Naruto looked to the sun, seeing that it was nearly five in the afternoon. He stood unsteadily, before gaining back his balance a moment later; he still wasn't used to the legs of a child, even if they were his legs.

"I've gotta go, Gramps." Naruto stuck out a hand to help the man next to him up. Sarutobi took the proffered hand and, once he was up, used the grip the pull the blond into firm hug

"I'm here for you, if you ever need it. Just talk to me." He said. Naruto nodded and pulled away. Once out of the old man's grasp, he grinned.

"Why don't you come and watch our test with Kakashi-sensei? It's sure to be interesting."

"I might just do that. Now go home and be careful. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sarutobi disappeared in a poof of smoke, grinning like a devil. Naruto shook his head at the old man's theatrics, then started walking down the long stairs carved along the hokage monument, thinking of just how much training he'd have to do to get his chakra and body back up to par.

xXx

Sasuke watched as the hokage and Naruto parted, settling back on his haunches in the thick brush not four hundred feet away from where they'd been sitting. He hadn't been close enough to hear some of the conversation, but when Naruto had been telling his story, he'd channeled his chakra into his ears-something his brother had taught him when he was very young- so he could hear better. He couldn't keep up the trick for long lengths of time, but he had heard parts of what Naruto said, notably the part where Naruto had voiced that he would tell the truth if Sasuke questioned him.

And he would question him.

Naruto was the first friend he'd made since…after he'd sworn revenge on Itachi. He'd be damned if he'd lose him. Anyone who'd approached him before seemed only to want to ask after the events of the night of the Uchiha Massacre. Either that, or they were girls, and sometimes the occasional boy, who drooled after him and his family name, asking him to go out with them. Sasuke had only really spoken to Naruto for the first time today. Sure, he'd seen the boy act like a dunce and sure, he'd said things in passing, but he'd never really interacted with him. The strange thing, getting back to the point, was that Naruto didn't seem to care about the name or his looks or the Massacre. He spoke to Sasuke because of Sasuke.

To keep a friendship, Sasuke thought, there had to be minimal secrecy between anyone involved. Now, while Sasuke seemed like he ignored everything around him, he was very perceptive. The parts he'd heard of Naruto's story, there had been quite a few things that caught his attention, first and foremost being that the story was obviously about the blond himself. Naruto had been raped. By Tobi. The thought disgusted him. He itched to kill the shop owner nearly as much as he wanted to stab Itachi with a kunai at least once, nice and deep. Another thing: the way Naruto had worded some things. He caught the words "The majority happened after you were gone" from his hiding place at one point. Sasuke figured Naruto could have been talking about the Hokage's occasional absences for missions and such, but he'd said it so sadly. As if the old man had been dead. And, at the end of his story, what was that bit about saving the village?

Yes. He'd most certainly be questioning Naruto. Preferably as soon as possible. Like tomorrow.

He could understand now why he'd run from Tobi's shop, and why he'd looked so upset when Tobi had approached him. Sasuke also realized in that moment that he'd possibly done a very terrible thing in threatening Tobi to get him to sell the clothes to Naruto. If Tobi was as bad as Naruto suggested…

Perhaps it would be a good thing to go question Naruto now.

Sasuke backed out from under the brush and hurriedly followed Naruto's path back down the monument.

xXx

Naruto whistled softly to himself. Altogether, disregarding the run-in with his former (although the word should be 'present' now that he was in this time again) tormenter, the day had gone very well and had passed far faster than he thought it should have. He'd seen Sasuke again, alive and well. He'd gone shopping with him. Naruto chuckled to himself. He'd also learned a few things as well. Things that he hadn't realized the first time around. He'd have to start a journal, to compare and see how the differences started to add up.

One, Sakura was supremely irritating at this age.

Two, Sasuke really did have emotions as a child. Naruto just hadn't seen them.

Three, It was fun to hang around with Sasuke. And:

Four, He liked not hiding behind a mask most of the time.

The list went on, filled with dozens of minor things and Naruto had also found, from having the panic attack earlier in the day, that he was really emotionally unstable at the moment, and he could count out all the causes, good and bad. He listed them mentally, figuring the worst thing to do was hide the events at the back of his mind. Attempting to do that was what had caused this mess. This list was fairly long as well.

One, Sasuke had died in front of him.

Two, he'd killed Madara bare-handed, a fist through the chest, which, even if you were a ninja, was a brutal thing to see and do.

Three, after trying to seal his emotions away, he'd woken to one of his most treasured and hated memories; Seeing Iruka kneeling above him with a shuriken in his back.

Four, he'd gotten revenge against Mizuki, again.

Five, the sight of his grandfather figure alive again and seeing Sasuke again.

Six, hell, He'd sent himself back in time!

Naruto figured he had rather good reason to be mentally unstable at the moment, but it was bad timing to be crazy. The way Sasuke had handled Tobi, would make sure the man came after him. Sasuke hadn't meant for it to go down like that, but then, he hadn't known the whole story, had he? Naruto couldn't afford to freeze up or have a panic attack. Tobi wasn't likely to come over and 'hug him till it's over'.

And his physical abilities! He could walk straight, but run? Impossible. The fight with Mizuki had been a fluke. Maybe he'd been too hyped up on adrenaline to pay his body any attention, but he'd have to spend another fortnight getting used to the body before he could even begin any real sparring or training. He wouldn't be able to escape, let alone defend himself from harm!

The only saving grace at this particular moment was that the sun was still up. If there was one constant to Tobi's beatings and…rapes, it was that he never attacked him until it was dark. The man had always said something, that only the moon could ever be their witness, that the sun only ever ruined the fun. Naruto had always had the idea that the man had been a little… out there.

Not that that really helped. If anything, the man's paranoia against getting caught in the act, even of giving a threat against Naruto, had kept the man away from any trouble. As if the village would arrest him anyway. There were laws preventing ninja from harming villagers, and he'd been told multiple times, by his attackers, that the punishment for it was banishment. He couldn't protect himself at all. That's what he'd learned. Who wouldn't want the demon carrier to suffer for everything the demon forced upon him ever did?

Kyuu soothed his quickly rising anger. I'm sorry, Kit. I wish- Kit! Run!

Naruto was suddenly jerked roughly into an alleyway, having forgotten to watch the dark openings in his newfound security in the low-hanging sun. He was pulled back several feet before it even registered in his mind that he was in danger. He started kicking and even let out a hoarse yell, his voice breaking under the sudden panic, but in his childish body he couldn't do a thing. He was forcefully wrenched around and pushed against the stone wall that made up one side of the alleyway. He saw with despair that this was one of the places that Tobi had always pulled him to. The houses on either side of the walls of the alley had been abandoned for years, and the dilapidated houses around it were empty as well. This was the poorer side of the village

Pulling him out of his observation was the cold, heavy edge of a long knife. Immediately ceasing all struggles at the implied meaning of the appearance of the weapon, Naruto barely held in a whimper. Looking up into the face of his attacker, he saw that, for once, Tobi had decided to forgo the usual mask. He wore a lewd grin, but his eyes told Naruto exactly what was going to happen to him. And that he couldn't do a thing about it.

"Hello, little demon. I don't believe you said goodbye to me earlier today."