Hi all. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added me to their faves and alert lists. I really appreciate it. Now on with the next chapter.
To my anonymous reviewer, nami, thanks loads for reviewing. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one.
To my anonymous reviewer, jukori, the movie this probably reminds you of is "Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" because that is what inspired me to write this. Although it is similar there will be major differences. (nods) Thanks loads for reviewing. I am glad you like my writing style and I hope you enjoy this chapter too.
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The Boy In The Orange Jumpsuit.
Chapter Seven – An Advocate's Feast.
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As soon as Naruto, Sakura and Kushina were sat in the back of the truck, Mizuki glared at them.
"You three have jobs to do at the General's house. If you don't behave then you won't be seeing your family again." Mizuki hissed. Kushina held on to the children even tighter then. She prayed silently for the safety of her family.
xXxXxXx SASUKE xXxXxXx
Sasuke and Itachi arrived back at the house to see their Uncle and cousin outside.
"Uncle Madara! Obito-Kun!" Sasuke yelled happily. He ran over to them, and Madara lifted his young nephew up and swung him around, before passing the boy to Obito. Obito ruffled his hair and set him down on his feet. Sasuke grinned widely.
"So have you been having fun here Sasuke?" Obito asked.
"Not really. It's so boring living here and I don't really have many friends like I did back home." Sasuke replied. He didn't want to tell his Uncle about his new friend, who was a believer in the Will of Fire.
"So I hear that you want to be a soldier in the great army of Orochimaru-Sama. Huh Itachi?" Madara asked. Sasuke could detect the hint of sarcasm in his uncle's voice. Itachi pouted and looked at the ground.
"I'm not sure yet. Being a soldier means taking lives away from other soldiers. I'm not sure if I'm prepared to do something like that." Itachi replied. Madara clapped the boy on the back and grinned.
"Good boy! Taking a life isn't a joke to be laughed off. It's good that you're thinking about it all." Madara stated.
"I always tried to get your father to think about such things." Madara added.
xXxXxXx NARUTO xXxXxXx
Naruto and Sakura were led to an unfamiliar kitchen. They looked at Kushina in terror.
"It's alright. We just have to be very careful. We don't want to upset anyone." Kushina told Naruto and Sakura softly. Both children nodded. That was when Tsunade came in to the kitchen.
"Baa-Chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he threw himself into Tsunade's arms. The woman hugged Naruto tightly and looked at Kushina carefully.
"Why are you here?" Tsunade asked.
"We were bought here to work. I don't know for what reason." Kushina whispered. That was when Mizuki arrived in the kitchen with a dark haired woman.
"This is the General Uchiha's wife, Lady Mikoto, she will be giving you your orders." Mizuki hissed angrily. Then he left. Naruto looked fearfully at the wife of the man who'd bought him to this place. The same man who'd murdered Sarutobi-Jiji. The woman looked at the trio sadly.
"What are your names?" She asked softly.
"I'm Kushina. This is my son Naruto, and this is Sakura. She's under the care of my husband and I, since her parents were killed at the border." Kushina replied.
"You all look starving." Mikoto stated.
"What's starving?" Naruto asked.
"It means hungry." Mikoto replied.
"We are hungry. We only ever get to eat gruel. Sometimes we get to eat chicken broth and a little bit of bread. At least you taste that." Naruto stated. Mikoto gently let a hand ruffle the blond hair. Naruto looked up at the woman in shock. That was when Mikoto saw some bruising on his face.
"Who did this to you?" Mikoto asked softly.
"The soldiers. They don't like us a lot. I don't want them to hit Sakura-Chan. She's smaller than me, and sometimes she drops the stones they make us carry." Naruto replied.
"I don't mean it. They're just real heavy." Sakura added sadly. Her big green eyes looked up at Mikoto Uchiha.
"Come on you two. Let's do what we need to do." Kushina said softly. Mikoto took a deep breath.
"Do you like flowers Sakura?" Mikoto asked. Sakura nodded vigorously.
"We don't have any in the camp." Sakura added. Mikoto led the little girl over to a smaller table. On the table were several vases.
"I want you to arrange some flowers in to all these vases. There are lots of different kinds of flowers in the garden." Mikoto said gently. Then she picked up a basket.
"Take this with you. There are special scissors in it so that you can cut the flowers. If anyone asks, tell them I sent you to collect flowers for me." Mikoto added. Sakura's eyes lit up with joy as she took the basket and ran outside, to examine all the flowers, and think about how she was going to arrange them.
Naruto looked at Mikoto with wide eyes.
"Thank you Miss Mikoto. Sakura loves flowers." Naruto said happily.
"Well you have small hands, so you can help by cleaning the glasses." Mikoto said gently. It was one of the easiest jobs for a child to do, although Naruto didn't know that. Mikoto sat him down at a small table just in a small room that led off from the kitchen. Naruto felt a soft white cloth placed in his hand, and Mikoto showed him how to clean the glasses gently.
Kushina looked at Mikoto carefully. She had had too many experiences to trust anyone at the moment.
"I just need some help with preparing and watching the food." Mikoto said softly. Kushina nodded and moved towards the sides and started chopping up vegetables.
"Is the camp as bad as that?" Mikoto asked. Kushina looked at the woman in disbelief.
"I don't mean to disrespect you Miss. But my family has been trapped in this nightmare for months. Before we were found by your husband, we couldn't let our children play outside. We had to stay hidden in a secret hidey hole. When we were found, our protector was shot, and my family watched him die. My son begged for someone to save his dear Jiji. The man, who looked after us, was an old man who couldn't defend himself. We don't have food. We don't have heat, and what blankets we have are threadbare and ragged, and barely cover a person fully. My brother and my sister-in-law were taken for extermination in the night, along with my husband's uncle. Several children are now orphans. My children, my nieces, my husband and I, were forced to stand in the cold before we entered the camp. Sakura begged for a bathroom and was ignored by your husband until she wet herself. Then he called her filthy. We were made to strip off in front of guards, and forced to go in to a shower of cold water and bathe together. While my son and Sakura and the smaller children are forced to heave heavy stones across quarries, older children like my nieces are forced to pile them up and make huts, where more prisoners are bought to live every day. That man who bought us here told us if we didn't behave ourselves then we would never see our family again. They're probably all back at the camp wondering if we were taken for extermination, and at the end of this night I can only hope that we will be taken back to them. Or that they'll make our deaths quick and painless. I can't even imagine what might happen to my children." Kushina stated.
Mikoto looked at the ground. She thought about how her own sons were given enough food to stuff themselves. She thought about how both her children had their own bedroom, with a fireplace and a soft cushy bed, with thick blankets that would keep them warm in the coldest of winters. There was more than one bathroom in the house, and her children had never been forced to wait for a bathroom until they wet themselves. She thought about how she knew she was safe in this house. No one would come in the night to take her, or her family, and kill them. She didn't know what to say to the red-haired woman standing in front of her.
"I'm sorry." Mikoto said softly.
"Why are you sorry? You believe in the right religion after all miss. Our religion is sacrilege against your precious leader and because of that we're all being killed one by one. I don't even know if my brother and sister-in-law were buried. I don't even know if their deaths were painful. I pray that they died quickly." Kushina said softly. Then she went back to chopping the vegetables. Mikoto didn't say anymore. She knew if she were in this woman's position, she would be just as bitter and suspicious. She would hate those that got to lead their lives while she was trapped in a never ending nightmare. Mikoto felt the bubbling guilt eating away at her as she realised that these people would not be paid for their services. These people would live if they were lucky, they would see their families and maybe get some gruel to eat for their troubles. But they would never be treated like equals in her husband's world.
xXxXxXx SASUKE xXxXxXx
Sasuke wandered down to the kitchen and saw a red haired woman chopping up vegetables and helping his mother. His mother gave him a soft smile.
"Sasuke are you alright?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke nodded. He looked in to the next room and his eyes widened as he saw Naruto. When his mother wasn't looking, he snuck into the room and smiled at his friend.
"Naruto! You're here! Sasuke exclaimed. Naruto looked at Sasuke with wide eyes.
"Sasuke? You live here?" Naruto asked softly.
"Of course I do. What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.
"A mean soldier bought me and Sakura-Chan and my Mom to this house and said we had to help General Uchiha's wife." Naruto replied.
"General Uchiha is my father." Sasuke quipped. Naruto looked horrified.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"General Uchiha killed Sarutobi-Jiji. I told you about him before. He looked after us when we were hiding. But when they found us, it was General Uchiha who ordered my Jiji to be killed." Naruto said softly. Sasuke felt ill. The very idea that his father had killed such a good person, and had bought Naruto and his family to the awful camp where they were locked up, was something Sasuke couldn't understand.
"Do you have to sit here and clean glasses?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded.
"If I don't then the mean man will hurt my Mom or Sakura-Chan or me." Naruto said sadly. Sasuke sat down at the table, next to Naruto and talked to him about all sorts of things. He asked Naruto what he would do if he could leave the camp. Naruto talked of going to Konoha, of seeing his brother and sisters and cousins again. He talked about how he would be free to play in the parks and go to school and he spoke of a teddy that he had once had, a green frog teddy that had been taken from him when his family had fled their home. Sasuke couldn't help thinking about how Naruto should be allowed to have those simple pleasures of life. But he knew that if Orochimaru-Sama had his way, then all believers in the will of fire would be destroyed. That would include Naruto.
xXxXxXx NARUTO xXxXxXx
That night, Naruto was made to serve food and he carried a heavy jug of drink. He saw everyone staring at him, and as he tried to place the jug on the table, it slipped from his grip. The jug crashed to the floor. Naruto shook with fear as he saw the soldier, Mizuki, head towards him and drag him from the room. He looked at Sasuke. He could see Sasuke was frightened. He was frightened as well. Mizuki dragged him out of the room and that was when the first blow was landed on him. He was punched over and over, and tears fell down his cheeks. It felt like he'd been hit for hours, but it had barely been a minute when he heard someone hiss at Mizuki.
"That's enough." Naruto looked to see the man Sasuke called Uncle Madara, holding Mizuki's wrist.
"This is nothing to do with you old man." Mizuki hissed. That was when Sasuke's mother came in.
"Stop that Mizuki! He's a child!" Mikoto exclaimed loudly. Mizuki glared at Naruto fiercely and shoved the boy away from him. Naruto fell to the ground and then his mother ran out of the kitchen, hearing the commotion and scooped Naruto into her arms. Naruto felt something running from his nose and made a fist to wipe away whatever it was. His hand came away covered in blood and he really sobbed then. Kushina looked up at Mikoto, and Mikoto looked down at the bloodied child and his mother.
"Take your son into the kitchen and clean him up." Mikoto said gently. Kushina stood with Naruto in her arms. Mikoto looked at Mizuki.
"I ordered that children were not to serve the food. You can't blame a child for dropping something that probably weighs half the amount he weighs." Mikoto hissed. Mizuki gritted his teeth and bowed politely to Mikoto.
"My apologies Lady Uchiha. I shall make sure the children stay in the kitchen." Mizuki hissed out. Mikoto glared and went back into the dining room.
Mizuki looked at Kushina and Naruto angrily.
"Get into that kitchen or I promise you your brat will watch you die." Mizuki hissed at Kushina. She kept her face neutral and took Naruto into the kitchen with her. There Tsunade was cleaning the dishes that had been used and she gasped when she saw the state that Naruto was in.
"My God! Who did this to him?" Tsunade asked.
"Mizuki." Kushina whispered. Tsunade plucked Naruto from her arms and sat the boy down on a chair. Naruto looked at Tsunade through his half swollen eyes. His nose was streaming blood and he had a split lip that was also bleeding quite heavily. Tsunade was gentle when she probed Naruto's nose to make sure it wasn't broken, and it was only luck that Naruto's nose was not broken. Tsunade used some cotton wool balls to stop the bleeding. Then she plucked an uncooked potato from the bag, washed it under the sink and chopped it in half. She placed the halves over Naruto's eyes and told him to hold them there. It wasn't a medically proven technique but it was an old remedy to help black eyes and large bumps to the head. Then both women looked up to see the male guest of the Uchiha household looking at them.
"Is there something we can do for you?" Kushina asked softly. She didn't really understand his presence and wasn't sure if he would hurt them.
"I thought I would see if your child is alright." Madara Uchiha stated kindly.
"Thank you mister for stopping the mean man from hitting me more." Naruto uttered softly. His words were slightly mumbled due to his split lip. Kushina smiled gently.
"Thank you for trying to protect my son." Kushina said softly, and gave a small bow.
"Your son shouldn't be attacked for a small mishap. No one should be persecuted for who they are." Madara replied. Then he left the kitchen. The women felt a small surge of hope. At least not all the men of Oto, were supporters of their persecution.
xXxXxXx SASUKE xXxXxXx
Sasuke managed to be excused from dinner early. He snuck into the kitchen to see that Naruto was sitting on a chair. His orange jumpsuit was smeared down the front with blood.
"Are you okay Naruto?" Sasuke asked fearfully.
"Yeah. My face hurts but I'm okay." Naruto replied. His words were mumbled and slightly slurred but Sasuke sighed with relief when he heard them.
"I was so scared when Mizuki took you away." Sasuke said softly.
"I was scared too." Naruto replied. Both boys smiled at each other. Neither one knowing what trouble would come to them next.
xXxXxXx NARUTO xXxXxXx
When Naruto, Sakura, Tsunade and Kushina were loaded in to the back of the truck, both Kushina and Tsunade had a feeling of foreboding. The truck was driving them, but the track was rough. Mizuki was the one driving, and as the road became rougher, Sakura and Naruto both let out squeaks of terror and clung to Kushina, while Tsunade looked at them fearfully, wondering if this was the time for their death. She looked at Kushina and nodded a gesture. Kushina leant down and whispered to the children.
"If I push you behind me you must both run as fast as you can and not look back. No matter what you hear you have to keep running until no one is following you." Kushina whispered to the children.
"I don't want to leave you Mom." Naruto whispered back.
"I know darling. But you have to. Who will look after Sakura?" Kushina whispered back to him. Naruto nodded his understanding and remained silent.
Soon the truck stopped and the group were pulled out. Kushina and Tsunade looked around to see only trees as their surroundings. Mizuki pulled out a gun. He was alone. There was no escort with him. Kushina saw the gun and felt fear rush into her soul.
"What are you planning to do?" Kushina asked.
"Get rid of you vermin." Mizuki hissed. He pointed the gun at Tsunade and fired. It was one shot into her chest. The woman fell to the ground. Kushina then shoved Naruto and Sakura behind her, and as they had been told, they ran. Naruto grabbed Sakura by the hand and dragged her as fast as he could. However he couldn't resist looking back for a mere glimpse. That was when the gun went off a second time, and Naruto saw his mother fall to the ground. Naruto didn't stop running. He ran even faster, knowing how dangerous guns could be. He knew he had to protect Sakura no matter how scared he was.
"What happened Naruto? What did you see?" Sakura asked as they ran. Both children were panting and out of breath but they didn't stop.
"Just keep running Sakura." Naruto replied.
"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!" They heard Mizuki yelling behind them. But they didn't stop. Naruto kept them running.
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Okay people that's the end of this chapter. I'm a horrible person for leaving a cliffhanger. I know that. But I couldn't resist. Also I know this doesn't follow the plot of 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' but I also said that this story would NOT completely follow that anyways. Please R&R and let me know what you think and I'll see you all next chapter. Bye for now.