Authors note
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, if I didn't reply to your reviews, then I don't know what's wrong since I have replied.
Special thanks to my beta Sakiku Torakak once again. All reviews/criticism are welcomed.
Just to forewarn you, there are a lot of flashbacks in this chapter. Without further ado, I give you chapter four of Naruto: Shadows of the Mind.
'THOUGHTS'
LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV
Chapter Four
Seven Months Later...
Konohagakure no Sato was a study in contrasts in many ways. Almost since their founding, Konoha had preached of the Will of Fire and the importance of teamwork. That each of Konoha's shinobi, each "leaf" if you will, while incapable of sustaining the "Great Tree" itself, was nonetheless as equally important as the countless other "leaves". That only by all of the "leaves" working together could the "Great Tree" grow truly strong and prosperous. As such, the shinobi of Konoha were expected to work with their teammates under the guidance of their Jounin-sensei to improve their skills and strengths, to cover one another's weaknesses and push each other to their full potential. The strengthening of their teams would strengthen their squads, which in turn would strengthen their platoons, etc. etc. The end result being the Hidden Village that had weathered each of the Great Shinobi Wars and come out in a position of relative strength time and again. Konoha had actually won the Third Great Shinobi War, a claim that none of the other Villages could make.
Yet in reality, few of Konoha's teams actually demonstrated that belief. Oh, they worked together almost flawlessly much of the time, and many Konoha shinobi saw their teammates as family in all but blood. But at the same time, few teams were actually equal amongst themselves. The Sandaime's teammates, while powerful and skilled Jounin in their own rights, were certainly not on the same level of the Shinobi no Kami, even during their prime. Nor were the Yondaime's teammates ever able to match his abilities, even as a Genin. In fact, the only two teams that could be said to have come even close to meeting the standards were the Sannin -who were all extremely powerful individually and even more powerful as a team, covering one another's few weaknesses- and the far lesser example of the Ino-Shika-Cho team -which while nowhere near as powerful as the Sannin, was a team whose ability to work together and succeed against all odds was the source of their legend.
Beyond that, despite the Sandaime often describing Konoha as a family, when the legendary Sakumo Hatake abandoned a mission -a mission of extreme importance whose failure many attributed to sparking off the Third Great Shinobi War- in order to save his teammates, Konoha almost universally turned against him, including those very teammates he had saved. Teammates that Konoha had always claimed should have been like family to Sakumo. And this wasn't a brief moment of ridicule in a moment of anger either. Sakumo was shunned and hated by the Village as a whole for months, to the point that the man, Konoha's legendary White Fang who overshadowed even the Sannin, fell into a depression and killed himself.
And yet when the man's son, Kakashi Hatake abandoned an equally crucial mission to save his teammates years later during the very same war his father was blamed for starting, the village of Konoha all but idolized him for it. Kakashi was even held up as an example by Konoha as a true follower of the Will of Fire, of a shinobi the village could be proud of. All of this despite the fact that were it not for the intervention of Minato Namikaze himself, the crucial mission would have been a failure and Konoha could very well have lost the war.
Beyond Konoha's belief system, was its contrasting layout and design itself. As the Hidden Village with the largest population among the Great Five, Konoha's layout was at once sprawling and cluttered. Wide streets allowed for easy flow of traffic, both foot and mounted, while countless alleys crisscrossed the village with little to no order or purpose. Indeed, while some alleys served the purpose of connecting streets, many others were dead ends, or doubled back to the very street one had just left. In fact, few if any of Konoha's actual citizens could claim to know the layout of Konoha's alleys with complete certainty. Which was actually the point, designed as it was to confuse and disorient any invaders who actually managed to breach the walls in any meaningful force.
During the day, the streets were filled to the brim with both travelers and locals going about their lives with an industrious determination that would make ants envious. Once the sun had set however, much of Konoha would almost appear to be a ghost town to the untrained eye. With the exception of places such as bars and restaurants, most of the businesses were closed and sat empty. Those who would normally work or frequent such establishments were at home with their families, attending meals or seeing to whatever household chores remained. As the night wore on, those families would retire to bed, leaving much of the village darkened and seemingly deserted save for the occasional patrolling KMP officers -who were seen only so they could act as a visible deterrent to any would-be criminals, while many other shinobi darted about unseen as they patrolled the sleeping Village.
If an untrained observer happened to be watching this particular night, they'd be treated to a strange sight. Within one of the seemingly pointless and abandoned alleyways, two shadows carefully and discreetly made their way in from the street as if searching for someone. No sooner did they arrive then a third shadowy figure seemed to emerge from the surrounding darkness with only the slightest whisper of sound from his cloak. At the appearance of this newcomer, the first two shadows took guarded stances, wary of a possible ambush or betrayal. The taller of the two stood about five foot ten, with a body type that seemed to be that of a former athlete, still strong, but no longer at the peak it once was.
The second was a half-foot shorter and seemed to be all wiry flesh on top of bone. Despite this, they still stood with the casual grace of leopards, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.
All that could be seen of the third party was a white glint from under the hood of their black full body robe. Judging by their size, one could assume the robed figure was most likely male, however, in the ninja world, not only can appearances be deceiving... they usually are.
"Have you considered our offer?" The taller of the two shadows questioned in a deep baritone. There was no response from the newcomer. "You know this is in the village's best interest," the man continued slowly, as if driving a point home that he wanted to be sure was considered. "If we don't act now, there might never be another chance. We can only fool the Hokage for so long. Eventually he will uncover our motives and crush us. If that happens, he will never lower his guard again. You know this must be done."
For a moment, the sound of the wind was the only answer, and the shadowed couple feared complete failure. Then a whispered "Very well." drifted from beneath the edge of the hood.
The older man spoke again determinedly. "Alright then, we'll act in two days. Remember the plan and be prepared. No matter what else happens, he must die." As soon as those final, deliberate words were spoken, the pair seemingly vanished from view.
As the moon slowly appeared from behind the clouds, the lone shadow stepped out of the alley, a small amount of light penetrating the depths of their hood to reveal the white porcelain of an Anbu mask, before the assassin darted away as well.
The morning sun slowly drifted in through the window of a child's room. As the light reached the bed, it covered the face of a small, four year old boy. Scrunching up his face, said boy attempted to bury himself in his covers and reclaim the bliss of sleep. Alas, this was not to be as the voice of an elderly woman echoed up the stairs. "Naruto-chan! Breakfast in ten minutes!" Grumbling, Naruto eventually tumbled out of bed.
Stumbling to his dresser, Naruto began to dress himself before a picture frame caught his eye. The picture was small and contained a trio of old people and one small blond haired child. Naruto smiled happily as he finished dressing.
Why was he so happy you may ask? For no other reason than that another beautiful day was about to start, and he was loved by his grandparents. An added bonus was that the feeling that he could only compare to being watched was gone today and that was a rare treat for him.
Naruto thought back to what his life was once like. Back before his grandparents came and took him away from the orphanage, his life had been very different.
Back then, he had lived in almost constant fear. Some of his first memories involving human contact had been of harsh words screamed at him by one of his "caretakers" Words that he had been too young to understand at the time, and had all but forgotten since, but the anger and rage behind them had been all too understood even at that age. Of course, in a way he craved those moments, brief as they were, simply because he wasn't alone. The rest of his time had been dominated by being locked in his room away from the other children, or anyone else for that matter. The only break in his isolation had come from the meals that he had been given every so often and the semi-occasional slap. Usually the only time he would be allowed out was to wash and use the bathroom. The exception to this had been whenever the person he dubbed "Old Man" had come around. For some reason on those occasions, the caretakers would bring him out, bathe him, and make sure he was "presentable" -whatever that meant- and put him in the visitation room. Then the Old Man would come in and spend some time with him, play a few games and read a storybook or two, before leaving again. He could still remember his first encounter with the Old Man.
Flashback
Naruto was hustled into a room he'd never been in before -what he would later learn was called the visitation room-by a strangely anxious man. Looking up at the tall brunette caretaker, whose name he had never learned, Naruto asked, "What we do?"
The middle-aged man looked down at him and somewhat nervously grunted, "Just shut up and do what you're told. You better be on your best behavior for the Hokage, or else no food for a week." Naruto just nodded his head quickly, keeping such questions as "what's a Hokage" to himself. He'd learned to avoid asking questions when possible. Then he was left alone in the room.
A few minutes later, the door opened again and a man walked in. He had kind eyes and a gentle smile, something that Naruto had never seen before that he could remember. While short for an adult, he still towered above little Naruto, and was dressed in red and white robes and wore a funny looking hat. What really caught his attention though, was that the man was old!
Intrigued, Naruto barely registered when the visitor greeted him.
"Hello Naruto-chan, how are you?" the man asked kindly.
Naruto just stared at him curiously for a moment before simply stating, "You're old."
The man just burst out laughing, a sound that seemed to soothe Naruto's soul and gave him a warm feeling. Smiling, Naruto picked up a nearby ball and brought it to the Hokage. "Wanna play?" Naruto asked shyly as he held up the toy. His new friend smiled as he ruffled Naruto's hair.
End Flashback
From that day forth, the Hokage would always be simply, Old Man to Naruto.
The isolation, erratic feeding schedules, and verbal abuse had continued until Naruto was three when he finally found the courage - and the vocal skill - to ask the nice old man who visited him about it.
Surprisingly, the Old Man had gotten really angry when he told him about it, though for the first time, though most of the surprise came from the fact that the anger wasn't directed at him.
Naruto didn't really remember what happened after the Old Man had done something with his hands because he had gotten real sleepy, but when he had woken up most of the caretakers had been gone. When Naruto asked what had happened, the Old Man had just smiled sort of sadly at him and promised that everything would be better from then on.
And in a way, it was. While the new caretakers never locked him up like the old ones had done and they always fed him an enormous amount of food every day, they were still really mean and didn't talk to him much, except to tell him to get out during the day and to make sure to be back before nightfall. What was strange was that several times, the door would be locked when he returned even if the sun was still up, and no amount of knocking would get it open -though, oddly enough, whenever he fell asleep outside, he'd wake up back in his bed in the orphanage. Also odd was how that stopped happening after a few more of the caretakers went away.
But that was often pushed to the back of his mind by another realization. It was scary outside. While the previous caretakers had been really mean to him, in a way they were nothing compared to the villagers. Most of the time they just looked at him with these really angry eyes. Other times they would seem to ignore him no matter what he did. The worst was the way some people would yell and scream like he did something wrong. Whenever he asked what he did, people would seem to get even angrier. Every so often, someone would even try to hit him as well. Most of the time, he was able to run away from these people and somehow lose them in the crowds, or the people yelling at him would suddenly fall over and one time a man had just disappeared right in front of his eyes.
Only once, when he escaped from one villager just to run into another a block or so away, did anyone cause him actual physical harm. He was sure that a passing Anbu was the only reason he had survived that encounter, and he still had nightmares about alleys and an angry man with a knife from time to time. He even had two prominent scars on his left cheek as a permanent reminder of that day.
He grimaced when he thought about that. The scars covered his top left birthmark and the middle left one, leaving just the bottom one untouched. That time had easily been the worst moment of his life.
Still, as horrible and terrifying as the outside could sometimes be, at least he could come and go as he pleased, unlike at the orphanage. In fact, once he learned to be careful and to draw as little attention as possible -as in, don't talk to anyone if he could avoid it and stay out of sight- the looks and sneers became almost nonexistent.
Eventually, the number of incidents dropped to the point where he actually had to concentrate to remember the last one, only happening when he got lost in thought or stopped paying attention to his surroundings and bumped into someone, although even that became rarer. The fact that he could rarely shake that feeling of being watched added to this. What was strange is that even though that feeling had been proven right many times, it was almost always there including when he was alone. How was that even possible?
Still, strange or not it had helped him to eventually learn how to avoid most of the dangers outside the orphanage, even if it was only accomplished through a near constant state of fear and paranoia.
Then came the day that was the turning point in his short life. Just six short months ago, the Old Man came back to see him at the orphanage, only this time, he wasn't alone. With him were a man and woman who looked like they were almost as old as the Old Man was!
Flashback
"Naruto," the Old Man said gently, "these are Takeshi and Susuki Sanada. They've expressed an interest in adopting you."
At first, he didn't understand. What they were saying and what his caretakers had always told him were two completely different things. They wanted to adopt him? No one wanted to adopt him. Not even the Old Man, the only one who had ever been nice to him, had wanted to adopt him. Not that he could blame him of course, seeing as how he was a little monster; he was just glad that the Old Man treated him nicely.
"How come?" He asked curiously, causing the Old Man and the Sanadas to frown slightly.
"What do you mean, Naruto-chan?" Takeshi asked.
Naruto tilted his head to the side. "Nobody wans me cause 'm a monster, so why you?"
Susuki made a tsking sound before scooping him up and setting him on her lap. "Naruto-chan, you are not a monster. You're an adorable little boy who has been treated very unfairly. Takeshi and I want to help you, and give you the childhood you deserve."
Takeshi nodded with a smile. "She's right Naruto-chan, we wish to adopt you because you deserve a better life and we would like to be the ones to give you one."
Naruto didn't believe them at first, looking to the Old Man for reassurance.
The Old Man knelt in front of him and gently put his hand on Naruto's head. "It's true Naruto. They really want you to become a part of their family. I promise you, they will love you and take care of you." Naruto looked up at the Old Man's gentle and kind smile.
Naruto knew he could believe the Old Man, but he just couldn't wrap his head around the idea that someone actually wanted to be with him. The Sanada's were old, true, but they still weren't the Old Man, so why would they want to be with him? Even the Old Man didn't want to be around him all the time.
Even as the Old Man and the Sanadas filled out all of the necessary paperwork to officially adopt him, Naruto tried to figure out why? Outside of the Old Man, no adult had ever wanted to be around Naruto, so the idea that these two old people would just decide that they wanted him to actually live with them as part of their family was knew that adults were supposed to always be right, but the only adults who were ever nice to him were the Old Man and now, the Sanadas. 'Maybe you got ta be really old before you stop being so mean?' After all most of the caretakers were pretty young, and they were all really mean. He was broken out of his musings by Takeshi's baritone voice.
"Naruto." The elderly man kneeled down in front of him again. As he looked up Naruto was surprised to find that at some point he had hidden himself behind the Old Man's leg. Peering around his robes, Naruto looked to Takeshi as he held out his hand.
"Would you like to go get something to eat before we show you your new home?" Takeshi asked as Susuki came around and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"We can go anywhere you like." Susuki added gently. Naruto chewed his lip uncertainly, before looking up at the Old Man.
"It's alright Naruto; I'll come with you and show you that you have nothing to be afraid of." Looking to Takeshi and Susuki, the Old Man nodded and let Susuki scoop Naruto into her arms.
"Now, where should we go eat Naruto-chan? What's your favorite food?" Susuki asked cheerfully as she carried Naruto out of the orphanage for the last time, with Takeshi and the Old Man following.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably, unused to being carried like this, before Susuki smiled reassuringly at him, "Don't be afraid Naruto-chan, go ahead and put your arms around my neck. I promise I won't bite."
Slowly lifting his arms, Naruto uncertainly placed them around the woman's neck.
As she shifted him in her arms so his head was nestled on her shoulder, Naruto couldn't help but notice that it felt different being in her arms than it did when the Old Man hugged him. Maybe you had to get to know someone before you could get that feeling? Or maybe it was because Susuki felt like she was all bone?
Curious about that, Naruto shyly asked, "Umm, Susuki-san, how come you feel so bony?"
For brief, terrifying moment, Naruto thought he saw something in her eyes. Something that scared him down to his core. Before he had a chance to figure out what he was seeing, he blinked and whatever he thought he saw was gone, leaving Naruto to wonder if he actually saw anything at all.
"Well Naruto-chan," Susuki started, "it's just the way I am. The older I get the...bonier I get. But you really shouldn't ask people things like that. Its rude and you might hurt their feelings doing that."
"Oh." Naruto didn't really understand her explanation; really, it just left him wanting to ask why again. Then again, maybe the reason she didn't answer him was because he hurt her feelings? That just made Naruto feel terrible. After all, he knew from experience that feelings could hurt just as bad as scrapes and bruises.
When he realized that he might have hurt her feelings, after she had been so nice to him, it made Naruto feel even worse.
Shrinking in on himself, Naruto tried to think of how he could make this right. He remembered seeing kids in the park being kissed by their moms and they always seemed to feel better afterward. Maybe that would work for Susuki-san's feelings? Then again, he never saw any of those kids kissing their moms, so maybe it only worked one way? Desperate to show that he wasn't a monster and that he didn't mean to hurt her feelings Naruto decided to just give it a try. Leaning in a little closer, he laid a kiss on Susuki-san's cheek. "M'sorry." Naruto mumbled wretchedly. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Susuki-san. I promise I won't ask again."
Susuki looked surprised as she stopped in the street. "That's alright Naruto-chan, you didn't hurt my feelings. You were just curious, that's all. You just need to be careful to make sure you don't accidentally hurt someone. And you don't have to be so formal with me either. We're family now, so please, call me Obaachan."
Naruto blushed slightly and buried his head back in her shoulder, but not before shyly stammering "A-alright... Susuki-Obaachan."
Looking over her shoulder, he saw Takeshi-sa-err Takeshi-Ojiisan looking at Susuki-Obaachan and him with a smile before turning back to his conversation with the Old Man. Something about the kind of wood that made the best pipes or something. It seemed pretty boring to Naruto, but the Old Man sure looked excited though.
"So Naruto-chan, you never told me what your favorite food was." Susuki-Obaachan asked as they approached a nice looking restaurant.
"Um, I like ice cream." Naruto offered. After all, ice cream was one of the best treats ever, as long as you didn't eat it too fast. Then it just hurt really bad.
Takeshi-Ojiisan laughed as he joined the conversation, "Well, maybe we can get you some for dessert. But you'll have to make sure you eat all your vegetables."
Naruto blinked owlishly. "My what?"
Flashback Ends
It took some time to get used to his new life, but finally he was truly content with his life, and while the rest of the village still treated him pretty much the same, he could now proudly say that he had a family and a home to call his own.
The icing on the cake was that his Ojiisan and Obaachan had been ninja when they were younger. Takeshi-Ojiisan had even started teaching him how to throw kunai and shuriken, though he was real stingy about it and wouldn't let him use any real ones. Takeshi also taught him this neat trick to make a leaf float, though Naruto thought the trick with pulling a coin out of his ear was better. Even if his Ojiisan refused to tell him how he did that!
Flashback
Naruto was sitting in the back yard, attempting to work on his letters. He had come quite far since Susuki-Obaachan first sat him down and began explaining how to tell all the different letters apart. That was the easy part, and had only taken him about a month to accomplish. The hard part was learning how to draw them. Still he was making quite a deal of progress now that he had an actual teacher instead of sneaking glances at the books of other orphans. Especially since most of those books had been far too advanced for a three year old. However, he was still a three year old, so he was quickly growing bored. Thankfully, he could always count on his Ojiisan to liven things up a bit.
"Naruto come here for a moment." Speak of the devil.
Naruto jumped to his feet excitedly. "Hai, Ojiisan!"
Takeshi-Ojiisan ruefully shook his head at him. "Naruto-chan, if you're going to be a ninja, you're going to have to learn how to be a little quieter."
Naruto pouted and crossed his arms, "I can be plenty quiet when I want to, Ojiisan! Just you wait; I'll be a great ninja some day!" Of course, Naruto's declaration might have sounded more convincing if he hadn't shouted it.
Takeshi-Ojiisan chuckled warmly, "I'm sure you will, Naruto-chan. Now, let me show you a little trick." He plucked a leaf from the small tree they were sitting under.
"Are you gonna teach me da coin trick now? Huh? Are ya? Are ya?" Naruto jumped up and down excitedly. 'Yes, coin trick here I come!'
Naruto could already see it; the other kids would flock to see the Amazing Ninja Naruto Uzumaki, Master of the Disappearing Coin! He cackled evilly while rubbing his hands together.
"No Naruto, I have something else to teach you." Slumping in disappointment, he nevertheless watched curiously as Takeshi-Ojiisan placed the leaf in the center of his palm. Suddenly the leaf lifted two or three inches off his palm and began spinning in a circle.
Naruto's eyes widened for a moment while he thought about learning this trick. He could see it; the other kids would flock to see the Amazing Ninja Naruto Uzumaki, Master of the Floating Leaf! Yeah right, that just sounded lame!
Naruto pouted, "Ojiisan! Dat's boring! Teach me da coin trick, dat's way cooler!"
Takeshi-Ojiisan just chuckled and shook his head, "Now, now, Naruto, you can't be a great ninja with just cool moves. Besides, this will help you when you join the academy."
Naruto crossed his arms and turned away, stomping his foot. "No! I wanna learn da coin trick!"
Takeshi-Ojiisan sighed and closed his eyes, taking deep breathes, seeming to be deep in thought. Takeshi-Ojiisan always said he was meditating to help him think whenever he did this. Naruto didn't understand how deep breathes helped someone think, but that's what Takeshi-Ojiisan always said when Naruto asked.
Naruto thought furiously himself, trying to will Takeshi-Ojiisan to give in to his demands. 'C'mon coin trick, teach me da coin trick, I promise if I get ta learn da coin trick I'll never complain about vegetables again...well not fer awhile anyway.'
Then he saw Takeshi-Ojiisan smirking as he opened his eyes. "I'll tell you what Naruto, if you can learn this exercise, I'll let you start learning how to throw kunai and shuriken. How's that?"
Naruto's eyes widened at this. 'I'll get ta play with kunai and shuriken? Yes! Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome!' "OK! What are we waiting for? Let's get started, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Naruto was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Alright Naruto, calm down and listen." Once Takeshi-Ojiisan finished his explanation on chakra, he put the leaf in his hand and explained the leaf floating exercise.
For his part Naruto tuned out most of the lecture, too busy thinking about how awesome a ninja he was going to be. 'Heh, kunai are so cool...Ima be a awesome ninja and once I get this leaf thingy down, I'll be able ta get kunai and shuriken! I'll be so great dat Ojiisan will beg to teach me the coin trick!'
Naruto returned his attention to Takeshi-Ojiisan just in time to hear "And that is what chakra is. Now in order to float the leaf you have to..."
A few minutes later and Naruto was ready to give the leaf exercise a try.
"Right! I'll have this down in no time, Ojiisan!" Naruto cheered as he jumped up and down while trying to grab a leaf off one of the lowest branches. Sadly, said branch was still a full foot above Naruto's outstretched hand. But this didn't slow him in the slightest and he jumped again…and again…and again.
Sticking his tongue between his teeth, Naruto backed up, prepared to try a running start this time. Before he could begin his master plan however, his Ojiisan grabbed him by the waist and hoisted him up to his target branch. Pouting, Naruto snatched a leaf from the tree sullenly stating, "I woulda gotten it."
"I know Naruto, but this way you won't tire yourself out." Takeshi-Ojiisan said gently. "Now go ahead and give it a try."
"Right!" Naruto said excitedly as he placed the leaf in the center of his palm. Taking a deep breath, Naruto stared at the leaf…and nothing happened. A few minutes passed…and nothing happened. A twitch began to form on Naruto's forehead as he stared at the leaf. Finally he snapped, "Ojiisan! Nothing's happening!"
"Try using more chakra." Was the patient reply.
Frowning, Naruto focused everything he had on that leaf. Just when he was about to give up, the leaf shot out of his hand, spinning wildly, before falling to the earth.
Naruto stared wide-eyed for a moment, shocked that he'd actually done it, before grinning and spinning to face Takeshi. "I did it, Ojiisan! I did it, I did it!"
Takeshi-Ojiisan just laughed. "Not quite Naruto. You were supposed to make the leaf spin just above your hand, not blast it off into space." When Naruto pouted he continued his explanation. "You need to find the right amount of chakra to spin the leaf, without sending it flying. Just keep trying and I know you'll get it in no time."
Naruto beamed at the praise and grabbed the leaf again.
Flashback Ends
It had taken over a month, but Naruto had been able to master the leaf floating exercise. More than once, he had thought about giving up on the whole thing in frustration. After all, what kind of ninja ever needs to float a leaf? All he needed were some kunai and he'd be an awesome ninja. Oh, and some neat shuriken too!
But, he had persevered, and one day he finally mastered the technique.
Flashback
"Ojiisan! Ojiisan! I did it, I got it ta work right!" Naruto yelled excitedly as he ran into the kitchen where the Old Man was talking with his grandparents. "Look, look!" He demanded, holding up his hand with a leaf in it.
Susuki-Obaachan clapped her hands excitedly when the leaf spun at just the right speed and height as Ojiisan and the Old Man -who was visiting today- smiled at the sight.
"Very good Naruto." Takeshi-Ojiisan said while the Old Man added kindly, "I'm amazed at your progress Naruto. Most children wait until the academy before learning this exercise."
Naruto beamed at the praise from his family. Truly, he never felt as happy as when his grandparents and the Old Man were proud of him. It was the greatest feeling in the world to him. 'Nothing could make this moment any bett-.' Naruto gasped in realization. "YES!" he screamed at the top of his impressive lungs, actually startling his audience. "Now I get to play with kunai, just like you promised, Ojiisan!"
It suddenly got really quiet as Naruto watched his Obaachan's face started to turn red. Without warning, Naruto found himself in the Old Man's arms being whisked out of the kitchen and through the living room to the door.
"Old Man, where are we going?" Naruto asked curiously. For a moment he could have sworn he heard the Old Man mutter, "To the nearest bomb shelter."
"Huh?" was Naruto's intelligent response. Looking over the Old Man's shoulder he saw his Obaachan slowly advancing on his Ojiisan who, for some reason, was backed into a corner and waving his hands defensively.
The Old Man coughed somewhat sheepishly, drawing his attention away from his grandparents. "What do you say we go to the park for a while, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto blinked in thought for a moment. On the one hand, his Ojiisan was supposed to start teaching him how to throw kunai like he promised. On the other hand, the Old Man didn't visit often, and it had been a while since they went to the park.
It didn't take him long to reach a decision. "Sure!" He chirped happily. After all, the kunai could wait until tomorrow, and the Old Man was here now.
Flashback End
His Obaachan had also started teaching him a little bit about cooking and eating healthy while he helped her prepare supper. Though, "help" was such a generous term to apply to Naruto's enthusiastic efforts.
Still, Naruto did wish she'd stop making him eat those nasty green things that she insisted were good for him. She also made him take these pills every morning called "vidamans".
The hardest part of adjusting to his new life was learning which words were okay to use and which weren't. Susuki-Obaachan got real mad the first time he swore in her presence -not that he had understood what the words meant at the time, as he was just repeating words he'd heard from the caretakers and villagers.
Flashback
It was raining that day, so Naruto was stuck inside, and he had been forbidden from playing with kunai in the house.
The Old Man had come by for a visit again, though those were starting to become less frequent, much to Naruto's disappointment.
Naruto was staring sullenly out the window at the rain that was trapping him inside. His grandparents and the Old Man were sitting around the coffee table drinking tea and talking about boring old people stuff. Feeling frustrated, Naruto sealed his doom.
"Fucking rain." He sighed in annoyance. Not one second after he finished, Naruto heard a gasp from behind him. Turning around he was greeted by two fearful old men.
"Naruto Sanada!" his Obaachan barked as she rose to her feet.
At that exact moment, Takeshi-Ojiisan jumped to his feet and ran to the nearest window shouting, "Every man for himself!" as he jumped out the now open window. Not a second later the Old Man disappeared in a poof of smoke. Had Naruto been outside -and had he had the proper skills- he would have noticed a trio of male Anbu running for their lives. He also might have seen a sole, Hebi masked female Anbu who stayed behind, muttering "Pussies." at the retreating males.
Turning to question his Obaachan, Naruto felt a hand grab his ear and twist. "Ow ow ow ow!" he yelped until he looked up at his Obaachan. When he did, his protests died off with a terrified squeak. Where his Obaachan once stood was now a giant, eyes glowing with demonic fury. Dragging him by his ear, Susuki-Obaachan made her way to the downstairs bathroom and sat him down on the toilet.
"Stay right there, Naruto Sanada." she growled as she began to fill the tub with water.
'Uh oh...she only says my name like that when I'm in big trouble.' Naruto eyed the door wondering if he was fast enough to get away. That all ended when Susuki-Obaachan got up and firmly closed the door. Turning back to him, Susuki-Obaachan presented him with a...bar of soap?
"Open up." She instructed firmly.
Naruto blinked. "Wha-" was as far as he got before he found the bar shoved into his mouth. "Mmph" trying to protest Naruto somehow found his head underwater. He could feel his Obaachan's hand on the back of his head, and a moment later, her other hand began to shove the soap around the insides of his mouth.
A few moments later and Naruto was sitting in front the tub coughing and trying to get the taste of soap out of his mouth.
"Now, I trust you'll be watching your language from now on, right Naruto." Susuki-Obaachan wasn't asking.
Naruto hurriedly nodded his head. "Good. Now let's get you cleaned up." Susuki-Obaachan set the soap down and grabbed a towel off the rack.
Spitting once more Naruto made a very crucial mistake. He opened his mouth. "That soap tastes like shit, Obaachan." He looked up to find Susuki-Obaachan staring at him.
"I guess we're going to be here for a while." She deadpanned as she put the towel down and picked back up the soap.
Naruto could only whimper.
Bar several blocks away...
"You know...I can't help but feel a little ashamed right now." a Tora masked Anbu stated as he huddled around a table with his Kage, fellow Anbu, and his subject's adopted Grandfather.
"Would you rather be back there? With her?" his Saru masked comrade asked dryly.
"Now, now Saru, don't be too hard on him. It is Tora's first assignment after all." Sarutobi chided.
Takeshi interrupted them before they could continue. "Gentlemen, please. A moment of silence for my young grandson." Everyone at the table bowed there head for a moment.
The silence was broken by the three Anbu chorusing "Poor bastard." while Sarutobi shook his head sadly.
End flashback
Needless to say, he didn't swear around her again. Although, he did try to ask his Ojiisan what the words meant, but he just said the Naruto was too young to understand.
Still, he was happy with his new life. Smiling happily, he bounded down the stairs in his pajamas and ran to the kitchen where his Obaachan was making breakfast and his Ojiisan was reading the paper. "Morning!" He called as he entered the kitchen.
"That's "good morning" Naruto-chan." Susuki-Obaachan corrected him gently. She laughed quietly while Naruto pouted, before he took his seat at the table.
"Hey, Ojiisan, are we gonna do some more ninja stuff today?" Naruto asked excitedly.
Takeshi-Ojiisan just chuckled good-naturedly. "We'll see, Naruto-chan. Maybe after your reading lessons."
At that point, Susuki-Obaachan walked up and set a few pills and a glass of orange juice on the table in front of Naruto. He made a face as he looked at the pills. They really were nasty things, and Naruto never failed to half choke on them every time.
Before he could open his mouth to complain, his Obaachan sternly told him, "Take your vitamins, Naruto."
Grumbling, he scooped up the pills and put them in his mouth all at once, not paying attention to the different taste than usual, before drinking half his class of juice to wash them down. "Blech, why do you make me swallow those nasty things, Obaachan?" He asked, expecting the usual lecture on how they were good for him and would help him grow up to be big and strong.
So he was surprised when she pleasantly informed him with a smile on her face "Don't worry Naruto, you won't need them any more after today."
"Really?" he exclaimed jumping up in his seat.
Seeing his grandparents nod, he was about to shout in joy when he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Clutching his chest with one hand and coughing uncontrollably into the other, he fell back in his seat before staring at his now blood covered hand in shock and terror. "Obaa- cough -chan-cough cough, what's -cough hap-" he started whimpering before feeling a wave of vertigo pass through him. Still coughing he fell to the ground, an emotion he hadn't felt in months surging through him. Fear.
Reaching desperately for his grandparents, he watched as a look passed through their eyes, a look that he hadn't seen since his beating by that merchant. Complete disgust and satisfaction passed through their eyes as they looked down on him.
"You know," his Ojiisan started conversationally, calmly folding up his newspaper. "It wasn't easy getting Hokage-sama to let us adopt you."
His Obaachan spoke next, "We really didn't think it would take this long for you to relax around us either."
"Wh- cough- why?" Naruto asked as tears filled his eyes while a pain that had nothing to do with what they had fed him tore through his chest.
"Because you deserve to die!" Susuki hissed angrily as she took a threatening step towards him, before halting at a gesture from Takeshi.
"You killed our son, his wife, and our unborn grandchild. And if you're not stopped, you'll do it again." Takeshi stated stoically, almost mechanically. "So today, we are avenging them and putting an end to your threat simultaneously. What's more is that we'll get away with it too."
At this, Susuki burst into tears, before burying her face in her hands and letting out a wail. "Oh Hokage-sama, it's all my fault!" She sobbed so hard that even Naruto thought she was telling the truth for a moment, before the pain reminded him of just why he was on the floor. "I should have been more careful, I should have checked his vitamins to make sure they weren't tampered with!" She sobbed wretchedly, "Oh my poor little Naruto-chan!" And just like that, the tears stopped and her sneer returned.
Naruto's vision began to blur as the pain slowly transitioned into a sort of cold numbness. Just as he was about to pass out however, he felt something change within him.
Suddenly, the numbness began to recede as a rush of energy and strength that he'd never experienced before flowed through him. 'What… what's happening?' He wondered fearfully. He stumbled to his feet as Takeshi and Susuki gasped at the sight of red chakra beginning to drift off Naruto.
Still coughing, he shoved the table with his newfound strength, knocking Susuki to the floor as he began to run towards the front door, screaming to the best of his ability while the poison still attacked his body.
He barely made it six steps before Takeshi appeared in front of him.
Faster than he could react, Takeshi backhanded Naruto across the face, breaking his jaw and causing him mind-numbing pain. As Naruto fell to the floor, Takeshi kicked him in the side, launching him across the room and through a cabinet. Naruto's flight was stopped when he smashed into the wall hard enough to leave a dent twice the size of his body.
As he coughed up even more blood, Takeshi advanced on him with wide, almost unseeing eyes. Looking up, he saw Takeshi nonchalantly strapping on the claws he had once shown Naruto on his right hand. There were three jagged claws, each one about eight inches long and ended if a cruel looking barbed tip.
"You just couldn't make it easy, could you?"
Half blinded by the pain in his side, Naruto could only watch as Takeshi advanced on his quivering body.
"All you had to do was just die quietly, to accept what needed to be done for the good of the village!" Takeshi growled in a steadily growing rage. Reaching Naruto he raised his claws, intending to skewer the young blond. "Just die!" he screamed with just a hint of panic.
Time seemed to slow down for Naruto as Takeshi's claws descended towards him. Fumbling around and grabbing a chunk of broken wood from the cabinet, Naruto instinctively thrust it at Takeshi in desperation, trying to fend him off, even as he squeezed his eyes shut in terror.
He felt a jerk and then heard Takeshi make a surprised sound before the wood was ripped from his hand, followed by a loud thump and Susuki's scream.
Opening his eyes he saw a gasping and gurgling Takeshi almost on top of him, twitching weakly in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. But that wasn't what caught his eye. It was the piece of wood he saw sticking out of Takeshi's ribs just before the man suddenly went still. 'I…I killed him. I actually... What have I done?'
Before he could think any further, a still screaming Susuki knocked him back to the ground and began strangling him.
"You bastard!" She screamed in his face, teary eyes wide with despair and hatred. "You bastard, you BASTARD, just DIE you FUCKING BASTARD!"
Naruto tried desperately to pry her hands away from his throat as painful coughs still racked his body. Unable to free himself from the larger and much stronger woman, he began to panic again and desperately looked around through rapidly darkening vision for something, anything that could help him. As he gasped for breath, his gaze landed on Takeshi's right arm, or more specifically, the claws that still adorned it.
Somehow knowing that his mysterious strength had not yet abandoned him, Naruto reached out and grabbed onto Takeshi's wrist, before bringing the elder's fist smashing into the side of Susuki's head with all of his strength.
Unfortunately, he didn't close his eyes this time as he did with Takeshi. The sight of the blades passing through her head would be the last thing he saw before passing out from a combination of poison, broken ribs, a severely bruised throat, blood loss and lack of oxygen. And he would carry that sight with him for the rest of his life, the image burned into his head, never to fade or dull with age. Always haunting him.
When he bolted awake several hours later, he found himself in a hospital bed. He recognized the room by scent as much as by sight from his rare visits in the past, instantly knowing of only one place that reeked of chemicals and sterile surroundings like this place did. Sighing, he instinctively knew what this meant. It wasn't a nightmare. His grandpar- no, the Sanadas had tricked him and tried to murder him.
He curled up in a ball, crying out in pain as his ribs shifted painfully. Then he began to cry softly. He had never felt a hurt like this before. Despite what they had done he had loved them, and they had tried to kill him…and he… he had killed them.
Sobbing he buried his face in his pillow before freezing in terror as he heard the door open.
He didn't stay frozen for long though, as he jumped out of the bed, ripping out an IV and heart monitor in the process. Once free he ran as far from the door as he could, staring with wide, terrified eyes at the doorway.
Standing there was the Old Man, who stopped just inside the room and gazed at Naruto with sad eyes.
Sarutobi stared at the reports in a seething rage. 'How could I have been so blind, so naive?'
This was an unmitigated disaster. An attempted murder of a young child -who was also a Jinchuuriki, the last known Uzumaki, and the son of the Yondaime Hokage- two retired -not to mention respected- ninja with decades of experience and loyal service to the village were dead, an Anbu operative who had been a part of Naruto's guard detail was missing, and the child being the only known witness to what happened inside the Sanada house.
He sighed as he shifted his eyes to Naruto's medical report. Three broken ribs, a broken jaw, severe bruising around the throat, consistent with strangulation, severe blood loss, and an undetermined amount of powerful poison. He scanned the report before sighing again. 'So much for keeping his healing a secret.' His ribs were already two thirds of the way healed, and his jaw was half way healed according to the last report.
Unfortunately, he couldn't be sure if Naruto's healing extended to replenishing his blood, seeing as the doctors hooked him up to a blood packet almost immediately upon arrival. It was the same with the poison, as they had also pumped his stomach.
Whether they would have worked so diligently if he hadn't been looking over their shoulders while a pair of Anbu flanked him was debatable.
Although it seemed that Usagi's actions seven months ago had made an impact on the hospital staff, as while there were still grimaces of distaste, most of the staff was nothing but professional when dealing with the young Jinchuuriki. Whether they had truly let go of any lingering anger or hatred from the Kyuubi attack or had simply regained control of their emotions, Sarutobi didn't know, but it was an improvement either way.
It was apparent however, that Naruto's healing had at least slowed the poison, since he should have dropped dead within a minute or two of ingesting the deadly toxin.
Looking over at the autopsy reports for the Sanadas, the causes of death were rather obvious. The wooden shard had punched through Takeshi Sanada's ribs and nearly torn his left lung in half. Then his lungs had rapidly filled with blood, essentially drowning him in his own bodily fluids. Susuki Sanada, on the other hand, had a three bladed claw jammed through the left side of her skull. What was interesting was that the claws had still been strapped to the dead Takeshi's wrist.
Add to the fact that Susuki had been found on top of Naruto with her hands still wrapped around his throat, and one received a very disturbing picture indeed.
A picture that Sarutobi desperately didn't want to believe. He didn't want to believe that the elderly couple had had something to do with the attempt on Naruto's life. He also couldn't believe that little Naruto might have played a part in the deaths of his adopted grandparents, despite the splinters embedded in Naruto's hand. No four-year-old child could have inflicted those injuries to the Sanadas.
This meant that either the whole thing was a set-up, or that Naruto had somehow accessed its' chakra to defend himself. Sarutobi honestly didn't know which would be worse.
Sensing the return of one of his Anbu, he angrily barked out "Report." without looking up from the papers in front of him.
The Anbu, who wore an Inu mask, bowed before standing at attention. "There is still no sign of Nezumi, Hokage-sama."
Sarutobi's grip on the autopsy reports tightened as he nodded for Inu to continue.
"Without him we have only the child -who has yet to awaken- to give us any eyewitness reports as to what happened."
Sarutobi finally looked up from the papers and fixed the Anbu member with a hard stare. "Have your captain double the search, Inu. He must be found. Utilize the whole Inuzuka clan and the Oinin if you must, but find him. I need answers."
Inu bowed once more. "It will be done, Hokage-sama." As the Anbu turned to leave, he paused before looking back at Sarutobi with curiosity in his body language.
"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?"
Sarutobi glanced at him impatiently. "Granted."
Inu posed his question. "Why don't we just have one of the Yamanaka's go through the boy's mind to find what happened?"
The Anbu almost fainted when Sarutobi leveled an angry glare at him. "No."
Shaking, the Anbu nonetheless tried to protest, "But Hoka-"
"I said no," Sarutobi interrupted. "I will not allow someone into Naruto's mind when we have no idea what could happen to the seal, especially since I can't think of a single Yamanaka that I could trust in Naruto's mind." The Anbu just nodded rather than trying to argue further. "Find me Nezumi; I'll see if Naruto is up to talking yet." With that, the old Hokage stood and exited the room, leaving a shaken Anbu behind.
As Sarutobi walked down the hallways towards Naruto's private room, he couldn't help but wonder about his missing Anbu. 'Was he somehow involved in what happened, or was he disposed of to prevent interference? And if he was…then who did the disposing? Too many questions and not enough answers.' Of course, there was the greatest -to him- question of all…how would this affect Naruto?
Naruto had been paranoid and untrusting for a child while he had been living in the orphanage, only letting down his guard around Sarutobi and even then only when they were alone. He had always seemed to somehow unconsciously detect any Anbu that had been watching him, which had only increased his paranoia. The fact that Naruto had never spoken up about the neglect he had suffered from his first set of caretakers until that first time Sarutobi had visited without any Anbu, spoke volumes. Things had only gotten worse after the Hitode incident.
It had taken three months of living with the Sanadas before Naruto had truly opened up and trusted anyone other than the Hokage. Once he had however, his mental state and health had rapidly improved. However, it was that very trust gained from having someone actively care and take interest in him that had allowed Naruto to make that progress. Strip that away, especially in the manner that it had, and there was no telling how Naruto might react.
He had seen grown men suffer complete breakdowns from less, and Naruto was only four years old. And a Jinchuuriki. Specifically, a Jinchuuriki with a seal that no one in Konoha was qualified to understand completely.
Reaching the door to Naruto's room, Sarutobi lifted up a small prayer for Naruto before opening the door and walking in.
He was greeted by an awake and alert Naruto dashing from his bed to the furthest corner from the door. Once Naruto got as far from the door as he could, he turned wide, watery eyes filled with fear on Sarutobi.
He flinched inside. 'Naruto, I'm so sorry.' he thought as he looked at the whimpering and nearly hyperventilating child with sad eyes.
Naruto stared at the Old Man. 'Is he gonna kill me? No… no he could of done that anytime. Besides, he always had me taken care of…but… he gave me to the Sanadas… and before that… he gave me mean caretakers who always said mean things and locked me out at night…so…so maybe he does wanna hurt me? No… no, he's the only person that's nice ta me. Right? Right!?' He thought desperately, trying to reassure himself that he could still trust the Old Man.
However, the voice that was born of his paranoia and fear, the one that had kept him alive, kept him safe on so many occasions, spoke up. 'What about the Sanadas?' Naruto started at that. 'They were nice to me too… and look what they did.' Naruto's paranoia jumped several notches at that thought as he tried to push himself further into the wall. 'Maybe he was just being nice so he can try to hurt me too? If that's the case…but…why? Why did the Sanadas…and why would the Old Man…and the villagers…why?!'
His breathing became even faster as his thoughts raced, trying to make some kind of sense out of all this.
"Naruto." He jumped, as the Old Man called his name. "Naruto, calm down, you're going to hurt yourself." The Hokage said as he slowly crossed the room towards Naruto.
This of course was the last thing he should have done as Naruto's paranoia rose again with a vengeance. "Stay away! Stay away or I'll make you stop too!" He shouted as the Hokage blinked in surprise.
Suddenly, a Gama masked Anbu ran into the room, kunai drawn, attracted by the sudden shout. Naruto's eyes widened to impossible size, yet his mind was so consumed by fear and paranoia that he failed to see the Hokage calm the Anbu. He also failed to see the Gama Anbu bow and melt into a corner.
However, that didn't stop Naruto from feeling the Anbu watching him.
"Where is he!" He shouted at the Hokage, much to the Old Man's surprise.
"It's alright Naruto; no one is going to hurt you. Just calm dow-"
"You're lying!" Naruto interrupted him "I know he's here, make him come out!" Naruto's breathing reached an all-time high as his eyes tried to dart around the room, and keep an eye on the Old Man at the same time.
The Old Man made a quick signal with his hand and the feeling of being watched faded.
"Alright Naruto, he's gone. Now you need to calm down before you hurt yourself." Again, the Hokage stepped towards him, reaching out to him.
Sadly, Naruto was too far gone in his panic to listen. "No! Stay away from me!" He began to thrash and struggle in the Old Man's arms, his breathing becoming even more erratic if that was possible. Naruto began to feel dizzy and nauseous, not realizing that his own panic was causing him to hyperventilate. His struggles grew less and less as he began to go limp in the Old Man's arms.
Just as he was about to pass out, the Old Man did something that, in ordinary times he never would have done. Something that would change Naruto's life forever and destroy any faith he had in the village. The Old Man slapped him, and while it succeeded in snapping Naruto out of his panic, it had other, far-reaching consequences.
His entire life, cracks had been developing in his outlook of the world. Through all the cruelties and neglect from the orphanage, the coldness of the villagers, and the crushing unending loneliness, the cracks had spread and encompassed more and more of his world. For a time the cracks had begun to close due to the kindness of the Old Man and the Sanadas, and then they had been brutally torn open again when his adopted grandparents betrayed him.
With that slap, the Old Man, the one person he had left, had shattered his world completely.
Translations
Saru= Monkey
Tora=Tiger
Hebi= Snake
Gama=Toad
Nezumi=Rat
Ojiisan=Grandpa/Grandfather
Obaachan=Grandma/Grandmother
Author's note: There you go, chapter four. Sorry about all the flashbacks. As usual, any reviews, suggestions, criticisms, etc. are welcomed and appreciated.