Chapter 2

His gut was right.

They were in Konoha.

And Tobirama wished they weren't.

The second hokage could only watch in disgust at the treatment the boy received as he walked through the village. The very village he and his elder brother created. While the villagers didn't do anything outright to the boy,their looks and hushed whispering said it all.

They hated this boy. Despised him.

"That kid"

"That child"

"That brat"

"That Demon—"

It's how they referred to the boy. Like he wasn't a person, like he was some kind of wild animal—

"Don't go near him!"

"Why doesn't he just die!"

"I hate him!"

"My son! It's all his fault, my son—"

Tobirama's mind couldn't even begin to fathom, how a child could have possibly garner this much animosity.

What did he do?

Or

What did his parents do?

That would certainly make more sense. What atrocity had his parents committed for the blond child, an innocent, to receive this much hatred?

The only good thing the Senju could take away from this experience was that the boy seemed blissfully unaware of the villagers' revulsion towards him. The blond boy walked with his head held high and a carefree smile on his face. Tobirama wondered how long the child's blissful ignorance would last.

It seemed that Kami was listening to that particular pondering, because as soon as the thought entered his head a large white ball rolled in front of the boy. Knocking softly against his toes the toy dribbled back slightly before coming to a halt.

With a handsome grin on his face the blond boy seized the ball from the ground with both hands and attempted to return the toy to its owner… Only for the small girl to be yanked backwards by her father.

"Leave it," the man said gruffly, looking at the blue-eyed boy as if he was the devil.

"But Tou-chan—!"

"I said leave it!" The man hissed at his daughter. "That boy is... bad... and dangerous and sick, and I don't want you going anywhere near him. Do you understand!?"

"Hai," The girl bowed meekly, pointedly looking away from the blond. All around them the hushed whispering grew more fervent.

"It's that kid,"

"He's always causing trouble,"

"That demon brat—"

"SHH! We're not supposed to talk about it!"

The ball fell lifelessly from the boy's grasp and his face went purposefully blank.

Apparently, the child wasn't nearly as ignorant as Tobirama initially thought. He probably always noticed the stares and whispering, and he simply chose to ignore them. The blond strode away from the motionless toy, never once looking into the crowd of people that parted as he passed them by.

And although his face didn't show a single emotion, the Senju just knew that the boy was profoundly wounded by what just occurred. But then again what child, what person, wouldn't be pained by that encounter. Throughout the entire ordeal Tobirama was merely a spectator, and yet he felt like he was the one who was being scrutinized.

The white haired Senju followed the boy home (not that he had a choice) and wondered what the kid's parents would be like. What kind of monsters must they be for their son to be treated like garbage.

"I'm home," the boy called out softly, and Tobirama waited for a greeting in return, but nothing came. The child didn't look surprised.

Absentee parents. Things just keep getting better and better.

Tobirama left the boy's side and looked around the apartment.

It was rather small.

One bedroom, one bath, and a decently sized kitchen. Nothing of real note, other than the state of chaos the apartment was in. Clothes thrown about, empty food containers littering the floor, and unwashed dishes filling the sink.

It was as if the boy had no supervision whatso—

One bedroom.

There's only one bedroom in this apartment. One bedroom that housed one small, child size bed.

He lived alone.

And at such a young age too... How on earth did he fend for himself?

Tobirama returned to the youngster, only to find him staring at himself in front of a full-length mirror. A small frown played on his lips, and it only grew larger as the seconds passed. Soon the boy's bright blue eyes began to water, and the older man was surprised he lasted this long.

Tobirama sighed.

He was never good with children. Especially sad ones, but even he knew a hug would be greatly appreciated in a situation like this... but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't speak to the boy, he couldn't touch him, he was completely useless. All he could do was stand here and watch the boy who was moments away from crying—

SMACK

"Don't cry!" The stern command fell from the boy's lips, and Tobirama reeled back in shock as if he was the one that had been struck.

SMACK!

"Don't you dare cry," he hissed at himself, "There's nothing to cry about!" The boy raised his hand again and Tobirama jumped forward, reaching out for the small wrist only to have it slip through his grasp.

SMACK

"You're not a baby! So, don't cry like one!" He struck himself again, and Tobirama gritted his teeth together at his complete uselessness.

He was Tobirama Senju, brother of Hashirama Senju, an unrivaled master at water manipulation, he was hailed as the fastest man alive, he was the Second Lord Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, and yet… here he was—h

Powerless...

Weak...

Unable to stop a young boy from beating his tears into submission. All Tobirama could do was watch in horror as the boy continuously slapped himself until the red welt that blossomed on his cheek split and blood trickled down his face.

"Crying doesn't solve anything," The child panted, "Everyone hates you... they'll always hate you... Crying doesn't help... it never has... so don't... please, please don't cry,"

A tear slipped down the boy's face and he turned away from the mirror in disgust.

"Pathetic,"

The hokage's heart clenched at the boys pained reflections. He's too young—far too young to be thing like that. Tobirama kneeled in front of the idle child, taking in the sorrow that was written far too plainly on the boy's face, "You aren't pathetic," he told him. "I don't believe you're pathetic in the slightest,"

The boy heaved a sigh and walked straight through the dead man's kneeling form. "Sometimes I wish I could just..."

"Just what?" The Senju inquired, but the child remained silent. The blond moved mindlessly to his bedroom and fell into the mattress face first.

A few moments later the boy shifted slightly so he could look limply out the window at the darkened sky. Tobirama sat on the floor besides the boy, deciding to watch over the child till he fell asleep.

A/N: Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, follow, and favorited (is that a word?) the story. You guys are totally awesome. Secondly, I hope Naruto didn't seem too OOC. I actuality believe Naruto would behave like this (i.e the self harm) because if you guys recall during the wave mission, when Kakashi was apologizing to Inari for Naruto's behavior he said something along the lines of, I know what he (Naruto) said seems harsh, but Naruto probably told himself the same thing a hundred times, and I never seen him cry before. So I thought the verbal and mild physical abuse would fit in with Naruto's characterization.

Let me know how you felt about this chapter, like always I'll appreciate it. Also I'll have chapter 3 uploaded by the same time next week. I'm tryim to update every Tuesday, and I'm really hoping I can stick to that schedule. Anyway,

Thanks for reading!

youthfulfox