Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto or any characters in this story; it belongs to masashi kishimoto.
Chapter 3: Growing up
'I screwed him over.' This was Kakashi's first thought when Hiruzen told him about his thoughts on how Naruto's status as a jinchuriki leaked. Kakashi had been livid when the Hokage said that he believed that Danzo had revealed Naruto's status to get back at them for taking Tenzo from Root. The old scar head had been salivating at the opportunity of sinking his extremist beliefs into Naruto ever since Hiruzen announced to the counselors that the Yondaime had sealed the Kyubi in him. Danzo had constantly demanded that Naruto be given to him so he could "train" him, and the Hokage always refused him.
Kakashi had shuddered at the thought of the bright, smiling kid he shadowed, occasionally becoming an emotionless weapon for Danzo to point at whoever he pleased. His latest adventure with Tenzo had caused Danzo's spitefulness to go over the edge, but being the shrewd operator that he is, there was no way to track this debacle back to him.
The copy ninja had been putting off meeting Naruto as much as he could. He didn't want to be attached to anyone anymore, but just seeing his spiky golden hair and cheerful smile through Kakashi back to the past. As he had expected, the kid reminded him about Kushina and Minato, but being reminded of Obito really threw him for a loop. He couldn't quite place it, but something made Naruto a constant reminder of his late teammate.
He even gifted him a pair of green goggles as his inside joke. He had left them at his doorstep on his fourth birthday, and to his delight, he had never seen him without them. He had decided to meet him after he returned from his latest mission. He had been away from the village for two weeks only to return and hear people talking about the Kyubi kid. He had rushed to meet the Hokage. When he met with him, he had been furiously writing a law preventing anyone from talking about it unless they wanted to be executed.
Now Kakashi couldn't even look at Naruto without feeling guilty aside from the other painful reminders he brought.
He was returning to ANBU headquarters, the sun had already set, and the pure white snow covered most of the streets. Then, he saw a small, shaking figure walking alone in Konoha's desolate and freezing streets, trying to tie a scarf as red as his mother's hair.
Kakashi mentally sighed, silently approached the blonde kid, and knelt before grabbing each end of the scarf and tying it properly.
For as loud and bright as Naruto was, he was also equally curious. So, seeing a man in a mask approach him genuinely perplexed and intrigued him. It took him a moment to realize that said man was tying up his scarf, and he tried his hardest to memorize how he was doing it. When he finished, the ANBU member just silently stepped back.
"What is your name?" asked the curious Naruto as he approached the masked man.
Kakashi stood in silence for a while before answering. "Inu."
"Thank you, Inu!" Naruto said with his full-out grin.
Kakashi nodded but was lost in the clear blue eyes that he vividly remembered his Sensei had. He was so distracted he didn't notice when Naruto got close enough to hug his leg. It took him a moment to realize that Naruto was hugging him. As soon as he realized, the same feeling he had when he tried to carry Naruto when he was born returned. Yep, it still burned. It still hurt. He wasn't ready for this and doubted he would ever be. Kakashi gently removed Naruto from him before nodding and vanishing in a Shunshin.
Naruto was broadly smiling as he walked home. That little gesture of someone helping him made his day. He didn't understand much at this age, but he understood that people didn't like him for whatever reason. He understood that he wasn't like the kids with parents to feed and hug them. Still, he didn't let those thoughts dampen his mood. Someone had actually helped him! Him, of all people. The only other person who has ever been remotely kind to him was the old man he shared fish in the forest once. This was the best day ever!
Hinata was running out of the funeral house. She didn't know why she felt it was her fault, but it felt like she had caused his cousin much pain. She couldn't stand seeing him trying to suppress his tears. 'It's all my fault!' thought Hinata as she felt the beginning of tears forming in her pale lavender eyes. She was the heiress and shouldn't be seen crying, but she couldn't keep them away anymore. So, when everybody was grieving, she ran away. She ran until no one was in sight, and when she couldn't run anymore, she collapsed in the middle of the street under a lamplight and started sobbing profoundly.
She sobbed for a while until she heard a voice. "What are you doing?!" asked the voice loudly. She was used to getting scolded by her father, but he would never raise his voice. She would have thought it felt horrible, but this voice was unique. It was loud and bright with no hint of disappointment or harshness. She raised to look at the owner of the voice only to see a blonde kid about her age with a cream and orange jacket and a red scarf walking towards her.
"What are you doing here?" asked the voice more softly. "If you keep crying, how I'm supposed to find out?" he questioned her with a hint of humor.
"I... I..." Hinata couldn't get the words out.
The blonde just smiled softly at her. "Where is your house?" he asked as he continued to smile at her. Hinata could only shake her head in response, her sadness and shyness acting up.
"Oh well, come on. We will find it; Let's go!" as soon as he said that, he took her hand and guided her through the streets. She didn't know when or why, but she had stopped crying. Now she was only focusing on the hand of the blonde guiding her. She was entranced by how warm his hand felt despite the harsh winter Konoha was experiencing.
They walked around for a while as she found comfort in the warmness he exuded under the freezing weather. Eventually, she could point him in directions until they arrived at the Hyūga compound.
The smiling blonde stood in amazement at the huge structure. "Wow! You live in a house this big, and you are still crying?" Hinata tuned to see him, and she saw her smile falter ever so slightly. "I don't have anyone, but I never cry. Never!" he finished with conviction. He then turned to give the brightest grin she had ever seen.
"Jaa ne!" the blonde waved goodbye and sped off running. She then realized she had never asked him his name.
'This is the best day ever!' thought Naruto as he ran as fast as his little legs would allow him. 'Maybe even...'
Naruto continued speeding towards his home with a huge smile on his face, and when he reached his door, he opened it in a rush. "Tadaima!" he said happily and expectantly at the darkness of his apartment. His smile and excitement didn't drop instantly but slowly as the seconds passed and no answer came back. He closed the door, and with a single tear going down his cheek, he got into his bed.
The sun was setting in Konoha, and Naruto held a small frown as he walked down the street. It was the day before his sixth birthday, not that he was looking forward to it. He noticed that the glares were increasing as his birthday grew closer, and he doubted they would stop tomorrow, but at least he planned to treat himself to something. He had been saving money for a long time now. His frown disappeared as he arrived at the place he was looking for, a small store that sold masks, but Naruto wasn't going to buy any mask. He smiled softly as he remembered when Inu helped tie his scarf. He was going to buy a mask that looked just like Inu's.
He scanned the store for Inu's mask and found one that looked similar. He let out an excited sound. One moment he was excitedly counting his ryō and. The next, he was on the ground as the little money had saved spread through the streets.
"You brat! Go away!" said the deep voice of a man.
Naruto looked up at the voice, and his eyes met the face of an angry man with a thick mustache and brown hair. He concluded that he was the owner of the store and the one who shoved him.
"What's the problem?!" complained the little blond from the ground as people gathered to see what was happening. No one batted an eye when they saw who the store owner pushed, even if it was just a five-year-old child.
"What are you doing here?! Go away, you plague!" yelled the store owner. Naruto wasn't surprised anymore by the glares he received everywhere he went, but something made this man's glare different. Naruto had never seen anyone looking at him with so much hate.
"What!? I was only... only looking to buy that mask." Naruto's voice had started as a scream, but with every word, it got softer and sadder.
"You want that mask?! Here you can have it and never let me see you again!" said the owner, throwing the mask and hitting Naruto on the head with it. Naruto gave the man the best glare he could muster. He had been practicing it for a while now. He didn't know it, but his glare would somehow turn his cerulean eyes into ice blue as cold as a blizzard. He got up, dusted himself, and went to grab the mask, and when he looked up, he saw that more people were glaring and murmuring at him.
"What do y'all want?! Why are you looking at me like that?" his first question came out as a loud demand, but the latter was sad and pleading for answers and in a much softer tone. He grabbed the mask and ran towards his apartment. When he reached his place, he threw the mask at the wall and slammed the door behind him. He sledded down, resting his back against the door, and brought his knees to his chest.
'Why me? Why do they look at me like that? What did I ever do to them?' Naruto sat there brooding for a long time. It wasn't until his stomach growled that he snapped out of his depressing thoughts. He made his way to the fridge only to find it empty. He sighed. He would have to buy something. He only bought fruits or things he needed to heat up because he couldn't cook. His hand went to his pockets to count his ryō only to find them empty, and he groaned.
'I dropped everything I had when that man pushed me, and I forgot to pick it up!' Naruto thought angrily before his thoughts became more depressing. 'I'm such an idiot.'
'I guess I'll go to the forest and see if I can catch something, but it's already night.' Though Naruto was a little scared of the prospect of going to the forest so late at night, then his stomach sounded again, and he made up his mind. 'I'll go quickly, and if I can't find something, I guess I'll just return and wait until the old man brings me money to buy food.' Naruto frowned. 'Jiji should have already been here.' He just sighed in resignation and got ready to head out.
'It's raining? Seriously?'
As he was walking through the mostly empty street of Konoha, a smell hit his sensitive nose. It smelled delicious; he had never smelled something so mouthwatering. He was actually drooling a little before he noticed. He forgot about heading towards the forest and unconsciously followed the smell. He arrived at a small restaurant and was about to enter when he remembered what had happened earlier. He was about to leave when he saw a man waving at him to come over.
Naruto was very reluctant to get close to the man, but the man smiled at him and spoke. "Come on, kid; you will get sick if you stay under the rain." Naruto shyly nodded and entered the restaurant. "Take a seat, kid." Naruto still was reluctant, but he decided to sit.
"Here, dry yourself. You will be sick if you remain soaked." The man said with a smile. Naruto wanted to say he never got sick, but he still accepted to towel the man offered.
The man noticed that the kid still looked a little afraid. "You know that I don't bite, right kid? Unless you are made out of food." Naruto stared at the man for a moment before letting out a laugh together with the old man.
Seeing that the kid was more relaxed, he decided to ask questions. "What are you doing in the rain? Where are your parents? Are you lost?"
The smile that Naruto had instantly vanished. "I don't have parents." Said Naruto in a whisper but loud enough to be heard. "I was planning on going to the forest to get some fish, but I got distracted." The man at first thought it was a lie, but seeing the sadness in the boy's eyes told him that it was nothing but the truth.
'What the heck is this kid doing here? The orphanage is on the outskirts of the village.'
"My name is Teuchi, kid. What's yours?"
"Uzumaki Naruto." Now his voice had fear and sadness mixed in.
'Ah, that explains it then.' Of course, he knew who the boy was. You would be surprised how much you hear in the stands of a restaurant when the customers think nobody is listening. Teuchi took a second to look Naruto over. He was small and rather skinny for what Teuchi guessed was his age and also looked scarred and ready to run at a moment's notice. 'He is just a kid.' Though Teuchi sadly.
"Well, Naruto, are you hungry?" asked Teuchi gently. Naruto quickly shook his head, but his stomach growled, completely contradicting his mannerisms.
Teuchi grinned. "Are you sure, Naruto? I think your stomach says otherwise." Naruto answered by murmuring something Teuchi didn't quite hear.
"Sorry Naruto, what did you say?"
"I don't have any money." Said Naruto loud enough for Teuchi to hear. Teuchi wanted to slap himself. He should have known.
"Don't worry about it, kid. I'll give you a bowl of ramen to fill your stomach." Teuchi offered as he made his way to the kitchen.
"Ramen?" asked Naruto raising an eyebrow.
Teuchi stumbled and nearly fell. He turned around to look at Naruto in surprise. "I would have thought you would know, given your name."
"Given my name?" Naruto was visibly confused by that statement.
"Yeah, I would guess you were named after Narutomaki." That didn't do anything to alleviate Naruto's confusion. "it's something you eat with ramen." Offered Teuchi, which seemed to clear the confusion. "That or your name means maelstrom."
Naruto frowned in deep thought before speaking. "I like maelstrom a lot more."
Teuchi chuckled. "Alright Naruto, maelstrom it is." And Teuchi went to prepare the ramen.
A few minutes later, he came out with a steaming bowl and placed it in front of Naruto. Naruto's eyes went wide as saucers as he looked at the bowl. "Tonkotsu miso ramen. I made it extra special since it's your first time eating ramen."
"Itadakimasu!" said Naruto cheerfully. Naruto brought his chopsticks to his mouth, not knowing what to expect, but as soon as he tasted the ramen, he stopped. Teuchi was about to ask if something was wrong when Naruto screamed. "It's delicious, Oc-chan! Thank you so much!" And Naruto started eating at speeds that Teuchi rarely saw.
At that moment, Teuchi's daughter came out of the kitchen. "Tou-san, what is that noise?" the noise in question was Naruto slurping his noodles.
"That my daughter is the sound of a very satisfied customer." Ayame turned to see who was eating at the same time. Naruto looked up to see who the new voice was.
"Aww, isn't he cute, Tou-san?" Ayame had stopped Naruto from eating and was now affectionately grabbing his cheeks. Teuchi was about to scold Ayame but noticed that even though Naruto had turned deep shades of red, he wasn't complaining, so instead just chuckled.
After Ayame had stopped, Naruto was rubbing his sore cheeks. "That hurt Nē-chan." After hearing him call her that, she quickly started pulling Naruto's cheeks again.
After Naruto finished his ramen and Ayame stopped pulling his cheeks, Teuchi said he was closing the restaurant and willing to walk Naruto home. When they arrived, Teuchi was surprised by Naruto's apartment, it wasn't fancy, but it was pretty good considering he was an orphan.
"All right, Naruto, I expect to see you soon. If you ever need anything, stop by, okay?"
Naruto nodded and beamed at Teuchi, who ruffled his head, and then Ayame started to pull his cheeks again before they left. Naruto went to bed feeling happier than he had in a while.
Naruto was happily walking in the streets of Konoha, holding someone's hand as he pointed at different stores. He noticed an older man holding his hand, he tried to turn his head to get a look at him, but the man's face was dark as if a shadow covered it. He also noticed that people weren't glaring at him. They were smiling and waving. He was about to wave back at them when he heard a voice.
"Hey, kid! Want a mask? I'll give your dad a discount. How does that sound?" Naruto was about to ask about his dad when he assumed it was the man holding his hand.
"I'll buy you the mask Naruto." Said the man as he ruffled Naruto's hair. "We are not that far from the house; can you get there by yourself? I want to stop and buy your mother some flowers, but I guess it would be too boring for you, no?" Naruto nodded excitedly and hugged the man, still unable to see his face.
Naruto didn't know where his house was, but it seemed his feet did as they moved of their own volition, not that he was complaining. He quickly arrived at a door, opened it, and screamed. "Tadaima!"
Naruto immediately heard a soft giggle followed by a sweet voice. "Okaeri, Naruto."
Naruto's smile had never shone brighter in his life. "Kaa-chan? Where are you?!"
"Well, someone is excited to see me. Im the kitchen Naruto." The sweet voice answered.
Naruto instinctively made his way to the kitchen. He saw the figure of a woman getting something out of the fridge. "Go shower Naruto. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
"But Kaa-chan I-" he wanted to say he wanted to see her face when he was interrupted.
"Naruto, you have to obey me, remember?" she said in a soft scolding tone.
Naruto didn't know why but just said okay and went to shower. When he came back, he heard the voice of the man that was holding his hand earlier and was about to enter the kitchen when there was a knock on the door.
"Naruto, can you get it, please."
"Okay." He answered cheerfully and when to open the door.
Naruto opened the door only to find the owner of the mask store glaring. "What did I tell you brat?! I never wanted to see you again!" Naruto turned to call his parents but was surprised when he found himself in the middle of the street, surrounded by familiar cold glares full of hatred.
"Get lost!"
"Is that kid."
"Nuisance!"
"Worthless!"
Little by little, his fear escalated, and he did what any other kid would do in this situation. "Kaa-chan?! Tou-chan?!" Naruto screamed in fright, only to hear mocking laughter in response.
"As if someone like you would have parents!" screamed someone from the crowd, followed by murmurs of agreement and more insults.
Naruto covered his ears and closed his eyes, and started to scream. "Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop it!" and Naruto woke up shaking and breathing heavily. He noticed that the sun was already shining outside his window.
He didn't know how long he stayed in bed, willing the tears back into his eyes. 'Stop crying! It never fixes anything! No matter how much I cry, it doesn't change anything... It never changes anything!' he told himself for what he felt was the millionth time.
He didn't know how much it took, but eventually, he managed to control his emotions. He laid down in his bed for hours blankly staring at the selling. It wasn't until he heard a knock on his door that he stood up. He was about to open the door when his nightmare came back into his mind, and he suddenly froze. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice that he could move, the voice of his Jiji. Although he wasn't in a good mood, he still greeted the old man. Naruto noted that the man looked noticeably sad and serious today.
The man entered, and they sat in silence for a while in the kitchen. Hiruzen first broke the silence by speaking and taking out an envelope. "I apologize for not coming earlier. This is for this month's living expenses; spend it wisely." He said stiffly before getting up and making his way toward the door.
"Hey, wait!" said Naruto, and Hiruzen turned.
"What happened to my parents?" asked Naruto timidly.
"I already told you before." Said Hiruzen in a monotone way. "They died a long time ago whe-"
"That's not what I want to hear!" said Naruto angrily. "I know they died five years ago when the Kyubi attacked the village. I know that. I just want to know who they were. What kind of people were they? What were their names?"
Hiruzen stared at him briefly before returning and walking to the door. "It's no use in asking about that. It won't bring back the dead." And the elder Hokage left without another word.
Naruto stood in the kitchen before he went to the nearest wall and started punching in frustration. It didn't hurt, or rather, it hurt less than what he was feeling due to the old man's words. After his little hand was numb and a little bloody, he stopped and sat silently on the floor. He completely lost track of time until his stomach reminded him about eating. Naruto turned to see the small envelope with the money he had been given before scoffing. He went to his room, grabbed an orange hoodie, and exited his apartment to head to the forest.
Naruto was returning from the forest, and it was already dark. It had taken him a little longer to catch enough fish this time due to how frustrated he felt. He was still bitterly thinking about his conversation from earlier and chuckled bitterly at the memory. He didn't realize he had taken a different route until he reached a clearing filled with stones and a big monument. It took him a few seconds to realize this was Konoha's cemetery. He thought about his parents and wondered if they were there. He started looking through the names of the headstones with concentration; he was so concentrated that he only heard the horrible cries of pain and anguish when he was too close. He saw a man crying and kneeling in the grass with several empty glass bottles at his side.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Naruto with concern. The man looked up and realized it was yesterday's store owner.
When the man saw Naruto, his eyes blazed as hot as hell. "You! You monster! You took them away from me! The love of my life and my precious daughter!" the man's words were coming out slurred. He made to stand up but fell. Naruto stared at the man in confusion and shock. Suddenly Naruto was overcome with fear and a single thought. Run. Naruto quickly turned around and started running; it was even ten steps before he tripped on one of the tombstones and felt his right ankle twist painfully.
The man slowly made his way toward Naruto, swaying with every step he took. He was meters away from him when a familiar white mask with red markings and spiky silver heard appeared behind him and delivered a chop to his neck, causing the man to fall unconscious to the ground.
Kakashi eyed the man at his feet with disgust. He had never thanked Kami for being here, but now he was grateful for at least this once. He doubted that the man would go as far as to kill Naruto, but he was sure the blonde wouldn't be unharmed if he didn't step in.
"Inu!" screamed Naruto in relief after a while. He tried to stand up, but his right ankle failed to hold his weight.
Kakashi looked up to see Naruto struggle to stand up. "Are you hurt?"
"I think I twisted my ankle when I fell." Naruto winced as he tried to stand.
"Can you walk?" Naruto tried again but couldn't. Kakashi just sighed. 'I'm a glutton for punishment, aren't I?' He thought as he approached Naruto. "Climb into my back; I'll carry you to your home." Naruto stared at him briefly before nodding and climbing into Kakashi's back.
"Are we just going to leave him there?" Naruto asked, surprising Kakashi.
"He will be out for a while; I'll be back for him after I drop you off." He answered and felt Naruto nod against his shoulders.
Kakashi was surprised by how quiet Naruto was. They had been walking for a while now, and he barely made a sound. Naruto always seemed to be about to explode with all his hyper-activeness.
"Inu?" Naruto suddenly spoke.
"Hm?"
"Why did that man say that I took away his daughter? Did I ever do something wrong? I don't remember doing anything like that, and my pranks are mostly harmless. He also said I was a monster. I'm a monster?" He asked in a low voice devoid of his usual brightness.
'Shit. Think quick' Though the copy ninja. "He was drunk, and you didn't do anything wrong, nor you are a monster." He had half a mind on telling him to stop with his pranks. 'He doesn't even know the number of D-rank missions genin squads have nowadays because of him.
"Drunk? What's that?"
"It's what happens when you drink too much sake. It makes you act differently and say things that aren't true."
"What's sake?"
"A drink you will try until you are much older." He felt Naruto nod against his shoulder again, and they remained quiet for a while.
"You know, yesterday I tried to buy a mask from that man. I wanted one that looks just like yours. It wasn't the same, but it was pretty close to yours, dattebayo." said Naruto with a little more energy.
Kakashi felt a stab of pain when he heard the similar verbal tick Naruto shared with Kushina but continued to talk. "Did you buy in the end?"
"Eh, kind of. I mean, the man pushed me out of the store and threw the mask at me, and I just left after that. I have the mask, but it's broken." Kakashi seldom paid attention after hearing that the man pushed and threw the mask at Naruto; he was too busy deciding how long he would wait to take the man to Konoha's police department.
'10 minutes should be enough once he wakes up.' He concluded mentally before answering. "I see. Were you alright?"
"Yep." Answered Naruto plainly before they once again fell into silence.
"All right, here we are. Can you walk now?"
Naruto climbed out of Kakashi's back and walked. "Yeah, I feel much better now! Thank you so much, Inu!" At speeds that would have Minato proud, Naruto hugged Kakashi fiercely.
Kakashi just padded him on the head before turning. "Goodnight..." Naruto got visibly deflated. "And happy birthday." Naruto's mood instantly improved, and he gave Kakashi a wide grin.
Kakashi later realized that I hadn't burned to hold Naruto this time. He smiled softly as he returned to the cemetery to spend some time with the guy he had knocked out before throwing him to the police force.
The next day Naruto woke up and was about to leave his apartment to buy food when he saw a package on his dining table that wasn't there yesterday. He cautiously opened it, hoping it wasn't a prank, only to find a mask identical to Inu's. No amount of glares or under-the-breath insults could do anything to wipe the huge grin of genuine happiness off his face during the rest of the day.
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