Chapter 1: Hated
—Hiruzen Sarutobi—
"How's the ramen, Naruto?" I asked, smiling fondly at the boy.
Naruto, with his face deep in the bowl, of course, barely heard me over the sound of his slurping. It took him a second, but he lifted his head and looked at me, face dripping with broth.
"IT MIGHT BE THE BEST THING I'VE EVER EATEN OLD MAN!" He shouted at me—not that the child was capable of a lower speaking volume. I chuckled seeing Teuchi flinch in the kitchen.
"I thought you might like it, this place is a secret spot for shinobi you know?"
"REALLY?!"
"It's true, many come here to celebrate after completing missions."
I could see him imagining himself with his teammates here, his blue eyes sparkled as he looked around the place with renewed love. I held back a laugh as he yelled at the poor ANBU in-training eating beside us, asking her if she was an undercover shinobi.
The progeny of Minato Namikaze, child of Uzushiogakure, and the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, each title warrants a protection detail following its carrier, together they are a death sentence. Safety through anonymity was the only real option, which is why Naruto could ask any man, woman, or child nearby and the answer to that particular question would be yes, a normal orphan doesn't have dinner with the Hokage after all.
However, despite all our precautions one of those titles seems impossible to hide.
"So, Naruto do you have anything to tell me?" I asked as he sat back down on the wooden stool.
I saw him try to hide a guilty grimace, the child is a bad liar, and thank God for that.
"No." he said in a low voice as he stirred his fourth bowl of ramen with a pair of chopsticks. The word was whispered, the truth however, like his usual speech was loud and clear.
"Naruto" I called him and put a hand on his shoulder to get him to look at me, and when he met my eyes I continued, "You say that you want to be Hokage, right?"
He nodded at me, a nervous expression marring his usually grinning face "Well then you must know that it's the Hokage's job to know what is happening in the village so that he can protect it and all who live within its walls. That means that all shinobi report to me if anything unusual happens, like a five-year-old Uzumaki in a frog costume trying to sneak past the village gates." I said while I recalled the pair of genin, trying and failing to stay serious as they reported how one Naruto Uzumaki was jumping and croaking like a frog to sneak past them.
"You're not in trouble Naruto, just tell me why you were trying to leave, hmm?"
I told him as he broke eye contact, lowered his head, and went back to playing with his bowl of ramen. He opened his mouth to begin to speak and sat there for a second, then closed it, breathed out of his nose, and sagged with an amount of fatigue that no child should be able to display.
"I was angry." He began.
I felt him tense under my palm and squeezed his shoulder to encourage him to continue.
With a choked voice, he said "The other kids at the orphanage keep calling me a freak. They say that I'm an animal, and they keep pulling at my whiskers."
He paused and reached to his face as he remembered the events.
I took the moment to examine the features that made our attempts at keeping him safe through anonymity foolish in hindsight. Naruto Uzumaki grew whiskers—a surprising development for me and a fascinating case for the doctors. We really didn't know what to expect, he is the first jinchūriki that was bathed in tailed beast chakra since inception after all.
I watched as he reached for his whiskers, and I noticed them twitching, out of nervousness perhaps? Those whiskers and a set of adult teeth more canine than human hiding below already sharp teeth are the only abnormalities that the doctors could find without more invasive measures. People who don't know Naruto might see these features as beastly, and yet all I could see in front of me were twitches of nervousness in those whiskers, simply a frightened child.
I lamented the fact that deformities born from an act of sacrifice made to save the village are being used to insult its protector as Naruto began speaking again.
"Even the grownups at the orphanage call me a beast when they think I can't hear them, but I can. They say that I shouldn't be kept with the other children, that I should be kept outside the village." he said with a wavering choked voice that made it clear he was holding back tears even if I couldn't see his face with his head lowered.
He pushed away the bowl and put his forehead on the edge of the table, hands balled up in his lap, he said "They hate me old man" He sobbed "They don't want me here. The rest of the village is the same way, they don't let me play with their kids, and they yell at me to go away."
I sat there and rubbed circles on his back, not having the words to comfort him.
"That day I went to play with Souta," he said, then shifted his head on the table to take a look at me, likely checking to see if I was paying attention, and then shifted back.
"He's this new kid at the orphanage who didn't have a problem playing with me but while we were playing Takumi saw us."
I kept rubbing his back as he began to shake a little, stifling his sobs.
"He told Souta that he shouldn't play with me anymore, and then he said he would cut my whiskers off again, said that he was doing me a favor because I looked like a person without them."
He lifted his head up, teary red eyes met mine as he continued.
"It's true old man but it hurt when he cut them off last time, and I couldn't walk right after till they grew back."
He lifted his arm and rubbed at his eyes with the sleeves of his orange jacket, his voice muffled by the fabric continued "I was afraid that he'd cut them off while I was sleeping so I ran away, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry Naruto." I said as I grabbed his arm, and pulled him in for a hug.
I frowned as I acutely felt the restraints of my position, limiting my actions, and dictating my behavior. At that moment the weight of the hat on my head felt heavy but it was shame that made me bow my head.
What little I could do must be done.
"I could give you an apartment for you to live in all by yourself, what do you think Naruto? Would you like that?"
An apartment in a shinobi-only building. Housing an orphan with a "bloodline limit" shouldn't raise too many eyebrows.
"Really?" He spoke into my chest.
"Yes really."
That should make his life easier. I thought to myself as I signed to the purple haired ANBU recruit to inform her of her new watch duties.
Forgive me Minato, Kushina.
—Yūgao Uzuki—
"You pick a mask yet?"
I tilted my head up to look at a man standing upside down on the branch above the one I'm perched on, mask half a meter from mine.
Pug mask, white hair, and no regard for ANBU codes that need to be followed when approaching fellow members. Fucking Kakashi.
"My kunai was going to go into your skull sensei, please follow protocol," I stated in an even tone, my kunai already back in the pouch. All ANBU recruits know not to let the man wearing a PUG mask get under their skin, or else they'll be his target till he's bored of them.
Nobody wants the attention of friend killer Kakashi. Under the guise of playfulness is a truly horrific mission record, even among ANBU elite. I need to be cautious.
"Oh? Is a blank-mask recruit lecturing me on protocol? That's new." He quipped, a smug smile was no doubt adorning his face under that mask. "Though I might have to change my ways, it seems like my bad habits are rubbing off on my adorable little students," he said while sheepishly rubbing his head.
I caught myself cracking my knuckles as he did that, a nervous tick I've been taught to suppress in my training. Having to play along with the man's innocent playful guy act made me unsettled enough that I fell back into old habits. It's amateurish of me to behave this way even if the guy In front of me has the moniker 'friend killer', even if he also got the title 'Kakashi of the Sharingan' at the same time as he did his moniker, it doesn't matter if it's whispered in hushed voices that he murdered the Uchiha explicitly for power.
It's amateurish but I couldn't do anything to stop the uptick in my heart rate when the man dropped from the branch above me, flipping in the air in a show of effortless flexibility and dropping on the branch beside me. I adjusted my chakra flow, strengthening the power of the Tree-walking Jutsu to account for the branch bending under the man's weight, wincing as the sound of it creaking made me more on edge.
Now in front of me, he stated "Because if protocol is to be followed that kunai should have already found its target." He paused pointing at his uncovered eye before he continued. "Hell, protocol states that until the unidentified shinobi has flared their code name aggressive precautionary action should be taken so…" he trailed off as he began walking towards me, making me stumble backward till my back hit the tree's trunk. His face was now inches away from mine, his single eye stared into mine.
"Go ahead, follow protocol recruit."
"I… I don't…" All training went out of the window as I stammered a little and then shut up as he stared at me for a few seconds, the silence only disrupted by my quickened breathing.
"Oh, calm down I'm not going to eat you." He said taking a few steps back with his hands raised, palms facing me making calming motions. "You kids rely too much on the ANBU code of conduct, it's a flaw that has and will be used against in the field" he lectured, as I fell back on my training to parse through his chakra flares, getting: 9. "That's your last lesson as a recruit take it to heart, it might save your life one day." He finished. I pushed myself off the trunk, shaking the twitching out of my hand and calming down a bit now that he was conducting himself with a modicum of professionalism.
"Last day, right?" He asked looking towards the park where Naruto Uzumaki was spending his afternoon people-watching. He was watching a pair of kids setting up a prank for their friends this time. "A month-long babysitting job, it must've been tough" he joked.
"You say that but the brat has sharp senses." I huffed turning to look at my charge for the last month, seeing him laugh as the pair succeeded in dousing their friends in water. "Ate some ramen once and he kept sniffing around, muttering that he smelled it in the air. I had to buy scent-concealing spray." I frowned, ignoring Kakashi's laughter in favor of watching Naruto trying to set up the same prank the pair just pulled off, giggling to himself as he hid behind a tree, lying in wait. Of all the ways Naruto has tried to make friends I've seen the last month, this might be the worst. That won't end well.
"Is that so?" he sputtered out between his giggles. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you that the Hokage is expecting you within the hour for a mission debrief, after which you'll need to report to ANBU HQ so you can get your official regalia, so you better have your mask picked out already" And I nodded in response "little recruit becoming a little murderer, almost brings a tear to my eye—" Met with a kunai to the torso when he reaches out to pet my head, the man disappeared, in his place green leaves swirled and began falling, the branch rustled from his sudden absence.
Dealing with that man is exhausting.
I sighed turning back to Naruto, seeing him get chased between the trees of the park by a pair of very angry, very wet first years. The past month has taught me that the response to the Uzumaki's presence around the village is indifference at best, fear being the more common reaction, though it's usually disguised with disgust or disdain. At the worst of times, when he makes a mistake like pranking a pair of first years, for example, it gets physical. I clenched my jaw and winced as one of them pushed him down ignoring his proclamations that it was only a prank, the other kicking him in the chest, knocking the breath out of him.
Mission parameters be damned, I don't care how fast the boy heals if he goes to hit him again, I will beat the brat into the ground.
Thankfully? I didn't have to interfere; his friend shook his head telling him something then grabbing his arm to try to drag him off. The other boy screamed what I think I made out to be 'freak', spat on the ground before allowing himself to be dragged off. Leaving behind Naruto wheezing, curled up, grass and dirt staining his already dirty clothes.
The Hokage needs to do something about this. I thought to myself, thankfully I was about to go see him.
—Naruto Uzumaki—
I whimpered as I felt my ribcage pulsing with pain, the injury beating in tandem with my heart. I could feel the heat of a still-forming bruise spreading to a large portion of my chest. They got me good this time, it might take a few hours for the bruise to fully disappear.
I let go of my chest, put my hand on the moist grass beside me, and groaned in pain. I felt my ribs ach as I pushed myself on my back. Now prone on my back, I looked as the once-blue sky above me slowly shifted to darker orange tones. Heavy clouds that passed by above me say that if I don't move soon, I'll be wetter than the two that just beat me up but I take a few sniffs...
"It doesn't smell of rain… "
Old man Hokage said that not everyone can smell when it's going to rain, that it's a part of my bloodline limit. He said that because of it I notice things others can't. He also told me that when I feel overwhelmed, I should focus and see what more I can notice, and that with practice this would help me become a strong shinobi of the leaf. So, as I tried to ignore the pain I closed my eyes, focused and tried to see what I could smell...
"Wet dirt… sweet delicate smell of the flower gramps called... ah... camellia! They haven't bloomed yet; gramps says they'll look pretty late winter."
My ears twitched a little as I tried to listen more attentively to my surroundings, I could hear…
"Winter air flowing through the yellowing tree leaves, same wind flowing through the grass and around me." I paused feeling my whiskers twitch feeling the way the air flows around me, subtle shifts in the way the air moves as things around me move. Not much is moving around though.
"It's quiet and what voices are left in the park are fading… the sun is setting, and everyone's going home with their parents."
I stop and open my eyes, trying to get away from the bad feelings that come up every time I'm alone. Not that being around others feels good. My thoughts rebuffed but I knew that while feeling hated felt bad it was still better than being alone. When I'm alone everything feels heavy, it's hard to breathe, hard to move, it feels like there's a hole in my chest, it makes me feel weak, empty.
It feels like no one would notice or care If I disappeared.
I sat up the second that passed through my head, pain flaring in the side of my torso made me grunt but I pushed through it and stood up completely.
"No sound of suspiciously moving branches… airflow steady as I move… no smell of food following me around, though that stopped a few days ago… did he stop eating or— wait that's not the point THE BASTARD SAW ME GET BEATEN UP AND LEFT!"
I grumbled, cursing as the shout made me take a deep breath, agitating my ribs. Two weeks that bastard followed me around! Two weeks! I had been on edge the first week because I started to feel like someone was following me but I wasn't sure why I felt that way. Then one day I kept walking around and the smell of ramen followed me everywhere.
I hadn't had ramen that day! I ran out and I had yet to buy any!
After that day all the little tells, like the rustling of tree leaves that didn't make sense with the surrounding airflow, or a specific smell I hadn't encountered started following me around all day. A shinobi has been following me! I'm sure of it!
I thought over why a shinobi would follow me around as I started walking down a pathway that would take me through the clan district and lead me to the outer edges of the village where my apartment complex is. It's a good place to stay, despite its distance from the center, I liked that it was near the training grounds. Training grounds that the old man says I can't use till I graduate.
It isn't a problem unless I'm caught.
I chuckled lightly, as I looked over my clothes, rubbing at the green and brown stains on the orange jacket and sighing.
I'm going to have to wash— My thoughts seized as my ears caught a few words carried by the wind, my head snapping in the direction of a few boys surrounding a girl.
"You're right it is a freak! I mean what the hell is wrong with her eyes."
The boy said pointing at the trembling girl they've surrounded. I winced clutching at my side as I continued watching, stretching my senses to the limit to get a grip on what was happening. Walking closer as they talked.
"N-no… I am—ah… it's a blood—" The girl barely managed to get out a few words in a whispered voice so low I'm not sure the boys even heard before interrupting her.
"Look at her!" He laughed holding his stomach. "The freak is shaking! I bet if we pushed her around a bit more she'd start crying!" he wheezed out between laughs.
They think it's funny.
I thought as my steps quickened.
He thinks it's so funny he can barely breathe.
I clenched my jaw as I felt my heartbeat get faster, my stomach churning as anxious energy filled me.
He wants to push her around.
I looked at the girl, she was trembling as the boys got closer. Three of them were against her, and she stood no chance. They'll hurt her.
Just because she's different, they want to push her around, want to see her afraid, want to see her cry. They think it's funny.
I barely noticed myself sprinting, the only things I noticed at that moment were the sound of my blood pumping in the side of my neck, dulling my hearing, and the surprised face of the bastard I jumped at, tackling him to the ground, the weight of my body and the impact knocking the breath right out of his lungs. I sat up ignoring the pained moans of the boy below me, my head snapping towards the girl, trembling pupilless eyes met mine, and squeezed all the air into my lungs into a single instruction.
"RUN!"
I don't wait to see if she's running before I turn to my right to see one of the other boys lunging at me with his leg poised to kick me so I rolled to my left and pushed myself off the ground as fast as I could.
"Ah would you look at that, it's the beastlike freak of the village!"
"No wonder, freaks do stick together isn't that—"
I didn't give him a chance to finish the thought, jumping at him hoping to repeat the successful tackle. However, without a running start, against a heavier target, I just couldn't push him down. He grabbed me and slammed me into the gravel path, pain in the side of my ribs once forgotten came back with a vengeance as I found myself wheezing on the ground the second time today, this time with stones digging into my back instead of soft grass.
"Hey Kenta! Quit your moaning and get up. We need to teach this freak a lesson." The leader of the trio said to the boy I tackled. And he listened, coughing a few times as he stood up and stepped over near us.
I can't win this I need to run. I thought to myself, but while I pushed through the pain and tried to sit up their chubby leader noticed, smirking before stepping closer to stand over me.
"You're not going anywhere you animal, not until I say otherwise." He said as he stepped on my chest and pushed me back into the ground. His weight pressing on my already hurt chest forced me to take shallow breaths. I gathered my waning strength, raising my arms and grabbing his leg, trying to dislodge it from my chest but it was futile. This was my second beating of the day and I didn't even win the first one.
Everything hurts, I'm suffocating. Just leave me be already.
"Kenta, come here since he hurt you first—"
I didn't hear what the boy said after, or if he did say anything after because this Kenta boy sprinted from my left side and kicked at my arms, finally dislodging the leg off my chest.
"Shit! Kenta! You asshole, you kicked my shin!"
"Fuck sorry sorry Giichi I was aiming for the freak's head."
As they talked to one another I sat up, finally able to breathe deeply again. Each breath was painful but it was a lung full. My eyes though were glued to my arm, my breathing, the pain, and the situation I was in taking a back seat as I sat there just staring.
"Ah… guys…" the third boy trailed off
"What"
"The freak's arm is bent weird. I think Kenta broke it…" the boy stammered out hesitantly.
I'm sure the conversation continued but I wasn't listening, I felt out of it, like it wasn't real. I just kept looking between my broken arm and the trio arguing on whether they should keep beating me up or run away before they get caught.
"It's not like anyone would care! Look we all want to be shinobi, we can't have weak stomachs, he's the perfect practice dummy, everyone hates him anyway! so what if he got a few broken bones, they'll probably thank us!"
He doesn't want to stop. I looked back to my arm.
I'm already hurt though. I kept staring at my arm as the pain started to come back again.
"Look we just kick him a few more times so he remembers not to mess with us again! That's all"
He wants to kill me.
My eyes reddened as the pounding pain from my broken arm, bruised ribcage, and hurt back made me nauseous.
It hurts so much; I'm going to puke.
I looked back to the trio arguing, barely registering what was being said but I knew at least one of them wanted to beat me to death, and that made me burn on the inside. I could feel searing heat spread from my gut, making the pain more manageable.
"I didn't even do anything wrong," I whispered to myself. "Why do you hate me so much, I didn't do anything." I continued in a louder voice. "You know what? you can hate me all you want; I despise you all anyway." I said. Though the words were more growled than spoken.
"What?" the trio echoed turning to me as I got into a squat with the tips of my feet reading a lunge, planting my good arm on the ground in front of me for balance.
"If I have to kill you to live then so be it."
My vision was tinged red as I looked as terror crept into the trio's faces, it's like they were faced with a demon. Funny, I've been called that before. I readied myself for more injuries as I stared them down but two of them just grabbed the chubby one that had pissed himself and ran off. I kept my body tensed until I couldn't sense them in the area, and then I grunted in pain as I let myself fall on my back.
"I'm not sure I could've survived that… I'd take at least two of them down with me though" I wheezed out a laugh as I thought it over.
"I'm weak… I almost died…" I lifted my good arm and reached out to the stars, clenching my fists to feel the muscles tensing. "Next time this happens I can't be weak… I can't wait for the academy, being a freak will kill me before I join." I giggled nervously.
They keep calling me a freak, an animal, a beast in human skin, I really should start acting like it.
I won't disappoint you all, I promise.