Momoko walked Naruto all the way to his front door.
"Get back inside and rest now, Naruto." Momoko bent down, gently tousling Naruto's hair, and gave him a gentle shove toward the stairs to hurry him up. "It's getting very late."
"Big Sis Momoko..." Naruto hadn't said a single word the entire walk while holding Momoko's hand, his head bowed the whole time. Only now, as he looked up and saw the familiar hallway, did he snap back to reality.
Just now... just now Yuka had hit someone because of him, and when Yuka was taken away, she hadn't even looked at him once.
He had wanted to grab Yuka and say something, but the situation had been urgent, and before he even had a chance to speak, Yuka was already gone.
Thinking back to that moment when they parted ways, Naruto grabbed Momoko's sleeve like a drowning man clutching a straw, lifting his head. Those beautiful, bright blue eyes welled up with tears.
"Am I... am I not allowed to play with Yuka anymore...?"
Naruto lowered his head again, his voice filled with regret and remorse. "I'm a monster. I got Yuka hurt. It's all my fault..."
Momoko had taken Yuka home first, and then, at Yuka's insistence, had come over to drop Naruto off. This whole incident had caused such a huge uproar that even the head of the clan had been alerted, and she had no idea how it was going to be handled. She couldn't possibly guess the young miss's mind, so of course she couldn't give a definite answer.
"Naruto, stop crying. What's done is done. Crying isn't going to solve anything." Momoko raised a hand to pat his head again, gently wiping the tears from his cheeks before finally pressing a handkerchief into Naruto's hands.
Naruto clenched his teeth, fighting hard to hold back his tears.
Watching Naruto's little face contorted as he held back his sobs, Momoko swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She was no relation to this child; saying too much would only lead to mistakes. Better to say nothing at all.
"Go on inside and get some rest early."
Naruto bit his lower lip hard. "I know."
...
After seeing Momoko off, Naruto returned home alone. He opened the door and his hand instinctively felt for the left side of the frame to turn on the light, but his fingers met empty wall.
"...? Where's the switch?"
Naruto's chaotic thoughts cleared just a fraction. He kept one hand pressed against the wall and swept the other carefully along the surface until he finally stood on tiptoe and stretched his arm high to find the light switch.
"Click."
The indoor lights snapped on. His eyes, already accustomed to the darkness, instinctively squinted. Naruto raised a hand to shield his eyes, lowering it slowly only after they had adjusted to the glare.
What met his eyes was a scene completely different from the one he had left that morning. In the span of a single day, his thirty-square-meter little nest had been remodeled to feel incredibly warm and cozy. The peeling, paint-chipped walls had been repainted in a uniform warm yellow, looking soft and inviting under the bright white light. The small single bed in the corner had been replaced with a larger one, complete with blue bedding printed with white clouds against a blue sky. The covers were clean and crisp, carrying a fresh, unfamiliar scent.
His personal belongings weren't many. He had never bought clothes of his own; whatever he wore had been handed down by others—some too big, some too small, but all barely wearable. He had never cared whether his clothes looked good or not, because nobody else cared either. The moment most people saw his face, they would look at him with scorn or terror, cursing him as a "monster" before storming off before he could even open his mouth.
At first, Naruto would talk back, insisting he wasn't a monster. But as time went on... when was it that he had simply grown used to the name?
Naruto kicked off his shoes and stepped barefoot onto the clean floor. Though his personal items were few, they had all been neatly folded and placed inside a newly moved-in wardrobe. The closet door stood open, several new outfits hanging on hangers inside, and the shoe rack below held a brand-new pair of shoes.
He took out the new clothes and shoes, putting them on with extreme care.
They were just plain T-shirts, but the fabric was soft and clung comfortably to his body. Naruto couldn't read the tags hanging from the garments, but he could tell they fit him perfectly—completely different from the clothes other people gave him. The colors were bright and vibrant, a multicolored array that made him feel quite colorful when he looked in the mirror. It looked exactly like the kind of clothing Yuka would like.
Yuka had said: she liked brightly colored things.
It seemed these clothes had all been carefully chosen and sent over by Yuka.
Thinking of Yuka, the good mood brought on by the clean room and pretty clothes vanished instantly.
Feeling gloomy, Naruto took off the clothes and shoes and hung them back up in the wardrobe.
He and Yuka had only met yesterday. Even though they had known each other for less than two days, he really, really wanted to be friends with Yuka... He needed friends so badly. He didn't want people to call him a monster anymore, nor did he want to be isolated. He wanted to blend into this village and play with the other kids.
He didn't want to be lonely.
Yet he didn't want his identity to hurt his friends either...
Yuka shouldn't have gotten hurt so badly, and she had no reason to get hurt for his sake. Those people had come for him. If he just disappeared, then those people would have no reason to beat Yuka, and she wouldn't get hurt again.
Just like Big Sis Momoko said, crying wouldn't solve anything.
Yet he just couldn't help it.
He didn't want to be separated from Yuka at all... He wanted to eat delicious Ichiraku Ramen with her, and go down to the riverside to watch the sunset while learning to weave grass crowns. Maybe when they were a little older, they could even go to the Ninja Academy together as classmates—he and Yuka were about the same height, and Yuka's mother had said Yuka was only a little bit older than him.
Naruto squatted down, wrapping his arms around his knees and burying his face in them.
In this cramped space that belonged only to him, he curled up in a corner like an injured little beast, completely alone. Naruto hugged his knees tightly, as if doing so could offer him a shred of comfort and security. His body trembled slightly as muffled, stifled sobs escaped him.
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"You *are* a monster, after all... A monster wanting to make friends with a human? Heh."
In the darkness, a pair of demonic beast eyes slowly opened. A vast, orange-red glow gradually stained the entire shadowy space crimson.
"...What are you coming out for?"
The beast sneered, its nine tails materializing one by one amidst the firelight. Its voice was low and hoarse, dripping with malicious intent: "That's a child of the Uchiha clan. You only know her first name, but you didn't care about her surname at all, did you, idiot? You dare associate with people from the Uchiha clan? They'll eat you down to the bone! Chewing you up and spitting you out would be getting off easy!"
"..." Naruto remained silent. He squeezed his eyes shut, his back teeth clenched tight as thin beads of sweat broke out across his forehead.
"Don't bother trying to resist my power! You're far too weak!"
Amidst the beast's ceaseless voice, a pair of faint, semi-transparent fox ears surfaced atop Naruto's head, interwoven with orange and black chakra swirling around them like a harbinger of doom.
He struggled bitterly, covering his sweaty ears, refusing to listen to the beast's voice.
"You... stop..."
The hoarse whisper, sounding like a demon's murmur, echoed in Naruto's ears, trying to shatter his willpower: "Stop struggling. You'll never have friends. You're a freak, a tailed beast. You've killed so many people in the village—how could you possibly have friends? They all detest you, hate you, loathe you, and wish you were dead! Why would anyone ever want to be friends with you?"
"Would a child of the Uchiha clan treat you as a real friend...? Their clan has always put interests first. You're a Jinchuriki; controlling you means controlling Kurama, and children are the easiest to manipulate... They deliberately sent a kid your age to get close to you... and in the end, they'll strip you down to the skin and peel me right out of your body! Without me, you're dead meat! Nobody's coming to save you! Is that what you want to see?"
"Your parents abandoned you the moment you were born! They threw you into the abyss, and you can only save yourself... Come on, give me your hand! Rely on my power! Become the king of this world!"
"BOOM—!"
A flash of light cut through the gloomy corner. Right before the beast could touch Naruto's hand, a set of black iron bars materialized, separating it from the crying, near-collapse child squatting in the shallow puddle. It tried to touch the black bars with its claws, only to suffer a double-recoil of damage that hurt so badly it almost failed to maintain its tails.
"Damn it... Namikaze Minato..." Its voice dropped sharply, though Naruto, immersed in his agony, failed to notice. "Dead and still ruining my plans."
"Shut up... Just shut up...!!" But those black bars bought Naruto a moment to catch his breath. Clutching his head, he cried out in a breakdown: "Get out... of my... body!"
Even though—even though he and Yuka had only known each other for two days, his intuition told him that Yuka was absolutely not the kind of person the beast made her out to be!
She had cleaned his room, bought him new clothes, gently wiped the blood from his face, and even treated him to delicious ramen.
Most importantly, she had held his hand and walked with him down the bustling streets of Konoha, all the way to the riverbank, to tell that group of kids who used to bully him that she was his friend. Yuka was definitely not the kind of person the beast described!
"Heh..."
The memories in Naruto's mind were shattered by a mocking laugh. Yuka's smiling face vanished instantly into nothingness, pushing Naruto's already fragile state right back to the brink of collapse.
"What good are memories? Anyone can buy you things and treat you to ramen. Those aren't things only she can do. What does a two-year-old brat understand? Adults taught her to do all that, otherwise look... you're in this state, why isn't your good friend coming to take care of you?"
"How much pain are you in? You're in so much pain you're about to die, and what is your friend doing..."
Yuka's face reappeared in his mind, but the smile on it looked different from before.
Naruto 'saw' a crafty, malicious smile spread across Yuka's face, and 'heard' Yuka's voice saying things that broke his heart: "I'd never want to be friends with a monster... Isn't he the monster that killed people in the village? Such a terrifying monster, I'd never get close to him... Good thing if he just dropped dead. Besides, he's so ugly... I hate hanging out with ugly people, just looking at them annoys me."
Those voices were clear and piercing, driving countless needles into his heart.
He didn't care if anyone else called him a monster... but hearing it from Yuka made him feel so heartbroken, so much like crying.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!" Naruto screamed, clutching his head and rolling on the ground from the blinding headache. He buried his face deep into his sleeves, tears blurring his vision: "Yuka isn't that kind of person, she's not—get out of here, go away!!"
"..."
"Bang, bang, bang!!!"
A young girl's childish voice pierced through the darkness and reached his ears.
"Naruto? Naruto, what's wrong?"
"Bang, bang, bang!!!!"
"Why are you shouting my name inside but not opening the door? Could you be held hostage? Big brother, help me break it open."
One person remained silent but prepared to act: "..."
Another, slightly younger boy's voice chimed in with a deadpan remark: "I don't think he was shouting your name, Yuka... Besides, if someone's being held hostage, they wouldn't make that kind of noise. Calling your name is less useful than calling the Military Police Force."
"Eh? Is the Konoha Military Police Force really that amazing? As expected of Father's department, truly impressive." After praising them, the girl gave another order: "I don't care, you go ram it open too."
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Heavy knocking echoed from the doorway, mixed with the sound of other people talking. A noisy commotion erupted outside.
Naruto lifted his tear-stained face, looking toward the door in astonishment—
"CRASH—!"
Another earth-shattering bang echoed through the quiet night, startling the birds resting in the trees so badly they flew off, squawking loudly.
The two families living next door to Naruto had already been losing patience while Naruto cried and shouted in his room. Hearing the loud banging from next door now, they grew utterly exasperated, threw open their doors, and roared toward Naruto's entrance: "What the hell?! Can't a guy get some sleep in the middle of the night?! Are you disturbing the peace or what?!!!!"
The moment he finished yelling, the resident looked in the direction of the noise—and saw a ghost squatting right outside Naruto's door. A white-haired ghost with no body at all! The ghost was floating mid-air, its white hair an absolute mess, its long red tongue hanging nearly to the ground, looking terrifyingly gruesome.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh, there's a ghost!!!!! Cabin fever turned the roar into a shriek that pierced the clouds, and the man fell backward onto his back.
"Caw, caw, caw—" The remaining birds squawked and flew away into the distance.
Yuka looked up at Itachi and Sasuke, her ghost face smeared with ketchup wearing a terrifying expression, yet her tone remained entirely deadpan: "Big brother, Sasuke, do I look like a ghost?"
"..." Itachi took off the ghost mask she was wearing and helped smooth down her hair. "Who bought this for you?"
Sasuke snatched the mask from Itachi's hands and tossed it straight into the garbage can by the door. "Ugly. This mask doesn't look very realistic. Yuka, I'll buy you a better-looking one next time."
"Shisui-big brother bought it for me. Big brother, last time you guys went out together, he asked if I wanted a present, and I said I wanted a ghost mask, so he brought it back for me." Yuka didn't notice the mask being thrown away, answering her brothers' questions one by one. "Then you have to remember to buy me one, Sasuke~ Don't you dare forget."
Uchiha Shisui was Uchiha Itachi's good friend. The two were of a similar age and had a very close relationship. Whenever Shisui came to find Itachi, he would usually chat with Sasuke and Yuka, and from time to time he would bring treats and toys for the two kids, making their bond quite affectionate.
"Hmph... Never mind then. Just use Shisui-big brother's." Sasuke fished the discarded ghost mask back out of the trash. Luckily, Naruto hadn't generated any garbage since returning home today, so the bin contained nothing except a clean plastic trash bag and absolutely nothing else.
The three of them walked into the house, chatting among themselves as if entering their own home. Itachi casually repaired the broken door he had kicked open, and then politely said to Naruto, who was sitting half-fallen in the exact center of the room: "Pardon the intrusion."
"Ah, it's fine." Naruto instinctively offered a polite reply, though his brain hadn't quite caught up yet.
Sasuke frowned, staring at the person sprawled on the floor, his eyes sweeping up and down like a radar.
He had whiskers on his face, his clothes were filthy, and his mouth had been hanging open in a stunned 'O' shape from the very beginning until now.
He looked completely foolish and idiotic. Why on earth would his sister make friends with a guy like this?
Hmph, he wasn't even qualified to be a toy! He could find a much more suitable toy for his sister!
"Hey, Naruto, snap out of it." Yuka placed the food box she had been carrying down beside Naruto, squatted in front of him, and waved her hand in front of his dazed eyes, asking with burning curiosity: "Why were you shouting my name just now? You're pretty good, aren't you? I just got to the door and hadn't even knocked yet, and you already knew who was outside?"
"Ah...?" Naruto blinked twice. The corners of his eyes still held undried tears, which traced the curve of his cheek and vanished into his collar. "Yuka, are you... alive?"
"Tch." Sasuke let out a soft scoff through his nose, his displeasure with Naruto practically overflowing.
"Naruto? Did you lose your mind?" Yuka reached out and pinched Naruto's cheek.
"Ouch! It hurts!" Naruto clutched his face in pain.
Yuka withdrew her hand and stood up. "If it hurts, that means you're not dreaming, so of course I'm alive!"
"Ahhh, it really is you!!" Naruto shook off the lingering gloom, scrambled hurriedly to his feet, and cried out in wild joy: "I knew it! I knew you wouldn't be... the kind of person *that thing* said you were!!!"
"Huh?" Yuka picked up on the key part of his statement. "Who said I was what kind of person?"