Lest you fade here all alone

Chapter 10: Story time with Rei

Rei sat down on a chair next to the boy and frowned at his own clasped hands, thinking how to breach the topic. "I have something to tell you."

"What about?" The little blond's voice was small, apprehensive.

"About your parents and the reason why the villagers treat you so unfairly."

Naruto's tiny frame visibly hunched over, tension clinging to his rigid shoulders, and his eyes dropped, suddenly finding the surface of the table so much more interesting than his uncle's face.

"It's not because you did something. You know that, right?" Rei questioned as he pried the boy's fingers from around the mug before pushing it out of his reach. When there was no immediate reply, he urged, "Naruto."

The small blond nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Rei threaded his fingers through his hair as he leaned back with a sigh. This was turning out to be harder than he had expected. He didn't like seeing his kid retreating so deep inside of himself, still feeling so insecure about his place in this world.

The man also didn't know how exactly to tell him everything in a way that would be easy to understand and wouldn't leave space for misinterpretations. No matter how complicated the truth was, it was better than lies or disinformation.

Rei scrubbed the hand over his face, muttering, "Where to start..." under his breath.

Naruto peeked at him. "The beginning?" he suggested in an uncertain whisper. When all he received was a blank look, he fidgeted in his seat. "The beginning is important, 'ttebayo! If someone doesn't know where it started, they won't know what happened. This one time, I got into a fight with the older boys—such jerks!—and sensei caught us and I got punished before I could tell him anything," he babbled, huffing unhappily at the end. Realizing that he just admitted getting into a fight, his anxiety peaked. "But, but, but those jerks were hurting a puppy, 'ttebayo! And I wanted to save it! I told them to go away, to leave it alone, but they wanted to hurt it even more, so I punched one... Sensei never let me tell him what happened, if he knew where it started, maybe I wouldn't have been punish—"

A hand on his head caused Naruto to go still. However, Rei was smiling at him, the same warm and kind smile, and he relaxed, unconsciously leaning into the touch.

"Good job on standing up for those who can't protect themselves, Naruto."

The boy ducked his head, cheeks flushed and a shy curve on his lips.

"And you're absolutely right about starting from the very beginning," the older Uzumaki said as he pushed himself up. "You're smarter than me," he teased affectionately, gathering Naruto in his arms. "But it's a long story, so we better make ourselves more comfortable."

Rei carried the boy into the bedroom and deposited him on top of the bed, sitting down cross-legged in front of him. Their eyes were now at the same height.

Much better.

Naruto wiggled, finding the most comfortable position. Some of his uneasiness settled down the moment his uncle believed him, so now he gave his undivided attention to the adult.

"A very long time ago, a time before ninja villages and ninjas themselves," Rei began, "there was a being. A god. An incarnate of the destruction. With the power never seen before and rivaled by no one, it ravaged the land and threatened to destroy every living creature under the sky."

"But someone stopped it, right?" Naruto asked, sounding a bit breathless.

Rei smiled. "That's right. Two brothers stepped up to fight against the god to save the world from destruction. Their fight was long and exhausting. Eventually, the brothers won against the beast, but it turned out to be too strong. They couldn't kill it in the end."