His Secret (A Naruto Rewrite)

Chapter 2: Done so Soon?

Naruto woke up with a dull headache and blurry vision, something he should've been used to by now. Resting his little head on the dark, sandstone wall, he tried to figure out where he was. Though it was dark, his vision was fine. Maybe he had been in here long enough to adjust to it? He didn't know. But looking around the dreary, small room, he spotted a wall made from spaced out sandstone bars and a metal chain next to him, a circular cuff around his foot. A jail cell. He thought, slipping his foot out of the large metal cuff. He tried to pick the heavy metal up, but was unsuccessful with his tiny arms. He huffed and pushed the chain away instead, making a soft rustling sound. What was the point in chaining him up if the chain was too big anyway? The sound triggered someone, apparently, as loud footsteps echoed throughout the room, shaking the floor beneath him. Naruto backed away quickly, attempting to shrink himself against the wall and out of sight but to no avail. A sand ninja, broad shoulders with an intimidatingly large build, revealed himself to the right of the room. The sandstone bars (which were probably not as durable as Naruto would've liked) were the only thing separating the two.

The large man picked up a clipboard that was next to his enclosure, hanging on the wall out of sight from the child until he brought it closer to his face. The burly man's brows furrowed in concentration, his dark eyes flitting across the pages of information in quick succession. Naruto expected a lot of things, yelling, hitting, maybe even fire if the man felt like being fancy, but concern wasn't one of these things. So, the two looked at each other in shock, big, ocean blue eyes meeting matured, stone cold grey ones. Both seemed to have lost their shine.

A plethora of thoughts scattered between the two, some shared and others far off. What is someone like him doing in here? Is this kid okay? And similarly Naruto was thinking, Did they finally ship me off? Is this guy alright? He's staring at me weird... Despite the several red flags shooting up between the two, the tension would have to break soon. A shuffle echoed through the room, the man made a minuscule step and gestured to the bars as thought he was going to open them and all too soon Naruto snapped back to life in a frantic state.

With watery eyes and a tear jerking, wobbly frown, he pleaded for his life. "No! Please! I didn't do anything! I swear!" He begged. At least in the 'safety' of his village he knew he wouldn't die. What would happen to him now that Jiji wasn't there to protect him? The man, albeit more hesitant than he'd of liked, pushed apart the sandstone bars with ease, the bars morphing to his will and staying in a spread apart position to allow easy entry and departure. He's never claimed to be great with kids, heck, he barely saw his own, but he'd seen his wife interact with them before. He'd seen what she would do in this situation, and so he tried to duplicate it. Naruto, no longer bound by loose shackles, ran to the farthest corner of the room, attempting to push himself into the wall. He may've been used to the abuse, but that didn't mean it ever got easier, or less scary for that matter.

"P-Please... I don't want it! Don't hurt me!" He cried, knowing it to be futile. Since when did saying no ever stop them before? Just as suspected, the man creeped closer, bending down low to the ground to use a genjutsu on him, Naruto imagined. He braced himself, his shaky form curling tightly into a ball with his eyes closed to minimize the chances of being blinded. He waited for a strike to his back. And waited. And... waited?

His head slowly rose above his arm, little blue orbs peeking above slightly scarred tissue. The man was sitting in front of him, in fact he was sitting in the middle of the room, putting plenty of space between the two.

"Who." His deep, baritone voice rang throughout the room, making the boy jump.
"W-who am I?" He doesn't know already? Naruto wondered. The man shook his head stiffly.
"Who did this to you?" He clarified. The man didn't even know the subjects name, but he was ready to give up on his mission and go hunt the person down. Naruto shakily leaned towards him, still on edge but a bit more trusting to the strange man.