Naruto (Reader x Various)

Chapter 7: The Calm Before the Storm

Your heart was pounding. You raced down the long hallways, your footsteps echoing. Each hallway you ran down looked exactly the same. You could hear your pursuer's footsteps behind you, not that far off. They were getting closer, you tried to run faster, but your short legs wouldn't carry you. You were only about nine years old. Escape. It was the only thing on your mind. They were right behind you now, closing in-

"Hey, are you alright, (y/n)?" You hear Naruto's voice sound from above you. You felt a cold sweat down your back. You swallowed, and managed to nod. You sat up, for the first time noticing the young lady who was there, standing next to Naruto.

"Who's that?" You question, looking at Naruto.
He looks at you before saying, "I don't know her name. She woke me up while she was gathering herbs or something though. I was about to help her look for some, but I heard you mumbling something about escaping. Anyway, you were probably just having a dream. Would you like to help us gather herbs?"
You look at him before saying, "Sure."

"It's pretty early right now. Why are you out hear so early?" You ask the lady, putting some herbs in the basket.

"I like the morning. Plus, I didn't expect to find anyone sleeping out hear in the woods." Naruto laughed, explaining how you had been training him to control chakra.
"Does that mean you're training for something dangerous?" The lady questioned.

"No, I'm just training to get stronger." Naruto replies. You look in-between the two of them.

"So are you training for a certain person," she asks, looking specifically at me, "or are you just doing this training for yourself?" You, being the person you are, didn't notice the look she'd given you when she said, 'certain person'. She laughs at Naruto's expression, saying, "Is there someone who's precious to you?" She glances at you, then back towards Naruto. He gives her a blank expression. The lady seems to lose focus, staring off into the distance.

"When a person has something precious that they want to protect, then they can become genuinely strong." She explains, making your eyes widen a little at her wise words. Naruto contemplates her words, remembering certain parts of his past.
"You will get strong, very strong. Goodbye. We will meet again. Oh, and by the way, I'm a boy." With that, the boy turns away, and starts walking. You sweat drop, while Naruto looks astonished.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," you say, getting up. "Want to walk back to the house with me? I don't want to miss breakfast. I'll race you there!" You start running, getting a head start.


*Time Skip to Night*

You were sitting around the table in the center of the room with Tazuna, Tsunami, Kakashi, and Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke had gone out training again, and it was getting late. You hear Sakura say something about Sasuke not normally being late. Just then, the door opens, and Naruto and Sasuke appear, both limping through the door.
Naruto exclaims, "We did it! We both made it to the top!" He starts celebrating, making Sasuke and himself fall over.
Kakashi says to them, "Starting tomorrow, all of us will be body guards for Tazuna now."


*Small time skip to after dinner*


Inari starts crying, making Naruto look up from his sleepy slumber.

"But why? All this training will turn out for nothing. Gato has a whole army that will beat you down and destroy you. All of these cool things you say and do, they don't mean anything. No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose!" Inari yells, tears streaming down his face. You remember a time like that once, when you had lost all of your hope. You look at him sadly, knowing the only way to stop the crying was to gain back hope by yourself. You had learned that the hard way. "Just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about us! You're just butting in and you're always laughing! You don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt!" His yelling grows louder, so it's more like a scream now.
His words cause Naruto to grow silent, then for him to say, "Listen to yourself! Whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for what I care, because you're nothing but a coward!" Naruto storms off, Inari just standing there, sobbing.

Inari sits on the dock, his feet hanging over the edge. Kakashi walks up behind him, sitting down next to him.

"I know Naruto can be a little harsh sometimes. But he doesn't hate you. I know what happened to your father. (Refer to manga, because I don't feel like telling that part with all the flashbacks) You probably don't know this, but Naruto also grew up without a father. In fact, he never knew either of his parents. And he didn't have a single friend in all the village. Still, I've never seen him cry, sulk, or give up. He's always eager to jump in, because he just wants to be respected. He'll put his life on the line to do that, since it's his dream. My guess is that he just got tired of crying, and instead decided to do something about it. Naruto knows better than any of us what you are going through. And what he told you earlier, as cruel as it sounded, he's probably told himself that a thousand times." Kakashi finishes his grand speech, walking back into the house. Inari stares after him, pondering what he had said.


*Time skip to next day*


Everyone was awake, except for you and Naruto, who had pushed your bodies to their limits. You were both still asleep, while everyone else had gone to help protect Tazuna as he finished the bridge. When Naruto and you finally wake up, you're both wide awake instantly, noticing everyone else is gone.
You run downstairs, seeing Tsunami, then asking her,"Where is everybody? Where'd they all go?"

She replies, "Oh, (y/n), Naruto. Your sensei wanted to let you two get some rest, so you have the day off." You both groan, running back up the stairs to change into your normal gear. Then you run out the door, yelling goodbyes behind you. You both run out into the trees, going towards the bridge.



Alright! Chapter 7 is finished! Hope you liked it. I haven't checked for spelling or grammar mistakes, since tomorrow's a school day and it's getting a bit late, so sorry about that. Next chapter up soon! Thank you so much for all of the votes this story is getting! Anyways, bye for now! Stay ritzy, my friends.

~ NekoZiggy