Faded (Naruto Fanfiction) [Sasuke/Naruto] *Possibly being revised in 2020*

Chapter V

"Why would you do that?" seethed Sasuke, anger clearly displayed on his usually emotionless face as he cradled his love in his arms. "You saw how scared he was, what made you think that it was alright to surround him in a crowd? I went to the toilet for five minutes and this happens?" He took a deep breath before continuing. "I think you should leave the compound." The group stood still for a moment before Hinata moved and began to guide everyone out.

"W-we should l-leave S-sasuke and Na-naruto alone." she stuttered, attempting to push Kiba towards the door. Sasuke nodded towards her, the ghost of a smile on the edge of his lips before his attention was drawn back to the limp blonde in his arms. After the rookies left, Sasuke summoned one of his cats, telling them to go and get Tsunade. Then he picked up Naruto and lifted him back to his room.

After a few minutes, the blonde Hokage rushed in to check up on the boy, checking his pulse and where he had pulled out a few strands of hair. Once she had checked he was alright, she asked what had caused him to be so distressed. Sasuke recounted the tale, moving back towards his love as the woman grew angrier and angrier. "Those complete imbeciles!" As she shouted, she paced the room, almost burning a path through the glossy wood. "Why would they do that? They saw him, then decided it would be acceptable to do that! Do you have any area in this compound which would be okay if it is damaged?" She asked sweetly, smiling as Sasuke directed her to one of the clearings used for training. He went back inside, watching her from the bedside of Naruto. As fast as light, her facial expression changed and her fist - charged with chakra - smashed into the ground, leaving her in a 10-metre wide crater with a diameter of metres.

Tsunade walked back in, saying goodbye to Sasuke and kissing the unconscious Naruto on his forehead, before leaving to the Hokage tower. Naruto stirred in the bed after she left, cerulean eyes slowly opening as Sasuke leant over him. "Sasuke?" he rasped, hand reaching up to clasp the pale forearm before him.

"Shush, Naru, don't bother speaking. I'm sure your vocal chords hurt." The ravenette picked up a glass of cool water. "Here, drink this." He lifted up the blond with one hand before giving the glass over so Naruto could drink properly. The boy gulped it down quickly, hands trembling as Sasuke supported him. After setting the glass down, the noirette watched the boy clear his throat, evidently preparing to speak.

"Sasu, why does everyone... hate me?" The question shocked Sasuke, any blood draining from his already pale face. What shocked him as well, even more than the fact that his love though everyone hated him, was the fact that he was speaking fully in correct grammar and all.

"I saw... Everyone hates me... They... hurt me. I remember them... hitting me." Naruto looked towards him, cerulean eyes brimming with tears. He gripped his hair tightly before bending over and looking to Sasuke sideways. "D-do you... hate me too?" His words became faster and more slurred as he shuffled into the wall. "D-don't hurt me, please, I don't want to hurt anymore, please..." Sasuke slowly crawled toward him from the other side of the bed with his hands up as Naruto continued murmuring under his breath.

"Naru. I'm not going to hurt you." Sasuke moved over to the blond, flinching as his love cringed away from his touch into a sitting up position, his head bent down

"A-are you sure?" Naruto questioned, sniffing a little and looking up, eyes meeting Sasuke's.

"Yes." The noirette's response was short and sweet, yet enough to make the blond calm down. Sasuke brought his body closer to the other boy on the bed, arms wrapping around him. "Naru, what do you remember?"

The blond shuddered before taking a deep breath. "Erm, I remember getting cornered. I think I was maybe five? But the villagers cornered me. They called me names, such as 'Freak' and 'Monster. I just... can't remember why." Suddenly Naruto bent over, a hand on each side of his head, a high pitched scream escaping his mouth as he shook violently before his eyes closed and he fainted.

Sasuke laid him down on the bed, resting the blond's head on the pillow and laying a blanket on him before leaving the room. He knew why Naruto was called those names. It was due to Kurama and eventually could be traced back to his family. In the end, it was his fault his love was like this and it destroyed him. But, truly who would Naruto be without what had happened? What would have happened? Would Naruto still be the Naru he loved?