Redemption

1

It was the sixth anniversary of the Yondaime's triumph over the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Of course there was a grand festival, but that was mostly for the children who were too young to remember that terrible night. When the children were out joining the forced festivities, the older survivors clutched their discounted sake and drowned their sorrows so reality lost its harsh edge.

But in the shadier part of Konoha, where the cheery atmosphere couldn't quite reach and vendors didn't dare put up shop, a small boy sat huddled at the center of a mob of drunkards.

His once-bright blond hair stained red and pieces of glass tearing into his skin. Tears and snot dripped down his face as he cried, terror freezing him in place.

His face was swelling and limbs bruising, but that only spurred his attackers on. After all, if the demon could bruise in its mortal shell, whats to say it can't be killed?

Ghastly cheers resounded in the narrow street when yet another bottle was thrown over the boy's head, alcohol seeping into his wounds, both old and new. Screams of agony could be heard when a few more daring shinobi arrived at the scene. They got creative with the weapons in their pouch and the jutsu in their arsenal.

The sickening stench of burnt skin permeated the air and the boy struggled to curl into himself more.

Limbs broken and twisted, it was a wonder how the boy was still alive. A horrendous amount of blood stained the ground and seeped into the rags he called clothes.

The once clean shirt was dirty and tattered, stained from both dirt and spilled blood of past run-ins like this. The poor boy couldn't imagine why he was the only one treated like this, why they would do this at all. He desperately wanted answers!

"Why?" he sobbed. "Why d'ya do this?! I ain't done nothin' to ya! To any of ya!"

A hush fell over the crowd as his words fanned the flames if their anger. How dare the demon speak out to them, to plead its innocence using that wretched face in mocking trickery?! One of the civilians came forward, more than willing to speak for the others.

"Because you've been abandoned by God! How could anybody love a demon like you? You've lost your humanity and now you must pay for your sins! REPENT, DAMN YOU!" With his part said, he lunged forward and gouged the boy's pretty blue eye out of its socket.

The resulting scream was unholy. The boy thrashed wildly, clutching at his now-empty socket as gore fell from the wound.

ANBU decided to intervene at that moment, having been tasked with watching over the young Uzumaki. They held no love for the boy, but they were loyal to the Hokage, and the Hokage didn't want the brat dead.

However, there was a fine line between maimed and dead.

So when the crowd became a little too gung-ho about their self-appointed mission to end the Kyuubi, they thought it best to step in before things escalated further.

"I'd think it wise to stop here, Mr. Shinohara," came the emotionless voice of the shinobi with the snake mask. 

"Why do you protect the demon?! Is this what the village stands for?! Well, I won't have it! We might have been repaid in blood, but only its life can pay for its sins!"

"We will use lethal force if you do not step down. I ask you again, please step down, Mr. Shinohara."  

The old civilian clenched his jaw, glaring furiously at the boy behind the ANBU. He could see that some of the more minor scrapes and bruises were healing right before his eyes. This was too good a chance to pass up. They might never get the opportunity to kill the demon before it matures and comes to power!