Codename: Kirā Kitsune

Prologue: The Beginning

His feet batted against the ground in a flurry of panic and fear. He was afraid of him, the stranger that wanted to hurt him.
Run, the voice said. Faster, child, faster.
So he did, he pushed himself past his limits. He could hear the man calling to him. Calling him names, throwing things.
He was big, and slow. Naruto had the advantage, he knew. He was small and fast; agile. So he manoeuvered his was around large rocks and through the forest, between buildings with alleys too small for him to slip past comfortably. He was getting away, but he knew it wouldn't last. His stamina was high, but not strong enough, he would tire soon, he knew.
Child, I am doing all I can for you. You are safe with me, the voice said in a low hum. He was comforted, temporarily. He could feel the heat of the beast's chakra in his stomach, slowly spreading through his body like a warm bath. He ran through the village until he found himself on the outskirts of town.  Moonlight shone through tree leaves, leaving him with minimal view, but he navigated his way through with relative ease. This was not his first time in these woods. He ducked past low branches and dove through thorny bushes, until he made his way into a large clearing. He froze.
No! The voice yelled. Turn back, run. You have to go!  It was no use. Naruto was glued to the spot, staring at the middle of the clearing, fear rooting him to the ground. It happened here. He didn't want to remember, but he did. His heart beat accelerated with his breathing, his hands shot up to his face and his nails dug through the tan skin under his eyes. He screamed, a loud, horrible scream. He saw flashes, a knife digging through his tattoed stomach, a hand around his throat. He smelled copper and salt. He didn't know if the liquid running down his cheeks was blood or tears.
He collapsed, the ground swallowing him like he had been there for years. He felt like the grass was holding him hostage, forcing him to watch the memories of that day. He was sobbing, loud and broken, but it stopped when he felt a sharp sting of pain across his throat. Naruto's body lurched upwards, he grasped at his throat, a sea of red pouring down his chest and clothes, thick and sticky. It clotted around his fingers as he grasped his neck, trying desperately to prevent it from leaving his body, to no avail. Blood trickled into his throat and he let out a disgusting gargled scream, liquid ran down his chin as he coughed and sputtered, crying desperately for someone to help him. He was too young to die. Someone kicked his side, violently, and he realized what had happened. The man had caught up to him.
"You stupid, filthy brat," he yelled, and grabbed him by his soaked shirt collar. The man lifted him up to eye level, and spat in his face. "You're a bloody murderer. To think that Lord lets you walk around the village like you did nothing. You sack of shit, I'm going to kill you, asshole."
He gargled weakly, the edges of his vision were getting blurrier and blurrier by the second. The voice was shouting in his head to stay awake, but he was getting so.. Tired. His vision faded to black, and his mind felt empty, he was comfortable and relaxed. His body no longer felt pain, and he sighed gently, relaxing into the cloud of warmth that was enveloping him. He was okay now.