Naruto's POV
I was sitting at Ichiraku's Ramen Shop when I saw Mina coming up the street. She was looking kind of exhausted and it could only have been from Grandma Tsunade's harsh training. I heard that she took on my friend as an apprentice, which was awesome. I knew that she would be an amazing medic nin, like Sakura. I stuck my head out and flagged my fellow ninja down. I figure that I would treat her to some ramen, but I would have to make her pay half the bill. My frog coin purse was just about empty...no thanks to pervy sensei who spent most of it at brothels and on women.
Stupid pervert.
"Oi! Mina!" I called.
Her eyes brightened when she saw me and she hurried inside to join me. She plunked down on a stool right next to me and stretched, cracking her neck. I cringed when she did that, only because it reminded me of Orochimaru. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought of that snake...the same snake that drew Sauske away from the Leaf Village. I shook that thought out of my head. I was still determined on bringing my brother back one way or the other. He might have turned his back on the village but I would never turn my back on him.
"Hi, Naruto!" Mina greeted me! "I shouldn't be surprised that you're here."
I chuckled. I was here a lot of the time when I wasn't busy. Ramen was my life!
Slurp!
Mina was the only person out of my comrades (alright, maybe Hinata) that didn't seemed to be bothered by my eating habits, but that was probably because she knew how I ate ahead of time. Mina ordered some ramen for herself. She looked really happy here in the village but I couldn't help but wonder what her life was like in her world. Not her home life, though, because she already told me that part. I bet it was just as sad as her home life. I bet her parents never let her live it. I still saw the sadness in her eyes, despite being happy here in the Leaf.
"Hey, Mina." I said carefully. "What was your life like before you came here?"
...
Mina's (OC) POV
I swallowed my ramen as I contemplated Naruto's question. I knew exactly where he was going with that question. He was referring to my life on the outside. Well, I never did live a life outside because my parents were forcing me into buying them drugs and booze. If I did have a life, it was spent on supporting my parents' habits. I could feel Naruto's blue eyes burn into me. I sighed sadly before I answered him. He was my friend and he deserved to know everything about me
"I never did have a normal life." I began.
I told him about my parents' drug and alcohol abuse and how I was forced into buying the stuff for them. I explained to my comrade that in order for my parents to avoid prison time, they would send me out to the streets and to a nearby drug house with plenty of money on me. There were times that I actually had to seduce some of the men there in order to get the money. Thankfully, I never had to pimp myself out to the guys, although there were a few times that men had approached me and there were the few times that my parents tried to get me to prostitute myself. I sighed. Those were the times that I defied my parents and got beaten for it.
I could feel Naruto's anger as I continued my story. However, I didn't notice that Haruno, Kakashi, and Iruka had joined our little powwow. I was just so lost in memories. I remembered the lashings that I took from my mother as she took a whip to my bare back. I could still feel the leather come into contact with my skin and the pain that followed. I could remember all of the punches that I took from my father. I could still feel my jaw break and a large fist digging into my stomach.
"Control yourself, Naruto." Iruka said gently.
I delved into my past even further. I didn't realize just how far I gotten into my past when I heard Naruto scream:
"STOP IT!"
"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed. "Calm down!"
He forced himself to take several breaths and his red eyes, which I hadn't noticed until now, reverted back to blue. He was remembering his own past and Iruka and Kakashi both knew it. He hadn't been treated very kindly, either. He and I were a lot alike, now that I thought about it. We were both treated like crap and we were outcasts. I tried to calm him down and told him that my horrible life was now in the past and that it should stay there for good. Sure, there would be some reminders but the pain that I felt had dulled and that I had a new home away from my old home. I had friends and family to speak of.
"Which includes you, Naruto." I said.
I told him that I considered him a brother that I never had and that the rest of the ninja that we were acquainted with were my family now. Nothing could take that away from us. We both had dreams to speak of as well.
"I didn't have a dream before I came here, but now I do."
The rest of the afternoon was spent telling stories.
