The Fox's Son

Chapter 29 - Meeting the Others

(*This chapter was edited on 11-4-2019)

Naruto sat in the tree and looked at the sky. Tonight was beautiful. The stars were out and the moon shown brightly. There were no clouds in the sky so every illuminating object it the sky could be seen. Sitting there, looking at the skies, reminded him of his Hinata. The florescent glow of the moon reminded him of her eyes that looked like lavender pearls. The way its white light basked the open fields reminded him of the porcelain skin that seemed to radiate whenever she was with him. The twinkle of the stars reminded him of how they would watch them together and try to point out the constellations that would appear in the sky.

Naruto sighed to himself. He missed her dearly. Although it had been almost nine years since the accident, he really hadn't gotten over it. Sure he understood why the villagers would attack him. They were ignorant and were grieving. Like everyone else, they had to find something to blame. Something to pin their crime on, and the victim happened to be him.

However, to kill an innocent child. A child who had done nothing to anyone. Someone with a gentle soul and a kind heart. To allow hate, ignorance, and darkness to consume their souls and blind them to the point where they would take an innocent life. It was unacceptable. Unforgivable. As much as he wanted to blame the village. As much as he wanted to hate them. He couldn't.

Mostly because the red head silently blamed himself. If he hadn't been so selfish. If he would have just left her alone. If he hadn't taken her out that night. If he hadn't have asked her to be his friend. None of it would have happened to her. She would have still had a home in the Hyuga clan. She wouldn't have had to get the Caged Bird Seal. She wouldn't have had to suffer the hatred the villagers had for him. And lastly, she would not have died.

Naruto shook his head as he felt tears threaten to fall from his eyes. He quickly wiped them. He told himself he wouldn't more for her anymore. That he would move forward and live. For her. However, no matter how many times he would tell himself that. No matter how much time had passed since then. He still grieved for her. He couldn't help, but feel guilty and hold himself accountable for her death.

He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to be there for her. He promised. He promised her that he wouldn't allow anything to happen to her, even if it meant sacrificing his own life. But what happened. He allowed her to die. He was weak. Even in her torture, he was too weak to overpower the villagers. To afraid to hurt the villagers because he understood the pain of having something taken from you. He killed her.

Naruto was snapped out of his musings at the sound of Kagome's voice. He looked down to see the Inu group sitting around the camp fire, chatting as usual. It had been a day since Kagura attacked and the group had just gotten back to their usual cheerful conversation and banter. He gave them a small smile under his hat. It reminded him of his missions he would do as a genin, before his training trip with Jiraiya. He hopped down and landed gracefully onto the ground without a sound before walking to receive his cup from Kagome.

"Done!" Kagome's voice ranged through the camp as she smiled at the several steaming cups of instant ramen she had just made.

The entire group walked up to grab their cups with an extra three cups for Inuyasha. As they grabbed their cups, Kagome had a gut feeling that she should have probably made more. For what reason, she couldn't fully understand. She was slightly surprised when she saw Naruto walk up and grab a cup. She didn't even hear him come down from the tree.

"Itadakimasu!" Sango, Miroku, and Shippou exclaimed as they split their chopsticks and prepared to eat. Before digging in, they paused and turned to Naruto. Their jaws all hit the ground as they stared at him with wide eyes.