𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

Naruto x reader

━ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ━

You weren't surprised. At this point, nothing those nasty villagers did ever surprised you. But did that make the pain any less? The mental abuse any better? No. It didn't.

You're not sure what you'd done this time

- maybe it was just the mere threat you apparently posed. Or maybe you'd said something wrong, you tended to do that often, and word had spread. That would explain the gathering crowd that grew around you, surrounded you and cornered you.

At first it was harsh words - monster, freak, loner, etc. Then it was the threats - get the hell out of the village, you don't belong, you'll just murder us all, etc. And then the punches and the kicks came. Your body crumbled to the ground, blood splattering from your lips as you desperately tried to cover what you could with your arms.

But it was useless. It was always useless.
Your eyes narrowed, half from the pain and half from the tears you felt growing. A sob left your now busted lip as someone sent a particularly harsh kick at your side. If they weren't beating you to death, they were pretending you didn't exist.
Alone and abandoned, you had no one.

"Please," you cried, "please!"

"Shut up!"

"You monster!"

"Get the hell out of our village!"

Behind the screams and shouts of threats and hatred, and through the bodies that surrounded you, your eyes caught sight of a small child. He was no older than two, with brown hair and blue eyes, a small grin was stretched across his lips. For a moment, the sight of such a small innocent child eased you. Then the mother crouched down, caught your eye and turned the infant away from you quickly.

Your hopes died with the disappearance of those innocent eyes.

There was no point fighting. They'd never stop. You were hated and they wanted you dead - why not give them what they wan-

"What the hell is going on here!"
The voice, so different from the others, shocked you.

"Move out of the way, dattebayo'!" The voice, now identified as male, screamed again, voice raspy. "My God, what is wrong with you a-..." His voice died out as a pair of shoes appeared before your line of vision.

Weakly, you gazed up, meeting blue eyes - similar to those blue innocent eyes you'd seen before. But this time the boy was much older, probably your age and his hair was a bright yellow, almost like the sun.

His eyes widened at the sight of you, and an expression you'd never seen directed towards you befell him - was that sorrow?

The boy leaned down and you flinched, afraid he'd hurt you. But he held his hand out before you, and his eyes softened; "i'm not going to hurt you." Your eyes narrowed - you weren't a fool, this wasn't the first time someone had played you like this. But... you'd never seen this boy before. He looked... different. "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki," he grinned gently.

Your eyes filtered to the slowly dispersing crowd around. Some of them looked appalled at the sight of the boy helping you, and others looked annoyed. Then, your gaze fell back onto Naruto and the hand he extended before you. Slowly, but surely, you set your palm against his.

True to his word, Naruto didn't hurt you and rather helped you back up to your feet. Your arms wound around, cradling your injuries to mask the pain. But it almost seemed like Naruto knew - like you were fooling no one but yourself.
"You know what always makes me feel better?" The boy grinned, "ramen!"

The statement puzzled you - you'd just been nearly beaten to death and the boy wanted to take you out for ramen? But still... no one ever asked you to go eat together. No one wanted to eat with you, period. The feeling brought something anew within you.

"Come on!" He exclaimed, smile just as bright. "I'll treat you." He gently tugged you forward, turning to bound off.
"Wait," you called, your voice meek, barely above a whisper. Somehow Naruto heard you. "Why... Why did you help me?"

The smiled lessened slightly, and it became gentle. "Because, if anyone understands what you're going through, it's me."

The statement was bold - but it was then realization dawned on you.
"You're...," you paused to gather your words. "You're a tailed beast too?"
Naruto nodded, his hand slipping into yours. "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

━ ∘◦ ☆ ◦∘ ━

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