章 90: Chapter 090

"There's that monster."

"You are not to go near that boy again. He's nothing but a monster in disguise."

"Demon!"

"You are the Kyuubi No Kitsune!"

Naruto began to hyperventilate as the voices of the villagers washed over him, he tried shutting them out but that only seemed to make the voices louder. He tried ignoring them but the voices were not to be denied, and no matter how much he tried to tell himself otherwise he began to feel disgust for what he had done.

Oh kami…they're right…I'm nothing but a monster, a demon. I-

"Naruto…" The blond froze as a hand landed on his back. Looking up he saw Kakashi, his headband back over his Sharingan looking at him in concern.

"K-Kakashi-sensei?" He choked out, "Are the villagers right? Am I…am I really a demon?"

Kakashi's eye widened slightly before going back to its concerned look, "No Naruto, you are not a demon…do not think like that. What you are is a shinobi…"

"A shinobi?" Naruto asked unsurely, his eyes clouded and lost.

"Yes," Kakashi answered with a nod.

"But I-I killed all those people," tears began to form in his eyes, "they didn't stand a chance, I just tore through like they were paper. It was so easy, how can I be anything but a monster? How could anything other than a monster do those things?"

"A shinobi," Kakashi replied, "as a shinobi you will always be called upon to do things you may not like, things that, to a civilian would make you seem like a monster. This is the world we live in Naruto. It's what we signed up for when we became ninja, it's the same for me, and the same for Zabuza and his partner."

"Partner…" Naruto's eyes widened as he jumped up, "Haku!"

Kakashi watched as he ran back towards Haku's body and sighed, he was going to have to talk with Naruto soon.

He's not going to be doing well after this. Dealing with the guilt of killing other people in such a violent manner, and using the Kyuubi's chakra to do it. No doubt his mind will be unstable for a while after this, he looked over where Naruto was now cradling Haku. And then there's that relationship, I'll definitely have to talk to him about that. I can only hope I or maybe the Hokage or Anko can help him through this.

Naruto gently lifted Haku into his arms, standing up and ignoring Zabuza who was watching him curiously, the blond began to make his way off the bridge.

The crowd that Inari had gathered to help had only arrived a few seconds ago to see the aftermath of the battle, could only part themselves for Naruto, staring at the blond in shock as he walked right past them.

(Several Hours after the Battle…)

Naruto stared at the newly dug grave he had just made for Haku. It was in the small clearing the two of them had first met, and continued to meet for the rest of the week. The grave was not much, Naruto had used his fledging wind ability to create a wind blade and carve out a tombstone for her. The cuts were jagged and uneven, and the writing was sloppy and showed that he had cut the writing out of the stone without the use of any kinds of tools. He promised himself he would get a better tombstone for her when he came back here to visit.

His face was now set in an emotionless mask as he stared at the grave. Reaching a hand into his shirt Naruto pulled out a small chain that was attached to his neck. Taking the chain off from around his neck Naruto gazed at the center piece of the metal necklace. Attached to the chain was an odd green crystal that shined brilliantly as it was held in the middle of a snow flake.

Haku had given it to him on their last night together.

Flashback…

Taking a deep breath Naruto began to tell her something that no one in his age group knew, "The day I was born, the Bijuu known as Kyuubi attacked my village, many of our ninja forces had been killed, even a lot of our civilian population died. The Kyuubi attacked without warning, just appearing in the middle of our village before going on a rampage. Just when all hope seemed lost, the Yondaime Hokage arrived and, through the use of a powerful self-sacrificing jutsu, killed the Kyuubi."

Haku looked up at him as he paused in curiosity, wondering where her companion was going with this. She knew of this story, it had been one of the few major incidents that had spread across the elemental nations, even reaching Kiri.

"At least…that is what the history books and our teachers taught us, but that story couldn't have been farther from the truth," Naruto said in a quiet voice. "You see the Kyuubi, like all Bijuu, was simply a mass of malevolent chakra with a conscious, and was the strongest of the nine. As such the Kyuubi cannot be killed." He looked down at Haku to see her staring at him with wide eyes. "The only way to defeat a Bijuu is to seal it. And the only thing that would work against something as strong as the Kyuubi is a person."

Haku gasped as she continued listening, she already had an idea where this was going. However she continued to listen, knowing that it would be better if he told her himself.

Naruto plunged on, fearing that if he did not continue now, he would never be able to tell her, "And so the Yondaime took a new born baby, who had just had its umbilical cord cut, and used it to seal the demon. Just before he died, the Yondaime asked that the child be seen as the hero that protects Konoha each and every day by ensuring that the Kyuubi could never escape again."

He paused for a second and took a deep breath, "Suffice to say, the villagers did not honor is dying wish. From the moment the boy was born he was treated like he was less then dirt. At the orphanage he was in, the matron refused to let him play with the other children, fearing that the 'monster' would taint the others. He was only fed the scraps other children left after their meals once a day if he was lucky, once a week if he wasn't. And on his fifth birthday, they kicked him out."

Closing his eyes Naruto missed the tears that were already falling from Haku's eyes.

"For nearly a year this child lived on the streets, going through the garbage cans in order to find sustenance. On many occasions he would get tossed away from them by the people who owned the shops that used them, causing him to starve. He would live where ever he could, often in cardboard boxes and even living in the sewers of Konoha for several months just to stay warm during some of the colder seasons. It was only by chance that he happened to come upon a little ramen shop, and even more amazing luck, that the Hokage happened to be there. The Hokage, after hearing of what happened to this child, gave him an apartment of his own and a monthly stipend for his necessities and the utilities of the apartment. However even then, it was not enough."

"The apartment owner could not raise the price high enough so he could not pay, but she did make it so that he was nearly broke all the time. Not that it would have mattered. The boy was unable to buy the bare necessities anyways. Shops would kick him out, or sell rotten goods to him. Clothing stores kicked him out or charged triple the price for nearly ruined clothes. And no matter where he went, people would either glare at him, or try to ignore his existence entirely. The boy also had no friends since parents had told their children to stay away from the boy, saying that he was dangerous and could not be trusted. Eventually, the parents' hatred was passed onto their children. Even when he went to the academy to become a ninja, it was no different. Teachers would yell at him when he tried to answer questions, or throw him out for trying to 'outdo clan heirs'. Nothing he seemed to do help improve his standing in class and, eventually the child turned to pranks, hoping it would get him the attention he wanted."