The Great Medic

3: It's Not as it Seems

A streak of blond weaved in and out of bustling civilians. Eyes were on him as he moved swiftly around them, looking up and down the streets with an inquiring eye. The scornful watches had changed over the years, morphing into a look of disbelief or curiosity. Some still shouldered that overbearing look of disgust and hatred but there was a new, cold indifference directed towards him now. Not understanding why Naruto continued on without looking back.

He paused on the side of the road, glancing down at his red notebook. The boy flipped through a few pages, going over the to-do list he'd written down over a month ago, making sure that what he was looking for would be around here. Naruto had already spent nearly an hour on the streets aimlessly walking around trying to find a weapons shop that would sell things to him. So far, four shops had turned him down but that did not deter the eight-year-old boy in his wanderings. His eyes lit up at the sight of another shop upon turning the corner, pocketing his notebook in his backpack and dashing for it with an exuberance akin to a labrador.

The air-conditioned shop made the boy stop and sigh in content; summer was coming and, with that, more and more heatwaves were ensured. Naruto looked up and down the aisles slowly, finger tapping his chin in wonderment. Kunais, shurikens, staffs, katanas, tantos, and the likes litter the shelves against the walls. In the middle of the store were shelves upon shelves of storage scrolls, scrolls that held different kinds of jutsu, and others similar to it. While all of these different ninja equipment were definitely enticing, even if he had wanted to buy them, their price tags were too expensive to even consider it for a moment.

He wasn't here for that, though; maybe another time, but not today.

"Excuse me, did you need any..." A woman's voice came from behind him and, just as he turned to face her, she paused. The two stared at each other for a moment, Naruto eyeing her movements suspiciously.

"Ma'am?" He tried, gauging what kind of response he'd get from the employee.

"We don't serve your kind here." Her voice was venom in his ears, stern, and quiet as the words finally registered in his mind.

Naruto sneered openly, "What do you mean my kind?" It was the first time he'd heard that term before and, for some reason, it made his blood boil.

She bristled, physically shivering in his presence as she took a step back, "Nevermind that, boy. Get out of my shop."

"I just wanted to see if you had any medical revival practice scrolls." He grumbled heatedly, turning to head back outside.

"Ah, so the demon wants to undo all the pain and suffering he caused, huh? How noble... you're eight years too late. You can't gain our forgiveness back." The older woman snarled out, arms crossed over her chest defensively.

Naruto shook his head, a weird lump in his throat, "Ma'am, I don't even know what you're talking about... I didn't do anything."

"Feigning ignorance, huh? Of course." She scoffed, "Even if I wanted to tell you about all your wrongdoings to this village, I wouldn't even have the words. Disgusting, get out of my shop..." Her cold eyes looked away, arms hugging her mid-section closely. There were tears pricking her eyes when Naruto had glanced at her.

And he paused. Had he made her cry? But... he didn't even do anything.

The eight-year-old shook his head, opening the shop door and stepping through the doorway. He stopped momentarily, "Thank you for your time, ma'am..." She said nothing as he finally left the fifth store that day.

The heat struck him instantly, making Naruto stop to help adjust to it. His face felt hot as anger pooled in his gut. He was used to this, his mind reminded him. It's nothing he hasn't heard before. But the words that the woman said still lingered in the back of his mind. What was that supposed to mean? He was just as human as the rest of the people of Konohagakure.