The Road To Hell ||Male! Naruto OC||

Chapter 3

It had taken me exactly one day and a trip to the grocery store - as these kinds of shops were apparently called by humans - to make my first acquaintance in the village.

After my talk with Sarutobi-san - Hokage-sama, I had to remind myself - I was lead to a small-ish, two-story house near the training grounds by a masked shinobi. I was then given a key to said house and an envelope, which - as I discovered - was full of money. Most likely my allowance.
Whether it was only for this week or the entire month was left unclear, as the masked shinobi had vanished as soon as both items were safely deposited into my hands.
So that's that, I guess...
But I'm an adult - even if I didn't look the part. I could look after himself just fine, thank you very much!
So I had gone inside, discovered the empty cupboards and drawers - apart from utensils - in the kitchen and immediately decided to go buy food in one of the shops.
And not even five minutes later I was walking through the crowded streets of Konoha, trying to find a shop or maybe stall that sold produce or some other kind of food or ingredient.
As I was looking at the different signs of the shops - on the lookout for the right one - someone stumbled out of one of the shops and into me.
"Oof",they landed on the floor with a thud. I turned toward said person and stared in utter disbelief for a split second; at first the boy in front of me seemed normal - though with larger chakra reserves than usual -, but upon closer inspection I could feel the faint traces of demonic chakra, sealed inside the blond.
In the blink of an eye, I reeled in my emotions and crouched down to the boy's level. "I'm sorry, kid. Are you alright?" I held out a hand for the other to take, "I didn't see you there."
The blond boy - who was by the way wearing the most atrocious tracksuit I had ever seen - looked up at me in surprise.
"You're sorry?" He sounded almost in awe.
"If course I am; I caused you an inconvenience that could've been avoided if I had paid more attention", I said, bewildered by the other's tone, then grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Up you go, kid."
The boy looked awestruck for just a moment more, before he registered my words. "Who are you calling kid! We're the same age!", came his indignant shout.
"Oh?" I could feel a teasing grin making it's way onto my face. "But you're so small!" And lo and behold, I was right. Even with his spiky hairstyle, the blond was a few inches smaller than me.
"That doesn't mean you get to call me kid!" "Well I think it does."
After that bit of teasing, I turned away. "Anyways, I gotta get going, shortstack. I've still got no idea, where I can buy some produce..."
That piqued the other's interest and wiped the affronted look at the new nickname off his face:"Are you new here?"
I turned back towards him. "To be honest with you: Yeah. Just got here today, actually."
"Ooooooh, really?!", his eyes were glittering and he seemed to have completely overheard the nickname. "I've never been outside of the village before! What is it like?", he asked, all the while over-excitedly bouncing on his feet. Aaaaw!
"Eh, it's... Different, to say the least." Looking around at the bustling street I couldn't help, but add:"Definitely much less peaceful, than here though."
Despite the flowery way of saying it, he still seemed to get what I was trying to imply. "Oh," a small pause in which he shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Would you like me to show you around?" He offered, both hope and apprehension in his eyes.
"If it's not an inconvenience to you", I replied, a gentle, encouraging smile beginning to brighten my face.
"Nah, it's fine",the other waved off and began to walk along the street. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, by the way!" He looked over his shoulder with a proud grin. "And I'll become the next Hokage, believe it!"
Well, considering the demon that is most definitely sealed inside you in addition to your already large chakra reserves, I don't think there's a lot, that could actually stop you from getting there in no time at all.
"Good luck then, Uzumaki-kun. I'm sure you'd make a good Hokage." I shot the blond boy a grin. "My name is Makkuro. Nice to meet you."

After that, Uzumaki-kun showed me where to find most of the grocery stores - apparently they where all located in roughly the same area - and afterwards even some interesting places around the village, including the academy - though I had to actively ask him for that specific one.

He had just ended his tour of Konoha, when I asked:"Would you like to come over someday? It doesn't have to be today, but I'd like to repay you for helping me with all this", I said, indicating the bag of groceries in my left hand.
At those words the Uzumaki gave me an incredulous look, as if he expected me to reveal it had all been an elaborate joke from the beginning and wasn't that just heart-wrenching? Such a bright boy with so much potential...
"I mean it, I'd love to have you over!", I said, my chipper tone hiding a roiling sort of rage - at those who had dared to make this walking sunshine feel inadequate - beneath.
He still didn't quite seem convinced by my offer. I let out a bone-deep sigh and gently placed my right hand on his shoulder.
"Look, I noticed that everyone here seems to hold some sort of grudge against you, Uzumaki-kun. But I'm not from Konoha and I couldn't care less about what they call you or what you allegedly did - I promise you, I've been called worse." I turned away to avoid eye contact - not because I was ashamed of my past actions, but because I didn't want to see the awed look in his eyes turn into one of fear or disgust. Don't blame me, he's just too damn lovable!
"And all of it deserved as well", I said almost proudly, but a bitter smile twisted my words into a joyless statement.
All those things... I did them without a second thought and now I'm a jaded, old man at barely 20. Heh, what a way to waste yourself, but I guess that's just the fate of a samurai...
A warm hand wrapping around mine was what brought me out of my thoughts. When I looked to it's owner, I saw Uzumaki-kun giving me a small, barely-there smile.
"I won't care, if you won't care." Somehow those words were one of the most reassuring things I had ever heard and a genuine smile snuck it's way onto my face.
"Thanks... shortstack."
.
.
.
"Hey! Who are you calling short!?"