Forever My Heart

The Chunin Exams (Pt. 1)

the baby holding the demon?"

"…No, I don't. Should I?"

"No," Itachi shook his head, "because I don't either. He's the same as my brother. He doesn't know anything and won't even remember having a mother or father. There's going to be a lot of people hating him, already. He didn't kill those people, Izumi. The Kyubi did. The human infant and the Kyubi are two different beings."

He's a CHILD! A baby! He's innocent! And my mother is…

Realization that she had been frozen on the spot for too long had finally sunk in, kick-starting her into immediate action.

"Kaasan! KAASAN!" Her elbows fiercely started shoving aside the two other people blocking her path with a vicious display of strength before charging blindly out in the open. Izumi found herself screaming, "OKAASAN! STOP IT! NO!", her hearing muffled by the blood pounding in her ears as her hands shot out in front of her. In the rush of a moment, as the broom came swinging down again, she launched in between her mother and the boy and caught the handle of the broom in both hands with a stinging smack against her palms, tightening her grip and planting her feet to hold back the next assault. "OKAASAN, STOP!"

"Izumi?" Hazuki looked down at her in shock. Her eyes were blazing red with the Sharingan. She must have activated them while still whacking the boy. "Why are you here? What do you thing you're doing?"

"What am I doing?!" cried Izumi in disbelief, and then with a forceful tug, she yanked the broom out of her mother's limp hands, glaring up at her. "Have you lost you mind?" she spat in righteous anger, forgetting in that moment that she was a only ten year-old child and this woman she was standing up against with a fierce protectiveness towards the toddler was her own mother.

She always knew that Hazuki had felt bitterness at the orphaned child from the beginning, having told her her daughter long ago that the boy was the vessel of the beast who attacked the village, but…Izumi had no idea that anger had extended to his type of violence toward a helpless three-year old. She couldn't even believe that her own mother would even do such a cruel thing!

Bile stuck in her throat, she had never felt so ashamed of her mother than she did in this very moment. Nor had she ever felt so disgusted towards the villagers who stood just nearby, watching the scene unfold with appalled interest or open scorn, not at all concerned about the little boy's wellbeing.

Without waiting for a reply, Izumi turned around to check on the child. Her concern increased when she saw the boy still sniffling on the ground, his blond bangs veiling his eyes. Worried that he may be injured and overwhelmed with guilt for not interfering sooner, she took a step toward him and held out a free hand. "Hey," she began softly, meaning to kneel down at his level to comfort him. "Are you-"

SLAP!

A tiny hand out in a wide arch and slapped hers away harshly, cutting her off. The rejection stung far more than it should have, leaving Izumi stunned speechless by the toddler's stubborn ferocity.

"I've done nothing wrong!" screamed the blond-haired little boy, his shut eyes still shadowed beneath his bangs. Tears dripped in the dirt beside him; he rubbed a fist fiercely across his eyes to cover them. "You're all a bunch of meanies," he cried loudly, "and you're all gonna be sorry!" Suddenly he surprised her by jumping to his feet and charging angrily in the opposite direction where the crowd flinched back from him like panicked mice, leaving an opening as he ran off. "Just you wait!"

"No, wait! Please, wait!" Izumi called out after him desperately. "Come back! I just-"

But whether not hearing her or simply ignoring her, he never paused or glanced back. Heart wrenched with guilt and sadness, she thought about running after him, wanting desperately to apologize for what had just happened, but it was too late.

He was already gone.