The Mask I Hide Behind

Recalling Old Memories

Previously:

With a sharp turn to the left, Nagato's head snapped in the direction of the rescue team as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Listen, boy, I'm going to make this simple for you because your friends are coming. I'll either steal you and burn your village to flames, or you yield to me in five days' time. By then, arrangements should be complete for you. To add more to this threat, I will rip your little Uchiha friend's eyes out and hand them over to Itachi personally, as you watch, unable to shut your own pair of lookers. I trust you'll make the right decision... if you aren't dead by then anyways with everyone hunting you. Ja Ne." he said, disappearing in a flash.

"Who was that man? What did he tell you?" Asuma quizzed, thinking this had all gotten out of hand for what was supposed to be a therapeutic and fun day. "That man... stay away from him..." Naruto advised, his voice shaky. "Leave me alone... please... I don't want this anymore... I just... PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

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"EH?! Naruto why would we kill you?" Choji asked, completely bewildered by the question. Knowing he would have to come clean, Naruto sat up completely and leaned against the tree who had been more support for him than most. His eyes were entranced by the pale blue sky as he slowly began his story.

"Every year, the village has an underground event. I already know you've heard of it, well besides Kakashi and Asuma Sensei who were probably left out. It's called the Kyuubi Hunt." the blonde began, the exposition of his tragedy drawing in their attention. "Yeah, Ino was talking about it. She said her cousins participate every year and her mom was gonna let her go this time." Shikamaru responded.

"You know what day it is right?" the blonde asked, never once looking down from the sky. "Yeah, October 10. It's coming up." "Do you know my birthday, Shikamaru?" "Eh? Um... sorry Naruto..." "It's okay. I'll tell you." he continued but was beat to it. "October 10..." Kakashi muttered, his face clearly shock ridden.

A small, emotionless chuckle escaped Naruto. "Yep. It's me that they've been hunting. The dirty Kyuubi Demon." The monotonous way he said it chilled everyone as his emotionless face was bombarded by tears. He didn't even look sad. He looked so contented.

"Y- you were the 'Kyuubi'?" Shikamaru asked, not wanting to believe it. "It's been happening for, what, nine years now? Yeah definitely nine. Every year on my birthday, shinobi and civilians alike join together and, to say it bluntly, abuse me in various ways. Verbal, physical, mental, sexual, you name it, it happened. Leaving me on the brink of death everytime." he said, now shaking in fear as he remembered past events. The torture he'd faced.

The memories were too gruesome for him to keep his composure and his presence seemed to shrink against the tree. He used the technique of disabling his presence many times before to get the villagers away, but it's a slow progression jutsu, so he obviously endured a lot. Recalling various 'incidents' his vivid imagination only served to further his pain as he remembered how he felt and what he saw. So bad that he involuntarily activated the jutsu. Most people couldn't take it and he wished the he didn't have to.

Shaking slightly more vigorously than before, he let out an unstable sigh. "Look, guys, I don't want sympathy or empathy from you. It's my problem to solve at this point, I mean what are you gonna do now? I've been thoroughly traumatized by these events that none of you were there to help me out of. Furthermore, they can't get me this time because I'm not even in the village. It's not that I blame you. I pin this more on the ANBU who were supposed to be watching me, and Jiji because this is also his responsibility. So, tomorrow, please let me spend my birthday in peace. I don't think I'll be stable enough to talk to anyone. If anyone asks, just blame it on puberty or whatever. Not even I know what will happen if I get pushed too far. You aren't civilians, so I shouldn't have any reason to hold back on you."

With streams of tears still flowing on his emotionless face, the blonde Jinjuriki stood up and started walking back in the direction of the others. Nobody said a word on the way back. They were still taking it all in, but Sasuke the hardest. 'All this time this has been happening to him? Do I even deserve to be called his protector?' he thought as a wave of guilt came over him.

Shikamaru felt saddened by the monologue given by his energetic friend. No. Is he even really energetic or was that a cover up? Either way, he was sure that Naruto had mentioned spending his birthday together with the Nara before, but got turned down. Even if it was just one time, he could've saved Naruto that day. He could've saved him, but he didn't because he didn't know what was going on. And that killed him inside. Aren't the Naras supposed to know everything? Just like the Yamanakas! But they obviously didn't know either because they were about to let Ino go. How far would the civilians go to hurt his friend? It pained him to think about.

'Dirty f*cking civilians. I had no idea either. I thought I had his back, but it's clear to see that I'm outclassed here. Naruto has had it this bad but never once complained to anyone about it. The scars he must have. I'm sure his body is full of scars but does he hide them cause I never saw one? Unless the whiskers count. No other Jinjuriki has picked up traits of their Bijuu before, so I think it's safe to say that the stupid commoners did this to him. Furthermore, I just let them. Completely out of the loop. I really was going to take him in, thinking I knew the extent of his pain. How much more is he hiding?' Kakashi cursed inwardly.

Naruto knew what they were thinking. Even though he asked for none, he was certain at least two of them were doijg it anyway. Lalashi and Shikamaru were probably grieving over their lack of information. He thought Sasuke was upset because he wasn't the only one suffering, but he got that one wrong.

'Well, what should I do now?'

"Well things certainly won't be as they were before. I'm glad you told them, though."

'I'm not. I'm thinking about his offer.'

"I said it before, I'll say it again; I support you in all your decisions."

'Who would've guessed the strongest Bijuu to be a big softie'

"Shut it, kit."

Yoooooo shorter chapter because I didn't want to start anything major in here. More like a .5 chapter to the previous one. It shows everyone's thoughts.

Don't forget to vote :) I follow wouldn't hurt either.

Ja Ne