"Did you hear... that's the boy who caused the death of the Fourth..."
"I heard he's the son of the Fox demon..."
"Why do they let him walk around like this?"
"Is the Hokage really not doing anything about him?"
Whispers and murmurs acted like a brewing storm. At the playground, Naruto was playing football with the other children. Suddenly, an adult stepped in and pulled one of the boys away.
"Tsukasa... don't play with that kid. He's... bad luck."
Huh?
Naruto watched as his new friend was taken away. As he turned to look around, he felt the gazes.
'Why are they looking at me like that?'
He felt himself becoming isolated, as if an invisible pressure were weighing him down. Naruto tried to ignore the feeling, telling himself it was just his imagination.
"Naruto! Catch!" Kota kicked the ball, hitting Naruto in the head.
"Oww!"
"Haha! Naruto! What are you looking at!"
Naruto chuckled, completely forgetting the pressure from earlier. "Here I come!" He continued to play with Kota and a few others. Returning home later, he felt the gazes again, but he brushed it off as overthinking.
The next day...
"Oi! Kota! Let's play hide and seek!" Naruto came running with a huge smile when he saw Kota at the playground.
"Ah. Naruto..." Kota suddenly seemed tense. "I... my mom - my mom wants me to go back home early. Sorry..." Kota avoided Naruto's eyes and walked away.
'Kota... don't play with that yellow-haired kid. Don't you stay near him! Understand?' Kota had simply nodded, albeit feeling guilty. Seeing his mother with tears glistening and anger in her eyes, he didn't understand why, but he didn't want to make her sad. His mother often looked at the picture of his late father who had died during the Kyuubi night attack; Kota wasn't sure what she was thinking.
Naruto, for the first time, felt a stinging pain in his chest. "Kota! Wait!"
Kota didn't turn his head and continued walking. Seeing how the boy avoided his eyes, Naruto felt isolated. 'Why?' He looked around and suddenly felt it again - the glares, the stares. Those eyes. Naruto's heart stung more, and the heaviness in his chest made each breath feel labored.
Tears threatened to flow.
He shook his head, unable to understand. He looked at the other kids at the playground. Why are they avoiding me too?
"G-guys... can I play too?" he asked, hopeful to join their game of marbles.
"We're full," a boy said coldly, ignoring him.
"Oh... I see. It's fine, haha..." Naruto smiled, but his heart ached. He sniffed, the tears about to fall. He turned around and ran back home; he didn't want to stay there anymore.
Tsuyu was reading the newspaper, but when she heard the door open, she frowned.
"Nii-san?" She turned to see her brother entering, even though he had only gone out half an hour ago.
Naruto covered his face, rubbing his eyes and suddenly bursting into tears. Tsuyu was bewildered. What could have happened to make her seemingly 'always-on-morphine' brother cry like this?
"Tsu-chan... I... I..."
Tsuyu just sat there, unsure of what to do. She took a deep breath. "Nii-san, tell me what happened." She need a full account and details.
"They... they... Kota... Kota doesn't want to play with me..."
Tsuyu tried to process what exactly was causing Naruto to cry. "Why?"
"I... I don't know..."
That doesn't help much, she thought. "What did he say?"
"His mother wants him to go back early..."
"And? You still have other friends to play with."
"They... they don't want to play with me either..."
Tsuyu squinted her eyes. She couldn't understand the situation. There was too much gap in information. She mulled over it, and decide to still say few words to calm the situation.
"Just play with those familiar to you. And if they don't want to play, don't force yourself onto people and cry about it. You can always make new friends that are worthy."
"I... okay..." Naruto turned away and went into his room. He was unable to express the specific pain in his heart. And Tsuyu's words were not exactly helping.
'Find new friends...? They don't even want to talk to me...'
Dejected, he lay in bed feeling heavy.
Seeing Naruto locking himself in his room, she sighed. She still had to keep his emotional and mental health in check.
'I guess I could take him out tonight for a treat', Tsuyu thought. As much as she didn't care about childish problems, she felt a sense of responsibility as Naruto's legal guardian. After some time, she knocked on his door.
"Nii-san. Let's eat out today."
Naruto's mood brightened instantly. He washed his face and got ready. By the time he stepped out, he was giddy again as if all his problems already disappeared.
"I want ramen!"
"Okay, okay. Let's go." Tsuyu smiled slightly, marveling at how easily a child's emotions could shift. She had to say, controlling a child was far easier than a fellow subordinate.
Night-time in Konoha was lively. Shinobi hung out in izakayas after a day of missions, drinking sake. The scene reminded her of her previous life.
'Tch. I wonder if those guys ended up like me', she mused, thinking of the soldiers she had once led.
"Nii-san, which ramen place do you want go?"
She looked over at Naruto, who was suddenly quiet, staring at the ground. "Nii-san?"
"Ah... um... I want Uncle Tojo's place..."
"Alright."
As they walked side by side, Tsuyu finally realized what was wrong: the gazes. She heard the hushes and whispers. Her eyebrows knitted together, she could see the underlying negative emotions - fear, disgust, irritation, and anger. She continued walking, analysing the situation trying to ascertain this wasn't her imagination. Confirming this wasn't just in her head, she knew there was only one logical answer and conclusion.
A spread of rumor of certain kind. And specifically...
'This is why my brother is like this'. She felt a surge of barely controlled anger in her chest. She didn't know how the villagers knew such a confidential secret, but she couldn't let it destroy Naruto's mental development. She was making plans and countermeasures in her head, trying to figure out how to deal with this.
They reached Uncle Tojo's place. "Welcome! Have a sea—"
Tojo looked at the siblings. His eyes landed on Naruto, and his expression distorted into anger. "We're closing early! Eat somewhere else!" He huffed and left abruptly.
Naruto's body froze. He didn't understand. Why? Rejection and tears glistened in his eyes again. Just then, a firm hand grabbed his, pulling him out of his stupor.
"Nii-san. We will eat somewhere else." Tsuyu's cold commanding voice and fierce eyes forced Naruto to move his stiff feet.
As they left, another customer entered, and Tojo welcomed him warmly - as if mocking and slapping Naruto in the face. Naruto wasn't stupid; he understood what that meant, and it hurt. However, Tsuyu noticed something peculiar. Tojo had specifically looked at Naruto and only him - not her.
'The information leak is only about him... not me?' Tsuyu reached an assumption. But she need to verify it.
They arrived at another restaurant, owned by Auntie Aiko. "Tsuyu, we will eat at home. Stay here, let me buy them." she told Naruto as she entered first.
"Ah. It's Tsuyu-chan..." Aiko's tone was awkward. She didn't show the same raw anger as uncle Tojo, but she seemed uncomfortable.
Tsuyu gave her a sweet, four-year-old smile. "Auntie, I want to order takeout. One tonkotsu ramen with extra toppings and one regular kaisen ramen, please."
Aiko nodded and prepared the food. Naruto, being uncomfortable outside from the passersby gazing at him, he couldn't help but stepped into the store despite Tsuyu's order earlier, but the customers' gazes turned on him instantly. Aiko handed over the packages, her grip tightening and her expression changing when she looked at Naruto. It was as if she were looking at the person who had murdered her child.
"Tsuyu-chan, here..." she said.
Tsuyu thanked her politely and pulled Naruto away. Based on that interaction, she could confirm that the villagers likely didn't know that she also carried a piece of the Nine-Tails. This will be difficult, she thought, looking at Naruto with hint of pity and annoyance at the fact that she would need to handle this problem for him.
"Nii-san. Listen to me," Tsuyu said. Naruto looked up at his sister. "You don't have to care about what others say or how they see you. You know whether you deserve to be treated this way or not. Understand?"
"Yes... I understand..." Naruto nodded. He tried to digest her words.
They returned home. Naruto ate his ramen in silence, lacking his usual nonsense blabbering. The silence felt off to Tsuyu who had been used to his energy.
After she finished cleaning up, Naruto spoke in a sulking voice. "Tsu-chan..."
"Hm?"
Naruto seemed to want to say something, but couldn't. "Nevermind." He headed to his room.
Tsuyu knew his mental state was in bad shape, but she had said what needed to be said. Later that night, there was a knock on her door.
Naruto popped in with his pillow. "Tsu-chan... can I sleep with you tonight?"
She sighed in some annoyance. But she still need to do her job as his caretaker.
"Fine."
Despite her discomfort with sharing her personal space, she gave in for the night. Naruto tucked himself in. After a minute, he spoke again. "Tsu-chan... why are they so mean to me?" His voice broke; he was crying again.
Tsuyu gathered her thoughts. She couldn't tell him about the monster, - not yet - it was a secret and might cause a breakdown. What child can accept there was a village destroying monster in them. She deflected the question, and try to give him some practical advices instead.
"Nii-san. It only hurts when you let them hurt you with their words. Those people know nothing about you. I know you don't deserve to be treated like crap. You have to stay strong and stop caring about them."
"Yes... Tsu-chan... I will stay strong... I won't care..."
"Good. Now get to sleep. It will feel better in the morning."
The long day was finally over, but for the two of them, it was just the beginning.