Chapter 10: Naruto Uzumaki

[AUTHOR'S POV]

' Aren't Anbu supposed to guard him? ' Aiko thought then she tried to sense them while walking Naruto to the bench away from the civilians.

she was able to sense their faint chakra and with that her anger doubled .

' they watched all that and they didn't attempt to stop it ' she thought, bitting her lower lip in frustration.

She noticed the boy looking down, his eyes almost losing their light.

She sighed before forming one of her brightest smiles on her face, cuffing the boy's cheeks to make him look at her which surprised him greatly.

" Are you hurt anywhere ?" Aiko asked , while checking him up for any injuries ,Naruto shook his head shyly.

But then she noticed the bruises on his knee and with a sigh she bent down, wiping the blood off gently with a clean cloth she always carried with her, he flinched slightly at the sting.

"I'm sorry, I don't have anything else with me to help.." she sighed once again, looking at him to meet his eyes.

He was tearing up.

Was he crying because of the pain? Or was it because they treated him like he was some monster, when all he wanted was to live like any other innocent child his age?

Was this god's punishment for being greedy for love and affection?

Is it a sin wishing he had a loving family like these kids?

No.

He was already getting used to that cold and harsh treatment.

He was crying because… it was the first time in his life that someone defended him.

Someone was worried about him.

Was it really okay for him to receive this?

When his eyes locked with her's, all he could see was genuine worry, instead of these glares and sinister laughs.

She was worried about him.

But why..?

Doesn't she…loathe him like the others?

"why.." he whispered, soft enough for her to hear.

"hm? What do you mean why?"

"Why did you.. help me? don't you also despise me? Don't you also think I don't deserve to live? Aren't I.. a monster?!-"

He was cut off by Aiko wrapping her arms around him, enveloping him in a tight hug.

"Don't you ever think of yourself like that!"

She shout, gently patting his back.

He was taken aback by her sudden action.

But soon enough he relaxed in her arms, letting out more tears as he sniffled against her chest.

" It's not your fault. You don't deserve to be treated this badly. Instead, you should be treated how a small innocent child like you deserves."

She ruffled his hair as she resumed talking.

"Sometimes people can be really stupid , you are no monster remember that."

He looked up at her, his tears finally stopped and light came back to his eyes.

It was the light of hope.

"By the way I'm Aiko Kawahira!"

She said while flashing him a smile.

"I'm.. Naruto Uzumaki.." he whispered.

She grinned wider, breaking off from the hug slowly as she held out her hand to him.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto!"

His lips slowly curled into a small smile, holding her hand gently as he simply nodded instead of using his words.

A woman's voice could be heard nearby.

Aiko turned towards the familiar voice calling out to her.

"Aiko!~" it was her mother sweetly calling out to her.

She turned back to Naruto, giving him a gentle pat on his head and smiling

" Sorry I have to go now my mom is calling me. don't give up, Naruto! You're better than anyone here and you'll become a greater person, believe it!"

She said before running off to meet up with her mother, leaving the child behind her.

Her words played in his mind repeatedly as he felt a strange sensation in his chest.

Something he never felt before.

It was warm…

to her, it wasn't something major. But to him, he felt like she saved him. Not just from the bullying earlier but from the dark and cold place everyone left him at.

She gave him hope.

Aiko held her mother's hand and with that the two headed back to their home .

" So Aiko-chan, did you make any friends ?" Her mother asked her.

Said girl thought for a bit, 'I did meet Naruto but.. are we friend? I don't know. It's not like I'll ever meet him again anyway' she decided to shrug it off and looked at her mother.

"Probably?" She replied, reciving a sweat drop from her mother.

' what does she mean probably? did the way of making friends change and become hard in this generation..?'

~time skip~

Aiko was in her room reading a medical scroll about the Mystical palm that she found in the storage room by coincidence two days ago .

She already made her mind since she won't become a ninja she will become a medic or a civilian daughter , she always wanted to become one in her last , lucky she kept some knowledge from the seven years she spent in the medical academy at least they aren't wasted .

While she was lost in her thoughts she suddenly smelt something burning she jolted from her position in her bed and hurried downstairs to be greeted by the sight of her mother trying to put down the fire in the pan

"Mother …" Aiko sighed looking at the mess her mother made at the kitchen .

" Ahh aiko-chan I was trying to make. …..I will try again " her mother said laughing

awkwardly .

"No no wait how about you relax I will clean up the mess let's just for father to come back"

The daughter suggested as she pushed Tomoko out of the kitchen and closing the door on her face before she could even reply.

Tomoko sulked, going to the garden to water her newly planted flowers and herbs.

After Tomoko left the kitchen Aoko begun cleaning up then she spotted the bag of floor on the table and an idea came to her mind.

' I wonder if ..'

~ one hour later ~

Ryohei entered the house ,putting off his sandels as a delicious aroma hit him .

"Umm, what a sweet scent. Who is cooking? There is no way it's Tomoko…" He muttered just as he was about to enter the kitchen when the backyard door opened, Tomoko walked in and had the same surprised face as her husband.

Her attention was turned to him and she smiled, walking closer to him.

"Welcome home, dear!" She said and he smiled back at her, saying thanks and they both entered the kitchen finding Aiko setting down a plate on the table then taking off her apron -which was bigger than her since it belonged to Tomoko-

She turned towards them and smiled, "Oh you're back, father!" She dashed towards him, giving him a hug. - but obviously, she could only hug his waist -

He chuckled, lifting her up in his arms.

"oh? Was our little Aiko the one who was cooking?" He said, kissing her forehead to which Aiko returned with a giggle.

"Yup! Since mom almost burned the house down!"

"A-Aiko… don't exaggerate.." Tomoko said, Dramatically anime crying.

Ryohei chuckled, ruffling his daughter's hair gently and patting Tomoko on her back trying to cheer her up.

Moments later, they were seated at the table which Aiko prepared neatly.

The dish that she had made caught their attention.

In their -tomoko&ryohei- minds, it looked weird. They were… almost afraid to eat it even though the aroma was heavenly.

But they didn't want to crush their daughter's spirits so they kept a smile on their faces.

"Then.. please try my first dish, Mom, father!" She said, cutting two pieces and placing them in front of them.

They gulped and looked at her to find stars in her eyes.

She was eager to let them try what she cooked.

Ryohei looked at Tomoko, smiling but sweating.

"It's sad but I'll let you have the honour of being the first to try it, Darling!" He said.

"Oh no no, I will let you have that honour, dear!" She replied.

Aiko sighed, 'are they afraid I poisoned them or what? You'll see…'

She pout, making the best puppy eyes she could.

"you both try it at the same time.." she said, faking teary eyes.

They gulped, sighing in defeat and holding it up near their mouths.

'There goes nothing..!'

They both thought, taking a bite.

Aiko smirked, seeing their surprised faces as their eyes lit up.

"it's… delicious..?" Tomoko stated, some leftovers were on her chin.

"why? You thought it would taste bad?" Aiko said, faking a sad tone.

"of course not! I'm just surprised my daughter could cook better than me ~" Tomoko replied.

"it's really appetizing, " Ryohei said with a smile, "What's the name of this dish, Aiko?" He added.

Both parents looked at their daughter who grinned, standing up on her chair.

"This dish is called… pizza!"