Naruto the Scarecrow

Chapter 7

Mikoto felt a strange clenching in her chest as she gazed down at the boy sleeping with his head on her lap. Naruto had silently sobbed himself to the point of exhaustion. 'This boy, I can't believe he's alive. The whole village had given up on him and he was here the entire time. I can't fail this time.'

It had been roughly a year since Mikoto's abduction and addition to The Pit. Before her disappearance, she had been living with the guilt that she had failed her friend Kushina. Add the fact that she felt a failure as a mother to Sasuke and Mikoto's mental state had not been the best. A depressed condition made her a far too easy target to kidnap as she walked nearby the village walls.

She was roused from her thoughts by a whispered but frantic conversation by her fellow leaf members.

"How, how could this happen? How is he alive?" asked Koba. He was a short but stout man with the red tattoos that marked him as an Inuzuka. He was bobbing up and down in excitement.

"I don't know but we have to keep him that way," replied Hitomi her white eyes shining with determination. "We all know his history now, if it's the last thing I do, I will see him back to Konoha. I swear it on my Hyuga pride." Hitomi lowered her gaze to Naruto's face; a lopsided smile graced her features as she did so.

"Well said Hitomi, I suggest we don't mention his history again. It's too volatile for others to know however, the Will of Fire burns in all of us and we have to preserve those flames with Naruto here." Kaito said in response to Hitomi's words. Kaito was a man of average height but broad shoulders indicative of the physical training he did with his buddy Might Guy. His most defining feature was that he had a unique scar over the left side of his face, as if someone had dragged his face along gravel with a lot of force.

Kaito, and by extension the other Leaf shinobi, knew that Naruto would have more enemies than he could possibly imagine. With the power of Uzumaki blood and the talent of his father, Naruto could quite possibly become the most targeted ninja of Konoha's history. They couldn't let that information out.

"Kaito and Hitomi have the right of it. I could not call myself a proud member of our village without at least gaining Naruto's forgiveness. I... owe him that much at least." Sora stated with a hint of shame in his voice. He looked at the ground, unable to meet anyone's eye as he recalled the harsh words and glares he would often send the 'Demon Brat' in his ignorance.

Muta had remained silent throughout this discussion thus far but gave his thoughts in the short and logical Aburame way. "I agree with you all, our goal is set." Muta knew that his group had all resolved themselves to saving this poor boy from his terrible circumstances even at the cost of their own lives.

Mikoto herself didn't say anything but when she bent down and delivered a soft kiss to Naruto's brow they had their answer. A strange feeling of contentment flowed between group members. They knew they would die but now they had a common goal, one that was far more important than merely fighting for oneself. The group all fell into a companionable silence knowing that they all felt the same.

xXx

Naruto was in his mindscape, deep thought. 'Leaf villagers huh? Mikoto said everyone felt bad about what they did. Is she telling the truth?' While Naruto didn't have a concrete answer to that he knew that his gut was telling him that she was trustworthy. 'She hugged me. Why did it feel so good? How did she stop the numbness? How can I feel better than I have in a long time after just one hug?