Her--I mean His Biggest Secret [ABANDONED]

1K Special Chapter!!!!!!

A/N: AHHHHHHH!!! Oh my god, we reached 1 K readers! Thank you all so much, I'm so happy right now I'm actually crying while writing this. Please enjoy this 1 K special chapter! I love you all!

It was dark.

Why was it so dark? 

It was a question Uzumaki Naruto constantly asked herself since she was little.

She would lie in her small, cold bed, and stare into space, just wondering why everything was so dark. Sometimes she would get out of bed and step out of her apartment, searching for the moon to shed some light, but alas, the pale moon had retreated as soon as Naruto stepped out in search of her, hiding behind the shadows of the clouds. Her world shone for a moment, before turning pitch black once more.

In the morning, as she left for the Academy, she would look up for the sun, the possibility of it bursting with light and replacing her endless night world. But alas, the sun was not meant for her either.

And so she sat in the darkness, next to one of the village's greatest stars. He took not one glance at her, or anyone else. The vain Betelgeuse of the Orion constellation, gave no mind to the faint lights of the Meissa trying to impress him, or the Mekbuda from the neighbouring constellation. The arrogant Betelgeuse shone the brightest, and scoffed at the dim lights of the clusters and stars surrounding him.

Naruto would look at him, and wondering, if he was truly as bright as everyone said he was, could he possibly be able to rid the darkness surrounding her? As she turned to the Betelgeuse for some insight, the clusters and stars who idolised Betelgeuse kept her from ever approaching their bright star.

And so she was pushed back further in the dark.

Small feet led her to a street she had not walked before. She kept walking and walking, even as sky's tears began to trickle upon her, slowly turning into a heavy downpour. She was cold, and she wanted so badly to cry. Then, her eyes blinded for a moment, and her heart leaped in surprise. Turning, her eyes welcomed the sight of a small shop. An adult male inside spotted her, and by instinct, she hid, unwilling to allow another act of rejection be thrust upon her.

Large, warm hands ushered her over. The first time in her life, a cluster had not burst at her in a fit of rage and disdain. Droplets of water stuck to her, even as the man made her sit on the warm, tall stool.

Those warm hands placed something before her. Naruto felt the warmth of the ramen bowl, felt its comforting flavour and its wafting aroma, like a mother wrapping her arms around her child protectively. 

And so her dark world gained a small spark of light, right in the corner, allowing her to see better. Her heart swelled. There it was. A small light from a cluster who found her. But still...it was dark. What was a cluster's light in a dark, eternal void?

She kept going to school, watching from afar as clusters and stars surrounded bright Betelgeuse. His world must be so bright, so full of life.

He had his own sun, his own moon, and he even had a star he himself admired. His world was never dark, and she envied him for that. Why was it always her? Since she was born, she had been derived of her sun and moon -- she didn't even know if they existed in the first place. No cluster would come near her, and they advised their young stars to do the same. All that brightness and light, and it was there just to agonise and taunt her.

So she went to see her cluster every single day, finding comfort in that faint, warm light, his ramen, and his daughter, a young star slightly older than herself. A light as warm as her father. 

She found herself ill one day. She had laid in bed all day, throat scratchy, eyes watery, and her head pounding uncontrollably. She did not expect someone to come and see her, under orders from the village leader. A man in a Stag ANBU mask, and a woman in an Otter ANBU mask, who remained next to her until she was well, promising to be there when she wanted them to be.