Fox in the Rain Ch: 11

Naruto didn’t know what he was to really say. He had been having the time of his life dancing with Hinata even after someone had tried to take her away from him. Of course, the young man had behaved himself to make sure that he stayed calm and didn’t toss the man across the room like he did with the other guy that had tried to do something with Hinata. The night itself though had been amazing, wonderful… something he never knew he would ever feel in his entire life.

That is, until someone that claimed to be his father came over…

Naruto never knew that he would have a father, let alone how to act toward one. After the dance, Naruto had backed away from the man and ran out as fast as he could. Naruto had stood by Hinata’s car, not wanting to go back in. His whole body was shaking, as if he was standing out in the cold. In fact, he had wanted it to be cold right now but sadly it was nice out right now even in the night. The young man had no idea how long he had stood outside at the time, to him it felt like hours, when in reality it had only been maybe a few minutes.

When Hinata had joined him, she had told him that Naruto was going to have to speak to the mayor, that it may be the key to find out why Naruto had ended up at the lab. There had to be some kind of reason for as to why he had been kidnapped and used for those tests that he had been through. Naruto of course had wanted to refuse; he had wanted to tell Hinata that it was a bad idea for him to talk to the man that ‘claimed’ to be his father. After all, for as long as he had known, he had never had a father, had anyone to be called a mother or father. Though no matter he couldn’t… he couldn’t tell that to Hinata, knowing that this meant a lot to her, just like it would to him.

Running a hand through his hair, the young man had felt so drained. It had been like someone attached him to some kind of machine and just drained every ounce of strength from his body and it made him unable to stand properly. Shaking his head, the young man just got himself in the car and asked Hinata if they could just go home… All he wanted right now was to go to bed and pretend that this never had happened.

The thought of speaking to the mayor brought some kind of panic through his body, it was as if he was… afraid. This was pretty funny since he had never feared a person before. The only thing that he had been afraid of had been of Hinata rejecting him because he wasn’t human and yet, here he was… he was still with Hinata even after she had found out about him.

Giving a sad frown, Naruto leaned his head against the window as he had tried to ignore the words that had echoed through his mind. “I… I’m his father… He’s my long lost son…” No matter how many times he had tried to ignore it, the words would keep appearing in his mind, repeating themselves until he would face that part of his life or until he had accepted it… that, somehow the man was really his father though Naruto wanted proof.

He wanted to be sure that this man was really his father and if that was the case… why had he been at that lab instead of with them in the first place? No matter what, he just couldn’t think of what had caused him to be at the lab. ’This is giving me a headache…’ thought Naruto with a tired sigh. Rubbing his temple, Naruto just hoped, prayed that all of this was nothing but a nightmare that had wanted to consume him so he would just follow along with it, though sadly he knew that it would be best that he did go along with it… maybe then those nightmares would end and he could enjoy the rest of his life in peace at long last.

“Naruto, you’ll have to speak to him… maybe you’ll find out why you were in the lab…” said Hinata as she drove in the car with him. Though it seemed like he wasn’t listening. In fact, Naruto didn’t really notice Hinata or anything that was around him. His mind and body was still trying to figure out anything that could have happened that would get him to make sure that he couldn’t go… Or at least reasons that would get him out of seeing the man that had claimed that he was Naruto’s father.

Things such as Naruto had been given up for ‘science’ that he was never wanted in the first place. That being kidnapped was nothing more than a cover story and nothing more and nothing else. Taking a deep breath, Naruto was sad that he had never been able to think of anything else that would get him to just stay home with Hinata and just spend time with her. Nothing else really came to mind which was sad. Shaking his head, Naruto slowly turned his head and saw that while he had been in deep thought, Hinata had pulled over and was now staring at him. Her lavender eyes staring at him with a sadness that made Naruto want to reach out for her.

“Naruto, you have to go and meet with the mayor and his wife. You may finally get the answers that could lead up to why you were at the lab. Why they had tested on you… The mayor is a great guy, and I could tell he was devastated to have lost you why else would he have been in shock at seeing you?” Hinata said, her eyes filling with unshed tears. Frowning at her, Naruto never wanted to see Hinata sad, to never see her cry. Sighing softly, the young man nodded… it seemed that no matter what he couldn’t get out of this… It looks like he was going to the mayor’s home.

***

Running a hand over his face, Naruto groaned softly as he tried to think on what he was to do. It seemed that no matter what he couldn’t think on what he was to do. There was nothing he could do that would get his mind off of the meeting that he was going to meet people that had claimed to be his parents. Taking a deep breath, the young man looked out the window of the car, just watching everything zip on by though he wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle it.

Shaking his head, Naruto leaned his head against the back of the seat as he whispered “do we have to do this?” He didn’t know what more he was to do, he really didn’t want to go to the mayor’s house… He had seen how the house looked from the TV and knew that he had no right to go to that place. Though sadly, Hinata was all for the idea for Naruto to talk to the people who said were his parents. Ugh, this was really starting to bother him and it had him on the verge of insanity.

Hinata had turned to him and gave him a soft smile. “Naruto, we are going no matter how much you don’t want to go. I know you hated the idea last night and still hate it but… this may be the only chance you’ll get.” Hinata said with a sad smile. What did she mean by that? Hinata sighed softly before turning her head so she would be watching the road while she drove. “Naruto, it isn’t every day that you find your long lost parents. No matter what the problem was in the past, I could tell that you were loved and they were devastated when they lost you.”

Naruto sighed softly, why did Hinata’s words always made him feel so sad. Taking a deep breath, the young man knew that this was going to be a challenge that this was going to be something that would bring forth the reason for the lab though he knew that maybe it would also take the huge weight off of not only his shoulders, but his very soul.

Shaking his head, Naruto leaned the seat back, hoping that he would be able to sleep. Closing his eyes, the young man had hoped that maybe sleep would help his mood. That it would help him be a little more cheery for when he met his parents. Though even that didn’t seem to help his mood, in fact it made it worse for him. Covering his face with his hand, Naruto groaned, it was as if he was in a great deal of pain. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t…

Looking over at Hinata, the young man whispered “stay with me while I talk to them?” He sounded as if he was scared, that just seeing them along was enough to cause fear to wrap itself around his heart. Hell, he didn’t think that this would scare him more than Hinata rejecting him. Shaking his head, he turned his head away from the blue haired woman as he said “if you don’t want to, I can understand. I bet it would be awkward to be in the room with your experimented friend, and people who claim to be his parents.”

Hinata gave a soft smile as she said “Naruto, I can understand why you wouldn’t want to be alone with people you don’t know. After all, you were nervous and scared when you first woke up.” She let out a soft sigh before turning to Naruto as she asked “speaking of which… why did you trust me after you had tried to attack me?”

“It was a defence instinct that was in my system. When I sleep for so long, I would be told to attack the first thing I see when I wake up. So when I saw you, I started to attack, mostly because I was scared that you would bring me back to the lab… Plus, I had no idea what you were only that you were human since I’ve never seen a female before or what even a female was.” He sighed softly before running a hand through his spiky locks. It was as if the very conversation was draining him, that it made him worry that Hinata would see him more like a monster instead of a man. “Normally, when I attack anything they try to fight back. I’ll admit, it was rather odd that you didn’t fight me back but when you held up your hands like that, the animal part of my instincts came up and… I don’t know, I guess I realised that you weren’t a threat.”

Hinata let out a soft giggle before saying “I had a feeling that was a case. Well, that you didn’t see me as a threat when I held up my hands. To be honest, I was scared when you were going to attack me.” Naruto winced at that, just remembering that was enough to make him want to say how sorry he was but he knew that his words wouldn’t matter at this point. So much time had passed since then, and the young man knew that he would have to say sorry through actions since from what he had heard actions spoke louder than words right?

Inhaling softly, the young man looked at the ceiling of the car as he thought back to that day. To when he woke up and saw Hinata, to when he had attacked her and when he was given his name. Hell, he still remembered when he had fallen and landed on Hinata and he grasped those soft lumps of flesh that she had called ‘breasts’. He still found it odd how he didn’t have them but when Hinata had told him that it was for women only, and then he figured that it would be something that he would come to learn to understand after some more time would pass.

Lifting the seat back so he could sit up, the young man saw that he was now seeing a tall building coming into view. Maybe that was the mansion that he had seen on TV. He couldn’t really remember, though he knew that right now he would be able to get the answers that he had wanted for a while now. Though, would they be something that he was ready to hear? Though what also had him worried was why he had this weird sense of dread, like something bad was going to happen, though he couldn’t really be sure as of yet. As to why he would have that feeling in the first place but thought that maybe it was best that he just ignored it for now.

Soon, Hinata pulled up the drive way, the gate started to open as soon as Hinata was just a foot away from the gate and she drove on in… Well, it looked like he was going to get the answers he had to hear… Looking up, Naruto saw the blonde haired man he saw last night, he had a soft smile on his face… in a way, it made Naruto think of the smile he saw after he would shower and he thought of Hinata… Though, this smile was more sad or bitter sweet. He couldn’t really be sure what it was though maybe he would explain that as well.

’No way, I’m not ready to hear this! I gotta get out of here!’ thought Naruto as he started to panic, only to start relaxing when he felt something grab his hand. Frowning in confusion, Naruto turned his gaze and saw Hinata’s soft lavender coloured eyes staring at him… as he stared at her, Naruto felt his resolve… he could do this, he could do this and speak to the mayor… he could do this!

“Hinata, Naruto, I’m happy to see you’ve arrived safely.” Said the mayor, he wore a simple blue long sleeved shirt and matching long blue pants. He didn’t wear any shoes but Naruto figured it was because he was just standing on the porch; Hinata sometimes did that as did he. So, maybe everyone did that he figured. Though, Naruto still had some trouble trusting him but that had to be expected since he had been abused and tormented since he had been in the lab, for all he knows has been since day one. “Please come in.” he said before leading Naruto and Hinata inside the mansion.

As they walked, Naruto had to admit, the place was nice though he still preferred Hinata’s home over this place. This was too much for him so he didn’t think he would have been able to stay sane if he had to stay here.

“We’ll talk in the living room, my wife should be there.” Calmly said the mayor as he lead Naruto and Hinata down a long hall. As they walked, Naruto couldn’t help but stare at the random paintings. All of them were of couples and their child, or children. Naruto didn’t know how old they were but maybe that was because he didn’t even know how old he was for that matter. Inhaling softly, the young man sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he tried to get his thoughts on something while he wondered through the halls. Everything just seemed so out of place in his mind.

’I know I’ve never been in here before and yet… I feel like I’ve been here…’ he thought with a frown, not really sure why he felt like he knew this place, there was no way that he could have been here… right? Shaking his head, Naruto took a deep breath as he tried to get himself to calm down, tried to get himself to relax so he didn’t act like some kind of fool. That was the last thing he needed, mostly so he didn’t embarrass Hinata since she had told him that the mayor for any city was in a way, like a king.

No, he’s just being silly, he knows nothing about the mayor at least he didn’t until last night unlike Hinata who had known about it much longer than he has. So, to him this meant nothing and that was how it would remain. At least for now anyway…

Inhaling softly, Naruto stretched his arms above his head as he tried to get himself to relax, it seemed that no matter what, Naruto just couldn’t get himself to relax… he felt like his very nerves were on fire so it made it all the more difficult for him. Shaking his head, the young man saw that soon they were starting to come into a room that made him think of Hinata’s living room. It had a nice couch, a couple chairs, a large TV, and when he means large, he means large, it was bigger than the TV that Hinata had. Looking around, he saw many small pictures on the wall though he couldn’t tell what they were, even with his vision.

Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t look at the pictures; it may only bring him down to remember that he didn’t have what he should have had in the first place… a family. Shaking his head, the young man looked around and frowned a bit when he saw a woman sitting on one of the chairs in the room. She had long crimson hair, wearing a white blouse that almost made it seem like she was going to go out somewhere later. Next, she wore a pair of dark grey dress pants and didn’t wear shoes.

“Kushina, it’s our son… I… I found him.” Said the blonde haired man as he walked over to the red haired woman, who Naruto assumed was Kushina. Kushina looked up; her face was a little round though not in the chubby way like he had seen on TV with some women, in fact… her face reminded him of his but without the whisker marks. Next, her eyes were a soft brown that made him see that she was nothing but kind and caring… it made him think of Hinata’s eyes.

Kushina just stared at Naruto; her eyes went wide as she stared at him. The way she stared at him, it made Naruto a little uneasy. Like he had expected her to shout or even slap him. What had surprised him though was when he saw her eyes build up with tears before she pushed herself up onto her feet and rushed to Naruto, wrapping her arms around him and cried on his chest. He never knew that anyone would hold onto him like this, crying as if they had given up all hope only to see that what they had been waiting for had finally came to them.

“My baby… you came back to us… at long last…” whispered Kushina, more tears rolled down her cheeks as she just held onto the confused blonde haired young man. Naruto didn’t know what he was supposed to do, he didn’t know if he should hug the short woman or if he should just stand there. This was all so confusing to him since the only one he had ever hugged was Hinata so this was all a little confusing to him.

“I’m sorry but… how are you both so sure that I’m your son? I could be a complete stranger that could hurt you both…” calmly said Naruto, not pulling himself out of the hug… He knew that he shouldn’t just let this keep going but could he just pull away from this hug?

“You have blonde hair and blue eyes like me. Not to mention, you look just like Kushina and of course, you have the whisker marks on your face, all the males in Kushina’s family have them from the family history books. The last one to have had it was Kushina’s twin brother since females have been very common in her family until you.” Calmly said the mayor with a soft and gentle smile.

“Excuse me mayor…” said Hinata.

“Please, call me Minato.”

“Um… okay, Minato, if I may ask what was the name you had picked for Naruto?”

“Well, we picked Naruto to be honest. My teacher, who I looked up to as a father, was also a writer and his first book had a character named in it named ‘Naruto’ and I wanted my son to be just like the character in the book… That was the name we wanted for our son and that was what we went for. How did you know his name was Naruto Hinata?”

“Um… after he woke up I made ramen and a Naruto Fish Cake got stuck to his face.” Hinata said, sounding a little embarrassed which, Naruto thought sounded cute. Looking back down at Kushina, he tried to get her to let go since this was all a little nerve wrecking for him.

“Can you please let go of me please? I’m not used to people hugging me.” Calmly said Naruto, still really up for all the hugging unless it was Hinata.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Said Kushina as she let go and made her way back to the couch. Naruto sighed softly, he felt bad for telling her to let go of him but it was what had to be done or he would have a freak out again when his stress went too high. Looking over at Minato, Naruto saw the man gesture for him and Hinata to sit down, he knew that they would want to know what had happened, as would Naruto want to know what had happened to him.

“How did I go missing?” Naruto asked softly, he might as well stop fighting this with the facts that Minato had given him though… he was still having his doubts. Though could anyone really blame him with the kind of life that he has had all of his life?

Minato sat down next to Kushina before he let out a sad sigh. “Twenty years ago, you had just turned a year old…” He began; it was as if the story was already draining him… “There have been a case of murders in the city and with me being the mayor, I had to look into it, to make sure the city was safe since well, unlike other mayors I take action.” He chuckled softly, as if he had just told some kind of joke. Shaking his head, Minato calmly said “Kushina stayed home to look after you though sometimes she would hire a babysitter to look after you. The murders got worse; all they could find were slash marks on the bodies and something else that couldn’t be identified at the time but some kind of chemical.”

Minato sighed softly as he held onto Kushina. “When we got home, there had been a break in. The babysitter was nowhere to be found at the time, at first we had thought that the babysitter had been taken with you but no… She had planned the whole thing. Even after the background check we did on her, we saw nothing in her record to not trust her.” The blonde haired man narrowed his eyes as he looked like he wanted to rip something apart. Better yet, in a way it almost made it seem like he had acid in his mouth when he spoke next. “She had taken you to some of her friends to be part of something; we never knew what it was. Before we could ask, she disappeared and we never saw her or you again. But we never gave up… We wanted to find you, to save you so we could be a family again.” Minato looked down as tears started to fall from his closed eyes. “We never gave up, even when people said it was hopeless, just know Naruto… we loved you and we still do, so we kept on looking even when everyone gave up.”

Naruto didn’t know what he should say… he didn’t know what he could say to be honest. People who he had always thought never wanted him had done whatever they could do to find him even when everyone else had given up on him. Looking down, Naruto felt his own tears prickling up behind his eyes though he kept them held back for now. “I was in a lab…” Naruto whispered.

“What?” Kushina said, suddenly staring at Naruto with wide eyes. He knew that they had a right to know… they had a right to know what the people who had held onto him had done to him. Taking a deep breath, the young man pushed himself up and moved away from everyone though stayed in the room. “What do you mean Naruto?” asked Kushina.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto calmly said “they used me for an experiment. I’m still not sure what they wanted to prove but… I’m not human anymore. I think they wanted to create some kind of super humans, maybe like demons or something but I’m not sure. But what I do know is that they wanted to test if I had surpassed the limits of humans. I have. I can tolerate pain that would put a human in a hospital, I heal faster, and I don’t even get sick…” Tightly shutting his eyes, Naruto added “I have super strength, speed, sense of smell, tough, sight, and hearing. I’m just not normal.” Then, to make sure that they believed him, Naruto allowed the fox ears to pop out as he turned around to stare at them. Soon, the nine blonde tails joined him as did his fangs and claws.

Minato and Kushina stared at Naruto with wide eyes though they didn’t stare at him with rejection. In fact, they mostly stared at him with concern and worry. He didn’t know why they would stare at him like that, it was a little odd. Even Hinata didn’t stare at him like that, at least not that he could remember though it was better than horror. “They did that to you Naruto?” asked Kushina.

“Yes…”

“And… have you… killed someone?” asked Minato.

“Against my will… if I had the choice, I would have said no.”

“Do… do you hate what you are?”

“Of course I do, I’m a monster that should be shot down on sight!” shouted Naruto.

“Don’t say that!” shouted Minato and Kushina. That had made Naruto blink in shock, if they didn’t want him to say that why would they even ask him the question in the first place. Looking away, Naruto didn’t know what more he could do or say to what they would ask of him. All he knew was that he wasn’t normal, that he shouldn’t even be alive or be like this but sadly that wasn’t going to be the case at all.

“Naruto, you didn’t want to kill people… you didn’t want to be the way you are right now but maybe it was the way it was meant to be. But either way, it won’t stop me or your mother from loving you. And I bet Hinata didn’t care either since it’s easy to see that she already knew of your secret.” Minato said with a soft yet gentle smile on his face.

The young man shifted back as he stared at them in shock. Naruto had tears strolling down his face as he stared at them. So, they didn’t care what he was… they would love him no matter what? Smiling a little, Naruto was about to walk over to them before a there was an explosion that took down the wall, causing Naruto to fall over, as did everyone else from the force of the explosion.

Groaning, Naruto tried to push himself up but whatever was in that bomb had zapped his strength. Blinking sleepily, he looked up only for his eyes to widen in shock. Men in white jackets, they wore masks to protect themselves from the smoke from the bomb that they had used though it was enough for him to know who they were. “Bastards…” whispered Naruto as he tried to shift but found that he couldn’t do it… His body wouldn’t listen to him.

“Hello… we’ve found you at last Experiment F 001. Who would have thought that we would have found you at your home…” said the masked man, causing Naruto to growl softly. Oh how he wanted to rip that man’s mask off though sadly, he didn’t have the strength to do that. Not at the moment anyway. “Now, now Experiment F 001, we don’t want any trouble. We’ve just come to get you so we can keep going on with the tests. Hm?” He turned his gaze, making Naruto wonder who he was staring at.

Turning his own head, Naruto blinked slowly wondering what the masked man was staring at only to stare in shock. No! He was staring at Hinata, pushing himself with what strength he could muster; he grabbed the man saying “you stay the fuck away from her! I swear if you go near her, I’ll rip your throat out and make you eat it!” The mask man stared at Naruto in shock but didn’t say anything… for some reason that made Naruto uneasy.

“Sorry Naruto, but this girl… she could be useful.” He said with a dark chuckle before sticking a needle at Naruto’s neck, causing the young man to fall over and staring at Hinata. He tried to call out for her, to get her to run but it seemed that she was just as helpless as he was at the moment. Before he passed out, the young man saw the white coats, the doctors lift Hinata and that was when he knew… she was going to be tested on just like he had been… and will go back to…

’Hinata… I’m so sorry…’