Naruto's Best Friend

I Would Care

A young blonde haired boy laid on his back, completely unmoving. He knew he should probably get up and take care of his new and fresh wounds but couldn't find a good reason to move. As the clouds rolled by uncaringly, Naruto couldn't find it in him to move.

'What's the point? I'm only going to get punched and kicked again. Might as well wait for them and accept it.' His ocean blue eyes were slowly losing its bright and cheerful shine as his body became numb to the immense beating he received just moments ago.

The bullying was something he'd gotten used to. Every time he stepped out of his house, he would get physically hurt at least five times a day. Every time he left his small apartment that he's barely able to afford, he'd get yelled at and given multiple stares that ranged from glares to looks of disgust. He's been physically, emotionally, and mentally abused so many times that he's lost count.

So as the day seems to continue without a care and the rest of the world passes by, Naruto continued to lay motionless on the dirt ground with multiple purple, black, and blue bruises littered all over his body. Some bled, but it's dried up now, but he still didn't care to clean himself up.

He just found no reason to. 'Not like anyone would care what I looked like. No one would care if I showed up one day without a leg. No one would care if I died.' He thought to himself, his inner voice sounding monotone.

"I would care." Naruto snapped his head towards the direction of the voice, wincing slightly in pain. Sitting a few feet from him was a small cat with two tails. It had a vanilla colored coat with its ears and paws black. The cat also had a black diamond on its forehead, directly between its beady red eyes with black slits for pupils.

Naruto's eyes widened before looking around for someone else. 'The weird looking cat couldn't have talked. Animals don't talk' Naruto thought while continuing to search for a person.

"The only weird looking cat is you, whiskers." Naruto looked again at the cat with wide eyes. No one else was around and the sound definitely came from where the creature was sitting, even if it didn't move its mouth to speak.

Naruto, for once, was speechless. He was sure that if he did try to talk, it would come out hoarse from how tight the bullies clutched his throat.

The cat decided to move closer to the blonde, successfully causing him to flinch.

"You can't give up. You may not believe me, but you are destined for great things. Great things that make all this pain you feel now worth it. These demons you face have no power over you unless you give it to them. It seems difficult to keep moving on, to keep fighting, but I promise you, there is so much more to life than pain. And lying here and wallowing in self-pity won't get you anywhere." The two-tailed creature walked closer to the boy, nudging his cheek softly. It licked the tear that had escaped Naruto's eye, the boy not realizing he was crying until now.

"I would care if you died. So please get up." It softly pleaded, causing Naruto to fill with happiness, relief, joy, and many other emotions all at once. A large grin broke out on his face as more tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Naruto laughed which quickly turned to him coughing violently, causing the cat to jump a little. He slowly got up, grunting in pain as some of his dried up cuts started to bleed again.

The cat's red eyes followed the blonde as he slowly stood up on his feet. He stumbled forwards before continuing to walk away from the cat, whose ears drooped sadly and tails fell to the ground. As he got a few feet away, he turned around and looked back at the cat.

"You coming?" The creature's ears perked up as its eyes looked up at the boy. The cat's tails wagged happily as it quickly stood and ran after Naruto, quickly catching up to him.