Sweet dreams are made of this

Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world
And the seven seas-
Everybody's looking for something.
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused.

- Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, The Eurythmics

An almost-seven-year-old Uzumaki Naruto ran through the moonlit streets of Konoha's most seedy district with a speed that would have impressed many. His small lungs worked overtime in an attempt to drag in more air to keep himself going as the group of villagers behind him began to close in, herding him into a darkened alleyway.

As was usual for the date of October 10th, the villagers of the revered ninja village of Konoha had formed a mob and were currently throwing various insults and items they thought might leave a mark at the small child. Said child's clear, sky blue eyes widened pitifully as he turned to face his attackers now that he had nowhere left to run. Wet tears ran down his face like waterfalls through the grime covering his cherubic cheeks. They clouded his vision as he looked at the group surrounding him. Hate and pain contorted their faces into something evil, the firelight of their torches casting them in a shadowy half-light that made them seem even more sinister to the fearful child.

"Demon!"

"Monster!"

"You killed my brother!"

"You killed them all!"

"We should finish what the Fourth started!"

"Die!"

The mob's curses grew more and more enraged as they drew closer to the child who had rolled himself up into a ball; praying that it would give him some degree of protection from the slurs and the strikes that he knew were to come.

He hadn't known why they had done these things to him before. He hadn't known why no one would protect him. How could he have? No one ever took the time to explain anything to him, to help him.

But that, thankfully, had all changed on his sixth birthday a year ago. During an even-more-vicious-than-usual beating he had been knocked unconscious and, in a twist of fate, wound up meet Kyu-san.

Kyu-san had taken care of him.

Kyu-san had kept him safe.

Kyu-san had told him everything.

Kyu-san, or Kyuubi, as was, surprisingly, her official name, had explained it all to him. Everything from how she was sealed inside him to why she had attacked in the first place and all the events in between and after.

Originally he had hated the people who had hurt him for such a stupid reason. He had wanted them all to hurt too; wanted them to feel as alone and hurt as him. He had thought that they deserved to feel the pain they had inflicted on him. But then Kyu-san had explained to him that if he started hating them so personally, so passionately, then he'd wind up no better than them; lost in rage and prejudice.

Kyu-san had sounded very sad about it.

Naruto had formed a very quick opinion that he didn't like it when Kyu-san was sad.

So Naruto did his best not to hate the villagers while at the same time remembering that none of this was his fault. It was very confusing for a six-going-on-seven-year-old, but then again, only people who didn't know Naruto very well would ever accuse him of being slow.

Still though, it was hard not to hate them – especially when they beat him – and this beating was especially bad.

The little blonde winced as he felt a kunai pierce his skin. He thought his wrist might have been broken or maybe just severely sprained but he wasn't sure. The villagers usually tried not to break anything in case it could be used against them if the Hokage ever found out, not that Naruto ever told the old man. The few times Naruto had gone to the old Hokage with his problems the man had just smiled sadly and said it would get better.

It hadn't.

Or at least, it hadn't until he had met Kyu-san; now he just went to her to get his injuries healed.

Among all his other injuries Naruto could feel the shards of a broken sake bottle matted together with blood and dirt in his hair, turning it from a golden shade to a mucky yellow. He knew from experience that countless bruises and bumps were forming on his skin at that very moment from the all the hits he had taken throughout the night, giving him a slightly monstrous appearance.

Before meeting Kyu-san that alone would have kept him inside, out of shame and fright; but now that, at least, wasn't a problem.

Gasping as the toe of a sandal collided with his stomach Naruto bit his tongue and scrunched his eyes closed tighter, praying to every different kind of deity his childish mind could remember that it would all be over soon and he could go see Kyu-san.

Moments later the crowd slowly but surely began to disperse, leaving the bloodied and beaten child in the alleyway they had cornered him in. It was getting late in the night and they all had jobs to go to in the morning. Children to take care of. People to protect. They couldn't spend all night making sure the monster got what he deserved, now could they? They had already made sure that the thing wouldn't be able to move without one hell of a lot of pain and without killing it there was nothing more they could do to make sure the brat knew how hated it was.

For now, at least, they felt their duty to the fallen was done.

Naruto just lay there, staying completely still for a moment and reveling in the feeling of the cool rain that had started to pour from the sky; taking in the feeling of the fingers of icy water sliding down his skin as it took away all the blood and dirt that covered him while he tried to catch his breath.

Finally, after a few more deathly silent moments, the little boy commanded his mistreated body to move, to get him away from this place of pain and to take him somewhere safer.

He commanded his body to take him home.

Home was a tiny, rundown little apartment on the very edge of Konoha's main city district. It took him maybe half an hour to make his way there, limping and bleeding as he was, when usually he could make it to his dingy little haven in fewer than fifteen minutes from just about anywhere in the village.

Carefully reaching into the bright orange jumpsuit the Old Man Hokage had given him, Naruto pulled out a small key and slid it into the lock, using his less battered shoulder to carefully nudge the cheap wooden door open once the mechanism clicked.

Limping past the threshold Naruto didn't take any note of the living room/kitchenette combo's tiny size nor did he stop by the equally puny bathroom to wash up. Instead the little boy simply tugged the thin door shut and locked it again before making his way past his beaten couch and into his darkened room, where he passed out on his bed with no hesitation, body and mind pushed beyond exhaustion.

In less time than it took to take a breath Naruto's world was nothing but soft, sweet black. From there the scene began to change, the comforting darkness leeching away to reveal Naruto's inner most consciousness, otherwise known as a dreamscape – not that he knew that. He simply knew it as the place where Kyu-san lived.

The room was larger than any Naruto had ever physically been in, with walls made of polished obsidian, floors of red tile and a concave ceiling with a simple, though finely crafted, chandelier hanging from its center. Copper wall sconces jutted from the shiny stone some seven feet up and three apart, helping to light the behemoth of a room.

At the very back of the space, pressed against the wall was the focal-point of the room; a giant cage so big that Naruto was sure his entire apartment building could fit in it and more. It was bland in comparison to the rest of the area, though that was made up by how pretty its occupant was, Naruto thought with a shy smile.

She was pretty enough to be a princess, Naruto's young mind had decided early on, maybe even prettier. Her hair was blacker and shinier than the obsidian that made up the walls of the room and fell to her ankles in one silky wave when she stood. Porcelain skin, flawless and scar-free, showed everywhere that wasn't covered by her ornate red battle kimono or delicate-looking amour and her features were very fine, like the fairy dolls he saw in the toymaker's window when he had to travel further into town for food but much more realistic.

Two fuzzy, orangey-red fox ears poked cutely from the top of her head, accenting her daunting red eyes and large, warm fox tails (nine in all) quite nicely, Naruto thought. Sitting so peacefully in her cage, legs tucked up under her as she meditated, he might have even thought to call her ethereal if he'd known such a word.

Upon feeling Naruto's presence within her domain of, as of a few hours ago, seven years the woman immediately pulled herself from her meditation and got to her feet. Moving quickly she kneeled so her body was pressed right up against the bars of her cage and held her arms out, fey-like features softening in worried welcome.

Naruto did his best to stumble towards her, but he was tired. Even in his mind he couldn't escape the pain and instead of running to his savior, as he had deemed her mentally, he wound up half dragging himself to her arms.

A gasp escaping her reddened lips, Kyuubi hurriedly gathered Naruto to her, using her soft, fluffy tails as a makeshift bed for the child as she ran her slender fingers through his matted hair in comfort. Guilt and rage welled in her, surfacing in tears that she quickly suppressed. No use getting Naruto even more upset over her tears, she thought. Poor kid had too kind a heart.

"I'm so sorry that this keeps happening to you, kit." The ancient, dangerous Lady of War whispered, cradling the small human to her and cooing to him, exercising maternal instincts she'd thought long drowned in the ecstasy of blood and death.

"It's not your fault, Kyu-san," The child mumbled to her, his arms tightening around the female warlord as a familiar tingling sensation went over his body, healing his many wounds.

The fox demon smiled sadly and pushed the child back to arm's length, maneuvering one of her tails so the child could use it as something to cuddle with.

"If you won't let me apologies then let me sing you to sleep while you heal okay?" Kyuubi asked, moving her tails once again so that the child could lie in front of her, allowing her to run her fingers through his, in the process of being cleansed, hair.

"Okay," Naruto replied sleepily, his small hand gently petting the soft red fur of the fox demon as she smiled down at him and began her song.

"Hush little Kitling, don't say a word.

Kyuubi's earthquake will shake the whole wide world,

But if Konoha does not fall,

Fire will come at Kyuubi's call

And if Konoha does not burn,

Kyuubi will make the oceans churn,

And if Konoha does not drown,

Kyuubi's tornado will blow it down

And if Konoha stays as it has been,

Then Kyuubi will start all over again…"

Naruto could feel his eyes begin to droop as his Kyu-san started her song over again; her gentle, crooning voice encouraging a feeling of peace to take over him as he began to drift off to sleep…

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, moved with a stealth unknown to most his age as he made his way to the young Uzumaki's room after receiving a tip about a particularly brutal beating the young one was said to have received. For the last few months the Sandaime had tricked himself into believing that the child had finally managed to outwit his pursuers, or that the people of the village had finally started to leave the poor child alone, but now he realized he was a fool to have ever considered such a thing.

Coming up to the young one's apartment door the Sandaime used his chakra to manipulate the lock before softly pushing the door open, stringently ignoring the jab of guilt he felt as his eyes fell across the dank, cheerless space. He knew Minato and Kushina would have his head when he saw them again in the next world but it just couldn't be helped right now.

Sighing, the old man continued on his journey and slipped into the boy's bedroom, hoping to heal him before he awoke and avoid hearing Naruto's pleas for help again.

Apparently, this was not meant to be. The Sandaime barely held back a gasp as he watched the eerily recognizable, already-present chakra drift over the boy's skin, healing him far better than Sarutobi could ever hope to.

It was a bright, pulsing red-orange; powerful to an insane degree and almost poisonous to any who used it without its owner's given grace. It was the Kyuubi's chakra.

The Sandaime watched in stunned fascination as the child's wounds closed into scars and then as the scars faded out of existence. The bruises and welts that boy possessed disappeared much the same way and a sharp crack echoed throughout the silent night as the boy's obviously broken wrist snapped back into place. Dirt, blood, and glass shards vanished into thin air as the old man stood there, watching, and not daring to make a noise.

After what seemed like a small eternity, the inky-red mass of energy began to thin, not quite dispersing but rather drifting back into the boy's body in a way akin to a sponge, leaving no trace behind but the years Sarutobi felt he'd lost off his life at the sight of it.

When the chakra had disappeared completely and a quick glance on the old man's part revealed to boy to be unharmed (Unharmed? Try rejuvenated! Sarutobi's mind scoffed), the Sandaime turned to leave. It was clear that the Kyuubi had decided to protect the child rather than harm him, so now there wasn't much left for the old Hokage to do other than –

"Then Kyuubi will start all over again..."

The Sandaime's heart froze in his withered chest. Turning back slowly towards the boy, no more than six (no, seven now, his mind reminded him, it was the boy's birthday today, after all) and looking the paragon of innocence and sweetness, Sarutobi couldn't help but fear that if things kept progressing the way they were, those chilling, childish words would turn prophecy…

Shaking his head, the old man made quick work of leaving the child's room and then the apartment completely, locking the door behind him as he went. When he was back in his office, the reinstated Third Hokage demanded his secretary bring him every one of the men who were meant to be guarding Naruto that night and fired them before reassigning new, hopefully more dedicated ones.

He'd be damned if he let that child bring about Armageddon because of village's poor treatment of him. From this day forward things would change, Sarutobi swore. They would have to, if they wanted to live beyond the next few decades.

All right, I hoped you all liked this and will review and yes! I did adopt this from Daydreamer-74423! Everything is totally legal THIS STORY IS NOT STOLEN!

Anyway, I hope you all ejoyed this! And don't forget to thank TheVastEmptiness for betaing and being awesome at it!

Sincerely,

BlackRoseGirl666