Love Leaves You Scarred

By: His Rose Bud 125

Edited/Beta'd by: Rileyyheartt

Summary: Meet Rachel, a civilian, who stumbles upon an attack in Konohagakure no Saito and saves baby Naruto Uzumaki. Minato is suspicious, but grateful, and allows her to recover in his home. That is, until he discovers a summoning scroll in her possession. Follow her, as she deals with the burden of knowledge she shouldn't know, secrets she struggles to keep, and a guilt that has her so wrapped up she wants to end it all. Warning: Includes traumatic experiences such as attempted suicide, rape, etc. Do not read if you feel as if you will be triggered. Minato/OC

Chapter One:

A/N: Hello, and welcome to my story. First, I would like you to be aware that I am very partially sighted. My spelling is bad, and I am aware of this. I would, however, like to point out that we are not professional writers. I do this for fun and as a way to keep my mind occupied. So, I ask that when you review, please don't be too harsh. Thank you, and enjoy the story. Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto. Only the plot and my own OC Rachel.

Editor/Beta: Hi, I'm Rileyyheartt. Not really sure what to put here, but I liked the story so much I decided to try to reach out to His Rose Bud 125 (I'm going to say Rose from now on, since it's shorter) If this replaces the old chapter, that means he/she (I'm not going to assume gender) decided that my editing skills could be utilized. If not, well, I suppose no one but the two of us will see the following. Please enjoy.

It was late at night. Rachel was lost. Either that, or the directions given to her by the guard at the gate had been wrong. Running her hand through her hair, she let out a breath of frustration. It was too late to bang on someone's door and ask for help. She heard grumbling nearby, hoping it was someone who could assist her, she ran towards the slurred voice.

As she approached, she noticed the source of the annoyed voice. It was a woman, with a large bust and blonde hair, her low pigtails were slightly mussed and her facial expression seemed a bit annoyed.

"Excuse me, can you help me?" Honeyed eyes met her own and she watched the woman purse her lips.

Looking closer at the woman, she noticed that she was swaying slightly, a sake bottle clutched loosely in her delicate looking hands. I hope she isn't too drunk…

"I'm lost, and the guard at the gate gave me directions to where I'm meant to stay, but I can't seem to find the place." Rachel slid her hands into a pocket, pulling out the slightly rumpled paper, and handed it to the seemingly tipsy woman. The woman's eyes focused on the paper grudgingly. She quickly scanned over it and looked back up at Rachel. The pleading look she was giving seemed to help the woman make up her mind.

"See that tower over there?" Rachel followed her gaze and nodded. "Go straight to it, walk halfway around, turn right and head down that street. You can't miss it."

"Thank you so much. I owe you one."

The honey eyed woman nodded whilst handing back the piece of paper before she continued, leaving Rachel to her own devices. Before she was out of hearing range, Rachel heard grumbling about "Stupid perverted toads" and "I'm not drunk enough for this shit". I'd say she's drunk enough… perverted toads?

Turning away, Rachel began to head in the direction of the tower. As she drew closer, it's looming and imposing height gave off a slightly eerie appearance in the moonlight. As she came even closer, she could see lights in a single room. Must be the Hokage's office. She thought.

Suddenly, glass shattered, spraying into the night. Hastily, she protected her head as an attempt to keep the glass away. Her sea-green eyes widened in shock as she saw a small crying bundle of baby flying through the air.

She heard a shout, and saw a yellow flash, and a blonde man appeared mid-air, his white haori with red flames shook out and emblazed behind him as he attempted to reach the child in time. Another ninja appeared, and the two clashed as the baby continued his impromptu tumble to sure death. Ignoring the fighting ninja, she sprint forward. If she didn't do something the baby would die. Jumping at the last moment to help reduce the child's impact to her body, she used gravity to her advantage, falling to her knees to help cushion its small body. The child was crying loudly in terror. She got to her feet, gently rocking him, hoping to sooth his fears. The sound of feet landing on the ground nearby alerted her to an approaching shinobi. Clutching the child closer, she eyed the man wearily.

"Give me the child and you might escape with your life." The moonlight bounced off the metal plate of his headband. Iwa she thought, clenching her jaw. A wave of protectiveness for the babe in her arms flood through her as she shook her head in defiance.

"Then perish" He growled. She took a step back as he stepped towards her.

What am I going to do? I can't fight him. She thought. I'm a civilian, he's most likely a jounin shinobi. The difference in strength would be almost comical if this wasn't a life-threatening situation. I can't fight on their level. If he was a bandit that would be different, but he has most likely had intensive chakra training.

"GET AWAY FROM MY GOD-SON!" A light blonde blur and a chakra covered fist flew towards the enemy shinobi. The side of his face caved in due to the inhuman strike to the face and the honey eyed woman who had assisted her earlier struck the man yet again as she turned towards Rachel. Her eyes were fierce and spoke volumes. Protect him they said. And with a serious nod, Rachel turned and took off. Glimpsing over her shoulder, she saw the woman engage with yet another enemy and turned back to her task. That woman could take care of herself, tipsy or not.

She ran through the streets, taking multiple twists and turns through alleys and avoiding streetlamps. Shouts continued behind her as she pushed herself faster. Cursing her chakra deficiency that prevented her from any form of enhancement. She skid to a stop as an Iwa shinobi dropped down in front of her, blocking her path. A kunai flew from his dexterous fingers, the moonlight glint off of the piercing metal and she knew she wasn't fast enough to dodge properly. As soon as it left his hands she had jerked backward bracing herself for the eventual impact. Sharp pain flew through her right knee, the burning hot sensation pierced through her as she cried out. The rest of her nerve endings in her leg throbbed almost as much as the source of her pain. Her leg collapsed and she twisted herself, protecting the small body in her arms that had yet to cease his tears from the terror he's gone through. His blanket had fallen open, slightly hiding her free hand and as she heard the crunch of steps under shinobi sandals. She yanked the offensive metal from her knee cap, and flung it towards the enemy. A sick squelch and the shinobi's surprised expression went slack. Blood and intraocular fluid slid down his face as he collapsed. Dead.

Leaning back, she gasped as the smallest of movements caused the nerves in her leg to flair wildly in pain. She had just taken a life. Closing her eyes, she shifted her thoughts from the dead man a few feet away to the bundle in her arms. Glancing around, she took in her surroundings. There was a large garbage bin to her right. The alley in front of her opened up to a market street. Grimacing in pain, she used her free arm to slide herself backwards, closer to the wall, so she could hide next to the bin. Every movement jostled her leg and she was thankful that while the wound was bad, it could have been worse. If she hadn't jerked backwards earlier the kunai could have hit the deep vein in her leg, causing her to bleed out in minutes. The smell of rotting garbage and metallic blood assaulted her senses and she shook her head slightly, hoping to clear her head.

Looking down at the babe, whose white blanket had fallen open in the chaos, she reached up. Shaking blood and dirt covered hands tucked the soft warmth around him. His small cheeks were flushed, and wet. Tears still leaking from his eyes and traveling across whiskered cheeks.

Ignoring the tremors her hands were experiencing, she lightly stroked his tears away with her thumb.

"Hey, it's alright, I won't allow them to hurt you." She spoke softly, hoping to sooth him. A few more murmurs of comfort and the child stopped crying all together. His eyes opened curiously at her and she felt her own widen. His eyes are so beautiful… She smiled softly and she cradled him closer. Exhaustion starting to take over. She looked towards her injured leg. It had started to go numb. Blood had slowly begun to pool beneath it and she felt her head spin. Leaning against the wall, she pulled him closer. Her consciousness was slowly fading and the world was black along the edges. The child's head was placed in the center of her chest his body resting on his stomach as he fell asleep. I hope his parents find us soon. And the world went dark.