"W-What?" Naruto stuttered. Guy sat there, his face filled with sorrow as he leaned forward.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Guy repeated himself, staring into his eyes

"N-No-I-I don't... I-I mean-ju-just... I-I'm sorry for my outburst," Naruto replied, looking away from Guy's gaze

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze," Guy said, making Naruto's entire being, shaking. He felt like he was in danger. He felt like that kami himself was bearing down on him as Guy placed a hand on his shoulder. Shaking out of fear and breaking into a cold sweat, Naruto's teeth started to chatter... as he felt tears roll down his face. It was then that he wasn't shaking out of fear. Oh no, not fear. But out of sadness and anger.

After such an outburst, Naruto thought that he would've been struck. That he would've been punished, like those times before, "I-I w-wan-na t-talk," Naruto managed to cry out, stuttering nearly every letter of the sentence

"Take your time," Guy said, his voice giving Naruto a slight warmth he hasn't felt in years

"T-sunade s-said t-that I w-was s-supposed to-to die w-when I was 8," Naruto cried, wiping his tears away from his one good eye, "m-mom a-and da-d a-alway-s t-trai-ned N-Naru-ko a-and M-Menma b-because t-they h-had th-the Kyu-ubi. I-I was al-always a-alone, b-by my-self i-in m-my room," he continued to cry.

It was hard for them to understand what he was saying, between the sobbing and the amount of snot coming out of his nose, it was almost impossible. Except for Guy and Bang. Guy had seen this kind of breakdown before with many people. He'd had to comfort fellow shinobi's when people close to them had died. And Bang... because he'd seen it with his very own student before.

The old man looked up from Naruto and at Garou, who looked outside at the rainclouds that started to form overhead. Bang lifted his teacup and sipped it slowly, making sure that the sound of his drinking didn't interrupt Naruto's story.

"E-Every d-day, I-I was t-too st-stay in the h-hou-se. N-Nev-er to-to go ou-t-side. W-While m-my b-bro-ther a-and si-sister d-did ev-evry-thing. B-But th-hen t-they a-all-lowed m-me to g-go out-side o-on w-wa-walks. B-But I-I w-wou-ld al-always t-try a-and be-be ki-lled b-by sh-shin-obi b-be-cause I-I was t-too we-weak," Naruto wailed, burying his face into the table with his arms over his head, "I-I HATE IT!"

"I'm sure they had your best interest in mind, Naruto," Guy said, rubbing Naruto's back

"B-But th-they a-al-ways ig-ignored m-me," Naruto looked up at Guy, snot flowing onto the table. Guy recoiled at Naruto's current state and reached for the box of napkins on the other side of the table. Taking out a couple of dozen, Guy tried his best to clean Naruto up so that he could continue.

"J-Jus-t a-a few-few mo-nths a-ago, m-my p-par-ents g-got N-Naru-ko a-and Men-ma s-shin-obi st-star-ter sets w-while t-they go-got me a s-stu-pid b-book! O-On c-clearance! T-The st-sticker w-was s-still o-on the back!" Naruto wailed even more as Guy tried his best to clean Naruto up. As Guy was doing so, a waiter came over with another tray of meat, "Here's your sec- oh... uhh, i-is this a bad time?" the waiter asked, giving a sheepish smile

"*Sigh* I would like to order dessert for later. Is that alright?" Bang asked, taking out his wallet

"W-What would you like to order?"

"What's on the dessert menu?"

"Well, we ha-"

"Let me rephrase that... what I meant to say was, I would like everything on the dessert menu," Bang said, giving the waiter a large wad of cash, causing the waiter to nod and take out their little book. The waiter wrote something in it as he set the meat tray down and bowed, "I'll have it out before you leave," the waiter said, hurrying to the back of the kitchen. When he was gone, Naruto was still crying and hadn't noticed the interaction, "I-I ha-hate m-my li-life," Naruto mumbled, "e-ev-ery d-day, I-I was af-afraid. E-Ev-ery d-day, I-I was p-put i-int-to t-the s-sha-dows. I-I ha-hat-ed it-it. Th-then, G-Gar-ou-Sen-sei, s-saved me-me fr-from a f-fat sh-in-obi. A-And I wa-want-ed to-to trai-ain wi-th h-him,"

"Is that so?" Bang asked, eyeing Garou, the latter rolling their eyes as they reached for a piece of cooked meat on the grill.

"Hm-mh, a-and I-I fe-felt li-like som-eone c-car-ed ab-about me-me fo-for once," Naruto said through Guy's large amount of napkins on his face

"Cared? How so?"

"H-He sa-saved m-my li-ife s-so ma-many tim-imes. H-He ta-takes hi-is time w-with me-me a-and d-does s-so ma-many goo-d t-thing f-for me-me," Naruto replied, making Bang smile

"That's nice to know," Bang said, again looking at Garou, who had a blush on his face, "you have anything to say, Garou?"

"T-Tch, he's my student. It's only right for a master to protect them," Garou stuttered the first part of the sentence as he removed his hand from Naruto's collar and patted Naruto's head

"Uh-huh," Bang smirked seeing his former pupil interact with Naruto

"T-Then, o-on my-my 8-th bir-th-day, I-I w-was att-acked," Naruto said, catching their attention

"Excuse me?" Guy questioned, stopping the cleaning of Naruto's face

"A-An I-Inu-zuka k-kil-led me-me," Naruto stuttered, remembering the moment he was attacked, "i-it w-was c-cold a-and d-dark. I-I wa-was a-alone. I-I w-was af-fraid a-and l-lone-ly, a-and I-I w-want-ted to-to g-get o-out,"

"What do you mean he killed you?" Guy got closer to Naruto, wanting to hear what he had to say

"M-My he-heart st-stopped. I-I w-was de-dead," Naruto answered, his jaw quivering from sadness and fright, "b-but th-then... I-I was a-wake a-and I-I wan-ted t-to do-do o-only on-one t-thing,"

"Which was?"

"K-Kill h-him," Naruto said. Guy gulped while Bang and Bomb narrowed their eyes. Garou turned his head to look down at Naruto as Guy snapped out of his shock.

"W-What?" Guy questioned as Naruto nodded

"I-I ki-killed him," Naruto repeated. Guy sat there as he remembered the Jomari Murder.

'Ramu was killed by an unknown assailant while his ninken was carried home by Naruto. Although, the idea of Naruto killing him was found false due to Ramu being an experienced shinobi, even with Tsume-san's investigation. But after seeing how Naruto has been training with Garou since before me... I can see that it's now possible,' Guy thought, biting his thumb, 'but if Naruto's statement true... no. I'll do nothing. At worst, Naruto can get away with self-defense, and at best he can get away scot-free because of his 'condition','

"Naruto..." Garou spoke, causing Naruto to look up at him, "you're a good kid, but... try to keep the 'I killed' thing on the down-low. Who knows who's watching,"

"You're right. I guess I should take care of our guests," Bomb said, vanishing before reappearing. 4 ANBU appeared on the floor, unconscious with smoke rising from the back of their necks, "Well, they won't be waking up anytime soon," Bang mumbled, looking at his brother's handy work.

"Naruto doesn't want his parents to know. If I remember correctly, from when I was last, the 'ANBU' report to the 'Hokage', which is Naruto's father. Connecting the dots was a simple process," Bomb replied, reaching for the pot of rice next to the meat

"B-But w-why?" Naruto asked the old man, the former seeing Bangs hand perk up

"Naruto... let me tell you a story," Bang straightened his seat, finishing the last of his tea, "there once was a boy who was bullied by his peers. He thought differently than the other kids because he simplified with the monsters of all the hero stories. Every time he played 'hero' with the children, he was always the monster and he was always held down and beaten. When he fought back, his father was called and he was punished. Over and over and over again. Get into a fight, the father is called, punishment is dealt. But it wasn't what they did to him physically that hurt the most..."

"Hm?"

"It's what they did to him mentally, that scarred him for life. He hated the status quo. He hated heroes because he associated them with his bullies. It's almost like Pavlov's experiments," Bang stated, going into a tangent, explaining Pavlov's experiments about using bells and dogs. But he soon stopped when he realized what he was doing, "Oh, sorry about that. Just trying to explain how it worked," Bang apologized

"I-It's fine," Naruto stuttered, "b-but what happened n-next?"

"Well, he ran away from his father. The boy ran and ran and ran until he stopped at a dojo. An old man lived in the dojo, teaching others what he knows. The boy ran into the dojo, demanding that the old man teach him. But before he could get a response, the boy collapsed to the floor due to exhaustion. And what did you think the old man did?"

"Kick h-him out?" Naruto answered

"No... he took the boy in and taught him everything he knew," Bang smiled

"Really?"

"Yup. He practically raised him. Even slept in the dojo where he would train in secret during the off hours." Bang explained. His face was filled with joy as his mustache also formed a smile of its own. But it turned to sadness as he continued to speak, "But one day... The boy thought he had nothing left to learn and fought the other students of the dojo. He left them all beaten and broken. The old man stepped him in and defeated him, banishing him from the dojo and... made the other students stop learning from him. The old man blamed himself for everything. Never taking in another student," Bang balled his fists.

Naruto saw this action, wondering who he was talking about. But Garou knew this story. He heard it once before. He actually experienced it. Because he was the boy. Garou was the boy in the story and Bang was the old man. Garou always thought that the old man was someone to only acknowledge because of his abilities as a martial artist. But thinking about it now, Garou only had a single phrase in his head. One he never thought possible.

'I'm sorry... sensei,' Garou thought, reaching for another piece of meat.

"What happened to the boy?" Naruto asked

"That's... a story for another time. Now, how about we start eating? One cannot live off of tea alone," Bang said with a smile as he placed a slice of beef on the grill.

"ACHOO!" an old man sneezed, holding a cup of tea as he rubbed his nose

"Iroh, you alright?" Naruto asked, wearing a pink kimono with sandals and a cone-hat

"Urgh, I think I'm coming down with a cold. Maybe some more Jasmine Tea will fix it,"

"Hahahahaha! Always tea, eh, Uncle?" Naruto laughed, bringing a bottle to his lips, and started downing it.

Naruto was eating a rice-bowl while grabbing what meat he could from the grill. As he was eating, he felt something again. His heart was aloof and he felt... safe. It was a nice feeling. It was a feeling he lik- no. A feeling he loved. He didn't have a word for it. But the closest he could get to it... was 'Family'.