A/N:
Hey, guys. This is my very first time writing fanfiction. I intend to finish this entire story before posting even a single chapter. This is just a pilot. If it warrants continued writing, based on the reviews, I'll finish writing the entire story, and post my progress on my profile. Once I'm done, I'll post a chapter a week. I have yet to choose a fixed date for this, so bear with me. XD
Chapter 1
The heavens rumbled and shed their tears upon the figure far below them. The bloody boy crawled on his belly, arm outstretched towards a tall, red building towering in the distance.
Just a little bit more. Please, Kami-sama; just a little bit more. Why are they chasing me? I haven't even done anything! Please, thought the broken boy. One can just barely make out his tattered, orange jumpsuit, so soaked it was in crimson. Flashes of lightning flickered ominously across the dark skies above. Suddenly, his ears picked up a growing cacophony of metal-against-metal.
"There he is! There's that brat! Look at him trying to crawl away. Pathetic! And this was the being that destroyed us all those years ago?" jeered a stout man. He stood at the head of the mob, wielding a pitchfork that gleamed in the light of the torches. The mob was being driven to a frenzy, and the murmurs became increasingly louder. Then, another man in a simple brown kimono stepped forward and let forth a shout of victory.
"We got 'em, now, boys! Let's fuck up the d–"
"Shut up, Kenichi! Do you want to be executed? You know about that law!" hissed the man with the pitchfork.
"We're about to kill him anyway, Sozui. Sandaime-sama is stuck in a meeting right now, and the council will cover for us… like always. No one will be able to save him, "reasoned Kenichi. His eyes were filled with an unholy light, and his bloodlust permeated the air.
Throughout all this, Uzumaki Naruto, the poor child, tried desperately to stifle his cries and attempted in vain to crawl away. Inch by inch, he dragged his broken body along the gravel into a dimly lit alleyway and hid himself behind a large dumpster. Unfortunately, Naruto forgot all about his trail.
Pools of blood, still warm, led to his resting place.
Shouts of "Find the demon brat" and "He'll learn not to mess with Konoha" blasted through the air. Finally, shadows were cast over the entrance of the alleyway. Flames from the torches casted a hellish-like glow to the contours of the villagers.
Screams of agony were ripped from a singled parched throat while cries of exultation made its rounds through the gathered crowd.
Flesh was rent from bone.
Ribs were broken. The snapping drowned out by the screams.
Kunai carved deep furrows over old scars.
Salt and lime poured its caustic contents into weeping wounds.
Finally, Naruto lay an unrecognizable heap in the middle of a circle of his tormentors. Blood bubbled from his mouth, and he struggled to gasp, to take a breath, to whisper out a plea.
All. In. Vain.
Why? What did I ever do to you, he lamented, to warrant such actions? Only six years old and he already had the largest record of medical files in the Konoha Byōin (1). Whimpering in pain, he curled up into the smallest fetal position he could. Yet, the blows and the knives still rained down upon him.
"Enough," said Sozui holding up a hand, "he has always healed from his injuries, but we've never seen him regenerate. Limbs take too much effort, and his cries might alert some of the guards. How about… his eyes." With that, four rushed forward and pinned his arms and legs to the wall. Short, thin poles of rusty steel with points at the end were shoved through his wrists and ankles and into the ground.
Naruto never uttered a gasp or let out a cry at this; he was too exhausted. He could only lay there and despair of his lot in life. He shut his eyes as tight as he could, not willing to witness his own destruction. But it was not to be.
Rough hands held his face, calluses chafing against his sensitive whisker marks. They were not the gentle hands of a mother caressing the face of that of her child. No. these were unforgiving hands. Hands that held no sympathy. Hands for destruction.
Then the universe stood still. All was quiet. The eye before the storm.
Squelch.
Pain like no other pierced his mind. All sense of self, of reason, fled him as Naruto tried to cope with what was happening. Now trembling with both exhaustion and pain, his body finally gave out. With one last shuddering breath, Naruto descended into darkness, drifting away, blissfully unaware of the torment his young small body still endured.
Eternal darkness stretched around him. He knew not where he was. His plaintive cries echoed around him. A rasping sound was heard in the pitch black. Heavy panting filled the air.
NEXT CHAPTER BEGIN IN HEAVEN
Footnotes:
Konoha Byōin – Literally Leaf Hospital. Taken from Narutopedia.