This is in third person view, but in Naruto's point of view (if that makes any sense. Okay, basically, third person, but his thoughts...?) Anyways, this is, of course, about Naruto. It never really says his name unless someone is talking to him though.
Updates every couple days. The chapters are fairly short, so I expect only a week or two before finishing. Multi-chapter, guessing about 5 to 6 chapters.
Sort of AU, some are OoC (Out of Character).
First and ONLY Disclaimer for story: Me owning Naruto would be like me ruling the world. Totally awesome, but also sadly impossible.
He couldn't take it anymore. The harsh words, the glares…all the times the citizens tried to attack and hopefully kill him. Nothing he did could change their minds, to prove that he was not the demon they thought he was. He was sick of everything. Every name, every cut…it all sunk him deeper into depression and loneliness.
Kids of his own age rarely spared him a glance. When they did, it was usually a look of disgust, or to laugh in his face. They called him harsh names. They put him down. No one believed in him, not even his teacher, not even the Hokage. He wasn't stupid. He had heard. The Hokage meant well, he knew, but it didn't change what he had said.
"He means well and has a good spirit and strong will, but I doubt he will ever become the Hokage. His skills are lacking, and his anger always gets the best of him."
If someone actually bothered to help him, maybe he would be able to show his potential. But no one did. No one wanted to. They all hated him. Why waste your time with something you hate? Who would do that? No one.
He wanted to escape the hell hole known as his life. The hatred, being ignored...it was hard to live with it. He rarely ever had enough money to get something to eat, besides ramen. He loved the stuff, but only because he was so used to it. He couldn't afford anything else. So he did it.
He felt it was the only way to get away.
He set up a strong genjutsu, something no one would believe he was capable of doing. It was special; it followed him everywhere and changed everything. It was kept up by the Kyuubi chakra that never ran out.
The once harsh glares now appeared to him as caring looks. The frowns and scowls transformed into happy smiles. Every cut he received was thought by him as a caring touch.
Whenever he thought of a food, it would appear. He never actually ate anymore, it was all in his mind. And his mind thought he was eating, so he would think he was full. He slowly started to wither away, become thinner and thinner.
People noticed, and they started to feel bad. They tried to help him, but their words fell on deaf ears, lost in an imaginary world.
They reported it to the Hokage, who discovered the genjutsu. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't dispel it. It was too strong.
People now looked at him with guilt. Kids his age felt it too. Some of the weaker minds cried, sometimes in front of him. They hated the look he had on his face. A perpetual smile, his eyes lost in a trance. He was stuck in his false world. No one could get him out. No one could talk to him.
In his mind, far, far back, he was aware that his world was a lie, that nothing was true, everything was only how he thought it was. But he loved it so much he refused to believe it.
Sometimes he swore he could hear faint crying, sometimes he could hear someone pleading. Softly, softly. The voices changed a lot. Once in a while, the voice would bring a spark to his mind, and he would feel as if he knew the person. But then it would be gone, and he would just laugh softly to himself and push the thought away. He was gone, and no one could bring him back.