The sound of glass hitting the wall and shattering, the screaming of obscenities, the crying and the cursing where all too familiar to Naruto. They where at it again; the neighbours. At first Naruto wasn't sure if it was an enemy attacking, for the sheer amount of noise coming out of the adjacent apartment to his was phenomenal. He was 8 at the time he had first experienced it and had innocently wondered who could be possibly fighting during the late hours of the night, and was confused to find the next morning that a man and a woman had walked out of the apartment, bruises and all, smiling. Seemingly in love. He had truly thought it had been an enemy.
By the time Naruto was 12 he had easily recognised those as the signs of domestic abuse. He found it sick. What a twisted game these people where playing, almost every night, screaming till their voices raw, sobbing so loudly until the faded light of the morning where they would bid each-other farewell with a kiss and a hug. Most of the time, he was out or either so exhausted from missions that he would have been in too-deep of a sleep to hear the noise. When he did hear it, he tried to comfort himself with the thought that, after all, he did live in government housing, that he shouldn't expect such perfect neighbours, and he supposed everyone was entitled to a second chance.
By the time Naruto was 16 he was so busy with missions he rarely had visited his apartment, it had only occurred to him one night when Sai had to stay over that the abuse was still continuing.
"Naruto" Sai had whispered in the darkness, crawling across the floor where his makeshift bed lay to the other bed, shaking Naruto's arm hastily. Naruto had peaked through his eye-lid, staring groggily at Sai.
"People seemed to be fighting, should we go and help?" Naruto shot straight up through the darkness, suddenly feeling sick, his gut twisting his guilt, his throat closing up. After all this time? After all these years? He turned his head and nodded and the two shinobi crept through the apartment and out of the door. They where greeted immediately by sobbing; a boy, maybe 4 or 5? He was curled up on the ground, his head in his knees, his honey coloured hair covering his face, which was sure to be streaked with tears. An array of colourful bruises on his pale arms where radiant in the darkness, there seemed to be a deeper purple one around his neck. Naurto thought he was going to faint. Guilt swallowing him up, engulfing his existence. Sure, he had tried numerous times to cease the fighting, to report it to the landlord, but nothing had changed. But, he could have done more in the past!. He could have broken down the door with rasengan, he could have waited until they left for work to approach them. Was he really the cause of this kids suffering?
Naruto immediately dropped to his knees next to the child, Sai going around the building to break through the window. "Hey-hey kid, are you alright? Try to sit up-its going to be ok now." The child sniffled, his body shaking slightly as he sat up against the wall, his dark eyes, barley reaching Naruto. It was then Naruto could truly see the extent of the damage.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, i live over there" Naruto jabbed his thumb at the apartment adjacent from where he was sitting. 'I'm...real sorry i didnt do anything sooner." he started, swallowing the sticky lump in his throat, looking at his feat." I'm sorry i let you suffer knowingly. I'm just...so sorry. I never had parents...i didnt know, I-" he rambled on, not realising that the child wasnt taking any of it in.
The boy looks at him strangely, voice croaking, eyes half closed, tears still falling "You-you... onii-san you saved me, why do you look sad? Did mummy and daddy hurt you too?" He reaches up and touches Naruto's face tenderly, tracing the whisker lines on his face. Naruto tries to smile, but instead holds back his own tears; the innocence of the child is truly heartbreaking.
"Lets go, ok?" He whispers, helping the kid onto his back.
By then the fighting had quietened down in the apartment. He wondered what sai had done, what he had seen. When he asked, Sai had merely blinked and responded uncharacteristically sadly "That poor kid."
A/N: So here is the first one shot of the new year for fanfic friday. This was kind of emotional to write, but im glad i did as its something i needed to get off my chest. In fact its a bit of a relief.. I hope this wasnt too triggering/ emotional for some of you. Also i havent writtern in ages so im sorry if my expression isnt that great-its something i've been trying to work on.
Hope you guys had a great new year & break. Cheers for R&R xoxo