Sadness and sorrow
His grip on the swing tightened as he watched all the kids gathered around the front of the academy. Their parents stood around them praising them for finally becoming genin. His ears picked up a few words, mostly appraisal, some whispering about him still not becoming a genin. They hated him. And he didn't know why.
What did he ever do to deserve their hate, those mean looks they gave him? Sure he acted a little obnoxious, but that was for attention. He wanted friends, needed friends. The fact that he was alone scared him. He acted like everything was fine, like nothing happened. But seeing everyone with their parents killed him. He wanted to cry, let all his pain wash away. But no matter how long he cried, he never felt better.
His room was his only escape from the rest of the world, where he could cry all he wanted, let out all his pain. It would be considered weak to cry in front of everyone, he often thought. He would be discriminated even more. Parents would think he wanted attention, which he did, and get angry at him. They'd call him a monster and that they'd never let him get what he wanted.
His eye sight began to blur. 'No, not now!' He thought. It hurt. His eyes burned and throat stung. But it is what it is. Carefully, he lifted a leg over the swing, his feet touching the soft dirt ground. He took one last sorrowful look towards the academy, then turned and ran.
He didn't know where he was going. Maybe run out of the village. He didn't want to be here anymore. In this village, this country, this world. He wanted to die, but was afraid of death. He wanted to cry, but was afraid of sadness. He wanted to fight, but was afraid of war. His head hurt, he wanted to go home. Home to parents. Home to someone who loves him.
His foot hit something, causing him to fall to the ground. A wrangled cry escaped his throat. Tears that had been held in rolled down his cheeks. He cried as people walked passed him, pretending he wasn't there. After all, who wanted to interact with a monster?
He could hear someone calling his name. He ignored it. All he wanted was to curl up and cry. Cry for hours, days, forever. It wasn't like it made him feel better, no, it made him feel worse. But it was the only thing to do, to block out the voices, the looks, and the disgust of everyone else. He wandered if anyone else was like him, hated for no good reason. His mind spun and his throat burned. His cries grew louder.
A hand touched his back, making him jump. He got up and ran. He felt lightheaded and couldn't stand straight. His legs betrayed him causing him to fall. The voice grew louder, calling out his name. "Naruto! Naruto!" Everything went black.
Slowly, cerulean eyes opened. "What..?" It was dark. The walls emitted a strange greenish glow. He stood ankle deep in some kind of warm bubbly liquid. In front of him was a long hallway, leading to many different halls. A strange feeling overcame him. It was foreign, yet vaguely familiar. He's felt like this before. He walked down the hallway, the strange feeling getting stronger. He approached the doorway leading to the second hall.
The feeling became stronger. It felt as though something was twisting in his stomach. He stepped into a rather large room. The walls stood over forty feet high, or so he presumed. A giant gate stood in front of him, a large piece of paper placed in between the two gate doors reading, "Seal."
It was silent. He could hear liquid dripping off the pipes in the halls. A low growl sounded from the gate, causing him to flinch. "Boy... Open the gate." A low gruff voice sounded. "Wh-what? Who-who said that?" A large silhouette appeared from behind the cage, taking the shape of a giant animal. It's eyes glowed red amidst the darkness.
'What strange chakra...' He thought. 'It's so strong...' The beast chuckled. "So innocent. Are you afraid, boy?" Naruto gulped. "Of-of course... Not..." He trailed off, looking away from the shadowy figure. "You're not a very good liar." "Sh-shut up!" He snapped. There it was again. That low, rumbling chuckle. "Do you know who I am, boy?"
The blonde scratched his head. "I don't even know where I am..." Two large clawed hands shot out from behind the shadows, clawing at the iron gates. The twisting feeling returned in Naruto's stomach, causing him to wince. The shadowy figure moved closer to the gate, revealing a giant, orange fox-like creature. Naruto took a step back, his eyes widening.
The creature grinned, showing off its large canines. Nine long tails moved out from the shadows, following the beast. "Nine.. Tails..?" The beast narrowed its eyes.
I kind of edited this story a bit. I posted an earlier one before, and I found I didn't like the way I wrote it. So yeah. Chapter is still short though. They'll get longer.
Enjoy!~
-Chel