Twitch
Twitch
A squirrel stood about a hundred feet in front of were he was sitting, tail twitching as only a squirrel's can. The boy smiled. He'd always preferred the company of the local animal life to that of his classmates. Not that he ever really considered them classmates. Technically they were, but how can one apply a term of affection to a group of people that wish a slow and painful death upon you on a daily bases? The boy sighed heavily and leaned backwards slightly, supporting his weight on his hands. He glanced to the west, gaging the time of day by the position of the setting sun. Said sun was just resting on the tree line, which meant he had about another hour of daylight left, give or take. He toyed for a moment with heading back to the village, but decided that he was better off saying where he was. It's not like anyone would miss him. Well, that wasn't completely true, although he still wasn't able to admit it. He knew there where two people who didn't hate him outright. He knew better than to hope however. Just because the boys didn't wish him a slow, painful death didn't mean they wanted anything to do with him. Another heavy sigh passed over the blonde's lips. He frowned sadly as the squirrel darted off, maybe back to his family, maybe back to an empty den. Either way the boy felt the squirrel was the luckiest creature alive.
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Meanwhile, back in the village, a group of friends played a game of soccer in a local park. Well, they were trying to get the game started at least. The teams were comming up uneven, as one boy refrained from lining up to be assigned a team. "Come on Choji! If you don't play then the teams aren't even!"
A young Choji just sat under the comfortable shade of the oak tree and munched on his snacks. "I don't want to play," he answered calmly. "I'm too tired."
"Oh for the love of..." sighed Kiba, "Come on already. Shikamaru's gunna play! Why can't you?"
Shikamaru, ever the genius, even at the ripe young age of 7, spoke up, "If he won't play, then I'll pull out too. That way the team's will be even and you can start the game."
Kiba glared at the boy but relented with a sigh. "Alright, you win. We'll play a man down for both teams." He turned to the other team's captain, "Come on Lee, let's get started before it gets too late." He glanced over to the tree line, "Too bad Naruto isn't here. He's one hell of a player."
Lee grinned, "Yes, but when he is here we spend almost an hour debating which team he is on. Not that the other's want him to be on their team to begin with."
Kiba shrugged, "Ehhh. I still don't get what the big deal about him is. Not like he's some crazy raving lunatic like Sasuke's brother turned out to be."
Lee shrugged, "It is because their parent's do not like him. The other's see how their parent's treat him and they inevitably treat him in a similar fashion."
"I guess that makes sense. Well anyway," he grabbed his whistle and waited for Lee to take up his position on the other side of the field with his team...
"Ready?!"
Nods all around.
"Set?!"
He picks up the ball...
He blows his whistle and throws the ball up in the air...
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"Time to head back I guess..." sighed Naruto as he stood up. The sun had set far below the tree line and the forest was growing quiet dark. He yawned and slowly made his way back toward the village, making sure to give the park that sat at the edge of the forest a wide birth, lest anymore soccer balls make a "unintentional" beeline for his face like last time. He got lucky. A soccer ball did go flying by his head, but it wasn't forced his way by one of the other children that wished for his death. Naruto was grateful when Kiba and Lee appeared a few feet from where he had dodged the ball.
"Hey you two," he greeted, relieved to see the only two people that hadn't tried to kill or injure him at one time or another.
"Hey yourself," said Kiba as he scanned for the ball. "You see where it landed?"
Naruto smiled and pointed at a tree about 20 feet away. "Second tier."
Kiba grinned at Lee, "Good shot man." Lee grinned, "So Naruto, why did you not join us today?"
Naruto grunted, "I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with the 10 death threats I got this morning. I mean come on people, after awhile I am going to learn how you write. It's no big secrete who keeps sending the damn things."
Lee sighed and nodded, "Yes. They do not wish to admit that you are smart enough to figure out who they are. I do hope you will join us tomorrow."
Naruto shrugged, "Ehhhh, maybe. If I get less than 5 then I will. More than 5 but less than 10 and I'll think about it. Over 10 and it's a no go."
Kiba returned then, "What's this about you maybe playing tomorrow?"
Naruto smiled, "Gimme 'till lunch if I'm playing or not."
Kiba smiled, "Alrighty, see ya then." He turned to Lee, "Come on, we'd better get back before they send someone over here and see Naruto." All three shuddered.
"That would most likely not end well," agreed Lee. They parted ways, Lee and Kiba back to their friends, Naruto to another lonely night in his rundown apartment.
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The next morning started much like every other he could remember. He awoke with a sigh to the sight of many a water stain on his sagging ceiling and the sound of his broken window shutters squeaking nosily on rusted hinges. He was once again tempted to just tear the annoying things off the wall, but they came in very handy on the somewhat frequent occasions when random villagers where yelling and/or throwing things at his only window so he let them be for another day. He debated whether it was worth getting out of bed, and as on the many hundreds of day before, he rose with the sad sigh and painful stiffness of one that truly hates his life before settling into his usual routine:
1) Short, cold shower. (He was deemed unworthy of a water heater so he didn't have much of a choice)
2) Get dressed
3) Eat a bowl of random ramen. (He had given up caring what the flavor was. He always says that pork is his favorite, but he gotten to the point that he can't taste the difference anymore)
4) Count and then toss the many death threats and other assorted hate mail into the fireplace. (kindling is kindling, no point in splitting hairs)
5) Strap on kunai and shuriken holsters. (He never left his apartment without them. Never know when you'll get ambushed)
6) Leave for school. (Or as he called it, "Hell")
7) Get picked on/ yelled at/ threatened/ abused in a similar fashion untill lunch
8) Sit with Kiba and Lee and eat said pitiful lunch
9) Hope no one throws anything larger than a lunch box filled with rocks at them untill after they've eaten
10) Back to class for more torture
11) Leave "Hell", enter "Purgatory (ei: the school yard), sit on his swing for an hour or so untill the other children and parents have left, and make way back home to do homework and other assorted school work.
12) Go to store if necessary
13) Go and play soccer with Lee and Kiba (If death threats are at a minimum for the day)
or
Go to place in woods (If death threats exceed safety limit)
14) Return home at sunset
15) Bathe
16) Sleep
Repeat daily.
That's the life of the the most hated member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. If it wasn't for Lee and Kiba, Naruto probably would have run away long ago. They are the only ties he has to the village that hates him. The worst part about it is, he hasn't got a clue why the villagers hate him so much. All he knows is that it has something to do with something that his father, whoever he was, did. That's about it. He'd made the mistake of asking about his father once, and after waking up in the hospital bandaged head to toe, vowed never to ask about him again. Or about anything for that matter. Although he had a serious case of ADHD and a the most extroverted personality in the village, he kept his mouth shut around everyone. It only takes one near death experience for someone to learn that when people don't want you to speak, you don't speak. He'd even given up fighting back when the other's would attack him. I mean come on; all he did was push that other kid away. Just push. Not hit. Not slap or what have you. Just a small push. The next day the boy's father tracked him down and nearly tore his arms off. It was nearly a month before they let him out of the hospital, his arm's splinted and bandaged. Of course, that didn't stop a couple of kid's from beating the living daylight's out of him. The just decided not to knock him unconscious first, which really wasn't being merciful when you think about it. If Lee and Kiba hadn't have come by Naruto probably would have been right back in the hospital. It was that act of kindness that ever showed him. It's incredible to him that anyone in the village can even stand his continued existence, never mind defending him.
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Naruto yawned as he opened his door. He really didn't want to go to school, but knew it was best he did. He didn't need another mob of sadistic students showing up at his apartment to beat him twice as hard for not showing up for his appointed school beatings. It was a lucky morning as Lee was running a little late.
"Lee!" he called as he saw the boy walking quickly toward school. Lee smiled and stopped as Naruto walked over to him.
"Hello Naruto," He greeted as they walked together. "Man I'm glad you're here. Maybe now I can get it to school without getting beaten up."
Lee sighed, "I really wish the other's would stop torturing you. It really is not right."
Naruto shrugged, "Ehhhh, what can you do? They ain't gunna stop just because it's wrong. Not as long as their parent's are encouraging them. Once they grow up and start telling them to stop, or at least cautioning them against using extreme violence things might get better."
"True," agreed Lee.
They rounded the corner and were greeted by a smiling Kiba.
"What are you doing over here?" question Naruto, his voice betraying how happy he was to see they other boy.
"Back-up. There's a big group of idiots about 100 yards ahead waiting to jump you. We need to take the long way around."
Naruto felt like hugging the Inuzuka. "I swear, without you two I'd be dead by now. Ya'll are the best friends I've ever had."
Kiba smiled as the headed in the opposite direction of the ambush, "Naruto, aren't we the only friends you've ever had?"
Naruto smiled, "So what if you are?" Kiba smiled and laughed as they turned into they alley...
...And backed out as fast as they could. Looks like the attackers had wizened up a bit. They sent a larger group around to the boy's alternative route.
"Ahhh crap..." sighed Naruto as they gunned at for the nearest store, knowing they could hide there. Even if the adults didn't approve of Naruto they wouldn't let the attackers into their stores. That meant that as long as the bullies were after Kiba and Lee also, Naruto could hide with them. By some stroke of luck, they happened to run right into the vet clinic that Kiba's family ran.
"Kiba? What the hell are you doing here?" he mother asked. Then she noticed the two boy's with him. "What's he doing here???" she demanded as she pointed at Naruto.
"Sorry mother," he apologized. "We were chased here by a bunch of thugs. They caught us on the regular route so we took the back way. Seems like they've learned how to plan their attacks; there was a bigger group of them waiting for us on the back route. We barely managed to out run them. Please..." he begged"...can he stay? They'll murder him if you make him leave."
His mother sighed. Her attitude toward Naruto wasn't one of pure hatred, like many of the other parent's was. She regarded him more as an annoyance than anything. "Alright, he can stay." She she turned and looked at Lee, "Oh hello Lee. I see you were with them today too."
Lee nodded, "Yes."
"Well, you are perfectly welcome to stay also."
Lee bowed respectfully, "Thank you ma'am."
Kiba's mother gave Naruto one last suspicious glance and went to the front door to dispelled the mob that had formed outside. She returned and sighed, "Alright. I'm going to call Iruka and tell him you three won't be going to class today. If the morons outside aren't gone by the time school starts I'll call the cops on them. If you're going to stay then make yourselves useful and go feed the patients." The three nodded and followed Kiba to the storage room to get the food.
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It took the three of them about an hour to feed and water the various patients that where being cared for in the clinic. Kiba's mother was impressed by their work ethic. She had expected to see the effort from Lee, and knew quiet well how hard a worker her son was, but she was pleasantly surprised at how hard Naruto could work. As the day wore on and she had the boys do the various chores that were needed to maintain the level of quality the clinic was famous for, she began warming up to the blonde. She was finally beginning to understand why Kiba and Lee always fought over who's team Naruto would be on when they played games in the park. Naruto had endless amount of energy. She worked them untill lunch before giving them a break. She ordered in a few pizza and let the boys watch TV in the break room. Afterward she had them up and running around just as busy as before. Naruto was just about finished stacking boxes of supplies when she stuck her head into the storage room. "Naruto, when you're done with that I want to talk to you." Naruto nodded and continued to stack boxes.
He finished and went to her office. "You wanted to see me ma'am?"
She waved him into her office. He took a few steps inside the office and she motioned for him to close the door. He did so and stood there, confused. "Naruto," she began and noticed the terrified look on the boy's face. "Calm down Naruto. I just wanted to tell you that you did a very good job today. At first I was...apprehensive... about letting you stay, but now i see my fear where unfounded. I want you to know that if you ever get chased down by a bunch of idiotic kids again you're more than welcome here. And I think that I'm going to go have a talk with the other parents. This whole, encouraging the kids to attack you business has gotten out of control."
Naruto smiled and had to fight to keep from crying. "Thank you so much Mrs. Inuzuka!"
The matron Inuzuka smiled, "Go and tell Kiba that I want to talk to him and then help Lee clean out the cages." Naruto nodded and practically skipped out of her office. "He's not such a bad kid once you get to know him..." she thought, wanting to kick herself for ever believing any of the gossip the other parents told about the boy.
Kiba stuck his head in, "You wanted to see me mom?"
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They stayed there untill well after school let out. With the extra help from the three boys, all the chores where finished in record time. It was getting late, kinda, and the boys knew that if Lee and Kiba didn't get to the park soon the other would start looking for them. They already had to answer for why they weren't in school all day.
"Come on..." sighed Kiba as he glanced at the clock. "As much as I'd rather stay here awhile longer, we need to go. Don't want a repeat of this morning." He and Lee grabbed their packs. "Naruto? Are you going to come today?"
Naruto nodded, "I might as well. At least if they jump me in the park the parents will keep them from killing me... Probably..."
"Don't worry Naruto," said Kiba's mother from behind them, "I called around earlier and told them to lay off. Hopefully they'll behave more like the adults they are supposed to be." Naruto nodded gratefully and the boys made their way to the park.
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A rock whizzes past Naruto's head...
"Great..." sighed the annoyed boy. "How did I know that would happen?"
"Because it always does..." yawned Kiba as he glared at a badly hidden Ino. "I saw that Ino!" he called. "Next time, if you're going to hide, actually hide!"
Lee sighed, "Don't even think about it Sakura! I see you up there. Tree's are not the greatest hiding place, especially when said tree has very little ground cover."
Sakura dropped to the ground, "Come on Lee..."
Lee glared, "I have told you before, do not bother Naruto. He does not bother you, yet you continue to torture him. I will say it once more: Leave him alone." Sakura rolled her eyes and walked off to join Ino.
"Baka," sighed Kiba. He turned to Naruto, "You really should say something next time. If you just stood up for yourself they'd lay off."
Naruto about died from laughing, "Kami, if I stood up to them their parents would murder me. Remember what happened last time? I'd like to keep my arms, thank you very much."
Kiba shook his head and Lee grinned, "He has a point Kiba." Kiba set his pack down at the base of the same tree as always. He pulled his soccer ball out. "Come on guys, let's get the teams formed." Lee and Naruto dropped their packs and walked to the middle of the field. Kiba blew his whistle and the other's gathered around.
Random chaos for a few minutes as they settle into the usual teams...
"We going to have enough for Naruto to play today?" asked Kiba as he counted his team.
Lee counted and replied, "I have got 9 players. How many do you have?"
"I've got 10," Kiba sighed," Looks like you get him today."
Lee smiled, "Finally. He's been on your team every game he has played this month."
"Whatever..." sighed Kiba, "Let's just get this over." It was pretty much guaranteed that whichever team Naruto was on would win the game. That is, if the particular team didn't knock him unconscious first. Which happened sometimes. Someone would aim a little off and nail him in the back of the head. Or in the face. Whichever was the better target. The teams took up their usual positions, Kiba and Lee in the center of the field.
"Ready?!"
"Set!?"
Kiba blew his whistle and tossed the ball in the air...
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"Well, that wasn't too bad," smiled Naruto at the end of the game. "No head shots, no one trying to run me over, and not a single foul. Really peaceful game, wouldn't you agree?"
The other boys nodded, "Yep. Great game." They watched as the other's dispersed to their families.
"Lucky..." sighed Naruto. Lee nodded. "Come on guys. Let's go to my house. Mom has ice cream for us." Kiba and Lee grabbed their stuff and turned to go to Kiba's house. Naruto just kind of stood there, not sure what to do.
Kiba turned back, "You comming?"
Naruto shrugged, "You sure she want me there? I mean, I know she doesn't hate me and all, but would she actually let me into your house?"
Kiba smiled, "No way to know unless you come over."
Naruto smiled and grabbed his pack.
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Kiba's mom was waiting for them on the porch of the house. "Hello boys. Ready for some ice cream?" They all smiled, "Yes ma'am!" She ushered them inside, all of them, and dished out some strawberry ice cream. Saying Naruto was in heaven would be an understatement. Just being alone with his best friends, and now he would admit they are his friends, was enough to make him happy. Being anywhere where people weren't trying to kill him, not to mention with people that actually liked him, was enough to make him the happiest boy alive. And on top of that, Kiba's mother actually liked him. There was an adult out there that wasn't going to kill him on sight. Hell, the only thing keeping the sensei's from murdering him was the Hokage. He'd heard something about some vow that the Hokage had made all them take not to kill the him. Or at least that was he'd heard. Whether it was true or not was beyond him. But for the moment he didn't care. All that mattered to him was that he was safe with his friends and, for one brief span of time, actually happy to be alive.