necrophobia · nekrəˈfōbēə · (noun) · extreme or irrational fear of death or dead bodies.
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|The Only Thing We Fear|
[...is fear itself]
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Prologue-
necrophobia
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There is so much blood.
The blonde boy sits inconspicuously in a corner of the clearing, looking disturbingly calm amongst all the carnage. He alone is untouched by the crimson liquid, except for a faint, almost unnoticeable smudge on the very tip of his nose. Even the three dull kunai he sharpens against the rocks are macabrely antiseptic, and Hiruzen takes a moment to think how wrong the scene seems.
"Naruto-kun," he says, and the boy looks up.
Naruto's crystal blue eyes are blank, carefully devoid of all emotion. They should not belong to anyone, especially a mere child, of all people, and his heart aches to see his successor's only son sacrificing himself to be a tool for Konoha.
"Naruto-kun," he repeats, forcing a smile on his face. "You have done well today."
Something like pride flashes through the boy's pupils, before it is meticulously tucked out of sight. "..."
"I believe it is your seventh birthday tomorrow?" he suggests kindly, lifting a weary hand on Naruto's shoulder. The child flinches instinctively at the touch, but does not make any movement to leave.
"...yes, Hokage-sama."
Not even seven years old yet and already killing grown men for a living. The world does love its irony. There had been Uchiha Itachi, who had murdered his entire family with the exception of his younger brother; Hatake Kakashi-kun, who until recently had shunned all those around him because everybody he had been close to eventually became gruesomely murdered; and then his mind takes him to the memory of another blonde-haired blue-eyed child-
"...Hokage-sama?"
He looks downwards again at the boy amidst the gore and suppresses a sigh. "Tell me, Naruto-kun... do you enjoy killing others?"
Naruto looks at him and blinks, as if surprised at the choice of question. "...no, Hokage-sama."
"What if I told you... you could stop?"
There is something like longing in the boy's expression before it shifts back into an expressionless, monotonous mask. Hiruzen frowns resolutely and continues: "Naruto-kun, this will be your last mission for Konoha. From now on, you are officially declared retired from the shinobi force."
There is a hint of a genuine smile of Naruto's face before it, too, is gone.
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