AN: Oh God, it seems I'm back to Mask fics. And here I thought I got mostly over them. Damn you depression! Why can't I get rid of you! Why does the angst you inspire continue to taint my works with your... well... Angsty angstness!
I do not own Naruto. Really, I don't...
Empty Mirrors
All light casts shadows, there are two sides to every being, there should be.
He knows, oh, somewhere beneath those fake smiles he knows
But Naruto stubbornly pretends there is anything left for him
I...
They won't ever accept us
Will they?
It doesn't matter what we do
they will always hate us, won't they?
It isn't fair
It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair.
But...
It can't be helped...
Can it?
We should just give up...
Shouldn't we?
It...
Would be better for everyone.
Wouldn't it?
He was four at the time, and living off the streets, after the orphanage cast him out.
When it just happened, he had simply thought the Matron nasty
But why, why couldn't they just stop glaring? Why wouldn't it ever stop?
No!
Nonononono!
I will not resign ourselves to this
They will not bring us down!
We are here!
We have the right to exist!
Who cares what they think?
Why would we let it affect us?
We...
We will not be broken!
We will live!
We will prosper!
We will proof them wrong!
When, despite meditation at the Falls, he does not meet his alter ego, he is not surprised
Every light may cast a shadow, but when it burns out the result is still darkness.
And Naruto, after all, lost hope a long time ago.
I'm sorry
But...
I...
I just can't, not anymore...
To this very day Naruto hates the villagers to the very core of his being
Acting the loudmouthed idiot, continueing to wear the brightest colours he can find.
The center of attention every single time. One who cannot be ignored.
No!
Don't...
Please...
He is there, he exists, he wouldn't let them forget it. A petty vengeance at best.
But somehow, through all the lies, deceit and masks nobody cares enough to remove...
He has become a hero, one loved by the village.
Neh, I wonder...
Would you have forgiven them?
Would you have accepted me?
I guess...
I'll never know.
Will I?
You never did find it...
The will to wake up again.
And dream another day.
Sometimes I hate you for it...
I think.
I...
I don't know...
Not really...
But...
There is little else left for me.
I could never bring myself to do it...
To care again.
When he looks at the Falls of Truth, the only reflection is the one cast by the waters surface.
And he hates himself for it. Loathes what it implies.
He is only half of a whole, and he knows that it's not the better one.