Psychosis

Chapter 1: Decay (Beta'd by Ezra Scarlet 3/22/2013)

"You can't just lock him away! That boy is the container of the Kyuubi! It's a waste of a powerful asset! Are you going senile, Hiruzen?" a man, tall in stature yet crippled with age, pointed an accusing finger at the Hokage.

"Calm yourself, Homura. You're a dear friend, but I will not stand for your disrespect. I consider that boy a grandson, but my feelings for him will not cloud what's plainly in front of me. Evidence has been brought forward showing clearly he was responsible for the murder of at least 20 innocent individuals in the past year. It's for his safety, and the safety of Konoha that Naruto be locked away until he can be rehabilitated." Sarutobi Hiruzen answered. His voice was calm, yet deep within; his soul was in emotional turmoil. Naruto was 10 years old, yet he'd brutally savaged 17 children and 3 adults beyond recognition. He'd seen the more recent crime scene himself… It had been horrific to imagine a 10 year old boy he'd coddled as an infant capable… But the chakra residue had been undeniable. The feeling of the Kyuubi no Yoko's chakra was imprinted heavily on his memory.

"Is there a way to move the beast to another prison?" Homura asked. His eyes held no traces of malice. It was a logical question, but Hiruzen couldn't help but level a glare at his close friend and adviser.

"Even if there was a way to move the seal and the beast within, it would kill both Naruto and the person who moved the Kyuubi. Not to mention that the only individual capable of holding the Beast alive today is Naruto. No, that is not an option. Executing the boy would be detrimental, as that could possibly give the Beast a chance at escape." Hiruzen scolded Homura with a piercing glare. Although they were allies and old friends, their differing ideals often left them at odds with each other.

"You had similar reservations when Orochimaru's treachery was discovered. You have an attachment to the boy and it's clouding your reasoning." Homura stated. The Hokage sighed, knowing it was true. He couldn't think straight then, and he couldn't think straight now. Hiruzen gave Homura a cold stare.

"I will not make the same mistake twice. The evidence is in front of my face, and I will not turn my head this time." Hiruzen's voice grew colder and colder as he spoke. "I will not have another Orochimaru on my hands. Naruto will be stopped before anything else happens. No more chances."

"Orochimaru's actions were not your fault, Hokage-sama." Homura said. Hiruzen suppressed a wince, before he turned around, facing the window of his office.

"Homura… I am responsible for this village." Hiruzen said. His gripped the windowsill, with barely concealed anger. He was angry at himself. He was angry at his students. He was angry at his successor. For just one miniscule second, he was a bitter old man, furious at the world.

"Hokage-sama… No, Hiruzen. I've known you since we were boys. You've always taken the weight of the world on your shoulders. Not everything is your fault." Homura said, before he turned and walked away. Hiruzen sighed as he let go of the windowsill, leaving cracked grooves were his fingers had been.

"I know."

With his eyes wrapped with hard gauze bandages, Naruto had a difficult time following his guide in the darkness. Without sight, the boy was forced to rely on the guiding pull of his captor, who held firmly onto his restraints behind his back. Normally, Naruto would have fought the whole process, but now, the boy had finally broken under the strain of the last few days. Beneath the gauze blindfold, his eyes were rubbed raw by the hard material and tears. Gone was his light-hearted footsteps, replaced by the heavy and clumsy footfalls of a reluctant prisoner. Although Naruto couldn't see his captor, he was all but sure their expression was of pure loathing, if the hairs on his neck were any indication.

Naruto's own expression was one that didn't belong on his youthful face. His mouth sagged and his shoulders were slumped in grim acceptance. Every now and again, his shoulders shook with a brief and hollow chuckle of grim humor. He couldn't explain the joke… But it wasn't lost on him either.

"Quiet." His guide whispered with a push. Naruto obliged the, now identified man, and shut his mouth. He feared even more unreasonable punishment. After a moment of silence, accompanied by the sound of smacking footfalls and shallow breathing, Naruto finally found himself at a stop. He felt his handcuffs jerk behind his back, almost painfully twisting into his skin. Naruto's captor forced him into the wall as he opened what sounded like a metal door. The boy's curious listening was interrupted as he was lifted by the back of his ragged and dirty shirt.

"Welcome to your temporary home." His captor whispered into his ear, before tossing him in, head first. Naruto landed on the cold stone floor with a groan before the door slammed shut behind him. The doors tumblers all fell into place with a muffled thud. It sounded like a heavy door. The man made quiet slapping sounds with the soles of his sandals as he walked away, getting quieter the farther away he got, before the man was finally gone.

Naruto remained in the position he landed in for what seemed like hours. It took all of his strength to not burst into the tears he'd been holding back. He wasn't a child anymore… He couldn't cry… He wouldn't cry… Not anymore. So he laid prone on the floor, listening to the sound of his rapid heartbeat.

The face of the Hokage, the only father figure he'd ever had appeared in his mind. Those hurt and disapproving eyes staring into his soul… He didn't understand… What did he do? He couldn't remember what the man had said, but it was clear what the people he walked by had whispered…

"He's finally snapped on us! He's a monster who will kill us all!" one man had whispered, only to get a slap from his companion.

"Shh! We still can't talk about him."

Naruto shuddered as he sat up on his knees in the darkness. He wasn't crazy. He didn't kill people… The boy slowly rocked back and forth, finally feeling the comforting wetness of tears streaming down his cheek and soaking his bandages around his eyes… After even longer period of time, the young blonde finally decided to figure out where he was, if only to briefly escape the pain. He slowly inched his way to the corner of the room and turned around. Slowly, he felt his way around the entire circumference of the room before he finally found a bed, relived for the comfortable reprieve. With a sudden flash of inspiration, Naruto found the corner of the wooden bed frame of the bed and put his forehead against it. Back and forth, he rocked his head, slowly inching the tight blindfold down to this nose. After maybe ten minutes of the repetitive motion, it finally fell over his nose down to his neck.

Despite his success, Naruto couldn't feel anything. There was no excited exclamation… He was broken inside. With his eyes finally free, the boy glanced around the room. Light flitted in from the small barred window of the door. His cell seemed big to the 10 year old, but he took an estimate of at 10 feet wide and 10 feet long. He himself was at least 4 feet tall and weighed 40 pounds last time he weighed himself, although that had been months before this. Naruto gave a heavy and shuddering breath as he closed his eyes… Maybe he'd wake up from this nightmare.

Yamanaka Masumi walked a long, barely lit hallway, passing many empty cells. Beside him, two ANBU walked silently in the dim hallway. This hallway was the most secure prison in Konoha, placed deep underneath the Hokage Monument. It had been empty until recently. 5 days ago, one Uzumaki Naruto had been accused of a crime that would make even a grown man want to throw up. Yamanaka Masumi was one of those men. Masumi wasn't a battle hardened man, but he wasn't soft like civilians. Masumi was 23 with a newly pregnant wife and a baby on the way.

He couldn't fathom his own child being killed in such a gruesome manner… He shuddered as the images of the crime scene came to mind. Entrails had been thrown everywhere, almost like a child had been playing with them. Masumi suddenly felt a wave of dizziness as he stumbled to the wall. He dry heaved a few times before he finally calmed himself. Beside him, his ANBU escort were patiently waiting, as they were no doubt trained to resist showing any emotion, especially impatience. Yamanaka Masumi didn't want to see his silent companions angered, so he continued.

It wasn't long before they reached the boy's cell. Down the hall a little ways from the boy's cell, a silent Chunin leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling in boredom. As Masumi approached, the teenaged chunin bolted upright and stood at attention. Masumi had to chuckle at that. He was a Special Jounin for his information gathering uses and had mastered the more introspective and investigative techniques beyond most of his clan, besides the clan head Inoichi. Sadly, he'd never perform more than an average chunin in normal combat and with a child on the way, and a beautiful wife at home, he didn't think he wanted to leave the village anyways. The special Jounin chuckled at the jumpy Chunin.

"Calm down, Hayase. You're jumpy, kid." he said. Hayase was a new Chunin who'd been promoted in the last Chunin exams in Kumo. The kid looked about 13, although he was actually 16. His hair was a mousy brown color that hung over his forehead protector in loose spikes. Hayase glanced at him, his squinted eyes halfway open in surprise.

"The… Erm… The prisoner is in there for you." Hayase said, pointing to the metal door 10 feet down the hall. Masumi nodded and glanced back at the cell, before looking back at the Chunin.

"I know. I just wanted your opinion on this, kid. You've been watching him for how long?" Masumi asked, his arms crossing as he leaned to the wall next to Hayase. Although his methods may seem odd, Masumi knew how to get into someone's head quite well. Hayase was already at ease with his relaxed atmosphere.

"About 6 hours now." The chunin replied. Masumi 'hmmed' as he nodded.

"Have you observed any odd behavior?" Masumi asked, before he corrected himself, "I mean like did he do anything weird? Talk to himself? Try to kill himself? Scream about anything?" The Chunin shook his head.

"No, he's been quiet… He sits on that cot for hours, only getting up for food or to piss in the corner. I think he passed out an hour ago." Hayase said. Masumi nodded and gave the Chunin a pat on the back.

"Good work, kid. Can you open the cell for me?" he asked. Hayase hesitated, before nodding. Masumi chuckled again. No doubt, this was his first guard duty for a prisoner like this. The Jounin shook his head at the kids anxiety as he pushed chakra into the seal on the door. The sound of the groaning tumblers echoed in the corridor as the door unlocked and opened. If the door opened somehow without chakra, or a chakra that wasn't already keyed in, the door would set off an alarm and lock down the entire cell block. If the prisoner got out of the cell without the proper seals placed on the doorway, he'd be knocked unconscious by the sealing matrix. At least… That was what Masumi had been told. He'd tried his hands at sealing, but found it wasn't for him. It required a steady hand that he just didn't have.

Masumi walked into the cell and turned around, giving Hayase an encouraging nod. The chunin hesitated, before closing the door behind him, leaving Masumi with his new temporary "patient". The boy was obviously exhausted and slept soundly. Masumi couldn't understand how a boy this young and innocent looking could kill so many… Was the demon inside him commanding the boy to do these atrocities? Or was it something Konoha had created? Masumi was determined to find out.

Masumi performed 7 handseals in rapid succession, before placing his hand on the sleeping boy's head. His finger pulsed with a bright blue light that quickly dissipated. The name of the jutsu was long forgotten by Masumi, as he'd never cared for it anyways, but its use was spectacular for his line of work. The boy would stay asleep for another 2 hours, which would be a little longer than Masumi needed. The special Jounin nodded and sat cross legged in front of the wooden cot. His hands went slowly from handseal to handseal, as he focused on synchronizing his breathing with the subject. Although one could flash through these handseals quite fast, it wasn't the handseals that performed this particular jutsu, but the state of mind. Within a minute, Masumi could feel his heartbeat quicken, matching the boy's. He could feel the pull on his mind's eye. Without a care for his safety, he let go, following the current into the boy's mind.

Masumi's eyes opened with a sharp intake of breath. His jaw hung in silent amazement. The boy sleeping in front of him slept peacefully without guilt… And for good reason. The boy was completely innocent. The special Jounin stood up without his normal smile. His eyes were wide as he processed the complexity of the situation. It wasn't the boy's guilt that had been in question… No, his superiors where all confident that he'd committed the crime. Had he stumbled upon a conspiracy? Masumi shook his head and glanced at the door to the cell.

"Alright, Hayase, let me out." The blonde special Jounin called. After a moment, the door opened as Masumi let out a loud sigh.

"The Hokage has to hear this…" Masumi began as he turned to face Hayase. His eyes widened as he saw Hayase sitting on the ground, a small needle sticking out of his neck. Masumi turned back to the now closing door to see an ANBU agent closing the door. The tumblers fell into place with their normal loud muffled thuds. The ANBU turned around and looked at him with his head slightly bowed.

"I apologize, Yamanaka-san, but I'm afraid what you learned won't leave that room." The masked nin said, his voice holding no emotion. Masumi tensed, readying himself to fight for his life. The ANBU shook his head before speaking.

"You misinterpret our intentions, Yamanaka-san. You are in no danger, as your assessment of Uzumaki-san's mental health is needed." the ANBU said. Masumi shook his head.

"No way! I will not stand for this. The boy is innocent, damnit!"

The ANBU stood silent for a second, before nodding his head. "If that is your decision, Yamanaka-san, I will not deter you from it. But I feel I should allow you to know that your wife has gone into labor… And mishaps are common in childbirth, are they not?"

Masumi's eyes widened at the veiled threat. He would do anything for his wife and newborn child… "What… What do you need me to do?"

The ANBU said nothing, instead pulling a small scroll that was reminiscent of a mission scroll. Masumi caught it and briefly read it over. His eyes widened in understanding as he looked up at the ANBU with a questioning stare.

"You… I can't believe he would do this… Is this… Is this really the Hokage's orders?" Masumi asked, his voice trembling in disbelief. Was the image of a kind old man really just an illusion? Was he really this manipulative? In front of him, the ANBU nodded his head in affirmative.

"Alright… I'll do it. How deep am I?" Masumi asked, hoping to get a straight answer. He wasn't disappointed.

"Even the Hokage will deny it. Stay quiet." The ANBU said, before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Masumi glanced apologetically at the boy's cell, before he walked away, sealing the boy's and his own fate for the years to come.

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