Nikki: I have been working on this for a while. It just wouldn't get out of my head and I felt the urge to put it up. This is just something to work on when I have time or when I have trouble writing my other works, so don't expect the quickest updates.
Disclaimer: Dear Santa. All I want for Christmas is to own Naruto. Love & Hate, Nikki.
~Prologue~
"Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
Liar.
Whoever the hell came up with that quote apparently didn't live in our time. They seemingly never experienced the pain of being called a name in the 21st century. That person didn't realize the impact a word or two could have on a child. They probably had never been bullied using words.
They apparently never saw the cold, dead blue orbs of someone who had been hurt by words. They apparently had never over viewed the life of someone like Uzumaki Naruto.
[*.*.*.*]
The scene opens with a room in the Uchiha House. The sun shines on a boy with hair black as night and lips red as blood. He still lays in bed, though he woke up hours ago.
It is seven o' clock now and before his alarm can ring, the boy slams his hand down on the off button. His clothes remain on the nightstand from when he had nothing better to do last night.
Moving like a zombie, he collects his uniform and throws it on. No need for a shower, he took one at three this morning. How much dirt can collect on your skin in four hours?
A white button down shirt, black dress pants and white sneakers. It was routine and it was boring.
That is until he got to school… when he enters that building most hated, it is an all new ball game.
Bright blond radiance… Blue as far as you can see…
No he wasn't talking about the sky or the sun.
Uzumaki Naruto, a lithe boy who, when provoked, shone as bright as the sun. His temper flared and, to the raven bored with life, he was the ticket to an adventurous life.
The only thing that, that life cost was the blonds' happiness… And everything always comes with a price. It was an easy gain at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha. It was worth everything he put the blond through, just to see that confident boy break.
But he needed to get to school first.
The raven walked out of his bedroom. There was no sign of his brother. He walked down the hall. His father was nowhere to be found either. Down the stairs and to the kitchen: his mother made no appearance.
There was only one explanation. Mother and father had left for work and Itachi most likely wanted to stay out of the younger's presence, lest he caught the failure of the other.
He scoured the kitchen for something edible, but it seems Mikoto didn't have the time to shop this weekend. That is if she even came home. The lone boy reluctantly gave up and just walked out the door and locked it behind him.
Home, sweet home, right?
[*.*.*.*]
Naruto Uzumaki walked through his house, well, apartment. He wanted to stay at his house for longer. He wanted to avoid going to school today. Sixth grade wasn't easy, and it never would be. He had to go though, if Iruka found out he skipped… He'd rather not think of the consequences.
A bowl of cereal for breakfast and he would be out the door. Then he would stroll over to that building less than a mile away and face his imminent doom until two o' clock.
Perhaps Sasuke and his friends would leave more bruises and cuts. Maybe scar his mind with the scent, and texture of his own torn flesh and flowing blood. Sakura and Gaara would probably have to drag him home. Iruka might be concerned if he passed out and returned late. Maybe start interrogating him for answers. He can only lie and avoid the questions for so long.
Maybe his bullies would leave him alone for once. Maybe they had a change of heart and would individually apologize. Perhaps ranting would allow them to give up and walk away. He might even find the courage to fight against them and not just sit there and take everything they threw at him.
Or maybe none of those things would happen today. Maybe it would be like every other day. Maybe the usual routine would occur and he would do nothing but get his ass handed to him. Maybe today would be like all the others; maybe it would follow the routine of every other.
Maybe, just maybe.
[*.*.*.*]
~School~
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!"Eleven year old Naruto yelledat the three boys edging towards him. Azure eyes sparkled with confidence.
Entering sixth grade with blond hair, blue eyes and six whisker-like scars won't make you most liked person. Naruto knew that he wasn't liked. He knew the pain of not being wanted by anyone. He knew it all; he just pretended not to care.
"Sticks and stones, freak? That is all you can come up? Pathetic!" Eleven year old Sasuke Uchiha snarled.
Being a prodigy in everything makes you vain and you start to think no one could ever be better than you. Seeming perfect at school though doesn't mean that all is perfect at home. Living in the shadow of an older brother as wonderful and ingenious as Itachi Uchiha makes you thrive off admiration of others. You want that admiration from everyone, especially since you can't get your feel at home.
"You little punk, you are as stupid as everyone thinks you are." Kiba Inuzuka teased with a malicious tone instead of his usual playful one.
Being a dog lover forced to part from his dog is never easy… even if you take on sports to fill the empty void left by your forgotten dog. Having controlling, sports lovers as parents paired with a jock for a sister won't make you feel special. Not to mention, not being athletic enough to satisfy the wants of your coach, fans, teammates and relatives.
"You are so troublesome for everyone. Haven't you realized that no one wants you? It is obvious why your parents gave you away." Shikamaru Nara threw his two cents in as the blond boy slowly started to back away.
Having an IQ of 200 means you grow up with people having high expectations for everything you do. When you aren't good enough to meet those expectations, you let those people down making you seem less intelligent.
"My parents did want me. You just don't understand! You don't even know what you're talking about!" Naruto cried hysterically, wanting to convince himself that he was wanted at some point. "They just couldn't afford a child so they had no choice but to give me away. They just… They just…" The boy looked through his head for answers, for an excuse.
"They just what? Didn't love you? Didn't want you? Yes Naruto, we all see that they didn't love you. You are just too stupid to realize and admit it." Sasuke paused from his pity rant and turned violent. "You know what? At the end of the day you're just a little, worthless, pathetic waste of space. You will always be the orphan boy, even if someone is unfortunate enough to adopt you." Sasuke began moving closer to Naruto with very word.
All three bullies had one thing in common: destructive homes where they weren't loved. That one thing is what brought them together.
"Get him guys."
Naruto backed away from the three in front of him only to hit the wall behind him. He watched in terror as Kiba first took a swing at his face. The prey ducked reflexively only to have his nose met with a blue-clad covered knee.
Naruto screeched as he felt warm blood pour from his nose. He heard chuckling from above. Another fist connected with his jaw as he crouched in pain. Foot met ankle and the helpless blond considered a fall to the floor… but he was determined to stand throughout the whole ordeal.
It was but thirty minutes later that the battered boy had no choice but to collapse to the ground. His drying blood just beneath his nose, at some times new blood pooling on top. His lip was busted open. He couldn't talk with the way his lips were swollen. It wasn't just because of the hits they landed but also from biting on them to contain the sounds of agony in his body. He was sure his ankle was broken or something of the sort; the three having kicked it repeatedly only to step on it as they left. The whole area around his ankle was swollen and he couldn't move it without yelping in pain.
It was pathetic when you think about it. If you saw him on the way back to the house he loved, he would seem like a lost soul.
Because he was.
[*.*.*.*]
"Oh my God. What happened to you Naruto?" Iruka Umino whispered as said child limped over the threshold into their apartment. His foster child had come home an hour late, with a bruised and mangled body. His orange shirt was spotted with thick, deep red liquid. He could only hope it was strawberry Kool-Aid that he had spilt it on himself during lunch, though the chances of that were very low.
Naruto waddled his way to the first chair he laid his eyes on. He plopped down only to hiss in pain as a few of his wounds reopened. Despite the overwhelming pain in his body he smiled warmly at his caretaker and asked for the first aid kit.
The teacher gaped at his foster son for a few seconds before what the younger asked registered and he went in search of the small kit somewhere in the bathroom. The brunet found the kit beneath the sink and hastily snatched it up and ran back to his son waiting in the kitchen.
He handed the preteen the box with the red cross printed on it and remained silent as the child opened it and removed gauze, disinfectant, rubbing alcohol and a myriad of different sized bandages and set them on the table.
i "Naruto, is there something I should know about? You've been coming home like this a lot lately. Who has been doing this to you?... Have you been getting into fights with other boys ar school?"
"It's nothing Iruka, really. I'm just a klutz, is all. I fall all the time; have been for years. This is all just part of the routine. Don't worry about it, okay?" The blond smiled, and Iruka watched as the blond carefully focused all his attention to his left foot. From where he was standing it looked swollen, bruised… vexatious.
The younger male cautiously discarded his sneakers to the carpeted floor and examined his damaged ankle. It didn't look bad enough to be shattered or fractured but those possibilities couldn't be ruled out just by appearance. For all he knew it could be sprained or he could have torn a tendon from walking on it while it was broken.
Naruto recoiled from the hands that reached for his foot with gauze in its hands. Iruka advanced and forced himself to help the adolescent that winced with every movement. Iruka knelt down in front of the eleven year old and positioned his ample hands on the bony knees of the younger.
"Naruto, when we fix you up can we have a talk?" The addressed male acknowledged his guardian with a nod of his head and stared as his elder wrapped his foot in a tight binding. He went around his ankle over the toes of his foot and behind the heel until he felt it was secure enough.
The apartment was embedded in silence as Iruka was centralized on Naruto's wounds and bruises. Iruka rubbed alcohol and disinfectant into each and every cut. He soothingly massaged every black and blue that littered the olive skin.
It was serenity, but it wouldn't last long. There was no time to be peaceful in this cruel world. There was no time to step out and do something against the agenda, no time to do anything that didn't follow the norm. Because, of course, life was just a routine everyone needed to follow.
Nikki: Yeah, I know. Lots of depressing stuff located here. Bullying. The status quo of life. Sorry, if you hated it or wanted something different, this is how I want this to remain. I added a lot of new parts from my original plot start of the story, and I hope it made it better- and more fun- to read.