Well, I'm just going to try this out. It's kind of interesting, and I've never made a oneshot, so this'll be new for me.
Yeah, I know the whole mask thing is overdone, but this is my own take on it.
Masks. Some wear them to protect their identity, others, to hide their emotions. Some, because they think their mask looks cool, or ferocious. And yet some, they are the worst of all. An integrated mask.
Naruto Uzumaki wears a mask, but no one could ever figure it out. Not even Naruto himself. Now he wears his mask of eternal protection, of selflessness, and purity. Behind that mask is something different. However, no one knows who that person is, who the real Naruto is. Because, now, that Naruto does not exist. That persona was destroyed at the age of five, when he truly learned he was an outcast.
Naruto's mask is Naruto himself, created by the subconscious workings of his mind, to keep himself from insanity. The happy-go-lucky mask that is Naruto will age, mature, and stay firmly in place as he goes through his life. Never was there a slip in his mask. Whenever he became depressed there was no slip in his mask. No, it was his true personality, the true personality created by the mask.
The only hints at his actual personality were, before it was obliterated by the mask, his life before that fateful day. He was a child of few words, but a bright attitude, one that did not fit his position. He was a polite boy, even through his maltreatment; retaining a sense of poise, dignity, and his manners. His poise was destroyed by the populace's indifference towards the boy, the dignity destroyed by his constant humiliation. Ah yes, the indifference. The unbearable feeling of no one caring, worse than hate, loathing, scorn, or anything else anyone could think of. There were few that actually had any feeling, any at all towards the boy, whether it be hate or love, he could count on one of his hands how many people loved him and hated him. He was never beaten, because no one cared, cared if he died, lived, or even did anything. They didn't even acknowledge his existence, the worst terror in this world. He was never refused service, the reason he never went to them anymore, was because of the stares. It wasn't the 'get out of my sight' kind of stare, or the 'go die in a ditch' stare, it was the 'I don't care' stare. It didn't matter if you made him rich by buying everything in the shop, or never went to his shop again, they simply would not care about him.
His manners were the last to go. They were destroyed by the mask, a mask that made a young mind, possibly one that could have been great, turned into an idiocy. Even now, Naruto's subconscious is unaware of its own dealings. Naruto is only maturing, his mask cannot slip, it will never slip. For behind the mask, where a face once lied, there is nothing. There is no one behind the mask. The real Naruto, Namikaze Naruto, son of Minato and Kushina, shall never be shown.
It is his mask, the mask itself that is truly the worst. For out of all of this, Naruto has lost his sense of self worth. He will put his life on the line, for even the least dear of friends. Ever since the day that he lost himself, Naruto never once thought about himself. Every prank he did, was revenge for something that had happened. The Hokage Monument was revenge for when he learned all the horrible things a Kage had to do. And so he punished all of the Kage's for their terrible acts, by desecrating their last physical memory. He always lied about his actions, saying it was for himself, when it truly wasn't. When Naruto went to rescue Sasuke Uchiha, traitor of the leaf, he never thought,' I've got to save Sasuke, because we're brothers.' No, he always thought,' I've got to save Sasuke for Sakura.'
A mask is truly a terrible thing, when the mask becomes the thing it was masking.
Yeah. Just a bit of drabble oneshot-ness.
Riyho, out.
