To whoever finds this:
I'm going to kill myself at midnight. Everyone in this village hates me. There's no point in denying it, because the fact is that they think I'm a monster. I thought if I worked hard, trained, and became a great ninja I could prove my worth and be accepted. No. I can't accomplish my dream here; there's no way I'll be able to become Hokage. I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei. It just isn't worth it.
Congratulations, Konoha.. The demon is going to die.
-Naruto
Iruka shook violently as he finished reading the note pinned to the door. He slowly slid down the wall he had braced himself on, trying not to cry. He sat there for about a minute, fighting against the tears. Then he stood and took off sprinting. Down the stairs, out the door, through the alley… He stopped and nearly started crying again. He couldn't find him. There was no way…
No! He can't die! I won't let him! I can't let the little brother I never had go off and kill himself, I just won't let him!
The Academy teacher tried to remember the places Naruto would always run off to. He had to find him. He just had to. He wracked his brains for any idea of where the little shinobi could be. The top of the Hokage monument? Iruka jumped at the possibility, and ran across the town, hoping this was the place. He reached the top. No Naruto. He collapsed to his knees, his mouth slightly open. He wasn't here. Naruto was going to die because his sensei couldn't find him in time. A wave of despair washed over him as he looked at the time on his watch and realized there was only a minute left.
Naruto doesn't want to be found, he just wants to die. He must have hidden somewhere hard to find… Iruka knew he wouldn't be able to find him. If only he could think of where he would be! The forest… the forest! Of course that's were he would go… But I can't make it in time, there's no way. I have to try, though.
With a newfound resolve, Iruka stood and took off running.
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Naruto stood in the clearing where he had graduated, where he had first found out why he was hated. He held the kunai grimly in his hand, looking at the time. Should he just go home and forget about the whole thing and go home? He could just destroy the note and nobody would ever know that he was too scared to die.
No. He would have to live behind that mask, pretending he was happy, faking smiles and going on like nothing had happened.
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30 seconds…
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He didn't want to make Iruka sad, didn't want Sakura to cry, didn't want Sasuke to have someone else to remember, didn't want Kakashi to have to try and be strong in front of everyone.
"I'm sorry…"
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15 seconds…
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Should he even bother waiting, give someone a chance to find him? Why would anyone be at his house at this time, anyways? How would they know where to go?
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5 seconds…
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He was really going to do it, wasn't he? He was going to die.
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4 seconds…
3 seconds…
2 seconds…
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Iruka burst into the clearing, saw the boy, saw the kunai. He yelled.
"NARUTO! WAIT!"
Everything slowed down.
The boy slowly turned his head in his teacher's direction, and was shocked to see the older man crying as he ran. Iruka grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, and the boy could hear his shaky whisper.
"Don't scare me like that ever, ever again. I thought… I thought I was going to lose you." Both were crying now, tears flowing freely down their faces.
"I-I'm sorry!" Naruto shook violently. "I'm sorry, sensei!"
It was then that they knew. Then that they knew it would be okay. It would be a long road, a hard one, but they would walk it, and be there to catch when the other fell.
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A/N: There you go, my first Naruto fic. I don't know how it turned out, but I hope you liked it!