Sometimes, he wondered if there was any purpose, any hidden meaning to the existence in which he had been forced to endure. Living. As most people so graciously called it, was utterly amazing and utterly disastrous in the same simultaneous second. There was no in between. It was almost comparable to when lightning crackled the surface of the earth and destroyed the very soil it had been assigned to protect, it was like the ferocious waves that smashed the rocks which supported and cradled and shielded its very being. He had found no grey area within the life he lived. Only black and white, fire and ice, yin and yang, night and day…good and evil.

The only thing that remotely resembled such colour was the aura's that he had been able to distinguish from birth. Everyone had them. And yet he did not know his own. He saw them wherever he went, every street he walked along, every house he passed; if there was people around him he could immediately pick out what colour was emitting from their bodies. Some were lighter than others and some were darker than the ones before, however almost every individual he had laid eyes upon, to this day, had a greyish undertone to their aura.

Naruto had never quite worked out what it meant; he speculated of course, perhaps it represented the battle of righteousness and evil within everyone's soul, one winning over the other yet never fully taking control. Perhaps it was just an embodiment of the emotions that they were experiencing that day. Perhaps everyone was able to see the auras, yet he had never uttered a single word about them to anyone other than his grandfather. Naruto could not risk being labelled as 'crazy' or referred to a psychiatrist; he owned a life that demanded to be lived, no matter his own feelings on the subject.

Instead of shunning him, his grandfather had accepted him with open arms, comforting him and supporting him and sheltering him from the world. Right up until his last breath.

Jiraiya had passed away a few weeks prior and Naruto could not get the grotesque image out of his wilting mind; he had arrived home after a long day at the library in which he worked and had opened the door to see a mangled sculpture of bones and flesh and blood that only vaguely resembled the man whom had cared for him. He had frozen in shock at the pure unbelievability of the situation. His grandfather was dead; and even as he rung the police, answered their questions and listened to them speculate about how he had been murdered, Naruto's thoughts had only been focused on that one sentence. He could hardly breathe, hardly hear, hardly see. It was like a living nightmare.

Perhaps that was the reason for his current situation, his current emptiness.

For his lunch break he had decided to go to a small park near the library to get some fresh air and contemplate how quickly his life had changed in a matter of weeks. The only person he loved in the entire world had been cruelly ripped from him and now he was barely paying the rent and making ends meet with the salary he was on; truthfully Naruto had no clue what to do anymore.

He was seated on one of the park benches and snacking on a packet of ready salted crisps, going through the motions rather than fully tasting the food. He looked upon the dreary, dismal scene of everyday life. People bustled about the streets outside of the large gates and it appeared to the outsider that they moved as one; running and texting and talking, all in a rush to be somewhere, to escape the claws of boring existence, trying desperately to incorporate meaning into their small lives. Naruto didn't blame them, he was the same, in every shape, in every form, he was exactly like them. Trying to find something that separated him from the crowded bubble that was humanity, trying to find something that allowed him to be special, unique and completely superior to any who doubted him.

He sighed.

But that's not how life works, Naruto thought. And as he shoved the empty wrapper into one of the bins and walked back the way he came, Naruto knew that he was the same, his blood was red and his teeth where white and his heart was beating; the only thing that separated Naruto from the others who surrounded him, was the crippling pain and vacant hole he had inside and perhaps his freakish ability to see colours encircling individuals. He was still a human whose main goal, like many, was to validate his own existence.

No, He thought as he approached his work place, I don't think there is any meaning to life.


The library was extremely quite as he entered and took off his grey coat, he was careful not to ruffle his short blond hair as the wind had already achieved that for him; he assumed it looked more wild than usual. Patting it down slightly, his once vibrant blue eyes took in their surroundings. There were long tables running down the centre of the vast room for were visitors could sit, on the opposite walls were the shelves that housed thousands of books. There was a separate room, outside of the bottom doors that led to the computers, though Naruto had never bothered to inquire why they placed the computers there when there was more than enough space for them here.

He walked slowly to the reception desk at the side and his eyes locked with pale violet orbs.

"Did you have a nice lunch Naruto?" the woman known as Hinata said softly. A small shy smile gracing her features, yet her expression was lined with barely concealed concern.

Hinata was Naruto's only true best friend; she was kind and selfless and so utterly pure that he could not bear the thought of barricading her from his life; as such she was aware of the struggles he had been facing lately. She had only offered her unyielding support and empathy, not once had she ignored his pain. Naruto thought that her aura represented her perfectly, it was light blue yet rather than emitting a cold feeling, it was warm and radiant; Neji did not fully realize how lucky he was to have a partner such as Hinata.

"Not bad thanks Hinata, I went to the park just down the road but it got quite cold so I had to come back early." Naruto said with a tired and not quite sincere grin. "Got any work for me?"

"Y-yes, there's some books over there that need putting away if it's not too much trouble," she said quietly and pointed to the shelf in front that contained all the books which visitors never bothered to put back correctly.

Naruto sighed. "Aww man – Better get started then," After all there was a large amount of books, definitely more than he had left before leaving for lunch.

A quite voice stopped him from moving further towards the shelf.

"Naruto?" Hinata said, not able to meet Naruto's eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Are you quite sure you're okay? I-It's just you seemed a little off today and I know that's to be expected – but – well, I worry sometimes…"

A genuine smile spread across Naruto's face at her concern, she was one of the only people he knew whose aura had a whitish tint, rather than the pure grey that flew off of the peoples he passed and met daily, the glow that faded into the environment after the blue of Hinata's was almost pale white. However, she was still human and did obviously have faults and a slightly grey undertone after the light blue; Naruto had never met anyone before whom had a completely white aura nor a completely black aura, he had come to believe it was impossible.

"I wouldn't say I'm okay but I'm getting better I think…slowly – Thank you though Hinata, for everything."

Hinata blushed at the gratitude yet raised her eyes and nodded her head in understanding. "I'm glad you're getting better and you're more than welcome Naruto."

Naruto gave her one last smile and watched her cheeks heat further; he knew it was merely a sign of sisterly affection, she was in love with Neji with all her heart and had been in a relationship with him for over 5 years, yet she could not help but be bashful. Hinata had always been a shy one.

Once again he turned around and started walking toward the end of the huge room where the shelf was located; halfway there the smile dropped from his features like a truncheon ball thrown into the endless ocean. He could not place the emotion for it was unlike any he had ever experienced, it was like feeling numb and hollow and…utterly dead inside.

As he mechanically looked at the titles of stacked books, picked them up and wandered off to where they were supposed to be resting, his mind had wandered to Jiraiya and how protected and safe he had felt in his company. Naruto could not understand why someone would have ever wanted to harm Jiraiya let alone completely slaughter him, it was beyond Naruto's comprehension and he sighed as he realized that was probably part of the reason for the gaping wound within his soul. He did not know why. Why would someone kill Jiraiya of all people? Why did it have to be Naruto who was left behind to deal with the agony? Why had his death been so brutal?

He came to the conclusion, as he placed the books into their slots, that he may never find the answers to his questions.

Naruto turned away with a frown intending to go back to the shelf and collect more books; his work was almost therapeutic it allowed him time to think whilst simultaneously let him switch off to every thought, every action, and every detail within his miniscule life that he did not care to remember. He would have done just that if something from the first table had not caught his eye.

At first glance the two men whom had only just entered the library and sat down seemed rather normal; albeit, in Naruto's opinion, undeniably handsome. The taller and more mature looking one had long, black hair tied back in a loose ponytail; he appeared to be defined yet not overly musically in the white shirt and black trousers he was wearing. The slightly smaller one seamed younger, he had short black hair with an almost bluish undertone that flicked out at the bottom, his bangs were parted in the middle and framed his face so perfectly, that Naruto's immediate thought was that he had been carved from angels. He was wearing a black shirt and jeans that emphasized his toned physique beautifully. Both men appeared to have pitch black eyes that engulfed any light granted to them, however Naruto was not close enough to see the minute details.

Yes, upon first glance both men appeared to be two normal individuals, sitting and having a quite conversation within the safe walls of the library but what had Naruto's mouth agape and his eyes wide was the colour of the aura's that were radiating off of them in waves; suffocating and drowning Naruto in their intensity. Even as both Adonis's halted their conversation and locked their unearthly orbs with his own, he could not bring himself to look away. Naruto was completely transfixed.

For one long drawn out second, the whole sphere of time and the concept of the present stood still. The earth slowed its rotation, and not even a breath escaped the boy who was so utterly captivated. It was as if reality had slipped and the only three people in the room was himself and the two divine men whom had not once broken eye contact.

Naruto gulped as time resumed once again and he wiped the sweat off of his palms onto the sides of his jeans. He was the first to glance away and shatter the spell that had engulfed him; though he could still feel two pairs of black eyes regarding him and assessing him. Naruto did not know the reason for the tickles and sparks that shot through his body; he did not know the reason for his mesmerisation, nor could he pinpoint the cause of the butterflies swirling within his stomach which collided on every turn. But Naruto did know the reason behind his sudden nervousness and curiosity.

The aura's that surrounded the two men were so unique in their glow that Naruto had to force his eyes to remain on his shoes and not to sneak another glance. For one was of the purest white he had ever experienced and its partner was of the darkest black known to mankind.

A/N: I think this is going to be rather a long fanfiction, but I'm already working on the second chapter. Let me know if you guys like it or not so far, reviews are always welcome. Much love!