"Children are impressionable. If a thief tells their child that it is right to steal, then that child will most likely grow up to steal. So, if a child is told something... all their life, what do you think will happen?" -Chibi Vampire, Chapter 3, Yuna Kagasaki
As confirmed by my classmates, I was an unusual child.
"Ew! He works with bugs? That's gross!"
"If he's normal, then why doesn't he talk? Why doesn't he have friends, huh? It's 'cause he's a freak!"
"Does he even have eyes? Or a face? Why does he wear that stupid coat all the time? There has to be something wrong with him."
"He's creepy."
At first, I tried to tell myself that I had to be strong. I had to ignore everything. Hearing everything now would thicken my skin, so that I wouldn't falter under the sway of a taunting enemy. I tried to tell myself that, but I've always hated lying. When my mother and father questioned me about school, I made no mention of the comments. They were my problems, and I could never trouble my parents in that manner. Father was a ninja; he could not afford to be distracted.
For a few months, I had a single ray of hope. There was a boy who sat next to me, one of the few who did not join in the teasing. Like the four others who did not insult me, he merely paid me no attention. Despite his careless, brash attitude, I felt myself drawn toward this boy. His ninja hound, Akamaru, occasionally stuck his head over, but his partner never paid attention. Slowly, this hope faded with all my others. The only thing left was to seal myself off from the world, and become the best ninja I could possibly be.
One day, things (metaphorically speaking, of course) came to a boil. The insults, piling up over the past two years, were starting to get to me. My classmates were, once again, throwing verbal barbs during the recess hour.
I admit, I forget the words that were said prior. Only one taunt remains in my memory from that day.
"You're such a brat, ignoring everyone all the time! A real ninja has friends! Your parents should take you out of the Academy!" Perhaps, if not for the old, harsh words fermenting in the darker corners of my mind, I would not have lost my temper. However, things happened as they did.
I raised an arm, and, with a single thought, swarmed the offending student to a tree with thousands upon thousands of chakra-hungry beetles. Where things would have gone from there, were I left to my own devices, I do not know. I was not left to my own devices, though. The Inuzuka boy who sat next to me in class tackled the one I now thought of as an enemy. I cringed inwardly as the pain of hundreds of deaths radiated through my body, the sensations of each insect bound to my own mind. The rest of the hive returned to me, as happy as insects could be. Face nearly as red as the triangles on his cheeks, the fanged boy was shouting at the top of his lungs, aiming blows at the child below him.
"Who do you think you are? He's got as much of a right to be here as any of us! Just 'cause he's different, and 'cause he could kick your butt in a fight any time, doesn't mean you should be an asshole and insult him!" The collection of eight- and nine-year-olds gasped quietly; their classmate had cursed! At their age, such things were unheard of. His victim tried to protest, or justify himself- I'm not exactly sure which, as Kiba barreled over the words. "Shino's a person, just like anyone else! Maybe if someone tried to be his friend, then he'd have someone! But people like you are too stupid to look at something other than appearances!"
At that moment, Iruka appeared to rescue our now-bloody classmate. He hauled Kiba off, and told everyone to back away. One of the other teachers left to find the medical ninja bound to the Academy. While our instructor worried over the classmate (I will admit, I was slightly worried, too; I may have been angry, but I would never go so far as to injure a fellow Konohagakure ninja-in-training), I approached Kiba. No one barred my way, though that may have been the Inuzuka's fault. He stared boldly into my eyes, undaunted by the appearance he had told others to look beyond.
"What, don't like someone fighting for ya? No offense, but you really need to stick up for yourself sometimes." I stayed silent for a moment, surprised. Here was someone who not only defended me, but who encouraged me to do the same. Here was someone who stood by his word, and was unafraid to be different. Here was someone who was unafraid to defend me, the freak.
"Thank you. I shall keep that in mind." A huge grin broke out across his face.
"No problem. Friends, then?" There was no question as to my response.
"Of course." How else could I possibly answer?
I used to be a freak. Now, I have a friend. He is going to introduce me to the other boy who is shunned by our peers, Naruto Uzumaki. I am no longer alone.
I am myself.