Lullaby
I know the feeling
Of finding yourself stuck out on the ledge
And there ain't no healing
From cutting yourself with the jagged edge
I'm telling you that
It's never that bad
Take it from someone who's been where you're at
Laid out on the floor
And you're not sure
You can take this anymore
Heart beat racing, feet pounding against the ground, Naruto Uzumaki raced towards his apartment and away from the ninja following him. Tonight was the festival to celebrate the defeat of the nine tails demon and it was also Naruto's 14th birthday. It was also proving to be the biggest mistake of Naruto's short life. He wondered briefly why he let Kakashi-sensei talk him into coming, he knew there was nothing but trouble waiting for him, yet Kakashi-sensei insisted that Naruto join his team for the festivities. The night went from bad to hell when Naruto had become separated from his team in the crowd, which is what led to Naruto being chased down an alleyway close to his apartment. Trying desperately to avoid the ninja behind him he had dashed into the ally hoping he would lose them but as he approached the exit, his heart sunk when he realized his way out was blocked. He had no choice he turned around and dashed towards the other end only to run straight into the other ninja that had been following him. Naruto knew he couldn't fight that lead to him being severally punished by the council for daring to harm another ninja.
"Where do you think you are going?" one asked as two came behind Naruto and grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back.
"Away from you" Naruto muttered "you know I'm not allowed to fight you so why don't you just leave me alone and let me go home."
"You know we can't do that" one ninja sneered "you have to be punished for daring to show your face at the festival."
Naruto scowled there was no way he was going to escape a beating tonight. He just hoped they didn't cause too much damage to where he couldn't get home without assistance tonight.
"I can't believe you even had the nerve to show your face" another ninja said as he drew his fist back and slammed it into Naruto's stomach. Naruto arched forward gasping for air but the two ninja holding him snapped him back into a standing position. Then all hell broke lose as the other ninja began beating and stabbing Naruto wherever they could. When they had finished Naruto was barely conscious and was literally being held up by the two ninja who had his arms pinned.
"If you ever show your face at another festival we will make sure this looks like a little scratch" one ninja said as the other ninja's released Naruto's arms and he fell to the ground limply. Before they left each ninja delivered a harsh kick to Naruto's bloody body. Naruto lay still for what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few minutes, to regain some strength to make it home.
"I knew it was a bad idea to come" Naruto muttered and for a moment he cursed Kakashi for wanting to spend time with the whole team for once. Naruto wondered if they were even concerned for him and if they had even noticed if he was gone.
Finally feeling like he could make it home, Naruto dragged his battered body to his feet and began to limp his way home. Tears began to fall with each pain filled step he took and he began to wonder if it would be better for him to end his life before those so called ninja ended it for him. as he made his way out of the ally he managed to bump into a tall silver haired ninja who had a pink and dark haired ninja with him. Naruto noticed Kakashi and his two teammates looked worried.
Kakashi feeling something bump into him turned and got the shock of his life; a very bloody Naruto.
"What the hell happened?" Sakura asked upon seeing her badly beaten friend.
"What the hell does it look like happened?" Naruto answered bitterly.
"You need to go to the hospital" Kakashi called finding his voice after the shock of seeing Naruto so badly beaten wore off.
"I can take care of it" Naruto muttered through a rapidly swelling jaw. Kakashi reached out to place his hand on Naruto's shoulder only for Naruto to jerk away from his touch.
"Let me help you" Kakashi said gently knowing Naruto wouldn't want anyone to touch him for awhile after this beating.
"I don't need anything from you nor will I need anything from you ever again" Naruto said shocking his teammates. While they stood speechless, Naruto turned and limped into the dilapidated building that was called his home.
Once at his apartment he was unsurprised to see his door had the words Monster and Demon spray painted on it. Upon entering his home he found his windows had been broken and glass littered the floor everywhere. Sighing and feeling quiet a bit depressed, Naruto headed down the hall and into his bathroom.
Grabbing his razor from its place on the shelf above the sink, Naruto slid down the wall between the sink and toilet. Drawing his knees to his chest he stared at the razor in his hand. He couldn't handle this anymore, no person should have to live with the hatred he lived with, or put up with the abuse he was dealt on a daily basis. It wasn't fair, he had never asked for the demon to be sealed into him when he was a baby. He was never given a choice and yet he was hated for it; for something that was totally out of his control. Naruto wondered if suicide was his best option at this point. Wouldn't it just prove that he wasn't strong enough, would prove what everybody thought about him that he was weak?
"To hell with being strong" Naruto muttered laying his head on his knees as tears began making rivers down his face. He hurt so bad he didn't know what to do, to end it all would be nice, he wouldn't hurt anymore but he didn't want to be thought a coward. He had no idea what he should do.
Sakura stared after Naruto in shock, something was seriously wrong with their friend.
"Did he mean what I think he meant?" she voiced her thoughts hoping against hope that Naruto wasn't planning on killing himself. Sasuke stared at Sakura a moment before racing into the building Naruto had just entered.
"I'm going to get Lady Tsunade" Kakashi said in case the worst case scenario had happened and with that he disappeared leaving a cloud of smoke in his wake. Sakura wondered what she should do, and deciding that giving Sasuke some time with Naruto would hopefully work and that it wasn't too late. If anyone could talk Naruto out of this it was Sasuke.
So give me one try to a lullaby
And turn this up on the radio
If you can hear me now I'm reaching out
To let you know that you're not alone
And if you can't tell I'm scared as hell
Cause I can't reach you on the telephone
So just close your eyes
Well honey here comes your lullaby
Your very own lullaby
Sasuke reached Naruto's apartment in a matter of seconds. He was terrified Naruto was about to do something very foolish. Sasuke knew Naruto felt like he was alone with his pain but if things went the way Sasuke hoped they would, Naruto would never have to deal with things along again. Seeing the words spray painted on his friends door, Sasuke felt sick, his gentle hearted friend didn't deserve for this to happen to him. As Sasuke pounded on the door and waited for an answer. He cursed himself for not telling Naruto about his feelings sooner, now it may be too late and Sasuke didn't know what he would do. Several minutes passed before Sasuke got fed up with waiting and kicked the door down not caring that it splintered the door. Upon entering the apartment he was shocked to see it had been tore apart with shattered glass laying scattered everywhere. Someone would be very sorry for doing this to someone who was so kind and loving. Sasuke tore his eyes away from the damage and headed down the hall to the restroom. He had a feeling that's where his friend would be. He found Naruto huddled against the wall, knees drawn close to his chest, sobbing his heart out with a razor in his hand.
"Thank Kami" Sasuke muttered glad that his friend had not yet ended things. Sasuke dropped to his knees in front of the blonde and laid a hand on his friends shoulder. With his other hand he pried the razor from Naruto's fingers.
"You don't want to do that" Sasuke said softly.
Please let me take you
Out of the darkness and into the light
Cause I have faith in you
You're gonna make it through another night
Stop thinking about the easy way out
There's no need to go and blow the candle out
Because you're not done
You're far too young and the best is yet to come.
Naruto lifted his head to see Sasuke kneeling in front of him.
"Why would you care if I ended it?"
"Because it would hurt me deeply" Sasuke said feeling nervous as Naruto just turned away from him.
"Don't you get it?" Naruto asked quietly "I'm evil I'm not good enough for anyone and I don't deserve love." Sasuke felt his heart clench. If anyone deserved love it was Naruto.
"You're more than good enough for me" Sasuke said "and you're not evil, and you deserve love just like everyone else does." Tears filled Naruto's eyes as Sasuke spoke. It meant a lot to know his best friend and his secret crush didn't believe him to be evil.
"I'm so tired of being alone" Naruto cried softly as he raised a hand and placed it on top of Sasuke's.
"You don't have to be alone anymore" Sasuke said taking his other hand and gently wiping Naruto's tears away "I'm here and I will not let you be alone anymore."
Everybody's hit the bottom
And everybody's been forgotten
And everybody's tired of being alone
Everybody's been abandoned
And left a little empty handed
So if you're out there barely hanging on
Sasuke gently caressed the slowly healing injuries on Naruto's face. He couldn't stand to see his friend and crush hurting so much. He would do whatever he could to ease Naruto's pain.
"I'm sorry you've been hurt and I'm going to do all that I can to stop it" Sasuke said softly "You're not as alone as you think you are."
"Why?" Naruto asked his heart racing as Sasuke left his hand on Naruto's still swollen jaw.
"Because I care far too much to even be able to tolerate seeing you hurt like this."
"If you mean anything you just said, you'll kiss me" Naruto murmured softly almost afraid of saying the words in case he was wrong about the signals he was getting. Sasuke didn't hesitate in pressing a gentle kiss to Naruto's lips.
So just give it one more try to a lullaby
And turn this up on the radio
If you can hear me now I'm reaching out
To let you know you're not alone
And if you can't tell I'm scared as hell
Cause I can't get you on the telephone
So just close your eyes
Well honey here comes a lullaby
You're very own lullaby.
The end
AN
I do not own Naruto or the song Lullaby by Nickleback. I suggest you listen to this song because its amazing. I listened to it and the idea for this story just popped into my head and I didn't stop writing until it was finished. I thought that song was perfect for a Sasu/Naru pairing. So please read and review let me know what you think! Thanks again for reading!