Lost
By Syaoran
SasuNaru
He was lost. Wandering aimlessly in the dark abyss of the world. What else was there to light the way for him? Nothing. He was alone. Cold. Deprived. And most of all, lost. It didn't seem like it, but what everyone else saw was different. They saw a happy, bright kid. But if they looked closer, had really truly looked closer, they would notice that his smiles never quite reached his eyes. Dullness was always present in those sky-blue cerulean eyes. The happiness was fake. But almost everyone that knew him thought he was a happy kid. Others knew him as the kid with a crappy life. The one that no one wanted. Some knew him as the kid with ADHD. An orphan, unappreciated in the society, where everyone else was fine. With a family. Loving parents, someone to go home to. Someone to talk to.
But Naruto had no one. No such person, or anyone in his life that understood him. Yes, he was an orphan. But it didn't mean that he had killed his parents. That was the rumor. That when he was little, he somehow murdered his parents. But he did no such thing. When they saw the blood that stained his hands red, they thought he was the killer. When they saw the whisker like scars on his cheeks, they assumed it was nothing but mere, negligible scratches. Such lies. If only they knew.
If only they knew. Then he wouldn't be treated like scum. Looked down at, hated, and shunned. Those blue eyes had long since glazed over, years ago. The light in them lost in the wind. That night was the night that his parents, life, and entire existence were taken away. Thrown out into the streets. Naruto Namikaze was no longer. To try and escape the burden, the orphanage changed his last name to Uzumaki. His mother's last name, which wasn't well known. But it slightly eased the pain he felt. And the Namikaze's namesake continued, yet hidden away from the rest of the world. Naruto gradually forgot the life he had before he turned six. Only the memory of the killing remained. Under iron walls, in the deepest recess of his mind. And those lost memories. They were buried even deeper. Deeper than he could remember, at least, any more.
Now, he was under the care of his godfather, Jiraiya, the oh-so-famous porn novel writer and pervert. It was, so to say, slightly unnerving to live with him. But Jiraiya provided him with the fatherly care that he lacked, especially when he was in the orphanage. He gave Naruto what he needed, and raised him with care, teaching Naruto about life. Those lessons gave Naruto the insight into the world. Gave him wisdom. But it couldn't stave off the loneliness. That was the only thing that Jiraiya couldn't give him. Someone he could trust completely with all his life. Jiraiya wasn't always there. He traveled, and he wasn't home, sometimes for months on. So, Naruto had the house all to himself. The money was provided. He lived a rather comfortable life. With the hardships that he went through, he appreciated the life and everything he did have. But he was lost. The Naruto that people knew years ago was gone. He was now just a shell. A barrier. A wall. Closed off to the world.
As the years passed, he floated along by himself. A solitary figure in the world. Then Jiraiya bought Naruto a home of his own. In the city of Konoha. He went to middle school, where he met Kiba. A friend. Someone who became someone dear and close to him. His barriers lowered a bit. Then onto high school. Leaf High School. There, he met the rest of the gang. His first year had just ended. Now, his friends were Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Lee, Sai, Neji, Chouji, and Gaara. A close bunch, they had become. With them, Naruto felt a little bit more comfortable, and not as lonely. He finally opened up to the world, and promised himself not to shut himself off again. He would live a full and happy life, like what his parents might've wanted him to have. Finally, he cast away the wall that barred him from the world. Let go in the last few weeks of school. He finally let himself have some fun with his friends. Now, it was July. The summer before the second year of high school.
Naruto groaned. He plopped himself onto the chair on the front patio of his little home. It was a spacious house, at the top of a hill. He now lived in the same neighborhood as the rest of the gang. But they lived on the other road. They lived on Leaf Avenue. He lived on the hill, somewhat far from the rest. It was one of the two houses that stood there, on Blossom Court. Behind the hill were forests, with grand trees – oaks and maples – standing high and proud. If he stood on the patio and looked out forward, he could see the rest of the city, and at the high school, the tall cliff side with the faces of the Hokages carved into it. There was a place he took refuge, in the little niche hidden somewhere in the stone hair of the Fourth Hokage. He vaguely remembered that Minato Namikaze was his father, and his mother had been Kushina Uzumaki. He felt that the niche had been made for him. It was the only place he found true refuge in.
It was a sweltering July day. He didn't quite enjoy the summer. So hot. Too bright and happy. But he lived. He used to hate that time of year, reminded painfully of the friends he didn't have. It changed however, when he finally became part of the gang. His friends coaxed him out of the shell. And he left that shell behind.
On this particular day, Kiba managed to convince Naruto to come to the beach with them. So, now, Naruto sat on the patio, thinking about what he should bring along. A sack, with his towel and the drinks that he offered to lug along. His swim trunks, maybe his rash guard. Sunscreen? He was already tan enough. Maybe not the sunscreen. Nothing else.
He got up, stretched, and heard a low growl. I'm hungry. Is there any ramen left in the cupboard? Naruto shrugged to himself, and walked in. He walked into the kitchen, and pulled open the nearest cupboard. No ramen there. The next one? No. Finally, after about five minutes of searching, he came upon his last stash of ramen. He pulled out the cup, poured the hot water in, and waited. Then, he began eating, finishing quickly. He then threw it out, and pulled out a kunai from the small pouch on the left of his waist.
Leaning against the kitchen counter, he idly toyed with the kunai. He threw it, and arched gracefully in the air before embedding its self in the wall on the other end. He sighed. It was about time that he got a proper target and patched up the rest of the many holes and cuts in the other wall. Naruto stalked over, took the kunai, put it away, and went upstairs. His bedroom was the last one down the hallway, and was painted a bright orange with dark blue accents. Naruto walked in, and pulled open the closet doors. Orange splashes greeted him, along with the black and dark colors that also dominated his wardrobe. The clothes were surprisingly ordered neatly, and Naruto shuffled through his collection, before settling on orange swim trunks, and a change of a baggy orange t-shirt with black shorts. He threw the rest of the necessities into his bag, and ran downstairs in time to see Neji's van drive up the driveway. Kiba jumped out first.
"Finally, Naruto. For, like, maybe once, you show up to one of our wild ventures." Kiba stated with an air of hurt. Neji and Shikamaru laughed at Kiba's pitiful face, and Naruto grinned. "Not the first one. I've been to every one so far this year."
"I still have the drinks in the kitchen. Do you mind, Neji? I don't quite trust Chouji with any food." Neji nodded, and Naruto walked in, Neji close behind.
Neji curiously poked one of the slashes in the wall. "Naruto. What's with the kunai marks on the wall?" Naruto laughed. "I got bored. No better explanation."
Neji nodded, and smirked. "We all do, but you're the only one who throws kunais into the wall. Kiba destroys pillows, Chouji eats, I go kill a tree, Shika plays chess against himself, and Lee goes ranting about something that I don't care for."
Naruto laughed as the two made their way out and loaded the soda into the trunk of the van. Then he locked the door, and hopped into the can with the rest. He ended up in the second row next to Shikamaru and Kiba. Thankfully, he wasn't next to Lee. But it was bad enough with Lee in the last row. "Ah, my youthful friend! You came to join us in our journey to the beach! Yosh, I am proud. Gai-sensei will be very proud."
Naruto groaned when he heard Lee continue on with his rant. He felt bad for Gaara, who was sitting back there, and Chouji, who was in the back as well. Sai sat next to Neji. Lucky bastard. He didn't have to put up with Lee's nefarious rants. Shino sat next to Gaara. Okay. Maybe he also felt bad for Shino as well. As Lee ranted, Shikamaru snored, and Kiba tried to talk Shino into swimming. Sai drew in his notebook, and Neji rolled his eyes at the mess behind him and continued driving. Gaara pulled out a copy of Redwall and started reading, while Chouji continued to munch on the chips. Typical of their gang. And Naruto himself? He decided that he wasn't loud enough, and joined the continuous chatter with Kiba and Lee.
"Lee, I think you should give it a rest. I say that-"
"Yosh! My youthful friends, energy does not need rest! I am assured that-"
"You're invincible? Not as good as the future Hokage!"
"You? Why, Naruto, your faithful Lee will always be here to guide you.") Kiba snorted.
"I highly doubt that you'll be needed." Neji's voice joined the chatter, and everyone laughed at Lee's dejected face. Then he brightened again.
"Why, Neji-san. I'll assist you in your endeavor."
Neji glared. "You'll destroy my reputation as the perfectionist of a Hyuuga."
Sai looked up from his drawing. "It seems to me you do not agree with Lee-san. However, what Neji said is true." He held up his picture. It was a picture of Neji's car, half blown up, with Lee jumping up and down enthusiastically, and a speech bubble that had the words "I fixed his car!" inside. Everyone laughed at the picture, and even Gaara cracked a smile. That shut Lee up for quite a while, and the rest went back to their activities. Then, out of the blue, Neji spoke.
"Have you heard of the Akatsuki? Like, the high school gang over at Leaf?" Naruto nodded, while the rest looked on confusedly.
"Well, it's the main gang on the school, and it's an unspoken rule that when we reach the second year, we can form our own gang. It involves various competitions for dominance. However, it also involves risks, since there is high rivalry between the various groups. We'll be using guns. And other weapons. The strongest gang ever was the Kagekazumi gang, many years ago. Their reputation is unrivaled, even by the Akatsuki. I think they were led by Minato Namikaze." Naruto's blood froze at the mention of his father. He knew that Minato was the fourth Hokage, but gang leader?
"Minato? Wasn't he the fourth Hokage?" Gaara asked.
Neji nodded.
"He was. Anyways. So, the second ranked group was led by Orochimaru, and his group was Hebi. However, their reputation was destroyed when they discovered that missing high school students were murdered by Orochimaru, via experimentation. His old hideout was destroyed. No one has seen that snake since." Everyone shuddered at the mention of experimentation on humans.
Shino coughed. "Such atrocities. Though I find that becoming a gang quite an interesting idea. Risks?"
Neji glanced at us and sighed before answering. "We might get killed."
Cliffy? Maybe...
Please review! ~Syaoran