AN: I got depressed and skip school today. Oh, in my defense, I was feeling sick. Yes, depressed shit. Kept wondering if I can skip school everyday. And lie on my bed and stone.

Disclaimer: Finally spelled "disclaimer" correctly. Still have shitty spelling skills, though. And I don't own Naruto.

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Liar

Naruto didn't know exactly why he did it. He just knew that he was afraid, so afraid of being rejected. He was already rejected by the older generation for being a "demon", he feared that his peers would also reject him. He didn't want to be alone again. Ever.

So he made a new "him". Naruto, the class clown. The joker. The dead last. Because everyone likes clowns and jokes, don't they? And people won't feel threatened when they see him weak and untalented, right? Even if people are laughing at him and not with him, it's all right isn't it? At least he made them laugh. And that is enough.

Liar.

Everyone in this world has a place in life. He settles for the one least demanding and the one which attracts the least attention. But sometimes he slips a little and they see the real "him", you know? But it's not that bad, he always covered his slip-ups nicely and no one would have a clue. Besides, they didn't expect him to go around with that idiotic grin 24/7 do they? After all, he's human too.

Liar.

He never did like Sakura in that way, you know? He just thought that she was pretty and that was it. None of those love at first sight crap that he sprouted to Sakura about, when he was professing his undying love for the pink-haired girl. She was actually quite a nice person when she wasn't occupied with screaming her head off at him and simpering over the bastard. But he wonders why an acclaimed academic genius like her, can be so damn blind and childish. She's smart but he thinks that she has chosen the wrong profession. Sakura just wasn't suited to be a shinobi. She gets all squeamish over a little blood and spends her time combing her hair and shoppping for dresses rather than training.

And the bastard? Naruto thinks that geniuses are always overrated. They can get the most different jutsu to work in just a few tries, but they're awfully stupid and slow when it comes to basic stuff. The worst thing is that they always think that they're right and everyone else is wrong. They think that they're special, they think that the rest of the world bows to them and they're the only ones who have the right to rid of everyone in their way because ultimately it's their quest that holds the utmost importance.

Naruto chuckled inwardly. He doesn't claim that he has the best sob story among all the rest, but he can proudly say that he's actually doing what he can to improve the situation. Not like the rest. What can betraying your own village do? What can decimating your clan do? What can running away do? What can avoiding the problem do?

He tilted his head back to stare at the endless sky. All that useless crap doesn't meant shit to him.

Liar.

Sometimes it thrilled him that nobody knew, none of those powerful nins in the almightly and powerful Hidden Village of Leaf knew of his little secret. He laughs, a resounding and hollow sound. None of those ridiculously powerful shinobi knew. They didn't knew that Naruto hated orange, he always grumped at how that hideous orange colour clashes with his blonde hair. They never knew that ramen wasn't his obsession, no, he just ate for the sake of eating, to fill his belly, nothing more. They never knew that Kyuubi was long gone, long since already been absorbed by the seal and that Naruto and Kyuubi actually had a grudging respect with each other. Dare he say he actually considers him as a friend? Kyuubi was a narcissistic and overbearing bigot, but still, a friend nonetheless. They didn't know that Naruto was not and never a dead last. Although he was no genius, he does have his good points. That insane charka level was his own and that overwhelming stamina. Although he was slow when learning new stuff but when he got the concept, everything else breezed by him. He was horrid at charka control, but he's not as bad at they think he is.

Most importantly, Naruto never gave a fuck about wanting to be Hokage. He didn't care about earning the acknowledgement of the people either. Why would he grieve himself fussing over others' opinions anyway? They're not worth it and he decided long ago that he didn't really care. He can be a demon or dead last or Naruto-baka for all he cares. He doesn't give a damn shit.

Liar.

That sunny smile on his face? That attitude which inspired and offer redemption to a whole line of people, like Inari, Tsunade, Neji, Gaara and so on? That determination? That belief of how shinobi are more than tools and the rooted concept of protecting special people?

Do you really think those are real?

But he noted that he must really be a damn fucking good actor 'cause he managed to fool everyone. Hell, he thinks that his acting is so damn superb that if he's not careful, he'll even fool himself.

Liar.

At other times, he wanted to tear the stupid grinning mask off his face. Because he's not that like that, never like that and he was sick and tired of pretending. Because secrets aren't so fun when there's no one to share it with. He wanted to yell to the world, "Haha! That stupid cheerful Uzumaki Naruto doesn't exist! It's a fake! I have been pretending all along! You're all fooled!" He wanted to see their shock and distress because secrets may be fun when they are hidden, but the same thing goes stale and boring. Secrets are, after all most fun to have when the dirty truth is revealed to everyone. And everyone would realize how incredibly dumb they have been all along, how can they not see this from the beginning, when it's as clear as day? He wants to see the bastard's face when he admits to him "Hey, actually when you're merrily off at Orochimaru's place, I actually had a face-off with your older brother? I was the one who killed him, cause I was fucking pissed with you. So now I got rid of your reason for living and whatcha gonna do about it?" But that motivation for bring the bastard back was real though. He was really pissed at his best friend who tried to kill him. He really wanted to bring him back to Konoha. Yeah, when he brought that fucking bastard back, he was put a hole through his heart! Literally, of course. It had hurt like hell back then when Sasuke chidori-ed his chest. Both physically and emotionally. Naruto swears that when he dragged Sasuke's royal ass back, he'll return the favour.

Liar.

But the stupid sunshine persona proved useful from time to time. He was the Godaime's favorite, wasn't he? The Shodaime's necklace around his neck was a testament to that. And how many people can boast of being trained personally from one of the great Sannin? It's true that Jiraya was useless most of the time, but in the end, he did learn a coupa of powerful stuff from him, didn't he? And he frequently got free meals from Iruka too. Granted that ramen is cheap and unhealthy, but food is food, as long as it fills up the belly and free food is even better. How much of the depth of his relationships with the above mentioned people was real? Only a bit.

Liar.

When he heard about Akatsuki and met them, he had half a mind to join the organization. They were strong and they only put their interests into consideration. That was what Naruto liked. No fake fronts to pretend to care about you and all that crap. Humans only care about their own interest. They were also very much more powerful than him and someday, they will capture him to extract Kyuubi out. Why ignore the truth? Since they have such an interest for Kyuubi, can't Naruto join them and they'll get Kyuubi the non-hassle way, right? But it was a decision that was completely different from the Naruto that people knew, thus for the time being Naruto could not act upon it and could only wait for a suitable opportunity. Hopefully, he could have a little run-in with the Akatsuki folks sometime during the three years of training with Jiraya outside Konoha and they could have a private talk.

He didn't care that he was leaving this place either. No, he felt nothing for Konoha and it's people.

Liar.

He propped his hands behind his head and strolled leisurely down the street. If there were someone nearby who actually cared to slow down to observe the Kyuubi brat, he would have noticed that the boy was being strange today. Firstly, he would have noticed that the boy was being awfully quiet. He would have noted that the boy's normally slit eyes were open and glinting with a sinister tone. That those blue eyes flashed crimson for a moment there and his lips curling up into a feral grin.

Naruto wondered if he should give a little show to Konoha, a preview of what he really is. Should he lift the metaphoric veil and allow them a little peek of the grotesque face under the mask?

He gave a sharp bark of laughter. Why not? He was feeling frivolous today. It would be fun. Yes, those looks on their faces… When they discover that their precious Naruto, their symbol of hope and perseverance, was nothing more than a fake! When they realize that the Naruto, the so-called man of his words is actually an unabashed and competent…

Liar.

-end-

AN: Yes, overused idea of how Naruto is only pretending. But I like that idea a lot. So ta-da, and it fits into that one-word thing too.

Writing Naruto is easy. The words flow out. Other characters gave me a massive headache. One of the many things that I love about Naruto.

Reviews. The previous chapter had no reviews and that made me sad. Was the previous one really that bad? Or are you guys just lazy?