Alright well since I still haven't quite got the hang of how some of the stuff works for making updates to the chapters works, I'm just gonna go ahead and post the second chap of "Why So Serious?" Also, I'm in the process of finding a beta for this thing so if anybody's interested in controlling this story to a slight degree, PM me or something. Oh, and I will do my best to make the chapters longer. Please read AND review peoples:P
And here... we... GO
STORY-WIDE DISCAIMER!: I don't own Naruto or anything referenced in this fic besides any possible OC's.
X Konoha X
It was a cool and calm night in Konoha and the yearly Kyuubi festival was in full swing on its third night. The date is October 10, the day of the most celebrating and the hardest day of the year for one small boy.
Naruto Uzumaki the "demon" boy was running from yet another large mob during their yearly "fox hunt" to corner him and beat him into unconsciousness. The mob was a little larger than normal, but the 6 year old Naruto was sure he could outrun them like he had all the rest. The only thing he wished was that it wasn't on his birthday that they decided to hunt him.
Running through narrow alleys, he was too preoccupied with dodging the objects thrown at him by the shinobi in the crowd to pay attention where he was going. As he ran around a sharp turn, he realized with dread that he had accidentally run down a dead end.
Realizing the danger he was in, he quickly tried to run back the way he came but as he neared the corner, the ninja in the mob had caught up to him. One of them, who looked to be a chuunin began slowly walking closer to Naruto, "What's wrong demon? Can't find your fox hole?" he mocked with open malice. Eyes widening in fear, Naruto began to back away from the chuunin, failing to notice that another ninja dressed in a standard jounin's uniform had managed to sneak behind him.
As he got into the jounin's reach, he was quickly grabbed and lifted off the ground. The man laughed at Naruto's desperate attempts to get free, "Aw. I think you're scaring the little monster Ayo". The newly named Ayo let a dark grin stretch onto his face as he noticed the civilian part of the mob catch up.
Upon seeing this Naruto redoubled his efforts to escape from his captor but was only rewarded with the man tightening his grip on Naruto's arms, resulting in what felt like his arm dislocating. Gritting his teeth he tried to reason with the slowly approaching mob, "Please! Let me go, I swear I'll behave, honest! I'll be a good boy and stay in my home! Just please let me go!". Hearing this, the mob stopped their progress forward for a moment. Naruto felt his hope rise up as he saw this, but it was quickly smashed when he heard their laughter.
He had heard that kind of laughter every other time they caught him. That laughter meant pain.
Ayo slowly began to walk closer to the boy as he pulled something out of his pouch on his belt. When he reached Naruto, he raised his hand showing that it held a rusty training kunai. The kind that had dulled edges for safety. Looking into Naruto's terror filled eyes with glee he gave a look of curiosity. "Why so serious...Kyuubi? Every time I've seen you skulking along the streets you've been the definition of a clown".
Naruto's eyes had widened upon hearing this. Kyuubi? What gave this guy the crazy idea that HE was the fox who had been killed 6 years ago?
Seeing his eyes widen, Ayo began laughing gleefully "Oh I get it! You're a sad clown, is that it?" he turned to the crowd gathered behind him " But he's missing his tears! What do you say I give him some permanent ones?". The crowd cheered at this letting him know that they thought it was a great idea.
Chuckling sinisterly, Ayo turned back to Naruto and began his carving.
It was a slow-going process, especially since he was using a dull training kunai that was dulled even more due to rust. It was the equivalent of using a butter knife to cut down a tree. To Naruto, it was even worse.
The chuunin was taking his time making sure that every bit of pain could be felt by the child. Naruto's screams were met by laughter from the crowd. On the outside it just looked like he was hurting but on the inside, every scrape from the kunai was a scrape against his already nonexistent sanity.
Upon finally finishing his carving Ayo grabbed Naruto's face, ignoring his cry of pain, and turned it side to side roughly. Seeming satisfied with his work he once more turned to the crowd, "Alright, have at him people".
Taking him up on his offer, the mob swarmed towards the once again terrified blond. He tried to get out of his captor's grip again, but in his pain weakened state he managed even less than he had before. Getting tired with his captive's struggles he threw naruto into oncoming crowd and promptly began walking to his home.
"I've got him!" yelled one villager with a pitchfork. He extended the object in an attempt to impale Naruto on it, but only managed to cut through the boy's side. As he landed on the ground, they swarmed him
"Die demon!"
"You killed my mother!"
"We'll finish what the Yondaime started!"
These cries and many more reached the boy as he curled into a ball to take the beating.
'Why? Why is it always me who they blame? Why?' he thought. Upon noticing that their blows had stopped, he began to wonder if the villagers were done with their torture for today.
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt himself being lifted up by his arms and a sharp pain begin in his stomach. He lifted his lowered head and saw the man with the pitchfork, stabbing him through his stomach and into the alley wall with said pitchfork with a victorious smirk on his face. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a silver blur run from the scene. 'That Bastard! He was watching this the entire time and he didn't help me!' the blond thought angrily.
He felt another sharp pain in his gut and looked down and saw something that would have made him throw up if he could.
The villager had begun twisting his pitchfork, making the skin around it tear letting his intestines begin to fall out. All of this along with the laughter of the mob proved too much for the blonde.
His world begun to darken and he realized with a start that he was probably dying. Strangely, he wasn't sad. No, he was happy! Happy that he no longer had to live with the stares, the angry whispers at the edges of his hearing, the hate-filled words that the villagers spoke to him. He was glad that atleast in death he would have peace.
As the darkness was about to consume him he heard the villager impaling him whisper something.
Something that had changed his life.
"Why so serious kid?" he had asked with a sadistic chuckle.
This sentence is what completely snapped the young boy's mind. An almost audible SNAP could be heard when it happened. He immediately grew still and stopped his screaming when this happened.
Seeing that he had stopped screaming and struggling the mob began to cheer, thinking that the brat was dead. However that train of thought was brought to a screeching halt when they heard the last thing they would have thought to hear from the supposed "dead" blond in front of them.
He was laughing.
But that itself wasn't what had them filled with dread. It was the SOUND of the laugh. It wasn't a happy laugh. It wasn't even a sad laugh. It was the laughter of a man who had lost all sanity.
Naruto slowly raised his head to the disturbed mob. At first his eyes were closed, but when they opened the villagers saw what they had done.
The boys of this 6 year old CHILD were frantic and unfocused. Seeing no one and everyone. Those eyes were full of pain, and sorrow, and a large amount of pure undiluted madness.
Laughing the entire time Naruto put his hands on the pitchfork, ignoring the cuts formed on his hands from it. He slowly began to wriggle it out of him, ignoring the disgusting sounds and shaking of the pole caused by his laughter.
Letting himself fall to the ground after getting it out, he picked up what parts of his spleen were hanging out and put them back into place as the wound began to close a frightening pace.
Looking once more ate the stupefied villagers, he leaned down to pick up the rusty kunai that Ayo had dropped. "What's wrong? I thought you all were having fun" he mocked "Don't tell me I've gone and ruined the fun!". He only laughed harder at their expressions, tears forming in the corners of his eyes from it.
Unable to get over their shock, the mob just stood there while the boy slowly walked closer.
Upon reaching his destination, the blond leaned up to get into the pitchfork man's face, "Hey" he whispered. Wide-eyed, the villager only managed to meet they crazed gaze of the youth before he began shaking uncontrollably. "Why so serious?" asked Naruto with a crazed glint before he roughly tore the pitchfork from the man's grasp.
Surprised by his strength, the man had no time to react as the blond skewered him with his own pitchfork with Naruto laughing maniacally the entire time . Seeing him so brutally murdered with no sign of mercy from the boy must have snapped the civilians out of their shock as they began screaming and running back out they alley from where they came.
Only to be blocked by a wall of red chakra. "Don't tell me you guys are leaving." the blond giggled with a twisted smirk. "The fun has. Only.. JUST... started" Screams and crazed laughter filled the night air as the rest of the populace celebrated, unaware of the darker deeds being done in the dark alleys.
5 hours later –
The sight that had greeted the hokage and his ANBU had been extremely disturbing to say the least.
As they approached the alley, the group had seen blood splattering the walls all along the outside of the alley. Almost as if something had exploded. Inside it was even worse. Blood had gotten all the way to the top of the second FLOOR for Kami's sake!
One ANBU had even seen what looked to be like torn off faces impaled on to the wall with stray bits of trash in a giant smiley face.
Ignoring the disturbing constructions of mutilated body parts and piles of gore everywhere, they began to search the alley for clues. The biggest clue was laying down in the largest pile of blood in the alley, and THAT was saying something considering that the entire alley was filled with the stuff.
Young Naruto lay atop of what was probably the most mutilated corpse that many had ever seen, barely being recognizable as human, with the sound of snores coming from him.
The child was sucking the thumb of a severed arm in his grip with a child-like grin of contentment on his face, oddly out of place in the current environment.
Reaching down Sarutobi started to gently shake the child "Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun! Can you hear me?"
His answer was a disturbed giggle emanating from the blond haired boy. "Naruto?"
When he opened his eyes, Sarutobi was both shocked and filled with despair at what he saw in them.
He had seen those eyes before during the third war when his comrades had gone mad. He knew now that the smiling, happy boy was gone. Probably forever. Pushing those thoughts aside, Sarutobi asked with dread "Naruto-kun, are you alright?"
This time it wasn't giggling that met his ears, it was full blown laughter with the Naruto clutching his sides in apparent mirth. But there was no humor in it. " Hey jiji?" the boy laughed clutching his sides. Upon noticing that he had the old man's attention, he said something that made Sarutobi shiver with how wrong it sounded coming from a mere child's mouth.
"Why so serious?"
And there you have it folks. second chapter of Why So Serious. On a side note, I know it's really close to Danasca's fic for this but really, there isn't exactly alot of ways to get Naruto like this unless something close to this happens :/ still, sorry for how similar they are. REMEMBER TO REVIEW! It's a big help
Till next time guys!