"What are you talking about?! What on earth do you need to numb yourself from?!" Sasuke was enraged; his gait gave the impression that given the chance, he would quite happily punch Naruto in the face for the things he was saying.
Naruto scoffed and opened into a bottle of sake, "You first and foremost…"
"What?!" Sasuke growled and narrowed his charcoal eyes, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"So what, Sasuke made fun of you when we were children?! That's your reasoning?! That's not acceptable, Naruto!" Sakura wasn't sure how to feel other than angry and shaken from the nonchalant attitude Naruto had about all of this nonsense, and the fact that he wasn't the person she thought she had known all these years.
"None of you understand," Naruto growled, taking a long drink from the bottle, "Sasuke... I trusted you... You were my best friend... I loved you, and you abandoned me, just like everyone else... You left me to rot here in this hell hole just so you could kill some one who didn't deserve a second of your thought. Much less your life."
Sasuke visibly flinched, now unsure of whether or not he could justify his anger.
"I've been beaten, abused, and looked down upon my whole life," Naruto retrieved his pipe from the table and took another breath from the stinking smoke, "I will always be unloved, hated, and so on... I've always been alone. I'll always be alone. This just helps me cope with that fact."
"What are you talking about...?" Sai finally butted in after sitting quietly for quite a while, "Why don't you talk to us? We're your team. We're supposed to be here for you."
"Haha! You're kidding right?" Naruto giggled, laying back against the cool glass of the coffee table, "You and Sasuke are to wrapped up in yourselves to pay attention to me. And Sakura just ignores it all... I tried that. It has never done me any good. It's only caused me frustration and heartache. And I'm done with heartache."
Silence hit again, only broken by the flare of Naruto's lighter, and the clinking of sake bottles against the table. Everyone was at a loss for what to say until Naruto spoke again.
"God... It's hooooooot in here..." He groaned and rolled on to the floor, flailing his arms a bit.
"Why don't you turn on a fan...?" Sakura mumbled softly, playing with the hem of her sleeve.
"I don't have any. People break in and steal them when ever I get a new one. It's a waste of money," Naruto slurred, pulling off his shirt.
"Oh my god!" Sakura squealed, "What's wrong with your skin?!"
"Huh...? Oh..." Naruto looked down at his scar strewn chest, "Those are from a man they made me stay with when I was six. He had a great love for fishing, and would make sure the hooks were sharp enough by testing them on my chest."
"W-what...?" Sakura shuddered, "He cut you with fishing hooks...? What kind of a person-"
"What was his name?" Sasuke's hair fell over his eyes, and his fists were clenched on his lap.
"It doesn't matter..." Naruto sighed and took another swig from the bottle cradled limply in his arms, "It was a long time ago..."
"It does matter! What about the other ones?! The ones on your arms!? The ones on your face?!" Sasuke stood, shaking furiously, and almost yelling, "Who did those, Naruto!? What were their names!?"
The light kicked on in the kitchen, flickering softly. Naruto stood, swaying and leaning to the left. His face was down cast, and hidden from the rest of the team. Sasuke's breath came in short angry huffs, but his glare softened as they both stood, facing each other.
"The ones on my face were done by some of the villagers here in an attempt to starve me out once when I was nine. It was their way of dehumanizing me, so that they wouldn't feel guilty about denying a child food..." Naruto's voice sounded distant and emotionless, "The ones on my arms I did myself."
Sai stepped forward, taking Naruto's arm in his hand, and looking over the puffy scars, "What made you do them...?" Sai turned his own arm beside Naruto's, showing him the faded ivory lines of his own.
Naruto smiled a genuine understanding smile at Sai, "The ones on my right are for every day Sasuke was gone... The ones on the left are for every time Sakura ever called me a screw up or made fun of me for something I couldn't help."
Sai smiled back as he let Naruto's arm fall to his side, "So you haven't in a while? When did you stop?"
"A few months ago, I think," Naruto yawned and swayed a bit, his earlier activities finally catching up with him, "It's been since Sasuke came home. Sakura had a distraction, so I didn't need it any more."
"I understand."
"You hurt yourself because of me?" Sasuke's voice cracked uncharacteristically. Sakura was bawling, face hidden by her hands; for now she would let Sasuke speak for the both of them.
"I didn't hurt me... You hurt me," Naruto replied softly and turned toward the buzzing in the kitchen.
As he disappeared into the kitchen, Sasuke sunk back down to the couch, confused and upset. Quiet settled back down on the three like a blanket of snow. No one knew what to do anymore, much less how to even begin to process what Naruto had told them. Their reality had been shattered by the stories they had unknowingly shielded themselves from for years.
"Why?" Sakura sniffled, eyes red from her tears.
"I wish I had known..." Sai mumbled softly to himself, "I would have made more of an attempt to listen if I had."
Sasuke looked between the two, "Why did Tsunade say not to stop him...? He could die if he keeps this up..."
"Lady Tsunade always has a reason for everything, Sasuke," Sakura spoke up, "We'll ask her tomorrow morning, okay...?"
