Summary: When there is terrible draft of wind always following you, how do you get rid of the goosebumps and retain your sanity at the same time? Naruto shut the windows, closed the doors but, there would always be a crack in the wall or, in this case, his amount of heavy drinking and warm baths wasn't gonna stop it. While life gives you breezes, wrap a blanket around you to be protected.
Naruto kept silent the whole drive through. He said nothing. He thought of nothing. His tears were silent just like his soul. He wasn't meant to lash out at people and now, he knew why. This time, he didn't hurt Kushina; Naruto only ended up hurting himself. He forgot who he was when he saw his father. He was angry, mad, furious, murderous and was about to strangle Minato and that boy he brought with him. He was outraged that man thought of Kushina as some money-grabbing bimbo! His blood boiled and right then and there, the walls of his inner child were breaking down. That talk with Iruka and preparation for meeting Minato was the calm before the storm and the storm was a tornado. The kind that happened so fast, you drifted to another world after you saw the devastation. Naruto was in an artificial Limbo. He was in the in-between. His father had cursed him there yet, Naruto wasn't walking out of the open door. He was free to go but, he was to stubborn to leave. Maybe Minato really was his father.
Bitter-sweet never tasted so good. It should have been illegal for his salty tears to taste like heaven. He wiped his eyes and looked out the window. They were closing in to that prison for playgrounds. Naruto sat up straight. "Iruka, stop the car."
His driver looked worried but, he stopped at the side of the road. "What's wrong?" He asked. Naruto shakes the last of his tears away. "Nothing. I'm gonna walk home. I'll see you in the morning." Naruto got out of the car and waved at Iruka before he started a fast jog into the woods. He slowed and walked through the trees. He sighed in an attempt to release the leaching weight on his back and shoulders. Naruto thought of how life was a heavy price and wondered if death was easier. Suddenly, he broke down brawling. Leaning on a large oak, he drummed the bark, using his fist. He slid down to the ground, not noting when his tears and rain had mixed. Naruto felt frustrated. "What use am I to Kushina like this?"
That's why he hated being emotional. They got the worse of him. Why couldn't he be nonchalant like before? He wiped his leaking face again, forgetting about his problems and self conflict.
Whistling, he stood. "Now, where is that playground?" Walking to tree to fallen tree, he brushed past insects in way for shelter. It wasn't long before he spotted a rusty slide and monkey bars. Rushing, he entered the playground matted with recycled rubber. "To make sure kids didn't hurt themselves." He guessed.
Naruto walked to one lone bar and placed his bottom on the beam. When balanced, he dropped. His legs hanging him. Not long after, blood swam to his head yet, he stayed hung. It wasn't until he felt a nosebleed coming that he dropped the rest of his body to the ground. He groaned, "They would be worse off using this for protection than concrete." He chuckled and stirred up. "Look at me," he said dryly," I'm soaking wet." He strolled out, passing thin bark and stepping on safer grounds. Life had dulled down so he could cross intersections with ease. Soon, rain plummeted down violently to the ground. Thrashing, beating hard at pavement, the fallen children of clouds battled with earth. Naruto walked into a bus stop to escape, aching because the load he carried was increasing and not ending any time soon.
Minutes or hours passed before the rain stopped. He sighs and leans his head back against the soggy bill board. Splashes of feet slamming on stone, he snapped his head up. There ran a girl with...was that pink hair? Well yes, she had short pink hair and foam green eyes. She ceased her sprints to catch the cool air. Naruto stood up to her with knowing that she wouldn't see him. "Hello, Miss?" He smiled at his reaction: flinching and then shocked gasps. Turning to him, she sheepishly smiled, embarrassed that he caught her without makeup while beads of sweat rolled from her forehead.
"Hi and I'm Sakura." She faced him in her sweatpants and headband. "You are?"
"Naruto Uzumaki." He said.
"Hey, I know you! You're that guy in our high school who always gets A's, aren't you?" She grinned.
Naruto took off his glasses, "Oh no, how foolish I am to have thought that I may had tricked a sharp young woman such as you, Miss Haruno."
Smirking, she waved to him, "That you are. Bye! I gotta run home before my dad gets hysterical. See you at school tomorrow!"
She ran off and he sighed. Naruto didn't feel like going home. He already knew Iruka was being yelled at for leaving him alone in the street but, he allowed his feet to follow him to an empty paved lot. He fell asleep under a willow tree and understood why it may had been weeping. Its father probably disowned him too.
Really, Kushina was the biggest fool in America. What sane mother would let her son meet his long lost father alone? None and she wasn't even on drugs. Not even an hour ago, Iruka came in for a talk-Naruto being the center. Minato had the nerve to bring an Uchiha with him! He knew good and well she hated Fugaku with all her heart. She was torn between disbelief that Naruto reacted in such a way to the very sight of his father. This was her fault and she had to fix it fast. Before it was too late.
It was a cold morning, the kind with gray stratus clouds and dull colors surrounding everything around. From the nights past, puddles of tears from a sad sky still littered the concrete under a rather sad man. His pale blond hair was scattered in a mess. His navy, blue collared shirt was untucked, ruffled along his black slacks plated with gold and sliver thread. Reeling in his arms to his beryl eyes, he examined his arms with many bruises covering them. Maybe from the trees, he supposed. They were competing at a chase to become the hue of his shirt. He let out a sigh and laid his head on the pavement. He grabbed the coat to his left and dropped it over his tan face. The new flesh wounds of six whiskers outline each cheek symmetrically. They were now deeper and darker thanks to those many branches. Leaning up, he tossed up his phone and caught it. He dialed numbers and after threes ring, heard a woman's voice. "Naruto? Baby, I'm sorry."
"It's alright, mum." He lied. Kushina felt like sobbing but, she already had done enough of that last night. "Sweetie, come home. Please!" Her strong voice cracked and she bawled as the home phone hovered her. She dropped it and started to cry even more. "I'm so sorry, Naruto!" She shouted.
"Mum, it doesn't make a difference if he accepts me or not. Nothing can make a difference." He said with a sigh daring to escape.
"I should had never introduced you to him. I knew what he felt about having kids. I...I was being selfish...to think that he would love you as much as he loved me..." She talked calmer than her previous.
"I'll come home; this cement isn't doing my back justice." He laughed with a dry throat. Hanging up, he stretched his legs, cracked his back and stood up to his full 5'9". Of course, he was still growing at his age of sixteen but, like always, it didn't make a difference of what height he was.
He walked along the path and never drifted. It didn't occur to him to question his path in life; he followed in his mantra to make no enemies and not as much allies. His mother was mainly the only one who looked out for him. He loved her with all his might and when she cried, he always held her. Being the only man in her life, he supported her because they really didn't know anyone else. At school, Naruto was great in his grades but, many teachers said they wanted him to participate more. Though while he raise his hand, they ignored him and he knew then, he was easy to forget. His mother usually said that his personality reminded her of her first love. She would laugh and caress his hair then sip her tea, carrying on like their life was right and just.
He knocked on the door, immediately answered, "Come in! Come in!" She hugged him tight and her red hair wrapped in tangles behind his back. His long fingers circled her shoulder blade. He smiled as her tears stained his now darker navy back. "I'm home, Kushina." He said while letting her see his grin.
Naruto smiled for her sake. God forbid she find out his true face. It might be too horrid for them both to take.
Fin~
Forgive me, for I have been a terrible updater. Thank you for reading. I hope all of you had a wondrous spring break!