Author's Note Sorry about the long wait. I thought I'd stop writing this angst fic, since it's been a REALLY LONG TIME and it's outdated…but…I…had to finish. Enjoy.

Disclaimer Naruto—not mine.

Chapter Two: Stupid and Naïve

Second Mind: Naruto

On normal days, after the academy, you could find me training in the morning, a folded ticket for ramen tucked snugly behind my forehead protector or sitting patiently in my pocket. Generally, you could expect to see me wolfing down unhealthy noodles and gulping down the liquid that accompanied it before skipping off to do whatever I'd planned. Basically, training.

After I joined a team, nothing was really different. I would, instead of being by myself, train beside a surly, pale boy and the love of my life.

But whatever. What's important is that I've always tried so hard for one thing.

I've waited a long time for someone to recognize me, to realize I'm stronger than Sasuke, to see me, me, me, there, powerful. Hinata once told me I was strong.

She lied.

I've often wondered, is it my strength or is it the Kyuubi's? Then, if I win using its chakra, am I not cheating? I did not truly defeat my enemies. I cheated. So, I must ask myself, am I the strong one, or am I stealing power from a creature encased in my body?

I've sat, contemplating the reasons that I'm still here, not the Hokage. Is it an empty wish that turns away every time I rush out to touch it? I want to grasp it; put my fingers on it and feel its tangible warmth.

No matter how hard I try to keep it within my fingers, I can't help but let it flutter out, like steam.

Patiently, I wait for them to acknowledge me. But to them, I'm a lack wit; someone who can't even pass Iruka-sensei's exams or perform the proper jutsus to be seen as Sasuke's equal. To teachers, girls, boys—Sasuke's the golden boy. He's cool, powerful, and has such an "attractive" personality.

They know—or think—he has experience.

They think that I don't know sadness, or pain, or loneliness, like him. Or at least, he thinks so. But I've felt it, if not worse. At least people approached him as a child! I was never caught in an embrace, never felt that warmth of arms around me, so similar to the feeling of power, the feeling that I'm one step closer to being a Hokage.

Sasuke once told me that I never knew how it felt to have your most important people taken away from you in one single, brutal strike.

But he's never known how it feels to never have had anyone and to be shunned your entire, pathetic life.

I'm not stupid.

I can tell they're afraid of me for something I did not do. How can I become the Hokage with that kind of attitude following me like permanent glue? It smirks at me with the knowledge that I am alone, ignored, and hated. They will never want me to be the Hokage.

But it's not their choice.

It was the Fourth's.

Oh, they adored the Fourth Hokage. They revered him and idolized him. I am the last piece of his work left in Konoha. Why is it that they love him and hate me? He chose me to keep the Kyuubi stuck in my body. I was chosen for this job.

And yet, they deny of me my rightful place.

So what if this power isn't mine? Don't I deserve something? Happiness? No, I do not. I have already stated that I am not clueless. I know that you must use every advantage you have, but stealing strength from someone else who is unwilling to give it is not the same. So I don't deserve to be Hokage, then, although the Fourth gave me this responsibility. This responsibility should show them that I am capable of being Hokage.

But they call me stupid and naïve.

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The End.