A/N: This is a spastic idea that came to me in an English class, so I started writing it down. My most serious work yet. I apologize to the people who reviewed Nature of a Hero, but I'm still working on the second chapter. I would like to let everyone know that no, I don't own Naruto, or Faint by Linkin Park. I would also like you to know that I am only using snatches of the song, and not necessarily in order. That being said, R&R.
FaintI am,
A little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard,
A handful of complaints, but I can't help the fact,
That everyone can see these scars.
- - - - - - -
Naruto strolled through the streets of Konoha with his hands in his pockets. No matter where he looked, all he saw were the hateful glares that the villagers targeted him with. He did his best to ignore them, to prove that he was above them, but after all this time, they were finding cracks in his once impenetrable armor. Rich aromas assaulted his nose as he wandered through the venders market, occasionally stopping at one stall or another long enough to give something a second glance. He saw several other members of the Rookie Nine there, purchasing what they needed for dinner. Ino and Shikamaru were there, her arm hooked through the crook of his, looking at the wares of a mushroom vendor. Naruto suppressed a smirk as he strolled past them and carried on through the market. He saw Chouji and his mother and father leaving a small restaurant. It was unsurprising to see the restaurant manager hanging a closed sign on the door behind them. He wandered some more through the streets, his armor, even though it had held steady for years finally starting to crack under the strain of the abuse heaped on him by the townspeople. Every once in a while though, a word or glare would find a hairline crack in his shell, and would imbed itself deep within him. He passed by a stall owned by an old woman, who had screamed and hurled a basketful of rotten produce at him. She had yelled that if a 'demon' wanted to eat, it could lap the food from the street like a dog. Then Naruto had been grabbed by four strong men and had been forced to eat the slop from the muddy street. Soon the men had decided that they had had their fun for the day and the crowd dispersed, leaving a bruised and humiliated Uzumaki Naruto lying in the street. He stood and kept walking through, and his armor cracked even more. He found Sasuke and Sakura waiting for him at the bridge when he arrived.
- - - - - - -
I am,
What I want you to want, what I want you to feel,
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you,
To just believe this is real.- - - - - - -
"Hey Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme." He said, his mask firmly back in place, his usual grin lighting up his face. The pair in question greeted him with the usual and expected disregard.
"What do you want Naruto? Can't you see we're busy?"
"Feh, dobe."
Naruto clenched his fists and stared at the ground. What was wrong with him? All his life, all he had wanted was to be respected and admired by his peers and the people of the village. But for his entire life, all he had received for his efforts was derision and scorn. Even from his friends and teammates no less. He closed his eyes tight in order to stop the tears from falling. It wasn't fair! It never was! He looked over at Sakura, who had just asked Sasuke out for lunch for the umpteenth time. Why was it always Sasuke? Why never Naruto? Sasuke had lost his parents when he was young, and they were murdered by his brother no less, but in comparison, Naruto had never known a parent. He had never known love or tenderness from any living soul. The first person who ever seemed to give even half a shit about him was the Sandaime Hokage, who provided just enough money for Naruto to afford his run-down apartment and the basic necessities of life. Sasuke on the other hand, got to live in a mansion, and had everything he could ever desire handed to him on a silver platter! Why? Why was life so damn unfair? Naruto quickly turned and stared into the water over the edge of the bridge. It had been several months since he and Sasuke had fought it out in the Valley of the End. The battle between the two had been long and fierce, but in the end, Naruto had slammed his chakra-empowered fist into Sasuke's face, knocking him unconscious. The blonde had dragged the Uchiha avenger back to Konoha the following day, and was greeted with shock when he entered the village toting the limp and bloodied Sasuke. Shock quickly turned to anger, as the villagers turned on Naruto and started railing on him for injuring the Uchiha prodigy so badly. Naruto had escaped using a shadow clone, and had deposited the traitor in the ANBU prison for questioning. He proceeded to the Hokage's office, where he pleaded with Tsunade for Sasuke's life, claiming that the Curse Seal had controlled the older boy. Tsunade acquiesced his pleas, and Sasuke's life was spared. It wasn't until a day later when Naruto collapsed during training, and it was revealed at the hospital that he had a pair of fist-sized holes through his chest, just like the one he had received so many years ago.
- - - - - - -
So I,
Let go, watching you,
Turn your back like you always do,
Face away and pretend that I'm not,
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I got.- - - - - - -
Naruto had been confined to the hospital for over a week due to his injuries, and over that time, a grand total of three people came to visit him. It could be four if you counted Hinata, who visited while he was unconscious, and stayed just long enough to deposit a 'Get Well Soon' card on the nightstand next to his bed. Tsunade, Iruka and Kakashi all came to see him at least three times over the week, and Jiraiya was currently on a mission so he couldn't come to see his young charge while he was recovering. Naruto's armor suffered all the more when he discovered that his friends and teammates weren't visiting him because they were spending all their time with Sasuke. A tear slid down his cheek when he saw them all crowded into the young Uchiha's room, and he hurried back to his room before any of the others noticed that he was there. He was released from the hospital within the week, and was soon back at work, training hard and doing his best to realize his dream of becoming Hokage. He was working on his stealth and information skills one day, when he happened to overhear a conversation between Sasuke and Sakura.
"Damn that Naruto! I can't stand him! No matter how hard I work, no matter how strong I become, he's always there, surpassing my power in leaps and bounds! What did he do to deserve that kind of talent? He's just the damn dobe!" Sasuke's voice rang through the trees and Naruto gasped slightly. Sasuke was jealous of him? His fists clenched. That bastard didn't have the right to be jealous of him. Not after everything the damn Uchiha had put him through.
"I know Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's voice followed the pink-haired kunoichi's voice. "I don't know if I can stand him anymore! He's so stupid and annoying and loud and… I just can't take it!" Naruto was stunned. 'Sakura-chan… is that really what you think of me?'
"He's always had it better than me!" Sasuke spoke again. "Even during the academy! All the time we were there, Iruka-sensei's eyes were only focused on Naruto! I was always better than him, what was so interesting about the dobe? During the fight with Zabuza and Haku, I couldn't scratch that kid, but Naruto completely destroyed him. During the Chuunin exams, I was trained by Kakashi, the famous Copy-nin. Naruto had Jiraiya! One of the legendary Sannin teaching him! It's not fair! Even now, he has the Hokage looking out for him! Why should he get all the attention, and not someone who deserves it? Why not me?"
Naruto's armor shattered.
- - - - - - -
Now!Hear me out now!
You're gonna listen to me like it or not right now!
Hear me out now!
You're gonna listen to me like it or not right NOW!
- - - - - - -
"You don't have the right Sasuke." The two spun on their heel to see their blonde compatriot standing behind them, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You hear me? You don't have the RIGHT!" Naruto screamed at the Uchiha. Red chakra was seeping out of his body and filling the clearing they were standing in. "You think you have it so bad, Sasuke. You think that just because your clan was massacred, you should be treated as some kind of savior. Well, I have news for you. I've been through more shit in this life than you can possibly imagine!"
Sasuke's eyes were wide as he stared at the menacing figure in orange stalking towards them. He quickly stepped in front of Sakura and drew a kunai. "What the hell? Naruto? What's wrong with you?"
"You think you've got everything so bad Sasuke. You think that no matter what you do, someone should be there, watching you, just to know how great the last of the Uchiha is, and whenever someone else gets attention, you get jealous. It's time for a reckoning Teme. Time for you to understand just how much I've had to put up with in the past sixteen years!" The red chakra had now completely surrounded the two shinobi, cutting them off from Sakura, whose cries of 'Sasuke-kun' were slowly fading as the Uchiha fell into blackness.
The first thing he saw when he awoke was a dark stone room, light only by candles. A baby with blonde hair was lying in a cradle in the center of an altar, a strange symbol marked on its chest. A man that had the same hair as Naruto stepped forward, accompanied by who Sasuke recognized as the Sandaime. Some words were spoken and the blonde man started a long and complicated set of seals, before in a flash of light, he was gone. Sasuke looked at the baby in the cradle. Its canines had grown, and whisker marks adorned its cheeks. The swirl on its stomach was gone, and only smooth unmarked skin remained. The image faded to black, and Sasuke was shown a vision of a very young Naruto crying in the street on a winter day because he had no one to play with. A group of teenagers passed him by and stopped, suddenly lashing out and striking the child in the face with a heavy strike.
"Damn demon-brat! Get out of our village!"
Sasuke was stunned. Why would anyone strike a child like that? It was unheard of in Konoha! The picture faded out, and more followed. Beatings, vandalism, insults, Sasuke saw everything that Naruto had been through since he was born. He saw, through Naruto's eyes, himself, and Sakura lashing out at Naruto in the same manner as the villagers. Finally, he regained consciousness in the middle of the clearing. Sakura was standing over him with her own kunai drawn. Naruto stood there, in front of them both. The red chakra was gone, and his eyes were blue.
"Now do you understand Sasuke? You don't have the RIGHT to say that I have it better than you. I've been neglected, maltreated and ignored for my entire life. I never knew my father or mother. While you and Sakura were living comfortable lives, I was barely able to scrape together a living. There were times that I had to scrounge through garbage to find something to eat. So don't you dare, don't you DARE begrudge me the few things that have gone right in my life." Sasuke looked at Sakura, who slowly lowered her kunai.
"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" She asked as she kneeled next to him. She began checking him over for injuries, when she noticed that Naruto was still standing behind them. "Naruto this is all your fault! You did this to Sasuke-kun! I'll get you for this!" She quickly stood and turned around, fist raised, when she found herself looking into Naruto's tear-stained face.
"Sakura-chan, why? Why why why why WHY? What is it that he has that I don't? What is it that makes him so much better than me? I've saved both your lives more than once! Hell, I even brought back Sasuke for you from Orochimaru's lair! Even after all these months, I have yet to hear a word of gratitude. Even one of those five-cent 'Thank You' cards would have been enough! But since showing thanks to the village demon is too much for you to bear, answer me this one question. What makes him so much better than me?"
- - - - - - -
I can't feel,
The way I did before,
Don't turn your back on me,
I won't be ignored!- - - - - - -
Sakura was stunned. Of all the questions that she thought Naruto would ask, this was the last one that she was expecting. What made Sasuke better than Naruto? Easy! There was… well there was always… and… It was no use. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't really find anything that was better about Sasuke. Now that she thought about it, she was actually leaning more towards Naruto.
"I- I don't know." She said quietly, head hung, eyes focused firmly on the ground. Naruto looked at her in surprise. He had expected her to come out with some blustering comment or another about how great Sasuke was; but this response had been completely unexpected. Sakura knew anything. For her to admit she didn't know…
"Dobe." Came Sasuke's voice from across the clearing. While Naruto and Sakura were locked in their debate, he had risen and crossed the clearing to the road leading back to town. "I'm… sorry. You were right. I don't have the right to begrudge you anything."
Naruto looked down. He had to tell them, after all they had been through together, they had the right to know, and he needed to be sure that they wouldn't judge him like the rest of the villagers.
"Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan, I have something to tell you both." Both turned their heads in his direction. "C'mere, I want to tell you this in private."
"Dobe, you'd better not be coming out of the closet." Sasuke said as he approached the smaller boy.
"Grr… Teme." Naruto growled as his teammates came within reach.
'What on earth could Naruto have to tell us. Huh, it's probably got something to do with a ramen sale at the Ichiraku.' Sakura thought to herself. As soon as they were close enough, Naruto looked down and began speaking in a low voice.
"What- what do you guys know about the Kyuubi attack?" Sakura, as expected, was the first to answer.
"We know what we were told in the Academy. That the Kyuubi attacked, slaughtered a load of people, destroyed two-thirds of the village and was killed by the Yondaime at the cost of his own life." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Geez dobe, did you pay attention at all in school?" Sasuke taunted.
"I know more about that attack than you do Teme, so shut your damn mouth!" Naruto yelled, the older boy's arrogance finally getting to him. "Anyway, what they told us in the academy was a bunch of lies. Yondaime, despite how powerful he was, couldn't kill the Kyuubi, so he had one choice. He had to seal it away in a human sacrifice. That sacrifice was a child born on the day that the Kyuubi was sealed." Naruto paused slightly, before continuing with the story. "The Yondaime chose me to house the Kyuubi. The thing that destroyed our village is living inside me." With those words, Naruto sunk to the ground with his head in his hands. Sakura and Sasuke were stunned. Naruto, stupid little Naruto, the dead last of the Academy, had the most powerful demon in the history of the world inside him? They both took an involuntary step back. Naruto's armor was reduced to dust. He knew he shouldn't have told them. He had just caused the only two people who had ever stuck with him to fear him. Naruto stood and the others took another step back. He smiled weakly before giving a small smile and disappearing in a whirl of leaves.
- - - - - - -
I am,
A little bit insecure, a little unconfident,
'Cause you don't understand I do what I can,
But sometimes I don't make sense.
- - - - - - -
Naruto remembered that day well. He wished he didn't, it was the day that had made him into the person that he was today. He watched the water under the bridge flow by steadily. Sakura and Sasuke had become increasingly cold-shouldered towards him, and he knew that it was because of the Kyuubi. 'I should never have told them.' He thought to himself as he watched the koi under the bridge trying their damndest to swim upstream against the current. In the deepest recesses of his mind, a voice came to him. It was animalistic, yet superior, grated, yet sophisticated.
"You should show them that you are worthy of their fear. Exercise your superiority like Shukaku and his pathetic excuse for a host do. Prove that you are strong enough to be feared." Naruto knew instantly whom it was that was speaking. Kyuubi, the Lord of Demons was enticing him to destroy the village and everything in it that he held dear. Naruto would have none of it.
'Shut up, you stupid furball. When I want your damn advice, I'll ask for it.' A hostile growl greeted these words.
"Be mindful when you speak to me kit. I am still more powerful than you, even when caged inside your pathetic body. Do not mock what you cannot fully control, insolent worm." The fox's voice soon quieted, however, and Naruto was left staring into the river in silence. Sasuke and Sakura remained standing a short distance away from the Jinchuuriki, wondering if he had finally snapped. They had never known their teammate to be this quiet, even when on a mission. Finally, Sasuke had to break the silence.
"Hey, dobe. What's the matter with you? Fox got your tongue?" He goaded the smaller boy as he slowly began approaching him.
"Shut up, teme." Came Naruto's quiet reply. He kept his back turned to the dark-haired youth, despite the older boy's approach. "I'm not in the mood." Sasuke started involuntarily. Not in the mood? Naruto was always in the mood, regardless of the time, place or importance of the task at hand. He had never known Naruto to turn down a challenge in all the time they had known each other.
"Naruto? What's wrong?" Sakura asked, stepping forward to assist her teammate.
"Don't pretend to care!" Naruto screamed out as he stepped backwards, away from his friends.
"N- Naruto? What-" Sakura stuttered, startled by the blonde chuunin's reaction.
"I've seen the way you look at me now! It's the same way they look at me! Well you can all go to hell! I don't care anymore!" With that, the boy threw himself over the edge of the bridge, only to disappear in a whirl of leaves before he hit the water's surface.
- - - - - - -
I am,
What you never wanna say, but I've never had a doubt,
It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you,
For once just to hear me out.
- - - - - - -
Naruto reappeared in his living room, breathing heavily. He tried to walk to the couch in front of the T.V., but collapsed after only a couple of steps. He had a pain in his chest, it felt as though is organs were being torn apart at the seams. Naruto released a scream, and began clawing at his chest, trying to make the sensations cease. The rewards of his calls for help were his neighbors banging on his walls, telling him to be quiet. He let out a roar of pain again, and flipped himself over on to his back, ripping off his shirt. Sure enough, there was the spiral seal, glowing like a flashlight on a moonless night.
'Kyuubi, what are you doing to me?' He screamed at the fox demon.
"I'm finally gonna be free from this damn cage kit! Even if I have to destry you in the process!" The Fox demon's voice echoed through the passageways of Naruto's mind. He was going to escape, and kill Naruto in the process. Fear flooded Naruto's entire being, and he began to panic.
'How? The Yondaime's seal is indestructible! You can't break free, and if I die, you die! You're gonna kill us both you stupid demon!'
"The hell I am kit. Your seal's been leaking ever since you used my power against that boy on the bridge. I should really thank him for it. There's nothing you can do kit, I'm going to be free, and you can't stop me!" The joyous roar ripped through Naruto's soul, and he knew he had one last chance. He wasn't about to prove the villagers right about the Kyuubi. That damned fox was staying inside him, one way, or another. He threw himself out his window and spiraled towards the earth, red chakra seeping from his body. He landed on one knee, and sprinted off in the direction of the Hokage tower.
"What are you thinking kit? You're simply giving me a better location to be reborn! Right in the middle of your accursed village!" Demonic laughter followed these words, and Naruto picked up the pace, he didn't have much time left and he knew it. By the time he reached the tower, he was regaining the bestial features that the transformation usually gave him, and his strength and speed had already tripled. He sprinted straight at the wall of the building, and, focusing the chakra to his feet, began running straight up the massive spire. He smashed through the window of Tsunade's office, waking her up from her drunken stupor in the process, and sprinted out the door and down the hall towards the room of records, the container of the only thing that could save the village. As he approached the door, a pair of ANBU guards leveled their weapons at him, screaming that he was a demon, and wouldn't enter. The two guards were slumped against opposite walls, facing each other from across the hall. Naruto ripped through the records, trying his damndest to find the Scroll of Sealing: the same scroll that had taught him the Kage Bunshin. Sure enough, there in the corner, gathering dust was the massive scroll. Naruto took a hold of the massive roll of paper, and jettisoned himself through a nearby wall, freefalling into the street below. The townspeople below him scattered as they saw the demon-vessel hurtling towards them at frightening speed. Time was short for him. He could feel the Kyuubi clawing its way through the seal, getting closer and closer to its long-awaited freedom. Naruto smashed through the street, entering the sewer, using an unknown Katon to light torches the lined the walls behind him. Finally he arrived in a familiar looking room. It was circular, and it had a cylindrical slab of rock on a pedestal in the center. A massive seal had obviously been once drawn across the floor, as the outline of it still remained. Naruto was desperate now. He drew one of his kunai and dragged it across his wrist, letting his blood pour onto the floor. He used his blood as paint to re-draw the seal, and then healed his wrist. He could feel it coming; the Kyuubi was moments away from entering the world of mortals again. Naruto walked to the center of the room, and stood in the center of the pedestal. He opened the scroll, and began moving his hands, copying the seals shown on the paper exactly. His timing was flawless, and he finished the instant a loud rip sounded and the red chakra began to solidify itself. The demonic aura became palpable, and a loud voice ripped through the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
"It is done! The Kyuubi no Yoko walks the earth again!" The massive fox's figure erupted through the streets, and it towered over even the tallest buildings in the village, and the townspeople ran. "That's right you pathetic mortals! Run, run RUN! Run in fear from me, the greatest demon in the universe, and know that I will kill you all! There's no grinning idiot to seal me into a child this time!" The demon's laughter echoed through the streets, and alleyways of Konoha, and the people fled. The demon lowered its head, so it looked straight down at Naruto. "Do you hear me, you pathetic little insect? No one can save your precious village now."
"That's where you're wrong." Came Naruto's voice from below. The boy was sweating bullets, bleeding extensively, and wavering slightly, but he stood tall, and looked the kyuubi in the face with unwavering conviction. "I don't need anyone to protect me! I can protect myself!" With that, his hands formed the final seal. "It's over Kyuubi! Hakke no Fuuin Shiki!" Another few seals later, he said in a gasping voice, "Shiki Fuuin, Shisho Fuuin."
"Kit! You're making a mistake we can still-" There was a blinding flash of light, and The Kyuubi vanished from sight. Naruto himself crumpled over, bleeding extensively and already almost dead from the jutsu used. He heard the approaching footsteps of the village ninja, and slowly opened his eyes as he felt something soft drop onto him.
"Naruto you idiot! What have you done to yourself?" Came Sakura's voice from above him. "Do you have any idea how worried we were about you when we heard you ransacked the Hokage Tower? Have you lost you mind Naruto?"
"Sa- Sa-ku-ra- cha-n…. I'm… so- sorry…" Naruto said in a cracked voice. He could feel his life slipping away as he spoke, and he fought tooth and nail to hang on to life. "I- it's o- ver… Kyuubi… is… go- ne."
"Naruto… how did you do it? How did you stop hi-" She then noticed the scroll of sealing lying on the floor of the chamber, it was still open and showed the seals for the Hakke Fuuin no Shiki, and it's two compatriot seals. "No… Naruto what have you done? You've created another demon-vessel; you've doomed this to happen again! How could you?"
"No, Sa-kura-chan… I sealed the…" Naruto started coughing violently, blood flowing from his mouth. "Demon… back in-si-de… me."
"YOU DID WHAT?" Came the voices of Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi from behind them. "How did you manage to do that? Even the Yondaime couldn't seal the demon into himself, and how are you still alive? The seals should have killed you!" Tsunade pointed out, as she summoned chakra into her hands to perform the healing.
"No… Tsunade baa-chan… if you ever loved me… let me go…" Naruto whispered, looking up at the stars with bloodshot eyes. "I've given everything for this village; even my life. But the people here… they'll still look at me with… contempt-" He had another violent coughing spell. "Please… let me be at peace."
"NO! NARUTO-KUN!" Everyone in the vicinity looked up to see Sakura burying her face in Naruto's bloody chest. "Naruto-kun, please, let us help you! You'll get better, you'll be Hokage… you can't leave us… me!" Sasuke walked up to his teammate and pulled Sakura away from their dying friend.
"Naruto… We'll never forget you." The dark-haired shinobi said as he placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Sasuke-teme… Look after Sakura-chan for me. Please… Love her for me Sasuke." Came Naruto's words as Team 7 pulled away from their fallen companion. "Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Ero-sennin, I'm- sorry that I couldn't make you proud…"
"Are you kidding Naruto?" Kakashi whispered, "I've never been more proud of anyone… I'm… glad I could call you my student." A tear fell from his uncovered eye, and he hastily wiped it away. The rest of the Rookie Nine, hurried up to the massive crater in which Naruto lay.
"What… What happened?" Asked Kiba. "We heard an explosion, and people screaming, then we saw the Kyuubi vanish… What happened to Naruto?"
"Naruto sealed the Kyuubi back inside his own body. He saved us all, and at the cost of his own life." Kakashi said, as he looked down at Naruto's still form. The Chuunin was surrounded with a pool of his own blood, and his breathing had ceased. His eyes, now glassy with death, looked straight at the sky, unblinking. The Rookie nine held bated breaths, waiting for the blonde to jump up and yell 'April Fool's!', but to no avail. Naruto was dead, and he wasn't coming back.
Everyone in the vicinity cried. They cried for Naruto's lost life. They cried for his hopes and dreams that would go unfulfilled. They cried for the innocence that had been lost, and the soul that had suffered because of the short sightedness of an entire village. They cried for a hero, and for a demon. They cried for their savior, and for the most despised person in the village. They cried because he never did. They cried for his suffering. But even in the wake of death, life springs forth to fill the crater. Sakura and Sasuke finally ended up together, though the deathbed wish of their teammate was hardly the way either of them wanted to realize their feelings.
A week later, a funeral was held and the entire village showed up to mourn the death of their great protector. Naruto, the dobe, the dead-last, the demon, the idiot, the venting point of the villages frustrations, was given a hero's burial, and his friends all said something about him. The most touching was Sakura's speech, which touched on the ways he affected the lives of everyone who knew him. Overcoming great adversity time and time again, just to prove that he was better than the rest, that he was worthy of one day becoming the Rokudaime Hokage. Finally, after much pomp and circumstance, he was lowered into a special grave exactly where he would have wanted to be buried. In between the Sandaime and the Yondaime. His gravestone was nothing elaborate, a simple chunk of granite with an inscription on it. He did, however, have one of his wishes in life fulfilled. His name was inscribed with honor on the shinobi Memorial Stone. Every now and then it is said, that when a special breeze blows through the village, the villagers hear a loud and obnoxious voice that carries through the village like it had in years past. 'I'm gonna be Hokage one day!'
- - - - - - -
I can't feel,
The way I did before.
Don't turn your back on me,
I won't be ignored!
- - - - - - -
A/N: Well, there you go. That's my masterpiece for now. Please R&R, and if I get the reviews, I might even write an epilogue. As a side note, I would like to add that this is the longest single chapter that I have ever written, being over 5,000 words. I'm rather proud of myself for that. KingofFoxes