A/N: Hey guys. I know, I know, must of you must have thougth I was dead, but I am alive and well... -stares at the empty seated arena- Obvisously I have lost some of my audience for lack of updates -sighs- But I've been really busy. I have been writting whenever given the chance, which sadly, isn't very often. So I hope you all can make do with my random updatings of my stories.
I highly reccomened the song to Gunslinger Girl, Dopo Il Sogno. It's what I listened to while typing this and I think its very... fitting. If you don't have limewire or a music software, the site gendou dot com lets you download free anime music. Virus free, promise, in case some where wondering. All you have to do is make an SN, kinda like fanfic. It's spiffy. I got the idea for this fic while walking in the rain one day. Enjoy, and I'll try to update my other fics this weekend.
.x.X.x. .t.h.e. .r.a.i.n.s. .m.e.l.o.d.y. .x.X.x.
.x.X.x. .G.a.a.r.a.B.e.l.o.n.g.s.T.o.M.e. .x.X.x.
The Rain's Melody
One Uzumaki Naruto was currently sitting atop the roof of the apartment he lived in, staring up at the thick, black clouds that were rolling in. The sky was dark and no noise could be heard except for the faraway boom of thunder. It was peaceful, laying up above the world, watching the heavens, with no one to annoy you. He waited, waited for that blissfully similar rain to fall. The rain that was so similar to him, where on one else was. No one else could really relate. Relate to being so alone, so pitifully alone. There was no one who understood his pain. Sure, there were others who had lost their parents, but at least they had known them once. He, Naruto, had never gotten a chance to see his mother, or to know his father, the third Hokage. Sasuke, he had thought that Sasuke was like him, but he was wrong.
Sasuke had the memories of his parents. A mother's soft touch. A father's kind word. Even if Sasuke's parents had been hard to please, at least they still loved him, and he knew that. They both did. And if even for a while, Sasuke had an older brother. One who he could play tag with, that he could talk to, tell all his fears to. Naruto didn't have any of that. He had Iruka, true, but that was nothing close to a father or brother. The shinobi tried to be like a father to him, and sometimes he almost succeeded, but there was still that gap. The huge gap that was filled by the presence of a demon. The Kyuubi. The thing that made him this way. Alone. That thing was what caused all of this. So many deaths, and lives ruined, and children left alone, and parents who had lost their children. There was nothing worse than witnessing a parent bury their own child. Naruto could feel it anytime one of the villagers glared at him, they blamed him, and with good reason. He was a monster. Responsible for killing many innocent people, for taking so many lives that weren't yet lived.
The rain finally came. Drizzling down at a soft pace. The air always tasted better when it rained for some reason. Naruto slowly breathed in, then out. Trying to fill his lungs up with the cool, sweet, air. It felt, well, almost like he was being purified. It was on no account doing such, but it didn't mean it didn't feel nice. That went on for a quite while, slowly breathing in and out. Making the bad go out and the good fill its' place. It wasn't necessarily great, but he was content. Content enough to not feel so evil, or contaminated. The feelings of contentment only came with the rain, no matter how hard he searched for another way to bring out that feeling.
He didn't mind though. He had something to look forward to that he knew would never leave him, go away and never say anything else. When he was younger, other children would come up to him, and ask if he wanted to play. He felt like crying each time. Someone wanted him near! But quickly, their mother would come running, and usher them away. Talking about how no one was to play with the demon child. What did that woman know? She didn't know him! She knew him about as much as Sakura, Sasuke, or Kakashi knew him. No one knew who he really was.
The rain felt good on his skin too. Refreshing after so many tiring missions. His shirtless flesh almost steamed when it came in contact with the rain. One could almost fall asleep, if not for the slight chill of the water. If not for that, the steady sounds and flashes would have slowly pulled the blonde into slumber. His alone time was interrupted though, by a voice colder than the rain, and louder than the thunder.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke said staring at his teammate. They could have a mission tomorrow, and here this idiot was, just asking for a cold.
"What does it look like? I'm laying in the rain." Naruto sighed.
"I noticed. Maybe I should rephrase my question. Why the hell are you laying in the rain?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"It feels nice." he said simply, and closed his eyes. Sasuke was being to nosy today.
"I doubt it. The rain is cold and the temperature is low. You're going to catch a cold in a matter of time."
"If I catch a cold now or later, it doesn't matter. When I do, no one will be there to help me. So what's the difference when it happens."
Sasuke couldn't believe the words coming from Naruto's mouth. He knew that the blonde had been depressed lately, it was evident in his speech and general attitude. But why would he think that no one would help him if he was sick? Didn't he know he had friends? One's that cared about him. Someone would come and help Naruto if he was sick… Wouldn't they? Sakura… would protest about being to busy, and Kakashi… would say Naruto could take care of himself. Iruka was away on a mission… But what about himself? If Naruto was sick, would he, Uchiha Sasuke, go out of his way to help Naruto? Even if he was sick? He thought, and he doubted he would. He doubted anyone would. The thought made Sasuke's stomach churn lightly. Quite ironic. Naruto wasn't mean to anyone. In fact, he tried to help whenever he could. But no one cared. Not enough to tell him. To tell him that he mattered. He did. If Naruto was gone, Sasuke didn't know what he'd do. Yet he didn't care enough to think about coming over and helping his rival/best friend if he was sick.
"People care." was all Sasuke could manage.
"Of course they do. Just like they care whether I live or die. Whether I eat or starve. Whether I sleep in a bed or on the streets."
"What are you saying Naruto?" Sasuke asked suddenly. "How can you sit there and act like no one cares about you?"
"Because no one does. I try to tell myself different. But the voice won't let me anymore. I know I'm a demon. I killed all those people. If you could hear their screaming, you'd hate me just as much as I hate myself. I hate the blood on my hands. And the looks in their eyes. When I clawed at them and they cried, it didn't matter if they were adults or children… everything was so red." Naruto's eyes became slightly glazed over as he spoke.
Sasuke stared at Naruto. What was he talking about? He had known that Naruto had the Kyuubi within him, but he didn't now he could communicate with the fox. The demon was obviously toying with Naruto's mind. Sasuke looked at the blonde's eyes. They were no longer their normal blue. Now they were dull and dark. Like an innocent child who'd witnessed how cruel the world could be first hand. And that was exactly what he was really.
Naruto's life reminded Sasuke of a new puppy for a spoiled child. He was loved at first, that was the parent's wish. But after the parent was gone, and the child was left alone with the puppy, and they grew tired of the dog, they would resent it. If only they didn't have that dog they could have something so much better. Once a spoiled child grows tired of a dog, everyone knows they always want a cat. That's exactly what Sasuke was to the village. A cat. When someone kicked a dog, the animal would feel bad. Feel like something was their fault. They'd want forgiveness from their master. Cat's on the other hand, don't want anything to do with people in the first place. Some find one person they like, and only show affection to them. But even that is rare. Everyone showed Sasuke unwanted attention, while they shunned Naruto, making him feel frustrated that Sasuke got the praise and kind words that he wanted. The words that he wished for so badly. The words that tormented him in his dreams. But those words meant nothing to the cat. The only thing the cat wanted attention from was the one thing that didn't give it to him and the only thing it wanted attention from, the dog.
"Sasuke. If I were to die, no one would care." Naruto laughed, still staring up at the falling rain.
"I would." Sasuke said painfully low, not loud enough for the fox-boy to hear him.
"Why are you here anyways? Don't you have a life?" Naruto asked the Uchiha smirking yet still not looking at the other boy.
"Yeah I do, and it's centered on murdering my wonderful older brother, which involves me training my ass off, which I won't be able to do if you got sick and our mission gets canceled tomorrow." Sasuke growled at the soaked boy. "So quite being all angsty and depressed, go back to being Naruto, loud and annoying, and go in the house."
"So go back to being myself? Did I hear you correctly?" Naruto finally tore his gaze from the sky and turned to look at Sasuke. He stood up and slowly advanced on the Uchiha. Sasuke didn't know why, but Naruto was scaring him. He took a few steps backwards and realized that he was pressed up against an outcropping part of the apartment. Naruto got two feet from Sasuke, but didn't stop. Once he reached him, he put a hand on each side of Sasuke's head. Sasuke couldn't help but stare into the dead blue eyes. Eyes like a ocean on a stormy day. More gray than blue, and just waiting to swallow you up and tare you to pieces.
"You will not tell me what to do, Uchiha, understood?" Naruto said slowly, drawing out each word, causing the other boy to nod a fraction of an inch. Naruto was really scaring him.
"Good." Naruto managed one more word before he slumped onto Sasuke's chest.
"Naruto! Naruto!" Sasuke said and held the boy up by his shoulders. He realized that Naruto had passed out. He was burning up. Sasuke knew he had to get the boy inside.