AN: So I binged a bunch of naruto insert style fics, got inspired, and here we are. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about this so I wrote a bunch before committing to putting it here.

Disclaimer: We all know who owns Naruto, it certainly isn't me.

Prologue – A Regular End

Awareness hit me, and it took a moment for consciousness to follow.

Where am I?

Home. Sleeping. It's morning.

There was something else though…

Oh, that's right. It's the 24th of December, Christmas eve.

For me that meant family, good food, cakes, presents received, and presents given. Before any of that thought, it meant tidying, cleaning, cooking, baking, church, and… socialising.

Maybe I should just skip Christmas this year.

I smiled as I entertained the old thought. It was never going to happen, despite the temptation coming back every year. I visited my parents rarely enough already, if it weren't for these holidays, I might as well have been living in another world.

…didn't mean that I wouldn't try to skimp out on some of the busy work.

I grabbed my phone to look at the time, 10:00.

If I sleep in a couple more hours I'll 'miss' church. God I'm a horrible Christian.

I paid no mind to the email icon in the corner, and my eyes closed once more.

Then I was awake again. I had slept off any excess tiredness, but not slept so much that I felt tired again. I grabbed my phone to check the time again, 13:24. I'd missed church , and the kitchen was probably already fully manned.

Congratulations me, you managed to put yourself in a position to benefit from all the effort everyone else is putting in.

I buried the shame. I'd help set the table and clean the dishes afterward. Then I noticed the email. From the university. The content was of little interest, since the title told me enough.

Exam results are available.

I could've waited, marked it as seen and come back to it later. I didn't acknowledge the lack of feeling as I logged onto the student page, navigated to the right section, and saw the single word that determined it all.

Fail.

I wasn't surprised. I barely attended lectures, did none of the optional exercises, and scraped through the mandatory assignments with barely passing grades. It wasn't the first time, but it would be the last. With this I had based the threshold of leniency the institution allowed. I was a dropout.

I let my arm fall back down on the bed, vaguely acknowledging the cold. I'd left my window open and it was winter.

What now?

14:35, I finally got dressed and out of my room.

I smiled and said good morning, ignoring the sludge in my chest.

It was a familiar song and dance.

"Have you slept until now!?" they'd ask, more amazed than shocked.

"Heh, I sleep a lot." I'd say, faking sheepishness to cover up my deception. I'd chosen to let the habit fester.

Then I was put to work.

I vacuumed the floor. The dog did something funny, my sister joked about it, and I responded with a pun. She laughed.

I wiped the dinner table. My brother asked if I'd seen the newest trailer for a thing, then I commented about it, wondering if they're going to reference something from one of the games. My brother didn't get it, I explained, even got a little excited.

Then the conversation was over and everything felt heavy again.

I was told to stop cleaning the table, I still thought it could be cleaner, but complied to help set the table.

Carrying a stack of plates, I went quickly. My elbow hit something, a glass filled with cola. It crashed into the floor.

"Argh!" I shouted to myself, throttling the urge to raise the volume and swear.

I placed the plates on the table and picked up the larger pieces, tossed them in the trash, then grabbed the vacuum to handle the ones too small to pick up. The weight was gone, and instead I felt heat.

"What happened?" asked my mother.

"Knocked over a glass." I said, "I'll deal with it."

I dried the floor with a towel, then put it away.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!"

I'd snapped back at her, my tone venomous.

Then I saw her face, and I immediately cooled to a chill. She was worried.

I'd stopped smiling.

My next words were mechanical.

"I'm going for a walk."

The air stung. Naturally, it was winter and I'd skipped out on putting on a jacket.

The mild pain was strangely comforting, an aggressive reminder that I could feel.

I found a bench to sit on.

Playing back the events, I didn't need to speculate on my own behaviour, I knew exactly what had led me to explode like that.

I had tried to ignore the day's revelation, and was too prideful to admit how much it was eating me up. My little happy mask was bound to crack the moment something went wrong.

I drew my attention to the glow of my phone. It sucked, and I felt lost. Worse, the only one I could blame for this was myself.

It was easy.

It shouldn't be.

I'm being self-destructive.

Which was no excuse for my behaviour.

I sighed, and got up.

"I need to apologise."

I got ready to cross the road, but walking in the dark, I missed the patch of ice.

I stepped and found no grip, instead, I tumbled forward.

It was a stroke of bad luck that it coincided with the passing of a truck.