A Shattered Demon Child

Part 4

"Let's kill the damn thing already! It's going to kill again!"

He was surrounded. He couldn't get away from them without hurting someone. There was no escaping without a consequence. He was done for.

"I have an even better idea."

The four men picked up pipes and other blunt objects that they could use to beat the boy with. Naruto was curled up on the ground, hoping that it would be over soon. With every swing of the pipes and broom sticks, Naruto felt his bones and muscles cry in agony. He could only lay on the ground while the four grown men beat the child for doing absolutely nothing wrong. He held in his sobs and cries of pain. There was nothing that could be done about it. Not a thing anyone could do to help the pour boy.

After what seemed like forever, the blows didn't do anything anymore because Naruto was barely conscious long before they stopped beating him. They figured he was already unconscious and they started getting nervous a shinobi would walk by and report them to the Hokage. That was the last thing any of them wanted; Tsunade scared the hell out of anyone who would hurt Naruto. When they left, Naruto didn't notice because he still felt the throbbing where they hit him; it was almost like the blows just kept coming in the same spot with the same amount of pain all over his body.

For a while, Naruto just laid there in the alley, trying to gather the little bit of strength he did have to make it to Iruka's apartment, where Naruto was now supposed to stay until he could prove he was able to take care of himself. It made it a lot harder to keep up with his habit, not to mention the daily inspections he did to prove that he wasn't doing anything, which he used an illusion jutsu to cover his cuts to pass inspection. As he managed to gather the strength to get off the ground, he calculated it would take him at least ten minutes to get home. It was almost dark and he was injured, so he added another ten minutes to that. Not to mention the ten minutes it would take him to get up and prepare himself for the painful walk home. In half an hour, Iruka would have a heart attack and start looking for him. Naruto hoped Iruka wouldn't be home when he got there.

As the boy managed to practically stumble the whole way home, the sun had set and everyone had forgotten to even ask the boy if he were okay considering he had blood on his clothes and face. The boy got to the apartment and realized the door was unlocked. Naruto cursed silently to himself and walked in the door. Sitting at the kitchen table was Iruka, waiting anxiously for the boy to get home. When Naruto walked in, the ninja jumped out of his seat and rushed over to the boy.

Iruka asked frantically, "Naruto, what happened? Who did this?"

Naruto said lowly, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Iruka walked the boy to the kitchen table and he sat down with Naruto. Iruka walked to bathroom across the room and came back with a first aid kit. He tended to the boy's wounds as carefully as he could. Naruto didn't even feel the burning of his skin when the rubbing alcohol hit his scrapes and cuts. Iruka asked gently, "What happened?"

When Naruto went to open his mouth, he could hear laughing and heard the men from before in his head again. He covered his ears, but then, Iruka grabbed his arms and through him on the ground, beating him with his fists like he'd done something to deserve it.

"Die demon!"

"Nobody wants you!"

"Kill yourself!"

Naruto started screaming, breaking his composure and tried fighting against Iruka, but he was practically paralyzed. He kept crying out and nothing was happening. He felt helpless, like no matter what he did, there was no way out. He had to find a way out, he had to do something other than let this happen. Before he could do anything, he felt something familiar going across his wrist; the cold blade of a kunai. Naruto started to realize that he was now sitting against a wall, looking down at his now bleeding wrist that was pouring an insane amount of blood. He started laughing hysterically and realized he felt completely paralyzed and helpless.

As Naruto started to wake up, he didn't realize the kunai in his hand until he felt the blood running down his arm. He put the kunai down and go ups, not realizing just how much pain he was really in. He hissed, quickly running to the bathroom down the hall. Naruto locked the door behind him and shut it quietly. He found the first aid kit and started wrapping his arm. He wasn't sure how this kept happening, but it was happening more and more often than before. Naruto spent a few minutes wrapping his arm before he went to leave the bathroom. He quietly unlocked the door and opened it only to see Iruka waiting outside. Naruto's face was pale as a ghost. Iruka didn't have to ask to know something was wrong considering Naruto's arm was wrapped and bandaged. Naruto felt ashamed as Iruka walked over and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Iruka said gently, "Come on, let's sit down."

They both sat down in the living room while Iruka looked at Naruto's injury. Iruka asked calmly, "What happened?"

Naruto answered in a near whisper, "I was having a nightmare and... I don't know how, but I woke up like this with a kunai in my hand."

Iruka asked, "What was it about?"

Naruto lied, "Nothing, it was just a stupid dream."

"Nice try. Tell me what happened."

After about ten minutes of them going through the same thing over and over again, Naruto gave in and told Iruka what happened. Iruka asked, "Next time, could you do me a favor?"

Naruto hesitated but nodded, waiting for his request. Iruka sighed and said, "Come get me when this happens, okay?"

Naruto nodded again. "Okay."

Iruka nodded and gave the boy a warm smile. Naruto walked to his room once again, looking for the mess that he would probably have to clean up. He didn't find anything covered in blood but the kunai still where he left it. He cleaned it off and put it back in his pouch. Naruto sat down on his bed and sighed. There was no real reason other than it was an involuntary reaction to what he saw. It didn't make it okay by any means, of course.

Naruto looked around for a moment and realized he'd barely unpacked anything since he started living with Iruka. Naruto saw no need considering he might not be there for long anyway. Naruto was doing a bit better since he came to stay with Iruka. He said, "I'll go ahead and inform Lady Tsunade about your nightmare, okay?"

Naruto nodded. Iruka gave him a nod and went into the other room where the phone was. Naruto let out a sigh as he sat down on the couch with his head in his hands. He'd been doing so well, too. Beside the occasional relapse where he'd have to make an illusion to cover it up, and not to mention Dr. Sato was really annoying, but otherwise, everything was going fine. However, the beatings from the villagers and other shinobi were getting less frequent and less painful. Considering all the above, Naruto was doing a lot better than before.

Naruto figured there would be another therapy session about it, which was annoying, but manageable. Naruto waited from Iruka to get back into the room, but that didn't happen. Naruto waited about ten or twenty minutes before Iruka walked into the room with the home phone in his hand. He held it out at Naruto and said, "Tsunade wants to talk to you."

Naruto gulped and took the phone from his old homeroom teacher. He put it up to his head and said, "Hello?"

Tsunade replied, "Good morning, Naruto. How are you doing?"

He shrugged even though he knew she couldn't see him. He answered, "I'm okay."

"Did you have another nightmare?"

"...Yeah."

Tsunade asked, "Did you inflect the injury involuntarily?"

"Well, I wasn't awake until the Kunai was in my arm, if that answers your question," Naruto answered, trying to explain in a way she could understand.

"I see. Alright, well, I don't see any need in sending you to Dr. Sato considering you're supposed to go tomorrow afternoon anyway. I'll let her know the situation and you two can talk about it later. Now that we've got that out of the way, Kakashi said for you to meet him with Team 7 in about an hour. We'll talk later, okay? If you need anything, let me know, okay?"

Naruto replied, "Yes, Granny. Talk to you later."

He hung up the phone and handed it back to Iruka, who was standing in front of him still. Naruto looked up at him and Iruka had a knowing look on his face. He asked, "Naruto, are you sure you're alright?"

Naruto nodded and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Iruka nodded and patted the young boy on the head. He said, "Let's eat so you can go meet your team, okay?"

Naruto ran off to meet with his teammates, who still didn't know what Kakashi and Iruka did. He saw them and said, "Good morning."

Sasuke gave him a nod and Sakura replied, "Morning."

Naruto leaned against the opposite side of the bridge from Sasuke and Sakura, just looking at the sky or the water below. They waited for a while for their sensei to show up, and about half an hour after Naruto showed up, Kakashi appeared from smoke.

He greeted, "Yo."

Everyone replied, "Good morning, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi eye smiled and said, "Why good morning my little Genin. Today, we're going to look for a missing boy in the woods today. His parents haven't seen him since last night, they say he left a note saying he was running away. His name is June."

They all looked at the picture of the young boy who looked surprisingly happy and content next to a man and woman; his parents. The young boy had black hair and green eyes. The three Genin looked up at their sensei. Kakashi said, "Well, we should get going then. Follow me."

The three Genin followed their sensei as they raced to the woods. They went from branch to branch as they ran forward. Kakashi went to the ground and the three followed. They searched for hours, trying to find the kid, and after about three hours, Naruto found him. He saw the young boy laying under a bush. Naruto ran over and said, "Hey, June, right? Your parents sent me to bring you home."

Silence. Naruto walked forward to the bush and said, "Hey, kid, are you okay?"

When he walked up to the bush, he turned the kid onto his back, only to see the horror. Naruto saw the kids pale face. Naruto then saw the razor blade next to his body. Naruto looked at the boy's wrists only to find they had been cut open. Naruto yelled, "Guys! Help! We need medics!"

Naruto stared at the boy as he checked for a pulse. There wasn't a pulse. Naruto backed away, trying not to freak out. Okay, okay, just take a deep breath. It's all okay, it's just fine. The kid is alive, yeah, he's alive. He's not dead. He's still alive... Right? No, he's dead. What caused this, Naruto thought to himself rapidly, trying not to throw up.

After what felt like only seconds, Kakashi was kneeling in front of the boy and checking his pulse. Kakashi sighed and said, "He's been dead since last night. We'd better return his body to his parents."

Naruto stumbled away from the body and ran to the bushes far from him. Sasuke and Sakura had showed up moments after Naruto began to puke up what had been his breakfast. Both of them were confused and worried. They saw the dead boy and Sakura started crying. Sasuke was quiet and conflicted. Kakashi walked over to Naruto and asked, "Naruto, what's the matter?"

Naruto stood up straight and said weakly, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine, I just need a minute, okay?"

Kakashi said, "You're clearly not fine."

The young blonde hissed, "I'm fine, okay?"

Kakashi walked off without another word and carried the boy with the other three Genin to the boy's home. His parents were waiting on the front porch. His parents cried out with joy until Kakashi got close. Before long, their faces turned into hurt and agony. They took the young boy from Kakashi and they began to cry and sob. Naruto looked away from them. The father asked, "W-What happened?"

Kakashi said with a bit of pity in his voice, "We found a razor blade next to him in the forest. I'm very sorry, but there's nothing we can do."

The grieving parents took their son into their house. Kakashi turned to the three Genin and said, "I'm sorry you guys had to see that."

Sakura asked, "Why... Why did he do it? He was only a kid. How did he get driven to this?"

Kakashi had a sad look when he knelt down in front of Team 7. He said softly, "Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, Sakura. After so long of being alone and feeling so much pain, sometimes, people can't take it anymore and they give up hope. I know it doesn't make since, but I hope you understand this can happen to anyone. June killed himself for his own reasons; he gave up hope. It's very sad, but that just means while we all have our problems, we can aspire to make things better."

Naruto hissed, "Shut the hell up! You don't understand a damn bit of what you just said!"

Everyone, even Kakashi, was shocked at the outburst. Kakashi began, "Naruto, just calm-"

"The hell if I'll calm down! You don't know a damn thing about what that kid felt or what happened to him before he died! I highly doubt that you even know what he was thinking before he died! Sometimes, things just don't get better and there's no reason to try if there's nothing that can be done!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke looked at him and hissed, "What the hell do you know about pain, Naruto? It's not like you've ever lost anyone or had family, so you don't know what it's like to lose anything! You can't just sit there and get mad when you're talking about shit you don't know anything about, dobe!"

Naruto growled, "You don't know a damn thing about me!"

"Oh yeah, then why the hell is it nobody likes you because you are so damn clueless and fucking stupid? You've never had anyone to lose before, so you can just go the fuck on somewhere!" Sasuke shot back.

Naruto's rage had just went over the edge. Naruto argued, "At least you had family! I've been an orphan my entire life! I don't have any real friends because I'm just a fucking demon! Do you have to deal with everyone calling you a fucking monster and a murderer every time you walk down the street?"

Towards the end, Naruto broke down. Sasuke seemed to tone down a notch, but he growled, "Don't play that innocent bullshit, dobe! You're just a fucking loser!"

With that, Kakashi hissed, "That's enough!"

Both the boys looked at him and their sensei hissed, "You're both being ridiculous. Go home, all three of you. The mission is over."

Naruto saw Sasuke storm off and Sakura followed after him. Naruto balled his fists and waited for the scolding to begin. Kakashi sighed and asked, "What am I going to do with you?"

Naruto replied grimly, "Just get rid of me like everyone else. It'll hurt less when I end up like that kid."

The white-haired shinobi looked at Naruto with concern. Kakashi said calmly, "Naruto, you know I won't do that to you."

Naruto said quietly, "You're stupid then."

"Naruto, just calm-"

Before Kakashi finished, the boy was already gone and running back to Iruka's apartment. Kakashi followed after the boy and began to pursue the boy. Naruto had improved greatly, but Kakashi was faster. Kakashi was slowly catching up to him until Naruto somehow speed up and ran past him.

Kakashi hisses, "Naruto, just slow down and talk to me!"

Naruto didn't even look at him as he speed up and ran towards the woods. Kakashi followed him until they got to the trees. Naruto jumped into the trees and somehow, Kakashi lost track of him.

When he lost track of Naruto, Kakashi ran towards Tsunade's office right away. Naruto stayed hidden so he wouldn't attract the white-haired ninja's attention. Naruto began to run through the trees again when Kakashi was out of sight.

I'm a loser, I know that, but did he really need to point it out to me like that? Seriously, what the hell is his deal? How would he know anything about what its like to be hated and ignored for his entire life? He had a family and I've never had any family, so where the hell does he get off on telling me I don't understand pain and suffering? Naruto thought bitterly to himself.

He was going faster than he had thought and then the thoughts began to flood in while he was running.

I don't wanna be alone anymore; I don't wanna be a loser; I don't wanna be a burden anymore; I really can't keep doing this anymore. Why should I be forced to live in a world that doesn't want me here? It seems kinda like a situation that is not ideal and I can fix it if I really, really want to, Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto knew Kakashi would report to Tsunade and then medical ninjas would be crawling everywhere. There was no way to fix things, and there was no hope to fix Naruto with his way of "fixing" his problems. Naruto stopped on one of the branches and took out a Kunai and felt a hand around his wrist before he could start hacking away.

"Naruto, you need to drop the Kunai before I have to force you," a soft voice whispered to Naruto.

The blonde knew that voice anywhere. He looked at Kakashi and he gulped. The white-haired ninja had a look in his eyes that told Naruto he would disarm the boy with force, but he really wanted to avoid it if he could. Naruto was done pretending to follow the rules and done trying to make people around him happy. He was tired of failing when he tried so hard. After he started really fighting against Kakashi, Naruto felt him grab the Kunai, and then take Naruto to the ground. He pinned the small boy down and Kakashi said with a sigh, "You're as stubborn as ever."

Naruto started crying. He asked quietly, "Why are you trying to do this to me?"

Kakashi answered, "Because we care about you, Naruto. You shouldn't do this to yourself and you shouldn't have to deal with things on your own."

Naruto felt Kakashi get off as he picked the boy up. He hugged Naruto and said, "I understand how you feel, but this is wrong and you know it."

"I've never felt like it was a problem... Before you guys caught me anyway."

Kakashi said, "I know, but that's because we had no idea what you were doing to yourself. This is unhealthy and you can't keep doing this. I'm taking you to Iruka and we're going to sit down and talk about this or I'll send you straight to Lady Tsunade's office."

After Kakashi and Naruto went to Iruka's apartment, and they waited for Iruka to get home from the academy. Kakashi didn't leave Naruto alone for more than maybe a minute at most; he didn't trust Naruto at the time and he had a good reason not to considering what he saw in the woods.

When Iruka came into the apartment, he walked in with a smile on his face and said, "Hi Kakashi, hey, Naruto. What's going on..."

His voice trailed off and his smile fell to a frown when he read the looks on their faces. Iruka walked over to them and asked, "What happened?"

Kakashi kept his arms crossed and explained what happened. Naruto kept his eyes away from both men's gazes. Iruka sighed and said, "Naruto, please, just talk to one of us. You need to stop."

Naruto snapped. He hissed, "Why should I when before now everything was fine! Before anyone knew, I was doing just fine on my own!"