A Shattered Demon Child

Part 18

Naruto stayed with Kakashi once again after he was released from the hospital. To say the blond was hurt by Tsunade forbidding him from using the jutsu he worked so hard to complete was an understatement. Naruto couldn't wait to tell Jiraiya everything once he returned from gathering intel. Kakashi was proud of his student as he quietly realized Naruto had surpassed his father and Kakashi himself at the age of only sixteen. Naruto, however, was just exhausted. He worked so hard, and it was for nothing in the end. It was a hard pill to swallow, and still, he had to force it down so he didn't choke on it. That, unfortunately, was hard for him.

Time went by quickly for the blond teen, his arm finally healed, and there were more missions. They kept him distracted, or at least that was the hope. Naruto knew with Kakashi and Yamato on high alert there was nothing he could do but try to avoid drawing attention to himself. The blond's mask was starting to fall, and it got to the point he noticed Sakura and Sai both watching him with gazes full of pity. He hated it, but the harder he tried to cover it up, the more they seemed to notice him. Naruto ignored it most of the time, but there were a few moments where he just needed to get away from them. That would prompt Kakashi or Yamato to follow after him and talk with him. Naruto avoided answering their questions when it came to how he felt or what he was up to; he'd try to speak about unimportant things or ignore them entirely.

It concerned both Kakashi and Yamato; his behavior was so convincing at some points. Naruto had somehow managed to make them blind to his behavior by gaslighting them into believing once again he was fine and they were just being overbearing. It hurt Naruto to do it, but he really just wanted to be left alone. It wasn't his intention to hurt them or deceive them, but he needed to be alone. He even started sneaking out at night without Kakashi or Yamato knowing. Sometimes he'd go train when he worried about getting caught, but when he was confident in his escape, he'd just go to his apartment to be alone. The blond knuckle-head he pretended to be was gone once he was alone; he was just playing his part to let himself be alone.

Naruto spent hours either beating clones or getting beaten by them, or he spent hours locked in his apartment holding a kunai and staring at whatever blood he'd shed with his own kunai. His other, less outright aggressive actions weren't healthy either. He pretended to take any medication Tsuande gave him for his broken bones or other injuries; it was one less bit of pain he had to inflict on himself later. He was a shinobi with his eyes set on his next target; himself. Naruto took a bit of pride in his handy work, making sure his motives were concealed. He'd even managed to swipe one of Tsunade's sake bottles after Shizune found them and tried to throw them away. He was addicted to the idea that he had the ability to finally end his pain and suffering; he was morbidly enchanted by the power he held over his own life.

He hadn't worked out when exactly he wanted to die, as he wanted to at least let Jiraiya know he completed the Fourth Hokage's jutsu. Naruto waited, but then another mission came up relating to Sasuke. The blond decided to go once again and try again, hoping for the best despite how doubtful it was he could actually accomplish bringing his rogue friend home again. He failed again, and on top of that, Sasuke finally got what he wanted. Itachi was dead, and that pissed Naruto off more than anything. Sasuke was gone when that arrived, leaving Naruto to realize Sasuke wasn't done yet. It drove the blond into darkness once again, realizing he was just a failure.

As if that weren't bad enough, but then, Naruto was dragged to Tsunade's office right after the mission that failed miserably. He knew something wasn't right when Kakashi came back to the apartment and woke him up to see Tsunade. Naruto asked why, but Kakashi told him just to wait. The blond was numb and exhausted more than he wanted to let on. He should've noticed the way Kakashi averted his gaze from him that something was wrong, but Naruto wasn't paying attention. He just wanted to get the conversation with Tsunade over with already. He put his mask up when he noticed others, like Gamakichi and the other toads waiting outside the tower.

If it hadn't been for the fact Sakura and Sai were present, Naruto would've died in Tsunade's office. His mask was shattered the moment he realized Jiraiya wasn't coming back. Naruto wasn't aware of the words that left his mouth before he stormed out of the building, and he wasn't even sure where he was going once he started running. The color and warmth of the world around him was gone the moment he slammed the door to Tsunade's office. Naruto darted towards edge of the village unknowingly; his body was set to autopilot. The only thought in his mind was to get away from everyone and everything right away. His mind was an empty void of true darkness. His very foundation was falling apart, and he could only keep it together long enough to get away from the village.

Once he was over the wall surrounding the village, he found a small clearing and stopped there. His breathing stopped as soon as his body stopped moving. Naruto wasn't sure what hurt him more; the agony or the hatred. Once again, the blond found himself understanding Sasuke Uchiha more than anyone else. He wanted to kill Pain, and he wanted to destroy the Akatsuki for taking away his master. Naruto couldn't tell his master he did what was believed to be impossible, nor could he thank him for putting up with his self-destructive tendencies and caring about him enough to try to save him from himself.

His body was numb, just like his mind. His eyes were soon a deep red, and despite the tears pouring down his face, Naruto screamed like a demon at the sky above him. The sound ripped the trees around him out of the ground as a bubble of wind and sound surrounded him. His scream echoed in the air as Naruto fell to his knees. When his wide, red eyes looked down at the orange chakra cloak around him, his nails grew long and sharp. Naruto could hear the Nine-Tails taunting him in the back of his mind, egging him on more than ever before.

Do it, Naruto, the Nine-Tails growled. Set yourself free.

Naruto didn't hesitate to drive his nails into his chest, nor did he flinch at the pain he knew he should've felt. There was nothing left, no pain, no agony, no hatred. He didn't feel relief when he collapsed onto the ground, nor was he bothered by the blood on his right hand once he pulled his nails out. Naruto slowly realized that despite his nails ripping his chest open, he felt nothing. The blond choked on a sob as he starred at the clouds moving above him. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he could only sink deeper into his own darkness to find the Nine-Tails again.

Once he had, Naruto tried to grab the seal holding the demon back, but when he did, a hand stopped him. When he looked up to see who it was, it was a blond man with blue eyes just like his. Naruto saw the tears forming in the mans eyes as he shook his head at Naruto.

I can't let you do this, Naruto, he said ruefully. I'm sorry.

The teen had no fight left in him. He let the man standing before him hug him as Naruto starred at the bright red eyes of the Nine-Tails. In the demon's eyes, he only saw red. If looks could kill, Naruto would've died a thousand times over under the gaze of the fox demon starring him down. When the man let go of Naruto, all Naruto could do was stare blankly at his dark blue eyes.

It's going to be alright, the man stated firmly. We'll meet again soon, but for now, you need to go back to them.

Naruto barely shook his head when the words reached him. I... I don't want to...

The man looked heartbroken, but he still just replied, It's going to be alright, Naruto. Just keep going... Please...

In an instant, Naruto felt air going to his lungs, causing his eyes shoot open. His still red eyes blinked at the bright and blurry world around him. Naruto couldn't move, but he felt someone pressing down on his chest. Naruto could see four figures looming around him, but he noticed a blur of pink and gray looming right above him.

"Naruto?"

The blond didn't have the energy to blink, he just starred blankly at the figures above him. His vision focused long enough to see a dark eye paired with a red Sharingan and a pair of distressed green eyes starring down at him. Naruto felt a hand press against his left shoulder as he began to realize a familiar green light coming from his chest. The blond limply tried to reach up, but when he did, his arms were quickly restrained and pressed to the ground. Naruto used what little of his chakra he could control to fight against the figures holding him down.

He felt the Nine-Tails let some of his chakra go to help Naruto, but when he did, it wasn't nearly enough. The healing stopped for a few seconds before Naruto felt a sharp pain in his right arm. Naruto's mind turned to static as his heart began to slowly stop beating violently against his rib cage. His muscles began to go totally limp once again as the sound of quiet sobs reached his ears. The cold, empty void claimed him as his body was being lifted off the ground. Naruto couldn't be bothered to do anything but let the emptiness claim him, hoping he'd never leave the unfeeling nightmare to face reality again.

There was no time to tell Sakura or Sai to leave, as he already knew they wouldn't listen. They seemed just as distressed and worried as he and Yamato were. Kakashi didn't care about anything in that moment except getting to Naruto before it was too late. The gray-haired jonin wasn't a fool, he had a pretty good idea what Naruto was going to do. He could only hope they weren't too late. It was a good thing they were a good distance from Naruto when his scream ripped apart the area around him, as it would've absolutely crushed the rest of the team chasing after him.

Please, Kakashi pleaded internally. Please don't let us be too late.

They managed to duck behind a wooden dome thanks to Yamato until the trees all stopped flying across the forest. Once all they heard was echoes, they rushed across the forest that had been ripped apart towards the orange halo of chakra swirling in the air around Naruto. Yamato prepared himself to restrain Naruto once they got to where the blond was, and Kakashi led the way. With his Sharingan out, Kakashi was locked on Naruto. The moment his body collapsed, Kakashi's heart almost stopped.

Once they reached the small clearing surrounded by destruction, Sakura ran straight to Naruto's side with Kakashi. Yamato knelt down beside her as the Nine-Tails cloak started to disappear into the air. Kakashi looked at Naruto's right hand to see his long nails getting shorter, but the blood remained coated on his fingers. Sakura started healing him right away, meanwhile Sai stayed in the background watching closely.

"Sakura, is he going to be alright?"

The pink-haired teen thought for a moment before she replied hesitantly, "I'll do what I can, but it'll take a lot longer for him to heal. Any damage the Nine-Tails chakra does takes more time to heal, especially considering his nails dug into an artery and tore several veins. Lady Tsunade will have to treat him once he's stable enough for us to move."

The gray-haired jonin let out a heavy sigh as he looked at Naruto's pale face. The color on his skin was slowly coming back, but that didn't comfort Kakashi in the slightest. The jonin almost jumped to his feet when he noticed Naruto's eyes open suddenly. His red eyes starred at the sky lifelessly.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked before he put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Sakura looked at the pair of red eyes, trying to hide how shaken up she was about the entire situation. Naruto didn't blink or speak, he just looked up at a single point above his head as Sakura healed him. After a moment or two, Naruto tried to lift his arms, but Kakashi and Yamato both grabbed his wrists and held him down.

"Dammit, Naruto," Kakashi cursed weakly. "Stop fighting us."

The blond was straining himself, causing more blood to rise from the slowly closing holes in his chest just about his heart. Sakura kept focused as both Kakashi and Yamato kept a firm grip on his arms. Kakashi used one of his hands to pull out a small case Tsunade gave him before he brought Naruto to her office, just in case he did lose it and try to hurt himself. He motioned for Sai to come over and help, which the quiet teen did. Sai held down Naruto's arm as Kakashi pulled out a syringe with a clear fluid in it.

"Sensei, what are you-"

Kakashi cut in, "Sakura, I need inject him before he loses control again."

Sakura stopped healing as she helped Kakashi unzip his jacket. Kakashi pulled his jacket off his right shoulder just enough to inject the syringe into his bicep. Sakura continued healing once Kakashi injected Naruto with the sedative from Tsunade. Kakashi took over for Sai as Naruto started to go limp again. Yamato let out a sigh of relief once he felt Naruto stop fighting him, Sakura however, was in tears. She sobbed quietly as she kept healing the holes in his chest. Kakashi flinched at the sound, as he remembered her crying for Sasuke all those years ago to Naruto, begging him to bring him home. It was hard to watch one of his students cry while healing the other after piercing his own chest.

Once Sakura deemed Naruto stable enough to make it to the hospital, Kakashi carried the blond on his back. The team retreated to the village once again and raced towards the hospital. While running down the street, most people looked quickly, but then looked away as they raced away. Thankfully, none of Naruto's old classmates were seen on their path towards the hospital. The entire way, no one in Team Kakashi made a sound. Kakashi focused on keeping his balance and keeping up with the others.

Once they got him to the hospital, Shizune was waiting anxiously. She and Sakura lead Kakashi towards an Operating Room. Kakashi put Naruto on the table as other medical ninja raced into the room. Shizune yelled for them to get Tsunade while she and Sakura kept Naruto stable. Kakashi took his leave and met up with Yamato and Sai in the waiting room nearby. The gray-haired jonin was anxious as they waited silently to get some news on Naruto's condition.

Sai looked a little traumatized, meanwhile Kakashi and Yamato were sitting anxiously. It wasn't even an hour later when Iruka showed up. Tsunade had apparently sent word for him to go to the hospital once he was done at the academy that afternoon. After about two hours, Tsunade and Shizune walked into the waiting room. Everyone stood up as the two women approached.

"How's he doing, Lady Hokage?" Kakashi asked calmly.

Tsunade let out a heavy sigh before she replied, "He's stable and we've corrected most of the damage, but he'll need to be here for a few days. Iruka, Kakashi, and Yamato, you'll go with Shizune to see Naruto. I'm afraid you'll have to stay here, Sai."

The awkward teen simply nodded as he sat down in his chair. With that, Tsunade and Sai both left. Shizune escorted the three sensei's to Naruto's room. When she opened the door, Kakashi was a little surprised to see Sakura holding Naruto's left hand. Shizune sighed as they entered. She waited for everyone else to enter before shutting the door.

"Sakura, Lady Tsunade told you that-"

Sakura stated dully, "I don't care. As a medical ninja on Team Kakashi, I ought to know what's going on with my teammate's condition."

Kakashi sighed before he stated, "It's fine, Shizune. She's right. We've been keeping this from her long enough."

The black-haired woman sighed. "Very well, then."

Sakura let go of Naruto's hand as she turned to the group. She looked at Kakashi and then to Iruka as she crossed her arms, looking ready to collapse herself.

"So, what's the plan from here, Shizune?" Kakashi asked calmly.

Shizune replied, "He's going to be out at least until tomorrow morning. One of you needs to stay here tonight in case for whatever reason he does wake up that he doesn't try anything again. We're not sure if the Nine-Tails did this or if Naruto did it himself, so we're keeping him here for a few days to monitor his condition and see if we see any red flags. But..."

Yamato cut in, looking at her suspiciously, "What is it?"

The woman sighed as she picked up Naruto's chart. "There are injuries on here that weren't reported when he came back from the last mission. Bruising around his ribs, several lacerations on his legs, healing rib and skull fractures in various stages of healing..."

Kakashi's eye widened as Shizune looked at him with a somber look. "But... How could he have done that? He was..."

"If I had to guess, they were self-inflicted or unreported, maybe both. Not to mention he's also lost more weight," Shizune admitted quietly.

The gray-haired sensei looked over at Sakura, who just hung her head. Kakashi's heart stopped once he realized that not only did Sakura know about Naruto's self-destructive tendencies, she had to hear Tsunade explain it to her so soon after Jiraiya's death, all while Tsunade dealt with her guilt for letting him go after Pain. The gray-haired shinobi hadn't felt the level of exhaustion he felt since the day Naruto was born. Kakashi was glad his sensei had managed to show Kakashi his pain didn't have to consume his very being; otherwise, he'd most likely be in the same boat as Naruto.

Yamato put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder as he stated gently, "I can stay here and look after him, Kakashi. You should go home."

The gray-haired jonin shook his head. "I'm not leaving without Naruto."

Shizune looked over at Sakura, who looked both mentally and physically exhausted. "Sakura, you should head home. We've got things from here."

The pink-haired teen reluctantly nodded. Shizune lead her out of the room, leaving Kakashi, Iruka, and Yamato with Naruto. Once Sakura was gone, Kakashi and Yamato caught Iruka up on what happened with Jiraiya. Yamato let Kakashi do most of the talking, only interjecting when needed. By the time Iruka was caught up, he was in tears. Kakashi felt as if someone had plunged a knife into his chest, watching the chunin quietly blame himself for not being there for any of it.

For the rest of the night, they sat in the chairs near Naruto's limp form as they listened to his breathing. After a few hours, Iruka and Yamato were already asleep in their chairs, while Kakashi read his book, trying to distract himself from the anxiety surrounding his student who was still sedated and sleeping deeply. Every now and again, Kakashi would look up to make sure Naruto was still there, and then once he confirmed it, Kakashi went back to reading again. His mind was already made; Naruto couldn't go on missions, not if he had a say in it. There was absolutely no way he could let Naruto; whether Naruto wanted to avenge his master or not, it didn't matter. Kakashi wouldn't allow another one of his students to destroy himself for the sake of revenge.

I don't know if I can help him, sensei, Kakashi thought somberly, hoping somehow his former sensei could hear him. He'll never know how much his life means, how much you or Kushina loved him. Jiraiya trained him like I'm sure you would've wanted; his godfather who loved him like his own. You wanted more for you son than this, and I'll keep doing what I can to keep him alive so he achieves his dream of being Hokage.