Drip…. Drip…Drip. Drip

The sound of dripping water from the leaky faucet echoed throughout the room with maddening inconsistency. That was the only sound. That was ever the only sound besides the ones he decided to make himself. The slightest shift was deafening in comparison. There wasn't even the humming of lights or the sound of the running air conditioner. Just darkness and that maddening dripping sound.

Was it punishment? Had he done something wrong? They would hurt him. Make him like this. How much longer did he have to be punished. How long did he have to live like this not knowing why?

He was afraid of the dark.

The small blond boy, half-buried under the white blankets, curled further into himself, holding his knees to his chest. The movement caused the chain around his leg to move. The cuff dug into his already tender and fragile skin, causing his ankle to bleed once more. A soft pained whimper left his lips.

Then the smell of blood reached his nose.

His teeth ached, and his eyes burned. A growl started low in his chest that steadily rose in volume, his thoughts becoming cloudy.

The sound of the door opened, the squeaking sound deafening to the young boy's ears, causing his irritability to peak. The blanket was thrown off, revealing the red eyes of an animal, baring his fangs and snarling in the direction of the sound.

The lights turned on, blinding the child for a second, his sensitive eyesight unable to adjust so quickly to the change of brightness, but it was enough to lose sight of his prey and delay his attack. It was enough time for the man at the door to aim his gun and shoot him.

Within seconds, the world around the boy became blurry. Although the man approached, the boy could not make out his face. Disoriented and weak, the child collapsed onto his futon, eyes half-lidded.

The sound of the man's approach and rustling paper made the boy think that perhaps there was a second person and the first one had left. The one that usually beat him had gone.

"Looks like today's your birthday, huh little monster." The man said with disgust. "Don't expect any presents though." The boy's arm was grabbed in the man's much large hand.

The boy felt the familiar prick of a needle. However, his drowsiness and weakness were quickly subsiding.

"I'm just here for some blood samples. Be good and we can both get this over with quickly."

Perhaps it was because the man was in a hurry, he hadn't realized the thrown blanket was to cover the broken chain, but his lack of carelessness cost him dearly.

Snapping his eyes open, the boy jumped forward, biting into the man's arm with his sharp fangs.

The man screamed in pain, yanking his arm back instinctively, allowing the child to rip off a chunk of his forearm.

The child spat the man's flesh back at him and scrambled to the still opened door, running as fast as he could, shouldering past the guard who had been standing by, shoving him to the ground. Not long after, the alarms blared around him.

He just had to run to the door at the end of the hallway, but the hallway stretched on, becoming further and further out of his reach. Just a little farther. Just a little farther.

An explosion went off.

The child fell into the snow with the heat of the roaring flames burning at his back. He scrambled to his feet only to fall again, pain consuming his entire body from his various injuries. His burned back. His bleeding head. His twisted ankle.

He was in so much pain, but he could not cry. He had to get out. He had to—

He fell into a warm and familiar embrace. His head rested on a soft chest and a rapid heartbeat. Feeling the warmth and safety of those arms, he knew he had made it. He was finally safe. He cried. He cried in pain. He cried in relief. Tears cascaded down his face in streams. He had been so scared. So lonely.

There were three people whose faces he knew but could not place as the woman who held him picked him up into her arms. Her heartbeat drowned out the fear in his veins that was still suffocating his small body. There were voices were distant, and they blurred together into a jumbled mess. The boy could not tell whose voice belonged to who, but the boy did not care. They had come for him.

"We have to get…"

"What…others."

"He…danger…leave first."

"Minato…don't…stupid!"

Another explosion shook the ground beneath them, but the three adults did not slow nor stumble.

The child peeked out from the safety of the woman's bosom. In the distance, there was a van where a small red-headed child, unconscious, was being thrown into the back. Seeing the red-headed boy, the child began to struggle against the woman's hold, reaching out. He could not find the words to speak. They were lost in his throat, but still, he tried to reach for him though the child was so far away.

By the time the woman turned to look, the people were getting into the van and driving away. They were gone.

He hid his face back into her chest, not wanting to see the world any longer. He just wanted to go home.

Why? They were heading home. So why did this happen?

The child sat in the snow, the white stained with red. Not from him, another's blood.

Smoke rose above the trees and the flames brightened the night sky in the distance, but none of that mattered. The coldness seeped into his exposed legs. He could hardly feel them; however, it wasn't the cold that took away his ability to move.

People were laid out around him, bleeding heavily. Two were barely breathing. One was violently coughing up blood. The boy glanced at the injured man coughing, but the sight of him was the least of the boy's concerns.

Standing not too far away was another man. He was the source of all this. His long, messy black hair covering much of his face. Through the entanglement of hair, a single red and black eye shone, staring right back at him.

In his mouth, the man had his long fangs lodged into the neck of another young man, who grew paler by the second as he struggled futilely. When his movements ceased, the dead man dropped a kodachi, its blade sinking into the ground.

It was a few seconds more before the killer released him, licking his lips off the blood that stained them. The killer had watched the child the entire time, yet when he finished harming everyone around him, he closed his eyes, turned his back, and started walking away.

Fear was consuming the child. His legs refused to move, but the killer was getting farther and farther away. That man had ruined everything. It was his fault.

Scrapping together courage he didn't really have, he forced his numb legs to move, putting his feet underneath him. He roared, running forward, yanking the kodachi from the ground that was still heavy for his small frame. Yelling was all he could do. If he stayed silent, he wouldn't have the strength to go forward.

But what could a child do that three adults could not? He was slow, his yell gave away any chance of a surprise attack, and he was weak.

The killer just turned, grabbing the blade between his thumb and index finger, stopping the attack before it could follow completely through. The killer was amused by his antics, a small smile carved onto his face. Rather than kill the child, he picked the boy up by his neck.

He squeezed the boy's neck lightly, enough to cause pain but not enough to block his air. With fluid movements, leaned forward, whispering something into the child's ear.

His voice brought chills down the child's spine, and his words extinguished the fire the child had struggled to build. With little strength in his fingers, the killer snapped the blade between his fingers.

The killer released the boy, who fell to the ground on his wounded leg, causing the boy to cry out softly. There was nothing he could do except watch the murderer walk away.

Dispirited and broken, the boy turned his eyes to the man the killer had been feeding on. The man's eyes were glassy, and he did not look to be moving.

A new set of tears flooded the boy's eyes, but it did not stop him from looking around. There was a piece of splintered wood from a shattered tree nearby.

He picked up the piece of wood, staring at it in his hand with a numbness he could not explain. He didn't have the strength.

His eyes shining gold, his body moved on its own, forcing his battered and beaten body to go to the man's side. Raising the piece of wood over his head, his hands steady as if they were not his own, he brought the sharp piece down, piercing the center of the man's chest.

Naruto shot up in his bed, his clothes drenched in sweat. It was pitch black. Why was it so dark?

Though he was panting it felt like he wasn't breathing at all. His eyes and limbs searched frantically though he didn't know what he was looking for. God, why was it so dark and why was something wrapped around his legs.

His arms flung widely until someone caught them, forcing them down to Naruto's side. Naruto's frantic mind did not register that the light had come on and someone was sitting on the bed next to him, keeping him from flailing and telling him, in a soothing voice, to breathe.

Naruto's eyes locked onto Uchiha's, grabbing onto the lifeboat that presented itself. Slowly, Naruto's breathing came under control, his shivering stopped, and the panic subsided into fatigue. A bit disoriented, he recalled that he was no longer in Jiraiya's house, but Uchiha's. Glancing at the clock, Naruto realized it was only 3:30 in the morning.

When it was clear that Naruto had regained control, Uchiha released his arms. He wore no shirt, only a pair of black silk pajama pants. He folded his arms, leaning back with that annoying condescending attitude Naruto was getting used to. "Are you always so loud at night? Some of us are trying to sleep."

"Shove it, asshole." Naruto's response was weak, lacking the energy. His mind was still racing, trying to reorient itself. His hand ran through his hair, sleep far from his mind. "I'm fine, so you can go back to sleep."

Uchiha stood, pulling the blankets that had tangled around Naruto's legs free. "Follow me."

Naruto didn't want to follow him. He was tired and still shaken, and Uchiha's attitude wasn't helping either. Common sense and reluctant courtesy won out, and Naruto dragged himself out of bed, cursing at the cold wooden floors that greeted his feet.

The house was dark. The curtains that had been drawn in the day were now closed, blocking any of the outside light, leaving a candle here and there to light the corridor.

Uchiha walked slow enough that even with the short delay between, when he had left and when Naruto got out of bed, Naruto was able to quickly catch up and stayed within Naruto's short-range of sight.

Naruto followed, staying near, close enough to step on Uchiha's heels. The dark still unsettled him. He didn't want to admit it, but the lingering fear won out over his pride. He thought Uchiha would laugh at him or taunt him for his behavior, no different from a frightened child, yet the vampire hadn't turned around or offered another cruel taunt as he had done earlier.

Down the stairs and towards the back of the house, a light illuminated the end of the hall from the kitchen.

Naruto had seen the kitchen during his tour with Tobi the day before. In truth, by the time they had reached this room, Naruto had zoned out and paid little attention. After all, a kitchen was a kitchen. Well he was partially right. He had never seen a double oven and the 6-range stove was something he had only seen in movies. It was a full-size kitchen with anything a chef could ask for. Strange considering neither of the mansion's occupants ate traditional food.

In the attached sunroom, there was a round table that seated four. "Sit."

Still compliant, Naruto took a seat. "What'd you bring me down here for?"

Uchiha didn't sit with him, instead fiddling with something on a counter. There was the soft clinking of dishes as well as the sound of pouring and stirring. After a minute or two, he brought a steaming cup and placed it in front of Naruto. "Drink."

Eying the cup with suspicion, he asked, "what is it?"

"Green tea. Do your eyes not work?"

Scowling, Naruto picked up the cup, taking a whiff. It did smell like green tea, but there was something off. As to not burn his tongue, he carefully took a small sip.

The moment it touched his tongue he immediately spitted it back into the cup. It was way too strong. Not only that but there was too much sugar that turned it gritty and, if Naruto wasn't mistaken, honey in it too. "Ugh! Are you trying to poison me!"

Uchiha rested his cheek on his fist while his other hand grabbed the cup from him. Without hesitation, he took a sip, his face not changing when he swallowed. Placing the cup down, he stared at the liquid. "Is it that bad?"

At first, Naruto thought he was being sarcastic, but the look of pure curiosity squashed that assumption. "Can't you taste it?"

Uchiha stared at the cup. "No. I can't." Uchiha moved to get up, presumably to throw out the cup. Naruto reached out, snatching the cup back. Tea sloshed onto the table.

"I thought you hated it."

"Well you took the time to make it," Naruto murmured under his breath and looking away. He sounded so reluctant as if Uchiha was forcing him to drink it.

"If you're going to be like that. Just throw it out. It's just tea." Uchiha reached for the cup, but Naruto pulled it back yet again.

"If I say I'm going to drink it, I'm going to drink it, bastard." To prove his point, he took two big gulps of the tea, forcing his gag reflex into submission through sheer will power.

A soft chuckle came from Uchiha, sitting back down across from him. "And here I thought you couldn't get any more stupid."

Silence fell over them. Naruto didn't drink from the cup again, but the warmth from the cup brought comfort, soothing his frayed nerves.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Naruto didn't have to ask what "it" was. With a bitter smile, he slouched in his chair. "I wouldn't be able to tell you. I can't remember it after waking up. Never do. Besides, you probably wouldn't want to listen about it anyway."

"You right. I wouldn't," Uchiha smirked. "Because it was probably about me anyway."

Naruto laughed. "Wow. You really are a vain bastard."

"Takes one to know one."

"Really? That's the best you got?"

"I wouldn't want to overheat your simple brain. After all, monkeys should be treated well too."

Naruto laughed. He truly laughed from the deepest part of his stomach. It wasn't that funny. He knew that. Really, it was an insult, and laughing like a madman probably only confirmed the comment, but Naruto didn't care.

When he was younger, he would wake up like that almost every night. He was terrified to even go to sleep at night. As he aged, it happened less and less until it was almost nonexistent. He never remembered, but the feelings during the dream had always lingered.

For the first time, he was able to laugh. Uchiha hadn't acted cautiously with him. He didn't pry or act like he was going to break. He didn't cling or try to distance himself from Naruto either. He treated him like usual with the only special treatment being a cup of tea and his nearby presence.

His laughter died, and he took another sip of tea, forgetting its bad taste until it was too late. Unprepared, he spat it out again, watching Uchiha's eyebrow go up condescendingly. Chuckling this time, he put the cup down. "This really is terrible."

Uchiha moved to take the cup back again, and again, Naruto moved it out of his reach, taking another sip.

"Idiot."

"Bastard," Naruto replied.

The discomfort and terror from the nightmare became a side note rather than occupying his every thought and action. Even as the conversation and lazily thrown insults continued until the sun began to rise, Naruto felt that for once, he was in control. The dreams did not and would no longer control him.

"Alright, everyone! Last announcements before you go onto your lunch break," the Japanese literature teacher, Umino, Iruka, announced over the sounds of the restless students.

"Midterms is in two weeks. Makes sure you study for the upcoming exams. Secondly, the national exam is quickly approaching as well as the college exams. This is a critical time for you. Make sure you focus on studying as much as you can but take good care of yourself as well. If you have worries and concerns about your future, please come to the faculty room. Uzumaki-kun, come see me. Everyone else dismissed."

"Hey, man. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing," Kiba whispered, already taking out his bento box from his desk.

"Thanks for the concern," Naruto murmured, noting the beautiful lunch Kiba always got to eat. His sister was an amazing cook. Naruto was a tad bit jealous that Kiba was able to get such artful and delicious lunches every day. Jiraiya could barely boil water.

His stomach growled as he stood, unhappy with the lack of breakfast he had that morning. Tobi had yet to go shopping for food, too busy altering the clothes for him.

With a slow and reluctant walk, Naruto went to see his teacher.

It was all a show. Inside, giddiness filled Naruto to the point he could barely contain his excitement. He loved talking to Iruka, and he loved his lessons even more. As Naruto approached, Iruka gave him a smile, something no other teacher in the school did. Iruka was kind and thoughtful. He had even stood up for Naruto on more than one occasion.

Iruka was on the shorter side and a relatively new teacher, gaining his official teaching license two years ago. Even with his young age, he was one of the stricter teachers and most unforgiving for nonsense, but he took the time to analyze a person's strengths and weaknesses, so he could help them. More often than not, Naruto wished he was their homeroom teacher rather than Hatake.

"Uzumaki-kun, I'm more than happy to return your writing assignment to you personally." Iruka handed Naruto a stack of papers, much thicker than any of Naruto's classmates. "Full marks as always."

Naruto lips twitched into the beginnings of a smile but worked hard to keep it from showing. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

"You should be proud of yourself. I always look forward to your assignments. You have proven to have a mastery over the written word. I wish you would submit something in the national young author's competition. It's not too late."

"You praise me too much, Iruka-sensei. This is just something I like to do when I'm bored."

Iruka frowned. "Uzumaki-kun, if you put in a bit more effort into your studies as you do for Japanese and English, you could have been in the top ranks of your class."

"No offense, Sensei, but even if I put in the effort, it wouldn't matter. Just say my name and everyone goes running," he joked.

Iruka's eyes saddened at his words.

He really was a good man, Naruto thought. Feeling guilty for putting that expression on the man's face, he smiled and said lightheartedly, "Don't worry about it too much, Sensei. If you want, I'll keep writing for you, even after I graduate."

With a fond smile, Iruka shook his head. "Go eat lunch, Uzumaki-kun. I'll see you tomorrow."

Clutching the report, Naruto returned to his desk, stuffing it inside.

"Another bad grade?" Kiba asked, using his chopsticks to point at his desk, rocking back and forth on his chair's hind legs.

"Nothing new," Naruto shrugged. "What'd you get?"

"51. Just above failing as always." Kiba's eyes flitted to Uchiha's direction. "Speaking of which. There's something I want to talk to you about."

The next thing, Kiba knew, the legs of the chair were swept out from under him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the desk behind him. Giggles filled the classroom as the young man, clutched his head in pain. "Dammit, Gaara!"

"Perhaps it will make you learn to sit properly," he said, but Gaara's eyes weren't fixated on Kiba, but at Hyuuga leaving the room. Without a word, Gaara left his desk, following after him.

Frowning, Naruto was ready to go follow them when his girlfriend blocked his view. "Uzumaki-san."

What bad timing. "Um, Sakura-chan, can we talk later?" Without trying to seem rude, he tried to look around her, but she persistently blocked his view.

"Uzumaki, are you trying to avoid me? You've been acting weird lately," she crossed her arms in a way that reminded him of his godmother. "I've been worried."

"Look, this is a really bad time, how about after club activities? We can sit down and talk?"

She didn't seem to want to accept that either, but Naruto gently pushed her out of the way, so he could go after Gaara. He didn't know why Gaara was following Hyuuga, but there was no way it could be good news. Gaara could be insanely protective of him, and with Hyuuga being the number one offender, he wouldn't be surprised if Gaara finally snapped.

With it being the lunch hour, there were several students wandering the hallways, complicating his search. All he did know was that it would have to be in a relatively quiet place, narrowing down where they could be.

He searched for nearly the entire period when he found Gaara in the third floor of the East Building. The floor was deserted, lined with clubrooms that would be busy later that day.

Gaara was sitting on the ground with a far off look in his eyes. Looking closer, Naruto noticed that Gaara skin had lost its color, the bags under his eyes were dark and grey, and he lacked energy altogether, his entire body drooping. He looked exhausted.

How had he not noticed this drastic and alarming change in his friend?

Unable to find words, he sat down beside him, unable to figure out what had transpired while he had been searching for him. Gaara didn't look roughed up. Just depressed. Maybe he hadn't been following Hyuuga after all.

Though Gaara never said it aloud, Naruto assumed Gaara had a much harder life than he did. There was no obvious evidence of this. As long as he had been Gaara's friend, there had been a closeness that Naruto couldn't explain, but also a distance as if Gaara was always hiding something from him.

Over the years, Gaara's health and mental stability fluctuated, and it was difficult for Gaara to deal with, but because he refused to talk about it, Naruto could do nothing but be there to support him and make his life a bit easier when he could.

"How about we ditch class and go to that café by the ferry? I heard they have a new desert," Naruto offered. "I'll pay."

Gaara had an insatiable sweet tooth and never said no to desserts, but he declined, shaking his head listlessly. With weak movements, Gaara stood, walking away.

Gaara didn't go back to class for the rest of the day; Naruto couldn't blame him.

Still, after the final class bell rang, while his fellow classmates stayed after for activities or prepared to go to cram school, Naruto took the bus to the other side of the island.

The bakery/café that Naruto had talked about was nearby Gaara's home, so he spent the hour to get there and ordered a cake for his friend. One with lots of strawberries. They would deliver it as soon as it was ready.

It cost him quite a bit of his limited allowance, but he hoped it would make Gaara feel just a little bit better.

Uchiha wasn't happy that he went off on his own.

A message was waiting for him when he got back, saying that due to skipping out on his payment, he owed double. With a cringe, Naruto went up to his bedroom, intending to avoid Uchiha and that collection of payment as long as he could.

The discomfort of being given such a large personal space still pestered Naruto─ if not as much as the previous day had. However, he was a bit giddy at his first computer. With childlike eagerness, he was ready to play around with it. Jiraiya owned the only computer in his household, and Jiraiya protected that better than any dirty magazine.

Throwing his school bag onto the bed, he sat down and started up the computer. There were a lot of things he wanted to try out. Websites that had been recommended, games that Kiba told him to buy, porn sites… well honestly, he wasn't that interested in the last one. With Jiraiya's work, Naruto lost interest in the thought before he reached puberty.

He pulled up the home webpage when the headline news banner caught his eye. Seeing the name involved, he hurriedly clicked on the link, hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Small Town Cop Found Dead

Early this morning, a runner went for his daily exercise only to come across a strange sight. Crows had gathered to eat what appeared to be roadkill in the middle of the forest. Upon closer inspection, however, it turned out not to be roadkill, but a dismembered body.

The police on the scene uncovered the identity of the victim within minutes. A badge and ID were found on the victim. The victim's name, Sarutobi, Asuma, a police officer from the small island of Konoha off the mainland of Kyushu.

Sarutobi was head police chief and beloved by many of his coworkers. He had been missing for the past three days and officers had launched an investigation yesterday about his disappearance. They were startled to discover their boss had met with such a terrible fate.

Sarutobi had been working on the case of another murder, an unidentified victim who had died a few days prior to his death. Investigators believe he was closing in on the suspect when the suspect managed to catch Officer Sarutobi unaware.

The suspect's name Sarutobi had been investigating is Orochimaru. Orochimaru yogisha was charged with child kidnappings and illegal experimentations nearly 12 years ago. Before his trial, however, the prison that held him caught on fire, destroying over half the cell block. It was recorded that Yashiro yogisha died in that fire before they could evacuate him. A body was never found.

Naruto couldn't read anymore. His eyes just glazed over the rest of the article. Asuma was dead. That oji-san was really dead. His hand twitched, crushing the mouse in the palm of his hand.