Naruto stared. The man in the mirror stared back.
He won't leave.
He does not blink and where his left eye should be is empty and that surprisingly is not the most unnerving part.
He. Won't. Stop. Smiling.
His smile was wide, showing all teeth and pushing up his eyes making them look smaller. Naruto tried not to shiver. He did not want him to notice. Is that what he come across when he smiled? Is that why the villagers despised him?
Naruto fears if he moves that the empty eye socket and smile will follow him into his dreams. He had nightmares before, and they are not so bad when it was morning and there was sunlight to peak into the windows. Almost like a way to ward off the lingering fear.
But the man never took his eye off him and of course never stopped smiling. Naruto knew that he was not real, but the cold he felt and dark shadows of the room felt agonizing to him.
He is not real. He is not real. Is not real. Not real.
Then why couldn't Naruto move?
But as he kept looking on with some trepidation, he thought that the man in the mirror moved just slightly. Closer than before.
Not real. Not real. Not real.
Naruto shut his eyes tightly as that was the only thing his body allowed him to do. When he opened them there was no longer a man in the mirror. No bloody eye socket and creepy smile.
But of course, all one must do is turn around and suddenly it is real.
A piercing scream broke into the night.
He ended up falling asleep and woke up around 3am feeling more tired than he ever had in his life. He was only 7, but still.
He realized he feel asleep on the floor by his bathroom door. That is where the wall mirror was. Naruto darted his eyes away from the décor and quickly ran to his bed behind him and grabbed his sheet. He covers the mirror hoping and praying to kami or anything that the thing...will not appear again.
Naruto then sits on his slightly too small bed and stares out the window. Anything else is better than the possibility of seeing that nightmare again.
He could not wait until morning so he could go to the academy.
He never did fall asleep. Just continuingly stared out the window waiting patiently for the time to tick by.
Naruto knew he was different, and that people feared and hated him. Even the kind old Hokage who Introduced him to his apartment looked at him strangely from time to time.
He asked the old man about it, but of course he received no answer. Not that he expected one. He was different and now cursed or worse; haunted.
Naruto as much as he did not want to think about it, his thoughts did turn back to the thing from last night. It had screamed at him a horrible nasty sound that rattled his ears. It once smiling face turned into a horrific showcasing. Its mouth had blood covered inside and a lose bit of tongue that wiggled like a large bloody worm.
Was this punishment for being different?
Naruto had screamed and from that passed out at once due to his bout of panic. Now he was alone. (or so he hoped.)
It was around 6:30 when Naruto started to get changed. He still avoided his mirror and made a point to cover the one in the bathroom as well. (Just in case) he looks pathetic what with his dark eyes and shabby hair. Maybe the villagers on his way to the academy would be more merciful with their glares.
He made his way out of the apartment and locked his door. He never realized how heavy the air felt in his home until he came outside. Suddenly it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest.
He started on his way slowly as he was exhausted. He did not even notice the villager's glares and some even worried glances. Nor did he notice the other newer additions to the village.
He plopped himself into a seat in the back. There was a lot of commotion in the front so maybe if he is quiet people will ignore him today. He was so tired. Putting his head into his arms he started to close his eyes.
"Uzumaki-san?
He must have dozed off a little. He opened his eyes to see his irritated teachers face.
"If you could keep your attention on me for the duration of class that would be appreciated." Shizura-sensei had an out of place sneer on her elegant features.
"Ah-sorry." He mumbled. He must have looked as bad as he thought since she never called out to him again for laying back down.
Oddly, he felt like someone was staring at him.
He felt cold.
When the academy finally let out, he did not immediately go home. Why would he? There was nobody to greet him or prepared a fresh cook meal. Or he thought in the back of his mind he thought he would not be alone if he went home.
So, he walked into the road that ran through the village. There was this store he liked to window shop at that sold flowers. He of course never went in, as he did not think he would be allowed.
As he walked, he started to hear whispers.
"That boy...your fault...go away."
He has heard these all before and tried to ignore them. The kept his face up stared straight ahead.
"My family...why...kill yourself."
His footsteps faltered and suddenly he did not feel like looking at the flowers anymore. So, he ran to the only place where he felt safe.
He sat upon the at the top of the Hokage monument knees brought up to the chest looking over the village he lived in. Why did the people hate him? What has he done?
There are a lot of things Naruto does not know and things he does. He understands how to read, write, cook, garden, and run. What he doesn't understand is why he is treated differently than others. Did he really kill the villager's family? They seem to think so.
He ended up staying up at the monument until the sun had started to wane and his stomach made demanding noises at him.
He finally went home. By the time he reached his door it was dark, and he felt so cold. He just wanted to skip dinner and crawl into bed and sleep.
Opening the door, he suddenly remembered why he was avoiding going home. He stepped inside and felt a sense of foreboding. It felt as if he was being watched; carefully and gleefully. Hesitatingly he closed the door and locked it.
The lights were still off, and he did not want to turn them on. Afraid he might see just what was watching him. Afraid it would be the man from last night. So, he slowly walked to his bed not even bothering to remove his shoes and climbed in.
It was quiet and he was cold.
He did not sleep well.