Violet, One Two
Standard Disclaimers Apply.
Lila, Einz Zwei
Leaf Two
The Noise
Others were wary of the return of the prodigy, and even as he remained trapped in his slumber, the rest of the shinobi of the Rookie nine had not forgiven the Uchiha so easily.
But of course, if Naruto thought he was okay, then he probably was.
But he hadn't left the training grounds for days, and when he wasn't there, he was in his apartment. The others were worried, and the villagers seemed happier than they'd been in months, lightly calling out their sales and prices, laughing, smiling. So Kiba was the one who was chosen to check on him, to see if the Sun was all right.
"Naruto?" The door to the apartment was already ajar, as if beckoning him to open it, and take in all the secrets it held between in the building walls. Inside, there was no light, just a sliver of shadow peeking through. Some thing was distinctly wrong. Akmaru whimpered.
Stepping cautiously into the apartment, Kiba glanced around. It was rather empty, and almost obsessively neat. As he ran a finger along an abandoned looking table, it came away spotless. Moonlight danced on the carpet, ghostly white and marred by the swaying shadows of the tree outside the small window. Branches, stretching up and up, a prison window on Naruto's floor.
"Nauruto, where are you? Come out." Akamaru was utterly silent. There was no sound in the apartment, except for a faint drip drip drip coming from what was assumed to be the bathroom. Cold sweat ran down Kiba's face. Utter silence seemed to be present, even with the methodic splashing of water droplets.
Drip drip drip drip DOKUN drip drip drip drip DOKUN
And his heart beat faster and faster, and he glanced about in panic, running from room to room in a frenzy. He was not here!
NarutoNarutowhereareyouyoubetterbeokayyouidiotwhathappenedwhereareyouwhereareyouwhatthehellareyoudoingthisisn'tfunnygetoutherenarutonarutonarutowhereareYOU
White and shadow, and the beat of his blood; he could almost hear it bursting through his veins and arteries, swirling about his body like the water that whirpooled into the drain in the bathroom, and he looked and looked, but all he saw was the unnatural cleanliness and stark blankness of the wall, and something was wrong—
"Kiba?"
He emerged from the shadows, voice a whisper of the wind passing through his floor's prison window. And Kiba recognized in distant horror that Naruto had become stark and white, clean like never before in his drab clothing of dark hues, and the sun had paled. Blonde hair ran in his face, leeched of color and brightness. His eyes were as bright as they had been before, but they were bleached in the same way the rest of his apartment was.
"I'm sorry. I lost track of time. Do you want some tea?"
Quiet, something he never was, but was now. Like a child, Kiba realized. Akamaru let out a soft noise, but flinched away as Naruto's hand skimmed the fur on his head. Naruto merely smiled the same smile as always.
Kina shook his head slowly.
"Naruto…."
The prison window flickered, and then held, more resolutely than before. The walls tightened, the room cleaned itself one more time, and the water swirled itself around in the sink, gurgling, flowing, draining….
"Yes?"
Saccharine sweet, a martyr.
"….are you okay?"
Cursed child, blessed child, happy child, murdered child.
A smile.
"Of course."