Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Warning: There is mild violence in this chapter, and slight impications of suicide.
Chapter 4 recap:
"And here I thought that you were the damsel in distress, what with moving here for your 'personal reasons'. Since when did we switch rolls?" Naruto said to himself. At least he thought he did. By the fact that her face got even redder, he was willing to bet that he said that part out loud. He was still searching his brain for her name when his eyelids began to feel heavy and the call of sleep was seducing him into submission. Just before he fell prey to the mistress of slumber, her name ran through his head.
"Hinata."
He remembered, as the darkness of a passing out embraced him.Behind this mask
A Stroll Down Memory Lane
Naruto could feel something in the pit of his stomach. With his eyes shut tight he could feel as though he were floating above an ocean. The feeling of waves crashing against his body caused him to open his eyes to reveal even more darkness then when his eyes were closed. This darkness did not frighten him, but stood more as a comfort. The feeling in his stomach, he began to realize, was nostalgia. He didn't understand how he could feel de ja vu in such a place. All of his questions were answered though when he saw a bright light out of the corner of his eye. He reached for the light. He so desperately wanted to leave this place. It caused him to feel emotions that he had long since locked away. To have all of his work have been for not would be horrible. The bright light seemed to be getting closer as two silhouettes were being formed it's the bright flash. He looked on as one of the forms came into clear view. His eyes slightly widened as he realized the person was a younger version of himself.
"W-what the? How can-" He began, but was cut off at the noise of his second self.
"F-father. You can't do this! What if you-you…" His younger self let implications finish the sentence as he began to cry into his hands.
The man above him was obviously his father that was simple enough to conclude. As much as he tried though, he could not see his face. It was draped in a constant shadow, hidden from his vision. He realized that he must be dreaming at the moment. His memory of his father and mother's faces was deteriorating day by day. A dream could not dish out what the subconscious did not have.
"Naruto, you have no need to worry about myself, I will make sure that everything works out in the end. Naruto, I WILL take him down. Remember Naruto, if something is to happen to me, I want you to remain strong. Hold me in your memory, and never let it fade. Your strength and achievements will keep me alive." He finished as he placed his hand on the top of the younger Naruto's head. They both faded back into blackness and Naruto was left with just himself and his thoughts.
Although he could not fully remember either of his parent's faces', he does vaguely remember why his father was leaving that night. His father currently held a high status in the police department. He acted as both head of forensic analysis and as chief detective, and of police. His hard work and dedication to the police force was being humiliated by Keiji Uchiha, the man currently holding the similar yet undeserved position that his father once had. But before his vindictive ways dominated his actions Keiji was a young deputy. He was trust worthy and kind from the very moment that Naruto met him. Somewhere along the lines, after he got into the power as Chief of Police, he began to fall into the corruption of the same people he swore to protect his village from. To the highest of his understanding at the age of ten, Naruto could grasp the importance of his father's role in society. As he remembered, his father was currently investigating a very dangerous man within the Police force. With his years of forensic and detective experience he was able to find out the man's plans.
Keiji was one of the people helping in the investigation of the person, and together they made a plan to capture him. For some reason Naruto could not remember the man under suspicion, but he felt more nervous about the man standing beside his father, planning a way to capture the officer in question. He tried to remember back on that stormy night, just what had happened.
Cold. Pain. "Don't you touch him!"
He remembered that he stood in the living room with his father's back facing him, arms extended in an effort to cover his only son. It was as though time stood still. He could see his father talking to the man that was holding him at gunpoint, but that was all he could do. He could only see his father's muted speech as he exchanged words with the two men standing across from him. All he could hear was the pouring rain outside, and the occasional bolt of lighting that would brighten up the dark room. Every time that he tried to look upon the faces of the other men, shadows' were formed over their faces. It seemed that his mind was willing to over look logic because of his little memory block.
"One." Naruto chanted to himself as a crackle of lightning boomed outside, shaking a window in its frame. There was a long pause before he spoke again, never letting his gaze leave the people that were speaking in front of him.
"Two." He said as another loud crash of lightning rang in all of its glory outside. Another long pause as he watched his father pivot slightly when the fourth person in the form of his mother began to speak. He saw his father shaking his head furiously as he grabbed his wife in a tight embrace. They both faced him, their faces still holding their constant shadow as they leaned next to him and whispered something. His ears still remained muted as he tried to remember what they had said.
"And three." Naruto looked on as he felt his eyes begin to sting from the tears that were begging to be released. As the final bolt of lightning resounded, and it's flash of light lit up the room he saw his mother and father dive at the men. They began to fight the men as though their lives depended on it, and what was Naruto doing at the time? Sitting there. He felt completely useless as he watched the scene take motion. The man's finger was still poised on the trigger as a loud and deafening bang rang through the home, putting the lightning to shame. He closed his eyes as if doing such an idiotic thing would make the scene not happen.
He could still remember seeing his father's figure lying on the floor, and one of the men clutching his shoulder. His mother ran toward his fallen father, her scream still audible to his ears. He watched as she was shot in the back, collapsing on top of he husband. That was when Naruto could feel something within himself breaking. The two men slowly stalked toward Naruto and leaned down. They began to whisper something to each other, but the only word that Naruto caught coming from their lips was "…hell…" A word he knew all too well now. They gingerly wiped their prints from the gun and threw it at Naruto before they ran outside leaving the gruesome scene behind. He looked at his parent's still bodies, and grabbed at the gun on the floor. He was young, but not so young as to not understand what had taken place. His father had been killed doing what was best for his people, for being good. In most stories, the hero always wins, but in this case the hero lost. He saw his father as a super being, unable to die, but right in front of his eyes God was contradicting his very belief. He looked at the gun in his hands. Would ending his life stop this horrible feeling of betrayal? He was crying with no shame now. His breath was coming out in gasps and hiccups as the shock began taking its' toll. How badly he just wanted end it, but something had stopped him that night. His father's words went through his head.
"Remember Naruto, if something is to happen to me, I want you to remain strong. Hold me in your memory, and never let it fade. Your strength and achievements will keep me alive." His father had lied. He was dead now, but Naruto wouldn't let it end for himself either. With shaking hands his placed the gun down, only to be startled by a high-pitched scream. A neighbor had evidently walked into his home with suspicions about the ruckus that was being made. The rest had happened quickly as everybody began to believe without hesitation that Naruto was the one that had gunned down their hero, the chief of police. The gun in his hand didn't save him from incrimination either. At his protest of the accusation, the villagers began to beat him. Calling him names and saying that he was a murderer.
He was not allowed to attend the funeral of his parents and was left to mourn their deaths' alone. Try as he might, the village did not believe him when he tried to tell them what had really happened. Since he was only ten years old he was not tried in court, but instead a man had spoken on his behalf. Mizuki. He had persuaded the village that it was an accident that Naruto killed his parents. Probably another case of 'gun found by child' death ensured. He also convinced them to leave Naruto under his supervision, that he would care for him. The village had held him in such high regards that they trusted him with Naruto's guardianship. What fools they were. They didn't even realize that they were being manipulated. Naruto didn't know why, per say, Mizuki was willing to help him. He just knew that there were ulterior motives hidden behind this man.
Years after the incident the village still held Naruto fully responsible for the death of their former police chief. Their children quickly picked up the hatred harbored for Naruto, through the parents. They did not clearly understand the meaning of the hatred, but that did not stop their malice. It still ran proudly through the blood of their children, as if hating Naruto were a genetic inheritance.
He had gone through the simulation of his memory a dozen times in his head, each outcome being the exact same. Each experiance being the exact same. He was never able to hear the voices of the people in his dream, excluding screams, just as he was unable to see their faces.
He was shaken from his memory when he felt a sharp pain in his ribs and cold water on his forehead.
"Huh? What is thi-" before he could finish it happened again. The coldness of water rushing over his head and a heavy pressure on his ribs. He began to shake his head to rid himself of the pain. He let out a grunt of pain as memories of the long six years living with Mizuki came to mind. He must be at home then. Mizuki must be kicking his limp form on the outside of this seemingly endless dream. Naruto was no diagnostician, but there was one symptom that was left unexplained: the water. Don't tell Mizuki was…Naruto didn't even want to think about it.
"Stop it." Naruto whispered. Where had his voice gone? He could feel his whisper echo into the darkness as though he was on top of a mountain. The pain in his ribs seemed to have gotten worse as more pressure was applied.
"Please stop, it hurts Mizu-" He was stopped mid sentence.
"Ki." Naruto gasped out the last part, making it not understandable to the people he saw at his feet. He shot up and gasped as his ribs hurt again. He knocked someone's hands from his torso but was more concerned with where he was at the moment. So much white. "Who? Where? What?" Why is it so white?! Naruto started several different questions but was unable to complete either before the next question would come to mind.
"Relax Uzumaki-San." Came a familiar voice. Naruto looked at the man to realize that it was Iruka-sensei standing beside him. There were two different people standing near him. One was Hinata; the other was Nurse Tsunade. Why was he here again? That was right. That little fight with Kiba had caused his wounds to reopen. Wait.
Had he said anything in his sleep? He looked around to see the reactions of each person. He saw more sympathy then suspicion in their eyes.
"You were talking in your sleep Uzuma-" Iruka started but was cut off by Naruto.
"What did I say?" He hastily turned toward his sensei, fear in his eyes.
"You just told us that it hurt when Nurse Tsunade began to check where you were hurt." He raised his hands defensively.
"Oh. Alright." Naruto was relieved that he had not announced the relationship between Mizuki and himself. He did notice that Nurse Tsunade was staring at him so hard that it would give Dennis Raider the chills. (1). He glanced at Hinata, the girl who had caught him before he passed out. She had been oddly quiet throughout this whole ordeal. She blushed when she saw him looking at her as she spoke for the first time.
"I-I'm glad that you are alright Naruto-kun. I was really worried when you collapsed, thankfully sensei was there to carry you here." She finished and tapped her fingertips together just as she had when he first saw her. There was an awkward silence in the room as the teachers speculated the relationship between Naruto and this girl.
"I would like to talk with Uzumaki alone now, if you don't mind." Tsunade broke the silence in the room. Hinata and Iruka both got up to leave, exchanging glances with Naruto who appeared to remain indifferent. After they left Tsunade spun around and faced Naruto with a very serious look on her face.
"Cut the crap, who did this to you?" She questioned with a tone of authority. She may be slightly on the old side, in Naruto's opinion, but she was a force to be reckoned with.
"Did you not see the fight? I thought that it was pretty obvious." Naruto deadpanned.
"From what I can see, that wound on your head is from an earlier incident. And I don't believe that one little fall is able to break three ribs." She stated matter-of-factly.
'Broken? I just thought that they were bruised.' Naruto thought to himself all the while remaining stoic on the outside.
"I get a lot of crap from the other students, I get into a lot of fights, and I get beaten up a lot." Naruto offered. It made perfect sense; it was a very logical reason for the broken ribs. Naruto was just glad that she hadn't needed to lift his shirt to figure out that his ribs were broken.
"Hn." Was her response as she let Naruto win this round. It was rather simple to think of an excuse on the spot. On the chance that Mizuki had cut his face or there was a visible injury that Iruka-sensei or Kakashi-sensei would question he always had an excuse in his arsenal just waiting to be used.
"Well, with that settled, may I leave now?" Naruto inquired, he just wanted to get out of here. The longer he left Mizuki waiting, the more trouble he was going to be in. Since he had no idea how long he had been out, it would be better for him to just leave now and get 'home', a term he used rather loosely, before Mizuki would be in the mood to finish Naruto off. When Tsunade gave her nod of approval he lifted himself off of the bed, making sure not to stumble as he began to walk toward the door.
"Oh, and Naruto," She began as Naruto turned to look at her. ", Next time that you feel the need to steal my supplies try to make sure that you don't end up returning to the scene of the crime. At least not within the same day." She chuckled as she saw his jaw tighten.
'You may leave now. I believe that you had somewhere important to be, and I wouldn't want to be held responsible for keeping you." She finished and loosely waved him back toward the door, watching his retreating back with mild interest.
As Naruto closed the door he grabbed his side in pain. It still hurt to breathe.
"Let's just hope that I don't get caught again." Naruto muttered to himself as a final attempt at dark humor. He was completely unaware of Iruka's presence around the opposite corner.
"Naruto Uzumaki, what are you hiding?" he questioned as he watched Naruto disappear around the corner and away from his vision.
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I'm not sure why but I don't really like this chapter. There was a lot of jumping around, so if you are confused just ask and I will try to clear things up. For most of the chapter Naruto was in a dream. He was having flashbacks about how his life came to be the way it is. R&R.
(1) Dennis Raider is the infamous BTK serial murderer. He went years without being captured. His M.O. was Bound, Torture, and Kill. The first letter in his M.O. create the acronym BTK. When the police captured him they weren't so much suprised by the fact that he was a normal man, had a family and was an avid church-goer. They were more frightened that after his caprute when asked to reccap his murders he did so without any remorse or sadness as if what he had done and the lives that he ruined meant nothing.
