Guilty Conscience

It was dark.

Extremely dark. There was nothing to be seen, nothing to be heard. Just an eerie silence that coated the entire space. Naruto had already forgotten why he was so desperately trying to cling onto his consciousness before arriving. In a twisted way, he felt at peace with the darkness and silence. He had no concern for the harsh reality that laid dormant, waiting for his inevitable return. So, he would bathe in the emptiness of this realm, enjoying every second of blissful sleep he had craved for so long.

That was until the screams started.

Loud, sharp, dreadful screams overpowered the once peaceful space. Naruto could feel his heart in his throat as the absolutely awful sounds continued to echo through his ears. He had finally remembered why he was so against succumbing to sleep. The terrified screams continued ringing throughout the large void. The blonde attempted to follow the cries, as he did before. But the boy just couldn't find where the sound was coming from. He looked all around, but still, it was just as empty as before.

Panic had set itself firmly in the pits of Naruto's stomach, watching patiently as the events unfolded. Growing bigger and bigger in the process. The screeching got louder and louder as Naruto went deeper into the void. He needed to find a way to put a stop to the shadow. It seemed to be somehow in control of this endless space. Only allowing Naruto to see what it wanted him to see. The feeling of uneasiness gripped Naruto like a vice. There was another victim who was being brutally murdered by the shadow, and he couldn't do anything but listen as the voice cried out for dear life. Naruto trudged deeper into the void, desperate to help the pleading person. There, in the distance he could make out two figures. He grew closer to the figures, taking in the scene in front of him.

It was worse than cruel.

A familiar lanky boy with dark hair laid sprawled across the floor. Frantically, his limbs flailed around in an attempt to defend himself from the menacing creature that stood above him. The green eyed teen wailed and shouted for help, his pleas falling upon deaf ears.

"Please someone!! Help me!!" The boy screeched hysterically. He clung to his head, positioning himself in the fetal position. The shadow showed no mercy and continued attacking the boy just barely older than Naruto. The figure grabs the teen's right arm and completely tears it out of socket. A nauseating wail escaping the dark haired boy's mouth. Naruto cringed at the sound. He tried to move himself forward to assist the boy, but his body refused to move.

He remained glued to his position, completely useless like he always was. Stuck, watching a crying child get brutally beaten. The monster had now managed to successfully tear his entire arm off of its previous attachments; only leaving a small layer of skin. The teen sobbed heavily as the shadow continued to torture the underserving child. Naruto took several deep breaths before speaking.

"L-let him go! He didn't do anything!!" The Uzumaki shouted loudly at the shadow. Hoping it would, at the bare minimum, delay the boy's undeniable death. The shadow paid no mind to the yelling and continued his horrific behavior.

"Stop!! He doesn't deserve this!!" Naruto continued with his useless shouting. The dark figure suddenly reveals a kunai in its left hand. Deep unnerving chuckles filled the tense air as the kunai was shoved into the teens abdomen. It only took a second for blood to splatter across the void, painting the dark abyss with a chilling crimson. Instead of continuing to shout for help, the teen's mouth involuntarily vomited blood. Naruto swallowed a sob and continued to scream at the shadow, his voice breaking.

"W-why are you doing this?!?!" No answer, just more heartbreaking sobs coming from the dying child. The black figure's attacks grew more and more brutal as Naruto's pleas went on. The creature was digging its sharp nails into the depths of the teens wounds. But the monster didn't stop there, it continued to stab the boy multiple times in the torso, crushing his rib cage with the sheer amount of force.

Now, the only sound coming from the green eyed boy was low gurgling sounds as he choked on blood. His lungs failed to deliver oxygen, causing the boy to fall limp, simply from the lack of working bodily functions. The figure hovered above the unconscious, dying, child. A wicked, sinister grin on its dark face. Terror tormented Naruto. Eyes glued to the creature in front of him. It's just as Tsunade said, this thing couldn't be human. Hundreds of thoughts and questions plagued his tattered mind but one stood more promenade than the others. He swallowed the lump in his throat and forced the words out of his mouth.

"W-who are you?" An uncanny moment of silence.

"I'm your akuma."

…

Three familiar words rang through his ears as the horrified blonde violently shot up from his place on the floor. In an instant, he was in the bathroom, throwing up everything he had left in his stomach. The thick fluid only reminding him more of the recent events. Hot, fat tears streamed down his pale skin.

"Another person is dead." He whispered, letting the weight of his words sink in. Another soul was gone. That person would never experience happiness, joy, emotion or any feeling ever again. And it was all Naruto's fault. God, if only he had just stayed awake. Sobs took over his body once again. Naruto was the reason that man and the boy were dead.

No. He wasn't the reason. It was the shadow, not him. Naruto was just a victim in the shadows' big scheme of things. Why should he feel guilty? He didn't kill them, he just observed it. He tried his best to help, and he couldn't. So, blame couldn't be placed on him. He was innocent. There was no blood on his hands.

A light sequence of knocks filled his null apartment. The broken blonde whined as he wiped his filthy mouth, riding it of the vile tasting acid. Quickly, he dragged his hands along his face, removing the many tears that decorated his whiskerd face. After many deep breaths he staggered over to the door, where Kakashi stood waiting patiently for the blonde. Kakashi didn't exactly know what to expect, but it definitely wasn't this. A walking corpse stood smiling in the doorway. In an unnerving way, his smile chilled the white haired ninja. His once bright student was practically already six feet under the ground.

"Mm what're waking me up so early for?" The corpse questioned smiling, rubbing his already red and raw eyes. The Hatake felt a pang of guilt creep up on his heart. He felt responsible for his students and their well-being. He, along with everyone else, had felt Naruto drifting away from them weeks ago. However, it was subtle, really subtle. But now, Kakashi fears Naruto's too far gone. He could've done more to help the boy, but his mind told him it would be better to have the blonde overcome his internal battles on his own. Now, he knows he should've listened to his gut.

"Lady Tsunade summoned us, we have another emergency meeting." Kakashi answered the talking ghost. If Kakashi wasn't a trained shinobi he wouldn't have been able to notice the slight change in the genin's face and demeanor after revealing the information. The way Naruto's eyes slightly widened, his shoulders tensing up, his teeth clenching. All of that was telling signs of fear. The jounin couldn't blame him though, this case had to be one of the most brutal cases the genin's have lived through.

"Hmm okay i'll go change, give me a second." He claimed retreating into his space. Kakashi sighed and leaned against the wall. The white haired ninja needed to find what was causing Naruto to look and act like this. Was it some form of depression? Although the jounin is very familiar with the emotion, he didn't expect someone like Naruto to harbor those type of feelings, especially considering his off the walls personality. However, he understands that Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the nine tails and his childhood definitely wasn't cupcakes and rainbows.

But, somehow Naruto always managed to turn it into motivation for accomplishing his dreams. What had changed? Did the world finally get to him? The copy ninja didn't know, but he was sure to bring up mental health checks to Lady Tsunade later today. The rusty door creaked open as the short, now skinny, teen slowly made his way out of his apartment. Reluctance all over his face.

"You all set?" Kakashi questioned. The blonde nodded in agreement and the ninja began their course to the Hokages tower.

Crisp nostalgic air always managed to linger in the early hours. Naruto had always been able to notice the slight differences between the morning and the night. He didn't know exactly why he was gifted with that strange ability but he wasn't ungrateful. The trees whistled as the morning wind blew through the leaves. Although the scenery was peaceful, Naruto couldn't help but notice the eeriness that came with the peace. The only noise being made were trees and the heavy footsteps of Kakashi and himself.

The blonde felt a weight in his chest, a type of pain he couldn't put into words. It had sunk deep into his appendix, twisting his insides around. He hated the feeling and didn't know how to put an end to it. He dug his nails into his palms, surprisingly aiding the growing feeling of iniquity. Apparently, this action didn't go unnoticed.

"Naruto.. I want you to answer me honestly." Kakashi stated abruptly. Naruto unclenched his nearly bloody fist, looking up to the jounin.

"Hm? Yeah.. sure." Naruto responded, confused as to what the ninja wanted to ask him.

"Are you really.. okay?"

Naruto stopped, the words echoing in his ears. The blonde slightly bit his lip, halting the tears that begged to reveal itself. He looked up to his teacher, lifting the corners of his mouth.

"I'm fine Sensei, really, it's just.. I'm just dealing with some.. personal stuff right now." The Uzumaki smiled at his teacher. Kakashi furrowed his brow, not accepting Naruto's unsure answer.

"Naruto, please know that I'm here for you. When you finally feel like opening up, I'm always willing to talk." The copy ninja assured Naruto. The teen nodded his head, grateful for Kakashi's attempts at comfort, but he believes he's too far gone. He's witnessed things that can never be undone. Lives being thrown away, as if they meant nothing in the first place. He was going to stop this shadow and was determined to do it alone. He couldn't risk anyone else getting caught in the mix, this was Naruto's mission and his alone.

The genin swallowed the giant lump forming in his throat as he steeled himself for the upcoming events. Gradually, the big building revealed itself. Sakura and Sasuke could be spotted pacing in front of the tower. Once their eyes met with the two ninjas, they both walked inside the building, not willing to wait any longer. As the group merged they could feel the tense air starting to surround them. As soon as Shizune caught sight of the team, she quickly rushed them straight to Lady Tsunade's office, handing them four folders. The rest of the teams could be seen in the big room holding the files, horrified expressions on their young faces. Naruto's indescribable pain returned to his stomach.

"It seems this victim was only 15." Tsunade solemnly admitted, as team 7 snuck into the room. "This case is growing more and more serious as the days go by. As we see now, the thing committing these atrocious acts have no preference, and will kill anyone, no matter their gender or age. Which is why I am removing you guys from this mission, as it has moved to A rank, and will now be handled by the Jounin and Anbu. Any objections?" The woman concluded.

The group remained silent. Still observing the files in their hands. The graphic images of the poor teen who had obviously put his all into fighting against the thing that showed no mercy. Naruto looked down at his unopened file, not quite ready for his suspicions to be proven right. He glanced around at his comrades, trying to gain the strength to open the folder but their expressions made it difficult. The blonde grit his teeth and opened the beige folder, flipping through the pages. His stomach twisted, even more than when he watched the events unfold in front of his very own eyes. The dark hair and green eyes. It hadn't even occurred to Naruto that the boy who was murdered was the same boy he had seen bullying the younger kid. The identification picture made it crystal clear.

God, why was there another connection? There always had to be some sort of connection huh? Naruto's head throbbed as he closed the file. He focused his energy on steading his breathing, inhaling and exhaling. He had to stay calm. There were more pressing matters to deal with. Their teams would no longer be involved with this case. So that meant he would truly be doing this alone.

"If there are no objections the genin are dismissed, and please don't disclose any information of this mission to the public. I will handle it myself. Jounin please stay, I need you to fill me in on any information you've found." The hokage concluded, sighing deeply.

The younger ninja escorted themselves out of the large room, Naruto trailing behind. He was quite frankly trying to understand what he should do next. He was confused, should he stay awake as long as he could? Should he try to find a way to confront the shadow? Or should he sit quietly at home and do nothing? He was overstimulated with never ending thoughts and questions. The big door shut behind him as his thoughts continued. Naruto was tired of being useless, sitting and watching from the sidelines. He was tired of constantly drowning in self pity, wishing someone would come to his rescue. The blonde was going to be useful, no matter what he had to do. So if hunting the shadow was what he needed to do to prove his worth, so be it.

Just before the young teen could walk away, he slightly made out the sound of his name being mentioned from inside the hokage's room. He stepped back cupping his ear, pressing it to the door. The room seemed to be silent for a couple beats until the conversation started back up again.

"I mean.. he's the jailer of the nine-tails! I have every right to be suspicious! And–and you heard what Lady Tsunade said, the marks on the victim's arm couldn't have been done by a human!" The familiar voice of Ebisu shouted out.

Naruto's face falls. No way. No way they actually think he has some role to play in this. In all actuality, he does, but he definitely wasn't the one committing these horrifying acts. For god's sake he wants to help them. He's probably the only one with enough information to get this case going anywhere. The blonde clenched his teeth as he continued listening.

"Now why would you say something so absurd!" The hokage slammed her hands down on what Naruto could guess was her already very broken desk. After her outburst the room filled with incoherent arguing. Naruto tried harder to listen to the shouts but was cut off by a pink haired kunoichi strutting straight for him, her fists balled.

"Naruto." Sakura seethed, veins popping. "You know what I said I would do the next time I caught you eavesdropping." She finished, cracking her knuckles. Naruto cringed at the memory, he put his hands together and begged Sakukra to forgive him.

"Please Sakura! I'm sorry I won't do it again, please don't hit me!" He pleaded dramatically. Sakura quickly grabbed the blonde by the ear, dragging him down the hall going on a tangent about how disrespectful and unprofessional it was to eavesdrop. Naruto tuned the girl out, focusing on the recent events. He tried to conceal the anger he felt, but it was starting to boil over.

He would definitely remember what he said.