Rude Encounters

As the evening sky changed from a yellow-orange to assortments of purples and reds, the young ninjas began to leave the old run-down ramen shop. The few remaining ninjas had collectively agreed to grab ice cream at a local shop. Naruto, who was still feeling uneasy from earlier, politely declined their offer to join, choosing to go home instead.

After saying his goodbyes. He slowly walked home. He had no desire to return to his apartment as it was just a sad reminder of his unchanging loneliness and lack of family. As he continued down the long streets of the leaf village he took in his surroundings, the tallness of the trees, the sun pouring onto the vacant streets. He could feel the cool breeze hitting his tan skin, crisp air filling his lungs. Walking around the village at sundown brought back past memories of the shops he passes by almost everyday without ever having gone in them. They smelt of spring flowers and antique rust. An odd combination, but one that brought feelings of nostalgia wherever you were.

The blonde continued strutting through the streets. Enjoying his time to himself, that was until waves of people suddenly consumed the once dull, empty, streets. Anxiety ate at his stomach, devouring his insides. Large crowds of people never failed to cause a great deal of stress for Naruto. His senses were overwhelmed, the overstimulation not working well with properly functioning. Gently, he attempted to push through the crowd. While focusing on that, he ceased to notice the tall man standing directly in front of him, bumping straight into him.

"Aye ya stupid kid! Watch where you're goin'." The man in front of him slurred. He was tall with broad shoulders and reeked of alcohol. Naruto ignored the man and continued his route to his apartment. Surprisingly, the man moved himself directly in front of the boy blocking the path, making it clear that he wasn't going to let Naruto go anywhere.

In so long Naruto had finally found the desire to return to his empty apartment. He saw an opening to the left. He moved himself in an attempt to escape. The man moved with him, causing Naruto to bump straight into him for the second time, his face colliding with the man's stomach.

"What do you think you're doin'? Tryna be smart with me brat?" The dark-haired man questioned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Just trying to get home." Naruto reluctantly responded, quite obviously annoyed at the older man's antics.

"No. I gots some—things to say ." The man hiccuped. "My grandaddy was killed in that demon attack and we's all know yous got sum to do with it." Naruto's heart dropped. He already knew what direction this was taking. But he wasn't a defenseless child anymore, he knew how to stand his ground.

"Well I can assure you I have nothing-"

Smack

'Huh?'

Naruto was on the ground. He didn't even see the slap coming. How did he slap him so fast? Everything hurt. He could feel it in his stomach, He was being kicked. The man was kicking him, repeatedly, cursing at him in the process. God how did this happen? What was he doing? Why wasn't he getting up? He thought he was old enough to fend for himself now. It was pathetic, here he was, crying out in pain in the middle of the road.

"You stupid piece of shit." The man spat, walking away swaying in the process.

Naruto slowly lifted his head up to see not only a small group formed around him, but a certain dark-haired ninja watching in the distance. Naruto clenched his fist. That expression, he hated it when it was on his face. He was so infuriated just by looking at Sasuke's face. Pity. Naruto stood up, his legs feeling like jelly from shock. Tears welling up in his eyes. The blonde's guts felt like they were on fire. Why didn't he do anything? He felt so stupid.

He gripped his torso suddenly feeling nauseous. turning his back, he pushed through the crowd hurriedly, making an effort to avoid the stares he was getting. The walk back to his apartment was a nightmare. With every step the ninja took, sharp pains shot through his entire body. It felt like an eternity passed before his small apartment came in view.

As soon as he walked through the doorway, he headed straight for the bathroom. Blue eyes staring at his reflection. His stupid, pathetic reflection. His tan whiskerd cheeks, his blonde hair that constantly spiked upward. He despised it all. Every last part of it. Every part of him .

"Why am I still so weak?!"

He hit the mirror. Hard. As hard as he could. As fast as he could. He couldn't stand to look at his pitiful reflection for another second; broken pieces of the mirror littered the floor, not that he cared much anyway he'd clean it up later.

"Why can't I just be left alone?"

The tears were falling now. He couldn't stop them. He didn't want to. It felt good, To finally let himself cry without a care in the world. He clenched his bloody fists, drawing blood where his nails met his palms.

"Why is it always me?! huh?!?" He was yelling now. Was this how people truly saw him? A weak pathetic waste of space?

"God! What did——what did I ever do to deserve this?!" He choked out. The words getting caught in his throat. He stepped back from the mirror, leaning all his weight on the wall, sinking to the floor. He laid there, sprawled out on the floor staring at his rusty old ceiling. The coldness of the floor brought Naruto a strange comfort he would never admit.

God, he felt so unbelievably drained. Even worse, he felt defeated. The last time an event like this occurred he was six. Six years old. After that, villagers came to realize that Naruto had the power to defend himself, so they stopped. He had gotten older and stronger. He had joined the ninja academy, for god's sake he was a genin now. So why did he just lay there and take that? The blonde boy dropped his bloody hands to the floor in defeat, looking back up at the ceiling.

Why didn't he fight back? Why didn't he do anything? He thought he was prepared. Ready for the day someone raised a hand to him. He thought he could handle it. But when the time came, He froze. like a deer in headlights. Completely useless. He trained so hard. And for what? This? He was so ready to prove to them that he was different and that he had grown. But he failed. And now, he was left feeling completely and utterly useless. A complete failure. He felt no need to exist. He would just continue to lay on the floor and wallow up in his self sorrow.

Eventually Naruto arose from his spot on the floor contradicting his prior statements. He looked in what was left of the mirror, lifting his shirt, eyeing the colorful bruises that now painted the left side of his torso. The blue-eyed boy winced as he twisted to the right. It felt like his ribs were shattered. After a not-so-thorough inspection of his wounds, he decided that the hospital trip wasn't worth it, and settled for a poorly bandaged torso.

He trudged off to his bedroom, grabbing a broom to sweep all of the broken glass into the corner of his bathroom. After returning the broom he took off his orange jumpsuit and slowly got into his bed, cautious not to worsen his injuries any further. The blonde boy closed his eyes, his face stinging from the dried tears. His whole body ached and his head was pounding. The only thing the boy longed for at the moment was a peaceful deep sleep.

…

A blood-curdling scream echoed in his ears.

It was coming from behind him. Or in front of him? He couldn't tell. Naruto jerked his head around trying to discover which direction the noise came from, but was met with total darkness. He continued scanning the area looking for something, anything, but there was nothing. Just an endless void of absolutely nothing.

It had become quiet. There was tension laced in the air but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. It had a strange sense of familiarity to it. Naruto tried to move in an attempt to investigate the unusual place, but he couldn't. It was almost like his feet were glued to the floor. Was there even a floor? He looked down only to see the same darkness as before.

Another scream.

It was definitely coming from behind him now. Panic was beginning to set in. He had to stay calm, panicking in situations like this only causes failures and mistakes. He turned around again, not quite expecting what he saw but it definitely wasn't this.

There was blood. Everywhere .

A man laid in a pool of blood, his legs kicking in an attempt to push the other off him. A shadow-like figure was sitting on top of the man. Naruto's eyes widened in horror as he watched the scene in front of him unfold. His breath sped up, heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't move or speak. He couldn't even look away. He felt hopeless, trapped.

"HeLp-" The man choked out. The shadow punched the other's face.

That man was going to die if Naruto just stood there. He tried to push down the feeling of fear, and just be brave. He had to stay calm. He was done running away. He had defeated Gaara for Christ's sake.

But what could he do?

"STOP!" Naruto screamed.

The shadow stabbed the man's appendix, blood spewing all over. Naruto's pleading didn't get through to the figure in fact, it seemed to encourage it.

Naruto became frantic. "HEY STOP! GET OFF HIM!"

No matter how hard he tried to move, he just couldn't. He was trapped, watching a dying man cry for help. Knowing he couldn't do anything about it. He felt suffocated. Unable to breathe. As if he was the one dying.

The shadow stabbed the man's eye with a knife, dragging it down, mutilating what was left of his face. Screams of horrifying agony filled the empty space. It was truly, a terrifying sight. The scene had already etched itself into Naruto's mind, never to be forgotten.

The shadow wrapped its lanky fingers around the screaming man's neck, holding him in place. The man's face turned purple, mouth wide open, gasping for air. Finally, the man gave in, limbs falling to the ground.

That was it.

The killing blow.

The man's arms lying limp at his sides, he was now unmoving, completely lifeless. The shadow turned its head around. Piercing red eyes staring right back at Naruto.

"NO- he doesnt… he doesn't deserve to die!" Naruto shouted at the shadow.

Screech.

The shadow embedded its nails into the sides of the now dead man's arms, dragging it downward, creating deep gashes on both of his arms. The figure maintained eye contact with Naruto, like it was a threat. It was as if he was looking straight into his soul, sending waves of pure horror down Naruto's spine.

"N-no one deserves to die." Naruto stated shakily

The shadow continued to stare blankly at Naruto, with a certain unwavering gaze. The dark figure didn't even have a mouth, but Naruto could hear it clear as day.

"Then why is she dead?"