Home (Naruto): #18 - Alone in a crowd
Title: Home
Author: scarlet_ivy
Rating: T
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: #18 - Alone in a Crowd
Genre/s: Angst
Warnings: mild swearing. angst
Words: 897
Summary: It was cold, inside and out. I want to go home. I don't have a home. Can't someone help me?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, no money being made here. -waves stick madly- Don't come any closer, lawyer-fiend! I have a stick and I'm not afraid to use it!
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Home
This sucks,” I mumbled. It was cold, I was hungry, and my arms felt like lead. The supplies that filled the bags in my hand were almost paid for in their weight in gold. The chilly December air seeped into my bones, and whereas everyone out had a thick coat, mittens, and a scarf at least to keep them warm, all I had was a ratty coat I had gotten at the second-hand store for way more than it was worth. One glance at the sky told me that rain was going to come. The gray, fat clouds threaten to pour rain any moment as I hurried home, weaving through the crowd.
Shopping sucks.
Usually, I waited ‘til the end of the month when I receive my monthly stipend from the old man to buy groceries and the other stuff I needed, but today when I came back from training, my apartment had been trashed. Again. They took all my stuff, and what they didn’t deem valuable was paint-bombed or torched, dragged through the mud, and sprayed with some stinky and sticky substance I don’t even want to touch.
Suddenly, I was jostled. My things tumbled out of the bag as I fell to the ground. Immediately, the crowd parted around me, almost as if they were trying to single me out. The children who stopped to stare were quickly pulled away by their parents. Whispers of ‘demon child’, ‘don’t know why the Sandaime let him live’, or some other variation of those two phrases assaulted my ears.
I felt… isolated. Like no one wanted me to be around them. Even in a crowd, I was always alone. People saw me, but they didn’t really see me, you know? No one wanted to become my friend, or to even know me. Everyone avoided me like the plague. Not surprising, as I hold the most powerful and fearsome demon inside me. But just once, just once, I’d like someone to see me for me, and not some stupid century old demon.
Slowly, I picked up everything I had dropped, ignoring the glares and sneers from the people around me. My every movement was sluggish, until I remembered that it was going to rain. I shivered as I started walking back to the apartment, determined to get there until the heavy downpour I knew was coming hit me.
The apartment, the apartment, the apartment… Sometimes, I wish that wasn’t all I had. I wish I had a home, or someone that loves and cares for me to go home to. ‘But no, I’ll never have a home,’ I thought sadly. ‘Because home is where the heart is, and Konoha has chosen to crush my heart into tiny little pieces. Even if I patch up my heart, no one wants to take damaged goods. I’m just the Kyuubi brat. Who wants me anyways?’
Drip. Drip. Drip.
I was snapped out of my depressing thoughts as raindrops started to fall. ‘Shit,’ I swore. ‘Shouldn’t have let myself space out like that. I’ll hurt my brain by thinking too much,’ I thought cynically, remembering the earlier conversation with Team 7 when they had insulted my intelligence. The wetness that was soaking through my tattered clothes reminded me to hurry up and return home before it got any worse. And it always got worse.
I huddled my bag of precious goods to my chest under my coat in an attempt to keep the things inside dry. I was failing miserably, of course. I pulled the bag away, just to notice a smear of crimson. ‘What the…’ I hauled the bag right up to my face, and right there, where I had put the bag to my chest, was a huge bloodstain. I looked down and swore again. The cut I got from training had been bad, I knew, but I had thought that the Kyuubi would’ve healed it. ‘Damn it, damn it, damn it! Screw you, fox!’ The huge gash had been steadily dripping blood, if the blood soaked shirt and trail of blood I had apparently left were any clues. All the more reason for me to hurry up back to the apartment and try to patch myself up.
Right when my apartment came into view, the edges of my vision start to darken. My legs felt like they were weighed down by a pair of Lee’s ankle weights. I forced myself to blink, as it continued to pour, almost obscuring my view of the apartment. ‘Just… a… few more… steps,’ I thought blearily. ‘Need shelter… from villagers… rain… blood…’ My thoughts were becoming incoherent as I stumbled into the apartment. My mind registered the lack of people, or living things for that matter. There was no one there, not even the landlord or the guy that manned the desk.
I tried valiantly to reach the steps, but my foot caught on a crack on the floor and I tripped, sending all of my precious, hard-earned items sprawling across the floor. I could no longer keep myself awake. Just barely, I heard someone shout my name.
"Naruto!"
'Iruka-sensei…’
Memories of warmth, care, and things that made me feel all fuzzy inside assaulted my brain. Memories of home. My lips quirked slightly in a small smile. ‘Yes… home... is where Iruka-sensei is…’
That was my last thought as I slipped into blissful unconsciousness.
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A/N: How is it? First time writing fanfic, so please be gentle! To me the end sounded kind of weird... I blame... umm... SOMEONE... xD
Hope you liked it!