Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Darkness ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Title: Children of Darkness

Author: Dying Dreams
Fandom: Naruto
Feedback: Feedback is always welcome!

Dream: Damn it! -Wanders around the room swearing profusely-
Naruto: What's wrong?
Itachi: A reviewer mentioned Lee and she's mad cause she fucked up with him.
Naruto: She did?
Dream: Uh huh. I'm not sure why or how it happened but I put him as one of the people Yuki-chan hates. .-. I'd go back and fix it but... bah! I'll find a way to change it.
Sasuke: Idiot.
Dream: Fuck you dickweed.
Itachi: -Sighs- Just ignore him. You'll find a way to change it. Maybe you can play it off as if he was never informed?
Dream: Fuck. You think so?
Itachi: Yeah.
Dream: That could so totally work. o_O Itachi I love you.
Itachi: I know.
Dream: I also love my reviewers. Especially the ones that point out my screw ups to me. xD You guys rock my socks. Omg I found a way while writing! xD Yay for me.
Itachi: You're so lame.
Dream: Thank you Captain Obvious. Would you like a reward for your achievements?
Itachi: Yes.
Dream: To bad so sad.
Itachi: A simple no would have sufficed.
Dream: No.
Sasuke: I tell you they're complete morons. Anyways. Read and review please. She threatened to kill me if people don't review.
Naruto: No she didn't teme. Stop lying.

Fallenangeldai666: Yeah... Updating three times a week won't be a constant. I'm only updating until this is caught up to the FF and AFF, which at this update it will be and Chapter 8 will be released some time next week after it's gone through editing. After that it's all up in the air. I'm glad you like it though.

Boojae: I'm happy to know you like it so much. Enjoy the chapter.

Star Princess: Nice to know you think so. Yeah it's pretty hard keeping those two apart so I just let them have at it. Enjoy the chapter.

Warnings: Angstyness and depression. Yay! -Coughs into her hand-
Disclaimer: Don't own it. The only things I own are the characters and places I create myself.

Bold/Italic - time changes/flashback

Chapter 7

- - - - - - - - - -

Iruka sighed for the umpteenth time that day, his eyes fixed on the still unmoving blond. He hadn't so much as twitched in the last three days since Yukiko's departure Wednesday morning, well he had but Iruka hadn't really been around when it happened so he wasn't entirely sure about it. She'd explained to him what his nervous breakdown would consist of. It wasn't anything especially bad, but he fell into a depression that was hard to pull him out of once he was in it. He'd been told in explicit detail what exactly needed to happen to pull him out.

He vaguely remembered any of it at this point. The main things were to keep Taro away from him until he was past it. Make sure he ate, force feed him if necessary. Make him sleep, knock him out if necessary. Iruka had done that twice and he felt bad about it. The third night Naruto had slept on his own, leaning against the wall the window seat was situated between. Last but not least, keep talking to him. Get a reaction out of him. The sooner it happened the sooner he would be over it.

He had also been told to be aware of violent mood swings. It had happened during his first nervous breakdown. He would suddenly turn on whoever it was that was taking caring of him at the exact moment his visage changed. A twitching eye meant he was becoming angry and he was to stop whatever he was doing at the moment. This had happened on three separate occasions and Iruka had immediately let him be. The Chuunin sighed in irritation as he left to prepare a meal for a hungry Taro.

As he headed towards it, he recalled the few moments after Yukiko's departure.

Wednesday

Iruka smiled weakly at the woman and nodded in understanding. She had just finished explaining to him what he would need to do if Naruto fell apart when she left. She was saying her goodbyes to them now.

“But I don't want you to go, obasan!” Taro cried, clinging to the darkly clothed woman.

“I don't want me to go either, baby. But I have to. I wish I could stay with you, but I can't.”

Taro sniffled and pulled away. “But you'll come back right?”

“Of course, honey. As soon as I am able I will come back. I promise.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Really really?” he asked childishly.

“Really really,” she replied, kissing him on the forehead.

He smiled sadly as she rose to turn to Naruto. She drew the blond into her arms and simply held him.

“Be strong,” Iruka heard her whisper. “I know you can do this. Remember what you promised to do. I will hold you to that.”

Iruka saw the blond nod to what she had said. He never knew what they had talked about, and he doubted he would be told anyways. When she drew back, Yukiko gently caressed his whiskered cheek and kissed his forehead.

“Be good,” she said, probably talking to both father and son. She smiled as she grabbed her backpack from where it lay on the floor and shoved her arms through it, pulling the straps over her shoulders. She stopped by the front door and turned. “Oh, and Iruka?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Remember the man things I told you. They are important.”

“Right,” the brunet replied with a quick nod. I won't forget.”

Yukiko smiled and pulled the door open. “I'll be seeing you,” she said quietly, stepping over the threshold and closing the door quietly behind her, a resounding click echoing through the quiet hallway.

Almost immediately, Iruka took Taro upstairs and to stay in his room until Iruka came back for him. The dark haired child obeyed without question. Iruka closed and locked the door before rushing back down to the first floor in time to watch Naruto launch himself at the front door and claw at it as if he were going to dig through the wooden slab.

The Chuunin rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the shaking blond, pinning his arms to his sides. He was sure that if Naruto could have made any noise at that point, it would probably be a loud keening sound. His mouth was certainly open to make the noise, but nothing connected with his vocal chords to express it aloud.

Iruka held the trembling blond as he futilely tried to escape the firm grasp. After a few moments, Naruto had given up, opting to instead whirl around and cling to the man who held him so comfortably within his loving embrace. The blond buried his face against shoulder, his mind desperately trying to think of what to do.

Iruka knew he wanted Yukiko to come back, but she would not. They both knew she was not going to return. She was long gone by now. Naruto knew this.

“It'll be alright,” Iruka said soothingly, gently smoothing his hand over the blonds locks. “You'll see.”

Naruto didn't respond. Yukiko had said this was the next part to him falling apart. He was shutting down for the time being. Slowly, Iruka led the unresponsive blond up to his room, pushing him gently down onto the bed and pulling the blankets out from underneath his body to cover him with them. Naruto had remained in his sleeping clothes. The Chuunin sighed sadly as he withdrew from the room. The first day, the blond would sleep most of it away. He was told to let him be and to not disturb him. Iruka was thankful the blond had been fed before she left.

He sighed as he closed the door, turning to go to Taro's room and let him out. He would tell Taro what he needed to know, and hope that he would understand. Upon opening the door, Taro stopped what he was doing and turned to the brunet.

“Is chichi going to be ok?”

Iruka smiled sadly and nodded. “He'll be fine. He just needs some time to adjust. He's taking it harder than I thought he would.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, confusion crossing his face.

“For the next few days, I need you to stay away from him.”

“Why? What's wrong?”

“Your chichi isn't handling your obasan's leaving very well, and it may make him a little, unstable for awhile.”

“Oh. I understand.”

“You do?”

“Uh-huh. I saw it happen when someone from Taiyogakure died last year. The lady it happened to had always been so nice. She used to play with me when chichi and obasan needed to be alone. Her husband died in combat and she didn't handle it very well. I haven't seen her since it happened.”

“How is it that you're so smart and understanding?” Iruka said sheepishly. “Your chichi was the biggest airhead when he was a child.”

Taro shrugged and laughed. “I don't know. But if you say I need to do it, I'll stay away from him until he's better. I don't like it, but chichi's been through a lot. You're going to help him right?”

“Of course I am,” Iruka said with a smile, drawing the dark haired boy into a warm embrace. “Your chichi is like a son to me. I'd do anything for him.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. I believe you,” Taro said, wrapping his small arms around the brunets neck and hugging him tightly. Taro had found it exceedingly easy ton trust this man. He wasn't sure why, but he did. He made him feel safe. Just like his chichi did. Especially when he was being hugged by the older man.

“So, can I call you ojiisan?” Taro asked, a mischievous smile on his face.

Iruka stared at him for a moment before breaking into a small fit of laughter. “Only if you really want to.” He had to admit, the child was to adorable to deny him anything. Well, almost anything anyways. “Come on,” he said, rising with the child still in his arms. “Let's go down stairs and do something fun while chichi sleeps.”

“Ok.”

Saturday - Present - Naruto's room

Vacant blue eyes continued to stare through the glass to the outside world. Everything was falling apart again, and he couldn't take it. It was just like the last time she had left, only now he had Iruka instead of someone else taking care of him. He loved the Chuunin. He would trust him with his life. But he was not Yukiko. During the time he'd spent with her he'd come to rely heavily upon her to keep him going. A part of him had died the moment she closed the door. He wanted her to come back. He needed her to help him like she had done before.

He knew he had barely moved since Wednesday night after having woken up. He'd moved to the window and remained stationary. If it weren't for the rise and fall of his chest and the occasional blinking of his eyes, he knew Iruka would have thought him dead.

Inside his head he could hear the fox talking, trying to grab his attention, but he ignored him. He wanted to be left alone.

He never heard the knock on the front door, or the footsteps as they ascended to the second floor. He ignored the sound of the door being opened from the outside, the muffled voices becoming clearer. He never turned or acknowledge the presence of others as his gaze continued to focus on nothing in particular past the barrier of the glass. He heard his name being called, but he didn't respond.

“See what I mean?” Iruka said quietly, watching the unresponsive blond. The four present shinobi nodded. He had contacted them the previous day and informed them that Yukiko wanted them to help the blond. He had also told him who was not allowed to see him, Yukiko's orders of course which were reinforced by the Hokage. Hyuuga Neji had told him Lee had never been informed and had been on a mission as well at the same time as he and Shikamaru. Separate mission of course. Iruka asked him to inform him then when he could.

“So, he just sits there all day staring out through the window?” Hinata asked softly, pale eyes focused on the blond ignoring them.

“Yeah. Unless I'm helping him do something, he doesn't do anything.”

“So what are we supposed to do to help him?”

“Well. Yukiko said either than making sure he ate and slept to just keep talking to him and try and get a reaction from him.”

“And you've tried this?” Neji asked.

“Of course. But nothing I do or say changed anything.”

Neji nodded and sighed in response.

“Listen. She also told me to be aware of sudden mood changes. If one of his eyes starts twitching, leave immediately. It'll mean he's become angry and he might attack. I haven't taken my chances as every time it happened I left. That's what she told me to do.”

“What else?”

“That's the main thing, but if his eyes start looking up at the sky it means he's getting worse. If it happens, do whatever it takes to stop it.”

“It happened before?”

“Yesterday morning. Sometime before I spoke to each of you.”

“Is that it?”

“No, but everything else is minor and easy to recognize if it happens. Damn it. Look I have to go. Taro's in his room and there's plenty of food in the kitchen. I can trust you guys to take care of this right?”

“Of course, Umino-san,” Neji said, the four nodding their heads in unison, including the normally lazy Nara who would have called the situation troublesome.

“Good.” Iruka turned and quickly left. He would have stayed if he hadn't promised Kakashi something.

“What now?” Choji asked, his eyes focusing on his blond friend.

“We'll just talk to him,” Hinata said, moving forward into the room. She stepped lightly towards the window seat, pale eyes looking at the blond before she took a seat at the opposite side of it.

“Good morning, Naruto-kun,” she said softly, smiling warmly at him. He didn't so much as even look at her, his gaze still focused on something outside. “We've missed you.” She glanced at her cousin and her friends, tilting her head and beckoning them into the room.

Neji came first, moving to the window and standing beside his cousin, looking down at Naruto. “That's right,” he said. “We've all missed you. You're leaving changed a lot of things.”

Shikamaru mumbled the word troublesome under his breath before entering the room, seating himself on the floor against the wall on the other side of Naruto. “Yeah,” he said. “It was rather troublesome.”

Choji shrugged and entered the room behind them, moving to lean against the wall next to Shikamaru. “We're glad you're back,” he said.

Naruto hadn't moved once or even indicated acknowledgment of their presence. Aside from blinking and breathing, he had remained perfectly still, vacant eyes remaining focused on whatever it was he seemed to be staring at so intently.

“Naruto-kun, please look at me,” Hinata said.

He didn't. She had expected it. Given the little Iruka had told them, she knew it was going to be difficult. All four of them knew it would. She kept her gaze focused on his eyes, knowing she need to watched them as she had the best viewpoint. She would be able to alert the others if something was changing.

They sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke again.

“I heard Sasuke-kun's been holed up in his home for the past several days. Sakura-san said he hasn't come out once.”

At the mention of Sakura's name, he visibly flinched, his body tensing. Hinata immediately stopped talking, taking the opportunity to look at her cousin. He nodded and no one said anything for several moments until they were sure Naruto wasn't go to do something. They could tell he'd relaxed somewhat.

But at the mention of Sasuke's name, or a few moments after anyways, Naruto's gaze started drifting upwards. Hinata noticed this and swore inside her head. Doing the only thing she could think to do, she quickly moved forward and wrapped her arms around the blond, holding him tightly against her. Naruto's body remained rigid at the sudden contact, his gaze stopping it's ascent.

Hinata, he said to himself. I can't do this. They don't understand. I need Yukiko here. I need her to be here for me. They don't understand that I can't do this without her.

“It'll be okay,” Hinata was saying, lifting a hand and gently petting his hair.

'No,' he said. 'Not unless she's here. It won't be okay unless she's here to help me. Why can't they see that? Why can't they understand that? She's the only one that can't help me.'

“I know you want her to be here. Iruka-san told me. She can't be here, but we can. We want to help you, Naruto-kun. We want you to want us to help you. You mean so much to us,” she said, her hand still stroking his hair.

'I don't know,' he told himself. 'I don't know if you can help me. You don't know what it's been like. She made it more bearable for me, but I don't know if you can do the same. You don't know what it feels like to have your heart ripped in two in front of your eyes. How can you possibly understand?'

Hinata just continued holding onto him, not saying anything more. She just hoped he would let them help him. He had to know that they were there for him. He needed to know that he could trust them.

“She's right,” Neji said. “You do mean a lot to us. I know you think we can't help you, and that it's not going to be okay unless she's here. I understand that. But you need to trust us. We're here for you, and we want to help you in any way we can. You just need to believe in us.”

Naruto turned his head, staring at Neji. 'Believe', he said softly in his head. 'She wanted me to do that, but I don't know if I can.' He lowered his head and looked away from him. 'I should. I know I should. I want to, but I don't know if I can do it. It's so hard though. They just don't know how much I need her. For four years she and Taro were all I had to keep me going. I don't know if they can do that for me.'

'Just believe in them,' another voice said.

'Kyuubi?'

'Yes,' the fox replied. 'Can't you see how much they want to help you?'

'I do, but I just don't know if I can do it.'

'You have to,' he said calmly. 'She won't be back any time soon to help you. You know that as well as I do. Just let you're friends help you. They're all you have now. And Taro. You have to trust them, kit. You know this. You can't have her back. Not any time soon.'

Naruto sighed and nodded slowly at the fox. 'I know. I know all of this! It's just hard, you know? I don't like being somewhere without her. She helped bring me out of my depression when I left here. She was there for me. They weren't. They didn't see what I was like. She did!'

Kyuubi laughed. 'No of course not, but that's because you've taken to hiding. You've got all of these walls surrounding you, no one can possibly get in. yo shut them all out because you're afraid. You're weak. Well, your mind is weak anyways. You figure that if you keep shutting yourself away like this, everything will go away and you can be alone. Not going to happen and you know it. You have to let the walls fall. You have to let yourself trust someone other than that woman and your son!'

'Don't say that!' Naruto hissed. 'She's done so much for me, and you know all about it. When I left she was all I had! I felt like everyone had turned against me. Just like it's always been.'

'Naïve little fool, the fox growled. You let yourself believe that because of the Uchiha bastard! At least these four care enough to be here for you now. I'd bet they would have been there for you before ha they been given the chance. Don't be so quick to judge when you know practically nothing about anything!'

Naruto stared at the fox, eyes wide. 'How can you be so sure? How can you be so damn sure that they would have done anything before? For all I know they simply feel sorry for me. The demon boy with the broken heart.'

'You're so god damn lucky I can't touch you right now, otherwise I'd slap you. You may not notice the goings on around you, but I do. These four. I've seen how they look at you, like you're someone dear to them. Perhaps another sibling. The Hyuuga girl has long since gotten over her crush, but I'll be damned if she doesn't care. That girl loves you, as do the other three. You just won't let yourself see it because you keep pushing those walls back into place and pushing everyone away. It's god damn near miracle you let that Chuunin back into your life. Who knows what would happen if you hadn't huh? We both know you can't take care of yourself, much less your child. You need all the help you can get.'

Naruto sniffed and nodded. He knew he was right. He just didn't want to admit it. Accepting their help would change everything. Walls would crumble and he would teeter on the edge of falling off. There would be no coming back should he fall. He would perish, and it would be the end of whatever was left of Uzumaki Naruto for good.

- - - - - - - - - -

Dream: So anyways... I'm tired.
Itachi: Why?
Dream: Early morning class at school. Six fucking thirty in the morning. I fucking hate it.
Sasuke: So why are you taking it then?
Dream: Because it's one of the General Education classes I need to take for my major.
Itachi: Ah.
Dream: They're all killing off my brain cells one at a time. Especially my creative writing class. I keep hitting road blocks when I try to write things for it. Fucking sucks. Hell that last assignment I practically pulled out of my ass.
Itachi: Yeah I didn't need to hear that thanks.
Dream: Ugh. Sorry. It's just frustrating.
Naruto: It'll get better.
Dream: God I hope so. -Crawls off to bed-
Itachi: -Watches her go-
Sasuke: So anyways.... Since she obviously isn't going to torment us this time, please review. It'll really make her happy. Her being frustrated and creatively drained isn't good for us.
Naruto: -Nods and repeats Sasuke- Review please!
Sasuke: Dobe. -Drags him off into another room-