Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Insanely Yours ❯ Dealing With Demons ( Chapter 18 )

Chapter Eighteen: Dealing With Demons

 

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As Aya and Naruto approached the hospital, a silent feeling of dread began to creep over Naruto's senses. The short amount of time he'd spent with his sister had been nothing short of amazing. It had been as if things had gone back to normal. They talked, laughed, had pointless arguments with eachother- they'd had fun like they used to. Aya had even gone so far as to buy Naruto instant ramen, something that he hadn't had in months.

 

Naruto hadn't realized how much he'd missed his sister until she'd brought him back to the hospital.

 

"I'll be back to visit soon- you know that." Aya said as she parked the car. Naruto nodded solemnly.

 

"Yeah...doesn't mean I'm not gonna miss you, though." He told her.

 

Aya shrugged. "Naruto...you've been here for like six months already, you know? You're almost out of here. And come on, by the time you get out, I'll be really pregnant, and you'll get to carry all my stuff, and make my food, and totally be my slave. Won't that be fun??"

 

"...Oh joy."

 

The both of them dissolved into laughter. Aya reached across the car and pulled her brother into a hug, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Don't look so sad, bro. It's not so bad." She kissed his cheek, leaving traces of her pink lip-gloss on his face. Naruto didn't even bother to wipe it away.

 

Naruto reached into the back seat and grabbed his overnight bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He hugged Aya one last time before getting out of the car and making his way towards the hospital's doors. Aya didn't leave the parking lot until Naruto had gotten into the doorway, and he waved her off as she left.

 

As usual, Shizune was waiting for him as soon as he entered the hospital. "Welcome back, Uzumaki-kun." She handed him the clipboard and a pen, telling him to sign his name and the time that he'd returned. After doing this, Naruto handed the items back to her. "Go ahead and drop your bags off in your room and then go straight to Kakashi's office. You have an appointment with him." she told him.

 

He nodded and then hurried down the corridor, turning right, onto his own hallway. Since it was still early in the morning, Naruto assumed that all of the patients would be in the TV room. He knew that breakfast had already been served, so in about an hour they would all go to group therapy and then to lunch. Naruto didn't even find it weird that the entire schedule had mapped itself out in his head.

 

Shikamaru was in the room when Naruto walked inside. He was lying on his bed, staring blankly at one of his photo albums. Naruto smiled at his roommate and spoke to him. "Hey man, what's up?" he greeted him. Shikamaru never took his eyes off the album, he only shrugged his shoulders. Naruto started putting his things away while he glanced back at his not-so-talkative roommate. "Something wrong?" he asked. Shikamaru only shrugged again.

 

After a few moments, Naruto just let the conversation drop. Shikamaru obviously wasn't in the mood to talk, so Naruto wouldn't push it. He proceeded to empty his bag out on his bed and put everything back where it belonged.

 

As he was putting his things away, one item on his bed made his eyes almost leap out of his head. It was a box of condoms; Aya had insisted on buying them earlier that morning. Even though Naruto told her that he hadn't even gone that far with Sasuke, Aya just told him that he could never be too sure about what would happen. He'd told her that she'd only said that because she got knocked up, and she'd punched him in the jaw. For the record, his jaw was still sore.

 

Naruto hid the box in his bottom drawer and put his overnight bag under his bed. He left the room without saying bye to Shikamaru, who probably wouldn't have responded anyway. Naruto headed straight to Kakashi's office. The door was already open when he got there.

 

"Good morning Naruto." Kakashi greeted him, waving him into the room. Naruto reluctantly closed the door, walked in, and took a seat on the couch. He noticed that Kakashi had rearranged his office. His desk was no longer in front of his chair; it was located off in the corner.

 

"You moved the desk." He stated.

 

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, I did. I felt as if it was a...barrier of sorts." he told Naruto. The blonde just nodded uninterestedly. Kakashi tapped his pen against his notepad and cleared his throat. "So, Naruto, what would you like to talk about today?" he asked.

 

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really care." He answered. Kakashi nodded again and wrote something down in his notepad. Naruto scowled at him and Kakashi caught his expression.

 

"Does this bother you?" he asked. Naruto glanced to his left, eyes staring out the window.

 

"Sort of." He admitted. Kakashi then, without a word, stood up and went to set his pen and notepad down on his desk. When he came back to his chair, he offered Naruto a smile. Not that Naruto could actually see the smile behind his mask, but he knew that Kakashi was smiling. "Thanks."

 

"You're welcome." Kakashi replied. "Now, how about we talk about your visit with your sister yesterday? How did that go?" he questioned.

 

"Fine." Naruto answered, hoping Kakashi would do all the talking today. But when the man didn't say anything, Naruto knew that he himself would have to say more. "It was okay, I guess. I mean...I missed her a lot; we missed eachother. It was nice to get out of here and get back to the real world."

 

"The real world?" Kakashi spoke up.

 

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, the real world. This place here...I'm not saying it isn't real but the outside world is...very real. It's like...we get taken care of here; we don't have to worry about stuff here...the real world is harder, you know?" Kakashi clasped his hands in his lap.

 

"I see." He said.

 

"Anyway," Naruto began again. "I liked spending time with my sister. We...sort of had a small argument. She found out some things about me and then she told me that she was pregnant."

 

"What kinds of things? About you, I mean." Kakashi questioned, sitting back, relaxed, in his chair.

 

Naruto bit his bottom lip for a moment before taking a deep breath and confessing. "So I'm gay." He blurted out awkwardly. Kakashi didn't look surprised, disgusted, shocked- he just sat there with a calm expression on his face. Naruto relaxed. "She hadn't known, and when she found out she got angry. She told me she was pregnant while we were arguing."

 

"And how does her being pregnant make you feel?" Kakashi asked him.

 

"How does it make me feel? Well I'm not the one who's gonna be carrying a kid for seven more months." Naruto replied- a half assed answer. Kakashi didn't make a move to speak, so Naruto just continued talking. "I feel...excited, worried, and scared...everything at the same time. Aya's all I've got, all I've ever had really, and...I'd never even thought of her as someone's mom. She's taken care of me for forever so I guess she'd make a really good mom, you know?" Naruto laced his fingers in his lap and sighed.

 

"I see." Kakashi nodded. "Go on."

 

Naruto began speaking again. "She's already got stuff planned out. She's got some money saved up, she's got a good paying job, and she's got a house...even though I think she should choose to live somewhere else." he shook his head bitterly. "That house...no one should ever want to live in that house..." he said, in a whisper of a voice. Kakashi's eyebrows rose curiously.

 

"Why is that?" he questioned.

 

Surprisingly, Naruto hadn't even realized what he'd said until after he'd said it. He immediately crossed his arms over his chest and leaned backward, putting distance between himself and Kakashi. "It's nothing...it's just...a very old house...so old that no one should want to live there." He lied. It was a terrible lie and he knew it, but at least Kakashi didn't dig any deeper into the subject. He just nodded and cleared his throat again.

 

"So, let's continue talking about your sister, shall we?" he offered. "How does it make you feel to know that there will be another addition to yours and your sister's lives?" Kakashi leaned forward, awaiting Naruto's answer.

 

The blonde shrugged again and sighed. "I don't know...I mean...I guess I'm a little nervous about it. I mean, my sister's only a year older than me and...I just hope she'll be able to handle a kid. I'll help her as much as I can, of course, but I don't think I'll be good with kids. She'll probably be a good mom, but I doubt I'll be a good uncle." He sighed. "And I was thinking...what if I'm still stuck in here when she has her baby? What if I can't be there when she has it? I'll feel like crap...like a failure...Aya's always been there for me and if I can't be there for her..." he shook his head, becoming silent.

 

"Naruto, you do know that you've been here for almost six months already, don't you?" he asked. "If your treatment is successful here, you'll be out of here in the next six months. All you have to do is work hard and you'll be out before you know it. It's all up to you, whether or not you'll be able to be there for your sister. It all depends on what you choose to do."

 

After hearing this, Naruto didn't have much left to say. And that was fine because his time was up; their session was over.

 

Naruto left Kakashi's office as quickly as possible. He would've gone straight to his room but when he checked the clocks on the wall, he saw that it was already time for group therapy. He sighed heavily, frustrated with the fact that he had to go to another therapy session. He was tired of talking about his feelings already; speaking with Kakashi had been enough. Naruto could only hope that Kurenai brought up an easy topic because he didn't feel like delving into anymore emotions.

 

All of the patients filed into the room quickly and took their regular seats. Upon entering the room, Naruto noticed that Sai and Sasuke were missing. He didn't find it odd that Sasuke wasn't there; he just wondered where he was. Naruto hadn't seen Sasuke since yesterday, and he hated to admit it, but he actually missed him. He was so used to seeing Sasuke every day, so it felt strange not seeing him that day. As for Sai, well, Naruto hadn't expected him to be here either. He was probably still dealing with his own demons.

 

"Good afternoon everyone." Kurenai greeted them the same way that she always did. She motioned for them to take their seats and everyone complied obediently. Naruto, for the first time, chose to sit down next to Kurenai. She turned to him, smiled, and spoke. "Well, welcome back Naruto," she began. "We understand that you got to go out and visit with your sister yesterday. Care to tell everyone what it was like?"

 

No, Naruto didn't want to talk about his visit with his sister. But he did anyway. "So I went to visit my sister this weekend. It was...an interesting visit, and I'd really missed her, so I was glad that I got to see her." He told them all in a quick, timely fashion. He had not wanted to spend the entirety of the therapy session talking about the visit.

 

"Well, it's nice to know that you had a good time." Kurenai smiled at Naruto and then turned to the rest of the group to begin their session. "Today, I am going to propose a question to all of you, and I want everyone to try and respond." She began. "What do you think will help you get better?" she questioned, her eyes roaming around the group.

 

Everyone seemed to be staring in different directions; the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the window, the door; each direction helped avert their eyes away from Kurenai's. It seemed that no one truly knew what to say; they were all stumped. But after a few seconds, Sakura cleared her throat and spoke softly.

 

"I...I know that I need to eat if I want to get better. I should gain weight." She sighed. "I need to want to gain weight." She crossed her arms over her small chest, her arms nearly swallowing her entire frame. She didn't say anything else after this, and Kurenai thanked her for her answer.

 

Haku spoke up, his eyes roaming over the lot of them before speaking. "I've been here long enough to know my diag-nonsense." He said, almost cheerfully. "They say I've got a Gender Identity Disorder, but I know that I'm a boy. The only reason I was really here was to get clean and get my head right. So what if I like guys, it's not a sickness or a disorder; I'm just gay." He laughed. "I don't need to get better- I am better." He grinned.

 

Neji was the next to speak. His arms were crossed over his chest and he seemed to be glaring at everyone. "Learning to control my temper would probably help me." He stated, glancing over at Hinata, who'd promptly hid her mouth behind her long sleeves. A flash of pain flew across Neji's features, but it was gone before anyone even noticed it. He shook his head and sighed. Kurenai's eyes softened and she stared over at Neji.

 

"Do you think that....forgiving him would help, Neji?" she asked.

 

A most hateful expression crossed Neji's face and he grimaced. "I will never forgive him." he answered solemnly. The small group of patients glanced around at eachother confusedly. Who was this 'He' that Neji and Kurenai spoke of? What unforgivable crime had he committed?

 

Kurenai cleared her throat and faked a smile. "Anyone else?" she questioned, staring at Gaara, Naruto and Kiba, all of who'd yet to speak. Gaara, of course, wasn't going to say a word, which left only Kiba and Naruto. "Well, boys?"

 

"Is it bad to say that I don't know?" Kiba questioned, not even stuttering once. Kurenai smiled and shook her head.

 

"No, not at all." She answered.

 

Kiba nodded slowly. "Well, I don't. I mean...I've been g-getting better over the years. It just takes patience and hard work, I think. I've been working w-with my disease for my whole life, and I've never done better with it." He told everyone. "Just being here, taking a rest from the st-stresses of life, I think that's what has really been helping me." He nodded to himself and retreated into silence. Kurenai nodded and thanked him for speaking right before she turned to Naruto, expecting an answer.

 

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "I dunno...I mean, I think that being in this hospital is helping me. It's keeping me away from my...addictions." he told them, slowly. "If I weren't here, I'd be in jail or worse, dead." He said. "...as for a specific thing that will help me get better...it'd probably be my friends." He smiled to himself. "I didn't really have any real friends before I came here 'cause no one could understand me. At least here, I'm understood." He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I'm done."

 

The patients had never been so happy to hear that group therapy had ended. Naruto, for one, was just ready to go to the tv room and kick back. He didn't particularly care if anything was on the tv, he just wanted to get away from the doctors in this place and relax.

 

Once he entered the tv room, for the first time, Naruto had control of the remote. Though, since most of the channels on the television were blocked, he didn't really have much of a variety. In the end, he chose to switch to the Disney channel. Sakura rolled her eyes and called him a child even though she ended up watching Cinderella right along with him.

 

Naruto noticed that Sai had walked into the room; he hadn't expected to see him in here. The pale boy glanced over to Naruto and plastered a fake smile onto his face. Naruto could always tell when Sai's smile was forced, but he still smiled back and waved. Sai didn't speak, he just sat down in a chair near the corner and began staring out of the window. Naruto didn't get up to go talk to him either.

 

Halfway through the movie, Hinata came into the room holding her hairbrush in her hands. She didn't have to speak for Naruto to know that she wanted him to brush her hair. Naruto was secretly glad that Hinata actually interacted with him, even though she still wouldn't speak. He'd seen her smile too, and she'd almost laughed once; she was just as normal as everyone else, the only difference was her reluctance to speak.

 

While he brushed her hair, Sakura moved closer to Naruto and spoke to him in a low voice. "So how was your visit with your step-sister, really? And don't give me the shit-short version that you gave Kurenai either." She ordered.

 

Naruto chuckled and continued brushing Hinata's hair as he spoke. "It really was nice, I assure you." He replied. "She took me back to the house we lived in as children and we started cleaning it up. It's a place that's sort of out in the country: a big mansion that's been in Aya's family for years."

 

"Are you two moving back into it?" Sakura questioned. Naruto smiled and shook his head.

 

"Not two- three." He confessed. Sakura cocked an eyebrow curiously and Naruto spoke. "My sister's pregnant." He grinned and nodded. "Yup. I'm going to be an uncle." He said proudly.

 

Sakura sighed dramatically. "God help that poor child." She teased. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed. "Kidding, I'm kidding." She giggled. "No, I think you'll be a really good uncle. You're really fun; I'm sure kids love you. Your maturity level is only a notch above theirs, after all."

 

"You just can't bear to give me a pure compliment, can you?" he laughed at her. "Seriously though, I'm really excited for my sister. She's always been like a mother so I just know she'll be a good mom. She's the one who came up with the idea of moving back into the old house. No one's lived there for years but Aya knew that it'd be a good place to raise a family. We spent the whole day cleaning and getting the house ready...it's all happening really fast, you know? Life just keeps changing."

 

The pinkette nodded her head, understanding. "That's a lot of stuff for one day." She said. Naruto agreed. "So, by the way, I'm sure you noticed Sasuke wasn't in group today. He's on lockdown again, that idiot." She confessed, shaking her head. Naruto sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

 

"What happened this time?"

 

She shrugged. "Nobody really knows. He just freaked out this morning after breakfast." She answered. "But Shizune didn't sedate him so I suppose they'll be letting him out tomorrow morning." Sakura told him. "I don't know why he keeps acting out." She shook her head.

 

"Speaking of people acting out," Naruto began, changing the subject. Although he'd missed Sasuke, he didn't really feel like talking about him with Sakura. "Would you happen to know what's up with Shikamaru? He was in our room when I came back and he wouldn't even speak to me." Naruto admitted.

 

Sakura rolled her eyes. "He's being all melodramatic about the fact that Ino visited today." She answered him. Naruto's eyebrows rose with curiosity.

 

"Ino? Isn't that the girl that he used to like?"

 

"Correction- still likes." She spoke. "They're practically head over heels for eachother; they always have been." She divulged. Naruto leaned towards her, expecting her to explain and continue. Sakura started again. "Back when Ino was a patient here, she and Shika were...well...they weren't really together, but we all knew that they had feelings for eachother. They were always together, and Ino was the only person who could get Shikamaru to smile and laugh. When she first met him, he was the unhappiest man in the world. She changed him, or should I say, they changed eachother. To put it simply, he got happy and she got healthy." She smiled thoughtfully and began again. "Shikamaru helped Ino get better. It's why they've got so much love for eachother, you know?"

 

Naruto nodded slowly and asked Sakura a question. "So...might I ask who's helping you get better?" he teased, knowingly. Sakura's pale cheeks began to light up and she rolled her eyes again.

 

"I help myself."

 

Before Naruto could respond, Shizune entered the room and told him that he had a phone call waiting for him in the first booth. He told both Sakura and Hinata that he would be right back after he took the call. When he reached the booth, he picked up the receiver and spoke.

 

"Long time no talk, kid." Ibiki greeted Naruto from the other line.

 

"Yeah. You got any good news for me, old man?" Naruto asked.

 

"Only the best news for you." Ibiki told Naruto in a gruff, sarcastic voice. "I just wanted to call and let you know that the lawyers and judges who oversee your case are very satisfied with the reports that they are receiving from the hospital. They're saying that you're doing really well and that you even talk to the therapist regularly."

 

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, there's no way to get better if I don't talk, you know." He replied. There was a slight pause before Ibiki spoke again.

 

"I'm really proud of you, kid. You're doing what you're supposed to do for the first time in your life." He joked. "You're doing so well that I've finally decided to send in your new shrink." He confessed. Naruto groaned loudly, banging his head against the booths wall.

 

"Ibiki," he whined. "I really don't want a new shrink. C'mon, lets not and say we did or something!" he pleaded.

 

"Yeah, right." Ibiki dismissed Naruto's pleas flippantly. "He'll be there next week, Monday, to be exact."

 

"You mean I only have seven days to find a way to avoid this new psychiatrist?" Naruto questioned, in a serious tone.

 

"Don't fool around, Naruto. You're doing well no so don't mess it up, alright? You had better promise me that you'll at least try to like this guy." Ibiki ordered. Naruto sighed heavily and banged his head against the wall once more.

 

"Fine. I promise- you've got my word. Scouts honor."

 

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Usually, the sound of Shikamaru's steady breathing would lull Naruto to sleep, but tonight was different- Naruto couldn't get to sleep for the life of him. He lay in bed for a whole two hours with his eyes closed, trying to force himself to sleep. He'd even resorted to counting sheep, but that hadn't worked either. It was now three in the morning and he was sitting in bed, staring out of the barred and wired window in his bedroom.

 

Naruto couldn't stop thinking and worrying about his friends tonight, especially about Sai and Sasuke. He wondered when Sai would be alright, when he'd be ready to cope with the death of his father. Naruto knew that Sai hated the man, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't be saddened by his death. And as for Sasuke, when would he ever get better? When would he ever get past his anger issues? What triggered them, and why did it seem that Naruto felt like there was something he didn't know? There had to be something about Sasuke that had been kept in secret, because the façade of anger problems was wearing off. There had to be something else.

 

And what about Sakura and Hinata? Sakura had looked like she was going to shatter today. Naruto had seen the bones in her shoulders and spine poking through her red t-shirt during group. Even when they'd been watching the movie, he'd seen her ribs showing through as well. Would she ever want to eat? Would she ever want to leave this place? As for Hinata, Naruto only wanted to know what had happened to her to make her not want to speak again.

 

There were just so many questions that had been left unanswered.

 

With a sigh, Naruto lay back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling through the dark. He placed his hands behind his head and took a deep breath, getting ready to try and force himself into sleep.

 

All of a sudden, Naruto heard a soft knock at his door. He immediately sat upright and stared at the door. "Who is it?" he whispered, louder than a normal whisper should be. The door slid open slowly and the last person that Naruto expected to see walked in. "Sai?"

 

The boy walked into Naruto's room, standing in front of the doorway. "I want you to come with me." He told Naruto in a soft voice. Naruto raised an eyebrow curiously.

 

"Come with you where??" he questioned.

 

Sai crossed his arms over his chest as a mischievous smirk came over his lips. "You'll see." He answered. Naruto pursed his lips and stared at Sai warily, already becoming suspicious of his actions. What was he trying to get Naruto caught up in?

 

"Whatever you're planning...is it going to get me in trouble?" Naruto asked, swinging his legs over to the edge of the bed. Sai shrugged his shoulders with a mock-innocent expression on his face.

 

"That all depends on how much noise you make."

 

Naruto sat on his bed for several seconds, contemplating his options. Naruto could tell Sai he didn't want to do whatever it was that he'd planned and he could stay in this room, staring at the ceiling until daytime, not getting a wink of sleep. Or he could take a chance and go along with Sai. Maybe there was something interesting that he'd get to see, or maybe Sai was finally ready to talk to him about everything. Whatever the case, the latter decision seemed more appealing.

 

"...okay, but, I swear, if I get in trouble-"

 

"-you won't, if you keep quiet." Sai cut him off, stepping out of the room and beckoning Naruto to follow him. Sai led Naruto down the dark hallway, and since neither of them wore shoes, their footsteps went unheard. Naruto had no idea where Sai was taking him but he followed faithfully. "Did you know that Iruka leaves after one in the morning?" Sai whispered. Naruto shook his head. "A different orderly takes over...she always falls asleep on the job at about two thirty."

 

It was after saying this that Sai reached into his back pocket and pulled out a ring of keys and smirked. "She never even noticed."

 

"You stole her keys??" Naruto hissed. "You're going to get us into so much trouble!"

 

Sai shook his head. "I've done this before. That girl never wakes up until five, and it's only three. Calm down. We're not going to get caught." Sai brought his index finger to his lips, motioning for Naruto to stay silent. The blonde rolled his eyes and shook his head but didn't make another sound.

 

The two of them silently navigated through the hospital's hallways. By the time that Naruto realized where they were going, it was too late to turn back. They were standing in front of the door to Kakashi's office, and Sai was unlocking the door with a set of stolen keys.

 

In the back of his mind, Naruto knew that this was a bad idea, but it was too late to turn back. Sai had already pulled him into the room and shut the door, being as quiet as he possibly could. Once the door was closed, Sai took a deep breath and spoke. "We can talk now, you know," he said, turning on a small, dim light that sat atop Kakashi's desk. "Kakashi told me once that this room was soundproof. No one will be able to hear us."

 

"This is insane." Naruto shook his head and stared around the room, which just didn't seem complete without a certain therapist's presence. He watched Sai open a black file cabinet that was in the corner of the room and he pulled out several manila folders, some thicker than others. He threw them across Kakashi's desk, except for one, and sat down on the couch intended for patients. "Well, look what we've got here." He spoke aloud, opening the folder. "Name: Uzumaki Naruto. Age 19, date of birth: October 10th, 1990-"

 

"What the fuck are you reading??" Naruto nearly ran over to Sai and snatched the folder from his hands. He opened it himself and read the first paper he saw. Name: Uzumaki Naruto. Age: 19. D.O.B: October 10th, 1990. Illness: Pyromania- "...this is my file..." he whispered to himself, though it was loud enough for Sai to hear.

 

"Yes, it is. Don't worry, I've never read it before." He confessed. Naruto wasn't sure whether or not he believed that. "And over there are everyone else's files. Now those I've read. Go ahead," he urged. "You know you want to."

 

Naruto stared at the desk full of folders. On one hand, he knew that doing this would be a total and complete violation of privacy. Then again, wasn't this what he'd wanted all along? To know secrets, to find out the reasons why everyone acted the way that they did- Naruto knew what was right and what was wrong, but the temptation was irresistible. He silently walked to the desk and picked up the first folder that he saw. He opened it and read the first page.

 

Name: Momochi, Haku. Age: 18. D.O.B: January 9th, 1991. Illness: Gender Identity Disorder/Drug Abuse

Background: Orphan, never knew either of his parents. Moved to different group homes and foster homes from age 2 to 11. Has been molested twice during his stays in group/foster homes. Introduced to cocaine at the age of 13. Sent to Juvenile Detention at age 14. Broke out of rehab at age 15. Enlisted into Konoha Mental Hospital at age 16.

Treatment: Drug Rehabilitation - Successful. Psychoanalytic Therapy - Successful. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy - Successful. Pharmacological Therapy - Successful

Set Release Date: June 27th, 2009.

 

Slowly, Naruto closed the file and set it down on the table. He was so shocked that he failed to realize that Haku's release date was in two weeks.

 

"Nara Shikamaru, Age 22, date of birth: September 22nd, 1987, Illness: Narcolepsy/ Alcoholism." Sai read straight from the paper and Naruto listened, because he couldn't do much else. "Background: Born with narcolepsy. Developed Alcoholism at age 15. Suffered from alcohol poisoning twice. Near-fatal motorcycle accident at 15. Enlisted into Konoha Mental Hospital at age 15. Treatment: Alcohol Rehabilitation - Successful. Psychoanalytic Therapy - Successful. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Successful. Pharmacological Therapy - Successful. AA(Outside of Hospital) - Successful. Set Release Date: Not Applicable."

 

"...where's your file?" Naruto asked, glancing over at Sai, who was lounging on the couch lazily.

 

He pointed to the thinnest folder on the desk. "Don't waste your time reading mine, blondie. I don't have a tragic past like everyone else. I'm a pathological liar, a sociopath, and my parents didn't give a shit about me. End of story." He sat back onto the couch and began reading another file aloud. Naruto didn't want to listen to him, so he picked up another file on his own, regretting his actions as he did it.

 

Collaborative File: Hyuga Neji & Hyuga Hinata

 

Name: Hyuga Neji. Age: 20. D.O.B: July 7th, 1989. Illness: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder/ Bipolarity/ Drug Abuse

Background: Father killed when he was eight- moved to live with uncle and cousin. At age fourteen, ran away from home. Introduced to heroin at the age of 16. Assaulted and nearly killed a man at age 18 under the influence of drugs. Enlisted into Konoha Mental Hospital at age 18. Sent to Unit One upon arrival- released a year later.

Treatment: Drug Rehabilitation - Successful. Psychoanalytic Therapy: Successful. Pharmacological Therapy: Successful

Set Release Date: 2010.

 

Name: Hyuga Hinata. Age: 18. D.O.B: December 27th, 1991. Illness: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder/Mute/ Abuse victim/ Rape victim

Background: Mother died when she was five. Physically abused and raped from ages 7 to 12. Ran away from home at age 12. Raped at age fourteen- became pregnant. Suffered a miscarriage. Has been mute since age six. Enlisted into Konoha Mental Hospital at age sixteen.

Treatment: Psychoanalytic Therapy - Unsuccessful. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy - Unsuccessful. Pharmacological Therapy - Unsuccessful.

Set Release Date: N/A.

 

"It's all so very interesting, isn't it?" Naruto hadn't noticed that Sai was standing in front of him until he'd spoken. The boy was holding a thick folder in his arms, smirking at Naruto darkly. "Learning the deep, dark secrets of your friend's pasts- you just can't get enough of it, can you?"

 

"Shut up, Sai." Naruto mumbled, dropping onto the desk the folder that he'd been holding.

 

Sai took a step closer to Naruto and kept talking. "And I know that there's one person that you've been dying to figure out, isn't there?" he asked. Naruto glared at him coldly but Sai just kept talking. "You want to know about Sasuke. You want to know what's wrong with him, what he did, and why he's here."

 

"I said shut up." Naruto growled. "I never said that I-"

 

"-you didn't have to say it. This is his file, Naruto." Sai tried to give Naruto the folder but Naruto pushed it away and shook his head. Sai laughed a sinister laugh and took another step towards Naruto. "What? You can learn everyone else's secrets but when it comes to Sasuke, you don't want to know? Is it because you're scared? Scared that he'll be a monster, like Neji? Or an addict, like Haku? Or maybe he's been abused, like Hinata. You'll never know until you read it. What are you afraid of, Naruto?"

 

Who was this person that Sai had become? What happened to the person that Naruto knew, the one he'd gotten so close to over these past six months? Had he become jaded, or had he always been like this, and Naruto had never truly realized it? Who was he? "What are you afraid of?" he questioned again, laughing. "I'll tell you what he did, since you can't bring yourself to read it."

 

"No!" Naruto exclaimed, raising his voice louder than he ever had with Sai. "I don't want to know! I don't fucking want to know! Just shut up, Sai, just shut your fucking mouth!" Naruto turned away from him and rushed to the door, trying to leave as fast as possible. He wanted to go back to his room and sleep. He'd force himself to sleep now because there was no way that he could stay awake through this night.

 

But he couldn't escape the room without hearing Sai's last sentence. He couldn't get away before Sai revealed a secret that Naruto had never wanted to hear.

 

"Sasuke murdered his uncle; murdered him in cold blood."

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Peace & Love: DizziKatz