Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Prima Facie ❯ Easier To Run ( Chapter 3 )

Prima Facie

Chapter 3: Easier to Run

Disclaimer: No own Naruto-tachi and no own song it be Linkin Park's.

~o~

"Sakura!," he knocked on the door again but received no reply for the hundredth time. Tired of waiting Iruka decided to look around the house for another entrance. The backdoor was open but Iruka was a little hesitant to take that path, Arai slept there.

"Arai?," only silence greeted him so Iruka went inside. He walked into the room not the least bit surprised to find it empty, Arai was most likely at the Hyuuga home by now. She was known to go over there to do some training with Neji or talk with Hinata, she had developed some sort of friendship with them since coming to Konoha a few years ago. Iruka almost tripped over something on the floor and stumbled towards the wall hitting the light switch. The room was illuminated revealing décor that almost made Iruka run out of there. There was a collection of swords that would be enough to supply every Konoha soldier with two blades but that wasn't what got to Iruka it was the drawings of all the people of Konoha on the wall. Arai had apparently drawn the entire village at the Monument of Heroes. The colors used were very depressing, all shades of gray and blue though one person had a bit of a brighter color. Upon closer inspection Iruka noticed it was Naruto, his eyebrows crinkling in confusion as he tried to fathom why only Naruto wore a cheery color. He shook it off as he caught sight of the other art pieces, portraits of people like Neji, Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura. This confused Iruka more because of the simple fact that the last two were in colors that did not match at all with their personalities. Like Sakura in black and blood red a sort of cruel expression on her face that seemed to be mixed with pain while Sasuke was slightly smiling and in bright fleshy colors. Iruka wasn't any art expert so he decided to leave the shades of blue painted bedroom/laundry room.

As he walked up the stairs Iruka started to feel guilty for invading Sakura and Arai's home but it was only because he was worried about the pink haired girl. She had promised to meet him in front of the school for her first day as a Shinobi teacher but she had never shown up. He hadn't seen her all day and come to think of it he hadn't seen Naruto either. Worse was that the man at the ramen shop hadn't seen Naruto and Naruto went there every chance he got. Iruka stopped walking as he felt his toes getting wet and heard water splash under his open toe sandals. He crouched down touching the water on the floor then looked at his fingertips seeing it was a light red. Fear began to grow in Iruka at an alarming rate and he raised his hand to knock on Sakura's door causing it to open. The room was in complete chaos with pictures of Naruto and Sasuke all over the place, scratched up and slashed with red ink. Iruka tried to keep calm as he followed a trail of intact pictures of Team 7 that lead to the bathroom.

"Sakura?," there was liquid seeping under the door but it held a hint of red. Iruka tried calling her name again but there was no reply and with his worry as high as it was he didn't think twice before breaking down the door. A wave of water poured out of the bathroom, the water red and the reason for this falling to the floor with a thud. Iruka was shaking as he put his hands to his mouth trying to keep from throwing up or screaming out as lifeless green eyes stared up at him. When he removed his hands he screamed and dropped to his knees beside the girl pulling her body to him. He vainly searched for signs of life some false hope in him that she was still alive making him do so.

"She's dead just stop."

"Kakashi?," the jônin nodded his head even though the chuunin wasn't looking at him. Iruka trembled slightly as he let the truth over come him and Kakashi knowing the man was about to breakdown kneeled down to wrap his arms around him blocking his sight of the body. And he had held so much hope for the girl, he'd never expected her life to end this way she seemed so much stronger than that.

~o~

A knock on the door made the balled up person on the bed open their eyes but otherwise the nude male did not move. He remained in the fetal position as if trying to shield himself from some unknown attacker. His breathing was hard and seemed to be painful but he didn't say anything to justify it just laid there. Another knock came to the door this time louder like the door had been kicked not tapped with knuckles. Still the blonde did not move or even show that he was acknowledging the noise that had awoken him.

"Naruto you don't answer your door and its…," Kakashi stopped as he took in the state of his ex-pupil muttering a silent prayer even though he was never a really religious man. All he could do was pray for the child that was bundled in on himself on the bed looking to be half past dead. It was all Kakashi needed to see another one of his students in such a horrible state but it looked like the this one had physically survived the attack though mentally was something else altogether. Cautiously Kakashi stepped over to the bed reaching out to touch the fox frightened to find how unnaturally cold his skin was. There was only a pinch of heat that gave hint to life being in the otherwise devoid body.

"I couldn't find Sasuke. Its like he vanished from the… Naruto!," Iruka was at the boy's side in an instant pulling him into an embrace. Iruka hadn't expected what happened next, he was laid out on his back Naruto glaring down at him.

"Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me. Dirty. Broken. Used. Dirty. Broken. Filthy. Burden. Dirty. Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!," Kakashi pushed the yelling Naruto onto the floor trying to hold him down till his rage passed. Naruto continued screaming and thrashed wildly under his ex-Master's hold attempting to hit the Copy Ninja.

"Naruto calm down!"

"Please don't do this to me. Please not again. Not someone else. Onegai! Stop the pain.," Naruto began to cry shaking under Kakashi, "Please stop hurting me. Please stop the pain. Make it stop Kakashi-sensei." It was the first sign he showed of recognizing the people in his room and it made Kakashi feel a little hope that the boy wasn't completely lost. He let his hold on Naruto loosen surprised when arms came around him and a face buried itself in his chest to cry out a torrent of pain. Kakashi swallowed down the anger he felt at whoever had done this to his child, everyone of his students was his child and anyone who harmed them had to answer to him. Iruka felt the same way as he looked at Naruto vowing slow and painful torture to the lowlife who had abused Naruto. He didn't want to say it, none of the Shinobi wanted to, but they knew Naruto had been raped. The blood caked dry to his behind was all the proof they needed.

"Don't be scared Naruto I'm only going to wrap you in a blanket so we can discreetly take you to see Tsunade-sama." Naruto only gave a muffled `ok' as a reply and continued to sob into Kakashi's shirt soaking the fabric to the silver haired man's chest. Iruka grabbed a blanket wrapping it around the shaking blonde Kakashi then picking up the seventeen year old. Naruto gave a groan of protest as pain shot up his spine and he clung to Kakashi's shirt his cries intensifying. Kakashi looked over at Iruka noticing silent tears running down the man's already red from crying eyes. First Sakura was dead now Naruto had been raped and Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Kakashi hated to admit it but it was sure convenient that the Uchiha had gone missing just when tragedies had struck his two close friends.

~o~

"Did you hear what happened to Sakura and Naruto?," her voice was timid and soft as she spoke to the blonde. It was usually the blonde who had gotten all the gossip first but being on the medical team made her privilege to certain information.

"No, are they okay?," she put her tea cup down to stare at the raven haired girl not at all phased by her silver eyes. Those eyes were far too kind even if they were meant to intimidate people and the girl herself was even kinder.

"They were going to announce this later but I think its best that you be prepared for it first, Sakura is dead and Naruto has been badly injured. He's still at the hospital and arrangements for Sakura's funeral are being made." The blonde was completely frozen just staring at the other girl as if she had just stabbed her. She gulped down to clear her throat before speaking again but her voice was still squeaky.

"How did this happen?"

"It hasn't been confirmed but the theories are that Sasuke is behind both incidents."

"No, Sasuke wouldn't hurt them. They were his team mates, his friends and he loved them both in his own anti-social way. Hinata he would never hurt them and you know it."

"I know but its just that he hasn't been seen since two nights ago when he locked himself in the backroom at the party. Ino he looked very upset when he came downstairs and then Naruto came running out. What if he witnessed something between Sakura and Naruto and it made him angry?"

"He would never. Ask Arai, she was in there with him. You've seen her today right?" Hinata wanted to say yes but sadly she could not so shook her head no.

"I was surprised that she didn't come over yesterday and then she didn't come over today either, Neji-san says he hasn't seen her either. The last time either of us saw or heard from her was at Sakura's party and the nin at her home say that she hasn't even stopped by. They've declared her missing just like Sasuke but there are no suspicions on her."

"Oh so its only Sasuke who gets pinned with being a suspect when some psycho who waltzed into our village one day is missing?"

"Ino don't talk about Arai like that she has been through many things and you know she wasn't right of mind in the past."

"How can you defend her? How can you talk so calmly when our friends are falling apart? One is dead Hinata! Why don't you cry?"

"Because I've cried enough already!," she stood up with enough force to make her chair fall back, "I went to see Naruto and all he did was stare at me and yell for me to get away because of who I reminded him off! Guess who that someone was."

"Please don't say it.," Ino shook her head sadly not wanting to hear it but the name echoed in her own mind.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Face it Ino he drove Sakura to suicide and took advantage of Naruto because it was always Naruto he wanted… he had to have seen Sakura and Naruto together. Had to."

"So Sasuke is to blame for Sakura resorting to taking her own life and for Naruto being raped."

"He's to blame for both their escapes, Sakura her grave and Naruto his mind. Now he just runs away."

"He's such a coward taking the easy way out. He couldn't even face what he did." Ino looked at Hinata with tears in her blue eyes as she stood up. Hinata was crying as well as both girls embraced one another, a friendship solidified by the loss of two friends one to Death's cold grip the other to insanity. They had run away just like that without even a word to anyone but who could really blame them when its so much easier to run then face the pain that gnaws at you?

~o~

"Easier to Run"

Linkin Park

It's easier to run

Replacing this pain with something numb

It's so much easier to go

Than face all this pain here all alone

Something has been taken

From deep inside of me

A secret I've locked away

No one can ever see

Wounds so deep they never show

They never go away

Like moving pictures in my head

For years and years they've played

If I could change I would

Take back the pain I would

Retrace every wrong move I made I would

If I could

Stand up and take the blame I would

If I could take all the shame to the grave

I would

Sometimes I remember

The darkness of my past

Bringing back these memories

I wish I didn't have

Sometimes I think of letting go

And never looking back

And never moving forward so

There would never be a past

Just washing it aside

All of the helplessness inside

Pretending I don't feel misplaced

Is so much easier than change

It's easier to run

Replacing this pain with something numb

It's so much easier to go

Than face all this pain here all alone