Paranoia

The sky was overcast with dark blue clouds. Chilly gusts of wind whistled through trees, whipping them around. The leaves rustled with harsh swishing sounds. The sun still hadn't made its appearance, the darkness of night still present.

Naruto slowly trudged through the bleak streets of Konaha, at a leisurely pace. His teeth chattered due to the cold. His stomach growled, craving food. The taste of bile still lingering in his throat. The streetlights illuminated the boy's features. Deep eye bags on his sunken face. His once bright cerulean eyes now dull resembling a doll.

The Uzumaki halted. Finally glancing around at the abandoned street. Surprised at how empty it was. It was 5 in the morning. Yes. But usually people would be out and about, morning jogs, grocery shopping, or just strolling around awaiting the sunset. But it was empty. Not even a stray cat could be seen. He shook his head, and continued strutting through the seemingly vacant village, hoping it would help clear his mind from prior events. It didn't.

His mind was still all over the place. It was unbelievable, truly. It had to be some sort of coincidence. It just didn't make sense. The images from the file made its way to the front of Naruto's brain. The man's mutilated face burned a hole into his memory. Never to be forgotten. There were cuts all over his body, long, angry gashes, as if it had been cut slow and painfully. He was hardly recognizable. Not that Naruto knew what he looked like before. He seemed familiar. Yes. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Distant shouts were heard echoing through the idle streets of Konaha. Naruto glanced up, turning towards the noise. Wondering if he heard wrong. He stood still awaiting more noise. Another rather loud, more painful sounding shout made its way to Naruto's ears.

What if…

No.

Naruto began chasing the sound. He attempted to steel himself for whatever he could be greeted with, but fear had already consumed his insides. Naruto arrived at the scene, taking in what was in front of him. He let out a breath, relief washing over his entire body. It was just some kids. But he soon realized what the problem was. The older, taller kid had backed the other younger kid into a corner. A menacing grin on his face.

The older kid was tall. Around five foot nine. He was lanky too. He had black hair that slightly covered his eyebrows, and green eyes to go with it. He looked to be older than Naruto, by a few years at least. The younger kid wasn't as intimidating. He was blonde with brown eyes. Short and skinny. Almost anorexic. Naruto grimaced at the scene unfolding in front of him. It sickly reminded him of his own childhood. Although his memory was foggy, the strong emotions he felt back then are unforgettable. Loneliness, anguish, hatred, and constant fear of people like this boy. The blue eyed boy clenched his fists. Eyebrows furrowing.

"What do you think you're doing!? Huh!?" Naruto yelled out, walking up to the two. Knuckles cracking. The two boys turned to look at Naruto. The younger boy stared at him, silently pleading for help.

"Teaching this little brat a lesson. Do you have a problem?" The older boy spat, glaring harshly at Naruto.

"Hell yeah I do." Naruto replied, reciprocating his glare. The older boy shoved the younger boy to the ground and began walking up to Naruto.

"Oh you tryna start somethin'? You better go run home to your mommy before I beat you to a pulp!" The taller boy grinned as he approached Naruto. The blonde rolled his eyes at the boy's remarks. He moved his hand to point to his headband, realizing he had forgotten to put it on. Okay we'll do this the hard way.

"Give it your best shot asshole!" Naruto shouted at the boy. He really hated people like this. The green eyed boy grew close, throwing a punch. Naruto dodged the punch with ease, grabbing the boy's arm in the process. Pushing him to the ground. Naruto turned the boy over, grabbing both his arms, holding him still. Naruto then placed his foot on his back, slightly pulling on his arms. The boy whimpered in pain.

"What? Have nothing to say now?" Naruto taunted, grinning like an idiot. He felt some of his confidence returning. What had taken place yesterday really killed his ego. He was beat down. In front of a whole audience. He cringed just thinking about it. But then again, the man was tall, and strong. Scary looking too.

The man did seem familiar. But from where? Where had he seen that same figure? He was racking his brain, searching for anything that looked somewhat like the man. Oh.

It clicked.

Naruto let go of the boy, stumbling backwards. His eyes wide. The black haired boy fell to the ground. Got up almost immediately, and ran away.

"That was the man from my dream." He mumbled to himself, shocked. Naruto dropped his head into his hands. He felt his head splitting open. This was crazy. It had to be another coincidence. It wasn't. He knew something was going on. First he has a strange dream about murder, and it just so happens that the person from his dream died in real life. And to make matters worse, it was someone he knew?! Naruto's breathing was becoming ragged. It was almost as if his body was punishing him for finding out the information.

"Thank—-thank you so much." The young kid said between sobs. The boy's words distracted Naruto from his internal battle. He lifted his head from his hands. He completely forgot about the young boy.

"Oh—uh no problem!" Naruto smiled. It was missing its usual shine, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Now go run home, I bet your parents are worried sick." The brown eyed boy nodded, smiling back. He then ran off. Naruto looked up, noticing that the sun was slowly rising. Casting rosy hues across the morning sky. Its rays shone softly on the village's streets. Illuminating the area. It was a beautiful sight to witness. Something that Naruto felt he didn't deserve to see. He had to snap back to reality, but this was hypnotizing.

"Oh man am I craving some barbeque." A familiar voice said. Naruto shook his head, recognizing the voice. Kiba. He quickly hid behind a trash can. He didn't really feel like keeping up with them, especially after the embarrassing events that took place earlier.

"I'm surprised you still want to eat after what Lady Tsunade told us. Plus it's early in the morning, that's really bad on your stomach. " Another voice lectured. Naruto raised an eyebrow. Trying to figure out who it was.

"C'mon Hinata, it doesn't hurt having some meat in the morning!" Kiba shouted. Naruto thought for a moment. 'Oh her!' It was strange hearing her voice though. She rarely ever talks. She also never fails to act strange when Naruto is near, getting red, passing out, stuttering. Naruto concluded that she needed a couple check ups from Lady Tsunade. Once the voices trailed off, Naruto made a run for his apartment. He still had lots on his mind, and thinking about all of this in the middle of the street with the sun blaring, definitely wasn't ideal.

…

The apartment was quiet. Eerily quiet. Naruto had barely made a sound in the many hours he had been home, the only noise coming from him being the occasional sigh and his slow regulated breaths. To put it shortly, he hadn't accomplished anything. Just blankly staring at his ceiling, eyeing the cracks and many flaws. Trying so hard to erase everything from his broken mind. Everything felt so surreal. The thirteen year old didn't have the brain capacity to process these events. He didn't know how to ease his mind.

Someone was dead. Their life was over. They would never eat or drink again, never experience joy or happiness. Naruto watched it happen, he watched the shadow strip life from that man with his own two eyes. He doesn't know how or why he witnessed such a thing. But for some bizarre reason, he didn't want to piece it all together. He didn't want to know where all the puzzle pieces go. Naruto would never come to terms with it but deep down, he was scared. Scared that if he did figure it out, he'd be next. The shadow would get him and he would end up just like that man. Dead. But, It's not that he feared death, it's just experiencing such a miserable and painful death was something the blonde never wanted to ever go through, he wouldn't wish it upon his worst enemy.

A loud groan escaped the blondes mouth as he slowly sat up for the first time in hours. His head throbbed, it had been pounding ever since he ran into those kids in the alley way. Not to mention his abdomen wasn't fully healed either. Eventually, he came to the decision that a cold shower would put his mind at ease and distract his mind from the painful reality. So, Naruto quickly stood up, almost instantly regretting his decision when two black dots appeared threatening to consume his vision. Hastily, he sat back down on his bed.

The Uzumaki had been feeling oddly fatigued recently. Maybe it was from the lack of food? Up until recently Naruto has never really struggled with eating; actually, just a couple weeks ago he was able to eat over 7 bowls of ramen in one sitting. But now, every time he eats, he gets unbearably nauseous. He can't even stomach one bowl of miso ramen anymore. So he's been sticking with small snacks like bananas and grapes. On the bright side, he should be happy he's eating healthier.. right?

The blonde steadily arose from his bed, cautious of the black dots. After standing for a few seconds he made his way to the closet, grabbing pajamas and underwear. When he arrived at the bathroom he stripped of his clothes and hopped in the shower. Cold water hit him like a shock wave. It was relieving. He could feel all of his pent up stress being washed away, swirling down the drain like it never matter in the first place. It was if time had frozen. All of his problems being washed away with the water.

By the time he got out of the shower two hours had already flown by. The sun was starting to set, sunlight pouring into his apartment window. He would be lying if he said he wasn't exhausted. Sleep was the only thing his body craved for. But it wasn't a luxury Naruto could afford right now. He wasn't going to risk that—thing making another appearance in his dreams. He didn't know how long he was planning to stay awake for. All he knew was that he definitely wasn't going to sleep tonight.

…

Time was going slow.

Too slow for Naruto's liking. All he longed for was the morning sun. The light ticking noises coming from the clock was becoming insufferable. He glanced up at the clock, checking it again. 1:24 AM. God, it had only been 10 minutes since he last checked. He felt like his mind was splitting into two. His apartment was hot and stuffy, he just couldn't get comfortable no matter what position he placed his body in. It was becoming too much, he had to leave. Naruto needed to escape. He grabbed a jacket, not in the mood to change out of his pajamas, and zipped it up. He threw his blue sandals on, making sure to bring a kunai just in case of emergency. The blonde grabbed the door handle, opening the door he walked through the doorway, and began his journey.

The cool late night wind brushed against his pale face as he walked down the familiar streets. He took a deep breath. It was strange. He felt alive. The most alive he had felt in weeks. He didn't know a late night stroll could improve his mood so sufficiently. He would definitely be doing this more often. There was a certain thrill of being out so late that Naruto couldn't put into words.

As his walk continued, so did his thoughts, his mind wandered off to past memories. Team 7, and all of his other friends. It was crazy to think that just two years ago they all wanted nothing to do with him. Too embarrassed to even be seen with him. Some of them might still think like that, but at least it's less transparent now. Naruto smiled to himself. Hopefully the old man was proud of him now. He had finally made friends, and stopped pulling pranks. Naruto hated to admit it, but the old man's death really hit him hard. He was the only adult to show any sort of affection towards him while he was growing up. His death still hasn't quite set in yet. He was alive not even 2 months ago.

And now he's just a memory.

"Just like that man."

A loud, yet mellow voice commented from behind Naruto. The Uzumaki jumped, but wasted no time getting into action. He pulled out his kunai and spun around. Greeted with nothing.

"Who's there!" He called out. His voice trembled as the air grew thick and eerie. It was getting hard to breathe. Naruto's hands shook and so did the kunai. He waited for a response, but he was once again greeted with nothing. Was he so paranoid that he imagined the voice? No. He's sure of what he heard. The blonde no longer wanted to stand still and wait for a response. He had to leave. Now.

Cutting his walk short he spun on his heel and sprinted to his apartment building. As he ran, he noticed it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe. He didn't care. He ran faster. Harder. In his head the perpetrator was right behind him. Chasing him with the intent to kill. He had to get to safety, no matter what. His apartment came into view but there was still a lack of relief. He wasn't inside yet. Naruto climbed up the stairs faster than ever before, skipping every 3 steps.

He ran to his apartment door, stopping right before he could enter.

Naruto was now completely consumed in fear. Panic racking through his body.

His breathing was off the charts.

His door was wide open.