Never Again: Sequel to The Different One (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 4: The Mask

I pushed away from the table and jumped out of the chair.

His eyes widened. "What's wrong? Is something wrong?"

I ran out of the house, making my legs go as fast as possible.

Even here, she is still able to catch up with me. Why is she constantly haunting my life? I was able to run away from the village and yet...

I closed my eyes and ran faster, not really having a destination.  Suddenly, I ran into someone with all of my force.

"Ah!" The person yelled out as I fell on top of him and we both rolled down the side of a small hill.

He clutched my shirt with all his might and wouldn't let me go as we continued to roll. He lost his grip on my shirt and went up to grab something else, but he ended up reaching up and ripping my mask off.

We finally stopped at the bottom of the hill. My breathing and heartbeat was out of control along with the boy's.

I opened one of my eyes and saw the boy, Masara, from before. He was on top of me, staring at my face.

I pushed him off and stumbled a bit as I tried to run again, but I was so out of breath that I could only run a few feet before falling back on the ground. I tried to keep my breathing calm as the world around me felt like it was turning upside down.

I gripped the grass tightly beneath me. I held my head in my hands and brought my knees to my chest. I held in my tears by replacing the regret and fear with pain. My nails dug deep into my palms and drew a bit of blood.

Another heartbeat came closer to me. I brought my knees closer when the person was right in front of me.

"H-Hey... I'm really sorry about your mask, if that's what you're upset about." Masara put one of his hands on my shoulder, but I smacked it away.

"Just... Please stay away. I don't want to see anyone. Leave me alone..." I gripped my palms harder then felt the warm blood drip down my face.

"I think what you need most is to see someone. You're bleeding..." He pulled my hands away from my face and I didn't bother to resist.

My tears spilled over as he pulled my fingers away from my palms. He took something out of his pocket and put it on the wounds my nails had created. He let go then I looked down at my hands. He had wrapped some bandage around them to cover up my wounds.

"Hey, it's okay. I can take you somewhere where you can be alone if you want."

I didn't reply back. He waited for a second before speaking up again.

"I can even get you another mask. I'm training to be a sculptor like my father. Maybe I can make you one." He smiled, putting out a hand for me to take.

I stared at it, crying silently as I pondered whether to take it or not. He seemed like a nice person, but... He was also related to her.

I made my decision and put my hand in his.

His cheeks turned a bright red and he pulled me up off of the ground. "See, you're going to be okay. Follow me and I'll take you to that place I was telling you about."

He turned in the direction I was originally running and pulled me behind him. I lightly pulled at my hand, hoping he would get the memo and let me go, but he kept a firm grip on me.

"You know," he said after a few moments of silence, "I don't know why you wear that mask. You are actually quite pretty. I even think your scar is cute. It makes you look tough."