Faded (Naruto Fanfiction) [Sasuke/Naruto] *Possibly being revised in 2020*

Prologue (Naruto's POV) *Edited*

I knew I had to run.

They were chasing me and they would not give up, even I knew that, the ever so stupid idiot. My weak jumpsuit could never be enough to protect me from wind or rain, let alone sharp weapons and fire. Days before the Kyuubi Festival - and my birthday in turn - I had brought back Sasuke. We were both beaten up, maybe me a bit more than him with a Chidori to the stomach whilst I made sure my Rasengan only slightly grazed his side. It had taken a long time, but I'd finally managed to convince him back.

On our way back to the village, he passed out from chakra exhaustion and blood loss, him not having a demon inside him to aid healing and boost his chakra. When we got to the gate, Sasuke was immediately taken from me and hospitalised, most of the ninja believing that he was the one bleeding profusely rather than me. I was a monster, I wasn't supposed to be good or loved like a hero, I wasn't supposed to be happy. Hell, I wasn't even supposed to be alive.

This lead me to my terrible situation. Both citizens and ninja running after me with kunai, shurikens, pitchforks, fiery torches and multiple jutsu, both elemental and general. I heard a shout of "Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)" behind me and felt flames licking the back of my clothes before I turned to corner in an attempt to find another route to shake off the crowd.

Before me was a dead end, a disgusting wall next to piles of overflowing trash; the perfect place to be beaten to death. As I reached the end, I turned around, prepared to face the crowd, when a kunai was thrown straight through my right hand. I was pinned to the wall as another stabbed through my left, pinning it to the wall. Once I was 'secured', the villagers descended upon me.

A kunai was thrust into my stomach as the crowd moved in closer around me. Faces spat and sneered at me, kunai slashed and stabbed at me, jutsu assaulted and attacked me, there was no room for me to move or even attempt escape. I could hear Kurama in my head, screaming at me to "Move!" and "Just get out, Tsunade will understand if you attack them for self-defense!". Maybe he would be able to do that.

If I did that, everyone else would believe that I really am a monster, that all those screamed insults were the truth. A fresh pain in my hands pulled me away from my thoughts and back into the Hell that was my reality. I twisted my head, looking at my left hand, before realising they had yanked out the kunai, quickly repeating the action with the other, causing me to fall flat on the floor, my face pressed into the dirt and the dust on the floor finding its way into my wounds.

Seemingly thousands of legs crushed me downwards, forcing me even more into the floor and pushing the breath from my lungs. Feet kicked my ribs, cracking them as blood bubbled up my throat from the internal damage and spilled out onto the floor. A singular leg came smashing down on my head, snapping my neck to the side as my vision faded to black.

Posted: 16/03/17

Edited: 21/01/18