You laugh at me because i'm different... But I laugh at you because you're all the same.
A Place They Call Home
Chapter One
A New Light
In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by Acers and Akers of hills, farm land, and long winding gravel roads stood a white building. Hills surrounded it, blocking it off. The iron fence that contained the building gave it a almost Hollywood haunted house look. The whole building clashed with it's surroundings. Out the front, a large- but slowly rotting away sign stood, creaking in the light mid-day wind. The word: HOME, was plastered in the middle of the old piece of metal. Although under the sign, in small lettering that HOME, which could easily be over looked read; 'Psychiatric Hospital.' Since it was located in the middle of nowhere, they didn't put a town, or city name on it. Just 'Psychiatric Hospital.' The place that mentally unstable go.
The white building was huge. Surrounding it was fields of grass, and occasionally a small group of blossoming flowers could be seen. Off to one side stood a glass house- and even though the glass was fogged and a smoky colour, fields of blurred coloured could be seen. The building had multiple windows, one of each floor, which reached up to more than 5 in a row. All the windows were tinted. And for good reason, some people would say. You wouldn't want to drive by the building and see someone watching you- a lust look within their eyes.
Miles away, in a totally new scene with cars polluting the air, people screaming at each other, and crime was always happening a phone rang.
The owner of the phone placed his hand up, and casting the pink haired girl who sat next to him in the small cafe causing her to stop mid sentence. She jumped slightly, but nodded her head as he cast her 'sorry' gesture, and sipped her hot chocolate while she cast her eyes out the window in which they sat in front. Watching as people hurried through the streets, trying to get to one place or another. While the man searched through his black jean jacket for the object that continued to ring. He let out a joyful "Ah ha!" as he pulled out the compact black cell and placed it to his ear.
"Hello, Dr. Uzumaki speaking."
"Dr. Uzumaki, its Hinata." Replied his co-worker, and long time friend.
"Oh, hello. I'm just here at a downtown cafe with Sakura-chan. How can I help you?" At the sound of her name, Sakura turned towards the blonde boy, green eyes showing confusion. Naruto just mouthed the word 'Hinata,' which received a nod from the curious girl as she continued to sip her drink.
"Well Dr. Hatake just called."
"Uh huh."
"He said that he read through your resume- and said that he'd like to have an interview with you." Naruto had applied for a new job, since he was just out of training; he'd been doing small jobs, like working part-time at the hospital and small clinics. His good friend- who had been his guardian until he was 18 recommended that he called his boyfriend, Dr. Kakashi Hatake.
"Wow, really? That's great! Did he say a time or anything like that?" He couldn't help but express his excitement.
The sound of papers being moved could be heard through the phone, "Yeah.. Well since it's a bit out of here he recommended about 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. And if there's any trouble with the time- that we could just give him a ring back. Iruka has his number, he said."
"No, 4:30 is fine. I'll stop by the clinic later on today to pick up the directions."
"Okay. I'll see you then. Bye, Naruto."
"See you later, Hinata."
And with the click of his phone as he closed the flip the convocation ended. Sakura just continued to stare at the blue eyed 20 year old, her hot chocolate forgotten. He kept silent, making Sakura frown slightly, "So..."
Naruto snapped out his daze and turned towards Sakura, a jaw hurting grin was shown on his face, "You know how Iruka recommended that I try out for a job at his boyfriends work?" Sakura nodded, remembering correctly when they were sitting around the coffee table at Iruka's small house discussing places Naruto could get a job at, "Well Dr. Hatake rang the clinic and I've got a interview with him tomorrow at 4:30."
The older girl by a year wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and gave him a hug, "Wow, that's great!"
"Yeah, I can't wait!" Sakura pulled back and gave him a friendly grin, "But what if I mess up during the interview! What if he doesn't like me!" He continued to babble about all negative possibilities that could happen tomorrow at the interview. He didn't even hear Sakura repeating his name until she poked his upper arm, causing his whiskered face to look at the girl he use to have a crush on growing up.
"Everything's going to be fine." She told him slowly, as he robotically nodded, feeling a bit for calmer as he stared at his reflection mirroring off his mug of black tea. Sakura sighed and picked up her purse, putting a few bills onto the table top. "I hate to leave like this, but Lee is looking' after the twins at home. And I think the paint's still out." Sakura and Lee were happily married- and they had been for a year and a half. Their twins; Gabe and Rein were a handful to look after, since they were at active as they father. Who use to walk around the whole city on his hands as a morning routine. Before Sakura had fallen pregnant, she was working full time at the hospital, but since the twins were barely 6 months old she was on leave. Lee and Sakura owned a large family home, and were in the progress of redecorating, which meant repainting the walls.
Naruto cringed in understanding, he didn't know how Sakura did it. He found it hard enough when he had to look after Gabe and Rein for the few minutes while Sakura went down to the store or even just to cook dinner. And somehow the wonder-woman could look after both children and Lee.
Sakura bent down and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. A friendly one. Sakura knew about Naruto's crush on her, and even through the blue eyed adult was broken by Sakura getting together with Lee, he over came that bump. It's just a part of life- and he believed that one day he'll find his true love. Naruto stayed there while he finished his tea, thinking over the convocation with Hinata. The butterflies fluttered around in his stomach, giving him a uneasy feeling. Although it was his first real job.
He paid for his drink- and Sakura's with the money she left and drove strait to the clinic. He was to excited to go home and wait- and at least when he got the instructions he could keep his mind occupied while he mapped out his journey. The familiar jingle of the bell chimed as Naruto pushed the door open and was greeted to a average waiting room with only one occupant, who was busily typing away at one of the computers.
The girl looked up startled. Her reaction time was little bit slower. Long black hair, a dark blue hue to it was tied into a loose pony tail at the bottom of her neck. Clear, pupil-less gray smoky eyes looked up at Naruto, a friendly expression on her face. "Hello, Dr. Uzumaki." She greeted politely.
Naruto just laughed, "You can just call me Naruto. You should know that Hinata-chan."
The said girl just nodded, a slight blush grazed her cheeks. "Okay then Naruto. I suppose you're here for the instructions. And good luck on the interview tomorrow!"
"Yeah, that's right. Thank you!" He grinned proudly, as Hinata searched though the mountains of paper coated her desk. Hinata was the person who sat at the desk at the clinic, and also a part-time worker as a doctor. Her cousin was top doctor at the clinic- so it was practically family run. Neji- Hinata's cousin and herself, even though they were related had a deep love for each other. And all of their friends supported them. Hinata and Neji had gone to the same school as Naruto, although Neji was always a year above them. Which was how Naruto scored his job at the clinic.
It didn't take long before Hinata passed Naruto a small piece of note paper and a map, in which Naruto thanked her with a smile, "There's a map for you to put down the directions, and if you have any trouble; I would suspect Iruka could help you out."
Naruto nodded his head in a agreement and leant over the desk to give Hinata a friendly hug. The rest of the day went slowly, to Naruto's disappointment. He went back to his small, but homey apartment- changed into a pair of jeans and a neon orange T-shirt and spent most of the night over at Iruka's house.
Since Naruto lived with Iruka with practically his whole life, since he was practically Iruka's adopted son; he'd normally eat dinner around their, then go back home. Iruka met Kakashi Hakata when Naruto was only 7, and as he was growing up, the fact that Iruka was gay never bothered the blonde. He would encourage their relationship. Sadly, since Kakashi's work was a bit out of the city, they didn't live with each other. But they kept in touch by phone, and Kakashi would visit Iruka whenever he could- which would normally be on the weekend.
At exactly 11am, the next day- which happened to be a Wednesday- Naruto was sitting in his small car, the map spread out on the passenger seat, as he checked to make sure everything was in order. He'd had morning dinner with Sakura, Lee, Gabe, Rein, Iruka and even Neji and Hinata made it. They were simply there for encouragement, but Naruto was glad that they took time out of their lives to wish him luck.
The first thing the young doctor noticed once he escaped the city was how quiet it was. No houses were seen, just non-stopping Acers of grass. No other cards drove down the same gravel road, which made him wonder if he was going in the right direction. Occasionally he would glance over at the map by his side; just to make sure he was going in the right direction because everything looked the same, no matter how far he drove.
It was until 3:45 that a sign came into view, followed by a large white building came into view. The driver rejoiced and drove over to a small area where a few cards were parked outside the gate. With a double check to make sure everything was okay, he exited the car. Like a tidal wave, the air suddenly became thick- deadly. And even though there was no wind, he shivered slightly. His senses were alert for any danger, but he couldn't see anything. Naruto was contemplating about getting back into the car and driving off, but he decided against it. He'd met Kakashi a few times, and he seemed like a okay kind of guy, so if Kakashi worked at this place, then it couldn't be too bad.
After telling the voice at the intercom who he was, and why he was there the large gates opened, scraping on the gravel ground, making Naruto cringe slightly. He stepped slowly, and cautiously onto the lush grass, feeling emptiness inside of him. He walked over to the tinted doors and pulled them, and when they didn't budge he gave a nervous laughter and pushed them, causing him to be momentarily blinded by all of the white.
It looked just like the waiting room back at the clinic, but it was larger, and whiter. Instead of having soft chairs, there were cold plastic ones you find at schools. Nothing seemed welcoming. There were countless doors coming off the large room, and the sound of someone typing away echoed off the walls. He entered deeper into the jaws of the room, and it wasn't until he was standing in front of the desk did the lady dressed in a white lab coat lift her head of blond hair slowly.
"How can I help you?" she asked, in a robot voice, giving Naruto his full attention, blue eyes stared into his own ocean orbs curiously.
"Yeah, um.. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm here for a interview with Dr. Hakata, but it's not until 4:30..." He couldn't help the tremble of embarrassment in his voice.
The lady looked thoughtful for a moment, as if she was trying to remember something, "Naruto... Hmm, do you know anyone called Sakura by any chance? Short pink hair, big forehead?"
"Sakura, yeah. She's one of my good friends. Why?"
The girl gave off a light laugh, "I can't believe you don't remember me!" Naruto frowned in confusion, "Ino... Ino Yamanaka."
It took Naruto a moment to click, but he had always been the slowest to understand things, "Wow, I haven't seen you in years! Where have you been hiding?"
She signaled the room, "I've been working here and I have a small cottage just a few minutes down the road. I've been meaning to visit all of you, but I haven't really had the time. How is everyone back there?"
And so Naruto and Ino caught up on all the stuff that happened. Ino had kept distant contact with Sakura though the phone, but other than that she was surprised to hear how everyone else was doing. It wasn't until a phone next to Ino started to ring, in which she answered it in a very business tone that Naruto realized that time had sped up, and it was already 4:25. The butterflies returned, and he felt like a teenager asking out the cutest girl in class.
Just as Ino put the phone down, one of the doors to the far left opened as Kakashi entered. He wore a white coat much like Ino's. His hair was spiking up in the same way Naruto had always seen it, and he continued to wear a dark cloth over 3/4 of his face. He smiled when he saw Naruto, who bowed politely.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." He apologized, bowing slightly. He walked over to Ino and passed a folder of papers over to her, "I believe patient in room 27 needs a lower dose of medication. He seems to be greatly improving, and I talked to some of the other staff, and he should be able to leave sometime room."
"That's great!" Ino replied with a smile as she placed the folder in front of her, opened it and started typing away at her computer.
Kakashi turned to Naruto and scrunched his visible eye into a smile and walked over to a door, "Well go to my office, then we can get this interview started, okay?"
The blond haired boy mutely nodded his head and followed like a lost puppy. They walked down a empty hall before coming to a short stop at a door, in which turned out to be Kakashi's office.
It was more 'homey' than the rest of the building, in which Naruto was thankful. Although he couldn't help but grin when he saw pictures of Iruka around the room. He sat down in a chair facing a wooden desk as Kakashi took the one opposite him.
"I hope you didn't have any trouble finding the place," Kakashi asked, pulling the boy out of his thoughts.
He shook his head, "Nope."
"That's good. Now; I looked through the resume, and you seem to have all the qualities to work here. Although, as you may know; this is a Psychiatric Hospital, so it's more difficult than working at a normal hospital, or a clinic." Naruto nodded his head in understanding. In all the excitement, he almost forgot what kind of hospital it was. "The patients, if you don't mind me saying; Crazy. They don't see things as we do, much like little children. But you need to remember that they're human as well.
"Each patient has a different personality. Some like you spending time with them, while others don't. You need to respect their wishes. Although most of them are fairly easy to get along with. The building is set into different levels, as you may have noticed. From the bottom up is how serious their condition is. The bottom floor are the one's who are just here for a short time, while the top floor is for the one's who had, and will be here for a longer amount of time.
"For starters, I will assign you to the bottom floor, but sometimes you may need to take some food up to the top floor. If you feel awkward with anything, then please do tell someone. And you need to remember that this is serious- it's not a game."
It took Naruto to get over the serious tone in Kakashi's voice before it clicked, "So I got the job?"
Kakashi nodded his head in response, "And I understand that you live awhile away. There is a few small cottages a little bit away where you can stay," Naruto remembered when Ino mentioned where she lived, "We'll start you off at just a few hours a day, but when you grow more accustom to the place, we'll allow you to work for longer. Now, do you have any questions or concerns?"
Naruto thought for a moment, "When can I start?"
"Right now if you want. We have a uniform already set out for you- go into the office and talk to Ino about it."
The blond haired boy stood up, the grin still placed. He never knew it would be so fast and simple. He shook hands to Kakashi, suppressing a small cry of excitement as he exited the small room and walked with a skip in his step, into the office where Ino was waiting.
Somewhere on the top floor, was a small room. Unlike the rest of the hospital it was shadowed in thick suffocating darkness. A bony hand reached up to oily black locks, pulling at them with bleeding fingers until they started tearing- falling to the floor like black blood. With skin under his nails he screamed, a ear piercing scream. But no one came. No one went to check if the boy was okay. And so, once the echo ended, he fell to the ground with a large thump, bony knees pulled up to his chest, hands clamped tightly over his ears, leaving a red stain all over his face. His breath was raspy and dry, and his body constantly shook. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his bottom lip poured out dark blood, from where he had been biting.
"Get out of my head!"
By
Elocia