NARUTO:

BY Marlonian Hayes

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A Tribute to Father's Day

Part 3

The tall shadows that were trees passed by him. Dark greens and browns separated the every looming darkness between them. Faces, horrible smiling faces peered out at him as he raced further and further into the woods. Trying to escape, he did not realize that he was only further entrapping him self.

The grass was already wet with dew, which made it harder to keep his balance. But the laughing, the sneering, the staring, all of it forced the boy forward. He ran faster and faster, not really caring where he went.

Trees sped by on either side of him, the landscape never changing.

Finally, his body had had enough. His legs buckled suddenly, sending the boy falling face first into the wet grass. His tired mind wouldn't let him rest though, as he saw the chastising faces draw nearer. "No!" he screamed into the night, not realizing that no one was there to hear him.

Pushing him self back up, the young boy began to run again, his pale skin looking even paler against the moon light.

Even though his mind pushed him further, his body could not take it. It needed to rest, it needed a break from the running, it needed sleep. Again, the boy fell, and again he rose and ran. By now, his black pants had grown damp and his white shirt was covered in stains from the whipping branches and wet grass. His feet were sore and his legs even sorer. His chest heaved in and out with exhaustion, making every breath painstakingly necessary.

His time was up, his body could not tolerate any more. Giving out for the third time, the boy began to fall. But his knees hit a log half way, a log he had not seen before. Sending his body over the long, he suddenly found him self rolling down a steep hill. Rocks lined this hill, and they jabbed into his sides and ribs.

Too numb from the pain and the running, he did not feel the cold as it grasped his body. Lying at the bottom of the hill, the young child closed his eyes and did not resist when dreams came to take over him.

Two days later…

I remember running, I remember falling, I remember those horrible faces, and I remember waking up. I don't know why I woke up, I knew what life would be like if I did. But, I felt I had to.

The warmth, I think that's what I felt first. My body wasn't as numb as when the darkness enveloped me. Now, now I could feel my self. I knew I was there and didn't feel so disembodied. Still a little unsure, I twitched my right index finger: it seemed to work okay. So, I clenched my hand into a fist, that's when I felt something soft between my fingers.

Deciding, I should investigate, I slowly opened my eyes. Unfortunately, it wasn't slow enough, as light quickly blinded me. My eyelids slammed shut again, hurting from the sudden brightness. Again, I tried to open them. This time the light didn't bother me as much and I was able to open my dark eyes fully.

Blinking a couple of times, I soon realized that the light was attached to a tiled ceiling. Heaven, I thought it would be more cloudy or something. Why heaven? Where else would I be after I died? Or, could this be hell? The devil is known for playing tricks, maybe this is one of them.

Taking in a deep breath, I quickly realized that it was neither heaven nor hell, but somewhere in between. The air was filled with a pine smell, like some cleaner. It could only be earth. Wanting to be certain, I turned my aching head slowly. What I saw was a bit of a surprise.

There was no doubting it, I was in a hospital. This meant that someone had found me. Whom it was, I could have a guess for. But I had a hunch that my guess was right. As usual, everything was white, except the door and the few flowers. My room was a private one, with my bed by the window. This was across from the door. On the opposite side of the room there was a small end table with an empty vase on it. Flowers were painted on it instead.

An occupied chair sat next to the table. I smiled softly at the figure sitting in the cheap, plastic seat.

A man, most likely in his mid-twenties, sat there with his head in hands and elbows rested on his thighs. Spiked, mud brown hair was uncombed and the man's clothes were ruffled. Probably sensing that I was watching him, he slowly rose his head to look into my eyes. It was then that I realized that he must have been sitting there the whole time I had been here. Bags made him look twice his age and tired eyes slowly began to turn in a smile when he saw that I was awake.

Touched by how much he cared for me, my soft smile turned into a look of happiness and worry. He didn't seem to notice too much as a small smile spread across his face. Standing up from the chair, the man began to walk over to me, his face all too familiar. For some reason, I always liked how pronounced his cheekbones were.

Kneeling down beside me on the bed, the man placed a hand on my forehead and asked, "How ya feeling buddy?" I couldn't help but smile a full smile of happiness. However, when I tried to speak, my voice wouldn't come fully like my smile. Instead it was soft and a bit raspy. "My head hurts a little, but I'm okay." Shaking his head in agreement, the man stood up and walked over to the door.

I caught the sight of one of Konoha's nurses walking by. He grabbed her attention and she nodded when he was done speaking. Walking away down the hall quickly, I could only hear the clicks of her heels for a short time. Sighing, the man pulled him self back into the room and picked up the chair.

Setting it next to my bed, he could almost be eye level with me. I looked up into his happy eyes, I could tell that he was overwhelmed with joy. I gave a quick little smile, as if to say it was okay now. He nodded and then placed an arm around my abdomen, reading my mind. The man gently helped me up into a sitting position, knowing my body was still sore. "Thank-you," I rasped quietly.

Taking a quick moment to look out the window of my room, I could see a beautiful summer day. The trees were green and covered with many leaves. Birds sang and the clouds casually floated by. The trained ears of a shinobi could pick up many things, and Sarutobi-sensei always said I had a sixth sense. I could easily hear the many happy citizens walking the street outside.

"You know," I looked back to the man sitting by my bed, "You had me worried." I nodded shyly, putting some of my long black hair back behind my ear. Was I really that pale? I guess it would be hard to tell if I were sick by the color of my skin. Unless I turned pink! The thought made me laugh a little bit. Sarutobi-sensei became curious and leaned forward a bit. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing really," I tried not to speak too much, although my voice sounded a bit better. An awkward silence suddenly passed between us. I looked back down at my hands, not wanting to look him in the eyes again. I knew what I had done was rash and that it had worried him a lot. I couldn't help but feel ashamed and disgraced for my cowardly actions. "I'm sorry," I whispered, barely audible. I was close to tears and what little dignity I had left was wearing away. Somehow, I think he knew that.

Placing an understanding hand on my shoulder, soft words slowly made their way to me. "It's okay Orochimaru. I can understand what you're going through." For once, since I was even younger than I am now, I felt that I could trust someone. I could rely on Sarutobi's words and look to him for comfort. Something, I never could do with my father.

When I was silent, sensei continued, "A friend of mine, when we were young together, lost his parents when he was just a bit older than you. I thought he would pain forever. Every time I saw him, his eyes were red from crying. Soon, he started to separate him self from the rest of us: keeping inside and skipping classes at the academy." He sighed just a little bit. The short pause made me turn my head up, and then our eyes locked again. His still held a great deal of worry for me.

"So, what happened to your friend?" At this, a great smile spread across Sarutobi's face. "He realized that they still lived with him in his heart. He went on with his life and made up all the classes he'd miss after school. Soon, he became a great ninja, created his very own jutsu, and went on to become the second hokage."

At this, my mouth dropped open. I had no idea that my very own sensei had been good friends with the second. A smile suddenly spread across my face "Thank-you Sarutobi-sensei." I gently whispered, even though my throat was feeling much better. Sarutobi-sensei smiled and shook his head.

I was young and couldn't help it, besides, I don't think he minded at all. In fact, the action I was about to take might have eased him a bit. I quickly leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, the blanket on the bed falling off the bed in process, "I won't run from my fears any more." At first, he didn't react. Then, his face eased up a bit as he patted my back with one hand. "Instead, how about I help you face them," he said back.

I pulled away and looked into his now content eyes. I nodded gently and suddenly felt woozy. Putting my hand up to my forehead, I tried not to sway in my seat. Becoming my teacher again, Sarutobi-sensei gripped my wrist and placed a hand on my back. "Whoa, too much for you right now." I didn't resist or protest when he gently helped me lay back down. Pulling the blanket off the floor, he draped it over me and tucked in the ends around my body.

I smiled, just before succumbing my self to sleep. That last I saw was his gentle face watching over me, a small smile upon his lips. I smiled as well, then closed my eyes and entered into dreamland. All I could think about in my dreams was spending time with my father. Only, in his place, I saw Sarutobi-sensei: because a father is the greatest friend one can have.

End of Part 3

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Note I love Orochimaru, whether anyone else does or not.