Primal Love (Naruto)

８- The Fall.

Naruto opens his eyes and sees darkness. It was as if he hadn't opened his eyes at all. The first thing he noticed  was this weird smell, that was oddly familiar waft to his nose; the second thing, was that he was alone. He hoped to himself that this wasn't another one of his dreams- nightmares or even his traumatic reality. Naruto heard nothing, save for that damned shower running; something that was always a factor in this hellish reality that plagued his mind, preying at the tiny shred of fragile psyche he harbored. He quickly pinched himself to determine if this was real. If this was actually happening, because he was not leaving the bed until he knew. The pinch hurt, causing him to grimace; he deducted that this was in fact real.

Naruto got out of bed and planted his bare feet on the cold hardwood floor. A chill running up his spine, already adding to the eerie atmosphere. As he cautiously made his way to the hallway, he took notice of how empty the house seemed; like no one had lived here for a while. That weird smell grew stronger and stronger with each step. When he reached the bathroom door, he put his hand on the cold knob; he had to tell himself that he he will be okay, that whatever was behind that door couldn't actually hurt him. He pushed it open, letting it go by itself as if something would pop out and attack him. He still stood in the hallway, staring in, fear planting his feet on yhe spot, stopping him from crossing that threshold.

That smell that he couldn't quite pinpoint clawed it's way up his nostrils, making him comb back through memories where he had smelled it before. Crying was heard through the tiny bathroom, echoing off the walls and driving him crazy. It was her. He stepped further into the bathroom, not seeing anything behind the shower curtain. The suspence killed him, but smell made him sick. As his hands grasped the curtain, everything continued; the crying ensuing.

When Naruto ripped away the curtain, he saw her crouched figure, back turned from him. The steam from the hot water rose up almost clouding his vision. Her wet hair draped around her face, creating a veil; and her white dress clung to her body, the opacity nearly gone and he could see her sun-kissed skin poking out of it. Without thinking, he got in and hugged her, pulling her body close to him.

Her skin was deathly cold despite the intensity of the hot water. That forsaken smell violated his nose, but he didn't care. He couldn't tell if her body quaked from her crying or from the coldness that clung to her skin.

"What's wrong...why are you crying?" She answered him with a shake of her head. "C'mere let me see you." He raised her face up gently and saw her red rimmed eyes, the only indication she had been crying. Blood poured out of her head, from a fairly large laceration. "What happened?!" He asked in a panic, but again she shook her head 'no'.

"W-why...?" She stuttered out and immediately shut her mouth, like she had been holding something in.

"What...?" He asked. She opened her mouth and blood sputtered out of it, spraying Naruto in the face. In a frenzy, he rushed back, the water hitting him in the eyes more. Blood continued to pour out of her mouth and her wailing grew unbearably loud. Then, he woke up.

He jolted up from that nightmare. Or whatever it was, with wide eyes. The thing that scared him the most, was that he was no longer in the comfort of the bed, he was in that damned claw-foot bathtub. He suddenly remembered the smell and the reason why it was so familiar; it was death.

She opened the front door in a disoriented state, sliding down it, once she closed it. The word 'no' repeated in a mantra from her mouth. A terrible headache pounded her head, and her throat felt horribly parched for some reason.

The bathroom door opened, and Naruto stumbled out in a distraught state. She looked up at the same time he had, and they both stared at each other; their eyes burned each other, sending unspoken words. Naruto spoke first, breaking the silence.