Hello, Goodbye // A Kakanaru Story

Chapter 2

Hello, Neanai here. If you haven't already read in the description, the first five chapters of this story were written by theygone. The only things I change in these chapters is mild grammar or spelling issues. I might also break up really long paragraphs to make it easier to read. If you like it, please vote! Also, you can comment on how you want the story to go (short, long, etc). I hope you enjoy! Also, I just realized that this story is ranked! This time and I'm happy and nervous T^T. Okay enough talking, enjoy the next chapter!

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." --Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter Two:

An ominous and loud rattling startles Naruto out of one of his many nightmares and he sits up with a start. His cheeks are wet and his body is bathed in cold sweat. The sheets are twisted around his limbs, probably because he was thrashing around his limbs, and his alarm clock is blaring. It rattles against his bedside table tethering a little too close to the edge before it tumbles down to the floor in haste. Naruto stares at it with wide eyes, his breathing uneven and heartbeat hammering behind his ribcage.

His gaze shifts from his alarm clock down to his hands that are numbly sat in his lap and he stares at them oddly as if they are foreign to him. His alarm blares from the floor, the vibrations of the clock carrying it away in minuscule inches. He ignores it momentarily, his nightmares were still clinging to the back of his mind. Naruto falls back onto his bed with a deep sigh and throws an arm across his eyes. The sun peeks through his curtains lighting a path of dust particles and the morning murmurs from outside reminded Naruto of the position he's currently in. He was twelve and somehow had to stop a war from raging on. He releases another sigh, this time from his nose and slowly shifts himself into a sitting position, his feet dangling off the edge of his bed. His alarm clock is just under his feet still rining and he frowns before he stomps one of his bare feet onto it. It immediately quiets down and the small apartment laps into utter silence.

His heart aches painfully. He suddenly misses his team. His team. He raises his hands and places them over his ears, a coping mechanism that usually blocks out anything but the thrum of his heartbeat. He concentrates on that as the image of Sakura laying down on the ground, beaten and bruised, bloodied and pinned to the earth below her with kunai's, stares at him with lifeless eyes. Naruto's breath wavers between trembling lips and he snaps his eyes shut. "Stop" He mutters. "Stop", the image flips to that of Sakura's proud smile, the Hitai-ate flashing from the sun's glare as she points to it proudly. Sakura had been so pretty, so beautiful, she was one of his best friends. His closest friend. Naruto blearily recalls the time Sakura had all but invaded his personal space and had told him she understood, she was okay, with what Naruto was. With who he was. He remembers Sasuke, sharp and snarky at times, clever and so, so, so far away. He smirked ar Naruto, Onyx eyes filled with mirth, "What's wrong, scaredy-cat?" Kakashi-Sensei was lazy, sure, but he was a steady hand on his shoulder, guiding him and making sure he didn't cluelessly jump into things headfirst. Kakashi was a small, warm smile on the coldest of days. He really, really, missed them.

Sniffling loudly and ignoring the anxiety tearing through his veins, Naruto scrubs his hands over his face and furiously wipes away the tears that fall down his cheeks until they turn a dull red. He stumbles to his feet, forces himself to take a shower, changes into his clothes, stares at his orange jacket for five silent minutes and then pulls it over his shoulders and zips it too slowly as if he doesn't want to at all. He attaches his gear to his thigh and his waist and then grabs his Hitai-ate. He rubs a thumb over the metal and his blue eyes water again. God, he missed Iruka as well. That man was like an older brother to him. Bringing the headband up to his face, Naruto presses his nose into the familiar dark band. He inhales the familiar scent of Iruka and quivers quietly.