[HOLD] Plain Sight

Chapter 9: Selflessness

The Uchiha crashed through his deserted compound, his only thought was making it to his room. To try and hide away from the reality of what happened to the other boy. It would serve no purpose, the image was engraved into his head like the monumental heads engraved in the mountain's stone.

He made it to the room and tumbled himself into bed, covering his body with his blankets. But he dare not sleep. Sleep would only remind. It would only haunt.

What he'd seen didn't match the same energy as his family's massacre, everyone was already dead, merely slashed down by a quick stroke of Itachi's sword. They weren't alive, they didn't feel much of anything when it happened. The off few that he did see get cut down were dead in a matter of seconds if even that.

His mind wandered back to his fellow academy student. Was it right to leave him like that? Did I do the right thing? Doubt clouded his mind, but fear barricaded his judgment.

What would he be able to do to help anyway? Nothing. He was always cold to the boy and everyone for that matter, why help him when they hated each other to begin with. Helping others would get in the way of his overall goal of seeking and evoking revenge on his murderous brother.

Sasuke forced himself to think of what exactly he aimed to achieve in the future. Kill his brother. But what was helping a kid who was brutally mutilated going to do to my future? Nothing. An audible growl escaped his throat.

He shook his head, the thoughts flinging from his train of thought. No, he wouldn't cave. In order to complete his destiny, to obtain power, avenge the deaths of his family, he couldn't afford to let anything get in the way.

Morals would become his enemy. Being a good person, which was naturally in his nature, would be hard to derive from. That being said, Sasuke let out a growl when his mind couldn't take the thoughts anymore and flipped the covers off of himself and got up from his bed.

"God damn it. Always a nuisance, ruining everything, Naruto." With that, he darted out of his compound without looking back. Would he regret this decision later? Probably.

Naruto's consciousness regained. His mind stirring from his distressed slumber and his awareness of the surroundings around him awakened.

He felt horrible. Grime, sweat, and bloody "tears" ruined his appearance. Clamminess wiped over the feeling of his palms as he opened his clenched fists. The bathroom tiles were cold against his blood-ridden cheek as he'd ended up laying flush on the ground, lathering himself in yet another sheet of dirt and grime.

How long was he out for? It couldn't have been more than a few minutes. It was true, in actuality, only about five to six minutes passed since he'd lost consciousness.

Get up.

Iruka was surely still chasing him, by now he'd have figured out he'd returned to his house to hide. Naruto knew his teacher wasn't so gullible as to actually not look at his house.

Something within him compelled him to move, to try and right himself. An ache flooded through his body as he removed himself from the ground. He twinged with the pain until that alone hurt him. The dried, caked-on blood pulled and ripped at his face whenever an expression tried to appear. Once again, he needed to clean himself of the perils he'd gone through.

With slow, tracking movements, he stumbled to the shower, using the counters as his guide. He turned it on and stripped his dirty clothing whilst avoiding his eyes all he could. This part was the worst, he deduced, the warm, steaming water on his face. It burnt like utter hell and felt like it was melting the insides of his head when the liquid beat down on the scabbing gouges. It needed to be done. He knew that.