Chapter 3 – Where Do I Go?

Naruto was still feeling funny. In the middle of the night, he had woken with pains throughout his whole body. Everything felt strained and broken, and he fought as hard as he could to not scream and wake the village. At first, he thought it might have been some sort of sickness. Maybe he ate something that didn't agree with him. But as the early hours progressed, the pain subsided, and strange lumps had appeared in certain spots on his body.

Upon close inspection, the small lumps on his hands had somewhat of a color to them. They were gray, and the strain of them pushing against his skin from the inside had turned his knuckles white. He decided, at first, to not worry about it until morning. It wasn't hurting him anymore. But he was cold. Then the pain started again, and this time, he couldn't hold back the screams of agony, that somehow went unheard. He looked at his hands, and watched in horror as the lumps had started to protrude, his skin splitting open neatly. He nearly fainted as long, sharp blades of steel slid past the fold of skin, between his knuckles.

Scared and in pain, he opened his window, and jumped to the ground. He ran as quickly as he could. He didn't know where he was going, he didn't even know if he should tell, let alone who, and he was still in his pajamas. The air was cold around him as he ran. There was no wind, but the steel frame inside his body seemed to be retaining the chill of the air. Even running at the speed he was did nothing to heat him.

The sun was barely in the sky. There was just enough sunlight to see, and the only people who would be awake would be the village guard. It was probably still the overnight crew. He was so confused. What could he say? He was suddenly startled, by the feeling of the blades withdrawing themselves back into his hands. He watched, as the steel once again became small lumps that simply showed a slight strain on his skin. There was no evidence that there was ever such an occurrence. No scarring. No red lines. No blood.

He was so confused. What was happening to him? What could he say? Who could he tell? They weren't there anymore. How could he prove it? Everyone would just think he was seeking attention again. Just another prank. He was alone on this. He doubted he could even go to his teammates and tell them what was going on. Sakura always thought he was a freak, and Sasuke only cared about Sasuke.

"Why does this have to happen to ME?" Naruto thought. He looked up at the gates to the village. The guards on duty were asleep, anyone could just walk in.. "Or out.." he finished aloud. He took one more look around, made sure nobody was watching, and ran through the gates. Maybe he could find something better on the outside…