Survival of the Few

He knew it would happen eventually. He'd thought that if he presented himself as a kind, well-behaved, intelligent child, someone would want to adopt him.

But that never happened.

He was constantly overlooked by parents wanting a child. It was almost like he basically didn't exist to them, but that can't be right. Compared to the other children he shined. He was perfect in every way, he made sure of it. The people in charge should be boasting about him to every parent that comes in yet, little Katsuki, the least behaved child here had been given a new home the next day.

He's sure he's done everything right. He was basically the perfect child. He was clean, quiet, a good listener, and did what he was told. That's what a parent is looking for, right? He was sure that the people in charge knew he was a good child too, so what was wrong...?

But he decided not to dwell on it too much. He'd seen boys and girls alike who reached the age of nine be taken away somewhere else. "Somewhere where they are wanted" the adults would often say. Even if he didn't get a family here, he'd at least be somewhere he is wanted.

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A few months had passed for little Naruto, and as expected no one has adopted him. He would be turning nine in a week, so he's given up on getting adopted at this point.

"Naruto!" a small voice cried out. 

He turned from the patch of grass he was playing with to see Nanami running towards him. She wore a pink dress, it's short sleeves were puffed out in a ridiculous way in Naruto's opinion. She her short black hair in two small pigtails, and she wore somewhat dirtied white boots to finish the look.

He stood up as the little girl ran up to him, his hands in his pockets as he swayed a bit wanting to go back to that patch of grass.

She huffed dramatically when she'd finally caught up to him as if she ran a marathon. She stood up straight and gave him an angered look, which was odd as she loved Naruto. She'd come to him whenever something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked the small girl. He tilted his head a bit because she'd constantly move her face from his gaze. Naruto took her shoulders and shook a bit. "Hey. Why are you upset? Don't pout if it's nothing." He shook her a little more. She suddenly stomped her little foot and muttered something he couldn't understand. He leaned his ear to her face, a silent ask for her to repeat what she had said.

"You're leaving me."

Oh. That's what was wrong. "I'm sorry," he said as he pet her hair, "but I have to go. And I have a week left, so I won't be leaving today. That's plenty of time to hang out."

"But I saw Ms. Kokomi packing you stuff!" She pouted. "I heard her tell your roommates you're leaving tonight..."

This shocked Naruto. He didn't think he'd be going so soon. He didn't really know what to say to little Nanami. He studied her for a bit as she played with her hands and scuffled her feet. So he just pulled her in for a hug. She didn't hug back immediately, to angry and upset with the situation, but eventually she gave in and hugged him back, laying her head on his chest looking at the grass below them. They stayed like that for a couple of seconds before Naruto asked her to play with him.

"What game?" she asked. "Well, it's not much fun." he admitted. To him though this game was interesting and got him out of boredom. "Come down" he told her, sitting back down to the patch of grass he was playing with. She sat next to, sitting crisscrossed despite wearing a dress. "I spy with my little eye a praying mantis." he said looking at the patch. 

Nanami, liking any game played with Naruto didn't protest the game. His games weren't normal to her at all. They usually had some form of a puzzle or required a lot of thinking. Many of the children, including her got frustrated or bored with them, but if you'd stay till the end of his games, you'd find yourself feeling a little smart.

She stared at the patch, looking for the creature. She would constantly look to where Naruto's gaze was, but found nothing. She even press her face against his just to see if that would do something, but she still found nothing. 

"Did it move?" She huffed. "No, it's where it has always been." Naruto said. She crossed her arms and rolled on the grass, loosing interest in the game. She rolled for about 2 minutes before Naruto asked "You give up?" and to that she muttered a no. She was not exactly happy that the thing was so hard to find. It should be easy to spot! She knows what it looks like!

She decided to inspect Naruto again. She watched his gaze, the same place as it's always been, then something caught her eye. His hand was positioned in a way that was a bit odd. Well, not really, but his finger was pointing somewhere slightly. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't have put much thought into their hands, but this was Naruto. She crawled behind to look at his hand from a better angle. She looked forward and-

"AHH!" she exclaimed excitedly. There it was! It was on a leaf right next to his hand! She began to jump up and down in excitement, giggling and laughing. Naruto smiled and laughed at her behavior. He leaned his hand forward and let the praying mantis settle on his hand. "Some things aren't as obvious as we believe," Naruto said, staring at the bug on his hand. "so sometimes, we have to look a bit harder." He told her as she continued to giggle and squeal. 

She jumped on him from her excitement and the mantis hopped away from the rough shake of his body. Naruto watched it run off into the unknown as little Nanami squeezed around his neck. 

"Alright, alright," he said as he eased her off of him. He looked at her with a gentle smile on his face. She wore a large smile on her face and kept laughing despite herself.

"Come now. We have much more games to play."

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Nanami and Naruto played for hours on end for what little time they had together. The other children upon hearing of Naruto's soon departure joined in on the games as well. Unlike usual, when they would leave when the puzzles got to hard, they stayed, for these would be the last games they would ever be able to play with him. They all giggled, laughed, and cried. Naruto was in fact the heart of the orphanage. He was everyone's big brother, everyone's mentor, and everyone's friend. The children paid attention to Naruto's last games and his words, despite how confusing they could be, but they loved him and wanted to remember the boy that has been with them since the beginning. 

As night drew near, the children set up a fort in one of the little girls' rooms. They brought in all sorts of blankets, chairs, pillows, and snacks. The children wanted the fort to be huge and all went to work. When Naruto said he wanted wanted to help, the children pushed him to the center of the room and said to just relax. Three girls and one of the boys built a place for Naruto to rest. They made a large wall of pillows around him and put the fluffiest blankets and pillows inside for Naruto to lay on. Most of the children decided to focus on moving the furniture in the room while the others decided to focus on the snacks and decorations for the fort-to-be. 

Naruto watched them work in fascination. They had some arguments and disagreements, but eventually came to a conclusion and continued to work. The fort was a messy array of colors, but it was nice and warm. Naruto would've fallen asleep from the peace of it all had it not been for the occasional loud noises the other children would make. 

Eventually, they had finished. The fort nearly covered the entire room. They puts lamps inside the fort for lighting and the snacks were stored with Naruto. The children all laughed and giggled as they all crawled to Naruto from the entrance. It was crowded and a bit stuffy with them all inside, but Naruto was happy and they were happy. 

The children did all sorts of things around Naruto. Some told stories to each other, some played tag around everyone, some slept, some played with their hair, and some ate the snacks that were stored inside. They were all having a good time, and Naruto was starting to feel...sad. 

This would be the last he'd see of these children. The ones he grew up with and played with. He wouldn't ever see them again very soon...He'd have to leave and-

"Naruto!" a child exclaimed. The others looked at Naruto and quickly began to huddle around him and hug. Naruto burred his face in his hands as he cried. The children said soothing words and rubbed him wherever they could to comfort him. They all just lay there hugging and consoling Naruto and each other, saying "We'll see each other again" or "we love you" or "we'll never forget you". These words pulled at Naruto's heart and he began to cry harder. "I-I love you too...!" He cried out, hiccupping, breathing in and out. He tried to calm down, but it was a lot. He was just devastated that he's be leaving soon. Too soon.

The hugging and comforting continued. It was silent except for occasional breaths or sniffles from Naruto.  This was a lot for all of them. Their big brother was leaving them and there was nothing they could do. So they spent their last moments together in silence, yet the words "I love you" were so very clear to them all. They would never forget him and he would never forget them.

"Naruto." A voice called out. All of them went silent. They believed if they were silent, Ms. Kokomi would leave the be thinking they were asleep. "Naruto, it's time to go...they're waiting for you." She said softly. The children began to hug Naruto tighter as he debated getting up. He didn't want to leave this familiar warmth, but what choice did he have?

As he began to sit up, some of the children began to pull him back down, other let out a quiet "No" as he moved, but he had to go. 

Naruto gave them all hugs and kisses as they began to cry. He had tears in his eyes as well, but he didn't want to make it much harder for them.

He crawled out of the fort, the cool air of the orphanage brushed his face. The other children followed him out, wanting to at least see him go. Ms. Kokomi held her hand out for Naruto. He took it and followed her out of the room. He wondered if he could stall and say he had another item he needed to have packed that they didn't know of. 

"Ms. Kokomi, there's something you all must've missed. Please, let me grab it-"

"That won't be necessary." she interrupted. "You won't need much where your going." She said. 

He looked up at her confused. She stared straight ahead and he didn't know how to feel about her words. What does she mean by that?

He couldn't dwell on her words now. He needed to stay, just...just a little longer! He pulled and came up with any reasonable excuse but was given the same answers. He looked back at the little ones, little Nanami at the front, tears in their eyes  as he was getting closer to the door. They began to say their goodbyes waving and crying at him. A lump began to grow in his throat and his eyes began to burn. "Goodbye everyone! I'll never forget you!" He cried out to them. The children ran up to him, and gave him one final big hug. Ms. Kokomi looked at the scene. She'd never seen the children so emotional before. Her heart tugged, but she had something to take care of. She opened the door and pulled Naruto with her. Naruto rubbed his eyes as he waved goodbye to the other children. One of the other ladies had come to the door to make sure the other children stayed inside and to calm them down.

The door closed and Naruto could hear the faint voices of the crying children. He cried to himself as Ms. Kokomi led him outside the orphanage. He would never see them again for a long time, possibly ever. He wept quietly as Ms. Kokomi led him to the town on that dark night, only a lamp to lead the way.

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They had ventured way outside of town. Naruto by now had stopped crying, his eyes were puffy and his nose was red. They were now deep inside the woods. You could hear crickets and the hoots of owls as they continued their walk.

Naruto was never impatient and never complained, but his feet were beginning to ache. They had been walking for over an hour and he was beginning to question if Ms. Kokomi was going to really take him somewhere. He decided to stay silent. They'd meet their destination soon, all he had to do was wait. 

Just a little longer.

But his eyes began to droop and his legs bucked from how tired they were. He tried to stay up, but he was just too tired to continue on.

He shouldn't...

He shouldn't fall asleep...

They...

They were almost...

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He woke up. His eyes surveyed the room he was in. The wall was grey.

He sat up quickly and looked around. Where was he? Where was Ms. Kokomi?

He looked around and saw many other children his age there. They were all huddled in different corners of the large room. Crying, staring blankly at nothing, or whispering amongst each other. All to Naruto odd behaviors.

The room was made of cement. There were odd holes in the walls, some small some big all shaped like a circle in some way. There were some platforms around the room, much like where Naruto sat. There were no beds, sheets, or blankets. Just a room full of children with nothing.

Naruto felt uneasy with the whole situation. He had no clue how he got here. Was...was he he supposed to be here? He had so many questions running through his heads, but no answers to them. All he knew was he was in an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar children. He looked around more and noticed there were no doors or windows. He wondered how they would breathe in this room. Perhaps they'd all come out eventually and would only to be in here for a while. He took deep breaths as he closed his eyes. It was fine. He would be fine. They'd come out eventually.

Right on cue, a voice echoed through the room. "Dear children," he said.

"you are all unwanted."

Unwanted? But-how? The words made Naruto itch with fear and confusion. Why would such words be said? What for?

"So we give you an opportunity. Unfortunately, the opportunity is only for one child. The last one alive in this room will be chosen and become wanted. Survive, and you will be wanted."

That was all that was said. It was quiet in the room for a while before children began to scream and cry. It was so sudden. Naruto covered his ears.

"Take me back!"

"I want to go home!"

"I want to leave!"

"Please! Don't leave me here!"

Naruto watched them cry and beg. His eyes were wide with fear. He was unsure of what to do. What to think.

"The last one alive in this room will be chosen and become wanted" 

Were they meant to die? This...This was insane! Who would survive in this room?! They were all bound to die in less than 20 minutes. There was no way to breathe in here! They...

They would all die.

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An hour had passed. A whole hour. 

The children had dispersed into separate areas of the room, Naruto still on his platform. 

The other children decided to have a form groups with different leaders, and some, like Naruto, kept to themselves. 

One group Naruto had decided to keep a distance from. The leader of this group was a large boy. His small lips were constantly in a frown, which added on to his intimidation. He also showed signs of aggression in this past hour. Fighting with random kids to get what he wanted. He moved from spot to spot on random whims not because he needed to, but simply because he could.

From Naruto's platform, he sat above them. He could hear their words and discussions. He was silent. He didn't want them to take notice of him, not that he felt unsafe from where he was.

His platform was quite tall, and even if they tried to reach up for him and drag him down, there was a huge dent on the wall behind him to scurry in away from their reach. They weren't a huge issue for him right now. He would be fine from where he was. 

He just needs to focus.

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He woke up to screams and the smell of food. Multiple screams and whimpers and cheers. He sat up and looked about the room frantically. His foot hit something in his frantic panic. There at his feet sat a plate of food. A small piece of steak and mashed potatoes. Besides that was a small bowl of water and a fork.

Naruto diverted his attention from the meal to the noise.

There was that boy.

He was eating food. A lot of it. He had plates and plates of food. His followers stood around him, grabbing some of the food, but not much of it, cheering their leader on as he ate in a pig-like manner. 

"You're so strong!"

"Bet you taught her!"

"What's a girl doing fighting against a boy?!" At this line, there were many giggles amongst the boys of the group. "Oh, shut up!!" A girl interjected. "It has nothing to do with her being a girl! She's just stupid!!" She said, the other girls in the group agreeing. The boys and the girls began to argue. Naruto found this behavior weird. In his orphanage, the children never spoke to each other like this. They all respected each other, despite everything. 

Naruto looked at the other children in the room. Some were cowering and crying, and most were huddled over a figure. 'Must be that girl...'

Naruto glanced at the large boy. He'd heard their plan. They planned on bulling every other child into submission, to take them out one by one until only their group remained. Then they'd deal with each other. Naruto knew they would resort to violence, but he didn't think they'd start so soon. It hurt him, knowing he could've said something, but he was isolated from the other children in his spot. He couldn't communicate without being too loud and risk being a target. 

He looked at his plate, and hid it in the dent in the wall behind him. He took a piece of the meat and mashed potatoes and threw it on the ground as a silent offering of peace and submission. He only had a little for himself left, but it was enough to survive.

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He didn't believe what he saw. He had looked and looked and looked, but thought it was beyond his vision, but it was there. Five small holes in the dent in the wall, where breeze flowed.

A vent.

Naruto looked back at the other children who slept soundly, before licking his lips and looking back at the holes. His took his hand and moved his now long bangs out of his eyes and peered out. 

All he saw was red. He wanted to cry when he could see nothing more, but this meant that there was something outside of this room. He took a small breath, took his fork and began to dig.

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Naruto played with his fork, picking it into the dent in the wall. 

For about 3 hours.

The other children didn't take notice to his strange behavior though. They were all too busy with their own plans and ideas and worries. Throughout the time they were there, many "wars" have been disputed between the children. They fought like wild animals, seeing no reason to anything than to be the one to survive. Some were badly injured. Broken arms and legs. Bloodied lips and bruised eyes. Sprained this and that, girls and boys alike.

How much time had passed, the children had no idea. They didn't seem to care.

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The large leader sat in a corner. His clothes were dirty and smelly, his hair was in a mess, his face was a bit bruised from fights he'd gotten in. He paid no mind to his condition though. Compared to the other children, he was thriving. He consumed the most food and water and was treated like a god. As far as anyone could tell, he would be the one making it out alive.

A small boy came up to him, crawling ever so cautiously.  He licked his lips, to wet them or out of nervousness, who really knows.

"K-Kota..." the boy stuttered out, still licking his lips. He looked at the vast amounts of food Kota had around him. There was more mashed potatoes and vegetables than meat. The large boy, Kota, took a piece of meat closest to him and began to chew loudly, pig-like.

Mockingly at the other boy.

He looked into the little boys eyes with disinterest. But there was also a gleam. A dangerous one, looking for...something.

The small boy rubbed his hands nervously, licking his lips. "C-can I-"

The words wouldn't come out. They stumbled in the little boy's mouth, refusing to come out. He took deep and ragged breaths to get a hold of himself.  Kota watched the boy struggle like a predator waiting for it's prey to move.

The boy's mouth began to move. His question finally being asked, though only for himself and the leader to hear.

"...food...?" Mumbled the small boy.

It was silent. The leader looked at him with a grin. A large one. He quirked his head to the side, still looking at the nervous, hungry boy. Then a loud slap was heard. It echoed loudly through the room. Naruto was shocked by the noise himself. It was loud enough to get him out of his wall-picking daze. He was tempted to look, but decided against it and continued to fork the wall.

The loud slaps continued as wails and cries joined the bitter song. The small boy begged his leader for mercy, crying out promises and apologies spewed from the suffering boy's mouth.

Kota was enjoying himself. A large grin and small bits of laughter came out of his mouth as he brutally beat the small boy.

The other children watched in either dismay, horror, or excitement.

Naruto's heart ached for this boy. He didn't know what caused this brutal act upon him, but he would not interfere. He couldn't. As much as he wanted to help, he needs to survive. And for him to survive, he has to stay silent.

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The children all watched horrified. Some cried and some past out, others silent with shock. Kota had done something horrible. Truly, undeniably horrible. Kota took deep breaths, laughter falling from his lips. He loomed down on the other child laying on the floor. Still.

Lifeless.

Kota had gone too far this time. With time, he became unhinged and dangerous. Hungry for food and power, losing his mind in the process.

The room seemed so cold. A breeze passing through all the children. Anger, disgust, and resentment coursing through all of them.

And relief.

"Murderer!!!" A child yelled. "Get rid of the killer!!

The children all found strength in this universal agreement between them. They were tired of Kota. Tired of his treatment towards them or his power status. Tired of holding in all their stress and worries.

A girl grabbed her fork and ran full speed towards Kota, a feral growl spilling from her lips. She raised her hand high before letting it down with all her strength, jabbing the fork into his shoulder. Kota let out a loud cry, lifting his arm, jabbing his elbow into her face. The girl fell to the ground, her long hair covering her face. Kota lifted his leg to kick her before another child jabbed his back. Then another child attacked, and then another.

Kota's cries were loud. He swung his arms and legs to fight off the other children, but it was useless. They overwhelmed him by a lot. He couldn't keep up. The children had become aggressive and hostile, letting out all their frustration into Kota. The boy was bleeding badly, crying out in pain as the attacks kept coming. This was all the children could think about. Kota's pain and suffering.

All except Naruto, who wasn't even there.

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The shock Naruto felt could not be described with words. He had finally dug a large enough hole to fit through. He looked down his little tunnel, the shouts of the other children echoed quietly. He sat at the edge of his tunnel, not knowing what to do.

Because he was hundreds of feet into the sky.

He contemplated going back and thinking of a better plan. The large structure wasn't just floating, but it was being held down by large chains. Naruto moved his hair from his eyes to get a better look at the land before him. His once silky golden hair was now dirty and long, shoulder length, spiking out into different directions. His bangs covered his left eye.

The land he was in was unfamiliar. It had no forest like his old home, but stone valley that seemed endless. The red sky dimly lit the land, giving it a hellish look. Naruto let out a long breath, looking at the chains. They were large and bulky. Sturdy. They rattled slightly from the sandy breeze, filling him with a slight discomfort. There was a chain close to him. If he climbed down a bit and reached out, he could grab it.

But he could also fall.

Naruto hugged himself tightly, toes curling as he thought of what to do. He didn't want to go back to the other children. As far as he knew, they were beyond saving, beyond help. Suddenly a loud screech came from the children and he jumped, suddenly finding the courage to just go for the chain. He moved quickly and clumsily down the edge of his tunnel. His hands holding on lightly. His hair flowed in the breeze, getting in the way of his vision. He squinted his eyes to protect himself. 

He kicked his leg out to the chain, leaning his body to secure his footing. A few times his foot missed its placement before placing it firmly on the chain. His eyes grew wide with this accomplishment. "Phew..." he let out, exasperated. He slowly moved his hands so his body was in perfect alignment with his feet. His body shook with every move he made, his grip on the edge was iron tight. 

His body was finally perfectly aligned. It took a second before he climbed down one link of the chain. It was a slow process, but process nonetheless. 

He looked out into the unfamiliar land once more, looking further into its distance. He could see an odd figure in the distance. It was tall and rectangular and had a large red glow at the top of it. He didn't know what it meant. He'd never seen such a thing before. It was...alluring in way. He had no clue why, but he...wanted to go there. He stared out longer, the longing for the odd figure grew within him. It made him feel sick but heard. His breaths drew quickly with this intense feeling taking over him. His face contorted in fear before forcing his gaze away from that figure. 

He was breathing quickly, his heart racing. He felt sick, like he was going to die, like something within him was changing.

Naruto tightly gripped his shirt as he calmed his heart and mind, his breathing eventually evening. This...

This feeling he hoped to never feel again.