Twisted
The fox demon lay sleepless beside his rescuer, staring at the pale wooden ceiling. He just couldn’t find rest at all. Whether it was due to his company, to the events of the day or because he was still suffering the pains of his fall, he couldn’t tell. So many things had happened.
Things he didn‘t really want to think about and that still kept him awake.
He sighed and closed his eyes, trying once more to rest. Rest that he really needed after this day.
He did not know how much time had passed, if he had slept at all, when a low, almost silent sound ripped him out of the depths of his twilight state. What was that?
It took a moment before the blond finally opened his eyes, glanced around the room, vaguely aware of the silhouette of his rescuer, who had already disappeared through the door the next moment. Where did he want to go?
Frantically, the blond rubbed his eyes. Was it already morning? No, it was still dark.
Why did the black-haired leave his house in the middle of a bitter, stormy winter's night?
The curiosity drove the blond out of bed. He wanted to know.
Quietly, he stalked after the Uchiha, who had followed the narrow mountain path a little further and finally stopped abruptly.
Naruto looked around confused. What did he want in the middle of the night in a place like this? There was nothing to see, except for a massive rock face, ice and heaps of snow.
Was this boy stupid? Naruto was not sure yet he resisted the urge to speak to him. Evidently Sasuke had not noticed him.
Lost in thought, the black-haired stroked the block of stone in front of his eyes, pushing the snow from the surface, while a dull, drawing pain appeared in his chest.
Startled, Naruto realized that the other was standing in front of a tombstone, the icy wind weighing the black strands of the human’s hair.
He did not move, just stood there, silent in the middle of the icy, snowy landscape.
Not a single sound came over the lips of the Uchiha, no tears streaming down his cheeks, and the light, milky skin at that moment seemed almost as white and lifeless as the snow that slowly covered it.
Carefully, Naruto approached him, feeling magically attracted to the scene. He could feel it, the grief of this human.
The turmoil with which he fought and externally but showed no sign of what emotions raged inside him.
His face did not betray the emotions raging inside of him.
A crack caused the blond to flinch when he noticed he had stepped on a branch. Sasuke also raised his head in alarm, pulling his hand away from the cold stone.
Slowly he turned to Naruto, he knew it was him. He could feel it, the demon's aura.
The blond looked at him apologetically, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
"I ... so I did not want to spy on you at all. I just wondered where you wanted to go in the middle of the night. "
"I told you, you can stay the night, but you have to go by dawn," Sasuke replied and stepped past him, walking back the narrow path to the house without giving the fox a chance for a question.
Naruto looked after him in confusion, but turned his gaze back towards the tomb.
Was that why he lived alone? They were dead, his family.
A sharp pain ran through the blond’s heart, he felt the sorrow and the suppressed feelings of this other boy so clearly in his own chest; but came to his senses in the same breath.
He should not think about it. People were all the same. They were beasts, the true monsters, hunting their own to enrich themselves.
He would not fall for this.
He took one last look at the cold stone before he followed the black-haired back into the house.
◊◊◊
Yawning, Naruto rolled over to the other side, snuggling up against the pleasant heat source beside him, while the morning sun lit the sparse room in thick rays. He did not want to get up. It was way too soft and comfortable.
Soft?
Tired, he opened his eyes, saw the black hair in front of his nose and jumped backwards.
Sasuke sighed softly, he had been trying to get out of bed for a good ten minutes. Unsuccessfully, because the fox had clung to him as if he was the essence of his life.
He rose silently from his bed, gathered the futon, and put it in the corner. One never would have guessed that he was blind. He moved with incredible certainty, like a perfectly healthy person.
Only a close look into the dull grey eyes revealed his true fate and once more the question of arose in Naruto. Inwardly he shook his head as he caught himself with this question. It was none of his business. The stranger was a human. Only one of many. One of thousands.
One who had helped him.
He hesitated. He did not even know his name.
"It is morning. You should leave. " Sasuke said and suddenly tore him out of his thoughts.
"Huh-?" Naruto replied in surprise, as if he had not understood him.
"You have to go!", The Uchiha said with more emphasis this time.
Irritated by the sudden rugged, cold nature of the blind boy, Naruto straightened up. What was wrong with him?
"But-"
"GO"
The fox retreated in shock, feeling the cold rejection of the boy screaming at him out of sudden.
He had known it! They were all the same, those humans.
Without looking back, he stormed out of the door, ran down the still-snowy path, and even the remaining pain did not stop him. Away. He just wanted to get away from them.
They were the real beasts, the true monsters. The humans.
The door was left wide open after the blond had stomped out; slowly it swayed in the wind, screeching quietly while the cold morning breeze carried the smell of snow and ice into the house.
Sasuke stood motionless in the middle of the room, feeling the cold slowly creeping back into his body. He had sent him away, the only one who had not judged him. The only one who might even have wanted to stay close to him.
But it was better this way. The stranger shouldn’t become like everyone else.