The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

11-The Sadness of Bullying

Aoi stepped closer to the man in front of him, a former leaf jonin who had just committed a crime. The man was no more than 25 years old if assumptions were correct. As Aoi held out a hand, it could also be noted that the man was unconscious. Bruises and cuts covered the man's face, proof that he had been tortured before for the information they desired as to who he was working for. Aoi's hand made contact with the man's forhead, and after a moment he entered a trance like state.

A few days after the conclusion of the prelims to the third round, Ibiki had gone to the Hokage for a request. He reasoned out that the best way to learn emotions was through experience, which Aoi had little of, as of right now. A quick way to remedy this would be to learn emotion through others. Ibiki had asked the Hokage for permission to let Aoi learn to search memories. After some thought in the matter, the Hokage agreed.

It had taken about a week, but Inoichi was able to teach Aoi about how to delve into someone's mind. He showed Aoi how to avoid mental traps, and what to look for if they were trained to put them up. Aoi excelled in the learning of the jutsu, though it was rather complex. Inoichi was surprised, to say the least, that someone outside the Yamanaka clan could learn a jutsu such as this so easily.

Ibiki and Inoichi stood side by side as they watched Aoi dive deeper into the man's mind. Aoi's face was completely blank. When Inoichi had first started to teach Aoi the jutsu, he had told the boy it was important not to let their memories overtake you too much. It gave the other person control, and they could begin to torture you within the confines of their mind.

Aoi began to go through a random memory from the man.

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The man, or boy as it were, is ten. He's leaving the his home, headed off to the academy. His mom kisses his cheek, the dad having already left from work. The boy would graduate soon, and start the downward spiral that would eventually lead to his betrayal of the leaf. For now however, the boy smiled up at his mom, knowing that she loved him. A baby, his little sister, started to scream from inside the house. The boy left once the mom had turned around.

He hurried down the street. The family lived towards the edge of the village, their home a little rundown. Running past shops and apartments, he tried his hardest to get to the academy on time. Then he tripped. While he ran, the boy hadn't been paying attention and caught his foot on the extended leg of one of the laughing boys in a group above him. Sitting up slightly, pain coursed up from his palms where they had become skinned on the hard dirt. Those hovering above him crowed with laughter.

"Looks like the class clutz is here again today," A voice said.

"Just like his dad, a complete loser that can't make any money," the clear voice seemed to physically strike the boy. It was true the family was poor. Often, you could even find the boy working in the back of shops for a little extra money to feed the family.

A tear started to roll down his face. It seemed to be a common taunt from the way he reacted. He sat back a little, picking little rocks out of his palms, ignoring the blood that ran down his arms. Someone noticed the tear.

"Looks like little crying Cristy makes an appearance!" The others chortled at this. There was no outward reaction to the name. He just began to pick himself up off the pavement, ignoring their words to the best of his ability.

There were murmurs from the passing adults, but nobody stepped in to help. Strands of sentences made their way around however. "Kids will be kids," one said. Another saying, "That's the poor boy." Nobody stepped forward, nobody spoke out.

After gathering himself from the ground, the boy continued on towards the academy. The other boys fell in step next to him, surrounding him and hiding him from sight. The taunts continued the whole way, the boy's face never showing any emotion besides apathy.