Naruto: Reunion - Discontinued

18) Past Issue

"No I'm not!"

"You are worthless, useless, feared by everyone, and detestable. Prove me wrong!"

The fox cackled. The water drenched Naruto's feet whilst shaking and gained leverage. Naruto felt a feeling that he was trying to avoid at this moment. Quickly, his eyes shot as he realised something huge.

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After waking up from the realistic nightmare. Naruto walked along konoha in search of his answers. The streets were empty since it was still dawn, however his favourite ramen place was still open at the earliest convenience.

Despite the fact that he had already been the day before with his friends to celebrate their search mission, Naruto went inside again. The man looked at him. His name was Teuchi and was a kind, smart man who treasured Naruto as a companion. His daughter, Ayame hummed along and went to take his order.

"Your usual preference today?"

"Yeah, thanks!"

The girl cheered and ordered her dad a command. Happily, the father-daughter pair were in sync as they served Naruto's ramen. He was always grateful to to them. Teuchi most likely known about the beast within Naruto, since he was old enough to know the news. Ayami was a different story, but because of her fathers behaviour, she respected Naruto as a good customer.

"There's someone that doesn't know, tell her!"

The fox was speaking again. Naruto clenched his stomach as Ayame came along with the food.

"What's wrong, is your stomach doing good before your meal?"

Pain, it was immense. Naruto looked up at his ramen, then up at Ayame. He never had anything against the girl, and sometimes he caught himself talking to her occasionally. But now he could not see her as a friend. He saw her as a challenge.

"I... here's the money for the ramen." His hands produced cash, "I don't think I can eat today. I'm sorry..."

Teuchi came along in confusion but as he saw Naruto's mood he patted him on the head.

"No worries, I'll put it on a cheap bowl and have it sent for your house later. You don't have to pay for delivery."

They were so nice. Ayame was cheerful. Teuchi respected him. Naruto smiled earnestly and left.

"Thank you..."

The sadness was still inside of him, but he thought that a calm walk would help. The streets were not busy, but Naruto's thoughts made it overcrowded.

"You missed your chance. Try the next person."

Hatred to the fox was felt, "Shut up!"

"Fine by me, it just proves your wrong."

He felt like screaming. Painlessly, he clenched his stomach again and tried twisting it. His intentions were to make the fox feel pain but he knew his logic was flawed.

"The next person... the next person... the next person..." He muttered to himself uncontrollably. He was losing sanity. "The next person... the next person... the next person..."