Impact after impact, hitting my body, resonating throughout my being. Words dripping with malice pour through my ears, words that have earned a new sting. Poisonous, acidic, corrosive. Each punch, each kick. Every word of enmity. They chip away at me. Eroding. Revealing my hidden fragility. Revealing the glass that could break with the slightest tap.

And so, without hesitation, they smash through my cracked, glass heart.

Floods hit without warning, swift and vigorous. Tears leak down my chin. A broken child is only met with scorn.

My legs wobble, struggling to push me up, trembling with the grace of a newborn fawn. They carry me away, stumbling, clamouring. I hear the jeers filter out, yet the words continue to ring throughout my head.

I need to escape. I need to go. I need to rid of myself. I need to d̶i̶e̶.

I have to be selfless, for once in my life. I have to do what the villagers have always wanted. I have to kill the demon of this village. I have to destroy the parasite I am.

In a flurry of sobs and bitter thoughts, my body finds itself on the rooftop. One I have stood upon for so many consecutive nights, awaiting this very moment. I never knew it would be so soon, yet I can't imagine myself lasting any longer.

My eyes roam the familiar landscape. It's rather hilarious, really. The fact that such a tremendous event is about to take place, yet there is no change. The fact that the leaves remain viridescent, the sky remains aquamarine and how everyone is going about their daily routine.

A part of me wishes to feel happy. Wishes for me to feel that altruistic joy at being able to benefit my home. Yet I can't help the way my eyes well up. The way that this home has been little more than an empty husk.

With a wearied sigh, I lift my foot over the roof's edge.

"Naruto?.."

A mop of red.

Author's Note: Mwahahaha! I always wanted to annoy a person with a cliffhanger! Also, I learnt of a language technique today called polysyndeton and have used it in the chapter title (^o^)/