After eating our meal, Naruto tugged at my sleeve, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Hey, Johan, let's play at the park," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
I glanced at him, the energy radiating from his small body almost infectious.
The old part of me, the part that remembered childhood dreams and simple joys, stirred faintly.
But the soul that now resided within me remained cold, steady.
Still, I nodded.
Not because I wanted to.
But because it was necessary.
To blend in.
To stay hidden.
Naruto cheered and bolted toward the door, his laugh echoing through the hallway.
I followed at a slower pace, my mind already turning, calculating.
---
The park was nothing more than a worn patch of grass, a few rusted swings, and a crooked slide.
Children ran and shouted, their laughter filling the air.
Naruto wasted no time, rushing toward a group of kids playing tag.
They hesitated when they saw him, their faces twisting in thinly veiled disgust.
One by one, they turned away, pretending not to hear his cheerful calls.
Naruto stood there for a moment, confused.
Then he shrugged, smiled again, and ran to the swings instead, pumping his legs furiously to reach the sky.
I watched it all unfold with detached interest.
Their rejection didn't crush him.
Not yet.
Not today.
But it would.
It always did, eventually.
---
I moved to a quieter corner of the park, sitting beneath a crooked tree.
From here, I could watch everything, Naruto, the other children, the hidden glares from the parents nearby.
I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing inward, feeling for the faint stirrings of chakra once more.
It was like reaching into a well so deep you couldn't see the bottom.
But I could feel it now, closer than before.
Waiting.
The voices around me faded.
All that remained was the steady thrum of my own pulse and the quiet promise of the power that would one day be mine.
But then I heard shouting.
My eyes snapped open, immediately locking onto the scene unfolding near the swings.
Three boys, maybe two or three years older than us, stood in front of Naruto.
Their clothes were cleaner, newer.
Their faces twisted with ugly sneers as they pointed and laughed.
I couldn't make out every word, but I didn't need to.
Their voices dripped with the same hatred I had seen too many times before.
"Monster," one of them spat.
"Go away! You're not allowed to play with us!"
Naruto stood frozen, still gripping the chains of the swing, his smile faltering.
Confusion flickered across his face, confusion that quickly gave way to hurt.
His bright blue eyes filled with tears, shimmering against the dying light of the evening.
He opened his mouth, maybe to protest, maybe to beg, but no words came out.
Just a soft, broken sound that twisted something deep inside my chest.
The boys laughed louder, proud of the wound they had inflicted.
One of them shoved Naruto lightly, enough to make him stumble off the swing and fall into the dirt.
Naruto didn't get up right away.
He just sat there, fists clenched in the dirt, trying not to cry.