Chapter Text
She was only 16 years old. And yet, she already felt like she's lived past her prime. She already feels so SO tired of life's bullshit, of everyone's crap against her.
First, the villagers frequently abuse her, throw rocks at her windows, force her to pay unreasonably high amounts of money for her clothes and food. The landlady is a bitch who cuts off her electricity and water supply every week. Her team is a joke. And twice she had to put out a fire in her apartment that was started because of 'faulty wiring' (some asshole broke in while she was gone and started the fire. No one believes her)
She hated this. She hated them.
She thought she could hold on. She thought... She really thought..
"Ahh well no use dwelling on the past since I'm leaving. They'll never see me again" she thought bitterly.
Who would she miss? Iruka-sensei definitely. He loved her like a sister, even if she was a pain sometimes. Kakashi-sensei? Probably, but not enough to be bawling in tears. He played favorites, it hurt her heart how he neglected her. Tsunade? Of course she will. She was like a real grandma to her, maybe even a mom too, despite their arguments Naruko will always be her 'baby'. "Heh, embarrassing but.. I'll miss being her baby girl"
Sakura? No, absolutely not. All her memories of the pink haired medic was of verbal abuse and beat downs for the pettiest reasons. She wasn't as bad as she was now when she was 12, but ever since Naruto came back after puberty pretty much hit her like a damn speeding wagon Sakura's verbal abuses became worse. Even Ino wasn't that bad.
It really damaged Naruko's self esteem.
"Yeah I am definitely not gonna miss her"
Neji? They hardly interacted but he was polite to her. Hinata? A Sweetheart, Naruko used to think Hinata was afraid of her when they were kids. Always trembling and stuttering around her. As it turns out she just greatly admired her. She was the one who encouraged Naruko to have longer hair.
Sasuke?
Naruko frowned. Her heart ached. She...... yes, in all honesty despite everything that happened between them. She will miss him. Even if it hurts to think about him.
After all Sasuke was one of the main reasons she was running away.
She had overheard the council talking about having her marry Sasuke Uchiha, use her to restore the 'glorious' Uchiha clan, and once her use is fulfilled? They'll dispose of her as if she was a tool that was broken beyond repair. A breeding bitch.
She had run off crying, her head a mess of emotions. Anger, confusion, resentment, sadness, disgust. Was that all she was to them? Just a tool to be used? They talked about her as if she wasn't a person.
She locked herself away for days, contemplating on what to do. Then she turned to Jiraiya for help, her godfather. Obviously Jiraiya was enraged, he comforted Naruko to the best of his abilities (he wasn't good at comforting people)
After Naruko had calmed down, he suddenly thought of something. He gave her a map, a map that would lead her to a country across the globe. A country that was barely heard of in their nations. A country called 'Japan'
"Go there. Live a new life. Forget about Konoha and start focusing on yourself" he said seriously. "This village never deserved you kid"
So here she is now. Walking out of the village gates escorted by Jiraiya under the guise of a 'mission'. She told her 'team' she'll be back in a few days, maybe weeks.
But in truth, she was never, EVER, coming back.