Running and Worry

Why did he always think about it? A nightmare that plagued him for the last couple days and it seemed to be a vision more than a bad dream. It was something that Nathan never wanted to see happen much less worry about. Constantly he told himself that it would never happen and tried to list the reasons as to why, but his pessimistic side countered each with its own reason. What he had seen had nearly happened many times in his life already and it always tore himself apart when he saw it. Just thinking about it moving past the point of return shook him to his core.

"It couldn't happen!" He shouted to himself in a failed attempt to stop worrying about what he had seen. A groan of frustration escaped his lips while he fought himself over this and wished he could simply be lulled into his positive thoughts. Standing still wasn't something he could do anymore. He quickly paced around in some wooden area in the village and normally empty at this time of night. The Sun hadn't even began to rise yet and the moon shone with all its brilliance. Normally, he would have enjoyed the sight and simply let his thoughts wander, but now it was only to focus on the nightmare.

"It couldn't." His words filled with doubt. "It couldn't happen." The images of blood and familiar faces flashing while he was forced to remember the scene. "It can't." He held his face in the palm of his hands and was on the verge of tears. "It just can't." He rested his head on one of the trees as he let the tears streaked down his face knowing full well that it could. A flame of anger started to flicker in his belly.

"No." He punched the tree, his voice just above a whisper.

"No." His voice growing louder while he punched the tree again.

He was about continue when he suddenly realized that he wasn't getting anywhere. Saying no meant nothing. It was too vague and lacked meaning. His defiance had to be defined and given meaning. Nathan wiped off his tears off his eyes and dried them with his clothes. "I will become strong." He muttered to himself before looking at himself. "I will be fast." His fists clenched. "I will become strong enough to protect my family from themselves and others." He wanted to state about what he would do when he was unable to, but then he would be going against his vow. "My sisters will become strong and my family united."

The image of his parents and little sisters, all were bloody and on the verge of death, racing towards one area in order to deal one final blow to the other flowed into his mind. He was helpless and unable to stop them. The only thing he could do was run in order to come in between the carnage and convince them to stop. Even when the world seemed to slow around him, he still wasn't able to. A small flash of light knocked him back, sending him flying. Once, he was able to recover he only saw a large crater of where his family used to be. He was too slow. He wasn't strong enough to stop them. He wasn't able to rid them of their hatred. The last thing he remembered was the tears falling down his fade before he woke up in the middle of the night.

His body was covered in sweat while he still felt cold. Nathan quickly and silently went to check on his little sister's room to peak in the crack of the doorway. He gave a small sigh while realizing it was only a dream. In order to make sure he was about to check his mom's room, but the snore of his stepdad told him that she was still there. Mom always seemed to get the snores, his dad being one as well. Even with his fears being initially being dealt with, the nightmares kept coming.

It wasn't long afterwards that he came here to simply think without the worry of waking his family. This night was the first time he had come here outside of stargazing. The place always calmed him. It always seemed to be so to be tranquil and undisturbed by those that lived nearby. A perfect place for him to train, to get stronger.

The actual training would have to wait until tomorrow night since since he hadn't slept well for a couple days. He needed rest. A small yawn was welcomed since it only further proved his point. His mom's house was not too far away from where he was, probably in between two and three miles away if he went by the rooftops. The patrol was out like they always were and would stop him because most people were not up this late. This didn't deter him, actually motivating him to. If anyone he personally knew was around him, he would just stick to the ground, but that wasn't the case.

A counted down started in his head. "One..." Nathan bent his legs slightly, his muscles tightening up. "Two..." His right arm moving behind him as he kept his other in front, "THREE!" He shouted out as he snapped his right in front of him give a small jerk froward while he raced over to a few trash cans. A quick jump here and there and the uchiha was on top of a one story house, managing to knock over the trash once his foot left the lid. His mess up didn't stop or slow him down. He couldn't only run now. Footsteps going unheard because he ran on his toes instead of flat footed.

His arms moved in sync with his legs in order to give him a slightly more natural running, though it didn't seem to be the way for most ninja. This was how he was taught by his father, who had been known for his speed both in his recent years and even more so in days long past.

The first rooftop was about to end and another was a good distance away. He ran faster. A wide smile stretching across his face. Within a few more strides he would push off the ledge and instinctively start flailing his arms before stumbling and falling onto the roof.

Not even registering the few scrapes that he had gotten from the fall, he immediately pushed himself off the ground. His mind gone and only his instincts were helping him. Soon, he reached his max and hooped over the small things separating the buildings when an alley hadn't done so. Within the span of a few minutes he reached his home.

His body was covered in sweat and fatigue substituted the adrenaline. Even though he felt like complete crap, he still smiled. It wasn't hard to sneak back into his bedroom window though tossing his clothes to replace them with his bed-wear was bit of a hassle. Finally, he crawled underneath the covers and slept peacefully.

((Word Count: 1,186 for EXP))