Konnichi wa!
Wah! The second part is here! I'm excited! I'm so happy you guys liked the last part! –heart-
We're near the borders of Yosemite now – there are so many HOT guys in this camp we're staying at! 8D
Hot guys that don't speak English! XP
They're speaking German. It seems like the entire camp has been taken over by sexy, six-pack-carrying, German-speaking hot guys. –rolls eyes- Tsk. Go figure.
There is a magnificent AU fanfic, Sasuke-centered. It's called Fire and Ice, and it is absolutely AMAZING! My writing PALES in comparison to this story – no joke! Please go read it and review. The writer said it was discontinued because she/he thought it was too out of proportion from the Naruto Canon. I read it, and reviewed for every chapter. I PMed her/him to ask if she/he could start up again, and he/she said they'd try.
You can find it in Kuyeng13's C2 – The Best AU Fanfics I Can Find – or something of that nature. You could also find it if you go to my profile and go under Author's Favorites.
Please read it you guys – it's simply AMAZING and her/his work is positively ASTOUNDING!
But, before you do, enjoy this next part:D
One Shot
Love of Ancient Kings
Part Two
Silenced Secrets: Revelations of a Demon
"So where are you from?"
The question was quiet, wondering. The demon laughed, bitterly throwing his hands up to the sky.
"I am from everywhere – everywhere and at the same time nowhere. I was born on this earth, lived in the sky, feasted from the fires in the very pits of hell and drank from the holy waters of heaven. What does it matter, where I'm from?"
The other's eyes narrowed and he looked away, hands on his mug of tea.
"No, I guess it doesn't matter. Do you miss it though?" The demon gave him a sharp, questioning glance. "Do you miss where you're from?"
The demon blinked, and his gaze fell to the floor, eyes dark and eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes. Of course I miss it. I used to soar the skies with my brethren, we would adventure everyday together, exploring the darkest depths of the oceans and the highest mountain peaks. We were inseparable – he and I."
His voice had grown decisively sadder, and the other looked at him in sympathy.
"What happened?" He asked. The demon looked away – out the window where a bird sang on the branch of a nearby tree.
"We became separated – nothing of the sort had ever happened to us before, and I was scared. My fear made me weak, and though I fought back with as much ferocity as I possessed, the wise men of this village managed to seal me away in this human form. They locked up my power and my name. I had forgotten it as soon as I awoke in this body. Now I am their slave, condemned to eternal misery."
For a moment, the other was at a loss for words.
"Didn't your friend try to save you?" He asked after a moment of silence. The demon gave a bitter laugh.
"Ha – 'try'? He nearly tore apart the entire village to get to me! But before he could even come close to this village, the Hokage of that time took me and held a weapon to my throat, threatening to spill my demon blood if the other took one more monstrous step closer to village. The Hokage swore that he wouldn't harm me, but only if the other stayed far away from the village, and didn't try to come looking for me."
"And he agreed?"
"He had no choice. His heart would break if I had died, so he retreated into the highest mountain, swearing to save me one day." The demon's eyes were sad and reminiscent. "It's been a thousand years since that day – the Day of Sealing."
The other blinked.
"Oh yeah – you mentioned that earlier. What exactly WAS the Day of Sealing?"
The demon sighed.
"That was the day I was sealed away in this body – the day I lost my identity as a demon and had my power stripped from me. Now I only have purpose when the village is threatened. Only then does a minimal amount of power return to me – not nearly enough to break the ancient spell cast upon this meek little body."
"What exactly do they do?"
"When a portion of my power returns, the Hokage and his force of wise men simply strip it from me," the demon replied, bitter and angry. "Then they use my body to shape the power into what they desire – whatever they want! Whether it be weapons, armor, horses, water, food – they could even use it to pull the sun's flames down from the sky and make them rain down upon the enemy if they so desired! It doesn't matter what they want!" Then his voice turned sad. "They are able to get it. For a thousand years, my powers have been used for nothing but destruction – this village's power is unrivaled and no one dares challenge it."
There was silence for a moment as the other absorbed this.
"Was the Hokage of that time… a bad person?"
The other shot him a sharp glance.
"Yes. Sure, it is depicted that his ways led this village into prosperity – that he was the so called, 'Golden Ruler', but the records fail to state that the reason he managed to save this village was through ME! The old scriptures praise the old man as one that saved the village from the eternal darkness of the demon race! They state that MY kind – the demons – tried to enslave all of humanity before one of the most powerful was sealed away – and HIS power used to fight against the demons – HIS OWN RACE!"
The other's eyes went wide.
"And that's… you?"
The demon gave a bitter nod.
"Indeed – my power was used to kill entire clans of demons that did nothing but wander a bit too close to the village! Their cries echoed through the entire valley, and their pain became my own! I watched – unable to do anything – as mothers and children and fathers burst into flames! And guess what? No one grieved – no one except me! The entire village celebrated – celebrated the deaths of countless innocent lives! Even the human children danced with joy, and I was the only one that went to the site where they had died – nothing was left. There was simply a huge sore upon the earth where the land was bare and scorched – nothing had survived." The demon clenched his fists, and the man across the table could tell the other was fighting tears. "MY power caused that! It caused that pain and that destruction and that death! My own kin was killed with MY strength, and I could do nothing to stop it!"
It was then the other realized how heartless the human race truly was. Then the demon smiled bitterly.
"But of course none of this pain and none of this destruction is remembered anymore – the tales passed down to the children speak of how those demons tried to attack the village – not that they had been killed out of cold blood – never had I heard a tale that spoke the truth! Silenced secrets – that's all this village is full of! This place has as dark a heart as its people claim demons have!"
The other looked at him sadly, feeling a strange ache growing in his chest.
There was silence for a moment as he allowed the fire to die out of the demon's eyes, replaced by bitter regret.
"Were the people of this village always like this to you?" He asked quietly. "Did they always shun you?"
The demon's eyes narrowed, and anger reappeared in the ashy orbs.
"Oh yes – they have always despised me. They have been made to believe from the very beginning that demons were born from Hell's fire – that we were not to be trusted or talked to or even looked upon! They now believe demons are so far beneath them that they cannot even be spared a glance! It doesn't matter if the demon has saved their lives – that the demon means no harm – the poor thing would be killed the moment it enters this village! Either killed or condemned to a life of slavery!"
The other reached a hand across the table to set a hand on the demon's shoulder – the man had begun to shake violently with pent up rage.
It's okay. He thought. Please calm down.
"But… for some reason…" the demon was calm now, and he looked up at the other with intense black eyes. "You do not hate me. When you looked at me for the very first time – that very act itself is forbidden – there was no fear or hate in your eyes. Only awe. Why?"
The other smiled at him and withdrew his hand.
"For some reason, I never really listened to all those tales of you being evil. I was always curious about demons – what they looked like, what they were like, if they were really as bad as all the people said." His smile wavered. "I… also, know how it feels," he murmured. "I know how it feels to be despised and shunned and hated, and I hate it. I've always prided myself that I can still smile after all of that. I thought I was strong. But, after hearing you say you've had to experience that same thing for a thousand years…" he smiled grimly at the demon, who was looking at him with wide eyes. "Then I'm nothing but a weakling. My strength pales in comparison to yours."
The demon surveyed him evenly, his dark eyes ever assessing the other.
"Are you envious of me?" He asked. The other laughed.
"Of course not! There are plenty of people that are stronger than me! Besides, envy is one of the seven sins, right?"
The demon gave him a small, tired smile.
"Yes – it is. You should know that though – you WERE partially raised by a priest."
The other laughed, running a hand through his blonde hair.
"Well, yeah, but I've never really listened to Iruka. I mean, I love him a lot, but when he starts ranting on about demons and the seven deadly sins, I just stop listening."
The demon laughed, crossing his arms.
"Well, good for you. At least there is one here that can think for himself!"
The other merely looked at the demon for a moment, blonde eyebrows furrowed in thought. The demon – sensing his gaze – looked over at him.
"What is it?"
"Do… demons die?"
The demon blinked at the suddenness of the question, but then he shrugged it off and looked away in thought.
"Well, some species do. Some are alive in this world for only one day, their only mission to reproduce before they die. Others live hundreds of years, watching over their children and passing on the ancient wisdom of the earth. Still others thrive in darkness, transforming and changing for years on end before they finally emerge to gaze upon the full moon as they bury their unborn children beneath the earth before shriveling up and dying on that very same night. But, there are some others still…" he trailed off and looked down at the ground, his eyes gaining a strange, shimmering gleam that the other had never seen before. "…They are eternal – created to last forever – to look down at the land and all the mistakes that are made so they can pass down the lessons from those mistakes to future generations, where their warnings are ignored and eventually silenced, leading to the destruction of the human race." His voice had turned bitter, and his eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, but both vanished as he continued. "These demons are the most powerful, the most revered – and the most feared. They are the world's sages – created to look down upon the world's people like the children they cannot have and guide them down the path of life like a mother would to her own child. They are the wisest, most battle-worn, and the most forgiving. These demons don't appear in front of humans to reproduce – they appear in front of humans to guide them through life – to teach them about the world and it's most ancient secrets. These visits have saved the human race from their own destruction countless times, but the amount since my caging has dwindled down to nothing, and mankind walks further down the path of self destruction."
The other had lost himself in the demon's voice – in the demon's story. After a moment, he realized the demon had finished speaking, and shook himself out of the spell.
"So… which type are you?" He asked. Before the demon could reply, there was strong knocking at the door.
"Naruto! You in there?"
Naruto leaped up, making his chair fall to the floor as the demon smoothly stood up.
"What would happen if they realized you were here?" The blonde asked the demon quietly – urgently.
The demon's voice and face were blank and blunt.
"They would kill you," he replied, just as quiet. Naruto paled, and grabbed the demon's hand as the knocking continued, pulling the demon into his room.
"Stay here and don't make a sound – I'll try to get rid of them!" He breathed to the other before closing the door and whirling and bolting back to the door.
Breathing hard, Naruto shook himself and forced himself to act like he always did, and NOT like he was hiding a demon in his room.
"Who is it?" He asked cheerfully, heading over to the door.
"You know who it is, Naruto! Open up!"
Iruka! Naruto thought, paling.
"Uh… why are you here, Iruka-sensei?" He asked, forcing his voice to still.
"What? I can't visit my own student?"
Hurry you idiot – THINK OF SOMETHING! Naruto exclaimed silently to himself.
Quickly, he stripped himself of his shirt and ran to his sink, turning on the faucet and sticking his head under the running water, letting the liquid cascade through his hair. Then he pulled his head from under the flow and cupped water in his hands, splashing it onto his chest and back.
"Naruto?"
Then Naruto took off his pants and grabbed a towel from the nearby closet, wrapping it around his waist. He went closer to the door and coughed awkwardly.
"Uh… well, you see – I was taking a shower when you knocked, so, uh… yeah. I'm not dressed, Iruka-sensei. If you want, we could go for Ramen later."
"But I have late mass later Naruto! You know that!"
Naruto laughed apologetically. Oh yes, he knew that –
"Oh, sorry sensei! Maybe tomorrow? I'll meet you at the Ramen shop at three, okay?"
There was silence at the door for a moment.
"Okay Naruto. Sorry to interrupt your shower. See you tomorrow."
Naruto pressed his ear against the door to hear Iruka's steps fading away down the stairs.
Relieved, he sighed and turned from the door, walking down the hall.
Quietly, he opened up the door to see the demon sitting on the bed, staring out the window with darkest hair cascading down his shoulders. Black eyes locked with his own, and then those same eyes surveyed him up and down with one eyebrow raised as he walked over.
"Taking a shower, huh? Heh…" the demon smirked, raising a hand and wiping a droplet of water that had crept into the corner crease of Naruto's left eye. "It looks like you're crying."
They were so close – so close that Naruto could feel the warmth of the other's body, the smoothness of the other's skin, could every gleam in the demon's eyes.
"Hey," Naruto breathed to the other. "Why DID you reveal yourself to me?"
The demon smirked, and Naruto could've sworn the other had drawn closer.
"I've revealed myself to a person for no reason before," he breathed. Naruto was sure about it now – the demon's face was creeping closer to his own, the other's pale hand never leaving his tanned face. "Why?" Their lips were so close now – so close and Naruto felt his eyes instinctively closing. "Is there a certain reason that you wanted me to appear?"
Naruto barely registered the fact that he was bare-chested with just a towel and boxers separating their bodies – one of those bodies heating up, and not from embarrassment.
And it sure as hell wasn't the demon's.
Naruto's body called to the demon's almost as much as his mind was against it.
It's only been a few hours! He thought shrilly to himself as the demon's lips touched his – softly and questioning. I can't! This is moving way too fast – damn fucking body – LISTEN TO ME!
But he couldn't control it – his body could only be still as the demon's lips moved against his, his own mouth responding shyly – he had never been in such a place with such a person (a demon nonetheless) before.
His body called to the demon, aching to feel those lips (oh, so soft and gentle) somewhere other than on his own – somewhere that had white shards of brilliance dancing inside of it and sending pleasant chills down his spine as they moved (oh God it felt so good). However, his mind shrank away from the thought – the thought that was so OBVIOUSLY running through his body – and he realized what was going on.
I'm scared.
The demon pulled away, and Naruto was left breathing a lot heavier than he should have been – so soft and slow the kiss had been.
His eyelids fluttered, his body wanting to open them and stare into those endless, molten pools of burning, intense tar, but his mind wanting them firmly shut, knowing that if he looked into those bottomless eyes his body would surely sweep the ground from underneath his mind's feet.
He knew the demon was watching him – knew the demon was surveying him, waiting for a reaction.
His voice was breathy and quiet.
"Maybe you should leave."
He opened his eyes, staring into the demon's own black pools.
He had expected anger, disbelief, incredulousness – at least something dealing with shock – but there was nothing. As he looked down at the demon, the other merely gave him a look of such mystery and blankness that – for a moment – Naruto thought he was looking at the face of a mere statue.
Then the other smirked up at him – as if he had expected this reaction. Smoothly, he stepped away from Naruto and walked over to the window.
There was silence for a moment, and then the demon turned and gave Naruto an all-knowing glance – like he knew with utmost certainty what would happen to the blonde now that he had refused a demon's advance. Naruto's eyes widened, and those fiery eyes and their blazing gaze burned their way into the deepest crevices on his soul.
Then a voice – a voice he knew for certain was the demon's – spoke inside his mind, the cold, cruel facts echoing inside his head.
"Beware human, hesitation will lead to disaster. Hesitation will lead to death. You will gain nothing and lose all in that one moment of weakness – that one moment of fear. And then your world will crumble."
With that, the demon was gone.
Naruto fell to the floor and wept.
End Part Two – Silenced Secrets: Revelations of a Demon
Well, that's the second part! Stupid Naruto! He's totally going to regret this!
Well, actually, it looks like he already is…
But once again you guys – Fire and Ice, by Undertaker of the Sith. GO READ.
Review?
Ja ne!
DDB