My Sanctuary (Unparalleled)
Hello! I'm Anzu-kun, or as some of you might know me as Urufu-chan. I've finally continued writing after a whole year, and I hope that you guys continue to read and enjoy my stories. It took forever, but I've finally updated My Sanctuary! (I might change the name to Unparalleled, but I like My Sanctuary too much!) I'm very sorry it took so long, and I appreciate 'yalls interest and support! Thank you so much!
These are the first two chapters, plus the update! I hope you guys enjoy~
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Chapter 1:
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-Past-
The young Uchiha wiped some sweat off his face. He ran a gloved through his long black hair, pushing it out of his eyesight. Grinding his teeth, he ran the paintbrush along the smooth paper of the large scroll, tracing delicate lines in intricate patterns. Whipping the end of brush off the canvas, he stood up from his crouched position; legs aching in protest. He took a few steps back, admiring his work. Finally, after hours and hours of precise strokes and careful positioning, it was finished. The seals were finally in place.
The black ink covered the scroll in a pattern that made the swirls look as if they were dancing across the paper, constantly in motion. Madara smirked, it looked perfect. He was sure it wasn't going to fail this time, like it did the rest. Around the scroll was singed dirt, cracked and split ground, broken and burnt trees; all failed attempts. It was much harder to summon demons than one would expect.
His ultimate goal was to summon the Kyuubi, but since the demon was not an actual summoning, he had to settle with trying to open a portal to the demon's realm. He was a prodigy, and studying seals in the past had finally paid off. For nearly a year, he had been researching how to accomplish this goal; how to open such a portal. It was strenuous, difficult, and utterly incomprehensible work, going on for days at a time trying to understand a basic concept. He had found a clearing far, far away from the newly budding hidden villages, somewhere where he could practice the seals without fear of being discovered. Of course, he couldn't stay hidden forever, but he wasn't nominated for the title of Shodai Hokage for nothing.
A scowl marred his handsome features as he thought of why he left his village and clan in the first place. That accursed Senju. Taking his rightful place as the Hokage, something that would be the downfall of his clan, he was sure of it. The village needed a true leader, one who would bring out the full potential in all the clans, but more importantly, the Uchiha clan. How was his clan ever supposed to advance and grow stronger with someone like Hashirama leading them? Worst of all, when he brought this up, instead of the support he expected, they sided with the Senju, as it "was for the best".
He packed up his paintbrush and ink, placing them both carefully into his bag. Now that he had his seal completed, the last thing he needed was a spill. He looked back to seal, praying to himself that he would be successful. The young Uchiha had worked as hard as he could, doing his best to understand sealing. He still believed that he didn't have a very good grip on the topic overall, but he didn't feel like wasting three or four years to even begin to understand the finer, more important details of basic sealing. He composed his seal of some of a few of the necessary components he had picked up, but with the more advanced parts he had made educated guesses with. True, he had taken a few shortcuts here and there, but he had the basic idea, and that was good enough, right?
Wrong. That was one of his biggest mistakes. Never underestimate sealing. It was one of the most challenging and complex ninja arts for a reason; one of the lessons the ambitious Uchiha was about to learn.
He activated his Sharingan, the blood red color bleeding into his deep onyx eyes. He stepped carefully along the south edge of the scroll, which was about seven meters rolled out, and one meter across. Some of the seals were written out onto the smoothed ground, to make up for lack of space. He smirked, slashing his palm with a kunai and going through the incredible amount of hand signs in order to complete the final jutsu. As his hands flew through the signs, his blood splattered onto the scroll, the ink seals glowing red and burning into the ground upon contact. After the final sign was completed, he slammed the bloody palm onto the designated small opening in between the two main seals. Chakra was forced into the seal, illuminating the seals in a chain reaction. The seals swirled, dancing into the center of the scroll. The ground collapsed on itself in the center, crumbling into a pit that was slowly growing.
Sweat beaded down Madara's face, his vision going blurry. He pressed on, fighting his sudden weakness.
The ground around him started to crack along with the hole, growing larger and larger. The pressure in the area suddenly increased ten-fold, gravity suddenly becoming overly-apparent. Madara struggled to stay upright, not wanting to be crushed by the power. Even as he fought to keep the jutsu in place, on the inside he was cheering. It was working! Unfortunately for him, his arms buckled against the pressure, putting him in a bowing position. He shifted, trying to fight the pressure and return to his original stance, but in the process, he smeared a wet seal with his forearm. His eyes widened in disbelief, heart dropping down into his stomach. He cursed loudly, the ground rumbling underneath him.
The opening in the ground suddenly contracted, causing a sort of whiplash in the area. The Uchiha flew back, crashing through a multitude of trees before finally hitting one last tree with a large dent and slumping down into the ground. Through the haze of dust and rumble caused by the collision, he could make out a ball of red chakra in the place where the hole was. It was marbled with maroon and black, giving it a sketchy, rough appearance. Blood fell into his left eye, blinding him temporarily. He saw the ball slowly disintegrate, but soon after he blacked out.
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-Present-
In the Konoha hospital, a worried bunch of shinobi was gathered around a room, staring at the doors intently.
"Is he going to be okay?" A pink-haired teenager asked worriedly, glancing amongst her comrades.
"We don't know, Sakura. This is all too troublesome. If that blonde-haired idiot would only think of himself sometimes…" a lazy teen with a pineapple-shaped hair style answered, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Everyone else in the hallway was silent, thinking of their friend that was currently in the operating room.
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"What is wrong with him?" A doctor shouted frantically, doing the best he could to stop the bleeding. The other medics were scurrying around the room, picking up various equipment and towels in order to soak up the blood. Tsunade was at the boy's side, her hands pressed to his abdomen. The furious green glowing around her palms seemed to be doing nothing in order to stop the boy's constant flow of blood.
It was nothing like anything they had ever seen before. The teen was burning up, and even though he had not one scratch on him, he was bleeding ferociously from his very pores, the most prominent amount coming from his stomach, with his whisker scars close behind. He was pale, the smooth tan that usually tinted his skin completely gone; the more he bled the more he looked like a corpse. His heart rate was through the roof, thumping in his chest at an impossible rate.
All the sudden he lurched forward, torso flying into the air while the rest of his body was pinned to the table by an unseen force. His mouth opened in a silent scream, agony written across his face. The medics and Godaime all stumbled back, a red, ominous charka emitting from him. The seal on his stomach glowed bright red, burning into his skin. The chakra gathered around him, taking the shape of the fox himself, the head swirling above him dangerously and tails taking shape while wrapping around his body.
"What the…?" Tsunade cursed aloud, sweating and breathing heavily from the sheer amount of demonic energy flooding the room. The other medics had passed out at this time, or were at least crumpled on the ground.
Bubbling and orange, the makeshift demon fox enveloped the teen, drawing him into ball, a somewhat fetal position. The chakra gave one last pulse, shattering the windows and bursting the doors open. The machines went haywire, sparking and beeping frantically. The fox head roared, spiraling in on itself and disappearing.
At that moment the room became impossibly still, everything just freezing in its place. Some of the chakra was still floating around the room and seeping into the hallways, burning the very air they needed to breathe. The chuunin were beyond shocked, having witnessing the last of the demon seemingly teleporting away.
"W-what just happened?" A shocked Kiba stuttered out, a large Akamaru cowering behind his master. No one seemed to hear him though, especially Tsunade, who was frozen in place, trembling.
"N-naruto?"
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Chapter 2:
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Madara woke, head throbbing. His hand carefully rose to his head, checking for any major injuries. As soon as his palm touched his face a sharp stinging sensation shot through his hand, making him reel back in displeasure. Clutching the sore appendage, he looked down to see his split palm. The whole hand was burnt severely; it looked as if he had personally set it on fire then scratched it up with a kunai. Oh wait; he actually had done that last part. He groaned, leaning back against the tree and looking up into the sky. It looked as if it was about twilight, the sky taking on a delightful dark blue shade that burned into bright oranges and reds in the horizon.
Struggling up, he stumbled towards the seal site, determined to see if anything had occurred. The ground was dry and singed beneath him; all plant life disintegrated with the power of the pulses the technique had caused.
The Uchiha came across a large crater; it was nearly twice as wide as he expected it to be. He immediately stiffened when he felt a demonic energy pooling in the hole, snaking around him dangerously. Looking deeper into the crater, he saw something in the very center, something that looked… orange? Madara skid down into the core, finding it increasingly difficult with his injured hand. As he got closer and closer, his confusion grew.
What was a boy doing in the crater?
There was a boy who looked to be about sixteen lying limp in the crater, apparently unconscious. The boy was in black and orange rags, stained dark with blood. His skin, showing traces of a healthy deep color, was pale while and pasty. His matted blonde hair was in frenzy around his face, covering what looked to be a headband of sorts. Madara let his uninjured hand trace the boy's features, running along his whisker marks that had blood dribbling from them, as if they were freshly carved, to his forehead, where he pushed the unruly yellow locks out of his face. He violently retracted his hand as if he was bitten by a snake as soon as he saw the symbol on the hitai-ate.
Konoha.
Impossible. There could be no way a shinobi from Konoha could have tracked him all the way out here. And besides, this headband was… different. The metal studded onto the cloth was shinier, made of a lighter mineral than the ones they used back in the village. And even if they had changed the mineral while he had left the village, there was no way this could be new. It showed too much wear and tear for it to possibly be recently obtained. Plus, he was sure he had never heard of a ninja wearing-orange, without even armor. That hair was also such a bright shade of yellow.
Madara studied the boy for a few minutes debating what he was going to do with him. He could kill the boy, but then how would he find out about the headband and where this ninja came from?
Making up his mind, he lifted the boy as best he could on his shoulder, finding him surprisingly light. Crawling up the walls of the crater was certainly a pain- he nearly fell or slipped several times, but it was worth it in the end as he threw the teen onto the solid ground of the edge. Madara sat, catching his breath, when suddenly he flew into a sort of calm state of panic.
Now what?
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Naruto felt pain.
His whole body was aching, his skin burning down into his bones. It hurt beyond belief, bitterly reminding him of his childhood. He couldn't remember much of what happened, but as he slowly began regaining consciousness, he heard rustling in the background.
"You're finally awake." Naruto's eyebrows furrowed at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, a deep irrational fear suddenly settling in the pit of his stomach. He groaned, turning towards a heat source he could feel beside his face. His blue eyes fluttered open, staring directly into a roaring fire. There was someone on the other side of it; legs crossed and munching on something. Naruto tired to sit up, but as soon as he managed to support himself on his arms something flashed right in front of his face, causing him to freeze.
The kunai that flashed passed him embedded itself into a poor tree on the other side of the clearing they were in, coming dangerously close to hitting the poor jinchuuriki. Naruto gulped, following the kunai's line of fire to the man sitting across from him. The man was leaning his head against a propped up elbow, twirling a kunai on a finger of another bandaged hand. He had a smirk on his face, a smirk that looked all too familiar.
"What the… where am I?" Madara could've groaned at the cliché line the boy used, mentally rolling his eyes.
"Does it matter where you are?" He voiced, becoming amused at how the boy's face twisted in displeasure. "I think that my questions are more important at the time." He continued; taking another bite of grilled fish he had set against the fire. The boy's eyes flashed with hunger;
Madara smirked again.
Naruto looked up at him, shifting into a more comfortable position. Cold sweat gathered on his forehead, a steady ache pounding in his head. Groaning even more, he winced as each of his muscles screamed in protest. Madara looked on with little interest, baiting the teen even more by taking another bite of his fish. Naruto quickly picked up on this, a vein throbbing on his head.
"Well, aren't you supposed to feed me or something? Or at least tell me who you are?" He rudely grunted, crossing his arms. Madara just raised an eyebrow.
"And I would do that why?" Naruto ground his teeth.
"What happened?" Madara shrugged.
"I found you in a crater. Anymore questions?" Naruto grumbled something under his breath, running a hand through his hair. He froze in place however, when he felt his forehead. There was no hitai-ate. The fox boy looked over at the man suspiciously; cause the other man's eye to twitch.
"Do you happen to have-"He was cut off when Madara pulled a ragged headband from a nearby pack. He held it up tauntingly, the shiny metal reflecting the light from the fire. Naruto looked on in confusion, tilting his head to the side. "Well… can I have it back?"
"Is everything that comes out of your mouth a question?" Madara sighed, looking at the headband in interest. His face suddenly took on a more serious quality, shadows flickering across his handsome features ominously. "Tell me where you got this." He commanded, grip tightening around the black material. Naruto looked at the man in continued confusion, noticing that said man also had a headband of the same sort on his forehead. He wanted to do nothing more than snatch the headband from the man's grasp however; his overly-protective instinct coming into play.
"I got it by graduating from the ninja academy, duh." Madara's face remained static, as hard as steel.
"What is your name?" Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly, not liking the man's tone at all. He was going around demanding things of him; it was too much like… he was acting a lot like Sasuke. The proud Uchiha always thought that he could get anything he wanted by just demanding it; that teme. Even so, he took the command as a challenge, and as always, he stated his name proudly and confidently.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's next Hokage!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Madara felt his anger spike. Another kunai flashed past Naruto, nearly silting his throat. Naruto held his neck stiff, face twisted in a mixture of fear, confusion, and anger.
"Don't play with me, boy." Madara growled, scowling.
"What the… Oi! What's your problem?" Naruto rasped out, rubbing his neck tenderly. His throat felt dry and was burning; hand trembling slightly as if it was experiencing a muscle spasm. Madara noticed the signs of dehydration, be he wasn't going to offer the boy anything until he told him what he needed to know.
"What kind of sick joke are you trying to pull, boy? I don't take very kindly to fools." Madara let his eyes bleed into the infamous Sharingan, glaring at the blonde.
Naruto gasped in shock, witnessing the man before him activate the Sharingan. Impossible! He thought only Sasuke and Itachi still had the Sharingan! Well, Kakashi-sensei had it also, but not in both eyes! He brought his hands up quickly in a seal, muttering "Kai" in order to dispel any genjutsu that were placed on him. When nothing happened and the man before him was still staring at him intently with the Sharingan, he shook his head furiously from side to side. When that didn't work, he opted to shut his eyes and pinch his still sensitive skin, repeating the process over and over again when none of the methods worked.
Madara looked on in confusion at first, which quickly bubbled into anger as time passed by. Instead of throwing his kunai at the boy, he decided to do something he believed was more efficient. So while the jinchuuriki was distracted with what looked like some sort of seizure, the Uchiha crept over to his side of the fire, and then proceeded to bonk the boy on the head. He got the desired result, smirking in amusement when the teen hunched over and cradled his head in his head.
"Arg! What was that for?" He shouted, glaring up at the man, who glared back with equal force. "And why do you have that… HOW do you have that… who are you?" He continued shouting frantically, pointing a finger in Madara's face. The long-haired Uchiha stared at the finger as if willing it to burn, slapping it away with his good hand.
"I am Uchiha Madara, you fool."
"U-uchiha? No way…" Naruto trailed off, gaping; blue eyes wide. He stared at the man, Madara. Where had he heard that before? He never really paid attention in class, but the name was so familiar, plus he was an Uchiha! He should know these things. He bit his lip, thinking hard. The man was wearing armor, what looked to be heavy armor… he had long spiky hair… he looked like the teme kinda… but more handsome and less gay… wait! Where did that come from? Focus, Naruto! Focus!
Then he remembered.
Three years ago, when Sasuke was leaving the village; they were at the Valley of the End. The teme was standing on a statue opposite of the one he himself was on, a statue of Uchiha Madara. This guy was supposed to be dead! What was going on here? Naruto started panicking in his head, while on the outside he was still paralyzed in shock.
Madara raised an eyebrow, his arrogant Uchiha nature shining through. "What? Star struck?" Naruto growled, scooting away from the supposedly dead man.
"No! Y-you're not even supposed to be alive!"
Naruto accused, glaring at the latter. Madara blinked, once. Twice. Then he scoffed.
"Please, whatever gave you that idea? Just because I've been gone from the village for some time doesn't mean I'm dead." Naruto was now confused beyond comprehension. Gone from the village? What did he mean by that? Did he mean the time he was dead? Arg, all of the thinking and questions were not helping his headache.
"Where am I and how did I get here?" Naruto tired to stand up, but his whole body was still sore. He realized that his clothes were in tatters, but they were still on, though he didn't have any bandages on him. "Was I hurt when you found me?"
"Yes actually, but you seemed to heal up quick, so I didn't bother with any medical precautions and such. Besides, I had my own hand to worry about." He stated, motioning to his injured hand. Naruto felt a tick mark appear on his head. The man couldn't even bother to check if he was still bleeding or hurt just because he looked fine on the outside? Though part of him was thankful, what if he had seen the seal? He recalled Kyuubi mentioning something about a Madara when he first met up with Sasuke after all those years, but he wasn't really paying attention at the time.
"As for how you got here, well, frankly I believe I should be asking that question. You are the one that is trespassing." Madara stood up, looking down at the boy that was little bit less than a head shorter than him.
"Trespassing? I'm not trespassing! I don't even know where I am!" Naruto said while involuntarily shrinking back, that irrational fear coursing through him again. This man… seemed so… massive. Next to the jinchuuriki, with all the armor, he was quite intimidating. Madara on the other hand, took pleasure in the fact the teen had cowered away from him.
"You will tell me of the ties you have with Konoha." He demanded again, taking an experimental step forward. This time however, Naruto did not back down. Instead a look of determination graced his face and he straightened out.
"No." He ground out. Madara glared at the boy, Sharingan swirling. Naruto tensed, ever so slightly, but oh he tensed. "Why do you even need to know anyways?" Naruto ground out again, cerulean eyes struggling to keep contact with the blood red orbs in front of him.
"My motives are none of your concern." The Uchiha stated harshly. "What are you?" He asked, beginning to circle the blonde. Naruto watched him, becoming more confused with each step the other man took.
"Huh?" Madara sighed tiredly.
"I can't kill you; you could prove to be useful. I could interrogate or torture you…" Madara smirked, when he saw fear flash across the boy's face, taking that sick pleasure in the horror the boy felt again, "Hmm… what to do, what to do?" He pulled out a kunai, spinning it on his finger by the hoop. Naruto gulped, sweat beading down his face.
"Torture me all you want, I'm no traitor."
"Traitor? Who mentioned anything about betraying anyone? I merely want to know what you have to do with my home village." He taunted while moving closer, pressing the cold steel against his neck. Naruto froze, not wanting to make any unnecessary moves. Maybe it was just the whole situation, but Naruto tried something new. It was one of those rare moments he decided to actually think.
He could try to buy sometime. The Jinchuuriki was still weak; maybe if he stalled for a bit, say a night, he could wake up and escape. This man could obviously kill him at any given moment… but maybe it only seemed that way because he was still recovering. There was nothing he could do other than wait and hope things went his way. Well, Baa-chan always did say he was lucky.
"I could tell you in the morning… I'm still really tired." Naruto said tentatively, looking at the man from the corner of his eyes. Madara narrowed his eyes, pressing the kunai further into his neck, the knife broke skin, making Naruto wince.
"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Madara growled a deep rumbling sound. Panic coursed through Naruto, his heart racing. Usually he would be proud and defiant in situations such as these, but there was something about this man… his Sharingan unnerved him greatly. He needed to make it out of this alive; he couldn't just try to push this man's buttons.
"I swear, I'll tell you anything you need to know about me in the morning. Just… let me rest… for one night." Naruto gasped out as Madara slowly pressed the kunai deeper. Madara studied the blonde carefully, mentally debating whether to trust him or not. He was feeling generous, so why not? He could always kill the boy if he tried anything.
"Hn. I suppose I'll let you live 'till morn." He drew back, making his way to the fire. He pulled the grilled fish he was eating earlier and pointed it towards Naruto. "But I still harbour no trust for you, and therefore, no food." He tore a chunk out of the fish. Naruto stayed in place for a bit, mentally cursing the man, Madara, over and over in his head. Curse him for having such a strange effect on him. He actually made Naruto fear for his life. He had even made Naruto consider consequences.
The fox boy shuffled over to the makeshift bed Madara had graciously set out for him when he was unconscious; consisting of a simple mat and blanket. Grumbling, he tried to rest, fear settling in his stomach for the third time that evening as he thought of his predicament.
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Madara was originally planning on killing the boy once he had gotten his information in the morning, but something changed that night, something changed drastically. He was shocked, definitely, but all of the sudden the boy was so much more interesting, so much more… useful.
He was essentially "sleeping with one eye open", not letting his guard down. He would merely take cat naps, going to sleep for short periods of time and then waking, checking to see if the boy was awake, or gone. True, he was a light sleeper, but one could never be too cautious. It was around his fifth or sixth time waking up briefly, when he felt it.
Such an ominous and dark chakra floating around in the air, it was suffocating, yet delicious to the Uchiha at the same time.
It was chakra of power; it was malicious and thick, like a fog. It burned his eyes and nose from breathing the air around it and exposing his eyesight to it; almost like an allergen. This was what he had been looking for, but where was it coming from?
It only took him a second to trace it back to the boy, sleeping somewhat peacefully on the mat. It was radiating off him is waves, dancing around his body. Madara gasped at the sight. Such power… such demonic power… he needed to obtain this power. The blonde haired idiot wielded so much strength but, did he even know he had it? Just what exactly was this boy? He had asked him earlier, but he hadn't meant it in the literal sense.
Now when morning came round, he wasn't so sure about killing him just yet. No, he was valuable now… he was useful, definitely useful. Madara smirked again and rolled back to his mat, suddenly feeling much happier than when he had gone to bed. This boy could help him reach his goal.
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Chapter 3:
.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the dramatic lighting. He sat up cautiously, taking a moment to realize where he was.
"Brat."
He shot back with a jolt, his hands splashing around in the shallow water he found himself in. Deep, menacing red eyes glared back at him, looking ready to kill. The malice the demon was sending his way was enough to make him terrified of the creature, something he wasn't sure he felt in a long time. There was a deep, scratchy sound coming from the cage, making the water ripple and bars shake. Kyuubi was as intimidating as ever, but there was something very wrong about the whole picture.
"What's going on here?" Naruto snapped, standing up to face the fox. Said fox didn't seem as big, he noted.
"Are you really that stupid?" The demon ground out. It was then that Naruto noticed how much effort that caused the fox, because he was panting heavily now, tongue lolling out to the side like a dog. He pressed forward, muzzle pushed against the bars. He snarled a weak one, but it was enough to get his point across. "You listen here, human! I was put into this situation because of you!"
"Me? I don't even know how I got to this place! If anything, this is probably YOUR entire fault!"
"Silence!" The fox snapped, cutting Naruto off. "The trip here took all of my energy… and I can't get it back." Naruto just gave him a confused look, not really sure where "here" was. "Think about it. How is any of this possible? How is someone who is supposed to be dead right in front of you? Why haven't you gotten away yet?" The demon bristled, is voice rising with each statement. "You can't possibly be as stupid as you look."
"Hey!" But Kyuubi had a point. This whole thing was just impossible, so he had to think of the impossible, right? He was pulled out of his thought when a pained sound came from the fox.
"I knew it was a mistake bringing you in here!" He snarled, suddenly panting a lot heavier. "Get… out…"
"Huh?"
"I SAID GET OUT!" He roared, blasting Naruto away, and out of the mental sewer.
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Naruto woke with a start, sweating and gasping for breath. He had almost forgotten how overwhelming Kyuubi's chakra could be. His blue eyes scanned the area, seeing nothing around him. The camp from yesterday was gone, and that guy, Madara, was nowhere to be found. Had he abandoned him? All of the sudden, a bundle of something dark and smooth was thrown in his face.
No such luck, Naruto.
"Put these clothes on. We can't have you running around looking… like that." He was about to protest, but then he looked down, and found himself agreeing with the Uchiha. Plus, he thought, he could take this chance to escape. Pushing himself up, he began making his way towards the trees, when an arm stopped him. "Where do think you're going?" he asked while raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
"To change…?" The blonde replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Madara chuckled, shaking his head.
"I don't think so. I can't have you getting away." He smirked. "Change here."
"I can't change in front of you!" Naruto protested, embarrassed and frustrated that his opportunity was taken from him.
"There's nothing I have not seen before, fool. Don't be such a woman." Madara pushed past him, facing away to give Naruto a little privacy. Naruto could feel his face burning with indignation. Quickly he changed into the larger clothes, looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds in case the Uchiha happened to be watching.
He was.
What was the point of turning around if he was just going to look anyway? The blonde was thoroughly embarrassed by the time he was completely dressed, giving the Uchiha a death glare.
"Don't look at me like that," he teased, grabbing up a large bag Naruto assumed was what was holding the things from the night before. "You're lucky I haven't killed you yet." He saw the younger boy gulp, and chuckled again. "I thought about a lot of things last night." He paused, letting that sink in. "I've decided that you are my hostage from now on."
"Are you kidding me?" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm not gonna be your hostage!"
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice…" Sharingan eyes swirled at Naruto, causing him to tense up, and flinch when the bearer of the eyes took an experimental step forward. "Thought so."
"Why don't you just kill me?" Naruto growled weakly, still shaken by the effects of the Sharingan.
"Because, you wouldn't be very helpful dead. And besides, don't you know? I'm really a good guy-"He was cut off by a sarcastic cough "Well, good enough to take you back to Konoha."
"What's the catch?" Madara smirked. He looked off to the sky, then back.
"I'm going to be late if we don't leave soon." He stated plainly. Naruto was tired of this guy, tired of his attitude. He was just like any old Uchiha, and it drove him crazy.
The jinjuriki snarled and lunged forward, packing a strong punch for the man. His eyes widened, not expecting the attack, but raised his arms in defense. Naruto aimed a kick at his head, which was grabbed and soon he was sent crashing towards the ground. Naruto gasped, amazed at how weak he still was from the previous day's events. Madara looked down at him with a dark face.
"Bad boy." He hissed, his fist colliding with the blonde's face. Naruto struggled even more, but the man was stronger than him, probably even when he was well. "Behave." He ordered, Sharingan swirling once more. Naruto froze, his gaze caught in the raven's. His mind went blank, lost. Madara furrowed his brows, confused as to why the boy actually decided to obey him. He wasn't hypnotizing him; he just activated his eyes to scare him. He slowly got off of him, the boy sitting up as well, with a glazed look in his eyes. "Hey." He barked, snapping the blonde out of his daze.
"Wha?" Naruto huffed; his mind clouded over. He remembered lunging at him, but that was all. He winced, feeling a sharp stinging in his left eye, which was swelling. What had happened? Had he punched him or something…?
"I. Am. Going. To. Be. Late." He ground out, giving the blonde a cold glare.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. He wanted to scream, fight, runaway, but something was pulling him towards the man. He didn't know if it was his irrationally large fear of him and what he could do, he didn't know if it was because he wanted to go home more than anything, he didn't know what happened, but he felt powerless next to this guy. Madara violently yanked him up so that he was standing and shoved him forward. "Hurry up, hostage." Naruto could hear the smirk in his voice.
He really didn't know what happened. He followed him.
.
Back in his cage, a certain demon was lying, panting, and bleeding. The blood mixed with the water in the sewer, and stained the walls a disgusting rust color. His fur was dull and wet- but somehow he looked better than when his host was in there.
"The power he has over me… no- us is ridiculous. What the hell am I going to do now? The brat isn't resistant enough."
The fox groaned and closed his eyes, needing to rest.
.
"Where are we going anyway?"
The certain raven-haired man sighed, leaping from one branch to another. This had to be the fifth or so time that the boy asked that question.
"If you ask me one more time I will bury a kunai in your skull." Naruto huffed.
"Well if you told me the first time, I wouldn't have to keep asking!" Just then, another kunai flew by, barely missing the boy. "Oi!"
"What was that, boy?" The man spoke lowly and menacingly.
"Nothing…" He replied in a small voice. "Why do you use me as target practice?"
"Quiet. Hostages aren't supposed to talk- at all."
Naruto sulked. He couldn't find anything good with this situation, except he was going back to Konoha. But then again, he recalled Kyuubi's words from last night. All of this was so impossible. The only way that this guy could still be alive was if he was… in the past, somehow. But that was impossible! Kyuubi's never lied to him before, not like that. Urgh. He focused back to what he was doing, trying to save this until he could talk to the fox again, when right before his eyes was an expecting tree trunk. He shouted, dodged, and ran into a man.
"What in the name of?" Was exclaimed before they both crashed into another tree. "What kind of stunt are you trying to pull, boy? Don't make me give you another black eye!" Madara raged.
"I-I just wasn't looking where I was going, okay?" Naruto flinched. "I'm sorry, seriously!" Madara got up off the branch they fell on, dusting himself off.
"I was under the impression that you were ninja." He snarled, smacking the boy in the back of the head. "Pay attention." And with that, he darted off again. Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Didn't he ever get a break?
"Hey! Wait up!"
Soon enough, a small house came into view, settled on the top of a green, lush valley. It was a humble home and looked like it doubled as some sort of shop, with another small building next to it, probably a shed for lumber and materials of the sort. Madara was the first to enter through the doorway that was only half covered with a taupe curtain.
"I have returned jii-san!" He called out, making himself at home in the small shop area. Naruto followed tentatively, curiosity getting the better of him. .
"Is that you, Madara-san?" A small old man popped out from another room, breaking out into a toothy grin when he saw said Uchiha. He shuffled in, using an old wooden crane to support his fragile frame. He was a plain, ordinary old man, sporting a long white beard and beady black eyes. "Who is your friend?"
"We're not friends." He corrected, a bit annoyed.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He introduced, wanting to hit Madara badly.
"It's nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san." The old man smiled. "I'm going to bring out some tea; I didn't know you'd bring company." He shuffled out of the room again, leaving the two to glare at each other until he came back. "Alright boys, help yourselves." He shakily set down the tea set, and Madara did help himself, but Naruto kept his distance. "How did it go, Madara-san?"
"I smudged the ink when I was activating it." He sipped his tea, leaving the blonde out of the loop. "It went haywire- a complete mess."
"Hmmm. I don't think that it would be as bad as you make it sound if you merely smudged it. Something was probably wrong in the actual seal work, and smudging it probably only makes it worse." The old man said thoughtfully, nodding his head. Madara just scrunched up his nose.
"The seal work was wrong?" He ran a hand through his hair. "But I need to get it correct before…" He trailed off, angry.
"I know, I know, but I warned you. This is no easy task."
"I need a new scroll, more ink." He looked at the man expectedly. The old man sighed.
"I'm afraid to say you took my last scroll of that size and density. The paper was also specially infused with chakra, and I only get it through a traveling merchant in the nearby village." Madara groaned. "If you want it, you'll have to get it yourself."
Naruto remained silent, taking everything in. I seemed like some sort of jutsu that required a seal went wrong. He didn't know very much about sealing, he just knew that it was one of the hardest ninja arts out there, and he didn't have very good experiences with it. He clutched at his stomach.
"May we stay her for the night? I apologize for the inconvenience." Naruto blinked. Madara being polite was just weird. The man was already as bipolar as a guy could get.
"Of course, Madara-san. You know you don't even have to ask. I am in your debt." The man's eyes crinkled when he smiled.
"Boy!" Madara barked at him.
"You're rude, you know?" Naruto stated, a tick mark on his head.
"We're staying here for the night- and in the morning; we're going to run errands."
Naruto know he didn't have a choice, but that didn't stop him from being in a bad mood about it all night.
*wipes sweat off face* How was that? I know I'm rusty, and it hasn't been beta'ed yet, but I hope you guys enjoyed it! I know it's not very good, but I'll improve and try to update once every week to ten days. Thank you for reading!
Listening to: Loveless - 山下智久
Mood: Nervous