Title – Dawn's Fire on Drawn Sword

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Only the story I'm writing here is mine.

Pairing – Gaara/Naruto

Warnings – Violence, eventual sexual content, language, your usual pot of gold for M fics

Rating – M

Summary – Naruto's life is dull and empty, he doesn't really have a purpose. On his 18th birthday he starts getting tormented by demons nobody else can see. When things go too far he's drawn into a world of conflict. Everything changes in the blink of an eye. Slash, GaaraNaru

Chapter 1 – Silver Lining

It was a beautiful day when it all started to fall apart. Birds were singing and the sky was a gentle blue, puffy white clouds dotting the land with shadows. Naruto woke up with a headache as was common lately. It drilled right behind his eyes like some kind of needle gun. Yawning, he got out of bed, stepping into a pool of sunlight. His tan toes curled up at the cold floor. Shit, he must have left the window open again. He gazed out it –it was indeed cracked open- and sighed at the sight of naked trees and browning grass. Fall was melting into winter faster than he would have liked.

Naruto was a rather short guy. His body was muscled and tanned but it was still more slender than most guys his age. He had messy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His features were attractive, but –to his annoyance- were more feminine than he would like. He aspired to have a manly face that inspired envy in the hearts of others, but instead he was stuck with eternally boyish features. Grumbling under his breath, he got dressed in a loose orange T-shirt and baggy black jeans.

His small house was quiet, even the hum of his refrigerator audible with the lack of noise. Naruto poured himself a glass of milk and drank it in one along with some brightly colored pills. Hopefully the painkillers would kick in soon; the headache was only getting worse with time. He made himself a quick breakfast before heading to his school.

He was in high school for a fifth year doing the so called 'victory lap'. Now he was an adult, the world was his oyster- except it wasn't. He didn't have a damn idea what he wanted to do. Nothing ever held his interest. Sciences? Nope. Engineering? Nope. Craftsmanship? Nope. Arts? Hell no. Some days he just felt like an empty shell, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt anything genuinely. He was a puzzle piece that didn't fit.

Classes were slow that day, Naruto brooding over a martial arts pamphlet. It would be good to learn, it could give him some much needed training. Gods knew he got beat up enough to use it. Not even the teacher paid him much attention, his silence was probably a welcomed improvement. By fourth period he was nodding off, drooling a bit. He only woke up when there was a horrible stabbing pain in his ankle and he yelled, jumping away. The problem was, jumping away while seated didn't exactly work and he knocked over the chair and landed on his ass with a loud bang.

Whispering surrounded him like a breeze as rolled over and looked under his desk. A tiny creature with pointed teeth and a deep red body leered at him, laughing and gabbling in an unknown language. Naruto stared at it for a few minutes, oblivious to the teacher yelling at him. It stared back with glittering black eyes. Things like this had become a common occurrence, but it didn't make him any less pissed or stop him from stomping the damn thing into goo. It evaporated into dust, but as far as his class was aware he'd just made a scene for no reason and started stomping the ground.

Naruto found himself in the principal's office for the next few days. More lectures, more yelling, more of those things following him, pushing him down stairs and biting him when they could. They seemed to like the taste of his flesh and he was always covered in bites, little more than needle marks but black bruising spread out from the wounds. Always fighting, the principal accused him. Yeah right. Maybe if the dumbass old man opened his eyes he'd see them too. Yet nobody did.

Naruto started seeing them when he turned eighteen. At first he thought he was hallucinating, but hallucinations don't push people into traffic. He still had a slight limp from getting hit by a car. Goblins or demons, he didn't know what to call them. They were grotesque and unnatural and nobody could see them. He was alone in this torment, he had nobody to turn to living alone with both parents dead. Clumsy Naruto, the others students would whisper. It wasn't his damned fault!

"Come for training have you?" The man asked, his smile wide and open.

Naruto stood in front of the dojo master and nodded his head. The man was short, his hair white and wispy and his skin wrinkled, yet his back was straight and his gaze keen. He had power. The sky outside of the room was stormy grey and raindrops pattered against the windows. Beyond the entrance he could hear the sound of flesh hitting flesh and students yelling and talking. It smelled lightly of incense, he could see one burning on the desk.

"Do you have any formal training?" The man enquired, walking around him slowly and examining his figure.

"No."

They engaged in talk of fees and days he should come in. When it was all finished he moved into a kind of locker room where he was suited up. The clothes were easy to move in and light. As he got dressed he watched a line of floating eyes drip past. They all swivelled to look at him and he couldn't rip his gaze away from the slimy tarry blood that glopped onto the floor under them. It smelled bitter and pungent. They giggled and jeered –although he couldn't find their mouths- as he dressed. One was risky enough to zip forward. Naruto kicked it away and stomped on it when it hit the floor. Black dust floated up from under his foot.

"That was a good kick."

Naruto spun to see the instructor standing there.

"Your strength is good but your balance is off and you could use a bit more form. It's good for a beginner," The man said, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Oscar Vandwell. I've been teaching at this dojo for 42 years."

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said.

"Where did you get those wounds?" Oscar asked, gesturing to the bruises covering his arms. They were patches of blue and black, some yellow and some red. All of them had faint scratches or punctures in the center.

"Fights," He said. It wasn't like the man would believe him anyways.

The old man eyed him for a bit, "Are you a user Naruto?"

"A user?" Naruto repeated, confused.

"Needles can leave wounds like that when they're dirty," The man said, "I'll let you know right now that I won't take a drug user in my dojo. This is a place of healing, not the rot of addiction. I don't want you selling your wares and corrupting more young minds."

"What?" Naruto gaped at him, unbelieving of what he was hearing. Oscar just continued to stare at him coldly so he pushed words out of his mouth again, "I- I'm not a goddamn druggie. What the hell?! These wounds are from fucking- fuck- they're just fights!"

His entire body was tensed, poised to fight. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Calling him crazy was one thing but a fucking drug addict?! There was something in his throat making it hard to speak. He wanted to rip this old man apart and fucking- he screamed inside. He couldn't believe this. These things always tormented him, always got him in trouble, and now they were going to ruin this too?! He could hear the eyeballs laughing and jeering in their foreign tongue. A few rotting moths the size of tennis balls were sticking to the walls, feeding off of his rage. Naruto felt sick.

"I'll be expecting you to take a drug test soon anyways," Oscar was saying as Naruto glared at the eyeballs, "It's a bi-monthly thing at the dojo."

Naruto's eyes snapped back to him, "I'm not a druggie."

Oscar just gave him a shrewd look, "We'll see. Come into the training area. I'll teach you."

Visiting the dojo became a regular thing for the rest of the week. He quickly found he had a natural affinity for fighting, something that even impressed Oscar. Naruto enjoyed sparring and practicing, and often when he was alone at home he'd practice the different stances and moves. If it was the only thing that changed it would have been good. The demons that followed him increased, sticking to him like slime. They'd push him into oncoming traffic and down stairs. While he was taking baths they'd try to hold him under so he started only showering. If he left his window open he'd wake up with scratches and bites that hadn't been there before. Learning martial arts quickly became one of the only good things he had.

It was raining heavily on his way back from the dojo. The last day of the weekend, then he'd be back to school. At least Oscar had stopped calling him a drug addict, at the school he was still the crazy problem kid. He kicked splashes as he walked through the large puddles. The city was grey and blurred at the edges from the rainfall. His bright orange hoodie was drenched through and he couldn't help shivering. Any colder and it would be freezing rain.

More of the demons were following him as he walked, he could feel their hungry eyes on him. Today felt unnatural. There couldn't be more, he was sure of that, but their gazes seemed more malicious. Their usual bloodlust and tormenting was somehow translated into a full on aura of killing intent. Naruto clutched his shoulders and shivered as he stood at the corner, waiting for the light. They were keeping their distance today, just watching, but if anything it made him more anxious. The light turned green and he stepped forward only to nearly fall.

A rotting black hand with claws was gripping his leg. The arm was coming up from a large puddle he'd stepped into. It was grabbing him hard enough to draw blood, its toxic nails digging deep into his flesh. He could feel the poison racing through his blood as he tried to pull away. It only gripped tighter and began to pull him deeper, going past what should have been solid asphalt. Naruto gasped in shock as water lapped against shin, he was going to be dragged in! Panicked, he pulled away with all of his might, starting to get lightheaded whether it be blood loss or poison. Tiny claws shoved his back and he heard laughter as his foot slipped off the concrete into the puddle. He screamed once before another rotting hand grabbed his mouth and dragged him down completely.

He was cold. He couldn't breathe. Lights were flashing behind his eyes and he could hear icy laughter in his ears, hungry breath on his skin. The terrible killing intent surrounded him, their bloodthirsty joy sending chills down his spine.

He was going to die.

Panic like molten rock filled him and he struggled against the arms dragging him deeper into the darkness. This couldn't be the fucking end! Tears streamed down his face and he felt barbed tongues licking them up, splitting open his cheeks. He couldn't move his body anymore, could barely feel his legs. The darkness was seeping into his mind, blotting out his thoughts.

He couldn't breathe.

He took a shuddering breath, senses flooding back into him. Pieces flew into place. He smelled alcohol, there was scratchy cloth under him, but everything was black. It took him a second to realize he needed to open his eyes. When he did he saw he was in a small room. A bucket of water was by the pile of blankets he was lying on, the walls were bare wood and the ceiling stretched up into spider web filled rafters. A single window showed the black blanket of night. Flickering light glittered off of a tray of silvery utensils, a few candles lighting the room. Naruto swallowed harshly, his throat felt like it was filled with knives.

"Grandpa! He's awake!"

Naruto blinked slowly as a nearly black hair of head came into his vision. It was a boy with black eyes and pale skin. His mouth was stretched into a grin, a mouthful of fangs. Two brown ears were perked up on his head and a brown tail was wagging joyfully behind him. Naruto tried to feel alarmed but a thick fog was filling his head. He did manage to scoot away, but hissed in pain at the jolts of pain going up his spine. Fuck! Naruto tried to tell him to get away but all that came out was a wheezing cough. The boy's face disappeared before returning, tipping a mug of blissfully cool water to his lips. Naruto drank.

"Grandfather he's still sick," The boy was whispering to a man out of sight whose footsteps had entered the room.

"He's a shade better than when we found him, Inari," A low voice growled roughly, "You've done well."

Naruto drank the last few drops of water. Inari –he assumed that was the boy's name- removed the cup and helped him sit up. Naruto's limbs didn't seem to want to work. They felt heavy and sluggish and trembled when he moved them. He was vaguely aware of wearing nothing but his boxers, but the thought didn't bother him much. His eyes drifted from the canine boy to the man. The man's face was wrinkled and worn and he had a head of silver hair and a full beard. His eyes were the same shade as Inari and watched Naruto with a quiet strength. He was wearing simple brown cotton clothes, much like grandson. Two greying brown ears were on his head, swivelling this way and that way to pick up sound. Streaks of silver ran through his tail. Naruto could see dark claws on his fingers, glinting like steel.

"Where is this?" Naruto croaked, wincing at his still raw throat.

"Inari, fetch him some honey-lemon tea," The old man barked before settling back as his grandson scurried away, "This is Haymen Pass. We found you washed up on the shore. You were nearly dead, a second later and you would be."

"How do you have- are you demons?" He asked.

The old man laughed, "Of course we are, as are you."

"I'm not!" Naruto disagreed vehemently, "I'm human I came from Toronto I-"

"Human?" The man looked intrigued, "How do you explain those ears and tails?"

"Ears?"

He raised a hand and touched a soft bit standing up on his head, suddenly aware of them. It was sensitive to his touch and twitched almost against his will at the annoyance. He nearly let out a giggle as he felt some of the inner fluff. It felt fucking weird! And ticklish! But weird! His head swam with sudden dizziness and he hunched over, groaning. Fuck, he shouldn't have moved so quickly. He lowered his trembling arm and stared at his shaking fingers. It felt like being a fawn wobbling around. Naruto glanced to his side and realized creamy blonde tails tipped with white were curling around him. He counted nine in total. He could barely believe any of it.

"How?"

The old man shrugged, "Can't say myself. If you really were a human then you must have become a demon when you passed into this world."

Naruto whipped up to stare at him and his vision blurred as fuzziness filled his mind. He sat very still for a few minutes trying to wade through the fog in his mind. Finally he could speak, "What do you mean 'this world'?"

"Drink this!"

Inari was back and shoving a warm mug into his hands. Naruto complied and nearly scalded his tongue on the tea. Before he could react, Inari had mumbled an apology, taken it for a minute, then handed it back. It was marginally cooler and Naruto gratefully drank it. Down his throat it soothed a path and he closed his eyes briefly, relived. Inari was sitting by his grandfather now, watching Naruto eagerly like he was some kind of strange creature.

The old man allowed him a few more sips before saying, "What I meant boy, is that this world is one of demons. It's been called many names; Hell, Tartarus, Netherworlds, but most here call it the In-Between World. It's neither Heaven nor Hell. This is the world meant to hold and tether the strongest demons as well as the common demons looking for sanctuary." He snorted at that, "At least that's what's on the vacation pamphlet. A world filled with demons is not a gentle place."

"I'm human," Naruto said slowly, "How- how can I become a demon by stepping into this world?"

"You were human," He corrected, "Now you're a demon. I don't know how you became one of us, but once you're a demon there's no going back. Besides, humans don't live long in this world anyways. They're nothing more than food to most demons."

Naruto cringed away at that and the man laughed, "Not you boy. Inari, my daughter, and I have not eaten human flesh in a long time, my daughter and Inari have never tasted it before."

Naruto tried to piece together the puzzle as he worked things out slowly, "When, while I was- human, there were demons in my world. They would try to hurt me in any way possible."

"You could see them as a human?" The old man stroked his chin, "That's certainly unusual. Mischief makers I assume? Tiny demons with no real brains?"

"They were small," Naruto agreed, "I could kill them if they got close enough but I got pulled down through a puddle by a larger demon and I ended up here."

"How old are you boy?" The man barked.

"Eighteen," Naruto said, "I turned eighteen less than a month ago. That's when they started bothering me."

"Could it be coming of age, grandpa?" Inari asked the man.

"It's possible," The old man conceded, "It would have to be a powerful spell-caster to lock back a nine-tails. Although-" He smirked, "-this one is little more than a kit."

Naruto flushed angrily, not quite understanding, "I would know if I was-"

"Would you?" The old man interrupted, "Have mommy and daddy told you everything? Are you sure they're not hiding things until you're, say, a bit older?"

"They're dead," He said quietly, "So you're right, I wouldn't."

"I'm sorry to hear that," The old man said gruffly.

"It's fine. I don't remember them anyways."

There was an awkward silence. Naruto continued to sip his tea while Inari looked back and forth between Naruto and the old man. Painful emotions were filling his chest but he ignored them. This definitely wasn't the time to fall apart because of his parents. Finally the old man spoke.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Naruto," He said, "Yours?"

"Tazuna," The man said, "This is my grandson Inari. I'm sure you'll meet my daughter Tsunami before long. She went to bed already, but I expect you'll see her in the morning."

He blinked, confused, "You're not kicking me out?"

"Why would I?" Tazuna said, grinning, "I can use a young man to help me with the work. Once you're healed up I'm sure you'll be an asset. All of the other young men have been taken by the army." He suddenly looked at Inari, concerned, and Naruto was startled to see tears in the child's eyes.

"I'm f-fine, grandpa," Inari said, smiling shakily as he wiped away his tears.

Tazuna gently ruffled the boy's hair, "How about you sneak in with your mom, Inari. I'm sure she could use the company."

"Y-yeah," Inari said and left the room subdued, his ears wilted.

"What happened?" Naruto asked after the kid had left.

"There's always war brewing in this world, but it's gotten particularly bad. The highest level demons are waging war viciously. A couple years back it even reached this pass, all of the able bodied men were enlisted. I was allowed to stay to construct and maintain bridges," He snorted violently, "A fine job for a single old man. Inari's biological father died a long time ago. He met a man named Kaiza and loved him like the father he never knew. Kaiza was enlisted. Inari-" He sighed heavily, "He can't forget Kaiza or forgive him for leaving. The child is tormented."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Naruto spoke, "When I get better I'll help you with your work. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me."

"Good, good," The old man sighed before standing roughly, "I'll be off to bed. Don't leave the house tonight, no matter what happens. You won't find this world anything like the comfortable one you knew. If you need to piss, the bathroom is the second on the left."

He left Naruto alone. For a long time Naruto lay in his makeshift bed, thinking. His life had changed in a flash, a snowball that quickly spun out of control. He wanted to yell in frustration and a big part of him was scared, a very big part, but he couldn't let it control him. If he'd known on his birthday this would happen he would have forgone the tradition entirely. Eventually his aching body carried him to sleep, but he couldn't forget Inari's eyes and he couldn't help but wonder what kind of world he'd entered. He curled up in his sleep, creamy tails wrapping around him like a shroud. The candles burned themselves down and the room fell into darkness.

A/N Wow! I have not written any Naruto related stuff in a long, long, LONG time. Even after all of this time I still love the manga and I've been itching to try writing my favourite fox again. Naruto is a bit more mature in this –he's 18- but you'll see more of his goofiness in future chapters. Regardless of age Naruto is still Naruto. If you're wondering why you've seen basically no important/canon characters (asides form Tazuna and Inari) it's because I like to amuse myself with the idea of them all existing in the demon world. Don't worry you'll be seeing them all soon enough.

I hope you enjoyed reading! If you did I'd love for you to drop me a fav or follow and if you feel like making my Christmas, a review would be awesome!

Happy Holidays!