Inner Demons: The Lost Diaries of Konoha's Last Stand
Okeru-tame Sono Kuragari
12-01 8:00 AM
It was morning, the sunlight shined through the window next to my bed. My crimson curtains were ragged and torn from the years. My bed was just about to fall apart; the mattress was stained from my ramen spills and, well, anything that's a viscous fluid. I slowly opened my deep blue eyes and looked up to my ceiling. The ceiling was falling apart as well. The roof leaked, the floor boards squeaked, my apartment was practically falling apart. I sat up and rubbed my eyes of the dirt and dust of the bed. I looked out of my window and saw a couple of academy students practicing their kunai throwing. I trudged over to the small cubical I call a bathroom. After brushing my hair and getting dressed, I noticed something out of place. In the mirror I saw my reflection, only the image I saw was not my own. My eyes were glowing a bright red and my teeth were razor sharp. Looking down at myself I found that my nails were incredibly long. My facial marks were had a deep feral look to them. I gasped and was taken back in surprise. Why was I in my Kyuubi mode? I wasn't even fighting, nor was I angry or upset. Luckily, Sakura had recently given me a new jacket for my birthday. It had more orange in it and a black hood attached to the back. I kept it up so no one would stare at me like they used to.
It was only seven in the morning and the streets were already full of villagers on their daily business. The sun was beating down on me and it was getting pretty hood under that hooded jacket. I walked out of my apartment and down the street. No one seemed to notice my changes. I passed a few of my friends and fortunately none of them recognized me. I took a left turn and ran right into some kid. I got back up and brushed my self off. He stared up at me and shivered. I hurriedly pulled up my hood. The boy ran off scared for his life. I sighed, "Just like old times." I went to Ichiraku Ramen looking for breakfast. I sat down and ordered the usual. I could tell the chef was looking at me, confused by the hood. Before he had a chance to ask, I was already half way across the village. I made my way to Sakura's house, seeking her advice. I jumped to the rooftops and continued from there. It's a much quicker way than the streets. I eventually arrived at Sakura's house and knocked on her door. She opened the door, "Naruto? Hey, what's up?" I walked in the door keeping my back turned.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
I hesitated, "I need your advice."
"Sure." She said. Her voice was always comforting. Her perfect features always attracted me. He glistening smile, her emerald eyes, and her bright pink locks always made feel good about myself. I pulled down my hood, revealing my face. She took a step back and stared at me. "Sakura?"
She cupped her hands around her eyes. "I'm sorry, that was so rude of me, Naruto. I'm just not used to seeing you like that. You mind, turning that off?"
"That's just it, I-I can't. I woke up this morning and I was stuck like this. I don't know how to change back. I can't stay like this!"
Sakura wrapped both arms around me in a warm embrace. "Calm down, Naruto. We'll go see the Hokage and see what she says… just make sure you have your hood up."
"Right." I sighed. How embarrassing is it when the girl you love the most is freaked out just by the way you look?
12-01 9:00 AM
I was awakened by my best buddy licking my face. I laughed, "Enough, boy." My room was small considering the size of our house. My sister had the biggest room and my parents shared one. The wooden walls were in peak condition since we just had them refurbished. I sat up and yawned, stretching my arms and walking in to the dining room. I grabbed a bowl and poured some dog food into it. I set it on the floor and sat down at the table. My sister came opened her door and walked out of her room. She walked over to the cabinet and grabbed the cereal. She poured both of us a bowl of milk. "Thanks." I yawned. My sister, Hana, worked as a tracker and medical ninja. She had just enough to time eat breakfast and get to the Hokage tower. As head of the tracking squad she couldn't be late, even by a second. I assisted her on the same team, but I was only called if there was an emergency. She would always have to appear no matter what. While eating, Hana looked over at me and stared at my face. "What?" She pointed to her nose. "Do I have something on my face?" I walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. I had developed a dark blotch on the tip of my nose. I put my finger to my nose and felt it. It felt rough and, also to my surprise, wet. I tried wiping it off with a cloth but it remained cold and wet. I opened my jacket and found a patch of brow hair on my chest. "Now I know I don't have that much chest hair." I walked out of the bathroom and Hana had already taken off.
I walked out the door and down the street, Akamaru in tail. The sun beat down on the both of us. I walked down the road to Ichiraku Ramen to grab a bit to eat. That cereal hardly filled me up. I ordered the miso ramen with extra meat. Now I'm no vegan, but I don't usually eat so much meat. At the far side of the bench was a guy in an orange coat and a black hood. Of course I knew it was Naruto but I didn't want to say anything. The hood probably meant he was trying to hide his identity. He should've started by not wearing bright orange. I rode Akamaru to the training grounds where Hinata was training. "Hi, Hinata." She quickly turned around and swiped at me with her hand. She must have been really practicing; I could actually see the chakra fly off of her hands.
"Oh, Kiba, you scared me. W-What's up with your chakra? It looks so foreign; I can hardly tell that it's you." She asked concerned.
"I don't know what's going on. Have you seen Shino?" I asked jumping off of my dog. She shook her head.
"He's out on a mission right now. He should be back-"
I suddenly heard a high pitched screeching noise. I pushed my hands hard against my ears. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I fell on my knees and groaned in pain.
"Kiba are you ok?" Hinata knelt down beside me.
"I-I usually use my chakra to lower my hearing... there's must be s-something wrong with my, chakra network." Suddenly the noise stopped. I lowered my hands and they were stained in blood. I was breathing so heavily my lungs were about to explode. Hinata hastily jumped on Akamaru and pulled me up behind her. "Come on, let's go to Lady Tsunade. She'll know what to do."
12-01 10:00 AM
Sakura and I have been sitting in the Hokage's office for a while now. I've been keeping my head down for a while, just so no one would see me. Unfortunately, some people's eyes are better than others. "Naruto?" He asked. I looked up from under my hood. There stood the man with no blind spot, Neji of the Hyuuga clan. Damn.
"Oh, hey Neji." I stuttered. He sat down next to me on the bench and remained silent. "What's with the hood?" He went to pull my hood down.
"Don't." He grabbed the edge and pulled back. "I said no, Neji!" I slapped his hand away. He pulled his arm back and stared at me in utter surprise. He got up and continued down the hall. "...Sakura."
"Naruto?"
"What?" I shouted in anger. I stared at her with my horrifying blood red eyes, my fangs flashing under the shadow of the hood. She stared right back at me, the hurt in her eyes piercing me like thousands of kunai. I clenched my eyes shut and threw my head down. Tears began streaming down my face. What is wrong with me? "I'm s-so sorry, Sakura."She turned away. "I need to go." She whispered solemnly. She got up and left me there alone. The council members walked out of the room and down the hall, passing me without a sound. I got up and walked into her office.
"Lady Tsunade?" I pulled my hood down. "I need your help."
"What happened to 'grandma' Naruto?" She asked. Looking up she realized why I wasn't in a playful mood. "Oh, where you in a fight?" I shook my head.
"No, I can't turn off the Kyuubi. I look weird, I'm acting weird, and I'm getting these horrible mood swings. Sakura will probably never talk to me again."
She chuckled, "Maybe it's just puberty."
"I'm not laughing." I scorned. Tsunade got up and walked over to me.
"Listen; just go about your day. Try to calm down and don't get emotional." She wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace and sent me on my way. "Next!"
Down the hallway I passed Hinata and Kiba. They didn't say a word to me; I guess they have problems too. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks, Kiba did so as well. I felt as if all of my energy was being pulled from my body. I felt fatigued but I looked over at Kiba and saw him gasping for air. There was a read aura forming in between us. "Kiba!" Hinata quickly pulled Kiba away. "Naruto, please leave." I promptly took my leave before Kiba choked to death. There is something seriously wrong with me.
The darkness within us all starts as a miniscule speck in our hearts. As our lives proceed, our decisions change the course of our destinies. The darkness may grow, or it may shrink to such an extent that even the cruelest deed would not show a hint of it. When the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked years ago, the fourth Hokage sealed it away in his child. Little did he know of the events that would precede it. The boy, Uzumaki Naruto, had now grown into a fine young ninja. Though he still has a lot to learn, he has friends that will guide him. That is, until the Kyuubi's chakra began leaking and moving to other hosts. Everyone around the boy could be in serious danger. The demon chakra has been know to have some small... side effects, per say. Years ago, before our time, many shinobi of the early Leaf Village tried harnessing the power of demons. We weren't the fist ones that tried to conduct experiments. We were, however, the fist ones to be successful.
One noted experiment was with the medical core. One of their finest took a kunai to the head. He completely lost any sense of hearing. They had harnessed enough chakra to perform a medical experiment. Now the first Hokage kept the results secret, but I was there and I know what truly happened. With in the next few weeks that certain shinobi went through certain, well, changes. His once auburn hair had changed to a bright fiery orange. His new ears worked fine except, of course, for the fact that they were long, pointy and on the top of his head. Like I said, a demon's chakra does some strange things. The chakra has also been known to pass people though... intimate contact.
My name is Tobi and I am a good boy.
(Into the Darkness)