Book of the Others
Chapter 1
At an early age, Naruto lost his will to become a shinobi and is now, at the age of twelve, walking through life with no goals or hopes for the future. He is not walking alone, however. Wherever he goes, strange things lurk in the shadows, and he will also soon find out that some of the members of his family are not quite as dead as he was lead to believe.
Fair warning: The rating is M for a reason
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of anything I post on this site.
Naruto was walking along the streets of Konoha one night, keeping to alleys and dark streets in order to escape notice. There was nothing special about this night of all nights, but still he felt oddly at peace. Perhaps it was the fresh night's air, or maybe the fact he could move around outside freely without antagonizing glares and words being shot in his direction. Likely, it was a combination of both.
The moon was nearly full, so he did not need to keep to the streets equipped with lights to see where he was going, though occasionally he had to duck behind some fence or trashcan when groups of stumbling, blatantly drunk people walked by. People usually did not take well to Naruto, but from experienced he knew that drunk people were the worst. He could usually smell the stench of alcohol from the men and women who decided it would be proper to physically assault him. But the 'liquid courage', as he had heard people refer to it as, was by no means a prerequisite.
Naruto had a hard time understanding people. They were so full of contradictions. He had often heard people preach about how important it was to take care of the children of the village, but these were the very same people who would shun him, call him a freak and a demon. He had no doubt been handed a bad lot in life, but he tried not to let self-pity consume him. He was far from the only one in this village who had to suffer because of the senseless cruelty of others.
More times than he wished to remember had he seen assaults of the most terrible kind. The victims were usually those too weak to defend themselves, and those no one cared for. The women who who sold themselves in order to feed themselves and their children was one of these vulnerable groups. Unsatisfied costumers could become quite nasty, and of course, there were those who did not bother to pay at all, but instead took whatever they pleased.
Naruto was six when he first witnessed one of these occasions. Since his apartment lies just at the edge of the 'red light district', he could get a clear view of everything from his window. A woman had walked past one night just as Naruto decided to have a look outside, and almost quicker than he could perceive it, a group of men snatched her up and dragged her into the alley just across Naruto's apartment building. At first she had screamed, and Naruto could do nothing but stand paralyzed in confusion and shock. After a while the screams stopped. She probably realized the futility of it. No one was coming to help her.
These things were never reported to the shinobi patrol forces. No one cared about just another prostitute being fucked.
That had been the turning point for him. It had caused him to revisit past experiences and things he had witnessed, and for the first time he could get a glimpse of the true nature of his village, and all aspirations of becoming a ninja died. During the day, Konoha seemed near idyllic. Children were running around without a care in the world, and everyone seemed to be existing in a state of peace and happiness. It was during the night the ugliness shined through.
The Hokage had been shocked when Naruto told him that he had changed his mind about becoming a ninja. He did not really understand why the old man cared so much about it, but he kept trying to convince him to change his mind. It was not until after the children his age were supposed to enroll into the academy that he let off. After that, the old man did not seem nearly as interested in him as before, but Naruto surprised himself with not really caring that much.
He took a deep breath and decided it was time to head back home.
For five years Naruto had walked through life with no real purpose. He longed back to the days when he was hopeful for the future, when he wished to become a shinobi in order to protect a lie. But he could not pretend that he had not come to the realizations he had. He could not live for a lie. But when that lie was taken from him, he no longer knew what to do.
He was getting close to the alley behind his apartment building, where the backdoor that he used during his nightly walks was located. It was completely silent.
Suddenly, a soft clang came from a spot just a few steps in front of him, and Naruto could not help but to give off a small yelp. He froze and tried to make out some shape in the void in front of him, but was unable to see anything. There was nothing there, but still he did not feel safe enough to move, lest he reveal his presence to someone.
After a minute of high alert, the shadows in front of him started to move. This did not surprise Naruto, but scared him nonetheless. The warping darkness quickly started to resemble a large man, and Naruto decided it was time to leave. The the strange figures he sometimes saw had never actually hurt him, but neither had he ever stayed around long enough for him to find out whether they were hostile or not.
He ignored his previous reservations about about making any sounds, and took off in a run in the opposite direction, in a hurry to get away from whatever it was that lurked in the alley behind his apartment.
He ran for a while, but it did not take long before he noticed something that truly terrified him; he was being followed. He could hear no footsteps, but there was a distinct presence behind him, moving closer and closer despite the speeds by which he traveled.
Perhaps it was a shinobi. No shinobi worthy the title gave off any sounds even when they ran. But this, he quickly realized, was only wishful thinking. He knew, even if he was hesitant to admit it to himself, that the presence that followed him was the same one that had out of nowhere taken form in front of him just moments before.
This had never happened before. The shades and other oddities that he sometimes saw seemed to be completely unaware of his presence, and Naruto had surely done nothing to change that. He always left whenever one of them showed up, as quickly as he could. What could this one want with him? Whatever it was, he really did not wish to find out, so despite his fatigue he quickened his pace.
He had been very young when he first found out about his peculiar ability to see things that seemingly no one else could. At first, he was too young to question whether the things he saw were actually real, but he had done so many times since. Perhaps it was his life long isolation from healthy human interaction that had made something break inside of him, and made him develop some psychological disorder. But it was something about the things that he saw... when he encountered one of the creatures they in some strange way felt even more real than the people around him did.
These thoughts did absolutely nothing to placate his current worries. Right now, he would have liked nothing more for it to be a figment of his imagination chasing him through the dark streets.
The appearance of the shade had forced him to take a much longer route that would lead him to the front entrance of the building in which he lived, but Naruto was not sure he was going to make it. While his stamina was quickly running out, the creature behind him showed no signs of stopping, or even slowing down for that matter.
In his panicked state, the thing that could not happen came to pass. He started to stumble. Usually, this would have been a momentary annoyance, and he would just regain his footing and keep on running. Now, however, his legs could barely carry his weight as is, so they promptly folded beneath him like wet tissues.
As his body struck the ground, instead of the futile act of trying to get himself back on his feet, he began to crawl away from the encroaching shadow. Perhaps that was equally as futile, in hindsight. His frenetic sprawling chafed both his palms and knees, but the pain barely registered in his current state of panic.
Running out of options, he began to scream. He did not care who it was, he just wanted someone to come and save him. Anything would be better than being alone with the monster that was just a few paces behind him now. But no one came to save him.
In this area of Konoha, people were all too aware of the dangers hiding in the night that would like nothing more than to take your money, and perhaps even your life. Sometimes, Naruto would hear the panicked cries coming from the people that were foolish enough to walk around here after sunset, and never had the thought of running out and risking his own life struck him.
It tore at his conscience, but he knew there was nothing he could have done. And now, there were surely several people in the nearby buildings sitting in the relative safety of their homes thinking the same thing.
Suddenly, Naruto felt something touching his back, and he froze in fear.
Whatever would happen now it was out of his control, so he shut his eyes and awaited his fate.
A few seconds passed, and the sensation of something... a hand, touching his back, remained. His mind cleared as the mentally incapacitating panic faded slightly, and he could once again form coherent thoughts.
He paused...
The hand, the presence, nothing at all made the creature seem hostile. Quite the opposite actually. Now, it seemed as if the hand was moving in caressing, soothing motions. As if the creature wanted Naruto to calm down. And strangely enough, it worked on some level. While Naruto was still confused and frightened, the shadow clearly tried to communicate its benevolent intents. Naruto remained skeptical, but there was nothing he could do about it either case.
Slowly, and carefully, Naruto started to turn around to face his stalker.
The shade was no longer quite as undefined as before. Now, vague facial contours adorned its otherwise blank face, and hair as well as clothing could be discerned. He could now confirm that his initial assessment was correct, this was doubtlessly a man. He was powerfully built, and seemed to be wearing the standard garments of Konoha shinobi.
Naruto stared dumbly at the man, and got the impression that the contours on the shadow's face, head and rest of the body became clearer and more well-defined by the second. He could now see that the shadow's lips were moving, but no sound came out.
Now that Naruto faced it, the shadow's hand moved from the his back to his shoulder, and he could make out a strange buzzing at the point of contact. It was like the energy, or whatever the shade was made up of, interacted with Naruto in some unexplainable way. It was almost as if there was a sort of exchange taking place, as the darkness that made up the shadow seeped into him, and his own essence went into the shadow and made it more tangible.
But Naruto would not pretend he understood what was happening, or what the shadowy man wanted with him.
Finally, Naruto broke the silence. "Wh-what do you want?" he said, but there was no answer to be heard.
A few moments passed by, and the shadow continued trying to speak while Naruto was sitting there mutely. This did not last long, however, as suddenly the shape started to warp, just to return to its previous ambiguous shape, and shortly after evaporate into thin air.
Naruto was left speechless, with no idea what to do. The threat was seemingly gone, but he was still paralyzed by both the shock of the encounter, and extreme fatigue from overexertion. A mundane thought suddenly struck him: I should really start to work out, and then the whole world went black.
X-x-x-x-x-x-X
Naruto awoke in his own bed the next morning. At first nothing seemed out of place, until he pushed himself up in a sitting position and noticed a dull pain emanating from his palms. Then the memories from the night before came surging back. He sat and mulled over the events for a while, trying to figure out how he had gotten back. But nothing came to him. He could not remember anything after the man-shaped shadow had disappeared.
Perhaps he had imagined the whole thing, but the nearly healed wounds on his hands and knees indicated otherwise. But still, there were so many questions he just could not find any answers to. Even if the events of last night were real, how did he get back to his apartment? Had someone carried him, or had he in a half-conscious stupor somehow found his way back? The latter seemed unlikely, as he could hardly work the old, rusty lock of his door with all his wits intact.
But if he had not gotten home himself, then who carried him back? The old Hokage was the only person Naruto was aware of having keys to his apartment, but he guessed that any patrolling anbu who happened to recognize him and know where he lived would have little to no issues with a simple lock, no matter how rusty.
He stood up to look for clues. Nothing seemed out of place, and whoever it was that had carried him home last night had also locked the door after he or she left. He quickly realized that the myriad of questions buzzing about in his mind would not be answered by looking around in his apartment.
That was it, Naruto decided. After last night he could no longer ignore what was happening to him. He would have to start looking for answers to the things that he saw. And since he was not strong like a shinobi, he figured that knowledge was the best protection. And to get said knowledge, there was only one place he could go - the extensive library situated in the middle of Konoha. If he did not find anything there, he would have to do something drastic like informing the Hokage about what he was seeing, and that would likely end up with him being sent to the mental facility. That was something Naruto liked very much to avoid.
He got dressed in some semi-presentable clothing, had a small breakfast and brushed his teeth before heading out.
Five minutes later, he was standing outside the entryway to the library. As he walked in, he was immediately singled out by the staff, and wherever he went, there was always someone who had positioned themselves in a way so they could see everything he was doing.
It was not that hard to ignore the suspicious glares, so Naruto went to work at once at trying to find what he came for.
Despite the initial gusto of his search, he encountered a problem very early - he had no idea what to look for, or where to look for it. The library was divided into very broad and inconspicuous categories, such as 'shinobi arts', 'history', and 'science'. Nowhere was there a category called 'monsters' or 'shadow men'. For a moment, Naruto considered asking a librarian about where he could find what he was looking for, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He did not need them to think he was more off than they already did.
"Excuse me," said a female voice from behind him.
He turned around, and came face to face with a girl his own age with mid-length brown hair and striking blue eyes. He expected the worst. He was probably about to be asked, rather firmly, to leave. That was how it usually worked, except for in a few places where the owners seemed to at least tolerate his presence, though rarely did they do so lightly.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but notice you look a bit lost."
"No, I'm fine. But thanks." said Naruto, hoping that would be enough for her to leave him alone.
"Are you sure?" she did not look convinced. "You have been walking around for quite a while, and I have not seen you pick up a single book yet. People who know what they are looking for don't usually walk aimlessly from section to section the way you do."
She stopped herself and smiled embarrassedly, realizing she was coming on a bit to strong.
"I'm sorry, it's... it's just that this is my first day, and I want to prove to everyone that I can pull my own weight around here, you know?" she scratched he back of her head in an oddly endearing manner. "Not many want to hire an orphan, and I don't know if I can find a new job should I lose this one."
"Oh." said Naruto dumbly, not really knowing how to reply to that.
Her face reddened, and she started to become quite a bit flustered. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to heap all my troubles on you. I will leave now!"
"Wait." he said without thinking, all he knew was that he did not want to leave it like that. Even though he tried not to show it, the things she had said really struck a chord with him. He did not want her to think that she embarrassed herself on the first day on a job that seemed to matter so much to her.
After a few seconds of searching for the right words, he asked. "What's your name?"
A look of relief briefly passed over her face before she was able to compose herself. "Kei."
"My name is Naruto, and now that I think about it, there might be something you can help me with."
She gave him a blinding smile, before asking what she could do for him.
A thought had briefly passed through his mind - what if she could help him find what he was looking for without actually knowing what it is that he was looking for? At first, the idea seemed too preposterous and contradictory to work, but then another idea entered his mind. What if I ask her for information about related, but more socially acceptable things? There were several Shinto shrines all around Konoha erected in honor of various spirits. If he asked about them, perhaps she could lead him to the section of the library where he could find what he really was looking for.
"I've recently become interested in the shrines around Konoha, and the spirits they are dedicated to. I'm wondering if there were any books on the subject."
"Of course! Religious texts are usually sent off to adjacent monasteries, but we keep around a small collection of some of the more common works. They're over at the section where we keep the miscellaneous works that don't really fit into any of the broader categories."
Naruto was surprised at how fast she was able to answer such an obscure question, considering it was her first day working at the library. She also seemed nice enough, so he decided to ask her about it so that they would have something to talk about as she was leading him to their destination. "You seem to know a lot. Did you come here often before getting hired?"
"Of course, no one would hire someone like me except for in very special circumstances. I've come here for years. It's safe and I've always loved books, so you could almost say I've practically lived here for the last five or so years. I doubt that even the people who have worked here for decades knows the place as well as I do."
"Happen to have any recommendations regarding the shrines then?"
"Yes, I've read a few, and 'The Native Spirits of the Land of Fire' is the most extensive."
Yet again her knowledge surprised him. He had not actually expected an answer, but it would seem he had bumped into a walking encyclopedia. Judging from how things had gone so far, he had made the right choice when he decided to ask the girl for help despite his reservations about leaving clues regarding his true intentions. Furthermore, she had shown no hostility towards him whatsoever, which was quite rare for people native to Konoha.
When they arrived at the correct shelf, Kei immediately started to rummage through the lengths of books. It did not take very long for her to compile a small stack consisting of three books, one of them being the aforementioned "The Native Spirits of the Land of Fire", and the two others were titled "The Mysteries of the Shines" and "An Offering of Flowers".
"I recommend reading 'An Offering of Flowers' first, as it is sort of a primer that will introduce you to the subject. 'The Mysteries of the Shrines' is a bit more theoretical, and if there is something you don't understand, look it up in 'The Native Spirits of the Land of Fire' as covers a wide range of related subjects."
"Thank you Kei, this is just what I needed." Naruto lied.
"No problem, I'm just happy to help." Kei smiled.
Her kindness made Naruto feel bad about lying. But he was in a precarious situation as is, and even though there was something about her that made him want to open up and tell her everything, he knew that would be a foolish thing to do. He had just met her and could not be sure weather she was trustworthy or not, despite initial impressions. And even if she was, she did not deserve to be burdened by his problems.
After they had said their goodbyes, Naruto stayed for a while to look through the shelf he had been led to. He was disappointed to find that all books seemed just as inconspicuous as the ones Kei had handed him. Nothing indicated that one would find mentions of odd creatures, or shadowy figures within them.
Dejected, Naruto went to check out the books Kei recommended to him. The woman manning the counter appeared to be very skeptical about letting him walk away with them, but since she had no probable cause to think that he would do anything to damage the books, she let him go after reminding him several times, with a threatening tone, to be careful with them.
X-x-x-x-x-x-X
It had been too long, but she would have to wait longer still. Her heart still ached when she thought about what she had left behind so long ago. No matter how much time passed, the pain never got any easier to bear. She wondered what kind of life her beloved son had lived, hoping that he had a lot of friends and was happy.
Twelve years had passed since that terrible day when her world had shattered, when the day that was supposed to have been the happiest of her life had suddenly turned into a nightmare. Death and destruction swept over the village like a wrathful god, and in that chaos she had given birth to her two beautiful twins – Naruto and Natsumi, but due to the circumstances of their birth, one of them had to be sacrificed to a life of hardships.
Because of her pronounced Uzumaki features, Natsumi had been chosen to hold the great beast.
Knowing what would happen should it be made known that Natsumi was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Kushina started to pack in preparation to leave the village, with her husbands death still fresh in mind. She intended to take her children far away, where neither of them could be hurt by the ignorance-fueled hatred that was surely to follow.
It was not until later into the night that she noticed something was very wrong with Naruto. His wails had been replaced by soft whimpers and his face had gone from a healthy tone to pure white. She had rushed him over to the hospital, but it was not until the next day, after the newly re-instated Hokage himself had checked up on the small child that she found out what was happening to him.
It was Natsumi. Naruto could no be in her proximity until his chakra coils had developed to a state that was less malleable. The Kyuubi's corrosive chakra was seeping into his system because of the bond he shared with his twin. The two had shared the same womb, and a connection between them still remained. The difference being that Naruto was not under the protective influence of the seal which strictly controlled the beast's chakra contained within Natsumi's system.
So it was with a heavy heart she left Naruto under the care of the Hokage, and left the village with Natsumi in her arms. She had decided to have no contact with Naruto until she got back and Natsumi was strong enough to protect herself, and old enough to understand her situation. When Kushina had left, she had hopes that Naruto would grow up together with her friend's children, get adopted, and live a complete and happy life without the knowledge of her existence hovering over him like a distant shadow, which caused her to tell everyone that knew about her not to tell Naruto about her existence.
Natsumi was now twelve, and already strong enough to keep up with most chunin. Kushina could not be more proud of her, and wished Naruto had also grown up to be strong like his sister. When she got back, she planned on making up for all the years they missed out on together, and even if he was not as strong as his sister, she would help him become so.
It would not be too long now. In less than a year, in time for the chunin exams, she would return and her family would finally be reunited.
She suddenly stopped, recognizing the small post office by the side of the road. It was a part of the Konoha communications network used by shinobi that were outside of the village on missions, and needed to communicate with the command structure back home.
"Mom, what is it?" asked Natsumi.
"Nothing, honey. Just wait here one minute and I'll be back shortly." she answered and started walking towards the building.
She knew it was a bad idea, but having the means of getting in contact with the Hokage right in front of her, she just could not help herself. She still remembered the high-priority anbu codes, and knew that she could get a message to the Third within the week.
Using one of the more advanced Konoha encryption methods, she wrote down her message, asking for a report on her son, and how things were back home. She also informed him that both she and Natsumi were safe, and that her daughter's education was going well. She ended the message with stating that the two of them were going to stay in the area for a while, and that he could send the response to the same outpost from which this message was sent.
When she had finished her message, she looked for the office worker with the red scarf. He was manning one of the desks, so she went over to him, whispered a string of seemingly incoherent numbers and letters as she slid the piece of paper towards him, and then promptly left, confident that her message would be delivered.
X-x-x-x-x-x-X
Weeks went by, and the encounters with the Others, as Naruto now for a lack of a better word referred to the things he saw as, just got worse. A lot worse.
Not only had he failed to uncover any relevant information regarding his experiences, but it seemed as if the Others were drawn towards him after the night he encountered the shadowy man. He felt defeated, and considered giving up on trying to make sense of it all. He had either skimmed or read through every book on the subject of spirits since his first visit to the library, and it was clear that no answers could be found among them, which meant that the only hope he had of conquering this problem on his own was now dead.
The only thing, or person he should say, that had kept him sane throughout these last few weeks was Kei. She was always there to help him whenever he visited the library. Surprisingly, they had become quite good friends, which was a new experience for Naruto, but a pleasant one nonetheless. Their pasts also shared a lot of commonalities, so it was impossible for him not to empathize with her, and this caused them to grow close very quickly.
It was because of this bond between the two of them that Naruto, in a desperate last try, would do something he had avoided doing so far. He was going to let Kei in on his secret. Though not everything at once. He thought it best to leave out a few things such as being chased by a shadow and descriptions of some of the more colorful creatures he sometimes encountered. Instead, he was going to tell her that he sometimes saw things that could vaguely be construed with natural spirits and dieties. Hopefully she would not react too badly. He had really come to value their friendship.
Naruto left his apartment just as the sun was about to set, and almost as soon as he stepped outside he began seeing things move in the shadows. Something that could be best described as a giant, rotting stag carcass was slowly making its way toward one of the small patches of forest that were common in Konoha.
The stag carcass suddenly stopped, just as Naruto was just about to go past it, causing him freeze in response. Despite the fact that the stag was lacking in the eye-department, he could feel it watching him, but after a short moment, the stag concluded that he was not that interesting after all and began to shuffle on. Naruto let out a relieved breath and continued along his way.
He could not help but sigh at what his life had become. Having to worry about people was one thing, but having to worry about monsters hurting him almost pushed him over the edge, if he was not already over it without realizing.
Once he arrived at the library, it did not take long before he found Kei. She was as usual sitting in one of the chairs, reading some obscure piece of literature, as she often did when there was nothing for her to do. She smiled when she saw him. Kei had truly been a life saver. It would take a long time to repay her for everything she had done for him these last couple of weeks, but no one ever accused him of not being dedicated once he set his mind to something.
"Naruto!" said Kei enthusiastically. "I was just about to head home, but do you need something? I don't mind staying for a while."
"No, it's fine. I didn't come here for the books. I came to speak to you about something."
Her smiled seemed to grow even more. "Want to go for a walk then? Some fresh air would do me good after hours of staying in this musty place."
He was happy she was the one to bring the suggestion to the table. If they were outside, the chances of them being interrupted decreased exponentially. Furthermore, it felt like a step forward in their relationship. While he had known her for three weeks now, they had never spent time with each other outside of her working place. This would be entirely personal. No professional expectations would be involved.
"Sounds good. It's a nice evening out today."
She got up and disappeared for a minute while collecting her belongings. When she got back she was wearing a brown jacket and a large backpack. She seemed nervous for some reason. Or perhaps he just imagined things. After all, there was nothing to be worried about. The sun was still up, and the streets were safe. And no harm would come to her as long as he had anything to say about it.
"Ready then?" she asked.
"Sure."
She went up to him and hooked her arm around his, surprising him. He had often seen couples walking around the village in a similar manner, and he could feel blood rushing to his face, but he remained quiet. He did not want to do anything to ruin the moment. Besides, it was not like such a simple gesture meant anything, so without another word, they took off in the direction towards the shopping district.
He figured it was best to start off with some small talk before approaching the heavier subject of him either being completely crazy or able to see some kind of spirits.
"Had a nice day?" he asked.
"Pretty slow, not much to do," she yawned as if to emphasize her statement. " How about you?"
"I've read some, but otherwise it's been the same for me. Pretty slow."
Naruto had inherited money from his deceased, nameless parents, so he did not have to work. Not that anyone in the village would hire him anyways. If that would have been the case, he would at least try to get one in order have more to do during the daytime.
When Kei had brought up the subject of how Naruto made his living, it was laced with concern. She was probably worried that he was involved in some shady business, judging from the amount of time he was spending at the library during the day. It was clear he was not up to anything in particular when the sun was up, and there were more than a few kinds of illegal dealings taking place during the night. When he told her approximately how much money he had inherited from his parents, her eyes became as wide as saucers.
They continued to walk for a while, chatting about irrelevant things, before Kei decided she had enough of the stalling.
"So, what did you come to speak to me about? It seemed pretty important."
It was time to step up to the plate.
"All the research I've done, we've done..." said Naruto. Pausing hesitantly.
"Yes?" Kei prodded.
"I haven't been completely honest with you, and before I say anything else, I just want you to know that I'm sorry about that."
She began to look worried. Small creases formed on her forehead, and her lips pressed together. A wave of fondness washed over him and it was then Naruto decided to tell her everything. No more lies or half-truths. After all this time, she deserved to know what was going on. Perhaps she would think he was crazy, perhaps not. Whatever was about to happen now, he left it entirely up to her.
"Since a very young age, I've seen..." he paused. "Things."
"Things? Naruto, what are you talking about?"
"Things that no one else sees. Spirits, I guess you could call them. That's why I went to the library the day we first met; I wanted to make sense of it all. I was tired of feeling frightened and powerless, and the reason I didn't tell the truth then was because I was worried about how people would react."
He was feeling tense. There was no way for him to know how she would react to what he just had said, and his nerves were killing him.
"So," Kei seemed deep in thought. "You were never interested in local shrines and spirits then? Well, at least not in the traditional sense. I always thought your obsession with them was pretty strange to be honest."
"No, I wasn't"
"Well, I suppose it would make sense for you to hide it. But still, did you really have to hide it from me this long? We've been going about this for almost a month."
She was hurt, which was understandable. She had trusted him, and now he was admitting to not have doing the same.
"I'm sorry."
"You should be."
There was silence for a few minutes before Naruto decided to break it. "Do you believe me then?"
"I don't doubt your sincerity, but if you are asking me whether I believe you can see spirits... to be honest, I don't know. There doesn't really have to be a supernatural explanation to what you're experiencing."
"I could be crazy."
She was taken aback by the bluntness of his statement. "I'll be completely honest with you, Naruto, I don't like that you haven't been honest with me, dancing around the truth and such, but I still care about you, so whatever is happening, I will help you through it."
Naruto could feel tears starting to well up, and he put in his best effort to suppress them.
"Thanks."
Her smile started coming back, though not with the same brilliance as before. It was to be expected. It would probably be a while before things started to go back to what they used to be. Naruto hoped that instead of weakening their friendship, this would strengthen it now that all the cards were on the table, and lies and half-truths were redundant. It felt nice, like he had been freed from a heavy burden he had been carrying around.
"Do you see them now?" asked Kei.
"You mean the Others?"
"The Others? I mean the spirits you were talking about."
"That's what I call them, many of the things I see seem too concrete and solid to be called spirits, but I guess it would be a fitting term for some of them. And to answer your question, yes, I do see them right now. They don't leave me alone for particularly long periods anymore."
"So, what do these Others look like?"
"They come in too many shapes and sizes for me to easily answer that question. Some look like animals, others human, but a large portion of them does not look like anything that could be found in nature. But if they do look either human or animal, there is always something off about them that reveals them for what they truly are."
"Which is?"
"I don't really know. Something unnatural. Something that doesn't belong here."
Silence followed Naruto's statement. He wanted to stop talking about it, in order to avoid overwhelming her by saying too much too soon. Knowing that your close friend saw, or thought he saw, monsters was probably enough information for one day. And he did not want to go into the gory details of what kinds of beings surrounded them at this very moment, but after keeping the truth from her for this long, he would answer whatever questions she may have truthfully.
"And you don't know anything about them more than that?"
"No, not really. But I get a certain feeling about them though. A feeling that they are something foreign that don't belong in what we perceive as reality, and this conclusion stretches beyond simple logical deduction. It is hard to describe, because in many ways it's beyond words. To put it simply, they are something completely alien, coming here from some other place."
This explanation unsurprisingly only served to further confuse her, and Naruto got the feeling that he was not making a good case for the existence of the Others. But there was no mode of communication available to him that would give her a satisfactory answers. They were something completely alien, and aside from describing their physical appearance, the overall impression that Naruto got from them was indescribable.
There was, he remembered, perhaps a exception to this. The shadow-shaped man was not quite like the others. There was something familiar about him, if he really thought about it. There was a sense of humanity beyond his otherwise unearthly qualities. Aside from the human shape, clothes and hair, his mannerisms were also that of a human, if Naruto had interpreted them correctly.
He relayed his encounter with the shadow to Kei thinking that she could perhaps make some sense out of it.
She frowned. "That is strange. I wonder what he wanted with you," she threw a hesitant look in his direction. "If there was something there." she finished with a lowered voice.
Seeing her hesitation, Naruto thought it best to end the conversation, and leave it for some other time. "I don't expect you to believe me. I know I would have a hard time doing so if the roles were reversed." he gave her a smile. "All that matters to me is knowing that you'll be there, whatever it may be."
Kei returned his smile.
They dropped the matter, moving on to more pleasant subjects as they continued their walk in the dimming light.
X-x-x-x-x-x-X
Two weeks ago, Sarutobi Hiruzen received a coded message from Kushina. The first message anyone in the village had gotten from her in over twelve years. He began sweating when he realized it was from her. After all these years, with all the responsibilities weighed him down due to his position as the Hokage, he had almost forgotten about her and young Natsumi, and being reminded caused his old anxieties to be rekindled.
When Kushina left, she had expected the village to take care of Naruto, but everything went so very wrong. In some ploy, most likely involving Danzo, it was made known to several influential people that the Kyuubi had not died, but had been sealed. Rumors began circulating, and Sarutobi had to take drastic measures to defend the village at large. Unfortunately this meant having to condemn Naruto to a life of adversity. He could not allow it to be made known that the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was outside of the village, unprotected, so when people started pointing fingers in young Naruto's direction, he had done nothing to correct their misunderstandings.
If he would have had the means, he would have contacted Kushina to tell her about the situation soon after she left, but no trace of her remained. Not even Jirajya was able locate her. And now, she would soon return and he would have to face the consequences of his actions. Even he could not deny that they were due. After all, it was he who had allowed everything to go on for this long, all for the betterment and security of the village. He suspected that her retribution would be severe. He only hoped that she and Naruto could forgive him one day.
He would not hold his breath, however.
In her message, she had expressed her excitement to finally be reunited with her son, but Hiruzen suspected that she would not be particularly happy about what she will find waiting for her in the village. Naruto had in recent years developed quite strong anti-social tendencies, and might not be very delighted to learn that his mother was alive, having abandoned him. He had certainly stopped caring about Hiruzen, to whom he had been so close to in his earlier years. Nowadays, when the old man went to visit him, it was clear that the boy wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
He had chosen to ignore the message. There was nothing to be gained from informing Kushina about Naruto now. The damage had already been done.
He wondered how Naruto would react to Kushina's return - the mother who left him alone in this hostile place. Well, only time would tell, and he did not have to wait too long to find out now. He only hoped that his worst suspicions would not be realized.
END