I am the Devil, the Devil I am
And I wait for the coming of an innocent man.
Be he young or be he old,
Be his pockets full of gold,
Be he happy or rich or wise,
Be the ocean as blue as his eyes,
I'll wait for his coming at the midnight hour,
I'll pickle his soul and make it sour,
For once that innocent heart I see,
That innocent man belongs to me.
-The Darkness
"What the hell?"-Talking
'Why's this guy's name BuddhaConfucius?'-Thinking
"I will devour you!"-Demon/Summon Talking
'Hmm. I think that human gave me indigestion.'-Demon/Summon thinking
"I will tear your mind!"-Darkness Talking
'I feel pretty, oh so pretty'-Darkness Thinking
Flashbacky! -Flashback.
Of Demons and Darkness
Chapter One: Two, for the price of one!
October 10: The day of the Kyuubi attack
"Hokage-sama, the Kyuubi is nearly to the gate!" The bloodied chunnin yelled as he burst into the office of the fourth Hokage. Said leader was currently bent over a scroll, furiously reading and jotting things down around a complex seal. Looking up, he sighed. It was now or never. "Alright. I'm ready."
The Hokage stood, his white robe sweeping the floor as he pushed back the chair from his desk, scroll in hand. The mess of blonde hair atop his head rustled as he shook himself awake, exhaustion evident on his face. "Minato…" He ignored the voice. He'd been living with it since his 21st birthday. He could deal with it for a while more. Forgoing the door, Minato opened the window and jumped into the cool night air, summoning the toad boss, Gamabunta as he fell. "He's almost here Minato. Your son! Hahahehehe…" The voice spoke again, emphasizing the last word, implying what the fire shadow already knew: time was short. "To the hospital Gamabunta. And hurry." A wave of pain washed through his mind. "Hurry."
It took absolutely no time for the giant toad to cross the village to the hospital, but to Minato, it felt like an eternity. Upon arrival, the Hokage jumped from Gamabunta's head and rushed through the doorway, heading for his wife's room. The scent of painkillers, antibiotics and blood was thick in the air, and the wails and cries of the air cut the air like a knife in the back. Ignoring them, Minato reached the room and entered, expecting to see his wife.
She was gone.
Instead, Sarutobi sat in a chair, holding a bundle of blankets in his arms. He looked up at Arashi with a sad smile. "Is that…?" "Yes, Minato. This is your son." Slowly, the Hokage stepped forward and took the baby boy in his arms. "Yessss." "And my wife?" Minato asked, gritting his teeth against another wave of pain. Sarutobi sighed. "I'm sorry Minato. She… she passed away in childbirth. She only had enough time to name your son: his name is Naruto." Slowly, Minato smiled. "Naruto," he said, testing the word. "Yesss, Naruto. Hehehehehe."
Exhaustion hit again, and Minato shook his blonde head violently, ignoring it. "There's no time. Come on, help me with this," he spoke as he placed the baby Naruto on a table, and unrolled the scroll he had brought along, setting out a pot of ink with several brushes beside it. "Is that…?" "Yes, this is my method for sealing the Kyuubi. Now pick up one of those brushes and lets finish this." The two worked in silence for several minutes as they copied the complex symbols and shapes from the parchment to the babe's navel, working quickly but cautiously. Finally, it was complete.
With tender love and care, Minato picked up his son and rewrapped him in the blankets. As he turned to leave, Sarutobi called out. "Wait! Minato, please reconsider. Don't sacrifice yourself. Let me. Your young, you have so much to live for. Think of yourself, think of the village, think of your son!" Minato turned. "Please." A slow, sad smile stretched its way across the fourth Hokage's face. "I'm sorry Old Man, but I have to do this." When Sarutobi opened his mouth to protest, Minato cut him off. "You wouldn't understand, and there's no time to explain. I'm sorry." And with that, he left.
"Hold it back! We have to hold it back until Lord Hokage arrives!" The cry of the Anbu was lost among the screams of pain and the sounds of different jutsu being preformed. The monstrous Kyuubi no Kitsune roared its outrage at the insignificant insects beneath it, swiping a paw across the lot of them. Though some managed to dodge, those too slow, injured or inexperienced were hit and burnt to ash by the demon's malevolent chakra.
"He's here! Lord Hokage is here! Fight it back! Keep it away from the Hokage!" This time, the cry was heard, and it was with renewed determination and hope that the shinobi of the leaf began to hurl jutsu. This time, the Kyuubi actually shied away, caught unawares by the sudden ferosity of its prey. Meanwhile, Gamabunta had landed some distance from the monstrous entity and ground to a halt.
"Oi, brat! Whatever you're going to do, you better do it fast. I'm not sure that they," he nodded his great head towards the shinobi, nearly flinging the Hokage into the abyss between the top of his skull and the ground, "can hold it back much longer, and I sure as hell can't hold it off." With a grunt of acknowledgement, the Hokage set to work, flying through hand seals at a rate almost impossible to follow. However, even at that rate, it would take some time to finish the long chain of seals required for the technique he had in mind.
"Better hurry up Minato. I've nearly transferred all of my essence to the boy, and then… Well, you know what happens then, don't you?" The voice was back, mocking him, reminding him of how short on time he was, how desperate the situation was. And with came a new wave of pain, like burning needles being plunged into his mind, and then viciously raked across the surface as a thousand kunai tore through his flesh. Minato gasped, and fumbled through the next few seals, losing precious seconds to the void. However, he mastered the pain, and renewed his pace.
The Kyuubi, as if sensing what was coming, turned its great head towards the Hokage, its eyes two gleaming portals into the pits of hell. With a challenging roar, the beast took off towards the great toad, intent on destroying them.
'Almost done.' Minato was now tearing through the hand seals at a breakneck pace, entering the final stages of the sealing technique. "Gamabunta, just hold it off for one more minute! It's all I need!" With a grim nod of his head, Gamabunta bounded forward, unsheathing his dagger as he did so. In mid-leap, he came upon the Kyuubi, and swung down with all his might.
The blow hardly made the beast flinch.
Growling in annoyance at the toad, the Kyuubi snapped at Gamabunta with its jaws. With a (not-so) graceful leap, Gamabunta managed to dodge the attack, only to be hit across the eye as the Kyuubi lashed out with its giant paw. Stunned, the toad boss stumbled back, and with a triumphant roar, the monster advanced upon its helpless prey.
And at that, exact same moment, Minato finished the jutsu.
"Hakke no fuuin shiki no jutsu!" Yelled Minato, as his hands formed together to create the last seal. The Kyuubi froze. Behind minato loomed the Shinigami, the death God, in all of its glory. With a skeletal hand, it reached through the Fourth's body and grasped on to the great Kyuubi. It was then that the Kyuubi no Kitsune began to struggle.
The beast spasmed as if shocked, its whole body writhing in agony as it howled and roared in a vain attempt to escape the grasp of death, a feat that no being, not even it, can accomplish. Slowly, the Shinigami withdrew its hand, dragging along with it a near translucent copy of the squirming fox: the Kyuubi's soul.
A great pain suddenly washed through Minato as the ancient being within him realized exactly what was happening. The pain was worse than all else he had felt that night: his eyes were being boiled, his skin flayed, his mind raped by formless demons with vicious, barbed claws. His innards turned to mush and felt as though they were being slowly torn apart and rearranged as part of some sick child's twisted game.
"NO! Cannot! Must not!" The creature within began to desperately send out its essence, transferring its being into Naruto, trying to escape the fate of its host as Minato's soul was torn from his body, bringing it along for the ride. The thing screamed in desperation and anger, sending wave after wave of intense pain through its vessels body. And all Minato did was smile.
"Not this time you don't. You're going to die, just like me, and just like every person you've used throughout you're ungodly existence. And you. Will. Never. Get. My. Son."
The unearthly scream of pure rage that echoed through his mind would have sent a normal man hurtling over the brink of insanity, but this man had grown used to the presence within: he was unperturbed. He closed his eyes in peace, as the last of his soul was taken, and finally, the dark entity within him disappeared.
'Wait.' Minato's eyes flew open in absolute horror as he realized that it was gone. The Darkness was gone!
The last thing Minato, the Yellow Flash, Fourth Hokage and defeater of the Kyuubi no Kitsune saw was the end of a thin trail of shadow as it disappeared within his only son. And then…
Darkness.
A/N: Well, that's the first chapter of "Of Demons and Darkness." I would have written more, to the first time the darkness awoke within young Naruto, but It's 2:11 in the morning, I have work to do, and it was such a good place to stop I couldn't resist. -. Anyway, for this story, I'd really appreciate a lot of feedback on my writing, any ideas you have for it, and any flaws you see. Also, I'll be taking a poll about where my readers (if I get any. I think I will. ;D.) Want the story to go. For example, I can't decide between Naruto going bad and utilizing the darkness to grow powerful and crush all in his path (im leaning towards this atm.) or having him try to destroy the darkness and rid himself of the curse. The story will stay the same regardless until I get to the Wave Ark, where Naruto's reaction to Haku's death will change depending on what ya'll want.
Polls: (or general ideas are welcome if you don't wanna vote.)
Story line:
Dark powerful Naruto, utilizing the darkness and reveling in the general badassery
Good Naruto, trying to destroy the darkness with help of friends. (meh.)
Pairings:
Any pairings that you want (excluding yaoi and yuri. I don't do that )
Team:
Do you want Naruto to stay on team 7? Different team? You decide.
And any more things I want your opinion on, I'll ask. Anyway, that's all for now. Until Laterz, peace!
P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!! 3333 I will gives you a cookie :D