A/N: Hey guys ! This is my first story, so please keep this in mind when reading ! I'm grateful to all who have made it this far. I do not own Naruto nor do I make money from this story.
Warning: Yoai, drug use, mildly graphic imagery, abuse, language
Chapter One: Speak of the Devil and He Shall Come
Naruto's POV
I open my eyes to find myself standing in the middle of a dirt path, winding through the dense mass of trees and shrubs engulfing me. Darkness swallows the night, but the forest is softly illuminated by a crater kissed full moon lingering overhead. Unsure of what else to do, I start to shuffle my feet in the direction the path is leading me. In no hurry, I take in the details of my strange surroundings. There is an ominous lack of sound. No insects chirped, no animals scuffled through the leaves, and there is a strange thin haze floating around my ankles.
As I walk farther along the path, I start to see the vague shape of a man come to view. Suddenly my heart speeds up, thumping louder and louder against my chest, filling the silent forest with sound. I ignore my gut instinct to turn around and run, creeping ever so slowly towards the emerging figure in my vision. As I inch closer I realize his back is to me, and he is unmoving.
"Hey ! Hey you, are you alright ?" I try to call to him, but it came out as more of a whisper.
At this point, my speeding heart felt like it would burst inside of me, but I can't turn away. Only a few feet apart now, I can see his vivid crimson hair and tall, sleek figure. I couldn't help but notice he was shirtless, wearing only form fitting black jeans. His skin seemed to give off an almost faint glow in the moonlight, compelling me to feel it under my fingertips. Slowly, I reach my hand out to touch his shoulder lightly. As my fingers press against his strangely cold skin, I shake his body slightly.
"Hey man, are you okay ? What are you doing out-" he whipped around suddenly, causing my words to catch in my throat.
He has a red Kanji tattoo on the left side of his forehead, almost unseen by his red bangs. Where his eyes used to be were now writhing larvae that spill down his pale face. My scream is halted as his mouth dropped open, emitting a horrible screeching. "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-"
I shoot up in my bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Realizing it was only a dream, I let out a deep breath before turning to my chirping alarm clock. It reads 8:50am.
"SHIT ! I'm gonna be late to class !" I scream.
I throw my comforter off my legs as I jump out of bed, swiftly quieting my loud alarm clock. Panicked, I grab the first pair of worn blue jeans I see, pulling them on as I reach for my favourite orange shirt from the mess of clothes on the floor. The professor is gonna kill me ! Cursing myself mentally, I grab my bag as I sprint out the door, forced to skip breakfast. Man I really wanted some ramen !
"Hey, Naruto !" I hear a familiar voice yell behind me.
I look back to see one of my best friends, Kiba, waving at me in front of his dorm room door, Akamaru by his side, apparently just returning from their morning walk.
"Sorry Kiba I gotta run ! I'm late !" I say dashing down the male dorm hallway to the entrance, but not before flashing him a friendly grin.
"Again ?!" I hear him laugh before I burst through the dorm's front doors.
Blazing sunshine rained down on me, causing me to stop and blink away the white spots in my vision. I look out across the vast circular courtyard.
There is a large water fountain in its center, encircled by four stone flower beds at the perimeter equally spaced apart in quarter sections. Beautiful variations of lavender, rose, sunflower, birds of paradise and more adorn the courtyard's flower beds. Tall oak trees grew around the outskirts of the courtyard, giving the space a comfortable enclosed feeling. Benches were placed under some of the largest trees which act as a safe haven for those who want to get away and find peace. Even though I've attended Konoha's community college for over a year now, it still took my breath away to see the peaceful calm of the courtyard each morning.
Shaking off my awe of the beautiful sight, I start down the few steps that connect the dorm to the brick that makes up the courtyard. Picking up the pace, I run straight ahead to the opposite end of the campus, desperately trying to make it to class on time.
Jogging down the winding sidewalk towards my first class, my thoughts drift back to my dream and that mysterious redhead. There was something about him that was off. . Besides the fact that he had bugs in his eye sockets of course. Why did it seem like he was. . Familiar ?
I wasn't able to ponder the thought much longer as I catch something in my peripheral vision. There, barely noticeable under the protection of unearthed oak roots, sits a crimson headed boy with a Kanji tattoo. I didn't have much time to even formulate a thought as my face connected with the pavement.
Gaara's POV
Slowly prying open my heavy lidded eyes, I sit up on my bed in the unnaturally dark room. Looking to the digital clock on my darkly colored wooden nightstand, it displays the time to be 8am.
With a small sigh, I push myself off my bed and pull the light switch on the fan above my head. Closing the few steps between myself and my full length mirror, I examine my face. Running my hand up my forehead, I hold my deep red bangs against my head to fully see the effects of my insomnia. My slightly bloodshot eyes are rimmed with dark circles, it seems even the sleep provoking marijuana I smoked last night, just like every other night, couldn't fix those permanent purple bags. Even though the weed lulled me to sleep on a good night, it only allows me a few hours at a time. Letting my bangs fall over my face again, I turn away from my reflection to start my daily routine.
My room isn't the largest in the world, but if it gave me a place to wallow in my own thoughts, away from the nuisance that was the human race, I didn't complain. I have a queen sized mattress in the far right corner of the room, with an art table at the foot of the bed in the right corner closest to the door. On it is a neatly organized arrangement of multiple art mediums including paints, graphite pencils, colored pencils, watercolors and the like. Across from the bed is a closet which contains mostly my shirts and jackets, along with other personal belongings. To the right of the closet in the far left corner is the rectangular mirror I stood in front of, a covered window between the mirror and my bed, a tall dresser to the left of the closet which stores my pants, underwear and socks, and finally a bookshelf to the right of the dresser, stuffed with various titles.
I turn to the closet now to pick out my outfit for the dreaded day to come. Sticking with something simple, I pull out a thin black long sleeved shirt and a pair of skinny jeans matching the color of my hair from my dresser. From my rather empty dresser top, I sweep up my black eyeliner, turning back to the mirror to try and cover up what I could of any signs that something is wrong with me. As I slowly and carefully line my eyes with the liquid gel, I start to look a little normal again.
Returning my eyeliner to its home on my dresser, I pull on my black converse and check the clock again. 8:15, I still have some time to kill before my first class starts at 9. Grabbing a sketchbook and some pencils along with my black school bag, I stand in front of my room door. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath before plastering a stoic mask on my face.
I open the door and briskly walk down the stairs, trying to avoid any unnecessary socializing with my "family." Unfortunately, I couldn't slip away this time as my father is in the kitchen, a place I can't avoid walking past.
He is a tall man, taller than me, with brown hair in a style similar to my own. He is leaning back against the kitchen counter, arms crossed. He narrows his eyes at me, his infamous glare of disgust for his disappointment of a son.
"You look like an emo faggot with all that make up on."
I clench my fists tightly but say nothing. I turn away from him and make my way to the front door, slamming it with more force than necessary behind me.
I don't bother to put any energy towards my father anymore. Although it's been a few years since he last physically hurt me, the insults come daily. My older siblings, Temari and Kankuro, turned a blind eye to his abuse years and years ago. They couldn't dare soil their trophy children images to father.
Now outside, I make my way across the street to the college so conveniently located on the other side.
I look down at the now finished drawing, it is of the old oak I sat across from. Its roots have been unearthed in such a way that give them the form of long slender fingers attempting to cage a victim in their grasp. Intrigued, I decided that was how I would pass the time. As I trace over every detail with my eyes, I hear a loud "Fuck !" and a crashing close by.
I look over and see a blond headed boy in an orange shirt and jeans face down on the concrete sidewalk. He jumps up quickly, covering his spewing bloody nose as he looks for a culprit to blame. Idiot, I thought. Giving up his search for the invisible perpetrator, I see him turn his focus on me. He isn't very far away, and from this distance I can see a shocked expression reflecting on his features. Giving him an icy glare, his facial expression visibly changes to that of fear as he starts walking away as quickly as he came.
Shaking my head, I pull out a small black touchscreen phone from my pocket to check the time: 8:55. Quickly gathering my art supplies and book bag, I start heading towards the cluster of classroom buildings, specifically the art building.
Naruto's POV
What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck is all I can manage to repeat in my mind as I stumble towards my classroom building, clutching my bleeding nose. My head is pounding and I can barely stand up right with the pain shooting up my nose into my face. As I push the glass doors open, I start down the hallway opposite to where my classroom is.
Forcing the heavy bathroom door open with my shoulder, I speed towards the closest sink and begin to wash my hands and face of my now drying blood. Gripping the sides of the porcelain so tightly my knuckles turn white, my body starts to tremble. Was that. . Him ? The guy from my dream ? There's no way. . Shuddering at the images of the pulsing larvae that spewed from his eyes, I shake my head violently. None of this made sense. I didn't know the guy, did I ? Rummaging through the memories of faces I've seen around this school, I come up blank.
I look at myself in the mirror hanging in front of me for the first time since barging into the bathroom. I look like hell. My nose wasn't broken, but it wasn't pretty either. I trace a finger over the light symmetrical whisker tattoos on each of my cheeks out of habit. Sighing as I look at my now bloodstained shirt, I decide to skip class today.
I found myself in front of Kiba's room door, rasping on the hard wood rhythmically with my knuckles. I heard Akamaru barking on the other side of the door for a few seconds before Kiba opens it quickly to my grinning face.
"Hey Naru- WHOA WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE ?!"
He yells suddenly, grabbing my shirt front, pulling me inside forcefully. He quickly shuts the door and turns to me with anger glinting in his dark animalistic eyes.
"Who did this to you Naruto ?! Who do I have to kill ?!" He is shaking with anger now, his fists balled up.
"Kiba, listen !" I plead, trying to get him to calm down. "No one did this, I fell."
"Don't give me that bullshit !" He is thrashing about now.
"Kiba! Will you listen to me for just a second!" I shout, a little louder than I mean to.
He stops suddenly at my forceful remark, his eyes wide. I quickly grin apologetically and try again.
"Sorry, what I meant to say was, can we sit down ?"
We walk over to Kiba's bed and I plop down, taking in the surroundings of the familiar room. All the dorms are set up the same way, the bare minimum, making personalization easy. Kiba has rock band posters decorating his walls, a small computer desk in the corner with a dog bed by its side across from the bed I'm sitting on. I'm pretty sure he snuck Akamaru in, like he does everywhere else. Next to Akamaru's bed is a medium sized flatscreen with an Xbox close at hand atop a wooden dresser, various games stacked on the floor next to it. He has a mini fridge with a microwave on top near the other corner of the room, the only kitchen appliances allowed in the tiny dorm space.
As Kiba sits on the bed next to me, Akamaru joins him in his lap, paying me no mind. Kiba pet him absentmindedly as he looks at me with concern in his features.
"So, what happened ?" He asks finally.
I sigh and decide to start from the beginning, explaining the weird dream to him before the fateful encounter earlier.
"I had this crazy dream I was in this forest, and there was a guy there ! He had red hair and a matching red kanji tattoo on his forehead. When he looked at me his eyes were bugs, it was freaky!" I explain to my friend. He caught me off guard with his interrupting statement.
"That sounds like Gaara" he interjects, a hint of disgust in his tone. Akamaru gives a low growl at the mention of the name.
"Wait what !?" I exclaim, looking at him with wide eyes. "You know him?!" I demand, confused.
"Yeah, he's the college freak. You've never heard of him before ?" He questions carefully.
"No ! I've never even seen the guy, that's what got me hung up. How can this dude be in my dreams if I've never even met him before ?" I ask him, wishing he had the answer I am looking for.
"He goes to school here you dimwit, you've probably seen him without consciously knowing so. That doesn't explain what happened to your face, you know." he eyes me after that last statement.
I think over what he said and realize I probably overreacted. I grin, a little embarrassed, as I told him what happened.
"When I was trying to get to class, I saw him ! The Gaara guy, he was sitting under a tree and I guess it caught me off guard and I face planted" I say shyly, realizing how silly the whole thing sounded now.
Kiba just shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "You should probably keep away from him, people say he's a Satanist" he says darkly, suddenly serious. "Maybe he's messing with your dreams."
"What ? No way, come on, you can't really believe that" I scoff, suddenly defensive of the guy.
"I'm just saying, the guy gives me the creeps." He jokes, putting his hands up.
I roll my eyes and smile, putting the matter behind me quickly. "Well, I'm gonna get going. I had to skip breakfast trying to make it to physics, and I'm hungry !" I proclaim, my stomach rumbling loudly at the thought of some yummy ramen.
"Alright but we gotta go get a beer sometime soon okay ?" He says, eyeing me expectantly as I rise from his bed.
"It's a deal ! Thanks for talking to me Kiba !" I give him another grin, ruffle Akamaru's fur and head to the door, saying my goodbyes.
A/N: So, I hope you liked my first chapter ! I'm already working on the second one, but do keep in mind school is starting soon and I may become busy. Updates might not come quickly because I'm taking these chapters really seriously, having many friends read over it before making changes and finally submitting. Please review and give me helpful tips and opinions to better later chapters ! Even a kind word will inspire me. Thank you for reading.