Disclaimer: I own nothing. But I wish I did! Enjoy
Lightning flashed high, illuminating a dimly room through the tatters of a pair of moth-eaten curtains. It showed the patched walls and bare boards in stark relief against the precious darkness. The soft tinkling of a newly made mobile could be heard above the roar of the thunder outside as it lulled the occupant of the small cot to sleep. The baby within cooed softly, reaching up his chubby, little hands to grasp at the strange thing above his head. The hand was instead caught in a larger one, though still admittedly small, of a boy who smiled down at the babe widely. He had silver hair and warm, bright eyes. He gently pulled at the baby's mall appendage, his smile widening when the child gurgled happily.
"Ain't he the cutest thing?" the boy commented to his brother, who stood next to him. His silver hair ruffled briefly in the breeze from the open latch. A hand lazily closed the window with a soft snap a moment later.
The other, who emitted an aura of serenity, looked up from the book which had been the focus of his attention for the last hour. He gazed down at the newborn a small smile also on his face. "He does have our father's blood does he not? His power is also assured."
"Power ain't everything, Virgil" his twin remarked cheerfully. The child looked up at the identical twins in slight confusion before yawning widely as his eyes began to droop. "He'll be cold if we don't find him a blanket" he commented, smiling as he stroked some of the silvery blond hair beginning to grow.
"Go and find one then, Dante. I'll go warm up the milk the midwife gave us so we can feed him if he wakes" Virgil replied tiredly, shutting his book and proceeding to the door of the nursery. Dante laughed and ruffled his twin's hair as he passed him when Virgil held the door.
The door clicked shut and soon the only sound was the soft murmur of the baby's breathing and the patter of rain on the window panes. The footsteps were soundless and the silhouette glided across from the window, his cape glittered with droplets like diamonds. He carefully lifted the babe so not to wake it; cerulean eyes stared down at the infant sadly. How he hated to do this. Carefully he placed his hand on the child's head and mumbled select words. The infant's hair changed from silver to blonde and those piercing eyes dulled slightly, as the likeness to his kidnapper set in.
The blond man looked down at the bundle in his arms, and a single tear made its solitary way down his cheek. "I'm sorry" he whispered to the silent room. Then the figure vanished into the darkness.
The only sounds to mourn the babe's theft were the thumping of feet and the angry calls of two brothers desperately searching for their sibling. Lightning flashed and in the distance a great demon roared his anger whilst a small baby screamed.
------
The sunlight filtered vaguely through thick, black curtains to from halos on a crimson carpeted floor. The dimly lit room was covered with dirty, wrinkled clothes, empty drinks cans, tattered books and crumpled papers. On one corner was a large bed covered in pitch black sheets that spilled onto the floor below. Against the adjacent wall was a scratched, battered and worse for wear desk that was covered in diagrams and documents covered in red ink that hid a worn keyboard for an equally worn computer.
The red-painted walls were covered in doodled symbols and archaic shapes. Along the wall, opposite the window and above the desk, hung an odd assortment of objects. The first was a violin; the wood was slightly chipped on the neck and fingerboard, showing its long-term use. Its bow hung alongside lazily. To the left was a set of three blades, linked so they could be wielded as one or as three-separate. They were ice-blue and obviously the user had to wear some kind of hand protection as there was no grip. (A/N: yes it is Cerberus from DMC3) After that followed an assortment of scrolls and a wooden practice sword emblazoned with black runes. Lastly there was a five-foot long steel sword, its surface blazing in the low light. The sword was called Valour and was said to give the bearer courage to face any foe and the will to win any battle.
With a grunt the piled bed sheets began to move and writhe. From beneath them a silver and blonde head emerged, followed by a tan, muscled torso. The boy scratched his hair tiredly before leaning down and patting the floor in search of an object. When the object was found, an eye patch, the boy lethargically pulled it over his sightless left eye. He oozed out of the bed and wandered out of the room, clad in nothing but a pair of green boxers covered in tiny cartoon bananas.
He made his slow way through his third of the manor top floor, making sure to feed his pets before skirting through the extensive library that took up the second floor and the large dojo downstairs. He moved into the kitchen, and throughout the entire way he had avoided his older brothers' rooms and domains. Once inside the kitchen he approached the large, bulky white fridge. It contained various labelled plastic containers that held bloody chunks of interesting creatures…and people.
He pulled a can of cola from its depths along with a red, juicy apple. He slumped down at the table in the centre of the room, happily munching away in a particularly loud manner that he knew infuriated a certain member of the household. It in fact caused said member to come storming into the room, grab hold of and throw the apple at the person previously eating it.
"That's harsh!" the boy cried in protest, rubbing his head where the apple had struck him and coming to his feet angrily.
"You know I hate it when you crunch, runt!" growled the other, using his superior height to loom over the boy.
The boy proceeded to dive at the man and a vicious fight started. A great deal of shouting and punching later the final brother made his appearance, having heard the commotion from his study within the library. He was greeted by the man holding the boy in a headlock loudly shouting as the smaller bit at his arm furiously.
"Dante! Descartes! Apart now!" he said smoothly and with authority. The two separated grudgingly, turning to the eldest of their family. "Dante, you should know better than to show that kind of behaviour! You are twenty-one years of age, at least act like it! Descartes, you are over half an hour late for your Latin lesson! I expect you in the library as soon as you are dressed! Your punishment will be to recite all verb and noun classes, including irregular, semi deponent and deponent variations." With that said the more regal of the three swept out of the room and up the stairs.
"Well done, moron!" Descartes snapped, 'Descartes' was only used when his brother was truly angry. His name had been changed years before- using his true name was saved for either happy or angry occasions.
"You started it, Naruto! Geez, get me a beer while you're up will you? We had a call from Enzo saying we might have a job soon, by the way," Dante replied as he slouched in another chair at the table.
Naruto complied; pulling another can of cola for himself form the fridge also. "Yeah? What kind of job?"
"Traces of demonic blood or at least evidence of some sort of contract in some islands to the east of here. Virgil's thinking of sending you to check it out," Dante replied, sipping his beer. He was dressed in tattered jeans but other than that was shirtless. His long silver bangs twisted slightly in the breeze than came from the open kitchen window.
"Why me? I'm a tad inexperienced you know"
"Virgil's got the specs; he says you'll fit in better. Anyhow, don't you have a lesson to get to?" Dante smiled as Naruto grouched a bit before walking slowly in the general direction of the shower.
-----
It was almost three hours later when Virgil moved onto a topic other than Latin. Even then it was only history, ancient history at that. Naruto though that he'd die sitting among the huge tomes of the library if he stayed any longer. After what seemed like an age Virgil finally began talking about his newest mission.
"It's in the fire country, they're holding some kind of ranking tournament and we plan to use that to sneak you in."
"Ranking tournament?"
"They're a warrior and mercenary culture from what I gather; the competitors will be your age."
"Will they be any good?" Naruto asked in a bored tone.
"None are at my, or Dante's, level, they're only human. They're meant to be in teams of three but we submitted you alone with good references and convinced them to take you," replied his elder brother over his steepled fingers, adding to the upper-class attitude he seemed to exude. He was wearing black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt, open at the collar. Naruto still couldn't believe his older twin brothers could be so different.
"So shall I pack tonight?"
"Yes, your train leaves at noon tomorrow, Dante will take you to the station. We will also be doing a ritual tonight," Virgil was now placing their study books on the shelves where they belonged.
"Fine time to tell me! What's the ritual for?"
"We would not allow you to go so far from our protection without some means of defence, or seal for that matter. These are the last people you need to show your blood lineage to." Virgil wasn't looking at him but Naruto could tell that he had the annoyed crease between his brows that appeared when he was concerned for either Naruto's or Dante's safety.
It was then Naruto realised how much his siblings cared for him. He smiled warmly. "Thanks, Virgil. I love you too."
Virgil merely snorted in denial.
----
The station thronged with people on the following afternoon as a jet black motorbike pulled up at the front. A passenger slid off the back fluidly and pulled of his helmet. He pulled a rucksack out of the saddlebags along with a long, thin parcel and a violin case. He turned to gaze into the station, squinting as the midday some stabbed at his eye. He shouldered his rucksack, "I'll be going now" he muttered quietly.
"Hey, chibi! You take care, you hear? I don't wanna hear no shit about getting yourself injured right? Sons of Sparda don't take shit from no one, got that?" the motorcyclist yelled as the boy turned away.
"Sure thing, D. No one can touch me right?" replied Naruto, visibly smiling from underneath his black cap.
"Right." Dante gave a short wave before driving away.
Naruto pulled some tags out of his pocket and fastened them to the bag as he strode into the station. He was wearing a pair of grey camouflage trousers matched with a black, long-sleeved top and combat boots. His cap was to draw attention away from his eye-patch and obvious missing eye. Today the patch had a smiley face on it. Naruto wanted to appear friendly after all.
He paid for his ticket from the somewhat intimidated clerk and got onto the night train. The journey was going to take a little less than three days continuous travel so he was doing two and half of them by night train. Virgil had given him a passport to get into the competition, some kind of headband which was customarily worn or shown and a set of scrolls that had various weapons sealed within them. He had a map as well, in order to locate the hidden village he was travelling to.
He trudged along the platform toward the sleek silver train and gracefully leapt into it. He wandered until he found his assigned compartment; he then opened the sliding door happily looking forward to the prospect of sleep. Settling into the comfy seat and pillows he gazed out the window at the blurring scenery as the train began to reach top speed after it left the station. Soon the city he knew was a vanishing speck and the countryside was flashing before his startled eye. As soon as the train began tot settle down he pulled a dark hooded, zip up jumper from his rucksack (which was placed above his seat with the parcel and violin case). It was covered in red sewn writing that formed odd archaic symbols. It was in the demonic language, which was one of three that Naruto was fluent in. The exact words of the circle read 'I am in the darkest shadow, I am in the morning sky, I am the haunting soul resting in the abyss'. The circle was part of a blood contract between his family and an abyss demon; it allowed him to sleep in protection as the demon protected him whilst he was unawares because of this contract. Thus, Naruto fell gratefully into a deep, restful sleep.
So how was it? Please read and review! I'd lvoe to hear your comments! Whatever they are! Should I continue?