Hmm, it's been a while since I was here but here is another chapter. Its more about the development and giving some explanations but it's got some import details inside so pay attention.
As always, I look forward to hear your thoughts, questions or even disagreements (if there are any) regarding the story in a review. I will reply in the story or via the reply review feature.
But anyway, here we go. Let's get back to the story
Our Grim Reminder
The silence in the hospital room was only penetrated by the muffled sounds of outside and the irritable beeping sound of the heart rate monitor. Naruto's poor head was still spinning from the news that had more or less been thrown in his face. Hannibal had left with the Hokage shortly after he announce suddenly that he was going to be adopting Naruto and it had been a good hour since anyone had entered the room. Maybe he had other patients to look after or Hannibal was running some kind of tests, the young blonde unaware of the normal procedures of the hospital.
Naruto suspected from their conversation at Hannibal's house that he was a doctor but this just confirmed it even more. It would also explain how Hannibal had been able to get him away from the crime scene he had made. He could have made up any excuse as to the reason that people were injured and given his position as a doctor, he would have been able to logically work himself around questioning. A useful trade, being a doctor; you were able to heal many things or use that knowledge of the body to further your attack on someone.
It was also a job that Naruto had a lot of respect for as well. While ninja's and other professions specialized in injuring peoples bodies or minds, doctors were those that tried to heal those that were in pain and nurture them back to health. He would have like to have been a healer of sorts but Naruto didn't think of himself as having enough intelligence for the job.
Naruto eased himself back in the hospital bed and looked out the window, a shadow crossing his face. Hannibal's profession was honestly not what the most pressing matter on his mind was at the moment. He was restless with the implications of what Hannibal had suggested in the burning house. Now that he was thinking clearly without the coursing stings of the chakra overuse, it came back very quickly and was glaringly obvious question. It could either mean that Hannibal was someone he could trust quiet closely with his unsettlement towards the act or that the older man would try and push him towards committing the act again.
Had Hannibal also committed the forbidden act of cannibalism?
It was a thought that made his throat tighten and his stomach twist like snake, the urge to vomit incredible. But it was also bringing a state of calm to him as well because, as disturbing as the thought might have been, it also meant that he wasn't alone. But what did that mean for him now? Lecter-san would take him in, great, but what next? Would he be tutored by him solely, would he stay in the Ninja Academy, would they travel?
And what if they did? What if they left Konoha so that Hannibal could train him better? Would they return to the village to visit or they never return unless summoned? His deep blue eye looked out of the window, looking across the vast village that he had called his home for so long.
It disturbed him a little bit that he really didn't mind if he left or not.
There was a soft knock at his door, drawing his gaze to the opening entrance of his temporary room. He was taken aback by the scowling face of the nurse, since he had clearly been expecting Hannibal to enter, and was puzzled when the woman stepped away from the door. He then felt his eyes widen when he saw the next woman that filled the space.
It was the woman who lived below him, the mother of the girl he had saved. Her hair had this slight green tinge to it and her figure was very slender, extremely athletic. It was actually deceptive that she had even had kids at all, but he suspected that it was due to her status as a ninja. Also, her eyes always jumped out to him, in their dark jade color entrancing like a deep lake. He wondered if the child, the one she cradled in her arms being the same baby he had saved, would take after her more noticeable traits.
Her lips spread into a wide smile, his own mouth half-heartedly returning the gesture. "I wasn't sure if you would be awake. The doctor said that you suffered from chakra overuse and severe chakra exhaustion."
"I'm…alright, I think. My "tenant" is trying to get my body better as quickly as possible." He said, gesturing to her with a wave to come in. "Come on, have a seat."
"Thanks." She crossed the room but not without speaking. "You know, for the longest time, I didn't like you or trust you. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that my father died during the attack of the Kyubi."
Naruto nodded, his gaze growing distant. It was true; a lot of parents, lovers and children had died to protect their home and loved ones from the demon that was sealed within him. He was able to understand the anger, just not why it had to be taken out on him all the time.
"But I was wrong, very wrong." He lifted his head and her vibrant smile, something he had never seen on her, was beaming at him as a tear escaped her right eye. "Instead of being the monster, you save my family from the fire and brought my baby back to life. I've never been happier to be wrong."
"I wouldn't say you were wrong…." Naruto said softly, looking down at the sheets in his lap. "I am a monster."
"That's not true, Naruto. That man-"
"-was telling the truth." The silence descended on them and the young man scoffed. "See, I am what you thought, what you feared."
"They were killing you again, weren't they?"
Naruto whipped his head to face her and his blue eyes met her green ones, her unexpectedly calm gaze offsetting him. He gulped as she looked to her right and chewed on her lip a little, the small child in her arms squirming, almost as if she could sense her mother's discomfort. She looked at a chair and pulled it over to the side of the bed, sitting down as she sighed.
"I know about that because my late husband once partook in the beatings." She admitted softly, her gaze dropping slightly. "And after he died, I did as well, although on a different date. It's why I've been removed from active duty for the past year and a half."
Naruto felt his brow crease and he felt his neck straighten as he tried to remember any specific attack about a year ago. It would have been disturbing to any other ninja as to how many times he had been attacked that he was unable to remember specific events like her attack. He closed his eyes and tired to think, why could he remember her distinct features.
His eyes snapped open; he didn't remember her face because her face had been covered by a mask. A white ANBU mask, with eagle markings on it. It had been in the winter, when he had been going home from the ramen stand and he took a wrong turn by accident. The ANBU had just appeared and the next thing he knew, blood was filling his vision as he felt himself rip apart. She had been fast, casting the technique before he even registered her presence and then punching him across the street. He had blacked out so times, only to wake up again under the rain of punches, only to hear her screaming at him.
It had been one of the few times that somebody had saved him, pulling her off him and ordering her back to the barracks before following her shortly afterwards.
"It was around November, wasn't it?" Naruto said softly, glancing at her. "In the alley just a block from my apartment."
She nodded silently, her mouth shaking slightly. "I…I had just been told about my husband….and I was so…angry. But that's a poor excuse for what I did to you, Uzumaki-san."
"It's in the past, so leave it there." Naruto said as he looked at her, smiling gently as she gaped at him. She could dare to believe it. "I don't need to hold a grudge with someone, especial after I saved her child."
"B-but…"
"Because if I were to hold a grudge against you and I now know that I am capable of killing someone…." He trailed off and rubbed his arm, his smile becoming uneasy. "Well, I don't think I should have saved her just to make her an orphan."
The mother was taken aback and the thoughts crossed her face before she smiled, Naruto joining her. She nodded and looked down at her baby again, cooing to the sleeping infant. Naruto meant what he said but he still could shake the image of such a violent attack from his head. It conflicted so much with this caring and gentle mother that sitting beside him right now.
He wondered if all the people in Konoha had such a double personality about them. If they were a loving husband, a sweet girlfriend, a doting son or a wise grandparent and then transformed in a ruthless killer or a barbaric savage when offered an outlet to their pains. He knew that when a person was pushed, when there was no choice left to them, that killing became as easy as breathing, but this was different. It was if their pretty little lie depended on him being able to take such a cruel beating.
Naruto focused he gaze back on the mom and she smiled. "Penny for your thoughts, Naruto?"
He blushed lightly and shrugged. "I'm just trying to deal with what I did…" Naruto paused, suddenly realizing that he didn't know her name.
"Hmm, I never told you my name, did I?" The mother said with a giggle. "That was really rude of me. My name's Shun Chika and this little sleepy head is Ume."
"She has a sister, doesn't she?" Naruto asked, trying to remember.
"Ah yes, Megumi her name. She's at school right now." Chika explaining the child's absence. "But that aside, what is it that you are conflicted about?"
Naruto looked away from her, biting the corner of his lip hard as he found himself forced to face his issues. "It's about the man that I…killed. I'm friends with his daughter…sort of."
The older woman nodded gravely. "A harsh predicament that you are faced with. It is hard to face her, with knowledge that you are responsible for her loss, I take it? I can understand that…"
Sakura hesitated outside Naruto's room, he hand hovering by the door handle. She didn't really want to be here, but her father's friend told her that she had to come her if she ever wanted to learn the truth of her father's death. And that was something that she had to discover.
She knew how strong her father was, knowing that only the strongest ninja that balanced their skills became Jonins. So, who ever had killed him had either been much stronger or deceived him. The pink hair girl squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to her tears from falling. Her mother was an emotional wreck right now and every night she cried herself to sleep, making Sakura cry all night long as well.
That was why she was here now, he had to know what happened to her father and if Naruto knew, then he had to tell her. He would do the same if someone killed his parents, so she knew she would help him. With that thought, she gripped door gently and pulled it open a fracture as she steadied herself.
And the voices carried out through that fracture. "How am I supposed to look face her ever again? I killed her father, the demon in me made me eat him, for Kami's sake."
"Do you think that she might forgive you one day?" A stranger, definitely a woman, asked him and the pause between them was deathly.
"I don't know. Her mom…she was so devastated and then when I saw Sakura-chan in the street…" His voice trailed off, but Sakura didn't even hear the stranger pick up the conversation.
Sakura felt her blood freeze, her eyes threatening to pop out if her and she couldn't hear anything but the thumping of her own heart. No, there was no way that Naruto had been able to kill her father, that was impossible. There had to be a mistake with what he was saying.
But then, as though she was finally able to see the complete picture of an elaborate puzzle, his comment from yesterday echoed in her head….I'm sorry, Sakura-chan…..Why had he said that to her unless he had done something to her.
Sakura felt her heart stop, her hand releasing the door as though it gave her an electric shock.
Naruto had killed her father.
With that single, horrifying thought screaming in her head, Haruno Sakura fled the hospital.
"I don't know, it depends on how quickly you make peace with yourself about the situation." Chika reassuringly offered, Naruto grimacing. "And you will, eventually."
"How can you say that? After what I did…"
"It was your life or his. That's a choice we ninjas face every mission and we have to make the best decision at the time." Chika reinforced as the young man lowered his gaze but she held hers. "Yes, taking a life is never easy, it isn't meant to be easy. Life is too precious for us to treat it cheaply and take so effortlessly, but sometimes we have to and we can only hope that the pain doesn't affect too many people."
Naruto nodded, the words coated in bitterness as he was forced to swallow them. Because he knew she was right, he knew he would have to get over it one day or he would never be able to be a ninja. And he couldn't afford to not to become a ninja after Hannibal had put his reputation and his life on the line for the young man. This was one of those lessons that could never be taught to someone, but it just had to be experienced and then endured.
He may hate this particular lesson, but he resolved to strive through it. The young blonde looked to the single mother again and this time his gaze focused on the sleep innocence in her arms, the adorable infant girl sleep so peacefully. He lifted his gaze up and met the smile that Chika was giving him, his own spreading on his face.
"You know, I might be leaving the village soon, but…if you didn't mind of course…could I come and see you and your kids when I come back?" Naruto asked hopefully and Chika beamed at him welcomingly.
"Hmm, I would like that." The Jonin woman said with warmth and then gave him a mischievous smile. "And I think you should when you see her eyes…"
"Why do you say that?" Naurto said as he peered over at the little child, the young thing yawning adorably as its eyes blearily opened. "I'm sure her eyes…are…absolutely…"
And there they were, tiny Ume's eyes peeking through her cracked eyes but that was enough for Naruto. The color was bright enough to shine through her eyelashes, almost glowing in the dimly lit room. And they caught his breath.
He never thought that this kind of reaction was possible and suddenly wished he had forced the life into her another way. But he knew that the eyes were the strongest pathways to the chakra coils thanks to Iruka-sensei's lessons and if had sent it through her heart, her tiny muscle would have been incinerated by the sheer force he had been putting behind it No, the eyes had been the safest choice for the matter at the hand, especially with his lack of control.
"I...I...I didn't mean to..." Naruto began as the groggy infant gazed at the blonde, the older child about to start hyperventilating.
"Don't be upset, Naruto." Chika said soothingly and he calmed at the sight of the motherly smile she had on her face. "I actually think they suit her better than the family yellow ones."
Naruto gulped and looked at the child once more, the tiny orange eyes of the baby slowly fading shut as he watched her.
Chika stayed for a few moments longer after revealing the extent of Naruto's actions and making him promise to visit her before he left the village, the young man agreeing quite happily. Once she left, the young blonde was left to his thoughts again and the room sank into its beeping and muffled noise of the outside again. Considering the words of what a seasoned ninja had just told him, the young man knew she had been right but he just wasn't ready to accept what had been said but he was ready for one thing.
He was ready to accept responsibility for what he had done.
He wouldn't hide behind Hannibal or even the Kyubi on this matter because he was painfully aware of the truth. Naruto hung his head and sighed as he neither looked upset or angered by what he was thinking, rather resigned to the truth he had discerned for himself; he had been too weak to handle the trouble on his own, so Hannibal had come to his rescue and was then dragged into trouble. The foreigner probably could have managed but Naruto had been far too hasty and accepted the power, and the malice, of the fox. Had it not been for his own weakness and if he had been able to defend himself properly, then he wouldn't have even been in such a situation in the first place.
The young container closed his eyes slowly; people had died from his weakness. That was the raw and simplest truth that he had come to after siting in the room and left to his own thoughts.
But this was when the incredible optimism and reckless determination that made up most of Uzumaki Naruto's mind surged through his thoughts in such a cold fury and scalding confidence that even the Kyubi no Kitsune felt the change from his earlier gloom and his cerulean blue eyes burned with this new desire. Many people felt that this aspect of Naruto was what got him into so much trouble and that his brash and brazen behavior was a result of this kind of thinking that he always had, while others just presumed to blame the Kyubi.
"I want to be stronger, strong enough that that I won't have to call on the Kyubi." Naruto said aloud in a low tone, the fox's spirit smiling craftily in its seal as the demon heard these words. "I want to be strong enough to protect people with my own two fists and maybe one day harness the power of the demon safely."
The Kyubi was surprised by that last part and its consciousness rose up, sending a heat from Naruto's stomach to let him know that it wished to speak with him.
"Use it safely? Whatever happened to destroying me or getting rid of me?" The Kyubi asked curiously, Naruto almost imagining that it was sitting in the seat that Chika was in before.
"You're as much a part of me as any limb that I may have or any cruel thought in my head. Unlike them, you just tend to talk back to me more." Naruto said, the demon fox growling but in a playful way. "Even you must have guessed that it would kill either one or both of us if we were unbound from one another."
The fox's amused and intrigued attitude faded into something far more somber. "Indeed, I have had my suspicions about our seal for some time now." Kyubi snarled and Naruto winced a the seal made his stomach twist and tighten, the pain suddenly gone. "That Hokage of the time gave his life to seal me and so the seal is a Life and a Death wish, something no demon could ever break."
Naruto nodded, remembering the demon's words that had been and the attitude it had when he woke from giving so much chakra to Ume and when he had been made to...well...
Naruto narrowed his gaze in thought. The Kyubi really didn't want him to consume that man's blood and it was almost tender to him when he had tried to use its powers for a good cause. Like it was letting him sort out what kind of being he was and which way he would use his power or its power, curious to figure out what road Naruto would take to
"What did you mean the other morning about 'preparing me'? Preparing me for what?" Naruto asked, trying to maintain his calm tone.
"Is that something you really feel you are ready to hear about now?" The Kyubi asked evenly, the female voice tight. "Especially considering what has happened and what I had to do?"
Naruto hung his head. "I'm sorry…"
"Considering what I had made you do, I think I can accept that apology and let the anger you bared at me before slide…this time only though." The Demon added mockingly stern, Naruto grinning as he could see it pointing a finger at him in warning. "And the preparations were for your body, so it could handle using demonic chakra as well as your normal chakra."
"So it won't feel like boiling water through veins or that my muscles are being roasted?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Who knows? Our chakra, it effect each person differently than the next." The Kitsune no Kyubi explained, the young blonde nodding understandingly. "But, sadly, the consumption of raw flesh will help the process and since human flesh is the most saturated flesh next to demons or summoned beasts…"
Naruto gulped and looked down at his hands. He hated the fact that he would even toy with the idea of eating another person, making his very soul twist and burn at the notion of indulging in cannibalism. There had to be another way, there just had to be a more humane way of controlling the demonic…
And that was when the reality of the situation hit him square in the face, like a sword to solar plexus. He was trying to find a "human" answer to deal with a "demonic" problem.
Despite what he may occasionally think about human nature, he knew that humans and demons were divided by planetary gaps in their powers and their existences. Naruto then realized the futility of him trying to conquer the demon in him on his own, but also realized the sheer miraculous skill that had gone into sealing the demon within him. The Fourth Hokage had been able to transcend the bounds of a normal man and saved his entire home with an incredibly feat that was borderline ethereal.
"…what happens if I don't?" Naruto asked softly, the demon seeming to respect his hesitancy as he heard the being shift slightly in him with a gently growl.
"Over the time, you will become accustom to the power but you will have to endure me taking control of your body several more times. Gauging how you accepted my chakra this time around…" The demon hesitated briefly before continuing. "You will be in your late forties to early fifties before you can truly command my power fully."
"…oh…well, that…sucks" Naruto said as he felt his hopes deflate even more. "So I have to….eat….people, for the rest of my life…"
"Whoever said it would be for the rest of your life, Naruto?" The Kyubi asked, Naruto's head snapping up as he felt the small spark of hope in his heart.
"What? You mean…?"
"A pound of flesh and a pint of blood if what you will be required to take from people, but depending on who it's from will depend on the amount of your consumptions." The Demon explained carefully, Naruto alert to every single detail that came out of the demon's mouth….so to say. "If you do it from more like that man we consumed the other night, I suspect that you would only need to consume another…fifty men? If it were someone like your Hokage or like the man that sealed me away, the number would be far smaller."
Naruto was relieved by this information but it still didn't make him feel that much better. "I would still be a man-eater though…"
"It is a better alternative than losing your mind each battle." The demon pointed out, Naruto just able to feel the being in him smiling slightly. "And maybe you could give yourself a better title."
"Oh yeah, like what?"
"Man-Hunter, perhaps?" The Kyubi quipped and Naruto found it in himself to chuckle a bit.
"At least it sounds cool…" He said softly, laying back slowly. "I'm going to try and rest…but I'll think it over."
"Very well, child of the Leaf Village. Rest now…" The demon said, a soothing heat seeping through Naruto's body and soon he was lulled into unconsciousness by the demon and by his exhaustion.
Hehe, just what have I done to set up this poor blonde for his future? Probably something that even I will be surprised at him surviving.
I do apologize for the serve lapse in updating this story but I have face some very interesting challenge and tough decisions over the past year. I am sorry that I have left this story on the wayside….but I really did need to step back and look at where I was going and what I was planning. I felt that I was making too big and too extreme for what I really wanted. So I thank everyone for the patience and hope that I can update much sooner than the last time.
Anyway, please do review; review and let me know your thoughts on the latest chapter while I work on the next one, as reviews often let me know if I am on the right track with a story. Holla at everyone next time.
Lin