I do not own Naruto, but any and all original characters and moves are mine

Chapter 6


I hate them. I hate them. I hate every single one of them. Those were his thoughts as he eyed his family walking out of the house from his room. His fingers pressing tightly against the window, he shook. Why…why is it that he's always alone?

It's his birthday as well…yet when it comes around every year. Why does he wish that it'd become the day of his end. Was it because he turned seven this year? Was it because he had to watch as his family left without him again? That they forgot him?

Looking out the window, he continued pressing his fingers against its surface. His eyes unknowingly flashing a blood red shade as the white of his eyes shifted to inky black. Looking at the full moon above, he frowned. He wants to go out. He wants to remind them that they still have a son. He wants to tell them so many things.

But…it always ended with him being punished. They always thought he was lying when they actually pain attention to him. Eventually, he simply gave up. He simply decided right then and there…that they were never going to love him. They were never going to notice him. They were never going to praise him.

To smile at him…to pat his head…to sing him to sleep…read to him…or even show that they cared. They probably didn't, but they could at least pretend. They could at least show him an illusion of what a mothers love should feel like. He should at least know the happiness of fathers praise…but he doesn't.

He simply doesn't. His parents will never notice him. They will never love him. They would never notice if he was to just up and disappear. At times though, that was exactly what he wanted to do…but couldn't. He was scared. He was scared of what laid outside of the village. He was scared that there might be more people out there who want to hurt him.

He was scared of so many things. But most of all…he was scared that maybe…just maybe, that if he waited long enough, if he persevered long enough…that his parents just might look his way. Taking a couple steps back, he shook his head thinking about the insanity of such a thought.

It was just a slim hope. A false hope, but it was hope none the less…and he hated it. He hated that they never noticed him. He hated the villagers for beating him. He hated his father for ignoring him. He hated his mother. He hated his sister. He hated the village. He hated every single one of them…yet why is it?

Why is it…that he can never feel his hatred for them taking hold? It always bubbles up when he thinks about them, but it always vanishes not a moment later. Tears trailing down his whiskered cheeks, he shook his head before returning to stare at the moon.

'I wonder how Cecilia-nee's doing?' It's been a couple days since she last saw her. She said that she was going to go somewhere and be back soon, but it's been days since she left. Did she leave him to, he wondered silently.

Thinking on that, he stiffly walked over to his bed. Climbing on it, he curled himself tightly under the covers and laid down in silence. It was cold. Even with his blanket over him, he was still so cold. Closing his eyes, he hugged his pillow tightly for warmth. Seconds away from sleep, he no longer felt cold, and for the first time, smiled as he slept. Five words whispered into his ear being the last thing he heard for the night. "Happy Birthday, My Little Maelstrom!"

Deep gray eyes blinking wearily, she smiled as the child snuggled closer to her for warmth after mistaking her for his pillow. Smiling warmly, she ran her fingers through his soft blond locks and hummed a calming melodic tune. Pulling something small out of her pocket, she softly placed it around his neck. The locket glinting in the moonlight, she smiled.

"I know life is unfair my little maelstrom," She whispered into his ears. "But hating everything is not the way to go, for no matter how far you reach, when you eventually stop at the end, you'll find yourself all alone." Pulling him closer to her chest, she rested his head on her bosom and kissed his forehead.

"As my knight, you are destined for something special, so just wait and see, and find people who'll never leave." Tracing her fingers against his whiskers, she giggled softly when he purred. "And as your Queen, you are mine to command, so let your heart be free, and walk your path filled with dignity."

Closing her eyes, she felt him melt further into her arms as if the words reached him. "Sleep well my Maelstrom Knight, for not everything is against you, and you will find, that even in the darkest black, the brightest of lights will shine your path." And with that, she closed her eyes and let slumber take her.


(Flashback End)


"…So how do you pay for the entire apartment by yourself then?" Natsumi asked curiosity lacing her tone. "I mean, with all the bigots there are in the village, finding an actual job is…" Trailing off, she scowled when a stick of pocky was handed to her. "Really, bribing me with—"

"It's Ramen Flavor."

"Thank you very much –ttebane!" She squealed happily munching away on the pocky. Ignoring the strange look Koko-chan gave her, she simply grabbed the rest of the box from Naruto's hands only to see him pull out another from…somewhere. 'Yeah, I'm just not going to question it.' She thought flatly before happily munching on the stick. Oh~, it's Miso Flavor!

Staring at her…new friend, Kokoro could only give a quiet laugh in response. "Is she…going to be…okay?" She asked nervously.

Giving her a look, Naruto chuckled. "From what I know, as long as you don't take her ramen, you're safe." Stopping for a moment, he grinned mischievously. "I wonder what would happen if I deprived her of ramen long enough, and I put on, or more specifically you," He thought aloud patting Usagi-chan's shoulders. "A ramen suit with Natsumi nearby suffering from ramen deprivation…I wonder what would happen!?" Chuckling at the thought, he grinned.

Staring at how her friend attacked the ramen flavor pocky one after another…she shivered. "Please don't…" She'd rather not be lunch to a ramen frenzy red head. Looking around, she smiled lightly at the quite area around them. Nothing but grass and trees, and something she'd just found that she liked even better, no villagers threatening harm to them like yesterday.

It was rather hectic since that day, with people glaring at them back and forth, the hateful whispers. Everyone who suddenly seemed so nice looks and acts so mean and cruel now. Naruto always scares them off, and sometimes Natsumi whenever Naruto's to slow, but they are always coming back with more insults. It hasn't even been a day yet, and she could already tell that Naruto was getting annoyed with it.

"So…how do you…pay for it…Naruto?"

"Yeah," His sister joined in. "An apartments not that easy to pay for without a job!"

"Well it's easy when there are bugs who think it's smart to mug a fox." He commented idly. 'Not like they'll be needing money anymore anyway.' He thought in dark amusement. He never noticed the small look shared between the two girls on either side.

Biting off a piece from his own pocky stick, he blinked with a thought and frowned. "Ah…come to think of it," Turning to Natsumi with a raised brow. "How did your talk with the Namikaze's go? I don't suppose they were all that happy that you didn't come home yesterday."

Blinking at that, she shrugged casually. "They weren't, but when I told them that it was you, they seemed to calm down after a couple moments." Nibbling on her snack, she nodded. "They tried asking me where you lived, but I decided not to saying that it wasn't mine to share." Stopping for a moment, she scowled. "That and for some reason I get the feeling that'd you know I told and just move somewhere else!" The innocent look he was giving her simply made her huff before biting into another stick of pocky.

"Ano…what's your…relationship with each…other?" Kokoro asked curiously.

"Owner and pet," Naruto spoke immediately pointing to him and her respectively. Pulling back his finger, he dodged Natsumi's attempt to bite it off making her pout and resigned herself to just smacking him upside the head.

"He's my moronic twin brother." She sighed in exasperation. "He didn't want to become a shinobi, she he didn't enroll in the Academy."

"And just as I told Usagi-chan before," He exclaimed putting his arms over said girls shoulders making her squeak in surprise. "It would be a crime to hide these babies!" Flexing his non-existent muscles, he grinned as a giggle escaped his bunny's lips. "See what I mean, Usagi-chan agrees wholeheartedly to!"

"Yeah, yeah," She muttered. "And Usagi-chan wants you to let go." And with that, he pulled her brother away from the flustered bunny. "Besides," Sticking her tongue out at him, she grinned and pushed Kokoro into her bosom. "She's my Koko-chan!"

Brow rising in challenge, Naruto chuckled in amusement. "Fine, but," Jumping form his spot, he grabbed a hold of the two girls making them squeal in surprise. "Your my Aka-chan, so what's your is mine, and by that point, Usagi-chan is also mine!" He cackled deviously, his fingers putting down any attempts at protests by tickling their sides mercilessly.

After a couple minutes, Natsumi and Kokoro were gasping for air as Naruto continue to roll around them snickering like a kitsune. Stopping his current rolling, Naruto stared at them with a lazy grin on his face. "Ah~, are Usagi-chan and Aka-chan tired!" Rolling quickly to his side, he raised a brow in amusement at the chakra chain embedded in the ground. "Ah…does Aka-chan want to tie up little old me~?" He whined childishly before grinning. "Kinky, I like it!" And with that, he continued to roll around on the field of grass dodging Natsumi's attempts of creating Fishcake al la Flambé.

Kokoro simply enjoyed the seen in front of her. She can never recall when she ever had this much fun before…albeit embarrassing, but fun none the less. Naruto was Natsumi's brother. If that was true, she wondered why he didn't tell her his family name. Are they having a fight? Why is Naruto living in an apartment instead of his family? And why were the people in the village calling them demons? So many questions, but so little answers…

Now that she thought about it, Naruto did kind of look like the Yondaime with that spiky blond hair and blue eyes. She supposed that the red tips came from his mother Kushina, but. "Naruto…" She called out softly.

Stopping his rolling, said blonde looked up at Usagi-chan curiously and frowned. "Is something wrong Usagi-chan?" Tilting his head to the side, he watched as she crawled over to him and smiled. While he liked the view, he stopped when she poked one of his spikes.

"If you go red from Kushina; and blonde from your father…" She trailed off not noticing his darkening eyes unlike Natsumi who swallowed nervously. "…where did you get the white?" And he blinked.

Getting to his knees abruptly, he pulled down at one of his bangs and stared at the snow white slits at the center. "Ah…no clue…" He really didn't. "They just showed up out of nowhere…" Furrowing his brows in confusion, he hummed in thought. "Now that I think about it, the white used to be black…but if that's the case, where did the black come from and why did the white replace it?" Closing his eyes, he felt something connect.

'Ah, Ashe, do you know why?' He asked his female resident.

Blinking, Ashe responded by patting her fist into her open palm. "I knew I forgot something!" She exclaimed happily.

'Forget about what?'

Nodding, she was ready to explain. "You already know what Kurama looks like right?"

Raising a metaphorical brow, he inwardly nodded. '…yeah, he's a giant nine-tailed fox of destruction and chaos that loves to chase his own tails when given the chance.' Kurama who was letting his ego boost at the description, felt it pop at the chasing tails part, growled.

"Exactly," She chirped ignoring said fox's glare. "And since you already know what fuzz but looks like, you never really had to come in here, but then again, you don't really know what I look like!"

'So the white part comes from you?' He asked incredulity. 'How does that work? You're sealed in me, not being me!'

Shrugging her shoulders casually, she huffed. "No clue, your Shinobi sealing is completely different from the runes I know, so maybe it just gives you pieces of our traits along with the sealing bit." She ignored the knowing look Kurama sent her way. "Originally you were just a blonde gaki, but during the years you somehow got the red tips, and whiskers from Kurama while you got the white from me!"

"Ah, just to correct you on something, while it may have had something to do with me still being sealed inside your mother during her pregnancy," He interjected gruffly. "The Kit had the whiskers when he was born and not as a result of moa getting sealed inside the brat." Scratching his chin with his claw, he huffed. "If it was because of me, I would have just given him my glorious nine tails in the process. They would only appear at my say so though, because while amusing to watch the bugs squirm, I'd rather not have my host get killed because of pathetic prejudiced idiots. If my host was to die, he will go down in battle like the warrior he's going to be, not by some pathetic insect who takes pride in killing an infant!" He roared angrily making Naruto wince at the sound. "Such is the right given to my host!"

'Yeah…no, while I'm not trying to sound arrogant, I will not fall in battle thank you very much.' After thinking about his answer for a couple moments, Kurama grunted in silent agreement.

He would have continued, but something annoyingly familiar caught his attention. "You know…I already have whiskers on my face." Watching as Natsumi and surprisingly Kokoro hide markers behind their back while looking completely innocent, he hummed in amusement. "Why must you try to add anything else?"

Feeling unnerved by her brother's unblinking stare, Natsumi grinned sheepishly. "But~, you wouldn't wake up no matter what we tried!" She chuckled nervously. "You just closed your eyes, and that was it!"

Eyeing her steadily, he turned to face Usagi-chan much to her dismay and Natsumi's relief. Eyes flickering between her and his sisters, he hummed a light happy tune making them both sigh in relief.

Pouting that he didn't demand an explanation from Koko-chan, she pouted and gave him a light glare. Looking around, she found the area around them very peaceful…but for some reason she was sad. Naruto and Koko-chan weren't going to become shinobi. Naruto because he didn't want to, and Koko-chan because she failed the exams…

Since she herself passed, she would have less time to spend with them because they were technically civilians. Naruto doesn't hang around at home, and she doesn't even know where Koko-chan lives. Biting the insides of her cheek, she watched as Koko-chan began showing Naruto that odd cube from yesterday. They seemed rather happy and peaceful about it, but that was probably something she wouldn't see very often due to missions.

"…Naruto," She started slowly. "Why didn't you want to become a Shinobi?"

Blinking, he turned to face her and was about to add in a smart retort when she saw the serious look in her eyes. Raising a small brow at that, he hummed in amused annoyance. "Ah…who knows~," He replied in a flat tone. "I don't really know myself actually." He mumbled staring into space. "…but…" Eye's glazing over; he slowly thought about his words and hummed in thought. "In a way…becoming a Shinobi clashes with my beliefs. That's all I can think of for the time being."

"Nope," Natsumi denied flatly. "I know there's more and you know there's more, so spill it before I string you up naked like a chicken over a large steaming bowl of ramen!" The way her eyes glazed over at the thought with a hint of drool…yeah, she didn't look like she wasn't kidding. Why was Usagi-chan blushing?

Humming softly, he grinned teasingly. "Ah~, if you wanted to get me out of my clothes that much, all you needed to do was ask," Chuckling softly at the flustered looks on their faces, his grinned widened. "But, prepare for a long ride! Cause I ain't letting you two go all~ night long!" And as if emphasizing his point, he zipped forward giving them both a peck on their small noses. "They'll much more where that came from if you agree!" He whispered huskily into their ears. Next second, he was flat on his back as two sharp slaps echoed in the clearing. 'Wow…that stung.' Ignoring Kurama's laughter and Ashe's giggles, he hummed in amusement. "I guess I'll take that as a no."

"Mochiron orokana no hentai (Of course you stupid pervert!)" Natsumi shouted at him as she held a flustering red Usagi-chan right in her arms while eyeing her brother suspiciously.

Chuckling, he sat up and grinned. "Well on that side note, if you really think that there's more to it to my decision, then you should act like the Shinobi you think you are and find out!" Blinking for a moment, a thought popped into his head, and his grin widened. "And I'll even give you a hint! We haven't really introduced ourselves to each other yet, so let's start with that!" Ignoring the looks of confusion on their faces, he started

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and like Cecilia-nee," Noting Natsumi's small flinch, he sighed inwardly.

'Who's this Cecilia and why does he call her sister!?' Natsumi raged inwardly.

"I also like it when I feel warmth…" He stated with a small smile before frowning. "I dislike a lot of things varying from being alone, prejudiced idiots, people who abandon others, rapists and several other hundred million options that I could choose from." Chuckling softly at that, he grinned. "My goal is to one day build a family and make sure that they're protected. Doesn't matter who or what because whoever attacks those I care about would meet a fiery end where they will forever be damned into the nothingness that is oblivion after a severely painful session of pain only located with the realms of impossibility. As for dreams…I supposed that I never really thought much about that!" Looking forward he nodded. "So tell me…can you find the hint?" He asked in a flat tone.

The two only blinked in response. "There is something wrong with my introduction there." He told them cheerfully. "Find it, and you two can make any request of me as long as it's within reason! If you don't…" He trailed off slowly making them lean in. "…then the same could be said for me!" He whispered eerily into their ears making them shiver. Though from fear or not was something unknown.

Ignoring the look of foreboding from her twin, Natsumi turned to face Kokoro and stared for a couple moments. To Naruto, it was as if he was watching his Usagi-chan and Aka-chan exchange silent messages that he could translate but won't to increase the excitement of the game.

"We can request anything…right?" Natsumi asked.

Chuckling, he shook his fingers back and forth. "Within reason, so if you were to request for me to, I don't know," Putting up a mock thoughtful look on his face. "Suddenly grow angle wings and take you for a flight in the sky. Then that'd be a definite no. On the other hand, something that I can physically and possibly do without ending up crippled and or dead in the process is within reason as well."

'Ah…such a morbid thing to say with a smile Naruto,' Natsumi thought brows twitching before nodding.

"Is there…a…time limit…?" Kokoro asked curiously. The game seems interesting! While she got to know more about Naruto-san, she was curious as to what she could make him do as payback for all those times he's embarrassed her.

Unknown to Kokoro, Naruto felt as if something had walked on his grave before turning right towards its origin. His skin paling a couple shades as the space around his Usagi-chan darkened with a malevolent purple black aura as her visage darkened on one half of her face. A red gleam shined on said darkened face making him wonder where his cute little bunny went to and who the hell was this creepy, yet oddly alluring girl in front of him.

…Strange. "You've got until today till the end of tomorrow. I'll be here until twelve, and if you not here whether or not you have the answer, you lose automatically." Giving them both a calculative look, he hummed a soft tune. He didn't need an answer because they both readily nodded much to his hidden entertainment.

Snorting softly, he slowly hummed a soft tune in silence. Kokoro and Natsumi were already up to thinking about the hint he put in the introduction…wait? Did he really put a hint in it? Furrowing his brows in confusion, he looked back to what he said and frowned inwardly. Well…there's a small hit, very small…maybe!

Eyes shifting towards the two girls, he sighed internally in relief as they haven't noticed. The fact that there still trying means that they know that there's a hint there somewhere. 'Ah…I wonder how they're going to react when I tell them I might've forgotten to put the hint!' Thinking on that for a moment, he shrugged. He'll deal with it tomorrow, and if they come up with a satisfactory answer, then they win.

Lying down on his back, a small grin made its way to his lips. Ear's twitching, his eyes narrowed as a flash of silver disappeared in a swirl of leaved. Eye's flashing a pitch black color, he hummed a silent tune. 'Ah…guess an example has to be made…don't you agree.' It wasn't a statement, but a short pulse was his answer none the less. Lips thinning, his fingers twitched momentarily. The small distortion of air was never noticed.


(Afternoon)


Dark brown eyes shifting around the night, he pulled down his hood to cover the majority of his face. It was dark, it was so very dark in the streets of Konohagakure no Sato. The usual streets shifted with eerie shadows. The light posts flickered ominously around each corner. Honestly, if he wasn't so sure that Konohagakure was the strongest village in the world, then it would certainly count as the creepiest.

Hearing a twig snapping, he jerked his head towards the origin only to see a flickering lamp. After seeing nothing for a couple seconds, he looked around and sighed in relief. Wiping the nervous sweat from his brow, he continued onto his destination. His earlier thoughts coming to play as a snarl formed on his lips.

Konoha was indeed the strongest, but it had taken several hits throughout the past two decades. The beginning and end of the Third Shinobi World War, the Kyuubi Attack, the Kumogakure Incident, Uchiha Massacre, all of it. The once proud nation Konoha used to be is now but a shadow of their former selves.

Shifting through the night, he pulled over his hood as his fingers twitched. The glint of steel playing around his wrists just in case something strikes. You never know what might happen in the middle of the night. Especially in a village run by Assassins…stopping to think for a moment, he chuckled at the irony.

He himself used to be one of those Assassins. A Shinobi fighting proudly for his village, for his family…but in the end it just wasn't enough. He had an impressive track record. Sure he failed a mission here and there, but nothing of major importance, just a couple D-ranks here and there and the occasional C-rank mission.

He was a Chunin just getting ready to take his Jounin Exams. He got all the recommendations and paperwork filed out. He took the necessary missions, and he was okay. He always wanted to get a Gennin team of his own after going through the torture sessions his own sensei put him through. Funny how the man's in the Interrogation unit, but that's beside the point.

The point is that he was going to take the exams and hopefully pass. He would gain a few years of experience and get a Gennin team, then hopefully have lived a full life with his family before dying of old age. But then the Kyuubi struck out of nowhere, and disaster struck.

Everything he worked for…gone. His home was destroyed. The bank that held his savings account…incinerated by a giant pitch black ball of death. His right arm, crippled, and his Shinobi career, destroyed along with a fourth of the village. If it was just that, he would be okay. He had enough experience working other type of jobs when he was younger, so he should have pulled through. But that was also flushed down the toilet when he found that his wife had been crushed by a random stray of debris blown away from the Kyuubi's initial roar.

Tear's glistening; he wiped them away as flashes of his wife's chocolate brown eyes. He remembered how the life slowly left them as the debris collapsed around her before he could get to her in time. The last thing he saw of his wife was a small smile. He never found the body.

Stopping for a moment, he choked back a sob before shaking his head. Most people would think that everything went up from there, but for him, it all went straight to hell. The Yondaime appeared and did some strange Sealing Jutsu that teleported the blast elsewhere. He immediately battled the Kyuubi by slamming a three ton toad on it and they disappeared right after that.

Everyone thought that he had saved the village, but to him, who had lost everything from his career to his family, the man had arrived to fucking late. By the time everything was over, he had made the decision to give up the last remnant of his beautiful wife. He had to give up his own baby girl to the orphanage just to give some of the things she needed to live. He even hoped that she would be adopted into a good family that could actually take care of her. And when she actually was adopted years after, he felt something in his finally shatter.

His baby girl was in the arms of man that was not him, his dear child being hugged by a woman that was not his dear Delilah. It was almost too much to bear. So he put all the rage he was feeling, all the sadness and unjust anger right at the Yondaime.

The so called Hero, everyone called him, but where was he when his wife needed saving? Where was he when the Kyuubi first appeared? He's called the Yellow Fucking Flash for a reason god dammit! How he wanted to make the man suffer like he had. He wanted to at first attack the boy the man called a son, to make him feel the pain of having to lose a child, but he was still a Shinobi, and was able to read the lines.

The man cared not for his son. In fact, if the boy didn't even have the man's face, he would have guessed the he used some orphan instead of his own child. The small red headed girl is the one he cared for. The boy was just a sacrifice like his title entailed. Jinchuuriki, Power of the Human Sacrifice! Sacrifice his ass, he snorted. He may have lost his career as a Shinobi, but even he had minor sensory abilities and the boy had absolutely none of the Kyuubi's inhumane chakra within that small body of his.

But the boy still held its soul, and for that, he would hold no pity for him. He wouldn't hurt the boy, but he wouldn't help the brat either. No, no, his game was much higher. Eyes darkening, he stopped at a flight of stair that leads down an alleyway. Looking both ways, he sent a small pulse of chakra and found nothing worthy of note. Stopping for a few moments, he simply walked down the flight of stairs with a plan formulating in his mind. The last few days being enlightening at best.

He knew to be able to get revenge against the Yellow Flash; he had to be stronger which was impossible due to how he was. So he formulated plans instead. Hundreds and hundreds of plans the conjoined with one another including several fail safes and precautions that will ensure its completion. If he wasn't so sure that he had lost it a while back, he would have compared his work to that of a Nara.

…Those smart lazy bastards. Grunting, he stopped again for a couple moments and pulled out a small vial from his sleeves. It was clear stained glass with a deep blood like liquid inside. The man a while ago had told him many…enlightening things. How he too held the same hatred against the accursed Yellow Flash and his family. The man who allowed hundreds to die and their families as well, yet the man himself is enjoying time with his own! It was like the fool was mocking him! Mocking them all!

Clutching the vial in his hands, he wondered idly how this thing was going to give him power. Albeit not enough to take on the Yondaime, but the man had told him that he had given the same to others. Dozens of others who bore hatred for the man! In exchange for giving him the vial, he had to gather the group and have them beat up the son of their hated man. Give him a letter, and proceed to the following location for new orders.

A feeling in his gut told him that something was off about the man, a feeling that he had trusted and had saved his life countless times in his career as a Shinobi, but he ignored it in favor of thinking about the revenge that was so close. Oh so close that he could almost taste it!

Stopping at the end of the stairs, he eyed the wooden door with some trepidation and nodded. Putting the vial back in his sleeve, he knocked on the door once, twice, and trice times before slamming the palm of his hand on it and dragging it down. After a couple moments nothing happened, but when he heard a click, he knew he was in the right place. Pushing the door open, he never knew that he had just sealed his fate!

It happened in an instant. His eyes dilating as something dragged him through the door with it slamming eerily shut behind him. Whatever pulled at him had let go, but he still stumbled forward into the ground in a splash. 'Wait…splash?' Eyes blinking, he looked down to see him lying on top of a puddle of blood Jerking back upright, he shook his head in shock and looked all around the room as if he was in some sort of Genjutsu.

…He wasn't. The room he was in was made up of solid grey stone with the room being bare of anything but the flickering light bulb in the ceiling. But in his eyes, there was nothing grey about this room. Taking a shaking step back, he stumbled on the ground when his foot landed on something squishy. Looking forward, he jerked back slamming his back against the wall staring wide eyed at the dismembered arm in front of him.

The room was filled with it. The walls were painted red with blood. The stone floor littered with cracks in which the blood seeped through like a waterfall of red. Dozens and dozens of corpses for all to see piled up crudely against one another. Their limbs cruelly torn off or shredded, he had to force himself to swallow the bile that continued to rise up his throat. Even the stench was…nothing?

Skin paling to a ghost white shade, he began to shake. The room smelled like nothing. There was no scent of heavily induced iron. No smell of rotting corpses. Not even the scent of the freezing cold air. Stiffening, he reached out into his sleeves and pulled out the vial from before. But before he could even open it, he stiffened in shock as the faint sound of growling reached his ears.

Eyes shakily drifting towards its origin, he watched as a strange dog like monster tore into the flesh of a corpse with its dagger like teeth. They were odd obsidian armor plated dogs that looked twice as three times as big as your normal full grown Inuzuka Hound. He saw the pulsing muscles and tendons in between the openings of the dog's armor. Its three chain like tails flickering with ethereal blue flames at its dagger shaped tips.

Before he could even twitch, the dog stopped its current meal and snapped its head to him. And when he met its blazing red eyes, he knew it was the end as it snarled its fire coated teeth. In a flash, all he could see was its same teeth digging right through his neck before everything went black.

With the sounds of slurping of blood and ripping of flesh filling the room, a black cloaked figure appeared in a swirl of darkness. The figures identity easily hidden by the hood, it walked forward and stopped right next to the feasting dog. His gloved hand stroking its armored spine softly as he casually picked up the vial from the corpse's hand.

Staring at it, he eyed the red liquid inside for a moment and shook his head. "Is this what these 'Shinobi' rely on?" The figure said monotonously. Eyeing the corpses that littered the room, he snorted. "I'd expected more from a group of people using that power." Eyeing them passively, he shrugged. "Well, it's a bastardized version of it none the less, but I can admit that it's more versatile in options." He mused quietly.

Hearing a small whine, he turned over to see the Hellhound shrink in size to that of a normal golden retriever. Its red eyes glinting innocently despite the blood that covered its maw, the figure chuckled before noting the small blood-covered parchment in its jaws.

Humming in thought, he softly removed the paper from its jaws and waved the Hellhound off the finish its meal to which it happily attested to. Nodding, he opened the parchment and read its contents. A ghost of a smile making its way to his lips and he gave off an eerie chuckle. "Ara, ara…to think humans are still so stupid and shortsighted after what you showed them!" Red eyes glinting, he shrugged casually. With a twitch of his fingers, the blood that decorated the room spiraled towards the center of his fingers into that of a small swirling sphere. Staring at it, he watched it crystallize before popping it into his waiting mouth.

Licking his lips, he scowled in slight disgust. "Too much alcohol in it," He muttered distastefully. Really, drinking away there sorrows never really solved anything. Staring at the letter in his hands, he flicked his wrists and added his own flavor to it before flicking it away. The parchment then vanished into a small portal of darkness that opened before it and closed right after.

Feeling something licking his hand, he grinned softly and patted the Hellhounds head. "What a cute puppy you are!" He cooed childishly. 'Let's see how you fair mister candidate!' Will he show more potential than The Grey One, or will he be something else entirely? Only time will tell…'To bad I'm not that patient anymore!'


(With Naruto)


In a room parallel to the last, Naruto stared at the letter with a tilt of his head. From what he remembers, there's no one in Konohagakure who has the Meiton Bloodline. The only one who he does know is Ashe, but her control over darkness is a bit different.

Humming in thought, he flipped over the letter back and forth and sighed. Looking around the room, he scowled. The only thing he got was a name from these insects, nothing more, nothing less. As a result, the room was covered in strange black dust despite its walls being stone grey. Fingers twitching, he turned over to the sound of whimpering and scowled at the bony tall man before him sniveling on the ground like a child.

Seeing how the man was muttering and shaking with a haunted look in his eyes…yeah, he wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. Taking a look at the letter in his hand, he opened it only for his expression to turn flat.

'Bring me the scroll of sealing by mid-night. If not, then who knows what would happen to your whores Kyuubi!' Eyeing the note, he found that there was no assigned location. Turning it over, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as small red lines began to appear in a pattern on its pages. After a couple seconds, he nodded blankly as a small note appeared under the lines. 'Show me the power of a King!'

Eyeing the handwriting, he twitched before walking out of the room in silence. The man from before kept muttering about demons and monsters and how seventy five black warriors had been replaced by a blanket of the abyss. When he was found in the morning, he was sent to the psychiatry ward for a permanent stay.


Ah...i'm not really sure if this story is going well or not, but over two thousand views in a week is good...right?

...Anyway, at least I think it's good considering it's my first Fan Fiction. So I decided to add a little sneak peak of what you can expect in the later chapters. For those who are still interested in reading the story, please review.


(Sneakpeak)


Claws gripping tightly into its prey's skull, Torazuki lifted the boy up into the air. Tilting its head to the side curiously, its eyes narrowed as the child's unfocused eyes glared at him through the openings between its fingers.

…Such empty eyes the child had. Such a soulless being that walked this earth…oh what could be the cause of such a thing, it wondered with a curl of its lips. Such hatred…no, not hatred…it was something far more dangerous than such a petty emotion.

…Longing…desperation…a distortion had somehow formed in the child's psyche. How it came to be, it did not know, but armed with things such as longing and desperation…the ending would only result in tragedy. Tightening its grip on this child, its mild twitched in annoyance.

Holding back a snarl, it tightened its grip on the child's skull. His annoyance of a host was dead. Such a despicable parasite the fool was. Arrogant…prideful…filled with loathing…it was no doubt a miracle that such an insect managed to bring a being such as him into existence. Feeling its grip on the boy's skull slacken, it narrowed its eyes in surprise as the child's form dispersed in a flurry of winds. The threads of air whipped against its armored hand, yet doing no harm to its body.

…The child was weak…he was still too weak. But that will not stay the same for long. The child will grow, he will fight, he will see, but he will not truly live. He has no purpose. He has no goal. The boy is just an empty fragile shell waiting to be filled. A shell filled with oh so many cracks, and oh so many holes. That once the goal had been completed, the child will return to his empty state of mind.

He had once met a man with similar eyes…only his was filled with purpose, yet only chose the path with the most destruction. To save is to kill. And to kill is to save…that was the man's motto. Ear's twitching, it turned around its behemoth of a body and stared at the child that appeared in a gust of wind on the other end. '…That man…he to, could guide the earth's whispers…' Meeting the child's eye's once more, it watched as the white of his left eye be invaded by an inky black. His empty blue eye flashing a raging inferno of red, it frowned when a dark, almost demonic presence overwhelmed the boy's own.

From his host's memories, the child has a remnant of The Grey One sealed in him, the strongest of the nine, but only without its power. There was another remnant in the child, a pure one, but something completely different from the fox. They were strong, but in the end, they were not the one. Eyeing the child in curious thought, it pondered as the presence had all but vanished. It belonged solely to the boy alone…yet it felt as if it didn't.

A single side to a coin, the man had said, is always parallel to its other. But at the same time, the differences are so abstract that they are truly never the same. The Grey One was a puzzle to it, an endless puzzle that had no end. A dangerous puzzle, but a simple puzzle none the less. And like all puzzles…they are meant to be solved.

Claw's flexing, it vanished from sight. Its form reappearing right behind the child slashing down into his back, only to narrow its eyes as the boy dispersed in another flurry of wind. Naruto…that was the child's name…a child with only a name, and nothing else to it. Ear's twitching, it disappeared once again only to slash down at the spot several meters away. The boy, Naruto, reappeared right at that spot only to vanish when its claws pierced through, the earth beneath scattering in contact as its thoughts steadily continued on the puzzle that was the child.

Turning its head with a short tilt, it eyed the copies parallel to the child swerve around the clearing around them. His eye's cold and hard, but ever so empty inside. The hatred it experienced when its host taunted the child. It to, was without form. Without purpose, hatred given only to its feel, but not really directed at anything. Such a broken child…such a purposeless being…it only eyed the child, not with pity, but with remembrance. For in the end, the child will die.

Taking in a deep steady breath, it closed and slowly opened its eyes in only a moment. Parting open its lips, an earth-shattering roar erupted. The clearing itself being flattened by its initial power while the tree's beyond were felled by its force. The child shooting back in the air had the sense to clamp his ear's shut in attempt to block out the sound. It was a careful move, but unnecessary as it halted its roar and disappeared. Its form reappeared right above the child stabbing its clawed hand down towards his heart.

It would be quick. It would be painless. But it would not stop the guilt. The guilt of ending a child's life before it could truly begin. The guilt of halting's the child potential for growth when he could be great. But most of all, to end the life of a child, who had never truly started his life, was one that would weigh most heavily on its mind.

Just as its claw was about to pierce flesh, a blood red chain of energy snapped the child away. Frowning slightly, it twisted its waist snapping out at the boy's body with its right leg. A snap sounding through the night, it felt its claws dig into flesh splattering blood before the child escaped its reach. Landing softly on its paws, it turned around eyeing the scene in front. Its eyes widening only a fraction as it eyed the blood soaked broken left arm that belonged to the boy.

The boy…he managed to twist his form around leaving his arm with most of the damage. Even when disoriented from its earlier roar, he still managed to counter. Tracing its side, it stared at the red liquid that dripped off its claws. Blood…the boy was dangerous. Looking back towards the child, its attention slowly drifted towards his two companions…interesting…both a doll…a broken being…and an anomaly all in one place, together.

What the fates have in store for such of group, it has no idea. But what it does know; is that they are too weak. They are much too weak for what is in store for them. So in the end, it only had one thing to say. "Show me your will."