Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Lies I Told Myself
Key
S.S: Sick Shit (not suitable for the weak-minded or squeamish)
thinking
"talking"
thoughts progressing into speech"
'substitute for italics' (in certain places, like emphasizing something)
/telepathy/
:scene change: (more for my reference than anything else)
POV (automatically Naruto's if left unspecified)
Summary: I was a cold, callous individual. I was sarcastic and witty, not a pleasant person to be around. I cut you down with biting words every chance I got and smiled so frighteningly that I made children cry. I was, simply put, an asshole. I never cared what you thought of me. And one day I got bored, so very bored, so I decided to snap.
A/N: So...to all of you who enjoyed the last chapter, thank you. To all of you that hated it, oh well. And to those of you with vomit-ruined keyboards, I apologize...not! Haha, no but seriously, if you have a weak stomach, this is just something you shouldn't be reading. Sorry. On another note, some of Naruto's experiments take place "off-camera", i.e: I just don't bother to add it in and the general premise and outcome is mentioned later. Such as in the case of Noriko. Also, I'll be attempting to add a bit more depth to my characters, they do seem a bit shallow don't they? Thus, this chapter will take a slight break in the bloodshed of the previous by a bit and we may see some of Anko's (admittedly futile) efforts to save Naruto.
A/N 2: Yes I know, a second A/N? Anyway, a reviewer pointed out to me that I made an error in the last chapter as far as the water temperature goes. You know, with the three thousand degrees Farenheit? Water would turn to steam. Bleh. So, since I've never been one to change things, I apologize for the mistake. Just making sure to address it properly. Thanks. And to Dracco, I applaud you. You've seen what I was going to do before these next few chapters even came out. Good foresight my friend. P.S: Another reviewer pointed out to me that the Demon Bros. aren't from Ame (totally got the two villages mixed up). I did know they were C-class, made 'em B's for the purpose of the story. Thanks again.
WARNING: See beginning A/N: chapter before last. I really hate repeating myself.
Fear
Is
A
Drug
But
So
Is
Adrenaline
Knaji
:::
Chapter Thirteen: Who Are You Afraid Of?
::Anko's Apartment::
Anko was still rife with fear and distrust for me. She hid it well, I will give her that compliment, but the sour stench lingered about her as if she had been sprayed by a skunk. She watched herself around me, almost like a frightened canine that had been abused one too many times. I had ceased my experiments (on the villagers anyway), for now, until I could find a suitable way to circumvent or disable Sarutobi's ability to view my actions in his crystal ball. I cared for him, as much as I could, and hated to have him afraid of me.
That was not my intention.
However, he would not allow himself see that my experiments would be for the better.
He refused to see that Living Chakra would be so very useful. It could be turned into Dead Chakra, which could then be used to animate the dead. Of course, just judging by the name one could discern the uses. Naturally, the dead can't be killed again, and the Dead Chakra would hold them together indefinitely, even allowing them to reform when dismembered and move in an unnatural yet quick way that would spike fear into the weak-hearted. Such...such an interesting concept that I had yet to try out fully.
Enslavement of these putrid humans would be simple with an undead army at my control.
I would have to make him see the benefits of the two chakras.
I would need to show him Dai in all his glory. And to do that...would require a great deal of preparation...
But I digress, I needed my wits about me, not daydreaming over more potential research.
We, that is my teammates and I, had something important to do today.
The Chunin Exams were starting.
:::
Perhaps I had been a bit hasty in listening to my tenant and giving Karasu his new arm. I would have been quite delighted to see how the child would have fared against this green clad monstrosity that calls himself a taijutsu master without it. It hurt my eyes to look at him, truly it did, but look I did. The energy within him was that bright, that painful, and the diluted DNA now present in my synthetically modified eyes simply exacerbated the pain. However, I bore it; gazed upon his form with all the intensity of my scientific mind, and analyzed him thoroughly.
I had no doubt in my mind that no one, save myself and the one that made him as such, truly knew what the boy was in truth.
Exactly why he was unable to use chakra.
Naturally, I had to wonder exactly how long he had been like that.
Oh, how I itched, no, how I ached to get my hands on him.
However, patience is a virtue.
And when it came down to things I wanted, I had that virtue in spades.
:::
I was slightly put-off by the boy called Kabuto. He was fake. Utterly and completely fake. It was...annoying to say the least.
"I want information on Uzumaki Naruto and Subaku No Gaara." I hear Sasuke ask the other man. My tenant growls at the mention of the Suna native, who we could see standing in a far corner of the examination room with his teammates. According to Syujin he held a tenant as well, the Ichibi. I was not the least bit frightened. He was a child.
A mentally unstable one at that, who, according to the beetle, was very good at using his sand to evade death.
I would take him as well, in order to complete my deal with Syujin. It would be quite the trial to convert the boy into an emaciated puppet construct like my sensei. One would also have need of finding a way to circumvent the almost instantaneous healing factor of the Ichibi. It wouldn't be fun at all to make an incision only to have it close before the skin splits, now would it?
"Hm...why you would need to look up information on your teammate is beyond me, but let's see...Uzumaki Naruto-hey!" I snatch the card from the beetle's hands, perusing it at my leisure.
"There is nothing here that you do not already know about me, Karasu-san." I proceed to reel off the majority of my known skills. "Ha, it even describes my attitude. Apparently I am a 'cold, unfeeling bastard who only uses his teammates and sensei as a means to an end'. Well that's not very nice."
I had let a bit of a mocking note enter my voice.
It was irritating that this mere card, or rather, its owner, had me pegged so well.
"That wounds me, Kabuto-san. I enjoy the time spent with my teammates, I gladly attend to any wounds they may sustain and happily volunteer to correct their forms in our sparring sessions."
I let a twisted form of a grin cross my features as I continue to read. Hm, it seems he even had information on things he should not be privy to.
Easily remedied with the right sequence of poisoned chakra.
"Here you are, Kabuto-san." I return his card to him, brushing my fingers purposely over his own and letting a few sparks of my tenant's chakra free. "I apologize for my abruptness. Might I ask you for some information on the newcomers with the music note? I have never seen them before..."
Sakura
I found myself nodding unconsciously as Naruto read off of the card he'd plucked from Kabuto-san's fingers. Everything that had been said about my creepy teammate's attitude and skills were true. Though I didn't miss the brief flash of irritation on his face before he grinned and handed the card back to the dung beetle.
No, no, that was rude. I meant Kabuto-san. I don't know why I called him that.
I also don't know why I get the feeling that something bad would be happening to him very soon.
I mean, it wasn't like he hadn't just been punched in the stomach and vomited all over the exam room floor, ew, but I felt like something else bad was gonna happen. Like, he was gonna die or something. And I didn't get this feeling until Naruto'd gave his card back to him with that sadistic, creepy smile.
He was talking to a member of the music note-Sound, I mean- village now. Or threatening. It definitely looked more like he was threatening them and vice versa. He had that bored look on his face, like when he had cut the heads off those Chunin during our mission to Wave. Granted, beheading enemies was tedious work, and having to freeze the brain tissue in cryogenic stasis was even more tedious because one had to keep adjusting the temperature so that the entirety of the grey matter would not freezer burn-wait what?
I shouldn't know something like that, that would be like knowing how to make medicine or do one of his weird experiments, or...or...the intracacies of Sasuke's arm-
-drill out the marrow of the newly severed bone first so that the metal socket will fit properly. Make sure that the hole is approximately three and a quarter of an inch, no more, no less, lest the socket loosen. Lubricate the hole thoroughly with the silicone agents; inscribe the seal onto the socket to reduce wear and use the removed marrow as a buffer so that it will bind with the agents. It will replicate itself to the body as a 'whole' bone. Hence, eliminating rejection completely-
Oh Kami, what's happening to me?
:::
I could not help watching in undisguised delight as a look of slight horror goes across Momoiro's face before being covered by one of shock. Hm, seems that the seal's imprinting was almost complete, a few more days until it would be 'done', in a sense, which was good.
She was not the only one I had imprinted upon mind you, but she 'was' the weakest-willed of the number.
I had a feeling I would need her soon.
Her weak mind is already her undoing.
"Alright maggots! No more horseplay, take a number, sit down, and shut up!" shouts the voice of Morino Ibiki, the head of T&I as he poofs into the room. I grab a number, situating myself on the front row number three seat beside the Hyuuga heir as he explains the rules of this part of the exam.
I look over to the timid heir with abject curiosity, immediately dismissing her. She was cannon fodder to me. That, and I had no desire for the political backlash that would occur should I deign her worthy of an experiment. I would settle for capturing branch members and disabling their simple little seals.
I yawn, knowing Karasu and Momoiro are smart enough to understand simple questions like these, thus I answer them quickly before turning over the paper; laying my head down in my arms.
I was a bit tired, so I would let my body rest while I and my tenant worked on a few formulas for Dai's newest body modifications and my new assistant.
Sasuke
My arm had started acting up again, it wasn't sprouting feathers or anything like that again, but every few minutes it would start to feel off, like it was disconnecting itself from my body or something. I would lose control for a few seconds or it would light up in a fire of pain and leave me gasping for air.
I knew that my asshole of a teammate had something to do with this, but I was loathe to do anything against him. He scared me, as much as I hated to admit it. He was powerful, he knew it and so did I. He...had control of me. He would probably kill me without another thought if I decided to go against him. He had a temper, though if you didn't know what to look for you'd miss it.
He was the kind of person I wanted to be, to be able to kill Itachi I would need every edge I could get. And being emotionless like him would help, it would help alot. I needed him to show me what to do.
I would make him show me what to do.
He needed to understand that I was superior to him because I was working towards something.
I was an avenger!
:::
Ha, I just had a bit of a naughty thought concerning Karasu's rogue arm. Of course, it was not rogue, not really. I would never allow that. Granted, I was not the one currently in control of said arm, no, I had sealed Dai inside on a whim earlier. What little consciousness was left in him after his encounter with my tenant was apparently very afraid of enclosed spaces now.
Amusing to say the least, which was why I had done it. Karasu did not find it amusing, of course, he had a multitude of other things on his mind according to my tenant.
Pfft, superior to me?
When buffalo fly and start speaking in Russian tongues.
"Alright you little cheating punks! Time for the second exam! Get off your asses and follow me!" a familiar voice states roughly as I start paying attention again. Oh, Anko-san was here. Hm, I had not known she was the proctor for the second exam, how interesting,
I fall in step beside Karasu and Momoiro.
He looks annoyed, as always, but I know what he is really thinking. When he asked, I would acquiecse. If only to see how much I could influence him. I could honestly say that I had little use for him as a person. He was simply one of many means to an end. Granted, that applied to the majority of Konoha with the exception of Sarutobi, Anko, and Konohamaru.
And Konohamaru was only useful because he was my apprentice. I found it amazing what he could retain once I'd released the blocks on his mind. The boy's potential...it was exsquisite.
Momoiro looks worried. Hm, with good reason, though she did not realize it. I did not know if the imprinting would kill her or not. Luckily, I had a replacement just in case I failed and still had need for her as a teammate.
:::
Before I knew it we were in the Forest of Death. Anko had talked to me the entire time she was briefing the others. No, not with actual speech. Foolish that you would think so. We had a way of communicating through hand-gestures and subtle body language like most ninja in the village that spent a lot of time together. Keep in mind that I've been living with her since I was six.
Essentially she told me that she cared for me and to be careful. I replied in kind, telling her that being afraid would get her nowhere. She was a bit shocked, but invited me to dinner after the second exam was finished.
I accepted.
Admittedly her efforts to keep me from 'becoming evil' as my tenant says, are futile, but I will give her that peace of mind. Only because she means enough to me.
:::
Without a doubt I assuredly detest snakes with more vigour than I have ever detested anything before today.
Being eaten, while attempting to take a piss mind you, will do that to a person. Luckily I had my sword, too bad it was a summoned creature.
I would have skewered and eaten it for its transgressions.
I wipe off my sword before setting out.
There were two people that I knew of that could summon snakes.
The latter 'might' survive our upcoming encounter.
Might.
Notes of The Footed Kind
1. Null
2. Void
Anaki: I hate school. :(
RC16: Yeah, makes our updates go kerplunk! Right into the toilet.
Anaki: Or makes 'em shorter.
RC16: That too.
Anaki: Not really in the mood for commentary.
RC16: -snores-
RC17: Review peeples.