Chapter thirty three- Together, we are the broken ones

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Warning: Swear words were sprinkled in this chapter

Naruto sighed for the fifteenth time and Takao growled under his breath. After the Leader's startling revelation, the first trial of their alleged partnership had begun. Takao, who decided that he wanted to nap, led Naruto to a sunny patch in the bamboo trees, far away from the crowded clearing. He opened his eyes and looked at the human who was already bored. Humph. It wasn't his fault that the idiot had the attention span of a child. He closed his eyes again, but he couldn't help but reopen them once more, as Naruto started to hum. "What is that song?" he found himself asking.

"It's something my grandfather sang to me when I couldn't sleep" Naruto replied and he could see the curiosity in Takao's eyes. The large tiger grunted when he saw the amusement in Naruto's. He lay back down and in a few minutes, he fell asleep.

Naruto sighed again and looked at the dead, brown bamboo leaves all around them. Maybe he could take the time and actually try to meditate again. He closed his eyes and crossed his legs like the scroll had directed him to. He was already in a forest, so he found himself visualizing himself standing directly where he was. He steadied his breathing and emptied his mind like the scroll suggested. The lukewarm rays patted his skin and a stationary silence layered the air around him, effectively drawing him into a lull.

Then, he felt like something was wrenching at his psyche and before he knew it, he was in that dark, water logged place with golden walls. Those black waters soaked into his trench coat and his pants as he stood motionless for awhile, afraid to even breathe. Those red eyes were somewhere down the hall. He gripped onto one of the walls, and he shivered. The wall was even colder than the water itself.

"Naruto" a voice cried out from the darkness, and the unknown specter was back. He was going to run, like he did last time, when something grabbed his hair. He yelped and he felt with a dreadful desperation, as whatever it was, dragged him, face first into the water. The thing was trying to drown him. Water seeped into his nose, his eyes, his ears, in every nook and crevice on his face. He spluttered violently, but no matter what he did, the thing kept pushing him under. "You're so pathetic, Naruto. Always crying and playing the victim. You want people to feel sorry for you, right?"the thing hissed, with a low guttural voice. Naruto screamed but that only helped the water to enter his lungs even faster. The loss of oxygen made his head light. "But deep within your little weak heart, you want to hurt them like they've hurt you. I know it, I can see it. That's why you're so scared, so wary of the people around you. You've got darkness in you and it has nothing to do with the Kyubi" it continued. Naruto knew that he was losing himself to the watery death, when the thing's grip loosened. With a low pant, and gurgle, Naruto could breathe again. But this time, he was back in the bamboo forest with Takao, the tiger was gaping at his wet clothes. Naruto couldn't say anything, as he coughed up what felt like gallons of water.

Takao watched the human as he threw up. He couldn't believe it. One minute, he was blissfully asleep, when the next thing he knew, he heard something like a gargle. He immediately woke up, only to see Naruto with his head face down on the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" Takao growled but the hostility vanished, as he sniffed the air. When he looked at Naruto's clothes, they were soaking wet. What the hell? He got closer, to see that the human was actually drowning, like there was water around them. He nudged the blonde but no matter what he did, he wouldn't wake up. Even though he would never admit it, he was getting worried. "Naruto, get the hell up!" he shouted and with that, whatever spell the blonde was under, broke.

No one said a thing, even after Naruto had managed to get all the water out of his system. He was shivering, not from the cold but from fright. What happened to him? Where was that place? The seal, a voice offered up and he hugged himself tighter. So if that was the seal, why was something trying to kill him? Was it the Kyubi? No, the voice added again and he frowned. What the fuck was happening to him? Was he going mad now? He asked himself. However unlike before, the voice didn't offer up any words of wisdom so he let it go. He didn't even register when Takao dropped himself behind him. Naruto was going to say something when the tiger stopped him. "Just shut up" Takao barked and pulled the blonde closer to his side. The warmth of the beating heart, seemed to calm his nerves, but the anxiety wouldn't leave him. Whatever was in the seal, had tried to kill him. Flat out, kill him and the thing nearly succeeded. He wanted to cry, when he remembered what the thing had told him. He gnawed at his lower lip and held in the tears. "Oi, you okay?" Takao asked and Naruto just nodded. Naruto drew his knees to his chest, and allowed the rays to dry him up. "What the hell happened?" Takao asked but Naruto wouldn't even look at him.

"Just forget it" Naruto whispered, as broken as he felt. Takao knew when someone wanted to keep their own personal stuff to themselves, so he dropped it. What if that thing attacks me when I'm alone or asleep? Why was it getting much more violent? Naruto whispered to himself, and at the prospect, he found himself thinking that he would never go back to sleep again.

"What do we have here?" a gruff voice asked and they turned to the two tigers that approached them. Naruto felt when Takao stiffened but didn't comment. "Since when do you take to humans, Takao?" the tiger asked, with such maliciousness that Naruto knew was directed at the tiger behind him. Takao drew away from Naruto, and the blonde could see the shame in his eyes, when they looked at each other.

"Why are you here, Hiro?" Takao asked the tiger who just smirked as they get closer to them.

"We heard from the Leader about your partnership with the new summoner" the newly dubbed Hiro said. "Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun" the tiger added with fake enthusiasm and kindness. Naruto had seen so much of that in his short span of life that he could recognize it from a mile away.

"Same" Naruto replied nonetheless, like he had always done, though he wore a practiced calm look on his face that seemed to surprise Takao.

"I have to say, Naruto-kun. You've got some rotten luck, being partnered up with someone like Takao" Hiro said and his friend smirked in return. Takao growled but remained where he was. Naruto shot Hiro a look as blank as his face.

"Hiro's right. Takao is broken" the friend said and for a spilt second, Naruto's mask broke, just enough to reveal something akin to shock.

"Shut the fuck up" Takao hissed and Naruto could feel the palpable hurt from the tiger who seemed to be wounded by the assault of words. Hiro laughed, and Naruto's gaze turned hard. Hiro reminded him of the villagers in Konoha.

"You're partners now, Takao. Naruto-kun should know about your past. About what happened so many years ago" Hiro said his voice as ugly as the expression on his face.

"Actually, if he doesn't want me to know, I'm fine with that" Naruto said and now, it was Hiro's turn to be surprised. "We all have our secrets that we want to keep buried" he added and Takao glanced at him.

"Oh, is that so?" Hiro asked, with his malice turned to Naruto. "It's seems like you two are a perfect pair then" he added, the words unspoken hung in the air. After all, those who are broken belong together. Hiro laughed and with that, the two tigers left.

Takao sat back down, the anger had already left his veins. He looked at the human who sat far away from him, trying to dry himself. "You didn't have to back me up" Takao said but Naruto didn't respond.

"I didn't do it for you" the blonde finally said, when he could make sense of his thoughts once more. "I did it for me" he added.

"Because you want to keep your own secrets hidden" Takao spoke and Naruto just nodded.

"My problems are my own" Naruto said and Takao couldn't help but look at the boy. For a minute, he could see what his mother saw, when he told her the same thing. A broken shell.

"That's fine with me" Takao said and they sat like that for awhile, until he broke it. "So how are we going to pass this first trail?" he asked.

"I don't know" Naruto confessed and looked at some of the bamboos swaying in the wind.

"I'm sorry" Takao said and Naruto looked at him with a detached expression, something that rattled something inside the tiger.

"For what?" he asked, still thinking about the thing. Was it inside the seal right now? He questioned. It was more than scary to find out, that was there was something lurking about, ready to kill you without a notice.

"For saying those mean things at you in the dojo" Takao said and Naruto found himself, snapping out of the haziness.

"Oh" was all the blonde could muster. "I'm sorry too" he added and Takao just grunted at him.

"Kami, we're crappy at this whole bonding thing, huh?" Takao commented, after another silence drifted between the two. Naruto snorted.

"More than crappy" Naruto said and blinked when Takao chuckled. "Huh" he added and Takao narrowed his eyes at him.

"Huh, what?" Takao asked with every ounce of hostility he felt.

"That was the first time, you weren't ready to bite my head off" Naruto said and Takao just looked away.

"It's not easy, especially when you're so obnoxious" Takao said but Naruto just flipped his middle finger in the air. Takao smirked at him.

"Whatever, it's not you're a rose yourself" Naruto said with a smile on his face. Takao didn't even react to his comment with his usual resentment. He just chuckled. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, the both thought in that moment.

The next chapter: Land of Waves and how Naruto deals with the deadly presence in his mind.