Mine Alone
A Yang Production
The smell of burnt hair hung heavily in the air. Every few seconds sparks burst out in a feeble attempt to live again. Broken bowls were scattered everywhere. People surrounded the area as the Hokage looked around. Her foot made contact with something. Bending down the sun reflected off the jagged edge of the broken mask. Little whisker marks were etched in the cheek area.
" I want this place taped off! No one can enter unless they have my seal!" The guards nodded. Her fingers touched the delicate material and it crumbled to the earth from which it came from.
Dust to dust…
Ashes to ashes…
The words echoed in her mind. Flashes of the victims passed through her like sand in a hour glass…they were there for a second or two but surely as time moves, they left. Once they were human, able to move and be touched and held, but now you can't see them anymore. You can't hold the moving air. You can't touch that which is no longer there.
" If it cost me my life, I will kill you myself! I don't want to lose any one else from this village."
On the other side, Naruto sat underneath an cherry tree, his head hung in disgrace. There were scrapes on his precious face, his knuckles raw from beating a tree that now lay splintered. Shuffle of feet reached his ears and he jumped to attention. Rocks were heading towards him, some reaching the target.
" DEMON!" So younger kid called out.
" It's your fault Iruka-sensei died!" An academy student called.
" Why didn't you die instead?" Two kids cried out.
" YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED INSTEAD OF THEM!" The rocks became bigger and heavier. Naruto did all he could to shield himself but the truth hurt so much more than those rocks. Tiny needle like feet crawled over him, blackness engulfed him, and the rocks had stopped.
" What are children like you doing out here without and adult?" A calm and collected voice asked. " You kids better hurry home, my bugs might get hungry." In Naruto's mind something clicked. SHINO!
" You don't scare us…watch your back or we'll get you too!" The children scampered off. Light reached Naruto's eyes as the shield vanished into Shino's sleeve.
" Don't be caught off guard Naruto. You might get far worse injuries." Shino held out some gauze from the Mini First Aid kit that he dragged with him. " I'm surprised that you didn't just strike some pose and scare them off." This got a smile in response. " What has happened to you lately? Are you really gonna listen to those kids and drown in your depression?"
" It's true…"
" What is?"
" I killed them, I killed everyone of them. I don't deserve to live anymore. If I had died instead of them, then everyone would be so much happier. If I had died then no one would have to stare at me with those cold eyes. If I was dead then no one would suffer! IF I WAS DEAD-"
SLAP!
Shino's hand stung after making contact with Naruto's face. " Don't you say that. You couldn't help it. You didn't know that they would have died. If they could see you now they would beat the living crap out of you. I know right now I want to." Bugs crawled froth threatenly.
" Shino, stay away…I kill everyone I touch."
" Naruto…we all die someday…some more curler than others. But I'm gonna fight this with everything I have. I'm going to confess something to you that I have never told anyone else. I loved Sakura."
" NANI?"
" Yes. Now, I want to avenge her death."
" But they killed Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei! You can't stand against them!"
" Like I said, I'm going to fight them with everything I got. Even if I have to dip these hands into a friends blood. Naruto, be careful with who you make contact with. Someone you think of as a friend is going to betray you." At this Shino lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned closer to Naruto. " I figured out everything. I should have know from the start. Be careful. They are just starting, they are mentally unstable. If we don't stop them…they will kill you."
" Wh-what are you talking about Shino?"
" Just like I said Naruto. Come on, we need to get you home. Stay at home." As he dragged Naruto behind him, a pale figure clad in black with a little paper fan leaned against a tree in support. Cold eyes narrowed. Their lips moved but no one could hear what they were saying.
He had dragged my precious Naruto far enough. My body moved awkwardly with each step that I took.
" ACHOO!"
" Are you sick Naruto?"
" No…at least I hope not. How is Hinata? She came down with a fever I heard. Sasuke was the first one that got whatever is going around. He's still sick and down with a fever also."
" To be truthful, I have gone. With that fever, I could get it."
Forgive me for attacking in such a horrid state. I silently prayed while lifting two fingers to my newly made mask. The earth shook violently, splitting and opening, separating the two friends from each other. I winced as my elevated fever grabbed hold of me. I have to focus, FOCUS. Two earth dragons burst out the ground, catching both by surprise.
" Naruto! Get out of here. Alert the Hokage. Tell them that- " My hand clamped tightly over their mouth.
" Not another word…" I felt the paper underneath my hand wrap tightly around his mouth, sealing his words in his mouth. Only upon death would it ever come off. " I can't have you spoiling my fun now." Before I knew it, I was on my hands and knees, my fever gripping my body again.
" What the hell did you put on him!" He strained to pull off the seal that I placed on Shino. " Tell me and I won't kill you!"
" Kill me? Naruto-kun…you always were the joker. How can you kill me? I'm already dead…but I can live if you want me to."
" Wh-what?"
" Isn't it great? They won't hurt you anymore. Their words won't slice through you, their words are silence. They are dead." My hands were outstretched and they were dripping with bright red blood.
" Who are you talking abou-NO!" All color had drained from his face. Images of children taunting him with rocks and words appeared. " THEY WERE JUST KIDS!"
" But they hurt you!" I walked slowly towards them. Shino, noticing that I was staggering, rushed forward. " STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" My dragons roared as they tackled him and bound him. " Naruto…they hurt you. I can't see the scars but I know they are there. Inside. Your spirit is breaking." I gently touched his cheek. He felt so nice and cool compared to me. " Why don't you come with me? I can take you some place safe, somewhere warm and comforting. Don't you want someone to love you for all you are?" I took both hands in mine, covering them in the blood. " You killed them Naruto. You made me kill them. I heard what Shino told you earlier. Don't you believe him." I leaned forward and whispered something to him.
I'm so sorry Naruto. You must leave this village. I will destroy it. I will burn it to the ground. All in your name because you are my will…you are my reason to live.
Something came between us. A wall built from bugs. At the sight of them my head burst with pain. The sickness that kept so many in bed at the moment had made me one of it's victims. But I could still beat Shino and his bugs. First though, I must regain my sense of balance.
" Still trying to fight for a lost cause? Let me take Naruto. I will let you live." He flipped me off. " Fine!" The cloth from my cloak became covered in his filthy bugs as I shield myself. Inside, I tried to catch my breath. I couldn't keep up the dragons any longer. I heard a thud…no two. Naruto had fallen too! Kept in the darkness, I did not see Shino come at me until his fist had made contact with my face. My body was shutting down. I could barely push myself up on my arms after impacting with the ground.
" You…are good." Blood dribbled underneath my mask. " You even drew blood." Both of his hands were outstretched, palm side down, with his bugs crawling around. He was ready to let them devourer my chakra. " Shino, did you know that I always hated you? I don't care that we came from the same academy or the fact that we once fought together. I always hated you and your bugs. You could figure things out with them, uncover information that was never suppose to learned by anyone else. You know who I am. I can't let you go tell anyone." 5 thin needles slipped into my hands from my sleeves and I threw them. " You tried to send your little pets to warn the Hokage. I left her a little note to come here. You won't miss those bugs will you?" His body quivered and I knew that I had hit all 5 targets. " Now, if these bugs were to attack me like they are doing right now…" They swarmed towards me.
"…who is left to watch your back?" I whispered into his ears with spreading a powder into the air. The bugs stopped in it's tracks. Taking out a small knife, I cut my wrist, spread the blood on a blank scroll, formed my own unique hand seal and muttered the transfer justu.
" From Blood to Blood,
From Flesh to Flesh,
From Life to Life,
Transfer!"
I felt my own chakra leaving, leaving me weak. My Advance Kage Buushin had disappeared into a puff of smoke.
" Our chakra is uniquely made for ourselves only. That is why it is recommended to use the minimal amount when working in the Medicine field." Iruka-sensei said.
" But what happened when you use too much?"
" You will faint and the person that you were transferring chakra to will most likely die."
" I will not kill you like this. Your own bugs will. That powder has blocked all commands from you. The only thing the obey right now is that last command you sent them, to devour MY chakra. However if we were to compare my chakra, you will see that your entire body is bursting with it and I am not even sensed by them. Would they rather have you, bursting with the chakra that you asked them to devour or me, who is barely readable to them?" The transfer had stopped and I stood shakily. The swarm of his faithful bugs descended on him. In vain he tried to control them but they could not understand his command, this only agitated them even more. They blinded him, and began to eat at him.
I jerked forward and hacked up blood. I had used to much chakra.
" SHINO-SAN!" Oh crap. The Hokage got here earlier than I had expected her to. Her face was filled with rage as she tried to land a punch on me. Moving slowly, I made my way to where Naruto was. A paper fluttered down to where I was, the Silence Parchment. It burst into green flames and scattered itself to the four winds, taking with it the truth.
" The sound of silence is the best." I turned to the Hokage with a limp Naruto in my arms. " You never have to hear those children mocking Naruto and you Hokage-sama have the pleasure of having to figure out who I am by yourself. Shino was smart…he knew. He must have figure it out by the time Shika had been killed. He must have doubted. He must have wished he was wrong. He must have wanted the truth to be purged from his memory. I granted him that and now I have silenced him. Choji, he too was figuring it out...but he was not as fast as Shino. Shino was plotting to turn me in when he could get the proof. Now, I will vanish Hokage. I will be taking Naruto with me. He doesn't deserve to be treated as a demon. Can't you all see him as the angel he is? Don't you see that halo?"
" You sick bastard!"
" Thank you. I know that you want to kill me. I can see it in your eyes. But what if you hurt Naruto? Do you want to risk hurting you successor? He would have made a fine Hokage."
" He still will!" Sand surrounded me and bound me. A soft mound caught Naruto as he fell from my arms.
" Hello Gaara, Temari, Kankuro. What brings you here?" I knew the trade mark sand of the One Tailed Demon. I didn't need eyes in the back of my head to know who it was.
" I have come to add your blood to my sand." Gaara held out his hand and squeezed just a bit more. " Hello Hokage. Do you want to kill them or should I?"
" This is for everyone that you killed. For all the blood that had to be spilled." Her ever famous punch had caught me squarely in the stomach. I flopped forward…
And laughed. I let out a amused laugh.
" Oh Hokage, you kill me. Do you really believe I would let my real self be caught? I must thank Choji-san for what he gave me. It really helped boost my chakra. But I am still weak from the sickness." Clumps of dirt fell to the ground as the Hokage yanked her hand from the gaping hole she had inflicted upon the mound of earth. I had fled and left a simple earth clone.
" Shino…keep my secret as you kept my others in death. You were a good friend." I smiled while holding his head in my lap. "How swift is death on her wings. She comes and steal their last breath. Good-bye Shino, you freaky bug lover." BOOM. Earth and blood mixed together and rained upon the five that were present. I would not be foolish enough to ACUTALLY send myself into that suicide killing. Now there were no traces of Shino for them to examine and extract any information. In the village 7 other separate explosions took place, whole families killed. I had not touched the children, I only paid them a visit and left them a present.
The Sand Trio and the Hokage hurried to put out the fires and to get Naruto to his home under the Trio's protection. What they had not expected was what would come the following morning. They could try all they want but I will get Naruto away from the village and for that, I had placed a special seal on him that required red ink. That was what was stained on my hand. RED INK. Not blood, ink. Tonight (which was really only 2 hours) Naruto will dream nothing, but come morning…the nightmares will begin and they can not enter unless they would like to kill Naruto themselves.
All feeling left him, he drifted in the sea of black. Suddenly a light called him forward and he found himself in a field that stretched for miles. Blues skies with soft cotton candy clouds were above him, a warm sun hanging brightly in the sky.
" Wh-where am I?"
" Naruto! You jerk! That was my favorite ribbon! Now I won't be able to look nice for Sasuke!"
" It's always Sasuke! He's just a spoiled snob!"
" Don't you say that! Get out of here you filthy demon." A pain flared in his chest at the words.
" Demon!"
" Bastard!"
" You never should have been born!"
" I wish you were dead!"
" Do us a favor and kill yourself!"
" Get out of here! I don't serve kids like you!"
" I'll kill you myself!"
" Just die!"
They words echoed and blurred together as the pain increased. A sobbing sound became clear to him and he saw himself. There was a group of older kids chasing him and taunting him. The kids vanished but the Naruto ran right up to his counter part. " Don't let them hurt me!" He cried as he hid behind Naruto. Shikamaru, Choji, Sakura, Ino, Shino, Kakashi, and Iruka walked up to the two, pulled Dream Naruto away from Real Naruto and began to beat him.
" You killed us! Why did we have to die instead of you? WHY! We had so much to live for!"
Shikamaru stepped forward with a whip in hand. The tips were sprinkled with broken glass. An insane look was placed on his face. " I had so much to live for. You took it all away from me." 5 times he brought down the whip. " You stole Ino from me!"
" Naruto, there was so much food I had yet to eat!" Choji slammed Naruto against an invisible wall. Needles appeared in his hands and he threw them at Naruto. " I had a life!"
" I will never be able to impress Sasuke again and it's your fault!" Sakura drew out a long Samurai sword and tore at Naruto, leaving him with long crimson ribbons on his body. " I hate you!"
" Shikamaru and I were suppose to get together and get married!" She held a giant shuriken in both hands. Dream Naruto couldn't even move to defend himself as they came his way. Both embedded themselves into his side. " NOW WE NEVER WILL!"
Bugs crawled on his body and began to devour his chakra. " I loved Sakura and did something to avenge her death! YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! WORSE YOU KILLED ME!" The Dream version of himself struggled to get up on his hands and knees.
Kakashi and Iruka walked over to where he, his other false self, was. Both reached for him, stood him up and punched him first in the face then in the stomach. " We wanted to live happily together. Now look at us!"
" DIE!"
" DEMON!"
" BASTARD!"
"KILL YOURSELF!"
" JUMP OFF SOME BUILDING!"
Each word made the pain the real Naruto's chest grow stronger. His breath was shallow and his blood pooled at his feet.
" Why won't you help me?" His dream self asked while reaching out to him. " Save us from this hell!"
" DIE!" Everyone joined in to kill him. They turned to wild animals and tore him limb from limb. Naruto grabbed his sides as the pain increased. As he lay dieing someone walked up to him, picked him up and set him on his own two feet. Instantly the pain was gone and he was in a lush forest.
" Stay here with me Naruto. I will protect you." A voice calmly told him.
" Is this heaven?"
" On earth. This is a place were we can be together." His eyes felt heavy and he let them close.
" Why do you care for me? I'm a demon."
" You are my reason to live."
The Hokage walked into Naruto's home looked at Temari, Kankuro and Gaara as they were trying to keep Naruto's fever down.
" How is he?"
" We don't know, we just got him to calm down, he had a horrible seizure." Temari replaced the towel on his forehead.
" What happened to him?"
" He is mine." A raven perched on the window still replied.
" YOU! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you!"
" Because he is awake."
Naruto sat up in bed and slowly opened his eyes. The blue that they all had expected was not there, they were a clouded grey. His mouth opened.
" Who are you people?"
Yang-chan: GOMEN! (deep bow) Please accept this extra long chapter as an apology. I was sick and had school and had life pile up on me so fast! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY! DO NOT THINK LESS OF ME! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
Ferret: Excuse Yang-chan. This is her 5th week without coffee or caffeinated drinks. Please Review. Thank you.Oh, the Samurai in the title of the this Chapter...Shino is the name of a Samurai in a book...which we are too lazy or too withdrawn to look it up. So sorry!