Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter
Beta: Devoid Black, Linux-Ginny
Trigger warning: Torture.
A/N: Not overly dark, IMO. But if you are not in the frame of mind/ triggered by this, you might want to skip onto the next chapter (I will give a brief summary of this chapter in the next one)
Chapter 7: Irusu
Irusu (Japanese) (n): pretending to be out when someone knocks at your door
'Overcome the waves,
go through every storm you face,
armed with grit and grace.'
-R.C. Man-on
There was a coarse and grey brick wall not even two feet away from him, the expanse of it as drab and mundane as the rest of the room, with a patch of green outgrowth that contaminated the corner. Eight hundred and sixty-four. Tom groaned, holding his temples in agony as he tried to stave off the intense headache he was being subjected to. How did he get here?
Tom reflected on the past week with a grimace. He dipped into his mindscape to make sure he did not miss anything. Right. It began innocently enough.
Jiraiya had allowed Tom to piggy-back on him for the entire journey. It was exactly as tedious and uncomfortable as it sounded, not to mention mortifying and absolutely humiliating. Even the Kaguya child kept pace with the Shinobi without losing sweat and there he was… being carried like a child. The pace was demanding and if it were anyone else, he would wonder why they were was not like he actually did anything. But sitting in an odd position for days on end caused his muscles to cramp and eventually atrophy, and the nutrition bar he was given tasted worse than dirt. He longed for a hot meal and a long shower. No doubt if he were given autonomy, the journey would have taken a couple of weeks or more.
Before he knew it, they had arrived at large red gates after bounding on top of the tangled branches of huge trees.
"I'll sign in for us and catch up in a minute," Sakumo spoke, scrawling something at the guard's desk. Tom was given mere seconds to take in the lively village of people and a cliff with faces carved into it in the distance before he was whisked away, yet again in a blur, to be deposited unceremoniously in an official looking rectangular room lined with windows to overlook the village. Aren't those windows a security issue? He stumbled like a fawn to get his footing, the circulation in his legs completely cut off by then. He looked up cautiously.
The four of them stood at the desk of an older man who was in a red and white triangular hat that had cloth covering his head on three sides. He looked to be around 40, maybe more, maybe less; the beginnings of worry lines and liver warts lined his face. Behind him stood a tan man with a spiky ponytail and he looked like… a spiky tropical fruit, the name of which escaped him. Pineapple? Oh yes! Pineapples. He looked at the man dazedly, but he did not look at the man long for he was not allowed to. His attention was drawn to the man behind the desk in white robes.
"Welcome… To the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Kaguya-san..Voldemo-san…," The man, who could only be the Hokage, spoke slowly. His entire mien screamed of power and wisdom and a small voice in his lizard brain grappled to get an even footing.
Tom and Kimimaro stepped forward slightly so that Jiraiya and Orochimaru stood behind them and bowed. "Thank you for taking care of us."
The man in question gave them a piercing look and the weight of his chakra was heavy in the room. It did not seem like a danger, more of a warning, and his hind brain begged him to submit. Submit. Submit!
Tom locked his knees in place and stood tall.
"You understand," The Hokage said casually, as he meticulously began filling tobacco into a pipe. "that this is my we invite refugees and assets to come and reside here with open arms, we definitely aren't stupid about it. Tell me Voldemo-san, why did you accept the invitation?"
It occurred to Tom that this man was probably the most dangerous he had met yet; a ruler looking after his subjects, and he would not be given any quarter if it turned out he was a threat. A reckless sort of abandon took over him when he realized he could only play along. Should have followed Herpo's teaching when I could.
"May I?" Tom asked, gesturing at the pipe and the Shinobi in the room tensed. The Hokage's eyes shuttered as he gave Tom an assessing look. He nodded, head barely moving. Then under the scrutiny of all the ninja present, he waved his hand and a tiny fire burned the tobacco in the pipe.
"Incredible," the Hokage muttered and took a long and deep drag, pinning Tom with his gaze. He breathed out a plume of smoke leisurely and the pressure mounted.
"You know what's going to happen next, don't you?"
"Of course," Tom gave his most charming smile. "It is what I would do in your place."
There was a tiny quirk of his lips before he turned grave. "Take them!" he ordered.
Eight hundred and sixty-four...
That was the number of bricks on the wall in front of him. It had been a week since he had been thrown into a drab but surprisingly well-maintained prison. They had taken his wand, of course. He had prepared himself for torture; and even though he had not faced it before, he was comforted with the fact that he could retreat to his mind cave when it happened. Instead, and (he would be honest) to his utter amazement, he was subjected to legilimency. Mind walking, they called it.
Every day, a blonde man with a high ponytail would subject him to hours of legilimency. He did not know how long those sessions lasted, he had not seen the light of day in a week and in here, time was a construct. Fortunately, Tom was an excellent occlumence, because of which not a single thought slipped through his barriers. He likened his defense to a fort like that of Hogwarts, and without prior knowledge, no one could transverse it. Unfortunately for him, he could not make up false memories to fool his interrogator either. In any other scenario, he would have overlaid his loosest defense with benign memories so that they would consider him harmless and stop the probe. In this case, however… He had reached Japan in the midst of the war. Tom had little to no information on their schooling systems or their everyday lives. If his memories were leaked, they would gain the knowledge that far, far away did not even begin to encompass just how far away his homeland was.
So, there he was, pushing the heel of his palm into his eyes to stave off the pounding migraine he had been having since the past three days.
The door to his prison clanged open and Tom squinted into the light streaming in.
"Come."
He got up and followed his guard down to the same room he would always go to. Five doors to the right, two lefts, one right, eighth door to the left. This was routine, then.
"Good Morning, Voldemo san." Blondie attached his magic suppressing shackles to the metal desk between them. "How are you today?"
Tom glared at him, balefully. The man knew well of the pain behind his eyes… after all, he was the one who caused it.Always with the small talk, but he could not complain; the more the small talk, the less the mindwalking.
Blondie chuckled. "Now, now, no need to give me that that look. You could just show me what you are hiding instead, that would make things easier, wouldn't it?"
It would. It really would. It was a miracle that they had not progressed to physical torture yet. He did not want to show Blondie his thoughts. He jealously guarded his mind and any advantage he had.
"You know you'll have to show me something," the man sighed. "We need to be able to trust you."
"Mind-raping me doesn't exactly embody trust, Shinobi-san," Tom sneered.
"No, it does not," Blondie grimaced. Tom almost laughed aloud at his naivety. He subjected his followers to routine legilimency, after all. Just because he understood it, did not mean he had to like it. I would kill for a hot shower right now.
"All right,"Blondie said exasperatedly. "Let's begin."
Alarms blared at the intrusion in his head, gongs churning like a church bells. Blondie had aborted his subtle maneuvering and was attacking his mindscape brutally and with zero finesse. Tom laughed as tears ran down his face.
In the end, he did not know if it was the tiredness, the pain in his head or stress that did it.
Boxes piled on boxes in a musty and cramped store. A ray of light from a high window illuminates him in a perfect spotlight. A tape flutters enthusiastically around him, as the does the mousy, pale eyed man behind the counter…
"Oh no. I don't think. but no, you must at least try… give it a wave… 13½" long, crafted from yew, and affixed with a phoenix feather core… try it Mr. Riddle" He pushes it at him with renewed excitement. The 2 dozen discarded boxes in front of them suggests they have been doing this for a while now.
Tom's hand moves on it's on accord, inching towards a beautifully carved white stick like he was being called by the sirens. He picks the wand with an eager anticipation and waves it gingerly.
An odd combination of playful black and green smoke swirls around him and he breaths in sharply, eyes shone bright, completely unaccustomed to what he is feeling. It is like being reconnected to a broken limb, like the stars in the night, like Mr. Snake terrifying the children.
Euphoria.
The man behind the desk begins to clap ecstatically, "Oh bravo, Mr. Riddle! Bravo!"
Memories swirled around him, chaotic and disturbed. Tom pushed at the intrusion. 'No more!'
It was in vain.
A classroom, a diminutive professor standing on top of a pile of books.
"Now children, begin practicing!"
A flurry of wand movements aimed towards a stack of pillows in the distance.
"Accio Purple Pillow!"
Tom executes the spell flawlessly. Nott however, has no such luck.
"Ack!" he yells as a cup from the desk hits his face, the Slytherins around him snicker at his misfortune.
"Oh dear! Would you like to go to the infirmary Mr. Nott," Professor Flitwick flutters around him, worriedly. Tom decides to graciously step in.
"I've got it Professor Flitwick" Tom says genially. "Doesn't look like he hurt himself too bad…Episkey" he intones and Nott's nose cracks back into place making him yelp. "There you go Nott!" Tom says with a smirk and his classmates break into another fit of giggles.
The memory swirled yet again, million others flying past, just out of reach.
"STOP!" Tom yelled. All the memories stopped, and Tom could vaguely see Blondie's outline, searching. Always searching. His presence felt almost physical in his mindscape.
"Get. Out." He gritted. Blondie was thrown out of his head panting in his chair.
"Well, that went better than I thought it would," Blondie mused. "What is that language?"
Tom froze. Ice crept in his veins and he felt utterly stupid at losing control like that.
"No?" Blondie asked, amused. "No worries, this is more progress than we had all week. In fact, you can have the day off, for a job well done."
Tom almost growled. There was no way in hell he would let this man go without a fight. He had not tried to escape from his cuffs up until this point. He quickly surfed through his options. A wandless and wordless Alohomora, and Blondie was none the wiser.
He looked at the man and waved his hand casting the most powerful confundus he could.
He watched as Blondie tripped over his feet and silently reattached his cuffs.
Blondie walked to the door "Take him back," he ordered the guard standing outside, and so Tom ambled back slowly to cell. He gave a small mental sigh of relief. He did not know what made him break like that, but he did suspect some sort of foul play. He was eternally thankful his little gamble paid off. At this point, it was simply a waiting game… If he could gather the patience to wait this out, then the payoff was immense. He could not let the Shinobi break him and gather information. They would have to let him go at some point, and then. Then he would strike a bargain that would suit him. Tom smiled, satisfied, though his head pounded worse than ever. He would sleep now, and tomorrow would be a new day.
When he woke the next day, he had an odd premonition. Which made no sense since things were definitely looking up now. A quick clean and dry meal later and he was back to counting the bricks on the wall. He scratched the scruff growing on his face. How soon would they crack? Not much longer, Tom presumed. Things were going nicely.
When the guard arrived to fetch him, he went along amicably enough, going as far to smile at him.
It was only when he started walking a path different from what he was used to, that he began to feel uneasy.
"Shinobi-san," he called. "Where are we going?"
Of course, the idiot would not answer.
It was 10 minutes and two floors later that he arrived in another metal room with some amount of trepidation. He sat there with shackles on the desk in front of him facing what looked to be a two-way mirror, thinking hard.
Before he could come to anything conclusive, the door opened, and Blondie walked in with a frown on his face.
"Ah, Voldemo-san," He said stonily, crossing his arms over his chest. "I must say you've disappointed me. For quite a while I believed you would be willing to cooperate, even if you were unwilling to share information. Your stunt yesterday however, changes things. Yuhei!" He called out and another bulky man walked in setting down a package in front of him.
Tom on looked expressionlessly, even as his thoughts raced.
"How did you know?" He asked finally, mostly out of curiosity.
"We Shinobi are a paranoid bunch, Voldemo-san," Blondie's mouth tightened into a humorless smile. "It's best you remember that. It is rare that a person is permitted to learn from this lesson. All mindwalks are followed with one to the investigator, to make sure he is not compromised." Blondie shrugged. "You're just out of luck."
That was quite smart, Tom mused. Paranoia was definitely good for one's mortality and this was not a lesson he would forget anytime soon. The man, Yuhei, began unrolling his equipment.
"Well that's that then. I'll leave you in Yuhei's capable hands now." Blondie hesitated at the door. "For your own sake I hope you tell us what you know. The Hokage does want an amicable relationship with you. We only want to ascertain your loyalty and threat level."
Tom scoffed. He would take what they dished out without any complaints. He made an error, and this was the price. He eyed the sharp equipment in the cloth and Yuhei gave him a chilling smile.
"Hmm… it's been a while since I had something new to play with," the man said guilelessly. His voice was a soft, ever modulated to a perfect pitch, ready to coax and cajole truths out of him. "Let us start with basics, shall we? Name, Age, Rank and Loyalty. In that order."
Tom stared at him for a moment before he sighed tiredly.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle, 16 years, Student, No loyalty."
Yuhei paused. "Tor mi valo what?"
"Tom Marvolo Riddle or Tom Riddle Jr is my name."
"Why did you say Voldemo then?"
"Because that's what I'm called."
"Why?" he asked curiously, head tilting to the side like a bird.
"My reasons are my own. Also, because the natives here can pronounce it without any difficulty."
Yuhei gave him a once over. "You are telling the truth."
"I have no reason to lie." Tom shrugged.
"Hmm. Is that so? Why are you keeping secrets then?"
Tom was not sure why they had not asked these questions before, when he could have simply answered them.
"Knowledge is Power. I have no intent to harm your village."
"So you say." Came the whisper, he gently strapped his hands on the handles. "Are you comfortable?"
Tom looked at him incredulously. "Hmm. you don't need to see now do you, young Voldemo-san." He was blindfolded and the feeling of cold metal trailed goosebumps on his arms.
A jerk to his scalp and slap to his face so that he was baring his neck.
"I'll ask you one more time, where are you from? What are your loyalties?"
His throat was felt hoarse and he did not know if he could speak up even if he wanted to. He had tried to retreat to his mindscape, but Yehei had not liked that. He decided to take his time pulling out his fingernails in retaliation.
"Come now Voldemo-chan, I can call you that, can't I? It feels like we are so much closer now! Tell me. where are you from?"
He let out a pitiful whine. "Aw. Voldemo… don't be like that, I know you can do better that. You're such a good boy. Where are you from?" Sudden anger took over his interrogator and he smacked his head, so it slapped the back of his metal chair in rebound. Tom groaned.
"If this is how it's going to be…yes. Very well then."
Tom gurgled, unable to breathe, his lungs burning and begging for oxygen. "This. This is how I'm going to die" he thought in disbelief. He was losing unconsciousness; black covered the corners of his eyes and he gulped water accidentally. At the last possible second, he was removed, and he spat out water to take in quick panicked breaths. His chest hurt.
"Where. Are. You. From?"
He was still taking in fast breaths, his heartbeat in his throat. When he got out of here. It was not an if. When. When he got out of here, he was going to make this man's death feel like a gift from hell. Yuhei was a dead man, he just did not know it yet.
"I'm not asking again, Voldemooo. I am losing patience now. Come now buddy, it is not such a big deal is it? You can tell me where you are from. It will be our little secret! No? NO?"
Tom let out a little peal of laughter as terror washed over him.
They watched in muted silence.
"What do you think?"
"Any time now."
"Perhaps…" the initial voice spoke, hesitatingly. "Perhaps I could simply speak to him-"
He stopped at the judgmental glare he received, and pursed his lips.
The stifling silence was rent by an ear shattering scream. He slowly ambled to the door but stopped once before leaving.
"He is hiding something. Do not underestimate him."
A sigh echoed in the hollow antechamber. "Yes, I know."
The man gave a sharp nod and left him to his thoughts.
He had lost control over his muscles a while ago. A shock of lightening raced through his body and he spasmed, unable to control himself. He lost control of his bladder.
"How about now,Voldemo-chan? How about now? TALK for Kami's sake. Don't sit there like a mute idiot!"
He spasmed once more. The smell of charred flesh was still in the air.
Tom had had enough. He had a thought. A futile thought. He had thought if he would just sustain, just be patient enough to get out of this miserable little hell hole, that eventually they would have to give in and cut a deal. Either they planned to keep him here indefinitely or Shinobi had a high constitution to withstand this.
"SPEAK!" yelled Yuhei.
Tom raised his head for the first time in days.
"I'll only speak to the Hokage."
"What did you say?" Came a dangerous voice.
"I'll only speak to the Hokage." He rasped.
"And you think... he's just sitting around waiting to talk to you, do you?" Yuhei sneered.
Tom did not respond. Yuhei did not say anything for a moment or two but left, the door swinging shut with a bang behind him. Tom let out an audible sigh of relief and quickly went back to trying to enter his mindscape. With the last four days safely under lock and key for now, he did not have the strength to deal with it presently. He needed to remain alert for the upcoming conversation. He shifted through his memories rapidly, looking for clues, discarding reactions.
A guard stepped into the room. "Come." He stood to follow but his knees buckled under him and he collapsed with a thud.
"Could you remove my blindfold, Shinobi-san?" he asked politely.
"tch"
The guard half carried, half dragged him to a bath and dumped him in. "Quickly"
Tom took his time cleaning his skin –scraping, brushing, erasing- of grime, blood, sweat and other liquids he did not want to think about. He took as long as he possibly could, in the unforgivably cold water, before he was forced into generic grey robes.
They dragged him to his cell and threw him on the bed. He was out within seconds.
He wakes up to choking on something that tasted like a is someone trying to feed him
He gags on it, unable to comprehend solid food. "Water," he croaks out drinking it quickly.
"Slow down…" someone said… before he fades out.
'What an idiot…'
'stronger than we thought…?'
'….lasted too damn long…'
'…. didn't even break'
Tom pries his eyes open in muted disbelief. He turns his head...looking for him and almost blacks out because of the dizziness in his head.
He cannot see find Yuhei. He's gone? Tom wonders in disbelief.
Rage churns in his gut.
Someone throws a bowl of soup in his cell.
The next time he comes to, his head feels clearer and he can think straight. He ponders about his predicament. Tom stares at the blank bricks on the wall of his cell, fingers fluttering in habit.
He could work with this.
He would work with this.
He carefully locks his memories of his time with Yuhei in a box labeled 'DO NOT TOUCH', and then pushes that box behind an innocuous looking door in his mind.
Has it been hours? Days? They've miscalculated.
The door banged open. "Eat up" It is broth this time.
"The Hokage will see you tomorrow."
Finally.
He was brought into the Hokage's office sometime in the middle of day the next day.
He stood staring down at the seated man. Finally, the Hokage spoke.
"Voldemo-san… I'm told you wanted to speak to me?"
A slow cruel smile crept on Tom's face. "Won't you ask me to sit, Hokage-san?"
The Hokage stilled and so did the shadows behind him at the blatant disrespect.
"Yes, by all means… have a seat." Tom walked a few steps forwards, hands still bound in chakra concealing chains and sat down regally, as if he owned the world.
"Hmm… is this how you normally treat potential allies?" Tom asked the Hokage, whose eyes were shuttered.
"It was for our safe-"
"Ah yes…" Tom interrupted thoughtfully. "Safety. A fascinating concept. I suggest you bring Blondie here, lose your guards and make sure we aren't overheard."
"You can't just make demands-"
"You will find that I can, and I will. You see, you are under the rather unfortunate impression that I am here as a prisoner of your state and not by free will. I would like to correct that." Tom smiled benevolently. "In addition, what I am going to divulge is rather dangerous and I would like to contain it as much as possible."
The Hokage's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Owl."
In a flash, a masked Shinobi with a blank mask with only lines to depict a bird of some kind- an owl presumably, knelt at the Hokage's feet.
"Bring me Nara Yoroi and Yamanaka Inoki immediately." The Shinobi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"I only asked for Blondie."
"You will find that I have little patience for demands Voldemo-san." The Hokage's smile could cut steel. "Nevertheless, I find myself curious and willing to indulge your requests."
"Ah."
No words were spoken until the Shinobi arrived. "You called for us, Hokage-sama?"
"Aa, come sit, we have matters to discuss," the Hokage spoke looking like he was, for all anyone could tell, describing the weather. He made quick motions with his hands. The shadows bristled.
"ANBU. Leave." The Hokage spoke with authority and the shadows disappeared. A Shinobi guard. Interesting. The Hokage charged a piece of paper with his chakra and the room hummed with secrecy.
"Talk."
Tom gave Pineapple Head a glance, miffed at the lack of respect, but continued pleasantly.
"My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, age16, ex-student of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, born in England of the United Kingdoms and Descendant of Lord Salazar Slytherin, himself." He introduced himself with a flourish, executing a most theatrical bow.
The Hokage's eye twitched. "And where exactly. is this eenglund?"
"Well, you see..." Tom fell back casually in his chair. "We have a war going on right now, you know… A world war. Of many countries and nations. And I dropped my education in search of knowledge since they could not offer me any useful information anymore. It is my passion; I adore exploring and learning about different cultures and how they execute and learn their magic. What constitutes their moral compass, why is it that they learn what they learn, how did they discover it...Oh, you know what I mean. I can tell you are a scholar yourself. Of course, we both are scholars with the ambition to put it into practical use." Here he gave the Hokage a sharp look.
"Imagine my surprise when I was fiddling with the threads in an archaeological site, looking for a lost civilization when I was sucked into a completely different dimension."
"What," Inoki croaked.
"Oh yes, did you think I want to divulge this information willy-nilly? I was completely prepared to tell the Hokage this. I had just entered this world when Orochimaru-san had proposed an exchange of information, and I was prepared to swear loyalty to this village in particular because," Tom shrugged. "You approached me first. Unfortunately, the Kiri Shinobi wanted to kill me instead of trying to strike a deal. You must understand... I am less than impressed by your hospitality."
Tom could literally see Pineapple Head's brain racing a mile a minute. The Hokage seemed taken aback. Oh, it did not show overtly, but Tom was sure he had not seen this coming.
"And? you are prepared to substantiate your claims?" the Hokage asked.
"Of course," Tom nodded. "As long as Blondie here sticks to what I show him and nothing more. I truly despise the headaches."
Inoki stood to face Tom with some trepidation, but charged forward fearlessly, cupping Tom's temples between his hands. He opened his pale eyes, looking like he was in a trance.
Two minutes later, Inoki sat down pale and shaking.
"So?"
"He speaks the truth. The memories are authentic." He jerked his head up. "Hokage-sama. Their civilians..."
"Yes, yes. the muggles are dangerous as can tell him all about it later. I'm dying for a warm shower, and I want to finish this today."
Inoki's mouth snapped shut.
"What do you want?" asked Yoroi finally.
"I was just going to stick with the basics at first but after everything…" Was that nervousness on their faces?
"Knowledge and Education. The power to explore this world. Any knowledge you have, to jump dimensions. The knowledge of my origins to stay between the three of us. And." Tom paused. "Yuhei."
"Yuhei?!" Inoki exclaimed.
"Well... not his head, his entire body. I do not suffer disrespect."
"I'm afraid we can't sacrifice our Shinobi like that," the Hokage said.
"Hmm. we'll see."
"In return," Yoroi Nara began, his eyes hard. "You will tell or show us the extent of your powers. Take on at least two apprentices in your lifetime from our village. Swear to be loyal to this village and its people by expending war effort and never attacking us. You will also take us with you to explore your world."
"My, my," Tom said coldly. "Ask for the moon why don't you, Pineapple?"
The Hokage apparently was comfortable with letting the Nara negotiate since the Pineapple shrugged. "These are our terms."
"I suppose then you could teach two young adults, if I got them here then," Tom said thoughtfully. "You must swear to do my world no harm in return. I do not need you to swear loyalty to my world. I need you to swear loyalty to me. Also, there will be lessons in language and culture exchange so I can blend in your world and your people would blend in mine when there is an opportunity to dimension jump." Tom twirled his fingers restlessly, wishing for the sleek feel of his yew between his fingers."And Yuhei, how much does he know?"
"Nothing. He was only told to find out where you are from."
"Is that right?" Tom stared into the village outside the window. "Does anyone else know?"
"No."
"You will swear to that as well" Yoroi looked at him funny.
"Right. I'll write up a contract-"
Tom let out a high cold laughter. "You think I'm going to trust the tenacity of a contract drawn up by you?"
"You have nothing to worry about," the Hokage began. "We will make it an S-class secret and-"
"An Unbreakable Vow."
"A what?" The Hokage said.
"You mean that is real?" Inoki said amazed. "Chakra based swearing that, if not followed, causes death? Doesn't the witness require a wand as well?"
"I'm sure a blanket of chakra will work just as well," said Tom. "I looked through the theory of it a week ago and it looks sound."
Inoki looked at him calculatingly. "You have a very organized mind, Voldemo-san."
"Yes." Tom agreed and then turned around to face the Hokage.
"So Hokage-sama. do we have a deal?"
A/N: This is the first time I've written a torture sequence.. I'm (mildly) proud? Feel free to tell me what you think about it.
Also darkly amused about the chapter title.
~Until next time!
