Experimental Values: MDNSS-CLT-DSCNT-FT-CNSRT-GD
Disclaimer: Values are all owned by the original creators. All plot/timeline, new characters, or other differences are owned by the Edict.
By Forge or By Fire: Chapter 1
Upon a bed with silken sheets, illuminated by light from all corners of the room, sat a boy. A child, really, one that kicked his feet idly as he waited for his father to come. In some ways, this setting could be seen as rather odd, but this was simply how it was for the boy. It was morning after all, and he had to wait for breakfast.
The child let out a small tune to amuse himself, humming whatever came to mind and trying to pass the time. Most children would find themselves bursting with energy, probably even anxious, but the boy's father had always impressed the importance of being patient. If his father was late, then he must have been busy. Perhaps he was even getting him another treat!
As if summoned by the boy's desire for sweet and savory things, the door to the pale room opened, and in filtered several masked guards. Some were taller, others were shorter, but, in truth, they all looked the same—faceless. They spread along the side of the door opening and stood silent and stalwart; then, his father entered with a slow gait.
The man was slightly shorter than the average height, had dull hair, and seemed to put extra weight on his left leg. That was to be expected when the man was forced to use a cane. Yes, this was the happy boy's father, and the tiny glint of warmth in the man's eyes was for the boy and the boy alone.
"Naruto, come, it's time for you to eat. We've found something new that you might enjoy."
As the blonde youth was beckoned, he hopped off his bed and joined his father as they both were followed by the quiet soldiers. The father and son walked through winding paths, one silent and the other humming quietly. Their trek continued until they came upon a large room with a metal table and an odd machine.
The instrument seemed hunched over, tubes flowing from its front and a slight whirring noise that emanated from within it. Aesthetically, it was a tad ominous, but Naruto didn't seem to mind the odd structure, as if it was simply part of the wall itself.
As if the boy was used to such things, he asked no questions and simply hopped atop the hard table, swinging his legs idly. The boy's humming gradually quieted as he glanced at the silver tools and bright lights that surrounded him, but he still seemed relaxed.
The men that followed the duo went to work, hooking up the hollow tendrils to the boy's back, others leaving the room only to return with a large assortment of oddities. The items were abnormal, to say the least, with vibrant colors and different shapes and sizes. They were so varied and peculiar that most would be surprised to realize what they truly were.
Fruit.
No, really, oddly colored fruit, meats, and vegetables, all of which looked almost alien in nature if only because they didn't belong together. These food items were the exotic, the rare, and the extremely exorbitant. On their own, they might have been unique in their varied effects or believed effects of making the consumer feel cold, energetic, deathly ill, or anything in between. However, when introduced to a boy named Naruto, they became something much more.
The soldiers entered one at a time, presenting their "gift" to the young lad. The boy would pick a fare and take his time to eat and enjoy it. Nothing odd, nothing extraordinary, until the boy would begin to glow. Sometimes it was a dull gleam, possibly even mistaken for a sheen of sweat; other times, it was a brilliant luminescence of lustrous color. But the result was always the same—a foreign, metallic, liquid-like substance, secreted from the boy's back, that would be pulled into the tubes and shaped.
From there, the tar-like substance would be heated, molded, and expelled from the machine. Then came what was truly so spectacular about the young boy—metal. Never before seen metal, ingots of all different shapes, sizes, colors, and densities—each more varied and unique than the distinctive snowflake.
These ingots that the boy had just expelled were a dark purple color, almost black really, with odd, violet swirl-like designs that shimmered ominously within the dusk. As time passed and the golden-haired youth finished his treat, new soldiers wearing multiple layers of protective gear entered the room and loaded the valuable products onto a cart.
Some jotted down notes, others wielded boxes that made bright flashes and clicking noises; they all worked in tandem. What they did with bricks, the boy would likely never know, but Naruto was so focused on his meal that the rest of the world ceased to be. Thus, he never noticed nor cared about how his father closely studied the metals with a pleased look of appraisal.
This process was repeated multiple times until the boy began to yawn and became visibly tired. As the boy began to nod off, a snap resonated around the room as half of the soldiers filtered out, and the other half stood even straighter if such as thing was possible.
The older man would walk out of the room, the soft clicking of the cane being the only noise that followed his ever silent glide, and the ever-dutiful soldiers would carefully lift the boy and carry him forward. They would return to his brightly lit room and lay the boy to rest, for after breakfast came one of his daily naps. He would shift and turn as the soldiers would filter out of his room once more, their subtle movements the only sign that they waited outside his door.
And the boy would feel his father's presence as he went around the room, shifting small toys and storybooks into an orderly manner before letting out a small huff of resolution. He would then come next to him and pat the young boy on the shoulder, thanking him for something that the boy didn't understand but what happy to accept.
The man's footsteps would fade, and the boy would be left to slumber within sheets of milk and honeyed dreams.
