Naruto looked out at the vast mountain range as he leaned over the balcony railing. The breeze dried the remainder of the tears that had continued to trickle down his face. Never in his life did he think he would get to meet his father, and he was certain if he did he was past the point of caring. I guess I was wrong. He looked down at his bloody knuckles thinking back to how Minato just knelt there, accepting the beating. Naruto had lost control of his emotions, something he had feared doing for a long time. The blonde was always so careful about keeping his pain in check, always making sure to hide it with a joke and a smile. After looking at his father's face and hearing an attempted apology, the careful emotional wall holding back his anger and pain collapsed and everything came rushing through. Today was a fucking shitshow of crazy, he allowed himself to break this time.
Gaara approached the balcony, seeming to know Naruto would need time to clear his head. He paused at the entrance to the open space and folded his arms across his chest letting his body rest against the door frame as he watched the blonde who was in deep thought. Nothing about this situation was ideal for any of them. Naruto tried to feel angry again but it died out and had turned into confusion mixed with an empty feeling in his chest. Anger would only take him so far and at the end of the day it would always be just a cover for whatever underlying emotional turmoil was happening in him. He needed to focus on what was happening now. Naruto was in hell and had to participate in the trials no matter how unprepared he was for it. He gave a nervous side glance at the demon watching him. As if on cue Wrath sighed, eyes fixed on the young man.
"Is he ok?" a voice finally came from the half breed.
"Physically, he'll be fine." Gaara responded meeting the young man's face that had turned back to look at him briefly. Naruto nodded, and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he now stood in the middle of the balcony.
"I was supposed to go back home tonight, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen..." He trailed off, shuffling his feet anxiously.
The redhead continued to observe Minato's son understanding the request he was trying to make. "You have attachments on the mortal plane?"
"Yeah, a few. I don't want them to worry too much." Blue eyes glanced back up, the rage from before was gone, replaced by sorrow. It wasn't unusual for Naruto to be gone in the evenings, he worked night shifts restocking but if he didn't return the next day his roommates would start to worry.
"I'll take you first thing in the morning." Wrath pushed himself off the door frame and stood in a swift motion.
"Thank you." Naruto followed the Sin as he walked back through his father's house.
"It's been a long day, and you need to sleep. We'll deal with all of this later." Gaara gestured to the direction down the hall where no doubt, Minato was. Wrath scooped up a set of keys that were laying on the table by the front door and motioned for the blonde to follow him outside.
"Where are we going? I thought you said I needed to sleep?" Naruto shut the front door behind him as he exited the house and jogged after the Sin.
"I'm in charge of your training for the trials, so you'll be staying with me. Unless of course, you'd prefer to stay at your father's…" Gaara arched a brow in question, waiting for a decision.
"Yeah, I don't think I'm ready to deal with that just yet." the blonde admitted.
Gaara turned and continued on his course to the driveway. They approached a sleek black motorcycle, Naruto's heart skipped a beat. All his life he had depended on public transportation to get him around. The idea of a motorcycle made him anxious, there would be nothing stopping him from flying off to his death if they crashed.
"Have you ever been on a motorcycle before?" The sin mounted his bike and it revved to life. Naruto shook his head, amazed that the vehicle was relatively silent other than the low purr of the motor.
"Here, put this on." Wrath shoved a red helmet into the blonde's hands. Naruto obeyed and slung his leg over the back of the bike, finding himself flush against the redhead.
"Just hold on tight and you should be fine." the sin mentioned before taking off.
The half breed was thrust backward at the pickup of speed and instinctively wrapped his arms around Gaara's waist, holding tight. Wrath was still in his uniform from the ceremony, minus the cloak. Naruto felt the tight muscles in his torso beneath the thin shirt and refrained from letting his fingers trail over them. Naruto let his eyes wander, observing the sleeves of the garment had been pushed up to reveal the demons forearms covered in intricate ink. He was thankful for the full face helmet and tinted visor that hid the blush that was creeping onto his face. Admittedly the main reason he was initially attracted to any of his past boyfriends and girlfriends was the air of rebelliousness they all seemed to have in common. Whether in the way they dressed or the way the acted, Naruto was a sucker for the "brooding bad boy" archetype. He closed his eyes, trying not to focus on the feel of the body his arms were wrapped around. Instead he took in the sensation of everything zooming past him. It was a frightening yet liberating feeling to be flying through roads so freely. Naruto now understood why some people enjoyed this over cars, they were addicted to the high from riding a motorcycle.
Gaara sped through the streets on the outskirts of the thriving metropolis and entered a speedway that would take them back into the main part of the city. Naruto clung a little tighter as they sped up and weaved through the late night traffic. He felt the demon chuckle at the motion, obviously amused at his reaction. Naruto's face flushed again as he realized he was holding on a little too tightly and loosened his grasp just a bit. Wrath drove with a reckless precision, through the pack of cars before them shaking his head in annoyance and accelerated even more, as he passed several vehicles that were going to slow for his liking, flipping them off as he zoomed by. This of course caused his passenger to engage his drivers torso in a death grip as they flew well past 100 mph. This time Naruto didn't hesitate to cling to the demon than risk flying off the bike in the middle of a freeway. They finally exited the main roadway and turned into the city streets, eventually coming to a stoplight. Gaara placed a hand on one of the arms that was wrapped around him and gently tugged at it as he turned his head to address the man behind him.
"I forgot to mention I drive a little fast, I promise I'll take it slow through the city. Could you loosen up just a bit though? I would like to be able to breathe again." a smirk played on his face as he felt Naruto's arms loosen significantly.
"Sorry" the muffled voice came through the helmet before the light turned green and they were off again.
True to his word, Gaara took it easy through the streets heading further into the downtown area. It still amazed Naruto how similar everything was to New York within the city. The neon lights illuminated the various bars and clubs with hoards of demons and dark creatures lined up to gain admittance into the buildings in the popular area. They continued past the busy nightlife and eventually entered into a part that he found very reminiscent of the Upper East Side. The driver parked on the curb, in front of a tall apartment building and turned around to signal for the blonde to dismount.
"What did you think?" the redhead asked as he watched Naruto struggle to get his balance again.
"It's fast…. But not as loud as I thought it would be" Naruto finally spoke, slipping out of the helmet.
Gaara handed the key of his motorcycle to the valet that stood in front of the door. "It's the model of bike and the size of the exhaust pipes. This one isn't designed to be obnoxiously loud. I have a few others that are louder, faster and more powerful."
"Uhhh, faster? Yeah, count me out on those ones." the younger figure obviously had enough of a near death experience for one day. The sin gave a small smirk at the comment.
"Good evening Sir." The valet greeted as he took the key and went to go park the demons bike.
The sin led the way into the luxurious apartment building and walked up to the front desk. "Kankuro, this is Naruto. He will be staying with me for the duration of the trials." The hooded demon looked over at the half breed that stood next to Gaara.
"I saw the ceremony, I'm aware of who he is Gaara. You're seriously going to train him?"
"At the request of the High Lord…" the sin deadpanned.
Kankuro sneered "You've got a lot of work ahead of you. Good luck."
"Thank you for this enlightening conversation." Wrath turned to the elevator scoffing his response.
"Remember the meeting tomorrow." the head of Wrath's personal security trailed off as the pair stepped into the elevator. Gaara absently waved his hand in aggravation as the doors closed. He inserted a key and pushed a button for the top floor, the elevator began ascending.
"He doesn't seem to have faith that I'll make it through the tournament." Naruto let his remark hang in the air as he slouched against the elevator wall.
Gaara carefully considered his words, looking directly at the nominee."I'm going to be brutally honest with you for a moment here, nobody does."
"Ouch." he glanced down at his shoes becoming uncomfortable at the raw honesty.
Green eyes continued to stare at Naruto. "If you want someone to lie to you to make you feel better about yourself, then you need to find someone else to train you. You have to go into this knowing exactly what you're facing. Your father was trying to protect you from things like this, it's a difficult set of tests designed to break you in every way. Everyone else has at least a few decades of training in. You are jumping into this with no preparation whatsoever. The chances of you dying are extremely high."
The blonde cringed at his words but knew it was the truth. He looked back up to face Gaara. "I realize that." he said softly as he found Wrath's gaze.
"I will do everything in my power to prepare you for this and make sure you at least have a fighting chance." He kept his eye contact steady, watching Naruto search for something in his words.
The sound of the elevator door opening pulled them from their conversation and Gaara grabbed his keys and exited into the entryway of his loft. "Shoes off please." Gaara sat on a small bench by the entrance and began to untie his uniform combat boots.
The half mortal took in the pristine state of the apartment. "You're a bit of a clean freak, you know that?"
"So I've been told." Wrath guided him across the dark wooden floor into the living area showing the enormous open concept stylized loft.
"Living room, kitchen, dining and training area are down here. Bedrooms, bathroom and office are up there." He pointed to a metal staircase that protruded a ways into the kitchen.
Naruto wandered into the dining area to glimpse out one of the windows that faced the front of the building, being careful not to knock off any of the cacti sitting on the sill. The view was almost better than Pride's office. They were a block from an enormous park. The trees twinkled with lights and fountains changed colors every so often.
"So you own the entire top floor?" He turned back and followed the sin into the kitchen.
"I own the entire building, but I offer housing to some of my employees that are struggling." Gaara opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. He offered one to Naruto. On cue the blonde's stomach growled, reminding him that all he had to eat today was a granola bar before he rushed to work. He blushed, slightly embarrassed as the redhead turned to glance at Naruto.
"I was about to ask if you were hungry. What would you like to eat? If I don't have it here we can order some take out." the sin opened the fridge again to see what he had.
"Umm... Anything I guess. I like noodles a lot."
Wrath nodded and began pulling out various vegetables from the crisper. "Pad Thai? Fair warning, I prepare my food unconventionally spicy." Gaara spoke as he fixed his rolled up sleeves and washed his hands.
"I'm good with spicy. Wait, you know how to make Pad Thai?" Naruto was a horrible cook, his roommate Tenten had been teaching him how to make simple things like boiling water and steamed rice in a rice cooker. Other than that, anything that involved more than three ingredients he always managed to fuck up.
"Why is that a surprise?" the sin prepared the rice noodles before dicing the tofu and some assorted vegetables.
"You just don't strike me as someone who enjoys cooking." he shrugged and took a seat on a bar stool across the counter, watching the older figure now chopping scallions and garlic.
"Think of it this way, you get to handle really sharp knives and really hot fire. What's not to enjoy?" He stabbed the knife into the wooden cutting board as if to make a point.
Naruto laughed at the response. They sat in comfortable silence as Gaara finished cooking their meal. He served the blonde a plate and fixed one for himself.
The half breed melted at the taste of the food. "Is there anything you aren't good at?" Wrath gave a small grunt in response as he watched the man practically inhale the food. Homemade food…. He hadn't had a hot delicious homemade meal since his mom passed. Naruto fought the sentiment rising as he devoured his meal, he refused to let himself break a second time tonight. They finished eating and the demon led them upstairs.
"You can take the last room on the left. There are extra blankets and pillows in the chest at the foot of the bed if you need. I'll bring you some clothes you can use." Gaara turned and went back down to clean up the kitchen.
There was no door to the loft bedroom but there were walls that offered enough privacy, Naruto decided. The full sized bed looked soft and inviting, especially now that his exhaustion was setting in. He stripped from his clothes and found the bathroom that was attached to his room and eagerly turned on the shower, willing for the water to heat up faster. His mind began to wander, thinking back on all the bullshit he had gone through in just one day. Just my fucking luck. He head had begun to throb with pain from the stress. The blonde needed to stop thinking, worrying about his situation was not going to change anything right now. He tried his best to shut off his emotions and let his mind focus on the sound of the running water as he stepped in and let himself take in the heat of the water on his body.
Much later after the water was finally shut off and he was wrapped in a towel, he relaxed on the bed. He stared at a pile of clothes that were now there, and noticed his dirty ones had been picked up and placed in a hamper by the closet. He made a mental note to try and be more mindful about where he left his stuff and not make a mess. There was a pair of navy sweatpants and a soft cotton t-shirt neatly folded, he pulled the clothes onto his body and made an effort to toss the used towel into the hamper. The blonde collapsed against the pillow, not even bothering to slip under the covers. He forced his mind to shut off and fell into a deep sleep within a few minutes.
_
"Look out!" Itachi shouted amid the chaos. Hordes of demons scrambled for cover in the stands of the large stadium, crying out in terror as explosions filled the air with dust and debris. Sloth bolted past followed by a pack of enormous hound like creatures, shouting in a language the blonde couldn't quite understand. The beasts fell into formation flanking the masked demon, viciously growling and snarling as they waited for the command to attack.
"I should have known you'd be the one behind all of this." Kakashi raged as the dust continued to swirl around the shadow of a figure that appeared. The rest of the sins ran onto the field instructing their successors to help evacuate the stadium. The blonde took a step forward trying to see who was hidden in the cloud of dust just as an arm appeared across his chest stopping him in his tracks.
"Naruto, go with the others." Gaara ordered, his tone not leaving room for a discussion on the matter. He continued blocking the half breed from moving any closer to the battle about to happen.
"What's going on? Where am I?" Naruto panicked, everything was fine just a few hours ago. Well not fine, he had been dragged into hell, found out he was half demon, thrown into a death match and finally met his father. But he was in a comfy bed last he remembered, this didn't make sense. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake the blurry vision and ringing in his ears. His body felt hot and sweat broke out on his brow as his breath became short and ragged. "What's happening?" There was so much shouting, his head spun with the confusion trying to understand the situation.
A deep voice broke through the noise, addressing the redhead. "I'm sorry, but he's going to be coming with me. You have no idea how long I've waited for the Kyubbi to reincarnate." several other shadows appeared, joining the traitor hidden in the haze. "Now then, I think it's time we woke up the great fox demon."
"Get down" Gaara tackled him as vicious winged beasts rapidly jolted toward them, flying low to the ground and aimed a heavenly light at the demons. Rubble blasted through the field, nearly missing Envy. Mayhem ensued as Sloth led his charge of demonic beasts and Pride fended off a few of the spindly winged creatures aiming for the back of Kakashi's head. Naruto rolled over and wobbled to his feet watching dumbfoundedly as the sins clashed head on, clearly outnumbered and unprepared for the situation at hand.
"Run!" Wrath shouted and shoved the blonde as another beam of light made impact right next to him and threw them 20 feet in the air.
Naruto sat up shouting, heart pounding in his chest. Just a dream. He looked at his trembling hands and tried to calm his breathing. Fucking stress, it was all just a terrible dream...
"What happened?" Wrath appeared in the doorway and noticed the half breeds quickened breath and shaking hands.
His heart sank to his stomach at the realization, that last bit was just a dream but he was still very much in hell. "Just a weird dream" the younger man claimed and gave a nervous chuckle.
"I see." The demon observed him just a second longer before speaking again. "Breakfast is ready. Come eat." He disappeared with that command.
Naruto washed his face in effort to calm himself. Convinced the nightmare was brought on by the immense amount of stress and emotional turmoil, he breathed in deep. He returned to the bedroom and changed into his clothes that were now in a clean folded pile on the chest at the foot of the bed. Gaara must have washed them last night. Did he even sleep? He looked in the long mirror mounted on the bathroom wall at his dark denim pants and soft baseball tee. He continued staring at his reflection for a minute before forcing a smile on his face until it became believable, followed by a small whisper 'Keep it together. Don't let them see you break." It was his everyday ritual since 7th grade, his small self reminder to stay strong and refuse to fall apart before having to face the world.
"Help yourself" Gaara typed furiously on his laptop, an empty plate sat at the dining table beside him as he worked.
The smell of eggs and bacon caused his stomach to rumble as he descended the metal staircase into the kitchen. He served himself and took the chair across the sin. They sat in silence for a moment as the redhead continued to work. Naruto began eating, not remembering when the last time he actually had a full breakfast was. He never really had actual meals much through middle school or high school other than what the cafeteria offered and chances of it being edible were about fifty fifty. Sometimes he or one of the other foster kids would be able to work an odd job and have enough money and buy sandwich stuff or frozen meals for everyone to share, but that was about it. Even now, after three years of living with his roommates he would often be so busy balancing two jobs and school that he was lucky if he remembered to grab something before he left for the day. Instant ramen was a lifesaver when he would get home and have an hour to shower before running to his night stock job at midnight, and even then sometimes he'd be in such a rush that he'd forget to eat all together.
"So… What's the plan for today?" The blonde spoke before taking another bite.
"We will only have a few hours to be in the mortal realm. I'm hoping that is sufficient time for you to explain and pack whatever you need. I have a meeting at one and then I will spend the rest of the afternoon training you." the demon answered as Naruto ate.
"How many hours exactly?" He asked between mouthfuls of food.
Gaara glanced at his watch. "Three"
"Let's go" the half breed stuffed the remainder of his food in his mouth as he picked up his finished plate and set it in the sink, eager to go home even if it was just for a few hours. He needed something familiar to help him process yesterday's crazy events.
Gaara blinked for a moment at the impatience of the half mortal before finally closing his computer and standing. He reached for a deep maroon hoodie that hung over the back of his chair and pulled it over his head, black shirt rising as his arms lifted showing off the toned muscles that hid beneath. Naruto blushed at the small glimpse and quickly turned his head in hopes that he wouldn't get caught staring. The demon moved to the bench by the door and put on the dark combat boots from the night before, tucking in the ends of his jeans before lacing them up. Naruto followed and slipped into his beaten up chucks, he had no jacket as he was taken straight from his shoddy apartment bedroom in Chinatown. He would have to deal with the nippy fall weather as he was.
"Here" Wrath shoved a black leather jacket in his direction as he stood.
"Oh, thanks!" He gave a large grin as he took the coat and shrugged it on. It fit him well, and smelled like the demon, a mixture of cedarwood and lemongrass. Naruto fought against the heat that he felt begin to spread across his face at the scent that had now engulfed him. He turned to watch Gaara place an outstretched hand towards an engraved sigil on the closed elevator doors of his loft.
"What part of the city do you live in?" Wrath gave a side glance, taking note of just how good the blonde looked in his jacket.
"Chinatown" he shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched the redhead nod and prepare to open the portal.
"Aperire Plane Mortali" The demons voice echoed as the symbol filled with a bright blue light.
"Yeah, way less intimidating than the red portal of doom that led to hell." the half demon scoffed and followed his mentor through to the otherside.
_
Sasuke looked up from his book as Ino's voice came through the speaker.
"Sir, High Lord Wrath is here to see you."
There was a nervous tinge in her tone. "Send him up." Itachi answered, not bothered by it at all.
Everyone had heard about the altercation between them last night after the ceremony. He had expected as much and was thoroughly surprised no one lost a limb. Shisui was upset when Itachi declined the offer to accompany him to work today, everyone fully knowing Minato would show up first thing in the morning. Although Itachi didn't blame the old demon one bit, he had a justifiable reason for his anger as usual, Sasuke was still on the fence about it. He only hoped it had subdued enough that they wouldn't destroy the office during the impromptu meeting today. The demon looked over at his brother sitting at his desk, working on his computer, ever famous uninterested expression on his face.
"Should I move the furniture out of the way so you can throw punches? Or do you want me to play the ref for round two?" The half breed scowled as his older brother didn't even bother looking up from his work.
Sasuke was half glad that High Lord Wrath nearly handed Itachi's ass to him since it was primarily his fault the blonde ended up in hell. This was way more than the young Uchiha had bargained for when he resolved to return to New York to explain everything to his ex. Never did he imagine Naruto would be a half demon like him. For all the trouble it was worth he hoped this would help the man understand why Sasuke was the way he was. Sasuke recalled how Naruto didn't even glance at him after he chewed him out last night but then softened his anger towards him during the car ride to Madara's. Now Sasuke had a feeling their relationship issues were nearly irrelevant at this point. He knew the topic of his family was a delicate issue for his ex and there was no way the blonde was taking this whole situation well despite whatever cheerful facade he put up.
"Stay. I have a feeling he'll want to talk with you too." Pride stated absently while flipping through his paperwork, unimpressed with his brothers jeer.
"Hn" Sasuke shifted in his seat, slightly uncomfortable with the idea of having to talk to someone who hurt Naruto.
A small knock on the door signaled the arrival. "Come in." Pride stood and shot a glare at the younger figure still partially sprawled on the sofa. "Stand and show some respect"
That was the last thing Sasuke wanted to do. Reluctantly he stood slightly scowling at his brothers honorable manners. If the High Sin Wrath wanted to talk, then Sasuke would talk. But he wouldn't dance around and pretend to kiss ass just because of his power and status. He would make sure Naruto's father knew just how badly he fucked up. They watched Ino lead Minato into the office and quickly exit, obviously not wanting to be around when shit hit the fan. Unfortunately she missed the small surprised look of shock that briefly colored their faces when they saw the state of the man's face as he approached. They exchanged nods of greeting and the tall blonde figure took a seat across Prides desk, slouching in the chair from obvious exhaustion.
"I'm assuming you were reunited with your son last night." Itachi finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence. He continued to stare at the bruises across Wraths face that had begun to fade light purple to a faint yellow. In all his centuries of living only wars left Wrath beaten up like this, nobody else was ever able to best the strongest of the original sins.
Minato answered with a small laugh. "Well, something like that." His eyes crinkled as he smiled faintly, reminding Sasuke so much of Naruto.
"Is Naruto hurt?" Sasuke interrupted, hoping his ex was strong enough to survive a fist fight with a High Lord of hell.
Wrath quirked an eyebrow at the question and put a finger to his chin in thought. "Hurt? Well I doubt he's taking any of this well. He has to be an emotional mess and mentally stressed beyond the point of any normal person, but physically he's quite fit. I mean look what he did to my face. And you haven't seen the bruises on my abdomen. Those ones are still dark purple…" Minato began to babble jokingly, allowing his calm demeanor to take over.
"You didn't fight him back?"
Wrath sat up straight at the comment finally understanding the intent of the questions and stared at the young half breed with an intense gaze. "I know I'm a failure as a father for not being able to find him after his mother passed but I would never intentionally harm my own child."
Itachi glared daggers at his brother knowing that question deeply offended the demon before him. "My little brother has grown quite close to your son during his time away from hell. It appears he had returned with the intention of helping him get back to the mortal realm."
"Oh, I see." He slowly turned back to face Pride and sighed. "I apologize for my outburst at you last night. I was not prepared for my son to be thrown into the tournament. Why did you bring him here, Itachi?"
"I was unaware he was your son, Minato. You kept that information a secret." The demon crossed his legs as he shifted in his seat. "He summoned me yesterday in the middle of a meeting. It was a difficult situation and I had no choice but to bring him to hell or else I'd risk missing the opening ceremony and have my head chewed off and my office under even closer observation by the Order."
"Impossible, he grew up knowing nothing of the demonic world. He shouldn't have known your sigil or even how to summon a demon." The blonde furrowed his brow, deep in thought at this information.
"Yes, and why is that exactly? I don't understand why you would want to hide the fact that you had a child."
Minato pursed his lips considering his response carefully. "At first his mother wanted him to grow up with a normal life. So I would alter his memories anytime he would experience intense demonic or major supernatural activities, it was temporary. We agreed to tell him once he was old enough to understand, but Kushina had the sight. She never became a witch but she was a strong psychic and began having extremely disturbing visions regarding our son in the demon world…." He trailed off slightly as he looked back up to the older Uchiha.
"So you decided it was safer to keep it a secret." Pride finished for him. He turned and walked over to the window, his favorite thinking spot. So there was much more to Minato's son after all, Itachi's hunch was right. "Sasuke, what was Naruto like before he got mixed up in all of this mess?"
The half blood frowned as his brother didn't even bother to turn and look at him. He knew that Itachi was already puzzling things together, finding strategies and possibilities to figure out what exactly was going on. "Normal, I guess."
"Tch" The demon was obviously getting impatient with his brothers attitude. He threw a side glance watching the young half blood roll his eyes before continuing.
"Obnoxious, loud mouthed, dim witted, impulsive, stubborn, temperamental, ill mannered…"
Minato smiled fondly as he spoke. Sasuke blinked at that, a small smile appearing on his face. He recognized that look of longing hidden in deep blue eyes. He had seen it so many times before.
"Yeah he's pretty terrible, but not all the time. He's determined, hard-working and compassionate with an insanely strong set of morals." The Uchiha added the positive traits, feeling slightly contrite about the situation. He was wrong about Naruto's dad. This demon wasn't cold or unfeeling like he imagined or like the rest of his family. He was humble and his smile was heavy lined with the guilt he must have been carrying around this entire time. His rage against Minato dwindled down.
"After his mother passed, I drove myself insane looking for him. It took everything in me not to tear New York apart. Kushina's visions were always spot on and I knew it was dangerous for anyone to know I had a son. So my searches for him had to be quiet, and Naruto moved to so many different foster homes. By the time it took be to find out where he went, he had been relocated, I couldn't keep up. Gaara was the only one that knew, he helped whenever he could but our jobs didn't give us an immense about of free time." Minato leaned his head back against the chair, eyes shut as he continued. "By the time I found him he had gotten out of the foster system, started working, moved in with some friends that really seemed to care for him, and was planning on starting college. It felt wrong to rip him away from those bonds he was finally beginning to make. He was finally starting to make something of his life."
"You did what you thought was best, but the person you should be explaining all of this to is your son." Pride finally turned from the window, leaving his hands clasped behind his back.
"I know, both Gaara and Kakashi have lectured me on the matter. I really don't need a third reprimand. I'm just giving him some space to calm down before we talk."
"Hn" Sasuke knew from personal experience that Naruto was always quick to anger and definitely needed some space to process things.
Itachi turned back to the window as he spoke, "What exactly did these visions entail?"
They exited through the small red door and found themselves right in front of the Chatham Square Library, amidst the busy streets with people making their morning commutes to work.
"Wow, that librarian was really confused when we walked out of the back storage room. I'm surprised she didn't throw that book at you." Naruto laughed as he remembered her bewildered expression looking back and forth between the two male figures that just emerged from an area that was restricted.
The demon shrugged and descended the steps to land on the sidewalk. "I wasn't sure which part of Chinatown you needed to be at so I just picked the spot I knew best."
"It's good, my apartment isn't to far from here." Naruto nodded in reassurance.
"Remember, four hours. I've got some things to do so we'll meet up here." Wrath watched the half demon give a thumbs up before turning off and disappearing into the crowded sidewalk.
He pulled the hood over his head against the chilling November wind and turned in the opposite direction. Of all the places on the mortal realm he frequented New York City the most. It wasn't his favorite place, but it wasn't half bad. It's true that demons are naturally attracted to big cities like moths to a flame, but something about the cultural diversity and modernization of it all intrigued Gaara. Places filled with mortals in sin and easily swayed and influenced would set any lower being of hells blood on fire, Gaara merely shrugged at the thought. He was usually here for other business, as a sin of hell he employed a vast amount of lesser demons to fill his quotas around the world. He had no need or desire to meddle in unnecessary things, today he was able to merely enjoy things for what they were. After walking ten blocks down he pulled out a key and unlocked a familiar storefront. He entered the small occult shop, careful to lock the door behind him. The jingle of the bells alerted the store owner as her voice carried from somewhere on the second floor.
"I'm upstairs." padded footsteps on the ceiling told the sin she was moving around in the kitchen above him.
Wrath pushed past the beaded curtain and hanging fabrics into the private reading room where a familiar crystal ball sat on a large round table. He stared for a moment watching it turn a deep oxblood color in response to the proximity of the demon, as he remembered when he had given Fu that as a birthday gift nearly three centuries ago. It was just before he went up for nomination as Wrath. Just before she got upset and decided it was too much work for him and he wouldn't have time for her anymore, and how this wouldn't allow her to be free like she should be. Just before she did a reckless act out of spite that he broke up with her. It had cost her dearly, and Gaara felt a small tinge of guilt although he knew it wasn't really his fault. He shook his head from his memories and continued through the room to the stairwell hidden in the far back corner.
Shizune was in the kitchen, soft meditation music playing in the background as she stood head bowed in her daily morning ritual, lips muttering a soft unintelligible incantation. He watched the witch for a moment wondering if she still harbored any resentment towards him for what had happened all those years ago. Her best friend had her divine abilities stripped and cast back into the mortal realm while she was confined to New York working as its gatekeeper for the rest of her existence. Thanks to Gaara's intervention it was a much lighter punishment for the both of them than what should have been sentenced for breaking the Reaper's Law, but it was still a heavy burden for them all. Both witches had gone through their fair share of rejection from human society for their divine abilities and now even rejection from the demonic realm for their actions.
Gaara could count on one hand the number of true capable witches left on the mortal realm. The lack of those with divine rights was becoming a problem. They were charged as the healers, communicators and counselors of the supernatural beings in the mortal realm. Without them, the shadow parts of this world would overtake the mortals which were a vital part to both heaven and hell. He had heard from Kakashi at their last meeting that they have been finding it harder to find potential diviners.
Thanks to the Fae mixing their blood with mortals, there are half-humans who possess the sight, the third eye, the ability to see and comprehend the astral plane in which they dwell, posses a natural gift. They can become these witches, healers of the shadow world if they so choose. Witches were those with the sight who had taken oath, trained and refined their abilities, charged with looking after the half breeds on the mortal plane and aiding them to find their path. However this position is considered a blessing and a curse, trading power for mortality. Fu resented her abilities at first, for taking away her normal life and causing her to flee her home after threats of burning witches at the stake started. Shizune spent most of her youth chained in a cellar, her family afraid of the things she knew and saw. Both were eventually saved, ironically by demons. But that was the only reason they were able to awaken their true powers and become High Priestesses of their kind, left to humans they would have been locked away, all that potential left untapped.
He finally took a seat at the small table in her kitchen and waited for her to finish lighting her candles at her small window sill altar. He let his mind wander to Fu. It had been at least three centuries since they last talked. He knew better than to blame himself for their falling out but that nagging sense of fault was still there. Last time he asked Shizune about her she had gotten married, again, and was off on some honeymoon in the Bahamas. She was making the most out of her immortal life, always married to rich men or women until they pass away from old age, or drug overdose, or heart attacks and then moving on to the next one. For all her impulsiveness, bad influences and faults Gaara had truly loved her. And it pained him when he saw she didn't love him back the same way in the end.
Once he was sure that he was over her, he decided best to leave the relationship aspect out of his life after that, it's not like he had time for it anymore. He was extremely busy with his position as Wrath and on top of that he hated meaningless dates and one night stands. The few that he had left him empty, never able to satisfy in the way he desired. Now the very idea of the effort to make a connection for just a short while was not appealing, and it seemed like that was all the rage in society. The thought of Naruto in his leather jacket popped into his mind. He remembered the way it fit across his broad shoulders and his collarbone slightly visible through the neckline of his shirt. The bright smile filled with gratitude slapped across his face, and deep blue eyes that hid entire oceans of pain.
"Coffee?" The woman had finally finished and her voice broke him from his thought.
"Please" the demon absently sucked on the piercing that protruded from the center of his bottom lip as she filled the french press with hot water and fished around in her cupboard for some mugs.
"Who have you got on your mind that's making you blush like that? I hope it's not me because I know I'm hard to resist but you are like family to me. That would be weird." She let out a chuckle enjoying every minute of teasing him.
He merely glared at the witch in response.
"Wait. Fuck, I forgot you're rich. I take back what I said, let's blow this popsicle stand lover boy." She threw her hands in the air in mock excitement, the navy silk sleeves of her robe waving around.
"Too late. Now you have to watch me become a brooding millionaire." He watched her throw her head back and laugh at his retort.
"You still drink it the same right? Black like your soul?" He could practically hear the smirk in her voice.
"Haha….that one never gets old." He pulled a small silk bag out of his jean pocket and placed it on the table as she approached with two filled mugs in hand.
"For me?" She gasped for drama and excitedly sat after setting their coffee down.
"You mentioned you were looking for some, but no one in New York could supply and all the online ones were phonies." He took the coffee cup and brought it to his lips, watching her dump the contents of the bag into her empty palm.
"Holy shit Ichibi!" She used his old nickname in her enthusiasm of seeing the items, her fingers gently caressing over the smooth iridescence of the dragon scales.
"Happy Birthday." He watched her smile spread across her face as she held her gift.
"How did you even get these? They are impossible to find, even for a high demon of hell. Oh my god, I can't believe it! Do you know how amazing you are right now? Fucking Gaara, why you gotta be such a good friend?" She babbled still reeling with joy.
He waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. You're welcome."
"Seriously though, thank you." She placed the five large scales back into the pouch and set them aside. "Soooo, how's the underworld? How's my mom doing? You saw her last night at the ceremony right?"
"Yeah, I saw her. She seemed good. She asked about you, said she would call..." He raised an eyebrow.
She smiled to herself, her adoptive mother was all tough love but she never forgot a birthday. "She did. We're gonna have dinner tonight."
"Just keep the alcohol and gambling away from her." Gaara half joked, knowing Tsunade's tendency to fully embarrass Shizune when drunk.
"At least she doesn't blast eighties hair metal when she drives around, like someone I know…" She burst out laughing remembering the look of horror on the redhead's face when Minato first drove by them blaring the music from his 1967 Chevy impala a decade ago. Wrath grumbled at the thought of it.
"Admit it though. Demons made better loving parents for us than lousy humans ever did." She caught his gaze and quirked her head to the side.
"They definitely did."
