7thDwarf: hehe..you were close on the words, but not quite! And as for the other part.. you might have just hit the nail on the head. :)
JSinuYasha: Thanks! As for bets..well, it's something like that. Not quite.
SaphireWhiteWolf: Haha. Mystery solved. She was the nameless reviewer (ff . net was acting up). Congratulations on catching the obscure (?) reference!
--- Chapter 9 What it could have been like.
He took a deep breath, wafting the scents gently to his nose. This was a meal to be savored. Naruto hadn't eaten in days.
The blond muttered a hoarse, "Itadekimisu*," Before taking a piece of meat from the bowl with borrowed chopsticks.
Nina blew a puff of air over her bowl to cool the broth, and then took a bite of noodles, and her Grandmother took a boiled carrot.
The flavor blossomed in his mouth, and the genin found himself in pure bliss. 'So good.' He thought almost dreamily. The blond had a stupid, goofy smile on his face.
"So, what is your name young travelor? Surely you must have a wonderful story to tell."
Brief embarrassment washed through him, starting from the pit of his stomach to his chest, continuing vertically to his head. It dispersed his earlier joy. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm..trying to get back home." Yes, he knew it was foolish, yes he knew the information could be used against him.
But he had an inner sap and it had to be appeased. Plus they were so kind, how could they possibly..
"I see. I'm Fushi Mako." the elderly lady said.
"What's that?" Nina asked in a childish voice, pointing at his hi-ate*.
Naruto inwardly cursed himself for his stupidity. Of all the things..this was the most obvious and would give him away to the most drunken fools.
So lie, deny, trick? Or the unconsidered: tell truth.
Or, you could just get rid of any witnesses.
The deadly voice didn't have an inflection of any kind, and he couldn't determine whether it was male or female.
Naruto might have changed, but he wasn't willing to kill these people. Strangers that he'd received kindness from for no reason.
Finally he decided a half-truth would be best. "It's something very important to me. My brother gave it to me as a sign that I had grown up, and gotten stronger." Technically none of it was a lie..hopefully neither one of them had knowledge of shinobi. It would be the Grandmother he'd have to worry about; Nina was just a child.
So relieved was he when none of them questioned his answer, that he didn't notice the knowing look in Mako's eye.
Hungrily, Naruto dove back into his stew, mind focused on the task at hand. The blond took a long draught from his cup, enjoying the feeling of the cool water gliding down his throat.
Realizing that a silence had overcome the room, the genin racked his mind for something to say. He didn't wish to seem impolite. And just eating like a pig would definitely be considered rude.
What were safe topics? Nothing about Konoha, or any of his exploits associated with it. Kyuubi was a closed topic, no brainer. Family. 'That's always the safe way to go.' After all, he didn't have any. An orphan alone was more believable than a wandering boy with a family waiting somewhere.
"Who are you're parents, Nina? Do they live here with your Grandmother?"
Nina bit her lip looking down at the table. No table cloth, and the wood was smooth. No distracting swirls then that could morph into different shapes in the light. "No." Her voice was soft.
Shit. Now this was awkward. The blond continued down his set path warily. "Are you just visiting your Grandmother then?"
A little bit of light came back into her innocent eyes. Nina nodded. "Daddy is away."
"What about your mom?"
Instantly, he knew he'd gone to far. From the look on the elderly woman's face, this was dangerous territory.
Naruto had always been fascinated by families and watched with longing, trying to figure out the inner workings of them. But this might be one he didn't want to figure out.
"Mommy is gone." A thoughtful frown was on her young face. Oblivious to her Grandmother's upset face, she continued, "She went away, when I was this little-Here she held up two fingers- on a trip. Daddy won't say when she's coming back."
More than likely, Naruto realized, Nina's mother was dead. And this was just a kind way of shielding her from the reality that her mother was never coming back.
"Nina..I'm sure your mom is trying to come home to you this minute."
Great. Not only did he lie to himself, but now he was making false promises to innocent little girls.
---
She whipped her tail around impatiently; it hit the hit the ground constantly making a whap-whap sound. Father had promised! But things were going slowly;far too slowly.
---
"You have a rather impressive list; weakling; coward; quitter. And now you are a liar."
Naruto really wished the dog would just shut up.
He had nearly forgotten about it. Of course, now it just had to pipe up, moments after the "family" discussion with Nina. As a result, he choked on his soup.
Which went over well; things had been going wonderfully for him the past few days if you'd forgotten.
"Are you okay, Naruto-niisan?"
What. The. Hell.
He wasn't sure if that was him, the voice, or the dog. Anyway, whoever it was, they were in total agreement. No one had ever warmed up to them that fast and ..she'd called him "nii-san" to boot. Like he was family or something. "Uh..y-yeah. I'm fine, Nina."
"Liar liar pants on fire."
"Shut up!" He hissed under his breath; Naruto had forgotten he was actually in the presence of people. The last few days all the blond had for companionship was grass and stone.
Oh, and the occasional tree.
The hakyou-inu didn't count.
It was like Kakashi, only worse.
"Are you talking to someone young man?" His host asked in a tone akin to concern. The concern people held for those not all quite there.
"Ah, yes," his mind raced, "I'm just tired." Also, not a lie.
After a moment to process this, Mako nodded in understanding. "Of course, it is late; I'm sorry to keep you up for the sake of a chattering old lady. Please, let Nina-chan show you to our guest room."
The hell? This day just kept getting weirder. None of his shinobi training had prepared him for this.
Little old ladies that had a cute grandaughter(which, by the way, in a fit of paranoia, he'd almost killed) giving him a free meal (and even offering cookies).
It just didn't come up in the "How To Be a Jinchuuriki" curriculum.
"Learning How to Be Hated, Despised, and Otherwise Unwanted: All the Tips You'll Ever Want or Need." was the first chapter.
It was also next to: "My Older Brother Killed My Family, Scarred Me for Life, and Fucked up My Mind Entirely: What do you do next?" in the "Konoha's Most Ridiculous and Insane Characters" archive.
The first chapter? "How To Deal With Fangirls". Also note the disclaimer: "Unless You are Uchiha Sasuke, this should not concern you as rabid fangirls that find emo's cool shouldn't be trying to spy on you in the shower, stalk you, steal your dirty boxers, or otherwise harassing you."
"If you are experiencing these problems, but aren't Uchiha Sasuke, nor are fluent in "Hn" Speak, please consult your local Fanfiction writer. Clearly you are in the wrong story, or have been turned into a Mary-sue." the announcer said.
Naruto blinked. The announcer..was the dog.
"What..What are you going on about?"
And then it shrugged. "This is your hallucination."
Then he blinked, and found himself laying on a fuuton. How had he gotten here? Naruto panicked for a moment, not able to remember. The blond calmed down, recalling his last memories. I must be in the guest room in Mako-san's house. "Wow that was really weird." In his half-awake state, he couldn't find it freaky that he had just experienced a complete distortion of reality.
---
"Any day now, I'm sure of it." He bowed respectfully to his leader. This man was powerful, and it wouldn't be good to question his methods.
Pein nodded. "Good. Call Itachi then."
"Yes, Pein-sama."
---
Kyuubi wondered how much longer the brat would hold out. It was a shame, really. Uzumaki Naruto was already cracking..bursting at the seams, and bellow, not-Uzumaki Naruto was ready to burst forth through him. Like a snake shed's its skin, Uzumaki Naruto would fall away; like humans shrugged off their clothes.
---
Agony. Pure agony. She twisted and writhed in pain. Horror-at what she'd become. And at her husbands hands no less. Pure madness. Revulsion tore through her, and she had only one wish. She parted her now twisted lips, and in a hoarse, low voice let her will be known in two words. The only two words she'd said for years. "Kill me."
---
Naruto groaned. The discomfort hadn't let itself be known before, but now his stomach was distended. The blond was uncomfortably full after having an empty stomach for so long. It was stretched stretch stretched. The genin thought this might have happened sooner, rather than later. "Oh." He moaned. No running around for him today. Strangely he felt weak.
Despite the rest and replinishing food. Naruto shook his head; probably because it had been so long since he had a healthy dose of food and sleep. He couldn't think properly.
Once more the dog appeared.
"Is this a nightmare?"
Really, he never thought he could apply such hatred and dislike onto one creature in such concentration.
"Perhaps."
And then it disappeared. He wanted to scream. What was the point of that?! Was the dog trying to drive him crazy?
"Oh, if only you knew." And then a soft chuckle. Naruto's head whipped around. He knew that voice!
But no one was there.
"Ok, calm down Naruto. Think. Think." Obviously the voice was real. (He wasn't going to consider the implications if it wasn't). So someone had to make the voice. Could it be the dog? It always seemed to be tormenting him when not being relatively friendly and just confusing the hell out of him. (puzzling and annoying seemed to be the hakkyou-inu's permanent settings). Was it possible that it could alter and 'throw' it's voice?
Then it clicked. Genjutsu. But how to break it..
Does it really matter?
The voice jarred him from his thoughts.
"What do you mean?!Of course it matters!"
Naruto had just jumped off a very high canyon.
Not literally hopefully. Cause that would be bad.
Why?
Why why why! The question was completely nagging him day and night! Why this, why that! (why was he hated, why had the Yondaime picked him!).
Knock. His head jerked up. "Naruto-niisan?" Nina.
She was obviously real. Maybe he'd just imagined that he had heard the Akatsuki..
The six (? he had never gotten her age) year old opened the door and came in. "Hi Nina."
She gave a shy goofy little-kid smile. "Good morning Naruto-niisan! Gramma said we could pick berries today! Do you wan' ta go?" Nina was holding the hem of her dress.
How could he resist. "Well, what kind of berries are we getting then?"
Her face lit up adorably. "All kinds of berries!" She latched onto his hand. "Strawberries, black berries, blue berries.." He let out a small laugh at her enthusiasm and let himself be dragged out of the room.
---
Words:2,170
Ok, so it will be a three part event, not two. I just couldn't get to it. I know what I want to happen, it's just getting there is the problem. And my spirit was dampened at first. I really appreciate the three reviews guys!! *hugs* I just wish someone had said which idea they prefer as that has been bugging me. I can see why people hold chapters hostage for reviews. I swear never to do it though, however tempting! Actually thought the cannibilsm scene in Chapter 7 (think) would have gotten some comments. *shrugs* Oh I would like answered please:
Was the jincuuriki/sasuke book unnessacary? (kind of came out of nowhere, I decided to roll with it. You should really pray for naruto's mental health.)(was my humor any good? or just annoying?)
Too fillerish? (although it had a few important parts. I kind of pushed back the 'meat' of it to the next chapter.)
*were they spelled correctly? Also, read Barfly and Friendship Story by Letta. Both will brighten your day!
Any predictions? All suggestions are welcome.
And please: would you prefer Worthless Gold (Naruto's parents are alive, he's still a jinchuriki, but his life is only worse and Konoha is plunged into war, Heavy AU) or Switch (also Au. More of a chain of events thing as Itachi is a failed genius rather than prodigy, Naruto's more wary than in canon, and generally all the members of team 7 have altered personalities.) Both contain people that have mental illness (some induced, others worsened by events that didn't happen in canon). Actually all my stories seem to have someone going mad..
7/18/09
