Chapter Five – Parasite Meet Host
The eyes of a killer stared back at him. Red eyes. The colour of blood. He tore his gaze away and sat on the floor with a light thump, bringing the book he was reading closer to his face. The books he carried with his other hand was placed on the floor besides him.
"Won't you let me eat some more, boy?" The kitsune growled from behind thick metal bars, sending wavelengths of killer intent to disconcert him.
"No," he wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut, knowing that answering the kitsune's question would only encourage it. How much longer do I have to stay here? He wondered instead, though he knew the answer to that question fairly well by now.
He went back to reading.
"I don't see why you can't feed me the whole thing right away," the kitsune whined, its nine tails lashing out in impatience. "And I'm not stupid. I won't bite a hand that feeds."
His glaze flickered to the beast whimpering a few metres away from him. It was perhaps the strangest entity he had ever seen—a formless, semi-transparent creature whose features were barely discernable in the weak light. Its skin had a dark sheen and the fist-sized red which pulsated in the middle of its body could only be its heart. He felt slightly sorry for it, but he knew that he couldn't let the creature live. It was hard enough looking after one monster inside him. He couldn't possibly handle two.
He tried to focus on the book he was reading but eventually, his thoughts drifted back to the real world, and to Yakumo who had been harbouring that pitiful creature for years. He didn't quite understand how he managed to do what he did. He was just talking to Yakumo, trying to get to know her, maybe convince her to teach him how to paint, when he saw a shadow towering over her. It was, he thought, probably the chakra lingering in his eyes that allowed him to see Ido—the creature which was now at his mercy. Putting more chakra into his eyes, he had seen Yakumo with a monster's distorted face, horns protruding at either side of her head. He panicked at the sight of this beast and grabbed its horns with hands that were filled with chakra, intending to yank the demon away from Yakumo and fight it. Instead, what he saw next was the chamber of the Kyuubi, a room he had discovered while exploring the world inside his head.
It didn't take a genius like Shikamaru to find out what had happened to him. Apparently, Ido was a demon of the parasitic kind, living on a host, much as the Kyuubi lived within Naruto. Because Ido was not as powerful as the Kyuubi was, Naruto was able to break free its hold on Yakumo, and with the Kyuubi's chakra guiding him unconsciously, he was able to bring Ido inside his own body where the Kyuubi proceeded to make a meal out of the beast.
A few pages later, he stood up and tore a chunk out of Ido, throwing the piece of demonic meat towards the kitsune. It caught the piece with one of its tails and ate it in two quick bites before imploring Naruto for a little more. This time, Naruto complied, feeding him a few more pieces before he went back to reading. In the back of his mind, he wondered, not for the first time that day—and certainly not the last—how much longer do I have to stay here?
"How is the boy?"
Yakumo looked up and met Hashmal's eyes. "His breathing is normal, and he has stopped sweating now," she murmured, turning her attention back to Naruto who was sleeping soundlessly on the hard cot that was his bed. She took the wet towel from its basin and went back to wiping his face, cooling it. "If he remains like this, he will be able to wake up soon."
Hashmal nodded. "Thank you, Yakumo-san, for looking after the master for us. If you need anything, please tell me." He bowed and stepped outside the room, closing the door lightly. His eyes fell on the three other occupants who sat around a small round table.
"The boy's going to be alright, I assume?" Shiva asked, resting her chin on top of her palm.
"He better be, yarro!" Cerberus growled. "That bozu still has a promise with me, and he better man up and deliver, elsewise, no way in hell am I Junctioning with him!"
"You're still thinking about that bet?" Ixion growled, icy blue eyes boring holes at Cerberus's head. "Right now, you should be more worried about Naruto's health!"
"He's not coughing blood or hyperventilating, right? That's as good as healthy to me," Cerberus retorted.
"He's just a child. You, on the other hand, are an over-grown immature brat who still needs disciplining," Ixion snapped.
"Well I don't answer to you, old man!"
A knock on the door kept Ixion from formulating a scathing reply. With a few nudges from Shiva, who was the closest to him, Hashmal eventually gave in to the pressure and walked towards the door. Since he was the one who had the most experience living among humans, it was only logical that he answer the door.
"Yes?" Hashmal inquired lightly upon opening the door. A young, blonde woman stood before him, squirming under his stare.
"Is Naruto here?"
"Yes," Hashmal answered automatically. "Well, actually no. Maybe. Does being here in body but not in mind count as a yes?"
A/N: Short chapter. Why? Because I posted this to inform you that in the last few months I have been working on a rewrite of the Summoner's Craft. Suffice to say, I've finally posted it under the name "The Summoner's Craft: the Butterfly Effect". It's four chapters long already, so hopefully, you won't be too mad at me for rewriting the whole fic. Sorry?
To those who want a detailed reason why I chose to rewrite the whole fanfic, you can go to my wordpress and read the reasoning there (first entry). I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience. For those who think this is the superior fic, you may either write me a very convincing review comparing this to the rewrite, or you can pick up where I left and continue this story yourself. I don't mind. Not really. Just tell me first so I can read it too.