Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Lies I Told Myself
Key
S.S: Sick Shit (not suitable for the weak-minded or squeamish)
thinking
"talking"
thoughts progressing into speech"
'substitute for italics' (in certain places, like emphasizing something)
/telepathy/
:scene change: (more for my reference than anything else)
POV (automatically Naruto's if left unspecified)
-
Summary: I was a cold, callous individual. I was sarcastic and witty, not a pleasant person to be around. I cut you down with biting words every chance I got and smiled so frighteningly that I made children cry. I was, simply put, an asshole. I never cared what you thought of me. And one day I got bored, so very bored, so I decided to snap.
A/N: I don't know when I'll pick back up on CYDU to be honest. I'm in the process of overhauling the entire series, starting with chapter one of TFTP, you'll see. It'll go smoother than it's running, with more explanations or all that. Now, for this one! Yes, I am aware it's been awhile, I do have a life in the real world too. I will try and focus on the thoughts of other characters from this point on. Also, at the moment Dea7hly Jes7er, there's no pairing. There may or may not be as time goes on, I haven't really decided yet.
I don't really like this chapter tbh, and it's not just because of what happens in it.
WARNING: Character death in this chapter.
-
I see
Not there
Nor away
Close by
Find me
I shall keep
You Safe
Little One
Knaji
-
Chapter Seven: I Walk Among The Waters: Stage Two
:Tazuna's Home:
It was a chilly morning when Inari was taken, well, kidnapped is the correct term. Karasu had been left behind to protect the child and his mother while Kakashi, Momoiro, and I went to protect the bridge workers. I was tempted to convey my feelings on the subject but Kakashi would not have listened anyway, stubborn man that he is.
So when Karasu arrived at the bridge later that morning with the unfortunate news, I was unfazed. Drinky, on the other hand, was livid. Understandable, mind you, who would not be upset if their only grandchild went missing?
It was his reaction that left me completely unsympathetic however.
"How could you let them kidnap my only grandchild?! What kind of fucking ninja are you?!" he growls, actually picking up Karasu by the scruff of his collar.
I sigh, tapping a pattern on one of my scrolls idly.
"Tazuna-san. Please release my teammate." I intone, releasing a bit of my tenant's killer intent before continuing as Karasu is set to rights. "With any mission there is a measure of risk involved to the clients and the protectors. I suspect someone overpowered Karasu-san to take the boy, they were probably more powerful than him, seeing as he hasn't had time to get used to the fact that he is now missing an arm. Judging by the shallow wounds on his torso and the contusion on his temple, I am guessing it was a couple of low-level samurai using dull swords, which only makes it more pathetic."
I ignore Karasu's glare, which only confirms my hypothesis, and continue my diatribe.
'To be truthful, we are not equipped to handle this mission at the level it became earlier on, but we decided to regardless. Had you not decided to deceive the village in the first place, this mission could have been done within an hour of a proper jounin or ANBU team's arrival. You have us, thus, you will have to deal with the mistakes of inexperience. Bear in mind that we could've left you and gone back to Konoha days ago. Now please, return to building your structure or at least be silent while we look for your bright, sunny dispositioned grandchild."
I turn swiftly on my heel, giving my back to the infuriated drunkard and he chooses that moment to heave a thick chunk of discarded rock at the back of my skull. I couldn't help but wonder if my 'teammates' simply let it hit me because they knew I wouldn't be phased or if they were embarrassed by my previous display. I doubted they were smart enough to know the former. Either way the rock hit solidly into the back of my skull, breaking on contact with the metal plate I'd placed there a while back when I'd begun modifying my arms. I shook my head once to dislodge any debris and went on my way.
-
I liked testing things out at night. It gave me the silence and solitude I needed to concentrate and tease Dai to no end. The moon was pleasant company, as was my tenant...most days.
I give a derisive snort at my tenant's idiotic question.
"Of course not, do you believe me stupid?" I reply, shaking my head as I pull the kusarigama from the space behind my unhinged ear and begin to swing it slowly, testing the length and tautness. "It doesn't interfere with the inner pieces of my skull, had you paid attention, you'd notice that I've used some small seals to subshift space and store the weapons."
My tenant flares chakra in anger and I sigh, listening to the newest tirade.
"Yes, I am aware he's my comrade, however that doesn't...Yes, I 'would' like to reach my goals before the end of time...Alright, alright, I'll do it. Just please be silent."
I sigh to myself, opening my lab.
I hate helping people I don't like.
But I'll be damned if I give the arrogant little child anything for free.
My tenant laughs, giddy at getting its way.
Shut up tenant.
-
Sakura
It pained me to watch Sasuke attempting to aim at his targets with only one arm, his non-dominant arm at that. He had been throwing kunai for the past half hour and only one had hit the target so far. I watched as yet another kunai flew off into the trees, but unlike the other times I hear a grunt of pain along with it.
"Honestly Karasu-san, please learn some restraint or accuracy. Or both." Naruto quips cheerily as he comes out of the forest, the kunai embedded deeply into his shoulder, blood dripping from the wound slowly. I gasp, ignoring my anger at his earlier comment, hurrying over to him.
"You're hurt! Here, give me your arm!"
He laughs loudly, sending a shiver down my spine, but I must've looked confused because he simply pulls his other hand from behind his back and hands me an arm.
Literally.
I scream, dropping it to the ground hurriedly, trying to wipe the feeling of the cold, clammy skin off my hands. Naruto sighs deeply, pinching his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
"Do you have any idea how delicate the components of that mechanism are?" he murmurs irritatedly under his breath as he bends down to get the limb and check it over.
"Mechanism?"
Was it fake?
"Yes, Momoiro-san. Me-cha-ni-sm. Must I spell it out for you? It's a highly delicate and complicated piece of chakra tuned machinery that one such as yourself could never hope to understand even if I were to beat it into your lovestruck fangirl skull. " he grumbles out, probably thinking that I can't hear him and I frown, forgetting myself for a moment as I punch the kunai in his shoulder to drive it in deeper in retaliation.
Take that asshole, shannaro!
He hisses in pain and I come back to myself before apologizing.
"I'm so sorry! Let me take that ou-"
"Leave it be. I'll remove it later Momoiro-san." he tells me and I flinch at the coldness of his voice and gaze as he gestures to Sasuke-kun. "Karasu-san. Please come here."
Sasuke-kun gives him a look of skepticism, but makes his way over to our creepy, injured teammate, standing about five feet away. Naruto sighs, gesturing again impatiently.
"I said come here Karasu-san, not stand a few feet away from me. Now, please do so, I haven't all day to pander to your ego." Sasuke-kun snorts before giving our teammate a hard glare, but coming closer anyway. "This will hurt."
That was all the warning he gave before he quickly drew his sword, slicing off Sasuke-kun's stump of an arm at the shoulder (later I realized that he'd ruined the shirt he was wearing) and jamming a syringe full of an odd golden liquid into the side of his throat so swiftly that he had no time to scream in pain before he was out cold. It was all I could do not to faint at the amount of blood pouring from the boy I loved as Naruto did nothing except lay him on the ground and kneel beside him.
I resist the urge to scream, knowing that the arm in his hands was now for Sasuke and that sensei probably wouldn't enjoy seeing this...this blatant treason of attacking your own teammate.
-
I was slightly surprised that Momoiro hadn't screamed her head off when I relieved Karasu of his burden, of course, it wouldn't have made much of a difference either way, seeing as the seals I'd drawn around the clearing last night had activated with the application of my blood a few minutes prior. They were one of my finest works to date, they would make anyone outside see an empty clearing and make those with purpose forget what they were doing in the first place. All sounds from the inside were rendered mute to the outside through the use of an air vacuum.
"Momoiro-san?" I ask, turning to look at her as I force a few blood pills down Karasu's throat and effectively cull the blood supply to his shoulder temporarily with the use of pressure points. The process would take a while, thankfully Kakashi was still sleeping due to the drugged tea I gave him this morning. Syujin's invisible toxins were the best thing he taught me.
"Hai?" she finally grits out, her green eyes attempting to burn a hole into my skull.
"Stay silent and you may learn something useful."
She merely grunts as I smirk and reach over to pat her on the shin, placing a seal there that disappears without her notice.
"Good girl."
-
Carving out Karasu's nerves and attaching them to the wires in the arm hadn't been easy. Nor had folding the blood vessels and melding them together so that the liquid life wouldn't ruin the processes in the automated arm. However, I think the most annoying part was the bone. It took almost three hours to drill it inward enough so that the insert would take properly to the slot and the ball to the joint. Now all was left was to see how it worked, I had no doubt that it would cause my teammate great pain.
"Karasu-san. Awaken." I murmur, slapping him hard enough to leave a mark. Purely for my own amusement, for Momoiro was not pleased. I slap him once more as he doesn't stir. "Awaken Karasu-san."
I watch as his eyes flutter open, then widen in shock as he attempts to move. I cover my ears at the loud scream that issues forth from his mouth a mere second later. The pain had finally registered. He screams a few more times, rolling around on the ground in what must be agony, before I grow annoyed and inject him with a mild painkiller. He ceases moving at once, panting laboriously.
I calmly gather my things before running a finger down the length of his new arm all the way to the fingertips, activating the myriad of complex hidden seals with quite a bit of chakra and anchoring his own output firmly into the arm so that he will be able to use it in handseals. Nevermind for my own amusement.
"Enjoy Karasu-san." I murmur to him as I stand and begin to walk out of the clearing. "What?"
I shake my head at my own foolishness before pulling the kunai from my shoulder and throwing it at the nearby target, hitting the bullseye with little effort.
"Arigato, tenant."
-
Kakashi
We had found Inari's naked body strung up by the neck from a tree branch the next day. They hadn't made too much of an effort to conceal the body so it was one of the first things we saw when we headed for the clearing to train early that morning. Sakura had screamed while Sasuke had narrowed his eyes before lowering his head in prayer. I'd noticed that he'd gained a new arm, Kami knows how, but I wasn't going to bother asking so he could evade my question. I suspected Naruto had something to do with it, I wasn't ignorant to the large chunk of time I'd missed yesterday and I knew it had to have something to do with the tea I was given because that was the last thing I remembered.
Naruto simply stood there impassively beneath the boy's body, staring at it for the longest time before finally shaking his head and throwing a shuriken to sever the rope, catching the child's limp body in his arms.
"He hasn't been dead long. Rigor mortis hasn't begun to set in but his blood has begun sinking to his lower extremities and coagulating, indicating livor mortis, so I would say an hour at the least and an hour and a half at the most. He looks to have been beaten and/or tortured before he was hung, judging by the trauma on his torso and the mutilation of his face and genital area. Cause of death is asphyxiation due to a blocked airway." Naruto reports in a quiet matter-of-fact tone, giving his forensic report without so much as a grimace of disgust. "ETD: 3:57am."
"Well then, let's take the body back to Tazuna-san then, he's...not going to like this."
-
Tazuna
Inari...
"H-how l-lo-long?" I ask, stifling a sob from the back of my throat. This was what I had to wake up to? Kami-sama, my only grandchild... "How long has he been dead?"
"About two hours, three minutes and..." the blonde one starts but glances at the wall clock before finishing. "...forty-five seconds now, Tazuna-san. We are very sorry for your loss."
The blaise tone his condolences were delivered in made me angry to the point of boiling and had I not known he could kill me, I would've punched him in the face right then and there.
"...and are prepared to help you bury him. I will cover..."
I tuned the tall grey-haired one back out, I didn't want these ninja anywhere near my family anymore. Sure, they'd saved my life, but my grandson was dead and it was their fault.
"I-I'll -sob- b-bu-bury -hic- h-h-him." I manage to choke out, cutting him off and stumbling over my words. "Just...p-p-please l-leave us b-be for a-a-a while, ne?"
The black haired one shares a look with the blonde before all four of them nod to me and disappear out the door. I make sure they've gone before falling down next to my grandson's shrouded body to weep.
Tsunami would be heartbroken.
-
Sasuke
I slam Naruto up against the trunk of a tree after we finish sparring, the arm he gave me sprouting feathers and out of my control.
"What the hell did you do, you bastard?"
Naruto just grins at me, I swear if I had control right now, his smug grin would be all over the forest floor in white and red bloody little pieces.
"Why Karasu-san, I've done nothing, why would you ask that?" he replies, his voice sounding fake and as sweet as a lemon dipped in arsenic.
"Because it was working fine until you said Kai, you gave me this arm so I know you had something to do with it!" I hiss at him, tightening my hold on his throat hard enough to cut off his air supply. I smirk internally as I hear him gasp slightly. "Now. Fix. It."
His grin turns into a frown as he gives me a baleful look before he blinks and suddenly the spasming stops. I feel the feathers popping from my skin and watch as the float to the ground before disappearing as if they never existed.
"There you are Karasu-san." he murmurs, calmly removing my hand from his slowly bruising throat as though I hadn't been attempting to choke him to death. "Have fun...Karasu-san."
Sakura comes up to me after Naruto has disappeared from sight, asking what's wrong.
"Hn, nothing."
I didn't know what to make of it.
Naruto was a freak.
-
Kakashi stops me before I can unseal the brains of the Demon Brothers and begin to work, I suppress a sigh and turn to him, standing at attention.
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei?"
"I've noticed what you're doing and I don't like it Naruto."
I tilt my head side to side before humming to myself. Of course he noticed Karasu's arm, I am such an idiot at times. I repress the urge to snort as my tenant agrees with me.
"And just what am I doing, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi simply narrows his visible eye at me and I feel a bit of killer intent directed towards me, I resist the urge to act as though I'm unaffected, willing a bit of sweat to
That was interesting.
"Experimenting on your teammate? Drugging your sensei? Talking with a potential enemy and family during a mission? Naruto, should I decide to report all of your actions since we've arrived here you could be tried for high treason against the village and executed, do you realize this?" he asks, his visible eye showing barely restrained ire. His body was tense, strained, I could see he was still in pain from chakra exhaustion. It would be so simple...
"Hai sensei, I understand perfectly." I reply, nodding my head in acquiesce. "I give you my word that it won't happen again."
He nods tightly before turning on his heel to go, leaving me to my own devices once more.
-
Something would happen today, I could feel it as we stepped onto the bridge.
As we discovered the dead bodies of the workers, hidden beneath a thick mist, the voice of Zabuza resounded clearly.
"Sharingan Kakashi, you and your team are going to die today."
Sigh.
Notes of the Footed Kind
-
Anaki: The next chapter will be slightly behind this one by a few hours to two days, so get ready.
RC16: Climatic battle ahead!
Anaki: Very special chapter!
RC16: Don't miss it!
Anaki: At 8pm central on ABC!
RC16: ...
Anaki: -sweatdrops- Sorry, lil overboard there...
RC16: Duh.
RC17: Haha, review!