AN: Wow, this story is fun to write! I expected somewhat pissed off responses when I revealed that Andariel wasn't Andariel at all, though that might have made it even better for people. Originally, I was going to make Naruto into a new lord, like Lord of Sorrow or Despair or something, but as you now know, that idea was scrapped... A thought suddenly occurred to me: Am I using the word 'Notion' correctly? If no, then tell me the correct usage please! I have also decided to use characters from Diablo 3, though they will be OOC since I do not know their personality.
Anyway, this chapter is more story-setup and character progression/relationships with a slight time-skip than anything else, so not a lot of action... And yet this is the chapter with the most action so far... And my longest one to boot... Anyway...
LET'S START!
~Decay~
By the time Naruto came back to a concious state, it seemed like the world had shifted to day as the light from the sun shone him in the face. A weak, hoarse groan left him as he slowly opened his eyes, his muscles burning in fatigue while his nausea, although dampened, was still present.
'God, I feel weaker than a newborn kitten.' He groused in his mind as his vision swam. Apparently his body needed more time to recover after the hell Andariel put his body through. He looked around through blurry eyes. Where was he? He obviously wasn't atop the monument anymore, as there quite clearly was a roof above his head, and the bed he laid in was too comfortable to be his own, so that ruled out his apartment. As his eyes cleared, he managed to recognice the room he now resided in, having been there a few times in the past.
'This... This is Iruka's place... So he found me atop the monument, eh? Heh, I halfway expected him to just leave me there.' He frowned at his own thoughts. Iruka was probably the only one he was indecisive about. Did the man actually care about him, or was he ordered to act like he did to try and create some sort of bond between him and the village? No, the man was simply too geniune with his intentions and feelings. The man actually cared for him.
'No matter. He's human, I don't need humans for anything else than slaves and possible cannon fodder later on. Plus, I can get so much better once I get away from here.'
As he laid there, staring at nothing, he couldn't help but think about the Hokage, the man that had created a false life for Naruto. What would he do the next time he saw the old bastard? Should he act like nothing was wrong, or should he blow up in his face? He instantly ruled out both of them. Acting like nothing had happened would not work, as his anger for the man was simply to great at the moment, but cussing out the man to the ninth circle of hell would quickly raise suspiction against him, and if he found out that Naruto knew about the Kyuubi, then he would probably have his memories erased by the damned Yamanaka clan, probably by the clan head himself just to ensure a perfectly done job.
Maybe he should act on his new title? Show the man a deep, if somewhat false anguish that has been created by the village he loves oh-so much? Yes, maybe he should try and pray on the man's apparent good-will, try and drag some favors out of him, perhaps even a technique or two. Maybe he even could give the man a heart-attack due to some sort of self-inflicted guilt. A small, malicious smirk formed on his face. Yes, he was going to trick them all, bend them all to his will, and when the time is right, escape from this wretched place, and they would be too deep in their own grief to stop him. He was the brother of the Lord of Lies, so may his unholy blessings help him in his current goal.
While he rested there on the bed with different scenarios running through his head, he barely noticed Sora rise from the shadows underneath the bed, the shadow creature looking worriedly at his obviously still recovering master. Naruto's demeanor lightened slightly when he saw the dark creature.
"Good morning Sora." The boy whispered, smirking slightly as a toothy grin spread across Sora's semi-inexistent face. Any morning he saw Sora was a good morning. How he survived before he created Sora and the other Shadowlings he couldn't understand. As he stared at the Shadowling, an idea formed in his head.
"I have a question. You and the other Shadowlings are made out of dark emotions, right?" Sora gave an affirmative nod. "Then is it possible for you to... How to say this, influence a person?" Sora cocked his head to the side, as if telling him to explain what he meant.
"I got the idea from Andariel and that Necromancer. Is it possible for anyone of you to... Semi-possess someone, to enter someone's mind without them knowing, and somehow enhance their negative emotions?" Sora entered a thinking pose for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders, a hiss leaving him.
"I don't know, never tried."
"Then here's the idea." Naruto whispered, smirking darkly. "Right now, I'm at Iruka's. When he comes back, I will act vulnerable and heartbroken, as if the village finally has crushed me. When he is at his weakest, when he least expects anything to happen, I want you to enter his mind and check if my idea is possible or not, though remember that it needs to be a slow change if it is possible. I don't want the changes to be noticed quickly, as that might put us in danger." As Naruto explained his idea, a grin spread again across Sora's face, a grin full of malice.
Oh yes, he was going to make his master proud. If there existed no way for him to influence Iruka, then he would create one, and if that was impossible... Well, he could always kill the man from within, seeing as they had basically no use for him then. He would simply have to either destroy the corpse completely, or try and make it seem like suicide. He disappeared underneath the bed again, hiding in the shadows, relishing in his father's smirk.
Naruto's smirk vanished though when the vertigo re-appeared.
As his stomach made itself known by twisting and turning, he quickly threw himself to the side before emptying whatever stomach-acids that resided in his gut at the floor below before collapsing, whatever miraculous strength he had garnered vanishing again. Thankfully though, his nausea seemed to have vanished with the acid for some strange reason. As he laid there, he could have sworn that he heard sizzling, so when he leaned to the side and opened his eyes and stared at the widening hole in the floor, he couldn't help but gape in shock.
"What the hell?" He almost yelled, his voice raw from lack of hydration, though that was easily forgotten as he watched as whatever fluid he threw up ate away at the floor, the hole nowalmost as big as his head. Suddenly, somewhere around the house, he heard a door open and close, signifying that whoever owned the residence had returned from whatever affairs he had to do. As the door leading to his room opened, he was greeted by the scarred face of his academy teacher, Iruka Umino, holding a bag in his right hand. Whatever happy greeting he was planning to say was instantly gone as he stared at the aforementioned hole in the floor, alternating between staring at his now damaged floor and the obviously still sick and dizzy boy.
He quickly shook his head to snap himself out of whatever daze he currently was in. He could ask about the floor later, right now he had a sick boy to tend to. Smiling softly at the boy, he dragged the chair beside his desk towards the bed before sitting in it, the bag planted firmly on his lap.
"Good morning Naruto, how are you feeling today?" He said softly to the boy, his smile dropping just slightly when the boy didn't meet his gaze as he laid back on the bed, the boy closing his eyes due to fatigue. It was nothing serious Iruka said to himself, probably just the shock of actually being sick that took a hit on the boy's mood.
"To be honest, worse than the time when I was bitten by one of the snakes from that snake woman." The boy mumbled just loud enough for Iruka to hear, and the teacher couldn't help but grimace slightly at the memory. The boy had been in a pretty bad condition for about a day, though his body seemed to gain a slight resistance towards that snake type's particular poison, so Naruto had always seen it as a mostly positive experience. Iruka though had almost butchered the woman for almost killing Naruto.
"Have something to drink, your throat must be hurting somewhat badly." He said, handing the boy a flask of water from the bag, the boy gulping the life-giving fluid down greedily. The man smiled again before looking out the window, his mind wandering. The boy sat the now empty flask on the nightstand next to the bed before lieing down again, his eyes closed.
"I found you passed out atop the monument, almost burning up because of your fever. Care to tell me what you were doing up there?" Iruka asked finally, his eyes turning back towards the sick boy, his worries clear in his voice.
Seconds passed between them in silence, and for just a moment Iruka believed that Naruto had passed out again. Not that he could blame the boy, as he had a pretty bad case of whatever disease he had contracted. Naruto wasn't asleep though, and the answer he got was not one he expected.
"I... I just had to get away from it all. I had to get away from the villagers and the glares, the hate... I just can't take it anymore." A small tremor entered the boy's voice in the end, a sign that the boy was close to tears. Iruka sat there, slightly lost as he had seldom, if ever seen this side of Naruto before, this fragile, wounded side. The boy had asked him a few times before why the villagers hated him, but all he could say at the time was that they were wrong, and that it would change once he became a ninja. Hopefully that would work here too. He tussled Naruto's hair gently, earning the pale-blonde boy's attention.
"One day Naruto, one day you will prove them wrong, one day they will realise their mistakes. That is when they will see who you truly are." A sad, but confident smile was on Iruka's face as he preached to Naruto, though it slipped off his face when Naruto only averted his gaze.
"How can I believe that? For over twelve years I have tried to make them happy, yet all I get back is scorn and hate. How can I know that they will ever change? H-How... How can I know that you aren't simply lying to me, that you aren't using me for your own amusement?" This time, a tear did leave the young teen's blue eyes, and Iruka could feel his heart fracture just slightly at the sight. The boy wasn't done though as he glared at the man, all his pain and suffering shining through.
"Why shall I become a ninja for this village when everyone would rather see me dead? Why should I defend those villagers if they would rather backstab me at any moment? W-Why should I help them when they will only throw me away once my use is gone?" The boy screamed, tears falling freely from his eyes as Iruka stared at the boy, his heart breaking. How could he refute those words? The boy was right, after twelve years, they still hated him just as badly as the day he was born, and they would do almost anything to hurt him, if not physically, then mentally... He might not convince Naruto to trust the villagers, as he saw the futility in that, but he could convince Naruto to try and trust him.
Softly he cupped the boy's face in his hands, gently, but firmly forcing the boy to look into his own eyes, a small, but warm and heartfelt smile on his face.
"I will not tell you that you are wrong in your accusations against the civilians, for I would lie then... Don't become a ninja to protect the villagers, but to protect those close to you, those that you love and love you back. I may not agree with everything you have done, but I am extremely proud of you and your accomplishments despite all your setbacks, and I love you like a brother. If you don't want to become a ninja anymore, then that is okay. As long as you follow your dream, then I will always be proud of you."
Before the two of them could understand, they found themselves embracing each other, Naruto hiding his face in Iruka's chest as the man had his chin atop the blonde's head, rubbing the shivering boy's back soothingly with his eyes closed.
Naruto though wasn't crying at all. Quite on the contrary, he had his eyes open as he stared at the floor, a small grin forming on his face as he watched Sora slowly slide up the unsuspecting teacher's legs. It only took a few more seconds before the shadowling covered the man's entire body in an intangible sheath of darkness. A moment later, it went inside of him, Iruka shivering slightly as he opened his eyes, just missing the last bit of darkness that entered him. A mere second later Naruto pushed himself away from the man, frowning slightly.
"To become a ninja, I need to do the clone technique, right?" He mumbled, earning a sad nod from the man. "Are there no other clone types I can use to pass the test? I have too much Chakra for the basic one."
Iruka just sat there for a moment in silence before smacking himself, a frustrated groan leaving him.
"God, you're right. I totally forgot that the rules never specify the exact type of clone required." He mumbled, staring at the still pale boy. "I do know another clone technique, but you need better Chakra control before I can teach that to you, though it's not usually taught more advanced ways to control Chakra in the Academy... Oh well, a little headstart over your peers doesn't really hurt now, does it?" He mumbled in a faux-conspiratory way, earning a smirk and a nod from Naruto.
"I'm not going to teach you anything though before this sickness leaves you, is that clear?" He said, staring sternly at the boy who nodded in understanding.
"I understand. Heh, not that I could learn a lot now anyway, it hurts just to move... Can you help me back to my apartment though? I would like to rest there."
For just a moment, Iruka was going to deny the boy's request, wanting the boy to stay with him so he could keep an eye on his health, but then he thought that perhaps the boy would feel more relaxed within his own home. It made sense in Iruka's mind, seeing as the boy never liked to be inside another person's house anyway. So he simply smiled and nodded before lifting the boy in his arms, the bag still held in his grasp. He idly noted that the boy was heavier than he looked, though he simply filed that away as somewhat compact muscles. Then again, the boy did seem a bit wider underneath his jumpsuit... Nah.
"Let's go over the rooftops. That way, you won't have to deal with the villagers today." He muttered, earning a small smile from the boy in his arms. Opening the windows wide, he jumped out of the house, the boy clinging to him. Keeping to his word, he quickly ascended the nearest wall and used the roofs as his means of transportation. A mere two minutes later, they were outside Naruto's small apartment. Fishing through his orange pants, Naruto quickly found his keys before opening the door. Quickly finding the bedroom, he laid the boy carefully under the cover after taking off his jacket.
"Please don't do anything rash for a few days Naruto, we do not want a backlash you know. I will fill your fridge with some food and drinks, so you won't have to shop this week, okay?" The boy nodded, gaining a smile from the man as he tussled the boy's hair softly.
"Take care Naruto, and find me whenever you are healthy and ready for the lessons, okay?" The boy gave another nod, making Iruka feel a bit better. Though when he turned around to leave the room, he missed the dark smirk on the boy's face, nor did he catch the fact that part of his shadow stayed in the room. After a minute the two of them could hear the man leave the house. The boy slowly sat up in his bed the exact moment when Sora manifested from the leftover patch of shadow.
The young teen and his pseudo-son stared at each other, one in anticipation and interest, and one in excitement. After a moment the Shadowling grinned, giving a thumbs up, something which brought a matching grin on Naruto's face.
"Excellent Sora, I knew you were the right one to do the job. You have a connection with him now, am I correct?" The Shadowling nodded. "Perfect. With enough time, do you think it's possible for you to completely possess him?" Sora gave an eager nod which only widened Naruto's grin. Suddenly he remembered the hole in Iruka's floor, and he motioned for Sora to help him.
"Help me over to the bathroom, I have to check something in the mirror." Sora complied, holding Naruto tightly as Naruto stumbled towards the bathroom. He grabbed the sink, balancing himself as he happily noticed that he had regained some strength during the last hour he had been awake. Looking at himself, he noticed that he wasn't as pale as yesterday, which meant that he was recovering. His hair on the other hand, seemed to have lost even more life, hanging listlessly around his head, the colour bordering on white, something which Naruto could not understand. What the heck did his hair have to do with his demonic transformation? He shook his head, ridding himself of that thought as he opened his mouth wide.
Except for slightly larger canines and generally sharper teeth, he couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary. His tounge was still a tounge, both above and underneath, and his throat looked absolutely fine. He was about to close his mouth before he noticed a small irregularity, something which wasn't there before. There, far back on his tounge was a small fold of flesh, something which he knew he didn't have before. Flexing his tounge in several ways, he finally found out how to move that part, and when he did, it opened itself into a hole.
Staring at it, he got the slightest feeling that he should know where a phenomena like that should occur. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his mind span at the possibilities.
"The snake-lady would have a field day if she saw this." He whispered to himself, a sinister smile spreading at the possibilities. He didn't throw up acid before, he spit it up... He could spit acid. He could spit freaking acid! How cool and useful wasn't that?! Who knows, maybe he could spit poison too? He just had to find out how to do it on command instead of whatever he did back at Iruka's house. That made him pause for a second. Hopefully Iruka wouldn't ask about how the hole was created, for Naruto really did not want to reveal this to the man. Of course, if wherever Iruka was going to train them was hidden enough, then he might just have Sora create a little disappearing act if the man became too nosy.
Getting back on the topic of conciously spitting acid, he quickly asked Sora to move over the cabinet which held towels and other washing and drying items, revealing the wall behind it. He knew that right behind that wall was a poster, so if the hole created wasn't too big, then he could just push the cabinet back into position and act as if the hole didn't exist. He should probably do this outside, but the initial test wasn't really all that dangerous... Hopefully. He really didn't want to explain why his house was gone. Once he had found out the exact muscles he had to use, then he could practice the motion outside later when he wasn't as exhausted.
"Let me see, according to what that snake lady said when I was nine, the poison-gland on several creatures are often found below their throats, generally in the chest area. Hopefully, it's at the same place when it comes to me, or I will have a hard job finding out exactly where it is." He mumbled as he looked down at himself.
"Huh, I've gained some musclemass." He idly noted. Seems like another reason to love demonic body-altering. Quickly banishing those thoughts, he began testing out his, for lack of better words, muscles, to see where and how he had to flex. Ten minutes later, a frustrated Naruto stared at still acid-free wall.
"Sora, you got any ideas?" The Shadowling cocked his head, staring at the T-shirt covered chest of his father before walking over and softly punching several areas, as if to find out where this gland of his was hidden. Suddenly, when Sora hit the area right below the throat did the same, albeit weaker feeling of nausea come back to Naruto, and the boy quickly hit that area again before feeling the acid rush out the hole, leaving his mouth and hitting the wall. Naruto rubbed his throat while staring at the rapidly dissolving wall, not used to the acid-spitting feeling at all.
"No wonder I can't do this at will, it's basically a new muscle. I have no experience using it, so I can't really use it effectively yet... But now I know the feeling, so now I simply have to replicate the notions." He said to Sora, the both of them watching the hole slowly getting bigger, until it finally stopped. Thankfully, it wasn't too big, so he could cover it up. As Sora pushed the cabinet back to it's original place, a yawn escaped Naruto's mouth.
"I'm going to sleep Sora. Keep an eye on Iruka, will you? And tomorrow, come to me... Around nine O'clock. If I'm not completely recovered, then we will simply leave the house and find a training ground to test out this new ability of mine. I really need to master this to an acceptable degree as fast as possible." During his small speech, they had once again entered the bedroom, the boy lieing underneath the covers. As the Shadowling saluted, Naruto closed his eyes and almost instantly passed out, Sora leaving nary a second later.
On the other side of town, Iruka suddenly remembered the huge-ass hole in his floor.
~Decay~
A week came and went, and for most of the village population, nothing of particular interest happened. One specific individual though couldn't have had a better week, despite certain circumstances. This person was none other than our favorite blonde, though he looked more like an albino nowadays. He had a theory that the Necromancer managed to alter his body just slightly before Naruto stopped him, though Naruto couldn't deny that he looked cool with white hair.
As the boy scrubbed himself as he showered, he couldn't help but reflect upon the last seven days.
*Sora had woken him up at nine o'clock, and despite the fact that he felt a lot better, he just knew that he wasn't in tip-top condition just yet, which was evident by the residue aching he still felt in his body. That didn't stop them from leaving the apartment and finding a seldom used training ground though. It was a nice, open place with a stream and full of trees, though there were noticeably less trees by the time Naruto was done, some reduced to ashed while others were simply wasted away.
Practicing his acit-spitting went well, though they had to take several breaks due to a reason they really should have foreseen. At the start, he couldn't really compress the muscles around the gland at will, so he had to kickstart it with a solid punch. After about ten minutes though, he could, after some time, reproduce the movement needed to put pressure on the gland. Five minutes later though he had to take a break, as his throat had begun to hurt somewhat fiercely due to the sizzling liquid, and no more acid came out. It made sense, obviously he didn't have an infinite pool inside of him, and his body needed a bit of time to produce more acid. Hopefully, after a lot of practice, his body would be able to reproduce the acidic liquid faster so he wouldn't have to worry about having no acid when he really needed it.
He took about an hour-long break, and during the break, he had entered his mind again to visit his trapped guest. The Shadowlings had done a fabulous job at keeping an eye on the Necromancer, the man being bound both by the chains produced by Naruto, and trapped in a cell within his mind, guarded by a small battalion of his lovelies. Naruto was surprised though when the man looked almost... Resigned, like he had given up escaping, at least for the moment. He didn't buy it for a moment though, the man was obviously plotting something.
With the help of another Shadowling, this one named Pyre as it had a slight red tint in his white eyes, he somehow managed to knock out the Necromancer, which is strange since he was basically only a spirit, a spirit inside another person's mind, so how he could be knocked out was a mystery Naruto would solve in the future... If he could recall his ponderings at a future date that is.
Sadly enough, since the man was simply a spirit at the moment, no Shadowling could enter his mind, seeing as he had no corporeal body for them to semi-possess, and his psyche was simply to strong for Naruto to rip apart with his own mind, so getting any useful information out of him would not be an easy task. This only made Naruto give Pyre a sadistic smile as he gave the sadistic little imp his orders before he went back to the world of the awake.
"If we can't pull what we want out of him, then we simply have to force his mind to shatter. I will find a way to learn Necromancy, and if I have to break him mentally and absorb him to learn it, then so be it. Torture him in all matter of ways your lovely little mind can come up with, though be careful not to kill him. If he squeals like a little piggy, then give me a nudge."
Sadly enough, he could only continue his acid training for another ten minutes before being forced to stop for the day, as his throat was hurting pretty badly due to his body not being completely used to the foreign substance yet. Oh well, if he couldn't do one thing, then he could work on something else.
With Sora's help, he managed to summon the Necromancer's foot-long wand from his mind. From what he could remember, the Prime Evil's return had wiped out most of the humans on the planet, which is the main reason why the art of magic was lost for countless millenia. According to a much more recent myth though, Chakra was discovered by the Sage of the six paths. No one knows how he managed to do that, but Naruto had a theory that Mana and Chakra was basically the same thing, just with a different coat of paint. It made sense really, seeing as the two energies had way to many similarities than what could possibly randomly occur.
The first thing on the agenda though was not to learn Necromancy, as even the simpler spells was seen as advanced magic. The Sorceress that fought against the demons along with the other band of warriors might only have used elemental magic, which was seen as somewhat basic, but her mastery over it was unparalleled, casting blizzards, thunderstorms and flaming meteors. Of course, Ninjutsu might be stronger, and they might be able to use more elements than the mages of old, but the mages of old could cast the fiercest of magic faster than the blink of an eye. Ninja's though needed more time because of their reliance on hand-signs to channel their Chakra, so simply due to pure spamming, a mage of old could beat jounins, perhaps even Kages if they were strong enough.
The boy smirked down at the wand, one of the possible catalyst for channeling Mana. He might not have a teacher to learn magic-weaving from, but he had always learned best from trial and error anyways. Plus, if Chakra and Mana actually was the same thing, then he had a shit-load of Mana to test with. Oh, the joys of being a demon-container.*
As he stepped out of the shower, he quickly dried himself before throwing on a simple black T-shirt and dark-green pants. No matter how much he loved the color, a Primordial Evil couldn't be seen wearing orange jumpsuits.
He had managed to produce a small, but hot fireball that day, something which burned down a few trees before a couple of ninja's stopped the fire. Of course, by that time, Naruto had already left the vicinity towards another training ground with a small waterfall. Like heck he wanted to explain the damage done to the other clearing.
A day after his acid and magic training he was back to full strength, and he had met Iruka. It had shocked Iruka when Naruto had asked the man to get some new threads for him, though the man could understand. With less colorful clothes the boy wouldn't be instantly seen and glared at by the entire village.
For three days the man had taught Naruto how to climb trees with Chakra, and the boy could honestly see the many uses of the exercise. Increasing his control over his Chakra while also increasing the size of it, plus the fact that he could now scale walls and other vertical obstructions much easier. Naruto could envision himself crawling along a shadow-filled roof, silently killing his target with his acid before leaving the area unseen.
The clone technique Iruka taught him honestly surprised him, as he believed Iruka would perhaps teach him water clones since his name meant Dolphin. Instead, the man knew the earth clone technique, a somewhat Chakra expensive, but useful technique as the earth clones were the most durable of all clone types, being able to take multiple hits before dispersing.
Apparently, with the notable exception of the normal illusion clones, Naruto was a prodigy when it came to clone techniques, as merely two hours later he had mastered the technique to an acceptable degree, which meant that he could form at least five clones in under three seconds. He relished at Iruka's gobsmacked expression, as the man had taken almost a week to master it to Naruto's degree.
The day after that was Sunday, so Naruto had once again been training with his acid-spitting and magic-weaving at the first clearing. That was the day he found out that magic casting wasn't just to know how to weave ones magic, but it also came down to a person's will. In other words, while the magic-weaving decided the type of magic used, it was his will and imagination that, for some strange reason or another, decided the power behind the spell, which was discovered when another patch of trees were destroyed by an explosion of fire. He should probably have kept himself around the waterfall clearing.
'Sadly enough, this day is monday.' Naruto thought, his mood dampening as he took a bite out of his toast. He wasn't sick anymore, and the only reason Naruto didn't attend the Academy that last week was because Iruka had allowed him to skip due to their extra training. Now though, their after-school class was over, and he had to return back to that infernally boring place.
Of course, since it was monday, then they had sparring that day, something Naruto was more than happy about attending nowadays. Mondays and thursdays were the sparring days, the whole day being used so each student would have several fights against different opponents. Last time he had sparred before he became sick, he had almost killed a boy he couldn't remember the name of due to his raw strength, breaking several of the weaklings ribs with a single punch, a rib-bone puncturing one of the kids lungs. Thankfully, it was his last match that day, though he had been reprimanded after the boy was brought to the hospital by Mizuki. The man had quickly quieted down though once Naruto asked him if an enemy would have held back.
Locking his door, he quickly jumped up the nearest roof before barreling towards the House of Horror as many students called it. For some reason Naruto never understood, the Hokage's office, the mission administration office, and the Academy all resided within the same building. Two high-profile buildings at the same place, they were basically begging invaders to attack that area.
He quickly banished those thoughts as he landed in front of the Academy entrance, some parents glancing his way before dismissing him due to his new clothes. He quickly made his way down the halls before finding the correct room, the door wide open, quite possibly due to the screeching platinum-blonde and pinkette girls inside. He simply walked inside before sitting down at the nearest seat, right beside a boy he never managed to remember the name off. For some reason, no one noticed that he entered the classroom.
After a shriek of victory from the pinkette as she managed to land a seat beside her 'lovely Sasuke', the class settled down for a moment, the students muttering between each other. Nary a minute later, Iruka entered the classroom with a smile and a good morning, the class actually returning the greeting for once. He quickly went down the list of people that day before coming to the last three people.
"Sasuke Uchiha?"
The black-haired boy gave a 'hn' something which earned a resounding squee from all his fangirls. Quickly cleaning his ears after checking them for any hearing damage, he called the next name while staring straight at the boy, the man silently watching the reactions of the class.
"Naruto Uzumaki?"
For a moment, the class looked around for the boy before finally noticing the albino at the front with the raised arm. Silence reigned in the class for a moment as they noticed that the boy didn't wear his customary orange jumpsuit as they dismissed his new haircolor for some reason or another. A second later, two things happened. First, the Hyuuga that sat right behind the boy fainted, her face red, then the whole class screamed in perfect synchronization.
"WHAT?"
"Good to have you back, Naruto." Iruka said with a smile after the boy's peers had gotten that scream out of their system, ignoring the looks of shock, confusion and mild outrage that had spread across the classroom. After the Yamanaka was called, something no one noticed due to their still shocked states, they were led outside towards the sparring grounds behind the academy, most of the class still staring at the pre-blonde, now albino boy.
After several boring matches, one where the Akimichi heir pounded some civilian sap, a pairing was called that sent murmurs along the crowd. Though most of the murmurs held slight sympathy for the white-haired boy.
"Shino Aburame and Naruto Uzumaki, will you please step forward?" Iruka called, and a few seconds later the two boys stood before each other, one with an emotionless visage behind his coat and glasses, and one with an almost unnoticeable smirk on his face, his eyes slightly hidden due to his hair, and a canine slipping out from his lips.
"It has been a while Mr. Uzumaki." Shino said almost robotically. "According to my bugs, something about you has changed, and I am not talking about your appearance. Would you like to explain?" Everyone knew that the boy loved to boast, so it was quite a shock for the class when the boy simply crossed his arms, his smirk slipping slightly, sending a pointed look at the Aburame that practically screamed 'are you stupid?'
"Both of you ready?" Iruka asked, both of the boys nodding. "Then begin!"
Shino didn't enter a ready stance when Iruka started the match, believing himself superior to Naruto despite his new looks. That was all Naruto needed, for a second later he had already crossed the distance between himself and Shino, a palm-strike towards the bug-users chin narrowly missing as the boy leaned backwards, though he managed to knock off the boy's glasses. He quickly fell on his hands and sent a spin-kick into the Aburame's stomach, sending tall teen almost fifteen feet back, a glob of blood escaping his mouth, and his eyes widened in surprise. Before Naruto could continue, he was stopped by Iruka as the teacher called the match in Naruto's favor.
Silence spread across the field at the sudden victory, the silver-haired assistand Mizuki slowly helping the Aburame to his feet, the man sending discreet glares towards the demon-container.
As Naruto walked away from the arena, Iruka called out the names of Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga, though only the pink-haired girl Sakura Haruno seemed to notice that her crush was entering the ring. The platinum-blonde girl Ino Yamanaka on the other hand stared at the fox-boy, thoughts about his seemingly previously hidden muscular body going through her mind.
As the Uchiha and the Hyuuga duked it out between them, Naruto sat on the ground, leaning against the fence as he stared at the skies above.
He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to be in the village at all. He had better things to do, like helping his Shadowlings search for the pieces of his brothers, and finding a portal that leads to hell so he could gather the army he needed. Heck, he even had other plans he was making, though they wouldn't come to fruition before he had learned some Necromancy, particularely something along the lines of total resurrections.
He had so much to do, and a limited amount of time to do it in. Especially after the indirect warning his unwilling guest gave him. After the third day of torture, the Necromancer had said a single sentence before he went back to either shutting up or screaming profanities.
"May the Archangel Tyrael have your head."
Once that name was muttered, something within Naruto screamed both on despair and hatred, as if something within him instinctively knew the name from before. It was most likely from Andariel, as some residue instincts or memories had been imprinted and locked away within Naruto, most of which he had to unlock. During Andariel's reign though, there was only one angel that had participated in the war against the demonic forces of the Primordial brothers, and that was Naruto's prime target.
He did something both fantastic and terrible when he imprisoned the Necromancer within himself, and both of them was connected to the fact that despite everything the man most likely has done to keep himself alive throughout the years, he was still one of the blessed warriors of the Angel of Justice. Tyrael had probably already sensed the rebirth of the Primordial Evil, which could only lead to one thing. He was going to send a new band of blessed warriors to kill Naruto, though this group would be one less compared to last time, as Naruto held one of them trapped. Plus, if Naruto was honest with himself, then he had probably the most important one of them trapped.
'And hopefully, in time, I will have that man's knowledge and abilities for myself.'
The day slowly passed, and Naruto had two other fights. One against that boy he sat besides when the day started... He still couldn't remember his name. He merely had to take a step towards him before the lad gave up. The last fight was against one Kiba Inuzuka, without his ninja-pet of course.
The boy was as arrogant as a heir to a clan came, only outshined by the Uchiha boy. The unruly boy merely smirked at Naruto, having obviously forgotten Naruto's fight against Shino. Naruto though merely stared at him, bored out of his mind. He'd rather fight against Shino again, as the boy would actually take him seriously now.
"Both of you ready?" Iruka asked, Naruto nodding while Kiba yelled out 'To pound the deadlast? Of course!' Iruka could only shake his head at that, having an idea about how this would end. Shino underestimated Naruto, and he's more skilled than Kiba. At least Shino had the excuse of being the first one to fight Naruto, so he had no idea about Naruto's apparent increase in speed, strength and skills. Then again, shouldn't they have expected this seeing as Naruto had almost killed a student a few weeks back? They probably believed it a fluke.
'I was right it seems when I thought he had gotten heavier.' Iruka mused, glancing at Naruto's stronger looking, but still somewhat short body. The palm-strike he sent against Shino was actually well executed, flowing almost perfectly over to the acrobatic spin-kick. Then again, was that skills, or just extremely good instincts? It did not matter, as it seemingly works for Naruto.
"Begin!"
"Heh, this'll be easy. I'll beat ya with a single punch!" The dog-using boy exclaimed loudly, his eyes closed with an arm in front of him, a cocky smirk on his face. A moment later he was sent back with a broken nose due to a straight punch from Naruto.
Before Kiba stood up, Naruto jumped high of the ground, spinning slowly. As Kiba finally raised himself off the ground and glared towards where he believed Naruto was at, he didn't see the growing shadow below him, nor did he expect the drop-kick which sent him crashing back to the ground, face first and unconcious. This time, as Iruka called the match in Naruto's favor, he got some applause from the other students, the class beginning to warm up to this new skillful and much more silent Naruto. One Hyuuga though seemed sad at his changes, the girl thinking that the boy had lost the usual warmth which radiated from him.
"Alright class, the Academy's over for the day." Iruka called out to the restless students, most of them leaving the area as fast as possible while the somewhat more sensible students simply walked.
"Hey, Naruto!" Iruka called to the boy, an annoyed, but interested look sent his way. He grabbed the boy's shoulder, smiling down at him with pride. Finally Naruto seemed to become the splendid fighter Iruka knew the boy actually was.
"You did great today. You capitalized on Shino's underestimation, earning you an easy victory, and you used Kiba's arrogance against him, earning you another easy, if slightly bloody victory. Just like a ninja, you used every opportunity given too you to win. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you." Naruto muttered softly, smiling slightly towards the teacher.
"You know, if you continue like this, you might actually become the Rookie of the Year despite previous scores. How does that sound?" Iruka asked, frowning slightly at Naruto's pensive look.
"I... I don't really know. The villagers will probably create some problems when their golden Uchiha boy doesn't come out at the top of the class. Heh, they'll probably cause some fuss just if I become a ninja at all, thinking that I'll become too strong to control or something... I just want to get by for now to be honest, and when I become a Chuunin, maybe join ANBU and become a hunter-nin, so I can get some fresh air away from... Them."
At the boy's words, Iruka's face darkened slightly, glaring out of a window.
'God damn you civilians.' He groused darkly, several ways to inflict damage to the people that has hurt the boy mentally flying through his head. He forced those thoughts away a moment later as he patted Naruto's shoulder in a supportive manner, the two of them coming to a crossroads, one way leading to the teachers' lounge, and one way leading out of the Academy. Giving a last smile to Naruto, the two parted ways, though a few seconds later Iruka stopped, suddenly recalling something.
"That's right, I totally forgot. Lord Hokage wants to see you!" He yelled to the boy's back, the young teen freezing, a dark look on his face at Iruka's words, though the man didn't see that. As the teacher left, a small patch of pure darkness flew across the floor before merging with Naruto's shadow, Sora entering his mind. His master would need all the help he could give too keep his cool with that old, lying man.
Naruto rushed towards one of the bathrooms, checking if he was alone before locking himself in one of the stalls.
"Mirage." The boy whispered, a Shadowling appearing from his own shadow. This one was probably the darkest Shadowling he had ever created, because everytime he looked within the creature's eyes, he seemed to look at the eyes of death itself. He created her when he was nine and a half years old, and she slaughtered a gang of eight teenagers, a group that tended to harass her master occasionally.
"I have a job for you. If you ever find the chance during the coming conversation between me and the Hokage, you are to possess him and slowly make him become consumed with guilt, depression and hatred towards this village. When the time comes for me to leave, I want him to be so far gone that he is basically suicidal, as I want him to take his own life the day I escape from this place. It will most likely be a sufficient discraction to ensure my escape. If you cannot find the chance today, then I want you to watch him until the chance presents itself. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear my lord, I will do this with great pleasure." She hissed, the both of them grinning darkly. She might be his darkest and most evil Shadowling yet, but it was his own darkness that created her after all. The euphoria she would feel at the old man's suffering would also be felt by her master. Once again she merged with his shadow, and he quickly left the bathroom.
As the boy began his trek towards the ruler of the village, he couldn't help but whisper something under his breath, Sora and Mirage agreeing completely at his words.
"I blame you for this Tyrael."