Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Bleach, or Bleach and Naruto. I also don't favor one over the other…most of the time. Oh jeez, these disclaimers just get worse by the minute. I am soooo not a comedian.
A cold wind drifted through the open screen doors, wafting over the sweaty forehead of one Yamada Kyomu, in a defensive stance with his chest heaving up and down. An equally sweaty man, about thirty years his elder, stood before him. The man's eyebrows rose high into his hairline, the wrinkles growing deeper with each second he crouched their, concentrating. His fingertips pressed on both sides of his temples, his eyes closed shut.
"Good! Good, fight back!" Yonju, clan and village leader, rang out as he attempted to penetrate the mind and alter the reality of his very own son. Genjutsu was a very powerful thing, and ever since a few years ago Yonju had all but given up when his son came home a changed man. It was a miracle. Thus he began training right again. One thing led to another, and there they were, in the daily grind. Kyomu fought back against a flurry of visions, and made it look easy.
Yet it was anything but easy. Almost all of his visions had to do with his mother or his long-lost love. In every dream they were killed over and over again, right before his eyes. Whether or not this was his father's doing, he didn't know. What he did know was that he hated his father for doing it. A deep, festering hatred embedded in the muscle of his heart.
Kyomu's knees shook rapidly until he slid onto the ground, falling into submission. Disappointed, his father grunted and pulled away, releasing his son in their mental battle. Yonju paced before his own flesh and blood, disgruntled.
"Failure is unacceptable." He mumbled, crossing his arms as he faced his huffing son. "One day you're going to replace me, my boy. I need you strong enough to handle the responsibilities of the Village leader." Yonju scratched at his chin, pondering the various methods he could use to train his boy faster as said boy coughed and rolled to his back. The brief pain Kyomu experienced in his stomach went unnoticed by Yonju, who continued to ponder.
Finally catching his breath, Kyomu managed to say, "I can't help it… We've been at this…for hours." He pushed himself up to a kneeling position, his hands the only thing holding him up. "There's no time…to-"
His words were cut short when a calloused hand reached for him, waiting for his grasp. Could it possibly be what he thought it was? His evil, demented father offering him a hand? Kyomu looked to him skeptically, but could not read his face. Deciding that he was already going to hell, he gratefully took the help of his personal Satan.
"Good, stand up." Yonju responded as he briefly helped up his son. His suspicious act of kindness was short-lived. The moment Kyomu was almost upright he let go and walked to the corner of the room where an old cupboard was located. Moments later Yonju returned with a set of kunai. He held one of the kunai to Kyomu, nodding to the sharp object. "Take it. I'm going to teach you the clan jutsu, or at least I'll try." His tone was anything but approving.
With shaky hands Kyomu took the kunai and held in front of him, it being the only thing keeping the distance (he thought) from his father. He didn't like where things were going. Giving his crazed father a weapon didn't seem like a very smart idea. Yet no matter how nervous he may have felt about a possible fight, his father seemed almost nonchalant. The man merely stood there, both hands with the single kunai behind his back. There was a shaky streak of silence, where only the slight breeze and ruffling of wind chimes outside could be heard before Yonju Yamada unexpectedly said:
"Now throw it at me."
Kyomu gagged on the words, to his father the reaction meant Kyomu did not want to do such an act; however, the reaction of surprise masked Kyomu true intent. After all the years of childhood torment, abuse, and neglect he wanted nothing more than to throw and even drive the kunai right through his father's chest. But just a single stab didn't seem like it would be enough. If Kyomu ever did get the chance to kill his father –and he always imagined he would- he wouldn't just stab and run, he'd carve and paint with his father's fleshy remains. A grotesque thought, yes, but Kyomu couldn't help it. The urge to perform such an inhumane act was strong inside his heart.
Still, he had to maintain the image of a good son for the sake of the village that hated him so much. (Word of him and Kotone spread fast.) Quickly, he pretended to care. "What? Are you crazy? I'd kill you!" He responded, mentally adding, I'd stab again and again and again.
Toughly his father bellowed with laughter. "You think you could kill me? Boy, you have much to learn." He explained rudely, continuing, "This is part of the demonstration. Just throw it, don't worry about me."
Kyomu rubbed his clammy hands against his cargo pants one at a time before raising the kunai before him, waiting with anticipation for his arms to kick into gear. He was ready to throw the weapon, more than ready to impale his father. Yet this act would be the first act of aggression in a very long time, since Kotone's death. He'd been trying to avoid physical violence, since filling the emptiness in his heart with aggression would only lead to more pain.
But just looking at the face of his father made his stomach boil; that empty, clueless face of a man who could care less about the offspring standing before him. He could hardly call that man a parental figure, since all he'd ever gotten from his father was a serious of bruises and swollen eyes. Kyomu's grip tightened as he unintentionally thought of his mother, and the bruises she sometimes had to match his. Before he knew it his hands were acting for themselves, propelling the kunai forward towards his father only yards away.
Time slowed as the weapon sliced the air from the moment his fingers lost contact with its metal handle. Kyomu felt a content smile rise up on his face as he imagined his father's death, but this time he was almost sure it would happen. Positive this would be the day he finally rid the world of Yonju Yamada. There was a sadistic glow to his eyes, which watched the weapon approach his father's unprotected chest in agony.
His father, once again proving to be a might foe, raised his hands. In a flash of fingers and palms his father signed a simple few hand signs, muttered some crazy foreign jutsu, and concentrated his eyes on the kunai. As if it was made out of dust, the kunai dissociated until it was gone, previously having been only inches from Yonju's chest. There was a puff of sand-like particles behind Yonju where the weapon reappeared, dropping to the ground with a clank.
Kyomu's heart took a plunge into his stomach, his chin practically falling to the ground. His desire for his father's death was inevitably lost at the sight of that jutsu, and immediately he wanted to know more. If to gain knowledge was to keep his father alive, he would willingly throw away his sadistic desires. Kyomu looked to the kunai, then to his father and stuttered a series of incoherent words.
His father rolled his eyes. "Speak up boy, you're not a damn mute." The old man wiped his hands together on one another, as if he had just completed a full day's word. "That is called Himitsu, given the same name as our village simply because our village is the only one to possess the capability. I can do it, your grandfather and grandmother could do it, and even your great grandfather all the way to distant ancestry could do it. Now, you will be able to do it.
"The whole world, including the one outside our village, is connected with what some call strings. Our clan has the ability to open up the strings, and rearrange them in order to move something from place to place. When you're strong enough, you can do it in a second, but for most it takes a few moments to transport something." Yonju explained, clasping his hands behind his back and stepping towards the open screen door. He looked out of it and to the rest of the village absent-mindedly. "Himitsu is a secret jutsu, Kyomu. I'm sad to say that not everyone in the village knows about it and our clan."
Kyomu blinked profusely, taking an angry step forward. "Wait, nobody out there knows? They have no idea that we can just do a few funny hand signs and suddenly they wouldn't be in the village, but a pond full of vicious piranhas?"
Yonju shook his head. "Don't get carried away, only strong shinobi could move actual people. Besides, do you even know of any piranha ponds?"
Yeah, this house, Kyomu thought to himself before following his father's gaze to the village. His face fell to something more solemn. There were so many people who didn't know, and apparently would never know. It felt like such a tough thing, to keep the secret. It had to have taken some toll on the Himitsu shinobi, somehow. A disturbing thought overcame him as his gaze fell to his feet.
"Did mom know?" Kyomu inquired in a shaky voice, avoiding eye-contact with his father.
There was a long drawn-out sigh from his father before the man responded, "No." Yonju suddenly stiffened and spun towards his son, out of habit he violently clutched Kyomu's collar. "And you will never tell a soul. Anyone who knows will assume you know. You must nevertalk about Himitsu. Never. For the safety of the village, this is your secret and you must keep it." His eyes were frantic, almost frightening. With no reply from the confused Kyomu, Yonju's grip on his collar tightened, his hand itching to curl itself around Kyomu's throat. "Do you understand me?"
Kyomu nodded quickly. "Yes. I do." He was relieved when Yonju let go, and stumbled back towards the rest of the house.
There wasn't even a brief glance over his shoulder as Yonju waved his son off with the flick of a wrist. "You're dismissed."
xXx
Kyomu dressed into something more comfortable and casual before strolling out of his house and away from his father. He didn't want to look at that man. The secret that he had been asked to hold was enormous, and he hated it. Every villager he passed, despite their hateful spitting in his direction, he felt like he was deceiving. Keeping something so important felt so wrong. Yet another reason that made Kyomu want to drop everything and leave the village. Unfortunately, he knew he had nowhere to go. The two most important people to him were dead, and now that he knew the clan secret he was practically tied to the land.
Though he had to admit, Himitsu was kind of cool. To relocate things so easily sounded very impressive, and for some reason he desired to be able to do such a thing. A small part of him, the beaten child that hadn't grown up inside, still wanted to make his father proud. Not only that, but the jutsu was pretty damn cool. If what his father said was true, and eventually he could actually move people, would he one day be able to move whole buildings? Or even the village? It was a tempting offer. All that power in a few movements of the hands.
Eventually Kyomu came to a familiar house, his heart pining for its old occupant. Kotone's house had long since been abandoned when her abusive husband, Ryouta, remarried and relocated with his parents and new wife. Needless to say, the origins behind the house were painful memories now. It hurt to think that years ago the love of his life sat there on that same porch where his new friend and mentor, Orochimaru, sat now.
Usually he came to Orochimaru when he needed guidance, which was almost always after a stressful training session with his father. Orochimaru looked up at the approaching Kyomu and smiled, next to him sat a young boy who Kyomu knew as 'Kabuto'. Like him, Kabuto sought guidance from Orochimaru as well.
The traveler waved Kyomu over to the porch. "I see you've been training with your father again, have you?" Orochimaru inquired. Today he looked especially ordinary, aside from the wacky hair and face; he had average villager clothes on; a potato-sack-looking tunic and pants. It was strange, considering Kyomu had gotten so used to seeing Orochimaru in his "work clothes", a long black overcoat with red clouds embroidered on it.
Kyomu climbed up the porch, taking a seat next to Orochimaru. He collapsed onto the whicker chair with a sigh, looking out to the dirt path he had come from. "That's old news." Kyomu expressed, sighing yet again. There were patches of upturned dirt in the lawn, like something had been pushed into the ground and pulled out. "Have the villagers warmed up to you yet?"
Orochimaru laughed humbly. "Ah, no, not yet. I've had an increasingly large amount of discouraging posts stuck in my lawn by the villagers of Himitsu." He shrugged.
The village name was enough to put Kyomu on edge, his muscles tightening. The village and the secret he was never supposed to spill shared the same name, and at that moment he wanted nothing more than to tell Orochimaru about the jutsu.
"Is there something you wish to tell me, Kyomu?" Orochimaru asked, finally turning his eyes away from his lawn and to Kyomu. "You know you can trust me."
His clenched his jaw. "Yeah, I know I can trust you," Kyomu responded, "But I'm not allowed to tell you. If I did... I don't know what would happen." Kyomu intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on his hands, upheld by his elbows on his knees. From the corner of his eye he looked, only to see Orochimaru intently staring at him.
Shaking his head Orochimaru leisurely sat back in his chair. "How much longer are you going to allow your father to control your life? It's unhealthy." He mumbled. "No matter what it is you can't tell me, I'm sure that if you did tell me, it wouldn't seem like such a big deal." Orochimaru laughed humorously, before continuing, "I'm a very good secret-keeper, you know."
Kyomu chuckled at the inside joke, earning a smile from the silent Kabuto. "Yeah, I know. The science laboratory in the basement which doesn't seem like much of a secret since you showed it to me." Kyomu whispered back.
"Oh, that's because we're friends!" Orochimaru stated, leaning forward in his chair to mirror Kyomu's position before craning his neck to look at Kyomu. "And friends tell friends everything."
Orochimaru was right. They were friends, in fact Orochimaru was his only friend. Kyomu twiddled his fingers in his lap, on the verge of talking. Peer pressure was horrendous. He felt like if he didn't tell Orochimaru, the man would simply hate him. But then again, wasn't that sort of thing only in stories? Real people didn't behave like that. Still, Kyomu felt obligated to tell. He had to tell. The secret would eat away at his insides if he didn't spill.
Slowly, but surely, he began explaining the events of that morning, from the abusive training to the shocking realization. When he came to the part of his mother not knowing his stomach churned. The fact that the secret was held from her made Kyomu think she was never even part of the family, just a woman meant for breeding. Kyomu shook the hate away and finished the explanation. He had a hard time putting what his father did into words, and by the end was increasingly skeptical that Orochimaru would believe him. When it was over he looked over to Orochimaru and Kabuto expectantly, their faces blank of emotion.
Luckily the silence didn't last too long, as Orochimaru immediately brightened. "I've never heard of something like that before… The ability to transport things, alter the threads of the universe…" Orochimaru's eyes turned cloudy as he faced away, pondering the thought. He fondled a hard black ring on his right pointer finger, turning it and twisting it deep in his own thoughts. Little did Kyomu know this wasn't the first time Orochimaru had run into it.
"Stop me if I'm wrong," young Kabuto interrupted, brushing a strand of his short gray hair back, "But isn't there a village legend similar to that?"
Quite suddenly Orochimaru smiled and turned right back to Kyomu. "Indeed, there is… Kyomu, have you ever heard of the legend of the Kuro Hone?"
Kyomu's eyebrows quirked, signaling that he didn't know it. The only legend he was ever told was the legend of the forest spirit, the same spirit that unlocked his chakra. Though he didn't say that part, the only person he ever told that tale to was Kotone. No one else would ever learn of his startling experience in the forest, where fable had turned to fact.
Orochimaru leaned back, crossed his legs, and rested the back of his head on his folded arms. "Well, supposedly it all took place centuries ago, around the time of the first shinobi. Himitsu was apparently plagued by a soul-eating devil they called Kuro Hone, or 'Black Bone'. Another name he's said to have is the Devil Jumper. Sound familiar?" His snake-like eyes narrowed.
"Wait, Devil Jumper?" Kyomu repeated, the name sounding familiar. "I might have read that somewhere before…"
The older man nodded. "Yes, I read it too, in the village records. They have a fair amount of books and legends about the Devil Jumper locked away, and I could only get my hands on one." He turned to Kabuto and snapped his fingers. "Go get the book, Kabuto."
As the boy nodded and retreated into the cottage, Orochimaru continued, "Many years ago –and this is how the legend starts- a strange creature invaded Himitsu, somehow making it past the extensive genjutsu keeping the village secret from the world. It was said to be a grotesque creature, about six or seven feet tall and made out of pure black bone. He wore a hard-as-stone white mask over his black skull, and had Hellfire red eyes that peered through two holes." Orochimaru smiled when he noticed Kyomu's discomfort at the description. "We can assume the devil was not human."
Kabuto returned with a large, leather book in hand and continued with the tale himself, "Not human at all. At first, the people didn't realize there was an invader. He came and went so quickly, his form dissolving like salt to water. He'd be in one place, and then another. By the time someone saw him up-close, he would take them by the shoulders and eat their soul."
Orochimaru laughed, taking the book from Kabuto and handing it to Kyomu. "Now now, don't get ahead of yourself. It's only rumored that he ate souls, and that rumor started as a religious theory. Really all he did was kill them, but nobody knows how or why."
"But that's not very important, what's important is what happens while Kuro Hone stays in the village for almost a century." Kabuto added.
"Correct again!" Orochimaru exclaimed. He opened the book up to the beginning of the tale in Kyomu's lap. "You see, the village people were such easy targets. The only defense they had was a genjutsu strong enough to protect themselves from other humans, not devils. Kuro Hone made residence in the village forest, and preyed on young lost girls that wandered out late at night. But that, of course, is besides the point." He offered a suspenseful smile, noticing Kyomu on the edge of his seat. "It is said that the village warriors rose up against the devil after eighty or so years with a new power. They were suddenly stronger, and used their new strength to drive the Devil Jumper out of their village."
Kyomu's eyes were downcast at the book as he flipped the pages, skimming over the text. Everything in it felt like it connected to something, but he didn't know what that was. He had an inkling that the answers would be in whatever power the village warriors obtained, and how they seemed to obtain it. The answers for that, however, seemed very far away as Orochimaru quickly took the book back and shoved it into Kabuto's arms.
"Well, that's all for today." Orochimaru spoke, jumping out of his seat. "I'm afraid it's time for me to go back to work." He walked to the cottage door, Kabuto following close behind.
Kyomu briskly stood and tried to follow to, but Kabuto blocked him from entering. "Wait, you're leaving the village already? You just got here hours ago!" Kyomu shouted into the house, the eerie familiarity making it hard for him to put his thoughts together. He wanted answers about the legend badly.
Seconds later Orochimaru appeared again, wearing the same black and red-cloud robe as before. "'Fraid not, dear friend. Work beckons me. But in the meantime, my young apprentice Kabuto will be here house-sitting." He put a scaly white hand on Kabuto's shoulder. The man quickly spun away, down the steps, and strode onto the dirt path. He waved back to the two, standing on his porch. "See you in a week!" He called out, back turned to hide his maleficent smile.
xXx
The afternoon where Kyomu learnt of Kuro Hone influenced the whole of his time, and even years later he researched the legends only to get the same information over and over again; in other words, he had found nothing. Nada. Zip. Increasingly Kyomu became annoyed with himself and the village's lack of resources. Nonetheless, at least he knew the legend thanks to his good friend Orochimaru.
Oh yes, over the course of a year or so the two became greater friends, and Orochimaru (despite his odd appearance and personality) became more of a father than Kyomu's real one ever was. Training with said biological father also progressed, and within a year Kyomu was capable to fight his father on equal terms, and even more. He had mastered the clan jutsu but never stopped trying to perfect Himitsu, much to Orochimaru's pleasure and his father's dismay.
Himitsu was a fulfilling jutsu to master, Kyomu noticed. He felt nearly whole with the power, like it was somehow filling the empty spots in his heart that Kotone and his mother had taken with them. Yet with such a power came the responsibility not to use it, which was difficult to say the least. Kyomu continually felt uncontrollable urges to lash out, and had the tendency to be aggressive and disobedient. It was not a quality looked upon with kindness from his father or village.
It seemed the longer he tried to make amends with the village people, the more they hated him. His adultery and betrayal was just the tip of the iceberg apparently, his friendship with the abnormal traveler being the base. People around town didn't seem to trust Orochimaru, while Kyomu did. He failed to notice any signs of danger, and even if he had he would have dismissed them immediately; Orochimaru was like a father. Dangerous or not, he was family now. Orochimaru was the strange uncle who played with lab toys that every family had.
Oh, and lab toys they were not. Sitting in his large underground lab, anyone could tell that there was more to it than just fun. Still, Kyomu ignored the signs. The various body parts enclosed in cylinders and the horrid smell all went right passed Kyomu on purpose. Currently, he sat before one of the counters, eyes focused on a small white snake in a cylinder. It squirmed in the green liquid and stared right back at Kyomu, its black eyes piercing.
Kyomu heard footsteps behind him and swiveled his chair to face the stairs leading up to the surface. Orochimaru appeared, but unlike usual he was not flanked by Kabuto. Strange.
"Ah, I see you've found my snake." Orochimaru said, faking a polite smile. He came to the counter, picked the snake up, and relocated it to a nearby wrought iron shelf while saying, "So, have you found out anything good? Anything interesting?"
The young adult shook his head and chuckled. "Nope. This village has a funny way of not being very resourceful. I can't find anything about Kuro Hone, except for the information in your book. I just…" He paused, throwing his head back to look at the ceiling. "I just really want to know what that power was, the power the villagers forced him out of town with."
Still with his back turned, Orochimaru accounted to some paper work on one of the tables and replied, "Well, you know it's just a silly folk tale, right?" He turned his neck to look at Kyomu skeptically. "You know?"
Sighing, Kyomu shook his head in approval. "Yeah…" His voice sounded oddly pessimistic.
Turning to face his semi-apprentice, Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders. "It's possible you're looking in all the wrong places. What if the answer isn't with Kuro Hone, but the history of your secret jutsu?" He raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "Isn't it possible your father may have some information on that topic, or at least the village Elder? Anyways," Orochimaru suddenly stopped short and reached into his pocket, "Right now there's something more important than that silly folklore, you know."
"Oh really, what?" Kyomu's expression perked up curiously. He eyed Orochimaru pocket, and followed his hand when he removed something from it. The object was enclosed by Orochimaru's fist and hidden from view, only making Kyomu want to know what it was more.
Without hesitation, Orochimaru pulled out a shiny black ring, the same ring Kyomu noticed he usually wore. The snake-like man held it out before Kyomu as an offering. "I think it's time we finalize your apprenticeship." Orochimaru stated, grinning.
Kyomu's eyes lit up when he held the ring in his own hand, the very ring he always thought was such a prized possession of Orochimaru's. He happily accepted, slipping it onto his index. The skin on his finger that the ring touched sizzled, and sent an electric shock up to the rest of his body. It was perplexing, and Kyomu was left speechless.
"Tell me, Kyomu, do you remember when I first met you?" Orochimaru asked, getting a nod from Kyomu. "Do you specifically remember what I said I could give you?"
Kyomu focused, thinking back to Kotone's funeral. He remembered being distraught and suicidal, yet he also remembered hating himself for not being able to save her. Then came along Orochimaru, offering the one thing that had come too late: power. Only now, Kyomu had a different intention for power. Before, he wanted to protect the village, but now? The power he felt with his clan jutsu made him thirsty for more, and he couldn't tell what it was, but at that very moment he suddenly felt like fighting and winning.
Like a lost puppy, Kyomu listened carefully to what Orochimaru had to say. "I can train you to be stronger, and give you the gift of limitless power. Together we can use our power to make a difference, and you can finally rise above and be the village leader you've always wanted to be." Orochimaru rose his eyebrows when Kyomu's face softened. Immediately he persisted. "You know you want it."
"You've always been interested in science, dear friend." Orochimaru went on, his grin enlarging. "You told me the very first week of our friendship that the scientific arts were more suited for you…" His words drifted as he approached a table covered by a tarp. Carefully he pulled the tarp off, revealing a gurney-like structure with needles and syringes scattered over its surface. The situation suddenly felt like a mean joke.
Kyomu's jaw clenched. "W-what? What is that?" He mumbled, eyes wide with confusion as he focused in on the long, pain inflicting needles.
Orochimaru smiled sickly. "Why, since you liked science so much, I thought you might want to be a part of it." In the blink of an eye Orochimaru was right behind Kyomu, his hand cupped over Kyomu's mouth and nose with a cloth. "Don't fight it, it will hurt less." Orochimaru whispered as he held onto the struggling Kyomu, whose body began to slacken within moments.
The betrayal was stupendous, but it was inevitable. Kyomu had seen the signs, and he could have stopped it. He let his desire for a father-figure cloud his judgment, and now he was suddenly victimized. He felt his muscles relax as he inhaled the strange smell on the cloth. His vision went in a flurry, everything melting away until all that was left was darkness.
xXx
Months of painful blackness ensued. It was a lonely blackness filled with only his thoughts. He was sure this was it, this was where it ended. The story of Kyomu Yamada had officially come to a close, or so he strongly believed. At least then he could finally rise up to heaven and be with Kotone and their child, a real family. For what felt like years Kyomu waited in the blackness, waited to see any light and be taken up. Nothing ever happened. He remained in darkness, and in agonizing pain.
Indeed, if it wasn't the thought of being dead without Kotone, it was the poking and prodding that caused him pain. In the world of darkness he could feel everything that happened around and on him. The closing and opening of doors that sent cold breezes his way, making his hair stand up on end. At first he was sedated, just to lay on what he assumed to be the table Orochimaru had unveiled, but after a week or two his limbs were carefully strapped down with what could have been rusted metal. Thus began the experimentation.
Needles were inserted and kept in his body for hours at a time, constantly pushing some heavy substance into his bloodstream. When the needles were removed, Kyomu's body would act on its own accord and writhe in pain as he screamed to the high heavens, only to have his mouth covered by a dog muzzle. His whole body felt like it was on fire from the inside, and the itchy feeling of a fiery death spread to all of his extremities. Finally, when his body was tired he would stop with the violent reactions and just lay there until someone returned and reinserted the needles, starting the process all over again. For days the needle process went on, night and day, until his captor stopped putting the needles in. The side-effects were prominent. Kyomu felt like his whole body was heavier, but resistant.
The resistance of his body was proven when, after laying in darkness for hours wondering if he would finally be spared and killed, something sharp had a tough time piercing over his abdomen. Again he writhed, but the restraints on his limbs were tightened and smaller ones were added. The slicing continued over various parts of his body, what he thought might have been a knife constantly pressured to go deeper and penetrate his newer, thicker skin.
It was pure torture in its evilest form. The acts that were done to him were cruel and vile, all the while done with precision by none other than his mentor, Orochimaru. The man hummed as he sliced and inserted, happily explaining every step in excruciating detail so that the semi-unconscious Kyomu could hear. Occasionally Kabuto would join in on the fun, taking part in the experimentation until he was forced to retreat and continue spreading the word that the village leader's son went missing, likely to have run away.
At one point someone must have felt sorry for Kyomu, for they injected a final liquid that put Kyomu to sleep for good, no longer able to hear or feel what went on. He was left subject to his own subconscious, which was far more torturous than any saw or needle in the world. The only thing he dreamt of was heaven, and the only person he ever saw himself with was Kotone. Two things he began to realize he could never have.
After the very first day of experimentation, time had lost all meaning to not only the unconscious Kyomu, but Orochimaru. The days that became weeks that became months, they only felt like hours to Orochimaru, and centuries to Kyomu. Until finally their different perceptions of time came together and Kyomu began to get feeling in his limbs back, his hearing returning as he drifted back into consciousness. Meticulously control over his own body came back and he slowly tested it out, lifting everything from one finger up at a time to a whole leg. The restraints had been released, and he could push his legs and arms out wherever. He felt the desire to hurt Orochimaru and return the favor of experimentation.
However, as his trembling eyes opened he saw nobody. He was completely alone in the science lab, cold and shirtless. Kyomu pushed himself up to a sitting position on the table but groaned when his chest violently objected. Half-sitting up he ran one hand over his chest, running his finger over the stitches and scratches on his skin. Running that same hand down his arm and to his hand, he came across the black ring, still secured on his finger despite the torture.
Strange…
The sound of footsteps on the stairs swung Kyomu's body into full gear. He flew off of the table, quickly taking the first instrument of torture as a weapon –the first device being the cloth used to suffocate him. Even so, it was still a weapon, and his shaky arms held it up with gusto as he put space between him and the intruder, eventually pushing the bloody table in front of him.
Glasses, gray hair, it was none other than Kabuto who waltzed down the stairs calmly. The young boy looked to Kyomu without emotion, eventually stopping at the foot of the stairs holding something behind his back. "I see you're awake…"
Kyomu spat on the floor in anger. "So I see Orochimaru has to send a child to do his dirty work!" He barked, swinging the towel in front of him as if it made any difference. Either way, he still looked like a madman.
Laughing quietly, Kabuto shook his head. "Put the towel down, Yamada-san. I mean no harm."
Kyomu attempted to back up, but only rammed into the wall. He scowled. "That's not true, you helped him! You helped him try to kill me!" Kyomu screamed, waving the towel around in front of his face in an 'X' pattern. "Why would you do that? You don't even know me!"
"Our intention was never to kill you," Kabuto sternly interjected, "Rather we gave you life, not death." Kabuto pulled his hands from behind his back and held out two small hand mirrors. "There's proof on your body. We made you better, not worse."
The moment Kabuto took a small step forward Kyomu lurched backwards into the wall again, pushing the table out with his wild feet. "STAY BACK!" He ordered, his eyes shifting to other parts of the rooms. He quieted down. "Why isn't Orochimaru down here? Where's he?"
Kabuto respected the wishes and took a step backwards in response. "Orochimaru is out on work again, we didn't expect you to wake up just yet. I was coming down here to prepare, and make things a little…nicer…" His eyes were directed at the bloody blanket covering the table. He grimaced. Slowly Kabuto began approaching again, and at this new information Kyomu seemed more inclined to let him. "Let me just show you what we gave you. Here." He held one mirror out to Kyomu. Hesitantly, the man reached forward and held the mirror in his hand before snapping it back to his chest. Kabuto instructed Kyomu to hold the mirror behind his shoulder, which he did, while he held the other out in front of Kyomu's face.
Kyomu couldn't believe what he was seeing on his shoulder through the mirror. He was astonished, and felt cheated. "All this torture…all the pain…for a tattoo?" The shape was strange, a large dot with several intricate drawings intertwined inside of it. It was black, and very noticeable. He was sure his father would hate it. Yet, the longer he looked at it, something inside of him responded positively. A side of him buried deep that was unknown to him, was applauding him for the tattoo.
"Not a tattoo, no." Kabuto spat venomously, possibly offended by his handiwork. "It's a seal. We call it the Oblivion Seal. It makes you stronger, enhances your chakra. If you think you were powerful before," he entered in a small chuckle, "well, let's just say that was nothing in comparison to this. You're stronger, faster, and your chakra reserves have doubled. The Oblivion Seal was a success."
Biting his lip, Kyomu took a second look at the seal. Suddenly it seemed a lot more sentimental. "But why didn't you just tell me what you were going to do, why drug me?" Kyomu asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Well, you wouldn't willingly let us invade your personal space like that even if you knew. It was better to do it without warning, and then simply let you see the results for yourself." Kabuto explained. His face might have been a blank slate, but his eyes seemed proud. The truth was there was a chance the procedure would have killed Kyomu, but he wasn't about to tell the young male that. "You're meant for greater things, this village has been holding you back. Orochimaru handpicked you for this, you know."
An upper-lip twitch later, Kyomu was in hysterics. "What if I didn't want to be handpicked?" He violently threw the mirror and towel down, watching as the mirror's glass broke into tiny pieces.
"Oh, but you did, my dear friend."
Orochimaru entered the room from the stairs as well, striding past Kabuto and to Kyomu's side. Instinctively Kyomu stumbled back, but his shoulders were suddenly clutched by Orochimaru as the crazy bastard forced Kyomu to take a good look at the lab.
"Science! You love science, and now you are science!" Orochimaru exclaimed. "You've even risen above science! Can't you see, you have the power now. The villagers that dislike you, the father that doesn't respect you, you're above them." Orochimaru turned Kyomu's trembling body to face him. "Follow me, be my apprentice and we will rule them all!"
For a moment there was silence where Orochimaru examined Kyomu's frightened reaction and merely smiled, as if everything was going exactly as planned. Then, however, the man shrugged it all off. "We'll give you some time to think about, weigh your options and all. Just as a fair warning, you probably won't like what you return to." Orochimaru stated, quickly disappearing up the stairs and likely out of the building before Kyomu had even opened his mouth.
There was no way in hell Kyomu would team up with his torturers, even if they gave him power and strength. Growling in a frustration he was unaware he possessed; Kyomu retrieved his shirt from below the countertop and put it on as he stormed up the stairs. He was positive he'd find a way to demonstrate what had been done to him through force, make Orochimaru realize that he would never have Kyomu as an apprentice.
Yet there was a disturbing feeling that spread through his body, the origin of it coming from his right index finger. Emerging in the midst of his anger, he felt acceptance. It was true, Orochimaru and Kabuto were the only two people who he felt enjoyed his company, and in an odd, sadistic way they felt like family. The type of family he might possibly go through great lengths to protect, and all of this came from the victim of torture wearing a black ring.
Kyomu tried to put all he anxiety behind him as he strode out and away. He left Orochimaru's little hovel of a home quickly, staying there any longer would be too dangerous, as Orochimaru could come back any moment. Kyomu was in a hurry to get to the village, which he found quickly.
The night was young and exciting in the village. Generally Kyomu went unnoticed, but he didn't mind. He was confident that would all change soon. If what the white-skinned creep said was true, then he was stronger, strong enough to replace his father as village leader and head of the secret family genjutsu. This was what he was raised to do…it was his destiny, or so he thought.
Walking through the village he noted the paper lanterns hung on strings, and the celebratory outfits many were wearing. It was a festival day, one of the perfect days for Kyomu to make his return. The question was…what festival?
He approached an aging lady holding out paper lanterns and took one, asking, "What festival is this?"
The woman gawked at his words. "You must have grown up under a rock, young man. This is the anniversary of the creation of Himitsu Village. Take this paper lantern and celebrate it!" She paid no mention to Kyomu's confused look or his blank expression as she pushed a lantern into his hand, turning her attention to other villagers wandering around.
Kyomu didn't understand, the festival wasn't until a while! Orochimaru's words echoed throughout his head:
"You won't like what you return to…"
What was that supposed to mean, anyways? Everything looked normal, and he could have been wrong about the festival, as Kyomu was horrible when it came to remembering dates.
Kyomu shook off his curiosity and moved onward, he had to find his father, which was his top priority. He knew that his father probably wouldn't attend the festival –as he didn't like celebration or showing any joy- and therefore must be at home. Lucky for Kyomu, he knew a shortcut through the local graveyard to get to home. The graveyard was a small one, as most of the people who died of no worth or money were put out on rafts and sent to float along on the outside waters forever. As it was so small, the rest of the village surrounded it with houses and business; people in Himitsu weren't afraid of old superstitions. As he wandered through the graveyard, he came across an unlikely person, his father.
Yonju Yamada was there as well, surrounded by a group of his close village associates as several other men (that appeared to be workers) dug up some graves. Kyomu waved to his father, who was taken back with the sudden appearance of his missing son.
It wasn't until he reached his father that he took the time to look at the graves they were digging up more closely. There were three total, two of people he knew as a child. The third was one he would've never anticipated; the grave of his own loving mother, being brutally disrespected and brought back up.
A cold sweat broke out over Kyomu's skin. "What the hell?" He sputtered; He rushed forward and pulled the shovel from one of the worker's grasp. When the man resisted, Kyomu violently pushed him back, unknowingly dropping his paper lantern on the dry grass. "What the hell?" He repeated, this time on the verge of tears. "You're digging up her grave? I thought you loved her!"
Yonju's eyes were wide at his son. "I…I didn't think you'd return…ever."
"Well I did! I'm back!" Kyomu fell to his knees near the dug-out hole, they were getting so close to his mother's remains. "I came back…" He mumbled sadly, head hung. His fingers dug into the dirt, a specific finger pulsing with anger. The ring…was it whispering to him? He heard a hiss in the back of his head.
The hiss uttered no words, it was only a noise he could hear, and it brought on a terrible sensation of anger and hate in him. It strengthened all the negative things Kyomu felt.
The male quickly stood up from his spot on the ground. Without warning he kicked the paper lantern he had dropped with such a force that it flew through the air, landing on the dry-thatched roof of some poor fellow's house yards away. Those near began to smell the smoke before the roof was finally ignited by a small flame. Yonju's men all jumped, most of them rushing to the building to control the small fire on it's roof.
The heat from those small flames was empowering, and Kyomu grinned, ever so slightly, before he returned to sadness and approached his father. "Didn't you care for her? At all? Even like a little bit?"
Yonju looked to his son with a silent form of judgment. The aging man glanced at the home to the side, which was now blazing with fire on its roof. Pretty soon that would change, and it would engulf the walls, and the inside.
Ashamed, Yonju refused to make eye-contact. "You're not my son." He pointed out.
Kyomu choked on his surprise. "What?" Kyomu questioned emotionally, "I'm your son! I'm Kyomu Yamamda!" The male put his hands on his father's shoulders, desperately hanging on for any sort of recognition.
"No." Yonju responded gravely. "My son wouldn't set a fire because of some woman."
Lips trembling, Kyomu hung his head yet again. He couldn't utter another word. Was this it, then? Was this the last of his life there in Himitsu? It hurt him to think that his father never even felt any sort of love for his mother, who had been there all those years in spite of everything.
Weakly, Kyomu mumbled. "She was a good woman…you didn't deserve her."
Violently Yonju smacked Kyomu's hands off of his shoulders. "She was a servant to our cause."
The sudden offensive action sparked something in Kyomu he couldn't understand, and the murmuring hiss in the back of his head grew stronger. Without reason he carelessly pushed his father backwards. "What cause would that be, then?" He hissed.
Yonju was aghast with disgrace. "Don't talk to me li-"
Again Yonju was pushed, but this time with such a force that he fell to the ground. "What cause?" Kyomu repeatedly angrily, his voice shaking from the waves of anger and depression he felt.
Something in the Yamada clan made the men proud creatures, a trait so potent in Yonju. The man refused to answer his son, and as he lay there on the dirt, his elbows keeping him to a half-sitting position, he said nothing. This person he saw before him was in no way his son, and to show it the man sat up and spat at Kyomu's feet.
The action incited a burning fury in Kyomu, and the hissing noise became more of an alarm directing him down a spiraling path of hate. Kyomu walked over to his father, stood above the man, and bashed the cruel man's head in with his own foot…or at least he thought he had done it, but right before the foot made contact Yonju's body dispersed into several little pieces.
"Himitsu," Kyomu responded. He turned behind him, to see his father standing upright, completely unharmed. "Don't try to trick me with your fancy genjutsu!" Kyomu barked, running forward to grasp the man's throat in his hands. Yet again Yonju managed to disperse, apparently just another clone illusion. "Dammit father!"
Kyomu turned in circles, looking every which way for his real father. He paid no mind to the blazing fire on the house, far stronger than anyone could have predicted. No, Kyomu didn't care about that. He cared about finding his father…to find and to kill. Just thinking about killing his father made him giddy, happy even. The voice inside of his head applauded his barbarity.
He caught wind of his father's chakra. Orochimaru wasn't lying when he claimed he had made Kyomu stronger. He could feel everything. It was like being on a drug without all of the repercussions. Every dust and dirt particle under his feet could be felt, and he could sense the chakra of every living being within a hundred mile radius. If it was like this in the beginning, he could only imagine how much better it could be in training.
The new sensation of the accursed "Oblivion Seal" distracted Kyomu somewhat, thus leaving him unprepared for his father's strike. Yonju came out of nowhere, bearing towards his son with disciplinary intent in mind, a shuriken in his hand. He planned to return to the old days, teach his son a lesson through violence. But as Kyomu realized this, it was too late. He swiftly turned around to face his father's angry face and the blade comes down upon him.
And he closed his eyes.
Kyomu waited in the darkness of his mind for the horrible and painful stabbing that would, and should ensue. He waited for far too long, he thought. Had his father gone through with it, Kyomu would have felt something by now. Anything. The male risked a glance, slowly opening a single eye, unable to fully process what had just happened until he saw it.
Yonju Yamada laid face-first on the dirt in a slowly growing pool of his own blood, a kunai sticking out from his back. And above the defeated, stood the last person Kyomu had wanted to see. Orochimaru knelt down beside to the body to wipe his hands on the dirt, looking up at Kyomu's shocked face as he did so.
"Wha-" Kyomu stuttered, looking from the form of his deceased father to his killer and back. He wasn't sure how he felt about what had just happened. But one thing was for certain, Kyomu wasn't sad. He could never mourn his father as a family member, the father who tortured him all those years and only ever cared about his "duty" to Himitsu. The hissing in the back of Kyomu's head quieted down, allowing him to process the sudden feeling of gratitude he felt. Orochimaru had saved him for the horrid man below, without a word even being spoken.
Then it hit Kyomu. The father lying dead on the ground wasn't his soul father. Through the latter part of those years after his mother had passed, all he had was Orochimaru. Albeit he didn't know the man's true intentions, he was still there. Always listening, and helping without expecting anything more from Kyomu but to be the recipient of the Oblivion Seal… Orochimaru had bestowed him with a great power. This frightening man was his true father, at least in the most emotional sense of the word.
Orochimaru rested his hand on the kunai handle, slowly pulling it out from the body as he stood up to face Kyomu. "We're family now," he smile took on a deceitful grin, one the impressionable Kyomu was blind to, "and family sticks together."
Gently handing the bloody kunai over to Kyomu, Orochimaru assisted in curling his fingers over the handle until it was in his grasp. Orochimaru stepped over the body, appearing at Kyomu's side and turning him to face the destruction of the fiery building yards away.
Kyomu's eyes reflected the flames, licking up towards the sky, and he was mesmerized. His ring-finger was tingling with giddiness that he could not explain. For whatever reason, this all felt so right and just. The death of his father was the first of many good things to come, that began with the fire.
Orochimaru leaned in to Kyomu's ear and whispered, "It's time to finish what you've started." He then took a step away from Kyomu, nodded his head, and walked into the distance… Leaving Kyomu with the kunai in one hand, and the ring on the other, gazing into the flames that were only sure to grow.
A/N: It's been months, and I realize that. There's no excuse for me leaving you guys waiting like that, and I am so incredibly sorry. I haven't been very focused, but there are no excuses for me. All I can do is apologize. As a courtesy to my readers I did not send this in to my beta-reader, but edited it myself with the assistance of my sister. I'm sorry sendicard, but I was too eager to get this out to the public and didn't want to wait another few days to a week. I'm fairly impatient…
However, now that we've finally finished Kyomu's means I can get back to writing the plot. There's a reason I made this two chapters and not one, and it wasn't just for length. Things mentioned in this chapter tie in with the conclusion of the story and the cliffhanger I might leave you with. Lucky for you folks I've already written ahead some, so I won't be as overloaded in the future chapter as I was with this chapter.
- Dahlia