Chapter 20
The choice
Eight years ago…
Ever since his family had died due to demons eight months ago, Sasuke began to change drastically. The cheerful and obedient child he was once was substituted by a cold distrustful child that broke the rules that the village was so meticulous about.
Uchiha Sasuke was eight years old when he killed his first demon, an honor only bestowed upon young men twice his age. It was the village's culture, their way of doing things, and he had broken centuries of tradition.
Escaping the village was easy enough; it was even pathetically easier to fool the guards of the gate. The raven haired boy did not understand why kids like him didn't go out the gates if it was so easy to go through them.
Was it fear of encountering the cruel demons everyone talked about?
Or was it the fear of losing their lives?
Because, as Sasuke looked at the ashes of the demon he killed, he concluded that he was not afraid of demons… and he wasn't afraid to die.
Death meant nothing, because he wouldn't die until he slayed all the demons in this world. Even if it meant breaking the law he would kill Kyuubi as well. He would be the last on his list before leaving that dammed village for good in order to slay other demons.
He hated how other people in the village looked at him, like he was some type of rare species that brought good luck to them. He hated the fake smiles that covered second intentions. And he hated how people did not see him.
All they saw was an Uchiha, they didn't see a child grieving from lose.
Sasuke kept breaking all the rules; he kept pushing himself to his limits until one day when he remembered what fear was like.
Uchiha Sasuke was now thirteen and according to the village's tradition it was the age he would finally hunt down a demon and complete his rite of passage. After this he would be allowed to assist his seniors.
The village didn't know he had already killed small and middle six hundred and eighty one demons until now. He was still angry at himself for the small amount of demons he had slayed, in five years. His average was one demon a week, two if he was very lucky.
However he was tired of killing small fry, and week demons that didn't put up a ten minute fight. He was determined to fight and seal the strongest demon he could find and he knew just the one he was going after.
Kyuubi had been unsealed sixteen years ago and ever since then it had been wandering around somewhere in the higher mountains. Part of him suspected it was responsible for his family's death but he couldn't get his revenge now. He would wait until he was stronger to kill it, but for now he would measure his strength to see how much stronger he would have to be.
As tradition told he parted from the village at sunrise, he had until sunset to fight and seal a demon in a container he was given by the elders. The raven haired teen left, bitter that he couldn't hear congratulations about accomplishing his thirteen years.
He didn't know why he was still expecting something like that. It was like this every year since he was alone. The only good part of it was that later he would be eating a hot meal for free.
In order to seek Kyuubi he climbed the mountains. He wasn't nervous nor was he afraid. In fact he was dying to try the technique he learned recently. He had literally shocked his tutors with it.
However, as time went by, and his search proving to be fruitless the raven haired wondered himself if he should quit. Kyuubi couldn't be sensed, and maybe it was a sign he wasn't ready for facing it.
Suddenly, all his thoughts ceased when he heard inhuman screams.
His body froze as he saw smoke in the sky coming from the village. It was that day all over again. Two older slayers appeared from his behind telling him that the test was delayed because the leader was killed by a demon on a loose. They were about to scold him because he wasn't supposed to be here so near to Kyuubi's territory.
Sasuke was going to defend himself but such had not been needed because the men in front of him were killed right before his eyes.
The demon was huge.
He couldn't see where he started or ended, all he saw was the decapitated bodies and blood.
It was eating them.
The boy was frozen in fear, shocked at the scene that unraveled before him. White scales were covered in blood that did not belong to the demon, as his eyes were tracking the head of the demon. It was the sound of bone cracking, being eaten and swallowed that made his body start to shiver uncontrollably.
Uchiha Sasuke was scared to the point he couldn't even scream although he realized he was going to die.
The expected moment of the demon noticing him finally came when the snake, or the man inside the snake's mouth moved its head and locked its yellow eyes on him.
The boy refused to cry, as the man snake slide to him.
"An Uchiha? I thought they had died. What a wonderful surprise."
Even when the snake's tongue ran across his face he didn't flinch. He was too petrified for that.
"Deliciousss. You are perfect, but still young. I'll come for you. Remember that dear Uchiha-kun."
And with that said, the demon attacked the boy.
Naruto roared in anger to Orochimaru.
"Give me back my tail you bastard."
The white man snake smiled sickly, his eyes looking towards something the demon fox could not point out.
"Why would I do that when you have something that belongs to me?"
The fox demon let a pulse of energy escape from him body creating a gust of pure energy.
"What are you…?"
A scream stopped the demon king from lashing at the devil snake. It had made his body shiver in pain and desolation. All his anger was replaced by panic at the sight of his human mate curled on the ground screaming from pain.
"You have quite the guts, mating something I marked as mine years ago, right in my territory."
The fox demon turned to his human form in a heartbeat, trying to appease his heart by embracing his crying mate.
No, no, no, no! Please, no!
"Naruto…", Tsunade started to say but stopped.
The blond demon felt devastated as he gaze upon the black mark on Sasuke's shoulder blade.
Sasuke had been marked.
Unlike being mated, the mark was bestowed upon humans by demons like Orochimaru. The mark was proof that Sasuke was his to do whatever he wished. Right now he was using the mark to make his mate suffer and there was nothing he could do because marks could not be undone not even by the demon that had done it. Sasuke would have the mark until the day he died.
Sasuke was Orochiumaru's for life.
A particular painful scream from him made Naruto's heart break as he could do nothing to stop the pain the love of his life was feeling.
"Stop it! STOP IT!", Naruto shouted to the snake.
"You have a simple choice king of demons. Give me the boy or let me kill you."
"NO! Naruto, no!"
Never in his life had the king of the demons shed a tear until now. When he had finally found happiness, when he had finally found his mate, he was forced to a choice like this.
If he let Sasuke go he would be leaving his mate in the hands of a demon known to eat humans just like him and worse. What would that snake do to him knowing that the human was mated. No demon liked their possessions stained by other demon's smell, they would either destroy them or… leave their scent again on them. He would force his mate to bed him. Orochimaru won, he was going to kill Sasuke either way so he would die as consequence.
He only had to choose if he died now or later.
"I'm so sorry Sasuke. I love you so much."
The demon's tears fell hard on the human's face, who in returned cried to not being able to return the words between his cries of pain.
"I love you."