Chapter 1: The House

See disclaimer on prologue.

' ' – Thoughts

" " – Speech

" " – Mind speech

Hell.

A very interesting word. Many people have said it, yelled and uttered it, and no doubt will keep saying it in some form. But what does it mean?

The most common forms of this word are that of a place or that of a simple curse word. The curse word is uttered when things go wrong or the situation is unpleasant in general. The reference to the mythical place – the land of the damned souls - can be said in a religious context or can be used to describe a place that is unfit for life. It can also be used to describe a state of being, one which no man should ever feel.

If you were to ask one seven-year-old Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha how was life for him, he might use the word 'hell' to describe his current life in all of its forms, if he actually knew them. But he would also say a lot of other words to describe it as well.

For as long as he could remember, he has been treated like the filth from the bottom of the barrel by entire village. At the orphanage where he grew up, he was isolated and ostracized from his peers, given the smallest amounts of food (and that was the leftovers) and was either beatened or locked out by the matrons. He would be forced to sleep in the broom cupboard where there was barely any air and was occasionally crawling with rats. And that was when he was just in that orphanage.

Some people go outside to escape their home life. Others stay inside to escape the outside world. For Naruto, there was no escape from his torture whenever he was outside or inside. When he went out, it seemed like the entire village looked at him like he was the bane of their existence and was worse than the pile of dog shit that was in the alleyway. This wasn't that far from the truth to them. When he went to the playground, all the other kids would run away or jeer at him, even thrown trash and rocks at him. If he went to a store, he would be thrown out or charged more than what it said on the sticker.

Even worse, sometimes a few drunks and even ninjas would gather up and beat him senseless. Thanks to that, along with the 'tender' care he experienced at home, it made him a tad resistant to the pain, but what was even more painful for him was that he saw masked figures, on the rooftops or on the sides of the houses, doing nothing and only pushing the sources of his pain back at the last moment.

Now Naruto may seem, to the outsider at least, as a bit dumb, but actually, he was smarter than most kids his age. Not genius level smart, no, but smart enough to notice what was going on around him. This trait was reinforced by his survival instincts, where he had to sharpen his mind and constantly be aware in order to avoid beatings. As such, he could learn thing more instinctually than his peers. For example, when the matrons didn't let him read any of the books, he snuck to the library where he would silently hear how the other orphans were being taught to read. In addition, he already learnt how to hide himself and build shelters thanks to the times where he would be locked out. As such, he knew that the masked ninjas were supposed to be protecting him, although they didn't do a very good job.

However, one thing that always bugged him was the question: 'Why?'

Why were they so mean to him?

Why did they hurt him?

Why did they hate him?

Why did they call him…'demon'?

These were all questions that Naruto never seemed to get the answers to. He certainly didn't look like it, with spiky blond hair, bright blue eyes and whiskered cheeks, but for some reason that didn't matter to the villagers. It was as if it was decided by Kami or some other higher power that he would be a target for the villager's hatred, a pariah.

Naturally, every time Naruto thought that, he would shake his head and utter "Yeah, right".

As the years passed by Naruto barely managed to survive. Because of all of his encounters with the villagers, he had grown wary of strangers, particularly human ones. The only one out of the whole village that was nice to him was the old man who called himself 'Hokage' that visited him on occasion and gave him a gift, yet there was still a strong sense of paranoia instilled within the blonde.

A month ago, the matrons suddenly decided to kick Naruto out of the orphanage, as such he had to use his forcefully-acquired skills to survive out in the streets, meaning sneaking into shops and stealing food, hiding from especially mean-looking villagers and generally trying to survive.

Now this night, Naruto knew he had to stay hidden, for this night was October 10th, the Kyuubi memorial festival, a night were he would be chased by a good portion of the villagers and they would sometimes beat him and torture him, in the most inhumane ways possible….if they caught him.

So, Naruto was slowly creeping in the alleyways, avoiding the main streets and the bright lights where the people were. He actually managed to get by most of the festival unseen, which he considered a miracle. He was about to scamper to his shelter when he heard "Hey boys look, it's the demon brat! Let's get him!" It was then that Naruto knew it was time to take off, in order to shake off the chasing villagers.

'Gah, I just need to move in between alleys and head to the dirty area of town (Red Light District), then I'll wait until dawn to return. Yeah, great idea!' thought Naruto. As he kept running, he could hear and feel the sensations of more people joining in, and it was when he saw a knife flying by him that he thought in panic 'Oh no, ninja's!'. Now, while Naruto could outrun a good majority of the civilian populace, it was the ninjas who always caught him, so he knew he had to lose the crowd and fast.

But, just as he had headed down an alley that he thought could lead him to safety, he stopped abruptly and looked ahead in horror.

"A dead end!? Ah!"

Indeed, for in front of him was a wall with a large metal-wire fence that blocked the rest of the alley. The wall had no indentations, so he could not climb. He looked left and right, trying to find a way out, but the alley was closed in every other direction. He pressed himself against the wall as he heard the trampling of feet and cries of the villagers:

"Where is he? Kill the demon brat!"

"When I find him, I will finally avenge my family!"

"Let us finish what the Yondaime started!"

"I think he's over there! Let's get him!"

At that last shout, Naruto could hear the cries and shout of the whole group getting closer and closer. As he pressed against the wall, he thought 'I wanna get out! I don't want them to hurt me! Help!' The last part was said as a pitiful whimper.

Just as the villagers were nearing the corner and were going to beat the life out of Naruto, something unusual happened.

As Naruto kept pressing his back to the wall, he saw what looked like a black claw press against him and pushed him into the wall. He experienced the sensation of falling while his whole body was buffeted by what seemed like a strong wind. He saw black tendrils in his vision along with a white light in the distance. As he 'fell', he saw the light getting bigger and bigger, and what seemed like two seconds later, he found himself on the other side of the wall, a few meters away. Just in front of him was a hill that was part of the forest that surrounded the village.

His instincts yelling at him, he dashed up the hill, into the forest and went behind a large tree. He heard the yells of the villagers, angry that they 'couldn't teach the demon brat a lesson'. He kept hiding until he made sure that he couldn't hear them anymore. As he peeked from behind the tree, he saw that the villagers have moved out of the alley.

-Obscuro-

Naruto slumped against the tree and sighed in relief. "That was close", he muttered, "They sounded real angry tonight. But what was that claw? How did I end up on the other side?"

He then looked at the forest and said, "Maybe I should wait here until morning, then I can figure out what to do". In truth, Naruto was chased out into the forest before, and he liked to stay there to avoid the village, even though he knew it was dangerous. So, he decided to stick around. 'Before my 'guardians' come for me' he thought darkly.

He was still mulling over his next course of action when he saw something that made him jump in fright: a stick, seemingly floating above the ground in the light of the moon, that waved in his face before dropping down and scribbling something in the dirt. 'W-What is that? W-What is it doing?' Naruto thought with some measure of fear. Yet part of him was still curious as to what the stick was doing. Maybe not the smartest idea, but he was still a child, and children were curious creatures. So he slowly walked up to the stick, closer and closer, until he looked down and saw what it hat scribbled, or rather written:

"Follow".

Naruto looked at the word with some apprehension, and then he looked back up at the stick and circled around it. He couldn't find anything unusual about it, before he looked down again and saw something which made his eyes widen: two shadows sticking out of a tree's shadow, one was holding the stick's shadow like a pen, and the other was splayed open, in the shape of a claw.

"D-Did you save me?" Naruto asked. For a moment, the shadows didn't move. Then the stick-holding shadow twirled the stick's shadow (and subsequently, the stick) and wrote a new word in the dirt before the previous one. Now the message read:

"Yes. Follow".

Naruto looked back up at the floating stick and thought: 'I think I'm crazy for doing this, but what choice do I have? I can wait here and go to the village, where I will feel pain and be sad, or I can see what this…shadow…wants to show me, and then I won't have to go back to the village for a while longer'. He turned his head towards the village, then back to the stick, then he shrugged and said "It's not like I have anyone waiting for me back there, and you are the only one who actually helped me before I got hurt so…where to?"

The stick then twirled again and flew at a running pace deep into the forest. "Hey, wait!" yelled Naruto while running to keep up with the flying piece of wood. The stick made some turns here and there, and Naruto thought that they were starting to go in circles when he yelled "Hey, where are we going?" The stick kept flying through the air until, after a few minutes, it stopped. Naruto trudged up behind and asked "Why did we –" He paused and looked at perhaps the most amazing and unusual thing he had ever seen.

On a large clearing, surrounded by gnarly dead trees, stood a big and magnificent house. What was unusual for Naruto about the house was that it was unlike any house in the village. 'Did I say house? More like a castle!' Naruto thought as he tried to process what he saw. The house, unlike the ones in the village which were usually low and blocked together with one roof, this one was rather tall and had a tower in the middle, and it looked like it was made of three separate houses glued together. The tower was shorter than the surrounding tall trees, yet it was still very tall for Naruto. To the left of the tower, there was what looked to be a smaller "house" glued to the side that was still very tall for the blond. To the right, stood another "house" which was shorter than the second one. Its roof looked like a fusion of a tower roof and a regular roof, with the tower roof in front of the regular roof. The house looked to be made of wood and stone, with the latter consisting the majority of the build. The tallest room in the house seemed to be 4-5 stories high, with windows covering all sides of the house. Most looked intact, but there were a few in the front that were smashed a bit. Ornate stone carvings decorated the house, especially the ones that framed the windows. The carvings were small loops that stopped at the sides of the windows openings. Ivy and other plant scaled the walls. The terrace had a small roof above it which was supported by weathered stone pillars. There was a small flight of stairs leading to what seemed to be the entrance of the house. But most of all, the house seemed to hold an air of uneasiness and fear, as though there was something in the house that shouldn't be disturbed. Or maybe it was the fact that the house looked like it was going to collapse. It didn't help that there was nearly a full moon out, which bathed the house in a ghoulish light. Either way, Naruto looked at the house and asked in a quiet tone "What is this place?" (1).

The stick simply hovered in its place for a few seconds before diving down and scribbling on the dirt: "Home". The stick then slowly flew towards the entrance of the house, with Naruto following its path.

Naruto soon reached the entrance door, and he turned the knob and pushed. The door creaked open, and a sudden gust of wind came out of the house. An odour of decay hit his nose, making him cringe in disgust. 'Damn, this place is getting creepier by the second' he thought, as he quietly moved through the dark corridor and into a large room. Each step he took made a small creaking sound that rang through the corridor. When he entered it, he gazed up. "Must be the living room" he muttered.

The living room was a dark and spacious area. A series of windows above the entrance line had black, grimy curtains that wouldn't let any light in. a few circular windows up on the ceiling allowed a few rays of moonlight to seep through, although they were mostly covered in mould. Dust and debris littered the floor, tarnishing what might have been an elaborate drawing. Two long couches were each side of the room, both ragged and a tad mouldy. Near each of them was a small table with drawers. A large bookcase leaned against the right wall besides an opening to another corridor. On the left side, there was another opening but no bookcase. A few worn out or faded paintings lined the walls, but as it was dark out, Naruto had trouble seeing them properly. In the middle of the room's far end, there were two flights of stairs both going upwards to a balcony that led to a second floor. In between them was a black, rotting door with a small mirror.

Naruto was lost in examining the room when the stick came up to him and tapped him on his head. He jumped backed and yelped "Gah! S-sorry! Nice h-house." The stick simply wobbled in place for a moment and floated to one of the small tables. Naruto followed it, and saw it drop on the table before a small, shadowy tentacle emerged from under it and traced another message on the dust, which was illuminated by a moonlit ray: "Bed up. We talk at dawn."

Naruto wanted to complain, to ask more questions when he started feeling a bit sluggish. He yawned and said "Sure, lead the way". The stick floated up from the table and flew over and up the flight of stairs. He followed the stick up the dark, creaking steps, turned left and into a corridor with a series of doors. The stick stopped in front of a door that looked a bit cleaner than the rest and tapped it. Naruto turned the knob and pushed, but the door didn't budge. He pushed again with more force than he should have used, force the door open with a loud creak and stumbled into the room. Said room was what might have been a master bedroom with a large, four-poster bed on the left, a closet besides the door, a writing desk with drawers and what seemed to be three bookshelves on each side and a chair to its left. In front of the door were two large windows, one of which had a curtain. Dust but much less debris was scattered across the floor. To its right was an opening that led to a dirty bathroom, where a porcelain tub with brown water rings lay.

Naruto jumped on the bed, kicked off his sandals and yawned. The bed creaked in protest and the mattress was a tad stiff, but the young jinchuuriki felt like he was on a cloud. He was about to drift off, he felt something impact his stomach. He opened an eye and saw that an apple lay there. He quickly devoured it like a wood-chipper and cast the core aside. As he slowly fell under the spell of Morpheus, he muttered to his helper, "thank you".

The stick then dropped onto the floor, and the door closed. If Naruto might have stayed awake for a little longer, he would've seen a shadow close the door. An inhuman shadow, that moved like it was alive….

-Obscuro-

Hiruzen Sarutobi. The God of Shinobi. The Professor. The Third Hokage. Old fool. All of these names belonged to the same man, a man that was now sitting behind his desk at the Hokage tower, facing the dreaded menace that was paperwork. "Minato, why did you leave me with this job?" he asked no one in particular. He then stopped working for a moment, and turned his head towards the large window that overlooked the village. He saw the lights and people from the Kyuubi festival moving around, partying in memory of that fateful day seven years ago. As he saw the festival continuing, his mind began to wander to thoughts about a certain blond, whiskered boy. 'Naruto…I hope you are alright' the Hokage thought with a dash of worry.

He didn't visit the boy as much as he wanted to, but the council, which has amassed power over the years, was pushing him to the limit and preventing him from interfering with certain events in the village. One of which was punishments for harming the young container, or saying "demon" near him, as that would violate the S-ranked law he has placed upon the village: To never tell Naruto about his relation to the fox until he comes of age. 'I have a hard time preventing him from getting killed, especially with Danzo's attempts at enlisting him in ROOT' he thought in sadness. What also worried him was that Naruto showed little attachment to Konoha. From what his watchers told him, he was very cautious and seemed to mutter bad words against the villagers. "Minato, I'm sorry that your son isn't treated like the hero you wanted him to be, and if you would see him right now…"

He was about to return to the paperwork when a group of ANBU, the masked black ops of the village, entered his office. "Hokage-sama, a mob was chasing after Naruto, a rather large one, but he suddenly disappeared" said a weasel-masked ANBU. The Hokage turned to the ANBU and asked in a tone of urgency "Disappeared? Where to!?" "I don't know Hokage-sama, but he appears to be somewhere within the forest, although I can't seem to pinpoint it." The ANBU responded in a neutral tone. Sarutobi sighed and said to the group: "Weasel, Cat, Dog, go the forest and find him. The rest of you, find out who was in that mob and bring them to me!" The ANBU bowed and yelled "Yes sir!" as they left. Sarutobi turned his head towards the forest and whispered "Naruto-kun, I hope you're allright…"

Hi guys! Here's the second chapter! It may lack in the house's description but like I said, I need a beta reader.

– Search 'haunted house' on google images, third option. Any idea what the stone curves are called? Can someone help me with this?

Read and review!