Hi guys! Sorry this chapter took so long, but the past month has been hectic and I was working on my other story, but I HAVE RETURNED! This chapter might seem a little short, but there's a reason for it.

Hope you guys enjoy and constructive criticism is welcome!

Chapter 14 – Memento Mori

Hokage Monument, Konohagakure…

Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage smoked his pipe as he stood atop the Hokage Monument, on the stone-carved head of the Fourth Hokage. He gazed down at the illuminated streets of Konohagakure, shining brightly in contrast to the darkness of the night that had fallen over it. He saw the faint figures of the villagers moving below, going about their lives. He heard their faint chattering with a few barks of laughter. While his wrinkled face remained stoic, befitting his title of Hokage, he smiled inwardly at the sight as it brought warmth to his heart. This was what he, his predecessors, and his successor had fought for; peace for the village and happiness for its citizens. The sight never failed to please him.

An ANBU – Crane – appeared at his side, his body and head bowed low, breaking the old man from his tranquil thoughts. "Hokage-sama, the ANBU have finished their patrol for the week. No abnormalities or disturbances have been reported and everything appears secure. The villagers have recovered from the news of the Uchiha Massacre, so trade and other businesses haven't been harmed.

However, they have taken to idolize Itachi's younger brother Sasuke, and have praised him on the streets and if - by my observations at least – this keeps up, their favoritism could turn into near-worship. They have even begun addressing him as 'The Last Uchiha'".

The Hokage slightly frowned at that last tidbit. If that information was true, and it most likely was, considering the ninja-worshipping nature of the villagers (the civilian ones at least), then this could lead to worrisome results. A week after his brother had attacked and tortured him via genjutsu, Sasuke's personality took a drastic shift: he brooded for most of the time, didn't have any friends and relentlessly trained day after day, to the point of near exhaustion.

Or as the younger generation would say: an "emo".

He had stopped once to check up on the boy – as protocol dictated – but after asking him why he didn't play with other children anymore, the Uchiha scion simply declined and said:

"I don't have time for them; they won't help me get stronger. I have to get stronger so I can avenge my clan and kill…him."

That was both worrying and reassuring at the same time; on one hand, Sasuke would have a stronger motivation to train and when he will join the ninja ranks and awaken his clan's fabled Sharingan, he could very well become one of the strongest shinobi of his generation, if not the strongest. On the other hand, Sasuke was now more susceptible to the words of others, especially if they promised him power. Such thinking could lead to arrogance, and when combined with the desire for revenge…it would not turn out well for anyone involved. He had seen it happen before.

"Post an ANBU guard to him discreetly and report to me any suspicious or unknown persons that try and contact him beyond the usual praise and parade. If handled wrong, that boy could become a flight risk and we cannot have that, especially with the last holder of the Sharingan."

Sarutobi turned to look down at Crane. "Did the…special sentries have anything to report?"

"No, sir. Danzo has been quiet as of late, and no suspicious moves have been made him."

Sarutobi nodded. "Good. Nevertheless, keep the sentries there. The situation here in the village is starting to give me a tingling feeling in my chest. I fear that Danzo may try something, so we cannot overlook anything." Crane nodded in response.

The Hokage inhaled and took another whiff of his pipe, his frown softening and his eyes gaining a sorrowful/worried hint to them. "What of the…other sentry?"

Crane shook his head. "Nothing new sir. Same as before; no-one has approached that house."

Hiruzen sighed. The sentry he was talking about, of course, was the sentry assigned to watch over the current home of Naruto Uzumaki. It had been a week since he had encountered the child and his foreign-looking companion, and after the stop at his house, he hasn't heard from the blond ever since. He had posted the sentry in hope that when the blond would return, he could talk to him more about what had happened that bloody night. He slightly flinched at the memory of the pained and grim look that his (in his mind) surrogate grandson gave him as he asked:

"Now do you see, Hokage-san? Why should I protect a village that tries to hurt me? That tries to take away what's mine?"

Hiruzen's heart ached at those words as he looked down at the village with a forlorn gaze. 'The situation with Naruto has reached a point I had hoped it would never reach. The fact that villagers were willing to attack his only sanctuary has either pushed or broken his limit of tolerance to them. While most of the blame lies with the villagers,' he thought bitterly, 'some part of it does fall on me. Had I have kept a closer eye on him this would've never happened, and he would've become one of Konoha's finest shinobi.

Alas, he is now in a position where he can be influenced easily by anyone who shares his dislike for the village…and knowledge of his special status. While Danzo did bring up a few good points back at the council meeting last week, I know that my old friend will try something with him. I will not allow it, ROOT or no.'

He turned to Crane and commanded: "Keep up the shifts. I don't want any unauthorized ninja or civilians apart from the ones I have personally assigned getting within walking distance of that clearing. If you see any suspicious activities, report them to me immediately."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The ANBU bowed.

Hiruzen kept looking at Crane before sighing again and asking in a slightly weary tone, "Do you have anything else to report?"

Crane kept his head down but didn't answer. A few seconds later, he hesitantly reached for his pouched and pulled out a scroll.

The Hokage stared at the scroll in confusion. By the intricate pattern on its side and the expensive-looking red material, it looked like a message scroll that the nobles used.

"Earlier today I was intercepted by a messenger as I was about to change my shift from border patrol. He gave me this scroll and asked me to deliver it to you, Hokage-sama."

"That's an odd request to ask of an ANBU…why didn't he ask the chunin gatekeepers? Better yet, why isn't this in my office?"

"The messenger was most adamant that you receive this scroll personally; I believe that he would have held onto the scroll until you personally came to accept it if he wasn't in some sort of hurry."

"A hurry? Why didn't you go after him?" The Hokage asked, growing more confused by the second.

"Because by the time I had inspected the scroll, he had vanished from my sight and senses."

A spark of alarm shot though Hiruzen. A messenger being able to disappear from a well-trained ANBU's sight? "What did this messenger look like and did he say anything else?"

"He wore a pitch-black suit with white and silver markings reaching to his face, which was hidden by a cap and a bandanna. His voice was muffled, but there wasn't any village symbol" Crane's voice started to have an edge of nervousness to it. "As for him saying anything else…I think this message will explain better than I."

Still confused about the situation, Hiruzen took the scroll from Crane's outstretched hand and opened it. His eyes fell on the greeting sentence as he read it in his mind.

'"Lord Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, I greet you for a chance to establish a working financial relationship…"'

As Hiruzen read through the letter, his eyes got wider and wider with each line until his old eyes looked like they were about to burst from their wrinkled sockets.

"Crane…are you sure that this mystery messenger had no symbol on his person?" he asked in a calm voice.

"100 percent sure sir."

"Hmm…I thank you for bringing this to my attention. You may leave now and resume your duties if you have any." Wordlessly, the ANBU vanished.

Hiruzen quickly closed the scroll and stored it in his white coat. A hand-sign and a puff of smoke later, he found himself at his office. He quickly went to his desk where he turned on the small lamp and reopened the scroll, this time reading its contents with higher care. His eyes didn't widen this time, but a sense of excitement, nervousness and curiosity rose up within him.

'If…if this message is genuine, then the village may have an opportunity to flourish like never before. If my knowledge is up to date, none of the other villagers, major or minor, have been offered a chance like this. But something bothers me. Why Konoha? Why now of all times?'

Just as he was about to re-review the contents in his mind once more, the Hokage's head shot up when a poof was heard and a small red toad appeared on the table, carrying a green scroll.

"Greetings Hokage-sama, I am here to deliver the usual report from Jiraya-sama."

Hiruzen stared for a moment before shaking his head and nodding in recognition. "I see. It's that time of the month then? How is my student these days?"

The toad shrugged. "Ehh…the usual; peeping on women, collecting "research material", doing the occasional check-up on the network, etc."

Hiruzen just chuckled and took the green scroll from the frog. He read its contents, filed mental notes, and was about to dismiss the toad when a thought crept into his head, making him paused open-mouthed: should he tell Jiraya about Naruto and the…recent events involving him?

Hiruzen looked down at the scroll as he began to contemplate the reasons and consequences of that action. Jiraya was the boy's godfather, and as such was supposed to take care of him until he was of age. However, thanks to his student Minato's death and the importance of keeping up his spy network, he left Naruto to his care, at least until he became a genin or a chunin.

'Because of that decision and my negligence, Naruto was forced to fend for himself all these years – he never even asked about him when he came to visit,' Hiruzen thought sourly. 'As such, I don't believe he deserves to know about Naruto's little escapade to the forest from two years ago. The boy seems to have taken care of himself well, much better than when he was in the village at least, and I would bet my hat that his companion has helped him in that.

On the other hand, one cannot ignore the proverbial elephant in the room. Namely, Naruto's unique status; not only as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but also as the heir to the Uzumaki clan, which includes Minato's Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Jutsu) as his birthright. The second thing alone makes him an important future factor in Konoha's strength. He is just too important for the village to lose over some past spite like this. Besides, knowing Jiraya, he will likely train Naruto for a chance to get to know him; that way he could forge a bond with the village, weak as it may be. He could also help with the matter on my desk as well...'

Hiruzen raised his head to look at the toad, who was just standing there with a confused look. "I thank you for bringing this to me. However, when you return, inform Jiraya that he is to return to Konoha as soon as possible; some important issues have come up that I need to talk with personally." The toad nodded and poof-ed out of the room.

The Hokage sat down in his chair as he rubbed his forehead while looking down at the two scrolls. "This is going to be a headache...but there one thing I can be sure of: change is coming to my village, for good or ill I do not know, but I have a feeling that Naruto will be involved in this somehow..."

-Obscuro-

Fear.

A word used to describe a state of emotion felt when one encounters someone or something that is believed by the individual to be dangerous or a threat. Terror is an extreme variant of fear.

All living creatures are capable of feeling or experiencing fear or terror. Currently, neither Naruto Uzumaki nor Ajisai of Ame were exempt from that rule, especially Naruto.

For as his gaze switched from the words drawn from dust upon the altar to the shadowy, winged visage of the shadow-demon Obscuro, inside the dimly lit chamber surrounded by skeletons, the only emotion he could feel right now was just that: pure terror.

His heart was beating faster and faster by the second. The shadows cast off the walls seemed to be closing in around him and the girl beside him, with the torch acting as the only deterrent against the darkness. His female companion gripped his free hand as he felt her shiver with the same abject fear. All the while, Obscuro floated over the altar, claw outstretched and red eyes piercing the darkness, the torch's light portraying him in a stark contrast in comparison to the light. The shadows that danced around the trio seemed to circle the shadow-demon, and Naruto could swear on the Kyuubi that despite their faintness…he could hear faint screams and whispers around them.

As the young blond gazed at the visage of his guardian, he would've bet his notebook that Obscuro was enjoying every second of this.

His eyes went back to the altar where the odd phrase was written in the dust:

Memento mori.

'Remember death,' he translated in his mind. The phrase seemed odd to him; what did it exactly mean? What did it have to do with this place, if at all? (Considering the décor though, it did seem rather obvious).

"It's exactly what it says, human."

Naruto nearly jumped from his spot at the booming phantom voice, but Ajisai's grip on his hand kept him rooted in place. Wait, wasn't that voice familiar?

'Kyuubi?' he thought.

"That's right. Thanks to our first contact, we can now mentally communicate with each other. You're practically oozing fear so I was curious to see what had shaken you up like that. Now I see why, and I find it rather fitting. Remember death; very apt."

'Why?'

The fox's voice seemed to drop an octave and Naruto could hear the fang-filled grin on its next words.

"Do you know what the difference between demons and humans is?"

The blond opened his mouth a little bit, but the words couldn't seem to leave his mouth (or mind, in this case). From what he had seen of the Kyuubi and Obscuro, there were a lot of differences between them and him; strength, experience, knowledge, etc. Did the fox refer to something specific?

'There are...a lot of differences, from what I've seen'

The fox chuckled. "Correct. The differences are too numerous or bothersome for me to name, so I will start off with the most basic thing: Life-span. As you have probably guessed, we demons can live for a very long time – if not forever – unless we are slain. Even then, when we ARE slain, we really aren't."

Naruto blinked in confusion. 'Not slain when you are slain? What do you mean by that?'

"The living ink-stain over there, is that form that he is wearing real?"

'Umm...what do you mean?'

"Come now, you're a smart little human. If someone slashes that form with a sword or blasts it with a jutsu, will it really kill him?"

'Of course not! It's just a mass...of...' Comprehension dawned on the young Uzumaki's face.

'Demons...don't have a... solid form?' That did make sense, after all, what with Obscuro's shapeshifting and shadow travel powers.

"The correct term is 'physical form', but yes, you are right. When we descend to the mortal world, we take a visible form to interact with the world and its denizens when we wish, but that is a pale reflection of our true selves. I, for example, am just a living mass of pure chakra; the form that you saw before was simply how most humans see me as.

As such, when we are 'slain', demons can simply reform ourselves at a different location at a later date."

Naruto slightly nodded as he mentally filed away the information. This was something Obscuro hadn't told him before, and the fox just gained a little more respect in his mind.

'That's interesting and all, but what does THAT have to do with...this?'

"Because we cannot be truly killed, the concept of 'death' is very foreign to us, unlike you pathetically short-lived humans. That is one of the main differences between us; death does not hold any value to me."

Naruto was still confused, but as he looked up at the scythe-wielding skeleton and back at the words, his eyes widened at the implication of the words drawn from dust.

Remember death.

'Then...this means…that this place is...'

The fox let out a sinister laugh that echoed in his mind. "That's right; this place is a memorial, a reminder of your own fragile mortality."

As the Kyuubi kept talking, strange images flashed in front of Naruto's eyes.

"No matter how much you humans achieve during your lives…

A fancy-looking house in the woods burns to the ground. Inside, various animal heads that were displayed as trophies begin melting or turn to dust.

No matter how righteous you are…

The corpse of a monk, clothed in white, floats down a river as the wound on his back dirties the tunic with blood.

Or how cruel you are…

A mean-looking man with hatred in his eyes has his head placed upon a wooden block. A large crowd stands in front of him and jeers while throwing rocks, rotten food and mouldy shoes at his dirty form. A voice proclaims to the crowd the heinous crimes that the man has committed, and with each crime, the jeers grow louder. A muscular man with a black mask walks to the criminal, carrying a huge, bloody axe. Someone holds the man's head down as the axe is lifted up into the air…

Whether you are a supreme ruler…

A bearded man lays impaled in front of a crumbling palace, smoke rising from the ground and savage hollers all around. His once magnificent and fancy robes are now tattered and covered in blood. A golden crown, jeweled with the most exotic gems, is placed atop the pointed pike, dented and dirty.

Or a lowly street rat…

A frail child lies against a street wall as rain pours down on him. His face is pale and covered in black spots, his eyes have a haunted look to them and his arms are so then that the bone is visible. He covered with little more than a cloak, torn in half from the shoulder.

…Death comes to you all, and you become nothing more than the hollowed remains that you see before you."

…

…

…

A heavy silence fell over the trio after those words. Naruto tried to reply, but nothing came to mind. The reason? It. Was. True. No matter how much he tried to deny it, whatever excuse he may have had faded away at the sight of this hall. Despite not being able to hear the conversation, Ajisai knew by looking at Naruto's terror-stricken face that something had gone wrong. She was just to terrified to even say a word.

As for Obscuro, well…the less said the better.

The shadows on the walls crept closer and closer to the children. The cacophony of whispers grew louder in volume until some of them turn to wails of despair. The wings on the skeleton seemed to grow larger and larger until they seemed to stretch across half the room. Ajisai's hand now gripped him like iron, and her breath became fast-paced and heavy.

Naruto turned to the shadow-demon to ask him what was happening, but the sight he saw seemed to strike at his very soul:

A nightmarish grin – an actual grin – stretched across Obscuro's face. Ivory shadow fangs glistened in the torchlight as a revolting smell emanated from his maw. A faint sound, like rushing water, made the shadow-demon reveal an inky black tongue that thrummed with sheer delight.

But the most horrifying thing about him were the eyes – oh spirits, the eyes! – that seemed to devour his very soul. The once glowing red eyes had gained an animalistic black slit, with a fiery orange pattern rippling around them. A vortex-like pattern of black stretched across the flaming sclera and gathered on the silted pupil.

The blond felt as though he was being dragged into an all-devouring void, a place where nothing came out of. Images of horror and macabre flashed though his mind – blood, crows, bones, fire, darkness. The sheer horror and fright that his teacher's form evoked made him scream incoherently with insanity in his mind.

Ohmygodwhatishehe'sgoingtodevourmeDeathShadowFangsScreamHorrorNohelpItstheendDevourdevourDEVOUR -!

It was that final touch that made Naruto finally snap. He quickly turned around and dashed out the door, dragging Ajisai with him. He gripped the torch so hard that he felt like his palm was bleeding all the way up the stairs. After a few seconds of nonstop running, they had finally reached the doorway to the antechamber they had arrived at.

Naruto stumbled out panting up a storm. Sweat gleamed across his brow as his back hunched over. He dropped the torch to the ground as his now-free hand moved upwards and lay upon his yellow scalp.

He had never been more terrified in his short life. Not even a mob of villagers or a gutted corpse evoked that feeling of pure terror he had felt in that basement. That overwhelming feeling of death and despair was simply inhuman. The sheer irony of that last thought would have made him chuckle had he been less concerned with his sanity.

He took a look out the arches of the walkway. The sky was still cloudy and gray, with faint hints of sunlight streaming out. The ashen-looking stone that made up this place made him flash to the main hall where the statue of the hooded figure stood. With the final bits of coherent thought and the memory of the skeletal basement in his head, something clicked that would've him laugh like a madman, if he had the energy.

'Death. This is a temple for death.'

He heard a choked sob that made him turn. Ajisai looked like absolute hell. Her purple hair, still tied in that onion-like bun, was frazzled and messy. Her face was pale as tears slowly leaked from her green eyes. A soft whimper escaped her lips. She was shivering like mad as her small arms hugged her shoulders, gripping them hard. The terror-stricken expression on her face made Naruto want to throw up.

Her eyes met his in a silent plea for help. Naruto however, remained rooted in place. He knew that he should say something – anything! – to comfort her, to assure her that there was no danger but…

Could he really say that?

He raised his arm slightly to look at any signs of injury. But Ajisai must have taken that as an invitation, because she launched herself onto him and latched onto his shoulders, her face burying in the nape of his neck. She started openly sobbing into his shoulder as he slowly raised his arms to hold her.

Both of them knew that they should say something, anything, to alleviate the sheer emotion that shook their souls, but they just couldn't.

They just held onto each other in comfort, focusing only on each other, to try and forget.

All alone, in this house of the dead.

So...pretty macabre huh? That's the reason I cut the chapter here; so that there would be a bigger impact. This shows the first sign that Naruto's situation isn't all sunshine and rainbows, as well as a glimpse into Obscuro's true nature.

I have been asked if this is a Lovecraft/Cthulhu crossover, and the answer is: not...exactly. This fic DOES use Lovecraftian elements and themes, but this fic uses several different sources as inspiration, and most of them are NOT anime, so this isn't really a crossover; rather an implementation of ideas into an original one. There is one source I am taking more from that the rest but that's...a secret for now! (Again: NOT Lovecraft).

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