I do not own Naruto. I do own Obscuro and any OC's I will make.

Chapter 15 - Ratione Obumbratio

The large mansion stood tall as its moon-cast shadow loomed over the countryside. A tall iron fence ringed the grand house and a locked iron gate stood in the center. The windows were illuminated with a warm light as the shadows of guests and friends pranced around celebrating, while the cobblestone road outside lay empty and quiet, devoid of life.

Well, human life at least.

It slithered past the road and peeked through the iron bars of the fence. Armored guards kept vigil near the main doorway and along the sides of the house, eyes watching for any intruders, ready to kill them on the spot if need be. Their halberds glistened with a bright silver gleam as the torches on the walls cast their flickering light. No doubt there were more inside.

Impressive and dangerous…for a human.

It slipped through the bars and under the door, unseen by the iron-clad watchmen. Should it start now? It looked so tempting, so easy, to strangle them from inside their shells and rip them apart and let the blood shower—

No, no. It was too soon. Besides, they weren't what it came for; iron does leave a bad taste.

It slithered along the emerald-green hallways, befitting that of a noble family – exquisitely decorated with paintings, artifacts, and treasures that could allow a man to live the rest of his life in peace, comfort and luxury. Each.

Not that it mattered.

As it slithered through the halls and up and down staircases, it noticed that some of the doors were guarded by similarly-equipped men like the ones he had seen outside. Most likely the bedrooms of important guests or the heirs.

Ah well, some other time perhaps. It would just add the spices to the…fun.

Depends on how one views it.

It had gone up and down every floor of the house before deciding that the time had come to begin. It slithered back to the ground floor and through the rich corridors in a near-blink of an eye before stopping under a small display case, in front of a large redwood door with golden handles. Despite the thickness of the door, it heard sounds of merriment and haughtiness behind it as clear as day. It slithered under the door and took a look at what was displayed before its hidden eyes.

It was a grand and opulent dining room with a long table in the center. The treasures and paintings on the seemingly-sparkling walls appeared more valuable than anything it had seen in the mansion: A sword inside a scabbard decorated with small priceless jewels, a set of gold and silver chalices with pictograms and images engraved so finely on them that it looked like they might come to life at the slightest brush of clothes. Several polished suits of armor lined the walls, weapons at their side like silent sentinels. Crystalline chandeliers hung from the arched, painted ceiling – a work that must have required a lot of effort and gold – and illuminated the whole room.

Around the table sat twenty men and women of slightly differing shapes and sizes. They all wore suits, dresses, and robes in the colors of the rainbow, made from what looked like the finest silk money could buy. Magnificent jewelry on the women's arms and necks glittered in the candlelight as they moved their hands across the table. The table held many delicious treats and mouthwatering meals, all slowly plucked by the nobles as they laughed and talked in high, arrogant voices that should've caused the windowpanes to vibrate.

It stayed and observed the humans as they kept conversing and devouring, all the while proving to it over and over again that their arrogance and stupidity knows no bounds. They think they are the rulers of the world – bah! They never learn, especially those…nobles. Human warriors, it could respect; they all strived for their own goals. But nobles had nothing to truly justify their life, they all sit in their palaces and cause suffering just to fatten themselves up.

Hypocritical, but then again…it was no human.

It was broken from its thoughts when a large pink mass on a silver plate was carried to the table by a well-dressed servant. The blob jiggled back and forth as the two-legged pigs salivated at its sight. It was set down and scooped into small slices, which were then passed around the table. The diners all raised their spoons and began digging in.

Time to strike. But first…the stage had to be fully set.

It extended its consciousness up to the chandeliers and pulled down. All the candles there blew out in an instant, blacking out the room with only a small candle on the table left to light up the small area around it, showing the startled looks on the filths' faces. They got up from their chairs and headed for the door.

Ah-ah-ah. We can't have that now, can we?

The shadows slithered around the doorknobs and bound them tight, unseen by the humans' eyes. The nobles tried to open the doors but they didn't even budge, causing their fear to rise as some started shrieking like the pigs they were.

If it was human now, the grin on its proverbial face would've made a battle-hardened warrior shit himself and break down crying.

And death shall have no dominion

A creaking sound echoed throughout the room and the nobles froze in fear. They looked around for a possible source, too scared to call out when one of them suddenly started making choking noises. Looking behind them, the other nobles tried to make out where the horrifying noises from in the gloom. Some of the braver nobles shifted forward slightly and immediately let out horrified screams of terror at the sight before them: a noble floating in the air grasping at shadowy hands that held a tight grip around his throat.

Backing away from the sight and resuming their attempts to get a door open, they all froze when they heard the telltale crack and thud that spoke of something being broken and thrown on the floor. In this case, as some of the nobles saw as they looked back against their better judgment, their fellow noble's neck was the now broken object, and his body the discarded object.

Dead men naked they shall be one.

One of the nobles, known for his excessive cruelty, even among his peers, ignored the plight of his now dead companion and kept attempting to get out through the door, shouting profanities all the while. Noticing his lack of care for his fellow humans, the creature felt nothing but disgust and decided the human would be next. Sending out its shadows like tentacles, the creature slowly bound the foolish human in what looked like a cocoon of shadow, and began tightening the threads, slowly crushing the noble inside.

The panicked and pain filled screams that came from the cocoon soon began to waver and quiet, as the amount of blood and other bodily fluids seeping from it increased in quantity, until at last, with a loud crunch, the cocoon collapsed on itself and then disappeared, leaving the gelatin like remains to fall to the floor with a sickening splat.

With the man in the wind and the west moon;

A sword hovered in the air, its handle coated in darkness before it began to spin rapidly, its silver blade becoming nothing but a flickering glimmer of metal in the pale candlelight. Before anyone could react, too entranced by the beauty of the spinning blade of death, it was flung forth and like an old woodmill's buzz saw, cut another noble's arms and legs leg off in quick succession. After it was finished its gruesome work the blade fell to the floor, leaving the now-limbless dying man to fall to the floor and bleed to death amongst his screams of pain.

When their bones are picked clean, and their bones are gone;

One of the nobles, an older woman with plenty of jewelry adorning her person, ran towards the table in an attempt to get the single candle that was lit and use it to light any other candles that she could get a hold of. Somehow, she managed to get to the table and grab the candle, whether or by luck or being allowed to get to it she would never find out. Just as she was lighting another candle, the fire flared, and instead of spreading to the other candle like she assumed, the flames slowly engulfed her hand. She dropped the candle on the ground, its flame going out in the process. She began to scream in agony, waving her hand in a vain attempt to put out the flames, something that seemed to just entice the flame to spread, which it did as it slowly crept up the woman's arm followed by fully engulfing her form in what seemed to be a funeral pyre. As the flames crept higher so did her screams, until finally, they stopped entirely.

They shall have stars at elbow and foot;

Chains snapped from their anchor points in the ceiling, allowing rumble and candelabras to fall and crash to the floor, shrapnel and other debris peppering the nobles with cuts, bruises and in one case a stone through his head. The chains fell to the floor, the loud clanging of metal striking stone echoing through the room. Broken bits of metal and stone slowly rose up and collected around one of the nobles, a thin woman who enjoyed using others for her bodily pleasures, and began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster until she was trapped in a spinning vortex of death the ripped her apart with stone and metal.

Though they go mad they shall be sane,

Not a second later the chains rose up, swaying back and forth like vipers watching a snake charmer, before flashing forward, wrapping themselves around a fat man. They lifted him in the air, stretching his limbs out as if he was suspended on a medieval stretching rack. Pulling harshly on his torso and waist, the chains ripped the man in half before dropping to the ground lifeless.

Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;

The suits of armor that had stood so lifelessly before jumped off of their pedestals, crashing heavily to the floor with loud metallic clangs. The armor began to advance, marching together towards those they had previously guarded silently. The suits of armor began to separate from their groups and each stood in front of one of the people remaining in the room. Standing silently, the empty knights stood in front of their charges as if awaiting some signal or order. That signal came in the form of a sword being raised and a downward swing; the expression of horror on the man's face still etched up his dead face.

Though lovers be lost love shall not;

Swords, axes, maces, and flails. All raised descended, the horrified screams and shrieks dying equally as fast as the remaining humans in the room. These disgusting humans that the creature hated so much.

And death shall have no dominion.

And silence fell upon the room, for Death does not speak.

-Obscuro-

The sound of a slamming door woke Obscuro from its euphoria-induced flashback. It tried to see what had happened, but it could not seem to draw itself from the glorious sight before it. From the piles of bone to the garbed skeleton, they all sent the same message. The message of death.

Death – such a fascinating yet simple concept. The end of life. The final phase of the soul.

Humans fear it, yet they walk among it. They cry away from its cold touch, yet they show satisfaction on their faces when they guide it towards others. They sing songs, write stories and poems, create practices and even entire cultures around death – yet when their time comes, when the invisible scythe swings to reap their souls, they shriek in terror, begging on their knees, or face it with fear etched into their hearts.

Yet…some of them welcomed it with a smile, as though greeting an old friend. Sometimes on a large bed surrounded by family, or on the battlefield surrounded by the bodies of their fallen comrades and enemies.

How baffling.

Oh, it knew death, no doubt about it. It had walked alongside it for as long as it could remember. It had taken different forms seen it through different eyes, but the act itself was always the same, no matter to whom or what it applied to.

But what about the next phase. What lay beyond? Was there something behind the veil of mortality?

Humans had thought of the concept of an afterlife for as long as belief and religion itself. Despite their awe or fear of death, there was always the idea that something lay beyond the final toll of the phantasmal bell, a place where the Pale Rider took them when their sands of time had run out.

But it couldn't see it. It had searched both the minds and scriptures of men for an answer to this question, but despite the many differing and detailed accounts, they all lacked the same thing: proof.

Logically speaking of course, it was impossible to get proof. How can one be assured of what lies beyond the grave, especially when they can tell it to none?

Better yet, even if there was an answer to its question, did it even apply to itself or its distant demon-kin? Would the answer ever reveal itself to someone like itself, who has been blessed with eternity?

How baffling. So inexplicably baffling.

No…it was more than baffling; it was unknown – and when it came to the unknown, the shadow-demon craved to make it known to itself. A rather odd choice for a demon, but who or what could judge it? Besides, it served to pass the time.

So as it traversed the land, Obscuro observed the humans and their relationship with death. It watched as they died, whether by their hands…or its own.

Whenever it chose a target or targets, it was indiscriminate; race, gender, religion, social class – none of that mattered. All that mattered was the hunt, the joy, the discovery of their reactions to the imminent demise of themselves and their friends – and the hope of seeing a faint glimpse at the other side of the veil. For what better way to try and see what lay beyond death…

…than to stare it straight in the face?

Although the shadow-demon did have a very minor preference to arrogant high-class pigs who do nothing to justify their lives – not that Obscuro would ever admit it.

But no answer came. For years and years, the answer remained hidden from its all-seeing eyes. It had killed humans of all colors and sizes, read some of the holiest and detailed scriptures, researched obscure -even forbidden- rituals…but it found nothing.

Not one shred of actual proof.

But quitting was not an option. Obscuro never quit.

Faint sounds of sobbing slowly started to seep through the walls. While nearly silent to human ears thanks to the walls and the location of the chamber…well, Obscuro was not a human.

'Hm. It seems like they are struggling to cope with this new situation' it thought. 'On the other hand, I have never met a human that did not have some outward reaction to something like this.'

Not an ounce of pity or remorse passed through those thoughts, but simultaneously neither did any condensation or arrogance.

As the faint sobbing continued, Obscuro looked at the winged skeleton once more, letting a shiver of delight flow through its nonexistent body. Truly, this place was marvelous. The shadow-demon levitated a stray skull from the floor and held it up to its shadowy face, examining it as though it were a work of art, hiding secrets from forgotten pasts – and Obscuro was the expert on such matters.

A minute passed and the sobbing persisted. While the shadow-demon didn't really care about the children's emotional reaction to its little…euphoric lapse, it had to remind itself that the past week or two has been very taxing on them, what with witnessing a massacre committed by his own hands, leaving the one place they know no one else can get to but the three of them (temporarily at least), traveling halfway across the continent to a place that doesn't work within the natural law, and now witnessing a spectacle that only appeared in the most depraved nightmares a human can think of.

The "traveling across the continent" aside, such an ordeal would show its toll on any man, much less two children.

'Perhaps I should go and check on them…we have so much to do after all.'

With that thought in mind, Obscuro slithered under the door and up the stairs, entering the antechamber with the open-walled walkway.

Just like the shadow-demon thought, there he saw the two children clinging on to one another, with muffled sobs escaping them. Both of their clothes were ruffled and sweat was glistening on their faces. Naruto was hugging Ajisai, letting her cry on his shoulder, his eyes closed with a few tears escaping them. He didn't actually sob, but his breath was ragged, as though he was choking on air. Once or twice he whispered something in the purple-haired girl's ear, but he seemed to be holding on better.

What a touching scene. But time waits for no man or child.

It pulled the small blackboard from the shadows and rapped the chalk on it. The two orphans jumped at the noise and looked towards him, eyes wide with fear and surprise. But while Ajisai's light-green eyes were still dripping tears, Naruto's blue eyes widened in shock for a moment before slightly narrowing at the shadow-demon, a glint of suspicion and…acceptance(?) flashing through them.

While a tad confused at the flash of emotion he just saw, he nonetheless began writing.

"It seems you saw my euphoric episode down there. I will not apologize for that, but I do agree that I should have tried to quell it slightly. Are you well?"

The two read the message as they rubbed their eyes to wipe the tears away. When they reached the last sentence, Ajisai let out a hoarse bark of sarcastic laughter.

"Yes, you should have. Does it look like we're 'well'? What was that place!?"

Obscuro erased the board and lifted the chalk to reply, but Naruto spoke up, albeit in a wavering voice.

"In the v-vision I had…the white being t-told me to 'seek out the house of the dead'. That's what t-this place…it's a temple for death. T-that chamber was…r-related to it, right?"

Surprised at the boy's answer, Obscuro wrote: "That is a very good guess – one that I believe in as well. Good work."

A hint of surprise showed in Naruto's face – no doubt because of the compliment – before he returned his narrowed stare at Obscuro. His lips parted slightly as if to say something, but then he seemed to stop and then sigh in resignation.

"What do you wish to say?"

Naruto looked down at the ground for a few seconds before letting out a slight chuckle.

"It's just that…looking at it now, I realize that I shouldn't really be surprised."

He looked up from the floor and met the shadow-demon's eyes. "That…episode you had down there… I'm probably gonna have nightmares because of it for years…but I knew that you were feeling happy down there…In a weird, depraved sort of way and to be honest? It kind of fits you.

You told me what you are the first day we talked to one another. You didn't tell me what a 'shadow-demon' exactly meant, but now? I think I understand, and you know what?

I really don't care."

He started rubbing Ajisai's shoulders as she traded looks between the two of them. "You've done so much for me these past two years. You gave me knowledge, you're showing me places that I didn't think I'd ever go to…and you saved me from that village. If I start to fear you now just because of what you are and not who you are and what you did to help me and Ajisai-chan, then I would be just like those villagers."

His eyes narrowed in disgust. "I would rather spit on myself than be like them."

A moment of silence passed as Obscuro hovered in place. Then, the shadow-demon wrote once more.

"It would seem that all those lessons finally started to take root in your head. If I am to be honest with myself, I thought you would have cracked long before this. I see now that I am wrong. No student of mine would ever succumb to insanity over something like this."

A tired grin grew on Naruto's face as a chuckle escaped his lips, his back slightly straightening from the praise. Ajisai looked at Naruto before returning her gaze to Obscuro and straightening her own back, a determined flash in her eyes.

She said nothing, but no words were needed. Truly, these children were unique.

"Now then, I believe it is best we retire for the day. There should be living quarters around here somewhere, so if you would stay here for a moment, I will find the living quarters. For the record, this is a cathedral, not a temple. Remember?"

The children nodded. "Good. So, if you don't mind, I'll be back soon."

Obscuro was about to withdraw the board and slither away before snapping it back up again and writing.

"By the way, what you said about the villagers –"

"Yeah, yeah I know, hypocrite. But you aren't one to talk, ya know?"

Hi guys! Sorry that I've been away, but a mixture of writer's block and tests is the worst recipe for stagnation.

Not to worry though folks, my "On Black Wings" story will get an update soon!

The title roughly translates to "The Nature of Shadows". If there is a better translation, tell me.

The poem featured here is "And Death shall have no Dominion" by Dylan Thomas. That particular scene was written by my beta MetalmanMecha. What do you think of its inclusion in the chapter?

What do you all think of the new chapter and what did you like best?

Go check out my other stories and the challenges on my profile! I have a new Bleach x Evangelion challenge out!

Read and review!