Hey there. So, I've noticed that more people have recently abandoned their Naruto fics because "The manga isn't as good as it used to be." And "Lacks Naruto screen time." Okay, I'll agree with the latter, it has been focusing more on other characters for a time now, but I believe it is important for us to know how other characters are dealing with the situation and to solidify their role. As for the former complaint, that's complete and utter bullshit. Hell, the plot alone is one of the better ones I've seen in my life, especially with the recent twists. I won't criticize the authors who abandoned their stories for these reasons, but they do make me disappointed.
/////
Disclaimer: "Sorry folks. Acolyte is currently in a coma, and, thus, could not star in this weeks disclaimer."
"The fuck you talking about? I'm right here." out of nowhere, Acolyte is hit in the head with a shovel. "Ow! What the fuck?!? That hurt, retard!" he is again hit with the shovel, in the face this time, and is knocked unconscious.
"Umm, as I was saying, he wants you to know that he doesn't own any copyrighted material. Yeah, just drag him over there. Don't worry. He'll be fine. Ohh, are we still rolling? Well, turn the fucking thing off." The screen suddenly goes black.
/////
Chapter 9: Forced InvolvementIn a dark, foreboding hallway, there was a door. The door itself was nothing special, you know; quite the standard for any evil mastermind out there. It was of a rich brown mahogany wood with an iron loop for a handle. It also had metal bindings on it, as to give it some weight. In short, it was a very, very evil door.
Okay, the door itself wasn't evil, but the person behind it was. Or, at least, he was influenced by it.
Either way, back to the hallway. It was long; so much so, that from the 'evil' door, you could see nothing but shadows and small pinpoints of light. Then again, the lighting wasn't that spectacular to begin with. The cheap lighting consisted of a lantern right above the door and two dim torches on the walls, spaced apart 30 feet from each other. This caused the shadows to dance every which way, giving the hall that evil lair feeling.
The walls were of smooth sheetrock, unblemished as far as anyone could see in the poor light. It was clean as well, free of any dust that may have settled on it. The floor was in the same condition, though it did have a nice, expensive looking oriental rug on it. It was kind of out of place if one were to think about it in the grand scheme of things, really.
If that didn't solidify the doomed feeling, Rick Astley's "Never Gonna' Give You Up" could be heard plating in the background nonstop.
A short blonde dressed in the school uniform was humming along to the mind numbing, catchy tune, despite its repetitiveness. Yes, it seemed that the song that played in the elevator to hell had little to no effect on one Yoshii Kiria. The self-proclaimed leader of Anti-Thesis was walking down the impossibly long and imposing hallway of doom, a slight spring in his step, engrossed in his little book, which in itself was a surprise that he could read due to the conditions.
He finally reached the heavy door and gave three quick, light taps on the door, the sound resounding above the music. It was a bit odd, seeing as one would assume this to be the door to his office. So why would he have to knock? He didn't wait for a response, as he promptly barged in, pulling the heavy door open with ease as it glided over the rug, if only barely.
Still focusing his attention on his book, he walked into the room and let the door swing shut behind him. The office itself was not much better in terms of light. There was a small florescent light overhead, giving pale light to the side of the room with the door.
One would be able to make out the light oak desk in front of them stacked with various papers along with a cozy looking chair. The would also be able to see the form of a tall-backed chair turned away from them with the top of someone's head barely peeking out above it. The rest of the room was rather sparten.
Kiria took a seat in the chair and leaned back in it, placing his feet up on the desk. With a deep sigh of relaxation, he finally stowed the book in his coat. He regarded the chair as it turned. When it finished, it was still impossible to make out any distinguishing features of the man.
"So, Kiria, tell me. What have you determined about Uzumaki-san?" asked the voice of the figure. It was clearly masculine in nature and at the same time, soft and almost melodious. It was easy on the ears, like a monastic choir, or a mellow rock song.
"It seems what you told me about him was true in terms of his abilities. He is indeed an interesting individual, almost as much as you. I offered him a hand to our organization, which he denied. You never told me, way go out of your way to recruit this one person. Sure, he is talented, but there are better individuals."
The figure leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk, folding his hands and resting his chin atop them. Despite all this, the shadows seemed to move with him, continuing to obscure his visage. "Hmm, the fact that he denied is frustrating. As for why I want him… well, that wasn't my call. It's him that wants Uzumaki-san. I don't know why."
There was silence for a moment, the only sound being that of the light's soft hum. It was Kiria who broke the tense serenity. "Are you sure it was even a good idea to let him have a hand in this?"
"If what he says is true, it may have been the best decision I've ever made. And so far, he's held up on his end of the bargain. He has already eliminated several impediments without laying a hand on them. Right now, we have to trust him."
"So, what now?"
"Get Uzumaki-san to join our cause in some form. I would suggest using… collateral." The way the man said 'collateral' would have sent shivers up the spin of any mortal. It just caused Kiria to grin.
"That's why I like about you. Consider it done." With that, the blonde lifted himself out of the chair and approached the door, once again pulling out his treasured book.
"Ohh, and Kiria?" the voice stopped him right as he was opening the door. He kept his eyes on his book as the voice continued. "Tell whomever is playing that obnoxious song to stop or I'll deal with them personally."
With a small but good-natured sigh, Kiria spoke. "If you say so. Though I don't see why you hate it so much. It is very catchy." With that, he left, the door once again closing behind him. He then continued on down the hall, humming the song that annoyed his boss so.
/////
The subject of Kiria and his companion's conversation was currently sitting in first period. Normally, he would have been dozing off, daydreaming, or even silently drumming a pencil on his desk as he watched the clock due to the lecture that was presently going on.
As it turned out, he had done none of this since before summer break. Instead, the entirety of his attention was focused on his teacher as he droned on and on, regarding seemingly the whole room with his critical, hawk-like gaze.
Naruto focused on Konjyoyaki with his own critical gaze, ears catching everything he said, not out of interest, but of self-assured necessity. In his mind, he was ready for any move the man might try to pull, and, though he doubted that he would try to pull anything in class, the blonde was on high alert.
Now, common sense would tell someone to approach the chairman and either ask for the man to be fired or to have themselves be transferred to another homeroom. Naruto had thought of this, and had quickly dismissed them as options. He didn't trust the chairman enough to ask him for anything, and he doubted he could get the man fired. And, even if he got a room change, Konjyoyaki was the only available science teacher for his grade. Besides, he didn't trust the man alone with Mizore. So, the blonde's only logical option was to observe.
Despite their friendship, Zetsu's vouch didn't carry much weight for Naruto. First off, the man used to work with the object of his ire, and, even if he didn't want it to be that way, Konjyoyaki may still have a grasp on the man and was just using him. Then there was the fact that Naruto wasn't just about to let go of the past.
It was then Mizore telling him to give the man a chance. That was a bit more understandable, as she didn't know firsthand what the man was truly like. What really caught his attention was when near the end of the day, Kyuubi finally spoke on the matter.
'I think you need to trust him for now.'
'No, not you to! Don't let yourself get caught up in his lies!' Naruto desperately told him. Kyuubi, ever since he was four, had been there for Naruto. Through good times and bad, the Bijuu had only abandoned him once, and even Naruto agreed that he deserved it. But, this was too much.
'Listen to me! The yuki-onna was right! You're blowing this whole issue out of fucking proportion! Anyone can pass through a portal; they don't have to forcibly rip it open like you! You're just using the belief of the exact opposite as ammunition for your bullshit!' Kyuubi's voice was full of discontent for the blonde as he spoke with a bottled up rage for his recent, stupid actions. It was then that his voice softened a bit as he realized that he had been a bit harsh in getting his point across. He liked Naruto, he really did, his voice kept him company in his cage, and it just irked him when he was being a dumbass like he was now. 'This paranoia, it's eating you alive. The man is here by an unfortunate coincidence. And, truthfully, he arrived in this world before you did.'
Naruto was quiet for a moment as he mused over what was said. 'Then why is he here, at the school?'
'I don't know. Listen; if he did have a scheme or whatnot, it would involve turning everyone against you, like you're doing yourself. Right now, everyone is thinking you're crazy.'
'So what do I do then, huh?!? What the fuck do you want me to do?!?'
Kyuubi's smirk could be heard in his voice. 'You trust him. You ruin his so-called plan by doing what others are. You get them on your side. And then, if you work it correctly, you can use him.' Naruto's eyes widened and he stopped cold as he heard this. And, then, he too grinned.
'So I just have to act like I trust him, right?'
'No, he would see through that and be on guard. You have to mean it, just like the apology you give him for acting this way.'
Naruto gave a deep sigh and swore under his breath, resenting the thought of actually trusting the man to any degree. But, seeing as it was for the best, Naruto swallowed his pride and stepped up to the plate. 'Guess there aren't too many options, are there? I'll do it.'
'You made the right choice, Naruto. Now, make both me and Jashin-sama proud.'
Naruto brightened up even more at this and even grinned a bit. 'Thank you, Kyuubi, for being there when it always mattered. When I'm in despair, you show me the light. And, I'm sorry for landing us here in the first place, even if I am kind of glad about it.'
'Don't mention it.'
/////
The classroom was all but desolate when Naruto arrived there to speak to Konjyoyaki. The heavily wounded man was seated at his desk looking over various papers and smoking like a freight train, seemingly unaware of Naruto's presence. The blonde knew better than to believe that, though.
Deciding to take his time, and delay the inevitable, Naruto began to observe the room. For probably the first time since he had been accepted to the school (the reason of which he still didn't know), he took in all of the its being.
It was bland; white walls, bare of any sort of decoration, some bright, but not harsh, florescent lights, a few cabinets on the far wall adorned with locks so no one without the key could get in. the cabinets were full of test tubes and chemicals for the rare occasion when Konjyoyaki, or even when Yakasu used to, give demonstrations of how various substances reacted with each other.
In the middle of examining the room, Naruto noticed that it was colder than the others. It wasn't by more than ten degrees or so, but it was there. The blonde guessed that it was to help store the chemicals. But, if that was the case, then why didn't this room seem colder when Yakasu was around?
Speaking of the differences between the room now and before, there was another difference that Naruto couldn't place his mental finger on. It was almost like something in the air, like the atmosphere here was crisp, had more clarity somehow. It seemed as if Naruto was able to focus easier here.
This room was… peaceful, Naruto realized, shocked that he hadn't noticed it before. Either those weeks in a cell had done more to him than he thought, that damn transformation had fucked with him too much, or… maybe he had just been to tense before to notice the detail. Naruto sort of understood why kids were doing better now, and it really was thanks to Konjyoyaki, just not how he guessed it was.
With this discovery, Naruto's conviction to abandon his paranoid thoughts grew stronger, as he firmed his resolve to do what he was here for.
Almost as if he could sense his thoughts, Konjyoyaki finally acknowledged the blonde's presence in his room. He spoke without taking his good eye off of the work he was currently engrossed in. "Do you need something, Uzumaki-san, or do you just enjoy standing in door ways now? A new hobby you picked up since I've seen you last, perhaps. You've been standing in that one spot for about eight minute now."
The rugged brunette's deep yet soft voice successfully broke Naruto from his reverie. The blonde slightly shook his to clear his head a bit, tossing around his spiky blonde tresses, and entered further into the room. He stopped once he stood directly in front of the desk. As he cleared his throat, Konjyoyaki still did not look up, nor did he halt his hand from writing.
This didn't bother Naruto, as he expected nothing less from the man, and he spoke. "You see, the thing is… well, I came here to… what I'm trying to say is…" Naruto soon found he wasn't so sure this was a good idea anymore, and his strength was leaving him. He just couldn't find the words. To him, a simple sorry wasn't going to cut. It. but, that's all he had. Konjyoyaki seemed unperturbed by his hesitation, not missing a beat in his writing, unmoving in his expression. Finally, Naruto decided to just say it. "I'm sorry."
That was it. Complete silence. Those words were strong enough to make even Konjyoyaki stop writing, his pen frozen in mid stroke. The man slowly placed the writing utensil down and rested his one arm on the desk. He slowly rose his head so his one dark orange eye met both of Naruto's ocean blue ones, shimmering with honesty.
"I didn't trust you and have been hostile towards you ever since you arrived, despite the fact that you have yet to try anything. I am sorry." As the blonde finished, Konjyoyaki closed his eye, took a deep breath, and slowly released it. He then stood from his chair, rising to his full height, and in a few quick strides was by the window.
He took the cigarette, now more of a filter than anything, out of his mouth and flicked it over his shoulder into the waste bin by his desk, which was full of used cigarettes, all smoked to the filter. He didn't light another one, though. Instead, with his back turned to Naruto, he spoke.
"I don't accept." Before the blonde had a chance to protest, the man held up his hand, indicating he wanted to continue. "I refuse to accept your apology because it is not necessary. You were rightful in your hostile attitude, for I cannot recall a time were I have given you reason to trust me. I know it is hard for you, but please have some faith in me when I say I mean you and your friends no harm. In fact, I'm sorry I made you so paranoid."
Naruto regarded the man in front of him with wide eyes. He had never expected this of the man, and, as such, was speechless. Finally, he conjured up the resolve to say something. "I… thank you, Konjyoyaki."
"Your welcome, Naruto-san. That's more than I could have asked for. If that's all, you may go." Naruto turned his back and was about to leave as Konjyoyaki lit up another smoke, but was stopped by his voice. "Ohh, and Naruto-san?"
"Yeah?" Naruto asked, turning around.
"Please call me Kon from now on. I'll see you in class tomarrow. Now go. No doubt you're late for your club."
Naruto grinned. That had gone better than expected. He had a weight lifted off his shoulders and had found a bit of trust in someone he never expected to. With a chuckle, Naruto said one last thing before left the room. "You got it, Kon-sensei! I'll see you tomarrow!"
Unbeknownst to the blonde, what he couldn't see was that Konjyoyaki had a grin of his own plastered onto his usually expressionless face. Though, this grin was more of a smirk, filled with ambivalence and a cruelty, his eye shining with coldness. There was also a tint of sadness for some reason. "All too easy," was all he muttered to himself as he shook his head slowly from side to side, trying to rid himself of the evidence of his sick amusement. He then went back to gazing out the window.
/////
All the members of the newspaper club were in their room. Even the designated photographers were here, having already taken all the pictures needed to post the next issue of the papers. As such, they were just writing the articles to go with them. Yes, everyone was there. Everyone but Naruto.
"Hey, where's my deputy editor?!?" yelled Gin. The headband wearing club head was currently irate due to the fact that it was him that had to read each of the articles first hand. Being met with silence and shrugs only elicited an aggravated sigh from him. Unknown to everyone else, it also caused a certain purple-haired yuki onna to worry about her best friend's fate.
Mizore knew for a fact that the blonde could get himself out of most trouble that he encountered. She also knew even he had his limits. It was strange. Normally, she wouldn't care, but Naruto really was her first real friend, even if he became such after only a short time. She cared for the blonde. Sure, she cared for everyone in the room, seeing them all as her friends, but Naruto was special. There was just something about his very nature that drew her in. It also worried her with the way her friend had been acting.
He was being… paranoid was the only way she could describe it, and she knew the others noticed. But, she didn't know what to do. She knew the source of the problem and had talked to him about it. However, the blonde seemed dead set to prove that Konjyoyaki wasn't the man he made other people believe he was.
Suddenly, her worries seemed to be cast away as the door to the room opened. The sound drew her gaze, and it remained there as she spied the individual who stood at the doorway. It was a rather pissed Gin who greeted the person.
"And just where the fuck where you?!? Do you know what kind of stress you put us through?!?"
"The same that I've gone through everyday since you've assigned me my position?" asked Naruto. Gin opened his mouth to retort, only to close it when he couldn't think of anything to say. He did this a couple more times, doing a rather good job of imitating a fish, before he finally gave up.
"Just… just get to work," said Gin, feeling utterly defeated as he once again took a seat at his desk. Naruto flashed Mizore a small grin as he took a seat at his desk. For the yuki onna, her heart seemed to flutter in her chest. That was the Naruto she knew. It was her friend. He was seemingly back to the way he was when she first befriended him. She knew that she would have to talk to him later, but, for now, she was content to allow a smile form around her lollipop.
Someone noticed this action. Well, several people, to be precise, and they called her on it. "Ahh, isn't that sweet? Mizore-chan has a crush." The purple-haired girl's smile vanished as she turned her head towards the direction of the sugarcoated voice. Much to her inner fear, it was Kurumu, with Moka and Yukari right next to her.
The young witch was the next to speak. "Yeah! Mizore-san likes a bad boy! Desu! Granted, he's not as good as Tsukune-kun, but he's still better than Gin-senpai." Mizore started to blush at this point and quickly tried to deny everything.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. And keep it down." Yes, it was miraculous that the males in he room were seemingly oblivious to the commotion currently going on. However, it was apparent that if it kept up, they would notice.
"I think it's very sweet, Mizore-chan. Naruto-kun really does seem like a nice guy." Yeah, it was obvious that the girls weren't going to stop anytime soon.
"No, you're wrong. I don't love Naruto-kun. We're just very good friends."
Kurumu just chuckled at the remark. "Come off it, Mizore-chan. We all saw the look you gave when he walked in. before that you were sad and stuff like that. Then you just seemed to brighten up when he entered."
" Well, that's…" she was cut off by Yukari as the young girl felt the need to express her opinion.
"Please stop with the denial. It's painfully obvious that you like him." the other two nodded in agreement.
Mizore swallowed a small lump in her throat. Was it really that noticeable? Did she really like Naruto as more than just a friend? It was all too much to take in, especially so soon after Naruto's mental recovery.
The yuki onna heaved a sigh. "Look, even if I did like him, it wouldn't work out. He's not the type for a committed relationship, especially after…" she cut herself off. She had almost inadvertently let out part of Naruto's past, something he had confided with her about. She wasn't about to tell everyone else. Luckily, the girls took Mizore's sudden stop and her look of shocked realization in that she was don talking.
As they were walking away, Moka had some parting words for her. "Did you at least think about asking him? In the end, he might surprise you and say yes." She watched the rosette's retreating back as she contemplated what was said. Would asking really prove her wrong? Would it turn out Naruto shared her feelings?
She quickly banished those thoughts. Right now, she had work to do. Besides, the boy had just returned to his normal self. The question could wait for later. But, could Mizore wait for the right time, would she have the nerve, and what would he say? All this ran through her head, even as she fell asleep in her bed that night, and for days to come.
/////
After a long day, Naruto finally got to go home. He was glad that he had some of the weight off his shoulders. He could now relax. He inserted his key into the door and unlocked it.
He stepped in and flicked the light switch, only to have his heart nearly stop at who he saw. "Welcome home, Naruto-kun." In front of him stood Kiria, sitting in a chair. Naruto just growled at his fellow blonde.
"What do you want?" Naruto began to survey his surroundings, both looking for any traps the smaller boy may have laid and for anything he could use to attack him with. He contemplated using a clone, seeing as this person already knew about his jutsu, but if it somehow got out that he could create copies of himself, it would just lead to unwanted questions.
"You remember the proposal I made to you before, correct?" Naruto just nodded. "I was wondering if you had perhaps reconsidered. My organization could greatly benefit from your skills, as you could from us. Please, take a seat so we can discuss this in greater detail."
"I'll stand. Now, let me get this straight. You broke into my dorm so you could once again offer me some position in a shadow organization that I still don't know really anything about so I can help you achieve some obscene goal that doesn't mean diddly shit to me. Is that pretty much correct?"
"Yeah, that sums it up rather nicely," answered Kiria in a deadpan. "Would you like to know more about our organization to help sway your opinion of us?"
"Oh, well, when you put it that wa- No I don't want to know more! I want you out of here!"
"So I take it you have no interest in joining?" asked Kiria in the same tone of voice he had used throughout the conversation. The look on Naruto's face said it all. With a sigh, Kiria rose from his chair. "I really hoped it wouldn't have to come to this," he said as he snapped his fingers.
From out of pretty much nowhere came… something. It was basically a giant eyeball a spider-like legs with a grinning mouth of sharp teeth. "What is that thing?" Naruto asked with a bit of shock and disgust.
"Why, this is a shikigami. Now, watch what it can do." With another snap, the shikigami stood straight up and looked at the wall. Naruto followed its gaze and saw a projection on the wall. He watched as he saw Mizore enter her own dorm and begin doing homework.
"What is this Naruto asked in an enraged, hushed whisper. Kiria laughed.
"You see, Naruto-kun, a shikigami can show a live feed of what is going on where its partner is. What you are seeing now is your best friend, isn't it. We'll be keeping tabs on her, perhaps even injure her if it come to it. However, if you decide to help us, all attention will be kept on you. What do you say?"
Naruto clenched his fist until his knuckles threatened to burst from his hand and deep gashes formed in his palms. After a bit of growling, and seeing no other alternative, Naruto bowed his head, letting his hair cover his eyes.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked in a defeated voice.
"I knew you could come around," Kiria, in his good-natured voice, said. He walked to the door as he continued, brushing right past the blonde. "You will be giving us information on specific targets. Consider yourself a double agent. I'll tell you when your first assignment is later. Until then." With that, he was gone.
For the rest of the night, Naruto would be out in the woods, attempting to bring dead trees down with his bloody hands, trying to relieve himself of his rage.
/////
And there you have it. Sorry for the lateness, but there's a reason for it, I assure you. You see, my fellow author, Charlie Sierra, recently stopped writing anime fanfiction. So, in the spur of the moment, I decided to adopt one of them. So, I've been thinking of ideas so I can update it. Hopefully, that time will soon pay off.
As soon as Naruto finds a solution, another problem seems to take its place. How will Naruto fair working for Anti-Thesis? Stay tuned. Now, for a rant. If you don't like spoilers, go away now.
So, recently in the Naruto manga, Kabuto has reveled him self to Madara and has used Edo Tensei to resurrect all of the dead Akatsuki, so the organization has all of its old members except for Konan and one other individual. My question is, where the fuck is Hidan? I mean, you can use chakra to resurrect the dead, but can't be bothered to dig a hole? What the fuck? I mean, the dudes immortal. That must have some merit. Then again, I guess I shouldn't get ahead of myself. In the end, Hidan may come back. I hope so. This has been a rant by yours truly. This chapter was 5,011 words long!