Title; Fading
Disclaimer; Nope I don't own any of the Naruto characters.
Chapter 2- How the Gods Kill
White eyes are a common trait within the lower castes of the Citadel Naru, this is said to be a sign of Hyuuga blood, a once powerful clan to the East of the Citadel; as of yet there have been only two Hyuuga to ascend to nobility both unfortunately orphans- as a result opinions of the Hyuuga remain low and few have risen past the lower castes.
Some of the Eldest nobles still recall the Hyuuga's arrival after the fall of their final stronghold, some still insist it to be a mistake allowing the fleeing families into the already crammed streets of Naru.
Information of what deity or Religion among other things the Hyuuga may have followed has been lost through the years and most would now simply consider themselves as completely descended from Naru, adopting all of the customs and values of Naru.
The was a sharp crack, followed by a crash as I heard Richard's body smack against the tiled floor, I opened my eyes as Mako drew a sharp gasp of air; the first thing I noticed was the knife underneath Mako's throat, then I noticed the man holding said knife, a familiar figure I recognised instantly when his red eyes flickered down to meet mine- there was no compassion in his gaze or any decipherable emotion really- a demons eyes I thought.
I quickly noticed that he wore nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist and for a moment I panicked at the sudden idea he had only saved me for his own use.
"Uchiha, you bastard, what are you doing here?" rasped Richard with a groan as he picked himself up from the ground a hand clasped tightly over a wound on his temple that wept blood.
"I was taking a bath…let go of the boy." He commanded voice tinged with dark promise, I felt Mako's grip on my wrist slack and immediately pulled my hands free, sitting up to get some distance from the vile man I almost bumped into my saviours chest- the embarrassment didn't last long though as he quickly moved as Mako backed away from the dangerous Uchiha.
"You know what my father will have done to you for this you bastard!" screeched Richard furious but obviously not brave enough to risk facing the armed Uchiha, he backed towards his partner with his arms outstretched defensively; I quickly rolled from the bench myself shooting the two men a ferocious glare, I almost asked the Uchiha to lend me his knife.
"No." answered the Uchiha plainly, apparently unaffected by the raging ranting man his face red with exertion.
"I do however know what the Second File would do to you." Added my dark haired saviour, a snare crossing his face for a moment as the colour drained from both would be rapists faces, I took a measure of dark pleasure as they squirmed under the Uchiha's unrelenting gaze; several stuttered curses later and they bolted through the doorway and I was alone with the Uchiha, Sasuke.
"Archer Trash." He grunted stepping towards one of the rooms presses, I watched still shell shocked as he pulled what I assumed were his own clothes from the space, a hand drifting to the knot that held his towel up.
"Are you just going to stare at me?" he asked, I snapped out of my daze not certain if he was joking or genuinely angry, I released an extended 'um' as I rushed to speak but had nothing to say.
"You came here for a bath I assume, if you're worried about those two I'll wait." He offered surprising me with his kindness, I considered it for a couple of minutes- I hadn't actually came here intending to take a bath but I could use one.
"Thank you." I replied before heading through the partition and into the bathing area, I expected to hear the man call to me that I was supposed to change back there but either they weren't strict on such things or the Uchiha just didn't really care.
I chose a large bath near the back of the room and found a clean towel on a rack nearby; I disrobed making sure to place my clothes away from the water and avoid dumping them in any puddles- besides a spare set of the same loose black T-shirt and pants they were my only clothing- lastly I undid the bandages around my chest, it felt good to remove the binding but my chest still stung.
I wouldn't have to wear the bandage for that much longer though I told myself.
The recent memory of my hands pinned and Richard looming over me struck through my mind and I was left feeling cold on the inside and dirty; I wanted to scrub my skin until there was no more trace of those monsters on me, I began with my wrists rubbing them raw red before I even thought to move on to my greasy hair- it was shorter now than I could ever remember it being and clumps of dirt fell free as I washed it roughly.
About twenty minutes later I reluctantly pulled myself from the bath, I still felt dirty but the Uchiha had promised to wait for me and I didn't want to trouble him anymore than I already had; I still wasn't sure how I was supposed to thank the man for rescuing me, I considered possible ideas as I rewrapped my bandages and dressed.
The Uchiha sat patiently, and for the first time I took in his rather odd state of dress, I knew it was late in the evening as I had arrived at the barracks near sunset but the man looked dressed to go out on a march; whereas he had worn loose pants and a well-worn t-shirt when I met him earlier he now wore a leather vest over those clothes and matching gloves and knee high boots.
"Thank you." I offered hesitantly, I wasn't used to thanking other people, or having much reason to thank people.
"You're my responsibility." he spoke with a stoic nod and with a few long strides moved from the room, I decided to follow him, if I tried to find my way back to the living quarters myself I would likely get lost.
After ten minutes or so of following the mysterious man we arrived not at the living quarters like I had hoped but at a rusted iron wrought gate leading outside of the barracks, I shivered unconsciously as I was buffeted by a wave of frigid air, the rhythmic beating of the heavy rain only seemed to add to the sudden chill; I released a small curse that had the Uchiha pause in his opening of the gate to turn back to face me.
"I'm not a tour guide as you seemed to assume." Were his parting words before he opened the gate and disappeared into the darkening drenched streets, I stared dimly out into the rain for a few minutes before the situation dawned on me and I let out another curse before retreating back into the warmer passage ways of the barracks, I passed a staircase leading to the upper levels of the building- I knew though that only the lowest level was technically the barracks and I would likely get into trouble if I ventured higher into the castle.
It took me some time until I found the iron door with 'R7' on it, there seemed to be little in the way of consistency in the naming scheme of the rooms; one room might have 'R6' written on it then the next would have 'G2', there seemed to be little rhyme or reason to the barracks layout, or at least none discernable to man.
Despite it being quite late now there was if anything more noise and ruckus in the room, or at least the side I was assigned to anyway; there were a large number of men gathered by the fire on the left side of the quarters playing cards and shouting at one another, I paid them little mind instead returning to my bunk.
I opened my truck and spent some time sorting my belongings, once everything was neatly organised I slipped into the bed more than a little thankful that it was warm enough that I only needed my own thin blanket and not the grimy one I had found on the bed; I did make use of the extra blanket though subtly slipping it around my new sword, I positioned the shrouded weapon with its handle near my dominant left hand and after a small check to make sure the blade would come free from its sheath easily I allowed my eyes to close.
It took longer to fall asleep than I had hoped, the completely rational fear of the two second file Raiders coming to mind more than once and the slight discomfort as I forced myself not to turn for fear of landing in a position where I couldn't draw my weapon easily.
This hadn't been the first time I had been in such a situation, but it had been the closest and I hadn't had to sleep so close to the source of such danger knowingly before.
The feel of the tough leather comforted me though despite it not being a familiar one, I tried not to let regret get the best of me for coming here, this was the only way I told myself I would have to endure and of course take greater care in the future.
My sleep was not a pleasant one; in my dreams I walked corridors like those within the Barracks but different, the flames on the torches seemed to provide less light, the shadows longer and darker; but there was more, a humid dampness filled the air and seemed to cling to my body making my skin feel sweaty and sticky, I took a mouthful of the heavy thick air and staggered down the hallway feeling weaker with every step I took- but positive that I had to keep going.
I checked each door I passed by finding thet each and every one was too heavy to even budge an inch and when I knocked on their iron surface no noise broke the air, no matter how hard I banged- until the knuckles of both hands were raw red and the skin on my knuckles cracked- no sound could be made.
I walked on my legs unnaturally weary as if I had been walking for hours, as I stopped to catch my breath I glanced behind me, no more than a foot from my back stood a bare stone wall; I touched the solid cold stone in disbelief and with more than a small amount of apprehension, I backed away from the mysterious wall and pushed onward ignoring the chill running down my spine.
Just as my legs began to feel like lead and the fabric of my shirt seemed completely soaked through with sweat I spotted an irregular break in the increasingly long shadows that grasped the long corridor; light spilled out from a crack in a doorway slightly ajar, the sound of boots other than mine rhythmically hitting stone echoed from the room beyond but instead of the relief I should have felt at finding another sentient being in this desolate copy of the Barracks I felt my heart constrict in terror.
I ignored my fear and swallowed the lump in my throat, I blamed the shadows and the eerie silence for my inexplicable fear, for the first time I realised my new sword was attached to the belt on my hip but when I grasped the worn leather handle I found it almost impossible to free the blade, even with both hands I could only pull the blade out an inch no more.
I reached the iron door only to notice with some surprise that moss bordered the door and a vine- dark purple and toxic looking- snaked it's way crookedly up the door partitioning it into two parts, I ignored the oddity and pressed a sweaty palm against the rusted iron of a moss free part of the door.
With a sharp push and a creak the door gave way and I stepped into the room a hand still on my immovable weapon to comfort my paranoid mind, my vision became a tunnel and I found it difficult to focus on anything but the previously pacing figure in the room that had now stopped to face me at my intrusion.
Over seven feet tall the hulking humanoid figure's head almost brushed the roof; leather armour nicked and torn in spots to reveal chainmail beneath, a short mace attached to his left hip and a bow- made from what I hoped was a white wood I had never heard of before- all immediately set me on edge, as well as the figures less human qualities.
It was strange though that the creatures face was the first thing that really caught my attention; the eyes frightened me, though that was only if you classed them as eyes I supposed, on what I assumed to be the things face were four sharp openings like some bizarre visor of a helmet- out from the openings spilled bright green light making nothing behind the openings visible- surrounding the opening were green veins branching out in an elaborate pattern slightly elevated from his grey flaking skin.
The next thing to catch my attention was the inhuman third arm, sprouting inexplicably from where his rib cage should be beneath his regular left arm, shorter than the other two it wrapped around his waist grasping the hilt of a weapon.
"You do not belong." The voice sounded ancient- the wisdom that elderly peoples voices contained tenfold in that raspy tone- the creature even appeared almost curious.
I tried to free my blade from its scabbard vainly.
The green glow darkened considerably in what I quickly realised was anger as he jolted forward grasping me tightly by the throat and pinning me against the door I'd entered through, it had swung shut when I'd been stunned by the appearance of my attacker.
I felt his grip tightening to an almost crushing degree and grasped desperately at his arm to no effect, it felt more akin to trying to uproot a tree trunk than break the grip of a muscle and sinew arm.
And then I was staring into wild red eyes and the grip was no longer on my throat but instead a hand clasped tightly around both of my wrists, the man's lips were moving and I could see his teeth gnashing furiously but blood roared in my ears and I couldn't make out his words over the pounding of my heart.
Idly I realised that I still gripped the leather handle of my long sword, and once my hearing cleared I realised that had been the source of the man's apparent anger as he roared again for me to drop it- I complied finally realising that it was the Uchiha straddling my hips and pinning me to my bed.
It was probably the hilt of his dagger that was pressed up against my stomach.
"I'm going to let you go now, you understand me recruit?" he asked his voice a restrained tight whisper, I nodded and felt his grip relax as he slid off of me, panting I noticed Captain Rex striding towards us a look of fury in his eyes.
"What manner of Demon are you?" he questioned me grabbing a fistful of my hair and dragging me from my bed on to the floor, my breath caught as I saw him draw the gleaming blade on his hip.
"The pup Rex whines and shows his inexperience once more." Commented the Uchiha still sitting almost lazily on my bedding, the words seemed almost enough to distract the Captain from his sudden desire to murder me over a nightmare, his blade hovered inches from my face put his gaze was now firmly fixed upon the smirking dark haired man.
"Enlighten me then Soldier. That was Demonic possession if I ever saw it." Commanded Rex shifting his gaze momentarily to me, for the first time I noticed the fear and panic beneath his façade of anger, if Sasuke didn't convince him I was not possessed then he would likely command every man in the barracks to chop me up, simply because I was trashing from a nightmare.
"Demon's don't possess men, they roam the fields and mountains outside the Free Cities without any fear. They gobble up foolish Raiders who wander out in the night." He raised himself up at this point stepping closer to Rex a dark look crossing his handsome features, I noticed the men from his side of the room- the Second File- seemed quite calm in contrast to the panic of the First File men.
"That was a God. It happens often enough around here, the immortals often reach out to those with a touch of the Gift." Finished the Uchiha lightly pushing the blade away from me with one hand offering me his other, I released the breath I had been holding and grasped the offered hand.
"Then the brat is a Mystic?" asked the Captain his brow furrowing, the apparent revelation however didn't seem enough to convince him to sheathe his weapon.
"I doubt it, he'd have been picked up years ago if he were. No, it's probably just a spark, nothing more. I'll take him to the Mystics, lest you try and organise an exorcism." He answered, I was impressed when this seemed to satisfy the Captain, whatever the First File soldiers had said Rex at least seemed to hold to older man's words as wise.
"See to it tonight, and give him some training, I don't want any potential Mystics slaughtered on my watch." Growled out the Captain before stalking off slamming his blade home in its scabbard with a harsh clap; the Uchiha's scarlet eyes flashed briefly as he turned his gaze on me.
"Five minutes, geared up and ready to go." Grunted the Uchiha raising his left hand to rub the bridge between his eyes, I'm not sure why but I felt compelled to salute him before I gathered my equipment; the armour was just as uncomfortable as before and was swelteringly hot within the warm room, awkwardly I tried to tighten the straps on my armour feeling more than a little foolish.
The Uchiha appeared beside me just as I managed to tighten my armour, he mirrored my own appearance with the exception that two swords hung from his hip rather than just one, though they were both shorter than the one I had.
"Ready?" rang his voice, I gave a small nod before following him outside, once more I followed him through the winding corridors until we came to the staircase that I had seen yesterday, I hesitated for a moment at the base of the cold grey stone steps.
"You've been told not to go near the nobles huh?" asked the dark haired man, turning unnaturally in his stiff armour to face me.
"Yeah, we were told to stay on the bottom floor, within the Barracks." I answered, he nodded his understanding with a concerned frown.
"Well it won't hurt if you know a little more I suppose, first of all you'd best be careful even down here in the Barracks, other than the Raiders, the Guards, the Saints and the Assassin corps are housed down here, the Guards are stand-up but it's best to avoid the others." He explained giving my upper arm a light pull to signal that we should keep moving, as we came to the top of the stairs it felt akin to stepping into another world; royal blue rugs covered the floors and intricate tapestries lined the walls, I caught the sight of several men in forest green robes in discussion at the top of the corridor.
"This floor belongs to the Gifted. Men and Women with various Gifts beyond what normal people are capable of." Explained the Uchiha leading me down a small side corridor quickly as he seemed to spot something that disturbed him, I paid it little attention, something else holding my attention.
"Are all the Gifted on this level?" I asked, barely concealing the interest in my voice, as it was the Uchiha seemed to distracted to notice the eagerness in my tone.
"No, not all." Answered another voice, I saw Sasuke's brow tighten very slightly at the speaker, I turned to find a man in similar robes to the earlier men eying my companion up in a distinctly creepy manor, his young face seemed a bizarre contrast to his snow white hair.
"Some of the Gifted work and live in the Church as their talents are more suited to such things, the business of certain others outside this cloister is of the most secret nature I am afraid, young Raider." He smiled falsely at me, dimples flashing in the well-practised act, before turning his complete attention to the Uchiha.
"Tell me dear Sasuke, have you reconsidered Lord Orochimaru's offer?" asked the man eagerly adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his noise, the scowl that crossed the older Raiders face was almost funny just for the reaction it drew from the other man.
"My answer is still the same, you can tell that to your Master." Snarled the dark haired warrior before striding away, I had to jog a little to catch up with the brisk pace he set with his longer legs.
"Was that really a good idea?" I couldn't help myself from asking once we were out of earshot of the enraged Mage, unlikely as it was at the moment I felt closest to this austere man within the Raiders, most of my old friends were long gone now and I doubted any would even recognise me within this armour, the Uchiha- or Sasuke I'd have to find out which he preferred- was the closest thing I had to a friend right now.
"Kabuto's harmless, his Gift isn't suited to fighting and it's not exactly like I can be demoted." Returned the Uchiha with a shrug, it was becoming apparent why the man had remained at so low a rank if his interaction with Captain Rex and this Mage Kabuto were anything to go on.
We came to a halt at a thick wooden door and I caught my breath as the Uchiha hammered several times on the copper knocker, I was finding it more than a little tiring moving around in the heavy armour.
There was a long crash before the door was yanked open and a sleepy eyed red head with her straight hair tussled on one side eyed me warily before immediately perking up at the sight of the armoured Uchiha.
"Come on in Sasuke." Invited the woman almost slamming the door in my face except for the timely intervention of the Uchiha's palm stopping the swinging door, I was impressed that he could move so quickly in the armour.
"I need a talisman Karin, to drown out any Divine influence." Explained the Uchiha, the red head- Karin- immediately shot me a curious glance, eying me up from head to toe before drawing closer.
"It's very faint…I'm surprised a deity would even bother pursuing it, I doubt it would be of much use to them at all, certainly not enough for a possession or anything of the sort." Muttered the woman, it was a relief I supposed, I hadn't thought that I was in any danger of being possessed but knowing it was impossible was nice to hear; the Uchiha helped himself to a chair by the single desk in the Spartan room as Karin began routing around on a nearby bookshelf before pulling several small items from a cabinet.
"Does the intention matter?" asked the Uchiha crossing his legs stiffly in the ridged armour, Karin pulled her head out of the cabinet appearing thoughtful.
"Not really, it's just weird. With that connection all the divinity could do is make the kid explode, or maybe screw with his head a little, make him go on a killing spree; remember that kid about a half a year ago, it took four armed Guards to take him down, they cut him into little pieces." That left me feeling a little less reassured, and the frown that crossed the Uchiha's face told me he felt similarly.
"I should warn you though kid, this thing will protect you but it will also enrage this God, I'm not sure if it hurts them or if it's just a pride thing but if you ever part with that pendant they will come for you." Karin commented lightly, she certainly seemed to have a talent for understating dangerous situations and worrying me.
Karin gave an 'aha' removing an odd looking pendant from the cabinet, it seemed to be some manner of symbol but what it might have stood for I had no idea, the red head casually tossed it to me before casually sauntering over to the Uchiha brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
"So Sasuke, any other reason for this little visit?" rasped the woman in a flirty tone, she took a seat on the desk by the Uchiha leaning forward to give the Raider an ample view, I had been wondering why her robe had so many buttons undone- Sasuke for his part didn't seem fazed whatsoever and kept his eyes carefully trained on her own.
"No." he grunted simply raising from the chair striding past me with little more than a nod to signal that I should follow.
"Can you help me with this?" I asked as we stepped outside of the Mages quarters, there was a loud bang of something hitting the door after we shut it and a muffled shriek of rage.
As it turned out it was quite impossible to get the pendant on with the collar of the breast plate and I had to remove it to allow the Uchiha to clasp the lock at the back of my neck, I felt myself blush furiously as his callous hands brushed against my shoulders, I felt self-conscious as my shirt was soaked through with sweat around the armpits and I could feel beads of sweat sliding down the back of my neck.
"You're too skinny." He commented further fuelling by self-conscious feelings, I managed to get the armour back on relatively easy without any assistance and we continued on our way my ego firmly down in a deep ditch, I had a Gift only apparent in its ability to threaten my life and I was too skinny and weak to even wear my new armour.
My second day as a Raider was still better than the first though I supposed.
That is it for the second chapter finished, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of love for this fic but I'm going to continue for the time being, I'm enjoying it so to hell with review counts...not that I wouldn't appreciate a couple.
Thanks Echo but I'm afraid it's not really a problem I can be helped with, I still have all the ideas but I'm having trouble expressing them the way I want, I've started writing once again so hopefully my writers block is clearing up.
R&R