Chapter XVI
Fangs in the Flesh
I see myself the day ago, when I was under Naruto's hold. His sudden aggression … the way he angrily threw himself at me with that piercing gaze as sharp as the purest diamond, I have cold sweats from it. I don't know how he will react this time. The possibility that he keeps this animosity towards me cannot be excluded. However, I may not be to blame for this attack … at least not directly. This third visit worries me, makes these fears swirl in this chaotic tornado that are my thoughts. I will have to offer him my chakra, but how? But above all, is this really what he wants? Unable to withdraw from this duty, I shake my head. It isn't the time to let cowardice, nor those anxious thoughts dictate my actions.
This time, I immediately went to where my student is. I was so preoccupied that I didn't even glance at the monitors in the observation room. The day has gone down for a while and Naruto must be awake and waiting for me… If I think back to yesterday, maybe not after all. Anyway, I will see once there.
I hear the locking system rumble, telling me that I can enter the place. On the other side, silence is king. Curious. I scan the cage with my dark iris as I approach the prison bars. I soon notice him, the sapphire-eyed boy lying on the sheets facing the wall. However, his head is already turned towards me and he's watching me. Unexpectedly, after scrutinizing me up and down, he smiles. Naruto jumps out of his bed, keeping his hands behind his back. He gets closer to the bars and continues to roam his curious eyes on me before showing an emotionless expression. It is only then that he steps back, facing me, thus waiting for a movement on my part. Am I dreaming? His reaction leaves me speechless. I see that his unpredictability has not left him despite the loss of his memory.
After a breath, I pull myself together. It's only then that I notice that Naruto seems to be hiding something. What does he have in mind? Is he trying to lower my guard to attack me once my back is turned in order to escape? With my last visit that ended quite badly, it hardly surprises me to have such questions running through my head.
I'll soon get my answers…
With him, I have to expect everything.
Cautiously, I set a first foot in the jail. Naruto seems restless to me; he barely stays in place. The black tail makes meagre reels, and I do not detect any ounce of irritation. When I close behind me, my student approaches while avoiding eye contact. Knowing the old Naruto, he tries to ask me something, but he's too shy to do so. At least, I am convinced that's that.
"What do you want, Naruto?"
A silence. His clear irises do not leave the ground. Not wanting to rush him, I wait with painful patience for him to speak to me … well, in his own way given his silence.
The young teenager finally deigns to look at me to then reveal what he was hiding. Stretching out his palms, he shows me his shinobi headband. I remain puzzled and raise an eyebrow. At my inaction, he waves his hands insistently to tell me in a silent way to take the said headband while frowning more and more after each movement.
"Okay, okay, I get it," I whisper, grabbing the forehead protector.
Naruto turns to show me his back. Over his shoulder, his blue eye does not leave mine. I try my best to understand what he wants from me; his silence does not help at all. I stand there, like a moron working my brains while the feral boy grows impatient. He wags his tail that accentuates his sulky expression; at that, he lets out grunts as complaints. The irritation wins me in spite of myself since it is useless to ask him to be clearer. He won't answer me, that's understood. After painful seconds, he brings his hands up to his face and roughly mimics a gesture: tying something.
Naruto wants me to tie his headband.
I feel stupid, his request was so simple.
But above all, why does he want me to do it?
I don't even try to understand. I sigh and comply. Slowly and nervously, I look to apply the said headband onto his forehead and frontal locks as he used to. In doing so, the teenager calms down by ceasing all movement, making it easier for me. I glance over to make sure it's in place before tying it around the back of his head—then letting the two bands rest under his tattooed neck. He turns to face me. What I witness comes to warm my entrails frozen by darkness. Eyelids closed, Naruto smiles, but this time I can see his teeth and his overdeveloped fangs. It's not there yet, but I convince myself that it is indeed him, here, under my ebony iris. Unconsciously, I imitate him in my own way. Although it only lasts for a breath, it reassures me and sweeps the pessimist into a corner of my head. However, this is only short-lived. At the thought of why I am here, anxiety shakes me completely. I search for my words as I walk a few steps inside, with the blond on my heels.
"Naruto, you are the cause of this strange dream, right?" I ask, turning around to face him.
My student suppresses a jump and freezes for a moment before fiercely avoiding eye contact with me. His visage betrays an obvious guilt which he cannot hide; to that, a hint of shame. Now I'm sure. He is responsible for this agonizing nightmare that sometimes makes me choke with my own saliva.
"I … you don't have to worry about that. Is it a way for you to communicate?"
A retinal exchange, a silence and a prolonged avoidance.
I expect a nod, some response, yet the boy remains quiet. At first glance, he doesn't seem very proud of it—he even curls up more by bending and unbending his toes. I was hoping to have found a way to make him talk, I am back at nothing. I therefore deduce that he used it, not only because he trusts me, but as a last resort. Hunger must tug at him though he doesn't show it, like the pain in his lower abdomen and forearm.
"If I understand correctly, you're hungry for chakra?"
My words capture his attention, but nothing more. I decide to be clearer, so as not to waste time. I raise my left arm to eye level before moulding a large amount of energy into it; no need to be a sensory expert to feel my essence pulsing through my meridians, and it seems that Naruto is no exception. He finally focuses his attention on me, rather on my limb held up in front of him to the point where his eyes stop blinking. His catalepsy disturbs me, but it does not last. He looks up, as if making sure he has the right to.
"If that's what you need, take it, Naruto," I say, bringing my arm slightly closer to him.
Therefore, I feel as time has stood still. The teenager with the golden mane does not react, gets lost in his thoughts and emancipates himself from sight. Am I wrong? I don't know. Although this situation only lasts several seconds, it seems hours to me. In his company, I am losing all my bearings of time.
After this eternity, Naruto finally moves. As the tremors take hold of him, his blue irises glow like fireflies. Gently, he grabs my arm, scratching it with his sharp fingernails. My pulse quickens despite myself; I hardly manage to camouflage my apprehensions and he feels it. In response to this sudden agitation, he plunges his glowing eyes into mine. He hesitates.
"Don't worry about me, Naruto," I reassure him, trying in vain to calm myself down. "Do it."
A cold sweat beads on my temple. I fear that he will withdraw. I don't want to, of course, but I have no choice. The blond finally opens his mouth and approaches his monstrous fangs to my skin. I jump when they touch me. Then, a sharp pain sends an electric current through all my nerves as they dig of all their length into my flesh, causing me to flinch and whine. As these holes release a few scarlet drops that stain the stone floor, I feel my strength leaving me. Similar to that vision that haunted my night, Naruto sucks in and drains me of my chakra.
I have already been bitten by animals in the past, but this pain is excruciating and nothing is comparable; I feel as a fire is entering my skin, my veins and my meridians which is boiling my blood and my chakra; this suffering and ardent heat is spreading more and more in my arm like a venom; my body, which has become too heavy, is a slave to terrible twinges; I shiver and I start to sweat as symptoms of fever take hold of me; my breath quickens and shortens; my spasming forearm burns as if I were putting it entirely into a bucket of white-hot brazier. I barely resist to the urge to struggle or kneel down. I can only bear this sensory hell of which I am a prisoner of it. By the force of my will, I embrace the agonizing pain, tolerate it as if my life depended on it.
My vision now blurred, on the verge of collapsing, Naruto withdraws his fangs and finally lets go of my limb. As he briefly steps away from me, unable to hold on my feet, I fall to all fours. Mechanically, I bring a hand to my arm that—apart from the unbearable pain—I no longer feel. My erratic gasps aren't allowing enough oxygen into my organs. The sounds around me disappear, but I manage to perceive that of the breath of my student who got carried away in the same way as mine.
I hear a familiar, dull noise.
"Kakashi-sensei!" shouts the voice that I recognize as Shikamaru's.
In response, Naruto lets out a high-pitched hiss before he goes to hide under the bed, emitting only other growls like a true aggressive beast. From what I can observe, with difficulty, he is not entirely hidden; his hair has taken on an atrociously shaggy look and his clenched and exposed hands scrape the ground with its claws, thus causing a sonorous and unpleasant shambles. Also, in the dark, I can see his face now completely wild since it is lit by the brilliance of his blue and glowing eyes. His fangs stained with blood and in plain view give him the appearance of being possessed by the Nine-Tails. I don't recognize him and this sudden image of him sends shivers down my spine.
To my surprise, Shikamaru enters the cage, further agitating Naruto who is pounding the bottoms of the bed with his tail now.
"Easy, Naruto," the youngster says with a tremor in his voice. "I ain't your enemy."
Cautiously, he approaches to lend me a hand. He puts my non-numbed arm over his shoulder and helps me up. Tottering, I do not retaliate, on the contrary, I am reassured that he has come helping me; I would not have had the strength to leave by myself. Like him, I keep Naruto in my line of sight and analyze his movements. Fortunately, he seems to be holding his positions and no flames in sight. I am overwhelmed with anxiety since we are parting on bad grounds; I hope that Shikamaru's action has not destroyed all the efforts so far.
It is only once outside the jail that he inquires about my condition.
"To say I'm in pain would be an understatement," I barely answer.
