Chapter XX

A Nightmare followed by Thunderstorms

The following days, Kakashi continued to see Naruto at twilight and late into the night. Kakashi and Shikamaru found other playful puzzles in order to occupy the mind of the blond, drive away the boredom to which he was prone and gauge his intelligence. Of course, they did not choose them randomly; the puzzles with which they tested different facets of Naruto's mental abilities were varied.

At each of his visits, the Copy Ninja offered one of these objects to his student and he nourished him with his chakra before leaving. He stayed longer and longer in the jail, although he mostly buried his nose in his book. Quickly, he had equipped himself with a flashlight—something that had aroused Naruto's curiosity more than once; Kakashi did not want to end up with impaired vision from reading in the dark.

As for Naruto, the object in question overwhelmed all his attention despite his non-existent focus; he often stared at the void or Kakashi, while wagging his tail or leg. Nevertheless, the teenager passed them all with flying colours and it earned him the sincere and positive congratulations of the grey.

The more Naruto was challenged, the shorter the time was spent solving them. Amazed, Shikamaru wondered if Naruto had always had this level of intelligence in him and that until now he had hardly sought to exploit this hidden talent. He was cunning, sure, but thinking had never been his forte. Was it boredom that drove him to reveal new abilities? Or was something motivating him? The two shinobis could not be certain…

All in all, they were happy with Naruto's progress.

Shikamaru was the first to notice that it was less hot in the cell, although the heaviness of the air remained. Moreover, Kakashi had noted that the blond's skin was no longer boiling and was gradually returning to a normal temperature. This strange phenomenon was blamed on his miraculous recovery.

Naruto's injuries had completely healed in three days, including the one on his abdomen. As Kakashi had suspected, it had marked him with a scar. Like the wound on the forearm, the Copy Ninja had to remove the stitches, even if they were melting; they were not suited for the blond's dazzling healing that was beyond belief. In all of this, Naruto's skin regained colour and his thinness seemed less sickly.

Slowly, Naruto was getting back on his feet.

Unfortunately, Kakashi's fears had turned out to be true. Naruto's shyness was fading and he was developing a growing and pervasive affection for the grey. Naruto increased more and more physical contact with the latter, who was not at ease. Timid touches on the arms became caresses; careful fingers on the tips of the silver locks explored the hair more deeply. And just recently, the razor-armed hands were looking for Kakashi's… Sometimes the sapphire eyes stared at Kakashi for long, endless minutes.

As soon as the teenager was a bit too insistent, it was the signal for Kakashi to feed him before leaving and finding the land of dreams. Of course, he had to promise him his return in order to reassure him. Naruto always stopped him from leaving by holding him by the arm or wrapping his tail around one leg, his eyes frozen with fear that he would never come back. Kakashi's fear had materialized; the blond had indeed developed a worsening separation anxiety disorder and sadly, Kakashi could not stop seeing Naruto either. Naruto waited for him every night…

And the more the days passed, the more Kakashi suffered shocks of static electricity in contact with Naruto. The recurrence grew more and more, to the point where it was not normal… Small shocks were now unavoidable and frustrating. In search of an answer, the Copy Ninja had examined the sheets and the whole cell… There was nothing. Unable to come up with any logical explanation, he shrugged, although it worried him.

In all of this, Kakashi and Shikamaru were trying to expand Naruto's social circle; a desire not to let this attachment disorder grow any further. They had limited visits to Shikamaru, on the other side of the prison bars to save him stress. Despite numerous attempts at introduction, the unreceptive boy clung fiercely to Kakashi. However, he did end up being curious about Shikamaru after a few minutes, and the curiosity got to him faster each time. This improvement had started when Kakashi stayed with Naruto as the other teenager walked out.

Obviously, Naruto did not like the two walking out together.

Shikamaru's last visit had been relatively positive despite Naruto's eternal mistrust. He had not greeted him with hisses, his hair no longer stood on end and he was content to stare at him with a dark glare. If Shikamaru tried to speak with him, the blond would arch his back and hide behind Kakashi, growling loudly. His non-existent desire to exchange in any way with the other boy exasperated the two shinobis.

As long as Naruto refused to open up to Shikamaru, there was no point in introducing him to a new person.

During these many days, Naruto was making progress; sometimes by leaps and bounds, sometimes by tiny steps.

At least, things were moving forward…

- XxX -

True to his internal clock, Naruto was asleep. He was dreaming … but his sleep was restless. His wheezing quickened and many drops of sweat beaded on his forehead. Soon, his whole body was covered with it; he was drenched, as if he had run into a downpour looking for shelter. Frowning, the blond shifted his position again and again, without stopping. He was moaning and sobbing under his breath.

He gripped and squeezed his chest in an effort to silence the pain. Another more acute pain forced him to grab his neck, which he crushed slowly; his claws dug into his skin, releasing his blood. He curled into a ball, and the grip of his hands intensified. His lamentations of despair grew louder, tore the silence. He was shaking as his heart raced.

Naruto was aflame with pain.

Suddenly, the teenager woke up with a scream. He was hyperventilating and his breathing was unable to slow down. His whole being was shaken by an unnamed panic; his bulging eyes contemplated the infinite void. Voices and sounds of nightmares no longer left his innocent ears, even as he clapped his hands over them in the hope of not hearing anything. Instead of this comfortable resting place, he was on a cold, hard surface with thousands of needles lining it.

Unable to stay there a second longer, Naruto fell to the ground as he escaped the bed. In the panic, he found himself in the middle of the cage, on his knees, his back bent. Looking around, he saw the walls approaching him. Slowly they closed to crush him as his body shrank. He was breathing, although each of his gasps did not bring any air into his empty lungs. In his helplessness, Naruto gasped under his own breath as he watched this piece swallow him whole, until there was nothing left.

The clothes were tearing him.

The hairs were stabbing him.

The sweat was boiling him.

A tear left the azure eye which darkened with darkness.

Naruto uttered a howl of agony during which his blond hair—instead of igniting—became electrified by generating a multitude of bluish-white lightning, which danced on his head; the fur at the end of his tail took on an identical look. A tremendous amount of chakra escaped from his body and swirled like a tornado. Devastating lightning pulsed from the pores of his skin and mixed with this destructive torrent; these electric blades lacerated the stone in their wake and plunged the place in a chaotic and blinding light. The whole thing created an infernal orchestra similar to the song of thousands of dying birds.

Lightning mingled with the electrical system and broke the fragile balance. The light bulb burst, the cameras exploded and the locks popped.

This noise. The noise of the latches that kept him prisoner.

Naruto heard it.

With rage in his heart, the feral boy threw himself at the entrance to the jail. Moulding a phenomenal amount of chakra into his arm, he hit it with all his might. The latter was torn from its hinges and crashed against the wall, which cracked under the force of the impact. For the very first time since humans had sentenced him to captivity, in what was his home, Naruto could step outside of this hell. From then on, a single abstract thought overwhelmed his mind, which was now incapable of being reasoned with.

Get out.

Leave.

Flee.

As Naruto continued to throw his uncontrolled lightning around as if it had a will of its own, he reserved the same punishment for the much heavier second gate. It suddenly opened by smashing the wall against which it crashed; it survived the violence of the blow, although it was hanging by a thread now. A cloud of dust rose and blinded the eyes sunk in madness.

Blindly obeying his instincts, Naruto rushed into the fog… However, after only a few steps, his entire body was paralyzed and refused to obey him. He was restrained by a chakra that his nostrils recognized. His luminous and scintillating irises like a thousand fires focused on the cause of this petrification. He felt his blood boiling in his veins as anger dominated him.

In front of him was this human to whom he had given the benefit of the doubt.

Shikamaru was holding Naruto captive with his Kagemane no Jutsu and only two metres separated the two teenagers.

Horrified, Shikamaru barely believed what he saw; confusion and questions tormented him. Instead of flames, Naruto was sending out a lot of lightning in all directions. These struck and marked the environment around them like sharp swords. Besides, his hair, including his tail, sported the appearance of a thunderstorm that split the air and whose lightning fell on the ground without mercy.

How and why?

Naruto mastered the Katon and not the Raiton, but more importantly, he continued his lightning despite Shikamaru's immobilization technique. The shinobis submitted under his spell could no longer mould their chakra in order to perform techniques. However, although the blond's body was paralyzed, his chakra was not neutralized; this artificial storm was unleashed with as much ardour.

A cold sweat slid down Shikamaru's forehead.

Behind the young shinobi were the two members of the Anbu in charge of monitoring the place. Assigned to repel external threats, curious eyes and individuals banned from visitation, the two men did not know what to do in the face of this lightning light show.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Shikamaru grumbled. "Get me reinforcements and Kakashi! I won't last very long!"

They nodded and obeyed the orders given by the teenager. Of course, Shikamaru was visibly exhausted and every second counted. He had a hard time containing Naruto who was showing exceptional strength. His hands were already shaking, betraying his rapidly declining chakra reserves. He feared what would happen next once his technique was broken.

He could only wait for reinforcements while he faced the rampaging beast alone.

Naruto fought against the weakening spell. He managed to take a step forward, brandishing his palms ready to claw. His feral hissing sent a shiver of dread through the other. In response, Shikamaru got serious. The shadow under Naruto's feet spread over his body; pitch-black hands wrapped around all his limbs to restrain him more fiercely. The blond screamed his seething rage as he fought harder, determined to break those cursed bonds once and for all.

Naruto was incapable of reason, and his eyes were completely mad. That, Shikamaru understood it. It was useless to try to reason with him; only Kakashi could do that anyway. He did not know the nature of the nightmare that had gotten him into this state, but he suspected that it must be linked to this tragic month during which he had probably experienced hell. This dream, whatever it was, had awakened traumas so severe that Naruto had gone mad.

Seeing that the human was out of breath, Naruto moulded an immense amount of chakra to free himself from these shackles of darkness. The rupture produced a shock wave, raising clouds of dust. Free at last, he focused on his goal.

Get out.

Leave.

Flee.

Shikamaru noticed that the feral boy was about to go around him to run away. Immediately, he got in Naruto's way, ready to stop him and contain him until the damn reinforcements came to take over.

Naruto braked. As their eyes gazed into each other's and their hearts beat in a similar pace, Naruto took the opportunity to trip Shikamaru with his thin, nimble tail. His opponent, taken by surprise, fell; the lightning ripped his flesh and numbed his muscles.

On his back and briefly paralyzed, Shikamaru watched as the blond walked around him and continued on his way. Determined not to let him slip through his fingers, he rolled over onto his stomach and grabbed the tail with a quick gesture, despite the pain of the electrical currents the lightning produced as it entered his body. It was enough for Naruto to lose his balance. His face hit the ground as Shikamaru uttered complaints of pain. His whole arm was prey to tingling and no longer responded to him; at that, he could not mould his equally useless chakra.

"Shit!" he fumed to himself.

Between two breaths, he saw Naruto on all fours, hissing, glaring at him with rotten eyes of anger… However, as the dazzling storm continued with such destructive power, those energy swords that were slashing the places avoided him, although they were brushing him. Shikamaru understood that Naruto did not want to hurt him, give him a shock that could be devastating for the proper functioning of his organs.

Naruto managed to recognize Shikamaru and he was still aware of his actions.

While glaring at him, the blond got up, ready to turn on his heels to run away… However, he was immobilized again. A wood, big and powerful, wrapped around his body, his legs, his arms and his tail; his neck was also bound, so that he could not move his head. Again, Naruto struggled and fought, as if his life depended on it; at that, he unleashed his lightning even more. A veritable torrent of deadly lightning reigned supreme over this too narrow corridor.

Reinforcements four in number, including Yamato, had arrived. Like Shikamaru, Yamato had a hard time containing an unrecognizable, rage-possessed Naruto, much more so than when he was in his miniature four-tailed fox form. Naruto's brute strength made the wood crack and it requested more chakra from the shinobi in order to hold him down.

The man-made storm Naruto had created was so violent that the ninjas could not step closer or do anything. If they came to the aid of the struggling teenager, lightning would fall on them. Although Shikamaru was in the eye of the storm, he deliberately remained still. The lightning continued to narrowly dodge him. He was afraid of being hurt if he moved. Then, drained of his chakra, he would only get in the way of the others.

Cornered and trapped, Naruto let out a howl … a shrill, horribly high-pitched howl. This inhuman cry—probably capable of breaking glass—tore the eardrums and it was so unbearable and painful that everyone uttered complaints of pain. Paralyzed by the heinous and agonizing noise, they were forced to press their hands firmly against their ears in an attempt to dampen the screech that was stabbing their ear canals … in vain. Tinnitus stunned them and blood flowed from their deaf ears.

This general immobilization allowed the sapphire-eyed boy to free himself from these wooden bonds. Free, he stored up chakra and hurled a tremendous burst of raw, electrically charged chakra toward the threat. The shinobis were electrocuted and thrown against the stone walls; the shock impact shook the underground like an earthquake, as if it were about to collapse.

Naruto pounced on the hateful human who had immobilized him with his strange powers. He grabbed his throat to choke him, determined to end his existence.

Yamato was unable to defend himself. He was still dazed, in addition to being deaf. This monstrous howl coming straight from the realm of nightmares had completely disoriented him. By being in direct contact with the lightning boy, he was electrocuted by his murderous lightning; his now useless body suffered from paralysis, and his muscles no longer responded to him. Quickly, his face turned blue.

His victim at his mercy, Naruto brandishes his hand, palm open and fingers twisted in cruelty. He was about to deliver a fatal blow with his claws. He aimed for the throat to make sure to put this human out of harm's way once and for all…

"NARUTO!"

Naruto froze; his heart stopped.

This voice, this cry…

Naruto slowly lifted his head and paralyzed on the spot.

In the distance, alongside other humans…

Kakashi was there.

Standing at the end of this corridor…

Kakashi was standing there and watching him.

Kakashi had come for him.

Naruto convinced himself that Kakashi had come to get him out of there. That Kakashi had come to save him from these humans who wanted to harm him, from these humans who were trying to put him back in a cage.

It was the only true truth.

The madness had blinded him.

Naruto had forgotten that Kakashi was not far away, as Kakashi had promised him.

"I'll be back. I promise," Kakashi repeated to him, again and again, every night.

The nasty storm he had spawned ceased his anger. His lightning hair returned to its soft, normal shape, as did the tip of his tail; at that, the shine that made the azure of his eyes hypnotic faded. His breath quickened and his body was shaking. Without taking his eyes off Kakashi, Naruto rushed to him.

In his frantic race, he nearly stumbled several times. Then, Naruto pounced on Kakashi and hugged Kakashi.

Kakashi arched his back when Naruto threw himself on him; he had almost lost his balance. He had received an electric shock that made him flinch. He noticed that his student's eyelids were firmly closed and that he was shaking like a leaf blown by hurricanes.

Like the others, the Copy Ninja did not know how to react and he remained petrified from head to toe. A thousand and one questions raced through his mind about what he had just seen … but for now, he did not care. Worried, he could only focus on the upset teenager who crushed him more and more in his embrace.

Kakashi hugged Naruto back. He tried to slip one of his hands into the mane, which was more dishevelled than ever. However, no matter where he wanted to touch him, he suffered mild shocks; the blond was enveloped in a veil of static electricity that never left him now. Meanwhile, Naruto began to sob louder and louder until his grief turned into loud crying; at that, his tears flooded the grey's clothes.

Kakashi ignored these rather nasty little shocks and in response, he stroked the upset boy's head.

"It's gonna be fine, Naruto. It's over. I'm here. Close to you. You don't have to worry anymore," he whispered tenderly.

Naruto buried his face deeper in Kakashi's arms. His ebony tail wrapped around them gently, tightening the comforting embrace. Kakashi was a pillar to which he could cling with confidence. Kakashi's steadfast arms shielded him from the pain that had drowned him in the darkness of despair, and they drove away the shroud in which there was only pain and fear.

From then on, Naruto refused to be separated from Kakashi.

- XxX -

"Never again," I promised myself.

Naruto, you don't have to worry anymore.

I will be your light and your hope, Naruto.

I will protect you against these demons inside you.

And I will never make the same mistake again.

Hellow! A few short words from the author!

I hope this story continues to pique your interest! This chapter closes the first book or the first act, as you prefer. Of course, the story is still at its beginning. The second act, with a very different atmosphere, will begin with the next chapter.

Thank you for your valuable reviews that give me a boost of motivation