For: yuuko_uchiha
For: yuuko_uchiha
Title: Cheeks Scars
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Being half-demon is an unpleasant condition, Naruto can confirm that to you.
Warnings: Non-con, language
A/N: Thanks a lot to X and Y for betaing this fic! I assure you they saved it (I am NOT kidding!)
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
There are, in this universe, creatures named fallen angels. They first reigned over the human race under the pretext of guiding the population toward a better life while applying God’s Will to save people from themselves. From what Naruto knew, they first appeared when the planet was near-inhabitable because the humans then kept polluting the air, making the ozone layer become dangerously thin. They kept ameliorating technology, and that was what nearly caused the end of this world. Now, two thousand years later, everyone lived under a feudal regime, and and now there were neither telephones, nor those big black boxes that showed moving pictures.
Naruto refers to fallen angels as demons. Humans may be strong and brave, but they all have flaws. Fallen angels don’t have any. They do what they want, when they want.
Basically, they almost controlled the world, except that they still didn't because of constant revolts.
Naruto hadn’t expected otherwise. He actually felt for the humans and wanted to fight by their side.
Except he couldn't because his blood was stained. Naruto was what they called a jinchi, a half-demon. Already 16 years old, he looked exactly like a human except for the scars on his cheeks. He was more powerful than an average human, he could transform into a fox form if he wished to, and he was actually getting the hang of casting spells.
And he had feelings. Fallen angels and normal jinchis lived like machines, and Naruto didn't. That meant he was useless for demons because his conscience got in the way when it was time to act and move. And of course he was still considered a natural disease to the human race.
Naruto desperately wanted a normal life. He wanted his neighbour to give him a “hello” instead of glaring daggers at him. He wanted go to school and learn with the other children instead of being homeschooled. He wanted to fall in love and be loved back. He wanted to find someone he could call his best friend.
He wanted his difference to disappear.
So when he first heard of the demon witch, he got his clothes ready and went on a journey.
- - - - -
The forest was humid and the grey clouds did not make Naruto smile. The pack on his back was hurting his shoulders and his legs felt ready to give out. He’d been walking at least 6 hours without taking a break, and he was hungry.
And since he wasn’t on a road, he did not know when he was going to reach civilisation again.
His head felt fuzzy and he was pretty sure he’d just seen a deer shake his ass before him. Naruto frowned, ashamed by his exhaustion and the fact that the stupid animal had mocked his hunger.
No stupid deer should make fun of the great Uzumaki Naruto!
His eyes fallowed the animal, his brain concentrated on the feet of the stag as he murmured “Eish Canz” under his breath. The deer fell into the grass, and Naruto pulled out his crescent-shaped bow and an arrow, his shoulders in stance, ready to aim.
Then he heard the sound of the bushes being pushed aside, and the last thing he felt was a strong wave of pain through his back.
- - - - - - - -
When he opened his eyes again, his head felt like it would explode in the next ten seconds and his stomach was begging for food. His vision cleared and he noticed that his skin felt hot because there was actually a fire lit just beside him.
And there was a black haired boy sitting against a tree trunk beside him. Black eyes followed him without showing any emotion, and Naruto noticed that the boy was eating meat, probably really juicy meat because the smell made his nose twitch painfully.
His mouth watered, and when he opened it to ask the boy if he could have some, he felt a gag, and that was when he noticed his hands were bound by a rope.
The pain in his back came suddenly to life, and he remembered being attacked.
He tried getting up but his legs were still very tired from that afternoon, and without his hands to balance him, it was impossible to get up from the grass. The other boy noticed Naruto’s agitation. “It’s useless to struggle, demon.”
The “demon” comment made Naruto glare hard at his assailant.
“And you won’t be able to cast any spells while you are gagged.”
Duh. As if Naruto didn’t know that. He probably had rolled his eyes because the black haired boy frowned a bit at him. It made Naruto smirk under his gag, satisfied to have pulled out some irritation from the other boy.
Their glaring contest didn’t last long as Naruto’s stomach came back to life and declared his hunger quite loudly. This time it was his aggressor who smirked at him and took a large bite of the cooked meat in Naruto’s face. Maybe it was because of his hunger or maybe it was because of today’s incident, but his limbs felt even more tired than when he woke up and his eyelids were struggling to remain open. His distressed state seemed to put the other boy in a better mood, and he licked his lips then took another bite of his meat, probably just to annoy Naruto further.
And Naruto now knew that whoever the boy really was, he was a really cheap bastard.
- - - - - -
One of the first lessons Naruto learned in life was that it was never good to not know where you were when you woke up. His head was still throbbing and his back still hurt like hell but at least he was alone this time. His night vision being better than humans, he noticed that he was trapped in a small green tent, the soil ground wet under his cheek. He was on his stomach, both arms and legs bound by a rope.
He could sense a presence outside the tent, and by the husky smell, it was male. Naruto slowly moved his arms and legs, trying to see if he could break the rope with power alone. His mouth still gagged, he could not mutter spells.
Not that Naruto knew a spell that could help him cut rope. Or any other that might help him in this situation.
Probably hearing his trashing, the guard opened the tent to look at him. The boy had a ponytail, his eyes bored. He did not look dangerous, but he still made Naruto wary. And Naruto deeply trusted his instincts.
Then his stomach decided to reveal itself once again, Naruto’s eyes widening a bit even as they never left the guard's gaze. The other boy did not say anything but shut the tent, leaving Naruto once again in complete darkness.
- - - - - - -
Morning came and Naruto had not managed to get any sleep since the guard's visit. His hunger had increased and it was a wonder he still managed to move. He swore there wasn’t any energy left in his body.
Then he heard an explosion.
Cries were shouted, and Naruto immediately recognized the strong presences. Demons had infiltrated whatever place he was kept at and Naruto was still unable to move, to defend himself against the menace. He may not be human but he would suffer the same fate as them. He put all the power he had left to struggle against the rope again, sweat sliding down his face as he pulled, his wrists being burned by the rough material. His heart kept beating quickly under his chest, his laboured breaths sharp and loud against the gag.
Then something knocked the air out of him as a heavy weight fell into his wounded back, a quick cry escaping his mouth. The tent went down with whatever had collided with him and his sharp nose immediately detected a fallen angel. The weight on him pulled itself up, accidently taking Naruto’s cover with it as it continued to take steps back. Naruto heart skipped a bit as he saw the armed demon in front of him look down at his body, before his gaze drifted back to something behind him. The demon lifted his hand in the air and he heard a struggle behind him that made him turn his head.
A little girl, probably not even 7 years old, was held up in the air, her hands and feet battling against something invisible, tears in her eyes as she struggled to get air in her lungs. Naruto turned back toward the demon, whose face remained void of emotion as he tortured the poor girl.
Something snapped in Naruto. Not thinking about the consequences, he pulled his mouth against a rock in the grass, trying to let the thing in between his mouth and the gag. He felt his skin sting a couple of times when he failed to let the rock go completely through the gag but when the cloth finally pulled itself free from his face, he turned immediately toward the demon.
“Isstch Reij Ius!” Naruto yelled, his heartbeat pulsing everywhere as he could felt his own power glow out of his body. The warrior screamed in an inhuman voice, wind surrounding and slashing him. Naruto’s eyes went wide, watching in terror as the demon began to bleed to death in front of him.
Then the body crumpled to the ground and Naruto remained completely frozen on the ground until he heard steps coming his way. He turned his head around in time to see a pink haired girl look at him, the small girl from earlier in her arms.
Then he collapsed unconscious, again.
- - - - - - -
Waking up this time felt a thousand times better. He was in a small tent again, but he had a blanket over him and God bless his soul, there was a bed under him. His limbs didn't feel stiff anymore and the strong smell of medical herbs hit his sensitive nose. He looked down, noticing bandages around his torso.
“Good afternoon,” said a voice and he saw the same pink haired girl emerge. She didn't sound enthusiastic about conversing with him, but her tone remained civil.
Which was a start, Naruto thought, his eyes curiously watching her. He opened his mouth to return her greeting and it suddenly felt like a thousand needles had attacked his jaw. He remembered the rock and closed his mouth, gritting his teeth to try and bear the pain. The girl noticed his pain and her eyes softened a bit. “You hurt your jaw quite viciously earlier. I put some cream on it but the skin should still feel pretty raw,”
At least, that explained why Naruto could smell the herbs as if they had been directly stuffed up his nose. He closed his eyes for a second, his head still pounding loudly. He felt the girl put a wet cloth, on his forehead then something weird being put in his left ear. He opened his eyes in panic, went to get up but a strong arm restrained him before he heard a small “beep” resonating. The girl pulled the cold thing out of his ear and he saw something that looked like a little white plastic box merged with a pencil.
She frowned a bit, looking down at the small thing. Noticing his curiosity, she let her gaze back on him. “That’s a medical thermometer,” she said, showing him the thing and he saw numbers on it. “It says here that your body is at 70◦C, which isn't normal at all,” she continued, still looking a bit perplexed. Then her eyes went cold. “Are you a demon?”
It was like a rock was caught in his stomach. He hadn't known of the difference in temperature between demons and humans. “I’m half-demon.”
He saw her bite her lip, and he knew right then that she probably wouldn't help him anymore. As far as he could tell, he was stuck in a small, rebel village and demons were certainly not welcome here. He tried to get up, not especially wanting to spend more time in a place where he was not wanted, when he felt her push him back into the bed.
Probably seeing the surprise on his face, she let a small, forced smile on her lips. “Just rest.”
It was an order and as much as he still didn’t trust her, her voice was warm and he was still hurting.
So he nodded. “Alright.”
- - - - - - - - -
It was quite clear that the reason they let him stay in the village wasn’t because they were waiting for his injuries to heal but because they did not want to take the risk of letting him out of their sight. Which made Naruto snort because honestly, wherever he was going was none of their concern and as soon as he well enough to run, he was taking back his pack and going to meet the demon witch.
Though his chest was still hurting and it stung to move around a lot so he settled himself in the village library, finding actual books about technology that Naruto knew would have either been restricted or simply burned anywhere else. Being curious by nature made him analyse each item he had seen Sakura use on him.
Haruno Sakura, he had discovered the name not on her breast plate but because she had actually introduced herself to him on the second night. Their first encounter had not been exactly pleasant, but when she returned in the morning with a bowl of gruel, he had all but jumped on it. He had eaten it quickly, not really taking the time to breathe properly, and he hadn't noticed when some of his breakfast had come out of his nose. Sakura had looked quite stunned at his attempt to eat and then had laughed hard when he had let the bowl fall down on the floor when he finally noticed the gruel run down from his nose. His heartbroken gaze had fallen on his poor breakfast and that was when he saw tears on Sakura’s face, her smile seeming to illuminate the room.
She had brought back another bowl and he had helped her clean, even though his back hurt like hell. She had looked a bit taken aback but then had pushed him back into his bed, murmuring a quiet, “Idiot, go eat your gruel.” Her voice had been warm and her smile real, so he had returned her a smile of his own and introduced himself. And then they had slowly begun to talk, mostly about her job at the hospital and a bit about her family.
So after talking a bit about this and that for a week, Sakura had become Naruto’s favourite person. She was cute, honest, patient, and just well, mostly just there. And that was pretty much a miracle on its own.
When he was finally well enough to move out of his bed and walk without aching in pain each time he took a step, they released him from the hospital, and she had told him to come meet her after her shift. In the meantime, he was stuck waiting here but he was interested to learn what the restricted books contained.
He learned that a human’s normal temperature was actually 34°C, that he breathed in O2 and breathed out CO2, that the moon was a natural satellite, what a PH scale was, and lastly about some interesting diseases that he had never heard of.
He had been so absorbed in his reading that he did not notice the stranger's gaze until he finished his paragraph. He could feel someone watching him from behind and his nose picked up the scent.
The same one from when he had been in the forest. It was the cheap bastard.
His fist was practically trembling on the table and he put down the book abruptly, turning around. The black haired boy was sitting two tables away from Naruto, not averting his gaze even though Naruto was glaring right back at him. “What do you want?”
Naruto’s voice was rough, his face clearly showing his annoyance at Sasuke’s presence. The other boy furrowed his eyebrows, a furious expression. “I want you out of this village.”
Then he had stood up, still glaring at Naruto before exiting the library, leaving Naruto hurt by his bluntness and a lot angry. Just because of that, Naruto wanted to stay for good.
“Asshole,” Naruto murmured, his fingers itching to curse him with a spell. He retained himself. Technology may not be banned but he had a feeling magic had.
For good.
- - - - - - -
Over the week, he met some new, interesting people.
Firstly, there had been Shikamaru. The boy in question had been struggling with a load of wood in his arms and Naruto had helped bring them back into his home. Then Ayumi, Shikamaru’s daughter, in her apparently new yellow dress, had decided to suddenly launch herself on his legs and he was it. Then Ino, who he recognized as one of the nurses that worked with Sakura, had stopped in her tracks when she saw him in her dining room. With her daughter, like tentacles,around his legs.
“You,” she began, and Naruto’s body stilled. Her eyes were still scrutinizing him, the wood in his arms practically trembling. She smiled. “Wanna have tea?”
Naruto nodded quickly, pretty sure it was the less risky road. He heard Shikamaru sigh behind him. “That’s my wife, Ino.”
Naruto had wanted to tell him, yes I know I’ve meet her before, I’ve never talked to her but she was the one who was applying this incredibly smelly cream to my chest. But he settled for an, “I see.”
They shared a look. It was totally the beginning of a manly, sympathizing friendship.
- - - - - - - -
So it turned out that his new friend Shikamaru liked boring stuff like playing shogi and lazying around on the grass like an old geezer. It also turned out that Ino couldn’t cook for shit, but they both ate anyway out of fear of being knocked out by her heavy cauldron. And it also turned out that he was Ayumi's new favourite person because his blond hair was funny and spiky. And because he looked like a cat.
Neither parents said anything about his scars, but they were more noticeable since Ayumi’s comment. They probably knew he was half-demon since Ino worked at the hospital, but he was still expecting them to say something.
He felt a hand suddenly pulling down on his shirt, and he saw Ayumi’s blue eyes looked up at him. “Do I look pretty?”
Her black hair had been pulled away with two small red hairclips and her smile was shy but hopeful. Naruto let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and a smile reached his lips. “Like a real princess.”
That seemed to ease out whatever tension that had been in the room, Ino letting out a “Better eat while it’s hot,” though neither Naruto nor Shikamaru were actually eager to look down at their bowls. Then he thanked them for the supper, which hadn't killed him, thankfully, and he was invited to come over whenever he wanted.
He'd try to skip out of dinner time, just in case.
- - - - - - - - -
The third interesting person he came across was Sakura’s husband (which did not make Naruto weep, thank you very much) Lee. He worked in the field each day, a farmer who was a goofy and dedicated to his work.
And he treated Sakura like she was made of glass when Naruto totally knew by now that she could break your arm whenever it pleased her. And Lee made her smile a lot when he was around, and her voice was desperate but grateful at the same time.
So yeah, he had Naruto's approval. Not all hundred points because seriously, the eyebrows were minus at least 20 points.
- - - - - - - - -
The fourth, fifth and sixth person he met in this still anonymous village were Kiba, Hinata and Neji. It started as a complete accident, going on his way to hunt something to bring Ino for dinner when he had bumped into Hinata. He hadn't been looking where he was going, and the fruits she had in her basket were sprawled on the floor. He immediately bent down to help her collect them, and she cried out when she looked up at him. It made Naruto wince, wanting to curse his stupid cheek scars when her face turned completely red and shefainted. Right there, in the middle of the street.
Of course, Naruto panicked right there. He was pretty sure he hadn't unconsciously murmured a spell to knock her out and he had never seen anyone fainting in fear just from looking at him. Then Kiba came into the picture, knees bent on the ground as he looked at Hinata, and he was ready to kick the day light out of Naruto when Neji decided to announce his glorious self by simply taking Hinata himself in his arms and walking out of the scene. Kiba went from utterly furious to completely bewildered in a second and turned toward Naruto. “Dude, that’s my wife.”
Naruto was struggling between saying “Better luck next time,” and shrugging his shoulders, so he settled by giving the guy the basket full of food. The guy looked down at the basket, his lips still turned down and surprisingly, he seemed to be well… whining. Not like a girl but like a dog.
Being able to transform into a fox himself, Naruto kind of felt for the guy. “Wanna go drink ale?”
The guy looked up at him, maybe surprised by his bluntness because his face was a mix of confusion and well, have-you-gone-crazy kind of a look though it lasted only five seconds. “Sure, why the bloody hell not.”
And Naruto was half way drunk before he finally understood that the long haired guy that had no pupils was not an incestuous big brother but Kiba’s wife's cousin, who had a protective side. Which Kiba hated with passion.
Naruto still thought that the situation was weird but he preferred to keep his mouth shut about the incestuous jokes. Kiba’s nails were practically digging into the wood table and he wasn’t ready to risk them slashing into his pretty skin.
- - - - - - - - - -
The seventh person he met was Chouji. He was kinda impressive to look at, big boned and everything, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.
And he also sympathized with Shikamaru because hell, a woman who couldn’t cook for shit? No way could he have survived. Shikamaru had shrugged and said, “Well, you get used to eating little,” and that was when Ino entered the kitchen.
Naruto thought he had heard something like “I’ll see you get little in another field of life,” but he wasn’t sure. Chouji and Naruto, both being brave guys, gulped down the rest of their own soup.
- - - - - - - - -
A week later, all his bandages were removed and his jaw had a scar, but he would survive. He was a guy, real scary scars made him tastier for girls.
Or so he had heard. Naruto would just have to test the theory out.
Sakura had told him he wasn’t supposed to leave the village until one of the village chiefs had returned. He had nodded, though now he'd realized that he had nowhere to sleep and well, he still didn’t know the village's name.
Sakura had raised an eyebrow at his second question before letting out a small laugh. “I guess I could let you stay at my house for a while.” And that was that.
Of course, he had to work for the village at the very least. So she had told him to go to the village counsellor, who had assigned him as a night guard.
And guess who turned out to be Naruto’s lucky partner.
- - - - - - - -
The other boy was silent but refused to make contact with Naruto. It irritated him, wanting to snort each time he looked at the white skinned young man, but he managed to restrain himself.
And the job was boring. So goddamned boring.
Listening to the crickets’ chirps for a minute or two. Fine.
For nearly two hours already, it made him want to eat them so that they could shut it. Or just magic them far, far away.
So it was in a boring silence that Naruto continued to listen to the goddamn crickets while the antisocial asshole beside him remained as straight as a tree. In other words, Naruto was having anamazing night.
When the sun finally showed its marvellous rays their watch was finally over. The other boy finally decided to move, uncrossing his arms and without saying a single word to Naruto, went down the city street, leaving Naruto alone at the gates.
“And thank you for the wonderful night!” he cried at the other boy’s back, anger boiling in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if he had heard the bastard snort but wisely let it go. He was damn tired and hopefully, Sakura’s cooking wasn’t going to be as shitty as Ino’s.
- - - - - -
Sakura’s cooking wasn’t exactly good, but it was edible which was a positive start. They talked a bit about how his day went, and how he was such a lazy ass for sleeping all afternoon long. When he was ready to go to work again, she gave him a backpack, and Naruto accepted it without a word.
When Naruto finally arrived at the gate, Sasuke was staring at him from the corner of his eyes. “You’re late.”
He didn’t exactly sound annoyed, but the tone was clearly disapproving Naruto’s lateness. Naruto huffed in irritation. Figure the first thing the guy had to say to him was going to be an insult. “I’ll be as long as I want.”
“No you won’t,” The boy replied, his black eyes glaring daggers at him. “It’s your job to be here at 8 o’clock. Not 8:10.”
For some reason (probably the fact that the asshole had attacked him, kidnapped him, made him starve and insulted him twice already) Naruto really wanted to throttle the other boy. Maybe it was because the other boy sounded so smug and addressed him like he was a five year old.
Either way, Naruto’s hands were twitching to go near that pale skin and make some pretty color shows on the skin. Purple would do just fine.
So he calmed himself down by thinking about Sakura’s warm eyes, Ayumi’s brilliant smile, Kiba’s cracked up jokes, Shikamaru’s peaceful expression…
And it worked, but not to the point he was actually ready to let the whole matter go. So he shrugged off his backpack and looked inside. A book and a green apple.
He immediately took a bite of the green apple and looked at the book cover.
“Inventions of the twentieth century,” Naruto read out loud, flipping it open. He was about to read something about “cars” when the book was abruptly snatched away from him. The still unnamed boy was glaring down at him, eyes suddenly frightened for a second before he approached Naruto with his full height, menacingly. “Where did you get that?”
Naruto eyes narrowed, an undignified cry coming out of his mouth. “Who do you think you are!? And I did not steal that book, a friend lent it to me, so give it back. Now!”
“Who exactly lent that to you?” the boy asked, his words spiteful.
“That,” Naruto replied, practically growling as he also put his two hands on the book, pulling it toward him. “is none of your business. Let go.”
They were playing a war of tug, Naruto pulling on the cover and half of the pages while the asshole took the other half, when the book snapped and the pages went in different direction all at once.
Naruto froze, feeling anger and guilt build inside him. Sakura had been generous enough to lend him something so that he wouldn’t die of boredom, and he had to go and tear it. Wait.
No. The complete bastard had gone and torn it. “You tore it!”
The other boy didn't say anything, had not bent down to help Naruto collect the pages that had not been swept away into the forest. “It was your fault from the start.”
The accusation was so entirely false that it made him drop the pages in his arms and he turned around, stomping his way to the boy. “What the fuck is your problem!? You were the one who stole it from me and wouldn’t give it up. You tore the book. Not me!”
The boy seemed to contemplate him for a second. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what exactly did you mean?” Naruto said, rage still clearly present on his face.
“That you are intruding, that you are not wanted here, and that you are complicating things,” the boy said, pronouncing the words with such conviction that Naruto’s heart skipped a beat. “That I want you far away from our village.”
Naruto was supposed to be immune by now; those words shouldn’t have hurt as much as they did. But his expression probably betrayed his emotions as the other boy somehow looked taken aback for a second before settling his gaze on the ground beside them.
Naruto gulped, turned his heel on the ground and went as far away as he could from the boy.
Frustratingly, the sun's rays did not warm him this morning and the gaze he could feel on his back as he walked back to Sakura’s house was all but comfortable.
- - - - - - - - -
Naruto guiltily explained the situation and yes, he got a punch on the head for being irresponsible but that was all.
“Who is he anyway?” Naruto asked, pouting as he rubbed his abused head. Sakura looked hesitant but replied “Uchiha Sasuke,” over her shoulder as she made her way back into the kitchen.
He looked at Lee for a better explanation but the other boy seemed a bit uncertain. So he decided to go get a drink and to well, take Kiba with him.
- - - - - - - - -
“Uchiha Sasuke?” Kiba asked, drinking his ale in one gulp before asking the barman for more. “He’s such a pompous asshole.”
Kiba’s confirmation about the bastard made Naruto want to hug him. “You think so too? Imagine, I’m stuck doing guard duty the whole night with him.”
Kiba snorted beside him. “I know what you mean, I was his partner a couple of years ago. Nearly drove me insane just…standing there looking at nothing. Made Shikamaru swap shifts with me.”
“Lucky,” Naruto replied, gulping down the rest of his drink.
“But…” Kiba voice suddenly seemed a bit more forlorn and distant, “he’s still Uchiha Sasuke.”
“Gathered all that information and shit,” Kiba continued, a frown on his face. “They say he’s a genius who’s going to be a great help in the future.”
The sentence didn't give Naruto any special realizations.. And he was pretty much ready to point that out to Kiba when he saw the guy's forehead pressed against the wooden table, apparently sleeping.
‘Perfect, ’ Naruto thought, seeing the barman appearing suddenly at their seats because of course, they weren't going anywhere before they had paid for their drink. ‘Just wonderful.’
- - - - - - - - -
Secrets.
Apparently, the village was full of them. Shikamaru’s surprised expression had been all he needed to confirm his theory.
“And? Why is it that Sasuke’s a genius?” Naruto said, not liking the way his friend bit his lips nervously. Shikamaru was anything but an anxious guy.
“Who told you that?” Shikamaru asked, his tone a bit annoyed.
Naruto frowned, feeling a bit frustrated. “That’s not the point! I just want to know what’s the big deal with Sasuke!”
Shikamaru observed him closely, as if he weren’t sure if Naruto was foe or friend. It made Naruto’s heart clutch a bit.
It was the first time in a while that Naruto had felt like an outsider here.
Naruto gulped down whatever betrayal he felt. “Is it really such a big deal?”
His frustration reveal itself in his voice, his throat feeling dry. Shikamaru’s eyes seemed to softened for a second but he nodded.
When they arrived at Sakura’s house, they parted ways in silence.
- - - - - - -
Two days later, he was back at his guard duty post, ready to spend another terrible night. He had arrived late just to spite the Uchiha, but instantly noticed something weird. Magic was in the air and because he could identify from where exactly the energy was coming from, Uchiha Sasuke had assaulted him against the gate, his elbow directly on Naruto’s lung while his other hand went to cover his mouth. Minutes of struggling against the powerful something that had taken possession of Sasuke went quickly, and the lack of oxygen was unbearable.
It was the second time he lost consciousness in Sasuke’s presence.
- - - - - -
The second he woke up, he knew instinctively that wherever he was, water was surrounding him. In fact, his sensitive ears told him the source was about 3 meters away on his right side. He took the chance to open his eyes, his head throbbing as his night vision settled in. It was also when he finally noticed the other scent and turned his head toward it.
Sasuke was still up looking down at him with yellow eyes, his gaze hungry.
Naruto slowly lifted himself on his elbow, trying to judge how much energy he had left in his body and if he could actually outrun this demon. And he knew there was a certain spell to cast the demon out of Sasuke’s body, but he couldn’t remember it.
What a shitty situation for his mind to go blank.
His other option was to cast powerful spells at Sasuke but clearly feeling the other demon’s energy, it would end as a deadly fight. Not that he wasn’t eager to kick Uchiha’s butt but this was a completely different situation.
Anyway, the thing in front of him was not Sasuke. In Sasuke, but not Sasuke and if there was anything Naruto disliked more than anything, it was an unfair match.
So he had to remember the incantation. Quickly.
Not-Sasuke began to take small steps toward him and Naruto dragged his body backward, attempting to remember the words. It wasn’t very long but the words had been complicated ones. And he was pretty sure the incantation had began with an “I."
It wasn’t until he fell back two feet from his initial position that he really snapped out of his bubble and noticed that he was now in a river, his wet clothes now sticking to his skin.
The cold water made shivers run down his spine and before he could try to stand up, the possessed Sasuke jumped on him, making him disappear under the water completely, his back hitting the soft sand as his outstretched hands gripped Sasuke’s arms painfully, pulling.
The freezing water made his body twitch painfully but he managed to move his right leg and kick viciously at Sasuke's side. It made Sasuke’s body jump for a second and it was all Naruto needed for his right arm to move from Sasuke’s arm to his t-shirt, pulling on the front until Sasuke lost balance. Once they managed to emerge to the surface, water reaching mid-thigh, Naruto crawled back to the river side; half way out, something grabbed the length of his pants. Still trying to breathe correctly and gurgling out water from his lungs, Naruto couldn't find the energy to kick the hand away from him.
His mind still a bit fuzzy and his muscles still hurting from the cold, he did not notice the hand until he felt something almost warm settling at the length of his waistband. Naruto’s eyes almost bulged out, panic suddenly settling itself in his stomach. The demon’s method for absorbing magic... Fuck.
Just as he had gathered enough energy to shake away the hand retaining him, he felt another settling on the other side of his hip, tugging down the pants. He felt ready to throw up, his mind frantically trying to remember the incantation. Even if he managed to remember the spell to get the Not-Sasuke off him, he doubted he could summon the force required to cast it.
When a sharp tug brought his pants to his knees, Naruto’s right hand tried to tug them back on while the other supported his weight on the ground. He heard a sharp and icy laugh behind him. Sasuke’s calves went over Naruto’s legs, forcing him down while two cold hands pulled his buttcheeks apart.
That was it, Naruto thought, trembling in fear and because he was so damned cold; if there was any moment to remember the damn incantation it was now or never. He tried to pull himself away again, feeling desperation grip him.
Shock traveled through his entire back when a finger suddenly went inside his ass. His ass ring tried to push out the intruder, feeling all but comfortable about it. His right hand fell away from his pants to clutch the grass under him, his feet and legs still freezing in the water.
Naruto took a deep breath, attempting to blank his mind completely and focus. He could remember the brown book, him flipping the pages until he found the right one. There had been a stain at the corner of the page and the incantation had been toward the end.
He let out a small dry cry as Sasuke pushed another cold finger in, scissoring him quickly. It was hard to think when your entire body felt violated.
Stretch. Push. Out. In. Stretch. Add a third finger.
God, it was agonizing and when it touched something in him suddenly, Naruto let out a strangled “Nngggg” that he couldn’t control. His cock twitched at being touch there but it did not make anything better.
Then as he felt the three fingers being finally pulled out and heard Sasuke’s zipper being pulled down, his adrenaline exploded and he cried out “ITCHERA JUI”
And he knew instinctively that it had worked because the energy behind him dissolved and then Sasuke fell down onto his back, breathing hard. Naruto let his own arms fall down on his side, his left cheek on the grass as he tried to calm his poor heart. His stomach was still doing flip flop and he could see his arms still trembling beside him.
And God his legs, he couldn’t feel them anymore. “Get off,”
His murmur probably hadn’t reached Sasuke over his loud breathing, so he tried again. “Get off!”
Sasuke stilled above him before shakily moving away from Naruto. Naruto’s right hand immediately tugged up his pants, managing to cover most of his ass as he tried to get out of the water but he couldn’t find the energy to do so.
It nearly caused Naruto a heart attack as he felt hands under his armpits, moving him out of the water and settling him down on the grass. His wobbly hands went to zip up his pants, then his stomach did a 180 and he threw up on the grass beside him.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination but he thought he could feel a hand rubbing his back as his stomach emptied itself. He let his tongue pass over his teeth and spit out the bitter taste; his eyelids dropped because seriously, he needed the break.
As he felt a comforting hand rub his right arm, he slowly fell asleep right there on the grass, his body spent and his mind tired. Tired, because seriously, nobody could be 'at peace' after what he just went through.
- - - - - - -
He woke up in Sakura’s house, Lee's worried face over him. It took Naruto almost a minute before his vision cleared, and then something cool was pressed against his forehead. Sakura also came into view, looking down at him with worry. “Are you feeling pain anywhere?”
Naruto nodded, feeling his muscles stiffen when he tried to lift his arm. “My entire body hurts.”
She nodded, pulling herself out of his vision. Lee’s expression was still worried and Naruto wanted to do something to make him talk about insane things again because at least it would be normal.
And it would not feel like Naruto had almost been violated sexually by a demon in order to grab his power.
“Sasuke brought you here,” Lee said, his voice small but clear. “He was worried.”
Naruto felt his heart seize its rhythm for some unfathomable reason. “Yeah right.”
His murmur did not reach Lee’s ears but it was better that way. Anyway, his stomach was doing flip flops again and he wasn’t sure why. And he didn’t want to think on why.
So he smiled tiredly at Lee and went back to sleep.
- - - - - - -
Shikamaru visited him the day after, bringing him a plate full of fruits and a drawing Ayumi had made. They talked about anything but the incident and that was fine with Naruto.
“Shikamaru,” His voice croaky, feeling tired but their last conversation had been tormenting him for a while and he needed to know. “What’s Sasuke real job?”
It was uncomfortable how the silence suddenly filled the room. But Naruto being Naruto, he pressed the subject. “What’s your job? What’s Kiba’s? Chouji’s?”
Naruto wasn’t a fool. Beside Lee being a farmer, he had never seen anyone else gone to work. They never talked about it either. He challenged Shikamaru’s gaze and waited for an honest answer.
Then a big breasted woman entered the room and as soon as her gaze settled on him, he saw her brown eyes widen. He saw Shikamaru’s confused look but she quickly shook her head and stared fondly at him.
It made Naruto freak out. He was used to defiance, to hatred, to malice and to many other unpleasant things. But…
Not this.
It was even more uncomfortable than the other thing because he did not know how to react. “What’s your name?”
Her voice was quiet but firm. She moved to sit down in the chair beside his bed, her eyes mapping every detail of his face. “Uzumaki Naruto.”
He heard her take a deep breath, her eyes looking shocked and sad. God, he was pretty sure he had never met the woman in his entire life and she was actually feeling for him.
“Shikamaru, could you please leave the room for a moment please?” she asked, her eyes never leaving him. His friend looked down at him, and Naruto’s eyes pleaded to not leave him alone with her. She was really freaking him out and he was still pretty much defenceless at the moment, but Shikamaru went outside.
“I’m Tsunade,” she said, her hand coming to take away the cloth on his forehead, touching it. “You’ve still got a small fever but you should be alright by tomorrow.”
He nodded, not really knowing what to say. For her part, she looked like she was also struggling with something before finally looking down at the floor for a moment, then her gaze was on Naruto again. “Do you remember your parents?”
If there was any question he had never expected to come out of her mouth, this one was definitely at the top of the list. It actually took him a moment to answer because his mind was still trying to process the shocking words. “No.”
She nodded, not looking surprised at all. The silence was starting to get on his nerves and curiosity was eating him alive but he did not say anything. Then she sighed and a sad smile crocked up on her lips. “You want to know?”
It took him a moment but he decided that yes, it was always better to know than to not know. Desperate eyes looked back Tsunade. "Of course I do!"
His parents. He was going to finally know something about them even if all she had was their names.
It was more than enough for Naruto.
She nodded at his confirmation, approaching the chair. “Your mother was Uzumaki Kushina, a beautiful red haired woman who liked to play pranks, and who had a good heart,” she began, her voice warm as if she had known her personally. “She was one of the best rebels we had here.”
The revelation made his throat constrict. “And your father, Namikaze Minato, he was a fallen angel.”
That. The confirmation that his father had indeed been a fallen angel, that Naruto was really uniquely a half-demon.
“But,” she continued, her eyes softening as she looked down at him. “He hadn’t always been a fallen angel. He was a normal soldier, who had been ready to become a fallen angel under the orders of God, but who had fallen in love with your mother. You were born human Naruto, I know. I was the one who assisted your mother's pregnancy.”
So far, the conversation had felt like a blow to the head. He was listening but the words were easily overlooked, his mind somehow refused them but they also felt so right.
“So the fallen angels went after your family, but instead of fleeing danger, he tried to protect your mother, and died in the fight. They left you alive to remind him of his failure, of the fact that you’ll never be able to live with either humans or demons,” she continued, her hand coming to his left cheek and brushing a tear away from his eye. “To punish them and you.”
When he broke down, tears spilling over his cheeks and down his nose, he let her wipe them away.
- - - - - - - - - -
He woke up later, his mind still feeling a bit numb from the information he had been given, but at the same time, it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As soon as he cleared his head, he instantly picked up a new scent and stilled in his bed. A white-haired man was standing near the window, looking outside.
He turned, and put a small smile on his lips. “Feeling better?”
“Not really,” he replied, not exactly feeling threatened by the old man’s presence. The old man nodded and sat down in the chair Tsunade had been using earlier. “I’m Jiraiya, Tsunade’s husband.”
Naruto nodded. “Oh.”
Jiraiya smiled. “I heard you heard about your parents,” he began. “But I think you should have the right to know about our village's secret intentions. After all, it was your mother who suggested it.”
So it seemed Naruto was about to have an almost third heart attack in less than a week. “This village has been trying to restore technology but since the laws strictly forbid any kind of it, we were forced to build an underground laboratory and we are working on creating a satellite that could help the ozone layer to heal itself.”
“We all understand how vital and how risky it is to create such a thing and propel the satellite toward it but if we don’t, technology won’t be born again and people will continue to die because we don’t have enough resources on our hands. We understand the errors that were made by our predecessors but they also helped the population to evolve and live.”
Jiraiya gently ruffled his hair, and then stood up. “It was your mother’s dream.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
When he was finally up and about two days later, his muscles not feeling as stiff and his fever gone, he resumed his guard duty and brought his backpack with him that night. Sasuke was already there, but didn't say anything about Naruto being late. For twenty five minutes this time, a new record.
The silence was heavier but Naruto couldn’t stop his eyes from looking at Sasuke from time to time. And each time their gazes met, the both of them would turn their heads away. It made Naruto’s heart beat quickly and he rubbed his hands together, a nervous feeling settling inside his stomach.
Sasuke coughed, making Naruto look at him, but the black haired boy was looking directly ahead. “Are you feeling better?”
The image of that night went alive in Naruto’s mind for a second, especially after seeing a blush spread on Sasuke’s cheeks. It made Naruto blush too. “Yeah, sure.”
Naruto’s throat felt thirsty. He saw Sasuke nod and then the silence finally settled in again. Naruto’s heartbeat thumped loudly in his head and he was sure Sasuke could also hear it. Then Sasuke sighed and murmured something that Naruto could not catch.
It made Naruto inch a bit closer to him. “What?”
Sasuke looked up; his expression clearly annoyed before he repeated, but still not loud enough for Naruto to hear him. “Huh?”
“Are you deaf or just completely stupid!?” Sasuke suddenly shouted, making Naruto jump up. “I said I was sorry. There, don’t make me repeat it!”
If Naruto had been jumpy before this, it was nothing compared to now. He could feel his blood pulsing through him, his stomach flip flopping and his head completely emptying itself. And he was kind of happy too.
It was hard to stop his smile. And his lips only widened when Sasuke glanced at him, and looked away just as quickly, embarrassed for once.
Then the sun finally rose up in the sky, his skin feeling warm and his entire body still jumpy. Sasuke finally looked over at him again, a small smile plastered on his lips as he rolled his eyes at Naruto’s smile. “Idiot.”
And that was that.
- - - - - - - -
Surprisingly, the demon witch lived only six hours away from the village. He had imagined her like an old granny, her wrinkles so deep that Naruto wouldn’t have been able to see her eyes.
Instead, she had the appearance of a thirty year old woman, quite attractive at that too, her violet eyes hard and seductive. “What do you wish for?”
“I…” Naruto began, his right hand lifting itself on the scars on his cheek, caressing them.
“I want-“
- - - - - - -
The news spread everywhere on the planet.
The ozone layer has been restored to its initial form, as good as new. It was a miracle, something unrecorded.
No one but a small boy and a demon witch would ever know the truth and that was fine with Naruto. It was a bit harder to walk through the wood knowing he could no longer use spells to protect himself against wild animals. He made the six hours walk, the village finally coming into view.
As usual, Sasuke was at the gate. He looked alarmed as soon as Naruto came into view and Naruto’s stomach still made flip flops as he walked toward the boy.
“Who are you?” Sasuke asked, scanning Naruto up and down, his eyes not exactly glaring at Naruto but close to. But there was a strange glint in Sasuke’s eyes that gave Naruto hope.
“Me?” He asked, voice sounding amused, but he fought the urge to shake the other boy. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto!”
It didn't seem to impress Sasuke but, Naruto hadn’t expected otherwise. Naruto eyes were still fixed on Sasuke’s, trying to find a glint of recognition. There was none and Naruto was about to drop his gaze and just walk forward when Sasuke clenched his head painfully, turning his gaze away from Naruto and closing his eyes.
That was all it took for Naruto to realize that Sasuke was the exception the witch was talking about.
Naruto may no longer have his power, nor could anyone in this world remember who he was, but as she had said, maybe there would be an exception to the rule. They always happen.
And his suspicion was only confirmed when Sasuke's hands fell away from his head, and Sasuke blinked, as if waking up from a trance. The first thing he said was, "You're late."
Naruto never thought he’d be so happy to hear Sasuke say that.
Title: Cheeks Scars
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Being half-demon is an unpleasant condition, Naruto can confirm that to you.
Warnings: Non-con, language
A/N: Thanks a lot to X and Y for betaing this fic! I assure you they saved it (I am NOT kidding!)
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
There are, in this universe, creatures named fallen angels. They first reigned over the human race under the pretext of guiding the population toward a better life while applying God’s Will to save people from themselves. From what Naruto knew, they first appeared when the planet was near-inhabitable because the humans then kept polluting the air, making the ozone layer become dangerously thin. They kept ameliorating technology, and that was what nearly caused the end of this world. Now, two thousand years later, everyone lived under a feudal regime, and and now there were neither telephones, nor those big black boxes that showed moving pictures.
Naruto refers to fallen angels as demons. Humans may be strong and brave, but they all have flaws. Fallen angels don’t have any. They do what they want, when they want.
Basically, they almost controlled the world, except that they still didn't because of constant revolts.
Naruto hadn’t expected otherwise. He actually felt for the humans and wanted to fight by their side.
Except he couldn't because his blood was stained. Naruto was what they called a jinchi, a half-demon. Already 16 years old, he looked exactly like a human except for the scars on his cheeks. He was more powerful than an average human, he could transform into a fox form if he wished to, and he was actually getting the hang of casting spells.
And he had feelings. Fallen angels and normal jinchis lived like machines, and Naruto didn't. That meant he was useless for demons because his conscience got in the way when it was time to act and move. And of course he was still considered a natural disease to the human race.
Naruto desperately wanted a normal life. He wanted his neighbour to give him a “hello” instead of glaring daggers at him. He wanted go to school and learn with the other children instead of being homeschooled. He wanted to fall in love and be loved back. He wanted to find someone he could call his best friend.
He wanted his difference to disappear.
So when he first heard of the demon witch, he got his clothes ready and went on a journey.
- - - - -
The forest was humid and the grey clouds did not make Naruto smile. The pack on his back was hurting his shoulders and his legs felt ready to give out. He’d been walking at least 6 hours without taking a break, and he was hungry.
And since he wasn’t on a road, he did not know when he was going to reach civilisation again.
His head felt fuzzy and he was pretty sure he’d just seen a deer shake his ass before him. Naruto frowned, ashamed by his exhaustion and the fact that the stupid animal had mocked his hunger.
No stupid deer should make fun of the great Uzumaki Naruto!
His eyes fallowed the animal, his brain concentrated on the feet of the stag as he murmured “Eish Canz” under his breath. The deer fell into the grass, and Naruto pulled out his crescent-shaped bow and an arrow, his shoulders in stance, ready to aim.
Then he heard the sound of the bushes being pushed aside, and the last thing he felt was a strong wave of pain through his back.
- - - - - - - -
When he opened his eyes again, his head felt like it would explode in the next ten seconds and his stomach was begging for food. His vision cleared and he noticed that his skin felt hot because there was actually a fire lit just beside him.
And there was a black haired boy sitting against a tree trunk beside him. Black eyes followed him without showing any emotion, and Naruto noticed that the boy was eating meat, probably really juicy meat because the smell made his nose twitch painfully.
His mouth watered, and when he opened it to ask the boy if he could have some, he felt a gag, and that was when he noticed his hands were bound by a rope.
The pain in his back came suddenly to life, and he remembered being attacked.
He tried getting up but his legs were still very tired from that afternoon, and without his hands to balance him, it was impossible to get up from the grass. The other boy noticed Naruto’s agitation. “It’s useless to struggle, demon.”
The “demon” comment made Naruto glare hard at his assailant.
“And you won’t be able to cast any spells while you are gagged.”
Duh. As if Naruto didn’t know that. He probably had rolled his eyes because the black haired boy frowned a bit at him. It made Naruto smirk under his gag, satisfied to have pulled out some irritation from the other boy.
Their glaring contest didn’t last long as Naruto’s stomach came back to life and declared his hunger quite loudly. This time it was his aggressor who smirked at him and took a large bite of the cooked meat in Naruto’s face. Maybe it was because of his hunger or maybe it was because of today’s incident, but his limbs felt even more tired than when he woke up and his eyelids were struggling to remain open. His distressed state seemed to put the other boy in a better mood, and he licked his lips then took another bite of his meat, probably just to annoy Naruto further.
And Naruto now knew that whoever the boy really was, he was a really cheap bastard.
- - - - - -
One of the first lessons Naruto learned in life was that it was never good to not know where you were when you woke up. His head was still throbbing and his back still hurt like hell but at least he was alone this time. His night vision being better than humans, he noticed that he was trapped in a small green tent, the soil ground wet under his cheek. He was on his stomach, both arms and legs bound by a rope.
He could sense a presence outside the tent, and by the husky smell, it was male. Naruto slowly moved his arms and legs, trying to see if he could break the rope with power alone. His mouth still gagged, he could not mutter spells.
Not that Naruto knew a spell that could help him cut rope. Or any other that might help him in this situation.
Probably hearing his trashing, the guard opened the tent to look at him. The boy had a ponytail, his eyes bored. He did not look dangerous, but he still made Naruto wary. And Naruto deeply trusted his instincts.
Then his stomach decided to reveal itself once again, Naruto’s eyes widening a bit even as they never left the guard's gaze. The other boy did not say anything but shut the tent, leaving Naruto once again in complete darkness.
- - - - - - -
Morning came and Naruto had not managed to get any sleep since the guard's visit. His hunger had increased and it was a wonder he still managed to move. He swore there wasn’t any energy left in his body.
Then he heard an explosion.
Cries were shouted, and Naruto immediately recognized the strong presences. Demons had infiltrated whatever place he was kept at and Naruto was still unable to move, to defend himself against the menace. He may not be human but he would suffer the same fate as them. He put all the power he had left to struggle against the rope again, sweat sliding down his face as he pulled, his wrists being burned by the rough material. His heart kept beating quickly under his chest, his laboured breaths sharp and loud against the gag.
Then something knocked the air out of him as a heavy weight fell into his wounded back, a quick cry escaping his mouth. The tent went down with whatever had collided with him and his sharp nose immediately detected a fallen angel. The weight on him pulled itself up, accidently taking Naruto’s cover with it as it continued to take steps back. Naruto heart skipped a bit as he saw the armed demon in front of him look down at his body, before his gaze drifted back to something behind him. The demon lifted his hand in the air and he heard a struggle behind him that made him turn his head.
A little girl, probably not even 7 years old, was held up in the air, her hands and feet battling against something invisible, tears in her eyes as she struggled to get air in her lungs. Naruto turned back toward the demon, whose face remained void of emotion as he tortured the poor girl.
Something snapped in Naruto. Not thinking about the consequences, he pulled his mouth against a rock in the grass, trying to let the thing in between his mouth and the gag. He felt his skin sting a couple of times when he failed to let the rock go completely through the gag but when the cloth finally pulled itself free from his face, he turned immediately toward the demon.
“Isstch Reij Ius!” Naruto yelled, his heartbeat pulsing everywhere as he could felt his own power glow out of his body. The warrior screamed in an inhuman voice, wind surrounding and slashing him. Naruto’s eyes went wide, watching in terror as the demon began to bleed to death in front of him.
Then the body crumpled to the ground and Naruto remained completely frozen on the ground until he heard steps coming his way. He turned his head around in time to see a pink haired girl look at him, the small girl from earlier in her arms.
Then he collapsed unconscious, again.
- - - - - - -
Waking up this time felt a thousand times better. He was in a small tent again, but he had a blanket over him and God bless his soul, there was a bed under him. His limbs didn't feel stiff anymore and the strong smell of medical herbs hit his sensitive nose. He looked down, noticing bandages around his torso.
“Good afternoon,” said a voice and he saw the same pink haired girl emerge. She didn't sound enthusiastic about conversing with him, but her tone remained civil.
Which was a start, Naruto thought, his eyes curiously watching her. He opened his mouth to return her greeting and it suddenly felt like a thousand needles had attacked his jaw. He remembered the rock and closed his mouth, gritting his teeth to try and bear the pain. The girl noticed his pain and her eyes softened a bit. “You hurt your jaw quite viciously earlier. I put some cream on it but the skin should still feel pretty raw,”
At least, that explained why Naruto could smell the herbs as if they had been directly stuffed up his nose. He closed his eyes for a second, his head still pounding loudly. He felt the girl put a wet cloth, on his forehead then something weird being put in his left ear. He opened his eyes in panic, went to get up but a strong arm restrained him before he heard a small “beep” resonating. The girl pulled the cold thing out of his ear and he saw something that looked like a little white plastic box merged with a pencil.
She frowned a bit, looking down at the small thing. Noticing his curiosity, she let her gaze back on him. “That’s a medical thermometer,” she said, showing him the thing and he saw numbers on it. “It says here that your body is at 70◦C, which isn't normal at all,” she continued, still looking a bit perplexed. Then her eyes went cold. “Are you a demon?”
It was like a rock was caught in his stomach. He hadn't known of the difference in temperature between demons and humans. “I’m half-demon.”
He saw her bite her lip, and he knew right then that she probably wouldn't help him anymore. As far as he could tell, he was stuck in a small, rebel village and demons were certainly not welcome here. He tried to get up, not especially wanting to spend more time in a place where he was not wanted, when he felt her push him back into the bed.
Probably seeing the surprise on his face, she let a small, forced smile on her lips. “Just rest.”
It was an order and as much as he still didn’t trust her, her voice was warm and he was still hurting.
So he nodded. “Alright.”
- - - - - - - - -
It was quite clear that the reason they let him stay in the village wasn’t because they were waiting for his injuries to heal but because they did not want to take the risk of letting him out of their sight. Which made Naruto snort because honestly, wherever he was going was none of their concern and as soon as he well enough to run, he was taking back his pack and going to meet the demon witch.
Though his chest was still hurting and it stung to move around a lot so he settled himself in the village library, finding actual books about technology that Naruto knew would have either been restricted or simply burned anywhere else. Being curious by nature made him analyse each item he had seen Sakura use on him.
Haruno Sakura, he had discovered the name not on her breast plate but because she had actually introduced herself to him on the second night. Their first encounter had not been exactly pleasant, but when she returned in the morning with a bowl of gruel, he had all but jumped on it. He had eaten it quickly, not really taking the time to breathe properly, and he hadn't noticed when some of his breakfast had come out of his nose. Sakura had looked quite stunned at his attempt to eat and then had laughed hard when he had let the bowl fall down on the floor when he finally noticed the gruel run down from his nose. His heartbroken gaze had fallen on his poor breakfast and that was when he saw tears on Sakura’s face, her smile seeming to illuminate the room.
She had brought back another bowl and he had helped her clean, even though his back hurt like hell. She had looked a bit taken aback but then had pushed him back into his bed, murmuring a quiet, “Idiot, go eat your gruel.” Her voice had been warm and her smile real, so he had returned her a smile of his own and introduced himself. And then they had slowly begun to talk, mostly about her job at the hospital and a bit about her family.
So after talking a bit about this and that for a week, Sakura had become Naruto’s favourite person. She was cute, honest, patient, and just well, mostly just there. And that was pretty much a miracle on its own.
When he was finally well enough to move out of his bed and walk without aching in pain each time he took a step, they released him from the hospital, and she had told him to come meet her after her shift. In the meantime, he was stuck waiting here but he was interested to learn what the restricted books contained.
He learned that a human’s normal temperature was actually 34°C, that he breathed in O2 and breathed out CO2, that the moon was a natural satellite, what a PH scale was, and lastly about some interesting diseases that he had never heard of.
He had been so absorbed in his reading that he did not notice the stranger's gaze until he finished his paragraph. He could feel someone watching him from behind and his nose picked up the scent.
The same one from when he had been in the forest. It was the cheap bastard.
His fist was practically trembling on the table and he put down the book abruptly, turning around. The black haired boy was sitting two tables away from Naruto, not averting his gaze even though Naruto was glaring right back at him. “What do you want?”
Naruto’s voice was rough, his face clearly showing his annoyance at Sasuke’s presence. The other boy furrowed his eyebrows, a furious expression. “I want you out of this village.”
Then he had stood up, still glaring at Naruto before exiting the library, leaving Naruto hurt by his bluntness and a lot angry. Just because of that, Naruto wanted to stay for good.
“Asshole,” Naruto murmured, his fingers itching to curse him with a spell. He retained himself. Technology may not be banned but he had a feeling magic had.
For good.
- - - - - - -
Over the week, he met some new, interesting people.
Firstly, there had been Shikamaru. The boy in question had been struggling with a load of wood in his arms and Naruto had helped bring them back into his home. Then Ayumi, Shikamaru’s daughter, in her apparently new yellow dress, had decided to suddenly launch herself on his legs and he was it. Then Ino, who he recognized as one of the nurses that worked with Sakura, had stopped in her tracks when she saw him in her dining room. With her daughter, like tentacles,around his legs.
“You,” she began, and Naruto’s body stilled. Her eyes were still scrutinizing him, the wood in his arms practically trembling. She smiled. “Wanna have tea?”
Naruto nodded quickly, pretty sure it was the less risky road. He heard Shikamaru sigh behind him. “That’s my wife, Ino.”
Naruto had wanted to tell him, yes I know I’ve meet her before, I’ve never talked to her but she was the one who was applying this incredibly smelly cream to my chest. But he settled for an, “I see.”
They shared a look. It was totally the beginning of a manly, sympathizing friendship.
- - - - - - - -
So it turned out that his new friend Shikamaru liked boring stuff like playing shogi and lazying around on the grass like an old geezer. It also turned out that Ino couldn’t cook for shit, but they both ate anyway out of fear of being knocked out by her heavy cauldron. And it also turned out that he was Ayumi's new favourite person because his blond hair was funny and spiky. And because he looked like a cat.
Neither parents said anything about his scars, but they were more noticeable since Ayumi’s comment. They probably knew he was half-demon since Ino worked at the hospital, but he was still expecting them to say something.
He felt a hand suddenly pulling down on his shirt, and he saw Ayumi’s blue eyes looked up at him. “Do I look pretty?”
Her black hair had been pulled away with two small red hairclips and her smile was shy but hopeful. Naruto let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and a smile reached his lips. “Like a real princess.”
That seemed to ease out whatever tension that had been in the room, Ino letting out a “Better eat while it’s hot,” though neither Naruto nor Shikamaru were actually eager to look down at their bowls. Then he thanked them for the supper, which hadn't killed him, thankfully, and he was invited to come over whenever he wanted.
He'd try to skip out of dinner time, just in case.
- - - - - - - - -
The third interesting person he came across was Sakura’s husband (which did not make Naruto weep, thank you very much) Lee. He worked in the field each day, a farmer who was a goofy and dedicated to his work.
And he treated Sakura like she was made of glass when Naruto totally knew by now that she could break your arm whenever it pleased her. And Lee made her smile a lot when he was around, and her voice was desperate but grateful at the same time.
So yeah, he had Naruto's approval. Not all hundred points because seriously, the eyebrows were minus at least 20 points.
- - - - - - - - -
The fourth, fifth and sixth person he met in this still anonymous village were Kiba, Hinata and Neji. It started as a complete accident, going on his way to hunt something to bring Ino for dinner when he had bumped into Hinata. He hadn't been looking where he was going, and the fruits she had in her basket were sprawled on the floor. He immediately bent down to help her collect them, and she cried out when she looked up at him. It made Naruto wince, wanting to curse his stupid cheek scars when her face turned completely red and shefainted. Right there, in the middle of the street.
Of course, Naruto panicked right there. He was pretty sure he hadn't unconsciously murmured a spell to knock her out and he had never seen anyone fainting in fear just from looking at him. Then Kiba came into the picture, knees bent on the ground as he looked at Hinata, and he was ready to kick the day light out of Naruto when Neji decided to announce his glorious self by simply taking Hinata himself in his arms and walking out of the scene. Kiba went from utterly furious to completely bewildered in a second and turned toward Naruto. “Dude, that’s my wife.”
Naruto was struggling between saying “Better luck next time,” and shrugging his shoulders, so he settled by giving the guy the basket full of food. The guy looked down at the basket, his lips still turned down and surprisingly, he seemed to be well… whining. Not like a girl but like a dog.
Being able to transform into a fox himself, Naruto kind of felt for the guy. “Wanna go drink ale?”
The guy looked up at him, maybe surprised by his bluntness because his face was a mix of confusion and well, have-you-gone-crazy kind of a look though it lasted only five seconds. “Sure, why the bloody hell not.”
And Naruto was half way drunk before he finally understood that the long haired guy that had no pupils was not an incestuous big brother but Kiba’s wife's cousin, who had a protective side. Which Kiba hated with passion.
Naruto still thought that the situation was weird but he preferred to keep his mouth shut about the incestuous jokes. Kiba’s nails were practically digging into the wood table and he wasn’t ready to risk them slashing into his pretty skin.
- - - - - - - - - -
The seventh person he met was Chouji. He was kinda impressive to look at, big boned and everything, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.
And he also sympathized with Shikamaru because hell, a woman who couldn’t cook for shit? No way could he have survived. Shikamaru had shrugged and said, “Well, you get used to eating little,” and that was when Ino entered the kitchen.
Naruto thought he had heard something like “I’ll see you get little in another field of life,” but he wasn’t sure. Chouji and Naruto, both being brave guys, gulped down the rest of their own soup.
- - - - - - - - -
A week later, all his bandages were removed and his jaw had a scar, but he would survive. He was a guy, real scary scars made him tastier for girls.
Or so he had heard. Naruto would just have to test the theory out.
Sakura had told him he wasn’t supposed to leave the village until one of the village chiefs had returned. He had nodded, though now he'd realized that he had nowhere to sleep and well, he still didn’t know the village's name.
Sakura had raised an eyebrow at his second question before letting out a small laugh. “I guess I could let you stay at my house for a while.” And that was that.
Of course, he had to work for the village at the very least. So she had told him to go to the village counsellor, who had assigned him as a night guard.
And guess who turned out to be Naruto’s lucky partner.
- - - - - - - -
The other boy was silent but refused to make contact with Naruto. It irritated him, wanting to snort each time he looked at the white skinned young man, but he managed to restrain himself.
And the job was boring. So goddamned boring.
Listening to the crickets’ chirps for a minute or two. Fine.
For nearly two hours already, it made him want to eat them so that they could shut it. Or just magic them far, far away.
So it was in a boring silence that Naruto continued to listen to the goddamn crickets while the antisocial asshole beside him remained as straight as a tree. In other words, Naruto was having anamazing night.
When the sun finally showed its marvellous rays their watch was finally over. The other boy finally decided to move, uncrossing his arms and without saying a single word to Naruto, went down the city street, leaving Naruto alone at the gates.
“And thank you for the wonderful night!” he cried at the other boy’s back, anger boiling in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if he had heard the bastard snort but wisely let it go. He was damn tired and hopefully, Sakura’s cooking wasn’t going to be as shitty as Ino’s.
- - - - - -
Sakura’s cooking wasn’t exactly good, but it was edible which was a positive start. They talked a bit about how his day went, and how he was such a lazy ass for sleeping all afternoon long. When he was ready to go to work again, she gave him a backpack, and Naruto accepted it without a word.
When Naruto finally arrived at the gate, Sasuke was staring at him from the corner of his eyes. “You’re late.”
He didn’t exactly sound annoyed, but the tone was clearly disapproving Naruto’s lateness. Naruto huffed in irritation. Figure the first thing the guy had to say to him was going to be an insult. “I’ll be as long as I want.”
“No you won’t,” The boy replied, his black eyes glaring daggers at him. “It’s your job to be here at 8 o’clock. Not 8:10.”
For some reason (probably the fact that the asshole had attacked him, kidnapped him, made him starve and insulted him twice already) Naruto really wanted to throttle the other boy. Maybe it was because the other boy sounded so smug and addressed him like he was a five year old.
Either way, Naruto’s hands were twitching to go near that pale skin and make some pretty color shows on the skin. Purple would do just fine.
So he calmed himself down by thinking about Sakura’s warm eyes, Ayumi’s brilliant smile, Kiba’s cracked up jokes, Shikamaru’s peaceful expression…
And it worked, but not to the point he was actually ready to let the whole matter go. So he shrugged off his backpack and looked inside. A book and a green apple.
He immediately took a bite of the green apple and looked at the book cover.
“Inventions of the twentieth century,” Naruto read out loud, flipping it open. He was about to read something about “cars” when the book was abruptly snatched away from him. The still unnamed boy was glaring down at him, eyes suddenly frightened for a second before he approached Naruto with his full height, menacingly. “Where did you get that?”
Naruto eyes narrowed, an undignified cry coming out of his mouth. “Who do you think you are!? And I did not steal that book, a friend lent it to me, so give it back. Now!”
“Who exactly lent that to you?” the boy asked, his words spiteful.
“That,” Naruto replied, practically growling as he also put his two hands on the book, pulling it toward him. “is none of your business. Let go.”
They were playing a war of tug, Naruto pulling on the cover and half of the pages while the asshole took the other half, when the book snapped and the pages went in different direction all at once.
Naruto froze, feeling anger and guilt build inside him. Sakura had been generous enough to lend him something so that he wouldn’t die of boredom, and he had to go and tear it. Wait.
No. The complete bastard had gone and torn it. “You tore it!”
The other boy didn't say anything, had not bent down to help Naruto collect the pages that had not been swept away into the forest. “It was your fault from the start.”
The accusation was so entirely false that it made him drop the pages in his arms and he turned around, stomping his way to the boy. “What the fuck is your problem!? You were the one who stole it from me and wouldn’t give it up. You tore the book. Not me!”
The boy seemed to contemplate him for a second. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what exactly did you mean?” Naruto said, rage still clearly present on his face.
“That you are intruding, that you are not wanted here, and that you are complicating things,” the boy said, pronouncing the words with such conviction that Naruto’s heart skipped a beat. “That I want you far away from our village.”
Naruto was supposed to be immune by now; those words shouldn’t have hurt as much as they did. But his expression probably betrayed his emotions as the other boy somehow looked taken aback for a second before settling his gaze on the ground beside them.
Naruto gulped, turned his heel on the ground and went as far away as he could from the boy.
Frustratingly, the sun's rays did not warm him this morning and the gaze he could feel on his back as he walked back to Sakura’s house was all but comfortable.
- - - - - - - - -
Naruto guiltily explained the situation and yes, he got a punch on the head for being irresponsible but that was all.
“Who is he anyway?” Naruto asked, pouting as he rubbed his abused head. Sakura looked hesitant but replied “Uchiha Sasuke,” over her shoulder as she made her way back into the kitchen.
He looked at Lee for a better explanation but the other boy seemed a bit uncertain. So he decided to go get a drink and to well, take Kiba with him.
- - - - - - - - -
“Uchiha Sasuke?” Kiba asked, drinking his ale in one gulp before asking the barman for more. “He’s such a pompous asshole.”
Kiba’s confirmation about the bastard made Naruto want to hug him. “You think so too? Imagine, I’m stuck doing guard duty the whole night with him.”
Kiba snorted beside him. “I know what you mean, I was his partner a couple of years ago. Nearly drove me insane just…standing there looking at nothing. Made Shikamaru swap shifts with me.”
“Lucky,” Naruto replied, gulping down the rest of his drink.
“But…” Kiba voice suddenly seemed a bit more forlorn and distant, “he’s still Uchiha Sasuke.”
“Gathered all that information and shit,” Kiba continued, a frown on his face. “They say he’s a genius who’s going to be a great help in the future.”
The sentence didn't give Naruto any special realizations.. And he was pretty much ready to point that out to Kiba when he saw the guy's forehead pressed against the wooden table, apparently sleeping.
‘Perfect, ’ Naruto thought, seeing the barman appearing suddenly at their seats because of course, they weren't going anywhere before they had paid for their drink. ‘Just wonderful.’
- - - - - - - - -
Secrets.
Apparently, the village was full of them. Shikamaru’s surprised expression had been all he needed to confirm his theory.
“And? Why is it that Sasuke’s a genius?” Naruto said, not liking the way his friend bit his lips nervously. Shikamaru was anything but an anxious guy.
“Who told you that?” Shikamaru asked, his tone a bit annoyed.
Naruto frowned, feeling a bit frustrated. “That’s not the point! I just want to know what’s the big deal with Sasuke!”
Shikamaru observed him closely, as if he weren’t sure if Naruto was foe or friend. It made Naruto’s heart clutch a bit.
It was the first time in a while that Naruto had felt like an outsider here.
Naruto gulped down whatever betrayal he felt. “Is it really such a big deal?”
His frustration reveal itself in his voice, his throat feeling dry. Shikamaru’s eyes seemed to softened for a second but he nodded.
When they arrived at Sakura’s house, they parted ways in silence.
- - - - - - -
Two days later, he was back at his guard duty post, ready to spend another terrible night. He had arrived late just to spite the Uchiha, but instantly noticed something weird. Magic was in the air and because he could identify from where exactly the energy was coming from, Uchiha Sasuke had assaulted him against the gate, his elbow directly on Naruto’s lung while his other hand went to cover his mouth. Minutes of struggling against the powerful something that had taken possession of Sasuke went quickly, and the lack of oxygen was unbearable.
It was the second time he lost consciousness in Sasuke’s presence.
- - - - - -
The second he woke up, he knew instinctively that wherever he was, water was surrounding him. In fact, his sensitive ears told him the source was about 3 meters away on his right side. He took the chance to open his eyes, his head throbbing as his night vision settled in. It was also when he finally noticed the other scent and turned his head toward it.
Sasuke was still up looking down at him with yellow eyes, his gaze hungry.
Naruto slowly lifted himself on his elbow, trying to judge how much energy he had left in his body and if he could actually outrun this demon. And he knew there was a certain spell to cast the demon out of Sasuke’s body, but he couldn’t remember it.
What a shitty situation for his mind to go blank.
His other option was to cast powerful spells at Sasuke but clearly feeling the other demon’s energy, it would end as a deadly fight. Not that he wasn’t eager to kick Uchiha’s butt but this was a completely different situation.
Anyway, the thing in front of him was not Sasuke. In Sasuke, but not Sasuke and if there was anything Naruto disliked more than anything, it was an unfair match.
So he had to remember the incantation. Quickly.
Not-Sasuke began to take small steps toward him and Naruto dragged his body backward, attempting to remember the words. It wasn’t very long but the words had been complicated ones. And he was pretty sure the incantation had began with an “I."
It wasn’t until he fell back two feet from his initial position that he really snapped out of his bubble and noticed that he was now in a river, his wet clothes now sticking to his skin.
The cold water made shivers run down his spine and before he could try to stand up, the possessed Sasuke jumped on him, making him disappear under the water completely, his back hitting the soft sand as his outstretched hands gripped Sasuke’s arms painfully, pulling.
The freezing water made his body twitch painfully but he managed to move his right leg and kick viciously at Sasuke's side. It made Sasuke’s body jump for a second and it was all Naruto needed for his right arm to move from Sasuke’s arm to his t-shirt, pulling on the front until Sasuke lost balance. Once they managed to emerge to the surface, water reaching mid-thigh, Naruto crawled back to the river side; half way out, something grabbed the length of his pants. Still trying to breathe correctly and gurgling out water from his lungs, Naruto couldn't find the energy to kick the hand away from him.
His mind still a bit fuzzy and his muscles still hurting from the cold, he did not notice the hand until he felt something almost warm settling at the length of his waistband. Naruto’s eyes almost bulged out, panic suddenly settling itself in his stomach. The demon’s method for absorbing magic... Fuck.
Just as he had gathered enough energy to shake away the hand retaining him, he felt another settling on the other side of his hip, tugging down the pants. He felt ready to throw up, his mind frantically trying to remember the incantation. Even if he managed to remember the spell to get the Not-Sasuke off him, he doubted he could summon the force required to cast it.
When a sharp tug brought his pants to his knees, Naruto’s right hand tried to tug them back on while the other supported his weight on the ground. He heard a sharp and icy laugh behind him. Sasuke’s calves went over Naruto’s legs, forcing him down while two cold hands pulled his buttcheeks apart.
That was it, Naruto thought, trembling in fear and because he was so damned cold; if there was any moment to remember the damn incantation it was now or never. He tried to pull himself away again, feeling desperation grip him.
Shock traveled through his entire back when a finger suddenly went inside his ass. His ass ring tried to push out the intruder, feeling all but comfortable about it. His right hand fell away from his pants to clutch the grass under him, his feet and legs still freezing in the water.
Naruto took a deep breath, attempting to blank his mind completely and focus. He could remember the brown book, him flipping the pages until he found the right one. There had been a stain at the corner of the page and the incantation had been toward the end.
He let out a small dry cry as Sasuke pushed another cold finger in, scissoring him quickly. It was hard to think when your entire body felt violated.
Stretch. Push. Out. In. Stretch. Add a third finger.
God, it was agonizing and when it touched something in him suddenly, Naruto let out a strangled “Nngggg” that he couldn’t control. His cock twitched at being touch there but it did not make anything better.
Then as he felt the three fingers being finally pulled out and heard Sasuke’s zipper being pulled down, his adrenaline exploded and he cried out “ITCHERA JUI”
And he knew instinctively that it had worked because the energy behind him dissolved and then Sasuke fell down onto his back, breathing hard. Naruto let his own arms fall down on his side, his left cheek on the grass as he tried to calm his poor heart. His stomach was still doing flip flop and he could see his arms still trembling beside him.
And God his legs, he couldn’t feel them anymore. “Get off,”
His murmur probably hadn’t reached Sasuke over his loud breathing, so he tried again. “Get off!”
Sasuke stilled above him before shakily moving away from Naruto. Naruto’s right hand immediately tugged up his pants, managing to cover most of his ass as he tried to get out of the water but he couldn’t find the energy to do so.
It nearly caused Naruto a heart attack as he felt hands under his armpits, moving him out of the water and settling him down on the grass. His wobbly hands went to zip up his pants, then his stomach did a 180 and he threw up on the grass beside him.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination but he thought he could feel a hand rubbing his back as his stomach emptied itself. He let his tongue pass over his teeth and spit out the bitter taste; his eyelids dropped because seriously, he needed the break.
As he felt a comforting hand rub his right arm, he slowly fell asleep right there on the grass, his body spent and his mind tired. Tired, because seriously, nobody could be 'at peace' after what he just went through.
- - - - - - -
He woke up in Sakura’s house, Lee's worried face over him. It took Naruto almost a minute before his vision cleared, and then something cool was pressed against his forehead. Sakura also came into view, looking down at him with worry. “Are you feeling pain anywhere?”
Naruto nodded, feeling his muscles stiffen when he tried to lift his arm. “My entire body hurts.”
She nodded, pulling herself out of his vision. Lee’s expression was still worried and Naruto wanted to do something to make him talk about insane things again because at least it would be normal.
And it would not feel like Naruto had almost been violated sexually by a demon in order to grab his power.
“Sasuke brought you here,” Lee said, his voice small but clear. “He was worried.”
Naruto felt his heart seize its rhythm for some unfathomable reason. “Yeah right.”
His murmur did not reach Lee’s ears but it was better that way. Anyway, his stomach was doing flip flops again and he wasn’t sure why. And he didn’t want to think on why.
So he smiled tiredly at Lee and went back to sleep.
- - - - - - -
Shikamaru visited him the day after, bringing him a plate full of fruits and a drawing Ayumi had made. They talked about anything but the incident and that was fine with Naruto.
“Shikamaru,” His voice croaky, feeling tired but their last conversation had been tormenting him for a while and he needed to know. “What’s Sasuke real job?”
It was uncomfortable how the silence suddenly filled the room. But Naruto being Naruto, he pressed the subject. “What’s your job? What’s Kiba’s? Chouji’s?”
Naruto wasn’t a fool. Beside Lee being a farmer, he had never seen anyone else gone to work. They never talked about it either. He challenged Shikamaru’s gaze and waited for an honest answer.
Then a big breasted woman entered the room and as soon as her gaze settled on him, he saw her brown eyes widen. He saw Shikamaru’s confused look but she quickly shook her head and stared fondly at him.
It made Naruto freak out. He was used to defiance, to hatred, to malice and to many other unpleasant things. But…
Not this.
It was even more uncomfortable than the other thing because he did not know how to react. “What’s your name?”
Her voice was quiet but firm. She moved to sit down in the chair beside his bed, her eyes mapping every detail of his face. “Uzumaki Naruto.”
He heard her take a deep breath, her eyes looking shocked and sad. God, he was pretty sure he had never met the woman in his entire life and she was actually feeling for him.
“Shikamaru, could you please leave the room for a moment please?” she asked, her eyes never leaving him. His friend looked down at him, and Naruto’s eyes pleaded to not leave him alone with her. She was really freaking him out and he was still pretty much defenceless at the moment, but Shikamaru went outside.
“I’m Tsunade,” she said, her hand coming to take away the cloth on his forehead, touching it. “You’ve still got a small fever but you should be alright by tomorrow.”
He nodded, not really knowing what to say. For her part, she looked like she was also struggling with something before finally looking down at the floor for a moment, then her gaze was on Naruto again. “Do you remember your parents?”
If there was any question he had never expected to come out of her mouth, this one was definitely at the top of the list. It actually took him a moment to answer because his mind was still trying to process the shocking words. “No.”
She nodded, not looking surprised at all. The silence was starting to get on his nerves and curiosity was eating him alive but he did not say anything. Then she sighed and a sad smile crocked up on her lips. “You want to know?”
It took him a moment but he decided that yes, it was always better to know than to not know. Desperate eyes looked back Tsunade. "Of course I do!"
His parents. He was going to finally know something about them even if all she had was their names.
It was more than enough for Naruto.
She nodded at his confirmation, approaching the chair. “Your mother was Uzumaki Kushina, a beautiful red haired woman who liked to play pranks, and who had a good heart,” she began, her voice warm as if she had known her personally. “She was one of the best rebels we had here.”
The revelation made his throat constrict. “And your father, Namikaze Minato, he was a fallen angel.”
That. The confirmation that his father had indeed been a fallen angel, that Naruto was really uniquely a half-demon.
“But,” she continued, her eyes softening as she looked down at him. “He hadn’t always been a fallen angel. He was a normal soldier, who had been ready to become a fallen angel under the orders of God, but who had fallen in love with your mother. You were born human Naruto, I know. I was the one who assisted your mother's pregnancy.”
So far, the conversation had felt like a blow to the head. He was listening but the words were easily overlooked, his mind somehow refused them but they also felt so right.
“So the fallen angels went after your family, but instead of fleeing danger, he tried to protect your mother, and died in the fight. They left you alive to remind him of his failure, of the fact that you’ll never be able to live with either humans or demons,” she continued, her hand coming to his left cheek and brushing a tear away from his eye. “To punish them and you.”
When he broke down, tears spilling over his cheeks and down his nose, he let her wipe them away.
- - - - - - - - - -
He woke up later, his mind still feeling a bit numb from the information he had been given, but at the same time, it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As soon as he cleared his head, he instantly picked up a new scent and stilled in his bed. A white-haired man was standing near the window, looking outside.
He turned, and put a small smile on his lips. “Feeling better?”
“Not really,” he replied, not exactly feeling threatened by the old man’s presence. The old man nodded and sat down in the chair Tsunade had been using earlier. “I’m Jiraiya, Tsunade’s husband.”
Naruto nodded. “Oh.”
Jiraiya smiled. “I heard you heard about your parents,” he began. “But I think you should have the right to know about our village's secret intentions. After all, it was your mother who suggested it.”
So it seemed Naruto was about to have an almost third heart attack in less than a week. “This village has been trying to restore technology but since the laws strictly forbid any kind of it, we were forced to build an underground laboratory and we are working on creating a satellite that could help the ozone layer to heal itself.”
“We all understand how vital and how risky it is to create such a thing and propel the satellite toward it but if we don’t, technology won’t be born again and people will continue to die because we don’t have enough resources on our hands. We understand the errors that were made by our predecessors but they also helped the population to evolve and live.”
Jiraiya gently ruffled his hair, and then stood up. “It was your mother’s dream.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
When he was finally up and about two days later, his muscles not feeling as stiff and his fever gone, he resumed his guard duty and brought his backpack with him that night. Sasuke was already there, but didn't say anything about Naruto being late. For twenty five minutes this time, a new record.
The silence was heavier but Naruto couldn’t stop his eyes from looking at Sasuke from time to time. And each time their gazes met, the both of them would turn their heads away. It made Naruto’s heart beat quickly and he rubbed his hands together, a nervous feeling settling inside his stomach.
Sasuke coughed, making Naruto look at him, but the black haired boy was looking directly ahead. “Are you feeling better?”
The image of that night went alive in Naruto’s mind for a second, especially after seeing a blush spread on Sasuke’s cheeks. It made Naruto blush too. “Yeah, sure.”
Naruto’s throat felt thirsty. He saw Sasuke nod and then the silence finally settled in again. Naruto’s heartbeat thumped loudly in his head and he was sure Sasuke could also hear it. Then Sasuke sighed and murmured something that Naruto could not catch.
It made Naruto inch a bit closer to him. “What?”
Sasuke looked up; his expression clearly annoyed before he repeated, but still not loud enough for Naruto to hear him. “Huh?”
“Are you deaf or just completely stupid!?” Sasuke suddenly shouted, making Naruto jump up. “I said I was sorry. There, don’t make me repeat it!”
If Naruto had been jumpy before this, it was nothing compared to now. He could feel his blood pulsing through him, his stomach flip flopping and his head completely emptying itself. And he was kind of happy too.
It was hard to stop his smile. And his lips only widened when Sasuke glanced at him, and looked away just as quickly, embarrassed for once.
Then the sun finally rose up in the sky, his skin feeling warm and his entire body still jumpy. Sasuke finally looked over at him again, a small smile plastered on his lips as he rolled his eyes at Naruto’s smile. “Idiot.”
And that was that.
- - - - - - - -
Surprisingly, the demon witch lived only six hours away from the village. He had imagined her like an old granny, her wrinkles so deep that Naruto wouldn’t have been able to see her eyes.
Instead, she had the appearance of a thirty year old woman, quite attractive at that too, her violet eyes hard and seductive. “What do you wish for?”
“I…” Naruto began, his right hand lifting itself on the scars on his cheek, caressing them.
“I want-“
- - - - - - -
The news spread everywhere on the planet.
The ozone layer has been restored to its initial form, as good as new. It was a miracle, something unrecorded.
No one but a small boy and a demon witch would ever know the truth and that was fine with Naruto. It was a bit harder to walk through the wood knowing he could no longer use spells to protect himself against wild animals. He made the six hours walk, the village finally coming into view.
As usual, Sasuke was at the gate. He looked alarmed as soon as Naruto came into view and Naruto’s stomach still made flip flops as he walked toward the boy.
“Who are you?” Sasuke asked, scanning Naruto up and down, his eyes not exactly glaring at Naruto but close to. But there was a strange glint in Sasuke’s eyes that gave Naruto hope.
“Me?” He asked, voice sounding amused, but he fought the urge to shake the other boy. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto!”
It didn't seem to impress Sasuke but, Naruto hadn’t expected otherwise. Naruto eyes were still fixed on Sasuke’s, trying to find a glint of recognition. There was none and Naruto was about to drop his gaze and just walk forward when Sasuke clenched his head painfully, turning his gaze away from Naruto and closing his eyes.
That was all it took for Naruto to realize that Sasuke was the exception the witch was talking about.
Naruto may no longer have his power, nor could anyone in this world remember who he was, but as she had said, maybe there would be an exception to the rule. They always happen.
And his suspicion was only confirmed when Sasuke's hands fell away from his head, and Sasuke blinked, as if waking up from a trance. The first thing he said was, "You're late."
Naruto never thought he’d be so happy to hear Sasuke say that.