Live on
As the host, Naruto could
not ever resist the demon's stronger urges. Strongest of all is the will to
survive. And so Naruto will do anything, anything at all to keep going. Whatever it takes, no matter the cost, so that he can live on.
Dark One-shot
It started when he was
young, when the villagers still occasionally got away with their attempts on
his life.
Naruto hated those stupid
people, always calling him a demon, when all he did was pull a few harmless
pranks. Granted, painting the Hokage monument may have been a tad
disrespectful, but if the ninja didn't mind, why would the villagers?
Naruto wanted to hit them
back, to stand up for himself, even though he had no chance. But he couldn't.
He could never stand up against them. Once it became clear that he was in
trouble, his body no longer responded to his own commands, except those that
took him farther away from the danger. Farther and faster and
higher and safer.
Naruto could never confront
the villagers, because the other wouldn't let him. And so he had to live
with it for his entire childhood.
Coward.
Chicken.
Scared
little boy.
And he couldn't deny the,
just as he couldn't deny the overwhelming urge to flee from every danger.
It wasn't until the day of
graduation that he was even aware of another option. He failed the test, of
course, since he hadn't paid a whit of attention during the schoolyear, and he
failed the practical because the bunshin was his worst jutsu.
So of course he took Mizuki
up on his offer. That night, he stole the scroll, using his super-effective
Sexy no Jutsu on the old man Hokage to get away, and waited out in the forest
for Mizuki to arrive.
While he waited, he taught
himself the Kage Bunshin. A technique similar to the bunshin,
but for some reason, much easier.
Then things got a little
complicated.
Mizuki showed up and asked
for the scroll, but as soon as he did, Iruka arrived and warned him not to. Stunned,
Naruto wasn't sure what to do.
Mizuki attacked Iruka,
disabling him with a single hit from an oversized shuriken, and then turned to
Naruto.
The blonde child waited for
the familiar racing of his pulse. It did not disappoint him. As always,
adrenaline rushed through his system, and his body shivered in anticipation. At
any time now, the irresistible urge would hit him like a lead hammer. The urge
to run away, as far and as fast as he could
But something was
different. His vision clouded over in a slight red haze. His fingers curled
into fists, and he heard a low growl emanate from his chest. Hatred suddenly
surged through him, invigorating, motivating. Naruto wanted to rip Mizuki to
shreds, to kill him in a thousand different ways.
The other seemed to
agree, and for the first time in his life, Naruto felt no fear. No need to run.
His muscles did not betray him when he formed the clones, his mind did not fog
with fear when he leapt to attack, and his body did not resist when he threw
the first punch.
Or the
second. Or the fifth. Or the thousandth.
Standing over the broken
body of Mizuki, his body slowly came down from its aggressive high, his muscles
trembling with the gradual release of tension.
Naruto was only half-aware
when Iruka promoted him to genin. The other half was dancing for joy, that he had not run away this time. For the first time
ever, Naruto had stood and fought.
When Zabuza attacked, Naruto's
heart raced into overdrive. The familiar pulse of the other flowed
through him. Each beat of his heart spoke to him
Run. Run. Run. Run.
As Kakashi fought Zabuza,
the fear only increased. Clearly this man was far beyond Naruto's abilities. He
was a threat. A danger. He could kill us.
Unaware of his slip, Naruto
took a step back. And another. Soon he was several
feet behind Tazuna, Sasuke and Sakura. His ever-increasing heart rate
frantically shouted at him.
Run. Run. Run. Run.
Then Zabuza captured Kakashi,
and summoned his water clones. The clones promptly began to stalk towards the
genin and their ward, while Kakashi yelled for them to run away. The voice from
within agreed only to quickly.
Run. Run. Runrunrunrunrunrunrunrun!
Naruto turned to run, but
was stopped when a hand landed on his shoulder. Ripping away, Naruto saw Sasuke
looking at him with his usual contempt. “Running away, dobe? We can do
this.”
Then the Uchiha's eyes
widened in terror, looking straight into Naruto's eyes.
Naruto was unaware of
Sasuke anymore. It's too late. The clones are too close. I can't out run
them and they're going to kill us and there's no way I can escape from them and
so we have to fight them and KILL THEM AND SHOW THEM THE TRUE POWER OF-
Red fury exploded from Naruto
like it was real energy, making everyone in the area trip on their own feet.
Unable to run, the other
was forced to fight. And so he lent Naruto his strength, his anger, his
indomitable will to LIVE.
And Naruto did not
disappoint.
It was long after the
strange hunter-nin took the body away before Naruto could calm down. And it was
longer after that before Naruto could stop the twitching of his muscles, still
pulsing with the rage and fear of the other.
It was at the bridge that
Naruto first felt the true power of the other, who had always remained
nameless. The true, irresistible force of its will to live
on, in spite of all other obligations.
Naruto had to protect
Tazuna. He was prepared to give his life in defense of the old man. This was a
mission. But when Haku aimed the needles at him, the other took over. Naruto
found himself dodging before he had even decided what to do.
Fortunately, the senbon
barely missed the old man, but the implications were obvious. Naruto stared
down at his own body, which had betrayed him into moving away from his duty. But
the other would not hand over control now. Even though Naruto controlled
his body, the reflexes and the primal urge to FLEE made him shake and fall to
his knees.
But the boy Haku was fast,
and it soon became clear that Naruto could not escape. No matter where he ran,
the boy followed. No matter how fast he sprinted, the boy was in front of him,
needles at the ready.
The other's patience
ran out, and he changed his plans. Running won't work, so the other option is
to kill.
Instantly, all of Naruto's
anxious energy was redirected into hatred and violence. Haku was almost caught
in a furious flurry of fists and feet, as Naruto responded to the siren's call
to battle.
When the needles flew at
his face, to fast to be avoided, the other knocked them away. This was
serious. This was real. This was over.
Not even trying to resist,
Naruto lunged to attack, claws fully extended in preparation. So focused was
he, that he never stopped, then or later, to think about where the claws had
come from.
But Haku was smart. Ninja
always had to complete their objectives, and so the best way to stay safe was
to hide behind the old man.
Quickly grabbing him to use
as a shield, Haku smirked underneath his mask. Now he would have time to make a
plan, and to
Naruto shredded right
through Tazuna and Haku in a single slash of his red claws. Both of them fell
to the ground, bleeding from massive wounds to their sides and stomachs. Both
of them soon crossed over to the other side.
But although,
intellectually, Naruto knew this was in violation of his mission, he could not
feel any remorse. Any regret. He couldn't make himself care about the loss of
the old bridge builder. The only thing he could feel was the incredible joy of
being ALIVE. The wonderful ability to live on. And on. And on.
In the valley of the end,
Sasuke knew just how it would end.
Naruto would aim to kill,
but back off at the last second. Probably aim for the hitai-ate, to make a scratch
there and prove Sasuke wrong. The Uchiha smiled. That would be his chance to
finish of the dobe once and for all.
But it didn't happen that
way. Sasuke was right, though he wouldn't have known it, right up to the point
where Naruto decided to back off, only to find that he couldn't. Sasuke might
kill him. Naruto might die.
In a flash of realization,
Naruto forgot about his mission. Forgot about his promise to
Sakura-chan. Forgot about his team. Forgot about his
duty.
As he flew through the air,
Rasengan outstretched, Naruto snarled and aimed for the heart.
He had to make sure that
Sasuke was down, to ensure his own safety. He had to save himself. He had to live
on.
It was not long after that
Naruto was taken out of active duty as a ninja, and given more menial tasks
around the village. Few and far between were his missions outside the walls of
Konoha. He just wasn't reliable. At any given moment, he would drop anything
and everything in order to survive. He wouldn't give his life for the village.
Hell, he wouldn't even risk it for the village. He was not a true
shinobi.
And when his list of
treacheries grew too long, leaving his teammates behind to die on his last
mission outside, in order to save his own skin, he was scheduled for
assassination.
But Naruto had a strong
will to live. The other, who Naruto never learned more about, had a
strong will to live. And so when Konoha turned against him, a threat from which
Naruto could not run...
Naruto ensured that, no
matter what, he would live on.
And that's it for now. If
you're wondering, Naruto does not know about the Kyuubi because Mizuki didn't
tell him, and every time he uses the demon's chakra, he's too focused on living
to notice much else. Or that's my excuse, anyway.
Let me know what you think,
okay?
-demonicnargles