Demon's Hold

NOTE: I apologise to all my readers. I completely forgot that I was also posting this story here as well as in FF.net. It was thanks to a review I just received that reminded me of this.

Again, I apologise for my forgetfulness.

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Title: Demon’s Hold

Summary: Everything was perfect. Misunderstanding and conflict had become nonexistent within the village hidden in the Leaves. But little did the villagers know that everything came with a price...

Warnings: OOC Yaoi Death

Pairings: KyuuNaru

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, if it is, then you’ll be seeing a lot of ItaNaru action in a whole new level. XP

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Chapter 4 – My Curse, My Freedom

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Pain, suffering, and loneliness.

I had been subjected to these for as long as I could remember.

I never knew the love and sense of security brought by a family. I never knew the joy and comfort brought by friends.

For years I tried my best to stop the pain. I wanted my suffering to cease and my loneliness to fade away but to no avail.

Why did I keep on trying?

Why did I even bother, knowing full well that nothing would change?

I kept on asking myself that daily and never found an answer up until now.

Were all my efforts in vain? Why couldn’t I let go of the thin string connected to my dream?

Why couldn’t I stop myself from clinging to hopeless dreams and ambitions to become strong, to become better, and to be accepted?

Every time I left the safety of my apartment, I risked loosing myself to the mask I created to face the outside world.

Every time I convinced myself that my life would get better, I risked damaging myself to false hopes and beliefs.

I wanted it to stop… I needed to stop before I destroyed myself completely.

But my mask wouldn’t cease.

Year after year, the mask slowly dominated over my real self. It kept on facing the pain head on without hesitation, not caring that this would drive me to oblivion.

The mask that was supposed to act as a shield became a double-edged sword.

If it moved correctly, I was safe. But if it made a mistake, I got hurt. It became a never-ending cycle of relief and pain.

But now, after all those years, something disturbed that cycle.

And that disruption was the nine-tailed Kyuubi himself, who was now free from the seal that bound him to my body and soul.

The nine-tailed fox wanted the demise of Konoha. He wanted my home to suffer greatly for sealing him inside a human, but I wanted none of it.

So we made a deal.

In exchange of Konoha’s safety, I was to give him my life, but being the cunning fox that he was, he added a little twist.

Kyuubi promised to bless Konoha, to protect it from misfortune and from whatever danger that might befall it in exchange of my entire self.

I was to offer myself to him willingly for him to do as he pleased, my mind, my body, and my soul for the deal to take effect.

And that would last until my death.

The deal scared me at first but I managed to accept it.

Kyuubi had already agreed to spare Konoha from his wrath in exchange of my life; him blessing Konoha was an added bonus.

The additional payment didn’t bother me. I had already lost everything the night Kyuubi was sealed inside me.

So every time he ‘took’ my body, he drained me of my life essences little by little with a bite.

Slowly, but surely, I was dying. And for the first time in my life I was happy.

I was happy that my early death was assured my Kyuubi.

Kyuubi, who was the reason of all my suffering and pain, was setting me free.

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I lay quietly on my bed as I stared at my aged ceiling, mindlessly counting the cracks and stains that adorned it.

Three days...It has been three days since my ‘paying session’ with Kyuubi that night.

The process of extracting my life essences had always rendered me unable to move and overly exhausted for two days while the process itself was relatively painless.

One more... I only had one more session with Kyuubi before I was finally set free.

Just one more and I no longer had to face the pain that I had endured for over twelve years.

Although it was kind of ironic that the day of my last ‘payment’ laid on the very same day it had all started.

October 10, the day that Kyuubi appeared in Konoha, the day that the Yondaime Hokage died saving the village... and it was also the day I was born and had Kyuubi sealed inside my body, sealing my fate before my life had even started.

The reason of Kyuubi’s appearance in Konoha was never known. The village had immediately assumed that he was a rampaging demon that was looking for something to destroy.

When I asked Kyuubi myself, I was surprised that he was willing to answer my question.

Kyuubi, as unbelievable as it would sound, was actually a spirit guardian, not a demon. He had watched over the land of fire, his main element, for over thousands of years.

All the Bijuu in existence were guardians that watched over a certain element or location. Like the Ichibi in Suna, the Nibi in the country of water, and the Sanbi in huge bodies of water.

Kyuubi, like all the other guardians, never attacked without a reason. A disruption in the balance of the land of fire, more specifically in Konoha, had caused him to move.

It was his duty as a guardian to maintain the balance of nature and remove whatever force that tilted it.

And in Konoha’s case, the tilt was caused by none other that Orochimaru, the snake Sannin, who had been experimenting on human lives for his quest of immortality.

Orochimaru was Kyuubi’s target from the very beginning. He had planned to kill the snake, devour his tainted soul, and then go back to his resting place.

What Kyuubi didn’t expect was when a human spotted him, the said human began screaming ‘demon’ and alerted all his/her comrades of Kyuubi’s presence.

Apparently, no one knew of Kyuubi’s position as a guardian, and this pissed him off to no end. He was enraged that no one was taught of their existence.

Then again, it was also Kyuubi’s fault for deciding to looking for his target in hi original fox form.

I snickered. I remembered Kyuubi’s expression when I pointed that out. When he was unable to keep his blush from surfacing, I laughed outright at him, complete with pointing fingers and teary eyes while clutching my stomach from laughing too much.

Although what happened afterwards taught me to never laugh at him again.

I was laughing so hard at that time that I didn’t notice the mischievous glint in his eyes.

He pounced at me without warning and had his way with me, leaving me with a sore bottom and a damaged ego that day. So I resorted to laughing at him mentally instead.

That ‘make-out session’ didn’t involve a bite. He only bit me during extraction and he would always inform me when he would do it.

Kyuubi was a kind and caring creature. He showed me that every night.

He would always hold me in a strong but gentle embrace, with my face leaning on his muscular chest. He wouldn’t move until I was awake and greeted me every morning with comforting words and a kiss.

I sighed.

“Is there something wrong little one?” a voice suddenly spoke, startling me.

I sat up as quickly as I could and stared at Kyuubi, who was staring at me in the eye with concern.

I sighed again.

“Nothing... there’s nothing wrong, Kyuubi.”

The fox guardian made his way next to me. He sat on the bed, leaning on the bed post, and motioned me to come closer.

I obeyed without hesitation. I crawled and made myself comfortable next to him while he wrapped his strong arms around me.

Laying my head on his shoulder, I inhaled his scent and let his warmth surround me.

Kyuubi’s touch... was a mystery. His hands always left a tingling sensation on my skin, his breath sent pleasurable shivers down my spine and his gentle caresses made me want more.

I wanted him to touch me. I wanted him to hold me. I wanted him to stay by my side and to never leave me alone.

It was completely unexpected. These feelings I developed towards him were foreign to me so I had no idea how to act.

Whenever Kyuubi was close to me I got nervous. Whenever he was outside my apartment and I had no idea where he was I got worried. Whenever Kyuubi got back from his occasional strolls, I felt relief.

It was strange. I kept on thinking of nothing else but Kyuubi these past few days and the thought didn’t bother me one bit.

Were my feelings normal? Had others experienced what I had with other people?

I would never know...

“How are you feeling little one?” Kyuubi asked while rubbing my back in a circular motion.

“I’m fine.” I answered, unable to hold down a smile.

Kyuubi’s concern towards me was heartwarming. The sound of his voice was pleasant and I loved hearing him speak.

“I have to go.” I told him. I tried to push myself out of his grasp but he would not release his hold on me.

“You are extremely weak right now.” He reasoned out. “I don’t want you going out in such a vulnerable state.”

I shook my head in response, burying my face on his clothed chest.

“I’ll be fine Kyuubi. This will be my last walk in Konoha. After that I’ll stay here until the extraction. I just want to see it one last time…”

I wondered if Kyuubi would accept my reasoning. I only have less than a week left before the extraction, three days more specifically. I know that I had seen Konoha numerous times, all of my life even, but still, I wanted to see it one more time.

Kyuubi gave out a sigh and I felt his hold on me loosen. I pushed myself back a little and looked at Kyuubi in the eyes while he did the same.

“Alright. But I expect you to be back here by nightfall.”

A smile, a true smile graced my lips as hugged Kyuubi gratefully, tightening it as I could in my weak state.

“Thank you... Thank you so much.” With that, I got up, got dressed, and left the house after giving Kyuubi another grateful smile.

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I was wondering around Konoha and I could immediately see that something was different.

Konoha was... quiet. Not empty but quiet.

I wasn’t making any eye contact with anyone, but I could sense that the villagers, who stopped in their tracks, were looking at me.

It was strange... why were they looking at me? Shouldn’t they ignore my mere presence and continue on with their lives as if I wasn’t there?

I was scared. Were they planning something? If so then what was it? Would it involve me or is it about me?

Unable to take the stares anymore, I quickly ran towards the Hokage monument, it being my quiet spot for so long and my vintage point of Konoha.

In only a few minutes, I reached my destination. I was winded panting from all the running and was surprised that I was still able to run while in my condition.

I took my time taking deep breaths and normalizing my breathing and heart rate. From above the Hokage monument, I had a clear view of the village below.

Its streets being filled with people and activity was a sight to see. It being surrounded with thick lush forests was a sight to behold.

The sky was filled with a pinkish orange hue as the sun was beginning to set. The cool early evening breeze was a welcomed sensation for my heated skin.

Konoha was simply beautiful and amazing. It was my home and I would never stop loving it even when it caused me great grief.

I was brought out of my musings when I sensed numerous individuals approaching my location.

Judging by their chakra signature, I knew all of them, from all the members of the rookie nine to the Jounin teachers, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Iruka.

I smiled. I was glad that I would be able to see them one last time even though they had done little to nothing to help me from my pain.

When they had finally arrived, I turned around and saw that it was indeed them.

“It’s been a while, Tsunade-obaa-chan.” I greeted and frowned when all of the people present were giving me pitying looks.

‘What’s wrong with them? Why are they looking at me like that?’

“Naruto, what happened to you? Why do you look like that?” Tsunade asked while the others remained silent.

I didn’t bother responding. I was fully aware of my appearance. I had completely lost my tanned complexion and the brightness of my eyes diminished greatly. My body was really thin and fragile looking that a breeze might just blew me away.

“What the hell happened to you man!-?” Kiba exclaimed. “Does this have anything to do with Kyuubi doing things to you!-?”

I frowned. What did he mean about that?

“We know what Kyuubi has been doing to you Naruto.” Tsunade stated as if knowing what I was asking.

“What do you mean?” I asked feigning innocence.

“We had just found out that Kyuubi was the one blessing Konoha, and that you had something to do with it.” Jiraiya, this time, answered.

Tsunade was slowly making her way towards me and I watched her wearily. I was shocked that they knew about Kyuubi’s blessing and was scared of what they planned to do to me.

Would they kill me? Would they lock me up or seal me somewhere in this village? But the way they look at me said otherwise but still, it wasn’t enough to reassure me of their intentions.

“What do you want?” I asked with a harsh voice while staring at the approaching Hokage, unable to hide the fear that was running through me.

“We’re not going to do any harm to you Naruto.” She answered, stepping closer. “I just want to make sure that you are healthy and well.”

“I’m just fine!” I shouted, getting more scared and nervous by the second. “You don’t have to get near me so stay away!”

The outburst made Tsunade stop. A helpless look in her eyes made me regret what I shouted but I stood firm.

“Please Naruto. I just want to know what Kyuubi is doing to you. I don’t want you getting harmed in anyway just for this village.” She pleaded, tears clouding her vision for a bit.

“What are you talking about? Kyuubi is sealed inside me so there is no way that he could hurt me.”

“You’re lying!” This time it was Sakura who shouted, shocking the hell out of me. What the heck was wrong with them? Why were they acting like this?

“We know full well that that demon is outside that seal on your body and is using you like a play thing!”

I was enraged. How dared she call Kyuubi a demon!-?

“Kyuubi is not a demon.” I stated harshly, earning me confused looks from the others.

“What do you mean? Kyuubi is a demon and it attacked Konoha for no reason.” Sasuke answered.

“Kyuubi is not a demon! He never was and never will! He did have a reason for coming to Konoha and you never bothered trying to know what it was!”

“Naruto... please calm down.” Tsunade reasoned out.

“Shut up! You’re all the same! You always jump to conclusions and never bothered to know the truth! Kyuubi came here for a reason and that was not to attack Konoha! He came here for-”

All of a sudden my vision began to blur. The world before me began to spin uncontrollably and I was vaguely aware of the scared voices calling out to me.

I had completely disregarded my weakened state due to anger. I was about to fall to the ground when someone caught my fall.

The spinning had made me dizzy and nauseous; making me shut my eyes tight. I opened my eyelids moments later and saw Tsunade’s worried gaze on me along with the others.

“Naruto! Are you alright? Naruto!”

Unable to keep myself awake any longer, I let myself fall into the welcoming embrace of unconsciousness.

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