Author: Bleeding Star Goddess
Chapter: 1/?
Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto, Kyuubi/Naruto
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
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Chapter 01: Hiding in the Shadows
He grunted with each harrowing step through the forest. The chirps and growls of distant birds and beasts drove further and further into his mind with irritation. He gritted his teeth, swallowing each cry of pain to hide away any weakness, even when only the animals could see him. He gripped his side tighter as he felt more and more blood fall to the forest floor as it spilt past his fingers.
He would not be weak. He would not die here. He would not be taken low by some pathetic hunter-nin. Those waste of kunai and jutsu now had their blood nourishing the soil.
He took a shallow breath and winced as the next step shot pain up his spine.
His perception kept getting fuzzier and hazier. His vision, which was already blurry, had longer intervals of darkness instead of sight expanding on his already long list of problems. Each trudging step became heavier and heavier. It was a struggle to lift his feet, clomps of dirt mixed with blood and tearing flesh fell from the bottom of his sandals as he dragged his body across the leaves and pine-needles that had trembled to the forest floor.
He didn't dare talk, years of his training was the only thing holding his tongue in place where he knew that any enemy could hear his labored breathing and loud footsteps miles away.
He would not die here, could not.
His vision blacked out and when it cleared, he felt pain in his cheek and a sharp stab sprawled along his spine. His level of sight had altered greatly at looking up at the canopy of trees down to the forest floor. He panted, clutching his side as more blood fell.
His limbs quivered as spasms reigned through his body as he tried to push himself to his feet. But with a painful grunt he merely fell back down to the floor. His eyelids grew heavy, and he was slowly feeling less and less pain. He prayed some animal would eat him so that he wouldn't have to suffer the shame of returning to those of his faction.
What an insult, the leader of all rogue ninjas dying in such a fashion: a chance strike of a sword from some fresh-out-of-training anbu, how annoying.
This was the last thing running through his mind before he closed his eyes and blacked out.
Hours passed and the scent of death overrode the ridges of the bark and the veins of the leaves. The forest floor merely soaked up the ribbons of Sasuke's life, adding it to the fertile mix of its own soil.
The scent of his blood - of death - attracted the scavengers ready for a hearty feast.
Crows and ravens, bears and raccoons gathered; sniffing the air as the temptation of fresh dead meat crept across their awareness.
But all of the advancing creatures stopped and backed away, their heads snapping up in alert and fear as they ran from the dead body. The birds cried in alarm, scattering from the trees while the bears grunted and ran quickly to much safer clearings. They did not chance a passing sorrow for the loss of the meal, too scared to linger any longer. The animals knew well their paws and their cries could be heard, but the one coming would recognize that they were departing from the feast.
He ran on all fours across the canopy, his claws leaving scorch marks upon the wary trees. The echoing cries of the animals flitted through his ears and he gave a fanged sneer as he neared closer and closer to the corpse. Silence fell like velvet over the clearing and he licked his bloody lips.
Silent feet landed atop a tree branch and burning red eyes gazed at the loathsome creature that dare tread in his home, and furthermore, to die in it. This would be the fifth one he had come across in two days. How lucky for this one he has already feasted upon the others.
He jumped down next to it, crouching down on all fours. His ears twitched in curiosity and his six tails swayed in irritation as he sniffed at it and snorted in amusement. Flipping the body over with his bloody claw he examined the skin that was pale like winter snow and he sniffed again curious at the smell of this one. It did not smell like the others he had eaten.
He slashed away the clothes, careful not to touch the skin beneath. He was curious about the creature that smelt like a demon yet was clearly human. He raised a curious brow and his ears flattened against his head before he knelt down and placed his ear on its chest. A faint fluttering "thu-thump-pu-dump-thump" beat resounded and he pulled away.
It was alive.
He sniffed the air once again and looked around, but those under his domain had evacuated leaving him the human-creature just as they had left him the others several miles away. But the scents of the other creatures' - the ones that looked like this one - were on the dying one's skin. He gazed at the naked body, the creature obviously male and an angry wound was on its side and he brought his face close to it.
He nibbled at the skin, scowling when he pulled away with the taste of poison on his tongue and he spat out the chunk of skin and muscle in his mouth. He licked a tongue along its chest, but tasted poison there as well and he spat to get it out of his mouth. He scrunched up his nose in distaste, grateful he had not dug into the feast like he had the other corpses. At the surmounting feeling of his displeasure and confusion, he felt a warm tingle travel up his spine, wrapping around his nerves and seeping into his skull to look out through his crimson eyes. His master had come to see what had irritated him.
He felt harsh hot breath with the scent of fire and burnt wood sting on the back of his neck, but he knew that if he were to turn his head, then he would see nothing around him beyond the sanctuary of his territory. He inhaled deeply, the thick illusion of the scent of smoke and fire burning his lungs. He leaned back on the heels of his feet, an idle claw coming up to scratch behind his ear. His thoughts were wrapped beneath the strength of his master's own dark deliberations as his master gazed out through his eyes at the corpse whilst his six tails wrapped around him like arms in a hellish embrace, now controlled by his master instead of his own will.
A deep chuckle rumbled and rattled around his skull and he sneezed, the smell of the poison that leaked from the blood mixing and strangling the demonic scent seeping through the pores of the pale skin. The desire to devour this one scurried away, swept by the flood of fire burning through his mind.
"He will cause trouble, this one," he heard his master chuckle.
He unfurled his tails from around his body and jumped over the near-dead human to examine the other scarred and battle-worn side and sniffed at the corpse again. He nudged it with his nose and sneezed again trying to get the stench of poison away.
"If this one dies here, his faction will come to look for him," irritation rapped against his mind and he flinched, covering his ears at his master's annoyance, not knowing it wasn't directed at him but rather the idea of someone coming into their territory.
He didn't bother asking what should be done for his master was already deciding the fate of this human. He too had smelt the scent of a demon lingering on this creature's skin. His ears perked and he looked back down at the body, seeing a shuddering breath shake the ribs and "rattle-shattle" the scraps of clothing left on his chest. His claws pawed the ground and he yipped as he started to bat at the dark hair, seeing if that would bring the human to awareness.
"Kit..." his master warned and he scrambled back, away from the body and moved to lie down on his stomach, now perfectly level with the nearly deceased human meat. "We shall take this one to the village, they will tend to him without asking any questions of loyalty."
He whined and put his claws over his ears, his tails flopping to the ground in dejection. Another chuckle rattled his mind and he pouted.
"You are disappointed you cannot play with it," it was not a question and he nodded, and he started whining again knowing that a creature smelling so heavily of a demon was to be left in the village by his sanctuary. "I will make it up to you later kit, we will deal with this first," his master soothed, and like the hot breath against the back of his neck, he felt deadly claws glide through his hair.
He yipped and leapt up and down before noticing again the "rattle-shattle" of the human's clothes and he got on all fours, crawling forward to examine.
He pulled out pointy stars that he recognized had been with the other humans, and longer pointy things shaped like certain leaves but were gray like the pointy stars. His master had never told him what they were, merely that he didn't need to know and that had been the end of the conversation. He blinked and red eyes flashed blue as he picked up a pale log no bigger than his forearm. At his sniff it snapped opened and seemed to lengthen while it got thinner in his hand. Before him was now an unfurled log with black scribbles across it. He sniffed it again and it glowed red, burned his hand.
He yipped once more before taking all of this for himself before picking up the naked body. A soft dying moan "rattle-shattled" his chest and he snickered as he took the creature over his shoulder and headed towards the town that he allowed to live so close to his sanctuary.
Eyes black like coal struggled to open, but the fast moving world made him dizzy and his mind dragged him down to oblivion once more... but not before the scent of fire and demon imprinted itself against his senses.