Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Darkness ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Children of Darkness

Author: Dying Dreams
Fandom: Naruto
Feedback: Feedback is always welcome!

Summary: Four years, Naruto's heart was broken by the one person he loved most when he tried to reveal a secret that should have made him happy.

Sasuke: You're to angsty you know that?
Dream: What's your point?
Sasuke: -Shrugs- I'm just saying. You know it's true.
Dream: So?
Sasuke: I hate you.
Dream: I know you do. What else is new?
Naruto: What's going on?
Dream: Nothing to worry about. n-n
Naruto: Are you guys fighting again?
Dream: What makes you think that?
Naruto: I dunno. It just sounds like you are.
Dream: Well, it's nothing to worry about. We're not fighting so everything is fine.
Naruto: Ok.
Sasuke: -Sneaks up on Naruto and drags him out of the room-
Dream: God I hope this means what I think it means. -Grabs her digital camcorder- Warnings, disclaimer, and chapter. Enjoy! -Follows Sasuke and Naruto-

Warnings: I'll say it once, and only once. OOC. Everywhere. Hate me, curse me, and burn me at the stake. I don't care what you have to say about how I do this because your opinion on that doesn't mean shit. So commenting on that will be kind of pointless ya know?

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never have, most likely never will.

Chapter 1

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“Welcome back,” Tsunade as three cloaked and hooded figures entered her office as she dismissed the present Shinobi.

A small pale hand grasped a tanned hand with one, and an olive skinned hand with the other. The group moved to the side, allowing the Shinobi to pass them on their way out.

“You're late you know,” Tsunade said.

One of the figures shrugged and pulled back its hood, blue black hair spilling down her back.

“The threat of a civil war held us back from returning sooner,” she said, her voice soft and melodic.

“Has it been settled?”

“It has,” she said, releasing the small hand to move towards the desk past the still exiting Shinobi. “It took longer than expected to reach a compromise, but it has been settled.”

Tsunade nodded. “And how is he?”

“Better,” she said, sitting in an empty chair.

“Good,” Tsunade said with another nod.

The dark skinned woman smiled and leaned back in the chair, waving a hand, motioning the other two forward.

“But you know,” she said quietly. “He's still not over it.”

“What?”

“Not completely anyways.”

“I see,” Tsunade said with a small sigh. “Close the door,” she said to the last remaining Shinobi.

“I can fix a broken mind,” she said, “but I cannot fix a broken heart.”

The Shinobi's eyes widened as he heard the comment about the broken heart. He closed the door firmly behind him.

“Is he talking again?”

“No,” she said softly. “He hasn't spoken since the day we left. The child has never heard his voice.”

Tsunade sighed heavily. “I thought this would happen.”

The woman shrugged. “Has he been told?”

“I've tried, Yukiko. I've tried. But the Uchiha refuses to hear anything to do with him.

Yukiko sighed and ran a hand through her dark hair. “Is this all even worth the trouble it's going to cause?”

Tsunade shrugged and didn't answer. “What's his name?”

“Taro. Taro, meet Tsunade.”

The child pulled back his hood, alluring azure eyes staring up at the busty amber eyed woman.

“Hello,” he said quietly as he released his otokasan's hand and came forward.

Tsunade smiled. “It's nice to meet you,” she said.

Taro nodded and climbed into Yukiko's lap, turning to watch the blond. “Is daddy going to get better?” he asked the blond woman.

“I hope so,” she said.

Taro knew that tone. He knew there was little hope of his otokasan ever getting better. Yukiko had explained it to him once, what a broken heart meant. His otokasan had withdrawn so far into himself that he didn't care what happened to him. He was like an empty shell, the way he moved. Taro hadn't heard his voice in the three and a half years he'd been alive. He was starting to think he never would.

He knew all he needed to know about why his otokasan never spoke. He knew that his otosan had broken otokasan's heart. He wanted to fix it, glue the pieces back together, but he didn't know how. He was a happy child though. At least he had his otokasan and Yukiko-obasan. He loved them both. They were all the family he'd ever need, because he would never forgive otosan for hurting otokasan. He had firmly told Yukiko one day that otosan was a bad person and he hated him. Yukiko had said nothing to rebuke him, she had let it slide. He knew she agreed. He had never met his otosan, and he hated the man. The hatred of a child could be a powerful thing.

“Does anyone else know?” Yukiko asked.

“No. No one other than Shizune, Jiraiya, Iruka and I know.”

Yukiko nodded. “Naruto, come sit down honey,” she said softly to the still standing figure.

He nodded and moved forward, taking the chair next to the brunette. He didn't remove the hood though, because if he did it would mean he was vulnerable again. He couldn't take that, and no one pressed him to pull it back.

Yukiko placed and hand on his arm, rubbing it gently with her thumb. “Will you say hello to baa-chan?” she asked softly.

The hooded head turned to her briefly before turning back, lowering it as Naruto looked at his hands folded in his lap.

“That's alright,” the olive skinned woman said softy, removing her hand. She looked at Tsunade and gave the Hokage a helpless shrug.

“I think,” Yukiko said, “that the only one who can fix him, is the one who broke him.”

Tsunade sighed again. “You may be right,” she said regretfully.

“But I doubt he'd even think to try. Who's to say he won't break him completely?” Yukiko said, looking at Tsunade.

Tsunade nodded in agreement. “He'll never be the same again.”

It was Yukiko's turn to nod her agreement. “The mask is down and the walls are up. I think the only reason he's still going on is for Taro. He doesn't want to leave him alone like he was. It would be more bearable for him, but he wants him to have a family, like he never had the chance to.”

Tsunade nodded again. “Maybe you're right,” she said sadly, her eyes lifting to the yawning child in Yukiko's arms.

Taro slumped in Yukiko's arms as sleep threatened to overtake him.

“I think he's tired,” Yukiko joked. “Is it ready?”

“Yes. Everything has been prepared for your arrival, except provisions.”

Yukiko nodded and wrapped her arms around Taro, turning the child around as she rose to her feet. Taro's small arms wrapped around her neck, his head in the crook of her neck. Tsunade pulled a set of keys from under a pile of scrolls on her desk and held them out.

Yukiko looked at Naruto. “Get them for me will you?”

The hooded blond nodded and stood up, reaching out to take the keys. His hand barely grazed Tsunade's as he took them, jerking back at the contact. Tsunade stared at him, lowering her hand slowly.

“He does that from time to time with everyone,” Yukiko said quietly. “Don't think too much about it. He's done it to Taro and I numerous times, and there's not much I can do about it.”

Tsunade sighed and nodded in understanding. As the two headed for the door, Yukiko paused and looked over her shoulder at the blond woman. “You can tell Iruka-san,” she said as Naruto opened the door.

Tsunade nodded as Yukiko turned back to follow him, the door shutting behind them. Yukiko felt Naruto slip the keys into one of her pockets as they headed down the tower. She already knew where the residence was. Naruto moved closer to her as they stepped outside. He would stay as close to her as he possibly could.

Periodically, his thoughts would wander back to the brunet he loved so much. He could never stop loving him, even if the Uchiha had broken his heart. He'd been four months along with Taro when he had tried telling the brunet about the child growing within him. But Sasuke had turned on him, called him a liar and a freak, that he was disgusting. The Uchiha had told him he never wanted to hear anything like that ever again, and he had left the crying blond.

Three days later, Yukiko had arrived as a dignitary for her village, preparing to arrange an alliance between Konohagakure and Taiyogakure. She had seen the broken blond through the doorway leading off to a room attached to the office. Tsunade had explained a few things, and Yukiko offered him a way out. She knew what it was like, maybe not personally, but she knew the pain of a broken heart. She'd seen it many times before. Naruto just happened to be a more extreme case. He'd taken it harder than anyone could have expected.

She had helped as best she could, but his heart would remain in its broken state, and it would never be the same. Nothing would be the same. Yukiko had tried, but there was little she could do for him anymore. The blond lived only for the sake of his son. He wouldn't leave the child alone, not any time soon anyways. He knew the day would come where he would no longer be able to bring himself to continue living, not even for his son. That day was far off, but it would surly come.

He didn't recognize the familiar voices that suddenly surrounded them. He jerked forward, fisting his hands in the back of Yukiko's cloak as the woman stopped walking, burying his face against her back. He heard a male voice speak his name questioningly, and he wondered how they had known.

“I'm sorry,” Yukiko said, “but he's not going to speak to you.”

“What? Why? Is something wrong with him?”

“That's a bit of an understatement,” Yukiko said, rolling her eyes. “I'll assume you're his friends so I'll say this once, and only once. He's pretty much lost all will to live.”

“What?” the brown haired man said, staring at her.

Yukiko sighed and shifted the child in her arms. “Do you know why he left here four years ago?”

“No,” he said, the group shaking their heads.

She felt Naruto nod against her back, telling her it was ok to tell them.

“Uchiha Sasuke broke his heart when he tried to tell him something important. He took it harder than Tsunade thought possible. Three days after the incident, I arrived from Taiyogakure with the intent to attempt to form alliance between my village and Konoha. I saw him, and I offered him a way out. Tsunade agreed, and he came with me. He hasn't said word since the day I met him.”

“But Sasuke said-” a pink haired woman started, interrupted by Yukiko.

“Don't you dare,” the woman growled. “Don't you dare tell me that the Uchiha played the innocent card and blamed the break-up on Naruto. The guilt lies with him. He tore Naruto's heart to pieces, and there are far too many pieces for even me to fix it. I've dealt with broken hearts before, but he's gone so far that the only reason he's even still alive, is for the sake of his son.

“His... son?” a blond woman said, looking from Yukiko to the child in her arms.

“That's right.” She felt him nod again, answering the unspoken question. “He was born... different.”

“What do you mean?”

“It's extremely rare, but he was born with a fully functional set of female reproductive organs, as well as male. He is still a male in all sense of it, but he just happens to have something extra. This gives him the ability to conceive a child, and when he tried to tell the Uchiha, the bastard turned on him. I don't know all that was said, only they do, but the damage was done and it was enough to do what it did to him.”

“So... is there no way to help him?”

“I'm not going to sugar coat it, but there's little to no hope of him ever being ok again. He's so far gone that I don't think there's much hope left. I already know that the day will come when he'll simply give up and let go. No it's not in the near future, but it will happen. Because like I said, he lives only for his son. Now if you'll excuse us, we must be going. The child is tired and I wish to put him to bed.”

The Shinobi nodded and moved aside as the olive skinned woman started forward, Naruto still clinging to her back like a scared child. She didn't mind, not if it made him feel safe. As they walked away from the blonds friends and started past villagers, she heard the comments they made. They knew Naruto was under that cloak.

“If you know what's good for you, you will hold your tongues.” They could hear the malice in her tone, her voice dripping with venom. The leader of her village may have wanted the alliance, but she despised its citizens. They were vile, disgusting creatures not even fit for carrion birds.

The comments stopped, but Yukiko did not relax. Enraged white eyes flickered from one side of the road to the other, watching them.

“Insult him again, and I will skin you alive,” she threatened. They knew damn well by the tone of her voice that woman would carry out that threat. She would do anything to protect the blond and his child.

She felt Naruto's grip tighten on her cloak, the fabric bunched in his tanned hands. He was pleading with her not to hurt them. She would never understand why the blond was so forgiving. These people had hated him since the day he was born, since the moment the demon fox was sealed within him, and it irked her. She wanted the blond to be happy. She had hoped that by taking him to Taiyogakure, he would be able to get over the Uchiha and move on. But it was not to be.

Naruto had given birth to his child, but he still refused to speak. He would get his message across with small gestures and the like, nothing extravagant, but enough for anyone to understand what he wanted. Sometimes it was like he could read minds. Yukiko and her husband would just be watching him when he'd suddenly nod, answering a question they couldn't bring themselves to ask. It was uncanny really, the way he did it, but it was his only way of communicating.

He feared that if he spoke, he would be vulnerable again. The mask he had worn for years was gone, but nearly impenetrable walls had replaced it. He would never allow himself to be hurt again. He was glad his son had taken everything he was told so well. He quickly understood what otokasan's gestures meant. He learned early enough that otokasan would most likely never speak verbally to him, so they had to rely on their last option, sign language. Yukiko had found someone who knew it, and the woman had readily taught them.

It was all he had really. The day he'd met Yukiko was the day it all finally spiraled downward. He had been more than happy to be able to leave Konoha. He wanted to get away from the source of his heartache, no matter the cost. They had agreed that Naruto would be going to Taiyogakure for a three year mission as some kind of diplomatic dignitary, something to do with the treaty. Tsunade played it off as him going to see if Taiyo really was suitable to sign a treaty with. The Hokage and the council had already agreed to the treaty, and the council was more than happy to send the demon child away.

But Naruto didn't care what the council thought, for he too was happy to leave this place. He didn't mind that the three years had turned into four. The longer he could be away, the easier it was to live for his child. He didn't have to think about the things that caused him pain. The people in Taiyogakure accepted him for who he was, few actually knew he was the vessel for the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and those that did treated him with kindness and respect. It wasn't easy, containing a demon and being hated for it at the same time. No they'd never understand how that felt, but knowing what he shared his body with didn't faze them. They treated him like the hero Yondaime Hokage meant for him to be.

The day Yukiko had told him they were going back to Konoha, he almost cried. Almost. He wouldn't allow himself to though. That was another weakness he could not allow himself to show. He could not cry. He could not allow himself to. He hid his emotions away from the world. The only ones who saw them were his son and Yukiko. No one else was allowed in past the walls he had made to protect himself.

He stopped when he felt Yukiko slow down and stopped walking herself.

“We're here,” she whispered softly, removing the arm around Taro's back and using it to gently draw the blond forward.

Naruto allowed himself to look up at the old style house before them. The entire yard was fenced off and gated. He watched as Yukiko pushed the gate open and stepped into the yard, holding it open for him as he followed. He heard the gate slam shut after Yukiko let it go, following the olive skinned woman up to the house.

Yukiko dug around in her pocket for a moment before pulling out the keys. She flicked through the few keys and held onto the one with a small piece of paper glue to it with the letter 'H' written on. She watched Naruto out of the corner of her eye as she pushed the key into the lock, twisting it. Hearing a click she pulled the key out and pushed the door open motioning for the hooded blond to go inside.

Stepping in behind him, she closed the door and watched him for a moment before heading up to the second floor to put the child to bed for the nap he was taking, leaving Naruto alone.

As soon as she was gone, Naruto moved into the sitting area and sat down on the long couch. His shoulders hunched forward as he leaned forward, hands grasped tightly in his lap. He finally allowed himself to think about the voices of his friends. Yukiko had told them in anger, and he had told her it was ok. He had expected to hear comments of disgust from them, but they didn't come. They had accepted it.

If he had allowed himself to, he would have cried back then, but then the walls would be down and he would be vulnerable again. All he could do was cling to Yukiko in fear of what would happen if he allowed them to see him.

He was but a mere shadow of his former self, even the self that had hidden behind the mask of the happy fool. Who would have expected that he would take rejection so hard? Sure others had rejected him before, but what Sasuke had done hit him hard, and he finally broke down.

Every day he had to remind himself that he was living for Taro. There was no other reason. Because he would not allow himself to allow his child to grow up without the love of at least one parent. Sure the child had Yukiko and her husband, but they were not his parents. No, he would never be able to fully give Taro the love he needed, but he could be there for him.

Taro was an intelligent child, and he understood this. In his little brain, he had come to the conclusion at just under a year that if his otokasan wasn't going to talk to him, then he would talk to otokasan. He had learned fast and babbling at the blond nonstop every day as soon as he could form coherent sentences. He was proud of himself when Naruto praised him the first day he spoke an understandable word, and even more for the first sentence he had properly formed. There were no words, but the child felt the love of his otokasan.

It was just after his third birthday when Yukiko had told him why otokasan never spoke, and about what had happened to him. Taro had taken it well and firmly stated that he hated otosan for hurting otokasan. He'd already come to his conclusion to never like the man that sired him. He was not worthy of the child's love.

Naruto had almost smiled that day when Taro told Yukiko that. The corners of his lips had twitched up, but the smile was never completed. His son hated the man he loved so much. No, he didn't really approve, but the child had his own opinion.

Before that day, Sasuke had always shown him all of the love and affection he could muster. Sure he was always the uke, but he didn't mind putting Sasuke's happiness before his own. He wanted the Uchiha to be happy, and if he was happy, Naruto was happy. He loved being able to make the Uchiha happy, because in return the Uchiha gave him his undying love.

Some might say that it was inevitable, that given time happiness would come to its end when the butterflies began to die. Maybe it was true, but at the same time maybe not. Though, if it was, didn't the butterflies need to be saved? And to save the butterflies, we must kill the spiders, right? But, what if there were no spiders to save the butterflies from? Did that mean that that happiness was going to die long before its time? If there are no spiders, then the butterflies cannot be saved.

So in the end, it was inevitable, wasn't it? A happy relationship had come to its end because one person could not accept a simple thing the other had tried to tell him.

As the fox watched his host slowly fall asleep, he concluded with a nod that he would never understand humans and their inability to accept the little differences that set them apart from the rest of the pack. Humans were stupid that way.

Kyuubi mulled over everything that had happened since the break-up. He was the only that ever heard the blonde's voice these days. Sure it wasn't often, but he still heard it. From time to time the blond would come to him when everything was getting to him again.

Sometimes when the blond needed someone to hold him when he was alone, the fox had been let out in the form of a clone in his image. Those were the days when Yukiko would be gone and Taro would be dead to the world in his room. He didn't know why, but Kyuubi was more than happy to hold the hurting blond as he cried silent tears.

It was hard sometimes, seeing his host this way. He had watched in morbid fascination as the blond had thrown up wall after wall of protection, shutting himself away from the world.

He blamed the Uchiha just as Yukiko did, but the blond would not allow him to tear the man limb from limb. Why he'd never understand. And even after all the brunet had done to him, the blond loved him unconditionally. Like he had said before, he would never understand humans.

- - - - - - - - - -

Dream: -Coughs as she walks in, camcorder in her hand and a smile on her face- Ok then. Well that was the first chapter for you.
Sasuke: -Walks into the room looking pleased with himself-
Dream: Where's Naruto?
Sasuke: Sleeping.
Dream: Ok then…. Well anyways. Please review. I feed off of reviews of every kind like candy. Hell even a flame would keep me going just to piss people off even more.
Sasuke: Weirdo.
Dream: You're ability to call me stupid names is astounding, Sasuke. I hope you're proud of yourself.
Sasuke: Sure why not.
Dream: -Rolls her eyes- Anyways, see ya later. -Waves and throws Sasuke out before following-