Blood of the Broken, Scars of the Spiral (there are whirlpools in our veins)

Chapter Sixteen

Begrudgingly, Naruto had to admit that once Harada had been replaced his feelings towards the academy had improved.

It wasn't horrible. It was clean and well maintained.

Oh, he still hates it here, but he will give credit where credit is due.

The original instructor had been switched out for some unimportant chunin.

He was unassuming, with a high bridged nose, furrowed brows and squarish face. The man, while stern in appearance, was so utterly common with his cropped black hair and narrow eyes that no citizen or shinobi would bother to look twice.

His teacher, Aoki-sensei, was hardly nice but still, he didn't let it interrupt his learning. His lips always curled in disgust when he handed him back his papers and he avoided Naruto where he could but he always answered his questions and marked him fairly. (He pretended that he didn't treasure each reluctant 'good' he'd say to him.) Yes, Aoki-sensei was a fair man despite his dislike of the demon child.

Naruto wasn't exceptional though. When it came to fighting he was above average, but that was all. He fought to keep himself exactly in the middle of the class.

He wouldn't give them his best.

It was infuriating. He was tempted, tempted to rip the bloody seal off even if he'd die. He wanted so much more than what Konoha could provide him. Naruto wanted fairness. Naruto wanted his humanity back. Naruto wanted to go home.

But then, when the lure of destruction grew too great, he would close his eyes and remember white sands and clear waters. The family he'd never have, the life he should have had. And breaths.

He would never be able to live the life he wanted but he could at least try to make the best with what he had, to create a reality where he could walk with his head held high.

Still — the classes are too big, there is no room for individuality. Ninja are mass-produced, bland, and tasteless. If you don't fit the norm, you get made fun of, and sometimes beaten, if you're unlucky enough.

The people in Konoha are as dense as the forests they live in and it's grating on his nerves. Can they not stop and think, if only for a moment? Why does everything all have to be so linear and precisely cut?

Kurama says it's because of their meager human brains, Naruto thinks they're just being salty, not that it isn't justified.

He wants to scream.

(cage, the tiny voice whispers, chage chage cage, cagecagecagecage)

//

He sits down in front of the wooden cage, gazing at his chakra as he gawks.

After being alive for so long, Kurama must know more about the true intricacies of the very essence of the world than the violence the shinobi used it for, he thought, so he went to the Fox for guidance.

"No," he exclaimed passionately to the Kitsune, "it can't be just to kill! It's so pretty, I don't get why shinobi would make it so– so ugly."

Kurama was quiet for a long time before sighing. "Yes," they mused. "Yes, it is beautiful, isn't it?" They sighed again. "Well, go on, then. Let's see it."

"What?" he asked, not quite understanding. He had the feeling Kurama was trying not to roll their eyes.

"Your chakra," they said slowly, like he was an idiot– and maybe he was, he thought with a blush. "Let me see it."

Well, Naruto wasn't about to turn down that invitation. Beaming, he reached for the swirling tidepool under his skin, bringing its winds and whirlpools to the surface, waves lapping through his veins, storms twisting through his bones. Something sparked beneath his feet and Naruto glanced down and gasped. Where his feet stood on the wooden bridge, the ground beneath him had lit up a brilliant blue, revealing–

"A seal," he breathed. Except it wasn't just a seal. Naruto watched breathlessly as the glowing lines curled outwards, gasping in delight at the sight, eagerly following how the elaborate seals fanned out across his mind-scape like delicate lace, curling and twirling as the 'threads' looped and interlaced.

"Oh," he breathed, looking around at the complex seals in wonder, "Oh, it's beautiful."

"They're certainly... something," Kurama said disdainfully.

"Did ma' dad do this?" he asked, astounded and Kurama snorted.

"Of course not," they said. "This is Mito's work."

"I told you," Kurama said, impatient. "She created this mind-scape, using chakra, blood, and seals to tie it to her bloodline. Seals do more than just affect reality, they create reality, and Mito was one of the best sealing mistresses the Elemental Nations has ever and will ever see."

There was a reluctant admiration in Kurama's voice that Naruto carefully didn't call them out on, not when he could so easily read their agitation. Instead, he focused on the seals, admiring how they surrounded him, softly glowing. And then, suddenly, he frowned. There was something very familiar about one of the seals.

"I know tha' seal," he said, which had Kurama look over at him. "I know it, I swear," It took him a moment to remember. "The dream," he realised. "The one dat da shinigami keeps sendin' me– Mito had tha' seal on 'er hair-pins"

"Oh?" Kurama asked, interested.

"It's the same one," Naruto said, "I'm sure of it. It's gots ta be important."

"I sincerely doubt it," Kurama said, finally looking interested. "You should try channeling your chakra into it."

"You're the one who's convinced the gods are sending you those dreams for a reason," Kurama pointed out. "What if this is the reason?"

It was... hard to argue with that logic. Naruto swallowed nervously.

"Do ya... do ya really think so?" he asked nervously.

"I think I want to be free," Kurama said, fiery eyes meeting his, "and I can't be free if you die and Konoha seals me inside another Sacrifice."

"Okay," Naruto whispered, before steeling himself. "Okay," he repeated, louder and firmer. Stepping over to the seal, he reached his chakra again, twisting the ocean currents into eddies that swirled under the skin of his palm. Taking a final deep breath, he knelt down, pressed his palm against Mito's seal, and pushed.

Immediately, Naruto felt the world around him twist; he cried out as the mind-scape rippled, the edges tearing and fraying, shaping into a vortex, a whirlpool, and he staggered, stumbling backwards and into one of the sakura trees. He fell to the ground and clung to the roots with desperate fingers as the seal glowed a brighter and brighter blue until he had to look away and close his eyes.

And then, just as suddenly, everything went still and dark.

Breath ragged in his chest, Naruto dared to open his eyes to slits and looked back. Then, he gasped. Because standing over the seal, porcelain-fair with her red hair bound in twin buns and a sad look on her face was Uzumaki Mito.

A/N

Did I literally forget to publish a chapter so now I'm going back and fixing that because the story won't make sense without it...Yes, yes I did.