Naruto: The Seraph Project

Chapter 25: The Fear that You Leave Me

Naruto was following Kakashi. He didn't know where they were going, but that didn't matter to the sapphire-eyed boy. He just followed Kakashi, holding his hand wherever Kakashi led him. The warmth of his soft skin chased away the coldness in his inside which germinated in him emotions that he repressed as deeply as possible. Although the bare and crumbling walls seemed to tighten to engulf him, Kakashi's presence was enough to push them back. He closed his eyes so as not to see them anymore; like a blind man, he allowed himself to be guided in absolute trust, synchronizing his steps with his, his heart with his, his breath with his...

The teenager stopped at the same time as Kakashi that let go of his hand.

Opening his eyelids, his heart skipped a beat before racing. In front of him was an empty, cold room where the smell of blood, filth and years of suffering had soaked into the walls. He saw with horror that everything was far too familiar to him. His organ of love trapped in a vice of pain made a burning lump rise in his throat.

As he turned to cling to Kakashi to let himself be lulled by his comfort, Kakashi locked him inside. Naruto froze. He looked at Kakashi on the other side of the bars, who was staring at him with his dark and unrecognizable eye rotten with contempt. His brain like his body had ceased to function; It was impossible for him to assimilate what was happening. Nevertheless, he remained convinced that Kakashi would free him and that Kakashi was not at fault for closing this door which did not exist before.

Without saying a single word, a single sound, Kakashi turned his back on him before leaving where they had come from. An unpronounceable evil pierced his chest and, clinging to the white-hot bars, he tried to scream his name. However, only primary sounds escaped his quivering lips. From then on, this feeling of unbearable fire in the throat was accentuated to the point of being forced to be silent, thus reduced to pure silence to avoid terrible suffering at each small noise pushed. Crushing to his knees, he could only helplessly watch Kakashi walk away, go further and further without deigning to glance behind him.

Kakashi was abandoning him in this nightmarish room.

Naruto had tears in his eyes. He wanted to cry, but the martyrs shaking the teenager forced him to remain silent. He was in pain, terribly in pain if he made the slightest sound, the slightest movement. At this, an infernal orchestra settled down; hateful voices, metallic noises slamming against the stone, those of instruments of death... No matter how hard Naruto pressed his hands against his ears, these sounds were still reaching him.

He was suffocating in this room. The air lacerated every particle of his epidermis, tore the fragile envelope of his lungs which had become too small. He heard footsteps behind him which gave birth to a nameless terror that petrified him. His breathing was more erratic than his unstoppable heart.

His once-bright eyes dimmed to let the darkness take over his entire being, swallowing the last light in his pupils. Naruto could only hope to see Kakashi again to pull him out of there...

But Kakashi never came back.

There was only him, fear and pain now.

★ ★ ★

While waiting for Naruto to finish his afternoon sleep, I started my report on him, enjoying my tea in peace. Like the team in charge of his observation before me, I have to write down everything that is relevant, down to the smallest unnecessary details. However, I don't say everything and I keep things to myself, including this awkward awakening with the teenager glued to me, choking me with his unwanted affection; I don't want people to make up opinions about me. With this data, Lady Tsunade seeks to make the diagnosis of his mental state with the information that we glean on him. She's convinced that we will have part of the answers if we discover the exact state of his psyche. Needless to say, the prognosis is very, very dark. A traumatized person can develop certain specific symptoms depending on the events experienced. With comparisons to other files, we can have a brief idea of what happened during the month of his disappearance...

Well, I hope this will lead somewhere...

I struggle to stay focus since Naruto's sleep has become restless; every thirty to sixty seconds, he changes position. Glancing at him, he seems to be dreaming, but nothing more. However, I hear a few barely audible moans—something that overwhelms my full attention. He turns his back on me and curls up more and more on himself. These complaints soon evolve into weeping lamentations as many lightning bolts escape from his body. The sudden, dazzling light forces me to raise an arm in front of my eyes. Everything gradually turns into a miniature storm that prevents me from reaching the teenager visibly caught up in a nightmare.

"NARUTO!"

One of the blades of light strikes me down when I step forward; this electric shock penetrates the flesh of my thigh in a sharp burning sensation, causing me to flinch. My voice is buried under the growing din of lightning. I can't sit still and wait and hope the crisis goes away on its own.

I resolve to leap into this storm; the sparks lick my skin and make it blush, mark it in their wake. As usual, I ignore the pain that numbs my electrocuted body. Once astride the teenager, I notice that he tightens his own throat to the point of stabbing his claws there, sinking them deeper and deeper into the pierced skin. I grab him by the shoulders and shake him roughly to wake him up.

"NARUTO! WAKE UP!" I yell, digging my fingers into his electricity-oozing skin.

The blond abruptly opens his eyes, taking a deep breath. His blue and panicked irises stare at me as our restless breaths synchronize. Fortunately, as his mind seems to slowly regain consciousness, the torrent of lightning stop almost immediately. Naruto looks at me for a long moment without blinking, as if he has trouble recognizing me. It's only after an eternity that tears flood his face before he throws himself on me to hug me. Mechanically, my arms enclose him gently. Gasping, Naruto hides his head in my chest, crying harder as his ebony tail wraps around the both of us.

"It's okay, Naruto. It's over. I'm here," I reassure him tenderly.

I can only stand there waiting for him to calm down by stroking his hair. Seeing him like this saddens me. I should have woken him much earlier instead of thinking only of myself. I also knew that these dreams had become nightmares similar to the day of his escape and yet, I did nothing. Unconsciously, I wanted him to stop his daytime complaints on his own to enjoy my tranquility and my solitude like an egoist...

I almost forget how important I am to him...

The importance of this fragile bond of trust...

I waited with infinite patience for him to dry his tears that made his eyes puffy. I sat up in bed and allowed him to rest his head on my lap. Naruto, unresponsive, was content to lie down comfortably to find some semblance of sleep. His heavy eyelids push him back to sleep, yet nightmare fears force him to fight it. He's still shaking like a leaf, but those tremors fade with the strokes I give him through his static-covered hair. At times, a lone tear slips down his cheek. It takes him long and painful minutes, but he finally closes his eyes to let himself be carried away by rivers that are much clearer than bloody.

As for me, I stay by his side in the hope that it calms his daytime terrors. I don't know the nature of this nightmare, but for having shaken him to such an extent, I can only doubt that it's related to what happened during this infernal month that I dread to imagine. Once again, I feel my blood boiling in my veins at this simple thought which germinates vengeful ideas. In response, I take a long breath so as not to let them corrupt me.

I've never been so angry in my entire life.