Naruto: The Seraph Project

Chapter 55: A Catastrophic Incident

Silence is king of the place.

The tension is palpable.

The calm before the storm.

As soon as we arrived, we explained the whole situation to Godaime in the presence of her faithful assistant, Shizune; Naruto's fleeing, the pursuit, the cursed doll... Unable to face her, I shamefacedly kept my head down, avoiding her stern gaze. I had the important task of ensuring that Naruto's chakra devourer nature remained a secret while taming him... Needless to say, I failed my mission miserably.

As for the sapphire-eyed boy, he hid behind me, holding my hips, motionless; his black tail is around our legs to impose this invisible barrier to the world. He's aware that we're in trouble through his fault, although it's partly beyond his control. At the very least, I remain convinced that he didn't do it on purpose. Devoid of speech, he couldn't warn me of the dangers of the full moon... Perhaps he didn't know it himself?

Possible.

"This unfortunate event was inevitable," I darkly continue. "Naruto only pulled himself together when he was out of the moonbeams reach. It seems that the full moon awakens the predatory instincts of the chakra devourers. As the clouds parted, his mind and body were spellbound by the moon. The marks on his back, like the one on his chest, glowed a blue like his eyes and all his hairs stood on end. I don't think anyone would've been able to predict and prevent this incident..."

"By predatory instincts, what do you mean by that?" asks Lady Tsunade.

Subconsciously, I hold my breath and a silence settle. I absolutely refrain from sharing any element, however insignificant, of Naruto's assault on me. I'm incapable to forget all these feelings of a sexual nature... Sometimes they come back to haunt me, living it a second time. Yet, I have to speak, explain myself...

In order not to divulge this information which I intend to take to my grave, I carefully think and choose my words which will fit my plausible lie.

"I still don't know why he was so desperate to get his hands on that plush in my likeness. But one thing's certain, when I found myself alone with him, hunger deprived him of all reason. In this state, he didn't react when I hit him in the hope of bringing him to his senses. Naruto completely incapacitated me with a petrification spell and I couldn't defend myself while he was ... slowly devouring my chakra."

Saying so, I remove the scarf, with which I hide the said bites and my reddish skin, to unveil its mystery. The wounds speak for themselves; they snatch from them gasps of surprise, and their horrified eyes can no longer depart from my tortured neck. Then I stretch my arms forward.

"I have scratches and bruises all over my body, and my arms have suffered serious injuries... To be honest, I don't know what would've happened if his technique hadn't stopped. Naruto probably came to his senses because I had plunged the room into darkness, thus preventing the moonbeams from reaching him and therefore bewitching him."

A cold sweat breaks out on my temple.

"In my entire life, I've never seen a spell as powerful and devastating as his."

"How so?" Shikamaru worries.

"He petrified me down to my chakra."

A leaden silence heightens the tension that's far too unbearable. I take this opportunity to put my scarf back on and camouflage the marks on my skin. Although I'm the only one aware of the nature of these holes in my flesh, I can't help feeling uneasy; it bothers me that they are seen and that's a euphemism.

I'm convinced that I was a hair's breadth from being molested by my student...

 "If he's capable of such feats with just one look, I better understand the strange muzzle we found there," Shikamaru mutters. "They probably used it to cover his eyes and neutralize his hypnotic powers."