Naruto: The Seraph Project

Chapter 79: The Earth

By the time the door was closed, Naruto already wanted to run inside. He had to protect and watch over Kakashi. He did not like Kakashi being alone while Kakashi was still fragile and helpless. Sure, he left Kakashi's bedside recently, but he had no other choice. He had to find food intended for humans, in order to calm the pain that was gnawing away at the precious human in the apple of his eyes, even if he had to face his greatest fears. He knew the suffering that hunger created; he was the victim of permanent pain that he ignored through the force of his will and his duty, that of protecting and watching over Kakashi.

His eyes avoided Shikamaru; not out of shame, but out of disgust. Naruto did not care that he hurt him. He was forced to ingest his foul chakra. He convinced himself that the other boy deserved the pain; it erased any trace of guilt that might torment him. He could not get rid of the putrid smell that made him want to vomit; he had expelled the acidic contents of his stomach a second time last night. The infamous chakra had anchored itself in its fangs and was rotting there like an incurable disease. It had calmed the agonizing hunger that drove him to tear the flesh from his own arms. However, Naruto would have preferred to endure the pain already back instead of filling his need for chakra.

To save Kakashi's precious life, he agreed to ingest this earthy and disgusting chakra. From now on, he had to be patient. He wanted to devour Kakashi's sweet, electrifying chakra as quickly as possible; with Kakashi's chakra, he would purify his fangs while letting himself be lulled by its euphoric taste. Depending on how much Kakashi had recovered, he could satisfy his appetite in a night or two.

After all, a few drops were better than a tasteless, rotten-to-the-core feast.

As Kakashi asked him ... although Naruto did not like that Kakashi emotionally manipulated him, Naruto agreed to follow Sakura and Shikamaru's orders. He was still angry with Shikamaru; the smell of his chakra turned him green, forcing him to swallow the gastric surge that was burning his esophagus. Of course, he did not show it. Showing the slightest sign of weakness was deadly. Kakashi needed him and for Kakashi, he had to stay strong.

"It's this way," Sakura pointed out with a smile. "It's not too far. You don't have to worry. Nothing will happen to Kakashi-Sensei."

Naruto hissed, annoyed. He hated that Sakura flouted Kakashi's name like that. Kakashi was too precious in this world to let one word tarnish the beauty of his equally unique name. She lacked respect for Kakashi; he wanted to slap her with his tail, but he held back. Kakashi did not advocate violence, and Kakashi had indirectly asked him to be a good boy. Kakashi would be angry if he hurt someone when Kakashi trusted him.

With his hands buried in his pockets, Naruto followed them, sulking. As for Shikamaru, he was nervous. He felt that there was tension between him and Naruto. This tension was linked to his chakra offering. For the first time, he was not at all comfortable being with him without Kakashi. Since the incident, Naruto was very unstable and unpredictable; a bomb without a countdown before a potential explosion.

The metres stretched into kilometres. The more distance increased, the more Naruto became agitated. His tail was wagging in all directions, and a few hairs stood up; it betrayed his moods and his growing anxiety. On the way, Sakura stopped to give instructions to a nurse, which was to bring Kakashi a meal. Then, they went to one of the examination rooms, which was two corridors from Kakashi's room. Outside the door, a familiar smell piqued Naruto's curiosity. He locked his eyes where that smell was about to turn the corner.

Sakura and Shikamaru noticed the black tail moving in a weird way. Looking in the direction Naruto was looking, they saw Kiba appear at the end of the corridor.

"Oh! Kiba! What are you doing here?" Shikamaru exclaimed.

Kiba waved to them and mingled with the group. From the corner of his eye, he stared at Naruto while holding back from grimacing in disgust. The horrible smell stung his nostrils; it prevented him from smelling anything other than this odious stench. "I'm here to suffer," Kiba explained, crossing his arms.