Home is Where I Deem it (⛔☁)

1; Hell

I figured I'd post this on here to match ao3

*enter cliche start*

"There's the damned demon!"

"Get it!"

"You've got nowhere to hide!"

The villagers cheered as they cornered me in an alley. I was a goddamn ninja, why couldn't I escape them? My begging and useless screams of 'help' and 'stop' were lost in the air behind the laughs and cheers of the villagers.

"Fucking monster, we'll kill you this year"

A rusty kunai that definitely shouldn't have been in the possession of a civilian was shoved through my throat.

"Die, murderous scum!"

They continued to hit and cut into me, pulling my hair to hold him down. They carved words into me, just like every year. It was barely dusk and the villagers left me.

Covered in blood, spit, and my own torn tissue, I sat there in pain. I didn't know what to do; should I just give up?

I lay there for god knows how long, propped up against the alley wall, before entering the mindscape at the nine-tail's urging.

'Kurama' The fox was in a smaller form here the majority of the time; about ox sized. He wrapped around me in a hug-like fashion. I would never tire of the fox's scent; pine and smoke. We both sat down on the mossy grass and watched the sky, shoulder to side; bijuu to human, family to family, brother to brother.

'Happy birthday kit'

'Thanks! Though, when I was thinking of things for my birthday list, this wasn't really on it...'

'I'm sorry about the whole thing, really. I'll fix your pain ratio, dampen it a bit...'

'They want me to scream. If you even say another word about this whole 'sorry' business, I won't talk to you for a month, ya know'

'Ah... right. Though, a month ain't that bad, I could get some serious sleep' The fox yawned out

'That's not supposed to be your response!' I pouted, arms crossed

'Kit'  Kurama suddenly turned serious. 'I sense someone out there. Want me to handle it?'

'Nah, I'll handle it. It could be a civilian'  I opened my eyes outside the mindscape and waited for them to adjust, which Kurama sped up. I could make out two figures. 'You only mentioned one' I mumbled to Kurama. I stood, but stumbled until I was sliding back down the wall to the ground. Kurama hadn't finished healing me yet.

'Stop moving around and it'll heal faster'

I could make out the figures. They both had dark cloaks that would've been hard to notice if it weren't the red blobs on them. The right-most one was taller, with only their eyes exposed to the air. Their headband just above their eyes glinted in the moonlight; it showed that the village, whichever it was, was crossed out. A rogue ninja.

The one on the left was shorter, but still much taller than me. They wore the same cloak as the other, but the front was a bit open, revealing both their tanned chest and a silver necklace that was illuminated by the moonlight. The headband around their neck, like the other, was slashed out. Their face was open to the wind, no coverings at all. Their hair could be identified as some sort of white, or maybe grey or platinum blonde. It was hard to tell in such lighting. They were holding a red scythe that glinted in the light. I held my breath, wishing I had stayed in my mindscape.

The right one stepped closer, "It's just a brat," It was a deep, raspy voice, and from what I could tell, it was masculine.

"No, you fucking idiot! He could be a sacrifice for Lord Jashin!" The other quipped back.

"Whatever" The man with the scythe walked close to me, I tried to move away, but both my body and the alley wall prevented that. If only I had my kunai. But then again, one was currently lodged in my throat from the villagers, just barely missing the main arteries, but rupturing my vocal cords. Oh. I should probably pull that out now. I can use my chakra to hold the blood back while Kurama heals it.

"Hey, boy. Do you know who Lord Jashin is?" The man asked.

I shook my head. My vocal cords were usually fixed last anyways, there was not really a need for them to live. Jashin? Sounded familiar, like I'd heard it somewhere, maybe Kurama mentioned it...

"Lord Jashin commands me to sacrifice, but you! For you he falls quiet! Why?"

"Could–" My voice cracked painfully, making me give a grimacing cough. "Could you tell me about Lord Jashin?" I asked, both to buy time while I was healing and to cure my curiosity. He smiled widely.

Kurama seemed to agree with buying time, focusing on my vocal cords as soon as the figures started talking.

"Kakuzu! Fuckin' kid is great!" He proceeded to tell me on the way of Jashin. I can't lie, I was intrigued. Killing people for eternal life... That would be useful. Kurama always spent his energy healing me so that I wouldn't die. If I couldn't die, he could focus on what he wanted to instead of healing. Be it learning to safely switch control or figuring out how to get him out. Ah wait... If I couldn't die, I could just break the seal. Oh and plus, this guy in front of me seemed to be pretty nice despite his word choice.

"Ah! That's a hella good thought! Kid, why don't you let me train you in the ways of Lord Jashin? He seems to like ya!" I nodded and stood, silently thanking Kurama for healing me this fast.

"Kid, what happened to you?" The other one said, I had forgotten he was there.

"The villagers" My eyes drifted downward. They beat me mercilessly because of something that I couldn't control. Kurama couldn't even control. I know that the third meant well, but he could've at least explained that I'm not the nine-tails. Honestly, I bet even if he did, the villagers would've kept at it. "I'm just their plaything, their sport"

"Fuckin' do somethin' bout it then, pussy" The silver haired savior said.

"I could.. sacrifice them"

"All of em?" The bigger one asked and I nodded, eyes flashing a glowing red as Kurama nonverbally agreed.

"You gotta get a weapon an'' have Lord Jashin's symbol. Then you gotta pray to him 'fore every sacrifice so he knows it's for him. He'll give you whatever the fuck you want then"

"When I'm done I can... When I'm done can I come with you?" They ignored the way my voice wavered, pain spiking as Kurama snapped a rib back into place.

"Sorry brat, we can't do that–"

"Of course!" I decided that I really liked the silver haired guy.

"What's your name?" I mumbled.

"I'm Hidan and this–"

"Shut your mouth dumbass"

"That's fucking Kakuzu. Don't mind him, he's always bitchy"

I bowed deeply, "Thank you, Hidan, Kakuzu"

'I think I'll like them'

"Any-fucking-way, we've gotta go, kid. By the way, fuck's your name?"

"Naruto" I lowered my voice to a whisper, "but I don't... like that"

"Makoto" The taller man, Kakuzu, gruffly spoke.

"See, he's not so bad" Hidan grinned, "You can be Makoto now. Oh hey! Doesn't he look like the artsy bitch?"

"We have to go"

"Okay" I bowed once more, "Thanks again!"

They disappeared.

"Maybe I should've asked what the symbol looked like... " I rubbed my head, wincing as dried blood pulled off my hair.

Word Count: 1272