The Keeper sat atop the Hokage monument, specifically, the spiky head of the Yondaime. There wasn't a particular reason he chose this head, just pulled towards it by a faint familiarity that came more from his body than his mind.
All around him, the Keeper could feel the presence of ten ANBU watching from the darkness, could hear the blood that flowed in their veins no matter how hard they tried to hide. He ignored them, uninterested in the strict surveillance that Hiruzen subjected him to.
After all, what could a few bugs do against him?
Silently, he stared up at the vast expanse of pin-prick stars and a gentle moon. They were overshadowed only by the long, thin streak plastered in the middle of it all, making it seem like a painter had mistakenly let their brush slip, too lazy to clean it up.
He had learned that the astronomers called it the Milky Way, a galaxy.
Time slowed to a crawl and the warm breeze blowing his hair paused, still in the middle of lifting up a few stray strands. Only the Keeper's eyes could move, but he didn't panic, keeping his gaze fixed on the sky.
Slowly, the galaxy opened its eye.
The stars died and the moon shattered like an illusion, the entire world falling into a darkness more complete than the void. Only that enormous eye remained in the sky, a swirling black that seemed to pull everything into its unfathomable depth.
The Keeper stared back at it, the blindfold he had worn held lazily between his fingers.
A voice that boomed like rumbling thunderclaps shook the world, "■■■, for what reason did you call this lowly one?"
Even though he couldn't twitch his face, the sneer was clear in his eyes.
Without moving his mouth, the Keeper spoke, "You know why, ■."
The Listener of the Withering Shadows, as the humans of old liked to call it, was unlike the Eye. It was a cowardly being, always hiding away in the shadows like its namesake. And with the darkest and vastest shadow being space itself, it was a difficult thing to find. But, again, the Listener was a coward, and it would not dare to ignore the Keeper's summons.
Especially not when it owed a debt that it had yet to repay.
The eye in the sky wavered. "This lowly one cannot fulfill your request."
The Keeper's eyes curved like he was smiling. "Cannot, or will not? Do not mistake my patience for kindness, ■. For that would be a grave error in your judgement."
The Listener's voice was tight when it said, "This lowly one would not dare to do that, ■■■. It is just... the fragment is not easy to find."
"Even dirt has a shadow. I only ask for a trail, not the exact location."
The Keeper recognized it would unreasonable to make the Listener find the fragment, even if it knew the secrets of everyone's shadow. After all, the Keeper and the Mouthpiece had been in eternal battle trying to find it, only now finally narrowing it down to this plane of existence.
After a pause, the Keeper added, "I will personally deal with ■■■■ if it is bold enough to stick its neck out."
The Listener squinted its grand eye, the world darkening further as the only source of light diminished. "Then this lowly one can only thank ■■■ for your generosity."
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Naruto Fanfic - Prisoner of Nightmare
FanfictionHiruzen Sarutobi was running low on both options and time, meaning he was feeling just desperate enough to maybe consider doing something so idiotic that he was sure his late sensei would be rolling in his grave. Needless to say, things weren't exac...
