The Demon Chronicles (A Naruto Fan-fic)

The Demon Within (Part 1): Chapter 2: Out of the Darkness Comes a Light...

The Demon Within (Part 1)

Chapter 2: Out of the Darkness Comes a Light...

Time held no meaning in the dark room. Akira could not tell the difference between day and night in the constant darkness. Hours could be days, and days could be weeks. It didn't matter anyways because her captors showed no signs of releasing any of the children. They only threw in a single loaf a bread after excruciatingly long increments of time.

It wasn't long before Akira's body ached with hunger and she was forced to decide to join in on the scuffle the next time bread was tossed into the room. Her chance came after a long time. The door opened and once she heard where the loaf landed she rushed forward. Hunger forced her to abandon her fear of getting hurt in the fight over the food.

Akira, to her advantage, was swift on her feet and managed to reach the loaf before the others. She quickly scooped it up and stuffed over half of it into her eager mouth before she was struck on the head, arms, and neck by the other children. The remaining parcel was pried from her grasp by three boys who viciously fought over it.

Having successfully obtained some nutrition, Akira quickly retreated into the darkness to avoid receiving anymore abuse. She chewed and swallowed the stale bread, licking the crumbs from her fingers. The morsel was hardly enough to satisfy her aching hunger, but it did sooth the angry growls that emanated from her stomach.

After consuming the bread, Akira watched as one of the boys who had taken the loaf from her approached her. He had dark red hair and green eyes. His clothes were torn and filthy and his lip was swollen and bloody from his most recent battle for food. He looked to be a few years older than Akira.

Akira tensed and she was filled with apprehension as the boy drew nearer. When he was a few feet in front of her, he stopped. Akira waited, expecting this boy to lash out at her, but instead he gave her a toothy grin.

"I'm Makoto! Who are you?" He whispered.

Akira eyed him suspiciously before answering, "Akira."

"Wanna be my friend?" The boy asked.

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In the days to come, Makoto and Akira stuck together. Akira learned that Makoto had been in this prison for the longest. He didn't know anymore than Akira did as to why they were brought here, but he did show her where to find water. He led her to the far wall, the one opposite of the door, where a leaky faucet protruded from the stone wall. The metal was rusted but with enough force, the handle could be turned and Akira could drink from it.

Makoto and Akira decided to work together in acquiring the single loaf of bread that was thrown into the room on occasion. They had decided that Akira, being the fastest, would retrieve the loaf after it was thrown. She would eat half of it and quickly toss the rest to Makoto before the other children could reach her. Makoto did his part by protecting Akira if anyone got too close to her. By teaming up, they were successfully able to obtain nutrition without sustaining any injuries.

That changed when one day several kunai were thrown in the dark room along with the usual loaf of bread. Akira managed to acquire a kunai along with the loaf, but was ambushed by a boy who made it past Makoto. The boy managed to steal the food from Akira after slicing her right arm with his own kunai. Akira let out a hiss of pain as her injury, that ran from the outside of her wrist to halfway up to her elbow, bled heavily.

The usual fight took place over the loaf, only this time it was a lot more lethal with the kunai involved. Makoto rushed over to Akira, he was holding his own injury on his side, and he pulled her to one of the dark corners to avoid the fight.