sɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇᴅ

  [ oh god i was gone for so long i did nOT MEAN TO BE- it only felt like a week?? but it was almost a month??? holy hecc.

Ever since his creation, this shadow of a man had kept quiet enough. Mostly staying away from the village, and keeping to himself to figure things out. Not so long ago, the village had gone under a grand attack by those Akatsuki guys- and Yami remembered it all too well from his old memories. The village was even now still recovering, and that was one reason he kept away. There was no joy in revenge if you're attacking an injured, unarmed enemy. Then it's a mercy, and his hatred needed so much more than that. Wanted their hope to rise as they come back from the ashes, only for him- for their own beloved Naruto- to rip it all away again. And until then, until the time would come that he could let loose- he somehow had to control his anger. Keep the fox from lashing out uncontrollably- and it was a tall order to ask one broken man.

However, on this hot day, as he lay away behind the waterfall, something tipped off his nerves. Naruto was no sensory type, but it was hard to ignore such a presence closing in on you, especially when his guard was raised so high. He didn't want to be discovered, but the way this chakra was moving- they weren't just passing through. Someone was searching, for this waterfall, or the monster rumored to be within. A chakra that nearly triumphed his own with dark energy, with hatred, closing in on his location. It snapped him out of his current rest to bring him to high alert, as he slowly made his way through the rush of water to take a look. As he made his way into the open, that foul chakra grew more in range, and his eyes swept the area to try and find the source. Drooling at just the thought of someone else so vile- but then he saw it. A mask, standing out like a sore thumb through the brush. Hardly trying to hide, as he kept his distance, and Yami stared. From the depths of his shared memory, something clicked. Something familiar about a mask, something he was told about. As if someone warned him about a man with a mask...

              It must have been important, because even Kurama was boiling up at the sight.

Growing a grin, Yami tilted his head towards the man, givin' him a little wave of the hand to say hi. He must'a been pretty brave to track him down- so why not follow through? Not like Yami was one to be afraid. Sometimes, clawin' away at a stranger was exactly what was needed to keep the fox at bay. A quick anger release, may be just what the doctor ordered. Good of this random guy to volunteer.

he sways       less a beast than a  boy,  a  child  (  that soft,  that innocent:  HUMAN.  )  the risk is forgotten  &&  disregarded;  what happens now,  what will happen,  is left to the dirt like the  GLUT  of his scalding blood.  he sways:  her hand clasps down upon his shoulder,  holding firm,  fingers locked  securely  (  moments ago,  their embrace was to the  death.  )  his skin is  warm,  without the bite that nearly  BOILED  her;  the wound has already lost some of its inflammation.   no bite:  who could ever have guessed?  the  DARKNESS  could be so well behaved.  

                    ❝  three. ❞

has this become their pattern?  the rage,  the  STORM,  the fight of bruised knuckles,  throat in hand,  nails  &&  teeth,  tearing until first blood,  &&  then the  calm?  twice now,  replayed like a memory,  down to a dance       she doesn’t want to break his bones each time.  how  TIRED  he must be,  to fight the world each time!  how often can you  break,  before there’s nothing left to put together?  ❝  i told you it wasn’t so bad.  ❞

her palm rests too  easily  on his torso       she can feel his breath,  each careful stutter against the cages of his ribs.  that drumbeat of his heart is  STEADY,  steady,  flushing  life  into the heat of his flesh.  the basket sits a half-step away;  stretching out,  arm extended,  brings the tips of her fingers close enough to snatch it back.  ❝  i’ll stitch you up;  it shouldn’t hurt much,  not like a minute ago.  and then i       i can go.  just like i said.  ❞  twine  &&  needle  (  how perfectly she’s thought this out!  )  in hand;  she waits.

            "... Yeah- yeah, you probably should."

His voice was softer now, with a permanent rasp in his throat from the endless screaming he's done. This was painful, but it was nothing compared to the pain he first felt when he woke up. That initial surge of fire through his veins, his first breath- becoming darkness wasn't some easy task, Naruto didn't have a choice but to take this route, with all he suffered. This wound stung- but it was nothing. The only salvation here was he was too DIZZY to focus on his anger. As if the Kyuubi's influence was flowing out with his blood, which gave him a moment of clarity, where he felt remorse for his own aggression. Embarrassment- which also ticked his nerves. And endless cycle in which he was trapped in... and didn't want to get her roped into, either.

            "Stitch it 'n go, s'not smart to stick around.               You're better off goin' back to Naruto, who won't choke ya out.               I'm kind'a unpredictable, can't control myself. Not safe."

His breathing made him cut his words shorter, as it grew heavier each passing second. Something as little as this was taking a bigger tole on him than he'd thought, but he kept standing. No matter how much the world spun around him, he kept grounded- her hand on his shoulder for the moment may have also helped in that, but he wouldn't acknowledge it.

          It was also... weird, talking about himself like that. Or- about Naruto. As far as Yami was concerned, he WAS Naruto. They were the same person- he was just hurt. Some distorted version of himself, who got the shitty end of the deal in life. The twin that got separated at birth, and forgotten about. He was all his negative emotions, that for years, Naruto shoved into the back of his mind, and Kurama hoarded. Until this very time, where he'd had so many bad thoughts, they created their own entity to take them all away. So Naruto could continue smiling- he'd bear all his pain. Something he never agreed to do, but was forced to. NO one would have asked for such a BURDEN on their own free will.

She was better off with him, the goofball.                   The better version of himself, who made people happy.                                          Someone who didn't loose control every second.                                                                   Someone who didn't attack at random.

Gonna delve into this, for all future battlin' possibilities! Taken straight from the source, because Yami is every bit of Naruto's hatred and "dark side", he has a much better bond with Kurama initially. The two form a bond through their hatred for Konoha, from all the suffering he endured and Kyuubi's own reasons. Yami is actually a direct result of Kurama making his own preferable host, one forged in anger that would let him use his power to cause havoc, while still needing to be locked away. Even later on, when Yami begins trying to better himself and be more like Naruto, he goes to work with Kurama endlessly to get him on board, since Yami can't change unless the fox does.

Either way, that's a different HC- Basically, Yami is able to tap into Kurama's chakra and abilities in different ways that Naruto is able to, or accomplished. He didn't learn sage modes or anything, so instead, Yami instead take a more "Killer B" route to his powers. He can manifest different parts of the fox for his advantage in battles, like full forms of the tails. Use his fire based chakra and jutsu, or form tailed beast balls. With his own close bond with the beast, Yami is able to tap into a full scaled Beast Mode, bringing the Kurama to life much like how Killer B can transform into the eight tails.

In the early days, Yami specifically holds this transformation back as much as possible, until he looses control of himself and Kurama takes over. Though, in the future when he settles with the fox and lives a life in Konoha, its a formidable weapon.

what dance is this?  two steps forward,  three  steps back       progress made,  &&  abruptly torn away.  fury faded,  irritation in its place:  his hands at her  THROAT  might have been a quick  caress,  with all the changes in between.  if he were naruto  (  too dangerous       that thought is better left to  dust  )  /  she does not indulge the thought.  she takes the kunai with a  DELICATE  air;  it slides along her finger,  deposited to the dirt.  perhaps she ought to  KNOCK  him out regardless       he surely can’t feel pain once he’s  unconscious.

instead,  she  sighs:  he is a patient like a  LION  is a feline       it works on  paper,  best.  ❝  don’t bite too hard       i’m not much of a  dentist.  ❞  he probably won’t see the  HUMOUR,  but the jest is better fit for her,  anyways.  his skin is hot to the touch  (  no wonder,  then,  how  quick  he was to burn!  )  her fingertips trace up the lines of his stomach until they reach his seal;  she bypasses it without comment.  up,  again,  &&  soft across       his chakra is a  knot  here,  where the infection runs most rampant.  ❝  alright.  on three,  i’ll pull the infection out.  there’ll probably be some blood,  but once the infection is gone,  i can stitch this up.  ❞  it would be  BETTER,  to be fair,  if it was  chakra  that did the mending       but she cannot be certain he’d react  well  to that.  (  she can’t predict his temper from one second to the next;  better leave it  miniscule  for now  ).  ❝ one  …  two  …  ❞

she does not go on three.  quick,  before he can brace,  she makes as if to  PULL:  his wound weeps,  a glot of  BLOOD  &&  pus.  it is over almost  instantly,  but still she tenses  (  if he  bites  her,  she might just crack his  head.  )

He shivered, as he felt her fingertips trace up his core. Light, just grazing along his skin, but enough to give him goosebumps. Truthfully, it was the most delicate touch he'd ever received, and it was hardly anything at all. Always used to rough treatments. To battle, or his own harsh treatment of himself. But just her, tracing up and over his abdomen, gave him shivers. His cheeks were the lightest bit pink from such a reaction, in which he tried to hide by growling. Teeth clamping down against the headband he placed there. Snarling in preparation for this agony she was preparing him for. To pull an infection from his wound- could it hurt as bad as she was making it out to be-?

        All this delaying nearly had him snap at her, the countdown wearing down on his nerves- but just as he turned his head to maybe try and make a remark to her, she acted. A swift move pulled the knot in his chakra free, where that infection ran rampant, and he winced. Flinched away from her in the sudden shock. His whole body went tense, every visible muscle in his torso flexing, from that sudden bolt of pain. His free hand snapped down to his leg, gripping to the orange fabric of his pants, while teeth ground into the metal of his forehead protector.

             That stung like a bitch-

Yami whimpered, his voice cracking as he tried to groan out. In the moment, he wasn't thinking of how he looked, or sounded to her, only that it hurt. Breathing jagged, his brows furrowing together as he tried to steady himself. He swayed, but only for a moment, as that rush of blood loss so suddenly had his head swimming in a dizzy spell. But he quickly regained himself, as a shinobi would, and seemed to gain his composure back just as quickly. It seemed he was just too focused on passing out that he forgot to BITE.

                   'Least, the worst was over (maybe).                Now she just had to stitch, right?               That shouldn't be TOO terrible.