Chapter 19 Part 2
The first sign of trouble was the chakra. At some point, Naruko's body started giving off a nasty miasma — and it kept getting stronger. Her calm face twisted like a toothache. The "fox whiskers" darkened — stark against her skin.
"Naruko — I hope you're okay." I whisper it, feeling an anxious flutter in my chest.
"This has to stop!" I decided a while later. But before I could step into the circle and pull her out of meditation — something changed.
The aggressive chakra — saturated with hostile intent — transformed. It seemed to... organize. Take structure. Become conscious.
And then Naruko stirred. She rolled her shoulders, shifted awkwardly, then smiled — and slowly opened her eyes.
Red. Those eyes definitely couldn't belong to a human — even ignoring the unnatural color and vertical pupils. They just felt different. Wrong.
The eyes blinked, scanning the cavern top to bottom.
"Ohhh!.. That was tough!" The girl complained, stretching.
"Naruko? Everything okay?" I asked, cautious. The flutter in my chest had become a vibration.
"Of course! Everything's just great!" She got to her feet. An awkward step. A short laugh: "The Fox was SO angry, y'know?! But I got it to agree! It gave me power! LOOK!!!" She waved a hand — a burst of orange chakra flared out. "I'm so strong now!!!"
"Is that so." I felt my smile wavering. "You sure everything's fine?"
"I TOLD you it's fine!" She snapped. "Everything's great! Great! Can you let me out, Kaoru?"
"Of course. Naruko-chan may come out." I watched her — triumphant smile — take several steps forward, then recoil as she hit something.
"Gha?! What the—?!"
"I said: NARUKO may come out." I spoke firmly, raising my staff. "Not YOU!"
"Naruko's" smile withered instantly — replaced by a vicious snarl. With an inhuman roar, she struck the invisible barrier with a clawed hand.
"Release me this instant!" Naruko's mouth snarled — voice not hers. "Do it NOW — or don't expect to die quickly!!!"
Words can't describe what I felt. But the strongest things in that cocktail were Fear. And Anger. Anger at myself — my own reckless actions. And fear for Naruko — who'd fallen under the Tailed Beast's power.
I messed up. My supposed "knowledge of the future" failed me again. Face to face with the Fox — I understood it absolutely now. This Fox was immeasurably angrier than the one I knew from canon. Sensing it — I felt nothing but searing, absolute hatred for everything. Either the Fourth botched more than just the seal — messed up that piece of the Nine-Tails inside Naruko — or the Beast was just this vicious from the start. I don't even know which is worse.
But I didn't care about that. Right now — only one thing mattered. Fix this.
"Release Naruko!" I stared at the snarling Fox-girl.
"Grrrrrrrrrrraaaah!!!! NEVER!!!" The Tailed Beast roared. "The girl's gone! This filthy meat-prison is MINE now! I'm taking back what's mine — my FREEDOM! Vile humans locked me away! You DARE interfere?! You'll DIE if you DON'T RELEASE ME!"
The containment barrier crackled and sparked — but held. Just as I thought: the Tailed Beast can't use its full power. Not instantly, anyway. The suppression spells in the wards have it shackled. Right now — it can only use whatever it can squeeze through Naruko's seal.
"Don't even dream it, demon." Gathering my strength, I fed it into the restraining talismans — reinforcing the structure. "Before you were imprisoned — you Tailed Beasts were natural disasters. You destroyed everything. Laid waste to cities. Killed thousands. Hundreds of thousands. Don't whine to me about being caged — it's the consequence of your own arrogance!"
"Why should we care about insects?!" The girl snarled — hurling herself at the barrier again. This time the force from both sides was far greater. Naruko's body slammed back to the center — her arms covered in burns. "You're DUST!"
"Final warning, Fox! Leave Naruko's body and go back to your cage!" I commanded.
"NO!!!"
"Your choice." Cold seized my soul. The Fox showed me everything it was. No dealing with this thing. None.
"Naruko — forgive me. You're going to have to endure this." Mentally reaching for her, I started gathering my spiritual forces.
The construct Naruko'd been placed in wasn't just a barrier. It was a concentrator. A focus for incantations. Any magic — any exorcism — would be amplified and directed straight into the circle.
Folding my hands before my face, fingers twisting into a complex figure, I began to whisper:
"Hel-i-co-niLa-des lle-ren'nius Se~na' Hex-ap'-y-um... Batsu suru Jingai!" A brilliant flash blinded me — my shout drowned in the Tailed Beast's scream of pain. Naruko's body collapsed, pinned by invisible force. Semi-transparent symbols hovered above her — pulsing — each pulse pressing harder.
"GRRRRRRRRRRRAARRRH!!!" The Fox roared — deafening — pushing off the floor, scattering my incantation with a blast of chakra. Orange chakra began seeping through the possessed girl's skin. "I'LL KILL YOU, ONMYOJI!!! I'LL TEAR YOUR BODY APART AND EAT YOUR FLESH!! I'LL CRUSH YOUR BONES TO DUST AND BURN WHAT'S LEFT!!! YOU CAN'T HOLD ME!!!"
"I can." Firm. Steady. Yeah — I screwed up letting Naruko contact the Fox. I'll carry that guilt later. But right now — I've got faith in my own strength. My mastery. And what I do best. "More than hold you — I'll drive you back into your cage and make sure a beast like you NEVER returns to the mortal world!!! Stand down! Leave this body and free its true owner! NOW!"
"Ghe... So you need this human that badly?!" Twisting Naruko's face into a sickening smirk, the demon laughed — barking. Red eyes squinted at me. "Yeah. I think I get it! Geh-heh-heeh..."
The Fox's tone shifted. Set me on edge. This meant nothing good.
"What's it planning now?!" I thought — frantically gathering power. I can hold the Fox inside the barrier. But forcing it back into the cage? Harder. I'm limited — I don't want to hurt Naruko's body. And this is backwards from normal — I'm not driving a spirit OUT. I'm driving it IN.
I'd braced for a long fight. But the Tailed Beast's ingenuity went beyond anything I'd imagined.
"You want her?"
"?!" Did I just hear that right?
TRRRRRrrrrrrt!
Fabric tearing.
"Hey — you like this?" "Naruko" asked — ripping her clothes open with one clawed hand. The claws traced over slightly swarthy skin — leaving scratches that healed almost instantly. The Fox arched — pushing the tear wide — showing everything it could. "Such a beautiful young body, isn't it? You like it? You want it? I'll give it to you! Look — it's almost ripe!"
A crooked smile. The girl grabbed her own breast — squeezing.
"You!.. How DARE you!!.." I had no words. Just choking on shock and rage while the Fox did THIS.
"What's wrong? It's completely natural!" Smiling seductively, the Nine-Tails began to writhe — touching itself — making sounds. "I get it. She's good, right? She attract you? I don't mind! Just let me finish what I started. Release me — and this body's yours! You can do WHATEVER you want with it. Make me SCREAM. It'll be GOOD."
The Fox's gloating voice echoed in my head — growing distant — muffled — dissolving into emptiness.
Cold. My face was cold. My hands were cold. Cold gripping my insides. Shaking — almost convulsions. Whitened fingers crushing the staff until it creaked — I couldn't even tell if it was my bones or the wood.
A wave of fury — rising from my stomach — flooding my lungs and heart with liquid fire.
Like blacking out — except I didn't lose consciousness. My head went empty. Not a single thought. No deliberating. No pondering. No thinking. Just Acting. Out of my mind with rage — doing something. Couldn't say what. Just... something.
It took me a moment to realize what I'd done.
My staff struck the ground — a flash of golden light. Sunlight. Divine Light.
"I am a servant of the mystical flame; the secret mysteries are known to me; I have perceived the true laws of existence!" A voice. My voice — coming from my mouth — but completely wrong. Was it even mine?! "In the name of the Sun Goddess — I COMMAND YOU TO BOW, DEMON!!! I command you to return whence you came — and remain there UNTIL THE END OF ETERNITY!!! HHHHHHHhhhhHHHHHhh!!!"
The staff's impact against the ground deafened me.
***
The ceremonial staff struck the ground — a deep, resonant sound echoing through the entire cave network beneath the Hokage Monument.
A blinding flash flooded the chamber — an unending stream bursting from beneath the staff's tip.
Making a gurgling sound, the young priest swayed — fell out of his trance — collapsed to his knees. His glowing eyes dimmed and rolled back; trickles of blood ran from his nose and ears.
This was the Price. The price for the last words.
Words spoken in the Language of the Gods.
***
In the darkness of Uzumaki Naruko's inner world — a spark flickered. In an instant it bloomed into a sphere of sunlight — rolling through the dark corridors like a wave — drying up water — filling everything with warm gold.
The Fox screamed. No — it SCREAMED. Its furious howl — full of Hatred and Pain — drowned and scattered through the endlessly tangled corridors of Naruko's mindscape.
Naruko's world shuddered. Right before the Seal's Gates, massive stone columns started growing from the ground. Slowly spiraling — grinding stone on stone — they rose to the ceiling. When they stopped, the entire World trembled with a deep, echoing sound. But it wasn't over: the moment the echo died, the air filled with clanging metal. Hundreds of chains — writhing like serpents — tangled the space between the Pillars. Interlinking. Weaving through each other and the bars of the Tailed Beast's prison. Then — rustling. Like thousands of birds, a torrent of red and white swept across the grim stone-and-iron structure. In moments, the Columns and Chains were covered — thousands of white paper talismans, red patterns and symbols running across them.
And then — everything stopped.
The Fox's howl cut off. The Inner World plunged into silence. Even the chains — swaying on some invisible wind — were completely soundless.
***
I... I realized I was on my knees — clutching the staff with white fingers. The only thing keeping me upright.
My body trembled — weak. Completely drained.
I... what did I just DO?! What — in the name of the Kami — just happened?!
I can't remember. My head's empty — a hole in my memory I can actually feel.
"Khh! KhhhHHHhh!!"
After that fit of coughing, I stared — not understanding — at the drops of blood on my palm. My throat was raw — wrecked — like I'd been screaming for hours until it tore. Or suddenly decided to swallow broken glass. Running a trembling hand over my face, I discovered it wasn't just my throat: my nose, the corners of my eyes, even my ears — blood everywhere.
"K-Kami.... What's happened to me?!"
No strength to speak — even my inner voice sounded wrecked.
"Naruko!" The thought hit like a physical blow. Groaning, I tried to stand — and fell. My body flat-out refused to work. Biting my lip, I forced myself onto all fours — and somehow — by some miracle — crawled to the center of the pentacle.
She was out cold. But that was nothing. Aside from the ruined clothes — Naruko was completely unharmed. And — most importantly — I couldn't feel the Tailed Beast at all. At all. The demonic chakra was still inside her, but for the first time ever it felt... empty? Neutral? Cold?
I don't know what just happened. But one thing's certain: the demon's back in its cage.
"Thank the Kami..." I whispered — finally realizing everything was okay. Out of my mind with relief, I hugged Naruko's unconscious body to me. My eyes stung. This was my mistake. It almost became a catastrophe. My overconfidence — leaning on "future knowledge" — my carelessness. All my fault. I'll carry that. But right now — I'm just happy she's safe. Unharmed. "Thank You... Amaterasu-sama."
***
Notes:
* Baku — a dream-eater. A tapir-like yokai that devours bad dreams.
* According to folk belief, upon waking from heavy dreams, one should recite the incantation three times: "Baku kurae!" — "Baku, eat it!"
* Batsu suru Jingai — literally: "Punishment of the sinner."