SWNOVELXO Chapter 2: Chapter 1 B
Chapter 1: "The Stray Beneath the Crimson Moon"
Wherein young Naruto doth ponder solitude, stray kinship, and shadows cast by legacy unchosen.
[Act I, Scene I – The Orphan's Burden]
Enter young Naruto Uzumaki, a boy with hair like the sun and eyes like the storm, trudging through the frost-covered streets of Konoha.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
Attend thee now, to tale most grim and torn,
Of child accursed, by demon's breath forlorn.
Young Naruto, vessel of the Nine-Tailed beast,
By village scorned, denied of love's kind feast.
NARUTO (aside):
Why gaze they thus, with daggers in their eyes?
Am I not child, with dreams beneath the skies?
No games, no touch, no arms that hold me near—
But only glares and whispers sharp with fear.
Children frolic in the distance. As Naruto approaches, their mothers clutch them tight and pull them away.
MOTHER (to child):
Come hence, sweet babe, stray not near yonder boy.
He is cursed, a vessel of grief, not joy.
The caretakers at the orphanage huddle away, speaking in hush'd tones.
CAREGIVER 1 (muttering):
Touch him not, nor speak too kind, lest beast arise.
His presence be ill omen 'neath the skies.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
Alone he learned, alone he strove to stand,
No teacher's warmth, no friend's outstretchéd hand.
His tears were salt the world did not allow;
So hardened was his heart, and furrow'd brow.
[Act I, Scene II – The First Fight]
Snow falls gently upon the village square. A group of children surround a trembling girl with violet eyes—young Hinata Hyuga. She is struck and shoved to the ground. Naruto, watching from afar, enters.
NARUTO:
Hold! What cowardice dost thou now perform,
To beat a maid who shows thee no harm?
BULLY (scoffing):
Be gone, fox-boy! This be not thy affair.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
Then leapt he in, like thunder 'fore a storm,
And laid upon the wretch a vengeance warm.
Fist did meet flesh, bone gave its pitied cry—
The snow drank red 'neath twilight's weeping sky.
Naruto grabs a brick and crashes it down. The boy lies broken. Another child stares, paralyzed with terror, wetting himself in the snow. Naruto breathes heavily, then—
NARUTO (with hollow laugh):
Ha... Ha-ha... Hahahaha!
At last, I see! The fear—'tis not just scorn.
They quake from me, like sheep from fangéd thorn.
'Tis funny—aye, so cruel, yet strangely sweet.
He turns, hearing a soft voice.
HINATA (nervously):
Um... th-thank you...
He approaches her slowly, curiosity replacing violence.
NARUTO:
Why took thee blows, and lifted not thy hand?
Thou couldst have struck, and made thy last stand.
HINATA:
I... I do not like to hurt, to cause another pain.
NARUTO:
Then die thou wouldst, for sake of peace in vain?
What of thy kin? Would they not weep in grief?
Thy mercy may be virtue, or misbelief.
Hinata remains silent, eyes downcast, her mind turning over his words. A servant rushes forth.
SERVANT:
Hinata-sama, come hence!
Hinata bows her head.
HINATA:
I must away... but, perhaps... we shall meet again?
NARUTO:
Aye... mayhap.
She leaves. Naruto turns away, trudging through the blood-snow and rests on a park bench. The silence grows thick.
[Act I, Scene III – The Thoughts in Snow]
Naruto draws with his finger in the snow—circles, spirals, beasts and suns.
NARUTO (monologue):
To be feared is power, aye, yet cold.
To be seen not as beast, but boy—more bold.
What strange warmth in her eyes, that held no scorn...
Yet still, those other eyes... those made me born.
---------------------------
[Act II, Scene I – The Lonely Hearth]
The scene opens beneath a silver moon, o'er a small apartment where silence echoes louder than any voice. Within, a young child sits near a cold window, his breath frosting upon the glass. He is seven—yet his eyes hold winters deeper still.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
What fate is this, to birth a soul in storm,
To cast him lone 'ere age could take its form?
No hearth, no hand, no comfort in the night—
But haunted walls and shadows without light.
NARUTO (drawing in frost):
These lines I trace, they move yet do not speak.
In snow and scroll, I find the truth I seek.
'Tis strange... to be not feared, but smiled upon—
Yet even fear... dost make me feel less gone.
The room is sparse—no warmth, no laughter, no signs of love. Cooking utensils lie unused. The boy's hands are burned and blistered—evidence of many failures.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
At five he was cast, to walls too bare,
Without a soul to teach him how to care.
No mother's touch, no father's guiding word,
Just silence... and the judgment oft unheard.
[Act II, Scene II – The Forest of Strays]
Shift to a sun-dappled glade. Birds call above, and a young Naruto climbs trees, eats wild fruit, and trains alone in the stillness. His face is dirt-streaked, his smile rare but true here.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
Yet in the green, where men's eyes judge no more,
He found a world unbound by ancient lore.
The trees did not accuse, nor river chide,
And nature's song did soothe the storm inside.
He stumbles, hungry. Flashback: Naruto at age six, stomach growling, collapses in the market. An old man and his daughter rush over—Teuchi and Ayame of Ichiraku.
TEUCHI:
Ho there, young fox—hast thou tasted broth today?
AYAME:
Father, his lips are blue—bring soup, I pray!
They feed him ramen. He eats like a starving beast. He weeps not from pain, but from the warmth unknown.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
This simple kindness, served in earthen bowl,
Did more to stitch the tatters of his soul
Than scrolls or steel, or sermons oft rehearsed—
For kindness, like true rain, doth quench the cursed.
[Act II, Scene III – Strays and Shadows]
Cut to the academy training field. Children spar. Naruto stands alone, yet watching. Shikamaru and Choji wave him over.
SHIKAMARU:
Oi, troublesome fox. Join the game, won't you?
CHOJI (mouth full):
You can be the enemy ninja! It's fun.
They play. Laugh. But as the bell rings, they part ways. Naruto watches them walk away.
NARUTO (aside):
Playmates, mayhap, not friends who'd bleed for me.
But still, to laugh—even false—sets the soul free.
Later, walking through the village, villagers avert their gaze. A masked ninja watches him from afar—resentment in the glare. The memory of poisoned food returns.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
A blade in broth, the touch of silent doom—
A shinobi's wrath, disguised as child's tomb.
Yet fate interposed—a ramen stand, a chance—
That spared the fox from one more gravely dance.
[Act II, Scene IV – The Stray's Creed]
Night. Naruto sits high on a tree, village lights twinkling below. In his lap, a book half-read, a leaf-shaped shuriken spinning in one hand.
NARUTO (soliloquy):
They say I'm bane, that I've my parents' sin,
Yet none hath shown me where my fault begins.
If they had fought, and died for some great cause,
Why must their child be bound in such cruel laws?
Nay—I shall not cleanse what is not my stain.
I owe no name, no tear, nor needless pain.
He rises, standing tall against the moonlight—more shadow than boy.
NARUTO:
A stray am I, 'tis true, with no known pack—
But strays know paths the pampered never track.
And those who follow me, not born but found—
Shall know a world where chains no longer bound.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
So speaks the child whom fate would break in vain,
Who forged his will 'gainst destiny and pain.
And though the stars their judgment yet delay—
A storm begins with winds that once did stray.
------------------------------
[Act III, Scene I – The Watching Eye]
Enter Naruto, now aged twelve—his form lean, quick, and ever in motion. He scales rooftops with the ease of the breeze, his blue eyes sharp with unspoken tales. The world beneath him bustles blind and unaware.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
Five turns of sun and snow have passed him by,
Since truth did pierce his soul with silent cry.
No babe he now, but fox of cunning tread,
Who walks where others fear and angels dread.
NARUTO (monologue, perched on roof's edge):
Men speak with lips, yet more with shifting gaze—
Their hands betray the truth their words do haze.
A glance, a twitch, the tightening of the jaw...
'Tis theatre, and I the keenest law.
He watches a merchant below. The man hides a coin pouch beneath his sleeve. Naruto's eyes gleam faintly.
NARUTO:
And lo—the juggler hides his second blade.
Let's see if foxes starve, or if they're paid.
In a blink, he descends, brushing past the merchant. Moments later, Naruto vanishes behind a cart, grinning and jingling a small pouch of coins.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
From nobles' robes to common soldier's cloak,
He filched with grace, a ghost beneath the oak.
No malice bore he—only joy and jest,
A game of wits, played only with the best.
[Act III, Scene II – The Forest's Tongue]
The stage darkens, lit now by moonlight and the crackling of a fire deep in the woods. A fox creeps nearby, eyeing Naruto, who carves in bark and murmurs to himself.
NARUTO:
The beast moves not by sight, but smell and air—
Its steps are silent, measured, cold, and fair.
To run is noise. To breathe too sharp is death.
To know the hunt, one must become the breath.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
So learned he not from scrolls but tooth and claw,
And grew in ways that broke Konoha's law.
For where the jounin taught through rules and ranks,
The forest taught through silence, stones, and thanks.
A bear snorts nearby. Naruto stays perfectly still, his chakra suppressed. The beast walks past, unaware. He exhales softly.
[Act III, Scene III – The Mask of the Student]
Daylight. The Academy training yard. Students spar under the eye of tired instructors. Naruto is at the edge, arms crossed, face unreadable.
TEACHER (offstage):
Uzumaki Naruto, to the circle now!
He steps forward. Across from him stands a smug Inuzuka boy, fangs bared in challenge. They clash. Naruto is slower, his chakra clumsy, but his eyes see patterns others miss. He dodges with instinct, strikes with precision born not from textbooks, but survival.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
Though chakra flowed like thorns within his skin,
He danced 'round masters thrice as sharp as him.
For what he lacked in form, in blood, in name—
He made with wit, and played a subtler game.
The bout ends with a draw. The crowd scoffs.
RANDOM STUDENT:
He's lucky, that's all! Fox freak's got no real skill.
Naruto smiles slightly, dusting off his pants.
NARUTO (softly):
Fortune, aye. But luck is but the mask of will.
[Act III, Scene IV – Soliloquy Under Crimson Sky]
Atop the Hokage Monument, Naruto watches the sunset. The wind tugs at his jacket. He eats fruit stolen earlier, chewing slowly.
NARUTO (soliloquy):
Five years have carved in me a hidden shape.
Not man, nor beast, nor hero in a cape.
I know their names. I read their steps, their lies—
Yet still I float like dust 'neath crimson skies.
What binds me here? This village I've not chosen.
Their eyes see mask, but leave the boy still frozen.
He places a carved fox mask beside him—homemade, worn, and silent.
NARUTO:
Perhaps the mask is more myself than me.
A shadow child... waiting for what shall be.
--------------------------------
[Act IV, Scene I – The Divided Hall]
The stage splits in two. One half is lavish: students spar with grace under the gaze of clan elders. Scrolls float by themselves, guided by chakra. The other half is worn, dusty. Chunin bark orders, their tone tired and bored.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
In halls of leaf, where children train to kill,
The scales are tipped by birthright and by will.
The noble born, in polished halls reside,
While orphans and the nameless learn outside.
Enter Naruto, leaning against the cracked wall of the "normal" classroom. He listens, half-amused, to the whispers of children.
CHILD 1 (mocking):
Didst thou hear? Uchiha's class learn from an elder sage!
CHILD 2 (hushed awe):
Hyuga-sama's grandson can already strike with sixty-four palms!
NARUTO (aside):
So. The fox sleeps in the stable, while the lion drinks from gold.
Yet I smell blood on both their hands.
Tch... What fools they be.
[Act IV, Scene II – The Gossip of Strays]
Naruto walks past the academy grounds, alone. He stops beside a fence where he hears more whispers—this time not children's, but parents'.
WOMAN (offstage):
That Uzumaki boy—filth sired by monsters, they say.
Best he stay where shadows dwell.
MAN (offstage):
Aye, his place is not among the clans. Just a cursed brat, nothing more.
He walks on, pretending not to hear. But his fist clenches.
NARUTO (softly):
Criminals? Hah. Perhaps.
Yet how many of these nobles would kill if cornered?
Or betray for coin?
What makes a monster is not the blood... but the blade.
[Act IV, Scene III – The Idea of a Pack]
Scene: Naruto's hideout in the forest—crude, but comfortable. He draws circles in the dirt: a fox, a snake, a crow, and a wolf.
NARUTO (monologue):
To live alone—is to die slow.
Not from blade, but from rot.
Yet friends... they smile with silver teeth.
I've seen such smiles. Heard such lies.
He jabs a stick into the "fox" circle.
NARUTO:
A team. Not friends. Not bonds forged in light.
But strays—wild ones, nameless, unwanted.
Like me.
Ones that bite when betrayed... and never flinch first.
[Act IV, Scene IV – Remnants and Rejections]
Flashback. A younger Naruto watches as Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba run off with their clans. They laugh together. He raises a hand slightly—then lowers it.
NARUTO (to himself):
They've gone where I cannot follow.
Heirs with titles. I am heir to silence.
Back to present. Naruto walks through the academy yard.
NARUTO (to himself):
So even among the "elites," the masks do not fit all.
There are cracks in every golden wall.
And from the cracks, weeds grow.
Strays. Just like me.
[Act IV, Scene V – Beneath the Crimson Sky Again]
Naruto sits atop a tall branch, shadows crawling across his face. His eyes glow with thought.
NARUTO (soliloquy):
Let others seek praise, titles, and tales.
I seek steel—sharpened not with polish, but pain.
And I shall forge not a squad...
But a pack.
He stands, silhouetted against the dying sun.
NARUTO:
No more sleeping with one eye open.
No more daggers in the dark from smiles.
Only those who bleed as I do shall walk with me.
And together, we shall never kneel.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
So begins the quiet hunt for kindred flame,
Not of blood—but bond without name.
For in this boy, alone yet unbowed,
Is born a leader the stars have not yet allowed.
--------------------------------
[Act V, Scene I – A Kindly Smile and Hidden Guilt]
The sun casts golden shafts across the leaf-dappled streets. Children stream from the academy, laughing, jostling. Amidst them, Naruto skips lightly, grinning wide—
—and bumps fists with a man clad in brown, scarred of face, gentle of soul: Iruka-sensei.
NARUTO (cheerfully):
Heh, Iruka-sensei! I didn't fail this time, did I?
IRUKA (smiling warmly):
You passed, Naruto. With flying fists... and flying feet. Maybe keep your sparring off the ceiling next time, though.
They laugh. For a moment, the world is kind.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
In Iruka he found a rare, unwilted tree—
A man who bled in ways young fox could see.
For pain's sharp tongue had lashed them both the same,
And kindred souls did oft forget the blame.
NARUTO (thoughtful, walking away):
He suffered... 'cause of me. Or no—'cause of them.
Would my parents weep? Or laugh at this bitter end?
Still... he never blamed me. Maybe that's why I trust him.
[Act V, Scene II – Whistling into the Wound]
With naught but wind beneath his feet, Naruto bounds across rooftops, a ghost in midday sun. His eyes scan each tile, each wire, each wind-kissed leaf. His movements are fluid, purposeful—hunter-born.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
To walk the leaf with silence as a song,
He honed his step where beasts and blades belong.
And chakra—wild and vast—his double-edged gift,
Did grant him strength, though made control oft drift.
[Act V, Scene III – The Fox and the Forest]
The trees greet him like old companions. Training Ground 7 lies empty and wide. With a deep breath, Naruto lands, rolling smoothly to his feet. He does not pause. The earth knows what is to come.
NARUTO:
Let's begin, old friend. Let's break and build. Again.
He begins to sprint, then tumble, then flip. He leaps tree to tree, hurling kunai in impossible arcs. Shadow clones flicker in and out. Seals flash across bark. Smoke. Impact. Blood.
He coughs, just once. Red spatters the ground. He smiles.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
For chakra vast as sea and sky he bore,
But like wild flame, it slipped through every pore.
Control eluded him like mist at dawn—
Yet with raw might, he forged his path alone.
[Act V, Scene IV – A Body Made of Bruises]
Cut to a memory. A younger Naruto, no older than nine, sits cross-legged beside a stream. His hand trembles. His pinky is bent—badly.
He exhales, and breaks it further.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
Madness, some would call it—this quest through pain.
To maim one's self, again, and then again.
Yet healing swift did guard him from the grave,
And made him cage the boy, and free the knave.
Montage: Naruto testing himself—throwing himself from cliffs, punching trees till bones snap, breathing underwater till lungs scream, stabbing his thigh to test a muscle's response. The forest watches in silence. No one stops him.
[Act V, Scene V – The Cost of Becoming]
He lies now on his back, staring up at the sky. Bruised. Bloodied. Breathing slow.
NARUTO (softly, to himself):
Still not fast enough.
Still not strong enough.
But I'm getting there.
One break at a time.
He flexes his fingers. Every one of them has been broken at some point. Now, they grip his kunai like iron forged in fire.
NARRATOR (V.O.):
What herbs could not do, what scrolls left undone,
He did with shattered ribs and swallowed sun.
A monster born? Perhaps. A beast in bloom?
But still a boy beneath the silver moon.
------------------------
[A clearing in the forest, twilight gleams upon Konoha's distant roofs. Enter NARUTO, his limbs loose with grace, his spirit taut with hunger.]
NARUTO:
Lo, the day hath fled on weary legs, and now, as dusk adorns the world in fire's last kiss, I stretch these limbs once more—
These battle-worn and oft-reborn sinews,
Which crack with thunder 'fore the coming storm.
The morrow past, a merry jest it was—
A class of fools, a day of scroll and ink,
Till fate did cast me 'gainst a wretched soul,
A man condemned, a beast in human garb.
Death's whisper in his ear, and blood upon his hands—
Yet I, the cursed child, the demon's son,
Did dance with death and break his frame with ease.
(He steps into the center of the clearing, breathes deeply, stance shifting with practiced poise.)
How light he felt, though burdened deep with sin.
I tore his flesh as one doth rend old cloth,
And saw within his eyes the mirror of my wrath.
No blade had he, no art of noble war—
Yet still he hoped to claim a soul from Konoha.
Alas! That soul was mine to keep and thrive.
He met no mercy in my burning gaze.
(He grins, a flash of feral joy beneath the stars.)
My first kill—O sweet and bitter fruit!
Thy nectar sings a tune I ne'er hath known.
I am no stranger to the eyes of fear,
Yet now, they look on me with mortal dread—
A fire within them, kindled not by hate,
But by the truth: I am unchained.
(He flows into taijutsu movements: sharp, precise, ruthless. The rustling of leaves becomes his chorus.)
From Iruka-sensei came the seeds of form,
His patience like the rain upon my stone.
From Anko, wild flame and venom's kiss,
She forged my wrath into a graceful blade.
No mere academy child am I—
But tempest, honed by war and time and pain.
The village hath been cruel, aye, 'tis true—
But pain did birth the man I now become.
I've danced with jōnin in the shadows deep,
And bled 'neath fists that sought to break my name.
Yet in each blow I found a lesson writ,
A silent teacher cloaked in bruises blue.
Their hatred was my forge, their fear my blade.
And lo, how strange! The hands that once did smite
Now hold their blows, and in their eyes I see
Respect, that timid child who hides 'neath pride.
(He stops, panting faintly. Moonlight glints on his sweating brow. He looks skyward, voice low and filled with iron.)
Naught do I crave but comrades true and strong.
Let not the knife of falsehood pierce my sleep,
For friendship false is death in gentle guise.
Yet in this world, with treachery so rife,
I seek to build a band of kindred souls—
Where wounds are healed, and silence tells no lie.
I walk this path with naught but strength and will.
And if the world should dare to spit again,
I'll make it swallow every scornful word—
For I am Naruto, storm-born child of flame,
And every step I take, I take unbound.
------------------------
Enter NARUTO, midst the hush of twilight, alone upon the training grounds, where phantoms of combat serve his ceaseless fire.
NARUTO
Lo, but the air is rich with scent of dusk,
The sweat of toil and echo'd cries of war.
Each step, each strike, rehears'd in silent strife—
For what is peace, but prelude to the blade?
He shifteth swiftly, a blur in fading light,
His foe unseen—nay, born of mind and spirit—
A shadow warrior, mirror to his wrath,
Each blow deflected, every feint denied.
NARUTO (cont'd)
Fie! Art thou specter forged from my own flame?
Thou know'st my every breath ere I do draw it.
This duel of one, yet twain in form and soul,
Doth teach me more than hundred worthless sparrings.
But lo! A crack from heav'n above did tear the calm—
The vault of stars did open wide its throat,
And from that mouth of immortals a comet fell—
Not fire nor stone, but flesh and blood and sorrow.
A great wind roareth. Naruto halteth mid-step. He lifteth his hand, and with solemn measure, release the weight that bound his limbs. The burden falls, and so he standeth light and swift again.
NARUTO
By Jashin's curse, what trick of fate be this?
Yon crashing star bears not the face of death,
But that of maiden fair—though marred by pain,
And shaped by devils' hands: black wings, and missing limbs.
He draws his blade, yet not in haste to strike—
NARUTO (aside)
One arm, one leg, and yet she lives and breathes…
This is no soldier's fall—no hardened soul.
She bit her lips to silence agony—
Nay, she's no shinobi trained for endless pain.
He steps forth, cautious, yet with fire in eye.
NARUTO (cont'd)
What art thou, crimson star? What realm dost claim thee?
Thy secrets burn within thee like a sun,
And I, a moth, must dance into that blaze.
Speak not—I'll save thee first, then rend thy tale.
He sheathes his blade and pulls a small vile forth—healing pills wrapped in cloth of silk. Yet ere his hand doth move—
Enter the ANBU, masked like ghosts of vengeance, swift and many. They encircle her form with blades half-drawn and silence sharp as frost.
ANBU LEADER
Unknown of name, of blood, of chakra trace—
She fell uncalled within our sacred bounds.
And for this breach, she meets the law's cold steel.
But Naruto step forth, his voice low as thunder.
NARUTO
She is mine.
A silence fall like shroud upon the field. The wind forgetteth how to blow. The blades still not by command, but by weight of presence. They look upon the boy with wary eyes.
One moment passeth, and then the ring breaketh. The ANBU retreat but linger near. He kneeleth beside the girl, now slipping close to death.
NARUTO (softly)
Hold fast, fallen star. Thy tale is mine to know.
Thy pain shall not go wasted on the dirt.
He presseth the healing salves into her lips. Her breath is weak, her gaze unseeing still—but she doth live.
-------------------------------------
Enter RIÁS GREMORY, the Ruin Princess, with crimson locks like dusk set ablaze.
Lo! Born of noble Gremory blood,
A damsel high of title, rich in woe,
Whose soul did strain 'neath bonds of forged betrothal—
To Riser, phoenix-lord, a cur cloaked in flame.
Though groomed for courtly halls and gilded lies,
She longed not for such fate, nor joyless chain,
But wings to fly where heart might call its home.
"O fate most foul!" quoth she, one twilight hour,
"Must I, whose power rivals devils' pride,
Be yoked to peacock prince, both vain and vile?
Nay, I shall rend the stars to forge my path."
Thus Rias, clad in veils of shadowed thought,
Did seek the whispers lost to time's cold breath.
Of dragons vile, of demons ancient-born—
She found the name: Moryo, the cursed flame.
Scene II: The Legend of Moryo
A beast of ruin, child of hell's own sigh,
A dragon proud who shunned both war and peace.
Yet tire he did of demon-kind and left
For realms beyond the veil of his own kin.
But in that realm, mid chaos and mid clash,
Two brothers warred—sons of the fabled sage.
Moryo came roaring like the storm-laced sea,
Yet they, like immortals, knew not of fear or awe.
One raised a hand and bade the stars to kneel,
The other carved the void with will alone.
So fell the dragon, sealed like pestilence,
Unmourned by titans locked in endless war.
And Rias, reading thus, did pale with dread,
Yet saw within that tale her only hope—
For none in her world dared defy her chains,
But perished realms might yet contain her key.
Scene III: The Crossing
The gate she found, 'neath runes of ancient age,
And through it soared—her house, her kin, her life,
All left behind for dreams unbound and free.
But oh! The pain that tore through flesh and soul!
For realms resist the touch of foreign stars.
Her frame did burn; her power thrashed and screamed,
And thus she fell—through sky, through cloud, through ward,
Unto the green-browed woods of Konoha.
Enter NARUTO, a youth with golden crown of hair, his blade drawn, eyes like dusk before a storm.
Before her stood a warrior fair and grim,
His years but sixteen, yet his stance spoke war.
The wind itself held hush 'round his bold form,
While Rias writhed 'gainst wounds she scarce could heal.
Around her danced masked phantoms cloaked in death,
Their presence dark as moonless winter night.
Then from the boy there rang a sovereign sound:
"She is mine."
A pause. A breath. A silence deep and wide.
The phantoms stayed their hand—at his command.
Rias, though weak, beheld the change with awe.
Her magic, waning, let her catch his tongue—
For language bows to devil-blooded ears.
She saw not lust, nor pity in his gaze,
But fierce resolve and something deep and strange:
The look of one who too had broken chains.