Tick! Tick! Tick!
Faint noises of footsteps were audible to him; he didn't know where he was or why he was there in the first place.
But for whatever it was, he was scared. Scared as Fuck.
He didn't know what he was doing in such an eerie place. It was a desolate town, abandoned, due to most likely a war.
The houses were burned, some roofs had caved in and destroyed the whole property while the other looked like they had been bombed.
He slowly started to move around the road in the dark night. His only source of light was from the moon, which oh so graciously led him to who knows where.
Tick! TICK!
The bot felt his heart skip a beat, the footsteps got louder, and he could hear a rattling noise from the ground.
Gulp!
The young boy took a big gulp and slowly started to move forward along the road. he wanted to hide in one of the houses or maybe run away.
But, for some odd reason, he knew that it would not work.
One step after another, the boy could hear the noises get louder and louder; his body started to tremble as the rattling noise of chains got louder and louder.
"Musashi!" A voice that could not be considered human spoke.
The boy had tears in his eyes. He was scared, extremely scared.
"Musashi!" It called him.
"Musashi!" He covered his ears and closed his eyes.
"Musashi!" It got closer.
"Musashi!" And closer.
"MUSASHI!"
The boy jolted up. He looked around in haste.
"Is sparring so boring to you, HUH!" His eyes landed on the tan man in front of him wearing a standard vest given to Chūnins.
"Uh, sorry, Iruka-Sensei." Musashi quickly apologised while holding the side of his neck.
The man stared back at him and looked as if he was going to explode.
"Fine! But I do not want another chance like this. Also, you're up next after Himiko and Kinshi's fight." The man sighed and walked away.
Musashi heard a few of his classmates snicker at him getting scolded. He ignored them and sat back on the grass.
'These damned dreams.' He cursed.
Musashi was your standard orphan in Konoha. His parents had died in the Kyuubi attack, and he was left alone.
When he was six, he, along with most of the other orphans, his age was given a choice to join the ninja academy and become shinobi.
Being the smart SIX-year-old he was, Musashi accepted the offer and started to pave his way to becoming a ninja.
Oh, and the day he had decided to join the academy, he started having the accursed nightmares that ruined his sleep every other month.
It was always the same thing; he would wake up in a desolate village at night. Be forced to walk along a street and be met with demonic voices telling him something.
Sigh!
Musashi took deep breaths to calm down and turned his attention towards his two classmates, battling it out.
Himiko was an above-average student who excelled in Taījutsu, her Nīnjutsu was average, and when they were all tested for their Gēnjutsu aptitude, she had the lowest score.
Kinshi, on the other hand, was an excellent student. He was good at Taījutsu, his Nīnjutsu was beyond excellent, even better than many of the clan children, and he also had a good aptitude for Gēnjutsu.
So, in his mind, it was clear who was going to win.
Himiko threw a jab at Kinshi's face, but he weaved to the right and landed a hook straight to her gut.
Himiko coughed and moved backwards. She tried to create some space for breathing, but Kenshi followed her and threw a kick, followed by a knee to her face.
Himiko, who was winded, already barely managed to dodge the kick to the side of her ribs but was then met with a knee to her face, knocking her down.
"Winner: Kenshi Sakumoto." Iruka declared as Kenshi stood above Himiko.
"Nice job, Kenshi." A boy said.
"You rock." Another one of his friends said while giving him a fistbump.
"Alright, next up, Musashi and Shiro Uchiha." Iruka declared as Himiko also made her way to her friends.
Musashi got up from the grass and sighed. 'Today's gonna be another brutal loss.' He thought while staring at the quiet boy walking in front of him.
Shiro was undoubtedly the best student in their class. He was superb in his clan's Taījutsu and was already way ahead of the civilian born in Nīnjutsu because of his clan training him.
And there was no need for Gēnjustu to be mentioned for a Uchiha.
"Seal of Concentration." Iruka ordered.
The two boys showed the seals and started at each other, waiting for Iruka to start the match.
"Begin!"
Musashi immediately tilted his body to the left, just barely managing to dodge the roundhouse the Uchiha threw.
Seeing an opening, Musashi tried to grab the boy's right leg, which was his only support as the other was still in the air and go for a takedown.
Unluckily, Shiro anticipated Musashi and brought his other leg straight down and hit Musashi in the back of the head.
"Winner: Shiro Uchiha ." Iruka exclaimed.
Musashi got up and saw the departing figure of Shiro. He too started to move back to the grass.
None of his classmates dared to trash-talk him. They all knew that they wouldn't fare any better against the prodigy named Shiro Uchiha.
The only ones on equal footing as him were the other Clan children. Ichi and Kira Yamanaka, Shoku Nara, and Kaze Fuma.
However, the last one would never go all out on the Uchiha boy due to their close familial ties.
Musashi took a deep breath and held the back of his head, where the Uchiha boy had kicked him.
---
Musashi stared at the ceiling above him. His apartment wasn't too big—just a bedroom, bathroom, and a tiny kitchen where he would also eat his meals.
Despite the small space, he always tried to keep it clean, just in case someone came to visit. He didn't get many visitors, though; the only one who ever came around was The Third Hokage. Most people would wonder why someone like Musashi would be meeting with him.
But the truth was, it wasn't anything special. Every month, Lord Third would visit the apartments of the children at the academy. At least, that's what Musashi knew.
Man, my head hurts, Musashi grumbled to himself as he looked out the window near his bed.
The village of Konoha was still lively. He could see people moving about and the markets bustling below. His apartment on the third floor offered a nice view of the village's activity.
He stared at the sky. It was dark, as always. Yet, something in Musashi's chest made him feel uneasy, a deep sense of worry that he couldn't quite place.
"Ahh, whatever, it's probably nothing," he muttered, annoyed with himself.
Musashi closed his eyes and waited patiently for the sweet embrace of sleep to take him.
---
His eyes snapped open. His heartbeat was racing, and his eyes ached.
Musashi looked around. It was the same dark road he was all too familiar with.
Not this again, he thought. It was the first time a dream had occurred twice in the same day.
He moved forward slowly, the strange ticking sound of footsteps echoing in the distance. His heart thudded in his chest, gripped by fear.
No matter how many times he had experienced this, it was still terrifying.
He didn't know if the demonic voice would show itself this time. Maybe he was truly possessed and would eventually be consumed by it.
With a heavy sigh, Musashi pushed the thoughts aside and continued forward.
Every time he considered running, an overwhelming sense of despair always stopped him.
"You know what? Screw it!" Musashi suddenly said, after a moment of contemplation.
He was tired of letting his emotions control him. This time, he would do things his way. What was the worst that could happen?
He turned around, marking the first time in four years that he'd done so in this dream.
To his surprise, the road behind him didn't stretch on into an endless line of houses and shops. Instead, it led to a forest.
An extremely dark, desolate, and foreboding forest.
Musashi hesitated for a second, tempted to turn back. But he shook off the thought and pressed forward.
Thump! Thump!
He made his way toward the forest, determined.
He walked for what felt like an hour before he reached it. The trees were massive—towering above him like mountains, their bark wider than houses.
Musashi swallowed hard and took a cautious step into the forest.
"Fuck my life," he muttered under his breath as he took his first step.
His heartbeat quickened with each step. It felt as if it might explode at any moment.
Fortunately, no creepy chains rattled on the ground to add to his mounting fear.
Ding!
Musashi froze for a moment, his ears catching the sound of a familiar bell.
He shook off his unease and continued into the forest.
Surprisingly, it was easier to navigate than he had expected. Musashi continued moving, and before long, he found himself picking up speed, eager to uncover what lay deep within the forest.
Ding!
His body halted momentarily, but he quickly resumed running.
Minutes turned into an hour as the ringing of the bell grew louder and more frequent.
Now walking, Musashi could feel his ears aching from the intense sound.
He kept moving, eyes scanning the dark forest around him.
Suddenly, a light appeared in the distance.
It wasn't the light of the moon; it was artificial.
Seeing a glimmer of hope for answers to the nightmare that had been tormenting him, Musashi broke into a sprint once more. With each step, the bell grew louder.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. A minute. Musashi gritted his teeth and pushed himself harder.
Surprisingly, he didn't feel tired at all, despite all the running.
DING!
Musashi stopped dead in his tracks, his hands pressing against his ears. Shockingly, blood began to drip from them.
The noise became deafening. He dropped to his knees, clutching his ears as tightly as he could to block out the sound.
DING! DING!
Musashi's eyes widened, his gaze snapping up to the source of the noise. His eyes burned with pain, but he refused to back down now.
He took another step. And then another.
Before him, a tiny shack appeared in the distance.
His heart skipped a beat. I'm not alone? he thought, worry flooding his chest.
DING! DING! DING!
"Shut UP!" Musashi couldn't take it anymore. The noise, the fear, the frustration—everything welled up inside him, and he screamed in anger.
"Shut up!" His voice echoed through the forest.
Musashi took a shaky breath. He slowly stood, the ringing stopping as if someone had listened to his plea.
With a mix of trepidation and determination, Musashi made his way to the small shack. It wasn't anything special, but as he approached the door, he noticed it was shut and probably locked.
As he reached the door, fear gripping his chest, he heard a soft clicking sound.
The door creaked open as if it knew he was there.
Musashi felt like he might pass out from sheer terror.
Thump! Thump!
He stepped quietly into the shack.
Inside, Musashi was met with confusion and dread. The shack was far larger than it should have been, almost as big as his apartment—something that didn't make sense.
His eyes traveled to a candle placed conveniently on his left. It seemed almost as though it had been set there just for him.
He grabbed the candle, took a deep breath, and sighed.
Today was the day he would finally get answers about this accursed nightmare.
---
End of Chapter
I used Chat Gpt and grammarly to fix any grammatical issues but if you still find any please do tell me.
Comment a New Cover-Art picture pls.
Also I'm taking inspiration from Naruto: The Outsider's Resolve it is a great fic.