Ichihara: I am glad to present the first real chapter of Foxfire Seal and just to be clear I still don't own Naruto…well enjoy!
Emphasis
Spells
Thoughts or Mental Communication
"Normal Speech"
Enjoy!
Foxfire Seal
Prologue
A raven-haired man with reddish-black eyes stood on a building in the rain, the darkness of night shielding him from view. He wore a black cloak adorned with orange and red smoke-like patterns. A small, red fox with even redder eyes was sitting upon his shoulder. The dark figure watched with a sorrowful gaze as a small raven haired boy entered the flower merchant's home.
"Itachi-sama!", the fox whined, "Why do you need to go to jail?"
Kyuubi, how many times must I remind you to use our mental link when talking in public?
Gomen, Itachi-sama…so why?
I was only able to save Sasuke while being framed as the murderer of our clan in the process, the three of us are the only ones who know what really happened.
But why didn't you fight back and prevent all of this from happening in the first place!?
Why? Because I didn't…
Argh! This is why everyone hates talking to you!!!
By the way…you said that you have an otouto as well, ne?
Yes, his name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto.
Hn…In about ten years my otouto will be accepted into the academy, until then you are to help the Haruno clan raise him.
And when he's been accepted?
I have arranged for the teachers to take care of him…now that the seed has been planted we just need to watch it and help it grow…then and only then will we find out what is inside…
Chapter one: Accepted
Acceptance is a wondrous thing,
for you are safe from rejection's sting.
Many are accepted even from birth, yet
others are deprived from such mirth.
But those to whom this privilege is sold
shall experience a destruction untold.
By Sasuke Ichihara
~Ten Years Later~
"Sasu-chan, Saku-chan!", a woman yelled up the stairs, "You've both got mail!"
After a few seconds a pale, raven-haired sixteen year old walked down the stairs, a red fox following him. After them a pink-haired girl who was the same age followed.
"Here's your mail…oh I'm so proud of you two!", the woman all but yelled handing the teens their mail as she hopped around.
The pink-haired teen looked around before asking, "Mom, where's May?"
The woman looked at her daughter confusedly before saying, "You know that rabbit, she's helping your father and Natsu in the garden."
May and Natsu are Mr. and Mrs. Haruno's shikigami. Natsu is a salamander when in animal form and May is a rabbit. May's human form has silver hair, with bunny ears standing on top of her head, bright pink eyes, and a slightly tanned complexion. While Natsu has dark green hair, slightly pale skin, and hypnotic, snake-like eyes, which are always behind a pair of glasses.
The two teens gasped as they opened their respective envelopes and Sakura read hers aloud.
"Congratulations, Haruno Sakura, you have been accepted into Konoha Academy. The portal to the academy's world will open at the stroke of midnight on the tenth of September, which is tomorrow, at the entrance of the forest. To enter said portal you must have the scroll attached to this letter in hand. You are to have created a magic circle of your own so that you can summon a Shikigami familiar at the welcoming ceremony. You will also need the following supplies:
Blank scrolls
Handwritten Talismans (Written by you)
One staff (Create it yourself)
Brushes and ink
I thank you for your time and wish you good health until you arrive.
Sincerely,
Headmaster Sarutobi"
Both teens let the news set in before running to their rooms to create their circles. The hours flew by and several explosions were heard from Sakura's room while harsh critiquing, which could only be Kyuubi, came from Sasuke's. Later that night, Sakura peeked her head into Sasuke's room to ask for help and noticed that the boy was hard at work creating a fire-based circle. Upon finishing a few runes Sasuke stood on the kanji in the center and chanted, "Ancient fires of souls long past, I request your aid in the spells I cast, grant me the abilities of magical flame, to seal our contract I recite my name. Uchiha Sasuke!"
Sakura watched in awe as azure fire engulfed Sasuke and the circle vanished from the floor. The flames subsided revealing the raven holding a golden staff that stood about a foot or so taller than him. The staff was topped with a red symbol which was shaped like a will-o'-the wisp that framed a sapphire gem in the center. Sasuke, as he willed his staff away, turned to face Sakura and asked, "Did you need something?"
"Y-yeah.", Sakura stammered, "C-could you help me with m-my floral circle? I just need help with the runes."
Sasuke sighed before replying, "Okay, let's see how far you've gotten."
After inspecting the runes on Sakura's circle Sasuke announced, "The runes are fine…", Sakura released the breath she had been holding, "the problem, baka, is that you put the wrong kanji in the center!", Sakura frowned, "You're trying to make a floral circle…so why is NATSU, the kanji for summer, in the middle instead of HARU which is the kanji for spring!?"
After editing her circle, and receiving much criticism from a grumpy Uchiha, the young sorceress stood in the center and recited her own incantation, "Sprites of the flower and the tree, I wish to form a contract with thee, my name I shall surrender with ease, so now I ask join me please! Haruno Sakura!"
A gentle wind filled with flower petals surrounded the pink-haired teen forging her new staff. The pink and green colored staff now in the girl's hand was a good foot or so taller than her and was topped with a pink flower which held an emerald in the center. The rest of the night was spent gathering their needed supplies for the next day, their first day at school. The next night around eleven Mr. and Mrs. Haruno had their shikigami escort the teens to the entrance of the forest. The two shikigami had adopted their human forms and dressed for the occasion. May chose a pink dress with red trim, a large bow around her waist, and her bunny ears proudly stuck out from the top of her head. Natsu had worn black slacks, glasses that accentuated his yellow, reptilian eyes, and a white dress shirt with a red tie. After an hour or so of walking, the group came to an iron gate that stood in the normally empty space that was the forest entrance. Sakura and Sasuke presented their scrolls which were then pulled into the gate. Natsu and may turned back into a salamander and rabbit when the gate opened allowing the teens to enter before bidding them farewell and leaving. The two teens stood in a corridor of light and watched as the gate closed behind them.
"What are you two doing?", a voice called from behind, "Start walking or you'll be late!"
"You're one to talk Kakashi-sama! You're always late!"
Sasuke turned around and saw that the voice belonged to a robed man wearing a mask and an eye patch, a brown dog, which the two assumed to be his shikigami, sat beside him.
The masked man, Kakashi, turned to the dog, "Iruka, could you please stop pointing out my shortcomings and escort these two to the ceremony."
With a poof the dog turned into a human male who wore a light brown robe and had a scar across his face.
"Would you please follow me.", Iruka politely said.
The shikigami led the duo to a large field that was filled with multiple small sprites playing and dancing. In the middle of the field stood four gigantic buildings the largest one surrounded by the other three. Each building looked like an old Japanese castle and bore a unique color and mark. The largest building was red and bore the school's emblem, which was the leaf. The next building was purple, held a serpent emblem, and gave off a dark and foreboding aura. Then, there was a green building that gave off a more welcoming aura and bore a slug emblem. Leading to the final building which was red, had a playful aura about it, and was marked by a toad emblem.
"Those four buildings are each a branch of the school controlled by a teacher.", Iruka explained, "The center building is the main one and is where the teachers and staff sleep. The green one is Tsunade-sama's dormitory, the red one is Jiraiya-sama's, and the purple one is Orochimaru-sama's. You will be going to the main building for the ceremony and be chosen by one of the three teachers depending on the shikigami you summon or if you interest one of them."
Iruka sent Sasuke and Sakura off before going to retrieve another group. The duo watched the sprites run alongside them as they drew nearer to the castles. Upon reaching said castles the sprites ran towards the next approaching group, which consisted of about four members. Sasuke and Sakura were left standing in front of the main gate of the grounds. They walked in and strait down the stone path until they reached the main building. Sasuke took a deep breath and slowly opened the large golden door that stood before him.