Well, I finally did it. After a month of nerve racking brain storming, I finally made my third story on Fanfiction! Sweeeet. Anyway, I was making the new chapter to one of my stories, One Piece: Magical Caliber a Naruto crossover, when I got the inspiration for a new story. So here it is! This is only the first chapter so some things will leave blanks that will be answered in later chapters. So just stick around!
I hope you enjoy!
"The Gun Mage"
My body racked with shivers as I felt the wind press against me from behind. I quickly wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold on to the last bit of warmth I had left. Unfortunately, due to my torn pants and soaking wet wife-beater, I was prevented from doing just that. I leaned closer to the tree beside me, and winced as the damp bark pressed against the bruise on my neck. I shivered once the memories of my previous master's sealing colar tightened it's deadly grip around me and violently tugged me to the ground. All because I didnt give the obedience he 'deserved'. Humans are so cruel. They know nothing of the pain we familiars go through. We are only tools used to fufil their needs and nothing more. That's why I swore to myself from then on, that I would never befriend a mage again.
That's what I use to tell myself...
Until I met her...
She was jumping out of the trees when her emerald eyes locked with mine. If I had the strength, I would have jumped to my feet, shouted the fastest spell in the books, and run with all the energy I had left. But when my eyes met hers, I immediately crumbled. Her pink brows narrowed as her emerald orbs burned through the darkness in hint of worry. She turned to the boy standing beside her, muttering something I wasn't close enough to hear. He scowled his dark eyes and shook his head as he looked from me to her. But for some reason the girl seemed to ignore him as she grew closer. I couldnt explain why but just looking at the other boy made me feel angry and when my eyes locked with her's again, the anger disappeared.
"Are you okay?"She asked me softly, but I didnt answer. I couldnt. After living outside and in the rain for so long, my throat was dry from the cold I managed to gain.
I stared at the girl with disbelief. No one in the spirit world nor the human world that I've ever seen had such beauty. Most familiars like me are creatures incapable of creating a human body to communicate, so all I've ever been able to see was clotted fur or mounds of dull colored skin, accompanied with; multiple eyes, arms and wings. Not a pretty sight. And the only human I've ever seen was my ex-partner.
But this girl was completely different. Her abnormal pink hair fell past her slim waist as the rain made her bangs cling to her milky toned face. I briefly caught a glimpse of her black and red skirt from beneath her long black cloak, and the twin pistoles strapped on both her legs. Something you only see from a person able to cast magic with guns.
"They're called gun mages."I thought,"They're known for their weak supply of magic and low stamina. They shoot magical bullets from a distance, to keep away from an enemy and aid his or her comrades from behind."
I was taken from my thoughts by a warm hand pressed against my cheek. I visible flinched with my eyes wide as I noticed the girl was leaning in closer, trying to get a closer look at my wounds. With her emerald eyes narrowed, she checked every bruise and cut I had from my head to my neck and arms.
"Poor thing.."She whispered in my ear."You must have been through alot."
I whined in response as the warmth in her hand intensified, sending waves of heat down my body. I whined louder when she moved her hand and wrapped her fingers at the end of my shirt. I looked down at her and glared. She immediately caught on and moved her hands into the air, in a defensive manner.
"I'm only going to scan you. To see if you've been infected or not."
"It's only a precedure."She said.
I gave a weak nod and leaned my head against the tree. She lowered her hands back to my shirt and lifted it above my stomach to find my Air Seal tatooed to my skin. She gave a loud gasp when she also caught sight of the nasty gash my last master gave me. Removing one hand from my shirt, she ran her fingers against the gash delicately to the point it didnt hurt as she moved. Soon after, the warmth returned, making me groan in pleasure.
"Sasuke-kun,"She suddenly said. The boy standing only a few feet away turned away from staring at the forest and gave the girl a questioning glare."I've done a full scan but there's something deeper inside him... but I cant see it...Can you..."The girl trailed off, as if wishing the boy would come before she had to go any furhter. Luckly he did. Moving slowly, he crossed the clearing to the tree and kneeled at the gun mage's side. His eyes widened as he recgonized me.
"Naruto?"
"You know him?"
"Yeah,"Sasuke Uchiha, the phoneix said,"His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He's just another loser from the spirit world. I wonder how he got here."
Tch, if only you knew teme.
I caught sight of the girl scowling briefly before taking a sigh to calm her self,"Never mind that. Look closer at his stomach. What is that thing?"
I watched as Sasuke's eyes flickered a dark red before the warmth of the girl's hand suddenly took me over, clouding my thoughts. How does she keep doing that?
"It's a seal..."I heard the boy, Sasuke, say softly.
The girl scowled softly at him, as if hurt by his words,"Ok, Sasuke-kun, I get it. I need to look closer to things around me but obviously I can see there is an Air seal there."
Sasuke glared at her,"There's a second seal but I can't see what it is. There's something...protecting it."
"Is he infected?"
"No, I'm pretty sure we've gotten all the Shadows in the area. "
"Did you check him?"
"Yeah, his conscience is clear and his heart is clean from Forbidden magic."
"Is he tamed?"The boy asked.
"No."The girl answered quickly as she tapped the burning scar I earned after breaking my master's sealing colar from my neck. "He's a runaway."
The boy's glare softens as he struggles to keep his scowl. "So that means we're taking him back to the Academy?"
The girl flashed a weak smile at him before turning her attention back to my stomach.
"Leave it..."I managed to whisper.
The girl snapped her head up at me, emerald eyes losing its irritation to be replaced with worry. I smiled at at her. Just the feeling of someone caring about me warmed my nearly frozen soul.
"Try not to say too much, you might open your wound."
"I'm fine,"I said, lifting my hand to wrap around her wrist. "Please...don't look any farther."
I sighed with relief as the girl dropped her hands and returned them to my face. I looked at her and felt my heart crumble in pain as I saw tears swell in her eyes. Then the warmth returned, burning my insides until the numbness in my fingers and feet disappeared. Darkness creaped at the corner of my eyes as the warmth seemed to take me over. A sleeping spell...
"Wait,"I whimpered,"W-Who..."
Crap,...the spell...its so strong...
"Sakura."
My eyes slowly looked up,"Huh?"I slurred.
She smiled at me and ran a soft hand over the brusies on my face,"Sakura Haruno,"She said, as she pulled off her cloak from its red jeweled clip and wrapped it around my shoulders. The scent of vanilla and spice sung to me as my mind did circles. "Call me Sakura."
I smiled as I finally let the darkness take over. There was no need to struggle anymore, I knew I would be well taken care of if I was in her care.
"Thank you...Sakura-chan."
"So you managed to escape, did you kid?"
That voice..."Kyuubi?"I called into the darkness. A demonic laugh echoed in my ears.
"In the fur and blood. You miss me?"
A glare found its way on my face as I shook with anger. How could anyone miss someone like him? Especially after all the things he did to so many people.
Many years ago, there once lived a mystical dragon with magic beyond imagination. With scales of gold, ever-green eyes, and ten tails filled with magic, this dragon became the prime icon of the hope the spirit and human worlds wished for. The dragon brought peace with him wherever he went, settling the differences between man and spirit. Eventually, he became to be known as Orien.
From then on, people believed that the worlds could all live in harmony as long as Orien was there to guide them. All of that changed when the dragon suddenly grew weak. The golden scales the people cherished, grew dull as they fell from Orien's body.
This was just first stage of what would become known as the Grand Balance.
Orien was stripping himself of his powers and dividing them into eight guardians that would protect the worlds in his steed. Each guardian would control an element and serve the people when their time came. Unfortunately, only a few guardians were as kind as Orien. Some of the guardians chose to follow their own path the way they wanted to and ignore their duties as peace keepers. Of course, the guardians still kept the balance between the elements but they did not keep the peace the feuding worlds.
Kyuubi, the flame gaurdian, was one of the guardians that used his own abilities for his own purposes and in the end killed hundreds of people. Which then caused him to be sealed inside a new born spirit, to keep the elemental balance while he was contained. That new born spirit being me.
Even after the Kyuubi was sealed away, humans began to live in fear, believing that what the fox did could happen to them again. The humans thought that the demons, once again, couldn't be trusted. And before anyone had a chance to decide things, the peace Orien tried so hard to create slowly faded away.
"So what do you think is going to happen to us now?"
"Nothing.."I whispered,"At least for you."
"Oh? And you think that little pink haired girl is going to help you?"
I didn't answer. I didn't have to. He doesn't have any power over me.
"You're a laugh kid. As long as I'm inside you, I might as well be your twin."
"Shut up!"
"It's the truth and you know it. So why are you trying to ignore it?"
"Because we will never be the same. Never! So just give up on trying to control me!"
"It's you who should give up. You wont be able to keep this fight up against me forever."
A soft hand ran through my hair, waking me from my hellish meeting. My eyes opened quickly as I awoke with a soft gasp, breathing heavily for fresh air. Meetings with Kyuubi always made me feel hot and tired afterwards. But after waking up to those emerald eyes before me, it made everything feel so much better. I smiled softly at Sakura's worried gaze.
"Hi."I said with a broken voice.
She smiled at me, weakly at first until she breathed a sigh and softened her grin.
"Hi,"She said, "How are you feeling?"
"Better."I said, sitting up. Sakura quickly stood from her seat and put a gentle hand on my shoulder, pushing me closer into the pillows.
"Even though you say that, you shouldn't move or your wounds will reopen."
I relaxed against her hand and covered my own with her wrist, careful not to hurt her as I pushed her away. "Really Sakura chan, I'm fine."
She gave me another one of her concerned glances as a blush covered her face. Luckily she said nothing.
I took this as my chance to look around the simple and neat room. There was a bed, one window, white walls, a few plants here and there and a table. Everything seemed like the average hospital room, all except for the phoneix spirit in the form of a scowling teen in the corner.
I stared boredly at Sasuke as he glared at me. Finally tired of his unwavering stare, I gave him a smile. In return, he turned his head, completely ignoring my existence.
Bastard.
I couldn't help but feel bad for the person who would have to deal with him as their partner, who of course must have been Sakura. Ever since I first saw them, he had his onyx eyes on her with every move she took. A sign that showed he was a protective familiar that cared. I found that surprising for a person like him.
The phoneix familiar I knew was an arrogant bastard who would rather die then be with someone who he thought was below him. Being with Sakura must have changed his cold ways.
With a grin, I turned my attention back to Sakura. "Where am I exactly?"
"You're at our home base, The Academy."She said."This is just one of the many infirmaries it has."
"The Academy?"
Sakura quirked a brow at me and tilted her head to the side in confusion,"You've never been here before?"
I shook my head in a no. "The master I had before, always prevented me from leaving our village. He said he didn't want me wandering off."
Sakura furrowed her brows as if the thought almost disgusted her,"What village are you from?"
I shrugged."I never interacted with people at my old village, I could only see them from inside my sealed form."
The pink haired girl sighed irritably and looked at her lap,"Naruto-san?"
"Call me, Naruto."I said with a smile, hoping that would clear her mood. Unfortunately, it didn't work.
"Naruto,"She said,"How long were you in your sealed form?"
I hummed in thought. That was a good question. I couldn't remember a time when I was ever out of my sealed form. After being inside it for so long, I just sort of pushed the thought aside and slept until my master called for me.
"Mostly when we returned to our dorms. Or if he had a bad day, he would keep me sealed inside for the rest of the night."
Suddenly, the girl jumped from her seat and took a deep breath. Her eyes were directed at me as she glared in rage and readied herself to speak. But before she had the chance, the door gave a gentle knock. She turned and glared daggers at the door. I was surprised it didn't burn and shrivel into ashes from the look on her face.
"What!"She barked.
The door clicked open and from behind it was a tall elderly man dressed in long white robes. He gave a soft smile to Sakura who immediately dropped to one knee and crossed her right arm over her chest so her fist stood over her heart. Sasuke fell at her side and copied her movements without a word.
So this was one of the famous kages I've heard so much about from my previous master.
Kages are powerful mages able to control magic that could match towards one of the eight guardians. There is no spell that a Kage can't learn. It just comes to them automatically. Some believe that one can never be 'trained' to become a kage, but one is born as a kage. There are only five Kages on Earth. The Hokage from the Fire Region, he Kazekage from the Wind Region, the Mizukage from the Water Region, the Raikage from the Lightning Region, and the Tsuchikage from the Earth Region. Kages each rule over one of the five most powerful Hidden Villages as the strongest in their respective villages.
"Hokage-sama,"Sakura said,"I do apoligize. I didn't know it was you."
"No worries, Ms. Haruno."The Hokage said,"I wanted to congratulate you on an another successful mission and meet the young spirit you managed to help on the way.
Sakura smiled and took a step back so the Hokage could take her seat at Naruto's side. She stood with Sasuke following shortly after and watched quietly from the back of the room.
"Uzumaki-san,"The elderly man called to me.
I looked at him briefly,"Naruto. Call me Naruto."
"Ah, yes. Naruto-san, there are somethings that I would like to discuss to you about."
"Things like what?"I whispered.
"Like your wounds, Naruto."He said,"Why did Haruno-san find you in the condition she did?"
I looked at my lap and twiddled with my bandanged fingers,"It was because of Mizuki."
"Mizuki?"
"My last master…he did this to me."
"Why?"Sakura asked quietly. I looked at her but didn't bother to move my head. She was confused, I could tell from the look in her eyes. I turned away, finding it hard to look at her when she had that look on her face.
"He was….protective of me. He said I was special and that he didn't want anyone else to see the powers I held. He turned down team offerings and abandoned his squad on their first mission together. At first, I thought It was just him reaching out to me when he couldn't to anyone else. So I stood at his side weather it be in my sealed form or on the battle field. I was his shield and armor, protecting him from any and everything that might come his way. I guess after awhile, Mizuki became irritated with my progress as a fighter and punished me when things didn't go right. Eventually, I got sick of the abuse and broke our pact. After that, I found myself wondering in the forest, injured and hungry, until I was lead into Sakura-chan's arms."
I smiled as my memories of Mizuki were traded with new ones about Sakura.
"It seems you have been through a lot, young one."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."I said with a shrug, too interested in Sakura to care.
"Why do you think Mizuki considered you special?"
It's because he didn't want anyone else to know about the guardian I hold inside me.
I blinked as my eyes turned cold and distant. The first time I met Mizuki, I proudly announced I was the vessel of the flame guardian, Kyuubi. At the time, I never knew having so much magic within me would eventually get me into a lot of trouble.
"I have no idea."
I had to lie. As much as I would like not too, I just had too. I still don't know anything about these people, there's no telling what they'll do to me if they knew the truth.
"I see."The man said,"What village did you come from?"
"I don't really know."
"What do you know?"
I looked up at the man finding it hard not to get annoyed with all the questions he was given me. What part of me being sealed away did he not understand?
"Not that much really."
Sasuke snorted from behind Sakura,"It's not like he knew anything from the beginning anyway."
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura hissed,"That's mean."
"It's the truth."Sasuke responded,"The idiot barely met the expectations for a familiar. He doesn't deserve to be here like the rest of us."
"Sasuke!"
"It's fine, Sakura-chan."I whispered."Sasuke is right. In order for a spirit to become a familiar I needed to pass a test given to me by the Spirit Council. I took the test five times and failed each one. Fortunately, the Council pitied me and gave me a second chance to pass the exams. To this day, I still feel I don't deserve the title as a familiar."
There was a disturbing silence between the four of us. I guess they had nothing to say after hearing my life story. Sakura tried several times to start a conversation but each time she never got around to saying anything. The Hokage was quietly thinking to himself and Sasuke seemed too annoyed to care about the mood of the room. I busied myself by counting the stiches on my bed's quilt until the Hokage finally decided to spoke.
"Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"How would you like to start over?"
I looked at him with furrowed brows."Start over? How?"
"Become a familiar for the Academy and start over with a new partner. There are many mages here, old and new, at Level Four without a familiar. I'm sure they would be happy to have you as a parnter."
A new partner, I thought. Maybe I could really start over and forget about Mizuki. But….what if I ended up with someone just like him? I couldn't bare going through all that pain again.
Unconciously, I turned to Sakura, watching me with that worried glance of her's. I smiled as her concern warmed me.
Then a thought hit me like a smack to the face; What if I had Sakura as my partner? Ever since I've met her, she's been nice and so gentle to me, something I don't remember seeing from Mizuki.
As if reading my mind, Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and stood protectively in front of his mage.
"Don't even think about it."He snarled."Sakura is my master and mine alone. Get someone else!"
Sakura's eyes widened as she looked from Sasuke, to me, and back to Sasuke again. "Now, now, Sasuke-kun."Sakura said soothingly."Let's talk about this.
"Talk about what?"Sasuke shouted,"You're not really considering taking him in are you!"
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered, as if trying to keep her voice low so I couldn't hear."Think about how he feels and what he's been through. He has no one to turn to, no one to care for him."
"Then let him find a partner at Level Four!"
"Cant you see he's afraid of getting hurt again? Wouldn't you be too after all that abuse?"
I saw remorse flicker in Sasuke's dark eyes, before it was clouded over by anger once again. "He'll only hold us back, Sakura! Look at him! He's not nearly strong enough to be of any help to us."
I frowned as Sakura turned away from him and stared at the floor. Sasuke continued, "And if he does join us-which he wont-we'll go straight back to D ranked missions. Do you really want to throw all of our hard work away for someone you don't even know?"
Sakura was quiet for what seemed like hours. My heart ached violently with questions I so desperately wanted her to answer. Will she say yes or no? Will she accept me no matter the consequences? My heart swelled, however, when I saw her sadly take Sasuke's hand in her's and smile.
"You're right."She said. "Taking Naruto in would seriously kill our perfect record and make us start anew. All the pain, fear, and anger we went through would be for nothing."
I knew it.
"But,"Sakura suddenly said,"I am your master and this is my decision. We will be accepting Naruto-kun into our team."
My head shot up in a mixture of embarresment and surprised,"Naruto-kun?"I whispered with a blush.
Sasuke stared at her in complete shock. He opened his mouth to bark a response but the Hokage spoke up, "Are you sure about this, Haruno-san?"
Turning on her heel, Sakura gave me a bright smile and nodded towards the Hokage, "Yes, Hokage-sama."
I returned her smile with one of my own. "Sakura-chan…I…d-don't know what to say…"
I turned to Sasuke to look at his reaction and flinched. Not only was he glaring poisonous daggers at me, but his eyes were also glowing a vivid red as they burned with anger. I quickly turned away as my body shook in fear. Looking into those eyes reminded me of Mizuki when he got incredibly angry.
I looked up when I heard the door slam close and found Sasuke no where to be seen.
Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Haruno-san, are you sure you're alright about this?"The Hokage asked.
Said girl smiled, "Don't worry about Sasuke-kun."She said, "I'll talk to him about it later."
"Sakura-chan,"I croaked. "W-Why?"
"Hmm?"
"Why….for me….Why are you doing this for me?"
I heard footsteps grow closer and felt thin arms wrap themselves around my neck. Sakura's broken voice surprised me, "It's because I understand. Never forget that."
Finally done! Woot! Did you like it? If you feel that some things were kinda confusing, then send me a message or better than that REVIEW! I'm free to answer your questions.
P.S. it would be great if you could read some of my other stories and see if you like them. One of my stories is One Piece: Magical Caliber which inspired this story! It's a LuffSaku fic! And the second one is Reborn From The Snow, a crossover with Naruto and Katekyo Hitman Reborn. The pairing for this story is GokuderaSaku. As you can see I'm a HUGE Sakura fan. I've come to notice lately that there aren't that many Sakura-centric stories so I decided to make some of my own to satisfy all those Saku-fans out there, cause I know how you guys feel. XD
I hope you liked it. Please review!
11/07/10 09:55:27 pm
