Pairings: SasukeXFemale!Demon!Naruto
Warnings: Alternate Universe (sort of). Use of Latin. Potty mouths and Sexual overtures in the progressing chapters. Several characters will be OOC, as per "artistic liberties" with their character history. Still I hope you guys like it.
BEAUTIFUL APOCALYPSE
Book I: Chapter 1
When Uchiha Sasuke undertook leadership for the tribe's expedition team, they were seven strong in total: four of the best fighters, himself included, a Healer imbued with inhuman strength, an intellectual who specialized in explosives and lastly, a medical expert who was was well versed with terrain and plant life. Out of every person in their tribe, these seven in combination had the best chances of survival. Yet their numbers waned, even if they were the strongest of the strong. He had lost his dear brother, Itachi, to an illness none of them had seen before. This disease was so new, so sudden and deadly that it had eluded two of their best medics, Kabuto and Sakura. Their only recourse was to swiftly slit the older man's throat to ease his pain; burning his body so as not to infect the survivors. The only memoir that Uchiha Itachi ever existed was the beaded cord that now adorned the earth-crusty hilt of his younger brother's sword.
Another member of the Leaf Tribe called Deidara lay beneath rubble and sand, his body lost to the deserts. The blond had sacrificed his life, holding open the gates of an abandoned burial Temple, so he could save the others. That happened six days ago.
Now here they were, underneath the musky canopy of a tropical rainforest, huddled together in a dingy circle for warmth and comfort. A flimsy campfire illuminating their wan faces, casting a frightening shadow upon one of their own. The reclusive warrior, rumored to be a direct descendant of the Great Snake, Orochimaru, had lost both his arms due to a harrowing attack earlier that day. Hacked off by a sickle-like mimicking limb from whatever it was that dwelled in this jungle. Only stumps that ended below the elbow joints remained, covered in blood-soaked tatters. The malefactors were bizarre creatures, insect-like, yet a thousand times bigger, faster and clearly intelligent. Sasuke's team had barely survived... if they would survive at all.
Sasuke glanced at each and every remaining member of their team. To his right was the Apprentice Healer called Sakura; she should have been back with their people, her only concern was wether or not she should accept tokens from suitors. That frightened looked out of place on her face. Kabuto and Orochimaru sat closer to the fire; the former wearily tipping a sleeping tonicto the latter so the Snake-like warrior could sleep easily. Kabuto's mouth was pinched at the ends, his silver hair matted with sweat and blood. He sighed brokenly as Orochimaru gave a wheeze, breath coming in shallow gasps as he finally succumbed to sweet unconsciousness. Their last member was his most trusted confidante; dour and serious Hyuuga Neji. He had come from an honored lineage, was a competent fighter but was cast aside by his family for reasons unknown. The long haired man leaned upon the trunk of a tree, exhausted beyond physical limits. He had been the one to pry off the thing that had preyed upon Orochimaru, but with no great amount of pain to himself. He would lose his life if he so much as exerted effort into one measly punch.
The last Uchiha closed his eyes. The losses weighed heavily on Sasuke's conscience and sorrow. In truth, he did lot like Orochimaru at all and would ordinarily never come willingly withing ten feet of him; he also despised love struck Sakura who badgered him constantly with her misplaced affections. He found Kabuto socially inept and greasy; while Deidara had been brash and noisy. At the start of this trip, Sasuke could only tolerate Neji and his older brother. Yet all of these things didn't matter. Shouldn't matter. He lead this expedition and he had a responsibility not only to the tribe but each and every member that was here right now. Even if he failed Itachi and Deidara, he would see to it that all the others made it back in one piece.
His eyed directed itself at the limbless Snake-warrior and the raven haired man grimaced. Casting his self loathing aside, his mind began to tabulate possibilities and formulate plans.
In the near distant past, Hinata, the Seer of the Leaf Tribe and cousin to one Neji, had Prophecied of an ancient source dwelling within the far flung unexplored territories of the Southern Lands. This relic or whatever it was, could allay the corruption of both man and nature. It would restore health, beauty and set right chakra that had gone awry. Hinata had only been able to Sense it and its power. She did not know what it looked like, how it operated and exactly where it lay hidden. There were myths and stories concerning its or their existence. Sasuke knew of them. That was where the problem was. His team had ended up floundering in the proverbial dark chasing after a chance solution. Because of that ignorance, two men were lost and the livelihood of another had been snuffed out.
He snorted to himself. The Telling sounded so much better coming from Seer-Hinata. At present, it sounded like some cock-and-bull story told to gullible fools who were desperate enough to...The raven haired Uchiha bolted upright. Desperation. Was Seer-Hinata that desperate that she would grudgingly expend seven of the most highly valued Shinobi of their tribe to chase after fairy tales? The implications were frightening.
A hand startled him out of his trail of thoughts. "Sasuke, are you ok?" Sakura asked. Little did he know, that as he worried for his comrades (never his friends really), so they were troubled over their leader. True, Sasuke was a silent recluse even as a child, but he became much much worse after his older brother had passed away. He held himself aloft from other members, concerned because he had to.
Grunting in reply, he told her to get some sleep, mind furiously at work. Sasuke was anything but a heroic, idealist. He was pragmatic at best and pessimistic at worst. The only feasible plan he foresaw was to continue with the search alone. In times such as these, the Leaf Tribe needed all hands that could be spared. The medics were obviously best sent home. What with people suddenly getting sick and weakened. Orochimaru was virtually useless to him now that he had no hands to fight with. Oh he could probably cast jutsu, but would be impeded by the bloodloss. Neji, due to his exhaustion, was out of the question as well. The search party needed to be swift. Waiting for the both warriors to recuperate was wasting time. Sasuke could forge on alone. In fact he was the ideal choice. His health and chakra reserves were acceptable and would not be affected by the Taint that haunted the Land of Fire this far into the South. He was the only one who remotely knew what it was they were looking for (although he wasn't entirely sure) and he could travel faster by himself. He had no family left to go back home to, seeing as how his only kith and kin had passed before him. If he perished, he would perish alone.
He had to send them back. And the only way to do it was to activate the Jutsu meticulously written on the scroll that rested snugly against his hip. It was impressed upon him that this was for "a last resort". And in his mind, the situation was as dire as ever.
Sasuke's elegant, yet rough hand crept unto his belt pouches, untying knots and dipping into a leather flap that held the precious way back to the Leaf Tribe.
"What are you planning, Uchiha?" demanded a sharp voice. Neji's pearl-colored gaze seared into his soul. Hints of the Sight were granted to him, allowing erratic access to What Was To Be.
"Nothing that concerns you, Hyuuga." Sasuke returned. He shifted into the green earth under the pretense of getting comfortable, but in reality he loosed the scroll. When he was good and ready for the casting he turned to his comrade. "Tell them that I will continue until I have no breath left in this body."
Shouts of protests and gasps of shock spewed from those who realized what their Leader intended.
The last Uchiha bit his thumb, wiped his blood on the words of the scroll, cast the spell, excluding himself from the number of "passengers" and watched dispassionately as his companions shimmered and then faded into nothingness, one by one. He blinked and examined the campsite. Nothing was left except opened backpacks, messily spread bedrolls, and strips of bandages.
Knowing that his allies were safe did not ease the agonizing loneliness he felt. Even when he hung back from their "campfire gatherings" these two years, he had been very much comforted amidst their low chatter. Watching as the scroll reduced itself to ashes, he let himself be awash with sorrow. He was startled to find tears in his eyes; for himself or for his brother, he could never tell.
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Sasuke cursed anew, weeks into his staggering through the thick foliage. He had recently stumbled upon an crumbling effigy of a leaping animal engulfed in flame. He squinted against the gloom and heaved imprecations on the thick leaves that prevented the thin shafts of sunlight from wafting through.
He was loathe to waste chakra, but he had no choice. He could barely see the end of his nose. Muttering a quick katon, the raven haired man searched for usable faggots on the earth floor. Finding a strong two feet branch, he sent flames at the end of it, sat down, while chucking the other end of the makeshift staff into the ground and rummaged into his backpack. He needed to verify something.
When his hand came in contact with old dried leather, Sasuke quickly yanked out the small diary of one of his predecessors. It was the journal of Shisui the Dreamer. An unlikely Uchiha who was besotted with myth and legend rather than warfare. Shisui, outcasted from the clan, combed the world for stories, theories and what not; writing his discoveries in the very notebook that Sasuke held within his hand.
The last Uchiha had stumbled upon it underneath several family heirlooms, in the attic of their old mansion, when he was but a child. That had ignited a passion for myths like his great uncle's. But unlike his forefather, Sasuke delved into myths as a pastime. This was why he was chosen to lead the mission in the first place. Seer-Hinata's vision had coincided roughly with several legends in Shisui's Mythology manual.
Worn, brittle pages were flipped one after the other. "Effigy... effigy... where is it. I've read it somewhere before..." muttered the Katon user. "Hm. Fox, rearing on its hind legs, bakground with flame... hmmm... according to the People of Sound was a Guardian, who entertained supplicants."
He closed the book with a snap, as he exhaled shakily. Here, finally, was a sign of greater possibility! Even if Kitsune demons were frauds or proselytes who thought themselves as fox kin, someone had to have made these carvings on the wall. Perhaps they marked entrances to caves filled with treasure or an ancient book of knowledge... something that might help.
Pulling the torch free, he strapped his back securely and began brushing away fallen leaves in his path. Kitsune demons, according to Shisui, were said to make dwellings deep underground. And they marked the surface of their abode with hard grey rock-like substance, forming linear patterns. It took him several hours until he found his first firm, straight line that looked like liquid metal. Heart thumping in excitement, he followed it faithfully, until he stopped at the end of a gigantic tree. The tree was like no tree he had ever seen before. Aside from being freakishly wide and squat, it was lumpy like a sackful of pillows. It also smelled rank, like curdled milk and leftover stew. Holes about seven feet wide littered the great trunk all around.
"What is this?" he frowned as his hand touched a smooth, shiny bump inside a bole. It was hard and smooth. He squeezed it and to his shock was answered with an angry hiss. His black eyes widened when several hulking shapes hopped down from the tree. They were identical to the insect like creatures that had attacked them before. And it looked like he had just stumbled upon a whole colony!
Seeing no other recourse, Sasuke took to the trees and ran for his life. He could probably handle two on his own, three if he was desperate, but he had no disillisions against twenty of them. He leapt away as a spiky appendage pierced through the tree branch he was on.
Squashed like a bug BY a bug was a Humiliating, Despicable Un-Shinobi-like Death That Should Be Avoided At All Costs. Sasuke had, at the very least, wanted to die in battle against a worthy opponent.
He jumped into the ground. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu." The air vibrated with the strength of his spell, quickly drowning lush trees into a sea of flames and striking the nearest pursuer between bulging, round eyes. Quickly resuming his break neck speed, Sasuke darted left and right into bushes and brambles, praying that he would lose them in the leafy maze. No such luck. A hairy leg brushed against his back, sending him sprawling into a patch of weeds and surprisingly a downward sloping crevice of rock and sand.
Spinning and rolling, Sasuke had no idea where he was, all he knew was that for the moment he was safe, inside a ridiculously well lit cavern. A cavern that smelled like sulfuric acid. (It made Sasuke's nose twitch).He sneezed ones or twice, but ignored the odor. He was just happy that those large disgusting bugs couldn't possibly fit into the small opening chasm, and then he began to relax. With a huff, the last Uchiha gingerly sat himself up, wincing. Nothing seemed to be broken. The hilt of his sword had poked him in the thigh. It would cause bruises and nothing else. All he had to deal with now were sore, stiff muscles, the scattered items of his backpack and his worse for wear appearance. He stood up carefully gathering the contents of his materials so as not to jar his aching joints. He tottered forward when a particularly heavy wind gust blew from behind him. Sasuke became more relieved. That meant there was another exit at the back of this underground chasm, one where he could use to escape those pesky oversized cockroaches upstairs. First, he needed to recuperate.
Sasuke turned around, only to be met with a velvety, cold, doggy-like nose that was bigger than the whole of his head and his upper torso altogether. The nose lifted to reveal a rictus snarl and rows upon rows of glimmering, slobbery sharp teeth.
Whatever it was he expected to find. This was NOT it. The raven haired man did the only thing he could do. For the first time in 21 years, he screamed.
"Calm yourself human." a soft, gutteral voice, resounded inside the cave. The disembodied set of teeth veered away from him, only to showcase, blazing red fur, streamlined with darker maroon ones. Red eyes rimmed blue that regarded him in amused silence from atop a narrow snout and a slender column of neck.
That amusement, more than anything, bristled along the edges of Sasuke's pride. His dignity forced him to gather the pieces of himself that had been lost to stark terror. The young man impressed upon himself to acknowledge the blazing rationality behind the beastly appearance. It could talk, albeit rolling its "R"s and now that he could observe without fear, Sasuke realized it seemed more wise than any other human he had encountered. Somehow, he couldn't help feeling a little humbled and awed.
"Why, thank you for the flattery, little human." The giant face, snout and all tilted sideways, into what looked to be a little lupine grin. "I take it you are better? You are not going to scream anymore?"
The human beneath the creature's chin blushed. He shook his head, not trusting to voice out his answers. If he did he'd most likely let loose an embarrassed squeak.
The grin became a coy smirk. "I seem to have that effect on most humans." The creature crossed its fore paws one over the other, resting its head on it and maintained eye level with the last Uchiha. "So what can this poor lonesome fox do for you? You have come a long way from home, little human, just to visit. Dire matters must be afoot."
"What are you?" the human blurted out before he could stop himself. It seemed that his brain refused to realign properly with his mouth.
The reply came in a dry tone. "You are certainly no diplomat. You do not possess the silver tongue of the previous humans who have come here. Oh well, it is a rather refreshing change." The fox chuckled, fanning nine perfectly groomed red tails with white tips. "Aside from being a female Kyuubi and a free sentient being, I do not know what I am. Do you?"
Sasuke lost all eloquence; too dumbstruck in the face of something he thought could not exist.
"How terribly rude of you." the she-demon sniffed. The Uchiha's thoughts projecting itself unto the Kyuubi, loud and clear. "Just because you carry no proof of a Kyuubi's being, does not mean we do no exist. Tsk tsk tsk..." she butted the Uchiha's chest with a wet fox nose. "There now, you have seen me, conversed with me, felt my weight and my fur. Should not that confirm that I am real?"
The human just blinked.
The Kyuubi lolled her eyes to the right. "Oh, get over the shock, post haste! I have not had a decent conversation in a millenia! I am very much confident in you speaking skills, little human. You can answer this next question. It is not at all difficult. What do you wish of me?"
"Don't patronize me!" Sasuke growled. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. Not "little human"."
"Temper, temper." the she-demon put a gentle paw atop his spiky haired head. "You are rather minute in all honesty. Have humans always been this tiny?" She removed her appendage and settled back to watch him. "Never you mind. Unto pressing matters shall we? I know you and your Seer, Jus-Fidei (1), the one with white eyes seek to use my powers. Why do you wish it so?"
Confusion bloomed unto Sasuke's pale face. The current Leaf Seer was Hinata. Although, she did have white eyes, he knew no one named Jus Fidei. His questions led to even more questions. It seemed that Kyuubi was aware of their current situation, and whatever bargaining leverage he had would be lost. He could not see how, though. He had never had contact with the fox, nor the fox with him until recently.
"I am part of the world, as old as time itself. I have caught the whispers in the wind. The Words that it carries, I hear. If you must leave with nothing else, remember only this. Words are powerful. The Unspoken ones coupled with a strong will even more so. As for your "Hinata"... It is of no consequence as of the moment."
The human peered at the Kyuubi suspiciously. "You're reading my mind, aren't you? Stop it."
"It is not my fault that you willingly display your thoughts, human. It is the same with "Hinata", when her consciousness touched mine in that instant, her thoughts were revealed to me. As yours were, when you considered the possibility of my reality." The she-demon stood on all fours. "I grow weary of this. Do you wish for me to recall your brother from the dead? The whole Uchihca clan? Do you wish enough power to be the strongest in the world? Ah, how terrible of me. I must learn to hold my tongue. There has been no talk of payment between you and I."
"Everything comes with a price." The raven haired man stated tiredly, even as he jumped at the chance that he could have his relative back. "Name it."
The Kyuubi nodded. "Most assuredly. In exchange for granting four of your wishes, you must defeat me in combat."
Sasuke was bruised, tired, hungry and weak. He stared at the she-demon's massive girth and the crackling stir of chakra that she expelled with every breath.
One thought crossed his mind.
SHIT!
And that's the end of the first chapter. Please read and review. I'd really like to know what you guys think of this story, because I'm trying something new. -smiles- thanks!
Oh and some "normal words" are capitalized, they will be explained as the story progresses
1 Jus Fidei - Latin for "Warrant for Belief".