This is in response to the one-shot that Yaraslava Rada posted. I hope (he?) enjoys it. I don't own the original idea, instead responding to a request made by Yaraslava Rada in the authors notes of the oneshot. The story is called Naruto the Stampede, if you wanted to read it.
I don't mean to bash any characters, and I'm sorry if my view of them disagrees with your view of them. But then again, it's all a matter of perspective, right?
I have no beta other than myself and my girlfriend. I pick up most of my mistakes by reading the latest chapter out to her. This being said, if you notice any mistakes please do not hesitate to tell me of them. Thank you in advance.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Trigun, though I totally wish I did. Both are simply awesome, though obviously not without their own personal weaknesses. But then, wat's the point of reading a story without weaknesses? You couldn't think of your own ways of how the story unfolded if that was the case, which would deprive the masses of the pleasure of creating their own story.
Chapter One: Rosemary for Remembrance
Hiruzen Sarutobi read over the Mission request quickly, merely glancing at the important points. He saw no problems, and quickly approved the C-Ranked Exploration mission for assignment, before turning back to other important paperwork. The mission was quickly taken out of his office in the next load to be transported to the Mission Centre a few levels below his office, where it was rolled up and placed in the correct tube and it's contents marked down on a list. It joined many other missions of the same type and rank, waiting to be accepted.
A few days later, Team 7 under the Jonin Kakashi Hatake arrived in the Mission Centre. They requested a C-Ranked mission, as they had already completed one and where quickly getting tired of the D-Ranked mission they had been getting. Of course, the C-Ranked mission they had done beforehand had quickly been bumped up to an A-Ranked, but that was neither here nor there.
Iruka Umino was working in the Mission Centre as they came in, as it was currently the Academy holidays and he wouldn't get new students for at least another fortnight. He had to admit, Kakashi had been right when he acquiesced to Naruto's earlier demands for a C-Ranked mission, and this time held no real qualms about handing out another one. He quickly scanned the list in front of him, and thought a simple exploration mission would do nicely.
"Team 7, we have an exploration mission that came in a few days ago. A cave was found about a week ago, and the client has asked for a team of ninja's to explore it, as he wants to build nearby and would like to make sure nothing potentially harmful resides there." He explained calmly. The teams faces were normal – Naruto looked excited at the mission and confused at a few of Iruka's words, Sasuke looked bored, and Sakura looked adoringly at Sasuke. Kakashi was reading his book. He internally sighed at their disregard for proper protocol when in the Mission Centre. "Do you accept?"
Naruto instantly shot a fist into the air. "Yeah! We'll totally kick ass in this assignment and beat up everything we find in that cave!"
"Naruto!" Sakura growled, and hit him over the head. "Be more respectful!"
Sasuke did nothing, merely staring at the wall beside him darkly. There was no real way of seeing what the last Uchiha was thinking, unless you were trained in the ways of body language. Sadly, Iruka wasn't. Kakashi sighed and nodded, accepting the scroll Iruka handed over to him. He pocketed it and turned to his Genin.
"We'll meet at the Eastern Gate at 0900 tomorrow. Dismissed." He waved them off in a bored manner, quickly getting stuck back into his book. The Genin quickly agreed and went about their usual parting ritual. Sakura asked Sasuke out on a date and was rejected, and then Naruto asked her out on a date and was hit on the head for even suggesting it.
Iruka watched them go and sighed again, smiling fondly. Ah to be that age again…
"Alright team. This is a simple exploration mission." Kakashi started as soon as he got there, which was 9:30. The Genin had expected this of course, so they weren't too surprised. In fact, they were only surprised over the fact he had been merely half an hour late, instead of his usual two. "There is a newly discovered cave system about three hours travel northeast of this location, and we are to check it out."
"Yes! A whole cave system, and we'll be the first ones in there! I bet it's full of dangerous beasts that we'll have to defeat in order to complete it, and then we can go to the guy who hired us and tell him how super cool we are, and he'll pay us tons of money!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke scowled as he cut a glare at the hyperactive boy's back.
"Naruto, shut up. Idiot." He stated, and the orange boy turned to him.
'Bastard Sasuke!" He growled. He reared his fist in order to 'exact justice' upon the Uchiha's head, and maybe knock some sense into the boy, but Sakura interrupted him will a well timed punch of her own.
"Idiot! Leave Sasuke alone!" She screeched, pounding him once more just to make sure he understood. She then turned on her tardy teacher. "And Kakashi! You're supposed to set an example; so you need to be more punctual!"
"Ah, but Sakura, I do set an example." Kakashi contradicted her. "Do as I say, not as I do, right?"
He smiled at her from under his mask, and the pink-haired girl huffed in annoyance before hitting Naruto once more to relieve her agitation. Kakashi merely turned away and led the way out of the village.
"Move out!"
They reached the cave fairly quickly. Or rather, fairly quickly for a civilian and about average for a ninja. They landed lightly in front of a small farmstead, and soon a young man came out to greet them.
"Ah! You must be the ninja's my father hired." He said. "Thanks for coming out here so quickly. I really want to build my own home, but my dad refused to let me until he'd made sure the area was safe. The cave is just up this way."
He led them through the forest along a small trail that had obviously been made recently for a few minutes, until the team found a cliff. Set into the side was a low tunnel, and the man turned back to them. "The tunnel heightens further inside. I'll be at my dad's, so when you're done just come see us. Thanks again!"
He jogged off back in the direction they had come, and Kakashi turned to his Genin once more. "Okay, this is it. I'll take point, Sasuke and Sakura will be sides, and Naruto will bring up the rear. Any questions?"
"Yeah, why do I have to bring up the rear? Make Sasuke do it!" Naruto complained loudly, and Sakura hit him over the head for the fifth time that day.
"Naruto! Stop being so stupid. It's because Sasuke is so much stronger than you, so he's being put further up front! The rear won't be attacked because the area around here is mostly tame. Stop being such a loser!" She scolded him. Naruto hissed at the large lump on his head, which he was sure was going to bruise from the repeated hits. Sakura's punches weren't that hard, but they were enough to hurt.
"Hey, can't we all get along?" Kakashi asked, smiling again. Sasuke snorted but remained silent, and Sakura jabbed a thumb in Naruto's direction.
"Not with this idiot!" She claimed. Naruto fell silent, and the trio followed their teacher into the cave system.
It was dim inside, and they lit glow rods in order to see properly as they followed the twisting tunnel further in. Naruto's back was starting to get sore from being stooped over and he wondered how Kakashi could stand it, as the Jonin was much taller than the boy. Finally, as the man from the farm had said, the roof lifted and they could straighten up again. They saw arrows written in chalk denoting where the guy from before had explored, but there weren't many. They quickly disappeared, showing that he had turned back rather early into the cave system, satisfied that it was safe.
They turned down a few tunnels, but most of them were blocked off, and it was taking ages to get the search done. As they reached yet another fork in the path, Kakashi turned to the group.
"We have two choices here." He stated. "We could continue going as we have, in the one group. This will make sure that we're all together and can face everything safely in a group. The downside is that it will take twice as long to fully search the cave system. The other thing we could do is split up."
"Split up!" Naruto immediately shouted, and Sakura hit him as his voice echoed alarmingly through the cave.
"Idiot! If there is anything in here, they're now alerted to our presence!" She shouted back, ignoring the way her voice echoed as well. Sasuke merely grunted in agreement, and the girl turned to their teacher. "That being said, I also want to split up."
Kakashi turned to Sasuke, who only shrugged. He nodded in agreement. "Alright then, Sakura, Sasuke, you will take the left fork. Naruto, you're with me in the right path. Flare your chakra if something goes wrong, or you find something interesting. This is just an exploration mission though, so there shouldn't be any troubles. Anyone have a problem with that?"
Sasuke grunted again, and Sakura shook her head. "No, Kakashi. I'm fine as long as I'm not paired with that idiot. He'd probably blow up the cave and bury us alive or something."
Kakashi frowned slightly at her degrading remarks, but easily turned away, shooing them off. Sasuke smirked at Naruto, who wilted slightly then growled at Sasuke, only to jog a little ways down the path when Sakura raised her fist.
"I thought girls were meant to be made of sugar and spice and everything nice, and all that jazz. Love and peace, you know?" He muttered to himself.
Kakashi heard but said nothing as he once again pulled out his book, reading by the green light of his glow rod. He wasn't worried, as there had been nothing to suggest the cave was inhabited so far. He heard Sakura and Sasuke's footsteps fade as they travelled down their own tunnel. Sakura was talking the Uchiha's ear off, nattering on about something or other, but he didn't pay her that much attention.
The tunnel twisted and turned for a while longer, a few more paths branching off, but they all ended in dead ends. They reached a slightly larger room with a still pool sitting in the back corner. Naruto kicked a rock in frustration at not being able to find anything interesting or cool, and from Sakura's earlier comments and Sasuke's obvious pleasure in seeing him degraded like that. Even Kakashi hadn't stepped in to do anything, like usual.
The rock bounced off the wall and skittered along the floor, and Kakashi turned to him from his position beside the pool. Seeing nothing wrong, Kakashi turned back to the pond, which glowed slightly under the light.
Naruto noticed the tremor beneath their feet first, and Kakashi noticed a moment later as the pool rippled. The sound of gears turning filled the air suddenly, and the Jonin whirled on Naruto.
"What did you do?" He demanded, and the boy shrunk back.
"Nothing, I swear!" He protested. Kakashi stared at him for a moment, before a flare of Sakura's chakra caught his attention. It was weak, obviously blocked by the tons of rock between them, but he jumped to his feet and started running.
"Naruto! Stay here, and touch nothing!" He commanded before disappearing into the gloom. Naruto watched him disappear and sighed, looking around the room again.
The pool pulsed with light suddenly, lighting up the room and then dimming back down, and Naruto stepped over to see what it was in curiosity. The dirt beside it was disturbed from Kakashi's feet, and he crouched in the same spot, staring intently at the water that glowed green underneath his glow rod. It was fogged, as though he was trying to stare through mist, or even clouds.
He dipped a finger in curiously, and the water flashed again, blindingly bright this time. He covered his eyes with his arms, crying out in surprise as spots appeared in his vision and fell back on his bottom. The light died down quickly enough, and he spent the next few moments trying to blink away the spots in his vision. When he finally did, the water had cleared, and he could just see the glint of something metal in the bottom of the pool from the light of his glow stick.
He reached in and tried to grab whatever it was, but his arms weren't quite long enough. Pulling his arm back out of the water, he was surprised to see that his clothing wasn't wet or even slightly damp. It was as though he had merely been reaching into a deep pit.
He glanced back over his shoulder to the entrance of the room and stretched his senses, trying to see if his teacher was anywhere near the room. Hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling nothing with his chakra, he quickly turned back to the pool and placed his glow rod on the ground beside him. He removed his bulky jacket and ninja pouch and shoes, before sliding into the cool water. He gave a gasp as it chilled him, gooseflesh rising on his skin. He treaded water for a moment to build his courage before taking a deep breath and diving for the object that had caught his attention.
The water was crystal clear, and seemed to glow now that he was underneath it. He felt the feeling of ghostly hands caressing his body and a pair of arms wrapped him in their embrace for a moment, before pushing him further towards the object. As he grew closer, he saw it was possibly ancient technology from the time of the Big Fall, when humans first arrived on the planet. He hadn't paid much attention in history, but he knew some of the technology was still around. The Big Fall was one of the few things humankind remembered from the time of the Seven Cities, over three thousand years ago.
He grasped the strange object in his hand, his fist closing around the rectangular barrel before he turned and pushed of the base of the pool with his feet. He rocketed back towards the surface, this time feeling something caress his face. For a moment he thought he saw a strange girl with a kind smile and a growth resembling a pair of legs protruding from her back like wings, before his head broke the surface. He gasped and breathed in the air gratefully. He hadn't noticed his lungs becoming deprived of air in the weightless world of the pool.
He pulled himself out of the pool and collapsed on his back, his energy leaving his body all of a sudden. But he knew he couldn't fall asleep here – Kakashi would know he had entered the pool and touched something, and he would take the strange piece of ancient technology Naruto had found away from him. He pulled himself completely out of the pool, which flashed once more before becoming clouded again and losing its glow.
He pulled his jacket back on, puzzled by the fact that he wasn't wet at all from the liquid when he had just been completely submerged for at least a minute, and tucked the artefact into his inner pocket. He picked up his glow stick and tried to hide his weariness by adopting a smile and going to study the wall opposite the pool.
A few minutes later, Kakashi appeared with Sakura and Sasuke in tow, both looking decidedly ruffled and Sasuke was scowling. Naruto ran over, trying to act excited. "What happened? Did you fight a monster? Did you get caught in a trap? Hah! I bet I could have dealt with it all by myself!"
"Naruto! Shut up!" Sakura yelled and hit him on the head, and he hissed in pain again.
"They got caught by what seemed like an ancient trap, Naruto. Did you find anything in here?" Kakashi explained, and Naruto shook his head.
"No! All that's in here is that pool, and it doesn't even do anything! How come you guys got all the fun stuff." He pouted, and Sasuke shot him a smirk.
"Because you're an idiot." He stated smugly, and Sakura cooed over how cool he seemed. Naruto started ranting again, but a quick hit to the head curtesy of Sakura fixed that problem. Kakashi sighed and motioned for them to follow him back out of the cave system.
They met back with the farmers easily enough, quickly laying the owners worries about the cave to rest, much to the delight of his son. They made good time back to Konoha, reaching the Eastern Gate early that evening, where they quickly reported to the Hokage Tower. After handing in their report, Kakashi dismissed the team, who went their separate ways.
Naruto was almost dead on his feet by this time, and he didn't even bother getting undressed before falling into bed, the ancient artefact pressed against his ribcage, directly underneath his heart. He felt the ghostly arms caressing his face once more and fell into a deep sleep filled with flashes of a strange desert covered land.
He watched a strange planet from space, and saw strange machines drifting along, instinctively knowing that they were space ships filled with humans and Plants. He watched the strange malfunction of the ships; and a woman named Rem Saverem stay behind to save everyone.
He watched a man named Vash fight many battles in the deserts, gaining many wounds, but he always wound up victorious without ever killing somebody. He watched as Vash eventually defeated another man; someone called Knives, and took him home. But the other man was bitter, and eventually took his own life so Vash would never win. He fell into a deep depression and disappeared for seven years, before Rem appeared.
He watched as Vash followed her advice and fell in love with a woman named Meryl, eventually giving up the last of his life-energy to reproduce and give her a child. He watched Vash's descendents, knowing each were part Plant. He watched as the Plant genes never diluted as time went on, despite how much the children mixed with humans and bore their children.
He watched as Vash and Knives became things of legends, eventually forgotten in the weave of time. As Plants came to be regarded as sentient beings, and in turn created water and oxygen, and breathed life into the desert planet called Gunsmoke. He watched as the first bloodlines appeared, gifted to the people by Plants that were strong enough.
He watched as the Tailed Beasts were born, starting off as one child with massive powers who took on a spirit animal and became immortal. He watched as the Ten-Tailed Beast was then captured and sealed away by the Sage of Six Paths, and then split into the nine Tailed Beasts. He watched as the first summons were made when humans forgot the source of their gifts, partially just as gifts from the Plants and partially to help keep the humans power in check.
He watched as history was forgotten, history was made, technology was lost and rebuilt as a shadow of its former glory. As Plants went dormant, awaiting those who would acknowledge them and remember them once more, the few who remained awake happily serving those who cared for them and producing gifts for the public.
He remembered the complete history of the world, watching it develop from an uninhabited desert world, into the populated lush planet it was now.
The next morning, Naruto awoke refreshed and feeling as though he hadn't just watched the world form in his dreams, as though he didn't hold thousands of years in his mind, and all the lost technology that went along with it. He pulled the gun from his jacket, as he knew what it was now, and held it up in the early morning rays of the sun, giving the barrel a spin and checking it for signs of damage from thousands of years of neglect. He aligned the barrel with the six o'clock chamber and climbed out of bed, ready to face the new day.
He quickly went through his morning ritual, meditated on the values of Love and Peace for all of three seconds, and made a mental note to visit a clothing store after he had met with his team. He tucked the revolver back into his jacket pocket and jogged to the usual training ground, where Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting.
"Good morning, Sakura!" He called out to her. She swung her usual fist of greeting at him, but he tripped on a stone and stumbled, narrowly dodging the blow. Sakura blinked when her fist didn't connect and went to attack him again, only to miss as he stumbled, tripped, spotted a lucky penny, and any other variation of the acts. Eventually she gave up, huffing.
"Naruto, you idiot. Only you could be so bloody clumsy. Loser." She said, before turning to Sasuke and fawning over him. Naruto merely smiled happily at her and sat on the bridge railing, whistling a strange melody.
"So… On the first night, a pebble falls to the earth from somewhere." He sang softly.
Kakashi arrived soon afterwards and set the team to training, disappearing again to read. Naruto turned to the others and grinned widely. "I'm going to go train over there, okay?"
Sakura and Sasuke didn't pay him any attention, instead focusing on their respective 'training'. Naruto whistled cheerily as he walked away, finding his own clearing to practise in. No one noticed that his footsteps were different, or that the right side of his jacket weighed more than the left side.