Hello friends and welcome. I have recently been thinking quite a lot and I am currently somewhat unsatisfied with the original first chapter of this story. Seeing as it is still early on in the process I have decided to rewrite it in order to more closely portray what I had envisioned. It has taken me quite a bit of time to do this due to things coming up in my life at this point in time. Thus while I apologize for the amount of time this chapter has taken to be posted, I hope it will be worth it in the end. Without any further ado, the rewritten first chapter of Burning Cloth.
Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or Kill La Kill. They are property of their respective owners and I do not have any monetary gain from writing this. Now then, any lawyers can look here if they want a disclaimer for any of the chapters because this is the only place I will be writing one. Any who demand another shall be beaten with a giant rubber chicken made of many smaller rubber chickens.
"Normal Talking"
'Normal Thinking'
"Technique/Jutsu or Summon Beast/Bijuu Talking"
-Time/Setting Skip/Change-
=Chapter Start + name /End=
=Sparks=
Naruto Uzumaki was a simple boy. He wanted companionship and attention just like every other boy his age. However, unlike most boys his age, he never received what he wanted. Left alone on the streets at the tender age of 5, he was hated by most and ignored by the rest. He was lonely and desperate for any form of attention. There was but one light in his life, fire. Naruto had always been entranced by fire, its beauty ensnaring him. He could just stare at a torch or a lantern until the flame eventually went out, uncaring of the world around him. He did not know why he was so fascinated by the flickering of a flame, but he thought that it may be because he wanted to be like the fire, bright and most importantly noticeable. Nobody could ignore a flame like they ignored him, and hatred had no effect on it. But Naruto did not question his awe towards fire often, as it was the only thing that brought him some form of happiness in the world. And so even on this most special day, October the tenth, Naruto's sixth birthday, he still sat simply in his room gazing at the flickering of the candle next to his bedside, entranced. He sat there for hours, with his blond hair short and spiked, wearing his normal white shirt with a spiral on the front and his blue shorts. His blue eyes shined with the reflection of the flame and the flickers of the candlelight made the three whisker-like marks on his cheeks stand out. He sat there and stared at the flickering of the flame and the light smoke that rose from it, until he was broken from his trance by a crash from his front door.
-With the crash came a spark-
Kaizou Ramui was a simple man. He desired companionship, status and happiness, just like every other man. Kaizou, unlike most men, had these things before, but they were all taken from him, leaving him an empty husk of a man with little left to live for. He once had a light in his life, his wife Rika. She had given him everything he had ever wanted just by being with him. He had loved her with all his heart and soul, as she had him. They had met while he was returning from a mission. She a simple merchant's daughter and he a simple newly promoted chunin. They had caught each other's eyes and both would swear it was love at first sight. They started dating and soon they were engaged. They married soon after with the blessings of the Hokage, and were trying for a child. Then it was all over, all ended by a simple word. Kyuubi. When the beast attacked it wrought destruction like nothing had before it. He had thrown his largest technique, a massive dragon of fire, towards the beast. It shrugged the attack off as if it was nothing, but its attention soon turned to him. To this day he swore the beast smirked at him, before launching a fireball three times as large as his dragon back at him. Kaizou stood there, frozen in fear. As the fireball neared, he turned away, not wanting to see his impending doom. He felt the heat on his back and a rush of wind, then nothing. Looking up, he saw that the attack had missed him, he felt a rush of relief. Until he saw where the fireball was going to land. He and his wife's newly acquired house.
With a feeling of dread he ran towards the home as fast as he could. Most civilians had been evacuated, however his wife was pregnant and could not safely make the trip to the safehouse under the Hokage monument. As he ran, he thought about all of his life, and his love for his wife and soon to be born child. This fueled him to run faster than he ever had before, faster than most jounin would ever be able to run.
It was not enough.
A massive explosion lit up the night and Kaizou's eyes widened in horror. Just as he arrived at his home, it was consumed by flame. He rushed inside, desperately hoping against all hope that his beloved wife was still alive inside.
She was.
He could tell because of the screams.
He sat and watched in shocked horror as he saw his wife, covered by flames, screaming in agony and begging for his return. It was during this begging that his wife caught sight of him. She looked at him, and smiled. She opened her mouth as if to call him, but the words never left her mouth.
The large piece of wood falling from the ceiling made sure of that.
Kaizou watched on, frozen in fear and horror as he watched as the last of the life was burned away from his beloved's eyes. He watched as her flesh burned away and her mouth was left gaping open in an silent scream as she took her last breath, a breath of smoke and embers. He couldn't move, he couldn't even breath. He stood and stared in disbelief, even as a larger piece of his newly bought home, a larger piece of his dream, still in flame, fell towards his head. It was only his years of ninja training that saved him. His instincts took over and he quickly dodged the falling debris, which now blocked his wife's corpse from view. His mind blank his body took over and he quickly jumped out of his crumbling future and out into the night. The last thing he remembers before fainting from shock is the giant red eyes of the Kyuubi, a look of mocking and amusement gleaming in them.
When Kaizou woke once again the beast was gone, sealed into a young boy. He stared blankly at the child as the Sandaime Hokage, an old man named Sarutobi Hiruzen, announced that the child was their savior and that he should be regarded as a hero. Deep inside him, Kaizou agreed with the old man. He knew, even if only subconsciously, that the boy was not the demon.
But human nature does not work that way.
We all need someone to blame, even when no-one is at fault.
When Kaizou looked at the young boy, all he saw was red eyes, gleaming in amusement.
It was for this reason that he stood outside the apartment, short brown hair covered in a bandana, a face mask covering the healed burns on his lower face. His chunin vest worn proudly on his chest, his headband around his waist, between his blue shirt and dark green pants.
It was he that broke down the door.
-From the spark comes a flicker-
Naruto panicked as he tried to hide underneath his bed, but the three ninja reached his room before he could even manage to get near it. Naruto screamed as he was lifted up and blindfolded. He tried to call out for the help that he knew would not come, but a cloth was shoved into his mouth before he even got the chance. Tears ran from his covered eyes and muffled sounds from his gagged mouth as the three men began to carry him outside. As they jumped on the rooftops, Naruto could not keep track of how far they traveled, but when they stopped all he could hear the whispers of his kidnappers. This went on for a few moments, then he heard a spark. The smell of smoke filled the air.
-From the flicker comes a flame-
Yaruu Uchiha was a simple woman. She wanted happiness, security and love just like most others did. She was a woman particularly dedicated to her clan. She desired only what was best for her clan. Her clan had been becoming more and more unhappy since the Kyuubi attack. Many blamed the Uchiha due to the rumors that the beast could be controlled by a Sharingan. Because of this, her clan was being even more separated from the village than it had been before. This angered many of the Uchiha, and there was talk of revolution. Yaruu may be loyal to her clan, but she is not blind. She knows that the Uchiha cannot take on the entire village and live. So she knew she had to save her clan from the destruction that lay at the end of the road they currently walked.
That is where the boy came in.
She had nothing against him, as she was a smart woman and knew how sealing worked. Thus she was sorry that the boys life had to end because of her, but she knew it was for the good of her clan that an Uchiha was the one to kill the boy. If the villagers saw that an Uchiha rid them of the Kyuubi, then the rumors of the Uchiha causing the attack would fade out, and the Uchiha could be re-integrated into the village. She knew for a fact that not many shinobi hated the boy, because most understood the workings of basic sealing scrolls well enough, but she also knew none were willing to take the hatred of many of the civilians who were filled with the grief of lost family and did not understand the way sealing worked. If they were to help the boy that hatred would apply to them too, so they just stood back and tried to ignore the boy.
The shinobi were not the ones the Uchiha needed to win over, so this was the best way to prevent the future destruction of her clan.
She didn't hate the boy, but it was for the greater good of her clan. She hoped the boy would forgive her in the afterlife.
It was she that lit the fire.
-From the flame comes destruction-
As the smell of smoke became stronger and the sounds of crackling flames increased, Naruto could not help but be somewhat calmed.
Until his blindfold was removed.
In front of him was a massive bonfire, with wood piled taller than he himself was and flames that seemed to lick at the stars. It was both the most horrifying and the most beautiful thing that Naruto ever seen. He could feel the heat of it on his face and the light from it made the night look like the day.
His obsession with fire is the reason he did not scream. Not even as he was thrown towards the fire.
Not even as the flames engulfed him.
-From destruction comes death-
Toki Hida was a simple old man. He wanted good fortune for his family and for his daughters to be happy for the rest of their lives. That is why he is ashamed of his past actions. He had gotten in deep with the wrong people. His debt to them was always growing, and they had said if he did not pay, then they would start 'collecting' in other ways, specifically from his daughters. He loved his daughters and late wife more than anything, so when his wife passed away seven years ago, all he was left with was his retired life and his precious daughters. He could die happy knowing they were happy, and would do anything to keep them happy. So when the people he owed told him of an alternate way to pay off his debt, he took it without question.
Kill the 'Kyuubi brat' as they called him, and your debt is cleared.
It was a simple way, but also a terrible way. But he would do anything for his daughters, so he agreed to do it. He enlisted the help of two willing ninja and used his few remaining favors to learn the boy's address and to ensure that his normal ANBU guard was kept busy with a fire in the market district.
He didn't hate the boy, but for his daughters he would do anything.
It was he who threw the boy into the flames.
-From the death comes the end -
As the boy entered the flames, Kaizou, Yaruu and Toki looked on with varied expressions. Kaizou looked on with sadness and longing, he could swear he could see his late wife within the flames, looking at him sadly, disapproving of his actions. He was the first to leave. He went to his home, glad he had finally reached his goal, but sad and guilty as he realized just what he had done. He finally settled on a blank feeling as he set up the rope. 'I will join you soon, love.' Kaizou thought as he put the rope around his neck.
Yaruu stood with a grim look, but one of accomplishment. She knew that her clan would now be saved. Within the flames she saw the revival of the Uchiha clan back to its former status. She was the second to leave. She went to tell the village of her achievement. She only got to tell one person of her achievement, as she ran into Itachi Uchiha on the way home. She didn't even see him move when he charged her and she was taken to the Torture and Interrogation division. She managed to withhold the information of the location of the bonfire they had thrown the boy into until the morning, which she knew would be enough time for the flames to do their job. She was executed soon after. The village never found out about her actions, and the Uchiha grew even more bitter over the loss of one of their own to the village once again. The rebellion was still on.
Toki never left the clearing. As he looked into the flames, he had a look of sorrow and peace on his face. He hoped that the boy could forgive him, but his daughters came before a stranger. In the flames he saw his daughters living happy lives, growing old and having loving families. He also saw his late wife calling him to her. As he laid down before the fire, he knew that his family was safe and his goal in life complete. He closed his eyes feeling the warmth of the fire on him. His eyes never re-opened.
-From the end comes a new beginning-
The flames burned through the night, but despite there being a boy within there were never any screams. Naruto had expected pain from the flames, but all he felt was a soothing sense of comfort and peace despite the inferno raging around him. The bonfire raged on through the night, and in the morning all that remained was a smoldering pile of ashes and charcoal. As the sun rose above the horizon many figures converged on the bonfire's location.
Their silhouettes stood in silence as shock and rage filled their beings at the sight of the one thing they had been hoping to prevent. The silhouette with a large, pyramid shaped hat stepped forward and looked into the charcoal and embers that remained of what had once been a raging bonfire. Upon searching the remains of the blaze, he saw something that caused him to gasp in shock. A small hand sticking out from the embers. It was thoroughly burned, the flesh being charred and the skin nonexistent. On the back of the hand was a strange gem, one that was primarily orange but flickered with red and yellow as though it were a living flame. As the figure rushed towards the hand, he saw something that brought him some joy, but greater dread.
The hand twitched.
=End of Chapter=
And that, friends, was the new first chapter of Burning Cloth. I do hope you all enjoyed it. I personally think it is better than the first one, but I would like to hear from you all. What did you like, what did you hate, what do you think will happen next, let me know in the reviews! I very much so enjoyed writing this, and will continue to write it in the future. And with that I bid you all goodbye.
Until the next moonlit night,
Musamura
