A/N: I hope you all enjoy this story. Everything but the summary, rating and warnings are secret and a surprise. Reviews make me type faster…Hint, Hint, Hint. Any criticisms, flames or reviews are welcome.
Rating: M
Warning: Yaoi/Slash/Male x Male Romance, Cussing, Incest, Violence and some gore.
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: Konohagakure no Sato is destroyed and all hope is lost…or is it. A flicker of hope still exists in the remainder of the ninja population. Naruto, our fate rest on your shoulders now.
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
'Memories'
"Kyuubi"
Awakening Hope
Chapter One: Memories
An imposing figure shrouded in a black cloak with its hood drawn up, hiding its features, walked down a worn and rutted road until it reached a broken down wooden gate. The same gate once was the main gate for the once proud Konohagakure no Sato. The village is now nothing but stones, skeletons, and bloodstains which the rain can't seem to wash away. The Shadowlike man continued on, walking down the abandoned roads of a ghost town, which were filled with the memories of a thousand dead souls. He walked by a park. It was amazingly intact, with a swing rocking gently in the breeze, seemingly waiting for a child that has for long been lost.
Hateful faces peering down at him. Hate burning in their eyes like the fires of hell.
'Bakamono'
'Demon'
'Shine'
'Filth'
'Unwanted bastard'
Pain of a thousand words strike like kunai into his chest. Blood drips down his face mixing with tears from his eyes. Laughter, hateful laughter laughing at his pain and torment. More laughter resounds, only now of innocence and joy. Children laughing and playing they way only those who haven't dealt with the harsh brutality and strife war would soon bring.
'Nii-san, play Ninja with us!'
'You're it!'
'Push me higher Nii-san.'
'Catch me if you can…'
'Aaahhhahaha, Cheater! No tickling!'
Sunlight glinting off hair. Innocence and joy lighting eyes up like the sun. Shadowed faces without names…
A flock of birds flew by overhead, startling him out of his reverie. After a moment he continued down the road. Memories of times long gone and people long dead surrounded him, echoing off the walls and through deserted homes. Ghostly images and shattered hopes and dreams flitted by on the wind. The boots that trod down the path never once stopped, hesitated or even slowed at the slew of memories. They just kept on going that slow, steady pace until he reached a section of the village that held the most damage and looked the most abandoned of the whole village. The walls that had once been clean and white were now red and dark brown, chipped and peeling from blood and dirt and the formerly luxurious house, now shabby and broken, unfit to shelter the rodents that now lived there. Only one section of the southern most wall still stood, it had a fragment of a symbol still painted on it. That symbol was a fan, to be more specific, the Uchiha fan. The sight of that broken symbol caused him to be overcome with emotions. The stoic face that held no emotion whatsoever was now a mass of pain, grief, and betrayal. The memories, good and bad, welcome and unwelcome, overtook his mind and forced him to his knees. A low keening sound that not unlike a slowly dieing animal, echoed hauntingly on the empty walls. Tears watered the earth, and the ground soaked up the water greedily, for the weeds that grew there thrived on the tears and blood that was spilled by sadness, pain and malice. It was many minutes before the person had his emotions under control again, and many more before he got up, brushed off his clothes and started to walk on again, this time heading towards the center of the village.
♦♦♦
In the center of the village, at the ruins of what used to be Hokage Tower, a busty blonde with hair tied up in two lose ponytails paces anxiously. While she seems unaware of her surroundings, you can see her nervousness in the tension of her shoulders and in how she kept fingering the sword at her waist. You could see her eyes darting to every hidden niche and every shadow for a hidden enemy that could attack at any moment. Just because the village was in ruins and abandoned doesn't mean there's not an Oinin waiting to ambush anyone foolish enough to return. There were so few of them left anyway, only a handful of ninja and civilians left. They didn't need any more casualties. She was getting impatient waiting for her friend to arrive, but he was late…again…like always. 'He is sooo going to get it when I get my hands on him. He was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago. Thank Kami HE hasn't arrived yet or that hentai would definitely be dead.' A slight 'phft' of the Shunshin announced the arrival of someone. Her kodachi was drawn and at the throat of the person.
"Ohayo!" A smiling voice said. The sword wasn't lowered. "You know someone could get seriously hurt with a pointy object at their throat." The man said dryly.
"Password," Was the growling reply.
"Mizuhebi."
Relief flooded through her. She re-sheathed the sword. "Usagi" she replied. "Welcome back Kakashi,"
Finally the tardy pervert had arrived.
♦♦♦
The cloaked form headed towards the center of the village, careful to avoid falling debris from the ruins, where he felt Tsunade-sama's chakra, along with another familiar chakra. 'Kaka-shi…? What is he doing here? Shouldn't he be hiding out at Nami no Kuni? Filled with curiosity the figure began to walk a little faster.
♦♦♦
Kakashi handed an ornately decorated scroll over to Tsunade "Are you sure this is the right scroll." Tsunade asked looking worried.
"Hai…" was the distracted pervert's answer, a very recognizable orange book was out and the familiar blushing and giggling mask that came with the book started.
"Kakashi…what did I say I'd do if I saw that book out in my presence ever again? Don't make me have to castrate you." She growled, falling into the old routine easily. The book quickly disappeared into a hidden pocket.
After a moment of contemplative silence Tsunade asked, "Are you really sure this is the right scroll? I don't want to give him false hopes, only for it to not be the right scroll or not work." The masked jounin immediately turned serious at that question. The air was now somber.
"Hai. I don't want this to fail either, so I was the one to personally retrieve that scroll. A tense silence reigned for a few moments before it relaxed. A whispered 'good' was heard.
A crunch of gravel was heard to the left and both tensed, a shadow emerging from behind the ruins of the Hokage tower, they grabbed a hold their kodachi's, ready to attack at a moments notice.
"Ookami." The person said.
"Mizuhebi," and "Usagi," was heard in reply.
"Taidaima." Was whispered, so softly it was almost unheard but all smiled.
♦♦♦
TBC…
Japanese Dictionary (in order of appearance)
Konohagakure no Sato - Hidden Village in the Leaves
Bakamono - Demon
Shine - Die
Nii-san - Brother
Oinin - Hunter Ninja
Kami - Japanese God
Hentai - Pervert
Shunshin - Teleportation Jutsu
Kodachi - A type of sword
Ohayo - Hello
Mizuhebi - Water Snake
Usagi - Rabbit
Sama - Honorific to people of great importance or standing
Nami no Kuni - Land of Waves
Hai - Yes
Ookami - Wolf
Taidaima - I'm Home