Title: Toketsu Kokoro: Frozen Heart
All for love or the world well lost… literally.
Summary:
Uchiha Itachi: sent to investigate an unidentified falling object. Quiet and mysterious.
Hime Kouri, translated, Ice Princess: fallen out of nowhere. From a place where she's not wanted, to a place where anyone would kill for even just a drop of her blood. Loquacious.
Two opposites meet in an unlikely place at an unlikely time.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto (though I would really love to!), nor do I own its characters (Note: I just borrowed some and revised a bit of their attitudes), but I do own Kouri and the plot of this story.
Um… this is my first fanfic ever posted here so please R&R. Your criticisms would be very much appreciated! ß hatakemiji
Chapter 1:
The night was as dark as the bottom of a witch's cauldron and a lone figure picked his way through the forest. If it had been day, he would have been running through it and jumping through the trees. Instead, here he is, slowly walking through it. I'm a ninja, damn it! He thought, And here I am, picking my way through this dense-but-not-so-dense-in-daylight forest. If only…
His thoughts drifted to the incident three days ago. A rumor has reached the Akatsuki that an unidentified object was seen falling from the skies and into the dense forest. It was said to have been emanating so large an amount of chakra that ninjas training within the forest found out that they could not use their genjutsu and ninjutsu the moment the object had fallen. Considering the amount of chakra that was said to have been present, it was naturally assumed that it was some kind of tailed beast. This, of course, was the fact that had piqued the Akatsuki's interest. And, being the nearest member to the scene, he was sent.
His hand moved to do the sheep seal and muttered, "Bunshin no Jutsu" under his breath. Two clones appeared beside him lighter than the ones he had conjured up earlier. He must be near to the scene now. Turning to his right, he stopped short. Before him was a lake. The water was so blue as if it was day, that it took him time to realize that the water was not water but an illusion. What he took for water was indeed, chakra. Lots and lots of it. He drew a sharp breath. What kind of demon is this that surrounds itself with chakra? He steeled himself and entered the bluish haze, half-expecting to be thrown away. Instead, he was enveloped into a warm inviting atmosphere that made him want to lie down and forget everything. Forget going after the demon cat with nine tails, forget his thirst for power, forget his being a ninja, forget challenging his brother to a fight, forget everything! He shook his head to clear it of the thought that urged him to forget his purpose. Why, his mouth was even considering the idea to smile. Absurd! Thoroughly absurd. Ninjas never show emotions.
Suddenly, a leopard passed by him and he looked down, startled. His eyes followed the leopard and saw it disappear towards the thicker part of the maze. It must be the center, he decided and walked towards it. He walked for sometime. The mist parted and he stopped dead on his tracks. On the center of the pool of chakra was not the monster he had expected. Instead, on the center was a woman, lying on her side, seemed to be asleep.
She was wearing a jacket over what looked to be a strip of cloth that goes around her torso, a pleated skirt that stops mid-thigh, and a pair of shoes, 'clogs' she would later call them, that was totally unsuited for daily use, much less for a walk through the forest.
He came to his knees beside her and set to the task of waking her up.