AN: This is the product of an idea I had a few months ago. After much debate, I decided to give it a shot. This is the first time I'm writing a multi-chaptered fic, so I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: The last time I checked, Masashi Kishimoto was a guy. And even if I were him, I'd rather be spending my time working on the next Naruto chapter before my fans decided to murder me.
THE SERVANT OF THE PRIESTESS
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PROLOGUE
Thousands of years ago, when the forests that wound through the Land of Fire were mere saplings thriving with youth, a conflict arose between two divine beings. It was an event that hadn't been seen ever since Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami had secured her position as the Great Goddess, and proved herself to the lesser demons and spirits alike. This conflict caused a disturbance to spread across the World of the Living, and eventually became the cause of the drought that burned up the Land of Wind. It became the reason that earthquakes ravaged through the Land of Lightning, leaving it a rocky and desolate landscape. Before we can begin our story, dear reader, we must first speak of this conflict that took place between the two powerful beings - between the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and Amaterasu herself.
Amaterasu was prideful, there didn't exist a mortal or spirit that was ignorant of that fact. She was a being of great beauty, both in appearance and in personality, but her pride was her greatest weakness, as it tends to be. When she had heard that one of the kitsune was moving through ranks quickly and gaining more tails day by day, Amaterasu was barely interested in the happenings of the Demon Realm. But had she opened her eyes and taken a closer look, she would have noticed the ambitions of the young demon. Naruto - or the Kyuubi, as mortals called him – had been the first kitsune to gain all of the nine tails of the infamous fox spirits in millenniums. Through his growing strength came determination, and through determination came his confidence. Soon, he was confident enough - enough to challenge Amaterasu herself.
He had seen the destruction wrought upon the world by the humans. Despite being a fire spirit by creation, and thus being prone to destruction, he was still disgusted with the way humans ungratefully damaged the world gifted to them. The young kitsune had grown to hate them with a passion, and sought to wipe them out. But as the humans were watched over by the Amaterasu, he had to make the Goddess submit to him first.
As you might predict, Amaterasu wasn't happy to be challenged by a young demon. The war between the two that followed was a horrible catastrophe. It was a war that would make the worst battles of the mortals pale next to it in comparison. Those times were the darkest for the human kind. A lot of them lost their faith in deities. The world suffered from the imbalance. Even though things settled in time and the Kyuubi was forced to retreat back to the Demon Realm, Amaterasu was faced with a fact: She wasn't strong enough to vanquish the demon. She was unable to secure her rule after the war had come to a standstill, as she would have found herself greatly weakened had she followed the demon into his home. As a result, the conflict remained unresolved for centuries.
During that time, however, balance was partly restored to the living world. Humans regained their beliefs, and myths spread across the lands, speaking of the Great War. Shrines dedicated to Amaterasu and her servants were built, in the hopes that mortals' prayers would help her win against the demon. However, there were also a handful of humans who believed that a catalyst was unavoidable - that the fire demon was sure to triumph. Those built their own shrines dedicated to the Great Kitsune, in the hopes that he would spare their lives when the time came.
How is this related to our tale, you ask? Well, you see… In the hopes of finally ending the war once and for all, Amaterasu made a choice that went against all of her teachings. For the first time since the very beginning, she chose out of selfishness. She chose to assist a mortal in her ill deed, putting her own plans into motion in the process.
Amaterasu could never have known how well her plans would work out, and how much of an impact it would have throughout the realms.
CHAPTER 1 – THE TORCH IS PASSED ON
The sun rose brightly over the mountains bordering the capital of the Land of Fire. With the sun's early rays bathing the buildings in a crimson glow, the whole city looked like a page out of a fairy tale. The brightly painted wooden houses, their colors enhanced by the light, gave off a cheery and warm atmosphere. On top of the cliffs overlooking the settlements, a magnificent building stood, surrounded by a halo of sunlight.
It was in this building, in this shrine dedicated to the Goddess of the Sun, that a young woman had just woken up to a new sunrise and stood watching over the city. From the large panes of the window, the entirety of it could be easily seen, stretching out from the feet of the cliffs. The woman sighed, a small smile on her face. She was ready to face a new day.
The sun's rays illuminated her pale features and soft pink hair. A pair of expressive, jade irises took in the breath-taking view. Her slender figure was clad in a loose kimono decorated with cherry blossoms. The red obi that circled her waist showed off her modest chest and subtle-yet-there curves. She had an innocent and youthful look about her, coupled by her enchanting beauty.
The young priestess was still in shock. Barely a day before, all she had been, was just a trainee. She had been expecting to take on the title of priestess soon enough, but never, in her wildest dreams, had she expected to be given the position of the Head Priestess. The young woman was aware that, ever since Tsunade Senju - who had held the position for the longest time - had decided to retire and go into seclusion, a new Head Priestess had to be chosen. All of the other trainees knew it, and Sakura Haruno had been quite sure that it would be given to one of them, rather than her.
There was Ino, and Hinata, both of whom had been her friends for a long time. They had taken to studying very hard to learn all that there was about being a priestess, and Ino, particularly, had been keen on getting the position in Tsunade-sama's place. She had surely been confident enough, possessing a determination to be the best of the best. Hinata, on the other hand, despite being quiet and shy, had possessed a gentleness and compassion surpassing that of any other priestess before her. Both of them had been obvious candidates, yet Tsunade-sama hadn't chosen either of them.
Then there had been Ami, who had been Sakura's self-proclaimed rival. Their relationship had been rocky at best, but they were civil enough while interacting with each other. The pink-haired woman dreaded the day she would see her again, though. Ami had been anything but happy when the previous Head Priestess had announced her pick. Sakura had always thought that all would be well between her and Ami one day, yet the hatred filled look she received from the other girl at the time had proven that this went beyond a petty competition.
As she absent-mindedly brushed her pink locks with the hairbrush she had taken from her nightstand, still gazing down at the city, Sakura was troubled. She was troubled thinking what Ami's animosity could mean for her in the near future.
The young woman was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the knocking on the door to her chambers. It was one of the shrine-keepers, who had come to check on her. Sighing one more time, and mentally preparing herself for a trying day, the pinkette walked over to her bed to put down the brush and quickly left her room.
As she walked through the dimly lit corridor leading to the main chambers, with the shrine-keeper by her side, Sakura mentally chastised herself for having such depressive thoughts this early in the morning.
So...what do you think? I won't promise a date for the next update. But please review people, so I can at least know whether it is worth continuing.