Title: Heaven, Separate Us
Charter: Heaven
Autor: Me
Disclaimer: I don't own characters, manga, or anything that has something to do with Naruto. On the other hand, I own the universe the story is set in.
Rating: T
Summary: Sorcerers, knights and space battles. Chance meetings between two people bound together. Naruto and Sasuke or NaruSasu, at reader's discretion.
Heaven
Lithe fingers danced over the keys of a piano. She was stunningly beautiful, just sitting there motionless a moment before. Now she swayed sensually, her neck stretching like a languid feline, all muscles soft and taut – just like a boy. Her face remained impassive, devoid of any emotion, and rightfully so, for over her eyes there was a strange contraption, a band of sorts. She was blind, as requested by her purchaser.
The melody she played was heart wrenching. The words she sang, more so. Verses of war, wait and want, love, hope and vengeance slowly escaped her lips, one by one.
Scream pierced his mind and body. The ship, it was anguished. It was dying as was its Heart dying. Both were in agony.
He strapped himself into the emergency chair. With the other Heart already dead, he was the only one that could overtake.
"Take her out, she's arresting! I can pilot this fucking thing on my own!" He shouted to the technicians. There was no time and they weren't questioning him. With dread he glanced at the sockets. He gulped. Never had he imagined he would control one of the Heavenly Kingdom's battleships. Never had he imagined himself doing something so stupid as the thing he intended now. There was only a slight chance of him empowering ship's defensive systems, and then, even slimmer chance of reaching compatibility with the ship itself. But, dammit, it was, slim as it was, the only chance he – they – had.
He gulped. And then he slammed his hands, wrists down, into the sockets. For a moment he felt nothing, except for a strange, sickening crunch, reverberating through one of his arms, all the way to his spine. Numbing pain enveloped him.
"Aw, damn… not the bone…" He mumbled, and then smashed his head back, crashing the back of his neck into the last of the connectors. Darkness.
She smiled sweetly as she stood up, fingers still on the piano. And suddenly, ever so graciously, as if she never moved from where she stood, she was over him, two fans in her hands. With a deadly twist of her wrist he gurgled, deeply and profoundly surprised, a mere second later drowning in his own blood.
A step, a jump, a twirl. They were dead before they were even dying, bullets hitting walls and floor. She painted the hall with long splatters of acrid-red blood. A twirl, a step, a jump, and he was the last, clutching his gun to his chest as she advanced towards him, sweet smile still on her lips.
As the shot rang, her head whipped back and the band on her face shattered. The man only screamed as she opened her eyes. Finishing touches were put into the great painting in red.
The ship enveloped him, not unlike a mother he never knew. It guided him. It loved him. There was nothing that could ever compare to this wild, gleeful, giddy and greedy feeling. Just like falling, uncontrollable falling that accompanied when he fought with all he had.
With a pang of fear he opened his eyes and the wholeness of everything made him choke. It wasn't just seeing, it was seeing everything and understanding it at the same time. There was no before him nor behind him, nor left, nor right, nor above, nor below. It was all just there.
So slow.
Rockets. They were leisurely advancing, but advancing nonetheless. Instinctively he raised his hand to protect himself. The ship murmured, anxious. Suggested. He protected himself and the ship took his order. Blue energy became almost, almost visible, just where he was trying to shield himself. Warheads detonated safely, far away from the body of the ship – their body – he suddenly realized.
Now the question was asked. If he was willing. The answer?
The magnificent ship that was lost and dying seconds before charged its batteries in unbearable cacophony of power, colors, sounds and feelings, all deep from inside his very own being.
On the top of the roof, entranced by the winds, she stood, her stained fans forgotten on the cold concrete. Hair whipped around her face. She advanced towards the rim of the rooftop.
Her eyes were charmed by the sight in the sky. She observed the ship, an elegant arrow just by the edge of the moon. The lights, they were so beautiful and refined, such a striking weapons of mass murder. Explosions were silent clouds of most perfect excellence.
Red arms massacred attackers. Red and orange, and yellow, drawn from the power of the ship's Heart. She chuckled.
Her jump was just a step beyond the roof. Her hands had formed mantras on their own and her lips shaped syllables – she glided, her eyes still feasting on the spectacle in the sky.
There was nothing he could do now. Fatigue hit him and he choked on his own blood but the force, the power that he had at his command – it was addictive in the least. Somehow he was aware of his body shutting down one part after another.
He did not care.
It was freedom.
Somehow he was aware he was dying while snuggled into the beating mind and heart of the ship.
He did not care. He did not want this to end.
And now the ship wanted something again – it was something that he wanted – and he was looking there, on the planet, someone was flying. Someone was…
The eyes, looking straight at him. The knowing smirk, directed at him, and mouthed word – for him. And he was falling, uncontrollably falling, like he had fought with all he had just right now, and there was someone waiting for him, still, after all this time, no matter how complicated it all was.
Nothing could compare to this feeling, he thought as he died.
She moved her hands again, and left her form behind her, shedding it just like an old skin. Her – now his – foot touched the solid ground and soon he was lost between the bustling life below.
"Don't die yet," he said to no-one in particular, refusing to look up and glance at the sky.
A/N:
In this universe there are three main factions: Kylthean Empire, Federation of Free Worlds and Kingdom of Heaven (or Heavenly Kingdom). Each of them has something unique.
Living ships are a dead giveaway of Kingdom of Heaven. They're not exactly living or aware, or even organic, but cannot function properly in battle mode without a Heart: a specially chosen person with high power level that can 'dive' into the ship's mainframe...and power the weaponry and battle tactics with their own power and will. And yes, the Heart really dying while being connected to the ship may very well wreck it completely.
The person connecting to the ship clearly is not a Heart, he's just up to specs, and hotwires himself, hence the slamming. He never did this before, has no neural pathways for this and he needs to make sure the nanowires will get close enough to the actual nerves.