Whispers on the Wind
By Force 'Hog
Chapter 1
Just a whisper...
The boy was standing in the middle of a ruined and burning apartment. His own apartment. In panic, he ran to the window and looked out, trying to see if there was a way down. There wasn't. The boy hesitated. He glanced around. The walls had been demolished by... whatever it was that started this blaze. The roaring flames climbed higher and surrounded him, leaving only one exit route. The boy jumped out the window, bending his knees to brace for the impact.
The thud of his bare feet when he hit the ground was not acknowledged by him. Instead his attention was drawn by the flames. All of Konoha was on fire. "No..." he gasped, and took off into the city.
* * *
He saw burning buildings. But the streets were empty. Although it was on fire, there was no sign of life in Konoha. No dogs or cats even. Nothing and no one. Despite the crackling flames, he felt a sudden chill run up his spine. Konoha was a ghost town. It was when he rounded the next corner, yelling for help, that he saw the bodies. His eyes widened. His heart beat slowed to a crawl. Across from him, amidst the burning flames lay his classmates and friends. They were all dead. Strewn across the ground, mutilated almost beyond recognition. Sasuke, his rival, was set apart from the rest, lying in a pool of his own blood. Slowly, disbelievingly, The boy walked towards him. Fresh blood streaked down his cheeks, like tears of blood.
His heart began pounding as he reached him... and cried out in fright. Sasuke's eyes... had been ripped out. Two hollow holes stared blankly upwards, and his mouth was twisted in an insane cry of terror.
The boy tore his eyes away, but he still felt the tears burning down his cheeks. He ran on.
* * *
He stumbled through the streets, now littered with desecrated bodies, crying. He tried to stop, but the tears kept falling. He wiped his nose, and tried to make his way to the gate, his one chance of escape. He thought he could make it. He thought he could survive. How wrong he was.
Up ahead! Just a little bit further and... He stopped. There he was. In his mind, the boy was slowly realizing what he was seeing. White robes, a hat. No. THE hat. The symbol of leadership within Konoha. The old man was alive! The Hokage was alive! He almost cried out and ran towards him, when it happened. The Hokage, the most powerful ninja in the village, pitched forward slowly, blood gushing out of a hole in his stomach. Hiruzen Sarutobi was dead.
The boy's pupils dilated. Standing behind the dead body, hand still dripping with blood was...
His hair was standing on end, his eyes were a glowing crimson, he was covered in blood, and he was wearing nothing but black ninja pants, but there was still no doubt. It was...
...himself.
A few seconds later, Naruto woke up screaming.
* * *
Naruto sat with his legs hanging off his bed, in a dark brooding silence. 'Man, what a nightmare...'he thought, tiredly. The curtains in his room were drawn, creating a shadowy over tone within his room. 'Maybe that thing with Mizuki hit me harder than I thought.'
Slowly, he got up, and grabbed his clothes. He slipped on his trousers, only to discover they were a bit too small for him. He chuckled. 'Another growth spurt. Any more of 'em and I'll be taller than Sasuke-' he choked as images of what had happened to Sasuke flashed through his mind. Trying to ignore it, he grabbed his black tee shirt and orange jacket and had just finished pulling them on when he noticed the time.
"Eight-Fifteen?" he asked to thin air. His mind tried to remember what was so bad about that particular time, when suddenly a memory surfaced. It handed it's message to Naruto's central processor. This is what it said:
'Class starts at Seven O'Clock sharp. If I'm late, I'm gonna be murdered'
Only pausing to grab his head band, he raced through the door, screaming obscenities at the air.
His uneaten breakfast was left behind. It felt very unloved.
* * *
Naruto needn't have worried. When he reached the acadame, he saw a sign on the front door.
'As you all know, the Genin test were held and graded yesterday. Many families felt the need to celebrate. As such, there will be no class this week, stay home and enjoy this brief holiday for as long as it lasts. Enjoy, but don't forget to practice!
Signed, Iruka Umino'
Naruto swore. "So we don't get put onto teams for another week? That sucks!" He moaned aloud. What was he going to do in that time? The answer spoke itself.
'It's time to train...' Naruto stopped dead. It was the voice. The voice he used to hear when he was small. He listened. Nothing. Naruto chuckled, nervously. 'It was nothing,' he told himself.
It was nothing. Just a Whisper on the Wind...
TO BE CONTINUED