Redemption

Prologue

The sun was just peeking over the hills of rice country as the boy entered the small town below Mt. Unzen. It was a tiny village, with only a few hundred members in the community. But it was a tourist's paradise. Secluded between a wide mountain range and a deep forest, it was a bit of heaven on earth.

But one boy had little time to enjoy this heaven. He ran through the trees at top speed, appearing as an orange blur against the soft green of the leaves. The thirteen-year-old boy soared through the sky, feeling the wind rush through his blonde hair, flowing freely without the restriction of his forehead protector. He had just entered left the mountains where he'd completed the next stage of the mission, and now, he only had to wait until nightfall to complete his mission.

He landed in a tree in the middle of the park, recovering from the drop, and swung around the branch with his hand and landed at the base of the tree. Naruto leaned forward, rolling onto his back, and began to laugh. He was finally on a mission again! Ever since the Sasuke retrieval mission, the council hadn't sent him on any missions, probably because they knew he used the demon fox chakra to fight him. But now, they'd given him this A-rank mission solo! And considering how things were with his team, it was probably for the best.

It has been six months since the mission. Sasuke had been placed under heavy probation and hadn't been allowed to leave the village since then. While they remained on the same team, only Sakura and Kakashi had been given missions outside the village, always leaving the two of them to train. It always felt odd when they had trained…they wouldn't talk, and they'd always be as rough as they could, occasionally resulting in trips to the hospital. But somehow, there was some sort of odd respect between the two, under all that bitter rivalry.

Sakura didn't hate him, but she had distanced herself from him after the mission. Kakashi hadn't hated him, and actually congratulated him on his increase in strength, and on defeating and saving Sasuke, but…the bonds that had once held the four of them together had worn thin. They never went on picnics…never went to festivals together…it was all just work and training. Iruka really felt like the only family he had left, but he couldn't bother him every day. After all, he was only one student out of many, and with new classes started, it was hard to make time. He couldn't make him ignore all the other students. So for the past six months, he'd been almost completely alone.

Of course, that did give him a chance to train. He'd already perfected his use of his natural element: wind, and he also had an affinity for fire, which he wanted to start practicing. He already knew about four basic wind jutsus, and wanted to invent his own, but before he could start, he'd been given the mission. It was his salvation from endless training, and his ticket to see the world once more.

Naruto quieted down, and began watching the clouds roam freely across the sky. He was starting to see just why Shikamaru loved staring at them all day. It was calming, just to watch them float, and to wish he could be among them. Just watching them made him feel lighter, and almost seemed to remove the burdens he bore. It seemed like he stayed there for hours, until…

"Hi there!" A chipper little girl called, leaning over his face. "Whatcha doin, mister?"

Naruto looked up at the girl. She wore a white sundress and a white sun hat, wearing a pink ribbon around the base of the top, tied in a bow in the back. She had short deep red hair and sparkling blue eyes. She held a red leash, which was attached to a collar around the neck of a small kit.

"Are you visiting the village?" The girl asked.

Naruto sat up, as the little girl stood straight up. "Yeah…I came by to see the sights on my way to lightning country."

"Are you lost? Why're you out here? This park isn't really close to the markets."

Naruto looked down, staring at the shaded grass. "Lost? …Well, I guess you could say that."

"Oh really." The girl smiled. "I just came out here to get my fox friend here some fresh air." She said, petting the young kit on the head. "My family loves foxes. Everyone in my family has one."

"…I thought everyone hated foxes, what with what happened thirteen years ago."

But the girl shook her head. "No. That was a demon. But these foxes…our foxes are special. They recognize us as family, and this place as their territory. If anyone was attacked, they'd fight for us. They're apart of our family." She said, picking up her kit and holding it in her arms. "Is there anything special to you?"

Naruto searched for something, but Konoha didn't come to mind. Maybe Iruka, but even he'd been drifting away. "…Now that I try to find something, I can't think of anything truly special to me."

The girl sighed. "That's so sad, mister." She went silent for a moment, before brightening up, giving him a bright smile. "I know! Let's meet here tomorrow! We'll be friends!" The girl said happily.

Naruto looked up, slightly in shock, but the girl just smiled, holding out her pinky. It was childish, but it made him happy. Giving a true, warm smile, he held out his own pinky, taking the girl's. They stayed like that as the girl made their plan. "Meet me back here at noon tomorrow. I'll bring some lunch for us to eat!" She said happily.

Then, the small fox made a small wail, and jumped out of the girl's hands, coming up to Naruto and standing on his lap, looking him in the eye. Slowly, Naruto pulled up his hand and placed it on the fox's head, and began petting the kit, slowly moving his hand along its body. The girl giggled. "He likes you." She said.

After a minute of petting, the fox licked Naruto's cheek, causing him to chuckle, before jumping off and running back to the girl. "Our foxes act a little different than normal foxes. They're really nice and friendly." The girl lifted her kit into her arms again and brought him to her chest. "Well, I should go. Mama's probably worried about me." She finished, running off back to the village. "Rememeber, meet me here at noon tomorrow! Goodbye, new friend!" She said happily.

"Yeah…See you tomorrow!" He shouted, before falling back onto the ground. Naruto looked back at the clouds, smiling brightly for the first time in months.

Break

"Alright…done!" Naruto announced to himself as he planted the last explosive note on the sound base. For the past two weeks, he'd been traveling by day and by night to various sections of the base, planting explosive notes and preparing to knock out the foundation of the base in Mt. Unzen. Now, all that was left was to detonate them in the dead of night.

Naruto rushed to a safe distance on a small cliff-face on the side of the mountain, over a hundred feet away from the other buildings of the base. All of them were held up by wood, and if he destroyed the wooden posts, they'd collapse, and kill any sound shinobi inside of it. It wouldn't harm the village, and Naruto planned on spending some time in the village after that just to relax. There would probably be a festival for the destruction of the base, anyway. Orochimaru wasn't exactly liked around here, either.

Slowly, Naruto pulled out a kunai with an explosive note attached, and ignited it, throwing it at the support beam. The result was spectacular!

The first note blew, igniting the others around the building. The sound shinobi didn't even have time to react as the buildings fell apart, and as the explosions began to spread, from one building to the hallway to the next, until the entire base was just a pile of rubble. Fires engulfed the wooden remains, slowly eating away at whatever was left of the base. Naruto smirked. His work was done. Until suddenly, as Naruto turned to head back down the mountain under the cover of night, light filled the air, and Naruto felt something very warm to his left.

Naruto whirled around just in time to watch as the side of the mountain where the base once stood burst open, spewing the hot red magma down the side, slowly engulfing the remains of the base, as well as the few living who still remained. Naruto watched in horror as he heard a few shrieks slice through the air, chilling him to the bone.

Hot ash filled the sky, blocking out the stars and the moon, before slowly descending downwards. Naruto knew that he had to get down there and help the villagers escape. The lava would probably stop before it reached the village, or miss it completely, but the hot ash descending from the sky would pile up and kill anyone who remained.

Naruto leapt down the cliff, running as fast as he could, but before he got too far, a column of lava burst through the mountain in the middle of his path. He couldn't stop in time, and so jumped to the side, flying past the lava spout.

Naruto came to a stop on another cliff, watching as his path became too red to walk across. He tried to find a place to jump, but he doubted he could make it.

Another roaring sound made him turn around, in time to see more lava heading straight for him. Naruto quickly flashed through seven handseals, and flattened his hands, placing them in front of his mouth and keeping them less than a centimeter apart. "Wind Style: Slicing Wind Blade!" With that, he released the chakra he kept stored inside of him, blowing the wind chakra through his hands, and using his hands as a mold of the shape of the chakra, he created a wind blade that parted the lava, keeping him safe. But he knew he couldn't do it for long. Gathering all his chakra into his feet, he jumped back, over thirty feet in the air. He landed on a piece of solid rock, looking back to watch as the rock he stood on only moments ago melted in seconds.

But now, he stood on a rock where there was nowhere left to go. He knew he'd be safe on this rock; it was high up on the ground. But…all the people below…

Naruto crouched over as ash began to fall around him, cradling himself. He was crying, something he'd sworn to never do again. But now…he looked at the sweet village once more, and broke down, unable to stand the sound of the screams any longer.

Break

Daybreak. No sun. No joy. No beginnings. Naruto made his way through the ruins of the village, covered in what looked like a fresh blanket of tainted snow. The ash had buried so much, and the lava had made its way down to destroy half the village. Over a hundred people had died, all because of him. He couldn't stand it.

Yet, his face showed no emotion. He was broken. He had only been able to watch and listen to the screams as the eruption destroyed the village. Now, people were returning to the village, looking for any survivors.

So far, no luck.

Naruto walked along the ash, along the burned and mugged buildings along the streets. Two punks came along, both with radios and television's in their hands, obviously trying to get away before somebody saw them. But Naruto didn't care. That wasn't what mattered. He still couldn't believe that he'd done this; that over a hundred died because of this stupid war. Naruto turned the corner into the market, and in that moment, his heart stopped, and his blood ran cold.

That white sunhat the girl had been wearing the other day lay on a pole stuck in the ash, half destroyed, with the rims burned and a gaping hole in the top. Naruto walked up to it, whimpering. He slowly picked it up, only to watch it fall apart in his hands. The only thing remaining was the pink ribbon. He slowly picked it up, noting its acceptable condition. As he held it, his whimpers turned to cries as more tears ran down his face. He collapsed over the destroyed hat, crying at the loss of one so innocent, and his only true friend.

Suddenly, he heard another whimper from beside him. There, in a steel pipe, half-buried in the ash, stood the kit the girl had played with the other day. It slowly poked its head out of the steel pipe, sniffing the air and looking at Naruto. It was burned in several places, and it looked like it hurt to move. Naruto slowly stood up and went over to the young fox while pocketing the ribbon, holding out his hand for it. The fox slowly backed away, but sniffed again and walked forward onto his outstretched hand. Naruto took the fox and held it close to his chest, weeping more over the loss. The fox cuddled closely to him, accepting his new sanctuary.

Then, something clicked in Naruto's mind: the council must have known. They must have known that this would happen. They had sent spies, and if this was a volcano, they would have known. They set him up, he thought. They tried to get rid of him. That's why they gave him this one mission. He wasn't supposed to come back. Sitting down, he placed the kit in his lap, and watched it curl up into a ball as he reached to his forehead to his headband. He removed it, and stared at it with a blank expression, before stowing it as deeply as he could into his ninja pouch. He took out the ribbon from the little girl and wrapped it around his neck, like a choker, and tied a ribbon in the back. It must have looked odd, him wearing a pink ribbon around his neck, but he didn't care.

Picking up the kit once more, he realized what he had to do: he had to get away from here. He would be blamed, even if he was set up. He had no real proof. Naruto had to escape. But not before he said goodbye properly. While keeping the fox in one arm, he reached down and collected the remains of the hat, and walked to the edge of the forest, where he dug a hole and placed them under the soil in front of a giant rock. There, he wrote a message on some paper and wrapped it in cloth, before planting it on the ground with a kunai, promising to return here again, and to never forget his crime. "Please…forgive me…" He said, still showing no signs of emotion. He couldn't even cry for the girl anymore, even if she deserved that much from him, at least.

Naruto knew he was supposed to be dead. He couldn't go back to the village. He had to escape, and create a new road. Holding the kit tightly, he began walking into the forest, to god knows where. He slowly held the still trembling fox, stroking the unburned fur, offering him a small bit of relief. After many miles of walking, the fox fell into a peaceful sleep in his arms. Naruto gave a small smile to the kit. And as he watched the tiny fox sleep, memories of the girl filled his mind once more, swiftly breaking the smile off his face once more. Slowly, without making a sound, he continued through the forest, to roads unknown, bearing the weight of his sins.

Next Time: A Mercenary Is Born!

Notes

Alright! Next story is started! I've got a pretty good idea on how this will go, but it's not all planned out yet.

I've given Naruto a little companion, isn't that nice? Well, this chapter sets the story off to a good start. I think you'll be surprised where this story ends up. Oh, and by the way, this is a NaruxOC!!

Next time, I plan to update The Paths We Walk, but that will be a couple of weeks. I have some careful planning ahead of me.

Fic Fact

Originally, I was just going to have Naruto run away from Konoha, but in the end, I decided to have Naruto appear dead to others was better for the story I have planned.

Well, until next time! If you liked the story, please leave a review!

Later

Tsurugi-Sama