A/N: Okay, let's get this straight – I'm SUPPOSED to be working on my collab with Cuzuso. Except the boys (the Quincy and our main hero specifically) are being a PAIN, so that's delayed. And then I got into Blue Exorcist – starting with the Anime, then moving to the Manga. Which is, honestly, awesome. Except it gave me WAY too many bunnies – non-Bleach ones at that. Then the swordsmith in said Anime fed a bunny that then mixed with two OTHER fandoms (Bleach and Naruto respectfully) and then I was doomed by my inner philosopher waking up. -sighs- I hope you enjoy...though there is a good chance you will only get one or two parts of this in full. Rarely all three.
Disclaimer: No, I DON'T own Bleach, Naruto OR Blue Exorcist. It would be too much of a pain...
-start-
Out of the Forge
There is heat. Great gouts of heat and flame and molten metal.
Out of the fire, onto the anvil. A clang of metal, over and over again.
The hiss as it hits the water, as it cools off.
Back to the fire.
This, is how you make a weapon.
You have to break it first. Melt the raw materials and shape them, then beat them over, and over again til they gain the right shape. Quench it in water. (Or even blood)
But be careful – too much force or a slight mistake can destroy it before it is complete or have it break during a crucial moment.
Making a hero is very similar. You have to hurt them, temper them and cool them. Give them the proper shape.
A single mistake can kill them – or worse, make them the villain.
But there is another reason why they are like weapons. A key similarity.
No one asks a sword if it ever wants to be a sword.
Neither does one ask if a hero wants to be anything else.
Both are painful, heartbreaking processes after all.
(The thing about weapons, is that they are made to kill and to hurt. Nothing more, nothing less.)
Kurosaki Ichigo is a sword.
He cuts deep into flesh, he leaves swatches of dead monsters in his wake, he slices through the air with a sharp song. He is glorious in battle, an awe inspiring sight. He is terrifying in his strength, in his growth. (No one knows how far he can go. Or even if he will ever stop.)
And, like a sword, he was quenched in water. In blood.
There is rain in his past. Rain and a beautiful, loved woman, dead. Killed, protecting him. (Worse than killed, her soul is gone. Eaten.)
And there are tears and blood and why did she protect me I'm supposed to protect her.
Perhaps he fell for a time, but he had risen.
And risen.
Ichigo is given a weapon and a cause. First, it is duty (He's not a bad guy, to leave a debt unfulfilled) then it is revenge (to kill a monster, the one who devoured his mother, it's not that bad of a goal) then it's to rescue someone (she saved his family and gave him the strength to save them himself).
Now, it's to protect. (His name means One Protector, after all.)
To kill and destroy and fight, over and over again.
It's fighting off the dark (monstrous) voice in his head and pushing it back and back and finally defeating it. (He's no monster, he won't be. Ever.)
To drown in one's despair (he's not a killer, notnotnot) then manage to rise above.
It's to lose the ability to protect in exchange for saving others from a madman forever. (It's being empty for months and trying to stay happy and sane throughout it all.)
It's regaining it and screaming defiance against the cruel words of another. Screaming that he doesn't care – Ichigo will still protect.
It's raging against a massacre (I don't care if you call them monsters, that is wrong.) and giving his all to save them (maybe they won't be grateful, but he never cared about that anyways.)
It's screaming despair in a cage – then finally breaking free.
Finally saving.
(The thing about swords is that they are the happiest when they are sheathed and unneeded. But they are glorious, beautiful destruction when they are used to protect.)
Uzumaki Naruto is a bomb. A nuclear warhead.
He is a Jinchūriki (Power of Human Sacrifice), the living prison for the Kyuubi no Kitsune (or, specifically, the Yang half) and thus is dangerous.
He has more power than anyone knows what to do with, a knack for battle tricks and the ability to. Get. Up! again. Even when you would swear he couldn't.
But before that, he was a lonely young boy, ignored and tormented by those who saw only the monster – and not the small helpless ignorant child he really was.
So he puts on a smile and keeps it up, swearing he will reach Hokage – he will be loved. He won't be ignored or looked down on anymore.
He learns to forgive and love, rather than hate and kill. All by himself.
This makes him unique of all the other Jinchūriki. Even Killer B didn't turn out as a good guy without outside help. (Gaara was his broken reflection when he first met him. It was Naruto who taught him the true meaning of love and strength.)
Naruto is his father and mother's son. He can't be any less. Even before he knew, he strove to surpass his father. Even before he knew, he was much like his mother.
But even he has darkness – not just the Kyuubi, but everything he suppresses as a form of utter anger and darkness.
But he knows better. That isn't him. Just because one has darkness doesn't mean they can't still be light.
And so, Naruto will fight to protect (because you are strongest when you fight to protect those precious to you) and he will defeat the darkness. He will win, he will save (many many bodies many many allies all from one person) and he will not go down easily.
He will open the seal and he will defeat the Kyuubi. He will befriend it.
(And if he can't save his friend one way, he will save him another.)
He won't be a monster.
He never was, after all.
(The thing about bombs and nuclear warheads is that they are used best when they are not used. When not a threat or even a suggestion is made of their use. When they are merely there.)
Okumura Rin is fire.
This is true even before Satan's Blue Flames awakens in him. His temper has always been hot and strong. Easily triggered in certain cases.
And, like fire, he hurts himself as much as others.
(Those who play with fire get burned, after all.)
Like fire, he is pure destructive power. A spread of power so awesome to bring one to their knees. A demon prince.
(It's his fault in way for Fujimoto's death. For not listening and for letting his twisted, choked up emotions get the best of him. And Rin was the one to draw the sword, to awaken. To let his demonic heritage free. But never say it wasn't for a good cause. That it will never be the correct choice.)
But he's a kid in a way too.
Rin wants friends. Been wanting friends, more than just Fujimoto (Old Man) and his younger brother, forever. (He was a thug, a demon child, even before he really was, to others.)
He can cook. He sucks when it comes to book work. (Really, really sucks) He is naïve to how the Exorcist world around him works. He is awkward in certain situations too. He blurts things out without thinking at times. (He's ridiculously cute too.)
And he cares.
So, even if the Blue Flame is seen as evil, Rin will find a way to show others it isn't. Not his at least. He will use this power for good.
It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. His goal is to become Paladin. And defeat Satan.
(Screw that everyone thinks he's his father. His father was a good, awesome yet still somewhat flawed man called Fujimoto Shirō. Fuck everyone else who thinks differently.)
Yes, things will burn. But only that which he wants his flames to.
(The thing about fire, is that it is of creation as much as destruction. It stands for safety, companionship and progress as much as power and destruction.)
Yes, heroes are much like weapons. They must break and break and break until finally they can make themselves whole again. Until they are strong. Until they have a use, a purpose. Until they can take on damn anything.
But there is a key difference as well. Something that separates the two from each other.
Weapons are tools. Anyone can pick them up. Anyone can use them. Weapons can be turned against their masters. Weapons can kill what they once saved.
Heroes are not and never will be tools. You cannot pick them up and direct them where you will. They can never be used by anyone – merely directed. Heroes don't have masters.
They have friends. They have family. They have that-which-must-be-protected.
Heroes will never destroy what they can save.
(The thing about heroes, is that heroes are not things. They are people. And like other people, they have flaws. But it is those very flaws, overcoming them to be precise, that allow them to be better than ordinary people.)
-end-
A/N: -shakes head- The hell did all of this come from? Well...I kinda like it. Maybe. Sorta. Alright, I do, a lot. It very much like my previous Monster In The Mirror in style. So reviews would be VERY nice indeed – even if you only really got a little of it. I like feedback. If you fav, I'd like to know WHY thankyouverymuch. (To those I know PERSONALLY and in PERSON who read my fics – REVIEW ALREADY DAMMIT!) At the very least, you can leave comments on the grammar and writing style. Compliments and constructive criticizing please.
This was kinda, sorta betaed by KrazieKat. Drop her a line – she's planning on making her own version of my Renewal fic. It has my blessings and I'm honestly looking forwards to seeing how she plans to handle it.
Also, I meant to post this yesterday, but my laptop got INFECTED and thus my Dad had to spend the ENTIRE day trying to fix it. He succeeded, luckily, but there will probably be another check before bed today just in case. -grumbles- Okay, who ever did that fucking virus that took advantage of AVG: I DON'T LIKE YOU AND IF I HAD A CHOICE/CHANCE I'D KILL YOU WITH MY GIANT CHEESE GRATER!
Okay, I feel a little better now.
Magic pie for my reviewers!
~Love Psycho