Dragon's Bane

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I wish I did --

Flames and smoke decorated the night sky. Ashes rained down on the land and filled the lungs of the inhabitants still near. Screams of many could be heard echoing from the once lively village. Men, women and children lay dead alike on the earth, slain by rival kin. My young brother; Kijin, my guardian, Raki and I ran from the chaos.

A war had been wedging between my kingdom of Kinryu and the western kingdom of Furuniki. So to gain power, Furuniki attacked the most powerful kingdom there was, my own.

So as the village burned and the castle was attacked, my guardian snuck us away and escaped. We ran through the forest, seeking refuge. Trees flashed by us, fear radiating off of our very being. An arrow zipped past my head from behind and latched itself in a tree. Raki looked back and saw soldiers chasing us. He turned back to Kijin and me and continued to run. Making a sharp turn to the left and ducking behind a foxhole under a tree root.

Raki hugged both Kijin and me to his chest. We clung to him helplessly like a life line in our fearful stupor. Raki had dark green hair that came no more than his shoulders. He wore a black silk top and pants with a pair of Chinese sandals. His dark green hair and clothes seemed to fit well in this nightly terrain. His body hid us as best he could. My dark red hair, bloody eyes, and emerald green attire did not count as good camouflage. Neither did Kijin, whose blue hair was parallel to the sky itself, blood red eyes and ruby wear not fitting with the forest setting. I could feel my heart battering in my chest; hear it beating rapidly in Raki's breast. Kijin panting sounded in my ear as he struggled to catch his breath. What did he know of all this really? Kijin was only six and I had barely reached fourteen.

When Raki was certain that we were out of danger for the moment, he lifted Kijin in his arms, grabbed my hand and ran again. My legs strained to get the distance we had to travel. My young sibling was exhausted already; being so young, and shed tears of fear as he looked at me. As if to ask what we did to be on the run; except to live there.

We made it a large tree at the center of the forest. An ancient tree stood before us, one that was known as the Ryu-Kami, the dragon god. Raki hid underneath its roots where a special sanctuary had been made for times like these. But it could barely fit five people. He curled up to the farthest corner and hugged us close. Beads off sweat traveled down his face, barely gleaming in the moonlight that came through pin-holes above us. He looked down at us with such sorrow and fear in his eyes as if afraid of what he might say. He clung tighter as if he were testing that we were real.

"Young ones," he said as he looked at us, "listen carefully to what I have to say."

We nodded numbly. Our minds too clouded by fear and dull from exhaustion.

"The war will only grow fiercer from this point. So I must relocate you, as are my orders from your father and my duty as your guardian."

I stared at him in silence. Kijin was sniffling back his tears. I knew he didn't want to leave without our parents either. But we knew better, Mother told us so. If we were in danger we had to run; with or without them. It was for the best.

He took out a dark ebony dagger from inside his silk shirt with the hand he once held me with. He slowly cut a wound in his index finger while he still held a barely awake Kijin as I sat there. I watched in shock; entranced as he slowly cut his finger and wince as he gradually sliced his flesh revealing his blood. Reaching over he smeared a small dot on Kijin and my forehead. The slight metallically smell of blood mixed in with the rich smell of earth, root as well as our sweat and tears. He then chanted a small incantation as he drew a strange leaf like symbol into the ground. The more he chanted the louder the volume of his voice became. My heart began pumping again. I clutched his shoulder and begged him to stop. I knew what he was doing. I had learned of this spell. It was a secret kept inside our castle walls. Even if it was found out, it was still quite complex even for the most experienced of people.

"Raki, please stop! You could be killed if this fails! It's too risky, please!"

My eyes filled with the tears I had not shed. No matter what other people may think. Raki was like my brother. I was a mere boy of fourteen, yet I had enough sense to know that this enchantment rarely went as planned and usually killed the one who cast it. I knew that even if we lived through this, he would surely be caught.

He stabbed the bloody blade on the bizarre leaf-like symbol. The leaf probably represented something in another dimension he was sending me. I clung to him and Kijin so that we may still stay together. But it was in vain. The spell was sealed and with a final shout and a flash of light; all went black.

The last thing I saw was Raki reaching out to us, whispering our name as soldiers came up from behind him. I gave a final yell as I gripped my little brother; a sword stabbed into Raki's back and out the front of his chest. He smiled at me as he slumped dead from the slice to the heart.

As I drifted through the fabric of time and space itself, I couldn't help but hug Kijin closer to me. He was all I had left now. I will not let anything happen when we get to our destination. He will be safe with me….

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Hope you liked the first chapter. I'll write more later. Since I didn't mention it in the Prologue, you're seeing everything from my character's view, Hiku. The original characters in this chappy are also mine! X3 I promise that the Naruto cast will show up in the next chappy.