© Circius, 2008
Author's Notes: Ehh...I ish BACK! I haven't written in a year or so, but I dunno, I felt like now was the time again. All my other works will be going through some serious re-editing, and all that blah, but otherwise, please enjoy the newest ficidee as muchos as possibles. (Yes, I did just use INSTA-SPANGLISH)
By the way, my name is now changed to my username on LiveJournal, as to not confuse peoples. My old Pen-name was 'Zephyr Blade' so if you've heard of me, or liked anything by me before, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO SAY SO! I LUUUUUUUUUURVE ALL REVIEWS!!
Info on the fic:
Warnings:
Rated T for some cursing, angsty-ness, and other...t-rated things...for now. The rating will possibly change later as well, depending on my mood. .-
Implied SasuNaruSasu for this chappie, and for others...I guess, but this will eventually be a full out YAOI, SHONEN AI FICIDEE!! If any of you are homophobes or have a problem, don't read, and if you do and flame me...I will choose to ignore you. Thanks though for your consideration! .
Ummm...and I think that's about it.
Anywho's, now that that's all done with, and without further adieu', I, Circius, am quite happy to present to you all the first chapter of my new line of Rebirthed fics...TA-DAAA!! cues drum roll
…Oh wait. There was that damn disclaimer thing too wasn't there.
Okay:
The Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its affiliates. I only own my charries, whose names will not be revealed until the next chapter. It I did own Naruto…no, I don't think I want to own it, I just want to own everything male-related. So that's only about half…right? KISHIMOTO, WILL YOU GIVE ME HALF?!
Bah, he couldn't hear me. Damn.
So NOW, I can give you the fic: Yays.
--
The Way Things Fall:
Chapter One: Nameless
--
"SASUKE!"
It was his last word, last chance. Maybe because it was screamed with such utter finality, such utter hate merging with hope and despair, that a dark-haired face turned from where it had been looking towards before, ever so smoothly, but in the achingly slow manner that only seems to come into effect at the worst of moments.
It was in those same moments that one would always hear one's heart, beating louder then anything else, throbbing as though it was some sort of twisted staccato in the under tone of the orchestra in one's head. As though trying to tell him, to warn him of something.
All his thoughts, all of his emotions and memories seemed to swirl into the never-ending lapse of time, where nothing else in the world except for him existed. Naruto felt everything, everything freeze as their eyes met.
He took in a bleeding cut on a royally-high cheekbone, crimson running down otherwise unmarred ivory skin. He took in the way perfect facial features seemingly remained still and cool as their eyes met, sky blue searching ebony-but it was only seemingly. It was an effort not to care, but the blonde knew him too well. He knew the way the lip would twitch up into a smirk, or an elegant brow would raise in mocking question. He knew the glare that was equivalent to a roll of an eye from the look of pure and utter hatred he had seen before.
That he was seeing now.
Was he really that worthless? Did everything really mean nothing?
They had been fighting for so long, and still, though he had not lost, he had not won anything either.
"Sasuke…"
Was the last whisper on his numb lips as the face turned away, and he fell into what seemed to be a deep valley gorge in the land of Rock, but to him-
Naruto Uzumaki fell into a darkness worse then those eyes could ever be.
--
"Eh…ELLOOOOO!! Can ya hear me…mister? MISTER!"
Brilliant blue eyes blinked open into bright jade, startling the small body that had been leaning over him, yelling.
His initial reflex was to jump up and silence her, but the second he saw that it was only a child, he relaxed, sliding his eyes shut again.
Sometimes he hated being what he was. A ninja, an assassin. Trained to kill without even thinking about it.
"Mister? You up? HEY! DON'T YOU GO AND CLOSE YOUR EYES AGAIN MISTER!"
He heard the high-pitched voice squealing at him. Bluer then what was quite natural eyes blinked open, obeying the command in a lazy manner.
"Mmm-"
Was all he managed to croak out at first, before he licked his overly chapped lips as he tried to pull himself up, almost wincing at the sudden movement that sent muscle pains shooting through his system.
"HOLD ON MISTER, I'LL GO GET GRANDMAAA!"
The voice screeched again, in a way that seemed all too annoying to be humanly possible, before Naruto could even get the next phrase out of his sore mouth.
"…Water…"
He trailed off as he watched a midget with wild, ruby-colored hair bolt off into the direction of a place in the distant filled with ever blinking and shining lights; he assumed it to be a town of some sort.
He felt the bandages on his person before actually seeing them, and looked himself over momentarily at the registration of said bandages wrapped around him in his head. His torn up hands were all but invisible against the antiseptic white, and the throbbing in his chest was the instant tell-tale of broken ribs. His legs were miraculously unharmed, while one of the bones his left arm was cracked, or at least that's what he could tell from the feel of Kyuubi's chakra flowing around it and every other injury on his person already. His head felt like it had been hit by a boulder-oh wait never mind.
It had been.
But he was patched up quite nicely, as professionally as though it was done by a medic nin. Satisfied with his caretaker's work, the ninja pulled up a spiky blonde head to inspect his surroundings.
He seemed to be in some sort of…rock camp? Or at least, that was the best terminology for it. The only buildings present were nothing more then little hovels made of some generic grey stone, all squatting on the ground in a circular formation, the center of which was the blonde himself, sitting next to a great pyre-like structure that he assumed to be a fire pit for the evening. There was no light, save for the sun, anywhere in the vicinity, but bright and cheerfully colored mats and blankets were sprawled everywhere, outside and in, falling out of windows and doors, effectively making the place seem as though it was its own little womb of space, completely out of the world around it or the laws of time.
He fingered the tassel of a rug nearby his left hand , thinking about what he should do next.
He obviously couldn't stay here. The second he was healed, he would have to thank them-whoever they may be-for their hospitality and go back to...
To the last place he really wanted to go at the moment. He would return, a failure for the umpteenth time at bringing back his damn best friend-turned enemy, the damn raven of the damn-
Wait.
Troubled at a sudden thought, the blonde searched his head. He could see faces, tons of them, and he could recall any memory he cared to think of with painfully perfect accuracy, as he was always able to.
There was one at some valley, with himself and his once-friend, a battle where the…raven swore to kill him, and he remembered the fighting, the anger, Kyuubi, the raven screaming a word--
He saw a pink-haired, green eyed medic nin patching him up again after his second return from his search.
"You need to watch yourself--"
A familiar, smiling silver-haired jonin, his mask covering half his features as he giggled over the book he was reading.
"Now, now, no need to get all worked up--"
And then that memory, like all the others, was cut off too, who he knew had to be his sensei continuing to speak, but the blonde could not hear any of the words.
Or word.
It hit him like that huge rock had earlier, slamming him into that cliff.
He…couldn't remember…his…name?
He sat there frozen again, sorting through every thought of his brain, every memoir of his past.
He could remember everything but his…name. That and the name of anyone he knew or anyplace he had gone for that matter.
"KYUUBI!!"
He screamed, throwing himself into his mind as the old white pervert-whose name he could also not remember-had taught him to.
He sloshed through the sewers of his mental chambers with a grim purpose. If Kyuubi was trying to be funny, it had another thing coming.
"KYUUBI!"
He shouted when he arrived at the place where the fox demon was sealed away in his head.
The beast looked at him, somewhat amused at his anger.
"What is it, kit? To have you so angry, storming around…"
The fox chuckled as the blonde steamed.
"My memories Kyuubi. Where the hell are the missing parts of my memories?"
He asked coldly, in a tone he hardly ever used, voice completely serious and dripping with venom.
"Hmm? What?"
Kyuubi sounded more somber at the attitude change from its vessel.
"My name, Kyuubi. What is it, and how come I can't remember it or anyone else's?!"
"You're name kit? Well it's--"
Demonically red eyes widened marginally as the fox too thought.
"I…don't know."
It was an uncharacteristically quiet response for the usually loud and sardonic spirit. Blue eyes met crimson as the two met gazes.
"What do you talking about, that you don't know? THAT YOU DON'T KNOW?!"
The blonde, by this point, was starting to get hysterical, said hysteria did nothing more to piss said fox off.
"I DON'T KNOW YOUR NAME, AND I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU'RE MEMORIES, BECAUSE I CAN ONLY REMEMBER WHAT YOU CAN REMEMBER!!"
It roared.
"…What?"
Now he was quiet again, and the fox, somewhat mollified, decided to explain to the best of its abilities what had just happened…
"I don't know. I just healed you, kit…"
And the best of his abilities was proven to not be much at all. There was a silence.
"That doesn't make sense. If you just healed me, how come I don't--"
"It wasn't a normal healing kit…he almost…you were close enough to be touched by Shinigami's breath, and I don't ever want to be that near to the God of Death ever again."
Naruto continued to look off past Kyuubi's form in an almost dazed sort of manner, contemplating. It was a long moment, close to strained with all the tension. One of the many tails twitched in agitation that not even it, the powerful, god-like Kyuubi, could not recall the kit's name.
"But how come I can remember your name Kyuubi? And not my own?"
The question floated in the air momentarily before the fox took a deep breath before replying with,
"Because I am a part of you, just as much as a hand or eye or leg. Our chakras are merged together thanks to that leak that…snake-man put on your seal how many years ago. Names are not a part of someone physically, as I am to you. Names are only part of what you are referred to as on the outside. They are useless except to classify you and jostle your psyche a bit. I never had a name. Kyuubi no Kitsune is just what the humans labeled me as."
The nin seemed to absorb all of the information, and was still for a moment. Kyuubi actually thought the kit had understood, and was going to be okay, take it like an adult when--
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN!? THAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD! MY NAME'S PART OF ME! ME! I AM…I am…"
Never-mind then. The demon winced a little as a tanned fist was slammed into one of the walls, causing a crack to form.
"You are labeled kit. Let's try and put our minds to better use then this moping, yes?"
When blue eyes turned back to face the fox, Kyuubi noticed frustrated tears building up behind them. Behind them, but never actually dripping down past the eyes and onto whiskered cheeks. It was a trait about the kit that had always thrown the kitsune for a loop. No matter whatever happened, the blonde never cried. Ever. He'd always just swallow back the pain and start again.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we should start thinking about how we should get your memories back."
It seemed to perk the blonde up a bit, and he straightened, not even having to wipe his eyes to have the salty little traitors already receding back into his body.
Or…mental body that is.
"Well, maybe if we--"
"OIIIIII!! CAN YOU HEAR ME, MIDGIT?!"
A cackling, rheumatic-sounding voice boomed throughout the blonde's mind at that current moment, sending both of the mentalities within the place rocking.
"Better go get the door kit."
Kyuubi grumbled, moving back to make itself as comfortable as possible inside its cage.
"Who knows, they might be able to tell you something."
"Right."
And as the blonde faded away, one more thought rang out from the fox.
"It is his fault, you know. I don't know why you are so obsessive only with just that one measly human, even though he is strong and…your rival. You'd think there would actually be a reason for anything in this world anymore, ne, kit? Are you sure you know, that you understand? He hates you. Its only fair for him for the feeling to be mutual. Hell, I bet he'd prefer it much more that way."
There was a silence, and at first the demon thought his vessel didn't catch it, seeing as there was no predictable outburst, until, just as Naruto was opening his eyes to the painful sun again, he replied in a voice that cracked midway, filled with so many emotions that Kyuubi couldn't even name them all; hatred, betrayal, pain, sadness, hope, despair, and still somewhat caring and concerned. Kyuubi couldn't understand how much effect all the oxymorons would have, even when bleeding only through a mere two words.
"I know."
/I know./
SOOOOOOO, that's it! Review! REVIEW! I LOOOOVE REVIEWS! They make the world go round. Like Mooney. And Murphy's Law.