Destiny of flames

chapter one

He rolled a crystal ball in his hand as he waited. He never liked waiting but he had no other choice but to wait. They had to review how his last mission went. The order was rather strict when it came to crap like that. To him it was just another mission and another witch to kill. A dead witch was the best witch in his mind all of them need to be killed, but some of his methods were a bit excessive. His partner was trying to convince the order that he was useful if a bit violent. He didn't have a great history with witches and he wasn't about to be nice to one. He tossed the crystal ball up in the air and caught it with ease as the door to the other room opened. His partner looked a little tired as he sighed out and dropped himself on the chair next to him.

"You're a handful you know that." He muttered as he covered his eyes with his hands. He looked like he had one hell of a fight with The Order.

"Did you get our new assignment?" he asked his partner not really caring what type of hardship he had to go through with The Order. The Order was just a bunch of old farts in his mind. Protecting humanity and what not from things they weren't suppose to know. That's what he and his partner did. Protect humanity from things they didn't see. Never getting one single thanks for all of their work not that he really cared. He was only in it to kill witches for money. iHIHI

His partner had more noble ambitions he wanted to understand how witches work. Where their power came from and if they were really evil, yet every witch they had encountered didn't live long enough to say yay or nay to the question.

"Yes," he started as he pulled a scroll from his coat. He was about to hand it over when he stopped. " But…"

"But what?" he hissed as he took the scroll from him.

"They want this witch alive."

"Bullshit." He muttered as he read through the orders. It was there in black and white and it pissed him off. He shoved the scroll back at his partner as he crossed his arms. "I don't do alive. Tell them to give it to someone else." He hissed

"Sasuke this is the last change the order is giving us."

"I don't do alive, Naruto." He answered again. As Naruto sighed loudly it was impossible to talk to the man once he has set his mind on something but he knew how to get him interested.

"They are paying us four times the amount of a regular hunt." He mentioned as the silence in the room was heavily. For a moment he thought that Sasuke didn't hear him as he just stayed silent.

"Four times?" he said out loud as he looked at Naruto. "Why?" he asked as Naruto knew he had him. He knew it wasn't the money that had gotten his partner attention it was the fact the order was willing to pay so much for one witch alive.

"They believe she's the original. The first witch." He explained.

"That's impossible that would make her over a thousand years old."

"They believe she holds the key to destroying all witches." And just with that sentence Sasuke was on board.

"Alive, huh? This should be interesting." He muttered as he stood up. He shook his cloak and dropped the crystal he had been playing with to the floor. It bounced on the floor before he caught it under his boot. Naruto watched him for a moment almost knowing what he was going to do but hoping he wouldn't do it. He shifted his weight on the crystal and it smashed to pieces. All most like the crystal had feelings it screamed loudly as Naruto covered his ears slightly as energy escaped the orb. The energy made his coat flutter a bit as it died down and then it was gone completely. Naruto really hated when he did that. Every soul he collected he destroyed it made Sasuke a bit more inhuman then the witches they hunt. Ever since that time he forgotten his humanity and just destroyed anything that had to do with witch craft. He didn't care for anything else but that single minded goal, to destroy them all. Naruto sighed it wasn't like he didn't know about his best friends behavior. It was something he knew all too well. The Order liked him because he could get the job done but sometimes he went a little too far and thats were Naruto came in. It was his job to make sure Sasuke stayed in line but his cruel nature was getting out of hand.

"I wish you would stop doing that." Muttered Naruto as he got up. A witch's soul was powerful and could be used for other things but Sasuke did nothing but destroy them when ever he got his hands on one. Sasuke ignored Naruto as his boot crushed what was left of the crystal. He walked out of the room not ever waiting for Naruto who picked himself slowly as he walked over to where the crystal laid broken. He picked up the fragments and looked at it with sadness. His last mission all too fresh in his mind, he cringed as he remember the brutality Sasuke had used to rip the soul out the witch's chest. She pleaded with them to let her live. She claimed over and over that she had a child that needed her but Sasuke didn't listen to her and killed her like he would to any other. What his partner didn't know was that she wasn't lying. After Sasuke left Naruto gave the small modest house a good look and found a pair of light brown eyes looking at him. Horror written all over them as he stepped closer to him.

He moved a couple of things out of the way and found a little boy covered in his own mother's blood. He was sobbing silently as he looked at Naruto almost as if he knew what would happen to him. That boy didn't know how lucky he was that he was found by Naruto than Sasuke. Naruto looked over to the door where Sasuke had left before putting his finger to his lips in a sign to be silent. He took a cloth from his pocket and cleaned the boys face as he silently cried.

"Wait a couple of minutes before you come out. Find someone to protect you." He told him as he pulled out a small pouch with a blue stone in it. "This will shield you from his eyes." He told him as he hand the bag to the boy who only looked at him. He got up and started to walk away when the boy spoke up.

"Why? Why save me?" he questioned. Naruto got a sad look on his face before he answered.

"I knew a boy like you once." He muttered before he walked out of the building to find Sasuke waiting for him outside. He was holding the reins of the horses waiting for him.

"What took you so long?" he growled as he tossed the reins over to Naruto.

"I just wanted a look around." He said slightly tired as he got onto his horse. Sasuke followed suit and mounted his horse. They started down the road when Sasuke stopped almost as if commanded and Naruto looked over to him

"What?" he asked his silent partner.

"We just passed a barrier." He muttered not really sure what was going on. They looked back at the small house they had left behind almost in wonder. The witch had been killed why was their still a barrier around the land? As they pondered the small home exploded in flames. The horses were startled as they buckled back and forth as their riders tried to hold on.

"What the hell?" yelled Naruto as he looked at the infernal in front of him.

"Lets go." Ordered Sasuke as he turned his horse around and passed Naruto. Then the weight of his words came back. Wait a couple of minutes then come out. He had killed the poor boy trying to save him. The weight of that crime was heavy in his chest as he reported to The Order that no one else was in the home when it exploded. He had to explain that it hadn't been Sasuke who set the fire a blaze but that them crossing the barrier had set off the trap. Then came the nagging question as to who set up the barrier to begin with. Magic dissolved after the death of the witch but this one triggered when they left. Which meant someone was trying to hide something. The more he asked questions the more his head hurt. He sighed out loud as he placed the pieces of the orb in his pocket.

The least he could do was honor their memory as a human being they once were by giving them proper rites. Sasuke would call him weak and stupid if he ever found out what he did each time he destroyed a crystal but in a way it would give him a peace of mind.

~Else where~

She heard the scream as she shut her eyes in agony. He had killed another one. The boy didn't know what he was doing but kept bumbling about in the dark. It was going to get him killed one of these days, but at the moment she had more pressing matters. She opened her eyes and looked at the intruders in front of her. They had wondered into her court like unwelcome flies.

"Your defenses are weak!" they crackled as they form balls of energy.

"Its time to end your rule." One of them crackled as they got braver and approached her throne. She smiled at them as she got up, she stood tall as they threw their energy balls at her. They came right at her as she didn't so much as move. The energies exploded as they made contact with something as both witches where sure they had hit their mark. Overconfident about their success they drop their defenses.

"If this is all the power both of you can muster your in for a rude awakening." Both witches looked terrified as the smoke cleared and she was still standing there without a single hair out of place. Overconfident in their abilities they went at her but she didn't move. All she did was look at them like they were roaches that need to be crushed. Before they could even get close to her they where tossed up into the air. They screamed as they tried to get their barring but it felt like the air itself was trying to kill them. She walked down the steps of her throne walked towards an open door way that lead to a balcony.

"It's easy because I didn't put up any defense." She said as the witches struggled to get themselves free. "If you want to kill me you have to be prepared to fight me." She told them as the room seems to get cold. The witches squealed as they started to freeze. "I want you to take a message to your master." She told them. "Tell her that I will not hesitate to kill all her henchmen if she keeps sending them to me." She said as she looked up and found that both witches were already dead. In their place where two frozen statues where they use to be. She then looked over to the doorway again as the statutes fell from their place and smash into pieces beside her. "Stop playing games." She hissed in anger as she looked over the landscape.

Silently behind her two shadows landed. She paid them no mind as they picked up four orbs from the ground. Two of them completely black and the other two bright white. " Destroy the tainted ones and store the pure ones." She ordered as they bowed their heads at her and disappeared. "She sent them out didn't she?" she questioned as a man sitting on the ledge of the balcony answered.

"Looks like it." He answered as he gave a sigh. "They have killed Kuni." He said silently as she closed her eyes.

"Yes I'm aware." She answered. "And the boy?" she questioned as the man on the ledge gave a small smile.

"He's brave he's recovering. He was a little shocked when the guard went to get him but other then that he's fine."

"That's good." She said sounding almost relived. "Any problems?" she asked.

"Just one."

"That is?"

"The house exploded after the hunter passed a barrier neither the guard nor the boy put up." He explained as she stayed silent.

"Very well." She said finally as she walked back to her throne room. "Have everything ready we have a guest coming soon."

"Yes, my lady,"