Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
This is another one of my alternate ending stories! This one's for "Rekindled".
For my most loyal reader, Kaida Mizu, who reviewed every chapter in "Fire" and "Rekindled"! My gift to you, I hope you and the other readers like it!
WARNING: Spoilers for later chapters of Naruto! This is my version of ending to the series, so...MAJOR, MAJOR SPOILERS!
Finding "Him"
Kaen raised her hand, the red thread of fate lighting up. "It keeps moving, although where, I can't seem to get a fix."
Her ears perked up when she saw a town and sensed that several of the residents were suffering from a plague. She descended down the mountain she stood on and didn't even notice as her bare feet hit the deep snow and sank in. She was in Tetsu no Kuni at the time, which was lucky for the mortals there, since she consumed their diseases wherever she crossed through. She heard the poor mortals suffering in their inadequate houses, the cold leaking through the cracks in the walls, which didn't help their frail bodies at all. She grinned as she descended for her mealtime.
She passed through each house like a wraith, her appetite sated a little more with each bout of plague the ruby-haired sainen hineko devoured. The last she found was a whole family, who just lay in their beds, too sick to even move. They were close to death, so she had to move quickly, before one of them could slip away.
It was then she noticed a kazeiguru lingering in a corner of the home, glaring at her with furious gold eyes. His wings flared in warning and she knew she was passing on his territory. She backed up, even though her ears were flat against her head and her tail was puffed up. She escaped from the house, hearing the confusion and joyous cries of the healed humans. She felt full anyhow, so she'd let the kazeiguru have his feast. Her feet left cat prints as she moved on, towards where her fate led her.
Leaf-green eyes observed as two mortals (although she was sure one was possessed by a demon) spoke to each other, planning something sinister.
"Very bold of you Madara-sama," the one who was a half-black, half-white human with what seemed to be a Venus fly trap sprouted around his shoulders praised.
"You distracted them long enough that I could give them the shock of a lifetime," the other, masked man replied, his scent somewhat similar to the first one, although she wasn't sure why.
"So we're all ready for the war?"
"Yes, but it will be entertaining to see how long they'll last against the numbers we have, Zetsu."
"I'll go make the final preparations."
Zetsu vanished into the ground, and Madara murmured to himself, "This is all for you, Midori..."
Kaen's eyes widened a fraction. This Madara knew of her former incarnation? Why was he fighting a war for her? She had to find out.
Madara traveled in a way that usually made Kaen run for weeks after him, but she always found him, for he was the one her thread led to. He seemed a dangerous human, so she couldn't just approach him without being attacked. As time passed, she noticed that the scent similar to Zetsu's seemed to integrate further into Madara's body, until his scent was now a complete mixture.
It took a long time, but finally he let his guard down, so he could have a relaxing bath. As he unclothed himself, she noticed he had scars all down his right side, and what looked like the imprints of huge staples along the line between the marred and untouched flesh. His body was very lean and muscled, but that fit him. He removed his mask last, revealing the scars reached the right side, but his eye was untouched, vivid red. But as he sighed, the red vanished, replaced by black. Her eyebrows raised as she watched him settle into the steaming water. He took a deep breath before hunching down, tears gushing down his face.
"Midori...why did he let you die? I'm still alive, but he let you die! He didn't take care of you, as I asked! My one and only love, dead before you knew I survived...Midori-chan..."
Kaen leapt down, even her burning tail and ears silenced to keep her presence entirely masked as she approached his sobbing figure. He scrubbed his hair frantically as he wept, the picture of utter misery. She crouched down right behind him and began to purr, just loud enough that his muscles started to loosen automatically at the soft, soothing noise. But, being paranoid (as a hunted person would be), he noticed just as quickly and turned around, a sharp black pole against her throat the next second. She stopped, not moving a muscle as he demanded, "Who are you?"
"A neutral party, neither your enemy or ally," she answered truthfully, the top half of her face in shadow from her bangs.
He quickly took in her features and surmised, "You're not human."
"I am not."
"What drew you to this place?"
"I've been watching you for a time, waiting until you were relaxed enough to approach."
"Why? I tire of your vague answers."
She raised her head and he froze, then his breathing became uneven as he dropped the weapon.
"Midori?" he choked out, tears appearing again, but this time with relief.
"In my last life, I was called that."
He took hold of her shoulders and pulled her to him, no matter he was wet and naked as a jay bird. "Midori, my Midori..."
She purred at the contact and felt his tears against her neck as he buried his face there. On instinct, she began to knead his chest, where her hands were trapped, gently pricking his skin with her claws. She nuzzled his short, messy hair, wondering who he was that he knew her so well. Had she been close to him in the past? Upon his "death" had she mourned? Who was the one he cursed for allowing her to die? These questions bounced around in her head, but she pushed them back, wanting to be here for him as he was overcome with happiness over her presence.
"I love you, I love you so much..." he whispered to her, squeezing her even closer to him. "I never want to let you go..."
She knew nothing about her past life, only after she'd been rekindled. But he was her destined mate, the one the red thread of fate had tied her to, so she would grow to love him too. Her body cried for his, so much she was surprised that he didn't feel it. Her body knew him, her passion burning unchecked in her system as he drenched her shoulder. She let out a mewl of want, her eyelids lowering to half mast as she sprung on him, both of them submerged in the hot water with a great splash. He struggled against her before pausing when her lips found his. She let him rise to the top, but he didn't let her go as his lips searched hers in a heated frenzy. He kept on for so long that she feared he would drown. He pushed them above the water, a great gasp escaping him as he looked into her eyes, the black of his open one so fiery she felt her body react to the heat.
"Midori...would you give yourself to me?"
She growled in lust as she answered, "All of me is yours to have."
They enjoyed the afterglow of their lovemaking and he kissed her softly.
"I love you Midori. Stay with me forever."
"I will do as you want..." she breathed as her eyes closed. "...Obito..."
Kaen woke wrapped up in his arms, on a large, fluffy futon. He still slept, so she watched him, how peaceful he looked compared to his pained expression he'd had when he'd wept for her. She ran her hand down his bare chest and felt each indent of the scar down the right side of his torso. His skin was all one color, but that was because what had been fused to him had integrated into his body without trouble. He was a man who'd seen more pain than he'd ever known previous to this, but her presence seemed to soothe any that he still felt. He kept calling her Midori, and she knew who he was from the dim memories she'd recovered of him before he'd "died". She'd loved him as he did now, so she would allow him to father her kittens and she would mark him as forever hers.
"Obito...I'm so happy you're alive and I found you again... No one could replace you in my heart..."
She bent down and kissed him deeply, her fangs nibbling his lips so they bled. He woke at the slight pain and when he noticed what was happening, he smirked. "Good morning, Midori."
"Good morning, Obito."
She nuzzled his cheek and he rolled them over to kiss her more passionately, but her ears flicked and she whispered, "Someone's coming."
He pulled her out of bed and brought her with him to get dressed. He helped her put on a black kimono with red clouds on it and a crimson obi to match, her hair pulled up in a smooth bun and held back with hairpins that had bells. He then gave her a mask which was pure white with a cat mouth and eye slits.
"Why must I wear a mask?" she asked, perplexed by this.
"No one else will need to know of your existence. Are you skilled in battle?"
"Yes."
"Then I will take you to the battlefield when this war starts."
"If this is all for me, why go through with it?"
"With your resurrection, it is no longer necessary, but I still want him to suffer for letting you die."
He put on a different mask now, this one covering almost the whole of his head with both his eyes showing now. She'd been shocked that his other eye was a deep purple with rings spreading to the very edges of it, no white at all. He said his other eye was with the man he despised, so he had to implant another eye in his empty socket.
They had a morning cup of tea and the shoji slid open for Zetsu to step in.
"Madara-sama, there's someone to see you."
Obito nodded and replied, "Let them in."
They waited until the second person came in, in a cloak with a white snake wrapped partially around him. He himself had scales and was very snakelike, which made her ears flatten at the sight of him, a faint memory of someone similar coming to the forefront of her mind. She almost hissed, but kept herself calm besides her ears.
"Kabuto. What are you doing here?"
"I seek to join with you in this war."
"And why should I let you?"
"If you'll follow me, I'll show you what I can do."
She followed her mate out to the entrance of the hideout, where Kabuto summoned the dead back to life in coffins made of earth. When he summoned one right in front of Obito, the mixed-eyed man gave in.
"Now that we're partners, may I ask who the lady is?"
"Someone vital to this war."
The eerie yellow eyes turned to her and watched her as she walked. He murmured so only she could hear, "She's familiar, very familiar..."
The months following was a waiting game, until he noticed that she was growing rounder. He lifted her mask and asked, "You didn't tell me you were expecting, Midori."
"We haven't been in danger, so I thought it best to make my nest here so I could be comfortable to have the kitten."
"When?"
"Soon."
"Before the war is in motion?"
"No."
He growled but held her close. "I'll protect you, even if that means you won't participate in the main battle."
She nodded.
Kaen kissed her mate as he activated his technique. They traveled to the middle of the battlefield and he used the Jizo Statue to decimate the enemy's forces. He then used undead Jinchuriki to attack the living ones and two others, one of which he informed her through a whisper was the one who'd allowed her to die. She watched him as he struggled through each and every attack. When the dead Jinchuriki had been defeated, Obito himself stepped in to fight. She knelt out of reach from them, her eyes locked on whom she learned was called "Kakashi". A faint memory of him telling her Obito had given him the charge of protecting her flickered to the surface, and she was alarmed when Obito's mask was shattered.
"Obito! Then it's true you're alive!" Kakashi exclaimed.
Obito's eyes burned with hate. "I am indeed, and what did I find when I came back to Konoha? Midori's gravestone."
"It wasn't my fault she died! A sickness took her! I didn't even know she was dying until it was too late!"
At a signal from her mate, she rose and began walking over to him.
"How long I've waited for this day, when I can kill you and take my eye back! You don't deserve it for breaking a promise that was even more important than our friendship! I didn't care that you married her and kept her happy when she could've been broken and taken her own life when I was presumed dead! Your pathetic attempts at protecting her made everything else worthless!"
"I know that apologizing won't do anything at this point, but there wasn't anything I could've done!"
Obito knew this because of her fuzzy recollections of her past, but he was beyond caring, just because of the act of allowing her to die. He'd broken a promise, it didn't matter if she'd come back from the dead. And now he would torture Kakashi with the face of his deceased love. Kaen reached him and he pulled off the mask.
Kakashi gasped and took several steps back at the sight of her face. "M-Midori?! This can't be her! It must be the Impure Resurrection Technique that's brought her back!"
Kaen (who'd used a power to protect her kitten from being seen or harmed) turned her head towards Kakashi and using her demon speed, appeared in front of him. She didn't feel any love for him, for that was a connection broken through death. She gripped the side of his head with her claws, only for Naruto to use his Rasengan to hit her in the back, blood splattering everywhere and lighting anything it touched on fire. She was thrown into the silver-haired ninja, both falling to the ground. He stared at the blood before fire lit on the wound and it vanished like a spark to the wind.
"No ash? But that means..."
"Get off Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, this time forming a Rasen-shuriken.
"Naruto! Stop!"
Kaen stood up and dragged Kakashi up by the front of his vest. He stared at her and asked, "What has he done to you? How could you be alive? I saw you die and attended the funeral. There's no technique that could bring you back whole and well!"
"I am not whole. I've been reincarnated, so I have no memories of my past life."
"So you don't know who I am?"
"No."
"I supported you when you were mourning Obito's death. We got married, we had a daughter named Ren! I stayed by your side until you died! You have a son who looks a lot like Naruto named Kinatsu! Don't you remember even a little?!"
He sounded frantic as he tried to trigger even a single memory of her past life. She saw bits and pieces of what he mentioned, but none of the past feelings, for her world now revolved around Obito and the kitten they were to have. Her face was impassive as she stated, "I began anew when I was brought back. I'm no longer human, I'm a sainen hineko who belongs to Uchiha Obito and no one else. Fate led me to him and my past life won't get in the way."
Her hand flew as she backhanded him with the force of a cannon, making him fly across the battlefield and into a tree.
"Kakashi!" Gai shouted in alarm and stumbled over, his previous injuries slowing him enough that he couldn't reach her fast enough.
"Damn you! I idolized you my whole life as a mom I never had! How dare you trample on Kakashi-sensei's heart like that!" Naruto snarled as he threw the Rasen-shuriken at her.
She sensed the wind and turned her head. "Too slow."
A pillar of flames surrounded her form and incinerated everything, including the dirt. The wind technique vanished within its depths and that part actually turned blue. Naruto abandoned fighting Obito and charged at Kaen, lighting up with the Kyubi's chakra. She dodged him, her eyes narrowed as she spat, "I will not fight one of my own. Kyubi-dono, the curtain must soon fall."
The demon fox caused Naruto to stop so he could talk to him. She went back to Obito's side and he let her nuzzle his cheek. "Is it enough?"
They both looked to the side as Madara appeared and he nodded. She leapt at the undead man and lit on fire, using her powers to disconnect his spirit from this imperfect body. She then lit the Jizo Statue up in flames, doing the same thing and releasing the Biju from their bonds.
"WHA-WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Naruto yelled at the pair. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"Specialty of the hineko...let everything burn..." she explained as she and Obito disappeared into the smoke.
Naruto became Hokage, and everything seemed right again...almost.
Sasuke had been killed during the war. So Naruto had to suffer through a loss of another important person in his life, and the elders of the village were furious that the last Uchiha was dead, not even counting quarter-bloods like Kinatsu and Ren. Itachi had died the same year Midori had, so the hope of the Uchiha Clan restoration was completely gone now.
Naruto stared at a picture of Team Seven on his desk as he took a break from signing papers. There would be no more teams like theirs, and it had been five years since Sasuke's death. He sighed and muttered, "If only I'd been faster, you would still be alive, Sasuke..."
There was a commotion outside where his guards were shouting at someone.
"Criminals! You have no right to even be within the walls of Konohagakure no Sato, let alone the Hokage Tower!"
"Oh really? You're saying that to the new feudal lady of Hi no Kuni? I've given this criminal clemency. Besides, we're here to negotiate."
"Hokage-sama! The criminals you told us to watch for from the war are outside your door!"
Naruto perked up at the second voice and called, "Let them in."
The door opened and Kaen stepped in, Obito at her side. She bowed to Naruto, who stood to do the same. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Feudal lady?"
"I just happen to be the firstborn of the previous feudal lord. When he wanted to retire, he gave the position to me, and that was when I gave birth to my son and daughter, Kairi and Kishi."
From behind her kimono, two tiny five-year-olds, one with the hair done in a pair of tiny pigtails, both with raven tresses, black eyes, and deep red fire ears and tails, peeked out.
"As you can see, they're half hineko, half Uchiha. Because of that, their fire abilities have been amplified significantly, as my former incarnation's had been. I'll make you a compromise: if you strike Obito's name off the Bingo Book, every kitten I have after this time will be brought and raised here. The Uchiha Clan will be revived and the Sharingan will stay strong."
"I'm okay with that, although I'm sure everyone will want to double-cross you."
"Well, if you want Obito to die, be prepared to lose a lot of your ninjas and any chance at reviving one of your most powerful clans."
He snickered. "I'm sure if I tell them that, then they'll be more pliant."
"Let's hope so."
They smiled at each other before parting ways.
And...that's it! What did everyone think? Come on, tell me, tell me!
Also, as per tradition for these stories...
Glossary:
Sainen hineko - rekindled fire cat
Kazeiguru - wind eagle
Any questions, comments for this story...
Please review!