Author's note: I do not own Naruto or any crossover games/ animes (can't reveal for chance of spoilers) and any characters associated with these games/shows except for my OCs (times how many damn chapters this is going to be because I don't want to have to write this at the beginning of every chapter!)
I can see this going on for quite a while but I have much of the story already planned out, all I need really is the motivation to actually write. I would like to hear your thoughts on the story and my writing as time goes on so reviews would be appreciated.
Now without further ado, on with the story! Enjoy!
Addition: For the next week I will be uploading one chapter every day, hopefully getting the ball rolling. This chapter is relatively short compared to numbers 4 and 5 so they will be getting longer, trust me!
Yet another addition: So I realised that this is going to get crap all views without any character filters applied. This is why I've put Minato, Kushina and Mikoto up there; they will be main characters in this, just not leading main characters if you catch my drift, that's going to be the OCs. Now that I've confessed and explained my sins we can get on with this.
Now the story really begins... for real this time.
Outcasts – Arc 1 – The Knight of Konoha
Chapter 1 – Begin at the End
Konohagakure – October 10th
The night was still and the moon full. The vast forest was an ocean of green as far as the eye can see, surrounding the island that is Konoha. Light radiated from the village as if reflecting the joy of the villagers, still celebrating the end of the war that ended over a year ago.
The Third Shinobi World War.
The source of an untold amount of bloodshed for many years... well not in the grand scheme of things it wasn't but to those living through it, it was as though it had lasted a lifetime. The peace that had followed was what people, both civilian and shinobi alike had been praying for, and now that they had it, they would enjoy it to its fullest. Every day people lived easy in the knowledge that their lives were no longer under constant threat.
However for those living in the village below, that peace was about to be shattered, if only for a night. But sometimes, that's all that's needed for events to begin unfolding...
From her position atop the mountain overlooking the village, her crimson eyes could see it all: the forest, the bright lights of the village, even one man who had drunk a bit too much and retreated into an alley to throw up. 'Disgusting...' These were trivial in comparison to smaller things that were hidden to all but her.
A fresh wind blew. Her twin, blond pigtails swayed; the ruffles of her dress fluttered in the breeze. The smallest, most insignificant event could act as the trigger for much larger ones.
'And so it begins.'
In the distance she saw a large, nine-tailed fox appear, the young woman it had just emerged from still chained in place, hanging between two stone pillars. A lone, masked man stood before the Kyuubi, staring into its eyes. He disappeared, promptly reappearing at a considerably closer location to the village and, weaving the necessary hand signs, summoned the great demon.
By now the shinobi forces had sensed the ungodly energy emitted from the fox and had moved to protect their home, but against such a being it takes one truly special to combat it efficiently, if at all. The beast raised its head to the sky and roared before gathering energy between its open jaws. Before anyone could do act, it had already fired its attack. Its target? The mountain that the female was currently standing on; if the attack met its target, there could be no doubt that it would cause incalculable destruction. She watched passively as the blast approached at rapid speed.
Just before it could impact, the shot was stopped. A large array of a sealing jutsu appeared across the cliff face, having been cast by a man standing atop one of the four profiles carved into the wall. This man, with spiky blond hair and clad in a long white coat with flames embroidered into the base, was Minato Namikaze—Fourth Hokage of Konoha. Finishing his jutsu, he transported the blast far onto the horizon where, even at such a great distance, the shock waves felt were immense.
The masked man from before appeared behind Minato and moved to attack. The spectator did not attempt to warn him, instead curious as to how he would react. Sensing the attack, the young Hokage turned to block the kunai which was about to be thrusted into him with one of his personal, tri-pronged kunai. The masked man, undeterred, attempted to attack a different way, by sucking his opponent into his private dimension.
Defensive instinct kicking in, Minato used his personal Hiraishin jutsu to escape at the very last moment. His attacker followed in pursuit a moment later.
With the two gone, the female turned her attention back to the beast's rampage. By now every avaliable shinobi had gathered to hold off the beast. It was midway through charging another energy blast when something caught its attention; a lone figure was stood atop a portion of the wall that encompassed Konoha, at some distance from the rest of their allies. They appeared to agitate the Kyuubi and the distraction was fired upon instead, obliterating the person, which meant the village was safe from yet another blast. The shinobi begin attacking with full force, jutsus of all elements are being fired at the creature in an attempt to fend it off.
One swordsman unleashes a barrage of slashes from his twin blades, one in the form of of lightning and the other an overwhelming, unknown energy towards the fox's face, one of which catches its eye drawing first blood. An enraged roar drowned out the sounds of battle as the Kyuubi proceeded to try to slash, smash and crush the human who had dared cause its injury.
To his credit he certainly managed to survive longer than most would have in this situation however no mere human could ever expect to evade such a being for long and the colossal animal proved too fast; shooting its head forward and with a swift bite, taking off his legs mid-jump. The man, having lost all control in the air, was then caught with a back handed swipe and crashed through a wall, ending up with a, now bloodied, wooden stake protruding from his gut. With no energy to pull himself off, his consciousness faded.
'A pity,' she thought.
In life the man had been quite interesting to her, regardless of her first impression of him.
The battle continued, eventually being stopped by the appearance of a giant toad summon, courtesy of Minato, which landed on the Kyuubi. Moments later the beast disappeared along with the recent arrival, reappearing before Minato and its previous container, Kushina Uzumaki some distance outside the village. She used her chakra chains to restrict the fox's movements whilst her husband cast the Shiki Fujin seal to rob it of its chakra before sealing it within the newborn baby that lay on an alter just behind them.
Due to her weakness from the ordeals of the night, Kushina's technique weakened just enough for the Kyuubi to use its last few moments of freedom to try and kill the baby boy, in an attempt to not be sealed. Seeing this both Minato and Kushina threw themselves onto the fast approaching claw to save their son. With the fatal claw stopped by both their bodies, they say their last words to the boy and pass on from this world. It was truly a touching sight.
In its last few moments, the fox cursed the pair before being sealed fully within the child. The two lifeless forms dropped to the ground as other shinobi approach.
From her vantage point the female closed her eyes and sighed.
''And so the curtain falls on this tale twenty two years in the making...''
The Land of Demons – 22 Years ago
Far to the west of the Land of Fire, beyond even the Lands of Wind and Earth, lay the Land of Demons. It was a place consisting mostly of forest, but was different from the Land of Fire given to its random array of varying land heights due to the geographical layout. There was only one large settlement where the ruler of the nation, the priestess, resided. The rest of the people were spread out among many villages, where a population of thousand people living in one would be considered overcrowded.
Contrary to the name, the Land of Demons had not been overrun by demons since before the founding of the Five Hidden Villages. That wasn't to say of course that they didn't exist. Whilst the civilian population of the land lived out their lives in relative peace, there were those who trained in the way of the sword, arcane and whatever they could to combat demons whenever they should surface, looking for their next meal.
For many years these warriors were able to successfully protect the inhabitants of the land. However recently there had been a large movement of demons sweeping through the land, the likes of which never seen before.
Knowing that they would not be able to stop them on their own, the young Priestess who ruled at that time sent out requests for aid from the Hidden Villages. Not one of them sent so much as a single man. Not one, but Konoha. Unlike the rest Konoha responded and they vowed to take in any and all refugees sent to them. So in order to lessen the death count, an order was given country-wide to evacuate any and all civilians from the Land of Demons.
Soon to be attacked village...
The hoard was coming.
This undeniable fact was on everybody's minds as the final preparations for the evacuation were being completed. Multiple large horse-drawn carts were loaded with food and personal belongings of the women and children who were soon going to be leaving their homes.
Final words of goodbye to their loved ones staying behind to fight mixed in with the sounds of sobbing and men rushing around preparing for the attack, creating a symphony of orderly chaos. In this maelstrom of activity a man, clearly a warrior, was knelt down, talking to a young eight year old boy.
''You understand why this is happening, right Kazuki?''
''Yes father, the monsters are coming.'' The young boy, Kazuki, replied.
''That's right,'' his father said with a sad smirk at his son's childish summary of the situation, ''You're going to be going somewhere far away where the monsters cannot reach you, you'll be safe there.''
''You're not coming?'' Worry flared in the boy's dark eyes.
Seeing this, the man ruffled his son's unruly black hair. ''No, I'm not. I have to stay here and fight... it's my job to protect you after all, I swore to your mother that I would do so.''
Kazuki bowed his head, trying to hold back his tears.
''Don't cry for me son. This is my choice. Remember, regardless of what happens, so long as you alone choose how you live your life, there is no reason to regret it when it ends. ''
Raising his head, the boy nodded, ''I won't forget.''
Pleased that he had been able to teach his son one last thing before his impending death the man couldn't help but smile despite the situation. ''Here,'' he said, holding out an item, long, thin and wrapped in cloth, ''take this with you, if it is what you want: train with it. Become the warrior I know you can be. If not, then keep it to remember your past and never regret it.''
Kazuki took the package and bowed to the man that he will never see again. Even at his young age, he knew the consequences of remaining here and fighting. He tried to speak but the gravity of the situation trapped his words in his chest.
A man in the rushing crowd called out, ''Hey, Onigami! We could use your help over here if you're nearly done?''
Kazuki's father called back, ''Just a minute!'' Turning back to his son he said '' It's about time you got going Kazuki.'' He rose from his kneeled position and placed and hand on the boy's shoulder, guiding him to his transport. Kazuki climbed in and took a seat.
''This is goodbye son.'' Hearing this Kazuki released a few of the tears that he had been holding back.
''Bye Dad...''
With one last smile his father turned and, amongst the hustle of those around him, was lost in the crowd...
30 minutes later...
Even from the carts, which had covered quite a fair distance since setting off twenty five minutes ago, the moment that the battle began was clear. The sounds of the roars of both man and demon filled the silence of the landscape shrouded in twilight.
Smoke could be seen rising from a fire that had broken out somewhere in the village and, as time went on, more and more plumes could be seen causing the sky to darken. Whilst many people couldn't tear their eyes away from the destruction of their homes, Kazuki Onigami sat silently.
He gaze was cast downwards, staring only at the blade that his father had given him.
The blade that would lead him down a long, hard path...