Ohayo x3 I know I shouldn't be uploading another story while I just put For the Love of Spac-Time Jutsu! up... erm, yesterday? In my defense I've been finished with this chapter for around a month or so now.
I will warn you now: This fic is slightly AU, a next-generation OC fic, and the flashbacks are very OC-centric. At the end of the chapter I will provide a profile about one of the OCs mentione 8D
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly, but I DOOOOO own the crap-load of OCs mentioned :3 Muahaha.
Bodies and ash. Can you picture your home as nothing more than bodies and ash? Picture the unseeing eyes of your friends and family, the people your grew up with and waved to when you passed them. The buildings you walked into everyday reduced to soot-covered rubble. Can you picture that? Because, oddly enough, until she saw it herself she couldn't either.
Azaru retracted two fingers from the pulse-less neck of her imouto in all but blood. Junko Inuzuka was a girl you could always count on to be talking, but now her mouth was closed as her sightless brown eyes stared forward. The kunoichi brought a shaking hand up to close her eyelids before picking the thirteen year old's body up in her arms and walking across the battlefield to where the rest of the causalities laid.
Every face made Azaru die a little more inside. It was almost funny, how she hadn't broken yet. How many precious people had she lost? She had no blood family left. Nearly all of her Kaa-san's clan was demolished in one of the first attacks by Akatsuki's leader. Kaa-san had been taken down by Madara himself last year, Tou-san following her shortly after. In the raid on Oto six months ago they had been met with an army. After taking down nearly two thirds of the ninja, Tou-san was overwhelmed, leaving his daughter with not only the responsibilities of Hokage, but as Kurama-nii's Junchuriki at the age of 21.
Many were lost in that battle, but Kabuto fell, along with many of Madara's army. Auntie Sakura had her neck broken by Kabuto when she got hit by his strongest paralysis poison. Uncle Sasu was terrifying when that happened. Azaru saw the battle herself – all that was left of the traitor was blood, guts, and some scattered bones.
Setting Junko down between her mother, Kagura Inuzuka, and her Uncle Shino she sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair though it looked black from the explosion. Kagura was smiling in her death, yet somehow that just made the feelings of guilt worsen. She was the Shichidaime – they were her people, she was supposed to protect them. Hell, Kagura had been her Tou-san's assistant!
Where were the feelings of relief? She had finally – after 27 years of war with three different groups – killed Madara, ending it. It had only taken the death of the five elemental nations and millions of causalities. Yet still, they had lost so damn much. Out of the hundred thousand people Konoha had had when Tou-san and Kaa-san were children, less then a hundred remained. Less then fifty, at that.
Azaru walked back over to the charred remains of the Academy, clearing away more of the rubble to find more corpses and – hopefully – more survivors. When Madara's attack met the Kage's Akuna no Rasengan the explosion bust eardrums and flattened everything within a thousand meters. She would've died if not for Kurama-nii's healing of her – it was a good thing he actually liked Azaru instead of just tolerating her like he had with Tou-san. He had added even more of his chakra then usual, which, mixed with her natural-born demonic chakra, had saved her from being slaughtered.
Smoothing away a broken desk, Azaru's breath caught in her throat. "Kasumi..." She whispered, the tell-tale signs of tears showing up through the stinging of her eyes though she hadn't cried since her father's death. The young Genin's light brown hair was matted with blood, a large gash on her forehead along with a crushed windpipe. A part of her was, well – not glad, but relieved that she didn't have to inform her family. Ayame and Iruka Umino were already dead, and Kasumi's twin sister Natsuko who had been on her genin team – one of the bravest brats she had ever met – had died along with her two teammates, Shiro and Ran.
And upon that thought, the blonde immediately hated herself a little more.
Setting Kasumi next to Tanaku, a kind civilian man who had run a clothing shop in the market, she turned back to keep searching.
"Azaru-chan," A voice said and she turned around to meet sea-green eyes, belonging to her best friend, Itachi Uchiha the second.
"Yeah?" Azaru replied, barely noticing the monotone her voice had taken on in her haste to suppress her emotions. Falling apart wouldn't do anyone any good. She needed to stay calm. Of course, that plan failed when she caught the look on Tachi's face. His eyes looked wet and he was biting his lip. Azaru knew him well enough to know that he was inwardly freaking out. "T-Tachi...?"
He just gave her a pained look and said one word. "Kaori." She was gone before he could blink, activating one of the Hirashin seals to quickly flash to one of the empty buildings they had set up as a makeshift hospital, after the real one was demolished.
Kaori Nara was many things. The daughter of Shikamaru and Temari Nara, Jounin Commander, and most of all Azaru's sensei from when she'd been a genin. She had been nine, along with her teammates Itachi and Haru, while Kaori had been a Jounin at sixteen. There had been a time of, well, not peace but non-constant battles, enough for the newer Jounins to begin training Genin again.
All three of them were already at Chunin level at that age, having extremely powerful parents. Tachi's dad was Sasuke Uchiha the ANBU General, his mom Sakura Uchiha, the head Medic-Nin and one of the second generation of the Saanin just like Uncle Sasu and Tou-san. Haru's parents were Konoha's head interrogator, Ino Yamanaka and his dad Sai, an ANBU assassin. Azaru's parents were Hinata Namikaze-Hyuuga, owner of the Byakugan and also a strong ANBU and her dad was Naruto Namikaze, the Hokage, Jinchuriki, son of the Yondaime, and finally a Second Generation Saanin.
Overall, they were a ridiculously powerful team. Tachi and his Sharingan, not to mention his knack for space-time ninjutsu, Azaru and her Byakugan along with her fuuinjutsu mastery, and Haru with his excellent chakra control and mind techniques, along with the drawing jutsu he had be taught by his father, and his knack for medical ninjutsu.
They had been Kaori's first – and only – team, immediately given a C rank to play paige for Uncle Sasu. Still, she was like Azaru's big sister and one of the few precious people she had left.
Yet, now? She laid on a bloody mat, Shizune with her gray streaked hair talking to another medic-nin as the blonde walked over, knees shaking before they could no long hold her weight and she collapsed next to her sensei.
Kaori had a gaping whole in her chest, and she could easily see the half of her left lung was missing. The dying woman looked up at her wearily through dark brown eyes and absently held up her hand which Azaru hurriedly gripped. She pressed my trembling lips to her teacher's knuckles, wincing as the older woman let out a round of hacking, wet coughs.
"'Zaru," Kaori said, her voice hoarse. She glanced up at her face, eyes glued to her's. "Take... Take m-my chakra."
Azaru's eyes widened as Kaori coughed again. Take her chakra? Was she insane? "Are you insane?" She said, voice tight with veiled worry that she undoubtedly saw through. The older woman shot her a stern look that her mother Temari had mastered before her death, caused by the Akatsuki member Deidara.
"No," Kaori said, letting out another wet cough and wincing. "I-I know you need- extra chakra to use the j-jutsu you and Itac-chibi were working on."
Azaru froze, hundreds of flimsy excuses flying through her mind, but she knew Kaori would counter each of them, and quite honestly she didn't know why she was against trying it.
After her dad and Tachi's parents – the remainder of Team Seven – had died, they had gotten the idea to go back, change it all. Warn everyone. Itachi had a knack for creating jutsus, and had been the one to figure out how to counter-attack Madara's various space-time ninjutsu. When Azaru made an offhand comment at the funeral, "I wish... I wish I could go back and tell him how much I loved him." Itachi had froze and met her eyes.
"What if we could?" He said, a mischevious glint appearing behind the sorrow in his gaze. She had looked at him, not understanding.
"What are you talking about?"
"What if we could go back in time? Change... change everything?"
They had spent nearly all of there free time working on a jutsu-seal combination. Upon research, they had realized not only would it take a freakish amount of chakra to open a dimensional pocket wide enough to actually travel back in time, but a paradox would occur if they went back into recent times. There would be two of them in the timeline – they would slowly die or even disapear. Also, they couldn't return.
At this point they had set the nearly-finished project aside to prepare for the upcoming battle Azaru's spies had informed her of.
Of course, her thoughts had strayed back to the abandoned project – what if? But they were so many facets to that. They would have to go back to a time before they were born, as to avoid a dimensional paradox resulting in their death. Not only would it take two people to perform the jutsu, but the seal they had created worked only one time, for one person. Either she would go back, abandon her village and possibly never see Itachi, Kaori, and her other friends again, or Itachi would go back and she would loose her best friend and brother, not to mention the fact that the weasel still had two younger siblings to watch out for.
But as Kaori gasped for breath, her life-blood dribbling out of her mouth, she paused. She could go back, fix everything. Solve it all, before it happened. It had begun with Uncle Sasu getting Orochimaru's Curse Seal. She had figured that seal out by the time she had turned sixteen, though admittedly, spying in an Oto facility gave you a surprising amount of free time.
Yet she couldn't convince herself to do it. What was stopping her?
You're a coward, the darker part of her mind whispered. You're selfish, putting your own happiness above the safety of your people. Your despicable.
I am not! She snapped back. I... I will do it. With that, she turned her eyes back up to Kaori's brown ones, not having noticed looking away.
"I... will... try." Azaru said, swallowing. "I'll try, okay Nee-chan? Just-Just hold on." She pleaded as Kaori's eyes began to close.
"Good...l-luck. Imouto." The Nara whispered, a small wistful smile crossing her lips before she stilled, no longer breathing. Azaru's heart beat painfully hard in her chest.
"Nee-chan? Nee-chan? Kaori-nee? Sensei? C-Come on, this isn't funny. Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!" She said, her voice getting slowly louder before she was screaming, sobbing tearlessly over Kaori's body.
She barely noticed Shizune shooting her a pitying look as she left to give the Kage some privacy.
Azaru gripped the fabric of the dead woman's Jounin vest in a vice-like grip, body shaking. Another precious person dead. Maybe she was already shattered – maybe she had been for a long time, pieces slowly chipping away.
With a final swallow, she pulled back, reaching a trembling hand up to Kaori's face, shutting her eyelids. If she ignored the blood, she could be sleeping. Just sleeping.
She pressed her palm against the woman's forehead, wordlessly absorbing the leftover chakra the woman had, barely feeling the pain it caused her as the foreign energy merged with her own chakra coils.
Her vision became tunneled as she stood up, walking numbly past the Medic-nin and the other dying ninja. She didn't want to see how many people she couldn't save.
Itachi, she thought blankly. I need to find... Itachi.
Azaru found him easily enough, setting up another canary-yellow tent among the forest of them. Many civilians and ninja had resorted to sleeping in them since most of the buildings were either inhabitable or destroyed.
He glanced up as she paused in front of him, paling as he took in her expression. In the back of her mind, she wondered what it looked like.
"Is... did she...?" The Uchiha asked and Azaru nodded tightly, shutting her eyes and she heard the ragged sound he made, a mix between a laugh and a sob. It broke her heart.
"She wanted me to try Sai Jikko." She added after a second and Itachi's sea-green gaze snapped to hers.
"What? We haven't even-" He said, bewildered before Azaru interupted.
"I'm doing it." She said sharply, resorting to what Haru used to teasingly call her, "Kage" voice in her attempt to smother the emotions slowly building up inside of her. Itachi's back instinctively straightened and he looked at her, his expression confused and a little hurt. Azaru softened her voice, explaining. "It was her last wish... and, well, what do I have to loose?"
A bitter laugh that held no real amusement left her before she mentally shook herself. No time for self pity.
Whether it was because it was Kaori's dying wish or the pleading tone her voice had unconciously taken on, he only hesitated a moment before nodding. "Meet me at Training Ground Three in twenty minutes, bring whatever your taking with you. I'll get the supplies." He said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She nodded once before walking towards the Namikaze Manor.
The actual manor had been destroyed when Pein attacked, but the underground vault was safe. She quickly made her way over to what seemed like an open patch of ground behind the remaining rubble, clearing away the dirt to show a slightly dirty door with a black seal on it.
It had been her grandmother Kushina's invention – the Uzumaki were well known for their Fuuinjutsu skills. She had designed the seal so that only a Namikaze could enter the vault, along with her of course. When Tou-san took on his father's last name, he had inherited the place. After he married Kaa-san he had altered the seal slightly so she could use it too.
Azaru quickly bit her thumb, letting a drop of red liquid fall onto the seal which glowed bright blue before fading again. She twisted the hatch, revealing a small ladder which she climbed down. Lighting the few candles with an easy, handsignless D-ranked fire jutsu, she looked around nostalgically.
The room was spacious, with concrete a concrete floors and walls. The lest side of the room was filled with shelves of scrolls, many of them containing original jutsus invented by the Yondaime himself. Grandma Kushina also had Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu scrolls there too, along with the few original ones she created. Tou-san had added his own after he moved in, some of them given to him by his godfather, some of them ones he created. Many of them were Azaru's originals too – her father had taught her Fuuinjutsu before she could throw a kunai and it'd been easy for her ever since – like tying a knot.
On the other side of the room, there were just random things. Two old chairs with stains on them, Kaa-san's wedding kimono, her and her little brother's birth certificates which she pretended not to see, Tou-san's old froggy wallet Gama-chan, Jiri-chan's stuffed lamb toy from when he was born, and finally what she had been looking for. Kaa-san's photo albums.
Kaa-san had loved taking pictures – there were dozens of albums, filled with things that went from birthdays to missions. She quickly grabbed the two she was looking for with the air of someone who did it often, one a light violet color with a white floral pattern, titled "GENIN DAYS." Azaru opened it to the first page, showing a picture of a red faced but happy looking Kaa-san with her Hitai-ate around her neck. The little inscription beneath it read, "The Day of Graduation," with the date underneath. She smiled sadly, memorizing the date, and setting the album down, picking up a dark green album.
This one was titled, "JIRAIYA'S FIRST YEAR." It was Jiri-chan's baby book. A stab of pain shot through her heart but she ignored it, turning to the back end of the book. It was a picture of Jiri-chan, Kaa-san, Tou-san and Azaru having a picnic on top of Tou-san's head on the Hokage Mountain. Jiri was about eight months old, and she was nine at the time. Her hair had still been short at that time and Kaa-san had put it into two pigtails. She was wearing a red tanktop with a half-white, half-black jacket over it, the Uzumaki swirl on the back. The blonde's shorts were simple black ones, and she was wearing the traditional blue sandals – it was about a week after she had been placed on a team.
Kaa-san wore her traditional ninja gear, but she had taken off her jacket and had her dark blue-black hair in a loose bun. Tou-san was giving Kaa-san bunny-ears, his Hokage jacket whipping around in the wind as he smiled, squinty-eyed.
Jiri was wearing a white t-shirt and dark green shorts with flip-flops on, looking puzzled as he stared into the camera. Only four of his teeth had grown in yet, though his messy hair, the same shade as Kaa-chan's, was rather long already. He sat on Azaru's lap, their parents in the background.
It was her favorite picture. She quickly took it out of the clasps, sticking it into one of the inside pockets of her trench coat.
For luck, she thought to herself. And an incentive to succeed.
Azaru turned around to the ladder when a flash of silver caught her eye. Her eyebrows furrowed as she crouched down, picking up the necklace with a green stone and two seperate beads. It was the necklace Tou-san had always worn, given to him by his godmother, the Slug Saanin. If she was going back to her parent's Genin days, she would definitely need someone who knew who she really was. Who better than the Sandaime? Tou-san had always spoken very highly of the man, and since he was Tsunande's sensei he would probably take the necklace as proof.
Azaru hesitated for a second before shrugging mentally and clasping it around her neck. She sent the room one final glance before going up the latter. Maybe the next time she saw this place, it'd be whole again.
X.x.X
"Ready?" Itachi asked, glancing at her. Azaru stood in the middle of the seal made of their combined blood. It was made up of various symbols and was very complex. If it was even off a miniscule amount, there was no telling what would happen, where she would end up, and what the effects would be. She had another, smaller and more simple seal drawn on the center of her forehead, repeated four times over – on the palms of both of her hands and over her heart, and once on Itachi's forehead.
She nodded, and completely in sync they began flying through handsigns. The seals began glowing various colors. Forest green – Kaori's chakra, a dark, saphire blue – Itachi's chakra, dark red – Kurama-nii's chakra, and finally a bright sunshine yellow – Azaru's own chakra.
When the glow finally settled on the bright white it should be, Azaru glanced up at Itachi, meeting his eyes as she hesitated on the last handsign. This would be the last time she would ever see him. Her best friend, her rival, the happy-go-lucky idiot that might as well have been her brother.
In that last moment, with her eyes, she didn't say goodbye. She didn't say it would be okay. With her eyes she said "I'm sorry," because she was. She was sorry that she was leaving him, sorry that she couldn't stop the death and destruction.
His response was easily read. If he had been talking, he would have said, "Don't be a baka, baka. It's not your fault."
She sent him a smile as the glow incased her and she molded her hands into the last sign. There was a roaring sound ecompassing her and god it was so damn bright. All she could see was white, white, and white.
Until, as fast as it had appeared, everything was black.
X.x.X
When Azaru awoke, she was in her mindscape. Kurama-nii had always told her that he liked her mindscape the best by far out of all the ones he had been imprisoned in. He'd been locked in cages, impaled, and stuck in a sewer for twenty-some damned years, but in her mindscape he was free.
It was a meadow, filled with beautiful pastel flowers. There were thick trunked trees surrounding the area and the babbling of a nearby creek in the distance. The sky was sapphire blue with a few puffy-white clouds floating by. It was warm and the air smelled of flowers and sunshine.
Overall, it was peaceful and beautiful. The fox demon could curl up and nap in the sunlight and explore if he wished too. There were no limitations. He had told her that the meadow reminded him of the place he raised his kits, Kuroko and Nasumi.
Azaru blinked blearily, feeling a warmth on her face, and something soft beneath her. Glancing up, she saw Kurama's inquisitive eyes.
"Hi," She croaked, startled upon noticing how hoarse her voice was. How long had she been asleep?
"Ah, so your finally awake Kit?" The fox questioned in his low voice. The blonde nodded, rubbing her eyes and sitting up slightly. The two sat in companionable silence for a few moments before she finally spoke.
"Did... did it...work?" She asked, her voice still rather hoarse. Azaru didn't know what she would do if it hadn't – her last chance. It was her last chance.
"It worked." Kurama-nii said and for a moment, she did nothing. She didn't even breathe; and suddenly, her eyes welled with tears. Before she even knew it, she was sobbing all the tears she had been holding back since her mother first died.
I'll save them – I'll save them all, she promised to herself mentally. Even if I die trying.
So, thoughts? I like it ^-^ Well, I liked it better the first time though, before I DELETED it on accident DX Sadly. I'm not sure how frequent updates on this story will be, seeing as the chapters are going to be around 3k words instead of 1k like in my other fic x3 Also, instead of fun facts for now, there shall be CHARACTER PROFILES!
Name: Azaru Namikaze
Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan
Age: 23
Parents: Hinata and Naruto
Rank: Kage
Appearance: Blonde hair like her dad, blue-tinted Byakugan eyes, two natural whisker marks on each cheek, and her mother's structure, skin tone, and facial features.
Other: Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi
Song of the Chapter: The Lonely - Christina Perri
Question of the Chapter: Favorite Naruto pairings? Canon, NonCanon, yaoi, yuuri, etc?
~Violet