ENJOY AND REVIEW!
I don't own Naruto
The skies are dark, gloomy clouds block out the sun's grace and, in it's stead, deliver their torment. The wind blew harshly and thunders roar through the distance. A small land mass in the mist of the thunder and sharp winds withstood the invasion of the terrible rain. The wind picked up and blew harsher and whistled through the hollowed building and bones of the deceased. The giant tides crashed against the shore, the whirlpool spun so fast it created a vortex of air. The whirlpools went on forever and they were so tightly packed together that it made them impossible to cross, both by air and by sea. Those with curiosity to see the small land mass have found their hopes shattered for the vortex distorted the small land mass's view from afar, it took along the rain with it all the way back to the sky, further fueling the dark gloomy clouds.
It was faraway from the main land so it wasn't a complete eyesore. But, it was still visible. No one could ignore the dark clouds, even if it was just a speck in the distance. Fishermen tend to avoid due to the strong pull of the whirlpool, plus the lack of fish.
This is the Isle of the Withered and the Dead.
The island is always surrounded by a storm and it's always raining. Nobody really knows what happened to it anymore, most of the people who did, died out a long time ago. So most just considered it cursed, a land where the demons relax, after all...what could possibly live there besides skeletons and withering plants?
All in all, it was a dead zone, no reason to get near it at all.
Amongst the ferocious wave of this island, a figure could be seen floating. It was the body of a boy maybe thirteen-fourteen years old, and it floated like a log. Slowly but surely, the boy began to wake up. His vision and hearing weren't fully awake and his body was numb, really numb. The first to be restored was his hearing, the loud roars of thunder crackling, his restored vision saw only darkness.
"Where" he thought "where..."
He felt his lifeless body hit land, he laid there and stared at it, sand...How did he know that...How did he know the sand wasn't supposed to be brown like this? It was supposed to be...golden...yellow...whats that noise? He struggled to turn his head when he finally did the first thought that popped into his head "Is that the normal size of the wave?"
It swallowed him whole. As his body was forced to spun by the wave he thought "that's right...it isn't normal"
After being forced forward, his body touched the dirty sand again but the blue menace didn't want to let him go, oh how it tried to take him back into it's main body, dragging the boy in the process. Needless to say, it failed.
The boy was now in control of his arms, he felt...whats the word? He pushed himself onto his stomach. Strong? He pushed himself one more time. No that's not it...jelly? His upper body was now above the sand. No that's not it either, but it's close, I know it. He stared at a leftover puddle of the blue menace underneath him. That's when he realized how he was breathing. He was huffing, struggling to breath; as his breathing calmed he focused on the figure underneath him. He felt something in his stomach, it was peculiar feeling, one he doesn't really remember. Now I remember... His eyes widen as he puked, it was salt water. WEAK...that's the word. "Blurg!" He let out as he regurgitated once more, more salt water and...a red liquid...Blood? It's dripping off him. He looked at the figure in the puddle, now larger due to rain and regurgitation, it was his reflection, he was sure of it.
It was dark, so he couldn't see his face.
CRACK! Went another thunder followed by lighting. His nose is bleeding, he could tell that much...What's that noise?
He gained control of his legs...he felt weaker. He was able to move his just enough to see whats behind. It was the blue menace again and this time it was bigger "of course" he said on impulse. He watched as the wave approached him, helpless to do anything about him, and then he was swallowed again and once more sent spinning forward, hitting the wet sand in the process.
And then he stopped, but the menace wanted, oh how it fought to take him back, to swallow him and a keep him at it's depths for as long as the island slumbers it's eternal night. As he was being dragged he forced an arm to anchor on the ground and pull. IF the sea fought to take him back then shouldn't he, naturally, fight to get away. He used his other arm to climb forward. He began to noticed the irritation he had in his throat, how his body trembled from the icy rain and the cold sea, how his whole body ached for no reason. As soon as he was able to stand, he took it the chance. He got and began moving forward as fast as he could (which wasn't fast). He started to hear the wave approaching him again for another round, but he was determined to make sure there wouldn't be anymore. Sped up more and began jugging. He was hit again by the wave. But it pushed him forward and it didn't have enough strength to pull him back.
He was huffing again. He shook his head as he pushed himself back up, turned to the say and stared it. The blue menace fought hard to keep...why? Did he not belong in the land of earth and dirt with rocks here and there? Did he belong at the bottom of the ocean somewhere?
He shook his head of meaningless thoughts, He turned around to see where he was. He was at a beach with dirty sand and right where it ends begins a hill with nothing but mud and rock. Great...
He moved forward, he knew that the wave would eventually catch up to him. Nothing else to do but climb, he moved on. Walking up the muddy hill, being careful not to fall on it. With the constant rain, cold and weak body, fe felt like everything he did was wrong, like he shouldn't even be there in the first place. He was almost at the top, he could see it. Just few more-...he slipped.
He fell face first on the mud. He let out a groan on impulse before he did his best to wipe the mud off his face with his muddy hands. He blinked a few times, right in front of him, mere inches away, right on the very top of the hill, was a human skull, pretty weathered by the looks of it.
He stared at it for a moment, maybe two, before he got up slowly, still keeping an eye on the skull, and he made sure he wouldn't slip again. He he stood tall with the rain pouring down, a little lighter now he simply took a few more steps, staring at the skull. When he was close to it, he simply put one foot next to it and moved it to a side.
He looked forward to see what appeared to be the remains of a village. Signs of battle or a great catastrophe are present, building destroyed, streets dented, and city littered with human skeletal remains and bits and peaces of clothing.
It took him a moment to process it all. Another thunder went off and the lighting hit a mountain in the distance. He moved forward, no fear or sorrow for the scene, hugging his body for warmth as he looked for a suitable spot to get out of the rain. There were many good spots, many building that still seemed...intact integrity wise (meaning it wouldn't just crumble at any moment). But he was looking for something else, something his body demanded...food? Maybe...a place to get warm? Yeah that sounds about right.
He looked at the weathered/destroyed signs as he kept all that in mind.
He found a building that had a wall destroyed and weathered, as he walked inside he noticed a certain decayed stench. Sure there was some bones and dried aged blood here and there but there was also some food and canned goods on the shelves, floor, and walls, all rotten and moldy with mushrooms growing here and there as well; a couple of section burned down another blown. Yep there was a battle here.
As he walked around he found a door that seems to lead to a sort of storage area. The label was worn off but it said so. He put his hand on the cold copper handle and pulled it right off the door. He looked at it before he threw it away. It couldn't be that old could it? Seeing no other way to open it he decided to kick it in. One kick, didn't budge, second kick, heard a creek, third kick, the door was kicked open and inside was a mass of dead bodies, some had small traces of flesh but it was mostly gone and their clothing was all...actually he didn't have a word for it. It was ripped and burned but nothing too severe but the stench though, that was severe. He held his nose and trembled, the cold was really getting to him and his soaked clothes is only making it worse, he scanned the shelves while ignoring the skeletons. From looking around he figured that this is...was grocery store, and by the looks of it, was pretty old so no one came and checked on it but there was one question his mind.
As he walked through every shelf in the back he actually wondered what this store was again. There were no other doors meaning no other room and it was pretty clear that people but food and other stuff here. So then why was the entire back room storage filled with scrolls? Each one was inside an oval metallic cylinders that had labels on them but were worn out, some seemed to have been cracked off. Then he made it to the back. He was in luck, the back one had labels on them. Some a bit worn but readable, each label had an ID on it. Each began with four letters then continued off with eight random digits. There was a nearby remains of a window, he saw that the rain stopped. He was still cold and he could barely control his body. He spotted one of those "in case of fire break glass" box that was already broken, he walked to it and looked inside. The only thing left was the emergency medical kit, he heard a crack to his left, he turned to look, the was fox looking at him. It cocked it's head as it stared at him, he couldn't help but to do the same. Another thunder went off and so did the fox. The boy stood there looking at the spot where the fox was. Behind it was one of those large emergency blankets. He moved to go get it. When he pulled it back it revealed two small skeletons hugging each other. Maybe they suffocated? There was no, fracture, no blood, not even a scratch on their clothes.
"Hmm" he let out. They were kids and their clothes were kimonos. Now that he thought about it, most of the clothes where either military or kimonos. "Were...were they attacked during a festival?" he thought. He shook his head, such thoughts were pointless at the moment. He looked back at the hugging skeletons. "Sorry" he said. Then he touched his mouth in surprise. Everything seemed so...foreign. He knew he was himself but himself is what exactly. It feels like he's done it forever, but this was his first time hearing his own voice. He wrapped himself with the large blanket and sat next to the blown section of the wall, which is probably where the fox interred and left, and looked out side. It stopped raining but it was drizzling and up in the mountain where a few houses made of logs, most of them burned but a few seemed OK.
He looked at the metal cylinders again. He had theory. He walked up to one stack and pulled one of the cylinders out. He twisted it and pulled off the metal top. He grabbed the scroll and unrolled it. There were so many squiggly lines shapes it was hard to discern what it was exactly but there was this rectangular drawing at the corner with a line that bisects it left to right. On that line there was a dot the size of a gumball on the left side. He didn't really know what do, but he could guess. He put an index figure on the box and slid it to the other end, and once the dot connected to the other end, a puff was heard with smoke appearing, and then there was a stack of ramen noodle packets, six feet high.
These are sealing scrolls! All of the store's valuables were sealed and stored here.
CRACK! Went another thunder.
He looked back at the log houses. It could be destroyed from the inside, but hey, it's better than here. He figured he was warm enough so he took the blanket off and spread it flat on the floor. He took two cylinders from every row and placed them on the blanket. Then he grabbed the blanket from each end and tied them together to make sure nothing would fall out. After that he began his trek up to the log house. The cold stung him again, it was about as annoying as a mosquito. The pest, it was like the sea, the blue menace, always trying to claim him. Why? What value could he have? The muddy hill was tough to climb, it was all slippery, the fact that he felt weak didn't help either. Each step was harder than the last. When he made it to the log houses he fell to the ground. He huffed and puffed, he was too weak but he had to move. He slowly pushed himself up and dragged his bag of goodies to one of the log houses that didn't seem destroyed. From faraway it looked OK but, now that's up close you can see the damage done to it. Some of the windows are broken, the wood seems like you can pull it out piece by piece, some of the houses look a bit burnt, every house was damaged somehow, no exceptions. One house was burnt but it's window's were, more or less, intact, mind a few a cracks.
"Just a few more steps" He thought in his head. He felt like collapsing again, but he had to stay strong. As he puts his hands on the handle, just a little tap, and it creaked open. And what do you know, one could say that the wall were painted red, others could say that a mass murder happened here. But you know how it goes, bloody pota-toe pota-to. He closed the door. The house was filled with bodies and the paint on the walls was practically blood. "What the hell happened here?"
He decided to go for one of the more broken down but intact houses. If there was a battle, the house seemed to be used as a type of bait to lure survivors in and...finish the job.
He sighed, a familiar but alien feeling. No use in trying to figure things if you have no way to confirm it.
As he entered the home he sighed, no blood, no skeletons, no weapons. CRACK! Went another thunder. He dropped his bag/blanket and untied it. He just sat there looking at them. He looked around the room. A whistle blew through a broken window and through the holes of the house. The was a table missing a leg, chairs crushed and littered around the place, china plates broken everywhere, a fork here and a few knives embedded into the walls. No bodies as far as he can see but there was a sign of a fight here so...its just a matter of hide and seek.
He took one of the ramen packets he brought with him. He stared at it, then at his hands. He was covered in mud. His stomach growled but his mind told him hygiene He dropped the packet and stood up.
"No way to avoid it I guess" he thought, then he gasped, another thunder went off, louder this time. He realized that his own voice scared him. It was like his sigh. Familiar yet alien. He shook his head. "This can't be right" he said "My voice shouldn't scare me" he trembled a bit "I've heard it all my life. I-" he paused "-I-" he said once more as he thought pensively. It took him a moment to realize it "I don't remember." Waking up in the ocean then being forced onto land and dragged back was all he could remember . He can remember lessons and skills learned but not his past. He shook his head again, his stomach growled once more. Maybe after having something to eat his memory will come back. He stood up and began his search for something to wash his hands. He entered another room that seed more wreck than the last, a fireplace and it's mantle, a couched that seemed OK, A bed burned to a crisp and ax with it's head removed, and...a sink! He rushed towards it. He really wanted to eat but damn, his hygiene! He turned the handle for the sink and...it works! Water came out, not a lot, but just enough to get cleaned up
He began to ge the mud of his hands, the water was freezing cold. It cause him to tremble, but he washed his hands, never the less. He than collected some on his hands and splashed it on his face and started getting the mud off. He felt cleaner. He collected some more water and drank, he shivered as the cold liquid slid down his throat.
CRACK! Another thunder went off even louder than last time, hell, the house shook. Then the noise of glass breaking sounded off rather loudly. Naruto spit out the water in surprise and snapped his head in the direction. A mirror that was hung on a wall fell to the ground and shattered.
Naruto stared at it for a moment before he cautiously approached it. His heart began to beat with each step, his breath was short and long. One step he in-hailed, next step he ex-hailed, and repeat.
Slowly, he began to see his shadowed reflection on the broken pieces of the mirror. When he reached it, he couldn't see anything. CRACK! A thunder went off again and this time there was lighting! It was only for a few seconds but he was bale to see it all. He saw himself...and he didn't recognize it!
He has blonde hair, it was all watered down at the moment but he was sure it would be spiky, a tanned complexion, three whisker like marks on each cheek, and cold dead sky blue eyes. It seems like he wore an orange jacket and orange pants, he also seems to be wearing a necklace that was composed of two smile pearl like items and a finely cut gem in the middle. He stared at his own reflection, now knowing how he looks like, he couldn't help but wonder one thing. He knows nothing of his past, nothing of this island, and, before recently, he didn't know what he looked like.
He lost his memory.
"Who..." He began "who..." he tried once more before he swallowed a lump in his throat "who are you?" He asked his reflection, he seemed alien to himself but he knew it was him. "Who are you?" He asked one more time. His didn't get an answer."WHO ARE YOU!" He yelled. No reply, he kept staring at his reflection.
He didn't know if he truly knew it or not but he answered his own question.
"Nobody" he began "nobody" he repeated softly. He kept staring at his own reflection, the way it's lips moved as he talked. It all seemed foreign but familiar.
A tear trailed down his check. It felt like he knew the answer all along. Now just here, not just now, not just in this place; he knew the answer his entire life. But why now, why face the harsh answer now? Did he not accept it? What made him accept it now?
Another tear trailed down his cheek. Why? Why? Why was he crying?
"Nobody" he repeated again as more tears came out "I'm nobody..."
