I do not own Naruto or God of War, and neither does The Dark Void.

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As the Shinigami's magic worked its will upon Kratos, fear took hold of the Ghost of Sparta. He knew what was to come, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. A flood of images flashed through his mind's eye, forcing him to relive that awful day once more.

He could remember every detail: the hard, smooth stone underneath his feet, the smell of smoke and flame as a village burned around him, the low, raspingsound of the priestess' warning, the red veil over his eyes as he butchered anyone he could find, and the warm blood of his family running down his blades.

He remembered falling to his knees, his mind unable to comprehend the sheer horror of the crime he had just committed. His heart felt as if an invisible were squeezing it harder and harder, and he could feel the bile that had churned in his throat. Stained hands shook uncontrollably.

He remembered cradling his wife's prone body against his tattooed chest. His tears had cascaded down his face onto his daughter's lifeless corpse. He could feel the painful sting of their ashes being permanently coated onto his skin.

There was nothing Kratos could do to protect himself from the memories. His anger was a cracked shield in the cage of his mind. The hatred towards Ares for bringing his family to that accursed temple was smothered. His rage at Athena for permitting such a thing to happen under her watch was drowned. His contempt of the gods for their empty promises of salvation fizzled and died. All these defenses were useless here, for deep down, he knew the truth. He knew who was truly responsible, and he was never allowed to forget.

On and on went Kratos' torture. The spell laid upon the Spartan prevented him from waking up and escaping the nightmares that plagued him. Hours went by until, finally, the magic released its grip and allowed him to flee from the past that still haunted him.

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Kratos woke with a start, a cold sheen of sweat covering his gray skin. The lingering feelings caused by his dream were still there, but he forced himself to repress it. As the memories faded into his subconscious, his body began to calm. He looked around and took in his new surroundings.

Gone was the forest of rock and stone, replaced by one life and greenery. He appeared to be on a deserted, yet well-worn road, and in the distance, he could see the large gates to a fortress or city. The afternoon sun beat down upon the world above him.

Kratos was soon pulled from his examinations by the sound of voices behind him. The gray-skinned man turned and found Athena and the Shinigami deep in conversation. The Shinigami, seeing that Kratos was awake, spoke to him in his bone-chilling voice.

"Good, you are awake. First I must apologize to you, Spartan. I did not know of your...condition before I forced you to sleep." Kratos' anger began to boil. This was the being responsible for his recent torment. He was about to lash out and tear into the Death God with his blades, but the Shinigami's next words caused him to pause. "It is better that you learned this lesson now though. You will encounter many new dangers in this world, and they may not always strike the way you expect. There are quite a few in my realm for which using an opponent's worst memories against them is child's play. Guard your mind well Spartan, or you may find it used against you." Turning back towards Athena, the god continued. "Go now. I have told you what you need to do once you reach gates of Konohagakure. May we not meet again soon."

With that the Shinigami faded in to thin air, as if he had never been there to begin with. Athena turned towards Kratos with a weak smile on her face. "Very well the, I suggest we start walking; it seems we still have a good distance to go."

After sending her a quick glare, Kratos turned and began to walk in the direction of the gates. The two travelled in silence the entire way, one unwilling to talk, the other afraid of saying the wrong thing. By the time they had reached the large stone walls surrounding the village, the bright sun had already begun to set. As they entered the city, they saw a small booth with two curious individuals resting calmly within.

The one on the right had long, dark, spiky locks, a small patch of hair on his chin, and a whit bandage running across his face over his nose. The other had a navy blue bandana covering his head, a large swath of hair covering the left side of his face. Attached to said bandana was a metal plate with a queer symbol engraved upon it. His partner had a matching sheet on his headband as well. Both of them had on dark green vest that seemed to act as a form of armor. As if on cue, the one with the bandage across his face cracked open a tired eye and began to speak when Kratos and Athena reached them.

"Welcome to Konoha, please write your names and reasons for being here on the sheet provided. The nearest hotels are th..." He started in to recite in a dull tone. Upon becoming fully conscious though, the man froze. His self-preservation alarms were blaring as a giant, gray-skinned man glared down at him. With a gulp he continued, "The nearest inns are the Green Dragon, and the Prancing Pony. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"Yes, we are wandering mercenaries from the western continent. We wish to become shinobi of your village." Athena said with a polite smile. Still eying Kratos, the man replied,

"Well then, you'll need to speak with the Hokage. He usually meets with newcomers wishing to join our ranks from ten o'clock in the morning to noon. Until then, you will need fill out these forms and find a place to stay. Tomorrow, head to the large building at the center of the village and tell the receptionist what you told us. Is there anything else?" Shaking her head, Athena turned and headed towards the building marked The Green Dragon. Kratos began to follow, but soon turned and began heading towards the crowed market place he could see a few blocks down.

Once they had left, Kotetsu let out a sigh of relief and wiped some sweat from his brow. If anything could convince him to not fall asleep while on gate duty again, it was the bloodlust he had felt coming off of the man he had just encountered. The worst part, however, was that it felt like he had been restraining it. Next to him, his partner awoke with a yawn.

"So, did I miss anything?"

XXX

It was just another day in the Konoha West Market. All around people pushed and shoved, trying to fight their way through the bustling village streets. It was into this chaotic arena that Kratos now entered.

Normally, the Spartan hated being in such places, but the shoppers were smart enough to give him a wide berth. As he walked, he listened in on the conversations going on around him. He needed information, and he needed it now. The Shinigami had been smart enough to give each of the run-away gods general knowledge of the history, language, and culture of the area, but there were still too many unknowns. In battle, unknowns lead to mistakes, and mistakes led to defeats. The soldier in him would not let Kratos rest until those gaps in information had been filled. To that end, market places were a great source as one could always count on some loose lipped person running around performing their daily errands.

While nothing he learned that day did more than solidify his overall knowledge this new world, one incident did cause him to raise an eyebrow. He was passing through a band of food merchants when he spotted a blond haired child stealing an apple from a nearby fruit vendor. It was not the act itself that caught his attention, for such a thing was not uncommon Sparta. Rather, it was that everyone nearby could surely see the crime being committed, yet no one attempted to stop the boy.

The blond child had looked around warily for a moment then put the apple back and walked away with sagged shoulders. It was as if he had wanted to be caught. Kratos was passing by the child, still watching him, when the kid's head came up, and their eyes met. At this, the child tensed, seemingly shocked, before he turned and quickly ran away. The Ghost of Sparta continued to watch him until he finally disappeared amidst the bustling crowd. With a grunt, Kratos made his way to the Green Dragon, making sure to file the event in his memory.

XXX

That night, like many others in Konoha, was a quiet one. Civilians and ninja alike were sleeping peacefully in their beds, except for the few unlucky shinobi that had been chosen for night patrol. This night found the former God of War gazing down upon the village from his perch on top of the Green Dragon inn where Athena and he were residing for the moment. With nothing to do cooped up in their small room, and unwilling to face the horrors his mind held again so soon, the warrior had left for the roof, hoping to find some form of distraction up there.

As he thought of Athena sleeping peacefully in her bed, Kratos felt his perpetually foul mood dissipate, though only slightly. He had not known the Goddess of Wisdom had such a colorful vocabulary, but apparently filling out the multitude of forms the gatekeepers had given them earlier that day was enough to bring it out. He would have helped, but they both knew that he was more likely to shred the forms in anger rather than complete them. Besides, they may be allies for the moment, but there was still bad blood between the two.

Athena had managed to redeem herself a little in his eyes by saving him and abandoning the other gods of Olympus for his sake, but that did little to erase what she had done in the past. She and the other gods strung him along for ten years, promising him freedom and salvation at the end of his service only to toss him aside once he had done their bloody work for them. It was within one of her temples that he had lost the only people he had ever loved, yet she had done nothing to halt Ares' schemes. These thoughts whirled around Kratos' mind, and as jis anger rose, his reflections took an even darker turn.

No god, former or not, could be trusted in his eyes. He would play Athena's and the Shinigami's game for now, but only until he decided to end it. It may turn out that neither of them had a hidden agenda, and they truly did wish to help him. However, Kratos was not naïve enough to fully believe that. If it did turn out the two deities were playing him for a fool, well, it wouldn't be the first time he killed a god.

Suddenly, a cry in the night roused Kratos from his ruminations. The Spartan quickly ignored it. This was not his home, so the various soldiers he had seen patrolling could deal with whatever it was. Returning to his thoughts, he was again stirred from them as the cry grew louder, and seemed to be heading in his direction. Annoyed at the disturbance, Kratos decided to see what or who was making the racket. If nothing else, it would help to distract the insomniac until morning.

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A six-year old Naruto Uzumaki was running as fast as his short legs were able to carry him. His chested heaved in and out, trying desperately to supply his muscles with the oxygen needed to get away from the blank-faced men. Naruto silently berated himself for missing the 10 o'clock curfew of his orphanage.

Knowing from experience that the doors wouldn't open again until morning, he had gone to a nearby park and found a quiet bench to sleep on. He had been sleeping peacefully until a sharp pain in base of his neck woke him. Reaching back, he pulled out a needle almost as long as his entire hand and forearm that seemed to be covered in something wet. Then the grogginess hit him, and he blacked out.

When he came to, Naruto saw a man wearing a pure white mask on, tying the boy's hands together with rope. Crying out, Naruto kicked his feet, hitting the man in the groin. Naruto had then jumped up and began running away, untying the half-done knot around his hands as best he could with his teeth.

The three others who had been with the man, guarding him while he performed his task, were momentarily surprised. This was all the time Naruto needed to get away from the park. All four quickly gave chase, unwilling to fail the mission assigned to them by their leader. However, it proved difficult to corner the young blond once he reached the streets of the village, for he seemed to know every alley and back street like the back of his hand.

As he ran, Naruto cried out, hoping for any kind of help. He didn't know why he was being chased. All he knew was that being caught would not end well for him.

At first it was fairly easy to evade his pursuers because of his small stature and the countless hours he had spent wandering around Konoha, but it was futile. He was already beginning to tire, and the men were simply to fast, agile, and inexhaustible for Naruto to escape. Realizing that, he yelled and screamed even louder, hoping beyond hope that someone, anyone, would hear him and come to his rescue. Rounding a corner, Naruto abruptly fell to the ground after smacking right into a pair of muscular legs. Looking up, the little Uzumaki's eyes widened.

XXX

Kratos jumped down to the streets below, and headed straight towards the source of the noises. He had only been walking for a short time when he felt something plow into his leg. Looking down, he saw the blond child from the market earlier that day. Just as suddenly, three men with their faces obscured by blank masks appeared before him, and the boy scrambled behind him, cowering in his faint shadow. After a quick glance at the boy, the Ghost of Sparta turned his attention trio in front of him.

"What is going on here?" He questioned. Unconsciously, his muscles were already starting to loosen themselves up.

"Move aside foreigner; this matter does not concern you." One man, obviously the leader, replied in an emotionless voice.

"And if I do not?" Kratos responded, anger flooding through his body.

"We will make you." At this the leader's hand twitched, and the Spartan felt something pierce his lower back. With a roar he turned and drew one of his blades, swinging it as his attacker. The fourth man of the squad jumped back, easily getting out of range of the strike. However, he did not expect Kratos to let go of the sword. The Blade of Athena flew swiftly through the air until it buried itself in his stomach. Kratos grabbed onto the chain connecting him to his weapon and pulled it to the side, blood and guts falling to the ground as he curved it towards the front. The three there separated before the blade could cleave them all in half. They then began their own coordinated assault.

One man dashed to his left, drawing his tanto as he tried to slice through Kratos' upper thighs. The former god blocked with one of his swords then turned and kicked the man in the sternum, sending him soaring into a nearby building. Throwing both Blades of Athena behind him, Kratos forced the other two to abandon their attacks on his exposed back. He quickly spun his swords in a circle around to create a bit of a bit of space between him and the shinobi. Withdrawing the blades back to his hands, the one-time God of War prepared for the next offensive.

It never came, for flickering lights began to flood the streets. Windows were opened wide as people stuck their heads out to find the source of the commotion.

The leader, upon seeing this, was forced to order his squad to retreat. Their mission had been failed. Even if they did manage to kill the foreigner and grab the child, there were too many witnesses now. The Hokage would surely find out what happened, so their only option was to back off and return defeated. Together, he and the other uninjured subordinate grabbed their teammates and disappeared into the darkness.

With a grunt, the Ghost of Sparta sheathed his swords and stared at the spot the spot his opponents had previously occupied. Reaching behind his back, he pulled a small knife out of his body, tossing aside. Kratos picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. He would definitely have something more to talk with the Hokage about tomorrow morning than simply joining the village.

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Ok, hope you all like this newly revised chapter, and I will see you next time.

Glock3bb