Sorry it's later than I promised. I sort of crashed Friday afternoon and fell asleep for about 5 hours. And since then I really have not had the motivation to write.
I claim no ownership of the Naruto franchise or any of its components.
The Fic is rated T for Teen (For now) It contains semi-mature themes, including: Character Death, violent imagery, blood, mentions of the use of tobacco and alcohol as well as some foul language. NOT A BLEACH CROSSOVER
The Paper Fan and The Death God
A Naruto Fan Fic
By Egg Emperor
Chapter 2:
Death is a Blonde?
X XX X:XX- Unknown
Sasuke was falling, he knew that much. Where he was falling from and where he was falling too, were more difficult questions. As he pondered that for a minute he realized with growing discomfort that for the former he couldn't seem to remember, and as for the latter everything around him was all consuming blackness, he couldn't even be sure if his eyes were open or closed, this place seemed to have no bottom. It was just an endless void of black everywhere.
It was cold too, icy even…
"ICE!?... Haku!" the dark haired youth spontaneously yelled his thoughts into the abyss.
'I was fighting Haku, that fake hunter-nin on the bridge. It was the mission I and the rest of Team 7 were sent on.' He thought.
But where am I? The young man asked himself.
…
It was then he remembered. He had lost to Haku, he had the Sharingan but although his senses could keep up with the other ninja's speed, his body and reflexes were another story.
Did that mean he was dead? Or perhaps this was what it felt like to die?
Sasuke could suddenly feel wetness under his eyes. He was crying.
No he wasn't crying because he was afraid to die. These were not tears of fear that came from his eyes. They were tears of rage and sorrow. He had failed, he had failed to avenge his family. He was going to die, and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't believe that he was that much of a failure, that he couldn't even survive long enough to challenge Itachi.
'Failing against Itachi would be one thing' the young Uchiha thought 'My brother is a monster, both in the power he wields and twistedness of his mind'. Zabuza the man Sasuke assumed Kakashi was fighting even now as he lay dying, was a terrifying demon of a man. But even he was as nothing before what Itachi was.
"But to die here and now, not even against my brother, not even against Zabuza, but against his little pet! How!? This wasn't supposed to be like this!" the genin sobbed, hot angry tears pouring from his face. His arm lashing out against the darkness thought there wasn't anything for him to punch.
"But … there's nothing I can do is there?" he asked the darkness. It was true he couldn't defeat Haku, he was too fast and the ice protected him from any attack that might be lucky enough to hit its mark.
At that thought he pulled himself into a ball. A lonely angry ball that was descending through the endless darkness.
"So, that's it then? You're just going to give up? What about all that crap about wanting revenge?" A voice called out through the darkness, a voice that Sasuke felt was ever so slightly familiar from somewhere he couldn't recall.
"So, what happened to the 'Great Sasuke Uchiha', the avenger of his clan?" The voice said again, in a tone that was far too cheerful and mocking for Sasuke's taste, considering that he was fairly certain now that he was experiencing what it was like to die.
"What happened to … It is the only reason I draw breath?" The voice had lost its cheer and taken on a venomous tone. If the voice had a face he knew it would be sneering at him.
"Bastard! It's not like I have a choice! I don't want to die!" Sasuke roared back into the inky dark.
"Of course you have a choice!" The voice responded incredulously, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"If you don't want to die then don't." It responded matter-of-factly. Like it was something that Sasuke should have known, and it was surprised that he didn't.
Sasuke was at this point tired of the voice. It was beginning to wear on his already thin nerves.
"Living or dying isn't something you choose, like what to have for dinner!" He yelled back into the blackness.
"You're right, it's far more important, but just like choosing to have extra pork or extra egg on your ramen it's many times a choice, something you decide… ah ramen." The voice replied.
It didn't make sense even when Sasuke thought about it, but if the voice was to be believed then they were both choices apparently.
Thought that last little bit about ramen at the end was creepy. The way the voice pronounced the word ramen sounded almost… sexual, to the black haired youth. Sasuke wasn't sure he should be trusting a disembodied voice with an apparent noodle fetish.
"So how do I choose not to die then?" The Uchiha asked crossly, his already wire thing patience was near the breaking point, his natural moodiness seemed to be amplified by the obnoxious sunshine that seemed to drip from every word the voice in the darkness spoke to him.
"Well first how about opening your eyes?" The voice said.
"My eyes are open you moron!" Sasuke bit back, angry that the voice was messing with him
"… Well I hate to be a downer and all but from where I'm sitting your eyes look pretty closed to me."
Hugh? Sasuke raised his hand to his face brushing it across it…
He was stunned at the realization… 'My eyes are closed!'
As if the voice could somehow see the surprise in his thoughts.
"Jeeze, and everyone calls me an idiot…" the voice snorted.
Thinking that he might as well try and open his eyes, Sasuke did just that. And he instantly regretted it. The pitch darkness was instantly replace with blinding white. Furthermore with a sense of dread the speed of his fall picked up until in what could be only a few feet later, first his rear and then his back collided violently with the hard surface of firmament. Pain shot through him as he began to blink the water from his eyes at the sudden change in light.
Sasuke stood up and looked around. The place he was in now was as non-descript as before only now it was just an endless white void with a solid surface.
"How the hell did this happen?! This place wasn't here before!" Sasuke muttered bitterly rubbing his backside.
"That's because it only became real when you saw it." The annoyingly happy voice giggled from somewhere. Sasuke decided that at this point the voice was mocking him. It wasn't even making sense, how can you see something that doesn't already exist?
"Don't ask me heheh."
Sasuke got up and looked around for the source of the voice so he could clobber it for being an ass.
"Where the Hell are you bastard?"
"That isn't a very nice thing to say Teme."
Sasuke's eyes widened, he grabbed a kunai from his holster and whirled around, the ready to bring the throwing knife to bear on a possible attacker.
What he saw nearly caused him to drop the blade in surprise.
He had found the source of the voice. It was a boy his age, perhaps a bit younger, he had shock blonde hair and blue eyes. Around his head were a pair of goggles. Covering his chest was an orange shirt and over that a black jacket, with an equally offensively bright orange collar. He was wearing combat shorts much like Sasuke only they were black instead of beige. His wore black sandals on his feet.
Though it wasn't so much his clothes, or that he appeared to be no more than twelve or thirteen like Sasuke himself which had the Uchiha in a stupor; it was what he was doing.
The boy was leaned slightly back, with his hands resting behind his head, looped between his elbows and the back of his head was a sheathed long sword of some sort. His face was stretched in a mischievous smirk, his teeth crushed down on the cigarette in his mouth which was slightly smoldering, small wisps of smoke curling upwards from the red ember on the tip.
This would have been fine, save there was no wall for the boy to lean on and he was floating five feet in the air.
"How… are you doing that… who the hell are you!?" The Uchiha growled at the punkish looking boy.
The boy's smile simply widened as he pulled himself up straight and sort of just flew down next to the irate black haired youth, still hovering about a foot off the ground
"What… you mean this?" the blonde gestured to himself as he settled onto the ground.
"Hehe, Oops… I sorta forgot that humans can't do that." The kid gave a sheepish smile while he nervously rubbed the back his head.
'What's with this kid? And why do I feel like I know him?' the dark haired youth wondered as the blond turned to him his nervous smile widening back into a full beaming grin.
"Just who are you?" Sasuke again asked.
"Really Teme? You don't recognize me… that hurts" The boy gave a small pout before his face returned to bearing the same cheeky look that he had when they had first met. The smile of someone who was up to no good, Sasuke thought, studying the mischievous gleam in the boy's eyes. A prankster…
'Wait… prankster… his hair… that smile…'
"Naruto!?" Sasuke more asked than stated, a slightly disbelieving look gracing his features.
"See! I knew you'd remember me!" the boy exclaimed happily as he seemed to unconsciously levitate several inches, his face beaming with his patented million-watt smile.
Sasuke was surprised he was right, he only half guessed. He hardly expected the young man to be his former classmate, Konoha's consummate prankster. Who was acting awfully cheerful considering he was dead.
That's right… Naruto's dead. He died nearly six years ago, when a mob attacked him near the Hokage tower. Sasuke was still young at the time but by then he had already experienced his own fair share of death. Namely the murder of his entire clan at the hands of his brother. Still he did feel a twinge of sadness at the rambunctious blonde's passing. The boy's cheer was annoyingly infectious, his bright smile and obnoxious attitude could light a room.
As Sasuke thought back to early time in the academy, he wondered how he ever really forgot the annoying pest that was Naruto. At that time the boys were rivals at least according to Naruto, Sasuke on the other hand considered Naruto the way an ox might look at an overly persistent gnat. Regardless of their personal opinions they were always fighting, with words and their fists. Any physical altercation would always result in Sasuke being victorious. Even so no matter how many times Sasuke beat him up in their fights, the little dobe would be back the next day for more.
That was one of the more obnoxious and yet enduring traits of the blond. He never gave up, even when it was in his best interest to do so. He was always mouthing off, pulling pranks and yelling about he was going to be Hokage, and the greatest ninja ever. Sadly that all became impossible that one Summer's day when Naruto died.
That's right…
"You're dead… Naruto you're dead, you died 6 years ago." The Uchiha stated as though he was just now realizing the ramifications of talking to someone who was dead.
The smile fell from the blonde's face, his eyes hardened and his face took on an indescribable look. It only lasted just a moment, as quickly as the change came the blue eyed boy pasted a new if slightly less luminous smile upon his face.
"Well yeah Teme, tell me something I don't know." The blonde responded as if his current state of being was as consequential as the weather. It looked to Sasuke that he might have even yawned will saying it.
Sasuke felt a chill travel down his spine. If Naruto is dead and he is seeing him, talking to him did that mean?
"Dobe..." Naruto refocused his gaze on the Uchiha his head was bowed his fists clenched, shaking from what the blonde youth could only imagine as either fear or knowing Sasuke anger.
"Does this mean… I mean being here talking to you… Am I dead?"
"Heheheh …hahahahah…!" the blonde who at this point had resumed floating was hugging his sword in laughter. The cigarette no longer held in place by his teeth fell to the ground in a shower of sparks, as the levitating boy struggled to stop giggling.
"Bastard! This isn't funny, tell me! Am I dead or not!" Sasuke yelled at the laughing boy, his patients gone.
"Ah… that was a good one…" the blond gasped "It's a first really when I say this Teme… No you're not dead."
Sasuke felt a warm feeling flow through him at the blonde's words. He wasn't dead, that meant 'I still have a chance, I can still get out of this and eventually kill Itachi and avenge my clan.' He thought. He was elated, ecstatic even and that was rare thought for the normally dour Uchiha. Still his happiness flowed from the knowledge that he could still get his revenge.
"So… Dobe, if I'm not dead then where the Hell am I." the black haired youth replied tersely.
Naruto looked around and then back at his companion, his head tilted as if attempting to figure out what to say.
"You're in between life and death… I think… I'm not really sure I've never done something like this before, it's different from what I'm used to."
"Used to… what do you mean used to. You only die once right?" the gray eyed boy was slightly confused. The way Naruto was talking was as if he had dealt with death multiple times.
"Well yeah, that's what I meant earlier when I said it was a new thing to tell someone they're still alive. Shinigami aren't in the business of dealing with the living." The blonde stated off handedly, shrugging his shoulders as he floated cross legged at around head height.
Shinigami?!, Sasuke's mouth was gaping now. It took a lot to make catch Sasuke Uchiha off guard and even more to make him care about it but this was one of those times that surprise could simply not be concealed.
"At least I don't think we do. I'd have to ask. It's probably in one of those hand books they gave me… but studying is soooo boring… and I did enough of that back at the academy." The blonde began to whine, his dislike of studying seeming to have carried over into his new profession. He was rubbing the back of his head in a gesture that Sasuke had understood to be a marker of the blond being either confused or embarrassed.
"WAIT… hold on are you seriously telling me that you Naruto Uzumaki, the last place dobe in our academy class when you were alive are now… a… a… Death God?" Sasuke's voice almost squeaked as he finished his sentence, he would have normally been completely mortified but right now he was too preoccupied to notice let alone care.
Sasuke's demanding question snapped the blond out of his rant on the unfairness that he had to study in the afterlife.
Naruto simply let an impish smile cross his face his large canines gleamed, his glacier blue eyes sparkled. The blond stretched himself out and "stood" up straight, his right arm holding his sword such that it rested against his shoulder. To Sasuke it looked as though Naruto had even tried to puff out his chest slightly, the result was something the Uchiha could put his finger on. Naruto himself likely was trying to make himself look cool, though in Sasuke's opinion it made him just ridiculous and perhaps stupid.
"Doing that makes you look like an idiot dobe." The black hair youth responded.
"Gah…" no sooner had the muffled gasp emerged from the blonde's mouth did he fall to the floor in a face fault, seeming to lose the ability to levitate when he was embarrassed.
"Moron."
"Oww…that hurt Teme." Naruto had since gotten up and was sitting cross legged on the ground rubbing his now red face.
"So are you going to answer me or are we going to keep doing this asking twice bit?" The Uchiha grumble.
Naruto looked up at Sasuke and then slowly got to his feet.
"You as big of a jerk as ever Sasuke." The blond replied now standing firmly on the ground, his face scrunched in a half glare half pout. It seemed as though Naruto had decided to refrain from flying for the near future, perhaps to avoid any more painful encounters with the floor.
"And yes I am a Shinigami a "Death God" as you so put it. Specifically the Vice Shinigami of the Land of Fire. Meaning I'm the second in command over the entire Fire Land region..." The blond reaper stated proudly, his face smug as though he had accomplished something great.
It just now that Sasuke notice that bound by a black circle was the Kanji for fire also in black on Naruto's orange shirt. And if Naruto were to turn around, there was on the back of his black leather jacket, the Kanji for the number 4 bound by a circle this time in the same day glow orange as his shirt.
'Well at least those markings now make some sense.' Sasuke thought to himself.
"How did that happen?" the Uchiha flatly asked
"It's a long story." The chibi shinigami replied. "But the short way is that Lord Enma felt sorry for me and also had a position open, apparently he thought I could be a great shinigami."
"I thought that if I couldn't be a shinobi anymore, than this was the next best thing." The blond death god related with a smile. His left hand brushing his hair in slight nervousness.
"Wow… I'm not easily impressed dobe but… well I guess you're not, too bad off considering you're dead."
Some of the brightness faded from Naruto's face.
"I guess, but I still really wanted to become a great ninja." The young reaper stated, he was unable to prevent a twinge of sadness from creeping into his voice.
Sasuke began to look around and realized he was in fact still standing in the endless white void he had been in for what he could assume was at least the past twenty or thirty minutes.
"So Dobe… If I'm not dead then why are you here anyway?" the Uchiha survivor asked the blond.
"He he... About that…" the blond nervously rubbed his head, while Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a glare.
"You're not dead, but you are well dying… you see before when I said you had a choice, you really do."
Sasuke's glare intensified. 'Not dead but I'm dying?' then what good was getting my hope up? The Uchiha fumed.
"When you were sorta giving up when you were falling in that abyss, you were… well choosing to die. I sota of interrupted that and told you that you have the choice to live or die… That is you have to fight Sasuke, you can't give up, or you will die." the blonde's voice had lost much of its sunny tone, Sasuke realize that the nervous blond was being dead serious.
"You mean the willingness to fight against death… like when someone's sick." Sasuke half asked.
"Yeah, that." The blond replied his tone almost somber.
"So you're saving me… saving my life… Isn't that completely the opposite of what a shinigami is supposed to do?"
"I'm not saving you… at least not in that way. All I'm doing is showing you that you have a choice, giving you the opportunity to make that choice… something I never had." The chibi shinigami had turned away from Sasuke his head tilted downwards. His voice had gone from sad to what Sasuke could only describe as bitter, and he couldn't blame Naruto. He didn't know all the details but from what he had heard, Naruto's injury was instantly fatal or nearly so. He wouldn't have had the choice that Sasuke apparently now had.
"So is that it?" The Uchiha asked.
Naruto turned around, his icy blue eyes dull and unreadable. The grin was gone from his face, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out he placed it in his mouth, steadying it with his right hand. He brought his left hand up to the end and snapped his fingers creating a small flame that he used to light it.
The blonde shinigami, took a deep breath and then exhaled, creating a small cloud of smoke.
"Naruto you smoke?" The young Uchiha ask with a hint of surprise.
The blonde glanced up at Sasuke, his eyes almost glaring at him. Unusual behavior for the usually rambunctious boy the dark haired youth noted.
"What, Teme? Is gonna kill me?" the blonde responded sardonically, his voice having lost all cheer becoming flat and perhaps even more bitter.
Sasuke had at least the goodness of mind to try to appear a bit embarrassed. He shook his head before setting his gaze on the blonde once more.
"There was another reason I came, besides making sure you had the choice to not die, if you wanted it that is." The chibi death god stated, his tone had regained a bit of its former exuberance but now held a business like quality.
"I heard your thoughts, you desires, your goal. You want to kill your older brother, to avenge your family, all the people he killed right?"
Sasuke could merely nod as the shorter boy began to speak.
"But you almost died here. Not against Zabuza the Demon." Naruto spat the word demon like a curse. "But against his weaker student. Even if you continue to get stronger Sasuke, there will still be those stronger than you, at least at the time. They could kill you… Kill you in ways that you can't just choose your way out of. If you're going to make it to your brother, you're going to have to be strong and you're also going to have to be very lucky." Naruto stated this like it was simple fact something out of a book and unchangeable. As he did he turned around away from the black hair boy, showing off the symbol on his back. Shi.
Sasuke was angry at this point. Was the dobe saying that he wasn't good enough, that he couldn't kill Itachi?
"I'm not saying that you're not good enough or that you won't be. I'm saying that there are things like luck in it."
"And…" Naruto turned around, a smirk plastered on his face, the end of his smoke burning brightly.
"What if I were to make it so you didn't have to be lucky?" The blonde couldn't seem to keep the mischievous glee out of his voice.
"What are you talking about Naruto?" Sasuke had a slight idea of where the blonde might be going but he wanted to hear it from Naruto himself.
"What if I made it so you can't die, at least not before you kill you brother anyway." The blonde explained.
Sasuke as dumbfounded… He was uncertain if he could really comprehend what Naruto was really saying.
'Is he offering to make me…?'
"Are you saying that you can make me immortal?!" Sasuke breathed out, worried his voice would fail him.
"Immortal? What's that? Is it some kind of pickled thing? I really don't like those." Naruto whined his brow furrowed and his face scrunched in disgust as he thought back to accidently getting pickled vegetables with his ramen.
"Huh?" Sasuke looked at Naruto with a blank look not processing the blonde's response
"What I said Teme, was I could make it so you couldn't die, not from anything. Not getting stabbed or burned or chopped to pieces, or eating really, really bad ramen, will be able to kill you." The blonde replied.
"THAT'S WHAT I SAID TOO DOBE! I swear, you are the biggest idiot I've ever met. Immortal means you can't die, noodle brain. And seriously what's with you and ramen." The Uchiha huffed, though he did so good naturedly, he couldn't help it Naruto's offer of basically being invincible meant that nothing could stop him from getting revenge.
"Ramen is awesome. It's the food of the god's that's why!" The little blond reaper replied with far too much enthusiasm for his companion's taste.
"So you'll make me immortal, at least until after I've killed my brother. But what do you get out of this Naruto? I've read enough old legends as part of clan lessons before they all died to know that Spirits, Gods and Demons never give out something without wanting something in return. In other words what do you want from me Naruto?"
"Heh eheh eheheh eheh HEHHEH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH."
Sasuke, felt a dark chill run down his spine. Something was really wrong. That laugh was wrong. He had never heard anything like it, especially not from someone like Naruto. He turned around to see Naruto hunched over, he was still chuckling that horrible almost evil laugh.
The blonde was nearly strangling the sword in his right hand. His knuckles were white. And he just kept laughing in that dark creepy way.
Sasuke really didn't know what to make of the situation. He wasn't afraid, not of the idiot blonde. But Naruto's sudden change in behavior was enough to unnerve the normally stable Uchiha.
The blonde suddenly whirled around to face his companion, who was unnerved at what he saw. Naruto's face was split in what could only be described as a sneer, his unusually large canines were even more pointed than Sasuke remembered; the end of the cigarette clenched in them was burning at an unnaturally furious pace, glowing almost neon red.
And his eyes, his icy blue eyes seemed ever lighter in color, there was no warmth in them. Steely and piercing they bored into the young Uchiha and left him breathless. Not because they were unfamiliar, no because Sasuke knew those eyes; he saw them in the mirror every day.
"You're right of course Teme…" Sasuke though unfazed by the blonde's eyes did slightly flinch at his voice. It had changed, much like the venomous way in which Naruto spoke when the black haired youth was still falling through the darkness. Only it was worse this time. Caustic, poisonous, hate and malice unknowable dripped from every syllable that Naruto spoke.
The blonde reached up to his head. "There is something…" He removed his googles that were until then nested in his sunshine yellow hair. It was only then that Sasuke realize that under the goggles, concealed by the strap, was a long wrapped bandage that wound its way in a ring around Naruto's head.
The blonde let the googles slip from his hand, and to the Uchiha's surprise they burst into a cloud of blue flames when they struck the floor, leaving nothing behind.
"What I want…" Naruto began to unwrap the bandage, and slowly it fell from his golden locks. Sasuke nervously swallowed as he noticed the inner wrappings were stained a toxic looking reddish black.
"Is the same thing that you want…" the bandage fell to the floor turning to azure flames much like the goggles.
"Revenge…" the word dripped from Naruto's lips like a poison so virulent that it could slay the whole world. The blond tilted his head to the side turning around slightly…
Sasuke, had seen more than what he deserved of gore and carnage, having stepped across the bodies of his clan after the massacre at the tender age of 6. But this was so wrong, it was just sickening, seeing it on the dead was one thing but on someone "alive" was…
There in the back of Naruto's head was … a hole. An area a few inches wide where the skull simply caved in, crushed and broken. Small flecks of white bone could be seen protruding alongside the crushed flesh. The whole wound was oozing dead, blackened blood, staining the blonde's hair a sickly rotted color.
The young Uchiha realized in horror that it was the wound that had killed him. The place where the rock struck the young blond on that fateful day. I didn't heal, even in death. If anything it looked like it might be festering.
"I want revenge, revenge against those who did this to me." Naruto's voice oozing malice broke Sasuke from his thoughts.
"The bastards that thought it fun to hurl rocks and garbage at a defenseless child. Those people who just sat back and watched as I was hurt. The owners of the orphanage who practically starved me for the first 5 years of my life. The old bastard who just sat in his tower and did nothing to stop them. The ANBU in their so perfect and important duties who never stopped to help until I was already hurt."
Sasuke was felt a slight twinge of sadness, he knew Naruto was an orphan, much like he was now. Except Naruto had never known his family. He also didn't really know how badly the other boy was treated. He knew that the blonde played pranks on the villagers and that they retaliated with rocks and stones, but he never knew how bad it was. And from the way that Naruto was framing things it sounds like the rocks and glares came first and Naruto's pranks were done in an attempt to get even.
"I want them to suffer Sasuke. Like I did. And I want them to feel the same end. I want them to all die." These words were delivered with hate so black it was palpable.
"Except, I can't do that Sasuke. As ironic as it may be as a Shinigami, a Death God, I cannot kill. Sure there are exceptions. Trees and most animals don't count, but people? Nothing, they only become mine once they're already dead. Do you get it now Sasuke? I can't kill the people of Konoha, but you can." The young deity was now smirking a smile so lurid and vile that it would likely kill anything unfortunate to gaze upon it.
Sasuke now was a bit afraid. Naruto wanted all of Konoha to die? He wanted to destroy the whole village? No… correction he wanted Sasuke to destroy the Village, in exchange for being made immortal.
Sasuke wasn't sure he could do something like that. He hated his brother, loathed him with every fiber of his being but … to turn traitor and not just traitor but to murder his entire village? He… couldn't.
Naruto's offer was tempting but the price that came with it, was too high… and the price of betraying Naruto and not fulfilling his end of the deal would likely be even worse.
It seemed that the young death god sensed his companion's indecision or rather the rejection of his offer.
That when Naruto played his final card. The chibi shinigami spoke, this time his voice lacked the anger and malice from before and was lighter
"I'm not supposed to say things like this…" the blonde began to nervously ruffle the back of his hair.
"And truthfully, I don't really know much as it is… but apparently the Uchiha Massacre was not only Itachi's doing, someone in Konoha might have been pulling the strings, who and or why I don't know. I just know that you guys were apparently really big or important or something, so maybe someone had something to gain from you guys being gone. I seriously don't know any more than that thought, I promise Sasuke. I just thought you should know before we went into all of this." The blond finished his head falling like he was ashamed to have kept a dirty secret.
Naruto saw something flash across Sasuke's eyes, something dark, sinister. The kid death god smirked, he had done it. Gotten Sasuke to see things his way. The blonde glanced at the palm of his left hand, mentally checking things in his head. All there was left now was to seal the deal.
"I'll do it… I'll do it Naruto, you have a deal." The Uchiha gave a slightly defeated sigh, he could hardly believe that the ranks of Konoha itself were involved in his clan's destruction. But equally and perhaps even more unlikely the young heir thought was the idea of Naruto simply lying to get what he wanted. I just didn't seem like something the blonde would do, even to get his horrible revenge. And if Konoha had anything to do with the Uchiha Clan's demise they would pay. He'd kill them all… for Naruto and himself.
"So shall we get started?" Naruto was smiling again. Not the evil smile from before but his more mischievous smile from earlier.
Sasuke turned to face the blond.
"Hold out your hand." The sun haired deity said.
Sasuke did as he was ask and no sooner had he done so than had Naruto drawn his sword and slashed Sasuke across his palm.
"Fuck!" the dark haired boy groaned more from the surprise than anything.
"Now Teme, watch your mouth!" the younger tisked before slicing his own right palm on the blade.
The blonde then took the sword, which Sasuke now recognized as a katana – a bit one that was slightly shorter than normal, likely to fit Naruto's 12 year old body – and thrust it into the ground with his left hand.
"Now for the fun part", the blond giggled more to himself than to Sasuke.
Naruto took one last long drag on his cigarette before tossing at the base of the impaled blade, which suddenly ignited in a flash of fire. The flames, the same azure color as those formed by Naruto's goggles when they dissolved, flowed from the blade across the ground. They traced out lines, circles and characters on the floor. Sasuke soon recognized it as a large seal of some kind.
He was however more concerned with the blue fire that was now licking at his ankles. He was certain it was flame but it felt no warmer than a bath. Before he could further examine the fire, Naruto caught his attention.
"Okay Sasuke, just follow what I do and say what feels right, and it will work." The blond smiled at him. This time it was a smile of a trouble maker but one of someone that simply wanted you as their friend.
Naruto started speaking his voice deadly serious.
"From now on we are partners Uchiha, I Naruto Uzumaki, Vice Shinigami of the Land of Fire hereby swear this to you Sasuke. You cannot and will not die, until such time as Itachi is dead by your hand."
Naruto then clenched his right hand causing blood to run and drip from it into the flames. At once there was a roar as the fire leapt upward and turn blood red.
Naruto nodded to Sasuke who in turn recited his half of the bargain.
"And I Sasuke Uchiha, Last of the Uchiha swear this to you Naruto. In return for your power I will avenge you by destroying the Village that murdered you." "I will destroy Konoha."
Sasuke squeezed his right hand, gritting his teeth in pain as the blood dripped down into the fire, the flames changing yet again with another roar, this time to an electric red violet almost fuchsia color.
Naruto then stepped forward hand outstretched as Sasuke did the same. The blood on their hands began to glow the same violet color as the flames below. As they moved closer pinkish sparks began to leap between the hands of the human and the death god, some of the droplets suspended themselves caught outside of gravity in the field of energy.
Their hands connected. Sasuke felt a white hot searing pain, like fire and electricity enter through the cut in his hand and run up through his arm before dulling to a pleasant warmth as it spread throughout his body.
When the young Uchiha again opened his eyes he saw that the flames had vanished. Looking toward his companion Naruto only smiled as he began to pull his hand away from Sasuke's. As their hands parted a group of sparks began to outline the edges of the cuts, and then before Sasuke's eyes they began to almost sew the cuts on their hands closed the sparks bridging the ever increasing distance connecting them as the edges of the wounds shrank to nothing. When the sparking bridging between their hands broke, the wounds finally winked out of existence, like they were never there.
Naruto kept smiling at his "friend" as he simply said "It's done Sasuke, from this point on you can't die, until you kill your brother."
"So Naruto exactly how am I supposed to get back to the bridge?" The blue garbed boy asked his orange companion.
"Oh that… Heheheh. That's the easy part." The blonde replied.
Sasuke turned around, expecting an explanation.
"See ya around Teme!" Naruto yelled with a smirk before delivering a mean punch to Sasuke's gut.
The black haired boy had only time to feel the pain of the wind being knocked from him before his vision swam and he saw no more.
June 4th 11:33 AM (Present Day) – Land of Waves – Great Bridge.
Sasuke simply gasped, his lungs screaming for air. The cool mist on his skin and the wet ground against his back told him all that he need to know. He was back on the bridge.
'That damn Naruto why the Hell did he have to punch me like that?' the dark haired genin thought irately.
He opened his eyes and through them he glimpsed the ice mirrors that Haku had conjured earlier. He was back. He was still in this he could win. These thoughts raced through Sasuke's mind as he struggled to get up and on to his feet.
"I thought I had finished you." An icy cold voice called from one of the mirrors.
Sasuke's mind was in a panic he had to get up. Even with Naruto's gift, if Haku managed to somehow prevent him from moving or worse toss him off the bridge he would be in deep trouble.
Even if he couldn't die, that didn't matter if he was made so he couldn't fight.
"Apparently I was wrong." Stated the masked boy as he emerged from one of the mirrors behind Sasuke.
"I'll have to make sure of it this time. If you could survive a strike to the heart you are far too dangerous to be left alive." The masked nin stated as he palmed five new senbon.
It was then in that moment that Sasuke felt it. Like white hot warmth, lightning in his veins, it wasn't painful but it wasn't pleasant either. It surged through him with every pulse of his heart. He saw it as well as felt it, the needles that covered his body, began to quiver and then they were altogether pushed out of his body as he healed. The magenta sparks, he remembered from the ceremony streaming around from wound to wound as muscle and skin were made as new, unblemished. Some of the senbon were forced from his body at great speed bouncing across the surface of the bridge.
Haku watched what transpired with both curiosity and fear.
'What is the boy? He's…He's healing… my senbon are being pushed from his body. Just what is he?'
It was only now that Sasuke realized that although the wounds themselves had healed the numbness had not worn off. He still couldn't move and was stuck flat on his back.
The mask ninja jumped from the uppermost mirror straight above his opponent. He readied himself to strike all of his enemy's vital points.
'I must stop him now before he fully recovers or else all might be lost' Haku thought to himself.
As Sasuke watched his masked enemy descend he could only glare back with eyes filled with undaunted hatred. He felt it burning all encompassing. This stupid fuck was trying to take everything he still held dear. All to protect Zabuza, a murderous traitor to his country.
He was trying to take his revenge. The revenge of his family of his clan. Naruto's revenge and Sasuke's own pride as a ninja.
"I'm not going to let you do this. You cannot take away my revenge, my goals, my mission. Why won't you just DIE?!" Sasuke screamed.
It was as if someone had thrust a white hot knife it his head and twisted it. His head, his whole being felt like it was going to explode. His left eye felt like it had been pierced, it was on fire. His vision swam. He could feel and from his other eye see the pink sparks dancing across his left eye, likely healing whatever injury it had sustained. As the pain began to fade so did Sasuke's consciousness. He greeted the black void like an old friend.
The ice mirrors flashed to steam, boiled away by the solar heat of the jet black flames that exploded from a point near the ground. Haku didn't even have time to scream he was vaporized, turned to ash by the hellish heat as the column of black fire erupted outwards, evaporating the lingering mist.
Just seconds later in the now revealed light of day, Zabuza's own life ended as Kakashi thrust a lightning covered hand through his chest.
7600 Words! I guess you can consider this double to nearly triple sized chapter as a gift for me promising it would be out early and not fulfilling it.
I know the last chapter was well crap… I apologize for that. It's just really difficult to elegantly compress the entire Wave Arc, minus the ending fight into 1600-1800 words. Furthermore wave is done to death and then some in Naruto fan fiction. I'm honestly sick of it, so that's another reason why I'm trying to skim over it. The only reason I used it in the first place is that actually provides a near death experience for Sasuke in canon, which gives me a much better jump off point than if I were to make one myself. Also I really just wanted to blow through it so I could get here, to the meat of the story. Given time I may go back and clean up Ch 1, or maybe I'll just leave it as is.
HOLY CRAP… O_O' …. It's official:
The Paper Fan and The Death God was not even yet 2 days old and it already had more views than my other 7 stories had in March combined. It's within a stone's throw of nearly 1 ½ as many. As of now PFDG has 442 views and the combined March totals for all my other stories is 243. That's simply ludicrous. I'm not sure if it's just because the Naruto fandom is just larger (Which I assume is a major factor) and/or people really just like the idea of this story. Either way, I'm still stunned. Stunned enough to upload Chapter 3? Ummm… No I need sleep. Perhaps Sunday, if I can figure out what direction I'm going to send the story in.
Yes Sasuke did gain his Mangekyō Sharingan and yes he did use Amaterasu to kill Haku. The feelings of loss of his family of his dream and of Naruto as a friend did that. No he will not be using it often. In fact he didn't even know he used it nor does he know how to use it. He might figure it out eventually but not for several more chapters (8+). He might use it accidently a few more times in the more recent future thought I just have to see how it all works out.
I'm thinking I'll shift some of the timing for some of the filler episodes (Since there won't be a Sasuke Retrieval Arc) and put them before the Chunin exam arc. I'm definitely doing the Kubisaki Castle Episode. How hilarious is it going to be to have a Shinigami that's terrified of Ghosts? (If you note this story is both Angst and Humor a weird combination I know). As many people have likely noticed I'm trying keep the characters in character as much as possible (And failing horribly with Sasuke I know). That mean's ultimately that although Naruto is now a Shinigami with vast powers and a nasty grudge, most of the time he's still well … Naruto. In other words instead of being a lovable rambunctious idiotic ninja, he's a lovable rambunctious idiotic death god. Which is why for instance he understood the concept behind immortality but had no idea of the actual word itself. He's also still a prankster. In fact the other day I had vision of him causing mayhem in Konoha by temporarily waking the ghosts of the dead to the tune of the Numa Numa dance. I nearly snorted my ice tea. Once I regained my faculties I soon dismissed the idea as being just too silly. So yes this story is going to be much like the canon in that it switches from comedy to serious and Vic versa.
So this is Johannes The Egg Emperor Signing off. Stay tuned for Chapter 3: I ain't afraid of no Ghosts