Well folks, the vote is in and this chapter is the result. Yes this story is not abandoned, but is being subject to heavy discussion. I apologise with delay but it was exam time in Australia.
I would like to thank ABitterPill, my beta and the one who issued this challenge.
So without further ado, here we go!
Chapter 3: Broken Lines
The funeral was nice, at least as nice as one can get without being clichéd, it is a funeral after all. The raw emotions were held in check but they were festering and boiling underneath the supposed calm surface.
As the body was not found, it had to be held on the plaque near Training Ground 7, the one that Kakashi always stood before for hours on end for multiple reasons. Naruto's death was one more.
There was a congregation of about twenty-one people, which in the grand scheme of things was relatively small procession. Despite Naruto's bravery and his never ending optimism, his position as a jinchūriki sealed his fate as a feared and naturally despised person.
The remaining ten of the twelve genin were gathered in the front. The original members of the Ino-Shika-Cho clan were present as well as Hyuuga Hisashi, Inuzuka's Tsume and Hana, in tribute to the fallen comrade of their children. The four sensei from each of the teams; Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai, all stood near the far ends of the procession.
Everyone who is informed of the death of someone close takes the news badly, and no one took the news worse than Iruka. Although he did not cry, you could tell that the grief he felt trumped what anyone else was feeling, his eyes said it all. Shizune stood near the back behind the procession, tears streaming down her face; she had not cried like that since the news of her Uncle Dan passing away.
They all gazed at the freshly engraved name of their comrade and friend on the stone; 'Uzumaki Naruto.'
A monk was called by Asuma as a special favour to lead the procession, which was a nice gesture on his part. Although he barely knew Naruto, he had the greatest respect for Kakashi; and if Kakashi approved of someone then he was alright in Asuma's book.
"I was wondering, do you know where Hokage-sama is? I expected her to be here." Asuma's rather innocent question received an unreadable look from Kakashi.
0o0o0o
He could still remember the look on her face when Kakashi handed back the necklace to her. The supposed curse on the necklace was all too well known, and he considered throwing it away or burying it, however it did not feel right. It seemed appropriate to return it to the original owner, whether she wanted it or not.
Tsunade's gaze turned everywhere except to Kakashi...and the necklace held in her hand. Tsunade tried so hard to hold back her tears but it was not to be. Her lower lip was quivering as she tried to speak.
"...n-nothing at all?"
"No trace of him Hokage-sama." Kakashi had his head bowed and his eyes bore a hole into the floor.
"But he could still be alive! We have to get search teams to-"
"Tsunade-hime, please, I want to find him more than anyone, and with all due respect, yes even more than you do. But that river, not even the best of our trackers can find him in time, assuming that he was still alive."
A silence filled the room, Tsunade stared at her desk for what seemed to be hours. However, the silence was over as quickly as it began.
"We will hold a procession two days from now...in the courtyard." Tsunade turned her chair to face the open village of Konohagakure, the back of her head facing Kakashi.
"Hokage-sama, you-"
"That will be all Kakashi...please leave." Kakashi was not so compliant.
"Hokage-sama, I can guess that you are thinking of leaving the village...again. You should know though that this is not grounds for quitting." Tsunade remained silent. "Besides, Naruto would not want you to quit. That is for losers."
With that he took his leave; no one should have to see a Hokage like this. As he closed the door, he could hear sobbing from a woman who might as well have lost her son...or little brother.
Kakashi knew the feeling.
0o0o0o
Sakura, never coped with grief well; when she thought Sasuke died at the hands of Haku she had broken down and cried, even when she knew she shouldn't. When Sasuke abandoned Konohagakure... abandoned her, when she pleaded Naruto to bring him back, she nearly fell to his knees.
He's gone.
Only after she heard the news about Naruto death, did she truly realise that all the grief she felt, all the sadness she has experienced...was nothing compared to what she felt; complete and total despair.
The kind that can taint souls. The kind of pain that you cannot express through tears. The stuff that sticks with you till the day you die.
Just gone.
As the funeral progressed, she just stood there at the front of the group staring at the stone carving; one of the few reminders, that Naruto, her friend...ever existed.
Ever since the Sakura heard the news, she found her mind turning to past events of Team 7; the D rank missions, the constant whining of Naruto, all the fun times. The memories that were most apparent were the ones where Sakura was mean or harsh to Naruto in some way. A beating here, a wry insult there, but Sakura always imagined that Team 7 would stay together.
That's never going to happen now. Sakura's hair covered her face, tears swelling in her eyes. She felt a hand gently place itself on her shoulder, she glanced aside to see Iruka staring at her with a blank look on his face, but his eyes were bloodshot and swollen.
"Naruto would not want this for any of us, I like to think he would just smile and say something crazy like 'Well this puts a small dent in my plans to be Hokage.'" Sakura felt the sudden urge to laugh, but what came out was more of a sudden gasp of air.
"You know he always cared about you, Sakura," Iruka turned to face the small monument, "the last thing he would want is for you to be crying."
"I guess..." Sakura mumbles, the grip of Iruka's hand tightened, but only slightly.
"You guess?" Sakura knew what Iruka was getting at with that coy tone in his voice.
"...I know."
"Much better." Sakura gave a small huff, which was supposed to be a chuckle.
0o0o0o
At the very back, far beyond the training ground, stood three shadows; the Sand siblings. Kankuro stared at the small procession, but that did not fascinate him; he had been to funerals before.
What fascinated him was his little brother. The red-head's face seemed passive and peaceful, with his eyes closed Garaa could almost be mistaken for being asleep. However the small tears that accumulated at the corners of both eyes were unmistakeable.
He has never been like this, Kankuro frowned, not even at father's funeral.
"If someone as good as him can fall," Garaa's voice sounded shaky, "what hope is there for me?"
"He would not want it this way, Garaa." Temari whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder, for once in such a long time, the sand did not slap it away. "Naruto would not want you to mourn like this."
"Someone has to Temari." Garaa's glazed eyes finally opened and stared at his sister. "Someone has to say that he did not deserve this, SOMEone had to feel despair. Someone has to care."
Damn you Naruto for making my brother fall so low. Didn't you understand how much Garaa needed you? Kankuro's eyes stared at the procession. "I think Naruto's loss had affected enough people. There is enough despair here without yours Garaa."
The puppet master cringed under the unyielding glare from his sister, the only person apart from Garaa that could terrify him. "Naruto would want you to continue without him, to succeed without him. And if you won't do it for him Garaa...you have to do it for yourself."
"I'll try." Garaa mumbled. "But..."
Kankuro turned to see Garaa, no...his little brother confused and upset. Two things he never thought he would see. Who would have thought that such change could have been possible because of an encounter with a whiskered blonde. Kankuro placed a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder and offered a silent prayer.
Despite my rambling, I must thank you Naruto. On behalf of Temari and myself; you have given us a brother. So thank you Naruto...and may you rest in peace.
0o0o0o
Naruto found himself in dark place. He could not see anything. He could not taste anything. He could not feel anything. He could not smell anything.
He could, however, hear something.
"Uzumaki Naruto..." The voice called. "Naruto you must resist." Naruto felt his consciousness ebb and fade away as if he was waking up from strange dream.
What?
"Naruto, you must resist."
Who are you? Kyuubi?
"Don't think, just listen." The voice was soft-spoken and gentle, however there was a sense of concern in its tone. "You must resist."
What?
"You must resist Naruto. Don't listen to them."
WAKE UP!
0o0o0o
Naruto woke up with a start. He felt hard rock against his hands; cold, damp rock. He could smell mould and ever so briefly the salt of the sea. He could hear a rhythmic dripping noise as drops of water impacted the cold rocky flour. He could taste the strong metallic tang of blood.
What he could see on the other hand was foreign to him. The only source of light was a strange green luminescence coming from the ceiling of...wherever he was. It was open and barren yet enclosed, like he was in some cave.
In front of him stood a strange rock with intricate carvings, the green glow showed inscriptions that were either too small to read or of such a foreign nature Naruto could not understand them. The rock itself seemed man-made as it took on the rough shape of a large goat or ram.
Hello Naruto.
The blonde would have jumped but, he could not move, he did not feel bound, but rather paralysed. Naruto tried to get up, but all his leg did was twitch in response.
You cannot do that Naruto. The voice was like a chorus of deep voiced males singing as one. However it spoke with a clarity and understanding seemingly gained from what seemed like eons of experience. It however, did not sound threatening...at least not yet.
"Who are you?" Naruto wheezed. The blonde coughed which created a strange tension in his muscles, like he had not used them in a while. The blonde tried to get his bearing on where the sound was coming from, but it seemed to come from everywhere; the rock, the ceiling and the very shadows itself.
We do not have a name. Though we have been called many things in the past.
"Such as?" Naruto coughed. Ugh, I don't feel so good.
We were called Jashin-sama, once upon a time.
"Where am I?"
You are where we brought you.
"That does not tell me anything." Naruto croaked, a flash of what occurred what seemed moments ago. A rescue mission...Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Chouji , Lee...Sasuke. A promise.
"Sasuke! I need to go!" With a renewed strength Naruto lurched to his feet. The pain was agonising as his back and legs tightened with the intensity of a constricting cobra. He promptly fell back to the ground with a deafening thud and all the grace of a brick. "What have you done to me?"
We have not done anything to you. This is what you now are.
"I-I don't understand." Naruto fumbled, he felt strangely numb. "I'm okay...Sasuke missed." No, missed on purpose. Even though it hurt, Naruto let out a wide grin. "He saved me. He wants me to bring him back. I have to help him!"
We do not know who or what a 'Sasuke' is. The old voice went quiet, and for a strange reason the whiskered blonde felt as if he was being scrutinised. But 'he' did not 'miss'.
"I don't understand." Naruto was worried, yet he felt strangely calm...serene.
Look at your chest and understand. Naruto complied...and screamed something awful.
0o0o0o
"What have you done to me?"
We have not done anything. We found you this way. The voice faced the blonde's struggle with an attempt at soothing calmness.
"You're lying!" Naruto tried to flee, to panic, but for some reason he couldn't. He gazed at the hole at the centre of his chest, right where the heart would be. The wound was fused an cauterised, it smelt awful and burnt. There was blood over his jumper, giving it a rather vermillion colour. The wound was the size of a rather large apple...or the fist of a thirteen year old boy.
"Sasuke..." Naruto tried so desperately to cry, some attempt to relieve this pain. This betrayal. But no tears came. "He couldn't have done this."
We do not know who or what could have caused you that wound. The voice shifted and glided around the cave. We gave up on knowing the outside world. But you are dead.
Naruto gazed at his body, or at least what was left of it. The skin was pale white and heavy, and his hands had a slightly blue colour. "But...but how am I here." Naruto sniffed. "Why can I breathe and move?" Fucking cry already. "Why am I talking?"
You are doing all those things because we have temporarily bound you to your body. But the body is dead, you are breathing and talking because it is what you have known all your life.
"You bound me?" Naruto sniffed.
Temporarily.
"But why?"
To give you a choice. The voice paused as if for dramatic effect. We found you just outside our domain. Your body carries an aura of a man whose was cheated out of his destiny.
"Cheated?" Naruto thought. "Sasuke?" The very thought of the Uchiha pained the blonde greatly.
No mortal can cheat someone else out of their destiny. The voice dismissed the idea the same way an adult would dismiss a child's theory as obviously stupid. No average mortal anyway.
"Then what?"
A being similar to us. It played the odds, shifted the nature of the universe and rewrote a story. Your story. We abhor such attempts and we are willing to recompense.
Naruto thought about what was said and nearly jumped for joy. "Y-you mean you're going to make me come back to life? You're going to resurrect me?"
We are neither willing nor able to give you life. The voice dashed Naruto's hopes albeit apologetically. Destiny has been rewritten, and to heal you would alter your story. That has already been done once, we will not permit it again.
"Then what?"
You have a choice; your story has changed but it can continue. But only if you want it to.
"I don't understand."
We are offering you the chance to continue your existence as it is.
"My existence?" Naruto numbness fell away to reveal a rather familiar emotion: rage. "As in dead? You expect me to accept that?"
We make no assumptions. We do not propose this offer to anyone who has been slighted by life. This was not your destiny, but now it is. It is up to you how you wish to deal with it.
"So I am just going to continue my life as a..." The rage was replaced by a more potent emotion: horror "a...corpse?"
An oversimplification. But it is apt. But your existence in this world will continue.
Despite Naruto's stunned belief at what he now was he could not help but inquire more. "What do you mean?"
We can provide a means of binding you permanently to your body and your existence will continue in this realm almost indefinitely.
"In exchange?"
You will suffer greatly, Naruto. Make no mistakes about that. You will lose a significant part of yourself.
"Such as?"
A majority of your memories and your soul. You will lose your ability to perform some of your techniques. You will have to forsake all concepts of having a normal life. You will live in a constant state for survival scrounging up whatever and whoever you can find to ensure your existence. You will cease to develop as a human being. You will lose all forms of ambition and dreams.
"But my dream to be Hokage! And Sakura! I can't -"
Those dreams will vanish along with any other desire you crave. Except one.
"My soul-"
Will be used to support the process. That is the price to be paid and it will be a permanent process. It will be irretrievable.
"You said earlier about losing all desires 'except one'? What is that?"
The voice actually took pause and it seemed to consider its next words. A desire to feed. On everything...and everyone.
"What?"
Naruto we can promise you that you will exist, but we cannot guarantee that you will exist comfortably.
"'Comfortably'? You make me sound like a cannibal? A-a monster!"
You will need to feed in order to maintain your body against the harsh challenges reality may pose to you.
"If I may be forward Jashin." Naruto growled. "This is a pretty shitty deal."
It is. The voice seemed unconcerned. But you will exist.
"Is there any upside to this?"
Besides your continued existence? Naruto imagined that if the voice had a face it would have a rather perturbed look. You will be stronger and faster than ever, you will be blessed with a stamina that no living being will be able to counter and you will never die.
"Because I am already dead." Naruto flinched as he finished his sentence.
Correct.
"And if I say no?"
Then your existence ends here. We will sever the ties that bind you here and allow your soul to slip away. We offered you this choice as your new destiny leaves no other better alternatives. You would have continued to slip down the river into the bottom of an ocean. Your body would remain undiscovered and unknown until the end of time.
"This is insane!"
We never said the choice would be easy Naruto, only that you would have one. The choice before you is this: whether you want your existence to end now, or whether you want to continue on. Be warned however Naruto, that this choice before you is one-time only. Whatever you decide now you will have to accept forever. You will be unable to change your decision once it has been made.
"Do I have to decide now?"
Your binding to this realm is unnatural Naruto. We can hold you here, but not forever. You must make a decision, if not now, then soon.
Naruto rattled his brain over the conversation with the mysterious force. It appeared to have good intentions even so far as telling him of all the negative aspects of the deal. "What happens in the afterlife?"
We can neither confirm nor deny its existence.
"You cannot tell me anything?"
It is not our place.
The voice went quiet, leaving Naruto to his thoughts. Wondering about the circumstance in which he found himself. Naruto was aware that life dealt him an unfair hand from birth, however his charisma and determination always managed to overcome his obstacles.
But this...this was not just unfair. It was, if this voice was anything to go by, not what was supposed to happen. I was cheated...
Naruto gazed at the hole in his chest. Sasuke...
"Jashin..."
Be warned Naruto, as we told you; what you decide now, you will forever deal with.
"Will I be forever lost?" Naruto gazed at the pillar. "If I accept the deal, is there any chance I will become what I once was?"
We do not know. A human's actions have a way of changing the future. The voice went momentarily quiet, pondering the question. What we do know is that you are Uzumaki Naruto. No one, not the Shinigami, not Kami, not us, can take that from you.
"Then I have come to decision."
What is your choice, Naruto?
0o0o0o
A/N: Well guys there you have it; chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it. I have been working in conjunction with ABitterPill to try and make this story come to life.
The next chapter will take place after the timeskip, where everyone has grown up.
I'll see you then. Take care!
Review and PM as always!
