Blood gushed from his collar, seeped through the fabric of his pantleg, dribbled from his brow. His heart wouldn't slow. His breath wouldn't level. He was so cold. Had he the presence of mind he would have drew his arms to his chest, maybe tried to quell the bleeding. He had the training, though it was limited, all lessons and words that flew from his mind in weakness. Why had he left that grass littered with great stone. Why had he felt the need to explore.

Naruto sat and stared at the thing slavering after him. It had cut him with such abrupt thoughtlessness, such reckless abandon he scarcely had time to move. Even now it scrambled, armor and sword clattering against the wooden beams, trying to squeeze through a space too small for it. More had come already. Following the blood, drawn by the sound. Two others with swords scratched and struck at the wood, drawing back with chunks and splinters.

A sword slashed across his shin and Naruto drew it back with a choked off cry. He inched back further, felt himself come to the end of the path with his fingers. Behind him a craggy drop down the mountainside. In front, withered things in armor came after him, chopping through the wooden scaffold.

A soldier with a spear emerged from a building to his right. Its walk was slow, measured. Support beams fell beneath swords left and right. Naruto curled into himself, felt a sharp wind at his back, a wave of vertigo and nausea sweep up his spine.

Pain in his shoulder. He looked and found the tip of a spear jutting there. At the other end of the shaft, the soldier jerked the spear back. Naruto blinked, the world spun. He tipped back, over the edge of the road into the gorge.

"Naruto?"

Green, blue, brown, grey rock and crags of stone. The sky and mountainside danced around him, drops of blood whipping from the collar of his jumpsuit, wind roaring in his ears.

"Naruto!"

Naruto glanced up from the piece of white wax he'd been turning in his hand. Iruka stood by the doorway, the other students were gone. As he glanced out the windows to his left, he saw the first of them funneling into the grounds behind the academy, approaching the sparring ring; the wooden targets for kunai and shuriken practice nearby.

"Naruto, are you coming?" Iruka said, remarkably patient.

Naruto stood, slipping the wax into his pants pocket. Well… That was a long time ago. Weeks. A month perhaps. Though here it must have only been days. Four. Five. It was difficult to keep track. He followed Iruka out to the grounds, took his place at the back of the students massed there. What were they doing, he wondered.

Iruka told them as though he'd raised his hand and asked. "Alright." The man said warmly, clapping his hands and bringing silence over the group. "Everyone form up around the ring. Yes, Sakura, you too. Ino, I want you to watch everyone, not just Sasuke, you hear me? Alright…"

Ah. Sparring practice. If Naruto remembered correctly the exam was tomorrow, maybe some last minute review? Maybe just for fun. It seemed like so long ago that he last stepped inside the ring.

"… ow I don't want anyone stressing or worrying or any of that nonsense. This is not part of the exam. There is no grade, you cannot fail. This is only for your benefit. Shi…"

He'd enjoyed it, if he remembered correctly. Most of the time. Inevitably he would either win through attrition or fall limp in a choke hold, though a few seemed to always effortlessly dodge his swings and give him a pair of frameless sunglasses.

Naruto looked at the boy in a blue shirt and shorts. He was a nasty one. Always stood back, countered in a blur of crippling shots with an air of superiority Naruto couldn't stand. Now, he just looked… sad, angry, Naruto supposed. Now that he bothered to look, consider. Sasuke, Naruto remembered, names and traits of the students all coming back to him in a blur.

"…izuki and I will be reffing, and please remember that this is not the place for underhanded tactics. No throwing dirt, no taunting, no funny business. Outside these walls mislead and demean to your heart's content, but this is for strengthening your basics. Hand to hand only. Everyone say it with me."

Kiba, the boy in the fur-lined jacket. Loud, frustrating boy, had the same position on combat as Naruto used to – head on, full force; though he was much more refined. Sakura, Ino, over there in the shade of one of the many trees on the grounds. Sakura… He looked at her for a long moment, noting as she caught his eye that there was some genuine hostility there, for him. If not that then annoyance; distaste.

He found himself looking them over as the matches began, remembering them. Some more than others. He could understand why he'd forgotten them. None of them were particularly special to him, some seemed to actively hate him, some he used to actively hate. Sakura… He remembered her eyes, a glowing vibrant green that made his heart skip a beat every time they crossed paths. Now, though.

Naruto looked over at her as the first match ended; one between a boy in sunglasses and another he didn't recognize. She was pretty. She had a nice smile, a willowy figure. But none of that meant anything to him, no matter how much he tried to dredge up the feeling. That first day back in Konoha he could barely walk. Couldn't stop shaking. Couldn't think. Whenever he looked down he saw the tip of a sword jutting out of his chest. And that feeling, that horrible feeling coiled around his gut and pulled him down to his knees.

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked over at Iruka, drawn from his thoughts.

Iruka gestured into the ring, where Kiba stood waiting, hopping from foot to foot warming up his limbs.

"You're up, Naruto."

Ah, Naruto thought as he stepped into the ring, careful not to scuff the white powder line drawn in the dirt. Kiba then? Seemed Iruka was trying to keep the matches as even as he could.

"Oi, Naruto. You ready to lose?" Kiba goaded from across the twenty foot ring, but his tone was in good sport.

Naruto said nothing, only settled down into a ready stance; right hand open and up, guarding his throat, the left clenched into a loose fist, hovering across his stomach. It would have been clenched around a dagger, hopefully a kunai as soon as he graduated. This was just practice, no place for a blade. Naruto decided to act as though he was holding one, as he would be in real combat. In his mind, he held a blade in a reverse grip.

Iruka clapped once again for attention. Naruto look at him from the corner of his eyes. "You know the rules. Hand to hand, no broken bones. Anyone surrenders; the match is over. Anyone gets seriously injured; the match is over. If either myself or Mizuki step in, the match is over."

"If anyone sneezes, the match is over." Said Kiba, posed like a boxer. "We get it. Let's just start this thing."

Iruka hmmed over at him, then ruined the sentiment as he chuckled. "Alright. Everyone ready? Good. Begin!"

Kiba closed immediately, one arm reeling back for a haymaker. In Naruto's mind though, a hollow was charging him, sword drawn back, shield flared. He felt himself falling back into an abyss of swirling green and blue.

"Dear me." Naruto heard. Felt cool stone at his back. "What a mess they've made of you."

Night now, a bonfire cracking at his side. Madoc across from him, peering into the fire, seeming lost in thought. Naruto felt the fur coat draped over him, wanting but not daring to speak up. He was still weak, bloodied bandages wrapped around his chest, leg, shoulder. Tomorrow, in the daylight. For now he would sleep.

"It is too big for you." Said Madoc, light streaming over his shoulders. Naruto was dazzled by it, by the gleam of his platemail. He looked down at the black leather armor and dagger the man had handed him, not understanding the significance of it. "It will have to do." The man continued. "Lordran is an unforgiving mistress, I would not want you falling before your time." All at once Naruto felt the burning need to declare his superiority. He didn't need any armor. He had his orange jumpsuit. He was fine. He was always fine.

"Never cross swords." Madoc said, it was dusk now, they had been practicing all day. Naruto never ceased to complain, question, frustrate. Madoc never ceased to laugh it off, ruffle his hair. "You ever wonder why we all carry shields? Crossing swords is a fine way to blind yourself. Shrapnel every which way. If you're lucky you'll just chip. If not you'll need a new eye, new sword, or a damn good smith."

"The hell am I supposed to carry a shield for?" Naruto said. "I'll just get them before they get me."

"When they commit to the strike," Madoc said, drawing back with his straightsword and striking slowly in demonstration. "That is when you catch with your shield. Or, I suppose with the flat of your knife. Far be it from me to deny you your death wish."

"You just goddamn try it and we'll see who has a death wish!"

Naruto was on the Taurus now, blood gushing around his knife, through his clenched hands. The Taurus drew Madoc up. Naruto watched, cold disbelief seeping through his chest. The Taurus crushed him, threw him down. Naruto shouted for him, but felt himself drawn back, felt familiar cold stone beneath his boots.

Two days in that shrine before he rose before Madoc in a glow of light. The man said nothing. No quips. No jokes.

"Naruto!"

Now Naruto was in the battlement, Madoc trailing behind, the Taurus atop the tower across from them, waiting. Then pain. Pain. He looked down, blood dribbling from his mouth. Looked at the sword protruding there. Then a boot kicked him off. He pushed himself up, backed against the wall. Madoc closed. Deranged. A groan echoed through his visor, a dry creaking sound. Naruto screamed, roared at him to stop. Just please stop, please. Please.

"Naruto stop you're killing him! Naruto!"

Iruka was prying at his arm. Mizuki was at his back, arm around his neck in a chokehold. Kiba was beneath him, face palid, eyes slowly rolling back. Naruto was choking him, right hand around his neck. Naruto could feel his pulse. It was slow. So slow. Naruto had used Iron Flesh. Iruka could pry all he wanted. Mizuki could strain all he wanted.

Then all at once the significance of the situation hit him, and Naruto pulled back as though burned, leapt back off of Kiba's prone form. Mizuki all but flew off of him, Iruka stumbled up and to the side before quickly attending to Kiba as the boy jerked, sputtered and gasped. Naruto blinked, looked around. The other students were pale, some frightened, others angry, surprised. Mizuki took him by the arm and tried to pull him aside. Tried. Naruto glanced at him, a moment later letting Iron Flesh fade and the man drag him off.

"I'm not going to lie to you." Mizuki said, the class drawing out of earshot. "You're not in trouble for harming a student." He looked at Naruto over his shoulder. "You're in trouble for doing it without permission. Understand?"

Yes. They were killers in training, all of them. Naruto understood. He finally understood what he'd done, what had happened. He'd gotten lost in his head. It wouldn't happen again, he would be sure of that. Still…

"As for your technique, whatever that was." Ah there it was, Naruto thought and winced. "There will be words. In time. For now, well."

Mizuki released Naruto as they exited the academy training grounds and emerged onto public roads. "Go home."

Naruto looked over at him, question evident in his posture.

"Come tomorrow." Said Mizuki, his normally lax expression remaining uncharacteristically stern. "Take the exam. You are not out of the running. Just remember. Iruka and myself are your superiors. We tell you to back off, you back off. Get it?"

Something about Mizuki seemed to emanate genuine hatred. Not disappointment. Mizuki hated him, Naruto thought. Now, at least. Or maybe he always had, and had just hidden it.

"Yes. I get it." Naruto said, and started towards his apartment building.

Mizuki called after him bitterly. "Don't ever forget that again."

"Ah." Naruto called back, mostly for himself. "I won't."

-(:=:)-

Were it capable of deductive reason, the trident wielding hollow might have taken interest as the massive knight guarding the pedestal moved to investigate a commotion and never returned. When Naruto entered the main hall of the church after, blue bolts of light chased him behind pillars and pews for cover. Tens of withered men with rags and broken swords charged down the staircase, drawn by the sound of sorceries shattering wood and marble.

They closed, and the trident wielding hollow died assured of its victory. The tip of a sword burst out through the front of its armor, and a boot kicked it off the blade, over the edge of the balcony.

Naruto's bunshin dashed outside the moment the barrage of blue cut off, taking the other hollows with it. The real Naruto turned back and started towards a ladder that led to the roof of the church. What he found there, as he stepped from the lip of a doorway onto crumbling shingles, took his breath away for a moment.

What were those things. Bodies like those of fullgrown lions, long whiplike tails ending in ax heads and wings made of chipped stone. Five of them were spread along the rooftop, the shingles beneath and around them soaked in dried blood; glimmering like tar beneath the sun. Naruto was surprised they hadn't begun to decompose. Their skin was a pale grey, likely they had bled out long ago.

He looked up at the bell tower, stepped out onto the roof of the church and approached the base, noting the occasional squelch of his boot as he did.

-(:=:)-

"The belltower?" Said Laurentius, "well… what is there to be said. I only know bits and pieces of this place, I was driven here by… circumstance. I only have the word of the occasional traveler. I would not wish to mislead you."

"I will take your warning into consideration." Naruto said.

Laurentius made a grimacing sort of face. "Well. Legend has it that here, well… There." He pointed up, at the peak of the mountain; at the wall that stood there. "In Anor Londo, lies the tomb of Lord Gwyn himself. Guarded by his daughter, Gwyndolin."

"Does that mean anything to me?" Naruto asked plainly.

"Uh… No. Well. I don't know, I s'pose." His accent bared again; a nervous tick as Naruto had come to understand. "It might. For the uh – the use of it. Well, I don't know what good it would do you. As for the bell towers-"

"Towers?" Naruto frowned. "Plural?"

"Uh – yeah. First is up in undead parish. The second… Well, It's s'posed to be underground somewhere. Somewhere the sun don't touch. What they do is… up for debate. Uh. 'Fraid there's not much else I can tell you. Only that… Well. I."

Laurentius broke off for a moment and continued, unsure. "Near when I first came to this place… I think…" He looked up at Naruto. "I think I already heard them ring."

-(:=:)-

Naruto entered the bell tower, ascended the ladder and emerged at the top. A two-ton bell hung over him. If he looked, he could see the battlement of Anor Londo resting near a mile up a sheer, craggy wall, with no apparent means of scaling it.

Down on his level though, undead parish spread out behind him. Further on he could see a fortress not far away. An enormous brick-and-mortar castle half-hidden in a grove of evergreens. He couldn't have seen it from below, from firelink. A single bridge ran from its base, through the trees, connecting to a building to his right, the thing a short walk from the church.

Naruto considered for a moment, then reached up and rung it. The sound echoed across the mountainside. Naruto shrugged and was about to head back to the shrine when a faint clang made him perk his ears. It had come from the building that led to the fortress.

Naruto passed through its entrance, crept down the stairs there, slowly drawing closer to the persistent clanging of metal on metal. The next floor had the bridge to the fortress, but the sound was further. Down another flight of stairs, Naruto peered over the railing.

A bear of a man sat down there, hunched over an anvil, working a piece of metal into shape with a massive hammer. He was not hollow, that much was clear just by the look of him. Good color on his skin, a massive, frazzled white beard with eyebrows to match.

The man wiped his brow, then called out. "No need to hide, lad. Nothin' ta fear down 'ere."

He had quite an accent on him, Naruto thought. Still he rose and clapped down the stairs to approach him. When he was finally before the man, Naruto found himself with nothing to say.

"… Blacksmith, are you?"

The man chuckled and went back to his craft. "Aye, that. One of the best. Andre of Astora, at 'yer service."

Again Naruto was without means to carry the conversation. Still, his knife was at his side, useless state that it was. Couldn't hurt to ask. "I don't suppose you do repairs?"

"Just who do you think yer' takin' to, lad?" Said Andre, voice gruff but warm. He glanced up from his work. "If I can hit it with a hammer, I can repair it."

"…And I don't suppose you work for free?" Naruto asked, retrieving his knife from its holster and holding it up by the blade.

Andre laughed. Naruto was about to take his leave when the man spoke. "Tell ya' what. Been a long while since I last saw a friendly face. You pull up a seat, and I'll handle your repairs."

Naruto did. They spoke as Andre inspected and eventually began to work his knife back into shape. Naruto asked of the fortress.

Sen's Fortress, Andre answered, was across the bridge from the building. A proving grounds built by the gods, testing those that sought entrance to Anor Londo.

"There is no ladder, no elevator, no rope to climb. How does one go from the top of the fortress to Anor Londo?" Naruto asked.

"I haven't the slightest." Andre replied, held the knife horizontal as he checked the blade again. "Haven't been. Don't intend to."

"And Anor Londo. Admittedly, I do not see the appeal in it. The travelers I have met all aimed to travel there. Do you know why?"

"… Aye." Said Andre. "Legend holds, that one day the chosen undead shall enter Anor Londo, and begin anew the age of fire."

Naruto made a bemused sort of expression. "Age of fire?"

Andre eyed Naruto's blade one last time, then handed it back to him. The man seemed to check his palm as he did, though Naruto could have just been imagining it.

"Legends." The man said. "Legends, stories. All of it. Times like these… Men cling to legends."

Andre fell quiet then. Naruto thanked him and left with his blade. He had learned some. At the least, things that Laurentius would be interested to hear.

-(:=:)-

Laurentius lay near the bonfire, though it was extinguished now. A deep slash ran up his front, another left a glimmer of bone poking through the meat of his shoulder. Finally, the one that had felled him – a stab wound straight through the chest. Likely he'd bled out before he'd had a chance to drown on his punctured lung.

He'd gone out hard. Swathes of grass and rock were smoldering black. One of those that had killed him lay in a pile of burnt armor by one of the many fragmented pillars of the shrine. Naruto checked it first. Strange armor – black cloth over plates of iron, bones decorated it such that it had likely seemed to be a walking skeleton in the dark of night. A wraith fresh from the abyss. Maybe it had been alone, Laurentius had killed it before succumbing to his injuries. Maybe there were more, and the wound in his chest had come from behind.

Naruto shook his head, stood and moved back to where Laurentius lay in a pool of dark brown grit. He'd come back to talk. Tell him of the fortress hidden in the trees. Maybe share a story or two if the wind took him. Now… Well…

Naruto took a seat by the unlit bonfire. Waited. It was not long before the darksign pulled Laurentius' soul back from the abyss, and the man rose with an unnatural stiffness; skin pallid, body matted with congealed blood. He was different now, Naruto knew. Something he felt more than saw. Laurentius was not all there, anymore. Perhaps he never would be.

Naruto was somber as he spoke, watching Laurentius pull himself from the grass. "I… I do not know it myself. But I have seen it. The first death is not… Kind. On the heart. A man can lose himself to it. To grief. Fear. Anger."

Laurentius took stock of the situation, blinking as though he'd been roused from an uneasy sleep. He understood, after a moment. Naruto said nothing, only watched, eyes hooded.

"They." The word came from Laurentius, and the sound of it made him cringe. Still he carried on. "They came. Took… Someone. There. There was a woman. Down." He pointed to where the shrine recessed a level, an empty cell was dug into the dirt there, near the base of the bonfire. It also led further down, through a flight of stairs to some sort of archaic elevator. Naruto had never managed to make it work and hadn't dared to leap down the shaft or repel down the chains. Place gave him the chills. "In that. Cage. There was a - a woman behind the bars. She wore black. So we couldn't see her in the shadow."

There had been a person in there? Naruto had inspected that cell so carefully, he'd been so sure it was empty. He shook it off and focused on the task at hand. "Do you know where they took her? Why?"

"Down." Rasped Laurentius, raising one knee and wrapping his arms around it. "Down through the shrine, to the elevator shaft I think. I tried to. To help. To stop them. Took one of them. Whatever good it did."

Naruto glanced over at the thing, remembering it.

If it was an undead, and it likely was, it would rise soon. Naruto went over to it, drew up the sword at its side; a great heavy thing of metal and rust. He took it, willed iron flesh over himself, and with his mass plunged the sword through its sternum into the dirt, working it deeper until the hilt dented its chestplate. It would not be rising again, one way or the other.

Naruto moved back to Laurentius. Sat across from him, as they'd used to. But the fire was out, and the man was in no mood to chat.

The day was almost over. Night would come soon, Naruto knew. He would be sleeping with one eye open. Madoc had been his one lesson. He would be sure of that.

He would be sure of that.

an: so tired. zleep.