Scorch the Skies
Chapter 4 Belief
Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.
Honestly, do you think I'd be here writing Fanfiction if I owned either?
The brown dirt was caked by the pure heat that was thrashing about, arid winds battering against raging fires, bodies scattered across the battle field burning to ash.
Ringing out from the middle of the hellish field was the sound of steel against steel, as two figures danced around each other, more and more fire surging forth with every clash of their swords, apparently unaffected or uncaring of the ungodly heat.
At some sort of unspoken agreement, both figures leapt away, their grips shifting and a stifling force of power snuffed out the flames, before an explosion of pure power bought the inferno back to life within a second as they both yelled out an indistinguishable word.
Naruto made his way through the winding corridors of the tower in a small trance, each step an odd mix of a stumble mixed with a crawl, his feet dragging the whole way, his arms hugging the hat the Hokage had given to him almost reverently.
The Third had always listened to and affirmed Naruto's boating of becoming Hokage, to taking the hat off of the old man's senile, liver-spotted head, but for him to actual affirm that goal without Naruto bringing it up, for the Third to actually place the Hat on his head himself.
It was massive.
'He always believed in you, this is nothing new.'
Naruto shook his head at the voice's unwanted commentary. He knew that this was nothing new, it was something that the Hokage did all the time. That was true. But if the voice, if the Zanpaku-to was actually a part of him, it should understand the reaction.
'He's worried something will happen to him and soon. Good enough for you?'
Swallowing heavily, Naruto nodded. His Grandpa had seemed so sad during their talk, almost as if there would be little to no more conversations between the two of them.
"Almost like, he was saying goodbye." Naruto mumbled out softly, a stray tear slipping out of his eye while his hands grasped at the edges of the hat fiercely.
"Like hell Old Man." He whispered, slapping the hat onto his head, his steps quickening as he made his way back to the medical bay where he knew his team was assembled.
"Hn, welcome back idiot" Sasuke drawled as his blonde teammate stepped through the medical bay doors, his eyes only flicking up momentarily in a cursory greeting, only for them to snap right back up as they focused in on the boy's head. Even Kakashi, sat in the corner out of view, had to take a moment as his single uncovered eye snapped to the red and white hat on his students head.
"Naruto."
"Yeah Kakashi?"
"Did you steal the Hokage's hat?"
"No."
"Okay, just checking." And in an instant the grey haired man's nose was once more buried in a little orange book he carried on him at all times. "Carry on."
"So glad to have your permission."
"Glad to give it."
Sasuke's eyes just blinked. "Why do you have the Hokage's hat?"
"He gave it to me." The blonde chirped with a smile that spread to the other concious occupants of the room. "How's she doing."
"No difference, but I was talking to Dr. Yakushi. She's out of the woods and its almost guaranteed that she can only get better from here." Kakashi pitched in again, the Doctor having made a room call while Naruto had been out apparently blackmailing a hat out of an Old Man. 'Ooo I'll have to remember that one.'
"That's good." And with that note, a comfortable silence descended on the room.
"Hmph, to think he would finally hear you. Close call for you, little spirit." A deep booming voice echoed through the darkness, a single red eye bathing the pitch in a malevolent red glow, a single figure illuminated by it. "Although, maybe not such a bad turn of events after all."
The small figure twitched, its head swivelling to stare into the vicious red eye. "One might think you'd be disappointed, my Lord." It muttered confused. "My release means your permanent imprisonment."
The larger figure let out a booming chuckle. "You haven't figured it out yet, truly you are a part of him. Both stupid beyond belief."
The smaller figure let out a low growl, its reddish brown fur rustling in a non-existent breeze. "You don't get to insult him. You haven't earned that right Fox."
"You spit that word as if its an insult. My oh my, your razor wit does burn my little Kit."
Pulling itself up to its feet, the smaller figure padded away, eyes hard.
"Yes. You will soon see my ward and so too shall your Lord, Hikaze no Kitsune."
These streets were supposed to be safe. The warm streets of Konohagakure no Sato where there was always a smile waiting for you around the next corner. Where nothing horrible happened, where children could play without a care in the world. That was Konoha.
Not this twisted representation she had been thrown into, this mockery of her village.
"Do you still not get it, Sa-ku-ra?" That terrible sing song voice echoed again, sending shivers up her spine as more and more tendrils tore into the streets and toppled buildings in her wake. "It's a metaphor."
'For what?' She wanted to scream, but her throat wouldn't work. The fear keeping everything shut down. Everything but her legs as she kept running, deeper and deeper into the heart of the village as more and more of it fell down around her.
"You can keep running little girl, but that will do nothing in the end." That horrible voice spoke into her ear, powerful arms wrapping around her, the stink of blood and decay assaulting her nose as that twisted reflection embraced her in a tender hug, freezing Sakura in her tracks. "At the end of the day, unless you can figure out the metaphor and figure out how to beat the answer, well... We want to leave that a mystery me thinks." It laughed, arms squeezing tighter as its head came down to rest against her shoulder. "You're smart, at least you tend to be when you aren't scared out of your mind. I think you can figure it out, I want you to figure it out. But you're too frightened, too primal right now to think reasonably. So, we need to give you some incentive." It released her, almost flowing around her to come face to face once more, the twisted marks pulsing viciously, as the reflection tweaked her chin with a soft smile. "If you don't figure out the answer and beat it before this village completely rots, you will be responsible for the deaths of your teammates."
"What...?" The question actually came out this time, her eyes wide as she looked into those yellow eyes.
"You heard me."
And like that, the reflection snaked away, twisting across buildings in an unnatural movement, its voice echoing and distant once more. "Once you've figured it out, you can find us at the center of the village. See you soon, o' friend all mine.
From his little seat in the corner, Kakashi couldn't help look upon his team with pride and, however unfair it might be to his teammates, Sasuke especially.
It wasn't as if he wasn't proud of Naruto or Sakura, god knows he'd always been proud of that hyperactive bundle of yellow and orange and Sakura had seemingly come a massive way at some point in the last 5 days, but it seemed that Sasuke had finally taken the one value Kakashi had taught and been trying to drill into the head's of his team right from first day they had been put together as Team 7.
To abandon the mission is akin to treason. To abandon your teammates is worse than treason.
He had been worried that Sasuke would never learn, or more likely accept, that statement as truth, he was even sure if he had revealed the origin of his personal mantra, Sasuke would refuse to accept that an Uchiha could possibly stoop to abandon a mission to offer aid to those of a lower station.
But somehow, something had rattled the boy's inborn superiority complex (Which he believed was the true Uchiha bloodline) and made him suck humility and surrender his chance at promotion to save the life of his teammate.
He had his money on Naruto giving some sort of speech, as the blonde was want to doing. Not that he really condemned that, but the boy had an unfortunate habit of giving speeches of forgiveness and redemption to enemies just as much as he did allies.
And Sakura. Oh sweet little naïve Sakura. From what he could drag out from behind the iron curtain of Sasuke's self depreciative angst, Sakura had saved both his boy's lives with some sort of latent bloodline, at least that's the way the little Uchiha had described it and by his description, Kakashi wasn't sure just how much he could doubt that, the technique that had reduced a Genin's arms to no more than mush was terrifying and uncomfortably close to demonic, and considering just who he had on his team that would be worrying if that little tidbit became public knowledge.
No doubt there would be blood. Or at least cries for it
Shaking his head Kakashi returned to his book, plans made weeks earlier thrown away into the wind, new ones taking shape and forming, a spark of something akin to shame lighting itself up in the man's gut as he reconsidered the plans and ideas that had assumed failure on all but one of his students and just how badly he had assumed of the lone female of Team 7.
Hmmm, where to go from here?
Don't worry, that doesn't mean story abandonment it just means I need to evaluate and plan, just a little more comprehensively and cohesively as it were.
Also, maybe I did inner Hollow Sakura, maybe I'm just relying on that particular trope to shock and awesome you guys later on, am I really that clever? Let's find out.
Anyways, comments, critiques and reviews are wanted. I'll even take your flames, but I doubt that I'll pay them any real attention
Jordan out!
