Kakashi sat seemingly alone in a dark room, somewhere in the long forgotten bowels of Konoha. After waiting in silence for several minutes, he finally heard the voice he had been waiting for.
"You disposed of the demon then?"
Kakashi dropped to one knee, in a sign of fealty to the man who he was certain was standing in front of him.
"Of course Lord. I enlisted the help of the last true scion of the Uchiha to finish the job without suspicion. I believe the Wave country is also now indebted to our cause."
The voice chuckled a little,
"Good, they may prove useful to us in the future." Pausing for a second, he seemed to be waiting for something. After several rather tense moments he finally continued. "So did you or did you not bring what I asked for"
Kakashi jumped up,
"I'm sorry my lord, I forgot myself for a moment." Reaching behind him, he grabbed the pack that once belonged to Naruto. Rummaging through the pockets, he grimaced. The shrouded one sensing his dismay called out.
"They aren't there, are they Kakashi"
Kakashi frowned,
"I'm sorry lord, but it appears as if Naruto was carrying those rings with him when he died."
The voice in dark let sneered in contempt.
"You have failed me Kakashi, I would not recommend that you repeat this offence."
Kakashi kowtowed, placing his forehead to the ground.
"I am sorry master, it will never happen again"
"See that it doesn't" was the only reply from the hidden voice.
"So what will you have me do know?" Kakashi asked, even though he knew the general answer.
"You will wait, and train the scion as you have been. The next phase of the resurrection will occur during the Chuunin exams that your country has agreed to host."
Kakashi repeated the kowtow, "It shall be done master"
Sensing that the man had left, Kakashi slowly stood up, drawing a deep and rather shaky breath he tried to calm himself.
The last person who failed his lord was found eviscerated laying face down in his own bedroom.
Kakashi scowled at the shameful memory,
'I will not meet the same fate as my Father."
--
Many miles away in a small country bordering Hi no Kuni, another similar meeting was taking place, deep in the bowels of a God forsaken laboratory.
"I trust that the last two decades of work will come to fruition soon…" The voice was as shrouded as the man standing in the darkness, but his presence was undeniable. It screamed of power, a power that no mortal would dare to cross.
Dropping to on knee, the man who was in front of this dark lord bowed his head,
"It's almost ready Lord. I have finished the final formulas and now all I need to do is apply it. I should have it finished in just a few days."
He knew his lord wanted it to be completed by now, but hopefully he would see fit to keep him alive for a short while longer.
"You are running short on time, for your sake I hope that you do complete the array soon."
Still keeping his head down,
"Of course Master, I have completed the portions that increase chakra output, subjugates the wearer will, and the hardest part, the part that allows for forced entry. All that I need to do it put the finishing touches on my ability to implant the array. I have and idea, and it should work, it just remains untested. A new batch of villagers should be arriving within the hour, then I will have plenty of test subjects."
The voice in the shadows seemed pleased, the energy coming off of it was astounding,
"Good, have it prepared by the end of the month. Then you are to bring it to Konoha. It is there that we will proceed with the next step of the process."
The man on the ground sounded a little confused by the order,
"In a month sir? The chuunin exams are to be hosted around that time are they not?"
The man waited for a reply, but never received one. Looking up he examined the room he was in now that the light had returned to it. Sensing he was once again alone, he turned and walked out the door behind him while yelling,
"Kabuto! Where are those villagers, the cursed seal must be completed"
--
Sakura was sitting alone in a small patch of woods, not far from the academy, staring rather forlorn at an old willow tree that was slowly dropping its leaves in the cool fall winds that were encroaching on the land of fire. The cool nights wouldn't get much worse than they did now throughout the winter. There was enough geothermal energy being released by the earth around the country to keep it warm, however the old trees still dropped their leaves every fall, as if for once winter was actually coming to the land.
High up in the tree she could see the two hammocks still swaying gently in the breeze. Various items still tied to branches, turning the large branches into a home.
Sighing she picked herself up and began walking towards the training ground where she was supposed to be meeting Yamato and a friend of his to train and talk for a little while.
Wiping the tears that had started forming around her eyes, she began walking towards the ground, only to trip on a piece of wood littering the ground, from where Yamato's house stood during their training. As she reached out to catch herself the came face to face with a small bush of delicate orange flowers growing all over the small clearing.
Pushing herself up onto her knees she gently cradled one of the many flowers with her hand. Smiling, despite the tears that were threatening to fall from her face. She stared at the flower before talking to herself,
"Naruto's Tea Roses"
A voice behind her startled her out of her reverie,
"Do you know the name of that rose Sakura?"
Turning around she was astounded to see both Yamato and the Hokage standing behind her. She jumped to her feet and tried to make herself look presentable. She had not expected to be meeting with the leader of her village that evening. As she was trying to dry the tears in her eyes, Yamato began talking again.
"It took me a while to find the name. Even the renowned Yamanaka flower shop did not know their name. Finally I found the flower in a small shop in the south of fire country. An old lady who lived alone grew them. Apparently at some time in his travel Naruto met up with her and lived with her for a good deal of time. When it came time to leave he made that hybrid tea rose for her. He named it, "Remember Me" (As always the flower does actually exist. Just Google it).
Sakura turned back towards the flowers staring at them, with tears now streaming steadily down her face.
"But the roses are orange… I never saw him wear anything besides black. He had black shirts, pants, sock, vest, even his cloak was black."
The old Hokage chuckled a little at the girl's outburst,
"Sakura, many years ago that same black wearing boy paraded around town in a bright orange jacket. Orange was always his favorite color, but when your life depended on remaining unseen, he had to change. I have no doubt that he still wears orange boxers"
Sakura found herself laughing at the idea of her enigmatic friend running around in a bright pair of orange boxers. Although the laughter slowly broke away, and the poor girl started sobbing.
She was startled when she felt a strong pair of wiry limbs wrap around her torso offering her comfort and rubbing her back gently. Looking up she was surprised to see that the old Hokage had embraced her trying to console her in her misery. Even more surprising was that a lone tear was making its way down the old mans face.
"Sakura, you need to come with Yamato and myself we have much to discuss, and I'm afraid that time is not with us. If we do not act fast, I'm afraid that we will not have time to act at all"
Sakura was a little confused by what the man was talking about, but slowly nodded her head.
"Something is happening here in Konoha Sakura, I can't prove what, but with your help, I may be able to prevent some of it. Unfortunately it seems as though your Sensei and several of the members of the council have at sometime become our enemies. I need your help Sakura"
Sakura looked up at the old man with determination burning in her eyes,
"What do you need of me Hokage-sama"
The old man grimaced at the young girls determination,
"There will come a time, years from now, when you will be needed. It is highly unlikely that either Yamato or I will be alive, but when the moment comes, you will know, and you must act. I am sorry to say that I cannot tell you the details, not because I don't want to, but because I do not know them. A great and ancient evil is falling across the land Sakura, and if we want to stand a chance, we will need someone on the inside."
Sakura stared at the Hokage for a second in disbelief, he was asking her, to stay by the enemy's side. Tears dripping down her face again, she looked towards the old man, her eyes silently pleading him as she spoke,
"How can you ask me to stay by there sides? I'm sure that you know what happened to Naruto-kun. They murdered him, in front of my eyes!" Her voice was sounding more and more distraught as she continued. "They killed him, and I could do nothing! He depended on me! I was supposed to watch his back!"
Sakura fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself, desperately trying to seek comfort where there was none to be had.
The Hokage silently took off his hat and knelt down next to the inconsolable child.
"Unfortunately that is the reason that I am asking you to do this and no one else. You will never forget who you are, despite what ever they will tell you in the future, because you know that beneath their shining faces are cold-hearted men who only seek to further themselves. You once had a crush on the Uchiha did you not? Using that for a cover you can stay close to them, without even having to change how you acted."
The old man stood up, his eyes as sharp as steel as he reached into beneath his robe and withdrew a black ninjato, and dropped it next to the girl.
"The swords name is Joshin no Chinoumi, which mean the Goddess of the Sea of Blood, which is what we need you to become Sakura. We need you to become one of them, fight for them, but never forget the tenth of October, when your greatest friend, was born and died."
As he began walking away Sakura choked out,
"But they'll know, I'm too obvious"
The old man never broke stride as he answered,
"The best place to hide something, is right out in the open, Sakura"
--
Leporello sat quietly beside the fire, dutifully watching over the two young teenagers in front of him. The moon was waning, slowly disappearing from the sky. His two young charges had been asleep for most of the day. The girl, Haku had awoken in the morning and stayed with the boy for most of the day, before finally falling asleep by his side. The girl of course had recognized him immediately; his face was not easily forgotten in the ninja world. Turning to his ever-troublesome companion he broke the late night silence.
"Do you think that the boy will wake back up? I'm not sure that even Amarius can have a lung and half blown away and live to tell about it"
Orpheo looked over towards the sleeping teen,
"He will awake when he is ready. The damage to his lungs has long since been healed. I suspect his absence to this world has more to do with Amarius than it does anything else"
Leporello looked over at his compatriot,
"You think Amarius will actually be able to do it this time?"
Orpheo sighed,
"Its hard to tell really. Its seems as though we have a head start on Titus this time, but its strange that we haven't heard anything from him yet. Amarius and Titus normally return at around the same time"
Leporello stared at the fire,
"Years ago I was talking to a physicist when he brought up a question that was more philosophical than true physics, but it always reminds me of the battles between Amarius and Titus."
Orpheo looked over to his teammate,
'Oh and what's the question?"
"What happens when an unstoppable force, meets an immoveable object?"
Orpheo nodded
"A most confusing subject to be sure, however I'm not sure that particular concept it actually possible. I honestly do not believe that there is any truly unstoppable forces or immovable objects. The kyuubi was said to unstoppable in the demon realm, but Titus found a way to twist it to his own needs, and now Naruto has the fox imprisoned in him by a seal that the fourth Hokage designed. So that would make it at least 3 times that an unstoppable force was stopped"
Leporello lay down on the ground apparently getting ready to get some well-deserved rest.
"Maybe your right. I hope you are at least, because I grow tired of this plight."
Orpheo smirked,
"I would be tired of it too if I was dying all the time, your on what your third life now Leporello?"
Leporello scowled,
"Even you died once Orpheo, the lines on your face are as much a reminder to you as mine are to me"
Orpheo reached up and brushed the lines that were under his eyes, while simultaneously glancing at Leporello and Naruto.
"By the looks of it, Amarius has died 3 times now as well."
Leporello looked over at his partner,
"Yeah so what about it?"
"Well isn't he supposed to be the second coming of Amarius? How is he only the second coming if he's died 3 times?"
Leporello rolled back over,
"You have a lot to learn still Orpheo, Amarius is old enough to make me look like an infant. No one, besides maybe Titus and that old monk, really knows how old the two of them really are. For all we know he could be the fourth Amarius. He's just the second since the formation of The Ancients"
Orpheo laid down into his sleeping bag,
"Hey Leporello, are there ever days that you regret the decision to become Leporello and wish that you were still just Kisame?"
There was a long pause before he heard a quiet response,
"Yeah, but if I didn't it just would have been someone else. It's best not to dwell on it Itachi."
"I suppose your right" With that the pair left the rest to silence as the both settled down for the night and let sleep take them"
--
Naruto was still sitting in the room that contained the seal to the kyuubi talking to the man named Amarius.
"So explain to me again how you ended up in here with the Kyuubi?"
Amarius palmed his face,
"Ok, Ancients do die, but the afterlife won't accept them, so they are sent back. Once we return we find a human spirit and merge with it. So in essence they will become the next Amarius"
Naruto eyed the man,
"So what you're going to take over my body? Because, nothing personal but that's not going to happen"
The tall man with silver hair sat down on a chair that materialized out of nowhere,
"I'm not a ghost that tries to possess you while you're asleep… What happens is that in your childhood something happens that draws our spirits together, then at thirteen we begin merging, until finally at seventeen the merger is complete and you gain all the power of the past Amarius, however you also unfortunately inherit the battle with Titus"
Naruto stared at the man, still looking a little confused,
"Ok so more or less you live inside of me, our spirits are merging, and I'm in the middle of some battle with another guy like you named Titus"
The taller man shrugged and nodded his head,
"Yeah that's pretty much it actually"
Naruto pointed a thumb out over his shoulder at the giant blue sphere behind him,
"So where does the big fuzz ball come into play here. I get that the Yondaime sealed him into me, but with everything else going on I'm assuming that this wasn't an accident."
Amarius spared a glance at the 'big fuzz ball' as Naruto had so eloquently put it. "Well in all honesty it is quite possible that it was merely a series of random events that led to that particular demon being stuck into you. But, if you ask me I would say that someone was trying to level the playing field."
Naruto stared at the man,
"Level the playing field?"
Amarius shifted his attention over to his new young apprentice,
"The war you are entering has been going on for longer than your worlds history can remember. Due to a… falling out… Titus and I have been battling for control for a very long time. Due to the circumstances that brought us to war though, we were created as polar opposites of one another in terms of ability, I have complete control, and he has the power. That 'He points to the seal' demon however holds a great source of power that is slowly but surely becoming yours to wield, so by the time the process is complete, you will have my control and skill, with that demons power."
Naruto stared wide-eyed at the large seal,
"So Titus is the bad guy right? He did something evil?"
Titus laughed,
"I would of thought that by this point in your life that you would of realized that there is no set parameters to determine what is good an evil." The tall man stood up and met Naruto's stare, "We will have more time for this discussion later, now we need to begin your training…"
--
Sasuke lay tossing and turning in his sleep, a new nightmare was worming its way into his psyche,
-Inside His Dreams-
Sasuke sat alone in a barren wasteland; the ground was hard with cracks forming in the dry cold that was creeping in after the sun had sunk well beyond the rims of the horizon. Around him there was a single grave, with a wooden cross that was haphazardly lashed together. A tall lean man was with wearing a dull black trench coat stood in front of him facing the small unnamed grave. Long black hair cascaded over the mans shoulders and reached towards the small of his back. A silver sheathed sword rested on his hip, the style seemed to be similar to the western rapier, elegant and deadly.
The man slowly bent at his knees and took a handful of the soil into his pale hand, letting the individual grains run through his fingers and return to the barren earth.
"What fools these mortals be…" muttered the man.
"You say something?"
Sasuke spun around; he hadn't sensed another person when he first awoke in this wasteland.
The man standing behind him was taller than the man in front of him, wearing a long black cloak, the hem resting lightly on the dry soil beneath. A large scythe rested on the mans back, His face was as pale as the skin of the other mans, but his hair was a silvery color in contrast to the other man's black color.
"These mortals are fools, they are given his love, his protection, and all they have to do is embrace it, and they are forgiven. Free will is theirs to have, but their own greed blinds them. All they have to do is ask for his forgiveness and all is forgotten, no other species in the universal can claim that power, and yet the forsake it."
The black haired man never turned to face the silver one behind him as he spoke. There was a tension in the air that was almost palpable.
"That is why he sent us here though isn't it, we're trying to remove the infection before it spreads"
The silver haired man spoke kindly, trying to reach out to the black haired on in front of him.
"We both know its not working, we've been here for half a millennia and nothing has changed. It will never change, these creatures will never learn, they will kill and rape until their wicked plague has engulfed the planet, and then there will be nothing remaining. Then in their dying moments, God will have us erase his work and save a few, and restart the process until he once again calls on us to retard the evils growth. It is a never ending cycle"
Finishing his sentence the black haired man turned around, and stared at the other,
"Come with me Amaranth, we can stop this together, we will succeed where he has failed. Together none can stand in our wake, my power and your ancient wisdom and we will rule forever."
The silver haired mans eyes clouded over, as if he were fighting some inside quarrel,
"You have fallen from grace haven't you Mephistopheles?"
Mephistopheles burst into laughter,
"Grace! What grace? We are tools to his whims. We have been around since the dawn of time and all we do is destroy his work when it grows out of his control. We have no more grace than a thief on the streets."
Mephistopheles turned back around facing the grave.
"Today I was told to destroy this city, and I did, but in doing so, I felt something Amaranth, something I had never felt before in my entire existence… I felt remorse for what I had done. I destroyed innocent children on his mere whim. I am tired of being a tool for his petty desires to create a world that cannot exist."
Amaranth looked over his long time friend and companion,
"If you have fallen Mephistopheles, he will come after you, he will send me after you"
Mephistopheles turned around,
"Which is why if we stand together, nothing will stop us. These wretched humans don't deserve everything that they have, their freedom of choice, when was the last time you ever got to make your own decision Amaranth? Yet they get that freedom every year, no other being in the universe can make such a claim, yet they above all, are the darkest beings I have ever had to kill. So I am going to take it away, they will live under the banner of the stars, my stars."
Amaranth looked abashed at the concept,
"You intend to destroy their free wi…"
Sasuke was confused, whatever it was that he was seeing was quickly fading away, and he could no longer hear what the tall man named Amaranth was saying.
"Well, well, well… what do we have here? Are you the one known as Sasuke?"
Sasuke spun around to find himself standing in front a tall man, with pin straight black hair cascading around his shoulders. He was adorned in a strange black cuirass that appeared to have been woven out of black strips of steel.
"Who are you?" Ordered Sasuke in the most imposing voice that he could muster.
"Who am I?" Replied the tall man, "I go by many names depending on who is asking, but for all intents and purposes, I am the timeless tenacious terrorist who is tired of the endless tirade of your treasonous travesty. Tomorrow I dare say I will be thought of as tortuous, but today, you may call me, Titus"
Sasuke stared at the man in front of him, "Titus? Then what do you want from me."
Titus smiled at the child, "What do I want from you? I want nothing, this is only a dream after all"
Sasuke sat straight up in his large bed, his eyes darting around the room; his breathing was fast and uneven. Drawing a deep breath he slowed down his racing heart.
'What the hell was that?'
--
Naruto sat up with a groan. He brought a hand up to his head in a failing attempt to stop the world that was rapidly revolving around him. Fighting back the bile that was rising in the back of his throat, he slowly opened his eye's bringing light into his vision for the first time in two days.
"How are you feeling Naruto-kun?"
Naruto looked to his side to see a rather disheveled Haku staring at him intently, worry evident on her tired face.
"I'm… Better"
Haku raised an eyebrow,
"Orpheo and Leporello should be back soon, they went to get some food. Do you want any water or something?"
Naruto nodded his head lightly, trying to further agitate the still spinning world.
"My equilibrium is completely off, I can't barely see straight," Naruto mumbled.
Haku handed him a small flask of water, letting him drink deeply as he tried to settle his turbulent stomach. As he finished he wiped off his mouth and dropped the now empty flask to the sand beach below him. Putting his head back into his hands, he mumbled,
"What happened, last thing I remember, I was fighting you after you killed Sakura…"
At this point he jumped back to his feet trying to get some distance between himself and Haku. When he landed he started swaying precariously, until he began to fall forward, straight into Haku's arms. Haku had expected him to fight her off, but instead Naruto clung to her for dear life, as he began crying.
"Haku, you killed her… She was my first and only friend before you came…"
Haku tried to console Naruto, lightly rubbing his back and holding him tightly to her,
"Shhh.., its ok Naruto, she's not dead…"
Naruto pulled back and stared at the girl,
"Not dead? But I saw you hit her with your needles and she dropped to the ground."
Haku stared right into his eyes,
"I only hit a nerve, she should have woken up within an hour or two."
Naruto sank back into Haku's arms,
"Thank God…"
Suddenly a voice from behind them spoke out,
"I wouldn't be thanking God just yet, you two have no idea what you got yourself sucked into."
Naruto looked over Haku's shoulder to see a tall, blue skinned man standing behind them, with a large wrapped sword strapped to his back.
"Who are you?"
The man laughed,
"You may call me Leporello if you wish, but this time knows me better as Kisame."
Naruto stared at the tall man for a long moment,
"Leporello? Then you are one of the Ancients are you not?"
A voice behind the tall man started to laugh,
"See Leporello, I told you that Amarius was talking to the child and that is why he was still asleep."
Naruto frowned,
"Well if that's Leporello then you must be Orpheo"
The black haired Orpheo stepped out from behind his teammate,
"Well deduced Naruto, I see that you have already begun your merger with Amarius then"
Naruto stared at the two men in front of him,
"How can you tell?"
This time Leporello spoke up,
"Your hair is already beginning to change, taking on the silver hue of Amarius's"
Naruto grabbed the metal flask that he had drunk from earlier, and rubbed the side of it with the inside of his shirt to polish is up a little. Lifting it up he used the flatter side as a mirror, sure enough, just like Leporello had pointed out his hair wasn't quite as wild looking and was less of bright yellow and closer to a platinum color.
Glancing over towards Haku who was watching him concernedly, then back towards the two men,
"So what else will change?"
Orpheo answered,
"Well traditionally you'll grow tall, and have silver hair, outside of that though you pretty much stay the way you were meant to be. Remember your merging with Amarius, not being taken over by him"
Naruto sat back down on the sand right where he was,
"So will someone please tell me what all has happened, last thing I can remember clearly I was holding Haku, then it all kind of goes blank"
The two men shared a glance,
"This one is all yours Haku, we're going to go start cooking dinner"
With that the two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto turned a questioning eye to Haku,
"So what happened?"
Haku sat down next to him, looking out to the sea, where in the distance you could just make out Tazuna's bridge.
"Well it seems that your sensei made an attempt to kill you. When you were holding me up, he ran up behind you. I thought he was coming to kill me so I didn't warn you, but he apparently wasn't aiming for me. He drove this ball of lightning right through your chest and threw us both over the edge of the bridge. I honestly don't remember much after that. We were kind of stuck together, and you sank like a brick for some reason, which dragged me down to the bottom. Next thing I remember, Kis… I mean Leporello was taking care of us."
Naruto stared out at the sea,
"Kakashi actually tried to kill me?"
Haku sighed,
"It wasn't just him though, it looks like Sasuke was in on it as well. He knocked out your client then went in to kill Zabuza…"
At this point the girl broke down into light sobs. Naruto looked over to at her,
"You were very close to Zabuza weren't you?"
Haku nodded her head,
"He raised me since I was just a young girl. He found me almost frozen and starved to death. He took me in, gave me a life. He taught me everything I know, and helped with my bloodline."
Naruto reached over and pulled the girl up close,
"Tomorrow then, we will make a grave for Zabuza, he deserves at least that much"
--
Several hours later Naruto, Haku, Leporello, and Orpheo sat quietly around a fire, having finished their meager dinner. Leporello, added a little more wood to the fire, and started up another conversation.
"Tomorrow we will begin training the two of you. Naruto, Orpheo will train you in understanding how to use more of Amarius's techniques. I have no doubt that when you sleep, Amarius will begin training you as well. Haku, I will begin training you as well."
Haku looked at Leporello,
"Why would you want to train me?"
Leporello stared at the girl.
"Because whether you want to admit it or not, Sapho, you are as much a part of this as the rest of us. So we will begin training the girl, whether you show yourself to her or not"
Haku stared at the blue man as if he were insane,
"Who are you talking to?"
"You'll find out soon enough I am sure. But now it is time for sleep, you both have a lot to do and we only have about a month and a half to do it. I plan on having both of you capable by that point."
Naruto looked over to Orpheo,
"Why? What happens in a month and a half?"
Orpheo was already laying himself down on his ground mat near the fire,
"Konoha is hosting the chuunin exams, and we have a promise to keep"
Seeing that Orpheo and Leporello were already starting to doze, Naruto stood up and began walking over to where his ground mat was located. As he stood up he felt something grab his hand. Looking behind me he saw Haku staring at the ground.
"Umm… Naruto I was wondering if you would play me a song before we went to bed, it would help me relax."
Naruto smiled faintly,
"Of course Haku-chan" He reached into his cloak and withdrew the small sealed scroll that contained his prized violin, removing it from the scroll, he lightly ran some bees wax along the bow, before starting the familiar sad tune that he first played for Sakura weeks ago on that hellish ordeal.
Haku sat down on a tree that over hung the incoming tide, and stared at the moon, Naruto slowly walked up next to her and took a seat, without ever missing a single note. After several minutes he let the violin fall from its resting spot under his chin as he sat in a quiet tranquility next to Haku. Slowly, Haku leaned over and rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, as Naruto wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling he close. Haku quietly whispered,
"You're not going to leave me too are you Naruto? Your all I have left…"
Naruto pulled her a little closer,
"Of course not Haku, we're in this together now…" Reaching slowing into his vest he pulled out the pair of rings hanging on the silver chain. Opening the clasp, he slid the rings into his open palm. Haku stared at the pair of rings; the first was larger and had a blue hue to the metal. The second was noticeably smaller, and was completely silver, almost white in color. Both had a unique symbol carved into them, if her memory served her correctly, it was an infinity symbol, but the crossing lines in the center didn't quite meet, leaving the symbol incomplete (I forgot that fanfiction doesn't let you embed links, so here's the symbol that I mentioned naturesintention(DOT)ca/ESW/Images/infinity_symbol(DOTjpg)
Naruto looked at the girl who was innocently leaning against him.
"I've had these rings as long as I can remember" Sliding the blue one onto his right ring finger, he put the other one into Haku's hand.
"I think you should have this one Haku, that way you know that your not alone"
Haku picked up the silver ring and slid it onto her right ring finger,
"Thank you Naruto-kun"
She snuggled into his warmth a little as he gave her a one armed hug.
Back towards the beach, Leporello and Orpheo were both sitting back up watching the two of them. Orpheo broke the silence quietly,
"Amazing, he already knows how to play Amarius's violin."
Leporello nodded in agreement,
"And I think I found a cover for them to get into Konoha as well."
Orpheo raised an eyebrow,
"Do tell?"
Leporello lay back down on the mat,
"In the morning, we'll start training them then, let them have tonight though. They lost a lot recently."
Orpheo watched the pair of them,
"Are you sure they should stay unsupervised?"
Leporello rolled over facing his friend,
"They're only 13 and 14, it's not like their going to do anything drastic. All they need is a little time."
Orpheo slowly lay back down on his mat,
"If you say so"
--
Back in Konoha, Sakura was staring at the sword that was lying in her hands. Using the money that the Hokage had given her, she had gone out and bought a new set of clothes to wear. She no longer wore the bright red dress of her childhood. In its place now was a white kimono, similar to what many of the Hyuuga clan wore. But where theirs were loose, hers was tight, hugging the body. Her hair was done up into a small bun on the top of her head. The bun was held in place by a single light yellow pin. A pale pink obi held the kimono shut, and tucked into the back of the obi was the now ever present sword joshin no Chinoumi.
For the past two weeks she had been training relentlessly with her new sword and tutors. Various Anbu had been assigned to train her while Sasuke and Kakashi were away for a four-week long mission. Apparently Sasuke had done something to anger the Hokage, because for another two week, he and Kakashi were hired farm hands somewhere out in the countryside.
Standing back up, she began working on her genjutsu techniques again. In the next two weeks she had to finish her transformation. Using the death of her friend as a cover she was slowly transforming herself into "The Goddess of the Sea of Blood". Her interim trainers all agreed that she was ruthless and cunning. Her skills for genjutsu were growing by leaps and bounds, along with her skills with the blade. He bow, was still safely sealed away, with the scroll tucked into her obi.
As she was finishing her tri-layer genjutsu she heard a soft clapping from behind her. Spinning around she immediately drew her sword and held it at the person's throat. Standing behind her was an old man, bandages covered most of the mans face, save his left eye and mouth. He was wearing white robes, with a black sort robe turned sling, to hold his right arm. In his left arm there was a simple wooden walking stick.
The old man brushed the sword tip away,
"There is no need for that child. I am only here to help you."
Sakura dropped the sword back down to her side,
"Help me? How?"
The man walked past her towards the heroes' stone.
"I've heard that you've taken the death of your friend rather hard, and that you've thrown yourself into training so that your other teammate won't meet the same fate."
Sakura stared at the man,
"Is there a point to this conversation?"
The man chuckled, although it seemed out of place, as if he was forcing it.
"Of course there is my dear child. I've come to offer you're a place in Konoha's future. You may not know it, but Sasuke is being groomed to be the next leader of this village, and when he is, he will need a silent and deadly right hand man. I'm offering you the chance to be that person."
Sakura sheathed her sword and face the man fully,
"I'm listening"
The man smiled,
"Good, then why don't you come with me to my office, where we can discuss this further."
They walked across the town towards the Hokage tower. Soon they had passed the tower and were at the base of the Hokage monument. In the shadow of the Nidaime sat a small nondescript office building of sorts. Following behind the old man, they walked through the front door and to an office that faced a training ground behind the building. She could see a couple of ninja out there training; given by their techniques she would guess that they were academy students. The old man sat down behind an old mahogany desk, and motioned for Sakura to take a seat on the chair in front of him.
"If you decide to help our cause, Sakura, I can guarantee you the best training that the village has to offer. By the time the chuunin exams roll around you will be fully capable of holding your own against any opponents, and all I ask in return, is loyalty."
Sakura stared at the man,
"So all I have to do is agree to help you, and you'll train me?"
The man nodded his head,
A slightly creepy grin broke Sakura's face,
"So when do I start?"
The man smiled,
"Immediately, I will place you under the tutelage of some of my greatest students. But you will need a codename, as of this day forward, Haruno Sakura is no more, you are The Black Hand of Konoha"
Sakura's smile faltered,
"If I may make a suggestion, I have another name that I would like to go by if it is permissible."
The man didn't respond so Sakura continued,
"May I go by the name of my sword, Joshin no Chinoumi, The Goddess of the Sea of Blood?"
The man smiled,
"That is a good name for one such as yourself child, that will be your name from now until the end of your days. I will call your training partner, he will take you to your quarters."
On some silent command, another ninja appeared next to Sakura,
"What do you require Danzo-sama?"
Danzo stood up,
"Sai, this is your new partner, Joshin no Chinoumi, or Joshin for short. Show her to her quarters and begin her training immediately."
The young man named Sai bowed his head again,
"Yes Danzo-sama" He turned to Sakura, "If you are ready Joshin, we will leave immediately."
Sakura nodded her head and followed the peculiar boy out of the room.
As soon as they had left the room, the boy named Sai turned to Sakura,
"Joshin? If you don't mind my asking how did you receive such and unusual title?"
Sakura smiled lightly,
"Coming back from a recent solo mission after one of my teammates was brutally killed, I was attacked by a group of bandits. I killed every single one of them, until their blood turned the worn trail into a large pool of blood. One of the men I was guarding called me that name, and I guess it kind of stuck"
Sai smiled a disgustingly fake smile onto his face,
"You are a most interesting person Joshin no Chinoumi"
--
Later that evening Danzo was sitting outside a farmhouse on the out skirts of Konoha. Finally after sitting on a old wooden bench for near an hour, Sasuke and Kakashi came walking out of the house towards the old man.
As they neared Danzo stood up and greeted the pair of them.
"I have finished the arrangements for the chuunin exams in a month. At the exams you will be teamed up with the pair that will guard you for the rest of your life Sasuke. I have ensured that they will be forever faithful to you and your ambitions."
Sasuke smiled,
"Good, what are my new teammate's names?"
Danzo pulled out a small scroll,
"The first is a child I have trained since he was very young. He is known as Sai, he will be your weapon from this day forth. The second one is someone with whom you are already familiar. She was once known as Haruno Sakura, but after the death of your old teammate Naruto, and a rather ugly solo mission she took, she now goes by the name of Joshin no Chinoumi. He codename is Joshin though, and I assure you that she is not the same girl who you used to know."
Sasuke took the scroll that contained the information on his two teammates,
"Good, the I assume that Kakashi will continue my training and these two pawns will be trained by you and your men Danzo?"
Danzo nodded,
"We will not trouble you with their training, they will follow you to the ends of the earth Sasuke, and they are always your faithful tools."
A sinister smile broke Sasuke's face as the three began walking back to Konoha.
The world may not of known it at the time, but in the years to come, those two would be the most powerful lieutenants in his military. Sai would come to be known as Tsurugi no Konoha, the sword of Konoha. And Sakura, Joshin no Chinoumi, the right hand of the Hokage.
--
Naruto woke early to meet with his new sensei Orpheo. The man was brutal, but he could not deny the results he was producing. His training with his old Sensei, Yamato, had taught him how to use his weapons and skill, but this man, was refining it. And with the history and theory he was learning from Amarius in his dreams, he was quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Standing up he brushed the sleep out of his eyes. He quickly grabbed his vest and heavy cloak to help ward off the chill present in the air. Pulling it tightly around his shoulders, he fingered the large hole that was still present on the front and back of his cloak. He had planned on replacing the cloak right away, but Orpheo advised him to wait until after they finished training. Which now looking at it, it was a good idea; his cloak had become rather tattered during his training.
Naruto collected some firewood and stoked the fire up so he could begin making some breakfast for the group. Not long after the fire was lit Haku showed up with fresh water and some rice.
Within an hour the four of them were sitting in quiet company eating the breakfast of dried fish and rice.
Leporello broke the silence as he addressed Haku,
"Haku, meet me out on the water in an hour we will continue working on your control of your bloodline"
Haku nodded, and then Orpheo spoke up,
"Naruto, we will meet in the clearing, today we will work on your weapons training in the morn, and your ninjutsu in the afternoon."
Naruto nodded
Orpheo and Leporello stood up and went off to do some training of their own before they started. In the meantime it was expected of Naruto and Haku to spar.
Haku looked over to her friend,
"So where are we going to spar this morning Naruto?"
Naruto sighed,
"I suppose that you want to spar over on the water again don't you?"
Haku smiled,
"Well its only fair, we both know that if we fight in the forest or anywhere like that you'll win because of your hiding techniques. At least on the open water I stand a fair chance."
Naruto frowned,
"Fine, but no using your mirrors this time"
Haku sighed,
"Why not, you can just cut them apart anyways?"
Naruto groaned,
"Fine use your mirrors"
Haku smiled and gave Naruto a quick hug,
"Great lets get going" She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the beachfront.
Inside Naruto's head he could hear Amarius laughing at him.
Out on the water, Haku drew water up around her and let it slowly spiral around her waiting. Naruto drew two of his trusty knives and fell into a comfortable stance. On some silent signal Naruto ran forward and Haku shot a spear of ice straight at him. As the spear almost made contact Naruto split into three and dodged, one jumping up, and one to either side. Haku quickly drew a bubble of ice around herself as the one the jumped up threw the knife at her. The knife bounced harmlessly off the bubble. Seeing an opportunity she thrust out her right arm. The sphere of ice shattered sending a wave of razor sharp pieces flying all around her. All three Naruto's quickly used shunshin to escape the onslaught.
Haku stood in place and slowly looked around herself waiting for Naruto to come out of hiding. As she waited she slowly began to sweat, despite the chill still present in the morning air.
'Where is he? As long as I can see him I still stand a chance'
Suddenly she felt a tug on her right ankle, looking down she gasped as she saw a familiar bright blue string winding its way along her leg.
"Well crud…"
Was all she got out before she was thrown high into the air. As she reached the peak of her flight, she saw five other strands flying towards her. Summoning some ice to her hand she formed a sword with a razor sharp edge and infused as much chakra into it as she could. She swung with all her might at the approaching strings. She successfully cut through the first two of the blades, but the remaining three broke through her sword and wrapped their way around her arms and left leg.
Knowing she could no longer move the strings lowered her slowly to the top of the water and gently set her on her feet. Naruto appeared seemingly out of nowhere as her feet touched.
She glared at him, quite upset at losing so quickly,
"When did you get time to put up a genjutsu?"
Naruto laughed,
"When you threw your spear at me I had three clones go separate directions while I dropped down below the waters surface. The moment you made that thick dome to protect yourself, I cast the genjutsu."
Haku sighed and sat down on the top of the water,
"Its not fair how quickly you learn some days Naruto-kun. Just a couple of weeks ago you could barely beat me and now you make it look like I'm some wet behind the ears academy student"
Naruto extended a hand to his friend,
"Come on Haku-chan, we both know that I'm not that good, I'm just learning strategies from someone with thousands of years of practice. Its kind of an unfair advantage"
Haku took his hand and let herself be pulled up to her feet.
"Still, I won't give up yet"
Naruto stepped back and dropped into his stance,
"Good, I wouldn't have it any other way"
Haku dropped back into her stance, getting ready to go for another round.
From shore, Leporello and Orpheo looked on with mild interest,
"Naruto has certainly gotten much more powerful, but are you sure that Haku is the right one?"
Leporello sighed,
"She should be, all the clues pointed to her."
Orpheo, still watching his student sparring over on the ocean, continued,
"True, but despite your comment that first night, she has not awakened yet. It doesn't make sense. There must be something missing, but I'm not sure what it is."
Leporello looked over at his companion,
"I say that tomorrow we go and ask the others and see if they remember something that we don't. If nothing else it would do the two of them good to have a day off and have some fun instead of training all the time."
Orpheo nodded as he turned around,
"Tomorrow it is then, for know we need to practice, we only have about an hour before we're supposed to start their training again.
--
Later that day Naruto was standing a clearing roughly a half-mile inland from where they made their shelter. Across from him stood Orpheo, his ornate rapier resting lightly in his hand. He stood perpendicular to Naruto, who was wielding his deadly scythe.
"Again" commanded his sensei.
Naruto leapt forward and with a flourish brought his heavier scythe down towards his sensei who deftly blocked the larger more cumbersome scythe with the lower portion of his sword. Twirling his lighter more nimble blade in a circle, he jerked Naruto's scythe out of his hands. Not loosing a beat Naruto drew a pair of his knives and continued the fight. After several minutes of close combat, Naruto smirked as he successfully locked his sensei's sword between two of his knives. His smirk quickly faded though as Orpheo pushed through the block and punched Naruto in the face with the heavy metal wires surrounding his fist.
Naruto fell backwards and rolled on the ground. As he stopped he felt the now familiar prick of his sensei's sword coming to rest on his throat.
"You've gotten better Naruto, but your still a long way from where you may be. Never assume that just because you've stopped an opponents weapon that he is completely useless."
Naruto grunted as he drew himself up to his feet and wipe the blood off his quickly healing split lip.
Orpheo tossed Naruto his water flask,
"Here drink some water and take a break, we've been at this for three hours"
Naruto accepted the flask and dropped down to the ground, resting beneath a nearby tree for some shade. He quickly drained the flask and let it drop to his side.
"Orpheo-sensei, you said later that we would be working on jutsus right"
Orpheo nodded his head,
"Yes, I plan on working on your genjutsu some more. With your fighting style and control, genjutsu is a must. Your mists are effective, but unless conditions are favorable you cannot maintain them."
Naruto nodded in understanding, although he was a little surprised when Orpheo started talking again, Naruto had long since noticed that Orpheo was a little bit off and tended to keep to himself unless there was an obvious reason for him to be talking.
"Tomorrow Leporello and myself have to go look into something, so you and Haku will have the day to yourselves. You are not to spar or train in any way. You may heal quickly, but Haku does not, so it is imperative that she take some time to rest"
Naruto nodded in understanding,
"So where are you and Leporello going?"
Orpheo, picking up the empty flask, intending on refilling it from a nearby stream,
"We have to check on something with some of our friends. We will be back by the following days sunrise."
Naruto laid his head down, letting himself doze lightly while his sensei went to refill the water.
Too soon for Naruto's taste, Orpheo had returned and ordered Naruto back to his feet.
"Your genjutsu is getting much better. I saw you use a false surrounding and camouflage genjutsu against Haku today in your spar. However, I am going to begin teaching you technique that will be the beginning of one of Amarius most feared techniques, ozoke no an'ya, (Fear of the Dark). However before you'll be able to use that technique you'll need to be much faster and have better chakra control."
Naruto jumped back to his feet, excited to learn a new technique,
"So where do we start"
Orpheo smiled,
"First we'll begin with a technique that another ancient shared with Konoha almost a hundred years ago…
--
Out on the water, Haku stood in just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, trying to save the rest of her clothing from becoming sopping wet. Leporello was a veritable genius when it came to manipulating the elements. Water, fire, lightning, whatever, it seemed that if there was an attack for an element then he most likely knew it.
Her ineptness at water jutsu was becoming more and more apparent as Leporello constantly outclassed the poor girl at every turn.
"Your getting better Haku, but your agility needs quite a bit of work before you'll be good enough to match Naruto in a fight."
Haku let herself fall into the water and float there.
"I'm wiped sensei, we've been out here for near five hours now making me dance around all your techniques"
Leporello looked up at the sky, seeing the sun begin to turn orange in preparation for its sunset.
"Your right, that's enough for the day fell free to rest there until you have enough energy. I need to fetch Orpheo we need to get heading out."
With that the tall man disappeared with a crack of lightning. Haku sighed, as she floated lightly in the salt water. She was far enough from shore that the waves didn't move her much, just a gentle rocking back and forth. After a couple of minutes she saw a shadow fall across over her face. Opening her eyes she found herself face to face with Naruto.
"Long day Haku-chan?"
Haku just sighed,
"I'm just tired that's all Naruto-kun, I'm just going to float here for a while"
Naruto sighed as he reached down and pulled the lighter girl into his arms and out of the water.
"If you stay out here to long Haku-chan your going to get sick, and then all I'll have for company are Leporello and Orpheo. Don't get me wrong, I like our sensei, but they're not…normal"
Haku giggled,
"They are rather unique aren't they?"
Naruto laughed,
"No, a snowflake is unique, those two are down right nuts sometimes"
Haku laughed again,
"You mean like the time they had a S.C.A.S. because they were bored after dinner?"
Naruto laughed as he began walking towards shore with Haku resting comfortably in his arms.
"Special Culinary Ammunitions Spar my ass, all they did was have a ridiculous food fight."
Haku scowled
"Language Naruto-kun"
Naruto smiled apologetically,
"My bad Haku-chan"
Stepping onto dry land he deposited Haku on a towel near the fire as he went about making food for them, since it seemed as if their Sensei had already left the two of them. Working quietly Naruto prepared several cups of instant ramen and Haku slowly dried off in the warm evening air.
"Naruto? Do you know where my bag went?"
Naruto looked behind him to see Haku looking around for her travel bag that had her spare clothes and sleeping gear in it. Glancing around to where the bag normal sat, against a rock with all the other gear, he was surprised to see the bag gone.
"I'm not sure, Leporello may have taken it with him on accident. It was the same as the rest of their traveling gear."
Haku pulled her knees up tightly to her chest,
"Great, all my warm clothes are in there…"
Naruto stood up and unfastened his heavy cloak from his shoulders and draped it around Haku.
"It's got a few holes in it, but its still warm"
Haku looked up to Naruto,
"Won't you be cold then?"
Naruto smiled,
"Maybe, but I'll just sit closer to the fire to stay warm. Besides I don't want you to get sick or anything"
Haku smiled as she drew the heavy cloak around herself, enjoying the warmth it brought. After a couple of minutes, Naruto handed her a cup of steaming ramen and a pair of wooden chopsticks.
"It's not much for dinner, but I didn't have time to get any food earlier today. Besides ramen is always good"
Haku smiled at her friend's cheerful attitude as she gratefully accepted the warm noodles. With the sun falling the temperature was rapidly cooling. During the days it was warm enough, but with the cool waters surrounding the island, the moment that sun went down, the area cooled considerably, and would stay that way until near noon the next day.
The two ate their noodles in a comfortable silence. By the time they had finished the sun was resting just on the far horizon, just above the edge of the world.
Haku sighed,
"The sun always looks so big at dawn and sunset. Its so beautiful"
Naruto stared at the sun,
"It looks bigger because as it sets, the curvature of the earth work like a big magnifying glass."
Haku stared at him like he had a second head, before Naruto shrugged,
"What? Amarius is making me learn sciences"
Haku laughed, as she drew cloak tightly around herself.
"Naruto, would you."
But before she could even complete her sentence she saw Naruto unseal his violin and wax his bow. But to her amusement she saw him summon a clone, outfitted with another violin.
"I have something special tonight Haku"
Naruto played a short Celtic sounding line and his clone echoed it back. They went back and forth a couple of times before they started playing a fast paced piece. To Haku's utter amazement she heard drums playing in the background as well. The piece went on for several minutes. It switched tempos, mood, and everything. Sometimes she swore she could hear more drums or another violin kick in as Naruto and his clone played back and forth. At one point she was certain she heard a flute playing as well. The song picked up pace near the end. And after a couple minutes of utter amazement Naruto finished with a flourish and a big stupid grin on his face. His clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. (Once again if you're wondering about the song, look for Dueling Violins on youtube, it's a little hard to describe but I think its kinda cool)
"So what do you think?"
Haku stared at her friend slack jawed,
"How did you do that? I mean I get the duet but the drums and everything else? I can't sense any other clones out there?"
Naruto laughed,
"Nope it was just me and the one clone"
Haku jumped up to her feet so she was level with Naruto,
"Then how did you do all that?" She asked waving her hands around
Naruto smiled,
"Its part of a chakra control thing that Orpheo has been teaching me. My Sending out chakra in distinct wave patterns you can make sound. I'm not nearly as good at it as he is, but something like a drum and a flute I can do fairly well, so he taught me that piece"
Haku sat back down,
"That's amazing Naruto-kun, your like a one man band"
Naruto smiled,
"That's the idea anyways, we're going to use that piece and a few others as a cover to get into the chuunin exams in a few weeks"
Haku raised an eyebrow,
"How is you playing the violin going to get us into the chuunin exams exactly?"
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly,
"Ok well maybe not actually into the exams, but into Konoha at least. Along with the exams there are festivals and huge markets set up filled with entertainers. So Orpheo wants us to get in passing off as a group of entertainers. Honestly I don't know the details but that's what he explained to me"
Naruto sat down next to Haku,
"So we have the day off tomorrow, what would you like to do since we can't train?"
Haku stared at the fire,
"I don't know maybe visit Zabuza's grave again. It's been almost a week since we were out to see it"
Naruto stared at his friend,
"That's a good idea Haku-chan, tomorrow we'll go say hello to Zabuza"
Haku smiled,
"He would of liked you, you know that Naruto-kun? Under different circumstance, I bet the two of you would of gotten along great."
Naruto laughed,
"What would make you say that Haku? I mean I hate to disagree, but he didn't seem to fond of me after we first met"
Haku frowned,
"Maybe but, I think your wrong"
Naruto sighed and laid back in the now cold sand,
"Maybe, I would of liked to get to know the man better."
Haku smiled thinking of all her fond memories with Zabuza,
"He really was something else you know? People always called him the demon, but if you got to know him, you knew he hated that stigma"
Naruto lifted his head up to look at his friend,
"Its getting late Haku-chan we should get some sleep. I'll make breakfast in the morning"
With that Naruto stood up and walked over to his mat and pulled his blanket out of his pack to keep warm. Haku pulled Naruto's heavy cloak in tight around her. She heard Naruto adding wood to the fire, after a moment's silence she suddenly heard that familiar sad violin playing nearby. Looking up she saw Naruto sitting on his mat, playing for her as she drifted off to sleep. Within moments she was sound asleep. Naruto quietly resealed his violin and laid himself down for bed. Minutes later he too fell into a calm sleep.
--
Hours later Naruto was awoken by a loud crash of thunder as a large rain laden cloud began pouring down of the top of him. Sitting straight up, he noticed how black it was out. The sun was completely blocked off by a huge storm cloud. Large incoming waves were almost reaching their sleeping grounds on the beach.
Leaping off his mat he quickly began packing everything that shouldn't get wet and sealing it into a scroll. Haku followed his example; apparently the loud cracks of thunder had woken her up as well.
Once everything was packed up Naruto grabbed Haku's hand and yelled,
"There's some shelter near the clearing"
With that the pair sprinted for shelter from the onslaught of rain and lightning. Making his way over a small hill towards the clearing, Naruto ducked underneath a small rocky overhang. It only jutted out a few feet, but it was enough that it kept the rain off of them.
Naruto unsealed his semi-dry ground mat and laid it parallel to the cliff to keep it dry and sat down. Haku sat down right next to him.
"Are you ok Haku-chan?"
Haku looked down,
"Mostly, but I cut my hand on something as we were packing up"
Naruto looked over at her, and she appeared to be cradling her left hand. Naruto took the hand lightly; sure enough right across her palm was a cut about two inches long. It wasn't too deep though. Naruto reached down and cut a swathe of fabric from the hem of his shirt,
"It's not an ideal wrapping, but it will help keep dirt out of it"
He gently wrapped the cut several times before neatly tucking the end into the folds to keep it from coming undone. Once done he looked up to see Haku staring straight at his face. Making eye contact with her he couldn't help a small blush from spreading across his face.
Haku watched quietly as Naruto tenderly wrapped her cut palm. He was so gentle, making sure to not put any pressure directly onto the cut. When he was done she looked up at his face and stared at his blue eyes, her breath hitched a little,
'God those eyes are amazing'
Noticing that Naruto had caught her staring she broke eye contact, and looked away blushing.
A few minutes passed in silence at the pair sat with just a few inches between them. As the rain continued to pound, within minutes they were both reduced to shivering.
"I'm freezing," muttered Haku, through a pair of chattering teeth.
Naruto nodded his head in agreement, before he began taking off his knife vest, leaving only his skintight black shirt on beneath it. He reached over and wrapped an arm around Haku.
"Come here Haku-chan"
Haku slid over the best she could without exposing herself to anymore of the rain. Once she got close, Naruto wrapped his arms around her tightly and drew a damp blanket out of a pack and draped it around both of them. Haku squirmed a little bit before she said,
"I need to get this cloak off, it's soaking wet and really heavy"
Drawing back the blanket, Naruto helped pull the large cloak off her shoulders and set it on the ground next to him. Wrapping his arms and the blanket around her once again, he felt Haku lean back slowly into his chest. After sitting there for a while, he felt her shivers slowly come to a stop.
The storm kept raging for hours with lightning flashing ever couple of minutes, robbing them of any sleep they may have gotten. After a particularly loud thunder crash he felt Haku jump in his arms.
"Haku, back at Tazuna's, what was that song that you sang for me?"
Haku tilted her head to the side,
"You mean that Lullaby right?"
Naruto nodded his head,
"Do you think that maybe, you could sing it again for me?"
Haku began singing softly,
Good night my angel time to close you eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Where ever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away
Good night my angel now it's time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I'm rocking you to sleep
The water's dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me
Goodnight my angel now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child will cry and if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me
Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on
They never die that's how you and I will be
As the singing ended Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a light hug,
"Thank you Haku-chan"
Haku turned around and found herself staring straight into his cerulean eyes. As she stared she couldn't help but think,
'I wish I could stay here forever'
As she rested her head on Naruto's shoulder she felt herself slowly drift off to sleep.
--
The next morning, several hundred miles away, Leporello and Orpheo were talking to another man in their order.
"Dante, Are you sure that you cannot find anything else on Sapho?"
The shorter man, with spiky orange hair, ringed eyes, and piercings in his nose shook his head.
"Not anything that we don't already know. Nothing specifically ever points out who Sapho will be, just that she will always appear in Amarius's wake"
Orpheo hung his head,
"Then we will continue on and hope for the best. Thank you Dante"
Dante waved a hand,
"Don't worry too much about it. In the mean time train the girl that is with Naruto now."
With that the pair left and began retracing the journey they had taken just earlier that day.
--
As Haku was resting peacefully she began having the strangest dreams, a young woman with flowing black hair, wearing a strange set of white leather armor approached her and held her in a tight embrace, and looked her in the eye.
"Haku, do you truly wish to stay with Naruto for the rest of eternity"
Haku blushed,
"Well, we're young and everything, but he's all that I have"
The woman smiled,
"Then I am pleased to meet you Haku, my name is Sapho"
--
Several weeks later Naruto and Haku walked hand in hand through the gates of Konoha and made a bee line straight towards the festival grounds that were just beginning to be set up.
Naruto was dressed in a plain black traveling cloak with his violin in a case dangling from his left hand. His hair was almost pin straight now with an even more metallic sheen to it. The marks on his face were covered by a bit of waterproof make up.
Walking beside him, Haku was dressed in a deep blue dress. She was tightly holding onto Naruto's right hand. In the past several weeks both of them had grown several inches, to the point that if one of Naruto's old teammates glanced at him, it would be highly unlikely that they would ever make the connection.
Naruto stole a glance over at his new partner,
"Are you ready for this Haku?"
He whispered lightly so that only she would hear him"
Haku promptly responded,
"We just have to do our job and it should work out."
Naruto nodded,
"Orpheo made a promise to Oji-san, so now we're here to make sure we follow through"
Far above them, looking over the city in his large office, the old Hokage stared at the now flooded city as more and more visitors arrived.
"You're sure about this aren't you Orpheo?"
Turning around he looked at the young man sitting across from his desk.
"Without a doubt, there will be an invasion during the third portion of the exam"
Looking back out the window the old man sighed,
"Konoha is doomed in the end isn't it, even if we defeat the invaders?"
Orpheo sighed,
"Rest assured Hokage, your great city will not fall."
The old man sighed contently and returned to watching his citizens roam around the city,
'Maybe we will weather the storm that is coming'
--
Well there we go, 8th chapter, just over 12,000 words again. It has a little more fluff than some of the previous chapters, but the next few will have more action thrown in. The chuunin exams are up next and outside of a few ideas that I have to set things up for the future I am completely lost for ideas on how to do the exams, so if anyone has any suggestions I would be happy to try and throw them in.
Once again I am sorry for the long update, but school has been getting increasingly difficult and since I do ski patrol most weekends, I don't have near as much free time as I do in the spring or fall.
I hope you liked the last chapter, but just to explain things that I mentioned a little better in case you missed them in the chapter,
First are the scars are Naruto, Itachi/Orpheo, and Kisame/Leporello's faces. As they allude to, they get those marks after every time that they have died, so Leporello and Amarius have died a total of 3 times, and Orpheo just once. Leporello also brings up an important note that not all ancients are the same age, that Amarius and Titus are older.
Second would be what's happening with Sakura, don't forget what her and the Hokage talked about, because its going to be a while before that comes to light.
Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please for the love of all that is holy and good leave a review. I have something like 5100 hits to this story and a total of about 16 reviews; you're killing me here. Hopefully there aren't too many spelling mistakes or anything. I don't have anyone read through them before posting and by the time I finish writing a chapter I've read it so many times that I don't even notice some of the small errors.
Have a good one,
Mechen Manachewagan
