A/N: Not much to say, AN at bottom (Note: Please forgive any mistakes you might find. This story is not Betaed and English is my second langauge ;p Plus I'm too lazy to proof read ^-^)
Let us continue our journey...
Towards The Heaven
Chapter 10: To Doom a Legacy
"E… ero-sennin…?" his voice was disbelieving, as if what was before was just a specter, a ghost, an illusion of his mind. It just couldn't be…
"Naruto! Watch your mouth!" Dankan yelled back, having missed his teacher's small smile as he peered calmly back to the stunned group. Truthfully, he had expected no less.
"It is alright, Dankan… I can understand their surprise. It is only natural that they misunderstood me for someone like Jiraiya." He chuckled "We look quite alike, you have to admit that" Dankan only gave his teacher a worried glance before settling back.
"Now, where were we? Ah, yes, introductions. As you may have already noticed, I do look alike with one of the Sannin, do I not?" his smile widened "But, I sincerely hope that my lack of lust and manners do make a difference between me and that man" they all nodded slowly before looking between each other. Only Naruto remained adamant…
"Don't give me that crap Jiraiya!" he had called him by his name…
"Listen, boy" the smile had vanished, the brown eyes had hardened as he frowned towards the blond, he now gulping in surprise as he tried to compose himself…
"I may look quite a handful like your old master, and truthfully, I can understand that this may come as a shock to you more than it would to anyone else. But I am not Jiraiya. I am not one of the Sannin…" his expression had softened as he spoke those words
Naruto only slumped his head in embarrassment, his eyes gloomed with sadness all of a sudden.
"I'm sorry, Rikou-sama…" even as his tone was apologetic, even as he called him formally, the man only hardened his look once more.
"Be sorry when you have to be, not when you don't. Use your apologies where they are needed, not where you or someone else just wants to hear them. You, are not sorry right now, Naruto. You acted on an impulse and on hope, that your teacher was still alive. You still have faith, don't you?" and yet once again his expression grew calmer and softer. He knew this was a sensitive matter for the boy, for said boy didn't hesitate to show it.
Naruto nodded…
"Very well. I won't tell you to give up, neither will I encourage you, my boy. Hold on your beliefs on your own, for they are your beliefs, not someone else's. Follow your heart when you must, but don't forget to listen to your mind as well." Dankan sighed… Rikou was playing the wise guy again…
"I am wise, Dankan" said man nearly jumped from his sit.
"But I am not all knowing. The best I can do with the knowledge I hold is pass it on to the younger generation. That is the purpose, of knowledge. To be passed on in order to also help the ones that come after to persevere."
Dankan nodded in embarrassment as well. He liked to joke about his teacher, tease him or playfully insult him at times, but he knew full well that Rikou was not a man to be trifled with, be it combat or a verbal debate.
"Now, as you may all know…" an earthquake got everyone's attention, as eyes darted all around the house while it shook slightly.
"Dankan… do you sense it…?" Rikou asked slowly while his eyes where glued to the ceiling.
His apprentice only nodded…
Another earthquake.
"Go, now! Inform the others, tell them to prepare the knights! We will hold them back for as long as possible…" His voice was worried, quick, maybe even a little panicked.
With another nod, Dankan was gone in a flash of light…
Rikou turned to the others…
"I understand that you are already winded from the battles you endured to get here. You should head upstairs, take a right turn and head inside the second room to your left. Stay there, no matter what happens." He sat up and headed for the exit…
"Wait! Can't we be of any help…?" Sakura asked, worry evident in her face and voice. For them or for him, he knew not.
"No, with the strength that you have remaining you can only stand as a last resort, here, in the house. I will hold them back 'till reinforcements arrive…" and before further argument could be posed, he vanished in a flash of light himself…
They all knew what was coming. They all knew what kind of 'enemies' the old man went to face off against.
They only hoped that he would stay alive…
XxxxX
The earth shook. The very ground was trembling at the wake of his forces. The land itself was succumbing to his might.
And who would dare stand against him? Who would dare face his ruthless warriors?
No one. None would oppose him…
For he was mighty, he was eternal, he was…
"Shit-faced?"
Indeed, it sounded only fitting. Wait… what?
"Who dares…?" he titled his head to the right, bewildered to see someone else riding on his dragon as well.
In a matter of a second, his blade was in his hand, heading straight towards the white-robed man's neck, intent on wiping that damn grin from his face.
The man only disappeared in a flash of light as his sword hit nothing but air.
He grunted as he looked down, his army had halted as well. That fool was doomed… his army was swarming through the valley, he could not escape.
"Meimeiton: Tenrai Tomoshibi!" he heard someone yell, the voice echoing throughout the valley. The cloudy heavens themselves seemed to split open for golden light to swim through, gracing the land with its beauty…
And making every last one of his forces to screech in terror…
He merely grunted… they thought this was strong? They thought this was intimidating him?! He would show them power…
He slammed his palms together…
"Makaiton: Kagirinai Ankoku (Hell Release: Eternal Darkness)!!" he roared and the light seemed to vanish as the skies closed once more, the clouds becoming seemingly thicker, the land growing darker by the second…
In a bare minute, the blackness had swallowed everything…
In here, in this darkness, he could sense them, all of them… small beacons of the accursed light, he could feel each and everyone fool that set foot in his small kingdom…
And they would die… they would all die…
XxxxX
Dankan had done a good job. Reinforcements had arrived just at the nick of time. A minute or two more and he would have been forced to fight all these monsters on his own.
His technique had bought him some time, some really small yet so valuable time. But now, he wasn't so sure if it was the right move…
For the counter-technique was far more powerful that his, far more resilient and far more effective. He could feel those red eyes boring into him, peering in his very soul…
He shook his head. There was no time for this.
He prepared some more hand-seals…
XxxxX
"Slaughter them all!!" he roared in the darkness and with him roared his mighty mount as well. His forces mobilized swiftly at his command, they themselves able to feel their master's extended sensitivity against their opponents.
It only took half a minute for the battle to begin…
XxxxX
Roughly one hundred men had arrived to help him. They where no match for the army before them though…
The damn demons seemed to decent from the very sky, the warriors on his side calling upon the Light and all their skill to face them without dying from the start. Someone fell on his side… he didn't see who it was, neither did he have time. His hands kept running through a set of hand seals, long as it was…
This technique might as well kill him, had he used more of his chakra already. He at least hoped that his brothers would be decent enough to carry him out of the battlefield…
If he finished the technique, and if he survived, that is.
XxxxX
"Right flank! They're coming through the right flank!" yelled one of the defenders as demons and undead alike started swarming through the side he pointed.
A man jumped in front of him, a blazing golden mace in his hands as he started smashing anything within range, body parts and even smashed heads flying all around. Thankfully, none of the aforementioned parts belonged to their side…
"Come on yer bloody bastards! I'll show ye how we have fun here!" he taunted the monsters and they charged at him with screeches and vehement grunts and roars accompanying.
Slamming the flat side of his mace to the ground… the earth seemed to shook as light started pouring out of the concrete…
"Meimeiton…"
Rocks and chunks of earth separated themselves from the ground and rose, only to hover in the air, the golden light keeping its rise adamant even as the monstrosities of undeath kept rushing towards the caster…
The whole land around the man now seemed like an alien ground, washed in light with darkness hovering all around it, the pieces of earth floating peacefully above…
The man rose his mace and slammed a foot the ground…
"Shinpanhi (Judgement Day)!!" and with that, the otherwise peacefully floating rocks began soaring with tremendous speed, slamming into his opponents and killing most of them instantly…
It wasn't long before the whole area was littered with corpses…
XxxxX
"What do you think is going on?" Sakura asked in genuine curiosity. Occasionally they would feel a small earthquake or hear an intense high-pitched screech that seemed to come from a far away distance. But nothing could really tell them what was going on in that battle. Or even what kind of battle it was…
"As it is, we can only assume…" Itachi was sitting cross legged at a corner, his brother right beside him. Both Uchihas sat still as they meditated, the frequent quakes of the earth hardly a circumstance of notice for them both. It was a surprise, to say the least, both that they chose to do this on a time like this, and the fact that Itachi kept his mind outwards as well…
The wonders of the Sharingan, it seemed…
"Don't worry guys, I'm sure Rikou will kick their ass!" Naruto exclaimed with a wide grin, earning a grunt from both Uchiha's, and a glare and worried look from Sakura and Hinata respectively.
"Naruto, you barely know the old man! How can you be so sure in his abilities whatsoever?" was the exasperated question that came from the pinked. She liked her friend, she really did, but sometimes, especially in times of peril like this, she frequently questioned if he even used his brain to form these exclamations of trust.
And to a stranger no less!
Sighing, she let it slide as she sat back down, another earthquake fazing her ever so slightly.
"Hey, at least I'm trying to look on the good side! If Dankan trusts in this man, then so do I" Naruto nodded, satisfied at his own conclusion and trusting in his newfound friend.
Sakura paid him no more mind as she drifted off herself, looking outside the only window of the room, the red curtains that decorated it dancing slightly at the little yet frequent quakes of the earth. Resting both hands on the windowsill, her eyes gazed over the darkness that seemed to hover around a mile away from them. Thunder seemed to strike every now and then around the shadowy area, it's powerful roar being only an echo from this distance.
Naruto crossed one leg over the other as he leaned back in his chair, said legs resting on the long table before him. Hinata, who happened to sit next to him and gazing over Sakura and the outside world, momentarily wondered if he would fall back…
They had killed the lights from the moment Rikou and Dankan left. The only light that illuminated the room where a few candles that decorated the table and the walls. It really gave the impression of a haunted mansion… was it not for the tardiness and cleanness that conquered all that is. Come on, what kind of ghost would live in such a clean place anyway?
'I would…' the Hyuuga runaway thought, a snicker escaping her lips at the thought. Ghosts couldn't touch, so how would she clean the mansion she 'haunted' anyway? Wait, these women-like ghosts before seemed concrete enough…
Concrete enough to kill you, that is.
"Hm? What is it?" Naruto asked, a hint of amusement in his voice as he glanced over at Hinata. His golden locks where gently caressing his face, no headband there to restrict them any longer. She blushed at the mere sight of him, his jacket slightly open, signs of dirt barely visible here and there in the dim light. She snickered again… she wouldn't look any better right now, anyway.
"Um, nothing, Naruto-kun. Just thinking…" she said, a small smile on her face.
"Oh my God, you can do that too??" he asked, his expression so amazed and questioning that for a moment she thought he meant it…
The wide grin that came afterwards broke that thought almost immediately…
"Stop it" she giggled as she punched him playfully on the shoulder
"Ouch! I think my arm's broken, I'm gonna die!" he whined loudly and she giggled even more, he getting his legs off the table and dramatically pretending to be going through perilous pain…
Needless to say, the twin grunts that came from the Uchiha's went unnoticed…
"Doctor, all I can see is blue and green globes!" Naruto dramatically exclaimed once more as he clang on Sakura, said girl's eyebrow twitching violently in a threatening way… she only held herself because Hinata seemed to enjoy the scene… if her breathless laughter was any indication that is.
"Have you seen an optician?"
"No, only blue and green globes!"
Hinata laughed even more, trying desperately to bring her laughter under control, if only to be free to breath again. Naruto really seemed to enjoy this… slim where the times when the Hyuuga would laugh, let alone roar in it.
Another earthquake, this time a notch stronger than the other ones, allowed them all to remember the situation they where really in. There was a battle only a mile away from them… people were dying…
And if those men were defeated, and that enemy came after them next…
They just stood no chance.
XxxxX
"Defend him! Defend him with your lives!!" One of them shouted, his cowl down and a silver circlet gracing his forehead, circling around his head, restricting his short yet straight red hair. His companions battled relentlessly around him, screams of pain and clashes of blades echoing in the darkness above, the pandemonium that conquered the land a sight to behold.
They never expected him to move so soon… so fast. They had lined up every available soldier of the moment and went straight to the front line. How could this happen…? How could he be on the move and they having noticed not?
Something was amiss… but there was no time to contemplate on such matters in the heat of battle, that much he knew. Gripping his sword even more tightly, the red-headed lieutenant turned a full circle in a whirlwind of chaos as he spread death on the demons that surrounded him. He dared spare a glance at Rikou, who was still running through hand signs, quickly and carefully. A glimmering spherical golden shield surrounded his body as the old man tried to finish his spell.
He really hoped he would do it. It was their only chance to hold them off here…
For now.
XxxxX
'A little more… just a little more…' he was entering the final string, the last line of signs to complete it…
'Rat, Ox, Dragon, Dragon, Rat, Tiger, Snake, Rat…' it was one of the most complicated and long jutsus he knew. But should he finish it…
It would hold them back, it should hold them back…
He hoped it would hold them back.
XxxxX
His blades blazed with searing fire as he cut through the monsters like a knife through butter. Little resistance his swords met against the seemingly heavy armor most of them wore.
'Tsk, demon armor these days…' he absentmindedly thought amidst the blood and blade clashes that where everywhere. To every direction, to every single spot that the eye could see, there they where. Demons, undead, monsters, ghosts, everything. They soared through the sky and tore the earth apart in their wake. One he could kill and three would rise to take his place.
Unfortunately, the same didn't occur with their own forces. One of them would fall, only to return to serve the darkness moments later…
It was a lesson drilled into them… if a comrade fell in battle and was raised as an undead, he was to be exterminated immediately. Friends and lovers alike had to kill each other in such perilous circumstances, hard choices that where made if only for the perseverance of what humanity still lied within their former allies. And here he was, in one of these circumstances, that he had to kill his very allies when they rose from the ground to serve the darkness…
It was his duty, he reminded himself, to destroy them. The moment they became undead, it was within his very oath to smite them down again.
But that didn't mean he would enjoy it. That didn't mean that he would take pleasure in slaughtering what was once his friends…
A lone tear escaped his grey eyes, as Dankan drove his blade in yet another demon, then forcing it upwards, slicing the beast in half…
They would pay… they would all pay… one day…
XxxxX
Fools… what fools they where indeed… they dared oppose him? And with only a hundred of warriors?
He laughed, his dark laughter echoing throughout the valley, piercing into every soul and mind that dared hear it.
His armies counted in the millions! His forces where infinite… for none would outnumber the demons.
None.
This was only a small portion… a taste for these fools, to see how futile their defenses were. To see how fragile and weak their faith really was. To see that the Light that they worshiped was nothing! He would slaughter them all… to the last man, woman, and child alike.
His skeletal dragon roared, as if in agreement with its master's wicked thoughts. The man looked down upon the battlefield once more… lighting was thrown here and there, yells of fury and screeches of madness, screams of pain and cries of sorrow…
Oh, it was all music to his ears! He savored the moment, taking in every last sound, every last scream…
This was just the beginning, he thought, for soon… yes, very soon, these screams would echo through the land tenfold!
"I always said that you where a sadistic bastard… I guess we're not so different after all…" he heard a voice behind. This was getting old… why would people ride his dragon behind his back like that, anyway?
This time, he didn't waste time with speech. His blade went immediately for whomever dared approach him like that. Yet instead of hitting the offender's waist and cutting him in half, a mighty clash of blades could be heard as two mighty swords grinded against each other.
His red eyes narrowed behind the darkness that covered his face, the only sign of disbelief that he would allow to be showed.
"You…" the other man smirked as his white hair danced around his face with a blow of the wind.
"You?" his blue eyes had a tint of question in them…
"Yes, you." His red gaze narrowed even more
"I said 'you'. What did YOU say?"
"No, I said 'you' and then you said you"
"But if I said 'you' then who said 'me'?"
"You said you, when you had to say me." He quickly realized what he was doing… his eyes narrowed to the point that Hakai could swear they became slits…
"Don't MESS WITH ME!" he roared and drew his blade back, this time rushing forward, intent on piercing the armored man before him. Said man only sidestepped the attack, it missing completely.
He had no time to strike back though as the leader of evil quickly made a turn, his blade once more horizontally going for his neck.
He parried once more, his own blade glowing with a soft purple glow…
"Itchy as ever… you haven't changed, Yaku…" his sickening trademark smirk accompanied these words…
"You're still an arrogant fool, Hakai…" anger and frustration were evident in his otherworldly voice.
The moment their blades disconnected each man launched a barrage of sword strikes in any point of their opponent's body that was visible. Each strike was met with a parry or a dodge, each counterstrike having the same fate. Their blades where only a flurry, their bodies a blur in this lethal wild dance…
Hakai drew back, only to launch forward once more, the skeletal body of the dragon the concrete for his foot to meet with every step he took. He drove his blade forward, aiming for his opponent's heart…
The blade connected, edging deep within his chest.
Yet Yaku only vanished in the darkness…
A malevolent chuckle echoed around the cries of battle that heated the air.
"It seems that you have forgotten, who is superior in here, Hakai…"
The sound of a blade piercing through armor… Hakai looked down on his chest, bloodied as it was with a wide, dark sword puncturing from the wound.
But his smirk did not falter…
As he too vanished in the shadows.
"And you have forgotten, Yaku, that when it comes to me, it works both ways…" his smirk was wide as ever as he pointed the tip of his blade to the neck of his opponent, a slight movement enough to pierce the chain mail that covered the fragile skin.
The man named Yaku seemed to sigh, titling his head downwards.
"It always comes to this, doesn't it…" his voice suddenly seemed normal, the voice of a young man maybe in his thirties.
"Hakai!" with a sudden twist, his own sword collided with Hakai's, sending said swordsman's sword away. Using the momentum of his whirl, Yaku charged forward, aiming for Hakai's exposed neck.
With a grunt, the offended man let himself fall to the side, letting himself fall off the dragon…
Yaku quickly looked down as his blade hit nothing but air. Damn him! Damn him to hell! He escaped again!
He knew that he wouldn't follow him… he would never expose himself in such an insignificant battle. Hovering in the skies and striking fear in the hearts of his enemies as his demons obliterated all was what he did most of the time. Only dire circumstances would demand his appearance.
That was what he was taught… that was what he knew. Frighten your enemy, weaken them, and then strike their fragile form with all your might, crushing them into nothingness.
"Run… run while you can…" he could feel Hakai's presence clearly within this small kingdom of darkness. The man seemed to retreat away from the battle swiftly, the demons seemingly paying him no mind and neither doing the warriors that stood valiantly against them.
"But you won't run forever…" he shook his head, returning to guide his dragon…
"Brother…"
XxxxX
'It is finished!' he thought, a glimmer of hope and joy in his heart as these words crossed his mind. His hands had settled in a seal that seemed to resemble the kanji of 'Angel'.
"Meimeiton…"
The earth around him seemed to shook, violent it was…
"Ichidou… (Shrine)" in front of him, a statue seemed to rise, the earth tearing apart to allow it entrance in the world, it glimmering with light, it's form perfect, a masterpiece of sculpture. Long hair cascaded down its back, a kimono gracing its figure, its feet bare, two wings widely open behind it…
"no Kouken (of the Guardian)!!" the glimmering light around the female statue began shining mightily, brighter and brighter by the second. And then it exploded outwards…
The forces of evil screeched in despair as a wall of light shot outwards from the sides of the statue, going beyond the walls of the valley they where in and stretching across the land…
No demon remained alive from behind the statue, the ones that survived screeching in fear and falling back, away from the shining light and away from the bright wall.
Their leader from above looked down at the barrier… and then upwards. It seemed to stretch to the heavens…
Grunting, he jumped down from the dragon, landing with a thud on the ground. Slow steps brought him towards the barrier, the light that shone something that he could stand with ease. He looked upwards again…
His Eternal Darkness technique seemed to have vanished from the side behind the wall, also gradually retreating from his side as well. His glimmering red eyes narrowed as a gloved hand reached out to touch the barrier…
It was immediately shot back, lighting striking his gauntlet the moment his fingers made contact.
With a grunt of annoyance, he turned around, starting to walk away…
"This isn't over…" he whispered to himself…
XxxxX
Rikou panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath, hands supporting him, preventing his body from hitting the ground.
"I… I did it…" breathless, he looked upwards once more, smiling at the now hovering statue. It's hands where stretched eastwards and westwards respectively, the wall of light stretching outwards from them.
He looked beyond the walls of light and at the retreating masses of monstrosities, the back of their leader facing towards them, he walking away slowly, his heavy boots echoing on the rocky ground…
His eyes furrowed. That man hadn't joined the fight all along…
Sighing, he let his hands bend, finally able to rest within the peace unconsciousness offered…
Yet before his body could hit the ground, a pair of hands came to grab him from behind, turning him around and gently laying him with his back on the hard earth.
Dankan smiled fondly at his teacher's now peaceful form.
'Damn old man… had to use two S techniques in one go… stupid' his mental berating stayed only within his mind as his smile widened a little. Looking around him, he was glad to see that their own casualties weren't that severe…
"Dankan…" he heard a voice behind him and titled his head to the side, his dull grey eyes falling on a red-headed man. Wasn't he the lieutenant of this division…?
"Ah… Gaki…"
"… I've told you countless times not to call me that…"
"Whatever, Gaki"
"It's Kaki (Fire) damn it! And what are you looking at?!" he yelled towards Dankan and the crowd that had started to gather (and distinctly snicker at the nickname).
"Anyways, we have to leave Dankan. The barrier Rikou-sempai set up took a lot out of him and he probably needs immediate care" Kaki had a point. Barrier and area-of-effect techniques took a lot more chakra than pin-point ones.
And he just had to go and use the S class ones… But Kaki, along with everyone else who faced off these monsters today, knew that if he hadn't, they would probably be slaughtered in a matter of minutes.
Their mistake was that they underestimated them… toyed with them… the dragon-rider had sent forward only a portion of his army. If they had all swarmed at once…
No… they wouldn't stand a chance for real.
But, all had ended well and hopefully…
They would survive to see the end of this.
XxxxX
"The earthquakes… have stopped…" Sakura commented and everyone looked at her, she now sitting by the window on a chair she pulled over, the thunders and the darkness being no more, the echoes of battle a memory of the past.
Naruto and Hinata also sat at one end of the table, Naruto at the head with Hinata at his side, playing with the wood and seeming…
Well, bored.
But this news seemed to bring a speck of life in her as she worriedly glanced around. Dankan and Rikou could show up anytime… she wished they did.
Naruto became apprehensive as he started mumbling to himself…
As for Itachi and Sasuke, the Uchiha brother's seemed to have a staring contest…
Sharingan activated and all.
For what reason they just stared at each other, none of the other three knew. They had just began this right after they meditated…
Naruto had a feeling that Sasuke was becoming a little weird after Itachi became his 'brother' again, aside from being the 'traitor'.
Maybe it was his way to show that he was happy. Oh well…
But still… why did things have to come this way? What if Dankan and Rikou had been killed in that battle? And what was he doing while they were putting their lives on the line? He was sitting here doing nothing at all! He wanted to fight, he wanted to help!
Okay, he wasn't doing exactly nothing… he was making Hinata laugh her heart out ten minutes ago…
It was a quick battle, it had lasted maybe half an hour…
But had they won? Or did they…
He felt something warm on his hand and slowly looked at it. Blinking, he realized that there was another hand on his hand. How did that get there anyway…?
Oh, stupid… the moment he spotted the lavender-white sleeve he realized it was Hinata. And her hand was soft… and warm…
Why did everything about her have to be warm…?
And this feeling…
He shook his head. Now was not the time to contemplate on such… trivial… matters…
"Naruto-kun, I'm sure they're ok" he heard her soft voice (yeah, even her voice!) and looked up, a pair of lavender eyes trying to reassure him, a pale hand tightening around his, as if trying to show him that hope was there, no, not hope. It was reality. Dankan and Rikou couldn't die… they just couldn't…
He couldn't lose a friend now… he couldn't lose Jiraiya again…
A lone tear escaped his eyes and he smiled at her, a blush suddenly emitting from her face, triggered by his response to her attempt to comfort him…
"Yeah… thanks, Hinata…"
"Awww… what are we guys? A Shoujo manga or something?" a cocky voice said from behind and Naruto immediately felt a vein bulging on his forehead…
Dankan (guess how) found himself lying on the opposite wall, Naruto's fist outstretched and his face red with embarrassment… and anger, of course.
"Teme! We worry about whether you're alive or not, and you come in bumbling about mangas!" Dankan rubbed his jaw, a small grin on his face and his golden hair made up in a loose ponytail.
It was then that something occurred to Naruto as well…
"Where's Rikou…?" he asked mostly himself as he looked around, searching for the kind man. Looking back at Dankan, he didn't fail to notice that tears almost made their way to his eyes…
'… no…'
"Rikou… he… he… he used a lot of chakra for these techniques… I saw him on the ground… but… now… now…" Dankan hid his eyes with his fists, sobbing in grief…
Naruto couldn't help the tears that started rising… and the sympathy he felt for a fellow pupil who lost his teacher…
"Now his taken to the city for recovery reasons. Man, that geezer surely likes pushing himself…" all signs of grief and sadness disappeared as Dankan's usual cheerful and laid back nature came back to life…
He once more found himself stuck on the opposite wall from the one he fell the first time (how original)
Both Sakura and Hinata held a raging Naruto back… he never liked it when people played with his mind… or feelings.
"Heh, sorry 'bout that. I just couldn't resist" Dankan laughed as he sat up once again. Looking down, he didn't fail to notice the forms of the Uchiha brothers… still staring at each other… Sharingan and all.
He waved a hand in front of their faces… no expression. He poked their heads… no reaction.
"Um… what's up with 'em?"
"Don't know, but it's the longest staring contest I've ever seen"
"Have you seen many contests like this… Naruto?" her tone was incredulous
"Uhh… no?"
Sigh "Forget it…"
As Naruto tried to pry out what Sakura meant, and Hinata tried to calm him down, Dankan just kept fidgeting with the siblings, making grimaces before their faces and yet getting no reaction from them.
Putting a hand in Itachi's pocket… ah, there it is!
He brought out a shiny, silver machine… Itachi's photograph machine!
With a wide grin now gracing his face, he took plenty of pictures of the two brothers staring at each other with their Sharingan on, the trio of Sakura hitting Naruto on the head, he bending and Hinata worriedly looking down at him on the background, was all captured within the machine of eternity…
'Wow… cool name'
XxxxX
"So… where are we going now?" Naruto asked, clearly tired. After they had (finally) managed to awaken Sasuke and Itachi, they had left the quiet wooden house for purposes only Dankan was aware of.
Said man smirked to himself.
"Why, to the village of course!" his voice was full of glee and pride, turning to face the others with a wide grin.
"Village? What village?" Sakura's pump on his head was almost immediate…
"Tomogakure no Sato you moron! That's the village we were looking for all along!" she yelled, disbelieving at how far Naruto's lack of brains could go.
Naruto begrudgingly ignored her as he gazed up in the sky…
It was getting dark…
The afternoon sun was now diving behind the ridges of the Valley of Lost Souls, hiding itself away from the world, the star of the night visible in the sky even now.
"Hey, Dankan" the man regarded him with a slight turn of his head
"How far is it?"
"Oh… well, by foot from here, it must be around half an hour" he said, raising a hand to cup his chin. Naruto grunted but was glad that they didn't have lots of ways to go. At last… at long last, their traveling would be over, they would finally meet their destination! They would finally leave Konoha behind…
For good.
He briefly wondered how everyone back there where doing… Lee, Tenten, Ino, Chouji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Tsunade… all of them. He sighed, knowing that it would be a long time before he would meet his friends back there again…
He grunted once more in annoyance at the mere thought of Danzo. That man… how he wished he could just go and rip his throat out. But, ripping throats wasn't something good people did, right? No, he wouldn't become a monster for his sake… he wouldn't let himself fall to the level of being what people thought of him as. He would show them all… one day, maybe not as the Hokage, but he would.
Amidst his reminiscing, he noted that they had left the lifeless valley and entered what seemed like a forest…
XxxxX
Itachi and Sasuke remained silent as Sakura and Hinata admired the beauty of nature that surrounded them, Naruto still lost in his own thoughts as he walked a couple of steps behind Dankan, said man leading the group within the overwhelming greenness…
One thought the Konoha ninjas unknowingly shared, was that this forest reminded them of their home…
After another ten minutes of walking and silent admiration, among thoughts and worries, mixed feelings and cheerful remarks from a certain robed man, they finally seemed to reach the edge of the forest as the night began to show itself, more stars now glimmering in the darkened sky, the moon dancing amidst dark clouds and galling winds.
Dankan took one step outside…
"Well guys… here we are…" his grin was so wide, that if they could see it they would surely think that his head would be cut in half.
He turned around, his eyes shining with endless glee and satisfaction… hell, even Itachi was gaping!
Before them, maybe a kilometer away, was a mountain so tall that you thought it touched the sky. And right at its base it was…
A village… no, more like a city, that seemed to be build right at the foot of the mountain, mighty walls rising and surrounding it, the city's shape creating a half-ring as it climbed another kilometer or two, the peak of it having what looked like an edged cliff…
The illuminating lights of said city in the night made it look like a dotted sculpture made by the Gods…
"Welcome" he said as he turned forward once more.
"To Tomogakure no Sato" his feet surged forward…
'The village hidden in the Light…'
XxxxX
A/N: Aaaaaand... TENTH CHAPTER IS FINISH!! Woo, the second story that I manage to bring to its tenth chapter ;p Let's see how much further I can go =) I'd like to thank everyone who has been supporting me until here and I have to apologize if I let you guys down with my slow updates... what can I say, no real excuses, I'm just a lazy guy who hopes that his stories are good reading material ;p (warning: If you want a good picture of Tomogakure, try imagining Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings... that city's just too cool!)
Btw, you might have noticed that most of the time, the chapter's title doesn't make sense or isn't compatible with the chapter's content... oh well, that's just me ;p I like cool sounding titles... ^-^
SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! Don't read if you haven't read Naruto Manga chapter 450!!!)
OMFG, Danzo as Rokudaime??? Wtf, how original, I've seen this on so many fanfics! Still, it was always a bright, shining possibility that none would ignore... but I have a nudging feeling that Kishimoto has a lot of things left to say... Naruto still has ways to go! Gz for us =) NaruHina is also bound to happen now that our girl has confessed, so what remains for us poor author's to do? ;p
SPOILER END (sorry, I just had to take that out of my system ;p)
That said, I'd be grateful if you guys dropped a review =P I don't know, I just look at the number of reviews my story has and I think 'Wow, my story has a bunch of reviews, I gotta work so I won't let people down!' it works to pump me up enough to start writing... and when I start, sooner or later I will be done ;p
As always, any questions you might pose I'll be happy to answer.
NEXT CHAPTER: City of Light
Naruto and company get a tour within the village that almost none knew about. There they'll learn things that humans thought impossible... there, Naruto will start his new life with his friends. A new beginning...
So, the next chapter will be an overview of Tomo with lotsa comical (at least I think they are ;p) circumstances, little action, LOTS OF FEELINGS (Geeze, I gotta put Romance in there too sometime, don't I?) and what's with Rikou's past? How come he looks so much like Jiraiya?? All shall be revealed... in dew time ;p (Oh God help me...)
Till we meet again,
Yours,
HoNdeR All Mighty
PS: (Hope you enjoyed the chapter! my god, I'm really talkative... and it's one past midnight here... 'yawn')