A Glimpse

As the days of finals came up, Azazel made no attempt to train. Naruto, curious to why he wasn't practicing, approached him one day while he was sitting with his legs crossed.

"Hey Azazel? Why aren't you practicing for the finals? They're a couple of days away."

"I know you guys saw me in the forest when that happened."

Naruto, having a flashback of the dead looking Azazel disintegrating the stone ninja sent a shiver down his spine. He immediately shook it off and made a goofy smile.

"Oh that! That was nothin."

"Oh, it was something, and I don't want that to happen again."

"But why did it happen?"

"I don't know. It feels as though, as I get stronger, so does it, but its will is stronger as well. Therefore, getting angry is something I must be cautious of, or else it will come out again."

"Oh, well, get some practice while you're trying to control it."

Later that day, Azazel was walking through the forests of Konoha, but his mind wasn't at peace. He kept looking around for some sign of something going on. Right when he was walking past a tree did he finally realize why his mind was so boggled, and jumped back just as a ray of green light hit a tree, instantly burning it. He ran towards the source, hand extended as though he were pushing it. The fire ninja was thrust into the air and into a tree. When he fell to the ground he rolled into the darkness.

Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Rock Lee, Hinata, Kiba, Ino and Shikamaru, from different positions of the village could see that something was going on and all went to go investigate. They all caught up with Azazel and saw him looking around as though he expected an immediate attack. The fire ninja came behind him and was about to fire.

"AZAZEL!!! LOOK OUT!!!" Naruto and Hinata cried in unison. The beam of fire was once again fired. Azazel couldn't get out of way in time. He lifted his hands just as it came. The force of the blast made him slide back as he attempted to push it back. The ninja began to walk up to him as he shot the beam. Becoming angry Azazel closed his eyes, then shot them back open to reveal ones with blazing fire seen in them. Everyone stopped and looked on as Azazel pulled his hands back, and with incredible force, thrust them forward. That caused the beam to spread everywhere and hit everyone.

The ninja was thrown into a weak tree, and as he hit the dead part of it, the tree broke and fell on him, effectively crushing him. Everyone rose to see Azazel looking at where the ninja was to see a young girl and an old looking ninja. Nobody seemed to know who this person was, but they saw Azazel look at him with a wild look of recognition.

"You see, the tricky thing about souls, is how to transfer them. Keep them moving. For once a soul grows too attached to a body, they can became indestructible sources of power. But you already know this."

The man then took out a vial and drew blood from the dead ninja as the girl looked at Azazel. As he walked away he stated, looking at Azazel.

"I used to think you were unique, but I was wrong."

At this, the young girl smiled. As the man made his leave, Azazel rushed at him. At a speed almost as fast as his, the girl uppercutted him and kicked him back. He rose in anger and crystal swords grew from his arms. (If you play Mortal Kombat, think of Baraka.) She gave him a little smile before showing her hands, at which crystals came from her fingers.

'She knows how to augment herself!' he thought.

"Holy shit." Naruto whispered.

She then crouched before leaping at Azazel with such speed that when he moved out of the way she still landed three scratches on his cheek. Azazel tried to stab her, but she used her agility to his advantage, stabbed his arms, then kicked him between the legs. She then threw him and he hit a tree. Everyone looked on in awe. She spread her fingers as Azazel rose.

The marks on his face were disappearing as a result of him using the water of his body to heal him. She ran at him but he was quick enough to stab her in the stomach. He slammed her into the wall and tried to strike her, but missed every time. She kick him in the stomach and was about to strike his face when he stepped back. He then slashed her twice on the face, and stabbed her in the stomach.

As she gasped for air, he stabbed her with the second arm. As she looked up at him, supposedly dying, he saw that she too can use the water in the air and in her body as a means of regeneration. She grabbed his arms ('Damn it she's strong!') and back flip kicked him in the jaw, causing him to flip. Truly pissed, he rose, but it wasn't the same yellow eyed Azazel that looked at her. His eyes once again looked whit, and his skin again looked pale.

A powerful gust of wind blew and the girl found herself struggling to keep her footing. She made her way towards the now raging Azazel, but was lifted into the air by wind. She was held in place by Azazel, and as her cold eyes gazed into his enraged ones, she was incinerated. The force of the wind after the incineration threw everyone back. When they got up, they found no trace of the girl or Azazel. Everyone went back to Konoha in silence.

'What the hell is this guy?' Sasuke thought.

The next day, most of the village heard about the news of what happened in the forest and what happened yesterday. The villagers began to steer clear of Azazel, which annoyed him to no end that he was being persecuted again.

'Well, at least they aren't like the others.'

At that moment, one of the younger ninja thought that he would impress his friends by throwing a rock at Azazel. When he threw it, the rock stopped in mid-air behind Azazel, and, as he turned around, was destroyed. The actual thing that Azazel was looking at him in anger sent the kid running away, and his friends.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

A villager with a pitch fork said. For some strange reason, Azazel found it funny that someone so weak and worthless would challenge him. Without using any hand or body movements at all, the man sunk, waist deep, into the earth. He struggled there for some time as Azazel turned to leave. When he turned, he was confronted by Team Guy, who just saw what he did.

"I didn't think you'd stoop so low to attack villagers." Neji said with a superior smirk.

Azazel was becoming quite annoyed that this guy and Sasuke were constantly on his case.

"Get out of my way."

"Or what?" "

You don't want me to get angry right now."

Azazel was right, the latest outbreak of the Phoenix caused him to gain a lot of power, but he needed to go rest and meditate in order to control it.

"We'll take that wager!" Guy said.

Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee all ran towards Azazel at once. Without Azazel moving a finger they were blasted back as though a freight train hit them. Azazel, with a glazed look in his eye, rose up in the air and was flying off when Rock Lee jumped off a house in an attempt to bring him down with a flying kick. He hit with a powerful wave of wind that sent him crashing back down to earth.

'They can't even stand up to my power.' He though with contempt.

"Hey Kakashi." Sasuke asked.

"Yes?"

"What happens to the people that Azazel kills?"

"He kills them, but because the Phoenix is also the spirit of rebirth, he absorbs their power."

"Which means, the more people he incinerates, the stronger he becomes?"

"Exactly, but, because it increases him greatly, that's why he meditates a lot. If he doesn't, that power would corrupt him and send him into a state of raging isolation. He would destroy everything and everyone in an attempt to get himself alone."

"Can he be stopped when that happens?"

"Well, in that form, he doesn't really think, so if you can keep yourself from being instantly incinerated, you could find a way to walk up to him, then, either you could kill him, or do something to calm him down."

Azazel was in his room, deep in meditation. The room became dark as a fiery Phoenix was circling him, connected by a black-flamed Phoenix.

"They are of no importance." The dark one was saying.

"No, they are people, so they have lives that must be lived." The fiery one said.

These two symbolized his conscious.

"Destroy them Azazel, and gain ultimate power."

"Do not do it. True you would gain enough power to destroy it, but it would come at a cost to you mental stability and freedom. To do so would destroy your ability to think."

"And what is there that needs to be thought of? It is simple: gain enough power to destroy it, even if that means these worms must serve the purpose of being added to your power."

"You can't even keep control over this power now."

"A small consequence to pay for power."

"You mustn't kill anything or anybody for selfish needs. Such was not the way of the Phoenix Warrior."

"The Phoenix Warrior was meant to keep the good in the world, even if that meant the one would have to see one's friends and family slaughtered."

"Wrong, it is merely choosing the right path in life. So, my child, what choice have you made."

"I won't kill any to become strong. I will do it like it was done in the olden days."

"WHAT!!"

"There is no need for you dark Phoenix, now, be locked away, never to cause harm to any."

With that, the Black Phoenix vanished and Azazel rose up to the new day. The finals were today.

"Well, another beautiful day in Konoha."

He could not shake the now new feeling of a great tragedy about to occur.