Disclaimer: I make no claim to owning Naruto this is being written for fun and no profits are being claimed.
The battle between the powers and concepts that rule the universe is usually a subtle thing.
A light breeze flowed through the trees of the forest, shifting leaves and branches.
A nudge here a tap there as forces struggle to exert them selves and others oppose them.
A human figure moves silently from branch to branch with purpose. Sighting the target a bow was silently brought up and an arrow set to the string.
Sometimes it is nothing more than a sudden awareness of danger or an epiphany.
A head snaps up looking around for a split second before bounding off. The figure in the trees only reaction is to follow the fleeing target with the head of the arrow.
Thwip.
Thud.
However, on some occasions the very powers that be take mortal and not so mortal champions for their cause.
And so a life ends. Dropping from the tree branch the figure comes into view for the first time. He was clothed in primarily in black but their was also a scrawling design upon his clothing. Lines that twisted on them selves like mobius strips inter-spaced with what may have been symbols. The designs stretched from the base of his hooded cowl to his ankles. The robes resembled those common among orders of warrior monks.
And the living become ensnared in their battles, unknowing.
With swift nearly silent movement he approaches his prey a knife appearing from seemingly nowhere in his hand. Reaching the site of the kill he began to prepare the buck he brought down for the trip home.
But others walk headlong into their battles.
His task done quickly and efficiently he set upon his way home.
As he traveled through the forest his eyes clouded over in thought remembering the day, and the pact made, so long ago that set him along his current path.
Sitting on top of a roof sat a young blond boy watching people from his perch. Innocent blue eyes framed by soft gold hair stared blankly at the people of the city below him. Going about their lives unknowing, unaware, or simply uncaring about the presence of their observer.
He had always been able to see the mark, even though it was impossible to describe. The mark appeared on every person and living thing he had ever seen in the short six years of his life. For some the mark was just barely there, a ghost of an image, a faint representation of a possibility. For others it was a stain so dark that blackness seemed to ooze from it devouring them alive in impossible darkness, choking their mortal form.
The mark of Death.
She was standing beside him now watching as he did the people walking by.
"Is it my time then?" the voice that spoke was soft and innocent yet held a subtle wisdom.
"No" the voice was impossible to describe, soft yet incredibly solid as thought the words she spoke held more stability the reality itself.
"What then?" blue eyes turning to take in his companion if it could be named as such.
'Beautiful' he thought but it was a terrible beauty. Her hair was long straight and pure white ending just above her ankles. Her body seemingly perfectly proportioned though that was difficult to tell with the formal black kimono that she wore. Her face reflected those of noble breeding with high cheekbones and aristocratic features. Her skin was bone white contrasting sharply with the black clothing that she wore.
As she turned to regard him, her most startling feature came into focus, her eyes.
They were black, completely black, and gazed with an unfocused intensity. They took in everything, looked through everything, and yet seemed to look at nothing.
"I am here to request something of you," her blank eyes bored into his blue with great intensity.
He turned from her and looked down unable to hold that terrible gaze any longer. "What would Death require of a mortal?"
"During times of conflict between the powers of creation we often choose champions to represent us so that all is not disrupted by our squabbles. I would ask that you be my champion here."
"Why me, I am only a child?" blue eyes return to the people below.
"The day of your birth was filled with many strange occurrences in the order of things. Your father fought and ended the life of a great demon." She replied, "He did this by using his strength to call me. Upon a demon's death their strength goes to their slayer but he was dying as well so that power went to you, his heir. Knowing that the power you would inherit would be your end your father placed a seal upon you to regulate that power."
"However," she continued, "he was still infused with my power when this occurred, it should have been your end, but it was not. You were changing due to the demon energy you now contained and my touch altered that change further, it is why you can see my mark."
Death made flesh also turned back to the villagers of Konoha "With your natural potential and demonic power you would make the ideal champion. You are my responsibility in that you have felt my touch but remain among the living. As my champion I could give you gifts to aid you."
With a detached air he mulled over the proposal in his mind, idly noting that it was much easier to stay focused but he doubted any being could be in her presence and not be affected.
"What do I stand to gain from my pledge," hmm his speech was being affected as well.
"A place, a purpose, a goal, a need to fill." her reply filled him with something akin to longing. To have a place, to know what he was, to be something other that the outcast. To be more than the shunned one, the forgotten one, or the hated one.
"I accept." the last thing he recalled was her unnerving eyes and the touch of a pair of full lips before the pain and pleasure overwhelmed him.
Approaching the edge of the forest, kill in hand, and the black robed figure took in the sight of the same city he watched as he accepted that offer so long ago.
Konoha, the hidden village of the leaf.
And so Uzumaki Naruto, Death's Hand among the living walked once more amongst mortals.
A.N. well after a long absence I'm back this idea has been has been stewing in the back of my mind for some time know so I'm posting it to see what sort of response it gets. If it continues soon I think it will cross with Bleach but not yet.
Soul Ice.