Disclaimer: I do not own anything Naruto... save for the Sasuke doll that's sitting on my pillow in my room!! Yay! ::squeezes it to death::

A/N: thank you thank you thank you my love-oh-ly reviewers!!! Your reviews force me to write faster. Lol. Sooooooo sorry this chap is so short.. I promise the next one will be more interesting and (hopefully) longer!! Thnx for all u guys' patience! Oh and..
iceheart19 – no the Avians do not turn into only ravens. It's only the Elite Guard family that are ravens. And the Canis have different canine forms within the whole clan as well. For example, all of the High Shinobis, including Iruka b/c he was a former HS, are wolves. (but I don't think I've mentioned that in the story yet..).
bishiehuggler – I agree.. ravens ARE loud and annoying.. but they look pretty!! And doesn't Sasuke remind you of a raven?? Or maybe it's just me... o.O
Miekje – sorry this chapter is so short.. it's a transition chapter, really.. but I promise more interesting stuff will happen in the next chapter!!!! .""


The Legend of the Thiasa
 Chapter 2: Two Worlds Collide

Two uneventful days had passed. Sasuke glided through the air, the rising sun glinting off his onyx black feathers, revealing in them, a fascinating array of shifting colors. He had already been flying for several hours now and so was searching for a place to land and rest. He hated being on patrol. Being on patrol was too much like doing nothing. Thankfully, his shift was almost over. He spotted a small gap in the blanket of treetops and immediately folded his wings and shot through it. Expertly, he landed on the dewy carpet of grass. Within moments, he had slipped into his human form.

He stood gracefully and surveyed the area around him. He had landed in a small clearing which he was guessing was around a mile from the village walls. Majestic trees surrounded the glade, and in the morning sun, looked almost ethereal in their beauty. Small, shy wildflowers dotted the area with tiny drops of color. The dark haired boy ran his fingers through his hair and sighed contentedly. He loved the woods – it was the only place where he felt truly at home. The faint scent of nature seemed to wrap its arms around him and soothe his worries.

Sasuke closed his eyes and let a rare smile appear. He felt a sudden impulse to lay down and spend the entire day here. In the middle of his serious debate of whether he should ditch his duties or not that day, frantic cheepings broke through the woods. Immediately, his head shot up. There – the outer sentries where flying towards him at breakneck speeds. The sentry family being all sparrows, it meant that unless he slowed them down, they were likely to do something stupid and crash. Plus, he needed to know what had happened.

Quickly, he raised his left hand, touched his right cheek, and kept it raised high in a salute of trustworthiness. The sparrows, with their keen eyesight, caught sight of him and descended. Upon landing on the ground, one of them transformed into a panting black haired man dressed in the typical sentry browns. Hastily, he returned the salute to Sasuke then proceeded to inform him of the situation.

"Sir, we've just seen movement in the forest about 7 miles away. From the number of mutts I saw running through the trees, I'd say the Canis are bent on a major attack," the sentry's voice came through breathless and rushed.

Sasuke's face darkened. "How many? How much time do we have?"

The sentry hesitated. "Around 800, sir. You have less than ten minutes."

Sasuke cursed as the flock of sparrows took off to inform the rest of the soldiers. 800 bloody mutts! Trust the Canis to attack them right after they had suffered heavy losses from the last battle. Nearly a third of their soldiers had been injured and were currently in no shape to fight.

Swiftly, the young man shifted into his alter form and let loose a wild, harsh, warning cry as his powerful wings lifted him into the air. If any of the other soldiers heard, they would know to alert the others to prepare for battle. From his high vantage point, his keen eyes swept the landscape, looking for the enemies.

Suddenly, a small movement caught his eye. Focusing on the area where it had come from, Sasuke abruptly saw flashes of blonde hair. Grimly, he tucked his wings in and descended.

Naruto grinned and forced himself to swallow the exuberant whoop that threatened to burst through. Running swiftly with the rest of his pack, he felt exhilarated by the wind rushing by, carrying the sweet taste of battle to him. Momentarily, he even forgot the irritating detail that he was the only one still in his human form.

Abruptly, they encountered the first swarm of Avian foot soldiers. The two groups clashed violently and blood began to seep the ground. Naruto found himself facing a fierce, burly man. Snarling, the man bared his teeth and lunged at the mere child before him. Frozen, Naruto stared horrified as the man rushed at him. Then, at the last second, his years of grueling training took over.

Grabbing a kunai, he slashed at the man viciously. Caught by surprise, the man hesitated for a moment too long. Naruto slammed his blade into his enemy's heart, driving it deep and causing spurts of crimson blood to appear. Gasping, the man stumbled backwards and fell with a dull thud. His form flickered wildly, osprey and human battling to settle. Finally, he stopped twitching and become still, the red of his life blood slowly staining his pale skin and his dark uniform.

Naruto stared, panting. Stunned, he raised his hand to his face. There was so much blood. Slowly, he lifted his eyes and glanced around him. He saw his commander kill his opponent swiftly and locking eyes with him, Naruto understood that it was time for him to go.

Turning and disappearing into the woods, Naruto ran. A wave of nausea and remorse slowly filled his body. So much blood. He had just taken the life of a stranger, without thought or regret either. Sharp pangs stabbed his heart as he wondered whether the man had a family or not. What had he just destroyed? What happiness did he just steal?

Unable to hold it in anymore, Naruto stopped and hunched over, breathing hard. He threw up into the nearby bushes, his stomach heaving until there was nothing left. Dully, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and straightened. He ran on, blindly.

Behind him trailed a relatively young man. Only 26, he was already considered a miracle for surviving that long. Slightly angry, he watched passively as the boy threw up. Why was he given this stupid task? His teammates and friends were back there, dying at the claws of those dirty birds while he tracked this youngster. Growling softly to himself he wondered fiercely why this boy's safety was so important. Suddenly, realization hit him. The commander was probably just testing him. He probably wanted to see if he would accept a meaningless task or disobey orders to save his comrades. Grinning now, he spared one last glance at the blonde, then turned and sped back through the forest. The commander was going to be so proud of him.

Unaware that he was truly alone now, Naruto kept running. Tears blurred his vision and for a fleeting second, he was glad that Jiraiya-sensei had placed him alone on sentry duty. No one would see him cry this way. Furiously, he wiped his eyes. This was stupid. To be crying over someone he had never known, never even spared a tendril of care for – it wasn't his fault the man was a bloody Avian. He deserved to die! He had probably killed dozens of Naruto's own comrades before.

Eyes dry now, Naruto clenched his fists as a false sense of justice filled him. Preoccupied as he was, he failed to notice the black blur headed for his head until it was too late.

With a cry, he threw up his arm to protect his face from the raven's deadly sharp claws. He felt a sharp pain and blood started to drip down from a gash in his upper arm. Lowering it, he glared at the Avian who had landed and shifted his shape. The man knelt there with his head bowed, black hair spilling across and obscuring his face. Suddenly, his head snapped up and cerulean eyes locked onto obsidian orbs.

Preview:
Sasuke became very still and when he raised his eyes, Naruto felt an involuntary shudder run up his spine. This man in front of him was not... human anymore.

"No one draws my blood and lives..." Sasuke said in a low voice and his red eyes became even harder.