Disclaimer: I have never, and will never, own Naruto.

Summary: When Sasuke killed Naruto, Naruto expected to go visit the angels in heaven. He never knew that sometimes the thing you most desire is often found if you just open your eyes…and unlock your heart. When the mission ended, everyone thought Naruto died, but when the Sound attacks a weakened Konoha, a ghost from the past will show them that life will go on, and angels do exist.

Warning: Major cursing and swearing.

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Chapter 6: Obsidian Dreams

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Naruto pouted as he sat before a small fire in the forest clearing. He glared unhappily as he noticed Mingan and Kyuubi grinning sadistically. Even Fafner was smirking! Salira had her back turned to him as she stirred the stew for their dinner over the blazing fire, though Naruto just knew that she was trying to suppress her amused giggles. And Seraphine? The violet haired girl was what was making Naruto so grumpy. The energetic female was currently sitting in his lap, happily clinging to his neck. Naruto sighed as he looked down at the grinning female.

After running around for nearly four hours, Seraphine became agitated and decided to tackle the poor blond to the ground, declaring victory over the fuming teen. She had been sitting in his lap proudly ever since.

"Oh come now Naru-tei (younger brother)! It could be worse." Salira sympathized, trying to keep a straight face. Though the key word being 'trying'. Instead she burst out in another fit of giggles.

Naruto grumbled. "How could it be any worse than…than this?" He waved his arms around vaguely outline Seraphine's clinging body. "Shut up!" He shouted to the laughing animals staying, smartly, away from him.

Fafner stood up, lazily stretching out his wings before folding them delicately on his back once more. He then yawned, stretching out his long jaw lined with sharp fangs. "She could always have tied you to an alter and hung roses around your neck, worshipping you."

Seraphine's eyes twinkled mischievously as Sierra dropped to the floor, howling with laughter and clutching her sides in mirth. Mingan sighed and shook his furry head as he lay down on the ground, eyes closed. "She did that to the last guy that came here. He went crazy a week later." Seraphine nodded her head vigorously.

Naruto groaned and was suddenly grateful for only having to deal with the bouncy female sitting in his lap.

Seraphine pouted and clung to Naruto closer. "I would have done the same if only silly Sali hadn't said I couldn't."

Naruto looked over to his suddenly tense…twin. He still wasn't used to that term yet…

Salira shrugged helplessly as she continued stirring the stew. "I couldn't have my only living family left run away and go insane now…"

Seraphine nodded. "True. Very true."

Salira grinned as she poured the cooked stew into six separate bowls. She easily carried three of them to the animal spirits, then went back to give the other two to Naruto and Seraphine – after casually pushing her off her brother's lap – before taking her own bowl. They ate in a relative silence, listening to the night music from the forest. Fafner curled up on a nearby rock for sleep soon after he finished his meal. Mingan soon joined him at the base of the large stone after nuzzling Salira a goodnight. Kyuubi jumped onto Naruto's lap, sticking out her tongue playfully to the violet-haired female when the blond began to absently pet her fur.

Seraphine stretched her arms high above her head, stifling a yawn. "Well, I don't know about you two but I am goin' to get some shut eye." She stood and started to walk towards the underground cave she lived in. She tilted her head back to Salira. "I don't know what you need, but we'll discuss it tomorrow, 'kay?" Without waiting for an answer, she walked into the cave.

Naruto turned his head to his twin. "What was that about?" He asked, seeing his twin walk over and settle next to the grey wolf.

Salira yawned. "Talk about it tomorrow. Get some sleep, you'll need the rest for tomorrow." She turned her back to Naruto and went to sleep, curling into Mingan's warm fur.

The silence left Naruto to decipher Salira's crypic message before, he too, went to sleep.

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Naruto groaned as the first rays of sunlight filtered in from the trees, coating everything with a nice, cheery, orange glow. He sat up, making Kyuubi fall from her perch on his stomach. He ignored the grumbling fox as he looked around the clearing. Salira and Mingan were gone. Fafner as well so he was sure that he wouldn't find Seraphine in her cave. He sighed, walking to the lake and washing his face before dunking his head underwater to get a drink.

The forest exploded behind him.

Naruto jumped up and ran back to the clearing where Kyuubi was wide-awake, muscles tensed as she crouched to the grown, tails fanned out behind her. He saw smoke coming from the trees and ran towards it, Kyuubi hot on his heels. They heard the shouting before they found their missing comrades.

"Gosh-darn-it Sera! What are you trying to do? Burn the entire damn forest?" Naruto recognized the voice as Salira.

"I know what I'm doing!" Seraphine argued. "So stop fucking complaining and shut the hell up! Make yourself useful for a change!"

Naruto sighed, smacking his forehead. At least they weren't hurt. He walked further into the forest, towards the arguing females. He came to a large piece of barren land covered entirely in rocks and stones. Water trickled between the rocks as the current from a nearby stream sent it inland. A large pit was at the edge of the wasteland, at the base of a small rocky hill. Both hill and the area surrounding the pit were covered in a smooth, wavy, black substance. The hardened ground was cracked and red in a few places.

Naruto looked around, wondering what caused this. He found the temperature steadily rising as he walked towards the arguing duo. As he came closer he realized that Salira was drenched with water. Seraphine jumped from the pit and landed next to Salira. She was covered it black soot and wore a tight, waterproof jacket. Fafner flew in from the forest with Mingan running at his heels. Both were covered wood splinters and Mingan carried a large sac across his back. Mingan's eyes traveled to where Naruto and Kyuubi were. He seemed to be the only one that noticed their presence.

Fafner flew overtop of Mingan and picked up the lumpy sac with his talons after Mingan ripped threw the knot with his fangs. The dragon then carried it over to Seraphine and laid it at her feet before giving the violet-haired female a firm scolding.

"So you realize how much trouble we went through to find that stuff." He growled in his already low, wispy voice. "You do realize that Redwood doesn't grow in this forest, right?" When Seraphine nodded, he continued. "Do you have any idea how far we had to go to get this stuff?"

Seraphine nodded. "Over the mountains and into Lightning country. So?"

Mingan stretched out his body, arching his back before settling on his haunches, watching the interacting partners arguing with a hint of amusement sparkling in his sapphire eyes. He tilted his head towards Naruto and seemed to have rolled his golden eyes.

Fafner snapped his wings open and rose onto his hind legs. "SO? DO you realize how far that is?"

Seraphine thought for a moment and tapped her finger against her chin. "Not far. Maybe less than a day's walk?"

Fafner sighed, letting out a breath of smoke. It was no use getting her to understand. He flapped his wings and flew up, landing at the base of the hill and laying down, resting his body and closing his eyes. Mingan soon trotted over and followed suit, dozing quietly in the morning sun.

Naruto decided to speak up. "Someone mind telling me what that was all about?"

Salira jumped, clutching her chest while Seraphine just tilted her head to look at him. "Naruto! When did you get here?"

Naruto shrugged as Kyuubi walked to the pit, sniffing the smoky edges. "About 10 minutes ago? What's going on?"

Seraphine grinned, clasping her hands behind her back. "Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but since you're here…" She trailed off, looking at Salira.

Salira shook her head. "We wanted to make a weapon for you. One that you could use and adapt with your shinobi training," she smiled. "We were just getting the components." She giggled, winking at Naruto. "But that's as far as you'll know." She walked up to Naruto and placed a kiss on his forehead. "You'll just have to wait for the rest."

"Y-you're not gonna' tell me?" he stuttered, blinking away his confused expression from his face.

Salira shook her head. "Nope." She grinned. "Got to leave something for suspense purposes, ne?"

Naruto pouted, crossing his arms as Kyuubi trotted up to him and jumped up to his arms, standing on her hind legs as she licked his cheek. "Lets wait." she said.

Naruto groaned. "Three against one. Phooey."

Salira laid her arm across Naruto's shoulders, steering him away from the barren clearing. "Aww. Don't be like that! Us girls like to have some fun."

Seraphine giggled as the twins left the clearing.

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Naruto looked over at his sister. "So what was with that wasteland back there?"

Salira looked over her shoulder but all she saw was a trees. "Fafner is a dragon and he enjoys warm places. The hotter it is, the better. He has the most peculiar fondness for magma, surprisingly." She tilted her head to the sky, closing her eyes as the sun warmed her face through the tree's canopy. "So she built that pit and every once in a while she'd fill it with the magma from beneath the earth. Don't ask, I don't know how she does it. Something about her connection and partnership with Fafner.

"Anyways, one day it overflowed and neither knew how to harden the flowing lava. That's pretty much how I met them. I used a water spell and the lava hardened creating that black ground covering that you saw. The mineral that we need for you're weapon is and igneous rock; formed from cooling lava." She frowned, wondering if she revealed anything by that comment. She shrugged, squinting her eyes to the sun as they exited the forest and came to the lake that they crossed the previous day. "She overflowed the pit again today. Had to cool it down again. Some spots are still warm though, hence the red cracks that you walked over." She grinned. "We got the mineral though, and by the sounds of it Mingan and Fafner got the wood. It should be ready by this evening."

Naruto turned to Salira. "What should be?"

Salira grinned as she sat on the lakeshore "That, my dear brother, is the surprise."

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Evening fell as Salira and Naruto sat by the lake, Kyuubi resting on Naruto's shoulder. The fox's ear twitched and she raised her head, looking behind her. Naruto stirred from his light doze. "Hmm, What is it, Kyuu?"

Kyuubi growled, before laying her head on her forelegs once more. "A smelly wolf."

A gray blur shot through the forest, barely missing crashing into Naruto as it grabbed Kyuu by the scruff of her neck. It threw the small fox into the lake. "Who's smelly?" Mingan growled.

Kyuubi surfaced a few moments later, gasping for breath and spluttering in the water. She glared at Mingan. "You are." She taunted as she climbed to the rocky ground. She shook the water from her fur and lay on the ground, covering her snout with her paws. "Smelly." She whined.

Mingan growled and his hind legs tensed. Salira called out to him. "Mingan. Where's Sera and Fafner?"

Mingan grumbled and relaxed his body. "Back at the fire field."

Salira nodded her head. "Naruto. Kyuubi. Let's go.

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When the small group arrived at the clearing they saw Fafner resting on the ground with Seraphine curled up, resting her head on his foreleg. Salira walked up to them and gently shook Seraphine awake. "Sera?" She shook her head when Seraphine started to get up. "Just tell me where it is. I'll get it for you."

Seraphine snorted, standing up and brushed some dirt from her clothes. "And let you take all the credit? Not likely." She grinned at her friend.

Salira shrugged innocently. "Then lead the way oh sensei of mine."

Seraphine gave Salira a mock bow and deepened her voice. "You have a lot to learn young grasshopper."

Salira gave Seraphine a good whack on the head, smiling. "Shut up and go get it."

Seraphine shrugged and walked away. She winked at them and wagged a finger in Naruto's eager face. "Wait here." Before anyone could protest, she ran off. She returned a few moments later with an object in her arms, wrapped in a beige cloth. Naruto gently took it from her outstretched arms and cradled it gently to his chest as he slowly unraveled the cloth.

Little by little, the weapon was revealed and Naruto looked at it in awe.

Within Naruto's tanned hands rested a kusarikama (chained sickle). The sickle seemed to be made of a fine, black, translucent glass with an octahedron (3-D diamond) at the other end other the chain of the same lustrous substance. The sickle was attached to a piece of rose-coloured wood tightly bound in black tape. A bronze chain attached the two sharp blades together.

Seraphine grinned happily as she noticed Naruto's astonished gaze. She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. Then she eagerly took the kusarikama from Naruto's hands and proceeded to happily give a description. Her fingers danced over the black, lustrous sickle. "This, my dear friend, is made from the finest and purest obsidian minerals that you can find. It has been minutely compressed together to form the hardened blade and sharpened by a dragon's flame and tail to a sharp edge." She demonstrated this by running her finger lightly along it, causing the smallest of cuts. "And that was just lightly," she continued. "Imagine putting force behind this." She whistled in appreciation before continuing. "The handle is made from compact redwood; it's light-weight, durable, and has a natural resistance to decay. Keep it polished and it will love you forever.

"The chain is made from just a simple length of polished bronze, the perfect colour for camouflage; since you're a shinobi and everything, this is the best choice." She ran her hands along the chain as she let the sickle dangle. She came to the diamond-shaped obsidian at the bottom. "For easy and deceptive killings, this little toy at the end can be shot accurately and easily resemble a spear wound." With a quick flick of her wrist, the sickle was back in her palms. "A little training and you'll be wielding this as if it were a part of your body. And, as an added bonus, apply a little chakra to this baby and the chain will grow or shrink, depending on what you want." She held out the weapon to Naruto again, in which he eagerly grabbed it once more.

"I think it needs a name," Salira whispered softly, leaning over Naruto's shoulder and gazing at the darkly toned weapon the her brother clutched greedily to his chest.

"Kazan." He said softly. "My kusarikama shall be named Kazan." He smiled gently. Naruto no longer gave the foxy grins that he was famous for. He found no need since his closest friends, his dearest family, knew him more then anyone dared to. He didn't have to pretend anymore. He could be himself, for there are people who loved him for him. One of his most precious was giving his cheek a soft lick, nuzzling up to his cheek.

"I like it." Kyuubi said. "The volcanic sickle. Nice ring to it, gaki (kid)."

Naruto smiled again as he walked up to Seraphine and gave her a small, shy kiss on her cheek. "Thank you."

A rare blush coated Seraphine's cheeks as she smiled softly. "You're welcome, Naru-chan." Her and Salira hugged Naruto tightly. Kyuubi jumped down to the ground and stood next to Mingan, arching her back like a cat and rubbed against the wolf's forelegs before circling and sat between them as he laid down, his head next to Kyuubi's. "Happy ever after." She murmured gazing at her bonded partner.

"Yes." Mingan agreed. "It all seems perfect."

A little ways away, Fafner snorted, a puff of smoke blowing from his nostrils. He hated mushy scenes.

Yet, a far distance away from the happy group, a war was starting between the Fire and the Sound countries, a war that would bring friend against friend, foe against foe. Unbeknownst to them, Naruto and Salira would be the turning point in an otherwise hopeless situation. For some ghosts refuse to remain dead and others come back as angels from heaven and send the war spiraling out of control.

Uzuriel
-The Spiral Angels.

"You ready to go home?"

"No, I'm not. I don't think I'll ever be ready, but I won't run away. I won't abandon the friends that had cared."

"I understand."

A smile, and they were off.

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Please Read:

THAT took FOREVER! But I have to say I am pleased with the results. I am sorry for the delay; I have no excuse that would be acceptable for my tardiness. I only hope that you'll forgive me. The next chapter I hope I can give to you for Christmas or earlier but I will not make any promises.

Please enjoy this chapter, I promise that I will not abandon this story. Both you and I love it too much for me to every do that. It might take some time, but the next chapter should be coming shortly.

From here on out, everything takes place 2-3 years from now, so please stay tuned for the next chapter.

Chapter 7: Songs of Hope

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Review Replies: I love each and every review I receive. They all give me hope and on the rare occasion, inspire me to write quicker. For that, I thank you.

Night-Owl123 Thank you. He should be returning home in the next chappie, so please stay tuned!

Dragon Man 180 XD spoken like a true fan. Good job!

AkkiKage I have to be honest, I have only made one pairing. I've had some interesting suggestions for Salira though. (evil grin). Naru-chan? Still working on. I'll let you know when I've decided, 'kay?

Ookami Fuu When I first designed Serahine's character, she was supposed to be a distant cousin or something. And, despite the way she acts, she's "supposed" to be 16 or 17. P

Cobra-100 LoL. Bwahaha. The joys of our out-of-this-world imaginations! I never had planned on a NaruSera pairing but, by everyone's suggestions, its starting to head there.

Little Fox Kit Yeah; in that case you DO have to feel sorry for him. Although, I don't think there will be TOO much "punishment" He is going to be spoilersavingTsunade'sbuttspoiler

Dark Noir OH YEAH! I can't wait to see their reactions either! I haven't decided on what they might be, so suggestions ARE helpful. A demented but close family. Seraphine's CLOTHES? A store probably…or her own crazy ideas…-.-; LoL, then let us pray. Sorry, not as much comedy in this chapter, BUT next chapter I'll make up for it. (wink wink). As for Kyuubi's strength, that shall be determined…later? Sigh. NOOOO! Must…resist…dreaded…Foxy-eyes…jutsu…(gives in) Fine. I have decided on ONE pairing so far, a little taste in this chapter –if you can find it- and I'm thinking of another one or two. So, if you're lucky, we might get THREE pairings for the price of ONE! Hoping usually increases the loving. Keep it up!

Crazy-antman Kyuubi's powers SHOULD be determined in two-to-four chapters. Sorry about that.

MissEcoFreakTheDarkPrecursorLoL. LOVE the comedy. THANK YOU!

SadnessandSorrow …I'm not gonna ask…I'd like to keep SOMe of my sanity, thank YOU! XDDD L0L