The Archangel of the Hidden Leaf

Chapter 1:

Guardians of the Pure Land

On the outskirts of the Land of Fire, a skinny film of smoke lifted into the peaceful starry sky from inside the thick forest. The source was a makeshift campfire made up of a somewhat organized pile of wood but was barely big enough to warm the squad of Leaf ninja that were gathered around it. Nobody spoke as the juvenile flames danced and flipped around before releasing smoldering embers into the air, all of it illuminating each individual and parts of the tree trunks behind them with a soft orange hue. In the middle of their comfortable silence, locusts and other insects filled their ears with continuous chirps, almost putting everyone in a time trance.

Then one of them yawned kind of loud, disturbing the peace. He was the one and only Naruto Uzumaki, the only genin of the squad who sported golden blonde hair and an orange and black jumpsuit. His bright blue eyes gazed back into the campfire when his obnoxious yawn ended, and then he made a suggestion. "Someone tell a story or something. I'm bored," he declared.

"Hmm," Kakashi, the team leader, hummed as he looked down at Yamato, the team captain.

Yamato, with his face outlined by his metal facial armor, noticed the look and returned it to Kakashi, who was sitting on top of the log. "What? You want me to tell a story?" he amused.

Kakashi blinked with his one visible eye and slightly smiled from underneath his navy mask before answering. "You're better at it than I am."

The only female of Team 7, Sakura, watched the jonins' exchange with tired eyes of emerald from across the campfire. Her pink hair, which draped to just above her shoulders, hung alongside her face and prevented her from seeing what Sai was sketching on his drawing pad. She kept quiet, but she had a good idea of what was about to happen.

"Oh, come on! Spit it out already, Captain Yamato!" Naruto urged.

"Alright, alright…"

Sakura's gaze wandered to Yamato's hand as he reached behind his back and suddenly pulled out a flashlight and shined its beam from below his chin. The orange hue from the campfire was interrupted by the whiteness from the light beam instead, thus altering the lighting against Yamato's unblinking facial expression. "How does a ghost story sound?" he asked steadily with a stern and monotone voice.

"Ah!" Naruto yelled as he jumped behind his log bench in one swift movement. "Stop making that creepy face!"

Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's reaction, but Sakura just shook her head. Sai, on the other hand, never glanced up once from his artwork. Instead, his dark eyes remained concentrated on the lines that made up his sketch of an owl he saw perched upon a tree branch earlier in the evening.

Yamato turned his flashlight off and put it away, satisfied with his recurring practical joke. "Still want a story, Naruto?"

"Depends. Is it actually a ghost story? Because you know how I feel about ghosts…" he trailed, sitting back upon his log bench.

"Hmm, no, not a ghost story… Maybe…"

"I got one," Kakashi chimed in, after all, slightly adjusting his sitting position. "It's about the myth of those who guard the Pure Land."

"Pure Land?" Naruto questioned with a dumbfounded expression.

"The afterlife, you idiot," Sakura insulted.

"Oh…Well, I've never heard of it!"

"Then you should learn, Naruto," Kakashi continued, "that it's a supposedly peaceful place where souls are laid to rest."

"So…is it real or what?"

"Yes, it's a real place. But not much is known about it, hence why this is just folklore."

"Go on, then. I'm listening," he stated, finding a place to relax properly.

The flames of the campfire sustained their life and danced as Kakashi began to speak. All the attention was on him, excluding Sai, but he was still listening. "Many, many years ago, the Pure Land was open to our world. Souls were able to cross over freely and roam our world with people. You could lose loved ones physically, but never spiritually. Some would say it was the most peaceful period in history because there was no emotional pain like what the death of a loved one brings.

"However, peace was traded for terror when the tailed beasts began to conquer our world. The free souls were suddenly all being permanently exterminated from existence by their monstrous outbreaks. So, the only ones able to save the remaining souls were the guardians of the Pure Land."

Naruto's transfixed expression was locked on his white-haired sensei as he imagined the scene being described before him. Interestingly enough, the tale also had Sakura's full attention. She sat on the ground with her back to the log and her knees tucked into her chest, but the still ogle curiously reflected the movement of the flames in the campfire as her focus remained on her sensei on the other side.

"What were the guardians, Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto probed.

"From what I can describe, they were in-between beings. Kind of like…spirits with a physical body. People nowadays would call them angels," Kakashi answered.

For the first time, Sai stopped sketching on his art pad. The potential images of these so-called "angels" filled his head with ideas.

"Angels were apparently extremely beautiful creatures," Kakashi depicted. "But they were ultimately warriors who righteously defended their spiritual realm. They could even pass as humans until you saw their wings."

"What kind of wings?" Sakura confided.

"Um, I don't know. My immediate guess would have to be bird wings."

The soft-spoken Sai looked back down to his art pad as the description came and went. He now had a solid image in his mind of what these angels would appear to be, so he exchanged his sketch pad for a blank scroll, lifted his brush, and began to paint a new illustration. Against the white paper, black lines – curved and straight – created the image of a beautiful woman. She had long wavy hair and soft, plump lips, but the rest of her body was covered by a loose kimono. As Sai easily added her bird-like wings spreading from behind her back, Kakashi was reaching the end of his myth.

"To protect what was left of the souls, the angels gathered them together and took them back to the Pure Land, and to prevent further destruction in the future, they locked away the physical entrance forever. That is why some souls are unable to pass into the afterlife and remain here in our world as ghosts. But it is said that because the entrance is locked away for eternity, the tailed beasts cannot hurt spirits anymore and are left to terrorize physical beings instead."

A sudden hush fell over the group, almost as if they were patiently waiting for more content to be told. Instead, Kakashi sat and did not speak more on the matter. Yamato lifted a confused eyebrow, probably thinking he could have pulled off something a lot better for a story.

"…That's it? That's the myth?" Sakura questioned, interrupting the awkwardness.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Kakashi concluded matter-of-factly.

Kind of an anticlimactic ending if you ask me…she internally grumbled to herself in response.

Naruto rested his elbow against his knee as he sat cross-legged and pressed his chin into his palm. "Come on, Sensei," he complained. "There's gotta be a better ending than that. Like…one of the angels got left behind somehow and is forever stuck in our world!"

"Hey, it's just a myth. There's no need to take it so seriously."

Sai adjusted his hold on his paintbrush as he lifted a single hand to make a finger sign with it. "Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll," he commanded to himself.

Yamato, Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto all glanced at the ANBU member and witnessed his newest sketch come to life off the paper. The ink separated and became its own object, using the feathered wings Sai had given it to flutter into the air. "Like this, Sensei?" Sai asked Kakashi, looking for an honest opinion.

Kakashi watched as the sketched angel's body parts moved in a lifelike manner, from the hand wielding a sword to the wings consistently flapping. It ventured around the campfire aimlessly like a butterfly looking for a flower to land on but did so in a graceful manner. It mesmerized him so much for a brief moment that he forgot to reply to Sai.

"Not bad, Sai," Yamato complimented before turning his attention to Naruto. "You wanted an angel left behind, so there you go."

"Whatever," Naruto replied as he got up from his log. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay, but remember we leave at dawn to return to the village," Kakashi reminded his student as he walked back toward the wooden house Yamato had formed through his wood release for their temporary stay.

Naruto's silhouette thinned out with the distance he was making between himself and the campfire. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he answered, ducking inside the abode.

Sakura rolled her eyes and then saw Sai's angelic figure still fluttering around in front of them all. The sight of it quickly changed her mood to a more positive one. "You did do a good job with that, Sai," she assured him with a gentle smile.

"Thank you," he responded, closing his eyes, and giving a smile of his own. But suddenly there was a sizzling sound and the darkening of the campfire, which caused Sakura and Sai to return their gazes to the now damp, charred wood. The angel had flown too close to the flames and as a result, completely melted and soaked the fire with black ink. Kakashi had watched as her beautiful face transitioned from peaceful bliss to utter dread with the melting effect, feeling a mysterious sense of superficial uneasiness afterward when her remains perished forever.

The gloom of night made the dirt trail almost obscure. With trees on both sides, the only way to know if they were staying in sync with it was to look up and stay underneath the ominous sky. It was endlessly dotted with white speckles inside a gentle hue of gray, a couple of them even twinkling when observed long enough. The man who walked in the lead took up the responsibility of navigating his party of three down the trail by peering up to the sky and checking if they were staying between the trees. Every time he did it, he could not help but take a few seconds to admire what was bestowed to him.

Behind him was his partner, who shared the same black cloak that had sparse red clouds around it. He followed the blonde obediently, keeping an eye on him through the one peephole he had in his swirled orange mask. But his arms were growing weak and his muscles were beginning to legitimately strain from the weight of the emaciated girl he was holding across his chest. The third member of their party could have been considered dead because she had not moved or made a sound since her capture a few hours earlier. Her pale face was hidden by her severely unkempt dark curls, and her head slightly bounced with the footsteps as it hung off the crook of his elbow.

Finally, amid the tranquil silence between the two Akatsuki members, the one in tow started his annoying and childish tirade. The sound of exaggerated panting behind him made Deidara cringe and immediately become irritated. He knew what was coming next.

"Deidaraaaaaa," Tobi began, his goofy pitched voice purposely extending to amplify his immature complaining. "When are we stopping for the dayyy? And why must I be the one to carry her? You're the one who wanted to bring her with us!"

Without stopping or looking back at him, Deidara responded as calmly as he could. "I'm the one who took her out all by myself, so the least you could do is simply a little heavy lifting to be useful."

"Ooh! But can't you mold a giant bird or something to carry her?!" Tobi suddenly bellowed with excitement. He merrily sprinted in front of Deidara with his knees lifting high in the air for each step. The blonde was forced to halt from the sudden obstacle, making him huff exasperatedly in the middle of Tobi's next sentence. "I'm sure you did that for Sasori when you both captured the Kazekage! Come on, Deidara. Please do the same for me," Tobi pleaded, extending his full arms toward Deidara. The girl's body moved with his arms, making it a little more obvious that she was probably dead. Her arms and hands even had remnants of burns from her explosive encounter with him.

Deidara, with almost half of his hair pulled up in his ponytail gently waving in the breeze that was passing through, gave his partner a very unimpressed expression before rolling his eyes. "You know I already used too much detonating clay today. The answer is no."

"Awwwwww!" Tobi whined as Deidara walked around him to continue their trek. "But Tobi is a good boy!"

"Shut up!" Deidara shouted, clenching his fists into tight balls, and turning around to face him again. "Stop being such a four-year-old for once. If you don't like my authority, then you can leave the Akatsuki for all I care."

"Hmm," Tobi pouted underneath his mask. He looked down at the lifeless girl, feeling a little sorry for her, but he adjusted his hold on her by tossing her over his shoulder to give his aching arms a break. With a hand keeping her dangling legs secure against him, he resumed in following Deidara obediently in the dark of night.

The thin film of smoke that was once rising up and out of the forest had ceased and dissipated. Even though Sai inadvertently put their campfire out with his embodiment of an angel, Yamato had made a second one so they could enjoy the warmth a little longer.

But Kakashi and Yamato were now the only two who were still awake from their five-man squad; however, they were also preparing to get some sleep soon. Yamato hunkered over the campfire and was manually putting out the remaining flames as Kakashi stood behind him, scanning the forest around them, and sniffing for any unfamiliar scents.

"So, where did you hear that angel myth from?" Yamato wondered, coming off a little smug. The outlandish tale had dumbfounded him when Kakashi was speaking of it earlier, so he had the impression that something was up.

Kakashi did not answer straight away, but when he did, he admitted: "I made it up."

Yamato tried suppressing a laugh but partly failed. "I was about to say…That definitely was a story I had never heard before."

"I guess I need to work on my impromptu story skills, huh?"

"You said it. Not me."

Tobi exhaled deeply and loudly as he laid the girl down in some grass, one hand caressing the back of her head while the other supported the back of her legs. "Finally!" he cheered happily and with relief. "Done for the day! Done for the day! Huh, Deidara?"

Deidara ignored him. "Don't forget to tie her up, you buffoon," he sternly reminded him instead, tossing him some rope.

Tobi let the rope hit the ground, not even attempting to catch it. He watched as Deidara pulled his hair out from his high ponytail so it could all be free-falling around his face, and then stick his hand into his clay pouch underneath his Akatsuki cloak to mold something. Clenching his fist, he let his Forbidden Jutsu do its magic by chewing up the clay and spitting out a little mold. He tossed it into the nearby pile of wood and then did a hand sign so it would detonate and create a fire for them.

"Ooh! Now we can have dinner!" Tobi exclaimed with animated hands.

Looking back at him, the blonde saw how he had not moved a muscle. "Tobi!"

He instantly deflated upon the tone and picked up the rope. "Right, right, right, right…" Rolling their victim onto her side, he moved behind her and brought her wrists together to tie them. Her face remained covered by her knotted hair, and her skin was colder than it should have been. Tobi inspected her burns while he secured her, his mind starting to fill with questions.

Meanwhile, Deidara went over to the fire and prepared to cook them both a midnight snack. He had to admit, he was a little hungry, but there was no way he would admit that to his partner.

"Deidara?" Tobi said – calmly for once.

"What?" he replied, warming a small pan above the flames.

"Why do we have this girl? She's not a jinchuriki, and we're supposed to be looking for the tailed beasts."

"Just trying to earn some money."

"Like Kakuzu?"

"Yeah, but it's not the black market like he does." He added a couple of small pieces of food to the now hot pan to cook, not looking at Tobi at all.

The masked partner left the girl to come to join him by the fire. "You don't seem to be someone who does extra work. Akatsuki work is exhausting enough."

Deidara flipped the food over with his fingers quickly to cook it evenly. "Well, truth is I wasn't actively looking for her. We just got lucky."

"Is there a list of people to catch?"

"You ask too many questions–"

Suddenly, a faint moan sounded off a few feet away. Both Deidara and Tobi whipped their heads around to see the girl barely stir against the ground. The sight made Tobi gasp aloud. "Heyyy! She's alive!... Is that good or bad?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter to me," Deidara grumbled, flipping the food one more time. "She'll be dead soon anyway."

She moaned again but did so a little louder. Her knee dug into the ground as she continued to move. Tobi stood up to go immobilize her even more, nervous that she would at least try to run away. "Where do you think you're goinggg?" he inquired her in his goofy manner. "Dinner is almost ready! You're probably starving!"

"Who said we were feeding her?" Deidara protested angrily.

"Oh, she can just have my portion. I mean look at her–" He knelt next to her and lifted her from the ground so she could sit "–She's so thin, so bony!" He then wrapped his arm around her while his other hand held the bottom of her jaw, feeling the unhealthy scrawniness to her facial structure.

"Not my pro–"

"AHHH!" Tobi shrieked loudly.

Deidara dropped the pan into the fire from being startled. When he went to furiously shout at Tobi, he was met with the sight of the girl clamping her teeth on his gloved finger. He shrieked more and more while thrashing his hand around, trying to free himself. "SHE'S BITING ME! SHE'S BITING MEEEE!"

Despite nearly getting her teeth ripped from her gums as her head was jerked side to side, she persistently stayed attached to his finger. Some blood drooled onto her lip and tongue, giving her the luscious iron taste she had almost forgotten about.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Deidara yelled, getting up.

But he was too late. She released Tobi's finger while he was thrashing, and he ended up thrusting his body weight to the side as a result. The opportunity was wide open at that moment. In a flash, she had rolled over, found her feet, and made a run for it under the conceal of the trees. Her wrists were still bound, but it did not stop her from finding her way out from captivity.

"Hey!" Deidara yelled again, molding something again with his clay. Her figure maneuvered around tree trunks, causing the light from the fire to quickly lose track of her. "Damn," he grumbled.

Tobi sat up, his bleeding finger pulsing with pain, and watched as his partner's palm visibly chewed on a considerable amount of white clay, and then open its mouth and extend its tongue to lay out a molded shape onto it. Deidara threw it to the ground and did a hand sign so it would instantaneously expand into a much bigger version of itself. What appeared was a giant owl-like bird that was big enough to carry at least three people on its back. The self-proclaimed artist mounted onto its back and lifted above the forest in one swoop to get a birds-eye view of where his prize ran off to.

But it was all for nothing. It was the dead of night with only a juvenile crescent moon providing moonlight. Also, there was too much terrain to cover. All in all, that girl was gone.

Furious by the loss, Deidara swooped back down to where Tobi was. There was an obvious tension in the air that followed him, making him gulp with apprehension. "Uh oh," Tobi sheepishly squeaked. Then without hesitation, Deidara lunged at him and began to strangle him.