Revised
Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable thing from Naruto. I just like to take the characters out of the box and play with them awhile. I promise to put them back when I am done. Everything else, story-plot and some concepts are mine though, so don't steal them. If the rabid herring's weren't enough for you, then allow me to introduce you to the leprous Bonsai tree. Oh it would grow, but everything would eventually fall off leaving you with a pot of pernicious plant and the lingering olfaction of almonds and burnt hair.
Summary: 'Gaara.' Shikamaru warned. 'She is one of the Fell. Regulation dictates her off limits.' The shadow shifter's gaze flickered to the figure lying broken on the stone steps before returning to his lords apathetic facade. Gaara turned to him, his eyes flashing dangerously with the veins of lightening overhead. 'She's coming with us.'
Note: Please, please, please tell me what you think, but just remember to harsh of Flames hurt the soul. It is rated for language and minor violence. The lyrics below are written by Within Temptation, scroll down for the chapter beginning.
Dark Wings:
Why was I one of the chosen ones?
Until the fight I could not see
The magic and the strength of my power
It was beyond my wildest dreams
Dark wings, they are descending
See shadows gathering around
One by one they are falling
Every time they strike us down
Don't you die on me
(You haven't made your peace)
Live life
(Breathe, breathe)
Don't you die on me
(You haven't made your peace)
Live life
(Breathe, breathe)
As they took your soul away
The night turned into the day
Blinded by your rays of life
Gave us strength we needed
Dark wings, they are descending
See shadows gathering around
One by one they are falling
Every time they just strike us
Dark wings, they are descending
See shadows gathering around
One by one they are falling
Every time they just strike us down
Chapter One:
'No!' The silent protest echoed in his mind as he watched her pitched over the side. Those who once swore fidelity and love to her, spared not even a glimpse back like she was yesterday's waste. Her own family standing to the side, watching with emotionless opal eyes as their disgraced heiress was cast into the swirling void. The storm having been summoned mere moments ago rotated and folded upon itself in growing masses of heat, air, and thick moisture. It seemed every Choir, from Thrones to Seraphim (1), were gathered along the mountain path to see the 'traitor' cast from the light.
As he had planned the night before, he positioned himself fairly close to the front of the parade. There was no turning back now. No room for error in the seconds following her Fall. He took a small resolved breath before pushing his legs forward, wings erupting through the skin of his back as he sped for the cliff edge.
Faces.
So many iniquitous faces blurred by as he sprinted through the cortege. Hiashi the tyrannical father, Hanabi the favored and spoiled younger sister, Seiji the last elder of the oldest generation and puppeteer of the stoic painted marionettes called the Hyuuga. The names and faces went on and on in a never ending procession of greed and hate. Only two did he not see among the fevered throng; Neji, who no doubt was off on his own trying to make sense of the last two days as he soaked in a pool of hate and anguish, and finally his father and mentor. A man of vision and revolution stained as a demon and traitor after his own Fall. His feet seemingly floated off the ground as he neared the end of his short but life altering journey. The grass beneath his sandal soles turned to sand turned to rock turned to nothing.
Shouts and curses of protest fell upon deaf ears as he launched his body over the threshold, swan-diving into the abyss after her. He blinked his eyes, realizing that they would be almost entirely useless in the swarthy heavens. The actual space between the gateway's to Earth was black as pitch. He would have to wait until he crossed into the atmosphere before he had any hopes of seeing her.
His brown eyes glazed over in animosity. Memories of the promise he made to his father flared into the forefront of his mind as he pressed the snowy extensions closer together behind his shoulder blades in hopes to gain more speed in the free fall.
Flashback
"Protect her above all things, my son." The masked man dropped a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She is more precious than all the stars in the heavens."
"What do you mean papa?" He asked with the curious yet demanding undertones that came natural to all ten year-olds. The man merely shook his head, a smile curling his lips at the corners as he turned to leave.
"You will find out all in good time. Now, how about we get some training in before supper, hmm?"
"Yes!" He pumped his fist in excitement before running to catch up.
End of Flashback
He needed to go faster. But he also needed to stay conscious.
So many factors came into play when an Angel was cast down. So many ways one could die. This is why the elders, millennia ago, chose the Fall as supreme condemnation of those found guilty of crimes against the race.
First the condemned was bound; hands, feet, wings, all forced into a state of immobilization. Their mouth was then covered, as were the eyes, so that no desperate incantation maybe whispered nor pleading glance sent. And last but not least, they were stripped of their Right of Passage. A mark, that allowed the said Angel to travel back and forth between realms, was seared off of the upper left arm. (2)
They were then carried to Denique Ingredior. The Final Walk. There, they were given a few moments of silent prayer as the clan elder, Seiji, conjured the elements for the necessary cloudburst to open the portal. Thick clouds would begin curling together causing a small rift where the Heavens and Earth collided. This 'natural' rift in space and time allowed the Angels to pass through the barrier and enter the Human realm. (3)
His eyes searched the inky blackness; his body ever aware of the electricity crackling around him making the hairs on the back of his arms and neck stand on end. Something flickered in the dark before bathed completely in a splash of spidery lightening.
'There!'
She had obviously passed through before him, but he was gaining. Now that they were in the stratosphere, he had to move quickly.
Pressing his limbs closer to his person, he bulleted downward at dangerous speeds. His only thought to reach her before she reached the ground. Weaving in and out of colliding blisters of parlous cloud and electrically charged spears, he was finally within scope. The air rushed through his ears, whistling; thunder pounding against the inner drums threatening to puncture the frail membrane. His arm uncurled from his side and shot forward swatting first at empty space, then whispers of cloth. Disregarding the pain as rain pounded against his body in frozen pellets, he ground his teeth together in strain. His fingers fisted into the front of her gown and pulled her roughly into his chest.
The darkness prevented him from seeing if she had been hit by a stray bolt, or even breathing for that matter. But now was not the time. He cradled her head of tangled indigo locks allowing her face to hide in the juncture of his neck and shoulder. The rest of his body began melding her into his frame, bent on protecting her from all harm. His wings extended outward in attempt to slow their descent as they broke through the bottom layer of fog. They were now approaching human territory.
He inhaled sharply.
They were falling to fast. The flickering lights of the the city drew closer, buildings grew larger, indistinguishable dots became cars in a matter of moments. Closing his eyes he leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.
"Forgive me, Hinata." He whispered, unsure of whether she heard him or not.
He allowed his wings to enfold them in a last attempt to shield the impact as he turned onto his back in midair to lay horizontally, her petite body sprawled across his chest. Now all he had to do was await the end of the drop and the warm embrace of death.
The rain continued to dance off the roof, snaking it's way down the windows in small rivers. Ebony skies coruscating with scattered intervals of webbing streaks shook the planes of glass with thunderous uproar.
Gaara lifted a pale hand and traced the twisting culverts with icy fingertips. The shadows of his chamber waxing and waning with each burst of corona discharge. This kind of night reminded him of the solemn hour he and others of his kingdom pried open the flood gates of Hell, allowing all those dwelling below to surge into the realm of humans. The Heaven's cried that night, mourned the loss of what would have been the new paradise. Though he knew all to well, that, that particular figment had been forsaken long before.
However, the Heaven's did not cry for that reason this September's eve. This was something different. Something that almost made him want to sing the praises of his father.
Key word: Almost.
"Strange how this storm simply appeared." Gaara mumbled. The lurking figure, safe from the flashes of light that dispelled his solace, leaned closer from his relaxed position on the bedroom wall, melting into form from the shadows.
"My Lord?" Gaara tilted his head slightly back towards his most trusted advisor, Shikamaru. His eyes never left the raging storm before him.
"Shikamaru. Send for Kiba and Shino, I have a feeling that what we need to finish our...project, is closer than we thought." His reflection smirking at him manically in the glass before vanishing in yet another angry flash from the protesting skies above.
End of Chapter One: Dark Wings:
(1): There are somethings that I would like to go into detail about. The first one being the Angel Choirs in Heaven, well this stories version of Heaven. According to Ascension Magick by Christopher Penczak, he outlines the Pseudo-Dionysius' Areopagite written in the fifth century, which has now become the standard basis of Christian angelic lore. This outline states that the nine choirs of Angelic hierarchy are divided into three spheres, of three choirs each. Now for time sake, and mine own, I am gonna combine the 'obligations or chores' of the nine choirs into three, therefore cutting the sphere count down to a simple one!
i.) First Choir: Seraphim: These guys would basically be the main branch of Hyuuga. The condensed version goes that they are often called the 'burning ones' for their extreme love for their creator makes it impossible to gaze upon them. (In this story there is a reason they can be looked upon, but that is for a later chapter.) They are also the overseers and architects of the Heaven realm. Most of the younger generation are given the job of Guardian to large factors of people, usually countries of factions of the church. This is meant to be a growing tool, but as you will read they instead use it as a chance to abuse what power they are given and neglecting their duties, grooming more corruption for future leaders.
ii.) Second Choir: Cherubim: These are Angels that are not part of the ruling Hyuuga clan, but still higher in power than the Branch faction. I will, again, tell you in the future how the Hyuuga came to so much power in the Heaven realm. These are the Angels of wisdom, light, and guardians of the stars. Their job description also includes the title of Virtues and Archangels (select few) depending on what the Hyuuga order your family as. Virtues are said to literally infuse the world and all in it with spiritual energies. They are the angels of encouragement, blessing, and miracles. As I said before to be considered an Archangel (in this Narutoverse) you are specially chosen by the Hyuuga clan. Only four angels at a time can hold this title, tradition states it is 3 males and 1 female. They are incharge of the provinces and armies of Heaven.
iii.) Third Choir: Thrones: This is where the Hyuuga Branch family lies. These sealed beings are used primarily for protection and, angels of action before thought. They are sent to 'keep the peace' so to speak. The Branch family is used to maintain the balance and barter between Heaven and the material world (earth). Their final job is acting as guarding Angel for individuals on the Earth. They are more associated to humanity then all other choirs who seemingly look down upon human interaction of any sort, especially when it takes to form of basic servitude.
(2): The second major issue being The Right of Passage mark. Okay the right of passage is a mark on the upper left arm that grants the person permission to travel back and forth between realms. There are two distinctly different marks, there is the Heaven mark (the Hyuuga Symbol, you know the one on Hinata's jacket in the show) and the Hell mark (The Anbu mark, just cause it kicks ass.). The possessors of the Heaven mark are allowed to go back and forth between Heaven and Earth. The possessors of the Hell mark are allowed to go back and forth between Hell and Earth. But if you read the Gaara part of the chapter, you would know that the gates of Hell have been pried open, therefore making the seal unnecessary. With Me?
(3): Okay, now I know you guys are probably confused on the whole storm thing. Yeah, I was too when I first pictured it, but then it became clear. But unfortunately this plays a semi-big part in the story line so here goes. I described to you the cliff right? Well that was just a little corner in the realm of Heaven. They have a whole world up there to work with, and play in. The concept of Heaven, in this story, is that it is like Earth, but prettier. Just let your imaginations go wild! I don't like it when writers describe everything to a 'T' so I am allowing you guys some breathing room!
a. The storm. The realm of Heaven sits above the realm of Earth, naturally. How I connect the two is through nature, primarily storms of any kind. The case in this chapter, the act of Falling requires a deadly storm of significant power to open the connection to Earth from Heaven in order to not only cast down the Angel, but also insure of his or her death in the process. (Nice people those Angels huh?) The added bonus to the storm thing is that it also provides a sense of cover. Because when it's flooding outside and lightening is striking the building next to you, your eyes tend to not linger on the sky trying to spot a Fallen Angel.
b. Denique Ingredior: This is latin meaning the Final Walk. Yes, I am using latin terms, and no I don't know if I am using them correctly. I just go with the online translator. The Final Walk, is the name of the cliff which Angels are cast from. Basically it is like Heaven's version of 'The Plank' from all those pirate movies you kids watch these days. You trek up this big damn mountain, go to the highest cliff, open the doors to Earth (the storm rift) and throw the person down. End of Story. Period!
A/N: Confused yet? Yes lots of notes in there, but I just want to inform you guys as best I can without taking away from the story. Seriously though, if you have any more questions just ask me, I am more than happy to help. As with some writers, I know what I want to write in my head, because hell, I created it, but as with all things people interpret words and phrases differently.
I'm really excited about this story. I'm getting really into it, I just hope I don't get to ahead of myself and everyone ends up hating it! Ah! Feed back seriously is the food of the Gods people don't leave me hanging like Tantalus.