Here we are again, monday as promised, meeting for the unveiling of my fourth chapter. First to address some issues...
Guessing ended, and the winners are...1st place, LeweL...2nd place...the-eighth-sin. 3rd place goes to Angelic.Dark.
Congrats! sorry to all those who guessed: Orochimaru, Seshomaru, Sephiroth, Kain, or Siegfried. The biggest error is that, in their respective games, or anime, the characters are villains. (Kain is an anti-hero) All of these guesses were wrong.
Too many reviewers...I love it...but if you want them listed, just click on reviews.
Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto, any of the characters from it, nor any other source I reference. Credit will be given in parenthesis if I borrow an original idea, excepting the material relating to the "pale man" until the end of the chapter (unless you are a cheater, don't look yet)...ON WITH THE SHOW!
"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking..."Blah"-Demon speaking...'Blah'-Demon thinking
Leaves of Steel, Chapter 4
Naruto's Mindscape
An eerie silence spread throughout Naruto's mind. Where there was once the pacing of furred paws, there was nothing. Where, once, you could hear a breathing, dark and heavy, a curtain of deafening lay across. Where you could view the massive Kyubi in all of it's magnificence, there were a few strands of dark fur.
'One down...eight to go...until...all... me breaks loose...' A voice could be heard, resonating within the broken cage, echoing off of the blood stained walls.
Konoha Hospital
Naruto dispersed his shadow clones after delivering his sensei to the emergency ward of the Konoha hospital. The boy sat in silence as Morino Ibiki gave him a reassuring smirk, being wheeled away, to have his broken arm set.
'I need to see Hokage-sama, really badly...' thought the boy, after breaking his sensei's right arm.
En route to the Hokage's residence
Naruto slowly plodded his way to the Hokage's home, as his only console came from the cold rain, dripping down from his hair onto his face, reminding him that he was still alive. The icy wind nearly froze the drops before they could reach his face. The darkened sky began to let loose it's fury, as even the clouds wept for the boy's predicament.
Sure, Ibiki would teach him, but that didn't change the fact that something inside of him made him do it.
'Surely," the boy thought, "if I get stronger, I'll be able to control my...power. But...I'm wet, and need to get to the old man and ask him for help. I don't want to hurt anybody else that cares for me.'
"Yo! Kid!" a voice called out from the shadows. A body spinning a single kunai seeming to be the origin advanced toward him, putting it's kunai away. "Haven't I seen you before? Aren't you that one they call "dead last", that Uzumaki Naruto?" A shadowed body asked him.
"Yeah," Naruto responded, "who wants to know?" he asked sullenly.
"Umm...It's me, Tenten, from one year ahead of you. I thought you'd be friendly, but NOOOO...you just have to be all mean and stuff" the girl responded, stepping out into the light of the flickering street lamp, revealing her trademark buns.
"I'm sorry, Tenten-san, I just broke my instructors arm..." He responded, letting out facts left and right.
"Wow, that is a new way to start off a conversation, wanna talk about it?", Tenten asked, bored.
"Not really, I have to talk to the Hokage about it first. So...oh crap! The old man is going to go to bed any second now! I have to go, Bye!" He shouted, unsure of the girl.
"Can't even hold a conversation, geez." the girl said to herself.
Hokage's residence 1:27 AM
Naruto ran up to the Hokage's door, only to be stopped in his tracks by an Anbu.
"What do you want, brat? The Hokage is sleeping! Come back in the morning!" the Anbu snapped, obviously not fond of the boy's presence.
"But it is urgent! I nee-" Naruto tried to say, cut off by the Hawk-masked Anbu.
"COME BACK TOMORROW." the Anbu said sternly, using a gentle wind jutsu to push Naruto away, so as not to be charged for assault on the Kyubi-brat.
Naruto landed on his ass, 10 meters away, and stormed off to his apartment, hopefully not vandalized today.
Naruto's Apartment
When he got there, he was ever so ecstatic about the graffiti on his house, covering the entire door, that had many kunai thrown in it. As Naruto reached to pick them out, they slipped out of his grasp, clattering to the floor.
'This is not worth my time, I'm too tired to care' the blond haired havoc-bringer thought weakly, as he pulled himself inside and pulled off his torn-up jacket and pants. The dream state called, and he answered, falling into it's warm embrace.
As he was slipping into sleep, he heard a voice saying "Come hither, young child with eyes of the sea and hair of the sun...come to me..."
Melnibonian Dreamscape
Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in a stone chamber, not dark and gloomy, but light, and filled with the beams of the sun. A lone throne was visible, and on it sat a man with hair the color of fresh milk, and skin matching it, so pale, yet so breathtaking. His face was gaunt, yet somehow full to the brim with life. His robes were flowing, an equal color to that of his skin and hair. The very room he sat in was compiled of ivory, stone, and tome upon tome of books.
"I am truly sorry for the situation you are in, all because of my sword..." He said, his voice like a song, ringing, yet not faltering at any point.
"I don't know what is happening to me! I have something in my mind! It is attacking the people that care for me! What is this sword you speak of!?" The boy said angrily, his eyes flaring a sharp blue.
"Now, now, young ninja, this is not a time for anger. My name, Is Elric, Elric, rightful king of Melnibonē. My sword was sealed into the orb you laid hands on, and somehow transferred to you." Elric said, in the most calming of tones he could muster.
"Is the sword the one doing these bad things, Elric-sama? Can you help stop it?" The boy asked, fear in his eyes.
"Elric will do just fine, and yes, I am afraid that this is entirely the doing of the sword. Tell me..." the albino said, his mind temporarily sending out a pulse in Naruto's direction, "Naruto is it? Tell me...what do you know of gods?" He inquired, with a hand motioning Naruto closer.
Naruto stood up, walked towards the man, and sat down in a nearby chair. "Elric," he began, "I don't really know anything about gods, other that they have unmeasurable power. What does the sword have to do with gods?" He asked.
"Naruto, what would you say if I told you that you, at this moment, are containing a god that has destroyed all of existence, the god of the void, that was sealed by Mabelode, the God of swords, into the most powerful weapon the world ever known. This sword, which I used to wield, has the unfortunate tendency of attempting to kill all those you have ever loved. This sword, now in your mind, still contains that god, and still seeks what it was created from...absolute chaos." Elric said in a sweet monotone.
"I would say you are crazy" Naruto said, laughing.
"I am afraid that I am not. You, Naruto, have been charged with the duty of destroying that accursed sword, which cannot be destroyed." Elric said, while, proposing a conundrum.
"But, if I cannot destroy it..." Naruto said slowly.
"Then I will teach you how." Elric said, finishing Naruto's sentence for him, "I will teach you how to control the sword, and how to use your new powers, for I am Elric, the only on to ever best Stormbringer, the god of the void, the one who now resides in your mind. I will come to teach you these things, so you will have to wait, so until then, I must free the sword from your mind, before it kills you and gains it's freedom. Once I do this, you will be forced to keep the sword, as it will never leave you." The albino said, in a sad tone.
"It...will...kill me?" The boy stuttered.
"Yes Naruto, If I don not rid your mind of it, you will die. The reason that it will never leave you is that it can only be sealed into a sword, which you are lacking. I must seal it into your body, instead of your mind. are you okay with this Naruto, I can only ask once." The sword's bane asked.
"I...I...I accept, Elric, Get it out of my mind!" Naruto screamed.
The sorcerer smiled, and muttered incantations, bathing the room in the purest light.
"Hang on until I can help you, Naruto. Hang on..." The white weird's voice faded, as did the chamber, and Naruto was dropped into a mass of solid black.
The Void
Naruto was floating in the darkness, until he heard a voice emanate from all around.
"I look forward to killing with you, child, then I look forward to killing you."those were the last words Naruto heard before he woke in his bed, a burning sensation on his forehead.
Konoha
Naruto moaned in pain, as he stood up and stumbled to the mirror. The blond-haired container screamed as he saw a seal of a twisted sword, surrounded by four crescent moons cut through the seal that the yondaime placed on him as a baby, overlaying the seal, and sending red and blacks sparks out of his stomach's skin as the old seal shattered.
The Hokage woke with a start, as he hastily put on his old ninja robes, and alerted the Anbu that the fourth's seal broke, and they all must meet at Naruto's apartment.
'Wait for me Naruto, don't die!' Sarutobi thought, as he used a teleportation jutsu to disappear in a burst of spinning leaves, to reappear at Naruto's apartment, where he kicked down the door.
"Naruto!!" the hokage called, as he and his Anbu raced towards the boy's room.
They found Naruto lying face-down in a pool of swirling grey chakra. Sarutobi flipped the boy over, to find a missing seal, and an unconscious boy.
Konoha Hospital's Heavy-security Facility
Naruto woke up in Konoha's hospital, in a heavily padded room, restrained by steel bars, sealed with strengthening seals. Sarutobi sat next to him. concerned for his young genin.
"Naruto, I have bad news, worse news, and good news. which would you like to hear first?" the third hokage asked nicely.
"I'll take them in order of worst to best, old man." Naruto croaked.
"Ibiki-sensei is...dead." the Third said solemnly.
"Nani!?" Naruto couldn't believe it.
"Naruto, the sword inside of you managed to land a cutting blow on Ibiki when it broke his arm. Since the wound was small, the effects were slow, but took place, in the wound of a size comparable to a paper-cut. It...sucked out his soul...and...we were unable to find any of the muscle memory associated with all jutsu he had. his brain was also completely wiped." The Hokage said, hanging his head at the loss of his most trusted interrogator.
"That was the worst news. The bad news is that we found the seal of the sword on your stomach, and are unaware of it's effects, but, as this has no visible effect on your well-being, we are going to let you go." Sarutobi said hopefully.
"The good news is that, based on multiple Hyuuga investigations, we have come to the conclusion that the kyubi is gone, as are the marks on your face. It's massive chakra stores remain, and fully incorporated themselves in your coils." said Sarutobi, trying to instill a sense of strength into the boy.
"But, Naruto...we also have very...odd news. Your entire body has been completely laced with metal, even replacing your skin, but retaining the texture. The chemical compound is one of an unknown nature, but stronger than any metal we know of. Something has happened to your chakra systems, they have been entirely re-constructed. We don't know what this will do to your jutsu...capa..." Sarutobi's words began to mumble as Naruto fell back into sleep.
End of Chapter 4
The pale man is Elric of Melnibone, The most powerful Melnibonian in history, cursed by the power of the god-sword, Stormbringer. The curse has been pased on, let's see how capable the new holder is. If you have any questions about Elric or Stormbringer, PM me.
Please Rate and Review! Thanks for reading! (chap 5 will be up friday or something...)
-Johnhamsta