a/n: Just so ya'll know, nobody is really being portrayed as any of the final fantasy X characters, they are pretty much their own people. The only thing I took from FFX was the concept of sin, summoners, and the fayth. There will be another character tossed in soon anyways that would have thrown everyone's guesses off P Although…Naruto probably is the most important character…
disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, but I wish I did because I like money.
Spirit of the Guardian Ninja
Chapter 3: Leaving Konoha
Sin was attacking Konoha. Naruto heard the frightened screams and shouts escape from the fleeing villagers, as buildings crumpled and fell to the ground. His head pulsated with pain, as if needles were being plunged into his temples. He desperately looked in every direction to find where sin was, but it was nowhere to be seen. In a sudden shock he realized that it was himself they were running from. He stretched his arms in front of him and began running towards the frightened people,
"Wait!" he shouted.
"Monster!" The people shouted from every direction, "He's sin!"
"Please…" Naruto pleaded as he began to get dizzy and his consciousness faded away.
Naruto woke with a start. 'It was just a dream…', he convinced himself as he laid his head back down on the soft pillow. He had been having such strange dreams lately; every time was an instance in which he was killing or destroying people and homes. He hated these dreams, and hated to be portrayed as a vicious beast as he had been, ever since he was young.
Naruto had the spirit of the nine tailed fox sealed within him by the fourth hokage, Yondaime. Ever since he was a small child he had been ostracized and judged by the people of Konoha. Nobody had been his friend, nobody by his side until he had become a ninja. Iruka sensei had already become a guardian and was away on a pilgrimage, but his memory remained with Naruto; the first person to ever accept him. He had begun to befriend people since Iruka, but he was indeed the first. Naruto smiled at the memory of his old sensei as he rubbed his eyes, in a sleepy daze.
"Hope I don't have any of those dreams anymore…" He spoke to himself.
"Aaah!" Naruto screamed, looking at the alarm clock seated next to his bed, "It's already noon, I'm gonna be so late!!!"
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Tsunade sighed, "Well, we can't wait forever for Naruto, so we'll go ahead and begin."
Rin and her two guardians nodded in agreement to the Hokage's decision.
"Have you decided who your first aeon will be?"
"Yes," Rin answered, "My friend that I trained with at the temple, she was killed by sin during her pilgrimage…I'm sure she'd agree to be my aeon."
"Alright then, your temple was located in the mist region, correct?"
"Yes"
"Then that will be your first destination…the mist temple."
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Naruto burst through the doorway, "My alarm didn't go off an-"
"Between you and Kakashi sensei, we'll never be on time anywhere!" Sakura cut him off.
"It's not like it was my fault," Naruto muttered.
"Naruto, Sakura…" Kakashi warned, "Now, don't you think we should get along as Rin's guardians?"
The two remained quiet, obviously in agreement, as Tsunade spoke once more, "You two will have to cooperate through this pilgrimage, or else it could result in you or your summoner's death."
"I-I'm sorry, " Sakura answered, "I'll try to get along better with him."
'Like I can avoid her temper…'Naruto thought, keeping his mouth shut.
His hair was ruffled and in disarray with bed hair; he had had no time to comb it. He hadn't taken a shower since the day before last; his frightening nightmares had even kept him from getting the proper amounts of sleep. Naruto was really in no mood to argue.
Tsunade handed an old, folded piece of parchment to Sakura, "Sakura, I will entrust you with this map, take good care of it."
"I will," Sakura nodded, depositing it into the knapsack hanging next to her hip.
"Good luck everyone" Tsunade dismissed them, a smile forming at the edges of her lips.
"Don't worry granny Tsunade, we won't let you down!" Naruto shouted, on his way out the door.
"That team…" Tsunade laughed to Shizune as soon as they had left, "they're really something."
"They sure are lady Tsunade," Shizune smiled.
"I bet you at least 5000 ryu that they fulfill their mission…"
Shizune glared, "Is this really a time to be gambling?!"
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It was quite the perfect day to begin a long journey. The sun was out in the sky, yet the clouds shielded it just enough as to where the heat wasn't overbearing. A refreshing breeze blew through the air, a breeze welcomed by the four emerging travelers.
"Goodbye for now, Konoha!" Naruto shouted back at the village as the four exited through the huge wooden gates.
Sakura watched as the towering gates shut, her home disappearing from her vision. She finally realized how real this was; she wouldn't return for a long time, perhaps not ever. She heard the doors being bolted from the other side.
"We should head through the forest, northwest, to reach the mist temple" Rin spoke softly, "It's only a two day's journey."
"Alright then," Kakashi answered, "Naruto, you and I will travel ahead of Rin, and Sakura will travel behind her."
The four organized themselves accordingly and began to walk through the forestry. The forest, while eerie at night, was rather pleasant during the daytime. Rays of light shone through the canopy in spots, illuminating the forest path.
"I'm going to become a great guardian," Naruto declared, "My first step towards becoming the next hokage, you'll tell them how great of a guardian I am, right Rin?"
Rin beamed, "Of course I will Naruto".
The group was quiet as Naruto spoke again, "Why's everyone so quiet…you don't think I'll prove myself?"
"Naruto..."Sakura began, but didn't finish what she was going to say.
"So…explain to me about sin's cycle again?"
"You don't know anything about this mission, do you?" Sakura retorted, "Weren't you listening to Iruka sensei, the day when everyone found out that sin had returned again?"
"Well…not exactly…"
Rin laughed, "It's alright"
"I'll explain," Kakashi cut in, "Sin is defeated and stays gone for 10 years, a time that we call the calm, but is reborn after those ten years."
"But if it's reborn after those years then-"
"Don't say…it isn't worth it." Rin interrupted Naruto, "Every year, every moment that sin isn't destroying lives…is worth it."
Naruto stared blankly at her for a moment, but Rin only smiled as she cocked her head to the side.
They continued on like that for the entire day, never running into any danger. This was to be expected however, a summoner never ran into any danger until they gained power and began to be recognized by people. The pilgrimage could only get harder.
"It's almost night…"Sakura said, solemnly.
"Don't worry, we're near an inn that I stayed at on my way to Konoha," Rin reassured them, "It was a nice place to stay at."
Sure enough, they caught sight of the inn minutes after Rin had spoken those words. The inn was a rather small building, beaten down with time, the shingles rotting and fallen off. The inn was in great disrepair, but luckily had a good side, a hot spring was right next to it.
"Looks like we'll be staying here for the night." Kakashi said to the group as they began heading over the run down building.
A/N: This was kind of a boring chapter to write, just a filler until something interesting happens