I don't think I can tell you how thrilled I am that you're enjoying reading this story so much! -beams- It means a lot, really! I hope it'll live up to your expectations, though...
Oh, thought I'd mention this; Obito and Rin are dead. I don't care whether or not it fits with the plot of the anime or whatever; I told you beforehand I'd have to make a few minor modifications, yeah?
Will of Fire (Part 4) -
Fire
The weather was slightly hostile, dangerously throwing winds about the estate and pelting the roof and windows with small rocks and branches. Nasake had fallen asleep before the storm had worsened so badly, and Arashi--never one to fear the weather--was dosing off; until he heard footsteps down the hall. Frowning, trained instincts on the alert, he eased himself out of bed without disturbing his wife, and made his way to the door, fingers closing around the ring of a kunai he'd pulled from the pouch that lay on the dresser. Opening the door soundlessly and slipping out it before light from the bedroom window could spill into the hall, he padded down the corridor in the direction of the slight disturbance.
"Kyuubi..." A voice pierced through the darkness suddenly, making Arashi tense; and then he kind of sagged, feeling foolish. How could I forget? And he would've stepped out into the den to join the speaker, because from where he stood, the Kyuubi no gaki couldn't see him, but hesitated at the younger blonde's next words. "...What do you think the others are doing right now?"
Arashi blinked, hearing no response, wondering who Naruto thought he was talking to; and then Naruto gasped audibly. "Whaa--?! You're not serious! They forgot?!...That--!...Yeah...Well, I mean, I guess so...No, not all the time, why?...Oh, I get it...So...what'll happen to me then?"
Arashi listened with fascination, shifting to the side slightly so he could peer through the darkness at his young charge's face; stunned surprise quickly turned to horror, and Naruto's eyes--already wide and dark with fear and disbelief--widened even farther, his brow lowering to give him an angry, rebeliously afraid look. And then his features softened out into a single expression of quiet despair.
"So...I'll die?"
Arashi forgot to listen after that; whoever Naruto was talking with, Arashi couldn't hear the other side of the conversation: and from the look on that scarred face, it was not a happy one, either--and yet really it was those words, said in such a way...His voice was without fear or anger when he said them, just a morbid curiousity.
"Oh...That makes more sense, I guess...So, it'd be like I never existed in the first place..."
Arashi frowned, and stepped into the dim light of the family room. Naruto blinked up at him from where he lay sprawled out on the couch. "Oh, hey, Fourth. I thought you were asleep." He sat up and scooted over to give the Hokage room.
"Could say the same for you," the Yondaime muttered dryly, raising an eyebrow as he joined him. Naruto grinned hugely.
"Well, usually rain puts me to sleep, but when it storms real big like this Kyuubi and I work on some techniques."
Arashi's smile faded a bit. "It trains with you?"
Foolish human, Kyuubi thought sourly, staring begrudgingly at Arashi through Naruto's eyes. 'It' indeed.
"He actually just feeds me some chakra and laughs when I mess something up," Naruto ammended.
"Ahh, sounds a bit more credible." Naruto chose not to repeat the Fox's retort. "Was that what you were talking to just now?"
"Yeah," Naruto said, glancing at his stomach. "I was just wonderin' whether or not my team was alright--'cause when that world kicked me out, we were in the middle of somethin' kinda drastic--but he said..." Here, he scrunched up his face. "Once I woke up in this world...my being in that world just...ceased to have ever existed...Or somethin'..." He scratched the back of his head, gazing out the window. "Because someone can't exist in two times at once--so, basically, it was like I was never born there. Sasuke and Sakura don't know me, and neither does any of the others...Or Iruka-sensei, or Kakashi-sensei or Ero-sennin, or Obaa-san or--"
"Wait..." Arashi held up one finger, to allow a few moments for his mind to digest this new information. It all made sense. If a person was to travel back to a time before they were born, then the entity that is traveling obviously belongs in no time at all. Once they land in a time, it have to be one where they don't already exist--and then the people from the time frame that that person just left would have no memory of ever dealing with that person--because that person never existed. It was all rather complicated and altogether too profound to think about at nearly midnight, so he beckoned for the vessel to continue. "Go on."
"Well...I was just, you know..." Naruto was struggling to voice his thoughts, liquid blue eyes hardening; Arashi began to realize that they did that, became so inexpressive, when he was tormented about something (it makes sense but kind of defeats the purpose to react the same way each time you feel a certain way, whenever you don't want anyone to know how you feel). "I mean, I worked really hard to gain their...acknowledgement. You have no idea how hard...and it took so long before they could...finally...I dunno, see me." He clenched the front of his shirt. "And now it's just me and Fox again..."
Arashi bit back his quick retort; yes, he was the boy's biological father, but neither of them had any reason to accept that from each other. While Arashi was already insanely protective over the boy, and Naruto would always jump to the Yondaime's defense at the slightest infraction sent his way, they didn't really know each other, despite how close Naruto kept to his side all day every day, and nothing much was being done to alleviate that.
He wasn't sure exactly what to say to get the glum look off Naruto's face; but he was saved the trouble when a particularly loud rumble of thunder shook the estate. The lamp on the table on one end of the couch lurched and fell, doomed to hit the ground and shatter; and worse, wake up Nasake. Arashi shoved a cushion into Naruto hand's and the latter threw it with dead precision, and the lamp landed harmlessly and with no more than a muffled thump. The blondes grinned and gave each other a thumbs-up for their teamwork (Naruto was struck by how much like Lee and Gai they must've seemed), when the wind outside started roaring ferociously. It was then that their shinobi senses went on the alert; Naruto tensed, eyes flinching upwards as though to detect some kind of a threat, and Arashi frowned, standing; and then an ANBU--panting and a little disshelved--was at the window, pulling away his dog mask for a moment.
"Kakashi-sense--er, -san!" Naruto rushed to the window, holding it open so the boy could step inside. He was sopping wet, hair a darker silver and sagging slightly. He nodded quickly to Naruto and then his gaze traveled until it fell on the approaching Yondaime.
"Hokage-sensei!" He rushed forward a bit, calm exterior a little more irritated that usual. "Lightning struck down on the park--all the trees are on fire, and it's spreading into town."
Any cheer that was left in the atmosphere died quite suddenly, and two identical sets of blue eyes widened.
---
Though the storm had been strong there had been very little rain; leaving the people gathered to fight the fires buffetted by strong winds, and the slight startle every time an especially loud clash of thunder decided to roll. The villagers watched, horrified, as fire consumed their village. The Leaf nin were helping to the best of their abilities, performing various ninjutsu, all with little effect whatsoever. The taijutsu specialist of the village, a boy named Gai (Arashi noticed how Naruto went kind of pale during their hasty first meeting) was running back and forth from the river quickly, at first nothing but a flicker, then finally a blur as he began to wear down. But other than a few cases such as his, the ninja--including the ANBU (save the two that had to be kept near Arashi)--were working side-by-side the villagers, simply passing the buckets along to put out the fire.
Naruto demanded to help; and Arashi would refuse him approval. And since he was the Hokage, this further angered Naruto because Kakashi--somehow already guessing which type of character Naruto possessed--moved to stand at his side instead of the Yondaime's. Naruto levelled him with a glare, and he eye-smiled at him. Then Naruto held up his hands, making a cross seal with his middle and index fingers, and yelled, "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Immediately, the puffs of smoke clouded around them, drifting lazily around the newly produced shadow clones. There were easily a thousand of them. Arashi's eyes widened, forgetting for a moment the state of his village; all the people of the Hidden Village stopped their efforts as well, and Naruto grinned hugely, slipping past Kakashi--who obviously didn't care enough to stop him, having disagreed in the first place with Arashi's refusal to let the obviously capable young shinobi assist at all--and yelling, "ALL RIGHT! LET'S DO IT!" like there was no place in the world he'd rather be than right there, right then, helping the village he loved for the people who would never love him.
---
Arashi watched all of his people with concern as he, too, ran through jutsu after jutsu, but his gaze kept returning to Naruto. His surprisingly massive amount of chakra had long since depleted, and one by one all of his bunshin had dissapeared. While other ninjas traded off, however, and stopped to take a breather, he worked straight through, never once pausing even to check his progress.
And the Yondaime could see his reasoning; if he looked up and saw little-to-no affect, he'd be discouraged--so he might as well keep his head down and imagine that the fire was dying even as he felt the heat of the flames licking across his skin. And as impressed--and proud--as he was, Arashi finally let his hands fall to his sides and made his way towards the blonde. "Naruto," he said gently. The orange-clad boy gave no sign he'd heard. Arashi sighed, and placed a hand on his shoulder, not the least bit fazed when the whisker-scarred container yelped loudly enough to make a few people glance over and spun around wildly to face him. "You're tired--how about you take a break?" He saw the answer coming before it came, but it had still been worth a shot;
"No way! Uzumaki Naruto never backs down!"
Arashi had to smile tiredly. "This isn't a battle, Naruto."
The vessel cocked a brow skeptically. "Are you sure?" he muttered sarcastically, still unwilling to look at the fire.
"It's going a whole lot better," Arashi said encouragingly. "But rest up anyway." When Naruto still looked ready to refuse, the man continued in a lower voice, "I could just have the ANBU restrain you."
Naruto was silent for a moment, head bowed slightly so his hair shadowed his eyes. When he lifted his face, his eyes were fast becoming a dark crimson and the lines on his face grew jagged and dark. "You really think they could?" he hissed in a deeper voice than a moment before.
He expected an immediate reaction and got one; Arashi's gaze filled with not horror, but a deep, aching sadness--and when he lowered his gaze, it wasn't out of fear but shame. This was enough to beat back Kyuubi with no fight at all, the carrier's eyes a brilliant and concerned blue. "Fourth? What's wrong?"
The man was quiet, but then he grinned and grabbed Naruto's wrist and dragged him away from the heat and confusion. "Just fine," he said cheerfully, shoving Naruto onto a park bench. Naruto frowned but said nothing, eyeing his father's expression with careful scrutiny. "Why didn't you tell me you could perform such a powerful shadow replication?"
Naruto stared at him. "No one ever asks me what I can and can't do. They just shove work on me and expect me to fail." He grinned hugely. "It's really fun, annoying them like that."
"'Them'..."
"Oh, the villagers. I mean, a few of 'em, like Iruka-sensei--" (Arashi made a mental note that Iruka was a worthwhile person, and stored said note away for later evalutation) "--and then Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan...and then everyone else..." His eyes got very bright as he spoke, recalling names and events and battles in his mind as the memory of them flitted behind his suddenly faraway gaze. "...they finally started to--"
"NO!"
They flinched at the scream and spun around, as did all the other amateur firefighters on break; a woman was screaming, having just woken from her unconciousness (all the smoke she'd inhaled had finally made her pass out; they'd carried her from the building), and it took several men to hold her back as she tried to thrash herself away and run back into the house. Naruto blinked after a few seconds of concerned staring, to find himself alone on the bench. He glanced around, then over at the woman, whose screaming had not ceased. "No! Let me go!" she shreiked desperately, tears in her eyes. And then he found his father, who'd gently pulled her into an embrace, calming her slowly with soothing words in the gentlest voice Naruto had ever heard him use. Then, once she was calm, Arashi asked her to please tell them why she was trying to run into the fire rather than from it, and she lost her cool again; "MY BABY'S IN THERE!"
In all the confusion, no one had really noticed whose house it was she pointed at, or the clan symbol she wore on her back; all the streets were englufed in flame, making discerning estates all but impossible, and it was too dark out even with the light of the fire to see clearly distinguish her from anyone else at all, for her sooty face matched everyone's. But Naruto, who'd ventured after the Yondaime, could see clearly the back of her shirt and took in the fan there with widening eyes.
Uchiha.
And Naruto lost any shinobi sense he'd acquired throughout his short life--and all his thoughts screamed the same thing; SASUKE! So without further ado, he shoved through the people gathered around his dad rather than run around them (for in his haste, wouldn't that have taken too long?), grabbed a bucket of water and dumped it over himself, dashed for the burning building, and dove in before anyone could register he'd moved.
---
It was like he'd stepped into another world; his sight went orange and then blurred as smoke hit him in the face upon entry. He gasped, making the mistake of inhaling, and proceeded to choke for a few seconds until the Kyuubi snarled, Idiot kit! If you're going to get us into something as senseless as this, at least think about what you're doing before you dive right in!
Naruto found himself nodding and stopped. He ground out, Shut the hell up, Fox, and then threw an arm over his eyes and slowly took a step forward.
---
Kakashi was not amongst the many trying to hold the Yondaime back from jumping into the burning building after his miniature clone, but rather stared after the boy for a few moments, stunned and a little awed by the boy's brazen disregard for danger. He was struggling, expression surprisingly unsure behind his mask, and his clenched fists started shaking after the first few minutes.
What's taking him so long?
He could hardly hear the ANBU's struggles to contain the aggrivated and highly concerned Hokage; it took a surprisingly large number of people to abandon their stations and hold the man back.
He should be back by now.
The minutes passed and Kakashi felt himself begin to tremble; it wasn't like him--ever since Obito and Rin died, he'd kind of stopped caring about anyone but himself and his sensei. He didn't understand why, but he felt a kind of protectiveness towards Naruto, like, despite the fact that they were the same age, easily matched in strength (and Kakashi was completely outweighed in stamina), it was Kakashi's duty to look out for him, watch over him.()
Why hasn't he come out?
It made no sense to him, really, and he tried to convince himself that it was only because his sensei had taken a liking to him; but honestly, it was all vain effort. And it was getting to the point where Kakashi was ready to run in after him when he heard his teacher shout something behind him, something very fast rush past him, and the door of the flaming building smash in, a familiar figure in the doorway for not even a full second before it was gone again, lost inside.
It took a lot of effort to stop himself from following Arashi in; but really, he'd only get in the way. And if anyone was capable of dragging a resistent, stubborn blonde dobe from dying in a fire, it was Arashi.
Still, Kakashi never once moved from his tense stand--although it appeared so casual--directly in front of the splintered door; ready to be there the instant the blondes came out--hopefully with the sobbing woman's child.
---
Fox...I can't breathe...
Lower to the ground, kit; smoke rises. Don't be afraid; it'll only make you panic more.
I am NOT panicking!
Yes, we'll discuss this later once you're not in danger of being cooked to a delightful crisp.
Naruto forced his stiff limbs to bend and lowered himself onto the surprisingly hot ground. He searched room after room, prodding into every closet, every cabinet, every place a frightened child would hide. Can you smell anything, Fox?
I smell a lot of things; most of it smoke.
You could just say no instead of allowing me that one minute of hope, Naruto grumbled, padding forward, hands burnt and blistering, face in no better condition; his clothes were sooty and smoking. Finally, when he was ready to collapse, Kyuubi said, I hear something down the hall--two doors in the direction you're going.
Naruto turned on his knees without a word, lungs screaming for fresh oxygen that he could not supply; he continued on, past a room without stopping even to glance into it, and into the bedroom he as he was bid; when he pushed the door open farther, his fingers were too far blistered for him to feel the heat. And then he heard it too, and wondered how he could have missed it even with the roaring fire; something was wailing loudly at the top of its lungs, way past normal fear or hysteria. Naruto winced and commanded himself to stand, stumbling to the corner of the room that his demon pointed out, not even bothering to step around the fire anymore, letting one of his pants legs catch on fire. A small crib, miraculously untouched by the flames, held a little raven-haired boy who was screaming pathetically, faces screwed up and tears streaming from the tightly-closed eyes.
Sasuke...
That isn't your Uchiha, kit. That's... The Nine-Tails trailed off when his contained didn't acknowledge him speaking and, rather than grow irritated, let it go; he was surprised his vessel had made it this far. Well, the great beast said to himself as Naruto carefully lifted the frightened infant from its bed, he'll find out soon enough.
But as soon as Naruto had gathered the child--who'd calmed down slightly after his gentle touch--into his arms, the ceiling groaned overhead. Naruto's eyes widened, and he let his gaze travel upward before the support beams gave out and the roof caved. He had time to position himself over his charge, tucking the baby against his chest and curling into a tight ball, protecting it from the flaming mass he couldn't save himself from.
And as painful as it was, he felt it all; he was not granted the luxury of unconciousness. He had to keep himself in a hunched position, body curving over the baby in his arms--he couldn't allow himself to move even the slightest bit, for fear of the crushing him. Kyuubi let out a hissing breath, and red chakra (not even Naruto could see it) bubbled up around Naruto and his burden, protecting them from the fire--but that was all the Kyuubi could do. The heavy beam cut into Naruto's back, digging deeper each time he inhaled. He was swaying, trying not to topple over, fast losing the battle; he'd already lost it with his numb legs and arms.
The screaming fire...the screaming child...the screaming pain...the warmth, blossoming across the back of his shirt, the trickle of something down his face, dripping scarlet to the cracked and dry earth.
His vision was blurring dangerously--Iruka-sensei! he wanted to scream, Kakashi-sensei! But his lungs were laboring harshly and Naruto doubted he'd have the energy to breathe in a few moments, let alone shout.
So...this is how I die...I'm sorry, Sasuke...I couldn't save you...
"NARUTO!"
He didn't move for the longest time; he didn't have the energy to gasp, or to inhale sharply, or even to widen his eyes. So he turned his gaze upward to face the doorway, waiting, hoping, praying...
He can't find you, kit. You have to let him know where you are, the Nine-Tails said quietly.
I...don't...have...enough...chakra...left...
He forced his eyes to stay open; each time he blinked, it was a battle in itself not to just let himself drift into sleep. If not for the crying child in his arms, he might have. The situation seemed hopeless enough--and now his father was going to die as well.
Then Kyuubi let out a great flare of chakra, a brilliant, burning red that snarled as it rose into the air, putting the fire's monstrous roar to shame.
And then that familiar figure was in the doorway, silhoutted against the fire. There was a pause and then a hoarse voice whispered, "...N...Naruto!" And before he could drag his eyes back open from his previous blink, he felt two gentle hands cupping his face, and lifting his head; pushing the blonde hair from his sweat-and-soot-streaked face, tracing with a gossamer touch all his burns and scars. "Naruto," it hurt Naruto to hear so much pain and fear in that normally cheerful voice, "Naruto, stay awake...Don't shut your eyes, got it? Stay awake, dammit! That's an order from the Yondaime!"
Naruto shifted so that he could move one of his arms, resting all his weight heavily on his useless legs and one elbow; the wreckage atop him shifted ominously, but he paid it no mind. With his free arm, he shakily drew the Uchiha child out and pushed him towards the older blonde. "Take...take...him..." he tried to whisper; the way it came out, he wondered if the Hokage could decipher his words at all. But from the look on the man's face, offering the infant to him seemed to have been enough.
"If you think I'm going to leave you here, Naruto," the man whispered, taking the child and leaning in close to Naruto's face, until the latter's unfocused gaze met the former's, "then you've never been as wrong before." He gave the baby back to him, pressing him into Naruto's hands because the boy seemed uncapable of gripping the baby on his own, and then turned his glare on the mass that lay over his son. He began to reach for it, but common sense held him back; even if he could find the strength to lift it, Naruto wouldn't be able to crawl out of harm's way, much less with the baby.
"Hokage-sensei," someone whispered, and Arashi spun around to find Kakashi at his side; the silver-haired ANBU's mask was hanging around his neck, revealing his concerned expression--he'd given up on looking impassive. "I'm sorry--I just couldn't wait any longer." He looked from the man to the boy and baby, then his jaw set under the black cloth of his face-mask. "I'll help Naruto--if you can lift that."
The man nodded, not wasting time with words, and Kakashi knelt in front of the barely-concious vessel, gripping Naruto's shoulders so he wouldn't upset the baby in his arms. "Naruto," he said quietly. "Can you hear me?"
Naruto shook his head, the ghost of a smirk flitting across his face for an instant before the pained grimace took its place once more.
Kakashi laughed shakily; relief at witnessing the boy's stubborn sarcasm led him to hope. "That's too bad--listen, sensei's gonna lift this off you, and when he does--" He broke off when Naruto nodded.
Arashi forced a majority of his chakra to his arms, and lifted the beam off his son with little effort. Naruto didn't waste time on attempting to get to his feet; instead he crawled forward on numb legs and and arms. Kakashi held the baby for him, helping him to move out of harm's way, watching sickly the blood pulse from the blonde's wound, the burns on his flesh begin to bleed. Arashi looked over his shoulder to make sure the threesome was far enough away, and then let the beam and all the ruin resting on it fall into the flames completely. "Kakashi," he said, face scarily emotionless. "Thank you."
Kakashi, recognizing it, smiled; his teacher had been worried, extremely so. He turned to leave, sure now that both blondes would be alright, and took the wailing child with him. When he was gone, Naruto, on his knees, swayed for a moment before falling forward. He expected to hit the ground and tried to brace himself for the pain; but two strong arms caught him first, nothing rough at all in the way they picked him up and cradled him like he himself was as much of a baby as the one he'd just rescued. And rather than be in any way indignant or even confused or curious, he only smiled weakly and snuggled closer, curling obediently into the man's hold.
Arashi was ignorant of the blood; he held his son close, eyes burning with tears that had nothing to do with fire or smoke. He let a few fall, whispering, "I'm so sorry, Naruto...I'm so sorry..." The little Genin's every scar, his every burn were branded into Arashi's mind, and he stood there, rocking his burden gently and whispering the same refrain over and over again. Then he remembered himself and, forcing his speed to excel past anything he'd acheived before, he had them outside the unstable estate just as Kakashi did.
Noticing everyone's stares, Kakashi frowned, turning to look over his shoulder at where their gazes were directed, and felt his eyes lock as well; Arashi, once he'd gotten out of the building, slowed to a walk, still cradling his son like he'd never let him go. The boy's head was lolling, his arms limp; he looked very much dead, and from the expression on the village's leader's face, he was just as afraid of that. And yet the sight was not soon to be forgotten--the Yondaime stepping out of the burning house with such an expression, holding a much younger blonde in both arms, brilliant gaze focused on nothing but said boy like his world would soon end.
"Jeez, Fourth," a rasping voice muttered, somehow heard by everyone nearby. "You look like someone died." Arashi's eyes widened and he whispered, "...Naruto?"
"Who else?" Naruto didn't move--couldn't, really, since he had literally no strength left--but let his head roll/fall to the side, and his gaze traveled to the woman, sitting with a dark-haired man, crying over her child and holding him close as the man--obviously her spouse--wrapped an arm around her shoulders. But her gaze soon met his and she smiled, tears falling freely down her face. She stood, handing her child lovingly to the man, who took him just as gently, and then made her way to the Yondaime.
"Thank you," she said with feeling, the words surfacing from the bottom of her heart.; no one could have managed otherwise, under such an intense set of blue eyes "Thank you so much, for saving Itachi."
Naruto's expression didn't change.
He blinked once.
"...Itachi, huh?" he muttered, facing skyward again. "Well, I guess that makes more sense than it doesn't." And, as shocking as that was, he felt no regret; a child is a child. Not saving that baby because of who he could--could--become in the future would be like casting out a child to be blamed for a misfortune that took place during his birth. And Naruto might've found that funny, if he wasn't so tired.
You don't regret it?
Mm?
Saving him--the one who will grow up to become what he will?
Of course not, teme, Naruto hissed, sounding disgusted. What could I have done? In any different scenario, I would have done the same thing. It makes no difference to me who that baby will grow up to be. Didn't you tell me that just one thought or action could change history? When the Fox didn't reply, Naruto smiled; he felt not resentment or skepticism, but silent approval coming from the great beast.
The woman was still watching him; Naruto didn't look at her, but said to no one in particular, "Look after him. Give him a lot of affection; a lot of time, and a lot of patience." Naruto smiled, still not moving his eyes from the smoke-filled sky. "He's gonna be a person people depend on."
When the woman left, returning to her family, the crowd slowly departed as well, filled with a new, burning desire to fight the fire. Arashi crouched, ready to take Naruto to the hospital at once--with or without ANBU--when the boy said quietly, "Rain."
And then, even as the winds died and the thunder quieted and the lightning faded, a light rain began to fall. Everyone stopped, glancing into the heavens as they opened up with a blanket of river to wash away the heat and smoke and fear and panic and loss. Arashi tipped his face up, letting the rain wash away his tears, when Naturo muttered something. He glanced down at once. "Yes? Naruto, what is it?"
The vessel's eyes were closing; this time he didn't put up a fight. "I said..." he whispered softly, just before losing himself to sleep, "thank you...Dad."
() - Ironic, no? XD Just as Arashi did, Kakashi's feelin' those future vibes...
Sadly, this story won't be very long. -.- Gomen...Hopefully during the next chapter, the action will pick up a little bit...I'm aiming for ten chapters...but I doubt that'll happen...eh...
Btw--if you didn't like this chapter, you don't have to tell me about it, yeah? Please review--just don't flame. Arigato, ja ne.