Answers to some reviews:
SexiiFoxii & Slytherin's Pimp: You can give me some suggestions involving the pairings, I'm open for anything.
Madam3Mayh3m: I really am fired up! Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the review(s)!
KaixDecayx: I've read in one of your reviews that Izuna is too melodramatic? What do you think of Izuna's personality in this story? Too OCC?
Guest: I changed the many misspellings-God, there were a lot. Also, about the 'she-hulk', do you have a better suggestion for it?
idea getthe: I found your review bloody hilarious! "Punch of friendship!" Awesome! ^^
Thank you for the many reviews, follows and favorites. I appreciate the fact that this story still remained popular after two years. Enjoy another chapter of "Asura's Will"!
Here is a list of the ages of the characters:
- Hashirama/Madara: 12 years old
- Tobirama/Izuna: 10 years old
- Naruto: 9 years old
- Itama: 7 years old
Asura's Will
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By Angelbloodlover
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~ "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
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John Keats, Endymion: A Poetic Romance
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Chapter 8: Strong Feelings
"If you don't like the hands that fate's dealt you, fight for a new one."
- Uzumaki Naruto
Naruto grinned widely when Izuna's form passed her by, her bangs whipping back and forth. Wild and free, this was how she liked to feel all the time. It was exhilarating to enjoy a good fight, although Izuna's grumpy mood was kind of dampening but she didn't really care. She laughed, her melodic voice echoing throughout the clearing. Something that annoyed bastard number two even more.
He was getting his ass kicked but she was far from finished. She would teach him the meaning of life, especially after Madara had explained the tender situation and confessed that he and Izuna had lost their brothers during the many recurring fights with the Senju. He had a grudge against the Senju clan for killing his brothers. She knew that it hurt but revenge and hate never had worked before, neither would it start working. In fact, she clearly remembered Sasuke saying that he had been an idiot for taking the wrong path. The path of an avenger never seemed to stop. It would constantly venture deep within the mind and slowly chip away whatever sanity was left.
"Izuna, you're losing," she stated softly, not a hint of a tease lacing her words.
Said boy growled lowly and tried to punch her again but she grabbed his hand. When he tried to punch her with his other free hand, she clutched it as well. He was left using his legs but even that bore no fruit. She had used her legs to clamp down his legs in a vice-like grip. His eyes widened when she looked at him with a gentle expression on his face, "I know you're angry at the unfairness of this life. I know you despise the Senju for killing your brothers. You have all the right to feel that way, after all you're only human. We're not Kami. We bleed and we cry." She relaxed her grip on him and urged him to sit down.
He sighed in defeat and complied with her wishes, not because she asked him to. There was something in those black, haunted eyes that was hypnotizing him and urging him to obey her command.
She smoothed her disheveled hair but left it alone when that deemed to be a lost war. Ignoring the way her hair was sticking up, she continued, "But remember that while you're mourning the loss of your brother somewhere within the Senju compound someone else is also mourning the loss of his or her dear brother at the hands of a Uchiha." She raised her hand, effectively shutting him up before he interrupted her. "Somewhere in the Senju compound, a father is mourning the death of his son, a mother is weeping in misery, a brother is blaming the Uchiha, a little sister is whispering the name of her lost brother in utter disbelief."
Izuna gulped at the intensity of her black eyes; so full of passion, it was hard to keep his eyes locked with hers.
Naruto knew she had his full attention and continued, "Are we not all humans with a beating heart? We experience joy and happiness, we experience pain and sorrow, we cry, we smile, we hurt, we help each other." She noticed his shivering vulnerable form, "Then Izuna, tell me, what makes you think you're different from those so-called filthy Senju that you like to call?" Her eyes narrowed in slits and Izuna swore that he had seen flickers of red shine within her onyx black eyes. "What makes you think that the Uchiha are the only ones suffering and mourning the loss of their beloved ones?"
The tense atmosphere was suffocating, Izuna disliked the heavy feeling within his heart, constricting painfully. Truthfully, he hadn't considered it that way, he didn't want to. If he would view them that way then he would be dishonoring his fallen brothers and that was somethi- "You think you're dishonoring your family, is that it?"
His eyes widened, mouth agape, "...who are you?" He mumbled in sheer disbelief. Really, how could someone be so bright in times and yet so dark.
"This isn't about dishonoring anyone anymore. The time we live in is cruel, apathetic, uncaring, cold, relentless in the eyes of humans. We are only granted one life and the point of having a life is to cherish it, not destroy it. If we don't change our way of living, more people will keep dying, more people will keep harboring a hatred so deep and unyielding. Slowly on, we start to view the death of our beloved ones as a normal occurrence, something for the greater good. People are so sick and tired of having any emotions, they snap or just close off their emotions, hoping to treasure whatever sanity they have left." Izuna had never in his entire life seen someone talking so passionately, eyes burning with a dedication that many humans hope to achieve. What was this feeling in his chest that twisted so painfully as he locked eyes with the enigma that was called Namikaze Naruto.
"If we don't change our way of living we will be forced to keep burying our loved ones, we will be forced to keep crying and bawling our eyes at the loss of our precious people. Tell me, Izuna, tell me why the fuck our archaic society is feeding on blood and decay?!" Her voice got louder, not caring that she was losing her composure, tears dripping down her face, "Tell me, why we're forced to watch as humanity slaughters itself?!" Naruto was sick and tired of everything, glaring fiercely at Izuna, "We are born in innocence and vulnerability and as we grow up our innocence is replaced by death and sorrow. We grow up, surrounded by skeletons of our past, with no hope of the future. We grow up and eventually die, left to rot under the ground. Half of us wouldn't even have the luxury of a proper burial. Don't you see that death and decay feeds on hatred, an emotion so dark and twisted."
She leaned closer, nose touching his, her warm breath fanning over his face. He watched her with child-like doe-eyes, wide and fearful. "Let me tell you one of my darkest and most twisted secret that I haven't even told Madara." She licked her dry lips, "The person who killed my parents was none other than a Uchiha, my so-called blood." Shallow laughter followed and Izuna's eyes widened even more, his entire body shaking in fright and disbelief. He kept shaking his head, clearly not believing her spiteful words.
"Funny, don't you think?" Naruto continued harshly, "Life offered me two choices- the path where everything would resolve around my hatred and destruction of the Uchiha clan. Or the path where I wouldn't seek out revenge that would keep fueling the cycle of hatred in our war-torn world. When I would harm that certain person, it would eventually cause others to seek me out and avenge their beloved ones- so you see, Izuna, it's a never-ending cycle with almost no escape." She closed her eyes, a soft smile appearing on her face, thinking of Haku, Zabuza, the Third Hokage, Ero-sennin, her parents and so many more people. "To live and become strong you have to let go." When she opened her eyes, she smiled gently towards the blinded Uchiha. She leaned forward and cupped his cheeks in a very intimate manner. "Let go, little one, and let the dead rest in peace." Placing a tender kiss on his forehead, she stood up and winked at his cherry-red face. "Take care of your brother, I need to take a bath, I reek."
"Wait!" Izuna called out, hand reaching towards her.
She stopped, her back facing him as she waited for his question.
The youngest Uchiha brother took a deep breath and asked the lingering question, "What happened to the Uchiha that had killed your parents?"
Peeking at him through her long lashes, she gave the brightest smile to the curious boy in question. "I forgave him and became his friend." Without waiting for any reply, she left the pondering, wide-eyed boy that sat there in disbelief.
Naruto hummed quietly as she watched the afterglow of the sunset. So enchanting. Inside of her, Kurama nodded in agreement.
'You have come so far, Naruto. I'm proud of your actions.' The deep rumble from her foxy friend echoed within her mind and she couldn't help but smile sadly, thinking of her parents, her friends who had sacrificed themselves for her.
'Thank you, my friend, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you.'
She couldn't help but appreciate her second chance at life. Whoever had done it- thank you. This chance that she had been granted was precious to her, she could do so many good things. There was so much to do in so less time. Blinking her eyes, she looked up when she saw Madara looming over her presence, an intense look in his eyes.
"Mada-?" She was bewildered when he suddenly pulled in a tight warm embrace, feeling perplexed at his behavior. Not hesitating, she returned the hug, leaning her chin on his shoulder. Finally, she was having a growth spurt, about damn time. The time was over where she had been teased endlessly by Madara and Hashirama, hell even Itama at times. "Is everything alright?"
He shook his head, his spiky strands tickling her nose, "I h-heard what you told Izuna... about your parents..."
"Oh."
That explained his guilty expression when he had walked up to her. How ironic that he would feel guilty. In her timeline Madara's influence on Obito had been the sole reason that she had lost her parents. And now this Madara was shouldering it all on his shoulders. How cruel could Kami be?
Madara's voice shook slightly, "How do you do it...?"
Ah. There it was- the reason he had sought her out. He wanted to know how she had coped with this feeling. "Madara, don't feel guilty. It was never your fault. I forgave the man a long time ago," she whispered softly, caressing his hair in a soothing manner. His stiff shoulders were relaxing slowly on. "Holding a grudge was never a favorite pastime of mine." Chuckling quietly, she continued, "And I know for a fact that my parents wouldn't want me to become an avenger and neglect the wonderful life I could've had. Imagine if I did become an avenger, I wouldn't have met you, Hashirama nor Itama." A fleeting whisper, "No, I wouldn't trade this life for all the gold in this world."
Madara's shaking subsided util he stopped. Slowly on, he entangled himself from Naruto's grasp and looked into her black orbs sparkling with nothing than honesty. Even her chakra felt warm and honest. He was enraptured by her strong personality. He wouldn't have been able to forgive the person that had killed off his brothers. But he could respect Naruto's choice. What a strong kunoichi, he thought silently.
Bright smile lit up her face, whiskers crinkling upwards in happiness. "Let's go meet up with Hashirama and Itama."
He couldn't help but return the warm smile, closing his eyes. Was this how it felt to have a best friend? Friendship. Such a sweet word and yet his father made it seem like it was the vilest thing in the entire world. Accepting her hands, he sneaked out of the compound. He was lucky to have met Naruto, so damn lucky.
Itama's ears perked up when he heard the sound of a melodious laughter, followed by an annoyed shout. Without thinking he stood up, waiting for the inevitable with so much giddiness. His brother rolled his eyes at his antics but he didn't care. He knew that Hashirama was jealous of the relationship he had with her.
He counted in his head.
One,
Two,
-..thr- "Oof!" He breathed out when he was being squeezed by the sun-kissed blonde. "Sensei!" Small arms returned the hug and he cherished this motherly feeling, resting his head on her shoulders. Pesky killing intent was sent his way but he ignored it. Naruto had once told her that jealousy was lousy thing to feel. And it made people ugly. He agreed with her statement. His teacher was almost always right. "I missed you, Naruto-sensei."
Her whispered reply, "So did I gaki."
Unfortunately, there were people in this world who wanted to have him gone. One of those people was none other than Madara, the jealous brat. "Alright, enough with this gushy emotional reunion. It's been a week, Naruto. Don't be so overly dramatic."
Itama rewarded the black-haired teenager with a haughty look, chin jutted upwards. "Madara-san, I would appreciate it if you keep your jealousy leashed. It's unbecoming of a shinobi."
Naruto barked loudly, her loud voice echoing in their clearing. Madara narrowed his eyes in annoyance. And poor Hashirama was left sulking behind a tree, feeling unloved by Naruto. "Why is it always Itama...?" He murmured in self-pity.