Chapter 1
This is really the first time I've written an AU quite like this… I mean, not that I've written too many AU stories, anyway…
And some characters are going to be out of character, but those are the characters who I can't really keep in character, especially since I haven't watched the anime in FOREVER to get a feel of their personalities.
Anyways, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Thanks to those who've already reviewed!
Hooves, ground, silence. Pounding hooves attacking the ground. Silence of camp at night, no talking, no crying.
All three of them knew that this life wasn't healthy, but as it was, they had no other choice.
There were circles everywhere, weeks after their departure. Naruto thought in circles, lying to himself, trying to keep the delusion that he could find his village, Konoha, with sheer willpower. Hinata thought only of Naruto, telling herself that he would be fine thought his blue eyes became cloudy, his words spoken in desperation. "I'll find them…" Hanabi thought herself back home, imagining her life before the invasion, thought each day, each event, led to this point…
All while they traveled in one wide circle around their village, something keeping them from the rest of the world.
One day, Hinata thought, I'll go insane… But that was the day the travelers finally, finally, found something – or someone – that gave them hope.
As soon as the moon swept behind the horizon, the three stood, packed their items, and trudged towards what they believed was straight, Hanabi's screams brought Hinata and Naruto to reality, and in a second, their hands were drawing their swords on the intruder.
Naruto's mind cleared from the heat of the moment, and in front of him he saw a tall man, his obsidian existence giving an intimidating air. He stood as tall as Naruto, his messy black hair styled in two bangs that parted in the center, hiding its windblown state. His night eyes watched quietly from his blank face. He wore a simple white shirt that cut in a V down to his waist, leading to a tunic held by a belt, and simple black pants that led to sandals. He glared, lifting his head to appraise Hanabi and Hinata, before looking back to Naruto.
"Some travelers you are," He scoffed. His voice deep and mocking, he barked a single laugh. "You do know that this is the forest, right?" A small, superior smirk formed at the travelers' lost looks. "Of course you don't." He eyed something on Naruto's necklace, and Naruto realized that the man was staring at his blue necklace, a gift from his grandmother.
Without saying a word, Naruto lifted his sword, preparing to fight, but took a step back when the stranger sheathed his sword. Naruto's blue gaze flicked to Hanabi, who was still staring in shock. "His… his eyes…" She gasped, and Sasuke glanced over at her, annoyed.
"These?" He asked tauntingly, his eyes flashing red suddenly, spinning with small black orbs. "It's just a Sharingan."
This earned a reaction from both Hinata and Hanabi, this time, and the two women froze, feeling ice melt over their pale skin. Naruto still glared at the man. "What are you here for?"
"Is that any way to talk to your savior?" the man replied in a tone that made Naruto suddenly furious. His red eyes flicked back to black and he strolled towards Naruto. He stopped a foot in front of the blue eyed boy, a smirk playing on his lips. "The name's Sasuke."
Naruto grimaced, his mouth pulling up into an involuntary snarl. "Naruto."
"Like the food?" Sasuke asked and laughed humorlessly when Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "Anyway, Naruto," Sasuke tried the name out, and Naruto grimaced, taking a step back. "You all are in the Forest of Death – the forbidden grounds." He couldn't help but snort at Naruto's dumbfounded face. "Wandering around in here will get you killed, unless you know what you're doing. Can you dispel illusions?"
"Genjutsu?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes wide. "You mean, that exists?" Sasuke deadpanned, his black eyes losing all of their previous shine.
Exasperated, Sasuke sighed, frowning. "The forest is full of tricks. Follow me."
Within minutes, the four exited the forest and met a river that separated the forest from the plains. Hinata looked up in a fleeting second, and gasped as she saw the mountains soaring above them, towering over all.
Naruto and Hanabi followed Hinata's gaze and felt the sense of dread they had all carried lift away when the sheer amazement took over. Hanabi turned to Sasuke and asked, "Is that where the village?"
Sasuke's features pulled together. "Village? No one should live there…"
"But we do, that's where-" Hinata suddenly stopped Hanabi, eyeing Sasuke suspiciously while Naruto still stared up at the mountains, his blonde eyebrows pushed together in concentration.
"That's not how the mountains used to look…" He murmured, frowning.
"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, her eyes fanning Naruto's furrowed face.
"They weren't… they weren't red…" Sure enough, each tip of each mountain was red, glowing and reflecting the sun. The clouds were also tinted red, dripping into the forest. The lavafalls from the mountains were hardened, something the three thought they'd never see.
Hanabi turned towards Sasuke, expecting to see him unsurprised. His comrades had destroyed the domain, after all. But the stranger was staring up at the mountains with the same amount of amazement as Naruto and Hinata.
Naruto turned suddenly, as a something sounded behind him, to see the stranger's eyes turn red suddenly, and then flash back to black. "What is that thing…?" Sasuke asked, still staring at the sky.
"W-What thing?" Naruto asked, looking back to the sky suddenly, shielding his eyes from the glare. "Where? I don't see it!"
Hinata looked closely, and then gasped, her hands flying over her mouth in surprise. "My…" She breathed, shocked. She turned towards Hanabi, who was staring in shock. Naruto stared up at the sky, looking around and the back at their faces and back at the sky, trying to find the source of their surprise.
"It's a man…" Sasuke said, something unreadable in his voice, "sitting on the mountain…"
"Well, of course I can't see it, then," Naruto said, waving a hand. "It's not my fault I don't have superhuman eyes."
"No… Naruto-kun…" Hinata said, her voice trembling. "He's sitting on the mountain… like one would sit in a chair. He's the size of the mountain… he's… he's…" Her voice reached into hysterics and Naruto laughed.
"Do you three know how mad you sound? It's crazy, and if I can't see it, then it probably isn't there. Staring at some illusion isn't going to get you anywhere. Like you said, Sasuke," Naruto said the name with just a hint of contempt, "the forest is full of tricks."
Sasuke peeled his eyes away from the man in the sky and turned to Naruto, frowning. "Where are you planning on going?"
Naruto eyed him distrustfully and answered simply, "We're looking for someone." He didn't miss the way Sasuke's eyes flicked back up towards the sky.
"I guess you'd all be helpless without a guide…"
"You don't have a horse," Naruto said quickly, pulling on Kushina's reins. She neighed, also eyeing Sasuke with disapproval. Hinata and Hanabi took this as a queue to mount their horses. Sasuke licked his lips and let out a long whistle, and within seconds, a thumping sound was heard and two black horses ran up, both rearing next to Sasuke obediently.
"Really?" Sasuke asked with a hint of superiority in his voice. "Now, pack your things over here – we'll travel faster with your load lightened."
"How would you know where we need to go?" Hinata asked, hesitantly unhooking her gear from her horse. She walked it over to the unoccupied horse and began to pack, surprised at the horse's stillness.
"Because… if you three are from where I think you are, I know exactly where you want to go." He gestured towards an unseen point in the distance. "Out there is really where you'd want to stay away from, under normal circumstances." His smooth face took on a sour look before he wiped it away. Turning swiftly, he mounted his horse and watched as the three trusted his horse with their belongings. "But, it's months away from here by horse, traveling every day, constantly."
Hanabi swallowed her question of "How far away is it?" after Sasuke explained. She got as comfortable as she could on the worn leather saddle and looked towards Naruto and Hinata for direction. Hinata lingered off to the side as Naruto and Sasuke talked; their expressions were unreadable. Finally, Naruto turned and gestured for the women to follow him, and they complied, nudging their horses to a trot to catch up with the men.
"We'll travel village by village," Naruto explained at a point in the journey when Sasuke was helpfully out of earshot. "He seems to know more about the land than most… we've been cooped up in that little village."
Hinata couldn't help but feel distrust towards the cold, unknown man leading them across the land, but then again, how else would they make it to their destination?... although, she wasn't exactly sure what that destination was.
She settled for watching Kushina in front of her, trotting with grace. She pretended that Kushina's grace was hers and that she was beautiful, moving about delicately yet unbreakable. This journey, she knew, would not be easy. Thanks to Jiraya and Naruto, she could hold her own in a fight, but she had no way to measure the skill of the enemies she was about to face.
Hinata's eyes traveled up to Naruto, watching as he sat proudly on Kushina's saddle, staring straight off into the distance. His face seemed distant, unreachable, yet she knew how strong he was just by looking at him. Lines of knowledge were etched into his young face, making him look older, wiser. But the Naruto she knew was playful, friendly, and she was unused to seeing him so depressed. Yet, their home had been destroyed and he hadn't been there to even fight.
Danger was what Naruto lived for, but he protected the people he cared for with his life. He saved the danger for himself and himself alone.
But this danger was real and inevitable.
In front of Hinata, Sasuke's horse reared up, letting out a loud whine. He grabbed the reins and angled himself as an unknown enemy rose in front of them, landing on the hard ground and knocking aside the dirt it had churned in rising from the ground. Hanabi's horse followed in the panic, and Hinata's horse joined in, but Kushina stood strong and Naruto drew his sword, staring the creature in the eye.
Hinata's breath caught as she looked at the being in front of her. It was a mountain in itself – its skin was the landscape, the hair was the luscious grass, its mouth the opening to a volcano. Its glowing eyes were the ocean, churning between each land. Hinata was in shock. In its horror, it was strangely beautiful… and then it roared.
The blast sent pieces of earth showering down on them. Naruto brought his sword arm up to shield his face and grasped Kushina's reigns tightly in his left hand to keep his balance, but he panicked as his left foot slipped.
To the far left, Hinata could see Hanabi fall from her horse and scramble out of the way as the horse fell after her, its legs stiff. Sasuke quickly grabbed her up, helping her swing onto the back of his horse.
"Naruto!" He called, his deep voice carrying through the sound of wind and debris crashing from the monster's cave of a mouth. Naruto's blue eyes flashed with uncertainty before he swallowed it, hopping from his horse and baring his arm, glaring at his opponent.
Naruto's feet moved on his own as he rolled away from the river that was the creature's arm, and went straight for the sea blue eye, stabbing his sword hilt deep until it hit the ocean floor. The creature thrashed, but Naruto hunkered down, bending his head in towards the hilt of the sword and bracing himself against the creature's molten skin.
The creature jerked again and Naruto spared a glance to his left only to see Sasuke in a similar position, his Kusanagi no Tsurugi* slashed half way to the creature's oceanic eye. The blonde growled as he struggled to remove his sword and Sasuke did the same, bracing his feet against the creature's shifting skin and pulling, ignoring the strain it put on his muscles. Naruto was freed first, grunting as he lost his footing and plummeted to the ground, trying to right himself.
The impact from the fall took Naruto's breath away, but he stood quickly, hurriedly joining Sasuke to barrage the creature. Bit by bit, the creature fell apart, the grassy dirt falling to a pile of disorderly parts on the ground.
A fight hadn't happened here; simply, someone had dug a hole and discarded the dirt, leaving a massacre of burnt plants and water.
"… How…?" Naruto breathed, sheathing Minato and kneeling in the remains of the monster.
"That was a Chikyū**, although we also call them Tsuchi. They attack at random, but usually they stay dormant," Sasuke explained, dusting himself off with distaste. "Something must be stirring – I've never fought one live in combat."
Hinata lowered her bow, which had been set and ready for use in case Naruto and Sasuke couldn't handle the enemy, the Tsuchi. "What do you mean, 'live in combat'? How else would you fight it?"
"Simulations," Sasuke answered simply. "I believe I've already explained about Genjutsu." Naruto and Hinata pursed their lips, and Naruto was about to speak when he heard a hiss from behind him. Turning, he saw Hanabi looking down at her foot in pain.
"I'm fine!" She said quickly once she felt eyes on her. "It's just my ankle – it'll be all right." Hinata still walked over to her sister, helping her set her ankle. Hanabi's dark brown horse was standing off to the side, looking shaken from its previous fall.
"Earlier," Naruto began, turning back to Sasuke, "you said 'something must be stirring'. What must be stirring?"
Sasuke sighed, looking at Naruto with steely obsidian eyes. "There would be no reason for a Tsuchi to attack us at random – we're just travelers. I've been suspecting something… I think I'm thinking of the same people? – I don't know – who attacked your village." There was a moment of silence before Hinata finally spoke up.
"Explain," She said in a simple command.
Sasuke closed his eyes – and uncharacteristic gesture – and sighed. "I wish I could."