"Blah" - Talking

"Blah" - Thinking

Bold – Summon, Demon, or inner self talking or thinking.

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Chapter 2 – Origin of Power!

"What the hell hit me..." Naruto slowly opened his eyes only to groan when the light hit them which caused him to rapidly close them once again. Hearing a slight chuckle he cautiously reopened his eyes and tried to focus on the person causing the sound.

"Welcome back to the land of the living Naruto." Kakashi was leaning up against a wall on the other side of the room, which Naruto now recognized as being in Tazuna's house. Seeing the unasked question in Naruto's eyes Kakashi decided to head him off. "You've been out for almost a week now."

Naruto's eyes opened wide upon hearing this and he tried to ask another question but found his throat to dry. Kakashi, having known that this would be a problem, brought a glass of water to his student before helping him to take a few sips. Once Naruto had had enough he stopped sipping the cool water and tried again to ask his sensei the question again. "W-what happened?"

Although you couldn't tell from the outside Kakashi was frowning hearing this. In all honesty Kakashi wasn't certain what happened on the bridge that day. He had hoped Naruto would be able to shed some light on it. "I honestly don't know what all happened Naruto." Seeing Naruto looking even more confused Kakashi elaborated. "I was unable to watch everything that happened on the bridge and, in all honesty, YOU are the biggest piece of the mystery surrounding that day." Kakashi noticed Naruto's denial before he could voice it. "Yes you..."

Naruto was confused and dumbfounded as to what Kakashi meant. He was the big mystery of that day? Concentrating hard Naruto tried to remember what happened the day of the battle. He remembered saving Tsunami and Inari. He remembered leaving some clones behind and having to stop Inari from running all around the village... "Wait what? I didn't have to stop Inari... My clones did but why would... I... I'M AN IDIOT! I get their memories and I've never noticed before! I'll have to ask about that and what it could mean!" After his short victory dance in his head Naruto went back to thinking of that day. It was then that he remembered the death of his comrade. "Sasuke died...." Though it came out as little more than a whisper Kakashi heard it.

Sighing Kakashi moved from the wall and sat down by his student. "Naruto, I know that this must be hard for you, but can you tell me what happened to Sasuke at the bridge? Did you see how he died?"

Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes before he answered. "I didn't get to see it happen... I got there just as this dome of.. Well, they looked like mirrors, possible made of ice, collapsed. Sasuke looked like a pin-cushion. I.... He.... I called to him.... H-h-he turned to me a-a-and blood was coming from his neck... He had been hit by a senbon or two there... T-t-the look of panic... Of fear..." Naruto stopped for a moment trying to collect his thoughts before he continued even more quietly. "Sasuke's eyes said it all. He knew he was dying... Though you could see the panic in them... There was also despair. Sasuke tried to say something to me but was unable... I-I-I was to shocked and scared to stop him a-as he removed the senbon from his neck..."

Kakashi closed his eyes after having heard that. "Naruto saw him die. He didn't just see the body he watched as the life left his eyes... If it had been an enemy it wouldn't have been so bad but this was a comrade, a teammate... This team is starting to look more more like my old Team 7." "What happened next Naruto." Kakashi gently prodded for him to continue.

Naruto slowly shook his head in what seemed to be sadness and regret. " Sasuke was bleeding but it wasn't too bad. It had started to soak into his shirt but I've ha... Seen worse." If Kakashi caught Naruto's slip he didn't make an indication of it. "But when he pulled the needle... When he pulled it out blood just came gushing out in waves......" Naruto seemed to look a little sick thinking about the amount of blood seen coming from Sasuke. "Just moments after p-pulling it out...." Naruto chokes on a sob. "He dropped. I could see the life leaving his eyes as he f-fell..."

Kakashi watched as Naruto stopped and seemed to be collecting his thoughts and his emotions. Kakashi really did feel for Naruto. He had also caught Naruto's little slip up. "I know I wasn't around much but surely it wasn't that bad was it?" Seeing that Naruto had recomposed himself and appeared ready to continue Kakashi decided that Naruto and his childhood would be best brought up later. Perhaps with the Hokage.

"The next part is more of a blur really but I think I know what happened........"

*Flashback – Naruto's Mind*

Sitting up slowly Naruto took a look around where he found himself. It looked like a damp, dark sewer with water a couple inches deep running through it. Getting up Naruto tried to remember what had happened. Slowly it started to come back to him. Tsunami... Inari... Sasuke..... Unsure of where he was or what he should do Naruto decided to start walking.

What seemed like an eternity passed. Eventually he came to what appeared to be a large set of bars with a small piece of paper marked seal holding it closed. What surprised him though was the ice. Between each pair of bars there was a solid block of ice that made it so that nothing could get in or out of the bars. Behind the bars and ice a giant figure could be seen thrashing around and trying to claw at the ice. "The Kyuubi... This must be the seal. But is up with the ice?" Upon closer inspection Naruto found that all the ice was connected on the top and bottom of the cage and on the far left a trail of it led back the way he came.

After what seemed like another eternity the sewer finally opened up on a frozen tundra. When Naruto exited the sewer it disappeared behind him. Not concerned at all Naruto continued forward and started to look around. In the distance large snow covered mountains could be seen and behind him just flat, frozen waste. Suddenly a frozen wind swept through the area causing Naruto to have to shield his eyes and face. As quick as it had appeared the wind was suddenly gone. When he reopened his eyes Naruto was astonished. There before him now stood an elegant traditional style house with a small garden and yard. Walking towards it he is surprised when it suddenly becomes warm after he steps into the yard. Looking back Naruto can still see the ice covered mountains and the frozen waste lands, but for whatever reason the cold can't seem to reach the yard.

Deciding to press forward and try to find out what was going on he made his way up to the front of the house. Just as he had raised his hand to knock lightly on the door he heard a soft, feminine voice call out from inside. "Please, come in... I've been waiting for you Naruto."

Surprised a little Naruto slowly slide the door open and, being mindful to remove his shoes, entered the house. In the main room by a small fire pit sat an exquisite looking woman. She was wearing a traditional kimono and robes all in shades of blue. She had waist length white hair with ice blue highlights and stunning crystal blue eyes. Naruto noticed that she was gesturing for him to sit opposite from her across the fire. Naruto became uncomfortable under the woman's intense gaze and started to squirm a bit. Then, without warning, the woman was smiling at him and her gaze had softened.

"Forgive me for the scrutiny. I was only just awakened and, though I could see it in your memories, I had to be sure for my self of what kind of person you were." Her voice was still soft and airy. It seemed to float gently to Naruto's ears and it helped to relax him.

"You've been asleep?" Seeing her nod Naruto continued. "For how long? And where are we? And did you say my memories?" Naruto was nervous about the last part. There was some stuff that he didn't want others to know about in his past.

Sensing his uneasy over the last question the woman decided to start there. "Yes, your memories. Naruto, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You should be admired for what you've survived and for how you've turned out." Her gaze became even more gentle, almost motherly. "In time you will realize that others have seen you at some of your lowest points and still care for you... Not out of pity which you fear and won't accept, but out of caring, concern, and love." Though Naruto never understood why or what it meant, the woman knew immediately when viewing his memories why Hinata acted as she did. She wouldn't tell Naruto though why yet. She hoped he could figure it out on his own. "As to where we are, we are currently in your mind."

"But what about the sewer that had the seal?"

"That was the seal room... While it is apart of your mind it is also separate so that your mind is protected from the beast." At the mention of the Kyuubi the woman features darkened slightly and a frown formed for a moment before she returned to smiling. "However, the years have not been kind to you. You have built a mask of happiness that hides the hurt and pain you feel. That is why your mind is so desolate and barren. In time though that might change if you allow yourself to truly feel and heal."

Hearing this Naruto looked down, unsure of what to say for a moment. "...I don't know. I know I'm not always as happy as I may seem..." Seeing the look the woman was now giving him Naruto decided to just be honest. After all, she had seen his memories. "Okay okay..... So I'm rarely as happy as I seem. But if I don't play the happy idiot I'm afraid the villagers and others might start the attacks again."

The woman silently got up and moved over to Naruto's side. Once seated again she gently reached out and placed a hand on his cheek and made him look her in the eyes. "Naruto... Know that I will always be here for you and you can tell me anything as I'll never judge you. But you should drop the mask and let people see the real you more often... Your a proud shinobi now aren't you?" Seeing his slight nod she continued. "Then show the villagers that... Now your last question, I've been asleep for almost 13 years. You see, when the Kyuubi was sealed in you the Shinigami that came knew you would live a hard life. So he left me..." Here the woman let out a small giggle that Naruto thought was beautiful. "Well, maybe not me exactly. You see every Shinigami has a unique sword called a Zanpakutou that is used in slaying hollows and sending souls to a place called Soul Society. Toshiro, the Shinigami that sealed Kyuubi, decided to leave you with a little of his power inside you. He wielded Hyorinmaru, the most powerful ice type Zanpakutou to have ever existed... Though I think I could give him a run for his money."

Hear Naruto chose to interrupt. "So your a Zanpakutou?" The woman gave him a slight nod. "But I'm not a Shinigami... Am I?"

Here the woman laughed a full laugh. "My dear dear Naruto... You're no Shinigami. But you do wield some of their powers now thanks to Toshiro. What he left in you was a seed. That seed in the first year of your life grew and became what I am. Because Hyorinmaru was an ice type thats what I've become. In fact I've all the same powers as the old dragon... Now he's still stronger just because he's been around a lot longer than I."

"Been around longer? What do you mean?" Naruto's head was seriously starting to hurt as he was confused.

"Zanpakutou have always existed. They chose their wielders, for the most part, after seeing something in the Shinigami that they relate to. There have always been Zanpakutou and a new one hasn't come into existence in millennium. That is until me."

Naruto was surprised by this. "What do you mean until you? You just said all Zanpakutou have always existed..."

Reaching up and running a hand gently through Naruto's hair she continued. "That is true, but I'm not a normal Zanpakutou. You see, Shinigami are not supposed to come to this dimension. As far as all but the captains are concerned there's only 4 dimension's, though most only ever think of 3. There's the land of the living, Soul Society where they along with regular souls live, and Hueco Mundo where the Hollows live." Seeing Naruto was becoming more confused at some of the terms the woman just patted him on the head gently. "Don't worry if you don't understand yet, I'll teach you later. Now the last dimension is Hell. Most Shinigami don't even think of this place even though they know it exist and several have seen the gates to it. What they don't think about is that there's also the Kings Dimension which can only be accessed by the Sotaicho of the Gotei 13. That dimension is what you might call True Heaven, the counterpart to Hell. However, existing parallel to the "Living World" is another world. The one that you live in. However Shinigami and Hollows can't reach here under normal circumstances and Shinigami are not needed for if someone dies here they are immediately sent to either Heaven or Hell. If certain, circumstances happen though, a Shinigami or Hollow might be able to come here though. Hollows aren't that much of a problem since Shinobi can use chakra, a combination of Spiritual and Physical energies and can thus see them and usually take care of them easily."

Naruto sat there for a moment to let everything said sink in. Slowly his mind started to sort through the information that had been presented and he came up with a few questions.......

*End Flashback*

Kakashi looked at his student and tried to put everything that he had just been told together. Deciding that he didn't know enough and that it would have to wait till later he pressed on. "Naruto, what about the change in appearance and the sword you used on the bridge? How does all that relate to what you just told me."

Smiling Naruto chuckled a little. "Don't you get it? To make it simple I've unlocked, well, lets call it a kekkei genkai, and it fixed what years of malnourishment and abuse did to me. Also, as a one time thing, it allowed me to alter my clothing to fit my new abilities."

Frowning slightly Kakashi was confused and worried. What he had seen didn't look like any kind of kekkei genkai that he had ever seen or heard of. "Naruto, you said to ask about Hyorinmaru before you passed out on the bridge. I know you mentioned it to me just now as being the blade of the Shinigami that did the sealing... Was that who was in control at the bridge?"

Naruto shook his head. "No... That was my own blade in control. It was a one time deal though that can never happen again she said. The reason she gave you that name was because I don't know her's and she wasn't sure I'd realize what you were asking about without it..." Naruto smiled sheepishly and started to scratch the back of his head looking down.

"What do you mean you don't know its name? You talked to it-her, the sword, for a while didn't you?" This new concept totally confused Kakashi. He knew that some master swordsmen would name their swords or that some special swords, like Zabuza's, had names given to them after being created. So how could Naruto, the owner of the blade who had apparently talked to it for a while, not know its name?

"I can't here it. Every time she tries to tell me it only comes as a whisper that's to quiet to hear. You have to understand, Zanpakutou are living spirits. While it is true that she is currently residing in my mind-scape and is in a sense apart of me, at the same time we are separate. It saddened her that I couldn't hear her but she said it was all right and that in time I would come to understand her and hear her name." By the time Naruto finished he had a small sad, but genuine, smile on his face.

Kakashi was finally starting to understand a little of what had happened on the bridge now. He was worried for Naruto though. The thought of the sword being another spirit and it residing inside his body scared him. Naruto already had the Kyuubi and while this new one sounded nice, there was no protection for Naruto from her. Deciding that this was something that would need to be discussed with the Hokage Kakashi pushed his fears aside for now. "Naruto?"

Naruto had begun staring out the window in his own thoughts while Kakashi had been himself thinking over all the implications of what happened. It appeared that it was either late evening or early morning but Naruto was ready to get up and start moving again. "Yes sensei?"

"The sun is just coming up so if you feel up to it later today I would like to you talk to Sakura." Kakashi stood up from the floor and went over to the window. Down below in the back yard stood a makeshift monument to Sasuke had been built by Sakura who was currently standing in front of it. "She took Sasuke's death pretty hard and I don't believe she's been eating or sleeping properly all week... If you would just try to talk to her as her teammate I'm sure that you could help."

Naruto frowned just a little hearing this. While he cared for Sakura he wasn't an idiot. He honestly could say that he really doubted he was the one she would want to see. Naruto though couldn't stand to see her upset though and decided to try. "Okay, I'll try to talk to her in a few hours after I get up and move around a bit first."

Kakashi smiled at Naruto and so left the room. Having a bit of privacy Naruto decided that it was time to get ready for the day.

My desktop crashed early this week (Monday) otherwise this chapter would have been out then. On that note, the authors note below applies to before my computer crashed and might not take effect until later this week when I get it back from having it repaired. Also, I'll update this chapter later (if necessary) after I've had a chance to spell check it with my desktop which has the proper spelling saved into it for the Japanese used.

I made a few minor changes to the last chapters notes at the end. Nothing to go back and read as its not that important. Do note though that I did change Chapter 1's title as I've decided to change one minor detail. If things still don't make sense don't worry, their not supposed to fully yet. Chapter 4 or 5 should be were most of the rest is explained.

Please read and review.