I do not own Naruto or Warhammer 40K
AN. This is fic is set immediately after the events of the novel "Lord of the night." by Simon Spurrier. It is not necessary to have read it to understand this fic, but it is an amazing book and I highly recommend it. For those new to the Warhammer40k universe there will be a glossary at the end of each chapter when terms need to be explained. This will be a darker Naruto than in canon. Leave them in your review or PM me.
The votes are in. All 5 of them. The pairing is Naru/Tenten/Ino/Mei Terumi. With Naru/Ten as the primary pairing.
oOo
Heir of the Talon-Master.
Chapter 3. Allies
"I am Zso Sahaal. First of the Raptors, bearer of the Corona Nox. Talon-Master of the Night Lords."
Staggering back a few steps Naruto began to hyperventilate. "It's you! That night, it was you."
"Yes boy." the giant's harsh metallic voice whispered into the night, steam hissing out from two slits in his helm.
"What do you two want!" Naruto shouted as he tried to scramble away. But an unseen force held him fast.
"Naruto please calm down and let us explain." Mita said as she stood up, she held her one arm out in front of her. A soft nimbus of light playing around her fingertips. "Sahaal."
The armored giant reached up to his head and with a click and a hiss removed his helm. A pale face looked down upon Naruto. His skin was a ghostly white as if he'd never felt the touch of the sun, covered in a web of scars and sunken craters. "Calm down Boy." Without his helm his voice was calm, deep with an odd accent Naruto couldn't identify.
Struggling against his invisible bonds Naruto opened his mouth to scream but it clamped shut of its own volition.
"Boy the truth of who you are begins in how the two of us met." Zso Sahaal intoned calmly.
Shocked into silence Naruto stared dumbly at the pair.
"Are you ready to listen now Naruto." Mita asked a bit coldly releasing her control just enough to allow Naruto to talk.
"Yes." Naruto replied meekly.
"Show him Mita" Sahaal intoned gesturing with one armored paw.
Walking forward Mita put her hand on Naruto's head. "Brace yourself." A blast of white hot pain blasted into Naruto's mind.
oOo
Opening his eyes he found himself floating in the air. Gasping in fright he reached out desperately for something to break his fall.
"Oh calm down." an irritated voice called from behind him. "This is a memory. Yours." she a added after a moments pause.
"Mine." Naruto asked.
"Yes. Now watch."
Looking down Naruto saw himself moving through the woods.
The crack of a twig drew Naruto's attention back to his moving figure, there was something in the woods behind him. "Is that Zso?" He asked Mita pointing to the shadow wreathed form that had appeared behind him.
"Scream for Me." it whispered.
"Yes that night. It was our first in your lands. We were looking for information about this land, your people, so we could find allies. Using my powers I cloaked us in shadow and darkness. And when Sahaal saw you he decided to test the character of your people."
"What?"
"Here it comes." Mita murmured.
Looking down Naruto saw himself scrambling away from Zso Sahaal a strange silvery light streaming from his eyes leaving ghostly afterimages in the air as he moved. A look of absolute fear on his face. But then that changed. From fear to rage, the change was swift. One instant fleeing, the next fighting.
Naruto watched as his teeth grew sharper longer. The whisker marks on his cheeks tearing open into great bloody marks that bled violently sending crimson streams flowing down his face. "Is that me?" Naruto asked from his place floating in the sky next to Mita.. "What's happening?"
"Fear. Your afraid. Fear leads to Rage. And rage has ever been the domain of Khorne."
"Khorne?"
"Shush this is where it gets interesting." Mita admonished. The two watched as a glowing crimson mark appeared under his shirt over his heart. A flaming X bisected by two horizontal lines and a series of short vertical lines at the bottom, it flared brightly turning his shirt to ash, leaving him bare from the waist up. It resembled a strangely angular skull. At the same time a spiral seal flickered intermittently on his stomach.
Screaming in rage Naruto launched himself forward in blisteringly fast rush towards Zso Sahaal leaving behind two glowing silver trails as his eyes continued to flare with an eerie light. The blood pouring from his cheeks running down his neck onto his arms. There it flowed until it covered his arms from fingertips to elbow in a crimson coat that hardened into a red crystal claws made from hardened blood.
The two met in the center of a clearing crashing together in a jumble of crimson and midnight blue, silver and red. Multicolored sparks rained down as the two began to two duel. Naruto's red claws thundering into the path of Sahaal's scimitar like talons. Standing almost toe to toe the two exchanged blows weaving a dazzling web of red light. Ancient might and iron discipline fighting against incandescent rage and chaotic strength.
Sliding in between Naruto's claws like a ghost Sahaal brought his helm smashing down onto Naruto's skull. Bringing his armored boot around he smashed it into Naruto's chest, auto-reactive claws rending flesh before he spun to throw the boy into a tree, splintering it under the force of the impact.
Hitting the tree Naruto vomited forth a torrent of blood before falling to his knees. He managed to roll to one side just as a Sahaal screamed by, his taloned boots digging two long trenches in the earth, jump pack screaming as it shot his armored bulk back into the sky, his glowing eye slits leaving a red trail behind him.
Crouching down into the ground a red nimbus of light began to play around Naruto's form, the silver light flaring from his eyes brightening. Red mist bled from his pores wrapping around his body. Soon he was covered in at thick aura of red energy that burned around his flesh like a torch.
Covered in this red cloak, Naruto's eyes snapped back up to the flickering form of Sahaal as he danced around the woods, the only sign of him the red trails left from his eyeslits.
Until like a nightmare carved from midnight blue steel and bronze, he rose up behind Naruto and slid crimson claws straight through his back. Punching straight through, bone and flesh erupting out the front of his chest in a shower of gore. Pulling his claws apart he ripped open Naruto's chest, tearing his ribs apart like so many dried and rotten twigs and disappearing back into the darkness in the same moment.
Roaring in rage Naruto spun around his chest torn to bloody ribbons. The red cloak of energy wrapping around his chest flared and began knitting back torn flesh and broken bones. Bone reset and muscle and skin regenerated. Bits of gore and splinters of bone fell to the ground as his skin sealed once more. But the healing depleted the red glow of his cloak. It shone with less than half of its previous vigor though it still covered him completely.
Screaming in fury Naruto raised one clawed hand above his head. He brought it down with a roar of fury smashing it into the ground. From the point of impact a bloody red sphere of raw energy blossomed screaming out into the night.
As the wave of energy spiraled outward it turned the grass to ash, trees shattering into splinters or tearing from the ground. In the space of a few moments a 100 feet of forest and brush had been scraped to ash broken trees, and smoking debris.
Rising from beneath a smoke wreathed tree Zso Sahaal jumped on top of the charred mess and flicked his claws once, cleaning them of ash and dust.
"What are you?" Zso Sahaal asked tilting his head birdlike. An angry bellow was his only response. "Very well." Reaching down to his waist he tapped the dispensers on his belt.
Covered in the glowing red shroud Naruto charged on all fours towards Zso Sahaal. So absorbed in his mad dash that he didn't notice the small metal spheres falling into his path.
Not until they detonated. Delivering a rolling wave of hammer blows, sending him careening along the ground like a child's ball.
Naruto watched dumbstruck as he saw himself knocked around by the rolling waves of the explosion.
When the smoke cleared he saw himself lying still in the center of a crater. Moving with a smooth predatory grace Sahaal walked up to the fallen boy. Nudging him over with a foot he raised one claw overhead.
And then the world began to go white and Naruto felt himself falling upward.
And suddenly the vision was over.
oOo
Falling on his ass Naruto looked around. He was back on the roof of the hospital. Mita and Sahaal were both looking down on him.
"So what did you learn boy?" Sahaal asked.
"I. I. There's something inside me. It took over." Naruto mouthed.
A harsh laugh was his only response. Sahaal's armored shoulders shaking in mirth. "Not quite Boy." Hopping forward like a vulture Sahaal stabbed out with one claw slicing open his hospital gown down the front. On his chest marked out in scar tissue was the same symbol that he had seen in his memory. "There is something withing you, but it didn't take over you."
"What?"
"Naruto nothing took over your body. What you saw was yourself. The real you." Mita said as she walked forward a bit to join them. The parchment in her hair rustling softly.
"That's not true!" Naruto shouted back his temper flaring.
"Isn't it?" Mita asked an unreadable expression on her face.
"NO! That wasn't me!" He shouted angrily his eyes flickering with a silver glow.
Laughing harshly Sahaal stalked a few steps closer to Naruto. "Are you so sure Boy? Look at yourself."
Naruto glanced down at his hands. They were clenched into fists. Mita walked forward and placed her hand on top of one of Naruto's fists. The touch startling Naruto, the glow fading from his eyes. She smiled fondly down at Naruto.
"Your just like he was. So quick to anger. Nothing but rage and purpose." She spoke softly a gentle smile on her lips.
An amused snort came from Sahaal but Mita continued speaking. "I saw it Naruto. Your memories. You are filled with anger, every minute of every day you rage. Against a world that treats you so different from others. And yet you kept striving to better yourself. Always pushing. Even though you were almost always alone. The Hokage and your friend Iruka they're always busy. The only people who were ever truly kind to you were the two from the ramen stand. How many nights did you spend sleeping in the back room? How many meals did you eat sitting at their feet. Countless hundreds of people hate you and only two people care for you. Isn't that a bitter ratio?"
"Yes." Naruto whispered.
"That night in the woods, that was the first time you ever lost your temper isn't it? The first time you let that rage out."
"Yes." Naruto paused for a long second before continuing. "Mita where did that power come from? You said that the rage was mine but what about that power?"
"And now we come to the heart of the matter." Sahaal spoke from his place just behind Mita.
"There are two answers to that question Naruto."
"What do you mean.?" Naruto asked curiously and more than a little afraid.
"I will start with the easiest to explain." Mita began. "Naruto in this world there are beings of almost unimaginable power. They are quite literally concentrated evil. Your people call them the tailed beasts. We call them Daemon." She paused. "13 years ago, the strongest of them attacked this village, and after causing untold destruction it was finally stopped."
"The Yondaime killed it!" Naruto cried out excitedly. "We learned about it in school."
"That is a lie. Such a being cannot be killed Naruto. Even were you to destroy its body it would only banish it for a few years. So your leader did something different. He sealed it." As Naruto listened one of his hands strayed unconsciously to his stomach. "Within a newborn baby, sacrificing his own life to do so. And then in order to protect the child a law was passed. No one could speak of the fate of the Daemon or the child." Mita leaned against Sahaal's bulk. Her hand tracing the designs engraved on his armor. She waited patiently staring at Naruto.
"Who was it?" Naruto asked nervously. But the pair stood silently neither speaking or moving. In Naruto mind pieces began to click into place. The insults. The looks. And his age. He was 13 years old. Born the day the Kyubi attacked Konoha. "It was me. I'm the Kyubi." Naruto whispered as he fell to his knees.
"Are you?" Sahaal's voice whispered into the night. "then why are you on your knees?" He asked his voice boring into Naruto's head. "Stand. Or Die. " Landing with a metallic clang a knife slid to a stop next to his hand. Pure black from tip to tip it looked like a long kunai. "Choose, Live as a man or die as a daemon."
Grabbing the blade Naruto stood. Spinning the knife in his hands he brought it arcing towards his face.
Blood splashed into the night air.
From the corner of each eye to his jawline twin slash marks stood out in sharp relief. Like crimson tear tracks they framed his face.
"I choose life. I'm not a demon." Naruto cried out his voice resonating with confidence and purpose.
oOo
"Naruto I said there were two answers to the questions to your power. The first is the kyubi. By bearing its might within you, your own body has become stronger. You heal faster than normal, and you have more chakra than anyone in your class."
"You know about Chakra?" Naruto asked curiously.
"We've been studying your people. Now the second answer to your power is a bit more complex. Naruto do you believe in gods?"
Scrunching up his face Naruto pondered the question. "I don't know. I never really thought about it."
"There are gods in this universe Naruto. 4 in particular that you need to be aware of. But only one is important right now."
"Which one Mita?"
"Khorne. The blood god. Lord of rage." Mita whispered her voice barely audible. And for the first time since he'd met her her voice trembled with fear.
"The blood god?"
"Yes Naruto. The god of war himself. Every life taken in anger, every drop of blood ever spilled, every war is an act of worship in his name. And two month's ago he bestowed his mark upon you. You became one of the blood gods chosen."
"What does that mean?" Naruto asked as he traced the strange skull like symbol over his heart.
"I don't know. I know little of the blood god. But I can tell you this, Khorne is watching you."
"So what should I do?"
"Nothing." Sahaal interjected. " You already have a warp-spawn beast inside of you. You don't need more trouble. If Khorne wants something, he can come get you himself."
"Sahaal!" Mita gasped incredulously. "You want him to ignore a god?"
"Mita. Leave it be, his fate is his to make." Standing up to his full height he scanned the horizon. "The sun will rise soon, we should get going.." Turning smoothly he scooped up Mita in one clawed hand causing her to yelp in surprise. "Get some rest boy. We start training tomorrow."
"Huh? But I still have questions?" Naruto shouted. "What happens now? what does Khorne want?"
Sahaal paused on the edge of the rooftop Mita cradled in his arms. "Hes not the god to ask Boy." And with that the pair vanished from the rooftop in the space between a heartbeat, like a knife between ribs.
It wasn't until much later that Sahaal's words hit Naruto. We start training Tomorrow.
oOo
AN: Thanks to my Beta's Whitedragon17 and Psudocode Samurai who as always provide me with unparalleled help and support. Both are amazing authors and I highly recommend All of their fics. And thanks to all my reviewers.
Also check Out PersonalFable he just started a pretty amazing warhammer40k/Kim Possible crossover.
AAN: If you think I made a mistake or have a suggestion or an idea, Please PM me or leave it in a review.