Title; Fading
Disclaimer; Nope I don't own any of the Naruto characters.
God's known to the citizens of Naru-
Elder Gods;
Domos Miasma- Death,
Illum Baecom- Light,
Blaac Deavorr- Dark,
Raig Inferno- Fire,
Deapt Hydras- Oceans,
Froesm Raets- Nature,
Cassom Quiken- Earth,
Squell Torrnos- Wind.
Younger Gods; Omlan Cistus- Shadows,
Wadren Naru- Sacred Water,
Siccus Dia- Decay,
Deeis Palgis- Disease,
Guidas Proest- the Wandering God,
Embass Loews- Lesser Fire,
Worrs Tredior- War,
Torent Hason- Storms.
Chapter - 13
While neither the rarest nor the most common form of the Gift the most well know aspect of the Gift is the Mages- though it's common enough for any Mystic such as Alchemists and Summoners to be referred to as a Mage they are not in fact such.
True Mages manipulate their Gift in a more personal manner than either Alchemists or Summoners, casting spells such as wheels of flames or bolts of lightning offensively and crafting runes for defence which acted like monstrous booby-traps; some though possessed neither the offensive or the defensive aspect of the Gift but a third variant- the Healer.
All Mystics were easily identified within Naru's barracks and Castle by their vibrant green robes, the distinction however could be made easily enough between the type of Mystic if one paid attention to the trimmings of the robes; Alchemists bore brown borders and Mages wore purple, Summoners traditionally never wore their robes but rumour had it that a blazing silver outlined their seldom worn clothe.
Raig Inferno, Deapt Hydras, Cassom Quiken and Deeis Palgis- Fire, Water, Earth and Disease- all seemed to have preferred handing out this aspect of the Gift, the majority of these Gifted are Mages with very few Alchemists and barely any recorded summoners.
As compensation for the versatility of their Gift Mages require far more training in their art than Summoners or Alchemists; with the latter two their Gift was highly instinctual, with practice their abilities improved but there was no need for any formal instruction; Mages were the inverse, without the theory- incantations and runes- the Mage would be completely unable to access their abilities.
The most renowned Mages in Naru tended to hold the most influential positions; Lord Akame current Ruler of the holy citadel Naru possessed a high Gift for Light- or so it was rumoured, nobody had actually ever seen the oft guarded man call on his abilities- the head of the Mystic-Soldier collaboration known as the Saints Lord Orochimaru held a High Gift in Deapt Hydras' line; the actual title and name of the Assassins corps commander was unknown to the general public but rumour had it that their Gift was of Worrs Tredior's line; Lady Tsunade, head of Naru's healers, bore a High Gift in Healing from Raig Inferno; the infamous Guard Captain Kakashi Hatake was the most oft seen exercising his Gift, that of High Earth.
Similarly all Saints corps members- not including Hunters- the Elite squads of the Guards corps and the Shades component of the Assassins corps were Mages as much as they were soldiers.
In a God's service a Mage often occupied one of the three top tier positions of an Order as the Sorcerer in equal standing with the Champion and just below the Priest; the Priest was of course Gifted as well but whereas the Sorcerer always bared a High Gift the Priest typically possessed a Minor Gift only powerful enough to communicate with the God- some theories state that this was the case as a God was somewhat vulnerable during communication and feared to give advantage to an ambitious Sorcerer.
There was just something charming about painful gruelling training with the Uchiha Raider, he lived for repetition in his drills and sparred with a fury that left me with doubts as to whether between himself and the Daemons he wasn't the scarlet eyed monster.
Still it was worth it in the end, the ache in my muscles spoke of the effort I'd put into my improvement and the occasional compliment from Sasuke- backhanded as they usually were- left me with a pleasant warmth in my core.
Today though was different- traditionally when Sasuke and I trained together we secured one of the smaller training rooms and kept to ourselves, it helped that most people tended to avoid the rogue Uchiha like a calamity- we had opted instead for the main training grounds, a basement level existed bellow the barracks which was simply a big open space filled with nothing more than rings marked in the gravel for matches and weapon stands bearing dulled blades and other similarly softened weapons.
There was the stink of sweat and the bitter copper flavour of blood in the air that set my teeth on edge and sparked some anticipation for what was to come, a Raider tradition was that at least three matches had to be fought before a Raider could leave the training pit.
Sasuke had somewhat abandoned me to spar instead with the Guard Captain Kakashi, more than a few curious soldiers had gathered around to watch the bold Raider spar with the legendary Scarecrow- traditionally it seemed Kakashi fought three opponents at once when he sparred with his soldiers- so far the count was in the Hatake's favour but not entirely, three wins and one loss for the silver haired warrior.
It was mesmerising to watch the two dance in combat, with the exception of when it was absolutely necessary Sasuke refused to move backward in a fight, he darted forward like a bolt of lightning slipping into any crack or opening and always pushing the attack ferociously; Kakashi moved with more of a sweeping grace in constant motion with his heavy weapon, parrying Sasukes twin strikes smoothly and countering carefully.
There was a sudden change in their match as Kakashi raised his guard a little too high for a downward strike, Sasuke's right blade lashed out catching Kakashi along the waist- a death blow were they using live blades- but in his pursuit of the target Kakashi's downward cut caught the Uchiha's left forearm with an audible smack.
"That's mine." I heard the Uchiha grit out shaking his left arm and flexing his fingers warily, Kakashi laughed in response rubbing his ribs.
"It cost you your left arm, pretty steep price." Mentioned the Guard Captain hefting his practice blade high on to his shoulder in what I assumed was his idea of a casual pose- though a lesser man would have fallen over from the weight.
"Seems a fair price to me." Sasuke threw back returning to his on guard position apparently intent on evening his and Kakashi's current score, with a signal that I couldn't recognise they began once more their deathly dance.
"He's impressive isn't he?" asked a voice to my left, I turned to see a silver haired man I vaguely recognised from my second day in the Raiders corps, I raised an eyebrow at the man's tone but decided against commenting.
"Don't you agree?" he pressed, I shot him an irritated glance.
"Still chasing your little crush?" I asked back in turn keeping my tone flat and even, though I did somewhat hope he took offence; even past my natural disposition to follow Sasuke's lead in dealing with the man he gave off an aura that I found distinctly slimy- he let out a grotesque wet sounding laugh- before joining the Raiders I might have berated myself for not getting to know the man before judging him, these day's however I was far more cynical and instead opted to follow my instincts.
"We're chasing more than him, we've heard tale of a promising new recruit; invested in by the Guard Captain himself." Answered the man, I ignored the rising bile at the clumsy praise and instead snorted tersely; as if I were stupid enough to think I'd be anything more than a desperate hope for a stepping stone.
"Your communication skills seem just as refined as dear Sasuke's." commented the grey haired Mystic with a smile, going with the comparison I decided to simply sneer at him by way of answer- I could understand why Sasuke did it so often, it was rather fun.
"You want something?" I asked after a couple of moments when the man failed to depart; I tried to continue my appreciation of my friends match as Sasuke lashed out with a three strike combination, first a left then a right and finally both at once, Kakashi deflected each with an easy almost bored grace before lashing upwards with a swift strike of his own that Sasuke simply side stepped pressing a second combination striking low and high in alternation as Kakashi moved back blocking and countering with the occasional thrust or sweep.
"An exhibition, you Raiders are fond of your matches are you not?" asked the slimy one, I shrugged none committedly, in honesty the thought of a match with someone who wasn't the masterful Uchiha sounded appealing.
"You want to fight me?" I asked with a tone of disbelief, the man gave a self-conscious laugh and instead gestured towards a group of men standing not for away.
"Members of Orochimaru's private guard. I'd like to test you against one of them." I glanced towards the men in question; one caught attention immediately due in part to his strange pale hair and in rest due to his strange weapon, a long curved blade that resembled an oversized cleaver; the other three bore more standard weaponry, two tall brunettes one only marginally less bulky than his companion held large square shields and short swords the third- a somewhat skinny grey eyed blonde- a slightly smaller round shield and a curved blade.
"Which one I asked." My voice still dull with feigned disinterest, in honesty I wanted to see how I'd fare against these apparently elite soldiers.
"The blonde at the end, Joachim, he's the newest of the four and could use some testing." Returned Kabuto with what I'm sure he believed to be a smile, I found the site more grotesque than anything else.
"Alright I'll do it." I gave my answer with a fake yawn following the creepy Mystic towards his soldiers, I bounced slightly on my heels as I entered the nearby ring trying to awaken some extra energy and psych myself up.
Kabuto shared a few whispered words with the stoic Joachim before he entered the ring opposite me, on closer inspection I could see that he had maybe three inches on me in height and somewhere between ten to twenty pounds in either fat of muscle; significantly less than most of the other warriors had over my five foot five 125 pound frame- which is better than when I'd first arrived as little more than skin and bone.
A crowd of eager mostly unfamiliar faces had gathered and from the corner of my eye I noticed that both Sasuke and Kakashi had finished their last match and had also joined in with the growing spectators.
Joachim had entered a crouch keeping his shield held rigidly before him covering his vital points, his green eyes glared out from above the dirty iron shield blinking slowly with a feline curiosity as he examined me for weakness.
I couched into my own stance angling my blade parallel to the floor the tip pointed behind me; the stance would hopefully keep my weapon hidden from complete perception, Joachim wouldn't be able to judge the length of my blade or the angle it was poised to strike from, I kept my elbows tight to my body and resisted the urge to make the first move- a foolish idea against someone with a solid defence; no here I had to draw an opening from him instead.
Still I slid a little closer to my opponent careful not to bring my right knee into range of an attack, it was a near mistake however as Joachim stretched forward raising and striking downward with his shield's edge at my knee, I pulled my leg back shortening my stance as he lashed up with his weapon forcing me to pull my blade up into a solid parry- so many sessions with Sasuke had given me an unnatural affinity for handling dual handed attacks- I raised my new shield and struck above my opponents lowered shield catching him viciously on the jaw, blood and spittle flew in a wide arc.
I didn't wait to push the attack however striking twice furiously as my opponent half turned and raised his shield in defence, after the second failed strike I switched target striking low and catching Joachim on the back of his ankle taking his left leg from beneath him before I kicked out at my opponents shield sending him crashing from his feet onto his back with a grunt.
I pressed forward a little too slowly in my attempt to end the match and instead of an easy pin I was on the receiving end of a barely blocked desperate strike as Joachim rolled back onto his feet absent his shield.
We stood glowering at one another for a moment before Joachim lunged forward to regain his shield; I struck out at the extended hand only to be blindsided by a strike from Joachim, I got my shield up in defence but the strike was too much for the awkward block and my hand was propelled backward into my temple dazing me slightly.
As I stumbled backward Joachim regained his shield and returned to his original defensive stance as I stepped into a new one bringing my shield up across in front of my chest in guard, my left hand kept down by my hip holding my sword once more parallel with the floor only this time it pointed forward toward my enemy.
"That's enough." I heard a voice call, I didn't lower my guard and neither did Joachim and after a tense moment Kabuto stepped between us, still I didn't lower my guard and neither did Joachim.
"What has a rivalry already formed, in that case Hedrick, Masaka aid Joachim." Ordered the man stepping backward as his other two shield bearing men stepped forward flanking their cringing companion; I resisted the urge to gulp.
I was running through possible plans to deal with the defensive line assembled before me- none of which went beyond making myself look big and hoping they scared off- when I felt a presence weigh in next to me, I risked a glance to see the familiar figure of Sasuke crouched in a balanced stance with his right blade extended forward and his left hovering loosely around his torso.
"I'll cover your assault." Naturally the Uchiha wouldn't be tempted by the virtue of patience, no he'd rather begin the assault and press forward with any counter moves and renewed assaults necessary till it reached completion; given the comforting presence of the elder Raider I was confident enough to try such a task.
I darted forward fainting a strike before ramming my shoulder into the central shield, predictably the attack had little to no effect on the solid defence, not slowing I twisted pressing my back against the shield and striking out blindly to my left; once more I did little more than futilely bang wood upon iron and provide the third enemy an opening, I barely managed to block the horizontal strike with my light shield- I grinned, I imagined wolfishly.
The soldier to my right, Masaka I believed, first crumpled in two and then fell completely from his feet as Sasuke's blade struck his ribs with a furious crack, my satisfaction at the opening I had created lasted only a brief moment before I was thrown from my feet myself as Joachim pushed viciously against my back.
I rolled clumsily only keeping free of a strike from Joachim as Sasuke engaged him, I was still on both knees when Hedrick's blade cut towards me; I parried twice and suffered a small graze to my shoulder as I returned to my feet, pressing his advantage as he did though the man left himself open and I managed to cut under his shield with an upward thrust striking the armpit of his sword-arm.
I threw caution to the wind and lashed out low connecting solidly with my opponents knee before striking above with the edge of my shield as he struck horizontally with his blade; spittle and blood flew from Hedrick's mouth as he was knocked from his feet and I felt a disturbing crack emit from my side.
I held my injured flank carefully and glanced over towards Sasuke, I was unsurprised to find Joachim collapsed upon the sand before him; he raised an eyebrow at me, I waved off his attempt at a show of concern as I struggled not to let on how much it stung to breath.
"Impressive for one so young, even with dear Sasuke as support." Complimented Kabuto, Sasuke responded with a comment that was slightly more than rude and I offered a sneer of my own in accompaniment before we assembled by the waiting Kakashi.
"Nasty hit you took their kid, looks like Sasuke will have some company at the medic tonight." Commented the Guard Captain with a low whistle, I eyed Sasuke for a moment before the Uchiha pointed downward towards his leg.
"I caught him a little roughly with a sweep, you probably didn't notice his hobbling during your match." Explained Kakashi with a cheerful grin, Sasuke seemed less pleased at the story but didn't contest it.
"Come on." Snapped the elder Raider trudging away from the still ecstatic Hatake with well…he seemed grumpy but that was something all too familiar in the Uchiha anyway, I followed for once not trailing in Sasuke's wake as he was forced to move slower with his injury- in fact it was somewhat satisfying and jarring to see the Uchiha move without his unnatural grace.
I'd never been to the sanatorium of the training hall before, traditionally we wrapped our own wounds but this went past stitching and bandaging, the room was smaller than I expected with only perhaps a dozen sleeping mats spread along the walls, I spied a wicked looking surgery hidden behind a cloth divider and quickly prayed never to need it's relief.
I spent the next hour alongside Sasuke being poked and prodded; first by a kindly brunette man- well more boy than man- whom visibly wilted beneath Sasuke's dark glare, then by a strict and I quietly thought senile blonde woman and after that I stopped bothering with noting who 'examined' me at any given moment.
Finally I felt the warm tingle I associated with magical healing settle into my side numbing the area pleasantly, it was the first man or boy who finally worked his arcane skills upon my injury, I offered him a small smile but I don't think he noticed it in his attempts to avoid Sasuke's gaze- the Uchiha himself saw little more care than that of a plain wild-eyed girl wrapping his ankle.
"You'll have to stay the night." Came Sasuke's dark voice as I moved to lift myself from the rough mat, I paused in my task before abandoning it altogether.
"Mandatory once you receive treatment." He elaborated drawing a long haggard sigh from me, on a positive note however it had at least stopped hurting to breath…mostly anyway.
We passed the next hour in a companionable half silence with the occasional brief comment or snarled quip, about the same time I was considering trying to spark a conversation with the dust our food arrived.
Once again I was surprised at the quality of the meal we received, while it may not have been anything exceptional the plainly cooked vegetables were obviously fresh, the plate was well supplied with meat and with a stretch the bread may have been called soft; I voiced my thoughts to Sasuke in hopes of sparking a little conversation.
"Naturally." He remarked beginning his own similar plate with little relish, like everything else the Uchiha did that didn't involve a blade he approached his meal with a lethargic grace.
"I didn't think they'd go to the effort for Raiders." I offered in turn prodding a swollen reddish purple vegetable before bypassing it in favour of a piece of salted meat, I noticed a disapproving glance from my companion and shot my own back…I saw not eating that thing before the Uchiha did, proving it wasn't as poisonous as it looked.
"It's not as if they do it out of compassion. It's an investment. Simply put a well fed Raider will survive and acquire more artefacts and treasures than a near starving one." Sasuke pointed out swallowing the red purple vegetable with barely a grimace, though I was still sceptical.
"So why not arm us better? Or at least uniformly." It was an odd experience noting the differences between training Raiders and Guards; the Guards ran drills both on their own and as a group, they had training exercises for different scenarios and sparred in groups; Raiders on the other hand practiced solitarily and tended to only search for partners as opponents.
"Wouldn't do much good to arm us better, and it would probably harm us if we were armed uniformly." Answered the Uchiha as I finished my meal- well the red purple pepper thingy still lingered- I suppose he had a point, for the most part our weapons were at least serviceable and it was rare the Raider who bothered to invest his coin in better equipment.
"You think discipline would hurt us?" I asked sceptically, the elder Raider snorted tersely and continued to pick away at his food.
"Not discipline, that would be a pleasant change. Uniformity though would weaken us severely." Answered Sasuke, finally finishing with his food he set his plate near my own and eyed me thoughtfully- a great achievement I felt, once again I'd managed the challenging task of enticing the silent Wraith into conversation.
"The Raiders are only as effective as they are because of our individual talents, consider how some of the men you know would fare if you took their preferred style and traded it for the rigidness of the Guards training. Large shields would have to be abandoned when we entered ruins, a broad sword and spear would prove ineffective against some of the Daemons thicker hides." Commented Sasuke lowering himself onto his side in a sleeping posture, conversation time was almost finished I suspected.
He had a point I suppose, I myself still wouldn't be able to use the Guards heavier weapons effectively let alone when I began my career as a Raider, others like Tage I had seen bring down vicious Daemons with his massive war hammer that surely wouldn't have fallen to a lighter weapon- at least not so easily.
"Besides the tactics would be disastrous, if we moved as one or tried defensive manoeuvres like those deployed by the Guards we'd become too rigid and be picked apart by the Daemons. We're better as individuals, separate parts with our own unique prowess and the ability to quickly adapt to our versatile enemies." He finished, I had no idea what time it may have been but with hardly another word on the subject or any other Sasuke slipped off to sleep and I soon followed.
I had however not counted on how cold it could become in the night, or that I might seek warmth in the night.
I awoke with a pained twist as I felt pressure on my damaged ribs conscious of the warm body pressed close to my own- the potential cause of said pressure.
I blinked owlishly up at the Uchiha's handsome features, lit only by the low light of the chambers torches; for a moment I remained completely still starring stupidly as I tried to comprehend the situation, then some sleep filled part of my mind decided I must be dreaming once more.
That thought didn't last long however, the powerful feel of his heart beating against my chest caused my own to race ferociously and I felt my breath catch as I watched his lips part to release a shaky soft breath; in sleep the tightness fled his features, his pale lips didn't seem permanently etched into a parts angry and parts disappointed scowl.
He gripped me tightly and I decided; this was the final side of the Legendary Raider, who attracted the upper caste of Konoha to vie for his attention, and the Mysterious Wraith, who drew the attentions of Devine beings.
I'd been trying to understand how I fitted in with the first two but this one I fit in with perfectly, the Wraith, the Raider and a Lonely Boy in search of a partner; why me though, Kakashi, Sakura or his friend from the Guards corps- Naruto- seemed more appropriate.
In that moment however I didn't care for the why; something greedy and shameless shot through me and wouldn't be denied, I'd told myself a hundred times the need to remain distant for my rescue attempt to succeed, but I hadn't expected to find this- already my heart shook at the thought and I knew it would take all my strength to pull away when the time came.
I pressed my lips against his and the world fell away- cold dread filled my gut in the same moment as warm content entered my soul- he didn't respond, which was for the best no doubt; I pulled away and buried my face in his chest telling myself that those were not tears falling from my eyes, there would be no way to pull out of Sasuke's embrace now without waking him so I thought it best to get comfortable.
I knew I no longer had enough strength, when I rescued my elder sister it would have to be with him, he had to escape with me and then we'd seek out his brother...we'd go wherever we pleased but it would have to be together, I felt bound, enchanted…and a little foolish- no doubt the Uchiha didn't, couldn't share my sentiments; he didn't see me the same way I saw him.
I'm sorry Hinata.
That's it for this chapter, a small interlude between story arcs, next chapter kicks off another arc for 'Gin' and Sasuke.
Hope there are still folks enjoying the story, Fadings got like a ridiculous low count of hits (about a 1000 meaning my one shots get more views!) but it's become my favourite story to work on.
As usual please review and let me know what you think or if you've got any questions, sorry for any disappointed fans who wanted Gin to be Hinata by the way, she will appear in the story though in another arc or two as the High Gifted elder Hyuuga sister.
R&R