START OF PART TWO

Warning: The beginning of this chapter contains content not suitable for anyone under the age of 16 (18 in some countries). Chapter will include the following: Character Death (nameless and OCs), Talk of Murder, Suicide/Sacrificial Death, War, Child Death, Apocoliptic World?, Blood, and Possible controversy about child rights/pregnancy. Skip to the first -=-0-=- to avoid it.

I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 13: Papaver

Nearly one thousand years ago, the world was stuck in a time of war. Children were forced to kill each other in an attempt to survive. Food, water - everything necessary to live was scarce. Crimes were committed and only punished by death. The cycle of revenge was never ending. The smell of something burning, whether it be the earth or those who once lived on it, was prominent in the air. Smoke was constantly in the sky. It wasn't uncommon to come across towns completely in ruin, buildings in pieces and their roads covered in blood from the bodies littering the ground. The sky tended to be bathed in red. The waters that were once a clear and beautiful blue were now dyed red. If you died of starvation you were one of the lucky ones, though some would argue that a swift death was the better choice.

People tried to band together, but they were never satisfied by their leaders. Soon, the reality began to sink in that the world was almost over. If things had continued as they had been, the human race would be extinct. The prayers of the people must have finally reached the Gods as five people were given the power to end the conflict once and for all. One was given the voice of the Gods, their wishes passed from her to everyone. She was named the Saintess. The other four were given reign over the four elements: fire, water, earth, and air. They worked together to unite the world, forming the Five Great Kingdoms: Konoha, Kiri, Iwa, Suna, and Hoshi. The Saintess was given Hoshi as her Kingdom, named for the beautiful stars one could see and the connection it had with the Gods. The other four kingdoms were named for the power of the one representing it. For the first time in nearly a hundred years, the world knew peace.

The peace only lasted for another two hundred years, when the powers passed down to a generation that didn't deserve them. Siblings fought each other over the rights of the throne. Sororicide and Fratricide became too common. Regicide was even worse. A king or queen would be crowned only for them to not survive the first week. It soon turned into massacre after massacre, resembling the war. The last living descendent of the Saintess prayed to the Gods again, begging them to intervene again. They heeded her prayer, removing the four other powers from the world. This angered the other four kingdoms and their current rulers came to confront her. By the time they broke into the Sanctuary, she was already dead. Her body was found lying down in front of a statue of the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon. A bloody knife was next to her. It looked as if she had sacrificed herself to the Goddess.

The gathered men fought, turning their anger from the dead Saintess to each other. Their fight came to a sudden end when a cry interrupted their yells. In a confused daze, the four of them made their way to a side room. Inside was a woman wearing the garments of a priestess. She was humming something as she cradled a bundle, moving it back and forth. She turned slightly letting the intruders see that she was holding a baby. The woman held the baby closer to herself as if she was afraid they'd kill the baby. The four men looked at each other, unsure of what to do next. It was clear that the baby was to be the next Saintess.

The King of Kiri dropped to his knees, letting go of his weapon. The others stared at him. He told them that he couldn't do it, that he couldn't kill a baby. He began to blame himself for everything that had happened in his kingdom, and also added that his power being taken away was actually a punishment from the Gods. The man bowed to the priestess and the future Saintess, saying he'd accept his punishment. The King of Iwa followed suit first and then the last two. The priestess was surprised at their actions. She glared at them since it was partially their fault for the Saintess's death, for why she'd have to raise this child. The baby giggled, gaining her attention. She smiled at the cuteness of the Saintess's daughter. She then saw the glow coming from her heart. The priestess gasped. It was clear that this baby still had the powers of the Saintess lineage. Knowing how her mistress was, the priestess chose to forgive these men. She made them promise to end the fighting. An agreement was made between the five of them that they'd only seek to better their kingdoms. The four men left the Sanctuary and returned to their kingdoms. They put a stop to the infighting. It took some time for everything to calm down. Peace finally returned to the five kingdoms.

There was only one problem: the Declining Birth Rate. Although people were getting together now that the fear of death had lessened, the Birth Rate hadn't returned to normal. The next Saintess was barely in her teens when she made her first prayer to the Gods. Izanami and Izanagi, the Gods of Creation, had Inari, the Goddess of Fertility, bless the humans. Inari agreed and the three Gods ended up creating the secondary gender, introducing it to the next generation of children. From then on, each child was born either an Alpha, Beta, or Omega, with their presenting age that of the new Saintess's age. The Saintess passed on the knowledge the Gods gave her about the three new genders.

Since she wasn't gifted a new gender, the Gods chose to strengthen her pre-existing power. Tsukuyomi, the ruler of Time, blessed her with the ability to receive visions of the future. Her visions became known as prophecies. They were nothing major, just minor prophecies about the status of the world in the upcoming years. She was able to warn Kiri of the flood that was coming due to heavy rain and a dam breaking. This prophecy ended up saving several lives. All prophecies were written down as a means to keep record of the Saintess's power. She continued reigning as the Saintess until her own daughter reached her presenting age. A few years after taking up the mantle of Saintess, the daughter received her first prophecy. They expected a simple one, but it was far more complicated. Her words were written down by many. "In a time of need, the four shall return. They will come together to fight a great evil." It was unknown what the prophecy meant. Scholars guessed that a child from each of the four other kingdoms would be born with the powers of their corresponding home. But as the years went by, no one with powers, excluding the Saintess's descendants, were born. The prophecy became lost among the several others made before and after it.

The descendants of the other original families were the Uchiha, who ruled Konoha, the Hyuuga, who ruled Iwa and the Subaku, who ruled Suna. The Fukumoto were the caregivers of the Sanctuary and the clan the Saintesses originated from as well as the rulers of Hoshi. The fifth family, the one who ruled Kiri is said to have died out after the King returned home from the Sanctuary all those years ago. He had no children so the throne was given to the next in line to the throne, a Grand Duke whose loyalty to the King had never been outmatched. His fellow nobles argued against the Grand Duke's coronation, but in the end, he won them over. However, he shared no blood ties to any of the previous kings and thus he didn't have a connection to the power of water. Only his name, Shimizu, was documented as no one knew the original Kiri's clan name.

Eventually, the Uchiha Family renamed Konoha to the Uchiha Kingdom. The Hyuuga did the same, renaming Iwa to the Hyuuga Kingdom. Suna and Kiri kept their names. The Hoshi Kingdom remained as such, but the Sanctuary was so well known, that sometimes Hoshi was called the Fukumoto Kingdom. The current King of Kiri was tempted to rename his kingdom to the Shimizu Kingdom. He just needed his council's approval. However, some of them were against the name change as they felt it belittled the Kiri Kings of old.

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Itachi closed the book he'd been reading. It was an old book that had clearly seen better days. He put it aside as he tried to gather his thoughts on what he'd just read. 'War… five kingdoms… the Saintess.. Prophecies… Naruto has been having visions of the future. Could he be related to the Saintess?' Itachi shook his head. 'No, that's not possible. The Saintess has only ever given birth to women. For Naruto to be a Fukumoto, his father Minato also had to be since his mother Kushina was an Uzumaki. For that to be possible, it would mean that a man was born in the Saintess's lineage not once but twice.'

Minato's heritage was unknown, only that he was given the last name Namikaze. The Namikazes were a family of knights that were thought to have been killed off until Minato appeared. He had proof of who his father was via a ring with the Namikaze crest on it and a painting of his parents. Minato clearly got his father's eyes, but his mother had blond hair. That was another strange thing. The Saintesses of the past all had white hair until the two recent ones. Miroku had light brown hair and Shion's hair was even lighter than hers, often depicted as a cream color. Minato would have to be Miroku's brother via her mother, but her mother looked nothing like the woman in the painting. That meant that Naruto could not be a Fukumoto.

'And the Fukumoto are too devoted to ever stray from their fated mate,' Itachi thought. 'The Gods always sent their Saintess a vision of their future mate and none had ever gone against the visions. On top of that, the only time more than one child was born to any of the past Saintesses was when the twins were born.'

Aiko and Emiko were both blessed with the prophecy power, but they could not foresee the other's death. Aiko had died before she could even present. It had been an accident. The twins were playing around and Aiko had gone to the bell tower. She played with the bell, letting people know where she was. Emiko couldn't find a way in, and the other priestesses only found out how Aiko got in too late. The oddly loud sound of something hitting the bell was heard before an irie quiet replaced it. Emiko suddenly collapsed to the ground, crying in pain. She told the others that she felt like she'd been torn in half and that her soul was missing part of it. That was when one of the priestesses screamed at the horrifying sight of Aiko's crumpled body. The young girl had fallen from the tower to her death. Emiko blamed herself for Aiko's death. She had begged the Gods to return Aiko in exchange for her own life, but the Gods sent her a vision showing how important Emiko's life was. She didn't believe that her life was worth more than Aiko's and rejected the Gods. It was their mother that kept her on the right path, telling Emiko that everything she did was for Aiko. So Emiko lived for Aiko, giving birth to a daughter sharing her sister's name before passing away after childbirth. Her mother took up the mantle of Saintess once more until her granddaughter took over.

'The life of the Saintess always seemed like a tragic one.' Itachi took some medicine before resuming his thoughts. 'So why then if Naruto isn't a Fukumoto, is he getting these visions?' Naruto's vision of the drought helped stop it before the signs of it coming got worse. And Itachi knew he had one about the faulty carriage. He also guessed that they also warned Naruto about Sai. Nothing more had come from Danzo and Sai, but Itachi promised to keep an eye on them. It helped that Sasuke didn't like them either. Itachi's thoughts shifted to Sasuke and Naruto. He wondered what Naruto had seen about his future with Sasuke because whatever it was caused the poor Omega to be afraid. Itachi really hoped it was something they could prevent from happening. All the Beta wanted was for his precious brother and future brother-in-law to find happiness.

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"Lady Hinata," a voice called. Said girl turned to face a boy with brown hair. "We will be arriving soon."

"R-right," Hinata said. She went down and inside the large ship to her cabin. Inside were two women, ready to assist her. She quietly let them work as she thought about what all of this meant. Naruto Uzumaki, future concubine to the future King of the Uchiha Kingdom had called for Hinata to be one of his Ladies-in-waiting. She was happy since it got her out of a marriage she didn't want, but confused since she only met Naruto thrice, once at the ball celebrating Sakura and Sasuke's wedding and then at a gathering and finally during a boatride. She wondered if she had somehow caught Naruto's attention enough or if someone else ordered Naruto to write to Hinata. She shook her head. No, Naruto didn't seem the type to fake a friendship with her. He was far kinder than anyone she'd met. Growing up surrounded by power hungry people forced her to accept whatever was thrown her way. She knew that Naruto wouldn't force her to be his Lady-in-waiting. If she didn't want the position, she'd be allowed to refuse it. But that meant going back to the Hyuuga Kingdom and marrying her father's aide.

The aide wasn't a bad mad per se, but he was more than twice Hinata's age and he already had three wives. She'd have to fight the three women for his attention, not that she wanted it. He had children her age, so she wondered why she couldn't marry one of them. From what she heard, the man specifically asked for her. Rumors were that he wanted to sleep with a virgin again, one of a higher status than his servants. His wives were not happy with the idea that they'd lose the affection of their shared husband to a younger woman. They were only glad that Hinata was a Beta meaning she'd most likely have to sleep with the man more than once to conceive a child. And if she did, that child would have a claim on the throne. It was clear to everyone that the aide didn't want Hinata for herself but the power and youthful pleasure she could give him.

When the letter from the Uchiha Kingdom first arrived, the aide argued against it, saying the King shouldn't allow his daughter to subject herself to a worthless role in a foreign kingdom. But the others saw this as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship the two kingdoms had. The King believed that if he sent Hinata to Naruto, if the Hyuuga Kingdom was attacked by Suna, the Uchiha Kingdom would side with them. Having the Uchiha Kingdom on their side was worth any sacrifice the Hyuuga Kingdom could make, even if it was his daughter. Besides, he had another daughter Hanabi as well as his heir Neji. Hinata was useless to him. If his aide really wanted another wife, he could find someone else. So the King agreed to Naruto's request and sent Hinata back to the Uchiha Kingdom. He sent her with a few servants he could afford to lose along with a large vessel to carry them around the sea. He didn't want people to think badly of him. He also knew that the servants would most likely be sent back since Hinata would be serving Naruto and she would require her own.

Despite knowing her status as a pawn, Hinata was starting to miss her home. She was leaving behind her friends and everything she knew. They wished her good luck and that she'd find happiness in the Uchiha Kingdom since she didn't really belong in the Hyuuga Kingdom. Neji and Hanabi also wished her well. She was a bit saddened that Neji wasn't going with her again. He didn't seem to care for the Uchiha Kingdom, though Hinata didn't think he gave it much of a chance since he'd only been there for a few days while Hinata was there for two weeks.

Hinata remembered those two weeks quite well. At first, she was welcomed by the Uchiha family and given a place to stay as well as one of their servants to help guide her. She stayed in the room for the first day to recover from the long trip. One the second day, she explored part of the castle. She noted that the only person she saw until the ball the following night was Shikamaru. He welcomed her on behalf of Sasuke. She found this very odd, but didn't question it. Then at the ball she came across Naruto who made her feel happy and Itachi who simply acknowledged her presence. She could see the tension between Naruto and Sasuke as they danced as well as the displeasure radiating from Sakura. It was understandable since it was the day Sakura and Sasuke got married so she had the right to be jealous of her new husband dancing with her future sister wife. Hinata chose to stay back and watch. When she got the invitation to tea with Naruto later that night, she was surprised. She thought he'd wait a few days. She wrote an acceptance and had it delivered back to Naruto.

The next day, Hinata joined the midmorning celebrations. She was introduced to the nobel ladies of the Uchiha Kingdom. Sakura led most of the conversation and Hinata only spoke when addressed. Naruto was also quiet. Besides the guards, he was the only male present at the gathering. It was clear that since he was an Omega, he was considered more as a woman than a man. Hinata heard a few bullying type phrases come out of the others towards Naruto, but he simply ignored them. Sakura didn't say anything to stop them, neither did she speak or even acknowledge Naruto's presence. Naruto seemed ok with that, but Hinata still felt a bit uncomfortable. When the gathering finally came to an end, the women met up with the men. Sakura instantly clinged to Sasuke pulling him away from the others. The couple who were married found each other while those who were single went their separate ways. Hinata noticed that Itachi wasn't among the group of men. She hoped he was ok since he seemed a little pale the previous night. Naruto came up to Hinata with a woman named Ino behind him. Ino proudly introduced herself while Hinata's guard, Kiba introduced himself. The four made their way to a different area where a small table and some tea was already set up. Kiba pulled out Hinata's chair before she sat down. Naruto took his own seat while Ino began to pour the tea. It was easy to drift off into a conversation with Naruto as the blond asked Hinata to tell him about herself. She told him about her interests and found that they had a lot in common. Naruto even asked Kiba about himself. It was overall a pleasant exchange.

A few hours later, Naruto was called away from them by Queen Mikoto. He excused himself, saying he'd like to see her again. A few more days went by and they met up again when the nobles went on the lake. Five boats were set up and they were divided into groups. Naruto and Hinata went on one with two women that didn't look happy to be with them. They ignored Naruto and started talking to Hinata who only replied as to not be rude. She didn't like how they were treating Naruto. But Naruto didn't seem to mind. He looked out on the lake, smiling softly at the beautiful scene. Once again, after the others were gone, Hinata found herself with Naruto, Ino, and Kiba having tea. They had stayed behind to enjoy the scenery a bit more. Hinata was about to ask Naruto about his treatment when she noticed that he had fallen asleep. Ino shifted his head to her lap and smiled.

"He hasn't been sleeping much," Ino said. "I think your presence calms him." Hinata didn't know what to say to that. Instead, she remained silent, taking in the peaceful look on Naruto's face. When the sky started to darken, Ino woke Naruto up. He apologized but Hinata told him it was alright. They went back to the castle, going their separate ways upon arrival. A couple more days later, Hinata had to say goodbye. Naruto admitted that he wished they could have spent more time together. Hinata agreed but she didn't argue when Neji told her it was time to leave.

Dressed in a lilac dress several shades darker than her eyes, Hinata made her way out of her cabin. Kiba escorted her off the ship where Kakashi and Shikamaru welcomed her. She got into a carriage with the Uchiha crest on it while Kiba was given a horse. A female servant joined her on the carriage. The rest were to get her things. It took less than an hour to get to the castle. It was a welcome site and Hinata couldn't help but smile at it. Her new life was about to begin.

Papaver is a symbol of fertility, remembrance and sacrifice. It also symbolizes peace, sleep, pleasure, hope and resilience. It's also worth mentioning that Poppies have long been used as a symbol of death, in reference to the blood-red color of some species. The Common Poppy is a commonly used symbol of commemoration of the First World War.

For those who skipped the beginning: There were 5 kingdoms. An heir from each was given a power (one of the 4 elements with the 5th person having visions of the future) from the Gods. The powers were taken away after their descendants' greediness got the better of them. To increase the birthrate, the Gods introduced the A/B/O system to the world.