I've been holding onto this one for a while. Seeing as it is a shorter story, one that I don't believe will even reach the ten chapters I planned for it, I'm releasing it now as it won't take too much to finish. I'm also working on a much shorter list of stories currently and everything besides Hushed Dreams, Guiding Light, Book of Change, House of the Hearth, From Leaves to Ashes and this story will be on that short list of stories I'm working on.
This story is based on one of my snippet concepts, so I hope you enjoy.
The Valley of the End.
Of course, it would be here where they would choose to end their dispute.
A wicked storm swirled violently around it as she approached with her sensei. The intensity of this storm was beyond comparison as they passed underneath a cloud wall. The gales moments before were capable of causing her and her sensei to stumble. It had to be a product of their battle. How intense could it be? Had their battle been so violent it spawned a supercell and tornadoes?
The heavy rain droplets blown by the frigid winds made navigating challenging. And it was dark—too dark.
In an instant, an overwhelming gale blew, tearing through the earth and all the nearby trees out of the dirt. She hit the ground and managed to brace herself. But all she could do was course chakra through her system and shield her face from the rush of debris raining down upon her for several more moments until it passed.
"Sakura!" Kakashi's voice resonated, calling out for her.
"I'm okay!" Sakura shouted, her eyes opening before quickly shutting them at the sudden light intensity. She blinked a few times to adjust, absently cursing at how dark the storm had been before her eyes opened and she saw what had happened.
The storm they had been traveling through… Had been parted and destroyed.
And the moon illuminated the shattered remains of what was left of the Valley of the End.
A shiver traveled down her spine. There was only one thing that could have done that. Her heart clenched in her chest. "Naruto… Sasuke… Just be okay. Please, be okay."
"Sakura," Kakashi whispered as he stood beside her. His features darkened, and his head slightly lowered. "Don't lose hope. Keep faith in Naruto that he can reach Sasuke and pull him out of his darkness."
Sakura winced, looking upon the clouds that had once been a part of the supercell drift further away, and nodded. "I know sensei… I can't doubt him now. …Not after everything he has done."
"I have to believe."
His body was bruised and bloodied. His breath was ragged. He felt woozy and couldn't lift a single finger without intense pain and nausea. He could manage only to open a single eye to survey the scene.
It was night. It made it more difficult to survey the scene, but he could see enough as the moon was unusually bright tonight. It was pretty now that he thought about it.
The storm their battle had created had been parted, and they were left here in the devastation and ruins… Broken, lying in a pool of their own blood. Great. The fox was likely out to… His natural healing factor might not be enough to survive if he moved too much.
Yet he couldn't help but grin as he heard an agonized mumble from beside him. He had warned him what would happen.
He kept his promises.
"You finally come to, eh?" Naruto chirped positively.
"Shut… Up." Sasuke groaned and coughed. It must have pained him to speak as well. Or attempt to move as he let out a curse.
Good. Now, he had no choice but to listen.
"As you can see, if either of us moves too much, we'll bleed out." Naruto coughed, staring hopefully into the night sky. "Or we might just be bleeding out regardless… Mah, not how I envisioned going out, but if it means you're here with me with no choice but to listen… I'll take it."
Near silence met his words. Sasuke let out several grunts and wispy breaths, likely attempting to move and finding out the same thing Naruto had already suspected. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Naruto heard him grunt a single question. "Why?"
"Huh?" Naruto responded with just as much effort. "Gonna have to be a little more specific…"
"Why, dammit?!" Sasuke bitterly retorted before gasping in utter agony at attempting to yell at Naruto. He could hear Sasuke gnashing his teeth as he spoke. "Why would you go that far? Why do all of this? I willingly immersed myself into the darkness to sever all my ties… Yet you… You never relented or attempted to cut me off. All you did was get in my damn way?!"
"Yeah," Naruto painfully chuckled, causing Sasuke to curse. "My home and my friends are precious to me… And I wasn't about to give up on ya. You're my friend too, jerk."
"Cut the shit!" Sasuke growled and managed to turn his head toward Naruto, seeing the state he was in. "You've said that before, many times… No, what I want is what that word means to you."
Naruto's expression thoughtfully scrunched momentarily. He took his time to think on the matter. His vision blurring and feeling weightless didn't help matters and left his thoughts mumbled and broken. "Mah, I wish I could explain it to you, but I never could. My head hurting doesn't help matters… I guess the best way I can explain it is when I see you taken on all this stuff… It hurts."
Sasuke's head jerked and fell to its left. Sasuke was baffled… But he understood what Naruto's words meant. And his lone eye softly squinted as Naruto continued after a few more ragged breaths. "It has always hurt so much on the inside I couldn't bear it. I couldn't leave it alone, ya know?"
"Though I hurt all over now, so you made my outside feel like my innards!" Naruto painfully laughed, madly grinning as he did.
Sasuke didn't break his gaze from Naruto for an uncomfortably long time. He was starting to feel unnerved at how long he stared at him. It was unnerving. "Yo, if you want to fight, I can still go, ya hear!"
"Ha…" To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke laughed as he rolled his head to gaze upon the moon. And he kept laughing. And laughing.
"Yo, ya bastard! I'm gonna keep clobbering ya and make you really open those eyes!" Naruto barked, trying to find the strength to move.
"You still have the energy to fight despite how messed up we are?" Sasuke snorted, his laughter finally coming under control. "Ha, I somehow don't doubt it… Yeah, I'm up for it, so let's go. And this time, it will be as… Friends."
"Huh?" Naruto found his anger was suddenly quelled with a single word at the end of his statement. Did Sasuke…
"I acknowledge you as my friend, idiot," Sasuke muttered, rolling his right eye and groaning at the pain it caused him. "I admit you defeated me here today… And that this pointless cycle of hatred is finally broken with that… And with our deaths."
Naruto was first left stunned. Sasuke finally admitted their friendship? He never thought he would hear those words… Or admit his defeat! It would have caused him great joy if it wasn't for that last statement. He grimaced, gazing upon the moon himself. "We can't die here… That won't solve anything, dammit! I'm not gonna give up until everyone is willing to cooperate to end the cycle once and for all, even if I have to beat it into everyone!"
Sasuke's sly grin caused Naruto to bite back a curse. He was testing his patience! "Did you not understand anything! Mah, I didn't realize you were always stupid, but if you're asking for another butt-whooping, I'll give it to ya!"
"Very well," Sasuke nodded, his smile never fading despite closing his lone open eye. "Let's rest till day breaks to recover our strength. We can continue hashing it out then."
Naruto glowered. His eyelids were heavy, too, but he refused to give in. But seeing the relaxed expression on Sasuke's face as he lay next to him… He seemed content.
And for the first time, he didn't hurt so much seeing his friend.
"Yeah, yeah. See ya in the morning. Just don't go dying on me." Naruto closed his eyes as satisfaction washed over him. He had done it.
He finally reached Sasuke.
"Same," Sasuke grunted, causing Naruto to smile one last time.
"See you soon, my friend."
It had been quite some time since she had received visitors.
The doors to her world had been closed for so long that she hadn't expected visitors. Her children were the last ones to step through that door, and that was then that they left to find themselves after years of built-up resentment toward one another. And now children from the world they created together had stepped through to her world.
Marvelous creatures they were. They weren't unique, but life followed a similar pattern in most worlds. How many worlds she tracked, and life always found its way to similar results. It was intriguing.
Alas, she wished to speak with them when they first arrived. It was not to be. They fell directly into her beautiful world, like the last two children who fell through the door. She could only hope they would not meet the same fate as the siblings, with only one able to return home.
But it was clear from their awakening that something was wrong. They had gone through something horrible. So she looked into their souls, and what she saw was heartbreaking. Each was suffering. However, two stood out, for they felt broken.
One filled with uncompromising rage born from the loss of love and recognition. The other lost and overburdened, her hope fading fast. They were broken and in need of guidance and repair.
A grand pulse of light garnered her attention. Within the starry abyss she inhabited, a massive shining star glowed brilliantly, its lights slowly twinkling and fading. And next to it, a star of equivalent darkness began to dim faintly.
"Now that is peculiar. It is far from your time to come home." She reached out to the stars, collecting them and bringing them to her chest, gently caressing them.
Two beautiful souls she had forged for one of the vast worlds connected to her realm had fallen. While a common occurrence, these two were not common souls. Simple, but equally spectacular.
"It was neither of your time. You were bound for so much more. Alas, sometimes I cannot fathom the plan of the worlds. There was so much more for you to do." She held onto the fading.
A thought crossed her as she gazed into her beautiful home and back to the two souls in hand. She faintly smiled as a forge formed before her, and she settled the two stars onto the anvil. "I don't meddle often, but if your time is done… Could you do me a kindness and spread your light to those who need it most."
The bright star glistened while the other darkened. She softly chuckled, capable of understanding them within their current state. "Thank you. You both are too kind."
"Your light shall shine once more. Allow me to forge you anew."
He was in agony.
His muscles throughout his body felt like they were on fire. His temples throbbed and felt light, his world spinning. It didn't help that the light was so bright that he could see it through his eyelids! His stomach clenched, and bile bubbled within.
The nausea hit him hard. He forced himself to roll as his stomach surged. There wasn't much choice as he pushed himself on his knees and held his weight. He wasn't used to the feeling of bile violently pushing through his esophagus. It felt disgusting.
It did remind him of the one time his master forced him to drink all night.
"Ugh…" Naruto muttered, whipping the saliva from his mouth. He only vomited a few other times in his life. It was never pleasant.
But for now, he pushed that sensation down. There was something else that significantly troubled his mind.
Where was he?
Having felt the sand beneath him, Naruto scanned his proximity. This was a beach. This was a different place from where he last was. He was next to Sasuke, bleeding out and…
"What the hell?" Naruto frowned. He recalled all of his wounds before. They had lost a lot of blood…
Yet he flexed his right hand before his eyes as if it hadn't exploded in their final clash.
This didn't make any sense. Naruto pondered all the scenarios he could muster, but nothing explained it. He didn't regenerate it. Old man Sage supposedly took it back, but oddly enough, he still had a small amount left. Not enough to be useful, but perhaps in time, it would repopulate, and he could use it again.
Kurama couldn't have healed the wound. The Nine Tails was capable of many feats of regeneration, but this was not something his chakra could do. It couldn't even regenerate his arm after the first time he used the Rasenshuriken. Complete regeneration of a lost limb was beyond his power.
Not to mention, Kurama was sleeping and could hear the fox contently snoring when he concentrated on him.
It wasn't Sakura or Tsunade either. He was confident in their abilities, but regenerating an arm was beyond their skills. Also, they wouldn't have left him on a beach all alone! Maybe if they were shipwrecked, stranded on an island where they were forced to use foliage for sparse clothing…
"Now is not the time to fantasize…" Naruto shook his head and sighed.
He took further stock of his surroundings. His eyes sharpened onto a well-constructed scythe embedded into the ground. Moving toward it, he grasped it and pulled it free from the sand. The blade was slightly dulled and chipped, but otherwise, it was in good shape. Now he wanted to understand what the strange gears were for, and noticing a trigger, he felt they might all be combined.
It was a magnificent weapon! The better question was, who would leave behind such a well-crafted weapon? He scrunched his brow and surveyed the area further. Someone didn't just leave this behind.
They were obviously separated from it. So, was someone else lost in this place?
With so many questions, Naruto sighed. He wasn't going to get answers by sitting her. So he gazed toward the jungle that was beyond the beach. That was the best place to start… But what was that parting behind the clouds?
"Okay, now that is a mighty tree!" Narut whistled, impressed at the towering tree barely visible in the distance.
His lips quivered in amusement before he scowled. Its size was reminiscent of the Ten-Tails when it transformed into a tree. Thankfully, it didn't feel anything like the Ten-Tails tree. Unlike it, this tree held a positively magnanimous energy within it. How a tree felt of pure positive energy was a little strange, but considering he could now feel negative energy with Kurama's chakra, Naruto couldn't say he was surprised after what he had been through.
But being able to feel its energy gave him a thought. Taking a moment to calm his nerves and steel his mind, he drew in the world's energy. With it, he could sense everyone and figure out where he was…
"Ugh!" Naruto grunted, clutching his temple and grimacing. His eyes flickered momentarily before grunting, pulsing the natural chakra from his system. Something was right.
He wasn't sure what it was, but something was off. He frowned. There wasn't anything wrong with his method. No… There was something wrong with the natural energy he drew onto.
"Okay, something is wrong here," Naruto grunted, his eyes sharpening onto the jungle and the towering tree in the distance.
There was something weird about this place. Naruto couldn't have been brought here by coincidence. Someone had to drag him here. It was evident that someone else was here, too, due to the scythe in his hand.
The question that was bothering him was why.
"Only one way to find out," Naruto took a deep breath.
And he stepped into the jungle, prepared to find out what was with this place.
This place was unfamiliar.
He scanned this jungle, cutting through plant life without hesitation. Quite a few vines sprung to life, and he cut them down just like the others. An annoyed click left his tongue.
Sasuke found this hostile jungle to be a pain. Although it would have posed a threat to many, this sentient plant life did not endanger him.
He scoffed. Intelligent might be an overstatement. They were willingly allowing him to cut them down one after the other. If they were more intelligent, the pathetic plants would recognize he was the predator, not them.
That wasn't to say he wasn't surprised by living plants, but it was from the oddest thing he had seen recently. The Ten-Tail was a sentient tree. That giant tree at the center of all this felt alive. Perhaps intelligent plant life was more common than he gave it credit for.
That tree was likely the source of the peculiarity he found himself in. He would have used the Heavenly Hand to travel to the tree, but this area had some sort of distortion. He could only travel a short distance with it and didn't end anywhere close to his intended goal. That agitated him. If that tree were the cause of this distortion, he would destroy it.
Alas, he had to travel. The technique drained an enormous amount of chakra, and he would waste his chakra if he couldn't even reach his intended goal in this realm. He couldn't even think about returning until he could eliminate this distortion. Then he could return to the fool and settle the second fight he wanted…
If he wasn't here as well.
Sasuke knew that Naruto wouldn't be too far behind if he woke up in this strange place. He was right next to him when he finally passed out. He swore death was ready to take them, and that left many other questions on his mind.
Was this perhaps…
"What is that noise?" Sasuke grunted, squinting in annoyance and taking in the jungle. It was so annoying sounding. It almost sounded like… Karin.
Sasuke glowered. It was a woman's voice. Thankfully, it wasn't hers. However, it was as high-pitched as hers. They were obviously in distress…
And he cared! Sasuke clicked his tongue, intently listening so he could seek out the direction of the noise. Naruto was already rubbing off on him in ways he didn't appreciate.
There. His Rinnegan pulsed as he saw in the distance two young women struggling against the same vine creatures that were mindlessly swarming him moments before. Sasuke scoffed. They found targets they could handle and left him alone. In the past, he would have left them to care for themselves…
But he could hear Naruto's approving voice in his head.
Sasuke clicked his tongue, and briefly, he was upon the two young ladies. His sword clicked in its sheath, and the plants were dashed, their remains falling to the ground. He scowled momentarily, closing his Rinnegan. So Heavenly Hand worked in short range. The distortion moderated its distance. Annoying.
The young woman with black hair collapsed with them, letting out a groan of agony as she landed on her rear while attempting to catch herself gracefully. "What just happened?"
Sasuke hid a smirk. Apparently, not all cats were graceful.
"Um, I thank you for the assist. We were not prepared for something like this." The more regal and elegant young woman spoke as her partner groaned, returning to her feet.
"Yeah, thanks." The cat girl muttered gratefully but with a distrusting gaze.
Sasuke clicked his tongue. It didn't bother him in the slightest. He wasn't someone to trust. He wouldn't have saved them if it wasn't for a nagging voice in the back of his head. It felt like Naruto was here…
"Don't let it happen again. This place is dangerous. Luck will not bail you out again." Sasuke scoffed and continued past the two women.
"Obviously," The cat girl's expression soured. He seemed to rub her the wrong way. Whatever. He wasn't here for them. He needed to return…
"If you know more about this place, could you tell us more?" The regal girl nervously asked. "We're lost and don't know how we ended here."
Sasuke stopped in his tracks. His gaze sharpened and shifted toward the two. "Explain."
"Why should we?" The cat girl hissed, unappreciated of Sasuke's commanding tone.
Sasuke did not hide his disdain, but tact won out. They had information, and he needed it. "You two are not the only ones unaware of how they arrived in this hostile environment."
"Learning how you came to be here may solve how I arrived at this place."
This jungle was thick and incomprehensible!
Naruto scowled as he diced through the vines. He was half tempted to fly above and not deal with this! In fact, why wasn't he?! It wasn't really a waste of chakra. He could keep track of anything peculiar from the air…
"Gah, enough of this!" Naruto leaped into the sky just above the jungle canopy.
He hovered above, observing the jungle as he sped overhead. The energy of this place was odd, but he knew there were others in the forest. He saw blurry outlines of others when he temporarily drew onto the natural chakra of the area. If anyone had answers, it could be one of them. And if he was right, he thought he felt someone familiar…
Otherwise, it felt like his answer would be that giant tree. He was sure if anyone else was here, they would make that their goal, so he, too, was vaguely heading in that direction. He would head in that direction; he was sure of that. But given what he saw in this jungle, he wanted to ensure the others he felt were safe. This place was dangerous! The plant life was alive and attacked without thought!
"If anyone can hear me! I could use some help over here!"
Naruto stopped mid-air, head shuffling, locating where the shrill shriek came from. Someone was indeed in trouble! He knew he made the right decision! Drawing upon the Six Path chakra, Naruto was proven correct that his senses were properly functioning while using that chakra. It was simply this area's natural chakra that was the issue.
He located the screaming person. And there was a positively negative energy radiating from the location! It felt like… Death.
His foot met the creature of darkness and drove deep into its abdomen. Naruto squinted as he made solid contact. He felt it break from the hit and watched it fly through the foliage, destroying everything in its path until it cratered into the ground. He was sure that was enough to put it down, however…
It was getting up again? It recovered from the kick!
"Okay, gonna have to put more into it," Naruto grunted as he created a Truth Seeking Orb, which floated into his palm. And around it, a chakra swirl began forming into his signature technique. A Rasengan using the Truth Seeking Orb should be more than enough to put most things down.
It melted through the creature of darkness and shredded it to dust. It was almost overkill… Almost.
Naruto squinted and scowled. The negative aura hadn't disappeared. It simply hung in the air. Odd.
Still, he put it aside. It didn't seem to be regenerating from the mess it had become. He could focus on the person that drew his attention in this area. A girl of his age, maybe a little older!
"Hey, you okay?" Naruto called out, noticing she was leaning over something… Another person! "Ahk, is something wrong with her?"
"I don't know!" The blonde-haired girl gently placed her hand, her only hand, on the unconscious girl in an attempt to check on her condition. "She seems fine, but she's still unconscious. I think she landed on her head or something!"
Naruto frowned. She was clearly panicking. The other girl was someone important to her. But something she said caught his attention. "She fell on her head? Let me take a look. I might be able to help."
The blonde shot him a death stare at first before she withered away at seeing Naruto's concern. "Yeah, okay…"
Naruto understood her worry. He would have a similar reaction if someone he didn't know came around asking the same thing. So he flashed a bright smile toward her as he knelt beside the unconscious girl. "I know it's difficult to trust a stranger. I'm not here to cause any trouble. Just want to help and find my way home."
"Home?" The blonde's eyes opened wide. "Wait, are you lost in this place too?"
"Yeah. Just woke up at the beach a few moments ago." Naruto nodded, furrowing his brow in concentration as he placed his hand on the unconscious girl's head. If she had fallen on it, perhaps…
Yep, she had a concussion. He was pretty sure he could mend something like that. He had kept Gai's heart from bursting and soothed his torn body…
"There we go," Naruto grinned upon hearing the girl gasp. "Good as new,"
"What? How?" The blonde looked in wonder, unsure of what she had just witnessed. But as the unconscious girl began to squirm, her intent was entirely focused on her. "Ruby! Are you okay?"
"Ugh, yeah…" Ruby muttered, holding her head but looking quite queasy. "I'm fine, Yang. Just a headache…"
Naruto frowned as she sat up. Did he have a concussion when he woke up? That would have explained a lot…
"Oh, let me take care of that too." Naruto's gaze shifted to Yang, noticing she was missing her right arm. He reached out and tenderly grasped her right elbow, causing her to jump.
"Hey, what are you… Ah!" Yang demanded an explanation before a warmth overcame her, and she released a pain-filled groan.
Her eyes sharpened as the metal joint implant in her arm to connect to her prosthetic popped off. And flesh and bone replaced what had been lost.
"Yang! What's wrong?" Ruby's fluttering eyes opened wide. She instinctively reached for something that wasn't on her but stopped upon seeing something she hadn't in over two years.
Seeing her sister staring at her right arm… Her real arm.
"Yang…" Ruby whispered in stunned awe.
Only to watch her sister jump and straddle the stranger, grabbing him by his fishnet collar. "What did you just do?! Who the hell are you?!"
"My name is Naruto!" Naruto chirped, nervously laughing. "Guess I should explain…"
"Well, how do I explain how I can do that…"
And the end to the first chapter. I do hope you enjoyed it.
If you have a moment, I would really appreciate hearing from ya. Feedback helps more than you now, especially when I've been struggling with depression and the mental fatigue of daily life and my job. It would really make my day to hear back from you.
So, until next time my friends, Peace.