Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > Innocence From Ashes
Chapter 13
0 reviewsA Sudden storm breaks Naruto's family asunder. Will they find each other before the Konohans find them?
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Innocence From Ashes
Chapter 13
It was mid afternoon now, and Kyuubi was restless. Very restless. The morning, despite its beautiful beginning, had been slowly but surely taking a turn for the worse. Even Sasuke began to sense a deepening unease. Naruto, currently sunning himself on a sunshine drenched branch of a tree like a lizard, was half asleep.
They had paused at the crossroads of the creek from their little waterfall, and a greater tributary. Kyuubi was staring into it with unseeing eyes. They would have to cross this vast stretch of deceptively placid water. It rippled like a rill, but he knew that it was deep and treacherous, and he wanted to cross it as a last resort.
Despite the warmth of the day, the bright sunshine, to the west was a darkening bank of thunderheads. Lightening flashed intermittently, and though the resultant thunder was faint and lagging, it was moving roughly in their direction with haste. To the east was the faint and dogged traces of the man who’d almost interrupted their ceremony last night and his companions. It was as if by simply laying eyes on Naruto then, the man’s zeal to find him had sharpened and deepened. They couldn’t seem to shake them. Iruka and his compatriots were slowly but surely closing the gap. To the south lay Konoha, and danger. Yet, to the north lay the lands towards Sound, and going there was the last place the fox wanted to take his younglings anywhere near.
Pinned between a rock and a hard place, Kyuubi decide to brave the river crossing, risk moving closer to Naruto’s birthplace, and hope they could avoid storm, city, and hunters.
To decide was to act, and with a rumble, he instructed the boys to climb on his back. Naruto watched drowsily as Sasuke nimbly clambered aboard the back of their chichiue, and when the pair moved beneath his branch, he allowed his mate to draw him down and into his arms.
A kiss, a tuck of head below chin, and their mount was wading into the deep waters of the Konoha River. Kyuubi allowed the current to catch him, using his great paws to steer, and floated down the river. Unfortunately, the current was carrying them farther down stream than he wanted, and it took considerable effort to stem their southwards flow towards the bank on the far side of the river.
Though it brought them in even closer proximity to the city, Kyuubi allowed a small feral smile to grace his muzzle. It would delay the men that pursued them a long while. Now, they just had to avoid possible Konohan patrols and the fast closing storm. He began to look for a suitable place to hunker down even as he scrabbled out of the water onto a high stony bank.
It was Sasuke’s sharp eyes that found a safe haven for them. The river, in one of its bends and curves, had long ago carved out an inlet of water, almost like a lagoon. A large semi circle of crumbling earth gave way to the gnarled foot of the biggest tree Naruto had ever seen. The twisting roots dug deep, the earth between them slowly eroded away by time and the gentle lapping of water. It made a deep cave like hollow below the tree, upheld by a foundation of stubborn stone. Reedy grasses and a waterfall of honeysuckle hung low, like a sweet scented curtain. In the rising wind, the flora waved, and the keen sharingan eyes of the Uchiha had noted the darkness below.
Shaking excess water from his paws and fur, throwing a cooling spray of mist on the boys which made Naruto laugh, and he followed his fox and mate into the aromatic if slightly muggy hollow beneath the oak. Kyuubi made himself comfortable on the rock shelf over the water, tails curled tightly in to keep them inside, and the boys snuggled close to him.
As the skies darkened and the air thickened, broken by intermittent flashes and closer rumbles, Sasuke reached up, plucked a spray of honeysuckle, and proceeded to teach his dobe the joys of drinking nectar. However, watching the blonde lazily sucking on the delicate sprays of pistils began to tug on Sasuke’s libido. God, was there anything the dobe could do that didn’t turn his mate on?
Apparently not.
Things were getting interesting, and Sasuke thought that as sweet as the nectar was on his blonde’s tongue, nothing tasted better than Naruto himself, when the storm broke around them with unbridled fury.
As passionate as both of them were, the constant crash of thunder and almost continuous lightening was very distracting. Not to mention the storm had turned the deep and placid waters of the river to a boiling morass. The water that usually lapped away at their little hiding place had turned into a leaping dash and prickle of spray. Kyuubi shifted uneasily, the scent of ozone heavy and sharp on the air. He wrapped his tails tighter, covering the boys from the worst of the storm lashed water.
The semi gloom of their rocky nest was suddenly filled with the blinding flash of lightning, the sharp and deafening crack of thunder following immediately. There was an explosive sound of rupturing wood, and the roots above and around them split and shattered into splinters. Fire shot up around them as the tree among whose roots they sheltered sustained a direct strike of thousands of volts. The very rock split asunder as the tree shuddered, split into three parts, and began to slide burning into the water.
It all happened so quickly, no one really could react; they were tingling, and hair and fur stood on end as a momentary halo of electricity danced around them. The wood and stone protected them from the worst of the massive charge, but their presence was almost as bad. Slivers of wood were thrown in all directions like deadly senbons, and tiny flakes of stone cut and sliced tender flesh. And in the blink of an eye they were in the violently turbulent river.
Naruto, torn free from his lover’s arms and his chichiue’s tails, clawed at the murky water as he was rolled and upended in the now racing current. Fighting his way to the surface, he was almost blinded by another flash of lightning, the water choppy and threatening to drag him under again. Frantically, he screamed Sasuke’s name, called for Chichiue, but the constantly leaping water, flashes of light, constant thunder, and a pounding curtain of rain all but blinded and deafened him.
It seemed an eternity that he fought the waves, the wind, and the rain, frightened that he couldn’t find his mate, his chichiue. He was terrified that something had happened to them, and he was more than a little daunted by the first violent storm of his short life. But nothing would keep him from his precious ones, and he struggled and writhed until his windmilling feet found purchase on the riverbank, clawing his way out of the roiling waters onto the grassy turf, and he clutched the earth, pelted by stinging rain, and coughing and gulping in precious air.
Then he shot up, was almost blown over by wind, and scrambled desperately up and down the bank, searching for his loved ones. Stinging rain mingled with warm tears, and he thought he would go mad from the constant lightening and thunder, with the fear that he would never see Sasuke or Kyuubi again.
After what seemed like years, the rain began to slacken, the wind to ease off, and the thunder and lightning moved further south, to bedevil Konoha and its environs. Shuddering with sobs, he drug a dirty hand across his eyes, and began to run along the banks again, calling and begging for Sasuke to respond, to answer, for Chichiue to come racing up to him like always.
But the sun began to peek though the storm streaming to the south, and Naruto found himself alone in the woods, his only companions the fading sounds of the storm, a gentle breeze, and a river swollen with debris.
Naruto threw himself down on the rain drenched grasses and wept bitterly. And finally, when the tears were spent, he got doggedly back up, looking definitely worse for wear, covered in mud even as the light injuries he’d sustained in the strike had already healed unnoticed. Somewhere out there was Sasuke, and now all he could think about was finding him, finding his mate, greeting him joyously, and then searching for their chichiue together.
He staggered along the bank, blue eyes burning with determination, and continued his search, calling out every few moments for the one he had to have to survive.
The storm had long passed, the sun was shining, and steam was rising humidly from the ground and river. The mud on Naruto had hardened uncomfortably, and he finally threw himself into the once more placid waters at the edge to wash himself. His throat was sore from his constant calls, and he was feeling dispirited as he waded from the water once more, clean but weary beyond belief.
Sasuke!
His nose prickled once more, but he pinched himself hard. His mate was missing, and he was not about to dissolve into tears again like some girl. No matter if he was only eight days old. Besides, he was a man now, last night had seen to that. He was a man, and he had a mate to find.
He eyed another very tall tree, higher than the surrounding ones, and then made a beeline for it. He should be able to see for miles around from it. Surely he would find his Sasuke from its lofty crown.
In a flash he was scampering up the trunk like a deranged squirrel, and then he perched at the very top, swaying in the now gentle breeze, as his eyes hunted imperiously. He wanted his Sasuke, needed him. And by all that was holy, he was going to find him.
But as intently as he stared around, he did not find his mate. He did, however, spy the pinnacles and towers of Konoha, and the once familiar sight gave him a jar. He crouched at the top of the trees, eyes glued to those red and white roofs, those wood and brick walls, and one tower, taller than the rest, rounded, with a bank of glass windows encircling its top. Some of the windows had been broken in the storm, and already men looking like ants swarmed over the Hokage’s tower, repairing them.
His vision sharpened drastically, the far away scene leaping into sharp relief. It was as if he was looking through a telescope. He observed the repairmen, then turned his attention on the windows themselves, and froze.
A big blonde woman was standing in one of the broken panes, looking directly at him. He could see the red jewel on her brow, her burgundy eyes piercing his. She looked stunned to see him, her lips pursing as if she was whispering his name.
He felt shaken, and turned away. As fascinating as this all was, and so tantalizingly familiar, he couldn’t really care less. He had to find Sasuke. He had to find Kyuubi. He scanned around again slowly, and then sighed.
Slithering down the tree like a lizard, he leapt from the bottom branches to land lightly on the wet grass. And came face to face with a girl shorter than he was, light red hair gathered high on the top of her head, a scarf around her neck, her cheeks pinkened.
The girl stared at him, white as a sheet, and for a moment Naruto thought she might faint.
“N… Naruto?”
Chapter 13
It was mid afternoon now, and Kyuubi was restless. Very restless. The morning, despite its beautiful beginning, had been slowly but surely taking a turn for the worse. Even Sasuke began to sense a deepening unease. Naruto, currently sunning himself on a sunshine drenched branch of a tree like a lizard, was half asleep.
They had paused at the crossroads of the creek from their little waterfall, and a greater tributary. Kyuubi was staring into it with unseeing eyes. They would have to cross this vast stretch of deceptively placid water. It rippled like a rill, but he knew that it was deep and treacherous, and he wanted to cross it as a last resort.
Despite the warmth of the day, the bright sunshine, to the west was a darkening bank of thunderheads. Lightening flashed intermittently, and though the resultant thunder was faint and lagging, it was moving roughly in their direction with haste. To the east was the faint and dogged traces of the man who’d almost interrupted their ceremony last night and his companions. It was as if by simply laying eyes on Naruto then, the man’s zeal to find him had sharpened and deepened. They couldn’t seem to shake them. Iruka and his compatriots were slowly but surely closing the gap. To the south lay Konoha, and danger. Yet, to the north lay the lands towards Sound, and going there was the last place the fox wanted to take his younglings anywhere near.
Pinned between a rock and a hard place, Kyuubi decide to brave the river crossing, risk moving closer to Naruto’s birthplace, and hope they could avoid storm, city, and hunters.
To decide was to act, and with a rumble, he instructed the boys to climb on his back. Naruto watched drowsily as Sasuke nimbly clambered aboard the back of their chichiue, and when the pair moved beneath his branch, he allowed his mate to draw him down and into his arms.
A kiss, a tuck of head below chin, and their mount was wading into the deep waters of the Konoha River. Kyuubi allowed the current to catch him, using his great paws to steer, and floated down the river. Unfortunately, the current was carrying them farther down stream than he wanted, and it took considerable effort to stem their southwards flow towards the bank on the far side of the river.
Though it brought them in even closer proximity to the city, Kyuubi allowed a small feral smile to grace his muzzle. It would delay the men that pursued them a long while. Now, they just had to avoid possible Konohan patrols and the fast closing storm. He began to look for a suitable place to hunker down even as he scrabbled out of the water onto a high stony bank.
It was Sasuke’s sharp eyes that found a safe haven for them. The river, in one of its bends and curves, had long ago carved out an inlet of water, almost like a lagoon. A large semi circle of crumbling earth gave way to the gnarled foot of the biggest tree Naruto had ever seen. The twisting roots dug deep, the earth between them slowly eroded away by time and the gentle lapping of water. It made a deep cave like hollow below the tree, upheld by a foundation of stubborn stone. Reedy grasses and a waterfall of honeysuckle hung low, like a sweet scented curtain. In the rising wind, the flora waved, and the keen sharingan eyes of the Uchiha had noted the darkness below.
Shaking excess water from his paws and fur, throwing a cooling spray of mist on the boys which made Naruto laugh, and he followed his fox and mate into the aromatic if slightly muggy hollow beneath the oak. Kyuubi made himself comfortable on the rock shelf over the water, tails curled tightly in to keep them inside, and the boys snuggled close to him.
As the skies darkened and the air thickened, broken by intermittent flashes and closer rumbles, Sasuke reached up, plucked a spray of honeysuckle, and proceeded to teach his dobe the joys of drinking nectar. However, watching the blonde lazily sucking on the delicate sprays of pistils began to tug on Sasuke’s libido. God, was there anything the dobe could do that didn’t turn his mate on?
Apparently not.
Things were getting interesting, and Sasuke thought that as sweet as the nectar was on his blonde’s tongue, nothing tasted better than Naruto himself, when the storm broke around them with unbridled fury.
As passionate as both of them were, the constant crash of thunder and almost continuous lightening was very distracting. Not to mention the storm had turned the deep and placid waters of the river to a boiling morass. The water that usually lapped away at their little hiding place had turned into a leaping dash and prickle of spray. Kyuubi shifted uneasily, the scent of ozone heavy and sharp on the air. He wrapped his tails tighter, covering the boys from the worst of the storm lashed water.
The semi gloom of their rocky nest was suddenly filled with the blinding flash of lightning, the sharp and deafening crack of thunder following immediately. There was an explosive sound of rupturing wood, and the roots above and around them split and shattered into splinters. Fire shot up around them as the tree among whose roots they sheltered sustained a direct strike of thousands of volts. The very rock split asunder as the tree shuddered, split into three parts, and began to slide burning into the water.
It all happened so quickly, no one really could react; they were tingling, and hair and fur stood on end as a momentary halo of electricity danced around them. The wood and stone protected them from the worst of the massive charge, but their presence was almost as bad. Slivers of wood were thrown in all directions like deadly senbons, and tiny flakes of stone cut and sliced tender flesh. And in the blink of an eye they were in the violently turbulent river.
Naruto, torn free from his lover’s arms and his chichiue’s tails, clawed at the murky water as he was rolled and upended in the now racing current. Fighting his way to the surface, he was almost blinded by another flash of lightning, the water choppy and threatening to drag him under again. Frantically, he screamed Sasuke’s name, called for Chichiue, but the constantly leaping water, flashes of light, constant thunder, and a pounding curtain of rain all but blinded and deafened him.
It seemed an eternity that he fought the waves, the wind, and the rain, frightened that he couldn’t find his mate, his chichiue. He was terrified that something had happened to them, and he was more than a little daunted by the first violent storm of his short life. But nothing would keep him from his precious ones, and he struggled and writhed until his windmilling feet found purchase on the riverbank, clawing his way out of the roiling waters onto the grassy turf, and he clutched the earth, pelted by stinging rain, and coughing and gulping in precious air.
Then he shot up, was almost blown over by wind, and scrambled desperately up and down the bank, searching for his loved ones. Stinging rain mingled with warm tears, and he thought he would go mad from the constant lightening and thunder, with the fear that he would never see Sasuke or Kyuubi again.
After what seemed like years, the rain began to slacken, the wind to ease off, and the thunder and lightning moved further south, to bedevil Konoha and its environs. Shuddering with sobs, he drug a dirty hand across his eyes, and began to run along the banks again, calling and begging for Sasuke to respond, to answer, for Chichiue to come racing up to him like always.
But the sun began to peek though the storm streaming to the south, and Naruto found himself alone in the woods, his only companions the fading sounds of the storm, a gentle breeze, and a river swollen with debris.
Naruto threw himself down on the rain drenched grasses and wept bitterly. And finally, when the tears were spent, he got doggedly back up, looking definitely worse for wear, covered in mud even as the light injuries he’d sustained in the strike had already healed unnoticed. Somewhere out there was Sasuke, and now all he could think about was finding him, finding his mate, greeting him joyously, and then searching for their chichiue together.
He staggered along the bank, blue eyes burning with determination, and continued his search, calling out every few moments for the one he had to have to survive.
The storm had long passed, the sun was shining, and steam was rising humidly from the ground and river. The mud on Naruto had hardened uncomfortably, and he finally threw himself into the once more placid waters at the edge to wash himself. His throat was sore from his constant calls, and he was feeling dispirited as he waded from the water once more, clean but weary beyond belief.
Sasuke!
His nose prickled once more, but he pinched himself hard. His mate was missing, and he was not about to dissolve into tears again like some girl. No matter if he was only eight days old. Besides, he was a man now, last night had seen to that. He was a man, and he had a mate to find.
He eyed another very tall tree, higher than the surrounding ones, and then made a beeline for it. He should be able to see for miles around from it. Surely he would find his Sasuke from its lofty crown.
In a flash he was scampering up the trunk like a deranged squirrel, and then he perched at the very top, swaying in the now gentle breeze, as his eyes hunted imperiously. He wanted his Sasuke, needed him. And by all that was holy, he was going to find him.
But as intently as he stared around, he did not find his mate. He did, however, spy the pinnacles and towers of Konoha, and the once familiar sight gave him a jar. He crouched at the top of the trees, eyes glued to those red and white roofs, those wood and brick walls, and one tower, taller than the rest, rounded, with a bank of glass windows encircling its top. Some of the windows had been broken in the storm, and already men looking like ants swarmed over the Hokage’s tower, repairing them.
His vision sharpened drastically, the far away scene leaping into sharp relief. It was as if he was looking through a telescope. He observed the repairmen, then turned his attention on the windows themselves, and froze.
A big blonde woman was standing in one of the broken panes, looking directly at him. He could see the red jewel on her brow, her burgundy eyes piercing his. She looked stunned to see him, her lips pursing as if she was whispering his name.
He felt shaken, and turned away. As fascinating as this all was, and so tantalizingly familiar, he couldn’t really care less. He had to find Sasuke. He had to find Kyuubi. He scanned around again slowly, and then sighed.
Slithering down the tree like a lizard, he leapt from the bottom branches to land lightly on the wet grass. And came face to face with a girl shorter than he was, light red hair gathered high on the top of her head, a scarf around her neck, her cheeks pinkened.
The girl stared at him, white as a sheet, and for a moment Naruto thought she might faint.
“N… Naruto?”
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