Chapter 21 - The Warrior Born Anew!

Ekyt, Naruto, and Sakura stopped for the night, just outside the Village Hidden in the Mist. True to it’s name, there was a lot of mist, the result of a warm spring night conflicting with a cold ocean.

“That mist is so thick…it reminds me of when we fought Zabuza and Haku…” Sakura intoned to Naruto, thinking back a couple years to their first real mission as genin, Kakashi-sensei’s survival exercise non-withstanding.

“Yeah! Man, those were the days, huh Sakura?” Naruto replied with his trademark enthusiasm.

Ekyt stood up, quietly excusing himself to take a walk. Sakura and Naruto watched him go, both a little worried and confused for their friend. It was no secret that Ekyt had dealt with so much lately. Between the Third Hokage dying, Sakura’s ‘betrayl’, and his prison sentence (falsely convicted), it seemed as if anything that COULD go wrong DID go wrong for the…genin? Did he have a rank anymore? His headband was in Tsunade’s office, where Sakura had left it after Ekyt made his first daring escape.

“Should we keep an eye on him or something?” Naruto asked Sakura.

“No…just give him a little time…” Sakura looked back to their campsite and began to clear it up so they could lay their bedding down. Naruto shot a worried glance over his shoulder at Ekyt, who had begun to scale a tree, obviously deep in thought.

--

Ekyt curled up against the thick green leaves on a sturdy branch. His emotions had come back, and they hit him hard. He had curled himself into a ball, and tried not to shed any tears. But it was getting harder the more he thought.

The Third Hokage…I helped kill him. I know it’s what he wanted, and he would have died without accomplishing his goal without my help…but knowing I helped kill someone, someone important to me…it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s so…helpless. That’s the word. It’s a helpless feeling. Knowing that you took away a world, but you can never give it back…I know this is the way of the Shinobi, and even the way of the Samurai, and I have to follow both…but still…

Ekyt shifted his gaze to what he could see of the stars above. They twinkled brightly against the black backdrop of the sky, winking merrily, unaware that the world below was froth with hell.

Lord 3rd…Master Sarutobi…The “Will of Fire” you always spoke of…I know it can’t burn in me alone! I wish I had just killed Orochimaru myself, so you could still be here…Lady Tsunade means well, but she doesn’t have your wisdom, or your attitude. There’s no one to stoke the Will of Fire…I won’t let the Will of Fire die, Master Sarutobi. The Leaf will get stronger, just as you said…I’m proud to be a part of the village, no matter what pain it’s caused me! I will always be grateful for what you taught me, and all of us. I used to think that I didn’t belong, that I was just a transplant to the Leaf…but my Will of Fire is true, Master Sarutobi. I’ll make what you taught me meaningful! And I’ll protect the village, and everyone in it! …

…Please forgive me…

Ekyt’s enthusiasm left as quickly as it had come. He put his head down, and let a tear fall onto his vest.

I don’t think I could handle another loss…Sai and Katsuyori…I would crack…if they died here, in this foreign land. How much can my mind take? Am I already going insane? I didn’t blink when I was face to face with the Chidori. I don’t know if that was bravery or insanity…or both. No, I’m not gonna lose it! And I’m not going to lose them! ANY of them! No more comrades will die under my watch! NOW I get it, Kakashi-sensei!

Ekyt’s gloves hand balled up tightly, and for the first time in a long while, he smiled as if he had everything under control.

--

Ekyt ran back to the clearing, something falling into place in his mind. Sakura and Naruto looked relieved to see Ekyt at first, but at the placid look on his face, Sakura immediately checked him for poison.

“I don’t know what you inhaled, but I’m going to get it out of you!”

Ekyt shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I get it now! What Kakashi-sensei, and Master Sarutobi said! I finally understand! Protect your comrades, Will of Fire! I understand, finally! There’s no time for me to be worrying about myself right now, THAT’S why I’m smiling! I’ve been self-centered, trying to solve my own problems this whole time. But, at least for now, I understand what they were saying all this time!”

Ekyt opened one of the scrolls the Third Hokage had left him. He pointed to one of the jutsu.

“Earth Style: Mud Wall? That’s great, but you don’t know that jutsu!” Naruto pointed out, not getting Ekyt’s enthusiasm. Sakura was looking on wide-eyed, as if she had seen a phoenix die in ashes, only to be reborn in all it’s splendor, and then some.

“I can perform it…with help. And the same with the Fire Dragon Bombs, and the Multi-Shuriken Shadow Clones! But I need your help to do it…THAT is where I was going wrong…I made this a mission about my own self-healing…and that was an incredibly selfish thing to do. No matter how desperate I was to save Katsuyori, I was always desperate to save MYSELF, too. Maybe I can’t do both, but I can’t let both go. We can do this!”

Sakura and Naruto had never seen a fire lit under someone so fast, or so…well, potently.

What the hell hit him in that tree?! both Naruto and Sakura wondered. Ekyt’s radical change…for some reason, they both sensed something happy, even wonderful, about it. As if the dark clouds hovering over him were gone, at least for a time.

“Naruto…look at him. What do you see?” Sakura intoned, looking at Ekyt sideways. She had a smile on her face and in her voice.

“Hmm? I dunno, a weird-@$$ kid with a sudden stroke of brilliance?” Naruto wasn’t following. And, to be fair, Sakura hadn’t picked it up right away either. But now there was a sharp contrast in her mind from where Ekyt WAS and where he had moved to, in terms of state of mind.

She faced Naruto. “I see the Third Hokage. Do you remember, when he fought Orochimaru the first time, even though his life was in danger, he was smiling? He never once thought of his own well-being. I think that’s what hit Ekyt. At the funeral…until a few minutes ago, his emotions hadn’t come back, and he was thinking like a puppet, no real mind of his own. But now, after letting himself shed those tears…He gets it. Something you and I don’t understand yet ourselves, at least not in the same way.”

“Now that you mention it…it’s like he lost all his emotional baggage or something…” Naruto was looking closely at Ekyt, but not seeing him with a white beard and a Hokage hat.

“He hasn’t LOST it…but he’s moved it aside. I think maybe, just maybe, he sees himself in Katsuyori, and even Sai. Katsuyori isn’t from here, neither is Ekyt. Katsuyori has medical issues, and so does Ekyt. Both of them use a sword, and they even think alike…”

Naruto scrunched up his face, thinking hard. “But what about Sai?”

Sakura’s grin grew. “Sai is exactly what Ekyt always wanted, or thought, he would be…emotionless, stoic…”

“Gay?” Naruto added. WHAP!

“NO, YOU IDIOT! EKYT ISN’T GAY!” Sakura snarled, bashing Naruto on the head.

“How do you know?!” Naruto shot back. “Have YOU slept with him or something?!”

You think Naruto would know better. But Sakura didn’t hit him this time. She blushed, but kind of smiled.

“No…but he told me once that he, for want of a better word, feared kunoichi. They were the unknown. He told me that he could never remember to think of them both as girls and warriors, only one or the other. But then he said… ‘I hope I find one someday.’ I don’t know who he meant, but he sure sounded like he had someone in mind…”

Naruto couldn’t believe it. She calls ME dense! It’s so freakin’ obvious that Ekyt has a major-league crush on her! How can SHE not see it?!

“Right, sorry. So, he sees Sai as kind of a wanna-be version of himself?” Naruto added, continuing the discussion.

“Sort of. You know about Ekyt’s second chakra, the one that hurts him to use? The emotions, and how he can remove them? Look at Sai. Nothing gets to him. He doesn’t get angry, he thinks. In other words, if he didn’t TRY to have emotions, he’d be a great warrior. THAT is what Ekyt sees. A potential in Sai that he wishes he himself had. Kind of like you and Gaara.”

NOW Naruto made the connection. “Oh! Like Gaara is the Kazekage, and I want to be Hokage! I get it! That’s cool and all, but how does this help him?”

“It gives him a focus. He doesn’t see himself right now. It’s like he only exists to save the lives of others, without having his own life. It’s not QUITE healthy, but neither is beating yourself up on a daily basis. So he’s progressed, to something better- like a new warrior.”

--

“Ready to go? We’re going to get them back!” Ekyt was already awake, and looked as ready as anyone had ever seen him.

Sakura and Naruto both woke up pretty quickly, and ready to go themselves. The potential for their own deaths was high, but something had occurred to both of them. Naruto couldn’t quite word it, but Sakura could, albeit it had been something she had heard from Lee once.

When you fight with Ekyt-san, it is as if you cannot lose! No harm will come to you! You feel so certain, but you do not know why… Sakura remembered Lee describing fighting alongside Ekyt one day.

“That’s the Will of Fire…”

--

Sai and Katsuyori were both forced to kneel down, while an official from the Mist Village read their charges. Both of them were free of emotions, and ready to accept death.

“Do the prisoners have any last requests?” the official-sounding governor questioned.

“I want to paint a picture…” Sai remarked, smiling widely (and fakely).

“Denied. You, boy?”

Katsuyori looked up. His request was bold. “I want to die by my father’s sword! Kideroyi Amakatsu! His head was severed, and his sword taken! That is my only wish…and the only way for you to kill me AND take my dignity! Should you execute me, I will die with the honor that my father died with!”

The governor’s official struggled with words, but managed “Request granted. Bring Amakatsu’s sword!”

“HOLD IT!” a voice boomed.

“Who dares interrupt this execution?!” the official snarled.

“Ekyt Kaguya- check your BINGO books! If I’m not there, add me! I’m the one who’s going to ruin the day for you! Take THAT to the bank!”

“EXECUTE THE BOY! DO IT NOW!”

Suddenly, the ground cracked, courtesy of Sakura. Ten Naruto Shadow Clones molded the earth, and Ekyt reared back and used his Dragon’s Ember Jutsu, and hardened the earth!

“Earth Style: Brick Wall!” The sword slashed into the thick clay, where a Naruto shadow clone retrieved it. Another grabbed the sheath from the stunned executioner and threw both to Ekyt, who sealed them inside a scroll. By the time anyone realized what had happened, and that the wall was just a diversion, Sai and Katsuyori were safe, courtesy of Naruto and Sakura.

Ekyt called his next Jutsu: “Multi Shuriken Shadow Bombs!”

The Naruto clones transformed into shuriken, while Sakura readied her exploding tags. Naruto threw the shuriken and Sakura threw the tags, and the two mixed. Still up in the air, they started to fly towards the earth. THAT was dangerous enough, a hundred shuriken and exploding tags, but Ekyt had to add his own personal touch with his Fire Style: Dragon’s Encampment Wall. The Mist Shinobi ran for cover just as the volatile mix of three jutsus collided, and exploded in a fantastic way that also devastated several nearby buildings.

Ekyt tossed his scroll to Naruto. “Go, get out of here! I’ve got one more delay tactic, start running!” Ekyt shouted back to the others, biting his thumbs and reaching for two scrolls.

“Dual Summoning Jutsu!” Ekyt yelled. As the smoke cleared, Naruto finally saw what Sakura meant. That’s old man Third’s monkey! And…that water dragon? What’s he going to do with Umisu?!

“Transform: Adamantine Yoi!” Ekyt called to Enma. As Enma transformed, he smiled.

The Will of Fire lives on, Sarutobi…Perhaps you were right about this one…a special boy…

“Umisu, Water Style: Water Wall!” The water wall briefly shielded Ekyt from counter-attacks, but few came, so stunned was the Mist Village. Too few guards for the surprise strike force. What began as a routine execution had turned into a rout for the Mist Village.

The water wall seemed to explode in every direction, creating a body of water that covered the execution area, as though contained by invisible walls. Ekyt was standing on that water, the Yoi cradled in his arm as he made handsigns.

“Water Style: Moving River Current!” The water began to shift, directing the Mist Shinobi away from Ekyt. A few who had hid under water and tried to jump Ekyt were surprised to find they were dealing with a water clone. The real Ekyt was standing behind the four. THWACK!!! The Adamantine Yoi send them sailing. On that note, Ekyt decided it was time to start moving. But he had one more message left:

“Stay out of the Hidden Leaf’s Business, and never touch our Shinobi again, or there will be hell to pay!”

--

Naruto, Sai, Sakura, and Katsuyori waited anxiously for Ekyt to return. But they had to smile- Ekyt, for some reason, came flying in out of the trees. Seconds later, they say why: He had four Mist Shinobi following him- but not by choice! Enma had extended a hand out of his staff form and grabbed the Shinobi, smacking them into trees as Ekyt bounded among the tree tops.

Naruto summed up the situation best:

“That’s something I’d expect from me!”

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