Arc One: Voyage

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you fare weeping for that which has been your delight.

Khalil Gibran

October 10. Her birthday. Naruto snorted, burying her hands in her pockets to warm them up and guard them from the slight chill in the air. Some birthday. Today had been the same, just like any of her past birthdays. Full of the bright and cheery atmosphere of the festival that she had quickly learned to avoid.

Tilting her head up, she looked at the sky that was full of stars, some seeming to wink just for her. This was a night that that she wished she could be able to go to the festival, just this once. Nights like these don't come along and just happen to fall on festival days, but no matter how much she desired to go, it was best that she didn't.

Frowning, she hopped off the swing she was slowly swinging on. For some reason or another, the villagers hated her. It wasn't physical, or even verbal. Just these hateful looks from people she didn't even know. Hopefully it would change, sooner than later, because she really wanted to see the festival.

For now at least, going home would be better. It was getting late, and and the idea of getting caught up in the traffic of festival-goers going home did not exactly appeal to her.

~/~

Gasping for air, she struggled as she tried to get up. Her arms and legs did not want to work properly, and a thick substance seemed to be trickling out her mouth, dripping down onto her shirt. Finally able to sit up, she regained her bearings.

Spitting out the substance, Naruto shuddered when she realized the taste, and wished that she had something to rinse that thick, salty taste out of her mouth. The need to know what was going on started to increase, and she started to look around at her surroundings.

It was her apartment, but why had she been sitting in what seemed to be a puddle of paint, her spit the same color and joining it on the floor? That couldn't be paint though, the last time she had checked her paint stock, she had run out of red paint. And what paint tastes like iron and salt anyways?

Turning her head, her eyes finally spotted what she now wished that she hadn't looked.

Short blond hair that was barely visible through the same red substance, covering each strand thickly. A t-shirt was barely recognizable as that or even formerly white through the rips and holes covering it with red soaked into it. Green shorts shared the same condition as the shirt, and the only sandal on a foot that seemed very familiar. Now it was clear. The familiar substance that she now remembered as seeing several times when she cut her knee. It was blood.

She scooted back, horror washing through her. Naruto recognized who that was now. A scream clawed up her throat, only to escape in a scratchy gurgle.

Curling up in a ball, trying to make everything go away, she desperately hoped that it was a dream. For what else could it be? She had showered that morning, ran her hands through hair, fed a breathing body. Hyperventilation swelled up, panic sweeping in.

~/~

So much blood. How could there be so much blood?

The boy whimpered, his body sluggishly moving to avoid each blade that was being haphazardly thrown around. The lights gleamed off of smooth metal and reflected off the pools of blood soaking the ground. Sounds of children killing each other filled the underground room. He slipped in a pool of blood, and a kunai caught his throat, tearing a gash in his throat.

Letting out gurgles, he collapsed face down in a pile of his own blood, simultaneously choking to death on his own blood and bleeding to death. Within minutes he was dead.

Blood, so much death. It was a nightmare, overwhelming him to the point where he just wanted to die so he didn't have to be here anymore. His wish was granted, as his attempts in avoiding everything ended in a tanto embedding itself in his chest. Death claimed its victim swiftly, as it had others in the room.

Soon it was over. Only the ragged breathing of not even a dozen children remained out of the hundred that had entered alive. Blood was splashed everywhere, especially concentrated around victims. Weapons were scattered around, gleaming menacingly with red light. They were more than enough to give evidence to the cause of death.

The room became deafeningly silent as he children were taken out, before a torch was thrown in without caring.

Ashes were the only things left, after bright flame consumed everything, before they were quickly destroyed as well. The room was immaculate, with no evidence left as to show what had happened there.

Two children stood in the center, chains hanging from their chests. They were studying each other with suspicion, hostility filling the atmosphere around them.

It hadn't occurred to them that they were now dead, still thinking that they were alive. After all, the only evidence they had that they were dead was the only thing that had changed: the chains. To them, if one was going to attack the other, a battle for survival was inevitable.

Finally, one boy decided to speak. "I'm not going to try anything."

The other boy raised an eyebrow at that. "How can I trust you?" He said. The one who had spoken snorted.

"You can. And also, it's clear that something has happened. Look around." At this, they looked around, both finally registering that there was nothing left.

~/~

Awareness crept up, telling Naruto that her arms were in desperate need of awakening and that she really needed to stretch out. Wincing at the stinging pain in her joints, she uncurled from the tight ball that she somehow had put herself in and started to try and work the feeling back into them.

Sitting up, she sighed at the tingling that spread through arms. At least now she was calm, her emotions didn't feel like they were going to take over. It was time to take things rationally, and study herself.

There was a high possibility that she was dead, now that the extent of the blood was visible to her. Death was nothing new to her, she had run into bodies. Murder was expected, killers were rather popular where she lived and it was practically an expected thing to see in a newspaper on weekday mornings. ANBU or the Uchiha usually took the bodies away and examined their deaths. It was depressing that death was commonplace for the six year old, but it was unavoidable as this apartment was the only place she could afford. To her, no one could survive with that amount of blood loss.

While that answered her question, it raised even more questions. If she was dead, why was she standing here, with her body over there. It wasn't quite what she was expecting when she died, and she wondered if this is what others experienced at death.

Standing, she wondered if others could see her, even if that was highly unlikely. Nodding to herself, a quick plan surfaced in her mind. Naruto didn't look forward to testing it out though, the prospects of what would be uncovered did not not exactly excite her.

She took one last look around her home, the unshakable feeling that she wouldn't be seeing it for a while welled up. Naruto turned her back and left, trying to shake it off.

~/~

The village markets bustled with activity as civilians and shinobi alike went about their business, the festival put away for the moment, but ready for tonight's activities. Merchants shouted out info about their wares, trying to convince people to come and buy them. Workers advertised products with raised voices. Children ran around, getting under people's feet and being a general all around nuisance for their parents.

The smell of food was distinct in the air, wafting from restaurants and booths, enticing anyone passing by to stop in and have a good meal. Displays for vegetable and fruit stands were full of rich color that were arranged to be pleasing. Rich beats from street performers complemented the activity.

Unknown to Naruto, the two boys were headed here as well.

Naruto hummed to herself as she slipped through the crowds unnoticed. She tried to not engage her brain with the lack of hateful glares and mutterings and what it meant, but now it was obvious to her that she was dead.

Naruto slipped out of the crowd and leaned against the fence that separated the markets from the residential districts. She had been holding out in the hopes that this was all a dream, that that had not been her body but was instead someone that looked a lot like her.

But now it was all too clear that this wasn't a dream. She was gone, and that Uchiha bastard was at fault, but there was no way anyone would know what had happened. No one cared enough about her to notice that she was missing.

She knew that tears had already been spilled, but she couldn't help but to choke back a sob. She slid to the ground, emotions coursing through her. Unknown to her, tears had started to pour and she started crying. It was quite loud, in fact, and this gained the attention of two boys who were unaware that no one could see them.

They quickly headed towards the noise, and weren't prepared for what awaited them.

The shorter of the two quietly approached Naruto and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

This gained Naruto's attention, with the sudden warmth cutting through the storm of emotion and making her look up. Through eyes blurry with tears, she could make out a sandy haired boy looking at her with confused eyes.

The boy stared down at her, entranced by the tear-filled azure eyes staring up at him. Three whiskers marked her face on both cheek, fitting in with the cute button nose and pale pink lips.

"What's wrong?" He asked, wanting to see if he could help her.

The question seemed to catch her off guard, as if she wasn't expecting it. A series of expressions crossed her face, but disappeared before he could study them. The tears seemed to be stopping though as she composed herself.

Naruto stared at him, wiping any remaining tears away. Was he dead as well? That would make sense, because so far he was the only one who saw and interacted with her. Studying him more closely, her eyes widened as she saw the same chain coming out of his chest that closely resembled hers. In fact, it seemed to be the same one as hers.

Deciding to go slowly, she wanted to see if he was like the other villagers. He didn't seem like one, but there wasn't enough to support that. She would have to find out, either through the easy or hard way.

"I'm alright now," she said. "Thank you for asking though."

He was thrown for a loop there. Just a minute ago, she had been crying. But now, she did look to be alright.

"You sure?" He had to ask, just to make sure.

"I am, even if I wasn't earlier.. I have a question for you though. You don't have to answer it..." Naruto said, growing quieter as she spoke, and averted her eyes. She honestly hoped that she didn't come off as rude to him, because it seemed asking if others were dead was extremely rude and insensitive. But she just wanted to make sure. And this seemed the best way to find out if h was the same.

"What's the question?" He cocked his head, rather cutely in her opinion.

"Are you dead?" He was rather shocked at this, and rather confused.

"Eh?" He squeaked, not knowing how to respond.

"Well, you can see and talk to me. So I'm assuming you're dead. Did you not realize?" She tilted her head, putting her eyes back onto him.

Understanding dawned now with her explanation. It was clear to him, just as the chain now was. And also why no one had noticed them walking through the streets.

"...I guess I am. Are you?" She bit her lip, before nodding in reply.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked, hoping to know more about the male in front of her.

"I don't know?" He scratched his elbow in embarrassment at that, even if he didn't have a real reason for it. "What's yours?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, you can call me Naru-chan! That's what the old man Hokage calls me. It must be sad not having a name." Naruto frowned at that. They should rectify that. If they maybe stayed together for the foreseeable future, they should find a name for him. And she knew just the place to go. Clapping her hands together, she exclaimed, "I know what to do!"

The boy looked at her, a questioning look on his face. Giggling at that, she stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"We should find you a name! Luckily I know where to go." Naruto started waving him out onto the street again.

He looked at her, and shrugged, allowing her to wave him along. He may as well go along with this and the now very excitable girl. Besides, a name would be nice.

"May I tag along as well?" The new voice got both their attention. Oh. He had forgotten about his new friend. Hopefully Naruto would be open to him.

"Eh?" Naruto turned to the newcomer. He was rather scrawny, just like her. But compared to the two blondes, he had black hair.

At this studying, he simply said, "I would like to find a name as well."

"Oh okay!" Naruto nodded. After all, two new friends were excellent. And it certainly was a plus that they were different from the villagers.

~/~

"What about Hiroto?" Naruto asked her fellow blond who thought over it, before shaking his head. This made her twitch. For pete's sake, they had been at this for four hours, all of which they had been sitting on a table in a dusty section of the civilian library.

They had been successful in finding a name for the newly named Tessai. But the unnamed boy just had to difficult to please. She was beginning to regret this as time went on.

Letting out a nearly inaudible growl, she looked back at the book in her lap. "I think Fumio would fit you."

"Sounds girly. So no thanks." He shook his head. This earned him a poisonous glare from Naruto.

"What about Kisuke?" Tessai said, peeking over her shoulder and reading out a random name.

The blond thought about it, and finally nodded.

After four hours and many rejections from her, Tessai had gotten lucky. Irritation at the perceived injustices turned into anger and if her glare wasn't poisonous before, now it was purely venomous. The urge to throttle him grew.

Slamming the book shut, she calmly set it down to the side.

Her free lap now enabled her to launch herself at Kisuke and start strangling him in the way only an enraged female could.

~/~

Unknown to them, as Tessai was trying to remove Naruto from Kisuke's neck thus distracting them even if they hear him, a man was walking through the aisles. He was rather terrifying, what with his vaguely brutish appearance (to 8 year olds). Despite appearances, he was actually quite nice, if a little strict. Reaching the end of the aisle, he pinched the bridge of his nose. A headache was forming, and the reason for it was on the table in front of him.

Exactly like her mother. Dammit. Why did it have to be him that dealt with the little monster?

"I truly hope you are not trying to kill him, young lady." He noted with satisfaction that this statement ceased the attempted murder going on and had the aforementioned young lady releasing the rather purple looking boy.

"He deserved it." He had to suppress a groan at the petulant tone of voice.

"And why is that?"

"Ask him."

Stubborn, just like her father. He knew he wasn't going to get any answers, so he did the next best thing. He let the frustration out in a drawn out breath. He was not in the slightest amused, of course not.

"Who are you?" The other boy said, squinting at him. That one probably needs glasses, he could tell that there were going to be problems later on down the road.

"Genryusai Yamamoto. You may call me Yamamoto. And you are Naruto, Kisuke, and Tessai." The children looked at him, confusion and curiosity mixing with suspicion vivid on their faces.

"How do you know our names? And what do you want with us?" The blond haired male asked, edging a little from him.

Inquisitive. He liked that. The boy also looked out for himself. Good.

"I suppose I've been on the lookout for you." That was true. There were also bodily threats from Kushina, but they definitely did not need to know. That, and the damn bet that he had lost. All that glorious pizza, and he was picking up three brats. Life is just not fair. And if they would just introduce themselves that would be very nice. He had the names, and not the faces.

"Why?" The girl asked, following Kisuke's lead.

"I can't say, but it will be explained to you." He was going to let Naruto's mother deal with that question. No way in hell he was doing that. Too much work.

"You still haven't answered what you're going to do with us." Kisuke stated.

"Ah. To take you personally to the afterlife."

"The afterlife?" All three chorused, quite accidentally if their reaction was anything to go by. They looked at each other in shock, before dissolving into laughter. Groaning, (why did he have to deal with this shit?) he leaned forward and tapped their foreheads, leaving a small red mark. This shut them up quickly as they rubbed the offending pain.

"Now that I have your attention, yes the afterlife. There will be others to explain what I cannot so I will do what I can for now. Naruto, you will be going to the Uzumaki and Namikaze compound, where I can assure you there are people very excited to see you. Kisuke and Tessai, you will be going to the Shihoin compound. All three of you, be on your best behaviors." Catching his breath after the long winded sentence, he looked at them.

Seeing that they understood, even if the were still suspicion, he nodded to them before opening the gate that would lead them to Soul Society. They hopped off the desk, and looked up at him, probably wondering what next.

"Come on then." He waved them in, rubbing his forehead, before following after them.

The gate closed, leaving a table with books and the lamp on.

Oh dear, it seems that I've been running behind. And I am truly sorry for that. Life happened, but now I'm back on track. I do have a second chapter that's ready to go through the ringer, and I will try to have up by the end of the week.

So this is it. The new and improved Rocky Dreams. While this chapter is short, the next chapters will not be.

Read and review, please!