Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Next Generation ❯ Memories ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Ichinaru awoke and sat up. His neck throbbed and as he went to rub it, the memories came flooding back. He spun around and saw Alzid, pale and breathing shallowly. He crawled over to her and whispered, “Alzid are you okay?”

When she didn't answer he asked again. This time her eyes fluttered open and she said, weakly, “I'm not sure.”

Ichinaru frowned at the condition Alzid was in. He looked her over and came to the conclusion that Orochimaru wasn't lying; she only had three days at the latest. He stood and looked to the west. He turned back to Alzid and said, “There's a town a few miles away. Stay here and get some rest. I'll be back soon.”

He knew Alzid would have argued if she had the energy, but he took off anyway. It took him an hour to locate the village. It was a small village, not even a doctor's office was to be seen. He roamed around until he found a small messaging center. He walked inside and moved toward the counter. An old man greeted him, “Hello there young man. If you're here to send a message, I'm sorry to tell you that we have no available service. A middle age man walked in and sent dozens of messages all across the country. He was slightly unnerving to tell you the truth. He looked more like a snake than a man.”

Ichinaru scowled a curse at Orochimaru under his breath and stalked out of the store. He bought some food and water and then made his way back to the camp. Alzid was awake, but still propped against the tree. He set the bags down and started a fire. The two didn't speak the rest of the evening.

Ichinaru woke early the next morning, due to Alzid convulsing. He calmed her down and soothed her back to sleep. He removed his vest and filled it with leaves and grass. He set it beside Alzid and moved her to where she was laying down on the ground. He looked to the west and noticed a storm moving in. He spent most of the morning looking for his katana. He founding a few feet away, from where he was knocked aside. He walked up to a gigantic oak and hollowed out a large portion by noon. He got all the supplies and Alzid into the hollow with no time to spare. Not five minutes after he had gotten everything situated did it start to pour down rain, obscuring everything outside.

The rain was still falling that evening when Alzid awoke. She looked at Ichinaru said, “Prop me up.”

He did so and then sat next to her. A moment of silence followed and then Alzid said, “I weakly sense a strange chakra flowing from you, Ichinaru.”

Ichinaru tensed. He didn't want her to know about the seal. He thought for a second and said, “You're very sick and you're worrying about me.”

She gave him a weak glare and he sighed. He pulled down his shirt to show his right shoulder, revealing a black pentacle with tomoe attached to each point. It burned red for a second and her eyes grew slightly wider. She coughed hard and Ichinaru was about to set her back down when she said, “He gave you a curse seal, that I can understand, but what is the thing Orochimaru talked about last night? Eien no Me.”

Ichinaru tensed again and the sighed. He turned to her and said, “It will be a long and confusing explanation.”

Alzid did her best to shrug and said, “I'm not going anywhere soon.”

They both smiled and Ichinaru explained everything about Eien no Me. From the time he first used it to the time he met Alzid.

“And then I met you. Do you remember?”

Alzid nodded and said, “Yes I do…”

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Ichinaru jumped from tree to tree. He stopped and listened to everything around him; the way the wind whispered to the trees, the way the birds sang around him, and the way the water rushed through the stream. He concentrated and said, “Eien no Me five percent.”

He opened his eyes and looked around. It had been two years since the academy incident and he now knew how to use Eien no Me with great ease. He didn't see any sign of Nuroshi, so he said to himself, “The coast is clear for now, I might as well get a drink.”

He deactivated Eien no Me and shot toward the stream. He arrived within seconds and walked up to the edge. He crouched down and started to drink. He finished and something caught his eye. He turned his head noticed someone floating down the river. He activated his Byakugan and noticed it was a child. He rushed down stream and waded into the water. He caught her as she floated, face up, past him. He took her onto the shore and check to see if her heart was beating. He heard a faint thumping and quickly began CPR. The young girl had sliver hair like him and the two seemed to be the same age. She coughed up water and her eyes slowly opened. Ichinaru smiled and said, “I thought you were dead for a moment. My name is Ichinaru Uzumaki. And you are?”

The young girl sat up and shook out her hair, nearly soaking Ichinaru. He growled in frustration and the girl smiled.

“Hi, my name is Alzid. Where am I?”