Naruto: Summoner

Chapter One

Apprentiship Complete

Amongst dark, stone cobbled walls, frozen and shivering to the touch if not for the hearty fireplace embedded was a messy, smoky room. A sooty floor dobbled with little sparkles that twinkled in the light was otherwise barely visible under the four legged tables sporadically placed and cauldrons settled about.

Atop those tables were worn and dirty cloths with little round bowls and bottles filled with colorful, at times bubbly and energetic liquids. Standing next to a particularly small and round table with a cauldron of its own was a young lady of fifteen years, with beautiful long cheery pink hair and glowing emerald eyes. She wiped a bit of sweat off her face and she stirred a thick, gooey green substance in the pot before her.

“Master!” Sakura called in an excited voice. Her hands let go of the long wooden staff in the pot, flexing her sore fingers. After blowing them lightly for good measure she grabbed the stick again and pulled it out of the large, black cauldron. The end was curled and lapped with the green sparkling glop, but as she tapped the stick on the edge of the pot what remained quickly sunk back in. She smiled. “Master, I’ve finished it!”

“You have?” a feminine voice said. The only thing that seperated this oddly messy room from another was a torn cloth hung by a pole with rings. Pulling it out from her way was a beautiful woman with large, rather divulging breasts and a loose white robe. She was rather eldery, aging fifty, but kept young looks with her flaxen hair and golden brown eyes. She smiled as she reached out a hand. “Let me see it!”

“Yes ma’am,” Sakura replied, bowing as she handed the staff to her master. The woman, Tsunade, examined it thoroughly, tapping on the wood with her long red fingernails and sniffing the curled end that had been mixed with the ingrediants in the cauldron.

Quickly she struck the end of it on the stone floor and before her appeared a hazy, gray smoke. When it cleared, small, pink flower petals were floating in the air, dazzling the otherwise dark and dirty colored room. Sakura smiled in admiration of the beauty, then met eyes with her master to wait for a reply. Tsunade then smirked, handing the staff back to her apprentice.

“Very good!” she said, clapping her hands together. “I could never have anyone better than you; you’re a great learner, especially with all of the ingrediants you’ve needed to learn.”

Sakura bowed deeply, gripping the at each end with both of her hands. Her cheeks flushed at the compliment. “Thank you so much, Master! Would you like me to make another one for the day?”

“No. You’ve already done a lot today; take a bath!”

With another shorter bow, Sakura lay the staff on top of the table where the cauldron still sat and dashed out of the room, closing the curtain that so as not to cloud up the next room with the smoke. She felt giddy and she walked down a flight of spiraling stairs, down into a room that was underneath the ground. ‘After three years . . . My first summoning staff!’

Tsunade was telling the truth when she had given Sakura the compliment of how well she did on making her first staff. For so long under her teachings the young lady studied all of the magics in the world and the ingrediants, common and rare, that were used to create them. She learned where they were located and which ones were extinct.

Sakura undressed in the bathroom as the tub filled with warm, tasteful water. This home she had lived in was so filled with magic that everything was done by command. If one asked the knife to cut the carrots for a meal, it would cut. If one asked the broom the sweep, it would sweep. This was mostly by Tsunade’s command, however; rarely did they follow Sakura’s directions, since she was still in training.

“Thank you,” Sakura said as she stepped into the water, her toes tingling at the warmth. As she spoke the faucet with water stopped, leaving her to a quiet, peaceful setting. She dove her face underwater, held her breath, then came back up, flicking her hair out of her face. Soap suds floated around her and she sighed of relief. After a long hard day, she loved this feeling. ‘This is heaven!’

Witches and wizards weren’t uncommon in the world she lived in; in fact, learning the basic spells of a witch or wizard was part of the schooling of a child. It was hard work, so rarely people stepped forward to the next level, but from the moment Sakura read of the wonders of spells she was fascinated. The kinds spells she was most taken with however, were not of conjuring fire or bewitching little things like candles or chairs.

Among everything, summoning was what amazed her. The people who trained at such a level were so rare that they had a title of their own: Summoners. They were the cream of the crop, the most powerful among every person in the world. Sakura was lucky to meet not only a Summoner to come under the training of, but Tsunade of The Three heroes. The same heroes who had saved the world from the Demon Fox that killed.

‘I wonder what happened after that,’ Sakura lazily thought as she crossed her arms over the side of the tub. She was allowed to speak to Tsunade in a casual manner and always asked her about her journey with the other two heroes, but it sometimes seemed her Master was vague about certain events on purpose. The world knew the Fox Demon had been defeated, but how? And where did the body go?

‘After all . . .’ Sakura sunk back under neath the water, closing her eyes to protect them from the bubbles that would creep up. ‘Such a huge thing couldn’t have just dissapeard.’

Truthfully, she had no personal grudge against the Fox Demon, though she knew many that still harbored a hate for it. The massive creature was defeared ten years ago after five years of a long reign of terror. She was born when he came about and grew up hearing stories, but she was lucky; her family always moved when they heard news of the coming monster, and they made it away unscathed. She’d never even seen it before.

Unfortunately for many, especially Sakura’s master, Tsunade was the only one of The Three Heroes that was alive. Or at the very least, no one knew if the other two were living. They have quickly dissapeard after the Demon Fox was defeated, and Tsunade never spoke of what happened or even if she knew.

Sakura’s head popped through the surface of the water again, taking a deep breath. She glanced next to her, and on the rim of the tub were bowls of different ointments, shampoos and conditioners for her hair. Closing her eyes once again, she began to hum her favorite tune, the one her master had taught her.

Tsunade yawned as she let go of the small spoon inside of a hot steaming pot of warm vegetables. She flicked her wrists towards it as she turned around and instantly the little ladle was brought to life, mixing the tasty foods on its’ own above a roasting fire. She smiled and muttered a thank you as she sat down on a chair in the kitchen, which pulled out of place itself.

“Thanks,” she told the chair. She rubbed her forehead and leaned back as much as she could, heaving out a heavy sigh in the humid room. The kitchen was almost as equally messy as the Magic room as she called it, with so many stains for cooking failures. She smirked. She may have been a hero, but she always lost the battle in the kitchen, even with her spells.

Tsunade glanced over to a small chest in the corner of the room, one that had been securely locked and wrapped with strong, durable silver chains and buckles. As she looked, her expression grew grim and serious, remembering the past. Dust had long piled upon it as she had dared not to touch it herself for years. There were many secrets hidden within that treasury, and they were secrets never meant to be shown off again.

A loud knocking on the entrance door to her chalet made her stand up again. It was often she had company, most of the time receiving young scholars interested in the battle to defeat the Fox Demon. She always turned them down, however; she wanted to keep the previous memories of that long journey to herself.

That was why Tsunade was so surprised the day she met Sakura three years ago. She was a short girl dressed in heavy, almost manly clothing and a childish smile. The woman could instantly see the desire to learn and the dedication in her eyes, and welcomed her in. It was her first apprentice, and she was quite proud of her too.

‘Her first summoning staff,’ Tsunade thought, another smile crossing her red lips. She stepped into the hallway, her bare feet long used to the cold on the ground. For her, it was rather comforting it was so home-like for her. ‘She will become a great summoner. I can feel it.’

“Hello?” Tsunade said as she opened the door to her home. It was wooden and arced at the top; unfortunately for her, it was a little short for a woman so tall and she had to lean underneath when she went out to take a walk. “Is there something you need?”

Instantly her eyes became wide and she gasped. Before her was a tall man with long, thin, unkempt black hair and a pale, bony face. He stared at her with mad, intent eyes; normally she would not feel so intimidated, except it had been years since she had seen this man, and he seemed . . . changed. She could sense his power, his strength, and perhaps something cruel. She had hoped it was her imagination.

“It’s been a while, Tsunade,” the man said in a rather raspy, threatening voice that sent chills down the womans’ spine. There was no way this was her imagination. Something was definitely different than before.

“That’s who I am,” Tsunade replied slowly, trying to keep her confidence and keeping him outside. She was unsettled by the sudden wide, wild grin that showed canine white teeth. Her eyes darted to his bone-thin hands, which reached for a long thin sword. She braced herself, knowing that somehow she couldn’t use words to an old friend, but she couldn’t even see his swing it was so swift.

She didn’t even have time to scream.

Sakura, wrapped only in a small but still modest towel hurried up the stairs, not worrying in the least about the water trail that was dripping on the ground behind her. She heard a loud thump upstairs and while she knew her matser could very well handle herself, she had to be sure. Tsunade was very important to her, after all.

“Master!” she shouted as she opened the door at the top, stepping onto the cold stones of the first floor. She shivered a little but frantically ran into the hallway, turning her face and letting out a frightened screech.

Tsunade lay in a heavy pool of blood, her eyes wide and staring ahead. Her mouth was gaped open, and her gorgeous pale skin had now become deathly white. Across her chest, from her neck to her navel in a straight line, was a long, thick scar. A lava of red liquid spilled from it.

“Master!” Sakura called, running over quickly and kneeling to Tsunade’s side, picking the older woman’s head up and resting it on her knees. Her towel had fallen, but she felt no shame from the moment. She bit down on her lip to try and resist tears, but they had started to come. “Master . . .”

“ . . . Sa . . kura . . .” Tsunade said in a weak voice, barely audible even to her apprentice’s ears. The woman closed her auburn eyes slowly, her chest rising and falling with difficulty. “That man . . . Orochimaru, he . . . stole the scripture . . .”

“Please, don’t talk,” Sakura begged, taking Tsunade’s hand and holding it to her cheeks. In her mind, she had remembered the name Orochimaru as one of the heroes, but she barely concerned herself with the matter. Her cheeks were wet with tears now, her eyes narrow and her face puffy and raw.

“The . . . the scripture . . . is forbidden . . .” she continued to say. It took everything just to speak one word. This time, Sakura listened to what her master had to say. She knew it was incredibly important. “It will destroy . . . all . . . everything . . . if he learns the secret . . to it . . . agh!”

“Oh no!” Sakura said as Tsunade coughed heavily, blood spilling on her chin and cheek. Still, she refused to keep quiet and Sakura did not stop her.

“Please . . . you must go . . . get it back . . .”

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, fear in her eyes. What was her master asking of her? “I don’t understand! I’m only an apprentice magician; I’m not good enough for something so big . . . you can’t really be asking that of me, can you?”

Tsunade laughed a bit despite a shill, sharp pain running through her chest that made her breath in harshly. She smiled awkwardly, but barely. “Do you . . . know why I took you in? Sakura?”

Sakura sniffled. “ . . . Because I asked.”

“Listen . . . many over the years . . . they have asked . . . to become what you are now . . . but they don’t have it. They don’t have the spirit . . .”

“The spirit?” the young lady questioned.

“The spirit . . . of a Summoner.”

Sakura’s eyes widened, her heart beating faster at the mention of Tsunade’s words. She was so afraid now, but hearing something so powerful from a legend made her heart soar. She . . . she had the power of a Summoner? Her? ‘It has always been my dream to become a great Summoner . . . but I never knew that I really could be one!’

“The chest in the kitchen,” Tsunade said, bringing Sakura’s attention back to her master. “That is where . . the scroll had been . . . but there should be . . . something else . . . You’re very first beast so Summon . . .”

‘Oh my,’ Sakura thought, barely being able to keep up. Her breathing was almost just as unsteady as Tsunade’s. ‘This is really happening!’

“Go . . . go train to be a Summoner . . . take on my legacy . . . please . . . get back what was taken.”

Sakura felt the hand on her cheek go limp as it slid away from her palm and fell to the floor. Sakura’s body froze, her eyes staring through her tears and down at the woman lying before her. Sticky, warm blood dripped on her bare legs, but as she touched Tsunade’s face, her skin was deathly cold. “Master . . .”

Sakura clamped her eyes shut as she threw her hands to her face, crying loudly with great bellows. She couldn’t control it; the very person she loved most in the world, her greatest confidant for three years, her mother, her sister, her best friend was gone.

“Master!”

After a lot time of sobbing Sakura stood up, gently lying the head of her master on the floor. She didn’t worry about the blood on her own body; she would clean Tsunade up, and give her a proper funeral. She cried so much mourning her death that she couldn’t cry anymore. Her face was rock hard, serious.

She turned around, picking up the towel and wrapping it around her body again as she walked. She walked into the kithcen where bewitched spoons and bowls still worked together to make a hearty meal, completely innocent of the passing of their creator. She ignored them, for once not amused by their awkward but cute movements. She had her eyes on something else.

In the corner of the kitchen where old, ripped cobwebs, gathered near a large but now broken chest. She had never questioned why it was always sealed up with chains and locks, belts and bolts. She knew that if there was something so secure, there had to be a reason, especially with her master. But now it had been cut clean in half, two sides fallen on their sides. She kneeled down to look inside of it.

‘Where?’ Sakura thought, her eyes glancing around. So far she didn’t see anything. But as they wandered just a bit more, she caught something in the very dim corner of the broken chest, glittering amongst the gloomy dark. She reached in for it, grimacing at the feel of cobwebs, and pulled out a small roll of parchment tightly wrapped with a black leaf, a spiral in the center. ‘What is this . . . Is this what Master told me about ?’

Sakura slid off the emblem, dropping it on the floor and slowly opened the piece, her eyes fixedly waiting to see what was upon it. What she saw surprised her, almost frightened her. Etched in dark red ink was a messy, rough painting of the Demon Fox, standing over a giant forest.

“This can’t be what she asked me to summon!” she said aloud, not even realizing she had spoken. At her words the scroll glowed a powerful white light, and Sakura felt a warm sensation trail through her system. Instinctively she shut her eyes and covered them with her arms, forgetting about her towel once again. She fell completely to her knees, succumbing to an incredible power.

‘This force,’ Sakura suddenly thought. Even when trying to protect her sight, the light was so blinding she could see some through her eyelids. Her body felt as if warm flames were pressing against her skin, giving an almost tingling sensation. It was almost overwhelming, this energy. ‘ . . . This is surely the Demon Fox!’

Even as the light began to die down and the warmth began to fade away, Sakura still kept her guard, utterly afraid of what she was sure was the Fox Demon. However, the power she had felt before was beginning to receed and she only heard to small taps on the floor.

“Ah,” said an unusually human-like voice, grunting only a bit as if stretching. Tempted to see what had really come from this great scroll, what she had really taken as her first as a Summoner, she put her arms down to her side and slowly opened her eyes. They suddenly widened. A boy.

“Finally,” he said, twisting his wrists around as if trying to get the feeling back in them, “Uzumaki Naruto is free once again!”