Rayana'Te

- 1 - The End of all Times -

The last explosive attack shook the ground and then absolute silence fell over the area. No sound could be heard anywhere on the battlefield. Naruto collapsed right in the spot he was standing, his breathing laboured, blood seeping from several wounds. To top it off his entire body hurt like he was on fire. He bit back a curse and scrunched his eyes close for a few seconds to ward off the light that was hurting his eyes.

Brat! Kurama's worried voice cut through his thoughts. After only a moment the other bijuu joined in, a low chorus of concerned voices in the back of his head.

Naruto pulled on his last reserves to lift his right hand to his stomach. What do you think you are doing? Stay still, you have to save your strength until you can recover! Matatabi hissed in his mind. He could practically hear one of her tails swishing back and forth in agitation.

Naruto laughed a little, but it cut off, as some blood wandered up from his pierced lung and he had to cough around it. He turned his head to spit it out. “Nice of you to say that, but... we all know that I’m not gonna make it, guys. And I… I have to free you. I promised… You don’t deserve to die in… a prison. None of you.”

Naruto! Stop it! Gyuki’s voice sounded closer than Matatabi’s had. If you do that it will surely kill you!

He ignored the bijuu and instead concentrated every last bit of chakra he still had into the seal on his stomach. The pain increased so much that he lost consciousness after just a few seconds.

Naruto opened his eyes to see a forest filled with golden light surrounding him. A waterfall a little off to the side led to a small pond and from there to a brook that cut through the grassy clearing he was lying in. The whole scenery was just so… peaceful.

“Wha… where the heck am I now?”, he cursed in a low voice. Just a second ago he had attempted to free the bijuu sealed within him and now he was… somewhere. And it wasn’t his mindscape, where he met his parents, that much was clear. So where was he?

“Well… I guess the best description would be that we are in a world between worlds.”, a soft female voice said, answering his question.

Naruto whirled around to the spot where the voice had come from and stared right into a pair of eyes that sent violent shivers down his spine. The spinning tomoe and circles marked the Rinne Sharingan that Kaguya had used against them in her war. And this woman with her long white hair, braided into two braids that touched the ground at her sides where she sat cross legged, the pale skin and long limbs looked almost exactly like Kaguya had. The only exceptions were that she didn’t have a third eye on her forehead, the fact that she had the Rinne Sharingan in her “normal” eyes… well and the warm smile she wore while she looked at him.

“Who…”, he started and cut off when she tilted her head, still smiling at him.

“I am called Kagome Otsutsuki. You have met my younger sister, Kaguya.” The woman still smiled so openly it left Naruto a little dumbstruck.

“Um… hi. I… your Sister?”, he stuttered.

She laughed at his insecurity and nodded. “Yes. We were twins. And believe me I am not proud of that fact.” She seemed to notice Naruto’s questioning look because she continued: “Kaguya led our clan to ruin with her rage, envy and false ambitions. And all I could do was watch and do nothing.” She clenched her hands to fists at her sides. A shadow crossed over her kind face and she got a far off look. It was really astonishing how two women could look so alike and yet act like opposites.

Naruto looked at her. “Why couldn’t you do anything?”

She looked up and motioned at the forest around them. “This here, the forest and this whole world, is my prison. She sent me here because she was well aware that I would never support her. Over time I shaped it how it pleases me but it is still a prison. I was but a child when she sealed me in here. I was able to see through her eyes but never do anything to help. Until now.” She touched Naruto's seal with the tips of her fingers and looked at him. ”What you did is something she never imagined someone doing.”

He grinned and rubbed at his neck. “Well, that's sort of my specialty.”

Kagome laughed at that comment. “I noticed that. Your best friend, almost your brother, betrayed you and nearly killed you. But you still kept going.” She touched the scar where Sasuke had pierced him with his Chidori a few days ago with her fingers. “You kept fighting against all odds. And against all odds you triumphed where so many others have failed.”

Naruto let out a breath he didn’t notice holding and slouched over on the forest floor. “I still don’t know why I was able to kill her. Every information we were able to gather said that shouldn't have been possible.”, he admitted in a low voice.

Kagome pushed her fingers against the scar one more time, making him look up at her. “Sometimes you just need a whole bunch of luck. Like you had. The moment the young Uchiha pierced you, he hurt himself. That is how a bit of his blood mixed with your own. And that is how you unified the blood of both halves of our clan in yourself, the first time since millenia, leaving you able to kill the once leader.”

Naruto was blinking owlishly when she finished. “I have... what?”, he was too stunned to comprehend what she had just said.

She pointed at him and grinned. “You have Otsutsuki-blood, in its purest form, young one. Which is the reason I brought you here. You having the blood has created… opportunities for us.”

Naruto shot her a questioning and a bit doubting look. “What kind of... opportunities?”, he asked.

For a while Kagome just studied him in silence. When he started fidgeting where he sat, she folded her hands in her lap and asked: “What would you sacrifice to change how things went?”

“Huh? What do you mean how things went?”, he asked.

“Everything you had to go through. Being hunted by Akatsuki, Danzo, the war, losing all of your comrades… everything.”, she clarified, noting off every point by raising one finger.

Naruto was pretty sure his chin hit the floor at that statement. He swallowed heavily to get his bearings back. If he could prevent all of these deaths, maybe even some of the biggest crimes in the history of the Elemental Nations… He sat up as straight as he could and looked at her intently.  “Everything I have to.”, he said and shot her a determined look.

She grinned brightly. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

She formed a couple of hand signs and pressed one hand to her chest. After the puff of smoke that followed cleared, a large bird was sitting on her arm. Golden, red and orange feathers were shimmering like flames with every movement and it had several long tailfeathers, their constant movements made it impossible to count them. When the bird looked into Naruto’s eyes he noticed it had Rinne Sharingan, too. But not blood red like Kaguya or Kagome. The bird’s eyes looked like they were made of molten gold.

“This is Raya.  She is one of the Great Spirits of Nature, the Bijuu were created with the Spirits as a model in mind. And she is also the source of all the Doujutsus in our world.”, Kagome explained to him, pointing at the bird.

Naruto eyed the bird that in turn seemed to study him intently. “And… she is sealed inside of you?”

“Yes. And now I am passing her on to you.”, Kagome said and extended her arm, so Raya could hop over from her arm to Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto flinched and looked at Kagome with wide eyes. “But… no! What about you?!”, he shouted. 

Kagome smiled ruefully. “I won’t live long anyway. Kaguya and myself were bound in life and we are bound in death. The only reason I didn’t die as soon as she did is that the seal she used messes with time and space itself. And it comes apart very slowly. But I can already feel the tug at my very lifesource. It will only be a few hours at most. So I have to do something while I still can.” She enveloped Naruto’s trembling hands with her own and forced him to look at her. Her gaze was hard but pleading. “Raya is my best friend and the only company I had for the longest time. I entrust her to you, so she can be free. And maybe, just maybe you two will find a way to free my younger self without danger to our life.”

Naruto felt the tears sliding down his cheeks. “Okay. I will find a way, believe it!”, he said with a sniff.

Kagome bent towards him with a smile and kissed his forehead. “I hope you will. Farewell, Child of Prophecy. And good luck to you and Raya.” She placed both of her hands on his chest and he could feel her chakra flare.

Naruto sucked in a breath when pain shot through him. It felt like lava and lightning flowed through his veins instead of blood. He cried out once before biting his lip until he could taste blood. After a few agonizing minutes the pain began to ebb and he could see some shapes again. When his vision cleared totally he saw that he wasn’t in the forest anymore. Cold rock and burnt trees surrounded him. He was back on the battlefield, Kaguya's corpse lay close by. Shikamaru not far from her, his back sliced open by the mad goddesses Mokuton techniques.

“And now what?”, he mumbled.

Now I gather the lifeforce I need from the corpses around us. I need to get enough to make the jump for the both of us. A bell-like female voice sounded in his head.

“Raya?”, he asked, looking around even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to see the bird.

Yes. I am looking forward to working together with you, Chick. And by the way. If you want to refer to me as my actual species, I am a Phenix, no ordinary bird. She sounded a little miffed to be thought of as a normal bird.

Naruto suppressed the laughter that was bubbling up. “Right. Of course. Sorry. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions? Or does that disturb you?”

Ask away, Gathering is happening unconsciously by now, since I’m this used to it.

“Okay. Um, how far back do you plan to jump?”

It’s hard to be very precise with that but I plan to go somewhere before your graduation at the academy., she said. That Mizuki-guy that attacked you was a bigger player than many noticed. I have a few questions for him.

“And… what about Kurama?” He already missed the grumpy furball and it hadn’t even been long since he released him and the others.

If I have to, I will explain everything to him but it’s too early to think about that, my powers sometimes have unforeseeable consequences. We will have to live with the hand we are dealt. He could hear the grin in Raya’s voice. Okay, that should be enough. I am ready. What about you?

Naruto looked around the battlefield. Many of the faces littering it were from people he knew very well. Friends, comrades. The Konoha 11 were among the last people standing against Kaguya. And if he got his wish they would see no war in their new lifetime. 

He nodded. “Let’s go, Raya.”

Soft golden light filled the area and when it was gone the battlefield was empty.