The Will of Fire
All ninja of Konoha have
the Will of Fire. But for Naruto, it has a different meaning. For Naruto, it is
the ability to resist the Kyuubi and his own dark urges, to protect his friends
and do the right thing. One-shot.
Written
in response to a suggestion by hakuse-kun.
He was so very angry. But even
in his anger, he did not forget to be human. He did not forget to pull his
punches as Mizuki grew weaker and weaker.
When the traitorous chuunin
slumped to the ground, unconscious, Naruto stopped immediately. Even though he
was angry, and even though he still felt the energy and aggression from the
adrenaline flowing through his veins, he would not harm a helpless
opponent.
Despite the darker urgings,
and the rumbling suggestions from the voice that Naruto now knew as the demon,
Kyuubi, that Mizuki had told him about, Naruto refused to do anything more to
hurt the chuunin.
Naruto had defeated the
man, and that was enough. It was by his own will that he resisted the pull to
more violence, to the man who had lied to him, and betrayed Iruka-sensei.
And because he had
resisted, Naruto was able to fell properly happy when Iruka bestowed his
hitai-ate upon him.
In the battle on the
bridge, Naruto regained control after only a second or two. Soon enough to keep
from doing any more than breaking the mirrors and punching that guy, Haku.
Naruto was glad. Even now,
as he regained control of his body, he could sense the Valkyrie's call to war
and violence, and the demon's call to something... darker.
But Naruto refused to do
anything more. By his own will, he resisted the pounding, throbbing desire to
kill and maim, even when that pig Gato showed up with his men. Naruto still
roughed them up, because he had to, but once they gave up, Naruto stopped.
And none of Kyuubi's
muttered threats and curses could get him to do a single thing more.
But Naruto could not always
keep it away. In the
Surprised and angry, the
blonde could not hold back the sudden rage of the demon within, combined with
his own, dark desire to massacre this pale-faced freak of nature.
But he tried, and he tried
hard. Watching helplessly from his own eyes, he pushed back the chakra with all
his might, risking even his own life, as his efforts caused his body to tremble
and twitch while it fought. Naruto was determined to live his life his own way.
The way of peace. Of honor. Of kindess, and cheerfulness, and happiness. He didn't want
to be a monster.
And so
Naruto was secretly glad when Orochimaru caught his body with a quick blow to
the stomach, knocking him unconscious.
When Naruto fought Gaara,
it was so much harder. Kyuubi was hungry, hungry to do battle with the
other demon. It was only by a miracle of willpower that Naruto was able to not
only defeat the jinkuurichi of Suna, but also to do so while, the whole time,
resisting the pull of Kyuubi's power, which the demon impatiently shoved
through the seal.
Only Naruto's iron
determination kept the red haze from bubbling to the surface,
and the rage from overtaking his self-control. Naruto knew that even a second's
slip would be enough to lose himself for hours, in the
frenzy that Kyuubi was in now.
And so with an effort that
surpassed all his other actions at any previous time, Naruto pushed the demon's
chakra back, and kept it back, for the entirety of the fight.
Incidentally, he also
managed to defeat Gaara.
Fighting against Sasuke,
there was no holding back the demon's chakra. In such a situation, he needed
all the help he could get.
But that did not mean that
he gave up on his ideals. On the contrary, Naruto clung to them with a fiercer
tenacity than usual, careful that he did not lose himself to the beast within,
even as he fought with all his might to convince his only brother to return
home.
More and more of the
demon's power seeped out of the seal, keeping him on par with the level two
cursed seal, but Naruto's Will of Fire prevented any outrageous action on his
own part.
And when the time came,
when he saw the opening in Saskuke's defense, as they flew towards each other,
rasengan and chidori outstretched, Naruto resisted the demon's whispered
suggestions, and the dark urges from his sense of betrayal, and his hatred.
Instead, Naruto made his
point, begun at the beginning of the fight, and drew a thin line across
Sasuke's hitai-ate.
Maybe it was just
Orochimaru. Because when Naruto found him again, this time when he was with
Sakura and Yamoto, he lost it.
Only for
a few minutes, but it was enough.
As he was coming out of it,
the horror sank in. No. He'd let the demon take over. He'd let his own dark
desires cloud his judgment for just a second too long, and then the fox was in
control, raging against the pale-faced freak once again.
And
Sakura-chan...
If he lived a thousand years, Naruto would never forgive himself for hurting
Sakura-chan like that. His teammate from so long ago, back when Sasuke was with
them. And he'd hurt her.
Despite her conforting
words, he saw the way she winced in pain at every touch near her shoulder, and
the way she never leaned on it or laid on that side.
And it tore him apart
inside. Using his festering guilt and feelings of inadequacy, Naruto steeled
himself anew, vowing that he would never again let himself lose control.
With a will of more than
steel, he promised this to himself. Never again.
It seemed so odd, but the
happiest time of his life was learning the next level of the rasengan. Even
though it took so much effort, and so much time, he enjoyed every minute of it.
Because
he didn't have to worry about his self-control. Yamoto was there to assist him should he ever
show the demon's taint. So Naruto was, for possibly the first time in his life,
totally free from his worries. Without a care in the world, he was able to
quickly progress through the most difficult technique he had ever learned.
It was pure joy for him.
Naruto smiled as he watched
over the
With the Akatsuki defeated,
and the
Even now, so long after his
last time losing control, back when he hurt Sakura-chan, Naruto kept a careful
guard on his mind, never failing to make certain that the demon remained far
from the surface of his mind.
It was with supreme
happiness that Naruto looked out over the
He had the Will of Fire.
Kind of cheesy, but yeah...
Let me know what you think, yeah?
-demonicnargles