Kana [ Kakashi Hatake / Naruto ]

The Beginning

  "C'mon, c'mon."

  It was dark, not a single star littering the sky and with the full moon at its peak it left the forest scarily ominous. Even the critters had taken to hiding away whether it be in the trees or beneath the dirt, no one dared to enter the Black Forest at this time of night... well, almost no one, but Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki wasn't just anyone.

  The Sage of Sixth Path's was desperate, if one couldn't tell by the way his bloodied fingers relentlessly dug through the muddied path. The only thing that made him falter was the fact that one of his finger nails managed to clip against against a hidden twig causing him to tug it away with a hiss, "dammit."

  There was no time to stop, he knew that just by glancing at the moon and watching as it slowly but surely began its decent into the West. He was running out of time.

  With a few more motions, the hole was finally deep enough and he dug into the pocket of his yukata, fingers clamping around the very thing he'd been seeking and he breathed a sigh of relief as he tossed the ancient bone into the hole. Thanks to the twig he managed to snag, blood was already steadily dripping down his hand and he held it over the bone, allowing the red liquid to paint it's cracked crevices. It only took a few sweeps to fill the hole back up and sitting back on his knees, Hagoromo began his chants.

  "Inari, hear my plea-

  Thunder cracked, encouraging him louder and it wasn't long before heavy rain followed, the wet droplets forcing his hair to cling to his face. His words were loud, louder than the storm and yet he felt his heart thudding almost painfully inside his chest once he noticed the clouds making their way towards the moon, "no, no, no, please! Please, Inari, hear my plea!"

  The wind ripped apart the trees as if made of paper, and the rain refused to lessen it's brute force. Hagoromo could've cried as he watched the clouds take their rightful place in front of the moon, blocking it's gleam and throwing the Black Forest further into darkness.

  "No," he grunted, fists pounding against the ground, "no, no, no, NO!"

  That was it. He was out of time.

  "I failed."

  As if the heavens heard his proclamation, the sky weeped even harder, and gave no warning to the bolt of lightning that came striking down, hitting the ground in front of him and throwing him halfway across the forest with a pained yell. He didn't know what was worse, the new ache in his back after he smacked the furthest tree or the slight smell of burnt hair that the lightning just scarcely missed. He'd been so focused on himself, he hadn't even realized the rain had stopped, and not only had the clouds cleared, but the moon that had previously been a bright white was now a hauntingly deep shade of red.

  Coughing out the remaining air that'd been trapped in his now damaged lungs, Hagoromo rolled onto his side and felt his insides freeze when he noticed a pair of bronze boots standing just beside his head. Following the shoes up, every ache and pain he had once felt magically vanished as he took in the sight of ashen grey skin, blood red attire and lastly, a pair of haunting white orbs that seemingly stared directly into his soul. He wanted to speak, to pray thanks, hell, to simply greet the presence in front of him would do, but The Sage of Sixth Path's was rendered speechless at the other-worldly presence in front of him.

  "Why have you summoned me here, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki?"

  "L-Lady Bushida," he breathed, finally gathering his wits and quickly pushing himself up, though despite his height that easily outmatched most, his 6' frame was nothing compared to her towering 10'. Trembling beneath her stare, he suddenly remembered his manners and quickly bowed, "Lady Bushida," he repeated more stabled, "it is truly an honor."