guardian of the storm | ✓

Chapter One ~ Confrontation

~Chapter One~

The streets of the Leaf Village were bursting with life, a group of four ninja walking around. "Ah man, that sure brings back memories." The orange wearing ninja grins as he talks to his pink haired teammate and an old friend about the upcoming Chunin exams in Suna. "Say Naruto, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do about what?" He asks, confused by Shikamaru Nara's question. "The Chunin exams. You're the only one of us that hasn't become a Chunin yet." "Ehhh?! Wait so Sakura, you're a Chunin too?" She grins and nods, giving him a peace sign. "I sure am!"

"Not to mention the Sand's Kankuro and Temari here, and Neji from the class above are Jonin now." His face is full of disbelief and he stares at the Sand ninja and Shikamaru before his face turns questioning and a bit desperate. "Wait a second, Gaara! What about Gaara?"

"He... he's Kazekage."

"I see... so he's become Kazekage... Wow!" Shikamaru's expression turns confused, "I won't be any less than him! I'll become Hokage for sure!" He points at the mountains with the faces of the Hokage's carved onto it, "Just you watch, Gaara!"

Soft smiles appear on the others faces at his declarations, the four starting to walk again. Naruto hesitates, putting a hand inside his pocket which brushes against the worn paper. "Say, you guys have mentioned a lot of people... but what about Winter? Once she gets back we can reform Team 7 and go searching for Sasuke..."

Sakura looks down at the ground, walking slower while Shikamaru's face flashes with an emotion that is difficult to make out. "What? What happened?" He asks looking at the two. "When she left no one thought we'd see her again, but then about a year and a couple months after she left an incident happened."

"An incident?"

Sakura looks up at the clear blue sky, "It was in the afternoon when I received an urgent message from Lady Tsunade to get to the hospital as soon as possible. I sprinted there and found out that a group of ANBU Black Ops. had been ambushed by no other than Orochimaru himself... and a couple others"

Naruto's cerulean blue eyes widen, "Sasuke?!"

She nods slowly, "He was there. Anyways the ANBU were saved because a member had performed a jutsu to transport them back to Kohona. However the added strain of the jutsu... plus where she was hit by a certain jutsu was just too much." She looks down sadly, "Not even the combined power of Lady Tsunade and I could save her." She sighs softly, "Inazuma Kuro died that evening, from a Chidori next to her heart."

He stumbles slightly, shock numbing him. "You mean... he killed her?" She slowly nods her head, "Even if she hadn't performed that jutsu, the Chidori hole would've been practically impossible to heal and she would've died of bloodloss. That... that was the first time we saw Winter.

She appeared out of nowhere in the hospital and refused to leave Inazuma's side until she passed. That was also the night that the Leaf Village had the worst thunderstorm in history. And she changed, I saw it in her eyes. She disappeared without a trace in the morning after the funeral and it's as if she dropped off the face of the earth. No sign, no sightings, nothing to prove that she's still out there other than rumors."

He struggles to form words looking at Sakura who gazes back. "Naruto, you do realize what this mean right?" He licks his dry lips, a sense of forbidding creeping up on him. "She wouldn't... I mean he's still our teammate..."

"To her Sasuke died the moment he stepped foot out of this village and decided to join Orochimaru. Sure she wouldn't mind helping us out, but now... if she sees him, or gets any information of him being near her... I'm afraid she'll only do one thing..."

"She's going to try and kill Sasuke."

***

Lady Tsunade stood in the shade of a tree, watching as the newly returned Naruto Uzumaki and her pupil, Sakura Haruno, fought with their old sensei. It was growing dark and the two were slowly getting closer and closer to grabbing the bells from Kakashi Hatake.

"My, those two really have grown."

The blonde haired woman jumps in surprise, spinning around to see a cloaked figure leaning against a nearby tree. The hood was up but black hair could be seen, as well as a sharp turquoise eye. "Winter?!" Jiraiya and Shizune spin around, looking at the figure with shock.

"I'm just a clone, the real me is nearing the border of the Land of Iron." Her voice had grown more mature and was slightly deeper, "I have found my target and intend to eliminate him before returning here for good." Her tone is bored but by the stiffness of her spin it is quite clear she is on edge for the upcoming fight.

"So, you finally decided to make your move." Tsunade muses, her attention sticking on the girl who had vanished. "I must say, I wasn't expecting you to give me a heads up." The girl shifts, standing up straight. "The whole word will soon realize that I am still out there, and once I've achieved my goal they'll know just how dangerous I am. I figured a heads up would be nice."

"How dangerous you are?" The current Hokage raises an eyebrow, "That's a bold statement, even for you."

The clone grins ferally, "Is it though? Think Tsunade, think long and hard about what I could have been doing this past two years. For all you know I could've only wandered around, or I could have been making a name for myself in this world. It's not that hard, to remain faceless and still be known." The clone starts to flicker, "If you don't hear of the death of my opponent, then that means I'm dead. Give my regards to the others."

The clone flickers one last time before it vanishes, leaving the three with various questions circling their minds.

***

The wind blew across the snow covered plain, a figure dressed in a simple black cloak walking alone on the frozen ground. The air was bitter, her breath rising in a white cloud each time she breathed. Snowflakes drifted lazily down from the sky, thick and fluffy. Her eyelashes were dotted with the small creations of nature, her cloak absorbing the water as the ice melted.

This place was deserted, no human life visible for several miles and her footprints were erased almost as quickly as she made them, the snow growing thicker and thicker. The ends of her cloak lifted in the wind as it swirled around her, revealing that she wore black, combat style pants. Her shoes were what most shinobi would wear, except they came up to her ankle.

Her toenails were painted a soft gray and silver color, her soft pink lips begging to become chapped from the air. Her cheeks remained a pale color, the girl having been in colder environments before although the border of the Land of Iron was definitely in the top five. Her visible eye was cold and a bold turquoise color against the white and black landscape.

Her chakra pulsated as she sense another human entering the desolate stretch of land. Her lips curled up into a smirk, her eye narrowing slightly. After all these years, after all those sleepless nights and horrible nightmares, she would finally be able to avenge her second family.

It took a while before the man came into view, his black hair and dark eyes very discernable from the white background. He looked composed, a knowing look flickering in his eyes as they drew closer and closer to eachother. They stopped about twenty feet from each other, facing the other.

Fair skinned hands reached up and tugged down the black hood, even blacker hair spilling out as the girl stared down her worst enemy... the man who had destroyed her life. Her right eye was bandaged with black bandages, similar bandages around her forearms. She ran her tongue along her teeth, her canine teeth looking sharp and shining.

The air stilled, the snowflakes seeming to be suspended in mid air as two powerful ninjas faced off, each convinced that they were going to emerge victorious.

"Let's get down to business, yeah?"