by Yeah, I know this isn't my Naruto story. I'm rewriting that thing. Too much has changed and I lost track of where I was going with it, so I'm gonna try to update it and repost it later. But for now, a story I've actually finished and can post on a semi-regular basis as wanted! Woo! Anywho, without further to do: Sun Shards.
Part Two
Part Two
"Sempai," Sun, a blonde six year old girl, began. "Sempai, why do I have to do this?" Her big blue eyes were moist, indicating a coming flood.
Clove sighed and rested his big hand on her head. "This is your duty, young one. It--"
"'It is a great honor,' I know," the small girl interrupted. "But I still don't like it." She lapsed into silence, the pack on her back seeming to become several times heavier, all at once.
Clove looked lovingly at his charge. Sun had been chosen from the young women and girls in their village to fetch the Chrystal Fire from the Dark Flame Caves. Every fifty years a young woman, occasionally a young girl like Sun, was chosen to enter the dark caves to retrieve the Crystal Fire. This special stone protected the village and surrounding farms from the demons that were so common during this age. This mysterious grew in the cave. It took fifty years for it to grow, and fifty years for the plucked stone to die and lose power. Of course, on its own, the Crystal Fire had no power. It only kept away the demons when it was in contact with the Flame Stone. A pedestal in the center of the village was made of this rare rock. Because there was no Flame Stone in the Dark Fire Caves, they were teeming with demons.
Clove sighed again. He would not be allowed to go with Sun. She would be left to her own powers to protect herself as she made her way to the Dark Fire Temple in the heart of the caves.
"Sempai," the small voice began again, disrupting his thoughts. "Sempai, are those the Dark Flame Caves?" Her small hand pointed at the cliffs ahead of them, her large sleeve dwarfing her already small hand.
"Yes, young one, that is your destination." Clove scanned the surrounding trees, hoping there was enough in the power left in the Crystal Fire in the village to keep the demons away this far from it. "The entrance is--"
"The hole in the rock in front of us?" Clove started and looked ahead. The cliffs, a ten minute's walk ten seconds ago, was now a gaping hole a mere ten steps away. Slowly, Clove was beginning to understand why such a young girl had been chosen by the Three Spirits to do such an enormous task. The part that scared him was that the girl bouncing on her toes beside him had no idea of her own power.
"This is as far as I can go with you protecting me, isn't it, Sempai?" She bit her lip and held back her tears.
Clove smiled sadly and knelt in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. "You are more than capable, young one. The weight on your shoulders may seem great, but you need not worry. You have been trained in how to fight the demons. Just remember, when you find the Crystal Fire, you must hold it to your body. The necklace you wear holds a fragment of the Flame Stone. When they touch, the demons will be driven away and your return will be much easier."
Sun looked at her feet as he said this to her. She took a swipe at her nose and a deep breath. She stiffened, straitened up, and looked the big man in the eye. "I was more worried about you than I was about me." The defiant posture and this bold statement made the man laugh a deep, hearty laugh.
"Then on you go." He straitened and watched the young girl march into the yawning gap in the stone before them. "Be careful, young one," he whispered as she disappeared from his sight.
Clove sighed and rested his big hand on her head. "This is your duty, young one. It--"
"'It is a great honor,' I know," the small girl interrupted. "But I still don't like it." She lapsed into silence, the pack on her back seeming to become several times heavier, all at once.
Clove looked lovingly at his charge. Sun had been chosen from the young women and girls in their village to fetch the Chrystal Fire from the Dark Flame Caves. Every fifty years a young woman, occasionally a young girl like Sun, was chosen to enter the dark caves to retrieve the Crystal Fire. This special stone protected the village and surrounding farms from the demons that were so common during this age. This mysterious grew in the cave. It took fifty years for it to grow, and fifty years for the plucked stone to die and lose power. Of course, on its own, the Crystal Fire had no power. It only kept away the demons when it was in contact with the Flame Stone. A pedestal in the center of the village was made of this rare rock. Because there was no Flame Stone in the Dark Fire Caves, they were teeming with demons.
Clove sighed again. He would not be allowed to go with Sun. She would be left to her own powers to protect herself as she made her way to the Dark Fire Temple in the heart of the caves.
"Sempai," the small voice began again, disrupting his thoughts. "Sempai, are those the Dark Flame Caves?" Her small hand pointed at the cliffs ahead of them, her large sleeve dwarfing her already small hand.
"Yes, young one, that is your destination." Clove scanned the surrounding trees, hoping there was enough in the power left in the Crystal Fire in the village to keep the demons away this far from it. "The entrance is--"
"The hole in the rock in front of us?" Clove started and looked ahead. The cliffs, a ten minute's walk ten seconds ago, was now a gaping hole a mere ten steps away. Slowly, Clove was beginning to understand why such a young girl had been chosen by the Three Spirits to do such an enormous task. The part that scared him was that the girl bouncing on her toes beside him had no idea of her own power.
"This is as far as I can go with you protecting me, isn't it, Sempai?" She bit her lip and held back her tears.
Clove smiled sadly and knelt in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. "You are more than capable, young one. The weight on your shoulders may seem great, but you need not worry. You have been trained in how to fight the demons. Just remember, when you find the Crystal Fire, you must hold it to your body. The necklace you wear holds a fragment of the Flame Stone. When they touch, the demons will be driven away and your return will be much easier."
Sun looked at her feet as he said this to her. She took a swipe at her nose and a deep breath. She stiffened, straitened up, and looked the big man in the eye. "I was more worried about you than I was about me." The defiant posture and this bold statement made the man laugh a deep, hearty laugh.
"Then on you go." He straitened and watched the young girl march into the yawning gap in the stone before them. "Be careful, young one," he whispered as she disappeared from his sight.
Last edited by Yoyo on Fri Jun 05 2009, 11:36; edited 1 time in total
