Ryusuke Sanada: Forged in Fire

Everything went dark. My body crumpled to the ground as I felt something strike my back. I was unsure of what had hit me but it carried enough force to knock me down. My vision had darkened when my eye lids forced themselves shut in order to protect my eyes from any dust that may have been blown up into the air. I lay on the dirt-covered ground, my ears filled with the roaring of flames. I was beginning to wonder if this was the end for me. But such defeatism was pushed to the recesses of my mind as I began to hear something amidst the flames.

"...."

At first the continuous sounds of the fire drowned out the sound I was trying to focus on, but with each moment that passed it grew louder until, at last, I heard it.

"Wake up!"

"Ryusuke!"

It was a familiar voice. It had to be Kodokuna-Sensei. He was a Leaf Ninja of the Jōnin rank. He had been assigned as the instructor who would oversee my training after leaving Konoha's Ninja Academy and becoming a Genin. We had only been on eight missions together, Kodokuna, Shinzō, Ushinawa, and, I, but I cherised all of the time that we had spent together before the war began.

"Ryusuke, come on!"

Kodokuna continued trying to get me to move. It took some time, but I was able to open my eyes, to find that my vision was blurry. Though my eyes adjusted, and, the blurs receded in a few moments. I raised my head to see Kodokuna standing over me. His body was a mess, ripped clothing and a myriad of cuts and bruises marked his skin. His left eye was narrowed while his eye-lid was partially closed, meaning he had been hit across the face pretty badly. His arms were raised behind him, he was holding a large pillar of wood. From what I could see, the pillar had landed on him and he was struggling to keep it from crushing him. Parts of the pillar were burning, filling the small hut we were in with bright-orange light.

"S-sensei?"

I asked weakly, I hadn't realized it but the smoke had been choking my lungs making it hard to speak.

"Come on, Ryusuke, you have to stand up."

Kodokuna's gentle voice didn't fit the situation, but neither did the grin that was firmly planted across his face. He was wounded, even I could tell, as fresh from the Academy as I was, and it hadn't been long since our last mission. The massacre. I was amazed that he was so calm in this situation. That simple smile filled my body with hope. I pressed my palms against the ground, forcing my tired body to raise itself from the dirt.

We were going to make it.

I told myself. I had ascended to my feet before long, coughing loudly as I tried to evacuate the smoke from my lungs. It wouldn't work with all the smoke in the air but my body forced itself as a reaction. But I was in control. I quickly stepped over to Kodokuna's side, attempting to help him remove the pillar from his shoulder. I held no illusions about my attempt to help my teacher, my body wasn't strong enough to lend much support against the weight of the falling pillar. But I was going to try, even if it was futile. I clenched my teeth, tensed my muscles, and pushed upwards at the pillar as best I could. Kodokuna was able to get enough of a push to raise it just above his back, and then drop it behind him. The pillar smashed through the weakened wooding floor, causing vibrations to run beneath my feet. The condition of the building didn't matter as long as we escaped in time.

"Let's get out of here Sensei."

Kodokuna was thinking the same thing that I spoke. He nodded to me in agreement, and we both quickly ran into the next room of the hut before exiting through the single wooden door. Once we had gotten a safe distance away from the building, I bent forward, pressing my hands on my knees and began coughing downwards. I could finally breath clearly again. I looked up to see the Iwagakure camp engulfed in a sea of fire. Screams of Iwa-Nin could be heard from within the buildings as the smoke squeezed the life from their lungs or the fire incinerated them alive. I silently took proud in that sound, no matter how wrong it was, it gave me comfort. I believed that this was vengeance for the lives of Shinzō and Ushinawa, retribution for the murder of two Leaf Genin. I took pride in watching the banner of Iwagakure turn to ash and vanish into the winds.

There were a few Iwagakure Ninja outside, they were too busy attempting to save their friends to care about Kodokuna and myself. Though they could have just as well been afraid. The fact was, that this camp was the Iwagakure headquarters on the Eastern front of the Land of Grass. The commanding Jounin's body lay at the centre of the camp. His body was full of blades and his corpse was surrounded by the bodies of his guards. Kodokuna had killed them all, and only seemed to have received minor injuries in exchange. To me, Kodokuna was unbeatable. But even that turned out to be a false truth.

I turned around. My eyes shot open wide when I finally noticed. I had been too busy looking at everything else to see that Kodokuna had collapsed behind me. I could see his real injuries now, crude pieces of metal stuck out from his back and his uniform was soaking with his blood. Tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered Shinzō and Ushinawa's deaths.

"Sensei!!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs. Rushing towards the man that I knew as my teacher. I didn't dare try to turn his body onto its back for fear that I would cause the metal to push deeper into his body. I placed my finger's against Kodokuna's wrist in an attempt to check his pulse. I didn't feel anything. Unwilling to simply believe that he had already passed on, I frantically checked his other wrist and then his neck. But it only served to confirm my fears. The tears in my eyes only intensified as my lungs choked up, keeping me from speaking, allowing only my whimpering to escape into the air.

I eventually freed my lungs only to find I had nothing to say. Instead, I screamed.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

My voice echoed all through out the camp, but nothing came of it. The fire was too big for the surviving Iwa Ninjas to spend their time dealing with some child from Konoha. I had begun pounding the ground with my fist. I was angry at myself for not noticing before Kodokuna collapsed, but I was also angry that he hid it from me. There had to have been something I could have done to help him. The tears that fell from my face evaporated into the ground, leaving small darkened stains in the dried up dirt. There was still one thing I could do. I could make sure that Kodokuna was honoured properly. The fires consuming the camp would not take him like it had the Iwagakure filth. And I would never allow his body to rot where it lay.

I raised his lifeless body onto my back. Despite the size difference, and, Kodokuna's weight on my back, I pushed myself to move. I wouldn't stop for nothing. I wasn't worthy of food, water, or, even rest, until I ensured that Kodokuna was returned to his homeland.

It took several days. But my mind never gave in. My body complained constantly demanding that I nourish it with food and water, or that I lay down to rest and recuperate. But I was in control. I would not allow the reactions of my body to stop me. My hunger was second to the the burning desire to return home. My thirst was ignored by the haunting memory of my three dead comrades. My exhaustion was subverted by the lifeless slumber that my teacher had now been trapped within. The only time I stopped was to hide from Iwa partols, the only time I felt weak was when I saw Kodokuna's pale face.

But I persevered. I stood outside of the gates of Konoha. I grinned widely while a few villagers gathered to see my arrival. They were no doubt shocked by such a sight. A young lad, exhausted, dirty, and lacking in hydration or sated hunger.

"Quick! Someone get them to the hospital!"

That was the last thing I heard. It soothed my mind, and acknowledged my success. My body became as light as a feather. My hands let go of the body on my back and I collapsed onto the ground. My consciousness faded when I finally relaxed. My mission was complete.