Demon Lacrima

Chapter 1 - Rebirth

by DeathGodSlayer

The wind rasped gently through the trees, leaves of green and red danced in the currents they were caught in before finding a respite down on the Earth, signalling the end of summer. The tall, strong, ageless trees divided in a perfect line, leaving a rocky path paved directly down it.

And along this path was a man, advanced in age, clad in black armour, a long grey beard coming from the bottom, only one of his eyes were visible, the right one covered by an eye patch. A large cloak hanging behind him as he walked powerfully down the road.

But he was not alone, next to him was a small black haired girl, wearing a formal attire. She skipped softly next to the man, holding his hand tightly as they made their way down the long road.

"Father, what are we doing here?" She asked the man curiously, stopping her skipping to walking normally next to him.

"We are looking for the final member of the Kin of Purgatory." He replied bluntly, but not coldly, looking down towards the small girl at his side.

She looked confused at his response. "But I thought there were only seven sins." She placed her finger to her lip, pondering it hard. She had memorised them all, her father had made sure of that; Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth, Pride, Envy, Greed. She knew everything about each of them; their definition, their characteristics, how to see them in people who thought they can mask them.

The man chuckled softly to himself. "Sometimes Vanity is classed as a sin itself, instead of being an extension of pride."

"To be Vain. To have an excessive belief in oneself, to admire and love only oneself." She mumbled aloud to herself as if reading from a textbook, an image of a small silver haired boy wearing glasses sprouted into her mind. "That sounds a lot like Rustyrose." She giggled sweetly.

The man smiled, carrying on along their way down the path. "Ultear." He spoke to her firmly, "I have decided that you shall be the Eldest of the Seven Kin of Purgatory."

The girl seemed very surprised at his declaration. "Me? But Caprico, Kain and Azuma are older than me, even Rustyrose is a year older than me."

The man chuckled again, smiling down at the small girl. "Elder can mean may things besides being the oldest, it can mean the strongest, the wisest, in this particular case, Eldest means to be the leader."

The girl's small eyes widened. "You want me to be the leader?" She looked at the man with suspicion.

"I do." The elderly man replied, he looked forwards. A small village lay ahead in front of them, he felt a surprising tug towards the village, a feeling that made him curious.

It was the feeling of an incredible, yet dormant power, the same feeling he felt when he found Ultear, Rustyrose, Azuma, Zancrow, Kain and Meredy. 'Perhaps I will find the Eighth here.'

'Konoha.' Hades stared at the welcome sign for the village. 'A fitting name, this village is situated in the middle of a large forest.'

He entered this Konoha with Ultear, the village was a small, secluded, but everyone seemed cheerful, going about on their way, stopping to smile and wave at each other. They travelled through the town, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just a normal rural village.

Until they came across a group of villagers, huddled around something. He approached it with Ultear, but he couldn't see past the heads of the crowd, lifting Ultear on to his shoulder, she was able to scout over the crowd for him. "What do you see?"

"It's a boy." Ultear replied, he was completely ragged, clothes ripped in all places, dirtied, his face covered with grime, yet his blue eyes seemed to stand out even further because of it. His spiky blond hair was mixed with stains of brown and red, being weighed down by the extra weight.

"Get out of here you freak!"

"Yeah take a hike! No one wants you here!"

"Just go away, you weirdo!"

Hades listened to the screams of the crowds, they seemed angered by this one boy, but for what reason? Stones were beginning to be thrown, flying over his head and towards the boy. "Ultear, what's going on?"

"Their throwing stones at him." She replied sadly, she could see everything, the boy was defenceless, shielding his face with his arms as the barrage of stones connected to his frail skin.

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" The boy suddenly shouted, the villager's ceased the stoning in a paralyzed fear, together in unison they began taking fearful steps away from the boy. Until they by passed Hades completely, he standing inches closer to the boy than everyone else.

Hades could feel it, the magic in this boy, how it erupted with his anger, spreading across the area he was in. 'Incredible, I've never felt it as strong in someone so young!' He stared in shock at the boy, who continued to yell in anger.

"I'll show you all!" The boy screamed loudly at the terrified villagers in front of him. "I'll exceed all your expectations! I'll become the most powerful Mage in the world, then you'll beg me to come back to this village and protect it!" The boy issued, before running down the street quickly, the villagers closest to his sprint jumping backwards in fear.

"Father." Ultear watched the boy run away sadly. "If I am to be the eldest of the king of purgatory, may I pick the eight one? I choose him." She answered her own question as soon as it was asked.

"An excellent choice, Ultear." Hades answered, similarly fixated on the boy as he sped away, he himself was still captivated with the young boy's display. 'That raw magical power, the boy may even be able to withstand IT. He is the final piece that I have been looking for.'

Hades and Ultear searched the streets of the small village for the smaller boy, until they happened to stumble open him in one of the most wide open places with the village, a designated children's play park. They boy sat on the swing alone, lifelessly kicking his feet, to give him the slightest of momentum to move but centimetres from the swings original position.

They approached him slowly and carefully, upon reaching closer, they heard the sound of sniffling, the held his head down, and drips of tears fell towards the floor.

His head shot up, staring at them, he quickly wiped his face from any sadness. "Who the hell are you? Just stay away from me." The boy shouted angrily at the two of them.

Hades stared at the boy from the distance he was, however, Ultear, unafraid of anything approached him. "Why were they so mean to you? Why do they hate you?" She asked kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The boy looked as if he had never been spoken to before, staring incredulously at Ultear. Before he sniffled. "They don't hate me." He spoke in defence for the villagers, no matter what this was his home, he could not survive the travel to anywhere else.

"You are a pariah boy." Hades approached him, the child cowering slightly under his towering form and imposing voice. "They do hate you, the message was pretty clear a moment ago."

The boy stared up at him, tears forming in his already watery eyes. He turned away from them, he didn't want to let them see him cry. "They call me a street rat." The boy sniffled once again. "I am an orphan, and this village is small, there is no orphanage, they can't afford to loan out a house just for one kid, and no one will take me in so I sleep on the streets."

Hades smiled at the boy's tragic story, had the boy really done something so terrible that no one would invite him into their home. 'Good, this means no one will miss him.'

"So is that why they don't like you?" Ultear asked sweetly, her answer was a shake of the head.

"I am a mage." He looked up, expecting horrified expressions on their faces, and instead he was met with one that read 'so what?' "This village, they have never had a mage come from it before, it is so remote that mages never come to it. I was born different, and no one ever likes different."

Hades stared down at the disheartened boy. 'So he is excommunicated for something out of his control.' He looked back towards the villagers, who had begun happily on their ways again, as if nothing had happened.

"Hey." Ultear beamed towards him. "Did you know that only 10% of the population of the world is able to use Magic? I wouldn't say that was different, I'd say that was special, unique!"

"We both are mages boy." Hades continued for Ultear, the boy's head jolted up in shock. "We come from a Guild. A place where Mages gather and become as one and are accepted. If you wish, you may come with us to that Guild. There you will have family, there you will have freedom, and there you will have power."

"I'll go!" The boy replied instantly, jumping from his swing. "I'll go with you!" He smiled happily, Ultear hugged him quickly, cheering from his response.

"Come." Hades spoke to the two of them. "Let us go home. To our guild, Grimoire Heart."

"What's your name anyway?" Ultear smiled happily towards him.

The boy's couldn't wipe the smile from his face, but he managed to wipe away the tears of joy. "Name's Naruto. Naruto Namikaze."

Naruto was surprised that their Guild was in actuality a humongous airship. Predominantly dark blue in colour, but with lines of red, white and gold across the exterior. Inside was like a castle, everything with a dim sparkle to it, at least in his eyes there was.

"So don't I have to pass a test or something in order to get in?" Naruto asked the man, known to him as Hades, Ultear had already left them two, saying she was going to meet the other 'kin'.

"No need. You already have the Guild Master's approval." Hades turned to him, a small smile on his face.

"But I haven't met the Guild Master." Naruto replied confused, until he clicked on to what Hades had implied. "Ultear's the Guild Master!" He screamed in shock.

The man only chuckled, this boy was something else. "No my boy, I am the Guild Master. Master Hades."

Naruto's eyes widened, bowing towards the man. "Master Hades." He spoke obediently.

"There's no need for that. Just follow me." Hades spoke in a slightly commanding tone, the boy followed him quickly, standing by his side the whole way.

Naruto gazed around the Guild Headquarters, everything was magnificent, but he had yet to see a single other person. "So when do I meet the other members?" He eventually asked the Guild Master.

"There will be time for that, but not yet." Hades, opened two grand doors, revealing a long hall, at the other end was a staircase, atop said staircase was an immaculate thrown, where Hades promptly moved to sit down on.

"Naruto." Hades spoke once he had sat down on the massive throne. "You wish to be strong, yes?"

"More than anything!" Naruto responded eagerly and confidently.

The elderly man smiled in return. "Then I shall make you strong."

"Really." Naruto beamed widely, staring at the man in utter gratitude.

Hades nodded, before flicking his hand forward with two fingers up, a gesture to begin, but it wasn't at Naruto, but behind him.

Naruto turned sharply, it was brief, but he got a look at the person behind him, he looked something akin to a goat.

The Goat man's hand came swiftly into his skull, Naruto dropped to the floor, unconscious from the single hit.

"So is this the one you chose to house it?" Caprico spoke to Hades, looking down at the unconscious blonde boy, he didn't look all that special.

"He is." Hades stood up from his throne, approaching Caprico. "You should have felt his magic aura, Caprico. So powerful for one so young. It wasn't easy finding someone who could house it, they couldn't be weak. Something that this boy is not." Hades bent down to pick up Naruto, cradling him in his arms.

"I'm going to implant it in him now. Caprico, I will need your help." Hades wasn't requesting, he was ordering.

"Of course." Caprico nodded before giving a short bow, picking up the small frame of the boy and tossing it over his shoulder. "I will assist you in anyway father."

They entered the blackened room, light shone through red stained windows, the only source of light, the four beams of light all pointed to the same direction, in the centre of this connection of lights sat a table, straps in the corners. Hades and Caprico, who now carried the unconscious blond walked towards the centre of the room.

"Strap him in." Hades ordered, before walking away. Caprico gave another quick nod. Before laying the boy on the table, strapping his limbs down tight on the table.

"I apologise for what is about to happen. You will feel immense pain." Caprico whispered quietly in the boy's ear. "But when you awake, you will be strong."

Hades returned, in his hands was a wooden box, covered by a black cloth, he tore the cloth off eagerly, opening the box, he reached his hand in, as soon as he grasped it he threw the box aside. He lifted the item in the air, mesmerised by its appearance. "Finally, I have found you a host." He spoke to the item.

"So that is it." Caprico looked at the item, crystalline in shape and in characteristics. It shone a blood red colour, even in the red light they stood in the crystal's colour shone more brightly and more red. It noted the shape, the shape of a human heart, with nine sharp spike sticking out at the sides, all pointing the same direction.

"Yes." Hades smiled widely, fixated on the crystal. "One of the nine legendary Demon Lacrima. Immensely powerful Lacrima capable of terrible, disastrous, miraculous things. According to legend, each one has the entirety of a demon sealed within, including its personality and will."

"How did you stumble across such an artefact?" Caprico asked, similarly fixated on the crystal as his Guild Master.

"I found it during my travels after I discarded my previous guild. It lay at the bottom of an abyss. Its power cut off from the world, I made it my duty to collect it. I used my chain magic to glide gracefully down, and I had it in my hands. The strongest of the Demon Lacrima, the one you see before you right now, codenamed; Nine-Tails." Hades explained gazing upon the magnificence that was the crystal in his hand still.

"Tails?" Caprico added, he could understand the nine, the spikes on the crystal, there were nine of them, he quickly assumed that the other eight had a number of spikes corresponding to how many spikes appearing on the lacrima.

"The measurement of power these nine crystals come under. The only crystals to be classed in such a way." Hades gave off a sigh of disappointment. "If only I could have found the other eight."

"Why not just implant this one into yourself?" Caprico asked the obvious question to his Master. "Why waste it on this boy?"

"I cannot." Hades admitted bluntly. "This body of mine is too old and too frail to adapt to it now."

"Then why not Zancrow, Rustyrose or even Ultear?" Caprico continued his questions, picking off candidates to house this immense power, they didn't need anyone new in their Guild. "I understand this boy may have a huge power inside him, but after that he is someone who cannot be trusted, all of those three are loyal and want to impress you."

"I have made my decision, Caprico." He glared hard at the goat man. "And you will respect it. This boy, he is different from them. Zancrow would be overrun by this, he has no control over himself, how would be able to control this? He is far too quick to enrage to harness it, and he would be destroyed. Rustyrose could not be trusted with this power, he thinks himself to highly already since he began to learn Arc of Embodiment, and Ultear… Ultear is too valuable to lose, I won't risk losing her in the procedure… But this boy, I saw his anger, it was enthralling. But I have seen the control over his emotions, he smiles genuinely and happily. And that is what will help him learn to control this."

"But Master Hades, these crystals, are they really all that?" Caprico's final, and perhaps most important question.

Hades stood in silence for a few moments, bring the crystal back down. "They are." He answered bluntly. "I will begin the implantation now."

Hades pushed the spikes down first on the boy's now revealed stomach, the Lacrima did not tear through his skin, instead passing through it slowly, like water seeping through a sponge.

But the boy instantly responded with an agonising, tortured scream of pain, he thrashed around instantly, unconscious trying to get away from the pain being delivered to him.

"Hold him down, Caprico!" Hades shouted, Caprico slammed his hands down into the boy's shoulders, pinning his upper body down.

It reduced the painful thrashing, but it didn't stop the screaming, in fact it caused them to grow larger. His screams filling across the room.

The light from the Crystal faded as it entered his body, fusing into his magic stores. The spikes had all disappeared.

'Just a bit more!' Hades yelled in his own mind.

The boy stopped screamed, Hades stopped pushing to glance at the boy. Blood exploded out of his mouth with a cough, more came, and more, then even more. The boy's screamed resumed, blood pooling out of his moth, his nose and his ears, even tears of blood escaped the corners of his eyes.

'Damn!' Hades cursed in his own mind, he began pushing the Lacrima back into the boy's body, and it was almost in. 'I had researched the procedure meticulously, but I have never attempted to implant it in anyone before! Will I lose it if he dies?' He questioned in fear, this was to powerful a Lacrima to lose. "Caprico you must have someone who can help!" He yelled at the goat man.

"I do." Caprico let go of the boy's shoulders, allowing his thrashing to continue, blood flew over in all directions. "Open, Mystic of the Twilight Plains: Kaizen Suru!"

A man appeared in a Holy uniform composed of flowing white robes, his face was feminine, long black hair flowing backwards, with half lidded eyes and a gentle smile gracing his face. He looked down towards the blonde bloody boy in front of him, he face turned to one of sadness, but his smile and elegant features remained.

The man stood to Caprico's side, his hands around Naruto's head while Caprico continued to hold the shoulders down.

A steady flowing green light enveloped the boy, it calmed his pain filled face, until he looked more as if he was sleeping.

"There is nothing I can do to stop the blood." The boy's voice was also unsurprisingly feminine. "But I relieved the stress on his body. It should boost his chances of surviving."

Hades continued pushing the crystal in, until the light disappeared, instead of feeling the cold, hardness of rock he felt the warm, squishiness of flesh. He looked and saw the crystal had been completely integrated in. He turned to the boy. 'A success?' He pondered. He leaned forwards towards the boy's face.

An inhale, an exhale. It was faint, but there was breathing. The boy's face relaxed into a sleeping state.

"The boy has slipped into a coma." Kaizen told them, before disappearing.

Caprico gulped, staring down at the boy. "I apologise Master Hades." He spoke apologetically, had he have been quicker...

"Why?" Hades asked him, a victorious smirk on his face. "The boy is alive. He survived the implantation, the hardest part of adapting to a Lacrima integration. Coma or not, he has survived."

"But will he wake?" Caprico asked, finally undoing the bonds around the boy's limbs.

"He will overcome this. I can see a great destiny in him. Take him to somewhere more deserving of someone who has done a job well done." Hades ordered, Caprico nodding, carried the boy out of the room.

Hades watched the man leaving, before turning back to the table, the boy's blood littered across the upper half. "It begins now."

A/N: Hey There! D.G.S here saying, this is my fic, I'm not some copycat who stole the previous one, if I may, i'd life to explain why I've opened this on a new account.

... I forgot my password, like 100% poof gone, I went to recover my old password and apparently my account on hotmail no longer exists thank you very much microsoft, so I've had to create a new account, which is good because its made me look at these stories again.

I called it a Reboot, but it's more like a revamp, yes I'll add more scenes, dialogue, action if I;m feeling like it to chapters that are lacking in it.

To any newbies stumbling across this for the first time if you go to my old account: DeathGodSlayer, you;ll find 16 chapters of this fic and as well as my other stories, I'm going to get around to updating them as well.

See Ya!

D.G.S