Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Hanabi's storybook ❯ misfortune ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: jumperjacket 
Even in a little girl's book Naruto can't get a break.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.16.2011 | Pages: 7 | Words: 11.1K | Visits: 317 | Status: Work In Progress
Even in a little girl's book Naruto can't get a break.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.16.2011 | Pages: 7 | Words: 11.1K | Visits: 317 | Status: Work In Progress
one is one of the more inspired and fun creations I came up with. It’s actually a spin-off to my other story, and is sort of based in that world. I originally came up with it through a single song and an ED for EPTD. So those who have read that story will know the characters and what’s so ironic about what they do, anyway, let’s all get this started.
“Hey what are you doing there Hanabi?” Asked a much older boy, dragging the girl her away from her book. Giving a quick scan of the area she was able to notice that all of her friends had gathered around her, gazing down at the strange book she had lost herself in previously.
“It’s a new book, Norugi-niisan.” She responded with a smile, gazing into the eyes of the light brown boy in front of her as he sat down. “I just got it today, it’s called ‘Comsosphrere, I heard there was some type of legend circulating around it.”
“A legend?” Questioned the blonde boy next to Norugi, bringing his eyes down to the book before he continued, “What kind of legend?”
“It’s very interesting Naruto-kun, do you want me to show you?”
Naruto lifted an eyebrow to the question and after giving a quick glance back to his friends he nodded to her with a smile.
“Okay, first you do this.” She said leaning forward the write something in the massive book laid in front of her and then returning her gaze to everyone she opened the book to them.
“And then you do this.”
As everyone peered into the pages of the book they suddenly found themselves caught in a large gust of wind, and as suddenly as the wind had kicked up, everyone standing in front of it had been pulled into the pages.
“Now, for the true tale to begin.” Hanabi said to herself as she hugged the book to her chest with a smile.
Chapter one: Misfortune.
“Where did it go?” Shouted a man adorned in gleaming golden armor as he ran feverishly through the streets of the city. It had only been six minutes since he was scrambled, but in that short period the beast he was fighting had managed to murder twenty three people before he was able to wound it. Realizing that the knight before it was no easy kill, it had vanished into the city looking for sanctuary.
“Sir Minato!”
Hearing his name called the man turned to the voices of his men, all worn and weary from the night’s hunt.
“Any good news?” He asked to the head knight, hoping that the ravenous beast had been captured.
“None sir.” Answered a knight with an eye patch covering his left eye. Young though he was he had made his way to the first lieutenant under Minato, “We think it may have found somewhere to hide in one of the houses.”
“Not good, we can’t risk causing a panic.” He said bringing his hand to his chin, “Spread out and look for clues among the city, if it even dropped a speck of blood in town I want you to trace it.”
“Yes sir!”
With a powerful salute the knights spread out into town and resumed their search, yet in a house not too far from the golden knight stirred a monster, slowly losing blood as it’s tails wailed behind it.
“I can’t believe I let a human injure me so. I wasn’t even able to find that blasted magician, at this rate I won’t be able to avenge him. I lost to a damned human, such irony.”
The beast spoke slowly fading in and out of a growling voice and that of a woman. It held tightly onto the wound on its chest as it stared over to the man outside, until it noticed the sounds of foot steps behind it. With a sharp turn, the nine-tailed fox laid eyes on a young boy, no older than nine staring at her with clear blue eyes. The boy had wandered into the house for only one reason; it was his, the house where he and his father stayed together.
“You’ll do nicely.”
The beast as it rushed toward the boy, never once allowing him the time to scream. As if intuition had kicked in Minato turned to the house, it had only been mere minutes since he had last checked for his son in there, but he wasn’t there, surely Naruto hadn’t returned without his notice, but something begged him to the house, and upon entering it, he saw the horrid sight, His son was standing in the doorway, holding his head with a sickening laugh as the demon’s aura began to overtake him, and with a single flash he rushed for his father and grabbed tightly onto his neck, slamming him into a wall on the far side of town. Minato slowly lifted himself from the rubble of the broken wall, if it weren’t for his armor he would have taken on more damage than he did. Gleaming red eyes cut through the darkness like the small orbs shining in the moonlight as the boy walked closer, blood red cloaking his entire body.
“Oh, dear god, Naruto what has it done to you?”
The boy walked closer to the gold clad man; hold onto what appeared to be a blade formed from the power he now wielded. The monster in his mind cursed the nameless man of her spite, and walked into the city streets opposite to the man she had just attacked using the boy’s body, it was only at this moment that the Minato began to wonder if the demon’s attention were more than just mindless destruction, however entertaining this thought became nothing more than a liability as he drove his injured body to stand, facing the possessed boy as he walked with purpose through the streets.
“Leave his body now foul beast!”
He shouted out in defiance positioning himself in front of the boy.
“Or what?” It questioned staring up into the eyes of the man who now pointed a sword at it, using the boy’s voice to speak, “You actually want me to believe that you’d kill your own son?”
Minato paused and wavered lowering his blade for an instant, an instant that allowed the demon to fill the hole in his defense, slashing through his armor and launching him into the fountain in the city square, unbelievably the man had managed to avoid taking a wound to the flesh, but the shock of impact knocked him to the ground and alerted the townsfolk to the happenings.
“Captain!”, shouted one of the men under Minato’s charge, returning with the one-eyed boy and his team.
“Rin, I need you to look after the captain, we can’t have him coming closer.” He said to the side, ordering a girl wearing light armor, the beast could tell that she wasn’t a fighter; instead she appeared to be a magician. With a laugh the demon walked forward with the sword tightly in hand, still wearing the boy’s skin as a disguise.
“I’d appreciate it if you got out of my way, Kakashi”
Kakashi hesitated, staring into the pure red eyes of the boy he had once known, “How do you know my name?” He asked out to the demon.
“I have all of this boy’s memories, he’s trying to fight me, and I admire him for it, but my problem is not you. However, if you continue to stand in my way, I’ll cut through all of you.” The demon replied holding it’s blade to Kakashi’s neck.
“What is your purpose here?” He questioned knowing that the answer wasn’t going to be something he could allow.
“I’m here to kill someone” She said smiling with the boy’s face, never once dropping the blade even for a second.
“Then I can’t step down, release Naruto!” He ordered with authority, never once paying any heed to the blade that would have cut through his jugular with even the slightest motion.
“I can’t, once I bond myself to a body, I become a part of them, if you want me to leave him, then kill him, that’s the only way.” The demon said still seeming to contemplate whether on not to just kill the person in it’s way, but before it could a blade knocked away its own.
“You lie!”, Shouted Minato, holding his own sword to the one his son now held, “Get out of his body!”
The demon spun the sword into the under hand position and pushed upward with all of it’s strength, deflecting Minato’s blade as if it were nothing, knocking him off balance. Minato stumbled back and waited for the next attack, completely prepared to defend against it even in his seemingly unguarded state, but thinking that he was in danger one of his knights moved in to fill his defense, however, all he managed to do was catch the monstrous blade in his neck, dropping to the ground in a heap. Minato froze, starring at his fallen soldier in disbelief, all now regarded the possessed boy as a threat, all they could do was grant him a quick death, however Minato remained reluctant.
“Fools till the bitter end, come at me if you wish, but none of you will leave here alive then, remember, I asked you to move.”
The demon walked forward, gaining a reaction from the knights as they moved forward, pushing into formation as they moved in, the townspeople stared in horror as the knights were cut down one by one. As they dropped Minato was finally able to steel himself. Moving across the ground as a blur he slammed his sword into the blade of the demon, dragging it down to knock it off balance, but only managed to push it back slightly, after clashing with it one last time, he held his sword study, pushing all of his weight down, leaving it with no chance to deflect as it had done before. Naruto’s hand moved to Minato’s stomach and as he opened and closed it tightly a new sword appeared in it ripping through Minato’s side.
“You’re not fighting a normal opponent here Minato.” The demon said as it stood to its feet, gazing down at Minato as Kakashi moved to his front, readying his sword to the demon before him. Rin moved to Kakashi’s side and began chanting something that went so fast he couldn’t make it out, but the demon inside the boy seemed unafraid of whatever was being prepared for it, instead it stood tall with it’s dual blades in hand and rushed forward.
“Kakashi, Rin, when I give the signal, I want you to move.” Minato said holding his side, now staining his armor red. Unaware of what their superior was planning, but willing to trust him, they waited for his word, and as the demon grew close Minato shouted, “Now!”
Kakashi dived to the side, grabbing Rin with him, leaving only the demon and Minato facing each other, now with its true enemy in front of it, the demon changed intent and aimed for Minato with intent to kill, but before it could do any damage, Minato ripped a strange gun from his side and aimed it at the demon, the enchantment on it’s barrel was enough to let it know that the gun didn’t fire normal bullets.
“Rasengan!” Minato shouted as he pulled the trigger, firing a strange bullet of pure wind magic the likes of which the demon had never seen, the force behind it was enough to push it back and knock the boy it held unconscious. Naruto laid in the village streets, and as the remaining knights moved in to finish him off, Minato stared on in sadness. Walking before them, he brought the soldiers to a pause, lifting his son onto his back. Many thought this a betrayal, some even stared on in shame, but this was his son, asking him to stand by and watch him be cut down was asking the impossible. Unable to follow the knights laid down their arms and stared at the man in disappointment, all aside from Rin and Kakashi, who admired the man for thinking of another way. Arriving at the castle, he met the eyes of a man with pale eyes, an undeniable trait of the royal family, and with the boy in his arms, he begged for help, gaining a nod from the man allowing him to enter the castle.
“Do you really believe there is a way to cure him?” Asked the man, king of the land they resided in, “It may be all but impossible.”
“I can’t stand back and leave him, if there is even a chance that I can save him, then I’ll give my life trying to find it.” He said readying himself to leave, however before he could get far an old man stared at him with sad eyes.
“There is little more you can do than pray to the goddess Hinata that he does not suffer in his death.” Spoke the old man staring into Minato’s eyes as he spoke, placing his hand on the man’s shoulder as if speaking to a young boy.
“Then are you telling me to let him die? I already lost my wife, I won’t lose my son.” Minato shouted on the brink of tears.
“Is there truly nothing that can be done elder Sarutobi?” Asked the king, hoping to console his most trusted vassal.
“Hiashi, there is nothing that can be done to remove the demon from his body, but you can seal it and returned control to Naruto. However, the demon will always be present in him, both body and mind. He’ll be himself, but the presence of the demon and it’s power will never fade.” Sarutobi said holding his hand over the unconscious boy’s body, “And even to do that would cost the user their life.”
“Ironic huh, well that’s a price I can live with.” He said as he laid down his son and gently stroked his head, “What do I have to do?”
“Nothing, just leave everything to me. I’ll go prepare a room, when you’re ready, come see me and we can begin.”
Sarutobi stood to his feet and walked away from Minato, leaving the man to say his final good-bye to the unconscious boy. With a smile he lifted him into his arms and carried him to the room, as the eyes of a young girl watched on. Quietly following the three she was able to gain a safe and unnoticeable spot to watch the ritual. Naruto stirred in his sleep as the flashing light engulfed the entire area Minato stood above him in the circle written and inscribed with magic below them. Minato sighed and began chanting along with the elder as King Hiashi, the overseer of the event watched on.
“Now mark the boy’s body.” Said Sarutobi as he motioned to Minato giving only a shiver as he felt the life being sucked from his body.
“How?” He asked.
“It doesn’t matter, so long as you leave a trace of yourself on him, with the seal you use your life as a catalyst to hold the beast’s power in the boy’s body. In other words, it is the very essence of the ritual.”
Minato nodded his head and traced his finger along the blood at his side, and then wiped drew a swirling circle along Naruto’s stomach, with each stroke he could feel his vision fade, pulling at his soul as to rip his mind asunder, but through sheer willpower, he pressed on. Sarutobi stared in awe, the seal, despite the pain the man felt was one of the most intricate things he had ever seen, sending that from his mind, he chanted to final words,” Oh blessed world, under the guidance of the goddess we pray for strength. May my hand be those that relinquish this boy from the darkness and save his soul from the beast within.”
The room shook as an earthquake, drawing more power from the man in the golden armor, yet he smiled on, looking down at his son with unbridled hope, “May you accomplish so much more than I ever could. Grow strong my son.”
With that same smile and the ritual coming to completion Naruto’s eyes reopened, now once again their normal shimmering blue, he sat up calling out to his father with tears in his eyes as he fell to the ground, no longer able to hear his son’s calls. Naruto hung his head, the demon had been able to experience his memories, and he had done the same, even through the carnage, even through losing his own father, the only person he blamed was himself, for if he haven’t returned home despite the warnings of his teacher, he would never had caused any of this. Outside, the girl cried, staring at the distraught boy with pity, his life, would be a hard one.
(Naruto: Age 10)
“Omf” Groaned Naruto as he impacted the wall in the dark alley, surrounded by four boys he couldn’t even find the strength or will to fight back. He stared down at the dust on the ground, kicked up by the boy in front of him, the appointed leader of the group.
“So, we see you here once again, monster!” He shouted in a voice filled with venom and malice, stepping closer he launched his foot into Naruto’s face knocking him to the ground in the very dirt he was staring into, “Why don’t you just go die somewhere!?”
“…” Naruto gave no response, he was unwilling to, if the boy could just finish his business and go Naruto could go back home, but the taunting words that came with the beating had become sort of a standard, and it was always the same, making the event far more tiring than it needed to be.
“So you’re not going to say anything? Don’t you have some kind of excuse for what you did?” He asked knowing full well that Naruto wouldn’t speak, he didn’t care to hear the answer anyway, he just wanted to talk down to him, no doubt because he liked the sound of his own voice. It was then that he noticed the gun at Naruto’s side, no doubt something of great worth.
“Is that the gun of the traitor? That special gun that he was said to have created, nice, someone like you doesn’t deserve to have it.” The boy reached out his hand, grabbing for Naruto’s gun, but the boy’s hand clasped onto it tightly, unrelenting as the claws of a crab he held onto it stopping the boy from pulling it away from him, but that didn’t stop him from trying, it was only then that Naruto’s will was set aflame. He dragged his head up and slammed into the boy’s chin, knocking him back to the ground holding his face like it was the first time he had ever taken a hit.
“Did you guys see that, he attacked me, he’s crazy!” He shouted with a smile, it didn’t matter what they had done to him, if Naruto ever fought back it was going to be torches and pitchforks for dinner, and sure enough with that scream the people spilled out of their houses, under decree of the king they couldn’t attack him, but if he had proven a threat then there was nothing wrong, after all they could play off what their kids did as child’s play, but now that Naruto had caused one harm, no matter how deserved or minuscule it was they were going to treat him like a great danger. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the attacks to come at him, but before he could the lone sound of footsteps caught his ears, a sense highly sharpened thanks to the monster inside him.
“Back down!” A single man, a scar directly above his nose ran through the crowd as he made his way to Naruto, “So it’s okay to sic your children on him, but it’s a problem when he fight’s back? Go back to your homes!”
“On what authority?” Shouted one of the men in the crowd of people.
“Mine.” Stoically spoke the man draped in knight’s armor, a patch over his left eye. Realizing who the man was the crowd quickly dispersed as he walked closer to Naruto.
“Kakashi, Iruka? I told you before I’m not interested in living in the castle just go back and tell the king that!” Naruto spat as he lifted himself from the ground and turned to walk away.
“You don’t get to do this today. It is no longer a request, it’s an order.” Kakashi stated down to the boy, bringing him to a pause.
“What do you mean an order?”
“You have been drafted; you no longer have any say in the matter.”
“Heh, so the King decided to play hardball huh?” Naruto asked with a disgusted grin, starting into the cold emotionless eye of Kakashi’s.
“This was not given to you by the king, this is the princess’ order.” Kakashi smiled with obvious amusement on his face as Naruto froze up, unsure on how to respond to such a thing.
“What? Why would she give me an order, I’ve never even met her before.” He asked in disillusion, Naruto had idea how to handle such a situation; instead he turned to Iruka, who also seemed to enjoy Naruto’s confusion.
“Well that doesn’t matter now Naruto, you are now a knight of Konoha, so you have no choice but you come with us. Failure to comply will result in immediate incarceration.”
Iruka pulled out a sheet of paper and held it in front of Naruto, the seal on it proved it’s validity, and with a huff, he lowered his arms and followed them. Before entering the castle they took Naruto to the barracks, allowing him to clean off and get himself outfitted before stepping before royalty and with him now ready they entered the castle’s main gate. Of course it wasn’t the first time Naruto had been there, but it was the first time he had ever been there solely to meet the country’s royal family. Naruto’s anger quickly being replaced by anxiety, he felt the shivers going down his spine, and soon he stared into the eyes of the country’s king.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you last Naruto.” Spoke Hiashi in a mighty voice, booming down from his throne as he lifted a hand to his guards to leave them after realizing their glares aimed at the boy. Naruto lowered his eyes after catching wind of it and then returned them to the king above, “I apologize for everything that’s happened, but it seems that you’ll be living in the castle from now on.”
“I don’t remember it being a requirement for knights to stay in the castle your highness.” spoke Naruto with ire in his voice, aimed up to the man dressed in gorgeous white and gold robes as he laughed heartily, almost making the crown fall from his head.
“You seem to be mistaken.” He said down with a smile, causing Naruto’s confusion to return, “You have not been inducted into knighthood, but should you so wish, that can be done, however it will require a little more effort on your part.”
“Then what am I doing here?” He asked out as the king’s eyes turned to the side, peeking into the corridor to his left. From the walkway came a young girl, her eyes a beautiful shade of lavender, as she turned them to Naruto, never once removing them even as she moved to her father’s side. The grace in which she walked was mystifying, even without looking she had navigated the room as no normal person could’ve.
“Hello Naruto, as you may know, I am Princess Hanabi Hyuga of the leaf kingdom. Nice to meet you.” She said with a polite bow that overwhelmed Naruto’s senses. With flustered kneel he lowered his head.
“I am Naruto Uzumaki, I-I’m pleased to meet you Hanabi-hime.” Hiashi smiled with amusement much like the two men at Naruto’s side. He had never once bowed to the king as he spoke to him, but a single sentence from the girl was enough to completely level his resolve.
“I’m sorry to have used such a heavy handed tactic, but Father seemed to be having trouble convincing you so I thought that I should give it a try.” Her smile was so radiant that Naruto’s eyes almost melted at the sight, but her words allowed him to remember what he was there for, while lifting his head, Naruto asked.
“If I’m not to become a knight, what have I been brought here for?”
“Well, you’re to be my bodyguard from now on.” Once again she released her killer smile, but this time Naruto was unaffected, for he was too stunned to actually react to it.
“Excuse me?” He questioned once again.
“Is it too odd to understand Naruto-san?” She asked, wearing the same smile, completely overlapping Naruto’s will, yet even without his rational thought, he was able to remember his question.
“Aren’t bodyguards required to be knights?” He asked aiming his question to the king rather than the girl giving the order.
“Not necessarily. Besides this is a direct request from the princess, are you telling me that you wish to refuse?” His question posed with a smile reeking satisfaction.
“Excuse me your highness, but I cannot do such a thing, you do know of my past correct?”
“I was there that night, I know of everything, even things that our people are unaware of.” She said, bearing a sad smile she opened her mouth to continue her explanation, “I’m not bringing you here out of pity, or abusing my authority, I simply tire of seeing the happenings in town.”
“So you see that huh? But surely there are people more fit than me to be the princess’ bodyguard.” He said trying his best to back out of the order being given.
“That may be so, but I’d much rather have someone my age to hang out with rather than the stuffy guards around here.” She said with a comforting smile aimed at Naruto that once again managed to completely shatter his resolve.
“Dear please don’t forget yourself.”
“I’m sorry father. Can Naruto-kun and I go somewhere to speak in private?” She asked in a sugary sweet tone that never failed to gain a positive response from her father, and with a proud smile he nodded, allowing the girl to depart welcoming Naruto to join her, which he reluctantly complied to. Walking through the halls of the castle with the girl was probably the most exciting thing he had done since his father died, the thought brought his spirits back to earth.
“I truly can’t understand how you must feel.” Naruto jumped at the girl’s sudden statement. She had been all but quiet since he had begun walking with her.
“Excuse me? I’m sorry but maybe I’m not the right person for this.” Naruto aimed his eyes to the ground in discontent, knowing the demon inside him had forever forced him to be alone. Naruto placed his hand on his stomach and looked back into the pale lavender eyes of the girl before him, “I’m not sure if I’ll ever lose control, if I do then who knows what will happen to everyone around me?”
“The demon inside you isn’t evil is it?” She asked with a knowing smile that completely threw Naruto.
“What do you mean?”
“I have a special trait that allows me to see through things. There are stories that the royal family of Konoha descended from the Goddess Hinata herself. Many believe this to be only a story, but it’s definitely true. Clairvoyance; it’s the secret of the royal family.”
“Are you sure you should be telling me something like this?” He asked with a slightly frightened expression.
“Who would you tell, at that, who would believe you? Tell me, is the demon taking over something that you truly believe or is it something you use to justify not fighting back. Is it what you use to run away from everything?”
“No, I…..” Naruto looked to the ground again and dropped his hand from his stomach. “The demon was only here to find the man who used her kin in a ritual to gain strength, and we attacked her. One of the foxes that he used was her son.”
“I see. Then I have nothing to worry about do I?” She asked with a pure smile, one she had never dropped since leaving the throne room. “Her intent was not evil, that means that you aren’t evil either right. I’m going to give you a choice.”
Hanabi pushed open the large door to her side, letting the light spill in, rendering Naruto’s eyes useless for a moment, but once they readjusted he could see the beautiful princess standing in the clearing, looking at him.
“I’m going into the garden, if you wish to refuse, then you may walk through the castle gates and return to your life. However, if you choose to accept the offer, then you can join me. I’ll take your presence or absence as your answer.” Hanabi turned her back to Naruto and walked into the garden with a skip. Eyes locked on the spot Hanabi had been standing in, Naruto looked at his hand and closed his eyes, turning his back to the garden he took a step. Hanabi laid on the brilliant grass staring into the sky and closed her eyes with a sad smile.
“I want to know.” Came a voice from behind her, coming as no surprise to her, “Why are you so intent on it being me?”
Hanabi rolled over to Naruto and smiled with proud eyes, “I’ve been watching you for a while you know. I don’t think that I’ve ever stopped watching you since that night. It was never far from my mind and I’ve wanted to speak to you for a while now, but every time I saw you, you looked lost, it made me afraid to approach you.”
“You were afraid of me too?”
“No, I guess I felt afraid of hurting you more than you already were.”
“So you pitied me?” He asked with his head hung low.
“Naruto, it’s been hidden from the public, but recently there was an attempt on my life.” Naruto’s eyes shot toward the girl in shock, “Father killed the man in front of me, and I can’t get it out of my head. Father apologized to me, but the image won’t go away.” She said with a smile despite the obvious hurt in her voice.
“Hanabi-hime.”
“I didn’t want to regret this, but I always wanted to know you. So I finally found a way to bring you here. Surprised?” She asked, sticking out her tongue in a playful manner.
“I see, then what do I have to do?” Naruto asked, smiling happily at the girl in front of him.
“Well, you could start by sitting with me.” Hanabi patted the patch of grass next to her and welcomed Naruto to it, sighing in defeat Naruto joined the girl in the garden, firmly deciding to fulfill his new duty, maybe even if he couldn’t be good at it, protecting this girl would make his life worth something.
“Um, Hanabi-sama? Are you sure this is a good idea?” He asked with his head hung low as he walked through the city streets accompanying the girl who seemed to care very little for the eyes aimed at her.
“Why wouldn’t it be, it would be a waste if you only protected me in the castle. Besides, it’s been a week since you started and I’ve only seen you wear knight’s attire.” She replied, walking through the streets looking for the right shop to head in to.
“Why would I not wear knight’s attire? I didn’t know being a bodyguard for a royal had a casual day.”
“Well it does when you work for me. Now come on and stop complaining.” She said dragging Naruto by the hand, which she proceeded to hold on to until reaching the store, embarrassing the boy to no end.
“This looks like a good one.” She said calmly gazing at the racks of clothing around them as Naruto uncomfortably accompanied her. Completely overtaken by her search for clothes, Hanabi had never noticed the glares Naruto was receiving, or maybe it was that she didn’t care, however for him, there was a strong feeling of anxiety washing over him, making his steps heavy. Tightly closing his eyes Naruto imagined himself somewhere else, anywhere but where he was, it was the only solace he could find.
“This would look great on you.” Hanabi said with a smile, holding up a shirt to Naruto, forcing open his eyes, “Why don’t you stand closer to me, you are my bodyguard after all.”
Naruto stared into the girl’s eyes and finally he understood, she had been protecting him, even if they walked into the shop, even if people were afraid of him, or wanted to kick him out. They couldn’t do so with him being in the company of the princess. Suddenly lost in the girl’s eyes he lowered his head.
“Hanabi-sama, I’m sor-?”
“This is a perk of being the Princess’ royal guard, so don’t worry so much, you’ll be just fine.” She said grabbing onto his hand with a caring and affectionate smile. After returning to the castle and recovering from carrying everything the princess had purchased, Naruto lied in his bed, staring up at the elegant marble ceiling above his head in contemplation.
“Why of all people did she choose me?” He asked, reaching to his side for the famed gun his father had left behind. Running his fingers along the markings on its barrel he furrowed his brow in thought and with his decision finally made he sat up from his bed and walked toward the door.
“You want me to train you?” Asked the one-eyed knight, sweating from the intense training he had just been doing as Rin watched from the side smiling at the young demon-bearer, “Why the sudden interest? When I asked you before you always turned me down.”
“Well things have changed so are you going to train me or not?” He asked rudely, barely giving out an adequate response to Kakashi’s question, “I want to be able to fight.”
“Alright.” He said closing the book in his hand, turning to the blonde haired by with a smile, “However, in exchange you must stop skipping out on Iruka’s classes “
“What!?” He shouted in obvious disagreement, but Kakashi’s lifted finger brought him to a pause.
“Is it a deal?”
“Fine.” Naruto cast his eyes to the ground and huffed bringing a smile to the one-eyed warrior before him.
“You’ve grown, is the princess who we have to thank for this change.”
“She, deserves a better charge, yet she seems to be set on it being me. So I will become her knight.” Rin smiled, pushing herself away from her seat and moving toward Naruto.
“I will help.” She said turning to Naruto who seemed uninterested in her offer.
“Um, I’m okay, I don’t really want to know magic, too much, “incantations” and “symbols” for me thank you.”
Rin chuckled at Naruto’s words and shook her head, aiming her small finger at Naruto’s side-arm, “Maybe you should take a look at your weapon there. Tell me, have you ever been able to fire that off?”
Naruto reached down, grabbing onto the legendary gun at his hip and appraising it, “No, are you telling me that it has something to do with magic?”
“Of course, for those without natural talent to use “mana” there is a certain spell placed on the items they use that allow them to conjure certain spells. This spell is called “Icarus” are you familiar with the legend of Icarus?”
“The guy in Greek mythology that flew too close to the sun?”
“Yes, it is aptly named after him in order to allow those without natural mana to use items imbued with magical runes. However there is a limiter placed on them that stop you from ‘flying into the sun’ so to speak.” Lifting the gun from Naruto she eyed its inscription and said with a smile, “But this one is special, only those with significant mana can use it, but it doesn’t have Icarus placed on it. Instead it draws on magic from the user and fires a wind bullet strong enough to crush a tank.”
Handing it back to Naruto she activated the seal on the Rasengan and aimed it for Naruto, “Now fire.” She commanded, as the boy nervously aimed the gun at the closest thing to him and pulled the trigger, but much his surprise, nothing happened.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well you didn’t think it’d be that easy did you, you’ll have to know at least a little about how to summon your mana before trying to use it, that’s what I’m going to teach you. So are you interested?”
“Yeah, if it’ll let me use this gun, then I’ll take it.”
He said staring at the brilliant weapon in his hand with glee, if he could master it like his father did, then maybe he could become the knight that the princess deserved.
“Father!” Hanabi ran through the halls of the castle frivolously searching for Naruto before finally coming across her father, who upon her call dismissed his council to other matters.
“Is there something wrong you seem to be rather distracted?”
“Naruto-kun vanished again, he’s been doing it randomly for a month now.” She said trying desperately to catch her breath, “I can’t find him in the castle.”
“Well there are a lot of places on the castle grounds, are you sure that you search it all?”
“Well everything that I could without using the ‘you know what’.” She said lowering her eyes, knowing that her father would understand what she meant.
“Hm, that’s strange, where could he be?” He asked knowing full well where Naruto had been going, he was supervising the training the boy was undertaking. Hanabi stared into her father’s eyes, trying to pry any sign she could from them, but it was like playing poker with a brick wall, every ‘tell’ that may have shown on another person was completely hidden on his face.
“I’m going to look in the training fields.” She said on a whim, finally gaining a response from her father albeit a small one.
“Why there?” He asked wondering if he had somehow given her a clue.
“He’s seemed extremely tired lately, but he told me that he was charged with cleaning the castle by the guards. If he was lying then that will become his new job for the next week.” She said stomping away from her father who made no attempt to stop the girl, in fact he joined her, whatever happened was going to be entertaining, for him at least.
Naruto panted, trying with everything he had to catch his breath and somehow find a hole in his opponent’s defense.
“Why are we fighting bare-handed?” He asked lifting himself to his feet and holding his stance, ready to move in on Kakashi at a second’s notice.
“Because hand to hand is the basis of all combat, if you can’t fight without a weapon, then there is no use picking one up.” Kakashi smiled under his mask and waited for Naruto to stand once again, and then he’d put him back down as he had done before, but this time the boy seemed different. Running forward, Naruto lowered himself, bringing up his fist for Kakashi’s face, barely missing his mark, but instead of letting his assault end there, he brought his right foot up, kicking for Kakashi’s chin.
“Not bad.” Kakashi said, leaning away from the hit without much effort, but amazed by the boy’s ability to recover from his first hit with a second, it was at that moment that he realized way the boy was faster. Naruto looked up to Kakashi with blood red eyes, however his smile seemed the same.
“I’m not going to lose this fight without landing at least one blow on you.” He said lowering his body once again, preparing to move in once again for another attack. Rushing past Kakashi in an attack that he had just barely managed to dodge the man’s eyes watched on in complete shock.
“He can use the power of the beast?” He thought to himself, weaving between the wild swings of the undisciplined boy’s attacks. Each swing slashed through the air like a finely sharpened blade, cutting toward Kakashi with intent to kill, “If he can use this much power…” Kakashi flipped back, landing on his hand, and tossing himself away from the quickly approaching boy. Giving a sharp exhale Naruto stood his ground, studying Kakashi’s every movement, something he never would have done if it hadn’t been for the man’s training. Noticing Kakashi’s studious glare Naruto rushed in once again hastily trying to gain the advantage over Kakashi, but his haste gave away his intentions and with a skillful parry Kakashi dodged the attack and pilfered the Rasengan from Naruto’s side, aiming it at the boy.
“Sorry about this kid, but rushing in was a bad choice, especially when your opponent gets serious.” With those words Kakashi pulled the trigger on the gun and released a focused blast of wind magic at Naruto, however, the second it made contact with the boy, his image faded from sight, “An afterimage? When did he learn how to do something like that?” Kakashi gaze around the battlefield and quickly caught sight of the hole burrowed in the ground before him, and soon after the sound of the boy reemerging from below him. Naruto shot from the ground, launching his fist up toward Kakashi who took a single step back to avoid it, but couldn’t manage to dodge the spinning back kick Naruto followed it with.
“Got ya!” He shouted, flipping down to the ground in a crotch, throwing himself at Kakashi with full intent on continuing his attack, but the quick recovery Kakashi had made he was ready to reprise the boy’s attack. Kakashi grabbed onto the boy’s face and pushed down, throwing himself into the air and knocking Naruto into the ground. Hanging over the boy he fired the Rasengan once again, but this time he managed to land his blast on the real boy, drilling him into the ground. Kakashi landed to the ground and placed the Rasengan to his side heaving a heavy sigh.
“Sorry about that kid, but I wasn’t sure exactly how much power you had, but I’m glad to see I was right.” He said staring down at the boy’s whose wounds began to heal at a rate that seemed medically impossible, “Your curse may just be your greatest strength, I’ll have to remember that for next time.”
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” Kakashi turned to the shout, and sweat bullets under the frightened face of the kingdom’s princess. As she ran toward Naruto, buried in the crater the cyclone had created.
“Um, I’m just gonna..”
“Move and I’ll have you locked in the deepest hole this kingdom can offer.” Hanabi said with authority back towards Kakashi who stiffened at the horrifying statement.
“Yes Ma’am.” He weakly replied, hoping that he may have some way to talk himself out of the situation. Hiashi inwardly chuckled, glancing at his daughter, trying her best to sound more angry than worried at the now awakened boy who seemed to believe her ruse.
“To think, someone so worried that their bodyguard is hurt. Isn’t it his job to get that roughed up?” Kakashi asked over to Hiashi who held his chin questioningly.
“No, I don’t think she wanted a bodyguard, I just don’t think he understands yet. His true job description, is more like ’friend’.” Hanabi, why don’t we get Naruto back to the castle so that he can heal up, you can kill him afterwards.”
“Wha?” Questioned Naruto, yet grew silent after receiving a stern glare from the princess, yet despite her protests, Naruto continued to train, all that she could was watch over him. His resolve had never been stronger, and his hope to protect the girl under his watch was all he needed to grow stronger.
(Naruto: Age 12)
“A visitor?” asked Naruto, speaking in a tone of familiarity with the princess that tended to anger he other guards on duty.
“Yes, it’s a close friend of mine and her older brother, but be mindful of your tongue Naruto-kun, they’re royalty like me.”
“Are they like you or snotty like real royals?”
“So I’m not a real royal in your mind?” she asked in retort to Naruto’s statement which Naruto responded to with a smile.
“It’s not like that, you’re just special, even among nobles. So I just want to know if I have to put the stick up my butt or leave it out.” He asked crudely.
“Hmhm, we’ll see how it goes and go from there.” She said with a chuckle to her friendly bodyguard. Upon reaching the throne room they were greeted by two stone faced men, one of which being their country’s king and the other being a man Naruto had never seen before. The air around Naruto suddenly became suffocating, as if he was being judged by the unfamiliar man staring at him with stern eyes.
“I see, so the rumors I heard were true?” he asked staring down at Naruto with a gaze that screamed nobility, what Naruto had been cautious of only moments before.
“Naruto, this is the king of the fire nation, Fugaku Uchiha.” Said the man he had come to know over the years, never once had he seen him with such an unwelcoming stare as what he saw currently, it was as if the person in his company were someone who always drudged along unpleasant business. Naruto bowed down in respect to the foreign king, but was quickly halted by the shout of the girl under the sour man’s wing.
“Hana-chan!” screamed a girl with flowing black hair, seeming to be around the age of Hanabi, dressed in formal robes, yet giving off the same warm feeling that his princess did.
“Yuka-chan, it’s been ages.” She shouted welcoming the girl’s hug as her brother dragged his feet walking along side her with his hands buried in his pockets.
“Who’s he?” He asked, rudely down to the boy at Hanabi’s side, proudly displaying a sword at his side as if he were a knight. He appeared to be Naruto’s age, but his manner seemed to be of a far more mature nature than the other boy. Firmly deciding in his mind that he didn’t like this person, Naruto stood to his tall and snorted.
“Is that how you respond to royalty?” he asked with a lifted eyebrow, screaming of arrogance. Naruto turned his back to him and closed his eyes.
“This is Naruto-kun, my bodyguard, please don’t mind him, he’s rather brash.”
“I see so this is the handsome blonde you kept talking about?” Yukari asked with a smile, bringing a blush to her friend who quickly tried to cover her mouth before she could continue.
“Bodyguard eh?” the prince asked gazing down to the sword draped across Naruto’s lower back, “Can someone like you even protect the princess?”
“To be honest, I don’t know.” He said back to the prince in retort, “But I can assure you, that if any harm does come down upon her, it’ll have to happen at the expense of my life.” He stated flatly, resolve dripping from his words without even the slightest doubt. Sasuke smirked at those words.
“My name is Sasuke Uchiha prince of the fire kingdom, this girl is very important to my sister. I’m counting on you to look after her.” Sasuke reached his hand out to Naruto, destroying the previous opinion Naruto had had of him. Reaching, Naruto shook the hand of the foreign prince.
“Why don’t you all run along, we have business to discuss.” Hiashi spoke strongly, urging the children to leave the room. After watching them depart from the throne room with a polite bow the two men locked eyes with one another, “I assume you came here to convince me to take part in your inquisition of the dragons.”
“It would be most advantageous if your people could assist us in this matter.” Fugaku asked, moving closer to Hiashi who seemed more reluctant to continue sharing words with the brash man in front of him.
“I hear that you wiped them all out, why come to me?”
“We had, however….”
(One month earlier)
“Your highness, that was the last of them!” shouted one of the horse riding knights accompanying Fugaku.
“What of the one who escaped into the tower?”
“He was gravely wounded, I doubt that he would have been able to survive much longer.” The knight reported moving closer to his king.
“They didn’t fight back, why?” He asked to himself scanning over the remains of the battlefield, appraising the scorch marks left on the ground in the area, “And that old one, he only destroyed those crystals, what was the gain in that?” Fugaku trotted across the field as if trying to assess the dragon’s state of mind, such fearsome beast, giving up as if their lives meant nothing, why?
“Access the tower and take everything inside.” Saluting to the king’s order the knights made they’re way into the castle hoping to find riches and maybe even the famed weapon the dragons been rumored to keep.
“Grandpa, I will not-“ A boy shouted out in delayed defiance as his consciousness had finally returned to him days after the coup had begun. The boy lifted himself from the ground, stumbling through the castle in thunderous, heavy steps. Walking into the castle’s corridor the boy locked eyes on a massive purple crystal, resting right before his door.
“Grandpa.” He whispered before he crystal. ‘Crysm’ the fossilized remains of a slain dragon, deep inside the crystal the boy could see his grandfather’s spirit, and as rage began to boil inside him, he heard the sounds of soldiers, no doubt human, cheering over their victory., that is, until they locked eyes on the tower fifteen foot behemoth, no doubt growling in rage. The boy turned back and walked towards the men and only minutes later their mangled corpses could be seen flying from the castle and mere inches away from the king of the fire nation. Stunned by the sudden attack he stared upward to the castle’s towering form above him catching a glimpse of the monster falling down toward him, wings kicking up dust on impact with the ground.
“Kill it!” The King calmly ordered to his servants spread along the field of battle. Under order of the king, the knights moved in charging for the last of the monster that only earlier they had slain, however before they could even lifted their swords to him, he lifted his giant wings and flapped down to the ground scattering the dust on the ground before the eyes of the incoming warriors and with a massive roar he ripped into them, then blew away the massive dust cloud with a plume of fire erupting from his mouth into the sky. He scanned the battlefield, catching sight of the proud king glaring at him from across the plain, knowing his intention. The boy charged, leaving behind all coming for him, and toward the many waiting before the king, but without pause he knocked away the knights and continued pushing forward.
“Fire!” Ordered the king to his rifle wielding knights, but even the bullets fired from the weapon were for naught, being quickly bounced away by the boy’s tough scales. Latching his hand on one of the rifle holders, he snapped his neck, slamming him down into the next with complete bloodlust and continued for the king, steamrolling everything in his way with his powerful flames. Slowly realizing that this was a beast out of his league he ordered a final charge, but before his words could reach his troops, he found the dragon’s hand tightly around his neck, but the massive hand could have easily been wrapped around his entire body. However before he could kill the man responsible for all his pain, a hand reached onto his.
“Sixth art: fire wing.” The man whispered a silent deep voice, swinging his arm toward the dragon with the power of fire engulfing his fist, smashing into the dragon’s chest with enough force to knock him back, however it was made clear by the dragon’s quick recovery that he had done nothing more than that.
“Itachi.” Call out the king short for breath as his eldest son walked before the dragon who stood tall, ready to rip through the prince as he had his men before him.
“Fou-lu, my noble and proud prince. You must not fight in anger, allow not your emotions to move your heart. That is why I put you into a deep sleep, that is why our people did not fight back. Do not allow yourself to die, but do not, allow yourself to become as weak as a human. Please remember that you are our king, my grandson.”
The voice echoing in Fou’s mind calmed him, bringing his mind from the overwhelming anger he felt in his heart. Exhaling the dragon backed away from the prince and replenished his dragon form, into a form that seemed human. Walking away from the dwindled fire forces and the nobles behind him, he gazed to the sky and closed his eyes, allowing tears t flow down his light brown skin.
“Leave this place mortals!” He shouted back, confusing the king of the knights, he had believed that the dragons could not speak, let alone take on the form of a human. The boy smiled at the obvious ignorance he could see in the man’s eyes, “Was it so much more enjoyable to slaughter us when you thought us mindless beasts. Human king, if you return to this place, I will kill you, and then, I will destroy your country and everyone in it. This is a promise on my honor as an endless.”
The placed his hand on the castle’s outer wall and behind him fire spilled, surrounding the keep and spreading out into the field, incinerating everything it touched within a mile, letting all know that the boy would not allow any further advance. As the knights retreated, one stood staring into the eyes of the dragon with cold indifference, soon enough though he departed as well.
(Present day)
“So the great knight king was humbled?” Asked Hiashi, holding his chin in his hand.
“I am glad that you find my plight so amusing Hiashi.” The man retorted in spite toward the king of the leaf nation.
“I do not find it amusing in the least, the dragon clan has watched over the fire nation for years, and you ended that because you saw them as stupid beasts, and then a single one leveled your army. That is what I call karma.”
“Your snide remarks are beginning to wear on me Hiashi.” He growled in anger.
“I’m sorry, but that is your own matter, if this dragon is as powerful as you say, assisting you will only serve to make my nation its target as well, a certainly unfavorable situation, as I see things, you’ve brought this upon yourself. If you want my advice, whatever you were looking for in that castle, forget it. It’s not worth the wrath of that creature.”
“I don’t need you advice Hiashi, and it seems that my plea has fallen on deaf ears, so I’ll depart for now, however I do have one question, what is an endless?”
“If legends ring true, it is an immortal leader of certain clans. Their power is told to be terrifying, which is why I once again implore you to leave your army in wait.”
“Hiashi, your nation is strong, but I do not agree with your coddling nature, this has just made the stakes higher, and I look forward the seeing an immortal fall. Also, know that the reason I haven’t decided to take your kingdom’s flag is because my daughter loves yours.”
“Those are dangerous words Fugaku, but I agree, I have no desire to upset my daughter only to settle a score with you.” He spat in disgust.
“I’ll take my leave of you. Yukari and Sasuke will remain here for the time being.”
“Are you sure that’s wise, I may try to clip your bloodline.”
“And that would be the last mistake you ever make. However you wouldn’t, I can see it in you.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t hurt children only to resolve a vendetta against their father, safe trip Fugaku.” He said, only receiving a snort in response. Hiashi looked down and then over to the garden, watching Naruto talk to the young Uchiha prince as the two girls admire the flowers planted around them, however Hiashi could tell that things were going to change soon, however, if only they could stay as happy as they seemed now.
(Naruto: Age 13)
“So it’s true?” Hiashi asked to his messenger as he relayed the grim news to him.
“Yes your highness, what do you wish me to do?” He asked, slightly lifting his head from the bowed position he had it in to gaze into his king’s eyes. Hiashi held his head in deep thought pondering the task given to him.
“Was it?” He asked down to his messenger.
“No, there were no signs of anyone leaving the scene and if it were a dragon whom had done it I bought he would have kept a low profile.”
“I see…Has the press gotten hold of the news yet?”
“No, not yet sire.”
“Hold it off as long as possible and assist in the investigation. That is all we can do for now.” He said lowering his head, remembering the words his messenger had relayed even long after he was gone.
Naruto stared at the ceiling, memories of the foreign prince and the things he said of his nation, Naruto now thought to himself, with the head of the princess resting on his lap after crying herself to sleep. “Sasuke, Yukari, what’s going to happen now, that the king and queen have fallen?”
Naruto closed his eyes and looked down to the girl below him, rubbing her head softly. It was only the beginning of events to come later. That night Naruto stared at the ceiling of his room again, something he hadn’t done in years, until something told him to look outside, in the pouring rain stood Sasuke, staring up at his room with a gaze begging him to come down, and in a hurry he did just that.
“What are you doing here?” Naruto asked holding an umbrella over Sasuke’s head. Sasuke walked over to the castle gates and sat on the stairs.
“I need to talk to you, have you heard?” He asked with large swollen eyes.
“Yeah, did you come here alone, how did you get here so fast?” He asked in worry.
“I had to leave, they were all there and talking about…..Yukari hasn’t spoken yet.” He said looking down the ground, “Naruto, it was Itachi, he did it, I saw him, he was right there, standing over them. And then he just walked out, he never even gave a reason why, he just left.”
“Sasuke….”
“I’ve decided, I’m going to find him, I’m going to figure out why, and kill him.”
“Sasuke, you can’t do that, you’re next in line to the throne right?” He asked reaching out for Sasuke who quickly pulled away.
“Naruto, I didn’t come here to ask for advice, I just wanted to tell someone, so that someone could tell Yukari why I disappeared. Naruto I was there the whole time, but all I could do was watch, never let go of her. The princess loves you Naruto, hold her tight and never let anyone hurt her.”
Naruto could do little more than watch as Sasuke pulled a cloak over his head and walked through the gates, “Goodbye Naruto.”
“…..Good luck.”
Sasuke turned back once and nodded to Naruto before continuing on his way.
“It was at that moment that I realized that life could change in the blink of an eye. A life of happiness, must be one that you protect with both hands, and mine was one I’d never let go of, maybe I should’ve been better prepared. For even unrelated events can tie together destinies. This was the moment that tied me, Sasuke, and Fou-lu together a single event, which led to an adventure like no other.”
Chapter one end!
Just in case people are wondering the ages have been changed in this story, for while Naruto is 13 Hanabi is 11 instead of 9. Yukari is 12 and Fou-lu/Norugi/JJ is 126. Well just like the base story this one is going to be an experiment; I’m only going to continue if people like it. So, I’m out.
“Hey what are you doing there Hanabi?” Asked a much older boy, dragging the girl her away from her book. Giving a quick scan of the area she was able to notice that all of her friends had gathered around her, gazing down at the strange book she had lost herself in previously.
“It’s a new book, Norugi-niisan.” She responded with a smile, gazing into the eyes of the light brown boy in front of her as he sat down. “I just got it today, it’s called ‘Comsosphrere, I heard there was some type of legend circulating around it.”
“A legend?” Questioned the blonde boy next to Norugi, bringing his eyes down to the book before he continued, “What kind of legend?”
“It’s very interesting Naruto-kun, do you want me to show you?”
Naruto lifted an eyebrow to the question and after giving a quick glance back to his friends he nodded to her with a smile.
“Okay, first you do this.” She said leaning forward the write something in the massive book laid in front of her and then returning her gaze to everyone she opened the book to them.
“And then you do this.”
As everyone peered into the pages of the book they suddenly found themselves caught in a large gust of wind, and as suddenly as the wind had kicked up, everyone standing in front of it had been pulled into the pages.
“Now, for the true tale to begin.” Hanabi said to herself as she hugged the book to her chest with a smile.
Chapter one: Misfortune.
“Where did it go?” Shouted a man adorned in gleaming golden armor as he ran feverishly through the streets of the city. It had only been six minutes since he was scrambled, but in that short period the beast he was fighting had managed to murder twenty three people before he was able to wound it. Realizing that the knight before it was no easy kill, it had vanished into the city looking for sanctuary.
“Sir Minato!”
Hearing his name called the man turned to the voices of his men, all worn and weary from the night’s hunt.
“Any good news?” He asked to the head knight, hoping that the ravenous beast had been captured.
“None sir.” Answered a knight with an eye patch covering his left eye. Young though he was he had made his way to the first lieutenant under Minato, “We think it may have found somewhere to hide in one of the houses.”
“Not good, we can’t risk causing a panic.” He said bringing his hand to his chin, “Spread out and look for clues among the city, if it even dropped a speck of blood in town I want you to trace it.”
“Yes sir!”
With a powerful salute the knights spread out into town and resumed their search, yet in a house not too far from the golden knight stirred a monster, slowly losing blood as it’s tails wailed behind it.
“I can’t believe I let a human injure me so. I wasn’t even able to find that blasted magician, at this rate I won’t be able to avenge him. I lost to a damned human, such irony.”
The beast spoke slowly fading in and out of a growling voice and that of a woman. It held tightly onto the wound on its chest as it stared over to the man outside, until it noticed the sounds of foot steps behind it. With a sharp turn, the nine-tailed fox laid eyes on a young boy, no older than nine staring at her with clear blue eyes. The boy had wandered into the house for only one reason; it was his, the house where he and his father stayed together.
“You’ll do nicely.”
The beast as it rushed toward the boy, never once allowing him the time to scream. As if intuition had kicked in Minato turned to the house, it had only been mere minutes since he had last checked for his son in there, but he wasn’t there, surely Naruto hadn’t returned without his notice, but something begged him to the house, and upon entering it, he saw the horrid sight, His son was standing in the doorway, holding his head with a sickening laugh as the demon’s aura began to overtake him, and with a single flash he rushed for his father and grabbed tightly onto his neck, slamming him into a wall on the far side of town. Minato slowly lifted himself from the rubble of the broken wall, if it weren’t for his armor he would have taken on more damage than he did. Gleaming red eyes cut through the darkness like the small orbs shining in the moonlight as the boy walked closer, blood red cloaking his entire body.
“Oh, dear god, Naruto what has it done to you?”
The boy walked closer to the gold clad man; hold onto what appeared to be a blade formed from the power he now wielded. The monster in his mind cursed the nameless man of her spite, and walked into the city streets opposite to the man she had just attacked using the boy’s body, it was only at this moment that the Minato began to wonder if the demon’s attention were more than just mindless destruction, however entertaining this thought became nothing more than a liability as he drove his injured body to stand, facing the possessed boy as he walked with purpose through the streets.
“Leave his body now foul beast!”
He shouted out in defiance positioning himself in front of the boy.
“Or what?” It questioned staring up into the eyes of the man who now pointed a sword at it, using the boy’s voice to speak, “You actually want me to believe that you’d kill your own son?”
Minato paused and wavered lowering his blade for an instant, an instant that allowed the demon to fill the hole in his defense, slashing through his armor and launching him into the fountain in the city square, unbelievably the man had managed to avoid taking a wound to the flesh, but the shock of impact knocked him to the ground and alerted the townsfolk to the happenings.
“Captain!”, shouted one of the men under Minato’s charge, returning with the one-eyed boy and his team.
“Rin, I need you to look after the captain, we can’t have him coming closer.” He said to the side, ordering a girl wearing light armor, the beast could tell that she wasn’t a fighter; instead she appeared to be a magician. With a laugh the demon walked forward with the sword tightly in hand, still wearing the boy’s skin as a disguise.
“I’d appreciate it if you got out of my way, Kakashi”
Kakashi hesitated, staring into the pure red eyes of the boy he had once known, “How do you know my name?” He asked out to the demon.
“I have all of this boy’s memories, he’s trying to fight me, and I admire him for it, but my problem is not you. However, if you continue to stand in my way, I’ll cut through all of you.” The demon replied holding it’s blade to Kakashi’s neck.
“What is your purpose here?” He questioned knowing that the answer wasn’t going to be something he could allow.
“I’m here to kill someone” She said smiling with the boy’s face, never once dropping the blade even for a second.
“Then I can’t step down, release Naruto!” He ordered with authority, never once paying any heed to the blade that would have cut through his jugular with even the slightest motion.
“I can’t, once I bond myself to a body, I become a part of them, if you want me to leave him, then kill him, that’s the only way.” The demon said still seeming to contemplate whether on not to just kill the person in it’s way, but before it could a blade knocked away its own.
“You lie!”, Shouted Minato, holding his own sword to the one his son now held, “Get out of his body!”
The demon spun the sword into the under hand position and pushed upward with all of it’s strength, deflecting Minato’s blade as if it were nothing, knocking him off balance. Minato stumbled back and waited for the next attack, completely prepared to defend against it even in his seemingly unguarded state, but thinking that he was in danger one of his knights moved in to fill his defense, however, all he managed to do was catch the monstrous blade in his neck, dropping to the ground in a heap. Minato froze, starring at his fallen soldier in disbelief, all now regarded the possessed boy as a threat, all they could do was grant him a quick death, however Minato remained reluctant.
“Fools till the bitter end, come at me if you wish, but none of you will leave here alive then, remember, I asked you to move.”
The demon walked forward, gaining a reaction from the knights as they moved forward, pushing into formation as they moved in, the townspeople stared in horror as the knights were cut down one by one. As they dropped Minato was finally able to steel himself. Moving across the ground as a blur he slammed his sword into the blade of the demon, dragging it down to knock it off balance, but only managed to push it back slightly, after clashing with it one last time, he held his sword study, pushing all of his weight down, leaving it with no chance to deflect as it had done before. Naruto’s hand moved to Minato’s stomach and as he opened and closed it tightly a new sword appeared in it ripping through Minato’s side.
“You’re not fighting a normal opponent here Minato.” The demon said as it stood to its feet, gazing down at Minato as Kakashi moved to his front, readying his sword to the demon before him. Rin moved to Kakashi’s side and began chanting something that went so fast he couldn’t make it out, but the demon inside the boy seemed unafraid of whatever was being prepared for it, instead it stood tall with it’s dual blades in hand and rushed forward.
“Kakashi, Rin, when I give the signal, I want you to move.” Minato said holding his side, now staining his armor red. Unaware of what their superior was planning, but willing to trust him, they waited for his word, and as the demon grew close Minato shouted, “Now!”
Kakashi dived to the side, grabbing Rin with him, leaving only the demon and Minato facing each other, now with its true enemy in front of it, the demon changed intent and aimed for Minato with intent to kill, but before it could do any damage, Minato ripped a strange gun from his side and aimed it at the demon, the enchantment on it’s barrel was enough to let it know that the gun didn’t fire normal bullets.
“Rasengan!” Minato shouted as he pulled the trigger, firing a strange bullet of pure wind magic the likes of which the demon had never seen, the force behind it was enough to push it back and knock the boy it held unconscious. Naruto laid in the village streets, and as the remaining knights moved in to finish him off, Minato stared on in sadness. Walking before them, he brought the soldiers to a pause, lifting his son onto his back. Many thought this a betrayal, some even stared on in shame, but this was his son, asking him to stand by and watch him be cut down was asking the impossible. Unable to follow the knights laid down their arms and stared at the man in disappointment, all aside from Rin and Kakashi, who admired the man for thinking of another way. Arriving at the castle, he met the eyes of a man with pale eyes, an undeniable trait of the royal family, and with the boy in his arms, he begged for help, gaining a nod from the man allowing him to enter the castle.
“Do you really believe there is a way to cure him?” Asked the man, king of the land they resided in, “It may be all but impossible.”
“I can’t stand back and leave him, if there is even a chance that I can save him, then I’ll give my life trying to find it.” He said readying himself to leave, however before he could get far an old man stared at him with sad eyes.
“There is little more you can do than pray to the goddess Hinata that he does not suffer in his death.” Spoke the old man staring into Minato’s eyes as he spoke, placing his hand on the man’s shoulder as if speaking to a young boy.
“Then are you telling me to let him die? I already lost my wife, I won’t lose my son.” Minato shouted on the brink of tears.
“Is there truly nothing that can be done elder Sarutobi?” Asked the king, hoping to console his most trusted vassal.
“Hiashi, there is nothing that can be done to remove the demon from his body, but you can seal it and returned control to Naruto. However, the demon will always be present in him, both body and mind. He’ll be himself, but the presence of the demon and it’s power will never fade.” Sarutobi said holding his hand over the unconscious boy’s body, “And even to do that would cost the user their life.”
“Ironic huh, well that’s a price I can live with.” He said as he laid down his son and gently stroked his head, “What do I have to do?”
“Nothing, just leave everything to me. I’ll go prepare a room, when you’re ready, come see me and we can begin.”
Sarutobi stood to his feet and walked away from Minato, leaving the man to say his final good-bye to the unconscious boy. With a smile he lifted him into his arms and carried him to the room, as the eyes of a young girl watched on. Quietly following the three she was able to gain a safe and unnoticeable spot to watch the ritual. Naruto stirred in his sleep as the flashing light engulfed the entire area Minato stood above him in the circle written and inscribed with magic below them. Minato sighed and began chanting along with the elder as King Hiashi, the overseer of the event watched on.
“Now mark the boy’s body.” Said Sarutobi as he motioned to Minato giving only a shiver as he felt the life being sucked from his body.
“How?” He asked.
“It doesn’t matter, so long as you leave a trace of yourself on him, with the seal you use your life as a catalyst to hold the beast’s power in the boy’s body. In other words, it is the very essence of the ritual.”
Minato nodded his head and traced his finger along the blood at his side, and then wiped drew a swirling circle along Naruto’s stomach, with each stroke he could feel his vision fade, pulling at his soul as to rip his mind asunder, but through sheer willpower, he pressed on. Sarutobi stared in awe, the seal, despite the pain the man felt was one of the most intricate things he had ever seen, sending that from his mind, he chanted to final words,” Oh blessed world, under the guidance of the goddess we pray for strength. May my hand be those that relinquish this boy from the darkness and save his soul from the beast within.”
The room shook as an earthquake, drawing more power from the man in the golden armor, yet he smiled on, looking down at his son with unbridled hope, “May you accomplish so much more than I ever could. Grow strong my son.”
With that same smile and the ritual coming to completion Naruto’s eyes reopened, now once again their normal shimmering blue, he sat up calling out to his father with tears in his eyes as he fell to the ground, no longer able to hear his son’s calls. Naruto hung his head, the demon had been able to experience his memories, and he had done the same, even through the carnage, even through losing his own father, the only person he blamed was himself, for if he haven’t returned home despite the warnings of his teacher, he would never had caused any of this. Outside, the girl cried, staring at the distraught boy with pity, his life, would be a hard one.
(Naruto: Age 10)
“Omf” Groaned Naruto as he impacted the wall in the dark alley, surrounded by four boys he couldn’t even find the strength or will to fight back. He stared down at the dust on the ground, kicked up by the boy in front of him, the appointed leader of the group.
“So, we see you here once again, monster!” He shouted in a voice filled with venom and malice, stepping closer he launched his foot into Naruto’s face knocking him to the ground in the very dirt he was staring into, “Why don’t you just go die somewhere!?”
“…” Naruto gave no response, he was unwilling to, if the boy could just finish his business and go Naruto could go back home, but the taunting words that came with the beating had become sort of a standard, and it was always the same, making the event far more tiring than it needed to be.
“So you’re not going to say anything? Don’t you have some kind of excuse for what you did?” He asked knowing full well that Naruto wouldn’t speak, he didn’t care to hear the answer anyway, he just wanted to talk down to him, no doubt because he liked the sound of his own voice. It was then that he noticed the gun at Naruto’s side, no doubt something of great worth.
“Is that the gun of the traitor? That special gun that he was said to have created, nice, someone like you doesn’t deserve to have it.” The boy reached out his hand, grabbing for Naruto’s gun, but the boy’s hand clasped onto it tightly, unrelenting as the claws of a crab he held onto it stopping the boy from pulling it away from him, but that didn’t stop him from trying, it was only then that Naruto’s will was set aflame. He dragged his head up and slammed into the boy’s chin, knocking him back to the ground holding his face like it was the first time he had ever taken a hit.
“Did you guys see that, he attacked me, he’s crazy!” He shouted with a smile, it didn’t matter what they had done to him, if Naruto ever fought back it was going to be torches and pitchforks for dinner, and sure enough with that scream the people spilled out of their houses, under decree of the king they couldn’t attack him, but if he had proven a threat then there was nothing wrong, after all they could play off what their kids did as child’s play, but now that Naruto had caused one harm, no matter how deserved or minuscule it was they were going to treat him like a great danger. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the attacks to come at him, but before he could the lone sound of footsteps caught his ears, a sense highly sharpened thanks to the monster inside him.
“Back down!” A single man, a scar directly above his nose ran through the crowd as he made his way to Naruto, “So it’s okay to sic your children on him, but it’s a problem when he fight’s back? Go back to your homes!”
“On what authority?” Shouted one of the men in the crowd of people.
“Mine.” Stoically spoke the man draped in knight’s armor, a patch over his left eye. Realizing who the man was the crowd quickly dispersed as he walked closer to Naruto.
“Kakashi, Iruka? I told you before I’m not interested in living in the castle just go back and tell the king that!” Naruto spat as he lifted himself from the ground and turned to walk away.
“You don’t get to do this today. It is no longer a request, it’s an order.” Kakashi stated down to the boy, bringing him to a pause.
“What do you mean an order?”
“You have been drafted; you no longer have any say in the matter.”
“Heh, so the King decided to play hardball huh?” Naruto asked with a disgusted grin, starting into the cold emotionless eye of Kakashi’s.
“This was not given to you by the king, this is the princess’ order.” Kakashi smiled with obvious amusement on his face as Naruto froze up, unsure on how to respond to such a thing.
“What? Why would she give me an order, I’ve never even met her before.” He asked in disillusion, Naruto had idea how to handle such a situation; instead he turned to Iruka, who also seemed to enjoy Naruto’s confusion.
“Well that doesn’t matter now Naruto, you are now a knight of Konoha, so you have no choice but you come with us. Failure to comply will result in immediate incarceration.”
Iruka pulled out a sheet of paper and held it in front of Naruto, the seal on it proved it’s validity, and with a huff, he lowered his arms and followed them. Before entering the castle they took Naruto to the barracks, allowing him to clean off and get himself outfitted before stepping before royalty and with him now ready they entered the castle’s main gate. Of course it wasn’t the first time Naruto had been there, but it was the first time he had ever been there solely to meet the country’s royal family. Naruto’s anger quickly being replaced by anxiety, he felt the shivers going down his spine, and soon he stared into the eyes of the country’s king.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you last Naruto.” Spoke Hiashi in a mighty voice, booming down from his throne as he lifted a hand to his guards to leave them after realizing their glares aimed at the boy. Naruto lowered his eyes after catching wind of it and then returned them to the king above, “I apologize for everything that’s happened, but it seems that you’ll be living in the castle from now on.”
“I don’t remember it being a requirement for knights to stay in the castle your highness.” spoke Naruto with ire in his voice, aimed up to the man dressed in gorgeous white and gold robes as he laughed heartily, almost making the crown fall from his head.
“You seem to be mistaken.” He said down with a smile, causing Naruto’s confusion to return, “You have not been inducted into knighthood, but should you so wish, that can be done, however it will require a little more effort on your part.”
“Then what am I doing here?” He asked out as the king’s eyes turned to the side, peeking into the corridor to his left. From the walkway came a young girl, her eyes a beautiful shade of lavender, as she turned them to Naruto, never once removing them even as she moved to her father’s side. The grace in which she walked was mystifying, even without looking she had navigated the room as no normal person could’ve.
“Hello Naruto, as you may know, I am Princess Hanabi Hyuga of the leaf kingdom. Nice to meet you.” She said with a polite bow that overwhelmed Naruto’s senses. With flustered kneel he lowered his head.
“I am Naruto Uzumaki, I-I’m pleased to meet you Hanabi-hime.” Hiashi smiled with amusement much like the two men at Naruto’s side. He had never once bowed to the king as he spoke to him, but a single sentence from the girl was enough to completely level his resolve.
“I’m sorry to have used such a heavy handed tactic, but Father seemed to be having trouble convincing you so I thought that I should give it a try.” Her smile was so radiant that Naruto’s eyes almost melted at the sight, but her words allowed him to remember what he was there for, while lifting his head, Naruto asked.
“If I’m not to become a knight, what have I been brought here for?”
“Well, you’re to be my bodyguard from now on.” Once again she released her killer smile, but this time Naruto was unaffected, for he was too stunned to actually react to it.
“Excuse me?” He questioned once again.
“Is it too odd to understand Naruto-san?” She asked, wearing the same smile, completely overlapping Naruto’s will, yet even without his rational thought, he was able to remember his question.
“Aren’t bodyguards required to be knights?” He asked aiming his question to the king rather than the girl giving the order.
“Not necessarily. Besides this is a direct request from the princess, are you telling me that you wish to refuse?” His question posed with a smile reeking satisfaction.
“Excuse me your highness, but I cannot do such a thing, you do know of my past correct?”
“I was there that night, I know of everything, even things that our people are unaware of.” She said, bearing a sad smile she opened her mouth to continue her explanation, “I’m not bringing you here out of pity, or abusing my authority, I simply tire of seeing the happenings in town.”
“So you see that huh? But surely there are people more fit than me to be the princess’ bodyguard.” He said trying his best to back out of the order being given.
“That may be so, but I’d much rather have someone my age to hang out with rather than the stuffy guards around here.” She said with a comforting smile aimed at Naruto that once again managed to completely shatter his resolve.
“Dear please don’t forget yourself.”
“I’m sorry father. Can Naruto-kun and I go somewhere to speak in private?” She asked in a sugary sweet tone that never failed to gain a positive response from her father, and with a proud smile he nodded, allowing the girl to depart welcoming Naruto to join her, which he reluctantly complied to. Walking through the halls of the castle with the girl was probably the most exciting thing he had done since his father died, the thought brought his spirits back to earth.
“I truly can’t understand how you must feel.” Naruto jumped at the girl’s sudden statement. She had been all but quiet since he had begun walking with her.
“Excuse me? I’m sorry but maybe I’m not the right person for this.” Naruto aimed his eyes to the ground in discontent, knowing the demon inside him had forever forced him to be alone. Naruto placed his hand on his stomach and looked back into the pale lavender eyes of the girl before him, “I’m not sure if I’ll ever lose control, if I do then who knows what will happen to everyone around me?”
“The demon inside you isn’t evil is it?” She asked with a knowing smile that completely threw Naruto.
“What do you mean?”
“I have a special trait that allows me to see through things. There are stories that the royal family of Konoha descended from the Goddess Hinata herself. Many believe this to be only a story, but it’s definitely true. Clairvoyance; it’s the secret of the royal family.”
“Are you sure you should be telling me something like this?” He asked with a slightly frightened expression.
“Who would you tell, at that, who would believe you? Tell me, is the demon taking over something that you truly believe or is it something you use to justify not fighting back. Is it what you use to run away from everything?”
“No, I…..” Naruto looked to the ground again and dropped his hand from his stomach. “The demon was only here to find the man who used her kin in a ritual to gain strength, and we attacked her. One of the foxes that he used was her son.”
“I see. Then I have nothing to worry about do I?” She asked with a pure smile, one she had never dropped since leaving the throne room. “Her intent was not evil, that means that you aren’t evil either right. I’m going to give you a choice.”
Hanabi pushed open the large door to her side, letting the light spill in, rendering Naruto’s eyes useless for a moment, but once they readjusted he could see the beautiful princess standing in the clearing, looking at him.
“I’m going into the garden, if you wish to refuse, then you may walk through the castle gates and return to your life. However, if you choose to accept the offer, then you can join me. I’ll take your presence or absence as your answer.” Hanabi turned her back to Naruto and walked into the garden with a skip. Eyes locked on the spot Hanabi had been standing in, Naruto looked at his hand and closed his eyes, turning his back to the garden he took a step. Hanabi laid on the brilliant grass staring into the sky and closed her eyes with a sad smile.
“I want to know.” Came a voice from behind her, coming as no surprise to her, “Why are you so intent on it being me?”
Hanabi rolled over to Naruto and smiled with proud eyes, “I’ve been watching you for a while you know. I don’t think that I’ve ever stopped watching you since that night. It was never far from my mind and I’ve wanted to speak to you for a while now, but every time I saw you, you looked lost, it made me afraid to approach you.”
“You were afraid of me too?”
“No, I guess I felt afraid of hurting you more than you already were.”
“So you pitied me?” He asked with his head hung low.
“Naruto, it’s been hidden from the public, but recently there was an attempt on my life.” Naruto’s eyes shot toward the girl in shock, “Father killed the man in front of me, and I can’t get it out of my head. Father apologized to me, but the image won’t go away.” She said with a smile despite the obvious hurt in her voice.
“Hanabi-hime.”
“I didn’t want to regret this, but I always wanted to know you. So I finally found a way to bring you here. Surprised?” She asked, sticking out her tongue in a playful manner.
“I see, then what do I have to do?” Naruto asked, smiling happily at the girl in front of him.
“Well, you could start by sitting with me.” Hanabi patted the patch of grass next to her and welcomed Naruto to it, sighing in defeat Naruto joined the girl in the garden, firmly deciding to fulfill his new duty, maybe even if he couldn’t be good at it, protecting this girl would make his life worth something.
“Um, Hanabi-sama? Are you sure this is a good idea?” He asked with his head hung low as he walked through the city streets accompanying the girl who seemed to care very little for the eyes aimed at her.
“Why wouldn’t it be, it would be a waste if you only protected me in the castle. Besides, it’s been a week since you started and I’ve only seen you wear knight’s attire.” She replied, walking through the streets looking for the right shop to head in to.
“Why would I not wear knight’s attire? I didn’t know being a bodyguard for a royal had a casual day.”
“Well it does when you work for me. Now come on and stop complaining.” She said dragging Naruto by the hand, which she proceeded to hold on to until reaching the store, embarrassing the boy to no end.
“This looks like a good one.” She said calmly gazing at the racks of clothing around them as Naruto uncomfortably accompanied her. Completely overtaken by her search for clothes, Hanabi had never noticed the glares Naruto was receiving, or maybe it was that she didn’t care, however for him, there was a strong feeling of anxiety washing over him, making his steps heavy. Tightly closing his eyes Naruto imagined himself somewhere else, anywhere but where he was, it was the only solace he could find.
“This would look great on you.” Hanabi said with a smile, holding up a shirt to Naruto, forcing open his eyes, “Why don’t you stand closer to me, you are my bodyguard after all.”
Naruto stared into the girl’s eyes and finally he understood, she had been protecting him, even if they walked into the shop, even if people were afraid of him, or wanted to kick him out. They couldn’t do so with him being in the company of the princess. Suddenly lost in the girl’s eyes he lowered his head.
“Hanabi-sama, I’m sor-?”
“This is a perk of being the Princess’ royal guard, so don’t worry so much, you’ll be just fine.” She said grabbing onto his hand with a caring and affectionate smile. After returning to the castle and recovering from carrying everything the princess had purchased, Naruto lied in his bed, staring up at the elegant marble ceiling above his head in contemplation.
“Why of all people did she choose me?” He asked, reaching to his side for the famed gun his father had left behind. Running his fingers along the markings on its barrel he furrowed his brow in thought and with his decision finally made he sat up from his bed and walked toward the door.
“You want me to train you?” Asked the one-eyed knight, sweating from the intense training he had just been doing as Rin watched from the side smiling at the young demon-bearer, “Why the sudden interest? When I asked you before you always turned me down.”
“Well things have changed so are you going to train me or not?” He asked rudely, barely giving out an adequate response to Kakashi’s question, “I want to be able to fight.”
“Alright.” He said closing the book in his hand, turning to the blonde haired by with a smile, “However, in exchange you must stop skipping out on Iruka’s classes “
“What!?” He shouted in obvious disagreement, but Kakashi’s lifted finger brought him to a pause.
“Is it a deal?”
“Fine.” Naruto cast his eyes to the ground and huffed bringing a smile to the one-eyed warrior before him.
“You’ve grown, is the princess who we have to thank for this change.”
“She, deserves a better charge, yet she seems to be set on it being me. So I will become her knight.” Rin smiled, pushing herself away from her seat and moving toward Naruto.
“I will help.” She said turning to Naruto who seemed uninterested in her offer.
“Um, I’m okay, I don’t really want to know magic, too much, “incantations” and “symbols” for me thank you.”
Rin chuckled at Naruto’s words and shook her head, aiming her small finger at Naruto’s side-arm, “Maybe you should take a look at your weapon there. Tell me, have you ever been able to fire that off?”
Naruto reached down, grabbing onto the legendary gun at his hip and appraising it, “No, are you telling me that it has something to do with magic?”
“Of course, for those without natural talent to use “mana” there is a certain spell placed on the items they use that allow them to conjure certain spells. This spell is called “Icarus” are you familiar with the legend of Icarus?”
“The guy in Greek mythology that flew too close to the sun?”
“Yes, it is aptly named after him in order to allow those without natural mana to use items imbued with magical runes. However there is a limiter placed on them that stop you from ‘flying into the sun’ so to speak.” Lifting the gun from Naruto she eyed its inscription and said with a smile, “But this one is special, only those with significant mana can use it, but it doesn’t have Icarus placed on it. Instead it draws on magic from the user and fires a wind bullet strong enough to crush a tank.”
Handing it back to Naruto she activated the seal on the Rasengan and aimed it for Naruto, “Now fire.” She commanded, as the boy nervously aimed the gun at the closest thing to him and pulled the trigger, but much his surprise, nothing happened.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well you didn’t think it’d be that easy did you, you’ll have to know at least a little about how to summon your mana before trying to use it, that’s what I’m going to teach you. So are you interested?”
“Yeah, if it’ll let me use this gun, then I’ll take it.”
He said staring at the brilliant weapon in his hand with glee, if he could master it like his father did, then maybe he could become the knight that the princess deserved.
“Father!” Hanabi ran through the halls of the castle frivolously searching for Naruto before finally coming across her father, who upon her call dismissed his council to other matters.
“Is there something wrong you seem to be rather distracted?”
“Naruto-kun vanished again, he’s been doing it randomly for a month now.” She said trying desperately to catch her breath, “I can’t find him in the castle.”
“Well there are a lot of places on the castle grounds, are you sure that you search it all?”
“Well everything that I could without using the ‘you know what’.” She said lowering her eyes, knowing that her father would understand what she meant.
“Hm, that’s strange, where could he be?” He asked knowing full well where Naruto had been going, he was supervising the training the boy was undertaking. Hanabi stared into her father’s eyes, trying to pry any sign she could from them, but it was like playing poker with a brick wall, every ‘tell’ that may have shown on another person was completely hidden on his face.
“I’m going to look in the training fields.” She said on a whim, finally gaining a response from her father albeit a small one.
“Why there?” He asked wondering if he had somehow given her a clue.
“He’s seemed extremely tired lately, but he told me that he was charged with cleaning the castle by the guards. If he was lying then that will become his new job for the next week.” She said stomping away from her father who made no attempt to stop the girl, in fact he joined her, whatever happened was going to be entertaining, for him at least.
Naruto panted, trying with everything he had to catch his breath and somehow find a hole in his opponent’s defense.
“Why are we fighting bare-handed?” He asked lifting himself to his feet and holding his stance, ready to move in on Kakashi at a second’s notice.
“Because hand to hand is the basis of all combat, if you can’t fight without a weapon, then there is no use picking one up.” Kakashi smiled under his mask and waited for Naruto to stand once again, and then he’d put him back down as he had done before, but this time the boy seemed different. Running forward, Naruto lowered himself, bringing up his fist for Kakashi’s face, barely missing his mark, but instead of letting his assault end there, he brought his right foot up, kicking for Kakashi’s chin.
“Not bad.” Kakashi said, leaning away from the hit without much effort, but amazed by the boy’s ability to recover from his first hit with a second, it was at that moment that he realized way the boy was faster. Naruto looked up to Kakashi with blood red eyes, however his smile seemed the same.
“I’m not going to lose this fight without landing at least one blow on you.” He said lowering his body once again, preparing to move in once again for another attack. Rushing past Kakashi in an attack that he had just barely managed to dodge the man’s eyes watched on in complete shock.
“He can use the power of the beast?” He thought to himself, weaving between the wild swings of the undisciplined boy’s attacks. Each swing slashed through the air like a finely sharpened blade, cutting toward Kakashi with intent to kill, “If he can use this much power…” Kakashi flipped back, landing on his hand, and tossing himself away from the quickly approaching boy. Giving a sharp exhale Naruto stood his ground, studying Kakashi’s every movement, something he never would have done if it hadn’t been for the man’s training. Noticing Kakashi’s studious glare Naruto rushed in once again hastily trying to gain the advantage over Kakashi, but his haste gave away his intentions and with a skillful parry Kakashi dodged the attack and pilfered the Rasengan from Naruto’s side, aiming it at the boy.
“Sorry about this kid, but rushing in was a bad choice, especially when your opponent gets serious.” With those words Kakashi pulled the trigger on the gun and released a focused blast of wind magic at Naruto, however, the second it made contact with the boy, his image faded from sight, “An afterimage? When did he learn how to do something like that?” Kakashi gaze around the battlefield and quickly caught sight of the hole burrowed in the ground before him, and soon after the sound of the boy reemerging from below him. Naruto shot from the ground, launching his fist up toward Kakashi who took a single step back to avoid it, but couldn’t manage to dodge the spinning back kick Naruto followed it with.
“Got ya!” He shouted, flipping down to the ground in a crotch, throwing himself at Kakashi with full intent on continuing his attack, but the quick recovery Kakashi had made he was ready to reprise the boy’s attack. Kakashi grabbed onto the boy’s face and pushed down, throwing himself into the air and knocking Naruto into the ground. Hanging over the boy he fired the Rasengan once again, but this time he managed to land his blast on the real boy, drilling him into the ground. Kakashi landed to the ground and placed the Rasengan to his side heaving a heavy sigh.
“Sorry about that kid, but I wasn’t sure exactly how much power you had, but I’m glad to see I was right.” He said staring down at the boy’s whose wounds began to heal at a rate that seemed medically impossible, “Your curse may just be your greatest strength, I’ll have to remember that for next time.”
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” Kakashi turned to the shout, and sweat bullets under the frightened face of the kingdom’s princess. As she ran toward Naruto, buried in the crater the cyclone had created.
“Um, I’m just gonna..”
“Move and I’ll have you locked in the deepest hole this kingdom can offer.” Hanabi said with authority back towards Kakashi who stiffened at the horrifying statement.
“Yes Ma’am.” He weakly replied, hoping that he may have some way to talk himself out of the situation. Hiashi inwardly chuckled, glancing at his daughter, trying her best to sound more angry than worried at the now awakened boy who seemed to believe her ruse.
“To think, someone so worried that their bodyguard is hurt. Isn’t it his job to get that roughed up?” Kakashi asked over to Hiashi who held his chin questioningly.
“No, I don’t think she wanted a bodyguard, I just don’t think he understands yet. His true job description, is more like ’friend’.” Hanabi, why don’t we get Naruto back to the castle so that he can heal up, you can kill him afterwards.”
“Wha?” Questioned Naruto, yet grew silent after receiving a stern glare from the princess, yet despite her protests, Naruto continued to train, all that she could was watch over him. His resolve had never been stronger, and his hope to protect the girl under his watch was all he needed to grow stronger.
(Naruto: Age 12)
“A visitor?” asked Naruto, speaking in a tone of familiarity with the princess that tended to anger he other guards on duty.
“Yes, it’s a close friend of mine and her older brother, but be mindful of your tongue Naruto-kun, they’re royalty like me.”
“Are they like you or snotty like real royals?”
“So I’m not a real royal in your mind?” she asked in retort to Naruto’s statement which Naruto responded to with a smile.
“It’s not like that, you’re just special, even among nobles. So I just want to know if I have to put the stick up my butt or leave it out.” He asked crudely.
“Hmhm, we’ll see how it goes and go from there.” She said with a chuckle to her friendly bodyguard. Upon reaching the throne room they were greeted by two stone faced men, one of which being their country’s king and the other being a man Naruto had never seen before. The air around Naruto suddenly became suffocating, as if he was being judged by the unfamiliar man staring at him with stern eyes.
“I see, so the rumors I heard were true?” he asked staring down at Naruto with a gaze that screamed nobility, what Naruto had been cautious of only moments before.
“Naruto, this is the king of the fire nation, Fugaku Uchiha.” Said the man he had come to know over the years, never once had he seen him with such an unwelcoming stare as what he saw currently, it was as if the person in his company were someone who always drudged along unpleasant business. Naruto bowed down in respect to the foreign king, but was quickly halted by the shout of the girl under the sour man’s wing.
“Hana-chan!” screamed a girl with flowing black hair, seeming to be around the age of Hanabi, dressed in formal robes, yet giving off the same warm feeling that his princess did.
“Yuka-chan, it’s been ages.” She shouted welcoming the girl’s hug as her brother dragged his feet walking along side her with his hands buried in his pockets.
“Who’s he?” He asked, rudely down to the boy at Hanabi’s side, proudly displaying a sword at his side as if he were a knight. He appeared to be Naruto’s age, but his manner seemed to be of a far more mature nature than the other boy. Firmly deciding in his mind that he didn’t like this person, Naruto stood to his tall and snorted.
“Is that how you respond to royalty?” he asked with a lifted eyebrow, screaming of arrogance. Naruto turned his back to him and closed his eyes.
“This is Naruto-kun, my bodyguard, please don’t mind him, he’s rather brash.”
“I see so this is the handsome blonde you kept talking about?” Yukari asked with a smile, bringing a blush to her friend who quickly tried to cover her mouth before she could continue.
“Bodyguard eh?” the prince asked gazing down to the sword draped across Naruto’s lower back, “Can someone like you even protect the princess?”
“To be honest, I don’t know.” He said back to the prince in retort, “But I can assure you, that if any harm does come down upon her, it’ll have to happen at the expense of my life.” He stated flatly, resolve dripping from his words without even the slightest doubt. Sasuke smirked at those words.
“My name is Sasuke Uchiha prince of the fire kingdom, this girl is very important to my sister. I’m counting on you to look after her.” Sasuke reached his hand out to Naruto, destroying the previous opinion Naruto had had of him. Reaching, Naruto shook the hand of the foreign prince.
“Why don’t you all run along, we have business to discuss.” Hiashi spoke strongly, urging the children to leave the room. After watching them depart from the throne room with a polite bow the two men locked eyes with one another, “I assume you came here to convince me to take part in your inquisition of the dragons.”
“It would be most advantageous if your people could assist us in this matter.” Fugaku asked, moving closer to Hiashi who seemed more reluctant to continue sharing words with the brash man in front of him.
“I hear that you wiped them all out, why come to me?”
“We had, however….”
(One month earlier)
“Your highness, that was the last of them!” shouted one of the horse riding knights accompanying Fugaku.
“What of the one who escaped into the tower?”
“He was gravely wounded, I doubt that he would have been able to survive much longer.” The knight reported moving closer to his king.
“They didn’t fight back, why?” He asked to himself scanning over the remains of the battlefield, appraising the scorch marks left on the ground in the area, “And that old one, he only destroyed those crystals, what was the gain in that?” Fugaku trotted across the field as if trying to assess the dragon’s state of mind, such fearsome beast, giving up as if their lives meant nothing, why?
“Access the tower and take everything inside.” Saluting to the king’s order the knights made they’re way into the castle hoping to find riches and maybe even the famed weapon the dragons been rumored to keep.
“Grandpa, I will not-“ A boy shouted out in delayed defiance as his consciousness had finally returned to him days after the coup had begun. The boy lifted himself from the ground, stumbling through the castle in thunderous, heavy steps. Walking into the castle’s corridor the boy locked eyes on a massive purple crystal, resting right before his door.
“Grandpa.” He whispered before he crystal. ‘Crysm’ the fossilized remains of a slain dragon, deep inside the crystal the boy could see his grandfather’s spirit, and as rage began to boil inside him, he heard the sounds of soldiers, no doubt human, cheering over their victory., that is, until they locked eyes on the tower fifteen foot behemoth, no doubt growling in rage. The boy turned back and walked towards the men and only minutes later their mangled corpses could be seen flying from the castle and mere inches away from the king of the fire nation. Stunned by the sudden attack he stared upward to the castle’s towering form above him catching a glimpse of the monster falling down toward him, wings kicking up dust on impact with the ground.
“Kill it!” The King calmly ordered to his servants spread along the field of battle. Under order of the king, the knights moved in charging for the last of the monster that only earlier they had slain, however before they could even lifted their swords to him, he lifted his giant wings and flapped down to the ground scattering the dust on the ground before the eyes of the incoming warriors and with a massive roar he ripped into them, then blew away the massive dust cloud with a plume of fire erupting from his mouth into the sky. He scanned the battlefield, catching sight of the proud king glaring at him from across the plain, knowing his intention. The boy charged, leaving behind all coming for him, and toward the many waiting before the king, but without pause he knocked away the knights and continued pushing forward.
“Fire!” Ordered the king to his rifle wielding knights, but even the bullets fired from the weapon were for naught, being quickly bounced away by the boy’s tough scales. Latching his hand on one of the rifle holders, he snapped his neck, slamming him down into the next with complete bloodlust and continued for the king, steamrolling everything in his way with his powerful flames. Slowly realizing that this was a beast out of his league he ordered a final charge, but before his words could reach his troops, he found the dragon’s hand tightly around his neck, but the massive hand could have easily been wrapped around his entire body. However before he could kill the man responsible for all his pain, a hand reached onto his.
“Sixth art: fire wing.” The man whispered a silent deep voice, swinging his arm toward the dragon with the power of fire engulfing his fist, smashing into the dragon’s chest with enough force to knock him back, however it was made clear by the dragon’s quick recovery that he had done nothing more than that.
“Itachi.” Call out the king short for breath as his eldest son walked before the dragon who stood tall, ready to rip through the prince as he had his men before him.
“Fou-lu, my noble and proud prince. You must not fight in anger, allow not your emotions to move your heart. That is why I put you into a deep sleep, that is why our people did not fight back. Do not allow yourself to die, but do not, allow yourself to become as weak as a human. Please remember that you are our king, my grandson.”
The voice echoing in Fou’s mind calmed him, bringing his mind from the overwhelming anger he felt in his heart. Exhaling the dragon backed away from the prince and replenished his dragon form, into a form that seemed human. Walking away from the dwindled fire forces and the nobles behind him, he gazed to the sky and closed his eyes, allowing tears t flow down his light brown skin.
“Leave this place mortals!” He shouted back, confusing the king of the knights, he had believed that the dragons could not speak, let alone take on the form of a human. The boy smiled at the obvious ignorance he could see in the man’s eyes, “Was it so much more enjoyable to slaughter us when you thought us mindless beasts. Human king, if you return to this place, I will kill you, and then, I will destroy your country and everyone in it. This is a promise on my honor as an endless.”
The placed his hand on the castle’s outer wall and behind him fire spilled, surrounding the keep and spreading out into the field, incinerating everything it touched within a mile, letting all know that the boy would not allow any further advance. As the knights retreated, one stood staring into the eyes of the dragon with cold indifference, soon enough though he departed as well.
(Present day)
“So the great knight king was humbled?” Asked Hiashi, holding his chin in his hand.
“I am glad that you find my plight so amusing Hiashi.” The man retorted in spite toward the king of the leaf nation.
“I do not find it amusing in the least, the dragon clan has watched over the fire nation for years, and you ended that because you saw them as stupid beasts, and then a single one leveled your army. That is what I call karma.”
“Your snide remarks are beginning to wear on me Hiashi.” He growled in anger.
“I’m sorry, but that is your own matter, if this dragon is as powerful as you say, assisting you will only serve to make my nation its target as well, a certainly unfavorable situation, as I see things, you’ve brought this upon yourself. If you want my advice, whatever you were looking for in that castle, forget it. It’s not worth the wrath of that creature.”
“I don’t need you advice Hiashi, and it seems that my plea has fallen on deaf ears, so I’ll depart for now, however I do have one question, what is an endless?”
“If legends ring true, it is an immortal leader of certain clans. Their power is told to be terrifying, which is why I once again implore you to leave your army in wait.”
“Hiashi, your nation is strong, but I do not agree with your coddling nature, this has just made the stakes higher, and I look forward the seeing an immortal fall. Also, know that the reason I haven’t decided to take your kingdom’s flag is because my daughter loves yours.”
“Those are dangerous words Fugaku, but I agree, I have no desire to upset my daughter only to settle a score with you.” He spat in disgust.
“I’ll take my leave of you. Yukari and Sasuke will remain here for the time being.”
“Are you sure that’s wise, I may try to clip your bloodline.”
“And that would be the last mistake you ever make. However you wouldn’t, I can see it in you.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t hurt children only to resolve a vendetta against their father, safe trip Fugaku.” He said, only receiving a snort in response. Hiashi looked down and then over to the garden, watching Naruto talk to the young Uchiha prince as the two girls admire the flowers planted around them, however Hiashi could tell that things were going to change soon, however, if only they could stay as happy as they seemed now.
(Naruto: Age 13)
“So it’s true?” Hiashi asked to his messenger as he relayed the grim news to him.
“Yes your highness, what do you wish me to do?” He asked, slightly lifting his head from the bowed position he had it in to gaze into his king’s eyes. Hiashi held his head in deep thought pondering the task given to him.
“Was it?” He asked down to his messenger.
“No, there were no signs of anyone leaving the scene and if it were a dragon whom had done it I bought he would have kept a low profile.”
“I see…Has the press gotten hold of the news yet?”
“No, not yet sire.”
“Hold it off as long as possible and assist in the investigation. That is all we can do for now.” He said lowering his head, remembering the words his messenger had relayed even long after he was gone.
Naruto stared at the ceiling, memories of the foreign prince and the things he said of his nation, Naruto now thought to himself, with the head of the princess resting on his lap after crying herself to sleep. “Sasuke, Yukari, what’s going to happen now, that the king and queen have fallen?”
Naruto closed his eyes and looked down to the girl below him, rubbing her head softly. It was only the beginning of events to come later. That night Naruto stared at the ceiling of his room again, something he hadn’t done in years, until something told him to look outside, in the pouring rain stood Sasuke, staring up at his room with a gaze begging him to come down, and in a hurry he did just that.
“What are you doing here?” Naruto asked holding an umbrella over Sasuke’s head. Sasuke walked over to the castle gates and sat on the stairs.
“I need to talk to you, have you heard?” He asked with large swollen eyes.
“Yeah, did you come here alone, how did you get here so fast?” He asked in worry.
“I had to leave, they were all there and talking about…..Yukari hasn’t spoken yet.” He said looking down the ground, “Naruto, it was Itachi, he did it, I saw him, he was right there, standing over them. And then he just walked out, he never even gave a reason why, he just left.”
“Sasuke….”
“I’ve decided, I’m going to find him, I’m going to figure out why, and kill him.”
“Sasuke, you can’t do that, you’re next in line to the throne right?” He asked reaching out for Sasuke who quickly pulled away.
“Naruto, I didn’t come here to ask for advice, I just wanted to tell someone, so that someone could tell Yukari why I disappeared. Naruto I was there the whole time, but all I could do was watch, never let go of her. The princess loves you Naruto, hold her tight and never let anyone hurt her.”
Naruto could do little more than watch as Sasuke pulled a cloak over his head and walked through the gates, “Goodbye Naruto.”
“…..Good luck.”
Sasuke turned back once and nodded to Naruto before continuing on his way.
“It was at that moment that I realized that life could change in the blink of an eye. A life of happiness, must be one that you protect with both hands, and mine was one I’d never let go of, maybe I should’ve been better prepared. For even unrelated events can tie together destinies. This was the moment that tied me, Sasuke, and Fou-lu together a single event, which led to an adventure like no other.”
Chapter one end!
Just in case people are wondering the ages have been changed in this story, for while Naruto is 13 Hanabi is 11 instead of 9. Yukari is 12 and Fou-lu/Norugi/JJ is 126. Well just like the base story this one is going to be an experiment; I’m only going to continue if people like it. So, I’m out.