More often then not, Naruto had wondered if his father was in the right sane of mind when he had placed inside him the heart of a demon. It was much more common (not that it was common at all) to have part of a dragon heart inside your body if said dragon had deemed you worthy of such a deed. Dragon hearts were strong and an almost unbearably warm, said hearts could easily be put into a human at half its original mark, and make human as strong as the dragon and live as long as said ancient master of flight. Naruto also knew that his father had known a dragon, as that had been the task given to him as a teen to become the king of the land.
The kingdom was basically a newly christened piece of territory, with only four long generations of kings placed upon its throne. This kingdom had been built on the fact of an ancient wise old dragon calling to the first king, to tell him to build a land of piece on territory that had belonged to said reptile, and a legend that to make a successor. A very strange way of choosing kings, but nonetheless, the first king agreed and swore to keep this legend going for as long as the kingdom would be blessed to live. Each of the generations lasted unnaturally long because of this strange promise, and Naruto had been told that his father was beyond exceptional for a king of this land. The promise, as I am sure you were wondering, was that when a king died they would send their best (and whoever had wanted to, but rarely was there a peasant who wanted to this quest) to gain the acceptance of a dragon.
Now this wasn't extremely hard, as dragons were often nice and kind to humans (unless said human had deemed themselves the right to strike), but it was extremely hard to gain respect and to find said reptile in the first place. As fliers, dragons could roam anywhere and everywhere with ease, and as the kingdom had once belonged to one of their kind, they leave the lands alone from respect and dignity. The best would have to travel all over the world if they really wished to find a dragon to become king. Naruto had been told many a time that his father had done the most stunning thing at a young age of thirteen, he found a dragon right near the territory of their lands. Granted, it was a young dragon, but old enough to know its gender and the code of dragons.
Along the way, Naruto's father had done extremely talented deeds. Such as cast magic (which was extremely hard to those of peasant upbringing) to save forests and young villages outside the protection of the castle, he had walked where many could not because they were not strong enough, and even along the way of finding the young dragon had befriended a mighty demon that many feared because of his extreme power, and a man that could alter the world if had so wanted. Dangerous things that no mere mortal could have done at such a young age, but Naruto had been told many a time that his father had always been seen inhumane. Though he didn't see why, his father (from the little times he could see him) was a kind resourceful man, who only grew dangerous at the thought of war or more dangerous threats to the kingdom and its peace.
Not that there were many things that dared to threaten a kingdom who had the guardianship of a dragon (even though now it was a very young dragon as of the moment, but just the sheer thought of going against a dragon was scary enough to ward of minor threats) and a land that flourished with many knights that could actually use unnatural amounts of magic. But, that really was just a little background knowledge, Naruto could care less about the past, as he was even more determined to be a better king then his father. Though, Naruto knew that would be difficult as his father was nowhere near the age of dying (as the man had met his mother at fifteen and Naruto had been born when they were both sixteen) and there were many people who seemed to even have more potential then he to become the next king.
A sad thought, but Naruto pushed it aside with ease, as a sad mind was not the blonde's style. Blonde...maybe another reason why his father was considered inhuman. Naruto, like his father, had been born with unbelievable bright blonde hair, a hair color that was extremely rare anywhere (at least to their knowledge). Naruto had rarely seen his mother, but he knew that he had taken a lot of attributes from her, although he had most of his father's looks (hair, eyes, smile) he held the same birthmarks and odd stature as his mother had. Naruto didn't know as much as his mother, as she had not done as many fantastic deeds as his father, but he did know that she had an odd control with a sickle and a deep heart that was hard to understand. Now, the thought of why his father might have not been sane to give Naruto a demon's heart had only surfaced during a sparring session with his current mentor.
A young knight who had an unbelievable amount of knowledge for his young age, a noble knight by the name of Itachi Uchiha. Itachi was seven years his senior and tended to be quiet, as well as the type to go by the old code, unlike his father and man other knights that hailed from his clan. The question had come as the two sat down after a rigorous (well, rigorous to Naruto, Itachi didn't even look like he broke a sweat) training session, and Itachi had blankly asked why the blonde never used any magic during their spar to gain an upper hand over the Uchiha. Naruto had simply replied back that he didn't know how and frowned at the thought of a burning heart folding itself inside his system over and over again. Naruto had been told by a scholar friend of his father's (Iruka, a kind man with a strange scar on his nose, Naruto had always assumed that it came from outside the lands as the man hadn't been born and bred in the kingdom) that when Naruto had been born, he had died due to unnatural causes.
Naruto's heart was the problem, his father had thought and seeked out for a new one to bring him back to life. At first, everyone that knew his father had thought he was going to seek after the dragon he had gained respect from, but instead found the demon and implored the demon to give Naruto part of his heart. When Naruto had asked why his father had seeked out the demon he befriended instead of the dragon, Iruka gave many answers, but in the end he would sum it all up in a "Though I'm not sure if that is what the Lord was thinking when he got you the demon's heart". Naruto had also asked what demon it was, curious on someday seeking it out to gain answers his father was always too busy to give, but many people did not know.
So the day had began as it usually did for Naruto, a squire would brush the boy awake and Naruto would be summoned to take his bath (bathed by some of the maidens of the kingdom, and now that he was getting older he got embarrassed by this often) and then he would be forced to go through five hours of grueling history and mental prowess training. The part of the day that had been Naruto's favorite was being trained, even though he was somehow extremely unnatural in the ways of the sword, he enjoyed the challenge. Even if Itachi could easily brush him off with the training swords, Itachi was basically all the outside company he had (though he sometimes saw Itachi's younger brother, and would get into a mental grudge match with said brother, and often lose). The day had been relatively normal enough, as they sat together, biting cheerfully into bread pieces.
"Itachi, is the place outside the castle wonderful?" Naruto would question often, and Itachi would always reply back a normal "Yes my lord." "I want to go out soon." Itachi made no comment, used to hearing the blonde's rants and wants. There wasn't much that the boy had wanted in the world, just some answers to questions and a knowledge of the ways of the sword and magic. "All I ever hear is that it's nice." And Itachi would just nod numbly, getting out a dagger to drag away any wandering splinters on the wooden sword he used to train Naruto.
Naruto only knew that the land was full of peace and that his father was kind, only taking taxes from those who could actually afford it and set up a system that even the peasants enjoyed because they could eat even a little every day. "Have you ever seen the dragon, Itachi?" Naruto asked, a new subject on his mind that day. Itachi let himself blink, as the two had never talked about anything but the lands and if there were any techniques that could make Naruto stronger in an instant (of which Itachi had sternly said to the young boy that "No, there is no such way.") These kind of topics Naruto had usually talked to with his other teachers, so it was a little strange to hear the question.
"Only once." Itachi replied dully, taking another strike at the wooden sword and stared at it closely, satisfied with the new cleaning.
"Oh? What'd it look like?"
"She was normal looking as far as dragons go," Itachi started to reply back but with a confused look spread across the prince's face, he continued with a description. Naruto seemed a little awed by Itachi's somewhat monotone summery of a dragon before he continued to describe their dragon, "but she was the strange color of orange...similar to what your father wears when he had to address everyone in the kingdom." Naruto blinked at trying to imagine a dragon the color of his father's royal robes, but failed as he had never even thought of what a dragon looked like before Itachi's lame description of one.
"What was she like?" Naruto interrupted, not wanting to think about the color subject anymore. Itachi paused, but ignored the interruption as that had been Naruto's way of talking ever since he was a child.
"I don't know, she had just been passing by and ate one of the sheep in hunger. She didn't really stay long enough to talk." Itachi simply finished, standing up from the rock they sat on, brushing once at his tunic to clear it of any miscellaneous brain crumbs. "Let's start again." Naruto frowned, but gave in, knowing the other disliked talking and admired action. So with a motive of strength, Naruto stood up, and started swinging his wooden sword in any way to penetrate the young knight's defense.
Of course Naruto had continued to try this at an energy that was wasted through the spar, and gained more lectures that he had heard more then once from the older man and was forced to set back into the castle to eat dinner and bid his trainer a good good-bye. The dinner had been the same, surrounded by knights and saw peeks of his mother at the end of the large table, and a lovely steamed food that most would die for. That night had been a little different however as he avoided those who usually drew him to his bed and found his way into the throne room. His father was sleeping at the moment, sulked down into the throne with what looked like an exhausted look on his face. Naruto spied around quick for guards but was pleased that there were none as they had all been chasing him and slicked into the room with a smile. The few times when Naruto had managed to talk to his father, he found that he liked the man.
The older man was very easy to converse with and listened to what anyone had to say (even if he had heard the same thing from other people many a time), so it was nice to see that his father was enjoying himself a nice long earned sleep. Naruto creeped and poked his father once. The man was unmovable but Naruto hadn't notice a smile appear on his father's face as the small boy took off the crown that adored his head. The king could feel a few locks fall from place and he peeked an eye open to almost laugh at Naruto posing with the huge crown over his head. The father couldn't hold it in and laughed, of which Naruto turned around fearfully and the look on his face made him laugh even more.
"F-F-Father!" Naruto stuttered, then picked the crown and hid it behind his back with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks.
"Hello Naruto." Minato had commented lightly, standing up and moaning as his muscles protested as he had been mostly sitting down all that day, mostly with paperwork and listening to crop reports of the week. "It's been awhile, hasn't it son?" The man smiled and pat his son on the head, coursing through the similar blonde hair. Though Naruto's was softer then his own (another thing he had inherited from his mother).
"Hey...dad..." Naruto shyly replied after the man pat him on the head (an action he wanted to frown at but he had seen this before and assumed it to be a bonding thing with parents and kids). "Uhh...here's your crown." Naruto handed him with a slight pout. Minato laughed again and grabbed the offering, placing it back on his head knowing the comfortable weight.
"How have you been doing Naruto?" It was strange to see his dad, even though Naruto knew that man meant well, he just rarely saw the man or his mother because his day was always packed with opportunities. So with an awkward stuffed throat, he replied,
"Oh, fine! I've been getting really good at swords!" Naruto bragged and was glad his mentor wasn't there at the moment for the man would have brought him down immediately. Minato rose an eyebrow, but let the comment pass, as the current teacher of Naruto's had alerted him earlier that day of how he utterly failed to understand the concept of swords.
"Is that so? I bet you'd be better with your fists then swords though." Minato commented lightly, remembering when he was around Naruto's age. He hadn't even known how to handle swords (as swords were a rare type of weaponry even back then) and couldn't understand swords until he was taught by the powerful man on his journey back way back then. Naruto blinked at the comment and shrugged and then frowned,
"I...I was kinda hoping to learn some magic soon though." The boy then rubbed the back of his head, looking away from his father, knowing that the man naturally was able to cast magic when he was born. It was an insult to Naruto, that his father was so much better then him, but he would get better then him soon! He would, no matter what!
"Magic is a natural thing Naruto, no one can teach you it until you cast your first spell." Minato replied sadly, a light frown on his face out of concern. It was really strange that Naruto hadn't even started with any sorts of spells, even Naruto's mother had been able to cast a spell by the time she was sixteen (and though Naruto was younger then her, just the fact she could cast any sort of spell in the first place was a tale of some strong bloodline).
"Yeah, yeah," Naruto was sick and tried from hearing that, but to hear it from his father almost meant like certain defeat. It was something that didn't make sense, and it really frustrated the boy beyond all things (asides from failing to get what Iruka had been teaching him of the first generation never seemed to stick to his mind). "I'm just sick and tired of it, that's all!" Naruto yelled in frustration to his father, taking it on him as though it was his fault. The man just stared as Naruto gave him a pout and then raised a brow as Naruto changed the subject completely, "Dad, what demon did you befriend?" The question came completely off the track from what they had been discussing, so when he opened his mouth he had been surprised when a guard entered the room.
"THERE YOU ARE LORD!"
"Damn it." Naruto cursed under his breath and Minato patted him on the back, muttering him not to damn someone just because they had got in the way of any sort of bonding. "Yeah, yeah! I'll go to bed!" Naruto yelled, marching away from the man whose seed he came from and pushed past the guard. The guard yelled after Naruto and chased as the boy ran through the large stone halls. Minato gave a small smile, his son was a good boy though, and that was all that mattered to him. Meanwhile Naruto had dodged through the halls, avoiding the guards and knights once again with an energy he didn't he would have after wasting the day with teachers. Naruto's speed was about his only physical blessings, not something he would have to train like many others would (something he had inherited from both of his parents), and in the end Naruto wounded up to the roof of the castle walls, where archers would lay if the building were to ever come under siege. Naruto gave a sigh and stared out into the darkness, seeing only a few lights scattered around the large plains. Ah man, it actually looked kind of pretty.
"Beautiful scenery, isn't it young one?" Naruto turned rapidly and stared in awe as he saw his mother petting a large mouth, which was connected to a...a strange being that was leaning its head to be petted by the woman. The woman gave Naruto a small smile and the huge thing also seemed to give Naruto a grin. Naruto stepped back and stared at the color, even though it was dark, he could tell it was a strange orange color.
"That's-!"
"I was wondering when I would meet the babe." The dragon's voice spoke as Naruto's mother brushed back the hair that wasn't hidden underneath her white shawl. The dragon...the dragon was talking? Holy crap!
"Naruto," the woman's voice was calm and soft, and Naruto felt strange because he extremely rarely ever had heard from his mother at all, as she liked to keep hidden from the eyes of men everywhere. It was even a more rare thing to have talked to both his parents in one day, it was really special today. "This is who we call the Amber one." She pat the dragon's head once again with a light colored stare. Naruto frowned as a random knowledge came to his head to the fact that dragons had names, but it was impossible to pronounce in the human tongue, so humans and sometimes dragons would come up with easier ways to call dragons with respect. The Amber One, huh? A strange kind of name for a dragon, considering in all of the books (no pictures by the way, which drove Naruto nuts when Iruka would hit him on the head for nodding off) there were more complex or simple ones.
"M-Mom..." Naruto found himself stuttering again, not sure what more to be stunned about. However he opted to stare over at the dragon, who was huge and somehow it seemed strange for the creature to even be able to sit on the roof comfortably.
"Amber One, this is my son, Naruto." The female dragon studied the boy considerably and Naruto felt awkward under the stare, but proudly puffed out his body to not fail in gaining respect from this dragon. Naruto's first dragon...oh man! It was just something that could overwhelm him!
"He mostly has his father's looks."
"None of his brains though I'm afraid." His mother humorlessly said and Naruto made a noise but shut his mouth in an embarrassed motion. The dragon seemed to let out some kind of strange chuckle and pushed said mother towards her son with the snuff of her mouth. Kushina grunted a little and Naruto blinked as she was pushed to hug him with her open arms. Naruto blinked as his mother seemed a little awkward to the touch but he didn't mind it, it was something extremely nice. "Amber One, what was the push was for?" However that moment had gone and left as she turned to the dragon almost immediately. Said dragon just gave what looked like an impish smile and replied back almost mystically,
"Oh I just love to see that family bonding you humans have. Dragons don't have that you know," this was strange. This dragon seemed like she was a talker, not that Naruto had any other dragon to compare to the female, but it was still something odd.
"I see." His mother replied almost dully and turned back to Naruto, which the boy stood up straight. His mom was strange...how did his dad ever get with her? Their personalities were so extremely different, at least from what he had seen of them. Though there could have been some strange story that he knew nothing of during his father's journey with the bond of his parents. It didn't matter, as long as they were happy.
"Is...is there some reason why you're here?" Naruto asked, to both of them, but mostly to the somewhat seemingly talkative dragon. Said dragon gave a toothy grin and replied before his mother could,
"Oh I was here checking with an old friend of mine. Bothersome man he is, since he can never have time to visit me anymore. Such a shame really, he always liked to listen to me talk, not many like to do that you know, for some strange reason." The dragon paused in her sentence and Naruto found himself staring, wondering if it was a bit rude or not. However the dragon continued as though she wasn't being stared like she was the Pope running around in his underwear proclaiming the all the blasphemers wouldn't be exiled until the fifth of November 2009. "He's really such a bothersome man, he even told me to tell him when that dratted Kyuubi wanted to see him again. Dreadful beast that Kyuubi, he doesn't like listening to me talk at all."
"Amber One." Kushina warned the female dragon with a cold tone, and Naruto grew confused by this. Amber One just laughed at the red-haired mother and continued talking to Naruto, glad that someone seemed to be listening to her in so long.
"Ah Kushina-darling, it's fine, it's fine. Now Naruto, Kyuubi is such a nasty beast. I mean how could someone not like to hear what I have to say? I may not be as wise as my mother or father was, but I have loads to talk about."
"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked but choked as Kushina pulled the back of his tunic as he had tried to get closer to the awe-inspiring sight of a dragon. The blonde woman pulled Naruto close to her and Naruto felt himself frozen by her icy stare.
"Naruto, you go to bed right now, or I'll have you wake up an hour earlier then the sun rises." Naruto froze and immediately turned around, knowing well enough that his mother would follow through with her words. Knowing what or who Kyuubi was would be nice, but sacrificing a bit more hours of sleep? Naruto shuddered at the thought and ran, dodging knights and guards again (who were all trying their hardest not to curse where Naruto stood) and into his bedroom.
"Now that was not needed Kushina, I rather like the babe." Kushina rose an eyebrow at the unorthodox dragon and bowed.
"I'm sorry Amber One, I just rather leave Naruto out of those details until necessary." The dragon blinked then stared up to the stars in a somewhat longing look then back to the wife of the man she had extreme respect for.
"Oh I see no need, especially since Kyuubi and Elder is curious about him." Kushina stared hard at the dragon, considering if she really truly was serious or not. It was hard to tell with the female dragon, as she was one who liked the attention of anybody. Kushina gave a detested frown and threw back her hair once again to stare away.
"Minato..."
"I told you, he is so bothersome, hahaha. Ah I love that boy!" Kushina gave a sigh, it was weird to hear a dragon say she loved a human so easily and then she gave another frown. Those two..."You know, the babe is really lucky, he seems like his father. I can even tell he smells of more magic then his father! Most magic smells stinky, but those two smelled really sweet!" Kushina rolled her eyes, though not directly in the face of Amber One as the dragon continued, "I really like sweet things too, which reminds me, Kushina-deary, would it be too much of a bother to ask for some of those pastries?" Kushina simply sighed and replied that she would have a cook send up some later. Said dragon gleefully jumped away from the castle, spreading out her bat-like wings and told her the hiding place with cheer in her voice.
The red-head watched as the female dragon flew off and turned, recalling the overtalkative dragon's words. Kyuubi and Elder was interested in her son? Kyuubi she could understand, as the demon had put a forth of his heart into the baby at her husband's request, and naturally any demon would be concerned a part that was once his heart. A heart that Kushina believed was nothing more then a burden and full of dark twists that if Naruto ever showed signs of evil, she would have to kill him. But Elder? Something was wrong with that idea, but she would leave it alone and simply tell her husband, because he would have to know.
Meanwhile Naruto had gone to bed like he promised his mother and in the morning woke up with a sense that the day wasn't going to be like yesterday. It was more then likely going to be a normal boring day...as usual...How great. Naruto stared outside the window and frowned, if only he could find that dragon and talk to her! How annoying! Naruto glared at the squire (a teen like him by the name of Shikamaru, a lazy pony-tailed boy whose favorite saying was "How troublesome"). Shikamaru didn't even bother to be offended by the glare and nodded to the prince, walking off to resume his lessons as Naruto followed him out to get back to his normal daily duties.
Too bad for Naruto that he didn't know that it would in no way be as normal as he thought it would be soon.
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This idea came from watching Dragonheart and because I'm a geek. I'm not sure if I'll develop this anymore, but if I do it'll be awhile before I try to post another chapter or not because it's not an idea that's completely developed, nor am I sure if it will be as well liked as I would like it to be.
Also I edited it thanks to the release of Naruto's parents names (and Kushina's hair color) in the recentish chapters. xD.
Anyway, I do not own Naruto, nor do I own the inspired movie of Dragonheart.