Back from the grave to join the rave, my most Freaky of Darlings!
Fox's Grimoire was supposed to be a firm piece of the seven stories I had intended to do in which Naruto's life was somehow influenced by one of the original Seven characters from a long-running D&D campaign of mine. All seven managed to rise above the ranks of Godhood, and after countless millennia you'd be amazed what they'll do to entertain themselves.
In Wolf's Tome, we saw Naruto forced to swim through the River Styx, thereby forcing a reincarnation through sheer willpower and proving himself worthy of training under the King of Werewolves, god of Magic, and head of the Deth Pack, Tyro Deth. Of course, Reincarnation is a tricky thing; Naruto is now Lysylta Deth, the combination of the Kyuubi and the plucky child, not to mention she's a damn good looker on top of that.
Having completed fifty years of training under the Lord of the Arcane, Lysylta has been sent back to the Elemental Countries to satisfy the deal that Sarutobi made with said werewolf-king.
Though it's an earlier piece, I ask that you go and read Wolf's Tome before this; it will explain a few things that I may well glaze over here.
It is here that the first page of the Fox's Grimoire is written. It is here that the story begins.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Dungeons and Dragons, nor am I profiting from the writing of this story. The Deth Pack, Tyro Deth, and Lysylta Deth are mine however.
"I'm sorry, could you run that by me one more time?" Tsunade asked, teetering on a line between amazed and irritated.
"He is not lying, Tsunade." Sarutobi said with a sigh, the smoke from his neglected pipe snaking its way towards the ceiling. He watched it for a moment, letting his gaze drift back down as it pooled on the barrier above. "I did make a deal some time ago to ensure Naruto would survive, though… from what you've told us he hasn't."
"The deal was to give "him" the power defend "himself"." Tyro replied lazily, using air quotes while he shifted in his seat; his human form was terribly cramped when compared to his other states. The fact that all of his magic was trying to fit into the chair with him wasn't helping. "Lysylta is Naruto, freed from the chains of that life. She has retained her memories of that time however."
"Stera anyon bachiemyi drhueramychedri?" Lysylta asked, trying to restrain her anger; Tyro had decided, most likely just for the sake of his own amusement, not to teach her Japanese. Her plea for a translation was met with a chuckle as Tyro shook his head.
"What did she say?" Tsunade asked calmly, giving Lysylta another stealthy once-over as her attention was drawn back to the woman. Her outfit was definitely unique, even in the ninja world: it consisted of a silken vest-and-undershirt cut to show her midriff, though it looked like the undershirt lacked sleeves; form-fitting black pants with a number of seemingly needless belts around her left thigh; an oddly-shaped purple trenchcoat that was about four inches short of dragging the floor, with one sleeve missing, the other too long, a red inner lining, and what looked to be a collar that could be popped up quite high; all topped off with a purple witch hat that was humorously large. She wore no shoes, showing off the flawlessly pointed toenails the woman had, drawing a parallel to Lysylta's fingernails. She was sure to turn some heads, if for her color scheme alone; her plentiful chest and athletically hour-glassed figure were somehow the second thing you would notice, if only because of the aforementioned hat and colors.
Even Lysylta's tail and ears might be overlooked as part of her eccentric clothing, though her eyes were far too piercing to be anything but real.
"She asked for a translation; I didn't teach her Japanese." Tyro remarked off-handedly, shifting again; power aside, the chairs weren't all that comfortable to begin with. "For the sake of not running the joke into the ground I've already left a primer for her at the Namikaze Mansion, which is where she'll be staying."
"You sound very sure of that." Tsunade replied, folding her hands on the desk; this man had been trying her patience since he arrived, the conversation only progressing due to Sarutobi's influence as her personal advisor. "You made the deal with Sarutobi however; I'm under no obligation to honor the contract or to show you what respect Sarutobi believes you to deserve. As it stands, you've done nothing more than show yourself as arrogant and potentially insane; I can't just let someone join Konoha as a ninja based on the word of someone I've never heard of."
"A fair enough belief." Tyro stood up, banishing the chair with a wave of his hand and summoning a new one from his castle with the latter half of the motion. He continued as he sat down, impressed that Tsunade was keeping a straight face. "However, if you do not want to accept her on the grounds of the agreement—which indeed does not bind you to action—than you may wish to accept her for the more practical reasons."
"Such as?"
"Power. Such is the ultimate goal of humans—even the most humble of men will ask for the power to control their own little worlds if not themselves. I've trained Lysylta for half a century; what she lacks in experience she compensates for in raw destructive power. She's more durable than a human could ever hope to be, stronger and faster as well on top of simply being able to live far beyond the normal life-span for a human; her appearance is misleading in more ways than one."
"Konoha is the strongest of the ninja villages; we don't need power when we hardly know what will come of it." Tsunade argued, her interest piqued.
"I'll make this next part very clear then: Lysylta would legitimately like to live here and experience her birth-plane. If, for some reason, she ever turns on Konoha it will be by the village's hand that she acts, not by her own whim. Taking her into the ninja ranks is a liability; after all, she can infect others with lycanthropy and could thus build an army to take over Konoha or simply level it."
"So what are you hinting at?" Tsunade asked, seeing the spark in the man's eye; he had gone on that self-damning tangent for a reason.
"I believe his name is Danzo; you hardly need lycanthropy when you can just brainwash your subordinates." Tyro remarked, pulling a book out of his robes and setting it on the desk. "Inside you'll find some very detailed information regarding Danzo and his little "Root" operation; It'd be adorable if not for how pathetic the attempt is in the grand scheme of things."
"You like wrapping people up in bargains, don't you? We get the information and Lysylta becomes a kunoichi."
"Deals are something a friend of mine is nigh obsessed with; I prefer to think of myself as an opportunist. I could just mind-crush you into accepting Lysylta without anything offered on my end, but that hardly seems sporting, now does it?"
"Not in particular. How do I know the information is good, though?" Tsunade asked, eyeing the book.
"I have nothing to gain by lying, and if anything helping you get rid of the cancerous little root on your tree will help my daughter in the long run."
Tsunade observed the book for a moment before sliding it towards her and opening it to a random page. There was silence as she read, taking in the information.
"I see. That would explain a few things, but this isn't the only explanation for the missing shipments." Tsunade remarked. "I still intend to look into this, however. I suppose I've worked myself into a corner now though."
"You have, though it was done with the best interests of your home in mind." Tyro replied, clapping sarcastically with a bemused grin on his face. "I have to admit, I expected more of a fight from you."
"I can read her; I don't think she'll be any trouble, misunderstandings aside." Tsunade remarked casually, leveling her gaze with Tyro's glowing eyes. "You, however, are much harder to read. One minute I know you're a second away from murder, the next I'm equally sure that you're perfectly calm and peaceful; If two dangerous books are sitting on my desk and I have to read one, I fully intend to pick the one I understand and send the other away."
"A wiser statement than you realize." Tyro chuckled, teeth gleaming in the light of the afternoon sun. "With that said though, I'll mention this while I'm not contemplating leveling this tower: There are a few provisions to Lysylta's stay here."
"Starting with the Namikaze Mansion I take it?"
"It's not in use right now and it's got the space required for the other requirements; namely it's isolated enough that any magical-mishaps or angry villagers won't be much of an issue and it's got room for a study and a laboratory. On top of that, in lieu with the Deth Tradition of the King's Right, or in this case the Queen's Right, Lysylta is allowed to have multiple partners; she will also take the position of being Konoha's resident witch and will thusly deal with any magical needs or questions until such a time that she could name a successor."
"Wait, what?"
"It's remarkably old-fashioned, I know, but having a resident witch is a time-honored tradition in my land and with the lack of magic in this world I'd almost consider it a necessity here."
"No, the part right before that regarding polygamy if I heard you properly." Tsunade asked, slightly confused; she'd have been a little more on edge if Lysylta had been male, as Polygamy and thusly impregnating several women at once would produce the threat of a growing lycanthrope population—a thought that she took in stride despite only learning of the species' existence outside of fairytales an hour or so before. As it stood though unless Lysylta worked amazingly differently than human females, reproductively speaking, it seemed odd to have her with multiple husbands just out of tradition.
"Ah, yes, that's usually where people hit a snag." Tyro spared a glance at Lysylta, who seemed to be judging the conversation based on tone of voice alone; she at least had the gist of what was going on, though it was unlikely she knew what the subject was specifically. "In the Deth Pack, which is the largest werewolf pack in Evanon, there is a rank obtained by only a few in which I've deemed the person's heart and genetics strong enough to be passed to a larger number of children. With the rank comes the right to have more than a single partner; Lysylta is the exception, as she is the only Werefox in the pack. Through a technicality, she and I have the same technical rank despite the power gap and the fact that I lead both werewolves and the Deth Pack as a whole; she is the highest ranked werefox by default and thus bears the titles of Denmother and Skulk Queen, as well as the right to multiple partners."
"And put simply?"
"She's the only werefox, so she's automatically got the highest title and the perks; that won't change if she passes the gift on to people in Konoha, as they will have to pay homage to her as their matron even though she must respectively acknowledge me."
"Why multiple husbands though? A harem has the benefit—and I use the word lightly—of spreading desirable genes to multiple children; Lysylta would had a reversed harem, which sound more like a guessing game of whose kid it is."
"Wives. Lysylta has no interest in men to the best of my understanding."
"Why even pass on the privilege then if kids aren't a possibility?"
"Because there is a magical solution for any problem. Rather than leave your mind to wander, yes, there are a menagerie of ways for Lysylta to impregnate women with her own genetic material, thus passing it on to the next generation and otherwise making the multiple partners viable."
"Charming. Is there a particular reason I should be okay with this?"
"It's not something that will change based on your feelings; I doubt that children will be Tsukiko's primary focus for quite some time regardless. If that is not enough , the right has limits and rules to it; there are more lines of fine print and subtle nuances here than in most of the Deth Pack's laws combined."
Tsunade sighed, looking at the book of information and then up at Lysylta who met her gaze, amethyst eyes catching the light in an exotic way as her pupils narrowed and dilated as clouds blocked the sun.
"And your thoughts, Sarutobi?"
"The benefits look to outweigh the disadvantages. Tactically speaking, the provisions are minor and worth the potential gains in theory." Sarutobi replied, smoke dancing out on his words. "Though personally I'm still lamenting my Grandson's death."
"Lysylta has a good heart; the same heart Naruto had." Tyro remarked, standing a moment later with an air of finality about him as he dismissed the chair. "Dregoi stehui, tyeonknidrihu."
Lysylta smiled broadly and left her chair to kneel before the ebon-haired man. Tsunade and Sarutobi watched the exchange with raised brows, not understanding whatever language they spoke in as they said their farewells.
"I've taken the liberty of transporting more than just the primer to the mansion. Tsukiko knows how to set up her lab and study; I suggest you give her a day or two the read the primer before testing her." Tyro instructed, snapping his fingers and causing a portal to tear open a few feet from the desk before striding through the rippling maw. As it closed Lysylta stood, turning to face the two of them and not even trying to hide her amused grin at Tsunade's hanging jaw.
"Believe me about the magic now?" Sarutobi asked, putting more tobacco in his pipe and shaking his head.
-¤҈¤-
Lysylta sighed as the door shut behind Tsunade, looking around the entrance to the Namikaze mansion in silent solitude. The language barrier was annoying enough without the culture gap coming into play.
The mansion itself had an odd look to it, though Lysylta found herself liking the exotic nature of the design as she walked further into the abandoned home. A smile trickled onto her lips as she saw the magic chests sitting in the huge living room, a thick book sitting atop the largest of them.
The whole building echoed with the sound of her claws tapping the wood with each step, a testament to the utter emptiness of the house. Old pages, bound and protected by layers of magic, rustled happily at the prospect of being read again; runes flared to life under her gaze, transferring knowledge to Lysylta faster than more traditional methods would have done for even a dedicated student.
"Hello." She slowly mouthed, building up in volume until she was satisfied with the sound; a flick of her wrist saw the chests brought to life, dancing on the strings of an unseen puppeteer as they spilled their contents about the house as Lysylta instructed. As decorations hung themselves and her lab was outfitted with alchemy equipment Lysylta let her focus lie solely on learning Japanese; it had an odd set of grammatical rules compared to Draconic.
One of her favorite chairs from Tyro's castle had been packed, making her spare a moment to be grateful to her father for including it in her little care package. Lysylta let herself sink into the chair as it passed by, enjoying the ride as it took her to the room she had claimed as a study, situating itself in front of a large stone desk that had been another part of her care package.
"Hello, my name is Lysylta Deth." She slowly recited, looking up as more furniture and supplies glided in on streams of her magic. It was a spell she had learned long ago, though one that had proved useful over the years for various chores that she had no desire to do herself.
Her evening was uneventful; she studied the primer until the sun was firmly below the horizon and well after all her furniture had settled in. She set the book down when she felt the first tug, drawing a smile unto her lips as she stood and walked from the room.
At least the Moon was the same.
I really don't like that last part, but I couldn't think of a better was to end this chapter; I didn't want her going bitchmode like in the older version, but I don't like how odd the move-in sounds. Upside is that I'm jumping to finish chapter 2 now, so hopefully the action there will make up for a first chapter made of discussion and oddly explained magic.
Poof!
Good Evening, my freaky darlings.