Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Warning: There will be MAJOR age bending in this story (As in almost none of the characters will be their canon ages. The exact ages for the characters will be in an Authors Note at the end of the chapter.)
The Bonds That Shape Us
Chapter One:
A small village stood alone in the wilderness. It was one of the most well hidden villages in all of the elemental nations. The village stood behind a lone waterfall and seemed to wrap around a single, extremely large tree.
Takigakure no Sato.
It was hectic in the village as it prepared for the festival to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the attack of the Nanabi, the seven tailed rhino beetle. No one knew where the beetle came from but it caused massive damage before being sealed away.
A young man sat in a small office in the center of the village looking out over the preparations. He was the leader of the village hidden in the waterfall. He frowned as he remembered that horrific day.
(Flashback)
Total destruction. Everything lay in waste. The massive seven tailed beetle destroyed over 35 percent of the village completely and damaged a good majority. No one knew where it came from, and very few knew what happened to it.
The man stood at the remains of his office holding a newborn child. The child had green hair and orange eyes. The sealing array on the child's stomach had just finished setting, securing the beetle. He sighed and turned as he heard footsteps approaching.
Behind him stood two civilians of his village. One was a twenty four year old man with light brown hair and black eyes. The other was a twenty three year old woman with green hair and light orange eyes and caramel skin. It was quite obvious that they were the girl's parents.
"Im sorry this was forced to happen." The leader said in a tired voice.
"No one could have seen that demon coming." The man said.
"True enough," The leader sighed, "But still, im sorry it had to be your daughter."
"Our daughter is dead," the woman said, her voice cracking, "That thing is defiantly not her."
"But this is-"the leader began before being cut off.
"Just keep that demon away from us." The man sneered before wrapping an arm around his wife and walking away.
The leader sighed in dismay and did the only thing he could for the child. He took her to the orphanage.
Hoping it would be enough.
(Flashback End)
Meanwhile in the village things had momentarily calmed down as a new tradition was implanted.
The villagers called it 'extermination'.
A small girl ran through an alleyway and into a dead end. She fearfully turned around to see the approaching mob, several of them with makeshift weapons.
"Well if it isn't the little demon." One said with distain.
"Maybe we should teach it its place." Another sneered.
"That is a great idea." Another said with a small, evil chuckle.
"B-B-But I-I d-d-didn't d-do a-a-anything." The girl stuttered fearfully.
"Shut the hell up demon!" a shinobi yelled, "It's your fault my family died."
All the while a shadowed figure was watching from the rooftop.
(A few days earlier, Konohagakure)(Dusk)
All was quiet as two ninja walked hand in hand through the village.
"It's so nice out here during this time of day," the girl said as she twirled in a circle. She was of average height and appeared to be about 15. She had black hair that fell to just below her chin with two slightly longer bangs in the front. She was wearing a bluish black kimono tied with a white obi and a fishnet body suit underneath.
"Yes, it is Shizune." The boy beside her said with a low chuckle at her antics. He was about 4 inches taller that her and appeared to be in his late teens. He had golden blonde hair and blue eyes, but the most distinguishing feature was the six whisker like marks that adorned his cheeks. He wore a basic jonin blue body suit and a black battle vest under a long red coat with red flames trailing the bottom. He also wore black shinobi sandals.
"Oh come on Naruto, live a little." Shizune said with a giggle before pulling him into a jog. The two ran a couple of yards before falling, with Shizune on top of Naruto. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Naruto leaned his head forward and captured Shizunes lips with his own. Shizune moaned into the kiss and the blonde took the invitation to invade her mouth with his tongue.
All of the sudden a light breeze blew through the area and the two looked up to see another approaching shinobi. The ninja wore a long trench coat and a mask of a dog.
"Naruto Namikaze, the Hokage requests your presence." The shinobi said in a no-nonsense tone.
"Can't it wait? Im in the middle of something here." Naruto replied with a grin. Shizune slapped him playfully on the chest before getting off of him. "Come on Naruto, you can't keep the Hokage waiting."
"That old man can stuff it up his-"Naruto began before the ANBU cut him off.
"Just come on." The ANBU said tiredly.
"But he's soooo old." Naruto whined.
"Naruto, he's only like thirty." Shizune said with a small grin, trying not to laugh at his antics.
"He's thirty-six Shizune, that's a whole six more years." Naruto complained with a pout which caused Shizune to lose control and start giggling.
"Are you done?" the ANBU asked exasperatedly.
"Yeah im coming." Naruto said with a smirk. He loved messing with those pesky, masked bastards. He turned and kissed Shizune on the cheek, "I'll see you later."
"See yah later Naruto." Shizune said as he walked away.
On his way to the Hokage tower Naruto decided that it was his chance to do his favorite past time, a game he called 'how many ways to annoy an ANBU'
"So, is it hard to breath in those mask?" Naruto asked in a scarily childlike tone.
"No." the ANBU stated.
"Are you sure."
"Yes."
"Positive?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe you."
"You should."
"It looks hard to breathe in."
"It's not."
"Are you sure."
"YES!"
Naruto laughed as the ANBU left as quickly as he could. Naruto walked into the Hokage's office, not even sparing a glance at the accountant at the desk before he walked into the office. Sitting behind the desk was a man who looked almost exactly like him, albeit about twice the age and longer hair. He had on a basic jonin uniform with a long white cloak with red flames trailing the bottom.
"You needed to see me daddy?" Naruto asked in a teasing voice.
"This is serious Naruto." The Hokage sighed, "You've been requested for an immediate A ranked mission."
"Ok. So what's the mission?" the blonde jonin asked.
"These are important documents to be taken to Takigakure regarding our recent alliance. We don't expect trouble but the importance of this mission does not allow for a basic C rank delivery." Minato said, handing his son a small package, "After the delivery, feel free to stay for a few days. I hear Taki is holding its annual Nanabi victory festival in a few days."
"I might just do that, see you in a week Hokage-sama." Naruto said before leaving. By jumping out of the window.
"Why do they never use the door? Curse you Jiraiya." The Hokage sighed once more before turning to his desk to face the enemy of Kage everywhere. The dreaded paperwork.
'Where does it all come from' Minato thought with anime tears flowing down his face.
(Takigakure, present.)
The figure sat, watching whatever was about to happen from the rooftop, though he suspected he already knew.
'"Ready to take your place in hell, demon." A villager sneered.
"B-b-but I've b-b-been a g-good g-g-g-girl." The child stuttered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"Shut up, it's your fault that my daughter is gone." A woman shouted as she moved to the front of the crowd.
The figure atop the building widened his eyes as he noticed the immediate similarities between the woman and the young girl. They then narrowed as he realized exactly what it meant.
(Flashback- 12 years ago, Konohagakure.)
Naruto ran through the village. He was terrified. Suddenly a rock flew out and hit him on the back of the head. He collapsed in the dirt and looked up fearfully as a small crowd of civilians, with a few low level shinobi, approached him. The one in front prepared to swing his makeshift gardening tool when a cloud of smoke exploded between the man and the boy. When it dispersed, Naruto was being held tightly in the arms of a woman with bright red hair and blue eyes. Between the groups stood the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
"What is going on here?" the Yellow Flash asked in a dangerously quiet tone.
"Were ridding the village of that vile demon, Hokage-sama. Have you come to help us?" one of the villagers, a woman with bright pink hair, asked in an almost fan girlish kind of way.
"That 'demon' as you so kindly put it, happens to be my son Sayuri." Minato said, his hand twitching toward his kunai pouch.
"Blasphemy!" One of the villagers shouted (Sorry I just love that word.)
"SILENCE" The Hokage roared, "Inu, Tora, take them to Ibiki."
When the crowd was gone the Hokage turned to his family. The young blonde had broken into tears in his mother's arms and she was holding him as tightly as she could without hurting him. Minato kneeled down and wrapped his arms around his wife and child.
"Mommy, Daddy, why do they all hate me?" the young blonde boys question sent a shot of pain through both his parents' hearts. The adults met each other's gaze with a pained look in their eyes, they both knew that no child should ever have to ask that question. And honestly, they couldn't answer it.
(Flashback over)
'This girl, we're the same.' Naruto thought sadly, 'But I had Tou-san and Kaa-san, she has no one.'
A young shinobi had taken the opportunity of the distraction to throw a kunai at the girl. The knife luckily did not hit as the girl threw herself to the ground to avoid it.
Naruto could not take any more as a second kunai left the young shinobi's hand. The girl closed her eyes and waited for the end. After a few seconds she slowly cracked her eyes to see a man standing with his back to her, holding the kunai between his fingers. He had a leaf Hitai-ate tied around his head, but it could not keep his golden hair from overshadowing his eyes. The girl lay in the dirt, stunned that someone had actually helped her.
"Just who do you think you are?" one of the shinobi in the crowd yelled, "Move so we can finish the demon."
"Shut the hell up." Naruto said in a scarily deep voice. He looked up to meet the gaze of the villager, but gone were the joy filled cerulean orbs, and along with them the happy go lucky blonde shinobi.
Replacing them were demonic, red, slitted eyes. Much the same as one would see on a cat.
Or a fox.
"So, the Waterfall village likes picking on little girls?" Naruto asked in a sarcastic voice.
"T-t-that's n-no g-girl." One of the villagers fearfully hammered out, "I-I-It's a d-d-d-demon."
"You want a demon?" Naruto asked quietly, "Well you can have one."
The blonde jonin-turned-killing-machine shot forward and snapped the Taki Chunin's head to the side. Seeing the display, the other villagers scrambled away in fear.
Meanwhile Naruto turned back to the four year old who had huddled herself in an alley corner and was bawling her eyes out.
"P-please d-d-don't hurt m-me." The girl sobbed.
"Im not going to hurt you." Naruto replied gently, "Can you tell me your name?"
"F-Fu." The girl said quietly.
"Well Fu, how about you and me go get something to eat?" Naruto asked.
Fu immediately brightened at the mention of food and Naruto could see for the first time how malnourished the girl was. He held his hand out for her to take. She grabbed ahold of his hand and he led her out of the alley.
"So Fu, where do you want to go?" Naruto asked, looking down at the young girl holding his hand, all the while ignoring the glares being sent toward her.
"Well, I've never been allowed into any stores sir." The girl replied sadly while starting at the ground.
"Oh… Well is there any place you ever wanted to go?" the blonde asked.
"Well, I have always wanted to try ramen sir." Fu replied once more. The one word out of the girl's mouth caused Naruto to break into a smile that threatened to split his face.
"Please call me Naruto, Fu." Naruto said as he led the girl into a small corner stall.
"Welcome to Takumi Ram- What is that doing here?" the man behind the counter grew bitter at the sight of the young girl.
"This would be a child sir." Naruto replied, "And she's with me."
Naruto discreetly placed his shinobi ID card on the counter without either the owner or the girl noticing, and the man's eyes went wide as he saw the blonde's family name (Hooray for abusing nobility).
"Now I assume there are no problems here." Naruto stated in a no nonsense tone as he lifted Fu onto one of the stools.
"Of course not sir." The man squeaked nervously, "What would you and the young lady like?"
"Two Miso Pork." Naruto stated bluntly and Fu fidgeted beside him.
The ramen was quickly brought out and just as quickly finished. "So Fu, did you like it?" Naruto asked.
"Y-yes." Fu answered, "Um, Naruto, sir…"
"Yes Fu?" Naruto questioned.
"I was wondering if I could have another." She asked shyly.
Naruto glanced at Fu with a smirk before yelling out. "Hey, two salt ramen this time!"
Ten bowls of ramen later and the young jinchuriki couldn't eat anymore. No sooner than the two left (With the owner in tears at the amount of money spent) than they were cut off by a squad of shinobi and the leader of the waterfall village, Shibuki.
"Is there a problem here?" Naruto asked calmly, his hand resting on the young girls' mop of mint green hair.
"Im afraid there is," Shibuki replied, "I need you to come with me, both of you."
"Alright, lead the way." Naruto responded before sending a calming glace to the girl attempting to hide behind his leg.
"Of course… this way." Shibuki said before turning on his heel and walking away, the two jinchuriki following him.
When the group made it to the office in the center of the village Shibuki dismissed his guard before looking the older blonde in the eyes and calmly stating "Fu can you wait in the other room for a moment?"
The four year old fidgeted before a short nod and calming smile from Naruto made her leave the room.
"I take it you know who that is?" Shibuki asked, making sure to keep his tone low enough to make sure the girl could not hear from where she sat in the lobby.
"The jinchuriki of the Nanabi, am I correct?" Naruto replied.
"Yes," he answered, "Since you know, I have a proposition for you."
"Im listening." Naruto stated calmly, yet completely ready to hurt the younger man before him if he said something… dark.
"I need you to take her with you." Shibuki stated bluntly.
"What?" Naruto exclaimed, thrown off by the sudden request.
"It's not safe for her here." Shibuki explained, "Not only did the Nanabi kill many villagers but it also destroyed our chances at being named the sixth great shinobi village, so it turned both the ninja and civilian populations against her."
Naruto listened, silently admitting that the young leader had raised some good points.
"Plus," Shibuki continued, "Im sure that the strongest nation in the world knows about the Akatsuki?"
"Yes." Naruto replied, his eyes narrowing once more. He had been training to fight the organization for years.
"Well Takigakure is in no way strong enough to fight any of them off so the council has been petitioning to hand her over to avoid war." Shibuki explained with a hurt look in his eyes, "I've held them off so far, but im not sure how much longer I can. And since you're the son of the Hokage, am I correct to assume you have the power to get her into Konoha?"
Naruto sat silently for several minutes pondering the decision. He knew what it was like to be hated for something out of your control, and he also knew the threat the shady organization posed.
Finally he answered, "I'll take her back with me and legally adopt her, but the final choice should be hers."
Shibuki broke into a smile and called, "Fu, can you come in here a moment?"
The young girl walked in and sat in a chair beside Naruto and stared at the floor.
"Fu, how would you like to come with me?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.
Fu's head shot up and she met his eyes with a look of confusion and answered with the always helpful, "Huh?"
Naruto chuckled at the admittedly adorable display and kept even with her stare, "How would you like to come with me?"
"L-Like y-y-y-you b-being my new T-Tou-san?" Fu asked nervously.
"Yes Fu, I will be your Tou-san." Naruto stated, looking straight into the younger girls eyes with no trace of deception.
"Daddy?" Fu said quietly with a few stray tears making their way down her face.
Naruto simply gave the girl a small nod.
"DADDY!" the girl shouted, throwing her small arms around his neck.
Chapter End:
A/N:
Plot bunnies everywhere!
Hooray for NaruXShizu!
Oh yes, the ages.
Naruto – 18
Shizune – 15
Minato – 36
Kushina – 36
Fu – 4
Rookie 9 – 4
Kurenai – 17
Kakashi – 20
Sannin – 56
