Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot, my original characters, etc.
I have had so many freaking ideas for a Naruto fanfic bouncing around in my head for so long that I finally decided to pick one and write it. Just an FYI this story is practically a crossover with an original story that I'm trying to write (as are all but one of my other ideas). If I'm not clear about something or am explaining things well enough please tell me.
Another FYI, this chapter is probably going to be a little confusing. Please tell me if any of my explanations make no sense so I can try and fix them.
Also, I don't have a beta so if you see any mistakes that I missed proofreading please let me know. I like to think I have good grammar but I know I still make mistakes. Also on the 'I don't have a beta' thing, all of my timeline details pretty much come from the anime and other fanfics, so some of my timeline might be a little off.
Without further ado I give you...
The Shadow's Realm
Preface: Forsaken Children
There are legends that speak of children who do not age. That never change. They watch the world from the shadows, in it but never a part of it. Watching…
Or waiting.
Some of the stories say that these Forsaken Children are lead by a Black-Eyed Child who commands them to his will. Others say it is a golden haired woman who leads them. Others say that they have no leader and squabble constantly among themselves. Others still combine them, saying that there are two groups who are fighting a secret war.
Every so often, a rumor pops up of a Forsaken Child here or there but they are never confirmed and the rumors drift away.
One of the legends says that when the Forsaken Children gather and the Black-Eyed Child returns, it will herald the destruction of the world.
Chapter One: Ishtvar
(*)Naruto(*)
Six-year-old Naruto Uzumaki didn't understand it. He collapsed to his hands and knees. Tears dripped onto the backs of his hands. The sounds of pursuit had faded some time ago but Naruto hadn't stopped running until his legs had finally refused to keep going and had given out on him. He couldn't understand why everyone seemed to hate him so much.
Naruto crawled to the base of a tree and curled into a ball, making himself as small as possible. He didn't know where he was anymore or which way led back to Konoha. He was lost and he was alone. Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes with his dirty sleeve. Maybe it was better this way, a nasty voice somewhere in the back of his head said. It's not like anyone in Konoha wanted him around anyway, well, except maybe old man Hokage and Mr. Ichiraku. People called him a monster. The more extreme called him a demon. Everyone else either ignored him or glared at him with those cold, hate-filled eyes. And none of them would even tell him what he had done wrong.
"My, my. What do we have here?"
Naruto's head jerked up and his eyes widened. In front of him stood a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman. She was smiling but her features were sharp and her eyes had a cold glint that reminded Naruto of a polished kunai. That and the way she folded her arms and stood as if the world was beneath her turned that possibly reassuring smile into a cruel smirk. Naruto shrank back against the tree. Maybe if he made himself small enough the woman would go away.
She didn't. She laughed and crouched down in front of him, the same smile still on her face. "Well, little child, you are very interesting. I wonder—"
Naruto felt his heart racing. It pounded in his ears as if trying to tell him there was something very wrong with this woman who crouched in front of him talking to herself and looking at him with her cruel smile and calculating eyes. She seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in her musings. Naruto inched toward the edge of the tree. Maybe if he moved slow enough now and then took off as fast as he could the woman wouldn't notice, or she wouldn't bother to follow.
She didn't. She laughed.
When he reached the edge of the tree, Naruto ran but he didn't get very far. Something wrapped around his ankles and yanked him backward. The things dragged him back to where the woman now sat, cross-legged, on the ground, laughing. Her laugh was even more frightening than her smile. Naruto felt the things let go of his ankles. He tried to scoot away from the laughing woman again but he backed into something smooth and solid, like a wall. He looked back over his shoulder to see what it was but there was nothing there.
The laughing stopped. "Now, now, little child," the woman reached her hand toward Naruto. He flinched and closed his eyes, expecting her to hit him but instead she simply rested her hand on top of his head. "you look exhausted. You should get some rest."
Naruto's world faded to black and the last thing he saw was that cruel smile.
(*) LeiuSheeta (*)
LieuSheeta was ecstatic. To think that she would stumble onto such a curiosity out in the middle of some godforsaken (she liked that word, forsaken) forest. She almost had stumbled literally over it as well. A bubble of laughter escaped her lips. She suppressed the rest of the fit into small giggles. Her earlier bout had likely scared off every living thing within fifty yards. Ah, the madness of the Ishtvar. (How she loved it.) He had awoken like that once, after she had rebirthed him, laughing that same mad laugh that their kind shared. (Even that little Aggie girl had it.) Then, little LukimonMarru would show up at their Master's call with that same scowl on his face that he always wore in her presence. (The Raven boy was just so adorable when he was angry. She had never heard his laugh though. Shame.)
Speaking of Masters, Lukes, and little boys…
Using Lieu, Sheeta created a buffer of babble around her thoughts. Within the buffer, she continued on with her pervious train of thought about how adorably annoying Lukimon could be when he was forced to work with her and then how unadorably infuriating he was when he worked against her. He always looked down on her. Everyone always looked down on her, she was so damn short.
In the center of the babble bubble (she liked the way that sounded), were her real thoughts. She was careful to keep them low key so that they wouldn't be broadcast through Lieu and into the Shadow Realm where, if they wanted to, any Ishtvar could easily pick up on them. She need to keep that infuriating Raven boy from discovering what she was up to until it was too late for him to do anything about it. Unfortunately, he would find out about it as soon as she started the process. (The Shadow Realm could be so annoying.) She just had to create a large enough disturbance in the Physical Realm that it would take him awhile to find her. (Infuriating Gate-Walking brat.)
Speaking of brats… back to the matter at hand.
Sheeta frowned down at the unconscious boy. He looked like he lived in a sewer. His clothes were dirty, bloody, and torn in more places than She cared count. No one would miss this one, she thought. But…
There was something about this boy—no, there was something sealed in this boy that had drawn her attention. Something nasty. Sheeta quashed down the laughter that was bubbling back to the surface. If she had to many fits someone (that Raven boy) would notice.
She studied the seal on the boy's stomach while Lieu ventured from her and drew a complex sealing circle on the ground. The boy's seal and the one she was planning shouldn't interfere with each other but, she smiled, part of the reason she was so curious was to see what would happen if they did. What would win, she wondered. This boy's monster, or a Shadow? She supposed that would probably depend on the Shadow.
Sheeta frowned at the boy, again. (She was doing far too much of that today.) The boy was young, younger than would usually survive. (Except for that Aggie girl and she was madder than the rest of them.) Perhaps she ought to leave him and watch and wait until he was older… but the longer she waited, the more likely it was that Raven boy would find out what she was up to and stop her. No, this boy had a strong soul. That was easy to see. He would live and he would be strong. Sheeta's smile returned. If he would have enough sanity to use that strength effectively was the question, (or if he would be like that Aggie girl.) With that Raven boy looking after him though, the boy would be fine. Luckily, she didn't have to be present to observe her projects. (The Shadow Realm could be so useful.)
Lieu returned to her, the circle complete. She took her place at the edge of the circle. She started four other disturbances in the area that would ripple through Shadow Realm giving off the same signature as the sealing circle she activated at the same time.
She was expecting the feeling of unhinged rage that filtered from the Shadow Realm through Lieu and into her and didn't let interrupt her concentration. That Raven boy was angry. Sheeta kept up her buffer so she would be harder to find but let the echo of her laugh reach Marru and, by extension, that Raven boy along with a bit of a taunt.
"Just sit and watch, Watcher. It's all you can do…"
Sheeta felt the fabric of the Shadow Realm twist and rip as the Raven boy stepped through the Veil between the Shadow and Physical Realms and into the Shadow Realm. He bent the Realm itself and created a Gate he could use to walk from his location (long way away is seems) to hers. Within the same moment in the Physical Realm, that Raven boy entered the Shadow Realm on the other side of the continent and left it fifty yards from one of her decoys. (Annoying Gate-Walking Raven boy.) It was the one farthest from her. The frustration she felt radiating from Marru told Sheeta that he was not where he intended to be. (Slightly less annoying bad Gate-Walking Raven boy.) He was still too close for comfort though. Now that he was here it would not take him long to find her. She needed to delay him a few moments longer. She called her Shadow Puppets through the Veil and positioned them between the Raven boy and her.
With that Raven boy distracted, Sheeta focused as much of her energy as she could on hastening the sealing process. She didn't have to finish it before the Raven boy reached her, she just had to reach the point of no return. The point where he could not stop the sealing without destroying the boy's soul in the process.
There! The sealing array lit up with a dark light. Sheeta smiled, letting the laughter bubble up and her mental shield fall. She called her Shadow Puppets too her and they gathered around her, still between her and the Raven boy.
He stood there, on the edge of her Physical senses. She could feel him there though and could just imagine the scowl on his face that matched the rage that seeped off him. She just continued laughing as a deafening shriek filled the area, the scream of the Shadow as it bound to the child's soul.
"Dray kaiz!"
The Raven boy didn't even wait for the sealing array's light to fully fade before attacking. Sheeta's Shadow Puppets took most of the Shadow Blades but one of them reached her and took a chunk out of arm, nearly severing it from her shoulder.
LieuSheeta laughed as she fled, her arm already regenerating and her Shadow Puppets acting as cannon fodder. The Raven boy chased her until she crossed the Veil into the Shadow Realm. He stopped (looking after the child was more important to him) but he sent Marru after her. To watch. She laughed. It was all he could do.
She would not realize until much later that the Raven boy had not been alone.
(*) LukimonMarru(*)
To say LukimonMarru was pissed would have been an understatement. But, then again, anything said about LukimonMarru would likely be an understatement. (He tended toward extremes.) Right now, he was swearing, quite vulgarly, in every language he knew, (and he knew a lot of languages) in front of two kids. However, one of them was unconscious (possibly dead) and the other hardly counted as a kid. (most of the time.)
He reached up and grasped the sliver feather-shaped talisman that hung around his neck, its sharp edges cutting into the palm of his hand. He held his hand out and let black blood drip from the already healing wound.
"Marez."
The drops of blood changed shape and became birds. They screeched and took off, crossing the Veil and following after Marru and Sheeta. He sat down on the ground and glared at a tree.
"The tree didn't do anything to you, Luke."
"The kid alive?"
"Yes."
Luke sighed. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing though? It might have been better to die than end up like Aggie."
"Shush. I have an idea."
Luke leaned back on his elbows and looked over his shoulder. Drayan stood over the blonde boy, scraggily black hair hiding his face. Shadows shifted oddly around them, wiping away the remnants of Sheeta's sealing circle. No, he wasn't just erasing Sheeta's circle, he was making a new one.
"What in the hell are you trying to do?"
"A time release power seal. Now shh, I'm on a time crunch."
Luke spun around and watched what Drayan was doing. He was rushing, Luke realized, which was really strange. (And he was strange to begin with.) Drayan sat down at the edge of the seal and activated it, the patterns dimly glowing. His face was set with more determination than Luke had ever seen (in this life) and he began to speak a Rite, slowly and deliberately despite his haste. His expression changed to a look of frustration that Luke easily recognized. The all powerful, ageless Master of Shadows had forgotten that he didn't have access to all of his power and was residing in the body of a five-year-old child. Luke stood and walked to the edge of the circle. "Do you need help?"
-Yes.- Instead of answering out loud and interrupting the spoken Rite, Drayan answered by letting the word pass to Luke through the Shadow Realm and altering the portion of the sealing circle behind him. Luke knelt in the place that had formed for him in the circle and placed his hands on Drayan's shoulders.
Even though he knew it was coming, Luke still wasn't quite ready when Drayan started using his body as a conduit to draw power from the Shadow Realm. It didn't hurt, per se, but it was a far from pleasant feeling. It felt kind of like have too much energy forced through his system, which made him jumpy and on edge on top of the general feeling of unpleasantness it caused. And Drayan was drawing a lot of power.
It hit him then, like a punch to the gut in his over sensitized state, that this whole situation was terribly familiar. "I need your help, Luke." He could see the fair-haired woman standing in front of him again with an infant child in her arms.
-Don't!- Drayan snarled.
-It's the same seal, isn't it? The one Lady Agari put on you so you could age.-
-Basically. Now, quiet!- And that was an order.
Luke shut up, physically and mentally. He knew that this seal and the Rite that went with it were complicated enough without him distracting Drayan from it. He meditated, focusing on the patterns of the seal and directing power to where it needed to go to take some of the strain off of Drayan's small body.
The sealing circle stopped glowing and Drayan collapsed backward into Luke's arms, breathing heavily. Luke eased him onto his back with his head and shoulders on his knees. "Why were you in such a rush anyway?"
"I had to complete it before the Shadow finalized its form or it wouldn't work." Drayan's answer was breathless. He had really exhausted himself. "I think that it—she, she's decided she's a she— realized that what I was doing would help them and remained indecisive for longer than was strictly necessary."
It was way too late to think that the method could help Aggie then. "Do you think it worked?"
"Yes. It should seal his mind off from the majority of the Shadow Realm and gradually open him up to it." Drayan closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair.
Luke found himself nodding slowly. That fact would be good for the kid's sanity. Many of the Ishtvar believed that the initial sensory and information overload of being connected to the Shadow Realm was a major cause of their madness. "What about aging, regeneration, and abilities?"
Drayan sighed. "This is mostly conjecture but ," he covered his eyes with his hand, "he should age somewhat normally until the seal completely wears off or I break it. If he's anything like me, regeneration shouldn't be an issue. It might be slower than normal for a few years and take up most of the energy he gets from the Shadow Realm but then it should level out, that's about the same point when she should be able use the more basic Ishtvar abilities."
"Who were you planning on dumping him with? Should we take him back to Sanctuary?"
"No. I've got an idea about that. They're going to be strong…" A smile spread across Drayan's lips and a sharp bark of laughter passed them. "NarutoKin."
(*) Naruto(*)
It was dark where Naruto was, or maybe dim was a better word because he could still see. He couldn't see any kind of light source though. He wasn't where he last remembered being either. The last thing he remembered was being in the forest and the woman with the cruel smile. Now, he stood in what looked like a city's sewer system. He was up to his knees in murky water that looked like it came out of the wrong end of a cow.
"Hello!" Naruto shouted down the passageway. "It anyone there?" His words echoed back to him and carried down the passage behind him.
-Naruto!-
Naruto stopped and looked around him. A voice that sounded like a little girl's seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "Hello?"
-Naruto.-
The voice seemed farther away this time, like it was walking away from him and had turned a corner. Naruto tried to follow it. "Wait! Where're you going?"
-Naruto.-
Naruto ran after the voice. He tried to ask it questions but it just continued to repeat his name over and over.
-Naruto. Naruto. Naruto.-
Naruto turned a corner and stopped in his tracks. The scenery had abruptly changed. In front of him was a dense forest. To his left and his right the sewer area extended as far as he could see but in front of him the sewer ended abruptly, as if somebody had forgotten to build a wall between the sewer and the forest. He couldn't see the forest clearly; it was hidden by a strange black mist.
-Naruto.-
The voice was coming from the forest. Naruto eyed the black mist warily. Strangely, it didn't feel menacing to him. He reached his hand into the mist. It felt strangely warm, comforting, like another hand wrapped around his own.
-Naruto.-
Naruto climbed out of the sewer water and into the mist. He expected that it would be dark on the other side but the forest was bright and once inside the odd dark mist he could see clearly despite the way it seemed to cling to everything. He walked down the winding path that unfolded in front of him following the voice that continued to call him.
He came upon a small perfectly circular clearing filled with forget-me-nots. In the center was a smooth, flat rock on which sat a girl. She was small and a little frail looking, lacking the baby fat most children had. She wore nothing but a loose fitting black shift and her long hair was a pale, almost pinkish, shade of brown. Both her hair and dress were in constant motion, as if she sat in her own personal whirlwind that effected nothing else in the clearing.
She stood when she saw him, waving her arms in the air and smiling. –Naruto!- Even though the girl's mouth never moved, Naruto knew that she was the one who spoke. Now that he was out of the sewers, he could hear that the girl's voice had an odd echoing quality to it. It was less like an actual echo and more like many voices speaking the same thing at the same time. The girl's was just the loudest and most prominent among them. –Come on!- She waved her arms again, motioning for Naruto to join her on the rock.
Naruto climbed up onto the rock with her. She was just a little bit taller than he was or maybe the part of the rock she was standing on was just a little higher. Even that close he couldn't feel the wind that blew her hair and dress. "Who are you?"
-We are Kin.-
"Kin?"
-Yes!- Kin nodded and then pointed at him. –You are Naruto.-
"Well… Yeah—"
-We,- Kin waved her hand around between them, indicating them both, -are NarutoKin.-
"We…" Naruto mimicked Kin's motion in between them. "As in both of us together?" Kin nodded her head vigorously. "Meaning… that you're part of me?"
–Yes!- Kin's face brightened. She clasped her hands together under her chin and bounced on the balls of her feet. –We are part of you. You are part of us. Together!-
An image of the blonde woman and the frightening smile that was the last thing Naruto remembered before blacking out. He shuddered. Did she have something to do with this?
-Yes!- Kin voice changed from enthusiasm to fury. –She bound us.-
Naruto looked up in shock. –Hey, Kin? Can you read my mind?-
-Yes!-
-Well, then, what did that woman do to us?-
-She bound us.-
"You said that before but what's that mean?"
Kin tipped her head to the side and frowned.-We don't know-
"You… don't…" Naruto groaned and sat down on the edge of the rock. "What're we going to do?"
Kin sat down beside him. –We will figure it out. We are not alone. We are together.-
Naruto looked over at her, his eyes wide. "Us? Together?" Tears began to slide down his cheeks. "But I've... always been…alone…"
Kin scowled, looking even angrier than she had a moment ago. Then, she began to change. Her form darkened and seemed to disperse like the mist around them. Naruto jumped to his feet and stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the place where she had sat. Before he could say anything, or even freak out farther, the mist-that-was-Kin began to reform. It didn't take the form of a girl thought. Sitting on the rock beside Naruto was a large four-tailed fox. Its fur was the same color as Kin's hair and the markings on its chest and tail were black instead of white. It looked angry, but somehow Naruto knew that it wasn't angry at him.
-Mean people. Evil people. They know not of which they speak. They lie!- The fox buried its head in Naruto's stomach. –Naruto doesn't have to go back. We can find others to stay with.-
"Kin?" Naruto tentatively laid his hand on the fox's head and it nuzzled his fingers. "That is you, isn't it?"
-Yes.- Kin whined in the back of her throat. –We don't have to go back.-
"Yes, we do."
Kin tipped her head to the side, puzzled. –Why?-
Naruto paused. He wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. He thought about old man Hokage smiling at him and Mister Ichiraku giving him free ramen at the end of the day. There were other nice people too. Like the two ANBU who watched over him that thought he didn't know about them and the lady at the clothing store who gave him clothes that weren't good enough to sell but were still decent for free even though the store's boss refused to let Naruto anywhere near the place. Then there was the retired ninja with one leg that lived near the gate that let him hide in his garden and gave him fresh vegetables (even though he didn't really like vegetables.)
He remembered them all. Naruto felt every single act of kindness seemed to flood through his mind and, by extension he realized, Kin's.
-You see, Kin? I have to go back. There's good people in Konoha. If I go back and become a strong ninja I can protect them. And then maybe one day, I'll be Hokage and then I'll change Konoha for the better and help kids like me.-
Naruto wasn't sure when it happened but Kin was in human form again and had a determined pout on her face. –We will help! We will show them truth. We will help change Konoha!- She smiled and held her hand out to Naruto. –Together!-
Naruto found himself smiling as well. He took Kin's hand. "Together." He frowned. "Now we just have to figure out what this being bound thing means."
-Oh! There are others like us. They came to help us.-
"Can we trust them though?"
-Yes. They speak truth.-
"Okay, I trust you."
Kin giggled. –You need to wake up now. They want to talk to you.-
"Will you be there when I wake up?"
-Yes.- Kin squeezed Naruto's hand. –We are always with you.-
(*) NarutoKin(*)
"Why her of all people? Do you really think she's capable of looking after a kid?"
"Luke, I'm exhausted and not in the mood to argue right now. If you haven't figured it out by now, there's no point in trying to explain it."
Naruto could still feel Kin's hand pressed into his own. When he opened his eyes, she looked a little different though, as if there was a strange shadow cast over her features partly hiding them from view.
A teenager with dusty blonde hair stood with his back to them, completely blocking the second speaker from view. What appeared to be a young woman with short, choppy hair sat at his feet. She leaned back against the side of his leg with one leg bent, the other straight, and her hands clasped around her knee. She had her head tipped back as if staring at the sky but Naruto couldn't see any of her features clearly. It was as if she were covered by the same strange black shadow as Kin. She turned her head toward them and Naruto thought she might have smiled.
The other two people in the clearing kept arguing. The man's voice was loudly arguing against whoever it was that the second voice wanted to leave 'the brat' with while the second voice kept saying that it was already decided and he was tired. Naruto was surprised that the second voice sounded like a child but had a weirdly authoritative ring to it that almost demanded to be listened to.
The shadow woman looked up at the blonde man with a vaguely annoyed expression. She turned back to Naruto and Kin and shook her head. –He always does this. He spreads his focus too wide and then doesn't hear when we try to talk to him. You'd think he'd learn a thing or two after all these years.- The woman's voice was like Kin's, as if many voices were speaking at once and the woman's was the loudest.
-Who're you?- Naruto asked.
The woman smiled. –We are Marru.- She gestured over her shoulder at the teenager. –This foolish child is Lukimon. Most people just call him Luke these days.-
-So you, Marru, and him, Luke, are like me and Kin?-
-Yes.-
Naruto was about to ask another question when he realized that he hadn't been speaking aloud.
-Don't let it concern you.- A new voice said. –You'll be able to speak this way with all of our kind.-
-Who're you?-
-I am Drayan. The 'weirdly authoritative' kid you noted earlier.-
Naruto frowned. –You don't sound much like a kid now.- The fact the kid's voice was still arguing with Luke.
-That's because I'm not really a little kid, I'm just sealed in one's body.-
Kin squeezed Naruto's hand. –He speaks truth.-
Naruto squeezed back. –If you say so, Kin.-
-Now, if that's sorted out,- Naruto's face reddened when he realized that Drayan had overheard the exchange. He felt a bit of embarrassment from Kin as well. –We've got some things to discuss. I'll kick Luke out of argument-land so we can do so. Just a moment.-
"Marru's annoyed with you." Drayan said out loud. "You've spread you're focus to wide again and are ignoring her again. She's been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes to tell you the kid's awake."
Luke nearly jumped out of his skin. He whipped around so fast that it almost looked like his body would have kept going even after his head stopped. Marru's posture was completely unaffected by the change in her backrest. "Oh...The kid's awake."
"I do believe I just said that." Drayan stepped around Luke and sat down against a tree next to Naruto. He was shorter than Naruto was and nearly as thin. His eyes were dark grey and his hair was jet black and hung to his chin. He yawned and leaned his head against his knees. "Call off some of your Eyes. One of us needs to be coherent and unfortunately it's not going to be me for much longer."
Naruto gazed at Luke with bewilderment. How was it possible for someone to call off their eyes? He looked at Kin but her shoulder rose and fell in a shrug. She didn't understand it either.
Luke squatted down in front of him and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see… Oh, here I'll just show you." He reached up to a strange silver feather that hung from a sturdy chain around his neck and pressed his thumb against its edge. It must be sharp because Naruto can see a drop of blood beading up from where touched. Luke turned his hand over and the drop of blood dripped off his hand and fell through the air. Before it touched the ground it turned into a feather which then morphed into a bird. Luke cupped his hands and the bird hopped onto them. He held it out to Naruto who watched with wide-eyed wonder. "I make these birds and then I can send them off somewhere and look through their eyes. Most Ishtvar can make at least one but I can keep track of twenty."
"And he currently has twenty-three, more than half of them are in the same place and he's ignoring Marru again." Drayan said. It sounded as if he were trying very hard to stay awake.
"Alright fine. I'll call a few of them off." Luke snapped at him. He looked back over at Naruto and realized that he was still gawking at him with his mouth hanging open. "Hey, kid? You okay? I didn't break your brain or anything, did I?"
That seemed to snap Naruto out of it. He started rattling off comments and questions faster than Luke could process them. "That was awesome! How'd you do that? Are you a ninja? Hey! Can you read my mind like Kin and Marru? What are Kin and Marru? Does Drayan have one or is he different from us? How is Drayan a kid and not a kid at the same time? Why's he so tired? What's 'ish-t-var' mean? Why did you need so many eye-bird-thingies in the same place? Where'd that scary blonde lady go? How come—"
"Whoawhoawhoa!" Luke threw his hands up. "Rein it in a bit buddy. Kin doesn't take the form of a horse by any chance, does she?" He could hear laughter echoing from both Kin and Marru. Another question formed in Naruto's mind but Luke stopped him before he could ask. "Seriously, ease up a bit. I can only answer one question at a time. Hey, Drayan! Help me out a bit here." Drayan didn't respond. He had his arms wrapped around his knees and his head leaned against them, shaggy hair hiding his face from view. "Hey! Are you asleep?" Still no response. "Well, shit. Okay, okay, I won't swear in front of the kid. You don't have to yell at me, Marru. Umm… How about this, which question do you want answered first?"
Naruto paused and thought through his list of questions before deciding on the one that he and Kin both thought was the most pressing. "Where'd that scary blonde lady go?"
"Water country. And to answer one of your other questions, she's what I had my 'eye-bird-thingies', as you put it, watching." Luke told Naruto. "We shouldn't have to worry about her for awhile."
"You're sure?"
"Unfortunately," Luke sighed, "you can never be completely sure about anything when it comes to LieuSheeta."
"LieuSheeta?" Naruto paused and thought about the odd way Luke had pronounced the name. It was the same way Marru had called herself and Luke LukimonMarru. "The same way that you're LukimonMarru and I'm NarutoKin?"
Luke's eyes widened. He ruffled Naruto's hair. "You picked up on that, huh? You're a sharp kid. By the way, the answer is yes, she's like us." He smiled as Naruto tried to straighten his hair back out. "And the next question is 'what are we?' correct?" Naruto's mouth dropped open again. He started to blurt out another question but Luke spoke again before he could. "The 'how the hell do I read your mind?' question will be covered in this section as well. By the way, Marru says that you're too young to curse."
Kin giggled and Naruto tried really hard not to let his mouth drop open again. "So, what are we?"
"We are, put most simply, Ishtvar."
"You used that word before, what is it?"
"Well, first," Luke sat down and crossed his legs, "it's your first lesson in Ayleid."
Naruto frowned. "Eyelid?"
"No, no." Luke laughed and ran his hand through his hair, looking like he didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused. "Ay-lee-id. It's the language we use. You'll learn more about that later. In Ayleid, Ishtvar means 'bound soul'. Ishtvar are created when a living soul," Luke placed his hand on top of Naruto's head, "is bound to a Shadow." He gestured toward Kin. "When a soul dies, an Echo of that soul is left in the Shadow Realm. These Echoes merge together and form Shadows." Luke explained. "I'm sure you've already noticed that Kin speaks of herself and 'we', 'us', and 'our'." Naruto nodded. "This is because she is actually many personalities formed into one. The one you see as 'Kin' is only the strongest and most dominant of them. A Shadow won't name itself unless it's bound in some way."
"So 'Kin' is actually lots of different Echoes that got all jumbled together to make a Shadow which then got bound to me and took the name 'Kin'. That still doesn't explain the mind reading thing."
"Alright, I'll explain the mind reading thing since you're so insistent, though that's usually a later lesson. It's not really mind reading you see." Luke picked up a stick and drew an 'N' in the dirt between him and Naruto. "This is you." He drew a 'K' next to it. "This is Kin and this," he drew a large open circle, "is the Shadow Realm. Now, I'm sure you've figured out by now that your mind is connected to Kin's. Kin is, in turn, connected to the Shadow Realm." He drew in little lines connecting the symbols to each other. "You're thoughts go from your head," He tapped the top of Naruto's head with the stick and then gestured toward Kin, "to Kin and then into the Shadow Realm where any other Ishtvar can pick up on them."
Naruto's hand flew up to his temples as if that would somehow stop the process. "What? Does that mean that she can—"
"Easy, easy. Calm down. Don't worry. Sheeta's never been very good at gathering information from the Shadow Realm. Plus, one of the first things you'll learn is how to block that off."
"Oh, okay." Naruto lowered his hands. "Hey, Luke? How come you guys are helping me, anyway? I mean, you guys don't even know me, so why—"
Luke looked surprised by the question but then his expression softened. Marru to faded into Luke and they seemed to merge into a single being. "NarutoKin." They both spoke in a single voice, as if they were a single being. Naruto had a strange experience just then. He realized that Luke and Marru were a single being with two souls instead of two separate beings and that he and Kin were the same. "You're our little brother. We may have had no connections before but now we share the same blood. Here, give us your hand."
Naruto held out his hand and Luke and Marru took it in theirs. Using the feather-blade they made a shallow cut across Naruto's palm. Naruto watched the trail of blood in amazement. He knew what color blood was, and he had seen his own often enough, but the liquid that seeped from the cut was black. His amazement doubled as he watched the cut heal before his eyes. He looked up at LukimonMarru and gasped as they grasped the blade in their hand and pulled it. They held the hand out to Naruto, palm up, and displayed the black blood that welled up from the deep cuts which then healed even faster than Naruto's had.
"You see, NarutoKin, we share the same blood. You are our little brother." LukimonMarru sighed. "We are the first, the first of the beings known as Ishtvar. We are also the Wacher and as such we shall watch over and protect those who come after us." They smiled and poked Naruto's forehead. "That means you." Marru stayed inside of Luke's body but Naruto could somehow feel their minds separate.
Naruto felt Kin tug on both his sleeve and his mind. –They speak truth.- She told him. He started to nod but then paused. He knew that he could trust Kin's judgment but he wondered just why he was so confident in her abilities.
"Okay!" Luke said and Naruto then remembered that the man could, virtually, read his mind. "Ayleid lesson number two. Names."
"What do names have to do with anything?"
"Names are very important, especially those of an Ishtvar's Shadow. Your Shadow's name speaks of their abilities. The meaning of Kin's name will tell you her main powers. The Ayleid word 'kin' means 'truth'."
"Truth?"
"It might not seem all that impressive right now but think about it. No one will be able to lie to you or give you false information."
"So then, no one will ever be able to lie to me?" Naruto asked.
"Well… they could but Kin would know that they were lying and tell you. Your guardian will teach you more about abilities as they develop."
Naruto frowned. "My guardian?"
Luke nodded. "We'll assign someone to watch over you until you can take care of yourself. Drayan has someone in mind though I still haven't figured out why he picked Megumi of all people."
Naruto could hear Marru's echoing laugh. –Isn't it obvious? It's because MegumiKai was a ninja.-
When Megumi arrived two days later, she dropped from the sky.
Terms
Physical Realm: The first plane of reality. The world that most people see. Where Time exists and souls live in physical bodies. When the soul's body dies the soul leaves this plane, no one's sure where it goes.
Shadow Realm: The second plane of reality. Where Time does not exist and the Echoes of deceased souls remain here. Creatures of the Shadow Realm can cross the Veil into the Physical Realm but most people can't see them, only what they do, or can only see them briefly. While a person may be able to clearly Shadows while they're in the Physical Realm, only someone with black blood can see through the Veil into the Shadow Realm. The Shadow Realm is considered a neutral, or grey realm, that is neither good nor evil. The Shadow Realm also collects large quantities of information, past, present, and future, that can be gathered by a black blood with the right natural skill set or a great deal of experience and knowledge.
The Veil: The barrier between the Physical and Shadow Realms.
Echo: The impression a deceased soul leaves in the Shadow Realm.
Shadow: Echoes that have merged into one being. A bound Shadow can take a substantial form in the Physical Realm that can be seen and touched by ordinary people for a determined amount of time, which varies depending on the strength of the Shadow.
Raven: Also called the Grey Folk. A rare type of black blood that are the most closely tied to the Shadow Realm without losing their mortality. They can draw energy from the Shadow Realm to cast spells. They believe in balance above all else and consider themselves grey, like the Shadow Realm and don't particular care what they might have to do to maintain it. The Ravens' Guild was nearly eradicated when the Ishtvar LieuSheeta and her followers went on a rampage. There are nine left alive, counting Drayan, the Ishtvar LukimonMarru, and one other who was born outside the guild.
Rite: A Raven's spell, spoken in Ayleid. Even a short spell is technically a Rite but in modern times a spell shorter than ten words is usually referred to as a Cast.
Ishtvar: A living soul bound to a Shadow. The abilities of the Ishtvar vary greatly but all share four traits, the ability to perceive all information in the Shadow Realm, the ability to Shadow-Walk, the inability to age, and the inability to die. Because the Ishtvar are so closely tied to the Shadow Realm, where there is no time, time virtually ceases to exist for them. They cannot die because their souls are bound to their Shadows which are in turn bound to the Shadow Realm. Even if the Ishtvar's body is completely destroyed it will regenerate around the soul. (One of the Ishtvar, KotesuKage, likes to demonstrate the 'you can't die' point to new Ishtvar by lopping their heads off.) Many Ishtvar have a skewed sense of time because their minds exist in both realms. They perceive things happening in the Shadow Realm as if it is happening in Time but no time actually passes in the Physical Realm while they do this. All Ishtvar are quite mad and more than little bi-polar. (More information might be offered at the ends of future chapters.)
Forsaken Children: A general term that encompasses all black bloods but is most frequently used to refer to the Ishtvar. The legend of the Forsaken Children also refers to the Ishtvar.
The Black-Eyed Child: Refers to the leader of the Ishtvar who shall, for now, remain unnamed. (Though half of you could probably already figure it out.)
Shadow-Walking: An ability that all Ishtvar and most Ravens learn. You step through the Veil from the Physical Realm into the Shadow Realm and then physically walk through the Shadow Realm to another point and then exit the Veil there. Since you did the walking in the Shadow Realm, you leave and enter the Physical Realm in the same moment. To those who can't see into the Shadow Realm it looks like teleportation. It can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing so most novices are limited to a certain number of steps until they're more experienced. Not used for long distance travel because it is easy to get lost over long distance and you would still use the same amount of energy you would have used to walk the distance in the Physical Realm.
Gate-Walking: A rare ability only found among the Ravens. A Gate-Walker bends the Shadow Realm around them to actually teleport from one place to another. The entrance and exit portals are referred to as Gates.
Dray Kaiz: Shadow Blades. One of the simplest and most versatile Raven spells. Creates blades out of shadows that take any shape or form. In this chapter Luke uses them as heavy projectiles that he launches at Sheeta.
Marez: Eyes. A Raven spell that is used to create some kind of animal, usually a bird, that the caster can look through the eyes of. Most Ravens and Ishtvar can make at least one. Luke is the only one who can manage more than five. He can create and track twenty before he starts to lose track of his immediate surroundings.
Ayleid: The language of the Shadow Realm, used to cast spells. No one really knows where it came from or why it has power. (i.e. I haven't figured it out yet.)
Ayleid Vocab.
Kin: Truth
Mar: eye
Marru: Literally 'eye of.' Can also be translated as a plural 'eyes of.' 'Mar' means 'eye' and 'ru' and be translated as 'of' or 'of the.' The full word 'marru' has also occasionally been translated as 'sight.'
Marez: (Mar-eh-z) Plural of mar. If a word ends in a consonant you make the plural by adding 'ez'. If it ends in a vowel you just ad a 'z'.
Lieu: (lee-ow) Puppet
Dray: Shadow
Kai: 'Kai' is a word with a double meaning depending on the pronunciation. When pronounced the way you all probably think it should be (k-eye) it means 'blade' or 'sword'. When pronounced 'kah-ee' it means 'fire' or 'flame'. In order to avoid confusion, in modern times the second meaning is written ka'i.
Ishtvar: 'Ish' means 'bind'. The 't' denotes the past tense making 'isht' mean 'bound'. 'Var' means 'soul', so the word literally means 'bound soul'. The word is generally used as both singular and plural without adding a suffix (like sheep and sheep) but this is grammatically incorrect (like saying 'cow' to refer to an entire herd instead of just one animal.) Correctly the plural should be 'Ishtvarez' but no one ever uses it. 'The Ishtvar' could refer to a single Ishtvar or a group of them.
If you notice that I'm missing any of my made up words here please tell me so that I can ad them.
Please assume that at some point all of this was explained to Naruto because it would not only be really boring for me to write but it would be reeeally boring for you to read.
As I said at the beginning of the chapter please tell me if something doesn't make sense so that I can fix it.
Woohoo! It's done. I've been working on this nonstop for a good week. The next chapter might take awhile because I'm going off to my second year of college in three days and I won't be able to devote the same amount of time to writing. In fact, I've been devoting the time I was supposed to be going through the stuff for my dorm room to writing instead.
Thanks for reading and please review,
Ebony
P.S. Can anyone tell me how old Naruto and co. were when they started at the academy?
Next Time: Naruto returns to Konoha and his new guardian has a surprise for the Uchiha clan.