Disclaimer: I don't blah blah blah. This story is property of blah blah blah. You get the idea.
AN: Here we have my first attempt at a Naruto/Game of Thrones crossover challenge. Now full disclosure: I've only read the first book and have yet to watch the TV series, so some of my information may not be the most accurate. Anyway, the idea goes like this:
So most of the crossovers I've seen have Naruto either is born in Westeros as a sibling of the Lannisters, Robert's one true heir, or transported there by unknown means and joins up with one of the Houses. My idea, I hope, is unique.
Nearly a year after Tyrion Lannister and Tysha were 'separated', a messenger comes to see the half-man. Tyrion learns that Tysha died after childbirth and named him the father before she died (in this story, Tyrion's marriage was pushed forward so he was in his twenty's when he's married and the marriage lasts several months before Tywin learns of it). In her last message to Tyrion, Tysha says that she still loves him and hopes that he'll raise their son right.
After a long internal debate, Tyrion realizes that his son would be in constant danger if either his father or sister found out he had a child. After going over his options, he concludes that the best way to protect the boy is to send him somewhere his family can't reach and where he'll be raised right. Since the Lannisters have their influence over most of the kingdom, Tyrion decides that his son would be safest in Winterfell, where his family has no influence and the Starks are known as honorable people. So, taking his son and some of his most trusted men, he goes to plead his case to Eddard Stark.
Eventually, Tyrion convinces the Lord of Winterfell to take his son in as a ward, since he's only a year younger than Robb. Tyrion leaves but promises to visit as often as he can without arousing suspicion. He decides to give the boy a name he read in a book from the far east, as well as give him a new last name so their connection won't be discovered: Naruto Foxfyre. That's right, Naruto is the son of everyone's favorite Imp!
Naruto will be raised alongside the Stark children and be good friends with Robb, Jon, Arya, and Rickson but will constantly prank Sansa. He'll look like canon Naruto but with mismatched eyes (blue and green) like Tyrion in the book. He'll have a fighting style where everything in his hands becomes a weapon, from swords to a staff to a pitchfork (think like Jackie Chan in most of his movies, as well as a mix of Rock Lee and Ten Ten's fighting styles). He'll also adopt a fox kit sometime before canon. He'll also be visited frequently by his birth father and learn his dry wit and cunning.
This challenge is up for adoption to anyone either interested enough or brave enough to try it. Go on, I DARE you to give this story a try!
Son of the Imp
Tyrion Lannister was not a man who was easily intimidated. Having a father and sister who hated you your whole life, plus a lifetime of having people look down on you both literally and figuratively, tend to harden one from surprises. However, this messenger who had arrived naught but five minutes ago brought the normally cool headed half-man's mind to a screeching halt. The messenger was here on behalf of his ex-wife for a year now, Tysha, and the Lannister was about to slam the door in the man's face before he uttered a sentence Tyrion had never thought he'd hear:
Tyrion was a father.
Sure, he had laid with whores before and there is always the chance that he had a bastard or two running around, but this case was quite different in the Imp's opinion. You may ask why that is. Well, according to the letter, Tysha had become pregnant with their child while they were married, as brief as it was. Another reason that made this different was that it was her child, the only woman he had ever truly loved…until his father ruined it for him. Tyrion wasn't a stupid man, in fact his wit was one of the few things he prided himself on. He knew that Tywin's story about Tysha being a whore paid for by his brother and pretending to be in danger just so he could 'have a good time' was most likely a story fabricated by his father just to further hurt him rather than simply annul their marriage. However, to Tyrion's shame, after that night he could no longer look at the woman he was married for two months to. The pain was too great knowing that his own family was responsible for violating her like that.
So when his family took him away from her, leaving with the silver his father oh so generously gave her for her 'services', Tyrion promised that in honor of the love they once felt he'd never truly fall for another woman that way again and instead turned to common whores for comfort. That was all before this messenger came with a message from his ex. On the parchment was a heartfelt plea from the commoner his father had hated. She begged him for forgiveness on what had happened and swore to him that she truly loved him, even using all the silver she had been paid to make sure he got her message. It was then he had learned the news that brought so many feelings to his heart that he thought the organ would burst from being overloaded. Tysha had discovered that she had been with child shortly after they had separated, and in doing the math confirmed Tyrion was the father.
Unfortunately, due to complications from the birth several months later, it was likely she wouldn't survive past the month. So, she wanted her child to be raised by his father, knowing that he'd do right by him. In the message she gave Tyrion the location where their child shall be located if he decided to take up the responsibilities. As quickly as he could, the Lannister gathered some men that he trusted (ones with no loyalty to his father or sister), and headed off from Kings Landing to where Tysha, and his son, waited for him.
Tyrion stared down at the small bundle in his arms, his eyes holding conflicting emotions. In the bundle lay his son, only a little over a month old. The half-man was immensely relieved when he noticed that his son appeared to not be born a dwarf like he was. The infant had the Lannister golden hair, and like Tyrion had two different colored eyes; one Lannister green the other crystal blue like his mother's. The only thing truly odd about the babe was that on both cheeks lay three birth marks that took the shape of whiskers. His son was currently asleep in his small arms, cuddling into his father's chest.
Tyrion had arrived in the small woodland town only a few hours ago and was saddened to hear that Tysha had already passed on a week past. Their child had been in the care of a friend of the family, since Tysha's parents had died two months ago in a bandit attack. This left Tyrion as his only immediate family, and this is what caused the Imp to have such trouble finding out how to feel.
On the one hand, there was no denying the joy he felt that this child was undoubtedly his, that he helped bring life into this world and it showed that his and Tysha's time together was more than just a brief dream. On the other hand, he felt immense grief that Tysha was no longer alive and that they never had the chance to make up, nor would they be able to raise their child together. Finally, he was terrified. Tyrion saw himself as many things, but a father was never one of them. He didn't know the first thing on raising a child, let alone doing so on his own. Not to mention what his family would think…oh gods, his family! Dark thoughts entered Tyrion's mind on what either Cersei or Tywin would do if they ever found out he had a child. The best case scenario would be that they'd just write the babe off as a bastard and that they'd make sure Tyrion never saw the child again. The worst, and most likely, scenario was that they'd make sure the child was dead within the hour of learning of his existence. Knowing his father, he'd probably force Tyrion to do the deed himself. That thought alone made bile rise to Tyrion's throat.
Tyrion Lannister wasn't a man who was easily intimidated, but at that moment he felt more helpless than the infant he was holding.
The Imp used his clever mind to think of what he should do next. At first he considered taking the child and leaving Westeros all together, maybe heading to Essos. He quickly squashed that thought since a) he had no idea on how to raise a child and needed all the help he could get and b) his family would probably send sellswords after him and drag him back home. Tyrion then considered leaving the child in this village while sending monthly stipends to make sure he was raised right. That idea he also turned down because, while the people here seemed nice enough, he didn't know if he could trust them with his son's safety, especially with the danger of bandits a constant threat around here. No, Tyrion decided, if he was to leave his child with anyone, it had to be with one of the Houses. But which one?
The House would need to be well off, but also able to take care of children. Most importantly, they needed to have as few of ties as possible with his family and be able to keep their relationship a secret. The answer hit him like the Mountain Who Rides; the Starks in the North. Eddard Stark, the lord of the North, was known to be an extremely honorable man, and it was a poorly kept secret that he didn't care for Tyrion's family due to how they conducted themselves during the last war, only joining Robert's forces when their victory was certain. There was also the fact he had born a son not too long ago and was both influential and powerful up in the North. Of course, there lay several problems with this solution. As previously stated, Stark held little love for the Lannisters, so it was doubtful if he'd listen to anything Tyrion had to say despite being the black sheep of the family. Then there was the fact that Eddard was close friends with King Robert, his sister's husband. Of course, from what he heard it had been a while since the two last spoke to each other, and even then there was no guarantee the king would even give a damn about the Starks suddenly taking in a ward from an unknown source. So, with that in mind Tyrion got ready for the journey to Winterfell, praying to the gods that the Starks were in a listening mood.
Eddard Stark was a man known to be strong of will and as unyielding as the Wall of the frozen North that he guarded. It is rare that he would find himself in a situation where he was completely caught off guard, yet in the span of an afternoon when he found himself host to the younger brother of the Kingslayer and the Queen, he could honestly say the situation was completely unexpected for him. The biggest surprise though was when he found the reason for the Imp's visit. The two men were in his study seated across from each other, each having a glass of wine and wishing they could have something stronger.
As the lion and the direwolf stared at each other, Eddard raised a hand to rub his temple at the building headache. "Tell me something, Lannister, out of all the lords of the land, why come to me? I probably have the least love to give your House, yet here you are asking for my help in raising your son."
Tyrion idly swirled the wine in his goblet before taking a swig. "Your distrust of my family is precisely why I came to you, Stark." Seeing the confusion in Eddard's face the half-man continued, "I don't know if you are aware of this, but I am not the most well liked in my family. It wouldn't surprise me if one day either my father or my dear sister decided they had enough of my existence and arranged for me to have an 'accident' of some sort. That by itself means that my son isn't safe anywhere my family has influence, and since most Houses belong in my family's pocket, I needed someplace where the Lannister name has little sway."
Lord Stark crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the Imp with a stern glare. "All the more reason I question why I should agree to this. If it is discovered my family is housing your child, we could be in danger from your family's retaliation. Not to mention my wife and I already have a child and have more on the way."
Tyrion gave the man a glance before putting his glass down with a sigh. "I can understand why you would have your reservations about this whole mess, Stark. However, if I must be completely honest with you, I'd be lost at what to do if you refuse. And that frightens me. I have already lost the love of my wife thanks to my family's influence, and I don't want the same fate to befall my son. I also have no idea on what it takes to raise a child, which is something new for me since I like to consider myself a well learned man since unlike most men I have entertained myself with books rather than more physical aspects. It has been said that you are an honorable man, and I know you would do right by my son even if you have no love for the Lannister name. I'm not one to beg, Stark, but…I seriously need your help."
With that, the half-man did something he had rarely if ever done before; he got up from his seat and bowed to the man so that his head was touching the ground. Needless to say, it did not take much more convincing for the northerner to accept.
A day had passed before Tyrion and his small group had to leave before his presence was missed. Eddard Stark and his wife Catelyn Tully-Stark stood by the entrance to watch the men prepare to disembark, Tyrion's son held in the lady's hands. Cat had at first been reluctant to the idea of taking on a ward of Lannister blood as well, but soon relented when she saw the innocent face of the blonde infant as her motherly instincts kicked in. After tying the last bag to his horse, Tyrion turned to the Starks.
"I thank you for taking on this enormous responsibility for me. If you ever need a favor in the future, I will always be there to lend any support I can. I swear that I'll visit as often as I can to not arouse suspicion," Tyrion said earnestly as he held out a small hand to Eddard.
Briefly grasping it, the Lord of Winterfell then asked, "Before you leave, have you decided on what to name the child yet?"
Tyrion nodded, "I have. Years ago I once read a book from far away lands and it really spoke to me on the heroism and strong morals the main character in it had. I wish for my son to have these traits unlike the rest of the Lannister bloodline, and so I will name him Naruto. It means maelstrom in the old tongue, and I know it will suit him well in the future. I also wish to give him a new surname to further protect himself. And so, he'll be the first in his line with the name Foxfyre."
"Why that name?" Lady Stark asked.
Tyrion turned to her. "When I first looked at him and saw those birthmarks on his face, the first thing that came to my mind was looking at a fox kit. The second half of his name is that whenever he looks at me, I can see a fire burning in those eyes of his, one that shows he is unafraid to take on the world if need be."
With that, Tyrion went over and looked up at his son in the former Tully's arms. Catelyn knelt down so Tyrion could get a better look at him. The Imp noticed the now christened Naruto was awake and was looking right at him. Tyrion gave a gentle smile, one that was not filled with his usual mirth or condescending tone to it. Gently rubbing the babe's whiskered cheek he said, "Farewell for now my son. I promised your mother I would protect you, and that is a promise I tend to keep."
With that, Tyrion got onto his modified horse's saddle and rode off, not knowing that he had brought someone into this world whose strength, wit, and morality would forever change the Game of Thrones.