Hello and welcome to a new fanfic! A fanfic for a manga/anime I never thought I was going to get hooked on. When I was a little girl, I didn't like Naruto, but lately I've been getting Naruto recommendations on YouTube, so I decided to watch some and I was stuck. I began reading the manga and it's awesome!
So this fanfic has some influence of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, but there will be no YGO 5D's characters involved. If you've watched YGO 5D's or maybe followed my other fanfics, then I'm sure you'll be able to find the clues.
There will be OCs involved, so those who don't like OCs can kindly leave right now. Since I'm still at the very beginning of the Naruto manga, I might make some mistakes, so please overlook that or tell me decently in a review, thank you.
It will be kinda AU, since Itachi Uchiha never murdered his parents, Akatsuki does not play a role in the fanfic and some other minor things, but the timeline is the same as in the manga/anime. Just wanted to make that clear.
The fanfic is rated M for many reasons.
And the shippings? They'll be revealed later.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 1: The Birth of a New Era
Once upon a time, there was a small country between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind that only a few had knowledge of, but they knew it was dangerous so they stayed away. Why was it dangerous, despite the size of the land? It was because the people in that country lived together with dragons, so the country was known as Ryuu no Kuni; the Land of Dragons.
The people and the dragons in the land lived in harmony and there were rarely conflicts with other countries. Ryuugakure, also known as the Village Hidden among the Dragons, was the capital of the country where the majority of people lived with their dragons. They were peaceful people who only wished for freedom and happiness. When the leaders of the other countries were informed of the peaceful people in the Land of Dragons, they decided to visit Ryuugakure and see with their own eyes if the rumors were true. Thanks to their wise decision, the Land of Dragons had signed a peace treaty with the other countries, so its people was free to visit the other countries with their dragon partners and share wisdom and knowledge about the mysterious creatures that were once feared by the outsiders.
The people in the Land of Dragons worshipped their Dragon God Akakiryu who was said to be the father of all dragons and kept the country rich, fruitful and alive. But only a few were allowed to create a direct connection to the spirit of the Dragon God. They were known as the members of the Ryuukage Clan.
There was a prophecy that had been kept in the oldest scroll in a giant shrine in Ryuugakure that had been built to honor the Dragon God. It said one day the Land of Dragons would be hit by the wrath of the Earthbound God Rasuka and cause the land to suffer in many loses. But a child of the Ryuukage Clan would then be born with the essence of the Dragon God in its body and revive some of the land after the evil spirit's destruction. However, the child would only fully awaken from its deep sleep by the touch of its true soulmate. When the awakened child would turn into 20 years, the essence of the Dragon God would be extracted from the child's body and fully revive the country to its former glory.
The members of the Ryuukage Clan prepared themselves to face the danger of the evil spirit that was sealed beneath their land and trained not only themselves but their dragon partners. No one knew when the catastrophe would strike, so everyone who knew the prophecy was ready to fight for their lives to protect their land.
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It was a normal winter evening in Ryuugakure, at least for a certain pregnant wife who was ready to give birth any day. Ryuukage Akari was a young woman in only her 26 years and happily married to the Chief of Ryuugakure and the Ryuukage Clan. She had long straight brown hair, hazel eyes and pale skin. She was humming a song and knitting a pair of socks to her little one while she waited for her husband to come home. The woman's dragon lied next to her on the couch with its head on the woman's big stomach, providing warmth and protection over the little being. The dragon was as big as a Siberian Husky and had yellow scales and white stomach and wings.
The pet dragon purred in delight when it felt a kick against its muzzle. The woman giggled before she patted the dragon's head. "Yes, Anbā. The little girl's getting more frantic. Maybe the time is soon for her to come out and say hello."
"Hai, Akari-sama", Anbā purred telepathically.
A door opening echoed in the house before they heard the familiar voice of Akari's husband. "Honey, I'm home!"
Akari giggled, "In the living room, darling."
Footsteps approached the living room before a tall man in his late 20's showed up by the threshold. He had short red hair, brown eyes and tanned skin. Next to him flew a dragon in the same size as a Chihuahua. The dragon had wings and a long tail and had sapphire blue scales and light blue stomach and wings.
"Welcome home, Ryuuji, Shīburū", Akari greeted as she was about to stand up.
"Oh nonono, don't you dare move, Akari!" Ryuuji quickly walked up to his wife and pushed her down gently by her shoulders. "You can barely move with our little daughter."
Akari sighed sarcastically. "Ryuuji, I'm pregnant, not handicapped."
"But I want to protect you both", Ryuuji sat down next to his wife and rubbed the stomach where their little bundle of joy was resting. "We still don't know if our child will be the child in the prophecy."
"Darling, the child could be someone else", Akari pointed out.
"Even so, I promise I'll always protect you two with Anbā and Shīburū", Ryuuji said before looking at said dragons. "Right?"
"Always, master", Shīburū nodded.
"Me too", Anbā added.
Akari giggled before she patted Ryuuji's dragon partner. "You two are going to be the perfect babysitters when the child is born."
"Speaking of, we still haven't decided on a name for my little girl", Ryuuji pointed out excitedly.
"No, and I believe it's time."
"What makes you say that?"
The two dragons smelled the air when they caught the scent of something fluid.
"My water just broke."
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Ryuuji quickly brought Akari to the hospital with their dragon partners. The hospital had a room prepared for Akari and the nurses didn't hesitate to prepare the tools for the birth. Ryuuji stayed by Akari's side while their dragons sat in a corner and watched two nurses run back and forth. A small light green dragon in the same size as Shīburū sat on a desk and waited for further instructions. It was a dragon blessed with special healing powers in case there would be complications.
Akari bit her lips through another contraction and gasped for air. Ryuuji used a wet cloth to wipe the sweat off his wife's forehead and face that was slowly turning red.
A female doctor entered the room with a clipboard. "Good evening, Chief. I'm Dr. Hotaru. I'll be taking care of your wife and your child." She turned to one of the nurses. "How far are the contractions?"
"Three minutes apart", one of the nurses replied as she kept her eyes on a watch attached to her nurse dress.
"She's dialed seven centimeters so far", the second nurse reported as she checked Akari's opening underneath covers that shielded the soon-to-be-mother's naked bottom.
"It's soon time", Dr. Hotaru replied before she put down the clipboard on the desk. "Will you stay with us, Chief?"
"Absolutely! I'm not leaving my wife alone", Ryuuji replied with a determined look.
Akari panted now lightly and turned her head to her husband with a tired look. "R-Ryuuji…"
Ryuuji smiled down at her and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'm here. Soon our girl will be here with us."
Anbā and Shīburū couldn't help but feel excited to witness the birth of their masters' child. It wasn't everyday a dragon could watch how humans gave births to their children. It must be something magical due to Akari and Ryuuji's excited and tired expressions.
But all of the sudden, the dragons grew stiff and pointed their muzzles up to smell the air. Even the healing dragon did so and their actions weren't missed by Ryuuji.
"What's wrong, Shīburū, Anbā?" the Chief asked.
Not soon after he had asked that, the entire building shook and caused the equipment and notebooks to tremble on the desk.
"An earthquake?" the first nurse questioned.
The earthquake stopped just as fast as it came before an enormous monster bird cry echoed from the distance, sending chills down the spines on those who were awake and on those who got awakened by the cry.
Someone banged on the door to the delivery room first before slamming it open. It was a male shinobi, clad in a dark red shinobi outfit with red armor. "Chief! It's an emergency!"
"What makes you think you can just run into the delivery room, mister?!" Dr. Hotaru growled. "We have a mother in labor here!"
The shinobi ignored the furious doctor as he walked over to Ryuuji. "Chief, the seal's been broken! The Earthbound God Rasuka is awakening!"
"R-Rasuka …?" Akari gasped before she groaned through another contraction.
Ryuuji's expression grew hard by the news. "The prophecy…" He looked down on his wife with a soft expression. "Akari, I have to go."
"I…I know…", Akari panted. "Go… Protect our land…"
Ryuuji leant down and planted a kiss on Akari's sweaty forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He turned to their dragon partners. "Anbā, stay by Akari's side. Shīburū, we're going!"
The dragons growled before Shīburū followed his master out of the delivery room with the shinobi. The doctor and nurses returned their full attention on the mother who suffered through the pain of another contraction.
"Be careful… Ryuuji…", Akari mumbled through tearful eyes.
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It was chaos in Ryuugakure. Shinobis and kunoichis shouted to each other as the dragons in all sizes that had wings flew in the air frantically. Men, women and children were led to the shrine of the Dragon God for shelter with the dragons that were too weak or too young to join the battle.
Ryuuji was now dressed in his Chief outfit which consisted of the same shinobi outfit as the other shinobi men's, but he also had a long white cloak that read "Chief" and "Ryuukage Clan". Shīburū was sitting on the left side of his shoulders, growling at the incoming danger.
"How's the evacuation going?" Ryuuji asked a shinobi who was one of his close friends Yukine Sasaki.
"We're just guiding the last villagers to the shrine, Chief! Soon the village will be empty!" Sasaki reported.
*Not entirely empty…*, Ryuuji bit his lower lip in concern when he thought of his wife who was still in the unprotected hospital and in no condition to move. "Sasaki, head to the hospital with your dragon and protect my wife and the staff!"
"Yes, Chief!" Sasaki nodded before he jumped up high when an emerald-green dragon swooped down and allowed the shinobi to sit on it before taking off.
Ryuuji and his shinobis and kunoichis gathered in the square of Ryuugakure when the earth trembled again, this time much stronger that cracks grew on the empty buildings. The dragons that flew above the group stopped their frantic flying and gathered in a group, watching the mountains far away from the village.
It didn't take long before a massive explosion was heard that shook the entire country and the mountains in the distance crumbled down into pieces, revealing the dark spirit of the Earthbound God Rasuka. It let out a bird's cry that echoed miles and miles away.
Ryuuji closed his eyes before activating his Bloodline Limit; Ryuurinmen. His brown eyes turned into crimson and his pupils turned into vertical slits and crescents above the slits. Shīburū flew up to the sky as his body shone and grew in size, big enough to transport a human. The other shinobis and kunoichis pulled out their dragon flutes, in the shape of a talon, and played a short but powerful melody together. The rest of the dragons followed the Chief's dragon as they also grew in size.
Once the dragons had finished growing, the shinobis put away their flutes while the dragons one by one flew down to the ground and lied down on all four limbs. Ryuuji climbed onto Shīburū before the sapphire blue dragon flapped his wings and took off to the sky. Soon, every ninja was flying on their dragons and joined their Chief.
"FOR OUR LAND! FOR OUR DRAGON GOD!" Ryuuji yelled. "CHARGE!"
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Akari was pushing for her life, trying to shorten the birth of her child as much as possible so she could then be transported to the shelter with the doctor and nurses. Sasaki had showed up not so long time ago and told them he had been sent by Ryuuji to protect them. He respectfully waited outside of the delivery room, but he added he would help whenever they needed his assistance.
"The head is almost out, Lady Akari", Dr. Hotaru informed calmly as she sat in front of Akari and watched the process of the birth. "It's got Chief's hair."
"R-Red…?" Akari panted as she felt her strength was slowly getting drained.
"Little pants, Lady Akari", one of the nurses instructed as she wiped the mother-in-labor's sweaty forehead with a damp cloth. "We're almost done."
"Prepare a towel!" Dr. Hotaru called.
The second nurse grabbed a towel and placed on the bed between Akari's parted legs. The healing dragon stayed on the desk, waiting patiently for its instructions, but it was getting restless as it sensed the dark aura from outside. It was a good thing the walls and windows of the room were soundproof; otherwise the humans would be distracted by the destructive noises and the bloody cries of fallen ninjas and dragons.
"Okay, Lady Akari… I need you to do little pushes when you're ready", Dr. Hotaru instructed.
Akari panted repeatedly before she gained some strength to do small pushes. She bit her lower lip so hard it began bleeding a bit while holding back a groan.
"That's it, that's it. Keep it coming!" Dr. Hotaru nodded as she watched the baby slide out of its mother without a cry.
Akari leant back against the soft pillows and panted deeply, relieved it was finally over. But she soon grew worried when she didn't hear the baby cry.
"T-The child… It's not crying…", Akari said weakly.
Dr. Hotaru quickly cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the towel around the baby. She brought the baby up to her arms before she walked around the bed and showed Akari the newborn. At the same time, a nurse took her place in front of Akari to wait for the placenta with a bowl.
"You have a daughter, Lady Akari…", Dr. Hotaru told the new mother with a low voice before opening the towel briefly to show the birth marks on the baby girl's body. "And she's the Child of the Prophecy."
The newborn baby had traces of red hair and pale skin, and had several black birth marks that could easily be mistaken as tattoos; a pair of dragon wings on the collarbone, one dragon mark on the right arm, the emblem of the Dragon God on the upper left arm, another dragon mark on the left thigh, and a third dragon mark on the abdomen.
"M-My child…", Akari mumbled faintly as she watched the doctor rewrap the baby and place it on the new mother's chest. "My little Akagi…"
"The placenta's coming", the nurse called.
There was a loud splash when the placenta came out and landed on the bowl; a noise that sent chills down the nurses and the doctor's spines, and even Akari's dragon partner shivered by the terrible noise.
"Hemorrhage", the nurse announced.
Dr. Hotaru quickly got back to her former position as the nurse stepped aside with the bloody bowl and placenta while blood poured out of Akari's opening. "50 mils of ergometrine, pronto!"
Akari could feel her life force was slowly fading. Everything around her became dull and silent, but she wasn't ready to leave yet.
"S-Sasaki…", the mother mumbled weakly.
The second nurse rushed to the doctor with the tools as the first nurse returned after she had removed her bloody gloves. "Yes, Lady?"
"G-Get…Sasaki…", Akari whimpered as her face turned white.
"Do it!" Dr. Hotaru called as she and the other nurse tried their best to stop the hemorrhage. "Hīrā, help us!" The healing dragon flew over to the bed as the nurse rushed to the door to get the shinobi.
Sasaki stood outside of the room with his dragon partner that was now in the same size as Anbā. He flinched when he heard the door open frantically and the nurse stuck her head out.
"Sasaki-kun, Lady Akari seeks you", the nurse said.
Sasaki and his dragon stepped quickly into the room and saw the horror. Akari was clinging on her life as the doctor and the healing dragon did their best to keep the Chief's wife alive. Anbā was now resting her head on the bed next to Akari's head, whimpering in sadness.
"Stay with us, Lady Akari!" Dr. Hotaru called.
Sasaki dashed over to the bed and saw the little baby resting on Akari's chest. "Lady Akari…"
Akari opened her heavy eyelids and turned her head to the shinobi. "S-Sasaki… I… I won't make it…"
"No, don't say that, Lady Akari!" Sasaki said frantically and grabbed Akari's hand. "Chief will be lost without you!"
"T-Tell Ryuuji…I loved him…more than the Heaven…", Akari gasped lightly as she raised her other weak hand and placed it on the little baby's back. "I…entrust you…and your family…to protect…Ryuukage Akagi… T-The Child…of the…Prophecy…"
With one last small gasp, Akari closed her eyes to never open them again. Dr. Hotaru, the nurses and the healing dragon stopped their doing and lowered their heads to the loss of the Chief's wife. Anbā let out several sad coos to Akari's lifeless body.
The two nurses pulled out a white sheet and slowly covered Akari's body with it. Dr. Hotaru picked up the baby before the nurses could entirely cover the dead mother. She carried baby Akagi to Sasaki who numbly accepted the little bundle.
"Lady Akari… I swear my family will protect the bloodline of Ryuukage", Sasaki mumbled to himself.
The lament peace got broken when the entire hospital began shaking again after there was an explosion nearby.
"We must evacuate immediately!" Dr. Hotaru called.
"What about Lady Akari's body, Doctor?!" one of the nurses asked.
"We'll have to carry it to the shelter!" Dr. Hotaru replied.
There was another explosion coming from outside, this time much closer to the hospital.
"One of you, take the baby! I'll carry Lady Akari's body!" Sasaki called.
Before the shinobi could pass the baby to a nurse, there was a massive explosion from above before the ceiling collapsed on the humans and dragons as the entire building crumbled into debris.
Sasaki closed his eyes and shielded the baby with his body, praying for a miracle that he and Akagi would survive. Soon, everything became silent and black for him.
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Ryuuji gasped for air as the devastating battle with the Earthbound God was finally over. The Earthbound God had absorbed all the energy of the nature and used it against the humans and dragons. It even made a cheating move to throw dark meteors at Ryuugakure that had put the village into ruins.
After the Chief and his surviving team and dragons made sure the new scroll that contained the seal to keep the evil spirit underground was safe in the shrine in the mountains, which survived its destruction, they tiredly returned to the village. There had been many loses of both humans and dragons, but they would be honored as soon as the shock of the battle would cease.
Ryuuji and his dragon partner hurried to the shrine where the villagers were still hiding. They did cheer in joy when they saw the Chief and his surviving troop return, but some cried when they realized their loved ones weren't among them.
"My people, the Earthbound God is now sealed!" Ryuuji announced. "We may have suffered many loses, but we will raise again together! We will rebuild our home and pray to Akakiryu to restore our land!" There was another round of cheers and applauds. "We shall stay here tonight and tomorrow rebuild our village!"
As the people and the dragons prepared themselves to sleep by rolling out bed sheets and tatami, Ryuuji headed over to one of the guards that had stayed by the entrance of the shrine. "Has my wife showed up?"
"No, Chief", one of the guards shook his head.
Ryuuji's eyes widened in disbelief and shock. Didn't Akari, Sasaki and the hospital staff make it? He was about to run back to the destroyed village when a figure limped up the stairs to the shrine. Next to the figure crawled an emerald dragon with bruises and exposed skin after its scales were torn off.
Ryuuji quickly recognized the figure as Sasaki and the dragon as the shinobi's partner. He was in terrible condition with ripped clothes and bleeding wounds, but alive. Sasaki was cradling a little bundle in his arms as he strained himself to make it up to the shrine. The Chief hurried to the shinobi when he fell down on his knees.
"Sasaki, what happened? Where's Akari?!" Ryuuji asked worriedly.
Sasaki gasped for air before he grew silent. He shook his head as he held back his tears. Ryuuji didn't ask more. He knew the meaning behind the silent answer.
The shinobi pushed his body up with his knees before holding up the bundle in his hands. "Y-Your daughter, Chief…"
Ryuuji's eyes widened when he saw the baby wrapped in the towel. The baby girl was sleeping deeply and didn't even react on the soft noises. He carefully, but with shaking hands, took the baby out of Sasaki's arms and cradled the baby to his chest.
"You're beautiful…", Ryuuji mumbled with a voice mixed with happiness and sadness. "Did Akari give her a name?"
Sasaki nodded as he felt his energy was slowly returning. "Ryuukage Akagi… And she bears the marks of the Dragon God."
Ryuuji's eyes widened once again and looked down on his daughter while removing the towel to reveal the marks on the baby's body. "Akagi…" He wrapped the towel back around his daughter and kept her close to his chest. "I promise I'll protect you and I'll make sure your soulmate will be found soon… Very soon."
Sasaki got help by his dragon partner to stand up before he cleared his throat. "Chief." Ryuuji looked at the shinobi. "Your wife entrusted me and my family with the safety of your daughter. She asked me herself before her spirit left us."
Ryuuji allowed some tears to escape his eyes while he nodded. "If it isn't too much trouble, Sasaki, my friend… Will you become Akagi's godfather?"
Sasaki smiled lightly and bowed respectfully. "It would be an honor."
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The scene of the childbirth is based on the episodes of the British TV series "Call the Midwife".
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Ryuu no Kuni = Land of Dragons
Ryuugakure = Village Hidden among the Dragons
Akakiryu = Crimson Dragon
Rasuka = Rasca
Ryuukage = Dragon Shadow
Akari = Light
Anbā = Amber
Hai = Yes
Ryuuji = Dragon Rule
Shīburū = Sea Blue
Hotaru = Firefly
Akagi = Red Righteousness
Hīrā = Healer