Strength of the Hearth
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, however the Characters: Satoru, Katsu, and Ayaka are mine.
A.N: This is a fem naru story has some OC.
Prologue
Fires could be seen reaching high up into the sky. The smell of blood, and burning flesh assaulted the noses of those near, those fighting the demon known as Kyuubi. As the smell of blood and burnt flesh mixed, and the battle raged on three figures watched from the mountain. The first was tall slender a black cloak with red flames wrapped around him, a straw hat on his head hiding his face in shadows, save for a few strands of red hair. He was Satoru The Fire Dragon, In his hand he carried a Glaive, the well crafted weapon known in the elemental nations as the Blade of Sorrow. While Satoru was of slender build, there was no denying his strength.
Beside him, a smaller more feminine form, she wore an ice blue kimono, worn over her shinobi gear, her pale yet lovely face seemed to glow with the flames that's light shined upon the Hokage mountains. She Despite the stoic expression she wore, one could see the pain in her eyes. Her pure white hair pulled back in a bun and held in place by two senbon needles. While her brother Satoru had his glaive her weapon was a Simple Katana with an ice blue blade. Of the Elemental Three, she was the Frost Maiden.
Finally the third member, The patient one, sitting down during the battle, as though meditating, he wore a simple vest over his muscular bare chest, many scars lined his torso, black shinobi pants with traditional shinobi shoes. He was Katsu, the Earth Caller. His jutsus focused on the earth, his weapon was a massive war hammer. With the rumor that it weighed a ton. That rumor was actually fact.
"Why can't we help them? So many are dying!" This was spoken by the soft hearted Ayaka, the white haired kunoichi medic of the Elemental three, looked to their leader Satoru, Satoru was able to hide his emotions, but inside seeing his sister with such sorrow almost caused that stone wall to crack.
"You know very well why we can't." This came from the meditating Katsu, who had yet to open his eyes, the large yet patient man was like a medium between the three. He was the middle brother, with Ayaka as the youngest, and Satoru as the oldest.
"Yes I know, but..if the oracle was right." She turned a worried look on her cherubic face as she felt the pain of those dying her empathy was a blessing as well as a curse.
"We should get ready to retrieve the children. You remember who the oracle said correct?" Satoru spoke he had a quiet, yet strong voice giving to reason why he was the leader. The three nodded as Ayaka pulled out the scroll.
"The first is Uzumaki Naruko. She's the one the Kyuubi will be sealed into. The next child is Subaku No Gaara of Sunagakure, lastly the third will be Nii Yugito. Of Kumogakure." The ice kunoichi rolled up the scroll, and Satoru nodded.
"Very well. The Hokage is forming the seal. Ayaka you know what to do." Saturo said, and received a nod from the white haired kunoichi who shunshined with a swirl of snow.
"If only more were like her." Katsu spoke as he stood up, hefting his large hammer to rest on his massive shoulder. Soft brown eyes gazing down into the battle torn ground, and the ruined buildings of Konoha.
"I agree Katsu, come we must prepare." Saturo said, and both vanished, Saturo with a fire shunshin, and Katsu with an earth shunshin.
The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi felt old, not in the physical sense but in the spiritual sense, the battle was long and in the end Konohagakure had lost it's hero, the Yondaime, a man of great stature and respect, what made things worse was that the villagers had opted to kill the new born girl. Who was safe in the arms of one Hatake Kakashi, beside Kakashi where his team mates Obito Uchiha, and Rin. (A.N: Yes Obito is alive in my fiction)
All four of them stared at the girl before them. Though she didn't look old, they knew she was strong if her chakra signature was of any indication. She had a polite smile.
"I have come for the child." She kept that serene smile even as the Kakashi, Obito, and Rin drew out Kunai.
Taking a puff of his pipe Sarutobi looked into the pure blue eyes of the young kunoichi. Seeing the sincerity of her words. She held no malice and the story in her eyes told her she had witnessed the battle, and the pain in them was one of regret, not being able to fight. Finally the Sandaime broke the silence.
"And why are you to take the child?"
Ayaka smiled, and she looked out the window to the moon, the four watching her could see a ghost of a smile pass across her pale face. Finally she turned back to look at the men, and woman.
"In my home village, there is an oracle, who spoke of a dark time, when three children and their comrades would stand and fight against this evil, the first would be a child of fire, a Jinchuriki who contains the king of beasts. The next would a child of sand, who contains the one tail. And finally, the third child a child of lightning, who contains the cat. While I have no doubts that you and your village can train and help the child to grow strong, the malice I feel they have towards her will cause her pain." Ayaka spoke softly and they couldn't help but think. 'She's right'
Taking a puff of his pipe Sarutobi sighed, and nodded. "I will agree to this, but on one condition, every three years you must bring her here for a visit." The smile on the old man's face, had the ice kunoichi nodding in agreement. And very reluctantly, the Silver haired Jounin handed the infant girl Naruko over to Ayaka, who bowed her head, and shunshined out.
Kakashi turned to the Hokage. "Lord Hokage are you sure about this?"
"Yes, Kakashi if the look in her eyes is any indication then we are in for some dark times ahead. If the jinchuriki are needed then I fear that we must up the training of our future shinobi. You three, I want you to go and find the brightest of Konoha, form an ANBU unit that will work to aide in the battle, train them." The Old man had a serious look on his face, one that said he wasn't kidding around.
"Hai Hokage-sama!" The three answered before leaving, taking a puff of his pipe the Sandaime sighed. "Good luck Naruko. Be well my granddaughter."
Saturo, and Katsu waited as they turned Ayaka appeared, holding the infant Naruko. Saturo nodded, while smiling. 'It would seem that Ayaka would make a wonderful mother. It would be best to let her raise the children. Until we can return home.'
Katsu's smile told Saturo he was thinking the same thing. Nodding as he got up the three turned to head into the desert, heading into wind country to find the second child. The one known as Gaara.
Retrieving Gaara was not as easy, not that Katsu was ever one to complain. But even the patience of the earth caller could be put to the test with the arrogance of the Kazekage, it had taken some time, to convince the man that even if they had Gaara as a weapon the coming darkness would be far to powerful. In the end, Katsu was able to convince the Kazekage or rather the Kazekage's advisors where able, convincing him that the village would be safer without the 'demon' for a brief moment a spark of anger flashed through the eyes of the gentle giant, but it was repressed quickly enough. Looking back on it now, as he held the infant gaara in his hands.
"Two down, one to go." Katsu said as he approached his partners.
"Yes, then when they become of age we will begin to train them." Saturo said and began to walk towards the direction of lightning country. Following where now four people, two where infants. Naruko in the arms of Ayaka, and Gaara in the strong, but gentle arms of Katsu.
The Yondaime Kazekage rubbed the bridge of his nose, he had just lost Suna's weapon, and somehow he felt strangely empty. He knew there was no place for such emotions, no he had to find a way to make sunagakure stronger. Though unknown to the Kazekage or his guest, atop the roof of the Kage tower stood four figures, shadowed in the night sky, they wore black cloaks with blue bolts of lighting.
"They have begun to move." The first one said.
"The traitor has gathered allies." Came the robotic voice of the second.
"This cannot be ignored." The third one commented with eyes closed.
"No...let them be, they can not stop us." Came the reply of the forth, who seemed to be the leader of this group.
"Yes Raiko-sama" The three bowed and shunshined with swirls of lightning, leaving the one called Raiko to turn his gaze towards the direction Katsu had gone.
"Soon my friend, you will learn the error of your decision." At that declaration the leader of the Raiko Alliance vanished.
The journey to Lightning country was hard and difficult, but fortunately they made it without trouble. Though when it came time to feed the young ones,Ayaka was more then happy to play the part of a surrogate mother to the young containers. An act that neither her brothers could deny her. Though perhaps it was the happy look in her eyes that prevented them from saying anything, as the white haired kunoichi breast fed the infants, first one then the other. After two days of travel they reached the village of Kumogakure, the hidden cloud village.
In Kumo things where hectic, a woman in ragged shinobi gear, the result of several kunai ran carrying an infant girl. The girl had cat like eyes, an unusual appearance but fitting for the jinchuriki of the Nekomata. Gasping for breath the woman turned a corner to try an escape the mob who wanted the infant dead. She fell to the ground turning so as not to crush the child, then turning again to protect the child, she felt pain as the mob beat on her, claiming she was possessed by the demon. As they where about to land the killing blow, then kill the demon. A cold voice sounded out to them.
"How pathetic, a group of you has to take down a woman and her child? You sicken me." Saturo lifted his straw hat revealing cold red eyes, the eyes of a demon. Stepping back from the stranger, the fire dragon was about to let them leave but one just had to have stones. Shouting "You protect the demon! You must be with them!"
To say Satoru was angry was like saying that the sun was merely bright. Unleashing a wave of killing intent on them, he raised his weapon and swung it, fire danced around the blade and creating an arc of fire which shot forward, incinerating the front of the group.
"I suggest you leave before I get upset." His voice as always was cold emotionless. The villagers and Chuunin who had formed the mob could see that this man was strong, and like any self preserving individuals, they ran. Sighing the red haired man turned kneeling down and smiling to the woman.
"Are you well?" He asked.
"W-who are you?" Came the cautious question. He smiled slightly.
"I'm a friend, I'm here to take Yugito to a place where she will be loved and accepted." His smile widened at seeing her shock before she looked to the infant in her arms, she smiled and nodded as she held the young girl out to the man. Satoru took the small infant in his arms, and stood up. Nodding to the woman, he put his straw hat back on and shunshined out. The woman smiled as a look of peace came upon her face, her daughter would be well. Falling forward the woman soon died of blood loss.
Ayaka sat on a large stone holding the Naruko, while Katsu held Gaara, the two had become fond of the children. A flash of flame indicated that Saturo had returned. Holding Nii Yugito, the three, and their charges.
"We'll set up camp here, feed the young ones and get some rest. Tomorrow we're heading home." Saturo took the role of leader and the others followed his lead. Ayaka doing her part to feed the infants, while Katsu fixed supper for themselves. Satoru stood by himself up in a tree branch a troubled look on his face. Katsu noticed but said nothing, he knew that the stoic fire shinobi would come out eventually.
Katsu stood over the pot, cooking their meal. The large earth ninja proved his prowess many times on the battle field, and now he was proving his cooking prowess. Soon the meal of miso soup would be ready and assaulting the senses of his team mates. The first to show up was Ayaka, who sighed while sitting on the rock. Her eyes still held regrets, regrets that Katsu did not know about, but knew that Satoru did.
"The children are sleeping." Ayaka yawned as she informed the men of this. Katsu smiled, while Satoru nodded.
"Tomorrow we'll make for the village, We have time before the enemy makes their move." Satoru said as he took a bite of the miso soup. The stoic fire shinobi hid his emotions well, but his team mates saw a softer side to him in his eyes when he was with Yugito.
"Of course brother." Katsu nodded as he finished the last of his bowl, then taking his, and his sibling's bowls and washing them out in the nearby stream.
It was the next day, that found the three shinobi standing on a river in front of a stone. (A.N: Nope not an Akatsuki hideout.) Handing the infant Yugito to Katsu who was already holding Gaara, the leader of the three flashed through some quick hand signs then let out a shout of "Kai!" Releasing the genjutsu, and causing the stone to fade. As one the three walked into the cave, the rock reappearing as before.
Deep down into the dark, a quick katon jutsu, from Satoru lit the torches lining the walls lighting the path. They walked down a long tunnel into an open cavern, around the cavern was a ring ledge, with two paths leading down, down to a village. All around the village glyphs could be seen. The Center of the village, like in Konoha, Suna, and Kumo had the kage tower. The villagers all nodded and bowed to the three. Katsu smiled returning many bows as was his nature. Ayaka smiled and waved,while stoic Satoru just nodded to acknowledge them.
Their feet carried them to the Tsukikage's tower. The Village Hidden under the Moon, Tsukigakure was perhaps the most hidden of the ninja villages. The fact that only two Missing-nin ever left Tsukigakure, one of them had returned. The Tsukikage was a kind spirited woman, who had adopted the young Satoru, Ayaka, and Katsu. Though it took time for Satoru to regain the lost trust of the villagers, with the help of his new brother an sister, he was able to. With infant jinchuuriki in arms the three reached the Kage tower, and entered. Making their way to her office.
All Kages, the Hokage, the Kazekage, the Tsuchikage, the Mizukage,and the Raikage, as well as others, all had to deal with the horror that is paper work. And the Tsukikage was no different. The Silver haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties sighed. 'I'd rather face dozens of enemy ninja, with only a kunai then do this paper work.' Rubbing the bridge of her nose a soft chuckle passed her ears and she looked up to see her three adopted children.
"Our Mother, the Tsukikage facing her greatest challenge, paperwork." Satoru commented with a smirk, while Ayaka rolled her eyes with an amused smile, and Katsu chuckled.
Instantly the Tsukikage was on her feet and standing in front of the six, three adults and three infants, her attention had gone from the paperwork to the three little ones. Smiling at how cute they where she looked to them and smiled.
"You know what to do right?" She asked looking to each of them. It was Ayaka who nodded.
"Yes Mother, I'm to train the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki Uzumaki Naruko. Katsu will train the Ichibi Jinchuuriki Gaara, and Satoru, will train the Nibi Jinchuuriki Yugito."
The Tsukikage nodded. As she moved siting on her desk, the woman had the build of a true kunoichi, she was strong without being overly bulky, she was actually slender her training had focused around Stamina, and it was how she had trained Ayaka, and she know that Ayaka would train Naruko the same way.
"Very well, you three go on and have fun raising the little ones, until their old enough to begin training." She smirked knowingly with the knowledge at how difficult infants can be. But knowing it would be worth it.
(A.N: Thus begins the start of the story tell me what you think, and if you have any suggestions on how to go about continuing the story.)