Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
THIS WILL UPDATE ONCE A MONTH, OR SOONER IF I HAVE TIME.
This story is set in the samurai era, meaning homosexual relationships are EXTREMELY common and that there will be various demons from both Japanese and Chinese cultures. I will also have the tailed beasts, despite how screwed up they are. If you all don't know, every single one of the tailed beast's descriptions in Naruto and forums are complete lies. Kyuubi can be defeated by only an arrow, the Houkou doesn't have five tails AND it's not even a Japanese beast, it's Chinese, there's no such thing as the Sokou, Isonade was not a three-tailed monster, and the Kaku was basically just a small creature that stole tea leaves from soba shops...
So understand that I will keep the tailed beasts as they are in the Naruto anime... but I will tweak them so they're more realistic, like the real legends. No stupid Raijuu with lightning bolt tails :Rolls eyes: Oh, and the samurai and warlords in here are not real. I didn't wanna deal with tying in real people :sweatdrop: but the gods and demons are real!
P.S.- The stories of the gods are twisted around so the plot will work.
This story is dedicated to DJ! I LOVE YOU!
Amaterasu- Sasuke
Tsukuyomi- Itachi
Kyuubi- Naruto
Chapter One: Divinity
A forceful wind blew over the empty plains that covered Maebashi, the fields of grass swaying painfully, the one single tree that stood firm in the center of vast nothingness groaning in agony. Its naked branches sliced through the wind, creating a sound that resembled the thrust of a sword into human flesh. At the base of the large tree was a peach-colored fruit in the shape of a head, a smiling face peering out at the open expanse of land.
Thunder rolled through the dark, ominous clouds, lightning striking various spots of land further down in the fields. The small human-faced fruit's smile seemed to widen and it laughed as more bolts of lightning hit the land surrounding it, the small shape of a weasel bolting out of the gray clouds above. It's golden fur and six tails were bright, even in the darkness of the day.
As the creature landed on the ground, the earth around its clawed paws crumbled and it leaped back into the air, curling up and taking on the form of a ball of electric light, hissing and crackling as it flew through the lands with enough speed to match a dragon's. It grazed the barren tree and set it aflame.
Even though flames consumed the old tree and burnt the surrounding grass, the human-like fruit watched with a smiling face as two of Nippon's most beloved gods descended upon its lands, their appearance so beautiful and entrancing that it made the smile slip right off the face of the peach, replacing it (instead) with a look of fascination.
Tsukuyomi, the Moon God, stood beside his darling brother, Amaterasu of the Sun. Their features were so similar, but while Amaterasu had an aura of bright light about him, Tsukuyomi had a misty halo of silver. His beauty was equal to his younger brother's, but he could not compete with the warming glow that he, the sun, produced for all of Japan every day.
Amaterasu stepped through the tall grass, his silk attire being dragged over the dry earth, collecting with it dead flowers and shriveled up face fruits. He brushed a porcelain hand over the front of his warm-colored garbs as another strong gust of wind rushed over the plains and extinguished the fire. Tilting his head downward, he spotted the unharmed fruit and bent down to lift it up.
"A Jinmenju fruit," he commented, eyeing the humored face of the edible treat. He lifted it to his face and took a large bite, juices running down his chin and dripping to the ground, staining the grass a crimson red. The little cries of the fruit went unheard by Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.
"We were unable to slaughter the Raijuu," the Moon God stated rather unemotionally, looking up at the clearing sky that was a dull blue in the absence of Amaterasu, its sun. "Do you suppose we should follow after it, Otouto? If we return to the Bridge of Heaven(1) without the head of at least one Bijuu, Otosama and Okasama will become angered," his words were that of a worried man, but his blank face and uncaring voice betrayed his tone.
Amaterasu stood and his long raven bangs fluttered against his shapely jaw as he turned. "It took us a month to find the Raijuu and it will take another month to find it again. We don't have the time, so our only choice is to return home."
He spared a long glance in the direction of the far away mountains, where the Raijuu had fled to, then tossed the remaining piece of the peach onto the ground, its delicious fluids splattering against the trunk of the burnt tree. Walking to his brother's side, they both disappeared back into the sky, the sun returning to the painted canvas of blue.
xXxXx
Izanami and Izanagi looked down at their sons with disappointed faces. The wife slowly raised her left arm, the end of her pink sleeve reaching up to glossed lips, tickling her nose. While her husband stood with his arms crossed inside of his kimono, she kept a fluid stance, trying not to look too upset. Unlike Izanagi, who could care less about hurting their sons' feelings, she did everything she could to keep them happy, for they were her beloved little boys.
"You two are gods, how can you not kill a weak bijuu such as the Raijuu?.!" their father's strong voice boomed across the expanse of clouds, the bridge they were standing on practically shaking in fear. "You two are worthless! Amaterasu, you may be a great deity, but you cannot be a god if you can't handle such simple tasks. If Japan is to look up to you as such a great being, you must be strong!"
Izanagi then snapped his attention to Tsukuyomi.
"And you, my son, are slow in your work. Your years as the moon in the sky has weakened you a great deal and I have no choice but to cast you down to Earth. The same will go for you, Amaterasu! You two fail as my sons and as gods, so I therefore banish you from the Heavens and send you down to Nippon as mortals!"
Tsukuyomi let a frown cross his face, while Amaterasu looked like he would strike his father down from his perch at the very top of the bridge any second. The Sun God clenched thin hands and gave his parents a stare so dark it rivaled a demon's.
"I have given you and Okasama a good name!" he snarled. "How dare you banish me from my home after everything I have done for you! If you disown me, Otosama, I swear to Yomi(2) that I will tear you from your perch atop the world and slaughter you with my own bare hands!"
Izanami gasped behind her kimono sleeve and glanced over at her husband. The man was not fazed in the least bit.
"Izanagi," she pleaded. "Do not take away from me my own children!"
"My decision is final. Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi will be sent to Nippon as mortals," his scowl was long. "And your threat, my son, has gone unheard."
Amaterasu snarled as the golden glow around him faded away into nothingness. He was now only a pale boy, nothing special in comparison to the village boys on Earth. Beside him, Tsukuyomi's own silver hue disappeared.
"If you ever wish to return here as gods, then slay the bijuu as weak, worthless mortals. Maybe then, I'll let you both return to your places in the sky," Izanagi stated gruffly, then turned from them, leaving behind his wife who watched her two darling boys fall through the clouds and into the Sea of Japan.
xXxXx
On the peninsula of Wajima, various creatures were crawling along its shores, slithering through the water and preying on fishes that tried to approach the shore to lay their eggs in the seaweed. The monsters' sharp fangs dug into the fish, the small bodies flailing around as poison was injected into them. One of the snake-like demons curled itself around the roots of an old mangrove, letting out a croaking sound that was close to a frog's. It's maroon-colored eyes were glazed over with a gray film as it slithered through the branches. It slowly twisted its head to the side and watched as a bright figure approached the shore through the thick forest.
"Hidari-san pulled the net to shallow water earlier this morning, so grab it and let's get back to the village. I bet Ayame-chan's cooking us a large meal right now! Saaaa, I'm starving!" a tall man grinned to a shorter boy, ushering him to go find the fishing net. He had hair as golden as the petals of a sunflower, the yellow locks brushing against his forehead and temples as a light breeze blew over the beach. Walking out onto a wooden dock as the boy ran off down the sandy shore, his bright cerulean eyes reflected the moving clouds above him. Lightning crackled viciously overhead and he narrowed his blue orbs.
He drew his attention back to the ocean and scanned the water, noticing that even as a storm brewed, the water remained still and serene. Walking forward more until the tips of his zori sandals were on the edge of the dock, the man looked down into the water, his reflection staring right back at him. His strong muscles, smooth stomach, and slim waist were wrapped in white bandages, a belt of weapons slung around his hips, overlapping the start of his orange and red Haidate (thigh guards). He dressed close to a samurai, wearing Kobakama (breeches) and Kiahan (gaiters), so one would never know that he was actually a priest.
"Hurry with the net, Konohamaru!" he yelled to his pupil, still staring down at his reflection. A ripple appeared over his face and he blinked, squatting down to look closer. He tilted his head to the side, golden hair obscuring his curious eyes, and reached a hand in, wondering if maybe it was a giant koi. He didn't expect another hand to reach out, as if his reflection was alive. He screeched as pale fingers wrapped around his wrist and yanked. He spread his legs quickly and dug his heels into the posts on the side of the dock, to prevent himself from falling in.
Konohamaru looked up from his task of tying the fish net as the priest's screech echoed through the mangroves. He dropped what he was doing and ran along the shore, his sandals sinking into the soft sand, his eyes catching site of a pale hand wrapped around his senior's wrist, the arm sticking out of the cloudy ocean water.
"Naruto-niisama!" he wailed and almost tripped as he leapt onto the deck, racing to the very end, one of his sandals flying off as he stumbled, once again. He thrust his arms out and grabbed Naruto's forearms, yanking him back from the clutches of whatever creature it was. He gritted his teeth and pulled as hard as he could, with more effort on the blond's part, their distance from the end of the dock widening, only pulling the thing further out of the sea. "Kick it!" he cried.
Naruto ignored his student, surprised that the grip of the creature was so strong. He, being a priest, had a set of rosary around his neck that was meant to keep away any demons, for if they touched him they would be burned alive, so he didn't understand why it's flesh wasn't melting. He reached down and pulled a gun from the belt around his waist, aiming it at the very edge of the dock, waiting for the head of the demon to surface. His arm was perfectly still, despite Konohamaru's rough jerking.
But what surfaced wasn't a demon or serpent, it was a human; a male with raven hair that was short and hanging in his face, his skin a creamy peach color, his eyes half opened and an endless black. His lips were partly open and they were the color of the most fairest of sakura petals. Lowering his arm, Naruto straightened his lips into a fine line and told his pupil to back away. The brunette did as he was told and released his grip, stepping back to give them both room.
The unknown man looked at the blond for a second, then his body swayed and his pupils grew large, consuming his irises. He fell forward, the soaked garbs that hung low on his body slipping even further down his thin frame. Naruto stood, inspecting the smaller boy. He looked to be years younger than himself and had a child-like look to his aristocratic face. With one more flicker over the body with his cerulean eyes, he turned to his student.
"We're taking him back to the village, so pick him up for me. We'll tell Tanemura-san to get the fish in the evening."
Konohamaru frowned. "B-but he could be dangerous!"
The serious look on Naruto's face slipped away and he whined like a child. "Don't be a brat, Konohamaru! Just pick him up and I'll treat you to red bean dumplings later!"
The boy seemed to consider that, then he bent down and lifted the male onto his back, scrunching his nose up since he wasn't too fond of the water that was soaking through his clothes. He turned his head and looked at the unconscious face of the raven, wonder shining in his light brown eyes.
"Naruto-niisama... Are you sure it's going to be okay to take him back...? He did just show up out of nowhere..."
"Yeah, but he's probably a survivor of a shipwreck. You know how turbulent the waters can get around this time of the year," Naruto grinned. "And Sarutobi-sensei would get angry if he found out we left an injured man out on the beach."
"I guess so..."
"Now come on! Dinner's waiting and we need to get this guy into warm clothes before he gets sick, so fasten the pace!" Naruto adjusted his belt and began walking back, his golden hair being blown around in a sudden gust of wind. His eyes twitched as sand barely missed his eyes and he looked over the tops of the mangroves, to the mountains far in the east. Thunder clouds swirled around them, lightning striking more often than it should.
"It looks like a bad storm is coming," Konohamaru commented, walking past his teacher with the pale man still flush against his back. "We should hurry back," he continued on his way and Naruto mumbled an agreement, narrowing his eyes once again in suspicion.
xXxXx
The local village was a beautiful once, the ground covered in a lush, green grass, mangroves twisting around the wooden poles that held colorful lanterns, flowers blooming in the most unexpected of places, a shallow creek branching off in various directions throughout the area, smooth stepping stones placed in the water to prevent small children from soaking their straw sandals.
Villagers were out and about, conversing with each other and excitedly moving their hands in every direction as they mentioned the year's supply of crops. Because there had yet to be a drought, there were going to be many vegetables and fruits for everyone to feast upon. A young woman with chocolate-brown hair hurried in between the talking men, her sandals clacking against the stepping stones as she went across one of the shallow creeks.
She was stopped by a familiar voice, though, and turned, spotting Naruto and Konohamaru returning from their short trip to the shore. She smiled to them and adjusted her light pink kimono, lacing her fingers together behind her in a cute manner.
"Welcome back, Naruto, Konohamaru," she noticed the man that the small boy was supporting and shifted a frail hand to cover her mouth. "M-my, who is that? Is he breathing?"
The blond nodded and decided to take said man from his subordinate's hands, lifting him into his arms, bridal style. He didn't seem to be bothered by the water soaking through his bandages, clutching the freezing body close to his chest. "He was in the ocean. I think he might've been in a shipwreck, but I'll have to ask him about that when he wakes up. BUT," he gave the woman a wide grin, "that's not important at the moment. What's important is my dinner, Ayame-chan," he chirped, causing Konohamaru to roll his eyes.
Ayame laughed. "I was just returning to the brewery to get Sarutobi-sama's meal for him. How about you two take the young man to my home and lay him down? I have a yukata on my sleeping mat that I just washed this morning, so dress him in that."
"You're so kind, Ayame-chan," Naruto breathed and began heading to the girl's home, which was near the outskirts. Konohamaru kept up the pace beside him, staring contently at the peaceful face of the mysterious person.
He crinkled his nose in thought. "Do you think... he looks familiar, Naruto-niisama?"
Naruto drew his attention away from the path and looked down at his student curiously, then to the raven his arms. The priest would admit that he was definitely gorgeous (since it wouldn't do much damage to his manly pride) and wondered if maybe he was royalty. He heard of many cases where a prince or princess would disappear from their castles...
"Oh! I know!" Konohamaru suddenly snapped. "He looks just like that god that Ojiichan (Sarutobi) was talking to me about the other night! Um, Amaterasu, the Sun God(1)."
"A Sun God?" Naruto raised a brow and pushed away the beads that covered Ayame's door to her small, traditional home, stepping in. The residence was basically empty except for needed essentials, a sleeping mat, a few candles and lanterns, and her pet tanuki, Uku. "Gods don't just fall from the sky and almost no one had ever seen one--"
"Sometimes I wonder why you're even a priest. You don't follow any religion and it's as if you don't believe in our gods," the brunette crossed his arms and plopped down on the floor, lifting the pure white kimono up from Ayame's bed. "Here."
Naruto sat down as well and laid the raven on the mat, undressing him swiftly and efficiently. He handed the wet garbs to Konohamaru and the boy folded them, tossing them outside to be washed later, and grabbed a dry cloth from the wooden shelf by the door, reaching over to give it to his teacher. The blond took it and proceeded to dry the cold body off.
"But... what if he is a god?" Konomaru brought up the topic once again. "He looks exactly like Amaterasu."
Naruto chuckled and began putting the snow-white yukata onto the still unconscious male, careful of ripping it. Once he finished, he moved him further up the mat and covered him up with the thick quilt, to warm him up. He sat back and crossed his legs, wiggling his toes to keep his feet from falling asleep.
"What's the chance of him being him, huh? Slim to none."
"I know that, but his aura... Get close to him, he gives off small bursts of abnormal energy every now and then," the young teen commented. "I noticed it when I was carrying him back from the sea. It's a strange kind of energy... it's like a the flickering flame of a candle. It's small and fades in and out, but it has the potential to swell and consume..."
The priest stared at his student, noticing that he seemed so sure of himself. He got up on his knees and moved forward, putting a hand on either side of the sleeping raven's head. Bending down, he let the tip of his nose touch the other's and closed his eyes, focusing on what kind of aura he gave off.
Then he felt it.
It was a faint flicker, just like Konohamaru had said, begging to be let out. He furrowed his brows, but his eyes remained closed, moving closer so that his forehead was against the man's. He soon regretted it, though, when he found what he called his "second eyelids" closing. He panicked, having never found them closing involuntarily and tried to jerk away, but the energy was already consuming him, the feeling like hundreds of hands yanking at his clothes and scratching at his skin.
Growling and snarling was heard once darkness was all he saw and he felt himself in a very familiar place, where dirty, shallow water was all around him, reaching his ankles. There was no light, except for a disgusting green glow that seemed to seep out of the water as fumes and mist. In front of him were ten tall, thick steel bars, an old exorcist slip on the huge lock in the center. Huffs of breath could be heard inside of the cage-like structure and clouds of cool air shot out from between the bars, warming Naruto's body and making his skin damp.
He was outside of the demon's cell...
Stepping forward, he stared into the darkness, confused as to why he was there and why his "second eyelids" had closed. There was a rumbling from deep in the cage and blood red eyes seeped into the endless black shadows, slitted pupils becoming even more narrow as it watched the movements of it's host.
"Child," it crooned with a malicious voice, brilliant white canines shining through the darkness. A deep growl reverberated from its throat, causing the walls to shake and little stones to crumble away from the rotting ceiling. "The boy is calling out to me."
Naruto looked confused. "What?"
"He was able to close your 'second eyelids', meaning he is more than a mere human. But do not be worried, he may have closed them, but he was not able to break the seal and rip me from your mind."
"More than a human... then what Konohamaru was saying might be correct?" the blond asked.
The demon growled ominously. "If he is a god, then slaughter him. I know for a fact that those filthy deities are after the heads of my kind."
"You're kind? Kyuubi, what are you--"
"...niisama... Naruto-niisama!"
Naruto's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring down into two pools of obsidian that were almost as endless as the shadows within Kyuubi's cage. His forehead was still pressed against the raven's and he almost flinched as he felt the hand harshly tugging on his rosary, the male's face impassive, but his eyes showing every emotion he was feeling.
"So you... have the Kyuubi no Kitsune residing within you?"
(1)- Yes, in the real story, Amaterasu is a Goddess
I hope you liked the first chapter to Amaterasu and remember to leave nice, slightly long reviews so that I know if I need to work on anything or whatnot. Remember, this will be updated monthly unless I have time to do otherwise, so... until the next chap, c ya!