I don't own The Dresden Files, nor Naruto. They belong to Jim Butcher and Masashi Kishimoto!
Chapter 1
Naruto grumbled, as she sat behind the old cherry desk that had once belong to her father. For the last several hours she'd been working over paper work in the Hokage's tower office, she could see her own face resting on the Hokage's monument. At the age of seventy-five it was a bitter pill to swallow seeing herself upon that mountain side which loomed over Konoha, not looking a day over twenty-five. Soon, she would step down from the head position and she would be free to live out her days in silence and reprieve like Tsunade did before her. Unfortunately, Naruto was also certain that she would be utterly bored. She would be hard pressed not to move in with Shikamaru at such a time, she had been living in the Hokage's suite hidden behind two sealed doors on the office floor for last three or four years. The old Nara was the only friend beside her loving pooch Komaru that still lived today. That and she knew it would irritate Shikamaru if she acted like Jiraiya, and grabbing his ass was about all the excitement she got now a days!
The blue eyed elder could only sigh as a long strand of silver hair fell from the Hokage's hat. As she looked up from her stacks of papers, blue eyes glanced upward to see that Shikamaru had come in and was sitting on one of the few couches in the circular room with a smirk on his old withered face. His eyes, a light smokey grey, were the only thing the older man still had of his younger features. Though unlike then, they shown through with the experience that comes to a man from years of fighting. His once chocolate colored hair was now white with age. As an old man he grew tired of worrying about cutting his hair. So, it fell as a white waterfall from the scrap of cloth that held his ponytail at the top of his head. Naruto on countless times teased the old man about his long hair but it never fazed him. Both of them were content to sit in their own thoughts of the days to come. It was about time they handed off their positions to someone else. A young man by the name of Shin Aburame would be taking Naruto's position of Hokage, while Shikamaru's grandson Shikaku would be taking his place as the Hokage's Fire Blade or the Commander of Anbu, which were covert operations that kept Konoha safe. This particular position was something like the Hokage's right hand man, the voice of their ear and at times their heart. It was something that Shikaku had been working for most of his life and in a few short months both young men would achieve what they had been groomed to do.
"Are you excited to be stepping down?" Shikamaru asked finally, grey eyes studying the fatigue that was easily displayed by her body language. They both knew once she left this position that there wouldn't be much left of her. For so long, she'd been tied up in this position and there was very little that was left for her. Then again she wouldn't live long after stepping down anyway; the cancer had been eating at her bit by bit for months. The fact that she refused to stop walking just seemed to prove how stubborn the woman could be. Though when she leaned on him, there was little he could do but ensure she made it to her bed nowadays. The apartment in the tower was the only place that Naruto went now, it was too painful for her to leave, or go up and down the stairs on a regular basis.
Naruto snorted, her eyes softening as they rested on his form. "You know as well as I do it'll be in your hands to take care of me after this. You're the only one left, and you won't burden Shikaku or Shin." The small smile that slipped from her lips caused him to sigh. It was painful to watch her like this and know within the next few months it would literally be only him. Komaru wouldn't last long without Naruto.
Alarms seemed to blare out around her, before two pairs of sharp yet tired old eyes narrowed to a small seal that created a viewing screen which appeared on the far wall in a small focused flash of light. She could easily see the malicious chakra entity headed their way, it was almost like having a repeat of the Kyuubi's attack upon Konoha seventy some odd years before. But why would the Nanabi be heading this way? Konoha had done nothing to bring on its rage.
"I don't suppose you mind me going out with a bang do you Shi-chan?" Naruto asked, amusement seemed to rise up in her. She would rather die than live like this, than to have the cancer eat her alive. Slowly her body would give in on itself and she would no longer be able to walk or talk and would be entirely dependent on Shikamaru.
"Just don't cause too much collateral damage, Na-chan." Shikamaru replied easily, though the tone was light, his expression wasn't. He was hurting. She knew he was hurting. There wasn't any point making it last longer than necessary, it would be cruel of him to ask her to stay and live through the cancer when she had a chance to go out with a bang so to speak.
"Hokage-sama!" A dark haired man with thick dark curls and golden eyes hurried forth, he was Shino Aburame's grandson and the closest thing to a child that she'd ever gotten. The boy hadn't changed in the years that they had known each other, he never wore glasses like most of the members of his clan. He was wearing a very simple jonin's uniform, he was only twenty and he was about to have the weight of Konoha resting on his shoulders.
"Shin, you will take the lead after today." Naruto stated, a moment of quiet seemed to rest in the large room that looked over the village. Shin was looking at her with something akin to the stoic expression that Shino once made, it was heart breaking to see his face on Shin. Naruto found herself studying his face for several long moments, this would be the last time the last time that Shin saw her. A sort of guilt rose up inside him, he was much like her and had lost so much in his life.
Shin's golden eyes widened, at the feeling of a weathered frail calloused hand touched his cheek. There had been few moments in his life that Naruto or his grandfather had offered him such quiet comfort. The widening of his eyes was the only the sign of discomfort that the young Aburame allowed to be shown; he had learned at an early age it was a bad idea to give insight to his emotions. His grandfather Shino, and Naruto had raised him. His eyes sharpened, before he simply nodded, the second that she saw his acceptance she was gone like the wind she manipulated so well.
The screaming and cries could reach her ears even at this distance the oldest civilian members of Konoha would simply give out from the amount of heavy pressure put out by this creature. It was a grotesque mutation of the few pictures she'd seen of the Nanabi, it looked very little like the tailed beast, it seemed to be falling to pieces melting almost. The creatures tails were fusing together in an awkward way while the armor that usually protected its head and shoulders had large gaps leaving the beasts sensitive eyes and neck vulnerable to attack.
"Space-Time Barrier, Physical Removal!" Seal designs began swirling around her small form. They were too close to Konoha resting just outside the city walls, if the Nanabi managed to make it to the heart of the city; hundreds of civilians and ninja alike would be injured and killed. It would be up to her to ensure the creature never made it that far. The world seemed to revolve, then they were gone as well as a large portion of the landscape that the two of them had been standing upon. Trees and stones that had been teleported with the two of them fell across the ground causing Naruto to dodge the falling remains; the Nanabi didn't even seem to notice as some of the rocks bounced off of what was left of its armor.
"Nanabi, why have you come?" Naruto asked, a frown on her face as she stood upon one of the standing trees. It wasn't unusual for containers to speak with other bijuu, but it was rare for one such as the Nanabi to attack at random. When the Kyuubi had first attacked Konoha along with the other bijuu it had been because the earth had been angry and encouraged her spirits to remove the pests. They had done nothing (that she knew off) that would warrant such an attack.
Naruto could only wait and dodge, the seven tailed creature didn't respond instead roared out its anger to the world letting them know its pain. Studying her opponent, Naruto frowned looking over the creature; the Nanabi was a lightening based creature meaning that she had favorable attacks in the fact that she was a wind user. In laymen terms, wind was strong against lightning and weak against fire…that was if you didn't know how to use it. If a wind user had complete control over their element they could kill a fire by pulling away the oxygen, or even use the wind to direct the lightning back at those attacking. During her life time she'd been called many things from the Goddess of Shinobi to the Second coming of the Yellow Flash, for her skill in altering jutsu and using them in unusual ways.
Kit…
Kit….!
What is it Kyuubi? Naruto swore, trying to have a conversation with the Kyuubi was a major pain in the ass, at least in the middle of battle. Her hands were flying through the seals, Tiger-Hare-Dragon, though her bones and muscles cried in protest. The pain was something horrible. There was no cartilage left between the bone and the rubbing was excruciating that was what came with arthritis, even as the chakra was building and it seemed to explode outward as she controlled the chakra through the very last seal. A thick swirling of pinkish, brown winds began to spin, before condensing into a tight and large cyclone picking up the leaves and petals of the surrounding plant life and turning them into something akin to razors. The heavy winds smashed directly into the odd bijuu.
The Nanabi isn't a bijuu anymore…it's no longer part of this earth's fury. It's become a demon; it's absorbed to many humans.
So what do I do about it? Naruto questioned, before ripping away the top layer of the robes and shoving the hat off her head to hang on her back. The red top robe was something that she'd had to fight for, she'd basically hemmed the thing to rest right at her knee before putting slits up the sides of her legs to rest evenly along her pelvic bone. At her old age, she was probably called a cougar by some of the civilian women in the village, though at this point she really didn't give a damn.
You should probably try to either seal him inside of something because he no longer had the abilities of a bijuu…or try to absorb him.
Oh, yeah that's great I can contain two demons instead of one! Not only that but I have nothing to seal that stupid thing in….I guess absorption is the way to go.Naruto frowned, though she had to wonder what the Kyuubi was plotting away inside her mind. Something was going to happen, and she had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good thing. Taking a deep breath, Naruto watched and waited as the Nanabi started to recover, at this point she could plainly see the head of some sort of insectiod like demon, and there were only three tails left the others seemed to have vanished fusing together.
Creating a Ram seal, Naruto forced her chakra to once more come forth focusing it into slender fingertips to create small cyclones before releasing the attack; the small whirlwinds grew larger and larger as they speed toward the creature. There were a total of ten tornado's hitting and bouncing the once-bijuu, grinning the jinchuriki released yet another ram seal and a small ball of wind seemed be growing before she threw it forward. The ball continued to grow enveloping the biiju and the still attacking cyclones, the pressure inside the still forming dome continued to change.
Naruto stood slightly relaxed in the eerie calm of the forest, before summoning the rest of her chakra. The first attack had been a B-rank, as had the third, while the second was an A rank, and still it seemed to be far too easily felled. Taking a deep breath she had to wonder if she was going to simply implode after using this particular jutsu, it was similar to a suicide bomber; Ram was a base seal, Dragon was everything good, the Tiger's strength just influenced it all, and the Snake seemed to signify everything that could go wrong. "Space-Time Manipulation, Absorption Technique!"
A howling laughter seemed to rise up around her, and the dome that continued to hold the once-Nanabi rocketed toward her. She could feel her skin beginning pealing back from the muscle, while it burned away at the intensity and the heat that was caused by the absorption, hurting every muscle that was touched by the vile chakra, which was now several times hotter and fouler than any bijuu that the old hokage had ever felt before even the kyuubi's no longer left this horrid taste surrounding her. She felt as if even her bones were being heated up, her organs, even the hard nails upon the tips of elegant fingertips, everything was on fire then it all went black. The Seven-tailed Beetle was pulled to the sealed space inside the unconscious Hokage, the seal created by her father glowed, a red hot color as certain lines began to fracture and break. The insect demon's wing-like tails were all but marred as he faced the caged fox. As he walked upon its cage, the Kyuubi took hold of him, biting hard as she attempted to pull the Nanabi between the bars. He fought the beast as hard as he could muster trying to pull away from the bars that spelled his destruction, but the Fox already had him in her grasp. With the third pull, he was through. Once inside the Kyuubi's jaws the Nanabi continued to fight for freedom. Sensing the Seven-Tailed's weakening, she plants both front paws on his back biting between them looking for a kill. She worked away unerringly at the beetles back as it squirmed. A sound similar to a scream came from it, before the Nanabi was no more. With the final bite, the Beetle was in half at the Fox's feet. As the the insect died, a small orb of power jumped from him into the mouth of the Nine-tailed Fox. She devoured it gladly. The Nanabi's final power coursed through the Kyuubi with added intensity. With part of it, the great Fox threw the burned corpse of the former Biiju from Naruto's body. As the Beetle passed through them, the bars of the cage melted away allowing her free roam through her host's body.
Hee, hee, oh Naru-chan you should have known I would find a way around this! The Kyuubi could only laugh from her resting place inside the girl. She was more than ready to get away. Pushing at the constraints she could only grin as the seal began to break apart. The Kyuubi wouldn't be able to break out completely but she could at least destroy half the restraints that kept her in place! Years before, Naruto had tied her even more tightly behind the seal ensuring that the great kitsune would pass on with the hokage in the case of her human death. She wasn't so ready for such a permanent state of being. The best way for the old fox to live was to give herself some time, in this world her offspring was ready to take her place and that was all good and well.
Dark red slitted eyes seemed to glow as she looked through different times and places, the jutsu that Naruto had used also allowed to Kyuubi to use it. The great fox did use the jutsu twisting it, and adding the power of her tails to tweak the outcome. As such she was going to change a few things,Ah! That world would be perfect, she thought to herself as she looked into a world in which everything was metal. The time was off so it would reverse some of the aging…and she could make a few changes to her containers form. The cackling could be heard for miles, as with a flash of light the Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure disappeared, leaving only the destroyed remains of the Nanabi, ash and the white and ruby over coat of the Hokage's robes.
Naruto took a deep breath, she felt as if the oxygen from her lungs had been yanked from her chest. It was almost as if she'd landed roughly like the training she'd received in her youth. The sky above her was the same, though it did seem a few shades grayer. High walls rested on either side of her reaching high in the sky like the Hokage's monument, or the tower, it was just completely unreal how high these walls seemed to reach. Most of buildings around her were high. The building she was leaning against was made of stone and had an array of colors ranging from a dark red to a rusting orange color, strange platforms hung out the windows, and steps led down all the way to the ground; the entire structure looked to be made of metal and very unreliable though the smattering of rust didn't help matters. The building to her left on the other hand looked to be made of nothing but gray metal, gray white stone and an oddly enough glass she could see right in to the men and women working in the building. Where in the hell was she?
Taking a deep breath Naruto forced herself to calm down. Crossing her arms and legs, she began to study the people around her, their situational awareness was horrible and they wore odd clothing that tended to make fighting harder. Where ever she was this place had seen a time of peace for a very long time, or the civilians were kept removed from that war of this world. Listening to the conversations she had to frown. The people talked of buying things or selling them, leading her to believe that this was a very materialistic world not much unlike the merchant class back home. Power came in all forms, unfortunately for these people it was usually hard cash and political power that won the war.
The buildings were also very different from her home, they were just beginning to use metal in the creation of their buildings. They still used clay and wood, but in Konoha they had craftsmen with talent beyond belief, most of the things in her view while different for the most part were very generic. Another thing that was very different from this world and her home land happened to be that from what she could tell there didn't seem to be much vegetation. At least not inside the city, or it could even be what part of the city she was in. Adding that to the stench and Naruto was certainly grossed out enough to want to puke. Though she managed to keep it in by forcing herself to study everything around this world including the strange metal and glass things people kept getting in and out of.
Naruto hissed at some of the looks she was getting which seemed to startle the people more than anything, which in response gave her even stranger looks before hurrying on their ways. The people walking by thought she was a nutty, if the looks sent toward her were anything to go by. In all honesty, Naruto was getting rather frustrated with the looks, but she doubted that it would be considered acceptable to throw kunai as the people walk by (even in Konoha there had been rules about harming the civilians). It was equally doubtful that a Naginata would be easily accepted when it appeared from a seal that had been drawn on the gentle slope of her left shoulder. The blonde loved the weapon, though many of her friends had given her a hard time for using a woman's weapon.
Eventually as more time passed, an odd looking metal death trap arrived before rolling to a halt and sitting on the side of the road. It was older looking than most of the other cars and had blue looking things sitting on the top of it. The middle was white, while the front and back were both a matte black color. A blue line ran along the side until bisecting the white middle of the metal thing and curling downward. Gold letters spelled out the word Police.
Police? Why had they been called? The blonde couldn't help but think to herself. That word wasn't something that Naruto was well acquainted with. It had been years since a police force had been used in Konohagakure, after the annihilation of the Uchiha clan it had been hard to find a clan willing to take the job which had been sullied by the traitorous clan. She could tell by the way that the people around the area were acting that this might not be a great thing. They looked surprised, curious and others looked delighted or uncomfortable. A man in a light blue long sleeved shirt and dark navy blue pants was getting out of the car and walking toward her, he was older. The man's skin reminded Naruto of many of the Kumo ninjas whose skin was a soft coffee color. The man's hair still had most of its color in that it was still a dark brown but beginning to grey at his temples. His eyes were a similar dark brown and there were laugh and worry lines focused on the outsides of his eyes around his mouth and across his forehead.
"Barely covered there aren't cha girl?" The man asked, his voice a low baritone; there was a scruffiness to it, a scratchy quality that came with age. He was looking a little resigned at the fact that he was talking to her in such a way as if he didn't exactly know what to do with her, and this was a feeling that had occurred before.
"Better this than some of the things I've seen walk by today," Naruto responded, she'd watched so many people walk by and it had been nothing more than horrifying at some of the things that the women in this world seemed to wear. Skin tight clothing, heels that were impossibly high, and skirts that were impractical and had no movement, or were so high she'd been sure that an ass cheek would fall out at any given moment.
The man scoffed lightly a look of amusement seemed to dance in dark eyes, before he spoke once more. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."
Naruto frowned up at the man, she wasn't certain how comfortable she felt with simply going off with this man. But this world was completely different from her own, different money, customs. She didn't even know who the head of the land was! Blue eyes narrowed, the man in front of her was strong, but age had made him a bit weaker than he might have once been. Muscle was slowly giving way to fat and easing into middle age, even ninja began to lose muscle it was something that is simply came with age.
" Indeed." The blonde sniffed. Shifting easily, the young woman found herself stumbling. Her body felt different almost longer, never mind that her clothing were not fitting like it had before she'd been thrown here by the Kyuubi. Her palms rubbed roughly against the hard stone, she refused to ask for help. The weakness that had come along with her once aged body seemed to change, the fact that Naruto felt several times lighter than in her home world was strange as well.
As the taller darker man turned to walk back toward the strange metal thing, Naruto followed at a slower pace. When the man opened the back door to the thing Naruto refused to go any further, she wasn't about to get into some metal moving thing that didn't even exist in her world. When the man looked back he sent her a frown that the blue eyed woman returned with just as much force.
"I'm not getting in that thing." Naruto finally spoke, the man's face faulted in frustration and it was all the young woman could do not to let her lips twitch in amusement at the uncertain expression that had bloomed on the man's face.
Rawlins frowned. He wasn't entirely sure what exactly he was dealing with. It was obvious that the woman in front of him wasn't entirely human. The sharp claws and elongated fangs seemed to say that she was similar to one of the werewolf types that Dresden had spoken of. Yet at the same time she was relatively different as well. There seemed to be an oriental flare to the blonde in dress, shape of the eyes, and mannerisms, but the coloration of the woman's skin, eyes, and hair all looked natural which shouldn't have been possible.
"Well I'll walk you there then." Rawlins stated, eyeing the woman as she readjusted the robe like dress she seemed to be wearing. It reminded him of the cheong-sam dresses that the ladies of his favorite Chinese restaurants wore, but it was tied together by a long sash like object that reminded him of the kimono's his daughter seemed to want to wear. The woman's feet were bear and Rawlins could tell that she was cold by the way she was shivering; it was even odder to see the sharp yet dainty nails on the woman's toes.
"Very well." Silence followed, after the arctic response from Naruto. She honestly didn't feel like speaking, and was much more interested in finding somewhere warm. A sharp wind seemed to cut through the thin material of her Hokage's robe, this particular robe was made of a thin silk meant for the hot summer and fall months that blanketed the Land of Fire. This land where ever she was simply reminded Naruto of Kumo or Iwa in the chill that seemed to perpetually be on the air.
The older man walking beside her didn't seem to be enjoying the walk, in fact they had been walking for roughly 15 minutes or so. The police department was a not quiet old building that could pass for something much older because of the shabbiness that seemed to surround it. There was a grayness that seemed to surround the building causing it to shag much like an old man that had lived just a touch to hard, and might start complaining of back pains. White panels around the windows gave a semblance of upbeat, but were easily overlooked by the grimy unwashed windows. All and all Naruto wondered at the ability to protect the public with such horrible funding.
The steps were small, crumbling stones, and impossibly cold against the soils of her feet. For once Naruto was extremely grateful for her high body temperature even if it couldn't combat the chill of this place. The steps were some hardy material that had seen hundreds of feet, but again the edges were beginning to show heavy signs of wear and tear bits were beginning to crumble leaving small sharp bits to bite into the bottoms of her feet.
The doors were thick steel of a rusting red that seemed similar to that of drying blood, the bricks around it seemed to take even that small amount of color and dry it out. The large over hang was a similar rusting color, the thickness was all that was keeping it from being swallowed by the seemingly all-consuming gray building. As the door opened, Naruto shivered again, the inside wasn't much different than the outside. Everything again seemed to sag with age and well-worn experience. A few desks were even held up by old books and folders to replace broken or
missing legs.
The woman at the front desk was an older woman and easily turned her nose up to Naruto as if the one-time hokage was a whore from the red light district. The young blonde found herself in a waiting room before asking to be directed to a rest room. This thankfully was very much similar to the commodes that were in Konoha. There was a surreal feeling the seemed to ride over all of Naruto's senses, it was hard for her. She was in a different world and there was no one in the world that she was familiar with. It hurt to think that this world was so different than her own.
Naruto came out of the stall with a sigh, her bright blue eyes went wide in shock at the sight before her. There was a mirror directly in front of the stall and Naruto's heart seemed to stop. The face staring back at her wasn't her own, the three whisker-like marks that once decorated her cheeks had completely disappeared. Her face that framed the blue sapphire eyes with a cat-like slitted pupil, was slimmer making her seem more feminine and sensual. Naruto's figure as a whole seemed just as drastically changed. She was several inches taller perhaps she reached five'five or five'six; the curves seemed to become more dramatic as her older features had melted back into this younger form. Her large shapely chest gave way to slender waist and wide hips that flowed down to long slender built legs. The nails that she hadn't really paid attention to before were quite a bit longer than they had ever been standing a good inch or so from the quick with sharply edged points, a quick look down assured her that the same had occurred to her toes. A snarl seemed to overtake her reaction pulling back fuller pale pink lips and showed the elongation of her canines. She ran her tongue over them showed that even some of her teeth had taken on a sharper and more dangerous edge.
A howl of rage rose up inside her before a fist reached back and slammed forward breaking through the glass. Behind it a large dent showed through in the wall. Another angry shout was released in the blondes mind demanding to know what had happened to her body, why were all these changes happening to her. The Kuubi remained quiet.
Naruto's felt tears threatening to overwhelm her, before she backed into the cold solid stone wall opposite the row of sinks and mirrors. The cold seemed to reaffirm that this wasn't some joke or dream. She was really in this distant world away from everything that she knew. An overwhelming since of exhaustion seemed to overcome the once ancient ninja as she slide to the floor with little protest. What was she to do? How could she make a living?
The door swung open only to show a rather pissed off blonde woman, she remind Naruto of Ino in all honesty. The woman's hair was relatively short, having a longish appearance in the front and curling just beneath her chin, while it seemed extremely close cropped in the back. Bright blue eyes took one look Naruto before seeing her bloodied hand at the broken mirror before a muffled groan or perhaps it was a scream was released. Anger seemed to roll off the short woman in waves, it was obvious that she was angry with Naruto. And at the moment the tired once upon a time Hokage just couldn't seem to care.
Naruto could only nod and the other blonde's frustrated yelling which seemed to get louder as the former ninja remained unresponsive. Simply following the woman, Naruto couldn't even feel the pain in her hand from the broken glass that had sliced up her hand. Naruto could hear them talk about needing medical help and Naruto could only snort.
"I won't need a medic." Ice blue eyes snapped up to stare at the female officer, the woman simply glanced at her hand without saying anything. The blood was beginning to dry and she felt little pain as her fingers seemed to twitch. This wound like all the others would heal at an accelerated rate, just like everything else.
The female officer simply shook her head before waving Naruto on, it was obvious that she was still pissed off and Naruto couldn't bring herself to care. The young ninja found herself locked up in a cement cell, large jail bars allowed her to see out. It was something of a disgrace. A long bench divided the cell in half while another bench sat against the wall. There were drawings of all kinds on the wall and benches as well as a few on the floor. And it just looked run down. A blanket was thrown in with her, the blonde ninja could only blink before curling up with it on the bench against the wall. It held a musty smell from age but the cloth was still warm. It was more than likely she would spend the entire night thinking…she would have to, at least to survive in this strange world.
****Author's note: We updated the chapter then noticed from a few readers we knew personally that the poor followers that didn't religiously check up on us wouldn't see the update. So, without Quill's permission…which is probably going to get me in trouble later…I deleted the posted chapter and reposted it to hope to send out the notification email. You're Welcome!
-Katana
