Kitsune Hanyou here and I have brought to you my second project: Vague Acceptance.
I thought that maybe writing something that's been brewing in my head recently might help loosen up the cluttered mess of files in my head.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights are reserved by Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump; additionally, I do not know a lot about Shinto or Miko customs but I'll try making it feel as real as possible…if I can that is.
Warning: Some "fanservice" not too heavy, but just a warning. Oh...and even if she is a shrine maiden, she will still swear in her own way.
- Prologue to Life -
Darkened sky looms over mountains like a suffocating carpet of calm fear…
Running… two souls run beneath the ominous eaves of the majestic flora. The dried leaves crunching for every hurried stomp on the forest floor.
The weasels dance in the wind, that violent cold torrent. The whispers of the spirits dance with them…
Around the two shadowed figures, lights flicker within the black of the forest, appearing as streaks of light to their non-stop voyage through the thicket.
Louder do they sing, faster do they dance…over the hill, the spiritual home dwells…
They stop for a moment. One, dark hair meld into the darkness, whispers to her companion about their resolve to secure the endangered child, the other traveler looked over the horizon and pointed at their destination.
Climb the stone steps with all your might, fear not what lies ahead…
In their eyes, the scenery melted into one blur of deep colors. Atop the steps landing, a Torii stood majestic under the moons shrouded gait. Though dark, they could see the outline of a shrine in the far end.
Behold the shrine on Konohana Mountain.
"We have to leave her here, the stairs slowed down our progress and the pursuers are near."
The feminine shadow winced, appalled by the idea of leaving a defenseless child alone on the hill, "I… no your right, I'll write a note. Hold her for a minute." She handed the child to her companion.
He looked down at the child in his arms, guilt and sadness washed over him while gazing upon the child's blissful slumber. "Forgive me, teacher," he pleaded, "This has to be done; your misplaced trust in the easy acceptance of your people over that night's events will bring about her death," The man sighed while caressing the light tuft of yellow hair on her tiny head. He gently rubbed the cheeks on her peaceful face, he sighed again when his fingers brushed the birthmark on her face: six whisker like slashes, testimony to her damned fate as the prison for a great nation's destruction.
"For that very reason," The woman interrupted after finishing the note, "we have taken her to a land far from her home." She watched the man's saddened gaze.
Deep breaths later, then they were prepared to leave the child. The woman wished the child luck, before setting her down beside the Torii with a note tucked into the blanket.
The man picked up a nearby stone and tossed it at the shrine, hoping to draw attention from the residents inside. When the rock collided with the wooden frame, both strangers ran down the side of the hill, making noise on the way to attract whoever was after them.
A young Miko ran outside to investigate the source of the noise, upon finding the offending rock, she glared at it with disgust.
"The nerve of those children, throwing stones at shrines like that," The young girl hurled the stone behind her and punched the palm of her other hand, "I'll teach them a lesson tomorrow when I make my rounds for groceries." The strand of hair that stood defiantly on the top of her head developed a life of it's own, wiggling around from the arrogance she felt.
Her moment alone was cut short by the wails of a child, somewhere in the vicinity. Obviously, she had not expected this and jumped when she heard them. "A crying baby?"
She lifted the lantern in front of her and followed the source of the sound, all the way to the red gate of the shrine. She looked down and gasped, nearly dropping the lantern in her hand.
Gently she picked up the child and ran inside the residential quarters of the Shrine. The loud thumps and her consistent cries for the head miko drew attention of the other (half-asleep) shrine maidens.
She stopped near a door, raising her hand to knock but halted by someone bopping her head.
"Hey you!" A croaky voice from behind her, "What do you think your doing this late, crazy girl?!"
The young miko turned to face the bopper, she shrieked when the hideous, wrinkled creature behind her stood very close to her.
"Agh! A wrinkled goblin!" the young miko recoiled from sheer terror.
Bop!
"Who's a wrinkled goblin?!" The old woman croaked, miffed by being mistaken for a creature.
"Ah, Mayuri-baa-san, sorry about that, but your face is tremendously a—amazing! Yes, your aging beauty shocked little ol' me." When the old woman's eyebrow lowered, the younger one sighed in relief, sucker for the word beautiful.
"Well anyway Kotori," the woman coughed into her fist, "explain to me why you are being as loud as you are during the night? Don't we have enough of your nonsense during the day?"
Kotori brushed off that last statement and started explaining, "you see I was outside during my patrol when I heard someone throw a rock at the shrine, I wanted to see who it was."
"Did you?"
"No, but instead I found this baby abandoned at the Torii."
"What baby?" the old woman deadpanned.
"This ba—aaaaby?!" There was no bundle in her arms, she screeched fearing that she dropped the baby somewhere. The hand on her shoulder had her leaping for the old woman's arms (who promptly dropped her).
"There is no need to scream, Kotori-kun. The baby is in my hands," The older woman lifted the bundle, where the tiny being slowly opened her eyes, "such a beautiful child you are. Hair brighter than the sun and eyes deeper than the ocean," the head miko cooed the little child.
It reached out and did the one thing that had the two Miko leaping out of their skin. The little baby, reaching out its delicate little hand and promptly yanking the ebony lock of hair nearest to her, gaining a yelp from the head shrine maiden.
Kotori and the old woman sighed when light giggles floated from the head miko, "such a strong child you are, aren't you?" She tickled the baby's cheeks, getting the little bundle to laugh.
"Kotori-kun?" The younger girl straightened, saluting if she were a soldier.
"Yes, Kaguya-sama?"
"Where did you find this child?"
"At the Torii during one of my patrols around the shrine grounds ma'am."
"I see then," Kaguya noticed a little note sticking out of the blanket, "Oh my… Mayuri-sama."
"Kaguya-hime?" The old woman straightened in her own way, though not all the way, considering her age and bad back.
"Please gather the other shrine maidens at the reception hall. We need to discuss matters over this child."
"Understood, Kaguya-hime," The old woman pulled the ponytail of the younger one, halting her protest with a commanding glare, "you woke the other's up, you tell them what's wrong. I will speak with the other elders of the shrine."
"Understood…" Kotori drawled and sauntered, muttering things about "ogre hag"… apparently, she was heard and felt the paper fan collide with the back of her head.
"Forgive me for having you all assemble this late at night, but an important matter has come upon us."
The miko gathered in the room talked amongst them, some younger, some older. Mayuri stood before them and bellowed at the top of her voice "Chit-chat is prohibited!" At once, they all straightened up. Kotori was right…Mayuri is terrifying.
"Thank you Mayuri-sama," the older woman bowed and returned to the cushion beside her, "Kotori-kun here has discovered an abandoned child at our Torii gates, along with a note addressed to anyone to find her. Kotori if you will?"
"I will, Kaguya-sama." Kotori received the note and cleared her throat before relaying the message:
To Whom It May Concern:
We must offer an apology, to leave a child without your consent but please understand the condition is grave. The great demon lord, Kyuubi no Youko, had attacked our village the month before on the 10th of October. Our leader, the 4th Hokage, had sacrificed his life to seal the demon into the newborn child in your arms; her name is Naruko.
As much as we would like to believe in our hero's words, an order to honor the child as the hero, I know as much as the next person that bore witness to his self-less act of courage that this cannot be. Our people have suffered many losses: family, friends, and lovers. The need for vengeance is not lost on me, as this child has already survived few assassination attempts by the angry populace. Though I believe not all of the citizens feel hatred for the child, not many feel sympathy or gratitude for the child.
I ask—no plead—as the reinstated leader of Konoha, that you please raise this child regardless of the prisoner carries within her. Have mercy on this baby girl that has yet learned to talk, and already given a burden beyond any human should possess.
Adopt her, raise her, and please keep her safe. She is important to many of us, friends and acquaintances of the 4th. We thank you in advance if you accept, we are grateful for your kind heart for this child.
Reinstated 3rd Hokage of Konoha
P.S.
When you think the time is right, tell her of Konoha, of the home she had to be taken from.
At the end, the audience was filled with mixed reactions. The wiser ones said nothing, while many of the younger ones cried for the child's fate, appalled by the treatment of her kinsmen, or frozen in fear that the vessel of the legendary Kyuubi slept in the arms of their leader.
"What do you believe we do?" One woman from the council asked.
"I say we exorcise the child."
"We cannot." Kaguya sighed, opening the cloth and placing the child on the pillow, "I have inspected the seal in private. It is designed by a genius; it works by entwining the soul of the host and the soul of the demon, forcing the once immortal demon to a bound life of mortality."
"So if we exorcise the child?"
"We kill her in the process."
Gasps escaped the mouths of the youth, "Damned Ninja, sacrificing his own daughter…" one teen miko spat, earning the audience another blast from Mayuri.
"So what do you propose we do, Kaguya-hime?"
"The seal is powerful, its side effect is definitely a designed benefit. The child's lifespan mixes with the demon's, thus making her either immortal or increasing her lifespan significantly. It's also used to filter the malicious component of Youki, thus allowing it to be utilized. These ninjas use chakra, a combination of spiritual and physical Ki, for their arts and style of combat. I wish to adopt this child and raise her to be a proud Miko of the Konohana shrine."
"We cannot let the demon live!" One middle aged miko stood, defying the council and the head miko, "I believe her purpose was to bind the creature to mortality and make it killable."
Before Mayuri could do anything, the pressure in the room increased. Eyes focused on Kaguya, whose face had darkened and her eyes hidden beneath her bangs.
"How dare you suggest such a dreadful thing!" Kaguya's voice echoed through the hall assisted by the tremendous power she held.
"B-but Kaguya-hime—"
"If it were even a possibility," Kaguya interrupted, "I will not let this child die for that very reason! Have you forgotten our beliefs? Have you forgotten that we ourselves, maidens of the gods, also command demons and spirits with our magic?"
"Are you saying we take control of the Kyuubi? Pure madness I say!"
"I never said such a thing," Kaguya rocked the child in her arms, "What I meant was that not all demons are as malevolent as most humans are convinced to believe. I have a strong belief in cause and effect. Something happened to anger the Kyuubi, and that is the one at fault."
"I damn you to shame for wishing to kill an innocent child, whose hands are free of blood and life in this world has only started. Shame on you!" Kaguya straightened and sat down. The baby in her arms stopped crying and stared at this woman holding her.
When the babies had stretched out, the woman and some on her side rose, drawing weapons from their robes, Mayuri summoned a wall like creature in case they were to attack. But the light sobs kept them from continuing.
They looked again, and were shocked for the umpteenth time that day. Kaguya, their level headed, powerful, and graceful leader was silently sobbing. Crying for the baby, crying for her damned fate, crying for her fellow shrine maiden's incapability to see past the child's prisoner and see the child's painful destiny.
Mayuri glared at the woman, silently asking her to sit back down. Some of the younger began to cry as well, coming to the same realization as this author of why their leader was shedding tears.
Naruko raised her tiny hands and touched Kaguya's face. Little noises coming from her mouth, as if she was comforting the woman.
Kaguya smiled a little, wiping the tears with her robe, "Thank you little one, I believe your words if you could speak them are "Why is she crying?" are they not?"
Naruko muttered some form of garble again, screeching at some points when she felt the tears on her little finger.
"What have I done?" The woman questioned herself. She bowed so low, that her head collided with the floor. Tears from her eyes, she shouted with all her might, "Forgive me Kaguya-sama! Forgive my selfish thought, forgive me for wishing death upon your innocence, little one!"
The baby recognized that smile on Kaguya's face as something pleasant, so much so she began to giggle.
"Apology accepted, but punishment is still due. Kotori?"
"Y-yes, Kaguya-s-sama!" Kotori wiped the tears from her eyes, "Is there something you need?"
"You shall be my handmaid. I ask that you assist me in raising young Naruko to be a wonderful young woman." Kaguya pleaded, her eyes no longer red.
"It is an honor, ma'am. I will do my best!"
"As for you, Hirogane," the woman looked up, "while you have been forgiven, you will repent for your transgression toward this child by taking Kotori's patrol shift."
The woman bowed again, "Without complaints, Kaguya-hime."
"Tomorrow, we hold a small celebration for the assimilation of young Naruko into the shrine of Konohana Mountain. Fare night to you all."
Everyone in the room bowed deep and shuffled out the doors toward the living quarters. Kotori did her little victory dance, sheer joy at being THE Kaguya's handmaid. All thanks to that little bundle of sun, she would call her. Her dance, confusing and ridiculous as it is, halted by her superior, Mayuri.
"Congratulations, not many are chosen by Kaguya-hime her self to be her handmaids," she switched form her placate smile to a vicious snarl that got her that name "Wrinkled Goblin". She tugged hard at Kotori's ponytail and brought her close to her face, "Don't. Mess. This. Up."
"Y-y-yes m-m-ma'-am." Kotori shriveled in fear. Beware the ogre hag.
And there you have it, prologue to my new story finished. The next chapter will be featured as diary notes but will resume its standard story format afterward.
And I'm glad my plan worked, the new chapter for my story Rudis Domino is under construction and coming along quite well.
I thank fellow writer, Random Writer 46, for his tip on writing with the idea of having fun. You can tell by the feeling it might convey that I had fun too.
Strange coincidence while writing though, when I came up with Kotori (small bird or chick) I was thinking of fried chicken and that chicken panini I had for lunch. When I chose Kaguya for the head miko I was listening to Gensokyo Millennium – History of the Moon (brownie points for who can guess that theme and what game series that belongs to). And then I was listening to Lunatic Princess (more brownie points, yeah!).
As you can tell, the story is about Naruko, brought to a shrine by mystery man to be raised by Miko. These Miko, however, are also well versed in Onmyoudo, or Japanese mysticism. You know, the art of manipulating the elements around them and demon summoning? Yeah that. I hope my story is well received, even if it's one of those FemNaru stories.
Pairings are for fun until I choose who is her Mr. Romantic…anyone that says NaruSasu will be burned by my Kitsune fire, muhahahaha! Furthermore, I have officially stopped watching the Naruto series, mostly because it has begun to bore me. So if I tend to post something that is contradicting canon facts like what is the name of Naruko's dada or stuff, please don't badger me. It's fan made, I don't own it so it's not my concern on what happens. I will interpret characters however I choose, because I do not claim the Naruto series. Names I borrow are sometimes common or made up, so it's not exactly copyright (except mention of those two songs, they are copyright of ZUN and the characters themselves who aren't part of Naruto canon).
Read and review, flames are acceptable, questions are very much welcome. Enjoy more chapters to come.
-Kitsune Hanyou