Hello everybody, and welcome to my new fanfiction; Children of Twilight: Mirror Shards!
Also, this is actually a challenge story from bayoujmd89 here on fanfiction. He's got quite a bit of challenges (including one from yours truly) so if you're looking for some inspiration, feel free to check him out!
Now, I've got some ground to cover before we start this up! While this is a challenge, I will not be following all of the general plotpoints from the summary, with bayou giving me his permission beforehand, so that I can put my own little spin on the idea.
Second, this is a harem fic (my first actually) but I will not be just slapping every woman into his harem, only those who are required, that I happen to like, or at some point become a popular request by readers. His harem, as it stands is: Midna, Kurama, and Haku, but that's guaranteed to change. And for those who are savy, you may notice that Anko isn't on the harem, despite being in the summary. This was one of the changes that bayou approved, moving Anko from a harem spot to a more sisterly spot. (And Haku was intended to be in the harem, but bayou forgot to add her into the summary when he made it...)
This next point is not apart of the summary, but I feel that it has to be said. This story will have absolutely no bashing! Bashing is a common occurrence here in fanfiction, but it is one that I hate vehemently. It adds absolutely nothing to the story, aside from an easy target for hatred, and it drains an actual character of the quality that made them good. Not saying fics that bash are bad, but they're my least favorite part of reading a story.
And since that last point is relevant to Naruto's teammates, I must also point out that Naruto is getting a new team, with his mom as his sensei and two OCs as his team. I know OCs aren't the most loved things, but I hope you'll give em a chance when they come around.
Finally, I actually do my own art, and the cover image, as well as any character designs will be uploaded to my deviant art: ShadowBlade40 . deviantart . com (P.S. Why does fanfiction hate links? T_ T )
That should be it for this long ass AN, so without further adieu.
Welcome to the Shadow Realm!
(Or in this case, Twili Realm...)
Three figures stood upon a great tower, beholding a giant black slab held aloft by chains. Two figures were fair skinned and had brown hair, though the wore much different garbs. The female was dressed in a very outstanding dress made of fine silk, while the male wore a tunic and pants made of the less refined cotton. The third figure however, was incredibly different from the other two.
She seemed female, and a strange combination of pale blue skin, and cold black patches of skin. Her garb was made of the same material as the other female, silk, but it was black and thin. Her skirt was long, reaching the floor, but it only covered one leg, leaving the other out, looking rather scandalous. Upon her head, sat a hood that framed her face and orange hair, going down it parted and covered her shoulders and upper arms, but left her bosom exposed. Strangely enough, despite looking very human, she had nothing resembling nipples on her chest.
Slowly, the strange woman made her way forward, closer to the slab, and directed her attention a peculiar pedestal in front of it. It was seemingly made of marble, but it reflected the light in a way that was impossible to any normal stone. She looked at it, and gently set her hand upon it. Suddenly the stone lit up, and cast its markings upon the giant slab. The slab seemed to cave in on itself, opening up to an even darker abyss, which was illuminated by the piercing white of the mirror.
Turning around, she looked towards her companions with a bit of sadness in her red eyes.
"Well...I guess this is farewell, huh? Light and shadow can't mix, as we all know. But…" She focused her gaze specifically on the male of the group, the one she'd been traveling with throughout their adventure. Her eyes softened, before refocusing on the matter at hand. "But… Never forget that there's another world bound to this one."
The other, more normal woman walked forward and gave her a reassuring nod, "Shadow and light are two sides of the same coin… One cannot exist without the other. I know now the reason the goddesses left the Mirror of Twilight in this world..." She began to look between the male and humanoid, her gaze shifting from reassuring to joyful, albeit very hidden behind her royal mannerism. "They left it because it was their design that we should meet. Yes... That is what I believe..."
The female humanoid's heart was elated hearing her words, the words of the pure maiden that had occupied her soul during her adventure, "Zelda... Your words are kind, and your heart is true. If all in Hyrule are like you… Then maybe you'll do all right." She leaned forward and hugged the now named Zelda, "Thank you..."Pulling apart from the embrace, she turned to look at the slab, before looking at her male companion again. "Well, the princess spoke truly: as long as that mirror's around, we could meet again..."
Her words hitched in her throat as she thought about what to say.
"Link..."
The more she thought about it the more her heart hurt, the words were impossible, nothing could possibly come forward that would justify what she was about to do.
"I..." Feebly, she tried to come up with something, anything to say to him… but she couldn't… her heart, mind, and body were screaming at her. Telling her to stay here, with the two people she loved most…
But, that was impossible…
With whatever pride and happiness she could muster, she looked at her friends, and gave a bittersweet smile. "…See you later..."
With her peace said, she walked backwards, and into the slabs void, with a single tear racing down her cheek. As she got near, her body began to break apart, forming black cubes that raced into the abyss. Slowly her body disappeared, and soon only one arm remained, and it pushed something forward, before dissipating as well.
It was a tear.
Her tear.
The ball of liquid floated forward, seemingly defying gravity itself, before it collided with the mirror, causing it to shatter into hundreds of pieces, which soon disappeared as well, leaving the slab blank again.
The pair, Zelda and Link, both were barely holding back their own tears, seeing someone so special to them leave. Slowly Zelda walked over to Link, who was taking the goodbye much worse, and put her arm around him and comforted him. They both were lamenting the separation of light and dark.
Except, things were never that simple. One could never break the chains that tied light and darkness. Just because twilight has ended, that doesn't that it will not come again. Life is full of endless cycles and this is but one of them.
The truth of what happened to the Mirror of Twilight is a bit different than what it appears. The Mirror was broken by the twili woman, but she didn't cause it to disappear, not… That was the work of something far different. The mirror had sensed the balance of the world, so it began to search for a new world, one that needed to find balance itself.
A world that needed an impartial judge to rule over it.
Pain washed over Kushina's body, as she looked onward at the Kyuubi terrorizing Konoha. Just moments ago, a mysterious man appeared after she had given birth, and had ripped the mighty beast from her stomach. Her husband, the Yondaime Hokage, Minato had come to save her, but it had been too late. So now, she sat with her young babe, whose small tuft of hair was a beautiful sun-kissed blond, and his face had little whisker marks that looked absolutely adorable. But she could hardly savor the feeling of motherhood, instead her mind focused on the pain of seeing her home being destroyed for the second time in her life.
She could see the bright flashes of yellow that her husband had left behind while using his famous technique, the Flying Raijin, as he teleported throughout the forest, battling against the masked man. As he fought, so too did his summon, the giant toad boss, Gamabunta, struggled to hold off the Kyuubi with the assistance of various villagers.
Every person out there fought for something different: family, friends, even greed. But they all banded together to protect their home. And yet…
She sat here next to her child, and she was just as helpless as when her clan was destroyed. Anger welled up inside of her, thinking about everyone fighting, wishing desperately that she could help in some way.
Shifting her eyes outside, she could see a comet slowly moving across the sky, and she could feel something inside of her change, figuratively. She looked at the sky, thinking of how things have gone in the past, due to her shortcomings, and her mind snapped a little. She could feel the steely determination seep into her soul, as her limbs moved, despite how they ached. As she stood, her legs pleaded for rest, but she refused to heed the request, choosing instead to grab her child, and slowly make her way outside.
This was her home, and she would defend it.
Minato's heart raced as he kept throwing his kunai and teleporting, hoping to get back to the village in time to save it from the Kyuubi's wrath. His fight with the masked man, who called himself Madara, had taken him far away from the village, and it seemed that Gamabunta was on his last leg.
And unfortunately, it seemed he was too late, because the Kyuubi reared back its giant front paw, getting ready to deliver the final blow to Gamabunta. Time marched in slow motion as the beast lunged, but out of nowhere, something shot out of the ground and kicked up dust around the area. And as the fog lifted, Minato watched in surprise as golden chains were wrapped around the Kyuubi's wrist and neck. Minato jumped up to the top of the tree he was at, and looked around hastily, trying to see where the chains were coming from.
"Oi, Kyuubi!" Everyone from Konoha could here the shout of a woman, and everyone, even the Kyuubi, turned their eyes to one of Konoha's clearings and saw Kushina, chains coming out of her back and bundle in her arms. "For too long have you ruined my life! And now you're threatining one of the few things I have left, so if you're looking to destroy my home, then you've got to go through me!"
Then, to the shock of many, the chains began to lift the Kyuubi in the air, before pulling it overhead of Kushina, and slamming the beast down on the other side of the forest, all while Kushina gave a giant battle cry of "DATTEBANE!"
The world seemed to go silent, as the giant cloud of debrief settled. Minato looked on as Kushina's stance began to waiver, acting quick, the threw his tri-pronged kunai towards the clearing she was in.
Appearing in a flash of yellow, Minato caught his wife and child, before let out a breath of relief. Seeing the expression on his face, Kushina couldn't help but give a pained laugh, "..Seems like I'm always… giving you a headache, eh?"
Minato's face shifted into a scowl, his eyebrow twitching as he heard his wife's words. "Kushina, you shouldn't be moving around right now, let alone pulling a crazy stunt like that!"
Kushina had the decency to look ashamed of herself, before looking her husband dead in the eyes, her orbs ablaze with power, "I'm.. sorry, Minato-kun, but I've… already lost one family… I don't want to lose the one I… made..." Slowly, Kushina got out of Minato's hold, standing up on her own two feet, "… That's why… I'm going to seal the Kyuubi inside of myself… and bring it to hell with me…"
Minato was visibly shocked at Kushina's confession, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. "Kushina, you can't! There's gotta be another way!"
Kushina's features softened, as the adamantine chains snaked out again, "Don't look so sad… Minato-kun. I'm… I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's… our son's… birthday. Like… If I try to imagine surviving and the three of us… living together… I can't think of anything… beyond 'I'd be so happy.' If I had any regrets… It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up." Looking back at her child, she could feel nothing other than love, "… Just make sure, he eats his vegetables."
Minato said nothing, instead he slowly walked up to Kushina and interlocked his hand with hers. Kushina looked a little surprised about the suddenness of his approach, but anything she had to say was silence when he locked his lips with hers. Seconds passed and the couple pulled back before looking into one anothers eyes, both filled with the same spirit. In a soft voice Minato whispered, "You're not the only one willing to sacrifice for their family, so how about we work through this together like a couple, and give our son the future he deserves, eh, Kushina-chan?"
Liquid slowly began to form at the corner of Kushina's eye, "Of course, Minato-kun..."
Sadly, their happy moment was cut short by the giant beast coming at them, Kushina quickly reacted, "Watch out!" her chains rushed towards the beast who was now just twenty meters away. The chains began to move around the giant fox circling around it's neck chest and appendages like snakes, before tightening to an extreme. She was able to pin it to the ground, but her body didn't like the stain, making her sweat profusely and cough a little blood.
With the heavy burden of using her chains, Kushina looked back at her husband with a pained expression, "I'm all ears for that solution… but be quick, I can't hold this much longer..."
Minato slowly set Naruto down and brought out a scroll and ink brush, before he began to go through hand signs, "...Unfortunately, the only plan that ends well… you won't like it..."
Kushina's mind began to process what he just said. She wouldn't like it… But why did he unseal some fuinjutsu supplies… and those hand signs… Suddenly, her mind clicked, "...no." He voice started out small, before she suddenly roared at him, "NO! Absolutely not! I won't allow you to seal that beast into our son!"
Minato didn't stop, instead he only narrowed his eyes and shouted back, "And what would you have me do, huh? Let you commit suicide!?" Kushina looked incredibly shook from Minato's tone, he had never, ever, raised his voice like that to her before. But Minato had more to say, "Kushina, you're so strong, courageous, smart, and resourceful, far more than I could ever hope to be. Where I struggled to learn even basic fuinjutsu, you were always twelve steps ahead. When I wavered on a decision, you could speak your heart in an instant and make your choice count. I'm just a guy who made some lucky choices in life, but you… You're so talented, and would make a far better parent than me…" Looking up at her, his eyes showed the same thing from earlier, love and determination, "So for just this once… Let me be the best dad possible..."
As he said that, the final seal was made, and small ceremonial throne appeared. Kushina had tears streaming down her face as she gave her husband a nod, giving him permission to go through with the sealing. Minato picked up his son and set him on the throne, and he could feel the world around him shifting. His soul began to lift from his body and it was met by a presence that few wished to encounter. For latched onto his soul, was the Shinigami himself, a giant humanoid man with purple skin and white hair, with a matching white kimono.
Slowly the astral entity began to speak, though to those other than Minato it was complete gibberish, "What is it that you desire, Minato Namikaze?"
Despite his shock at the Shinigami knowing his name, Minato simply stated his answer, "Shinigami-sama, I want you to seal as much of the Kyuubi inside of me as possible."
"Very well, your request is acceptable."
The Shinigami reached up and grabbed his beads, gaining a seal on his arm, before thrusting it into Minato's suspended soul and began to seal a portion of the beast inside of Minato. And as soon as the transfer was finished, the Kyuubi began to shrink, quickly becoming much smaller, due to lack of chakra. But this had the unfortunate side effect of giving the Kyuubi room from within Kushina's chains.
The beast seized this opportunity, not wanting to be sealed again, it lunged one of it's claws at the young babe that it was supposed to be sealed in. Both Kushina and Minato saw the trajectory, and both wanted to dash to protect their son, but Minato was still locked in with the Shinigami. So, with the last bit of adrenaline she had, Kushina made a mad dash to her child and jumped in front of the claw, but it was unnecessary. For in the sky shined that same comet from earlier, except in was closer and on a direct path to them.
Suddenly, the beast was halted when a giant space rock crashed into it, and a few pieces flew of due to the impact. Shards of reflective stone and dark metal flew everywhere, including directly at Kushina, with a few pieces getting caught in her right arm. Kushina grit her teeth and redouble her focus, tightening the chains on the Kyuubi, before looking back at her husband, "Quickly, finish the sealing!"
Minato nodded quickly, getting over the shock of the clear deus ex machina, "Shinigami, now seal the rest in my son!"
The higher being nodded and gave a calm, "Very well."
The Shinigami began to go through the process again, except this time, sealing the rest of the Kyuubi inside of the young boy in the throne, creating a seal with a swirl in the center with two borders, one on top and one on bottom, both with four prongs. The eight trigrams seal.
The hokage began to pant, as blood came out of his mouth. He looked over at his wife and child, feeling bad for having to say goodbye to his son on his first day of life. Until an idea struck him, "Hey, Shinigami-sama… Can I ask one more request?" He got no auditory answer aside form a soft hum, so he assumed that he was at least willing to humor him, "Can you seal what's left of my chakra inside of him as well…? I'd like to… meet him at least once..."
Silence reigned between the Hokage and the Reaper, before the death god gave his verdict, "Normally, I try to not tamper with your world too much, but since it is one such as you who is asking… then I can make an exception..."
"Thank you… Shinigami-sama..."
With his piece said, the Hokage's body went limp as the last bit of life left him, the cost of such a powerful seal was high, but someone had to pay it.
But for Kushina, it still felt like too high a price, her rage was insurmountable and her sadness even more so, ever feeling in her heart was amplified by ten at the moment. In an effort to deal with the pain, Kushina clutched her hand so tight, that her knuckles began to turn white.
And so did much of her arm… Looking down, she could see that her right arm was getting covered in both light and darkness. Her normally fair skin became ashen white on her right arm, with black stripes reaching around, like it was trying to smother the light. And from the splotches came strange runic symbols that shined with an ethereal teal light. It frightened her to no end, seeing her arm from the elbow down being deformed in such a way, but it compared little with what her mind was going through now. The darkness in her soul began to whisper sweet nothings in her ear, talking about making the world pay for her loss, while a heavenly voice recalled all the good in the world, it was infuriating having these voices in your head trying to lord over you.
Her mind was ablaze with emotions, as the beings in her soul played a twisted game of tug-o'-war, and try as she might, she couldn't wretch herself too far from the voices, so she instead tried to focus on something else, something more important…
Her son.
Her Naruto.
Looking over him while he sat on the throne, she could see he went through a few changes as well.
For starters, his hair had changed to a fiery orange, which seemed to move at its own will; his whisker marks remained on his right side, but the left had been replaced by three arrows that glowed just like her teal marking and his forehead had a teal kanji that read 'broken'. And his eyes… One eye was normal, a beautiful sea of ocean blue, but the other… it was red, a blood red that hungered for power. Even his skin was paler and seemed to be a little blue, which worried Kushina immensely, thinking he might be suffering from lack of oxygen, though that was quickly disproved when he breathed in softly.
Her heart and mind were awash with worry, what on earth was happening to them? It wasn't until she looked over to where the Kyuubi was earlier, did she see that the clearing was empty, despite the fact that there was a comet that crashed into… the… Kyuubi…
Was that what caused this…? That comet… did it bring something with it…?
Kushina shook her head and picked up her son with her one still normal arm, and flared her chakra, alerting any sensors in the area. She could always find out what happened later, right now she needed to make sure everything was okay with the village and her son.
Many Years Later
Adrenaline and chakra surged through a small group of chunin, as they raced around the village. With eyes peeled and ears open, the group gave chase and were searching for the assailant that had caused them anguish. They were searching for the second-most infamous prankster known to Konoha…
One Naruto Uzumaki, the nine year-old son of the actual prankster queen, Kushina Uzumaki.
Their cause of anger was rather typical, he had decided to be ever so funny, and lay a trap at the mission office to give someone a new coat of pink paint, which they now adorned. Naturally, they had given chase to the child, but unfortunately, that had never really worked out for anyone. Naruto had been in these situations many times, and had become incredibly knowledgeable of the pathways throughout the village, hiding spots, even what places were easily trappable.
When on foot, the young boy had always been slippery and quick, leading ANBU around with scary efficiency, his speed wasn't that great, but his cunning and knowledge made capturing him a nightmare.
Though for one person, it wasn't a nightmare, but an everlasting fantasy. Non other than Naruto himself.
Currently in a tree a young boy with blue skin and fiery orange hair sat, hiding within the shade of the leaves, watching the chunin go about their wild goose chase. His small body was covered in a black shirt and pants, which helped him sink even deeper into the darkness of the tree. In contrast, the kanji on his forehead and the marks on his left cheek were shining with the same ethereal haze that persisted since the day of his birth.
The young Uzumaki was currently laughing to himself whilst munching on a stick of pocky. He always enjoyed the aftermath of a prank, from the exhilarating feeling of the chase, to the satisfaction of getting away. But no feeling was better than happily eating while watching the 'elites' run around the village like a group of greenhorn genins.
There was never any real reason for his prankster ways, sure he'd been discriminated against a little due to his appearance or his status as a jinchuuriki, but it didn't really upset him enough to start some malicious payback. No, he pranked because he could, just so he could see the organization of the world crumble for a brief second.
Also, yes, he knew about his role as the container of the Kyuubi. His mother had told him about a year ago, when she felt that he was ready. And in all honesty, it was a surreal experience. Suddenly learning that you are holding a demon in your gut, and that you'll probably hold it for the rest of your known life… That shit be fuckin' whack, yo… but it also got him thinking.
What kind of person was this 'big bad kitsune?'
From what his mother said, he was pretty hateful; threatening to kill her and everyone she loves, all with her own possessed hands. Even Mito, the original jinchuuriki for him, had stated that he was pure evil incarnate.
And boy howdy, Naruto was fucking hyped to meet the beast! He'd always been a bit of an anarchist, no shit, and he really loved some controlled chaos, so a beast like that sounded radical as fuck.
But, all good things come to those who wait, right…? Well that's what Naruto told himself, anyway.
Slowly, he leaned further into the tree's comfort, and simply watched the world with a lazy gaze, though, his care free morning would be swiftly interrupted by a voice coming from behind him, "Naruto-chan, are you causing trouble again?"
The young jinchuuriki froze instantly, recognizing the soft, yet stern voice of the one person who could catch him…
He turned around gingerly, not wanting to anger the vicious monster that was near him. He had seen first hand how powerful she was, how cruel she could be when infuriated, and how destructive her very presence was. When his head had breached the horizon of his shoulder, he had come face to face with a woman who's hair was as red as blood, who's smile was a facade that hid a demon. This beast, hiding in a woman's skin…
Was his mother…
"O-oh, h-h-hi… Kaa-chan…!" The blue youth began to rub the back of his head sheepishly, desperately trying to ease the palpable feeling of nervousness in his veins.
The older Uzumaki giggled to herself and leaned forward, pinching the boy's blue cheek with the one hand that wasn't bandaged, "Oh, little Naru-tan~ You're just too adorable when you're nervous!"
Blood rushed to his face, entirely embarrassed by his mother's doting attitude, "K-Kaa-chan!" He cried out, the abashed look etched into his face, "You're embarrassing me!"
Rather than being dissuaded by her son's complaints, Kushina just gushed more and pulled her son into a one arm hug, pushing him against her chest, effectively smothering the poor boy, "Kya~ You're even more cute when you're flustered!" Suddenly, the redhead's personality took a complete one-eighty, as she pushed him to arms reach, and gave him a glare that would melt even the strongest of men, "Now, young man, what's this I heard about you pulling a prank, when you should be at school?"
Naruto began to quickly shift from embarrassed to full on fright, he knew that look anywhere. It was his mother's "you better answer quick, boy" face. And quick he was, launching himself from his seat to run away from the hellbent woman, hoping desperately to avoid the wrath that he incurred.
However, the up-incoming prankster's speed was nowhere near that of an S-rank kunoichi's, and she quickly caught him by the back of his shirt, the heat of her chakra radiating near the boy's neck. A dark and sadistic chuckle escaped his mother's mouth, "Mmmhmhm, come on little Naru-tan, you wouldn't think of running away from your sweet, sweet mommy... Would you?" With the strength of Hercules himself, she threw him over her should and began to carry him around like a sack of potatoes. "Maybe, since you've been such a bad boy, well go pay a visit to Sarutobi-Jii and see what punishment he thinks is a good idea?"
And it was in that moment, that Naruto knew…
He done fucked up…
And that's it for this chapter, a little boring, but that's just prologues in general, amirite? But if you liked it, plz consider giving this piece of shit a review and maybe tell me what kinda girls you want in the harem. Either Naruto or LoZ girls, I don't care which, but remember, I'm trying not to overdo the harem!
Anyways, hope you all liked your stay, and I'll be catching you next time.
Yours Truly,
-Shadow