Hey, welcome to my first story. I had first gotten an idea for this story about a year ago but was not able to come up with a way to start it until now. I would appreciate it if you would review and provide me with some constructive criticism and how you feel about the story so that I have an idea on how to improve. Just to let you know, I will consider suggestions but I will follow my own path for this story. Do not expect regular updates as I have other things that are more important than writing this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Rated: M for future gore
Konoha's Puppet Menagerie
Chapter 1: The Beginnings of Interest
It was early evening in the hidden shinobi village of Konoha with the sky just crossing between blue and violet. The stars were just beginning to dance in the cloudless and crystal clear sky. There was a light and cool breeze that floated across the land. It was the perfect setting for the festival currently taking place in the filled streets.
This festival was the sixth annual celebration of the defeat of the Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon fox.
The villagers, young and old, shinobi and civilian, were celebrating the victory in their own ways, from visiting friends to partying with neighbors, from drinking and celebrating to quiet contemplation, from watching their children play to celebrating with their families, from staying indoors to traveling the streets hitting all the food and game stands. Yes, it is a time for all to come together and remember the victory they narrowly gained when their fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, sacrificed his life to stop the Kyuubi from entering Konoha.
Despite the festivities, not everyone was taking part of them. One such person was a 6 year old child with bright blond hair and sky blue eyes who went by the name of Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto was currently walking through the streets toward his apartment that he had received from the Hokage as a birthday gift last year. He had just spent the entire day with Sarutobi the third Hokage, or as Naruto called him, Hokage-jisan. Naruto smiled as he looked down at the birthday gift that he had received from the third this year, a small, wooden shinobi toy that was modeled much after an action figure.
Naruto's smile widened as he glanced back at the Hokage tower and remembered how he had received the gift and how he had spent the afternoon playing with the toy figurine along with Sarutobi.
XxX Flashback XxX
"Naruto, could you come over here please?" Sarutobi asked his companion for the afternoon in a warm voice.
"Sure Hokage-jisan!" Naruto responded energetically and climbed out of the chair that he was sitting in and proceeded to walk over to where Sarutobi was standing by the bookcase. Sarutobi smiled softly down at his young charge as Naruto began to fidget in impatience. After a few moments of this Sarutobi calmly reached over to the bookcase and picked up a package that was about only six inches long and half that in height and width. He then slowly kneeled down to be closer to Naruto's height and handed him the package while placing a hand on his shoulder.
Sarutobi gave an open smile as Naruto looked at him in confusion and explained by saying, "Happy birthday Naruto."
Naruto's confusion quickly changed into happiness and spent the afternoon pretending that the action figure was either his self in about 15 years, or imagining that the toy was one of his friends that would help him with any of his problems and protect him from the cold stares and insults that made up the majority of his day.
XxX End Flashback XxX
It was as Naruto was passing an alley only a few blocks from his apartment that he decided to play with his toy's ability to throw small wooden kunai that were attached to a small string that was connected to that arm so the kunai wouldn't be lost, this shifting of focus leads to Naruto not paying attention to the ground in front of his own feet. This lack of attention is what amounts to Naruto tripping on a small box sitting on the ground. Naruto proceeded to react as any six-year-old would; he fell down with a small yelp, flailing his arms until his body met the earth.
As Naruto slowly pushed himself up onto his feet after his surprising fall, he looked over his body to see if he was hurt and noticed that his new toy was missing. With frantic eyes the small child looked left and right for the gift that he had received from his grandfather figure. Just as Naruto was about to begin to panic, he noticed the small figure sitting about ten feet inside the darkened alleyway to his right. With relief plain to see over his face, Naruto jogged over to his wooden friend to pick it up and go home to sleep.
The toy would not be the only thing that Naruto found in that alleyway that night.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Shinkatsu Hibiki was not a powerful shinobi. In fact, he was not even a powerful civilian. He was a cowardly alcoholic in his late forty's with gray, thinning hair who spent the majority of his day in a drunken haze. When he is sober Hibiki is rude, mean, obnoxious, arrogant, and very much of an annoyance to the general populace. When drunk he is much ruder, meaner, even more obnoxious and arrogant, and becomes an annoyance that is far beyond Naruto at his best.
When it came to the Kyuubi attack, Hibiki had lost little. He had not lost any children as he did not have any. He had not lost his wife as he was never married. He had not lost his siblings as he was an only child. Hibiki also did not loose his parents as they had passed away years before the Kyuubi ever approached Konoha. He also did not loose his job or any property during the attack as the Kyuubi had never made it inside Konoha's walls, but this was also due to the face that Hibiki has never owned or worked in a business as he lived off his family's moderate sized fortunes near the center of the village. Despite not having any reason whatsoever to hate the container of the Kyuubi, he still wished for the violent and bloody death of poor little Naruto.
The reason that he wished for Naruto's death is quite simple to explain. He is both greedy and was fairly drunk at the time that Sarutobi had announced the law making speaking about the sealing of the Kyuubi into Naruto a secret with high penalties for breaking it. When it was announced, what he heard was, "Kyuubi… sealed into… Naruto…" With that information, he logically to his own drunken mind thought, 'The Kyuubi is sealed into that shit stain up there… the Kyuubi is in the body of that shit stain… the Kyuubi has a new body of a baby… THE KYUUBI HAS BEEN TURNED INTO A BABY!' Upon deciding that Naruto was the Kyuubi reborn, he also came to the mistaken conclusion that he would be greatly rewarded if he killed little Naruto.
Unlike most other people who came to the same conclusion, he was too drunk to hear Sarutobi list the consequences of any action against Naruto and thus was not swayed by said consequences them like the rest of those who plotted against the young vessel.
Why this man, who holds no importance to any part of Konoha and would make the place so much better by not being in it, is mentioned here is the simple reason that he saw Naruto trip and hurry to get his toy. It is at this moment that he decides to kill the blond haired little sunshine as he had not seen Naruto since the law about him was set down and he would most likely never get a chance again.
With his decision made, Hibiki pulls out a small filet knife that he keeps in his jacket to open the wrappers on snacks or help open his drinks. Once his weapon of choice is securely placed in his hand, Hibiki attempts to march over to the alleyway that young Naruto had disappeared into. The result or his attempt to get to the alley in his highly inebriated state is that he pretty much staggered to the opening like some kind of badly injured zombie-chicken hybrid.
As soon as he reaches the opening between the buildings, Hibiki immediately spots Naruto beginning to kneel down to pick up his toy. With a dark flash in his eyes, he begins to make his way over to the crouching boy.
Let's watch to see what happens.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Naruto smiled as he kneeled down to picked up his toy. As soon as his hand was wrapped around it his smiling face turned apologetic and once he was standing strait he began to talk to the toy.
"I am sorry Shinobi-san; I promise you that I will be more careful with you from now on. Is that alright with you? It is, okay then, let's go home."
With that out of the way, Naruto opened slightly worn out jacket and placed his toy into an inside pocket that was located over the left side of his chest. With that done Naruto gave another small smile and said, "There… and now you are safe." before he began to zip up his jacket and turn around to exit out of the alley.
Naruto was only halfway finished with his turn before he felt his shoulder being grabbed and then felt himself being pushed so that his back roughly slammed into the wall. When he managed to open his eyes again after shutting them due to the shock of hitting the wall, Naruto saw what looked like the shadow of an adult holding his shoulder so that he cannot escape with one hand and holding what looked like a knife you would filet fish with in the other. As soon as Naruto's eyes were completely open, he heard the stranger slur out, "Ann nows joo diesh… DESMOND!"
The next thing Naruto knew was that the air was knocked out of him as the small knife was stopped by his shinobi toy. While the tip did penetrate Naruto's skin, he lost his breath as an adult was essentially punching his toy into his chest over his heart. As Naruto's body slumped down, the stranger pulled the knife out of the toy, thinking that it had pierced the blonds' heart and mumbled something about finishing him and began to kneel down. Naruto's expression quickly changed from surprise and pain to fear as his hands groped around for any thing that he could use to protect his self with. Naruto's right hand had quickly made its way into his jacket and grabbed the wooden toy that lay with in. Without realizing what he was doing, Naruto quickly flipped the toy out and let the toy zip from his fingers like a shuriken toward his adversary's shadowed face.
Naruto's hope of escaping died as he saw the man who accosted him snatch the toy from the air with the hand that was previously holding him while the toy was less then 4 inches from hitting his face. The hope suddenly returned when the man screamed in pain and let go of the toy allowing Naruto to see that his attacker had grabbed the toy in such a way that he had triggered the kunai throwing action. The kunai had then been thrown strait into the attacker's eye. Naruto watched as the toy fell back to the ground, ripping the small kunai back out of the shadowed mans eye causing more damage as it left. Noticing an opportunity to escape, Naruto quickly pushed himself onto his feet and rushed over to pick up his toy, which was sitting near the feet of his attacker. Once he had it in his hand, Naruto quickly ran past the attacker and continued to run until he was safely inside his apartment with the door locked.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Shinkatsu Hibiki was not having a good time.
First, he had just lost his chance at killing the Kyuubi and getting the reward for doing so, the little monster surviving a stab to the chest proof that it was not human.
Second, he had no idea which direction the little monster had fled in so he could not follow it and kill it later.
Third, the Kyuubi brat had tricked him into catching the torture device that it threw at him, causing something to be jammed into his eye and then ripped out. Hibiki was fairly sure that he would never see out of that eye again.
Fourth, he had broken his favorite sake container after he lost control of his body after being stabbed in the eye and it fell out of his pocket and hit the ground. It was a good sake container too! It might have been expensive, but it held 50 percent more sake then the other leading brand of containers!
Fifth, the military policeman he had seen standing outside the alleyway when he had stumbled out holding his bleeding eye did not believe that the Kyuubi had attacked him.
In fact, the police man was accusing HIM of attacking a child and was arresting him to place him into the military polices hospital attachment for later questioning.
As he was being dragged away from the crime scene, Hibiki decided to calmly state his feelings.
"DAMNS JOO UCHICHIMAS! NOSH LETTEN MESH KILSH DEH CHUBI! I WICH JOO ALL DIESH!"
The Policeman could only shake his head and sigh, letting his green hair wave back and forth as though with a roll of his amber eyes, 'Yes, the Uchiha make up 80 percent of the military police force, but that does not mean that they make up the entire force, just most of it.'
With that thought he called in backup to investigate the scene to pick up evidence and to prepare a cot for the drunken man he was dragging to headquarters.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Once the door was safely locked behind him, Naruto slumped down to the ground with his back pressed against the wall next to his doorframe. In his sitting position, Naruto let his chest rise and fall as his body fought to catch its breath and slow its heart rate as the adrenalin from his attack made its way out of his system. Once his heart was no longer beating like a hummingbirds wings and his breath was mostly under control, did Naruto look at the object that he held within his left hand. With a wide smile and a quick bark of laughter, Naruto lifted the wooden toy up to look at it in front of him.
His smile sparkling in his eyes, Naruto softly speaks to his wooden toy.
"You protected me, didn't you." Naruto breathes as his eyes look over what damage his precious friend had taken.
"You didn't have to do that. I would have been fine." The young blond states, not even believing it him self as his right thumb brushes the knife wound in the toys chest with his left hand traveling down the toys right arm to follow the string down to the kunai and bloody his finger tips with the liquid on it.
"But that is okay, for from now on, I will protect you. And the first thing to do that… is to learn how to fix you up. And once I do, no one will hurt us again."
With that said, Naruto slowly picks himself up and walks over to his table. When he reaches it, he sets his wooden savior down on top near a small stack of books. Once the toy is situated, Naruto pulls a chair away from the table and sits on it. As soon as he was comfortably sitting down, Naruto opens the books to finish working on his home work for the night. Being a second year shinobi academy student was tough, especially for one as young as Naruto was with no parental help, but for some reason, Naruto's interest was sparked as he wanted to learn how to repair his friend and defend himself.
The small wooden toy, carved to resemble another blond who had made his way up the shinobi ranks, almost seemed to smile as it witnessed the small change in its owner. The smile only seemed to grow once Naruto looked up and placed the small three pronged wooden kunai back into its hand.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Next time on Konoha's Puppet Menagerie
Naruto: Well, those final exams sure were boring.
Naruto: Oh well, at least I got to learn something new right after them.
Naruto: Interesting. So, those two will be my teammates.
Naruto: So there's a second test to graduate. (Smirks) Let's see how well they like my 'toys'.
Next time: The second exam. Fight with your team Naruto.
Naruto: This looks like fun.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Well, that was the first chapter. Write a review so that I can know how I am doing.
The OC, Shinkatsu Hibiki, is not likely to appear in this story again. He was just a bit character that I made up to fill a role. If you are wondering, his name roughly translates into true victory echo from the sources I looked it up at. His name is a joke as the echo of true victory is defeat.