Master of His Fate
By Pheonixblade
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Neither Naruto, nor High School DxD.
Story Start
Uzumaki Naruto didn't understand what was happening. It was a beautiful evening in the village of Konoha. The moon was full, the stars were shining, the wind was giving a gentle caress to the many citizens, he was running from angry shinobi... Wait, what?
At the age of four years, Naruto was pretty fast. His short, sunshine-blonde hair waving in the wind of his passing. Naturally spiking in every different way it was as untamable as the boy who owned it. Dressed in simple charcoal-colored pants, a dark red long sleeved shirt, and black sandals, Naruto kept running. Following hot on his heels through the streets and narrow alleyways of Konoha was a squad of what appeared to be ANBU covered in brightly-colored paint. Then he ran into a pair of legs covered in a long skirt... Well shit.
"Ara, Naruto-sama, where might you be heading to in such a rush?" A kind and somewhat amused, not to mention distinctly feminine, voice asked. Looking up from his position on the ground, Naruto saw one of "caretakers", Uchiha Mikoto. A beautiful woman, Mikoto's long black hair was the envy of many other women in Konoha. Slightly tanned skin, light complexion, dark eyes, and zero applied make-up finished off this absolutely unique woman's face. Her dress was as simple as her appearance was not; ankle-length dark blue skirt, and pink turtleneck sweater, both of common homespun wool, and a pair of reed-sandals. All together she was an enchanting image, and many a man cursed Uchiha Fugaku for having won the heart of such a woman. Unfortunately for Naruto, the current smile on her face expressed not merely amusement, but also the possibility of being deprived of his favorite food: ramen!
"Um, well, you see ... I kinda, sorta, maybe ... Paint-bombed ANBU headquarters again!" He said in a rush, hoping that with the truth his ramen wouldn't be taken away from him. He really didn't want to go through withdrawal again! As he remembered the last time he angered Mikoto more of his "caretakers" started showing up... Along with the obviously annoyed ANBU members.
First to arrive was another raven-haired woman, Kurenai Yuhi. Lustrous dark hair fell in natural waves to just past her shoulders, tanned skin, fair complexion, and bright red eyes, this was Konoha's "Ice Queen" and "Genjutsu Mistress", and yet again a woman many men would kill to have as theirs. If Mikoto could be described as "mother", then this beauty was obviously "Elder Sister". Respect her, she'll respect you... to an extent of course. Standing just slightly taller than Mikoto, who herself stood just under five and a half feet, Kurenai cut an imposing figure in her Chunin uniform of dark red bodysuit and Chunin flack vest. Despite her air of seriousness though, you could easily tell she was trying not break out laughing at the stunt Naruto pulled.
Next, and thankfully last of his current "caretakers", was one more woman. Ichiraku Ayame. Just five years older than Naruto, Ayame was a nice girl, long brown hair kept away from her face by use of a bandana, a gift from her father Teuchi who owned and ran Naruto's favorite ramen stand. Dark eyes in a slightly chubby face, the nine year old girl filled the role of "playmate" for Naruto today... Too bad that Naruto has a rather large problem with sitting still for any length of time, as Ayame was asked to help her father in the back of the ramen stand to get ready for the following day. She was even still wearing her work outfit of creme-colored baggy trousers and kimono top covered by an apron, so obviously she had lit out after him as soon as she noticed him gone. Probably hadn't taken very long, Naruto's personality is rather loud.
"Naruto! What did you do this time?" Ayame wasn't quite shouting, but her point was easily made clear. Either he confessed and received a relatively light punishment, or he could try and weasel his way out of it and possibly be in a worse situation. He decided discretion was the better part of valor, but attempting fool Ayame was plain stupid. And so, like a wet house of cards, Naruto folded, revealing all he had been up to in the three hours since he gave her the slip. Setting off paint bombs in ANBU headquarters, shaving no less than five inmates of Torture and Interrogation bald without their notice, even managing to hit the Inuzuka Clan compound with synthesized pheromones... How did he get that last one? It goes without saying that his caretakers and the ANBU were more than a little shocked at just how much he accomplished in three hours.
Speaking of the ANBU, it was a full squad of five members. Each one arriving in descending order of rainbow colors... Not quite certain if that was intentional or not, no one there bothered to speak of it. The apparent leader, if arrival order was to be believed, was covered in bright red from the neck down, accentuating her obviously female form, her Cat-marked mask and short purple hair the only parts of her uncovered by the paint. The next four members were all male. Saru (Monkey) in orange, Taka (Hawk) in yellow, Kuma (Bear) in green, and Iruka (Dolphin) in blue. None of them seemed very happy, despite the fact you couldn't actually see their faces. They simply radiated ill-content.
All this, for a prank? Okay, three mid-range pranks in the same number of hours, but still. They were just pranks. Jokes. Aren't people supposed to laugh at jokes? This is what had Naruto confused. He was told that jokes were for fun and humor... Why wasn't anyone laughing? He did well, right? Expressing these thoughts out loud proved him correct though when everyone else suddenly burst into what could only be termed as out-right, gut-busting laughter. ANBU included. Though they vowed to find ways to increase their headquarters's security so it couldn't happen again. Just like the last time... Heads hung in shame that they still couldn't stop one child from finding them and entering without notice.
"Naruto-sama, please refrain from such acts in the future, no matter how entertaining they might be," Mikoto said in a voice that clearly stated she didn't believe he would actually comply with her wish. How did Naruto know this? She was smiling, and even still giving out the occasional giggle. He loved that laugh, that smile, he felt as though they were reserved for only him. Certainly her husband never made her laugh, not since he threw her out with their new-born daughter, named Tsukiko, four years ago, where she was taken in immediately by Naruto's birth-mother, one Uzumaki Kushina, and Mikoto's best-friend.
Naruto still didn't understand why Uchiha Fugaku would throw Mikoto out just because she birthed a daughter instead of a son. It made no sense. She was his wife, someone he had vowed to love and honor. Instead, when she failed to bear the expected second son, Fugaku tossed her aside like a used rag. Thus is how Mikoto and Tsukiko came to be in the "service" of the Uzumaki family. And even though Tsukiko was only four years old she took what few "duties" she was given with a seriousness that belied her age. Like Mother like daughter in that respect at least. Serious about her duty.
Poor girl. Tomorrow would be HER day to try and keep Naruto out of trouble. Mikoto suddenly felt some sympathy for her second child. Uzumaki Naruto was practically a force of Nature. Stopping him was all but impossible. Diverting him, however, was fully possible. If he seemed bored, you had one of two basic choices; either start running and hope he didn't feel like chasing you for giggles, or offer up some poor random person for his pranks. Mikoto made sure Tsukiko was told of these options when the young girl was first given the task six months prior. Was it cruel to toss a random person into the path that is Uzumaki "Hurricane" Naruto? Yes. Will his "servants" continue in this pattern? Without question or remorse. Why? Because by doing so they spared the sanity of the Masses dealing with a bored Uzumaki.
Mikoto shuddered. People thought Naruto was bad, they should remember his deceased mother! Kami, that woman could have had even the god Loki taking notes. She loved the woman like a sister, but did her son have to take after Kushina in THAT way? Looking at the now smiling young boy, she couldn't but think it might be for the best. It gave him a way to be close to Kushina, even if he didn't know it.
That was something Mikoto thought on as she, Kurenai, and Ayame walked Naruto away from the now-amused ANBU after apologizing thoroughly and reassuring them that the paint would simply wash right off with some water. Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's birth-mother, died shortly after bringing Naruto into the world. Stress due to childbirth, they said. No one knew who his father was, but as Kushina had red hair and dark violet eyes, it could be said that Naruto probably looked a great deal like the man. Mikoto had suspicions, of course, blonde hair and cerulean eyes were almost unheard of, but with her primary suspect dead she could hardly confirm it. Feeling a tug on her left sleeve she looked down into the troubled cerulean blue eyes of her "Master".
"Mikoto-chan? Why do they stare at me like that?" Naruto asked as he indicated the glares of hatred, resentment, fear, and mistrust being thrown at him by the passing civilians. It was nothing new, not really. He had noticed the stares some months ago, but didn't know what he did to deserve them. At the time he had simply passed it off as a reaction to his pranks, but then why the looks of hatred and fear?
"I believe it has to do with Kyuubi, Naruto-sama. They don't trust that you are as you appear." Mikoto replied in a soft voice so only their little group could hear.
The Kyuubi, short for "Kyuubi no Kitsune", was a massive red-furred fox the size of a mountain, with nine tails said to represent the power it held. It was said that a single swing of one of it's tails could cause tsunami's or destroy mountains, and four years ago it appeared from nowhere to attack Konoha. The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, utilized a powerful shinobi art called Fuinjutsu, the Art of Sealing, to lock the beast away. The problem lay in the fact that he couldn't use just anything to contain the fox, no he had to use a child, a newborn infant, all because only then could the container's Chakra Network grow accustomed to the influx of power from the beast. Naruto was that child, a newborn whose umbilical cord had been cut not even an hour before.
Of course the Yondaime was still a man, a powerful man, but a man none the less. Even such a man as he could not simply Seal the fox away, he required help. To receive this help he summoned a greater being called the Shinigami. In return for aid, the Shinigami would be given the Yondaime's soul as payment.
Thus died the Yondaime Hokage, and so began Naruto's life of semi-misery. If not for the kindness of Kushina taking in Mikoto and Tsukiko he may very well have grown up alone. That being said, though he was grateful to have them, he wished his Mother could have been with him. After all, a mother wouldn't call her son "sama". He wanted friends, he wanted to be seen for himself, he wanted ramen! Wait wait wait! Priorities, Naruto! First things first, and all that.
"So, it's because of Kurama?" He asked, suddenly realizing he was rambling to himself in his head, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with one hand. He needed to stop doing that. He had "met" the giant fox in his sleep last year, and was pleasantly surprised. The fox, Kurama as he found it was called, wasn't filled with hatred and anger as he was originally led to believe. Instead he was greeted calmly, the scenery was something like a small forested glade. Of course, in respect to Kurama, a great many things were considered small. The two had talked for what seemed like hours. Kurama coming to be surprised at the level of thoughtfulness present in a three year old child, and Naruto was surprised Kurama hadn't tried to kill or maim him. They struck a fairly easy truce; Naruto wouldn't forcibly take Kurama's power, and in return Kurama would help build Naruto into a person his Mother would be proud of. So far to date, the agreement was working fairly well. There were two little side effects that Naruto didn't know about, however. And Kurama didn't feel like enlightening the boy just yet. Mostly because even she didn't know what they were. ... Oh yes, that was surprise for Naruto, to discover the legendary beast was female. Mikoto and Kurenai felt empowered by that revelation.
Mikoto could only nod her head. "I would assume as much, Naruto-sama. Kurama-san is very much disliked for the occurrence four years ago. Many still hold grudges for lost loved ones, and seeing as they cannot harm Kurama-san directly, they choose to attempt to harm you in her place."
Noticing the boy's down expression, Mikoto, Kurenai and Ayame were all quick to give him a supporting hug, hoping to bolster him. And it seemed to work as Naruto simply returned the hug, basking in the feeling that at least these three cared. It was enough for him. Even if he wanted more, for now it was enough.
