My dad showed me a movie the other day called 'The Sorcerer And The White Snake'. I heard the story 'Madame White Snake' when I was little so this movie was a thrilling blast from the past. This story is inspired by it. With, of course, Naruto characters. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The characters and storyline belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
It is a warm spring evening in Akuma no Yama (Demon Mountain). The fox-demon by the name Naruto hums a tune as he cleans up his shrine. He had a lot of fun today hanging with his best friend the snake-demon Sasuke. They are practically family. They had known each other for nearly three hundred and fifty years. Being demons they can live much longer than humans and are considered still young by other demons.
They first met when Naruto went foraging when he saw the snake causing trouble at the city next to the mountain. Naruto kindly took him in and helped change Sasuke's ways for the better. They eventually became brothers despite one being a snake and a fox.
Their home on Akuma no Yama is very wooded and their are no other demons living on the mountain. The reason for this is that the mountain is next to a city. The other demons try to stay away from humans. Naruto on the other hand has no problem. In fact, he's fascinated by them.
Naruto finishes his cleaning then exits his home. His routine is to go to a high spot on the the mountain and look at the city lights next to a flowing river to relax. The bright and colorful lights mesmerizes him He is too captivated by them. The snake slithers in but the kitsune barely notices.
Sasuke stays low to the ground as he eyes at his victim then pounces at the opportunity. "BOO!"
"AHH!" The fox jumps with his fur standing straight. The serpent laughs heartily. "Damn it, Teme! I hate it when you do that."
Sasuke regains his composure only to get headbutted by Naruto. "Agh! Awright, awright. I get it." He once again regains his composure. "Looking out at the city as always?"
Naruto returns his gaze to the beautiful lights. "Yeah..." He looks down at his feet and thinks of what to say. "Have you ever wondered what humans are like?"
Sasuke rubs his chin with his tail as he thinks. "Nah. Not really. What for?"
The kitsune sighs. "Just because. I mean, we can assume a human form and no one will know what we are. Why not see?"
"Because the elder demons don't allow it. They don't wan't any trouble to happen, they say." He rests on a smooth, weathered rock. "They say it's too risky. And you know they're right."
"Yeah. Old bastards are raising my curiosity though." Naruto says with anger.
The serpent is the first to realize that the sun is gone. The fox is too absorbed in the city lights. "Hey. It's getting late. Come on, let's get some rest."
Naruto inhales deeply to take in the atmosphere on last time then exhales. "Awright." With that said, the two head home.
...:::::
Four high school students are spending their Friday night in a mountain forest. Four girls in a mountain. It's dark, it's creepy, and it was totally a dare.
"Come on, Hinata! I heard this mountain has demons on it." the girl with long blonde hair says. She's Yamanaka Ino, school drama queen and royal gossiper.
"D...demons? Don't you mess with my mind, Ino. The forest is scary enough." the girl with long black hair says shuddering. Hyuuga Hinata, the school's most innocent girl.
"Calm down. You know she's messing with you." the girl with her hair in buns says. This girl is Tenten, Chinese descent but was born and raised in Japan.
"I still don't know why we're doing this." the pink haired girl complains. The final girl is Haruno Sakura. She is the school's most sought after bachelorette. Oddly enough she's never had a boyfriend so every boy in school is after the position as her first.
Ino turns back. "Because when we go back to school we can say that we entered then came out of Akuma no Yama alive. No one will set foot on this mountain because of their superstitions. It'll be easy."
Sakura just sighs as her mind drifts away in thoughts of romance. She romanticizes about if she will ever meet the 'one' for her. You know, the one at the other end of the red thread. Who is he like? Is he like me? Do I know him? The questions can go on. She just doesn't want to go through boy after boy searching for him like Ino does. She wants her first to be 'it'. She always thinks that it's the most romantic way to have a relationship.
But she can't think about right now. It's just not the place. She shines her flashlight around her to see nothing but trees and wilderness around her. The other girls are nowhere in sight. "Oh no." she says to herself. They left her in the dark, creepy forest alone! Her heart and mind begins to race. She doesn't remember the way out of the forest. She decides to follow where she thinks they might have went hoping to find them.
She shines her flashlight in front of her to light up her path. Little did she know that her flash light attracted someone's attention.
...::::
Naruto is headed for his home when a bright light got in his eyes. At first he ignored it, but now the light was getting brighter. And closer. He starts to get worried and curious. His brain told him to go away from the light but his curious heart begged him to stay and see what it was.
He gave into his curiosity and hid on top of a tree as an observation point. He looks at the approaching light to see what it is. As the light got closer he could see a figure appear in the darkness around it. He then saw a silhouette of a human holding a short stick that makes light that they call 'flashlights'. With his enhanced night vision he can now see that it was a female human with pink hair. He stayed silent so he can hear if anything happens.
The flashlight begins to flicker. Then the light goes out. She flicks the black slide up and down then throws it to the ground in frustration. "Stupid batteries." she says. She then sits next to the trunk of a tree, puts her knees close to her chest then closes her eyes. Naruto can feel that she is scared of the dark.
A feeling deep in his heart wants to help her but he knows the risks. He then remembers that demons can take a human form. He gets off the tree and looks for a secluded spot to take form in.
...::::
Sakura is now terrified. She's alone, her flashlight ran out of batteries, and she's afraid of the dark. "'It'll be easy', she said. I knew I shouldn't have came."
She then opens her eyes and sees a faint light to her left. She gets a feeling of hope as the dim light gets closer. "I know someone's there. I won't hurt you."
Sakura notices that it was a boy. And he sounds young, like teenager young. She gets up and walks towards the light. "I'm here! Don't go! I need help!" As she gets closer she sees that the lantern-wielding boy was a blond boy, no older than she is, with an orange yukata, and he has line mark across his cheeks. She had to admit, he was cute. When she got to him she feels a rush of relief. "I got lost and I can't find my friends. Have you seen them? They went off without me."
He chuckles. "Some friends ya got then." She chuckles at his joke. "And about your friends, I haven't seen anyone."
She looks down. "Oh. Well then, do you have any idea where they could be or be headed to?"
The boy barely even had to think. "I have one guess. I live in a shrine near here. They are sure to run into it or at least pass it."
Sakura's hope returns. "Great! Can you take me there?" She puts her hands together as if she's begging.
The boy sighs. "Awright. But it's easy to get lost in this forest." He puts his hand out. "Hold my hand so we won't get separated."
"Okay" She reaches for the hand and grabs it. Her eyes widen as a surge of warmth engulfs her body. She then shrugs it off and proceeds to move as he does.
A few minutes of trekking later the reach a medium sized shrine with lanterns hung around it. "Here we are. It's not much, but they are sure to notice the lanterns at night."
She looks at the shrine in amazement. It was beautiful and very well kept and clean. "You live here?"
His eyes widen. "What? Is there something wrong with it? Did I mess up somewhere?" He says with a terrified expression.
"No! No! I meant that this home of your's is gorgeous!"
He sighs in relief. "Oh. Why thank you. It doesn't get much visitors."
"So, does it get lonely up here?"
The boy just looks at the night sky. "Nah, not really. I have a friend that I visit everyday. But, he likes his privacy so I'm not gonna tell ya where he lives. I don't want you getting into any trouble with him."
Sakura realizes that she didn't even introduce herself yet. "Oh, by the way. I'm Haruno Sakura." she says as she extends her hand out for a handshake.
The boy notices their first formal greeting. "You can call me Naruto." He reaches out and grabs her hand. Sakura feels another surge of warmth flow through her. "Ya'know, we should wait inside." Naruto gestures his hands for her to enter.
"Okay." she accepts his offer. They enter and she sits on the traditional Japanese furniture. Naruto brings back tea and joins her at the table. "So how do you keep this shrine so well kept? I know I couldn't do it alone."
"I do it alone. Though it would be nice to have more people around." He sips his tea then sets it down. "So what are you and your friends doing on Akuma no Yama? You're not doing any harm, are ya?"
"Oh, no! Some kids at our school dared us to come to this mountain because of some legend of a demon that lives here."
Naruto flinches. "Oh really? So what's the demon like?"
Sakura puts her hand on her lap. "I don't know. It's just a legend. I don't believe it."
Naruto sighs. "Well what are your friends like?"
She rests her head on her knuckles as she tries to think of how to put it. "Well there's three of them. Ino, Hinata, and Tenten. They all need a good boyfriend. They always complain about their boyfriend or that they need one."
"And how about you? Do you need one, too?" he say teasingly.
She starts to work up a temper. "No! I don't! I will never go and have a relationship with more than one guy! I want my first to be it!" She starts to cool down. "I mean, I've had many guys come to me wanting to be with me in a relationship. But I honestly don't know what they see in me."
"Well I think you're very pretty." Naruto compliments.
Sakura is now blushing very hard. This very cute boy in front of her just called her pretty! She knew she was attractive but for the compliment to be coming from him almost felt surreal. Is she actually developing feelings for this boy she just met? "Oh, you're such a flatterer." She tries to shake the blush away. "So how about you? You're handsome. Don't you have a girlfriend?"
She notices his face redden in response to her question. She giggles at his very surprised face. "Uumhh... I do not." He avoids making eye contact for he is embarrassed.
"That's... actually very surprising. I'm very certain that if you were to go into the city that you'd have girls blush at you as you walk by."
He switches his gaze from the floor to her eyes. "Am I really that good looking?"
Her face relaxes. "I think so." They both share a smile when they see flashlights shining in the distance. "That could be them. Let's wait here to make sure."
"Forehead! Where are you!" a girl holding a flashlight cries.
Sakura, immediately recognizing her nickname, knows that it's the other girls. "Yep. That's them. 'Forehead' is my nickname."
Naruto raises an eyebrow. "Why do they call you that?"
She points at her forehead. "Because of my large forehead."
He scoffs. "Large? I think you have a cute forehead."
Her heart skips a beat. Her forehead... cute? No one has ever said anything like that about her forehead. It's now safe to say that this boy is one hell of of a charmer. She actually kinda likes him. She stands up and waves her hands for their attention. "Hey, guys! I'm over here!"
The three lights are immediately facing towards the yelling. "Sakura-san, where did you go? We were so worried." Hinata says.
She gets mad. "You guys are the ones that left me!" She then regains her composure. "But the caretaker of this shrine helped me."
Ino walks up. "Is that so?" She faces towards the shrine. "Hey, old man! Can ya come out so we can thank you!"
Naruto steps out of the shadows of the shrine. "Is that a new stereotype or something. I don't think I'm that old."
Ino's eyes widen as she witnesses the young blonde man in the the yukata. "That 'hunk' helped you? Sakura, I'm so jealous!" She elbows Sakura in the arm. "So... do you two do any, like, ... 'bonding' while you waited for us?" Ino had a mischievous look on her face.
Sakura puts an annoyed looked to combat it. "No. We just talked and waited for you. He's a very nice guy." She turns to Naruto. "Well I have to leave now. See ya, Naruto!" She waves goodbye and her friends all walked towards the city.
He lets them take a few steps. "Nice meeting you, ... Sakura-chan!" She blushes once more as he adds the suffix to her name. She now considers him as her friend.
...::::
Naruto waits until they are out of his sight. He then falls to his knees and holds his hands to his chest. "What is this feeling in my heart?" He feels as if his heart aches. He has never felt it before.
There was only one thing that can explain this. He has fallen in love with a human girl. "I must see her again." He collects himself and holds a fist to show his determination. "Tomorrow, I will go find her..." He hesitates to say the next part but his wavering heart is just too strong for him to fight. "... in the city."
So how was it? Was it good or did it need some... more... , I don't know,... help? Leave in the reviews of what you thought of it and also feel free to give requests for new stories. This story won't be updated often, but I will finish it. This is going to be my story if I have nothing else to write about or write on my free time. Review! 再見 -Noshi
