Disclaimer: this, this I do not own
When one Jinchuuriki Raises Another.
Chapter One
A/N: Alright, so how's this for an idea? Ya' know I actually don't think anyone else has written and Utakata/Naruto mentor fic.
Anyway a brief clarification: I'm not sure if they ever say Utakata's age in either the manga or the anime so just judging by his appearance (which, admittedly can be misleading in anime) I'd say he was probably mid-twenties. So given the time adjustment and my crappy math he is nineteen and Naruto is ten in this story. also i apologize if Utakata is OOC in this story. You don't really get much from him except stoic and calm, I think that the manga described him as charming at one point...but uh, they don't really give you much to work with so...yeah
Summary: After his master's betrayal Utakata fled to Konoha, hoping to hide in plain sight as a civilian. He didn't expect to end up working in a ramen shop and rooming with a hyper-active blonde boy. Utakata/Naruto mentor fic.
Utakata walked through the front gates of Konoha, marveling at how lax their security was. He had just been allowed to walk in; the two shinobi guarding the gate hadn't even spared him a glance. It was almost the polar opposite of his home village. In Kirigakure everyone who came through the gate, whether they were a well-known shinobi or an anonymous civilian, was searched, interrogated, and checked for any transformation or mind-control jutsu. And the process was thorough; it always added fifteen to twenty minutes to anyone's journey. The number of times that he had been late to meet his master—an arc of pain shot through his heart at the thought of Harusame and he promptly killed that train of thought.
His stomach growled and he seized onto the sound, grateful for the distraction. After a quick check to make sure he had enough money for a cheap meal he set off in search of a restaurant. He felt oddly naked without his flak jacket and headband but he reminded himself that it was all necessary. He had come to Konoha to hide from the hunter-nin that would no doubt be sent after him once again and walking around in full Kiri ninja regalia would be rather counter-productive.
Thankfully he didn't have to be particularly worried about being attacked by hunter-nin while he was inside the walls of the village. If Kirigakure sent any of its active ninja into Konoha without the express permission of the Hokage it would be a small step away from an act of war. Utakata just hoped that none of Konohakagure's shinobi recognized him. He didn't think he was in any bingo books and he couldn't remember the last time he had encountered any of the village's shinobi but it never hurt to be careful, which was why he would do his best to stick to the civilian areas.
'Konoha really is different.' He mused, navigating his way through the throngs of civilians. One man bumped into him, cursed at him and stumbled away drunkenly. 'How do they stand having all these civilians around?'
While it was not the horror that many of the other hidden villages made it out to be, Kiri was much more militant than others. The majority of citizens were shinobi and the only civilians that lived there were the ones that ran the restaurants or worked as…less reputable members of society (i.e. prostitutes). It was slightly surreal for Utakata to walk through all these people, none of them wearing ninja gear or smelling like blood and death. It was actually pretty nice. Another drunk bumped into him and muttered something that made Utakata's face heat up. Maybe it wasn't that nice after all.
It took him about ten minutes to find someplace to eat. He had passed several restaurants already but he hadn't even bothered to ask how much a meal would cost. They had radiated the fancy aura that screamed 'Utakata, eat here and we'll suck your wallet dry!' The place he had decided on was a small shop called Ichiraku Ramen. As he watched, a small blonde boy raced in and, a moment later, an older man stormed out. They passed each other on the road as Utakata headed towards the noodle stand and the older man grabbed his arm.
"You don't want to go in there, friend." The man's breath smelled like sake and cigarette smoke. Utakata began to wonder if every civilian in the village was a drunk. The golden eyed teen roughly pulled his arm from the man's grip, annoyed that the man had had the nerve to grab him at all.
The older man must have noticed his annoyance because he gave him a gruff apology and then leaned in, as if he were imparting a great secret. "You don't want to go in there, friend." He repeated, "The fox boy is in there."
Utakata lifted an eyebrow in question, "Fox boy?"
"Yeah," the man pulled a disgusted face and spat onto the ground, "the demon brat. Hokage just lets it walk around like it's human. We should've killed it after what it did to our village."
Utakata took a step away from the drunken man, mind working overtime. His mind had always been sharp, making quick connections, and it was no different now. Blonde boy walks into restaurant and, presumably, the only other customer leaves. Man calls boy "fox boy", "demon brat" and "it".
'…should've killed it after what it did to our village.'
'…what 'it' did.'
'Fox…demon… it.'
Several years ago news had reached Kiri that Konoha had been attacked by the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The Fourth Hokage had died whilst killing the beast, or so the story went. Utakata, being the jinchuuriki for the Rokubi, knew better than anyone that a Biju couldn't be killed. It could only be sealed and, if the man's attitude towards the boy was any indication, Utakata would bet his last ten Yen coin that the blonde boy was the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails.
Utakata turned and walked away from the man without a word, a scowl marring his usually impassive face. Konohakagure was touted across the land as a 'progressive' ninja village. Not only was it a major military power but it was also 'open minded' and 'tolerant'.
"Tolerant…right," The teen snorted irritably, "They're so tolerant that even Kiri treats their jinchuuriki better. I mean, the Yondaime Mizukage himself was a jinchuuriki... Although that may not have been the best idea seeing as he turned out to be a crazy child-sized tyrant.' His thoughts turned back to the drunk man'What a disgusting man, calling a child 'it', no one deserves that.'
Still quietly seething about the man's disgusting attitude, Utakata stepped inside Ichiraku Ramen. Sighing contentedly at the smell of food, he removed his traveling pack from his back and set it on the floor. He took a seat on the stool nearest to him, only a seat or two away from the Kyuubi jinchuuriki who was inhaling ramen faster than he could believe.
An old man with short graying hair and a paper hat came out of the back of the shop and placed another bowl of ramen in front of the blonde. When he saw Utakata he smiled brightly.
"Well hi there," he said jovially, "what can I get you?"
Utakata thought for a moment. Ramen wasn't a big food in Kirigakure; predictably the dietary staple of the sea-surrounded island was sea food. The brunette teen hadn't actually had ramen before. He knew what it was, of course, but he had never had a chance to try it. After taking a brief glance at the restaurant's menu he decided to go with lime shrimp ramen, just to be on the safe side. As the older man went into the back to prepare his meal Utakata passed the time by taking a mental inventory of the money he had left and how he could best maximize its effectiveness. Quite obviously he needed to find a place to stay (probably in the low income part of the village seeing as it would cost less) and he needed to get a job (for obvious reasons).
He was in the middle of figuring out if he would be able to get an apartment and have enough money left over to eat when a cheery and childish voice pulled him out of his musing.
"Hey, hey mister, are you new here? I haven't seen you around before."
Utakata turned to look at the source of the voice and was met by a pair of brilliant blue eyes. At some point the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had moved from his own stool and sat down next to him.
"Yes, I'm new here. I just arrived in Konoha less than an hour ago."
"I thought so," the boy said confidently, "I recognize everyone who comes to Ichiraku 'ttebayo."
"Really? You must eat here quite a lot."
"Every chance I get 'ttebayo."
The old man emerged from the back and set a steaming bowl in front of Utakata. His stomach growled at the smell and he broke apart his chopsticks, eager to dig in.
"I couldn't help overhearing from the back, but did you say you just arrived in Konoha?"
Utakata finished the food that was in his mouth and took a moment to think. The cover story he had thought up on his journey flashed through his mind and he nodded, "Yes, I just arrived."
"That's nice. Where are you from originally, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm from the Land of Water. I decided I'd travel a bit, see the world," he gestured to his traveling pack, "but I started to run low on funds. I figured I'd stop by Konoha and see if I couldn't find a job, work a while and refill my wallet."
The old man laughed, "It's good to see a young man that wants to work, seems like youngsters get lazier every generation. I'm Teuchi by the way."
He held out a large hand. Utakata shook it and introduced himself.
"Hey, hey Utakata, do you know who I am?" the blonde asked, nearly bouncing in his seat from hyper-activity.
A slim eyebrow rose in polite question, "No, should I?"
"Mou, how do you not recognize the greatest prankster in Konoha? How do you not recognize the next Hokage?" the boy pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I just arrived in Konoha…remember?"
Naruto sweat dropped, "Oh….yeah…heheh…sorry about that."
"Say, Utakata-san if you need a job my daughter and I could use a hand around the shop. Business has been picking up lately and we've been feeling a bit overwhelmed."
Utakata was stunned by the sudden offer, "That's very kind Teuchi-san but I don't know how to make ramen. I couldn't-" He tried to be as polite as possible, not wanting to be rude to the kind old man but definitely not wanting to put himself into the embarrassing position of massacring an innocent bowl of ramen.
"Oh that's not a problem," Teuchi flapped a hand, waving the problem away, "We can always teach you. Until then you can just work the front. Take orders, fill drinks, and work the cash register, stuff like that."
"That's incredibly kind but I'm not sure—"
"Oh nonsense," Teuchi cut him off again, managing to sound stern without dropping his jovial smile; "if anything you'd be doing me a favor. We can barely keep up with the pace that Naruto eats; we're completely swamped when more than one person is in here."
"Well…alright. Thank-you Teuchi-san."
"Don't mention it Utakata-kun."
Utakata finished eating in a daze as Teuchi and Naruto made small talk. He hadn't even been in Konoha for two hours, how in the world had he managed to get a job already? Everything had happened so fast…he had tried to turn the man down politely hadn't he? He distinctly remembered saying that he didn't know how to make ramen but now he had a job working at a ramen stand? How did that make sense? Vaguely, Utakata wondered if everything he experienced in Konoha would be this strange.
The brunette cleared his throat to catch Teuchi's attention, "Excuse me, Teuchi-san, would you happen to know where I could find a cheap apartment that I could stay at?"
Naruto interjected before Teuchi could answer, "You can stay with me for a couple days 'ttebayo."
"Really?"
"Sure," the boy grinned foxily, "think of it as early repayment for all the free ramen you're gonna give me."
Utakata blinked, "I'm going to give you free ramen?"
"Of course, 'ttebayo."
Golden eyes blinked again. He could feel a headache starting beneath his temples. So now he was staying in the apartment of Konoha's jinchuuriki and paying rent with…ramen?
The teen hefted his travelling pack onto his back and followed the blonde boy into the street. Two yelling green blurs raced by with enough speed to ruffle his hair. He heard something about "spring" and "youth" drift back to him on the wind.
Yeah, Konoha was definitely going to be strange.
A/N: and that's the first chapter, what do you think?
Reviews would be super loved and appreciated.
'night,
Pathetic-really.