Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but the Original Characters are mine. Thank you.
A/N: This story concept has been bothering me for a while now, but I never had a beginning for it. Now I do, and I finally created enough characters for it. I hope you all like it, I know I'm not the best and hardly anyone reads my Naruto stuff. Thanks.
Ruroushagakure
The morning sun cast rays of red and pink across the dark night sky. All life was sleeping in the forest near the border of the fire country. Despite it being hours before any animal would wake, the small village in this forest was already buzzing with life. People were hard at work readying their small huts and themselves for another normal day. The night guards left for home when their replacements arrived. The primitive village was surrounded by a small fence made of dead trees. It was very easy to break down and transport, as were the huts in the village.
"You're leaving early this morning!" Shouted a guard to a tall woman who was walking towards the hole in the fence that was the exit of the village.
"Well, the prey is moving farther and farther away. We may have to move again." Shouted the woman in return as she turned to call her hunting party to her.
"You be careful out there Kira." Shouted another guard.
"Don't worry, I have Gawdma and the pack to protect me!" Then, a group of dog like creatures emerged from the shadows of the huts. They were large, most a little shorter than an average person. Their fur was rust red in color with black and tan spots on their backs and hind quarters. Long saber fangs hung down from their upper jaw, and on the older ones, tusks sprouted from the corners of their mouths. Their ears pointed backwards, resting against the small horns that sprouted from their skulls. Small, senbon like spines ran from the ends of their snouts to the ends of their tails were there was a large club of bone, covered in the spines. They were creatures called Onibaneko, meaning fanged cat. They weren't technically cats or dogs, but a strange mixture of both. The older ones had large manes around their necks, while all of them had long, feather furred tails. They also did not howl, they roared, loudly. The largest Onibaneko was the one named Gawdma, and she was just as tall as her master Kira.
"Good luck hunting!" Shouted the first guard.
"Don't need luck, just a good trail!" Kira shouted back. Then she and the pack of Onibaneko disappeared into the forest.
He was tired, beyond tired, he was full out exhausted. He had been running for god knows how long on an empty stomach. He hadn't eaten since… well he couldn't remember. Leaning against a tree for a moment to rest, he wiped some sweat off his face and stared at the noon time sky. Just as he caught his breath, he felt two all too familiar chakra signatures closing in on him, and he did not want them getting too close. He began to run again, hopefully faster this time. But luck wasn't on his side today, he was slowing down. Be it from starvation or exhaustion, he did not know. Sweat ran down his whiskered cheeks as tried to push his blonde bangs out of his face. His blue eyes were open wide but closing fast. Soon, he found himself colliding with the ground, before slipping into unconsciousness.
Two figures, both dressed in black robes with red clouds, followed the starving blonde. They were waiting for him to collapse. Soon enough, their patience paid off. The blonde fell in mid run, his breathing evened out. The figure with blue skin smirked, they had finally caught the Kyuubi. He was about to approach to claim the prize when his partner stopped him.
"What now Itachi-san?"
Itachi did not answer.
"He's out cold, let's go get him and leave."
"Kisame, shut up." Was his answer.
Kisame grew frustrated with Itachi, it was the Uchiha's idea to let the jinnjuriki tire himself out. Now here they were, their target had passed out and now Itachi decided to wait! Kisame wanted so badly to just shred his partner with his sword, Samehada. But instead, he clenched his jaw tightly, releasing a grunt of agitation. Itachi seemed to not have noticed his partners problem, his focus was on the stretch of forest beyond the blonde. He sensed something was coming, but he didn't know what. The whole point of letting the blonde pass out was to avoid fighting, seeing as it was a waste of energy. This situation was no different. Until he knew what he sensed wouldn't cause them problems, they wouldn't go near the blonde, seeing as that would get the attention of that "thing". Then, something emerged from the forest, moving towards the blonde.
"What is that thing?" Whispered Kisame.
If Itachi had not read about them, he wouldn't know himself. "An Onibaneko…" He whispered back.
"A what?"
"A creature native to the red rock plains in the west."
"What the hell is it doing here then!"
Itachi didn't know himself so he chose silence as his answer as he and Kisame observed the lone creature.
The Onibaneko in question was a youngster, didn't even have tusks yet. It sniffed the clearing before directing its attention to the blonde. Both Itachi and Kisame tensed, not knowing what the thing would do. Lucky for them, it only sniffed the boy. Then it returned its attention to its surroundings. Both tensed once more when it returned to the boy, and began nudging him. Making several grunting noises next to the blondes head, it began to try to turn him over. At this point, Kisame was about ready to throw his fear of Itachi to the wind and grab the jinnjuriki. But a hand grasping the collar of his cloak stopped him. The Onibaneko lifted its head in the air, sniffing again. It then sat and began making low grunting noises, similar to a lioness's call for back up. Both Akatsuki members cursed under their breaths when roars were heard a distance away, in response to the grunts.
Soon, a group of larger, adult, Onibaneko entered the clearing. All were similar in color, but their horns, fangs and tusks were all different lengths. Some bore battle scars. All were around the size of a human teen. The youngster who called them was only a little smaller. The adults grunted to the young one, some sniffed the blonde. The two Akatsuki were sweating. The pack silenced when a large Onibaneko emerged. This one was a dull rust color, its tusks extended at least two feet past the end of its snout. There was a scar over its left eye. It towered over the others, standing as tall as an over average human. Its fluorescent green eyes scanned the body of the blonde, before snorting and turning back to the forest.
"What did you guys find?" Came a female voice.
A woman around the same height as the giant Onibaneko stood before the pack. She wore a simple yukatta, covered by the pelt of one of the massive beasts. Black paint was under her eyes, and her hair was a mix of rust red and light brown, pulled back into a braid. All the creatures began to grunt or snort at her. A look of thought came to her face, as if she understood what they said.
"What the?" Whispered Kisame. "Can she understand them?"
"She must be a Ryoushi, a clan that specialized in using the Onibaneko." Itachi whispered.
"You found a what?" The woman asked the creatures.
The all snorted in unison.
"Show me."
The mass of fur parted, revealing the blonde to the woman named Kira. Kneeling next to him, she looked the blonde over. Her expression grew grim as she looked him over. Calling over the large beast, she placed the boy on its back. Turning to the pack, she summoned them to follow her. As the group disappeared into the forest, Kisame cursed.
"Damnit! We lost him again!"
Itachi was silent.
"Damnit Itachi-san, we should have grabbed him earlier!"
"Silence, we will follow them."
The two Akatsuki disappeared.
Kira and the pack re-entered the village around noon time, Gawdma carrying the mysterious blonde boy they found. She waved to the guards before rushing Gawdma and herself to the largest hut in the primitive village. Nodding to the guard stationed by the door flap, she entered, leaving Gawdma outside. Upon entry, she found the Great Elder was already speaking with someone, someone she couldn't stand. That person was Urufu Sakamoto.
Sakamoto was the last of her clan, who specialized with wolf related jutsu, odd yes. She was slightly taller than Kira, the tallest woman in the village. She had long black hair that trailed to her legs. Her gray eyes held hatred towards Kira. She had normal colored skin, and she wore a simple black yukatta, with black gi pants. Around her neck was a black choker with a silver pendant on it, the Urufu clan symbol, a full moon.
"Kira-chan, so good to see you." Smiled the Great elder woman, named Sumiko.
"Forgive my interruption, Sumiko-sama, Sakamoto baa-san," At the insult, Sakamoto, a woman who was only a year older than Kira, scowled. "But the hunting party has found something interesting, requiring your attention Great Elder."
Sumiko smiled. "Show me, Kira-chan."
"Yes Kira-gaki, what did you find this time? A rock that looks like the Yondaime?" Snickered Sakamoto.
Kira stuck her tongue out at the other woman before exiting to get the blonde boy. Upon return, she laid the orange clad boy in front of Sumiko.
"We found him in the forest, he's very skinny, and probably collapsed from not eating." Kira stated.
As the Great Elder examined the blonde, Kira glanced back at Sakamoto. To her surprise, the other woman was gazing intently at the boy. Her stone gray eyes softened. Turning back to The Great Elder, she waited in silence.
"Kira-chan,"
"Yes Sumiko-sama?"
"Go get some water and food for this boy, once he awakens we will get his story from him. From his appearance I would say he's been abandoned by his village."
"Hai." Kira bowed, and left.
"What do you think Sakamoto?" Asked Sumiko, gazing at the younger woman.
"I'm not sure, Sumiko-sama. What will we do if he has not been banished?"
"Well, return him. If he has, he will stay here. But he will need a place to stay."
"I'll ask around once that fact has been proven true."
Kira returned with a sack of water and a plate of dried deer meat. Bowing, she left again to return to the hunt. Hours past, until finally the blonde boy stirred. Opening his blue eyes slowly, he focused on the two faces in his field of vision. Sitting up, the older woman smiled at him, handing him a plate of food. Not caring if it was fresh or old, poisoned or not, he ate. Sipping the water occasionally, he finished the deer meat.
"What is your name young one?" Asked the smiling older woman.
He paused a moment.
"Naruto."
"Naruto eh? No clan name?" the elder asked.
He shook his head.
"What were you doing in the forest Naruto? You're half starved." She asked as she handed him some exotic fruit.
"Well, I got thrown out of my village,"
"Konoha." The younger woman stated.
He nodded. "I and my team were sent on a mission and we failed. I was the council's scapegoat. I've been out here for two weeks." He trailed off as he ate.
Sumiko's face became saddened.
"Don't worry Naruto, your luck has turned around."
"What do you mean… uh?"
"You may call me Sumiko-sama, I am the elder of Ruroushagakure (The village of Hidden Nomads). And we take in any shinobi who's been abandoned by their village." She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You're welcome here."
Naruto smiled.
"Really Sumiko-sama?"
Sumiko laughed a little at his enthusiasm. "Of course, in fact, Sakamoto-chan here would be happy to show you around, acquaint you with the people of the village."
Sakamoto's eyes widened at Sumiko's statement. But she agreed none the less. As Sumiko-sama and Sakamoto-chan conversed, Naruto thought of how great this was, he may have found somewhere where he could belong.
"Come, Naruto-chan, follow me." Sakamoto was standing by the door flap.
Receiving a nod from Sumiko-sama. He stood and followed her out into the village.
Standing hidden not to far from the fence around the village, Itachi and Kisame wait. Crimson Sharingan following the jinnchuriki's every movement.
A/N: Not the greatest but hey, I try. Please review and tell me what you think, if I should continue or not. Arigatou!
Preview of Chapter Two-
Naruto meets the many clans that live in the Ruroushagakure, but one girl around his age stands out, is it because she resembles a friend he had long lost? Or because she is from a clan that is supposedly dead? Read to find out!