HIYA! Another new story, I know I'm bad.. Need to update other stories more, but I got inspired... so yeah.
WARNING: Title may change!!! I don't really like the title that mich, so if you have something better, I wannahear it
Anyway, I know that it's been done over and over again, but I wanted to try my hand at it... I appreciate input, like what you like in this kind of story, what you hate seeing... as well as your fav pairings :3
Hope you like!
Chapter 1 - Ouch
Five and a half year old Naruto dodged through foliage, jumped over logs and skidded through mud, giving fearful glances behind him to see if his pursuers were still after him.
Why were they after him? Well, Naruto didn't know why, but it had happened so often that that thought was hardly new, and experience told the young blond that he should save questions like that for after he had gotten away. Thoughts like that could mean that he'd trip, and then they'd get closer than they already were.
All Naruto knew was that the majority of the villagers had an intense dislike for him, one that led some of them to paint words on his door (though he only knew the meaning of a few of them, he was sure the rest were bad too), and the rest to do small bad things, like keep him from their brightly displayed shops and stores.
The restriction from the bright and colourful displays made Naruto brighten up his visual world with his wardrobe instead, a choice that he was starting to regret at the present.
Orange didn't quite make him a ninja in the dark, moonlit forest.
Slipping through bushes that were almost as tall as he was, Naruto shielded his eyes and, after a moment's thought, slipped his goggles over his eyes. He couldn't see very well in any case, the protection the goggles gave was worth the night-blinding tint they had.
Night life sounds kept Naruto jumping from fright, his heartbeat sounding the pace of his running. He just had to get away, just get away from everything, everyone who was after him. The villagers, the other children, no one except for the old man and the nice people at Ichiraku's Ramen stand were ever accepting in the least.
It just isn't fair, Naruto thought savagely, his anger from a mix of frustration at the villagers and at himself for not being able to figure out why they hated him, let alone how to make them stop.
Tears stinging his eyes made his goggles fog up more, and only his hands in front of him kept the tree that popped up in front of him to be his final destination.
That tree had no right to be there! ...Even the forest is against me!
Several blind turns and almost twice as many near-trips later, and Naruto could hear the sounds of the angry villagers fade slowly to a faint murmur. He didn't stop running though, oh no. the further he was from that area, the less likely they'd catch up to him later.
Speeding up more, now that there was less of a chance of giving away his position from noise, he heard a gravelly noise and felt a furry hardness under his fingers half a second before—oof!—a swelling, throbbing pain in his nose told him that he'd crashed into something. It certainly wasn't a tree.
Staggering slightly, Naruto plopped himself onto the dampness of the grass, hissing slightly at the ache in his nose and the wetness on his hands and his chin that told him that his nose was bleeding. Ouchie, that hurts like a bitch! If the old man had heard his thoughts, he would have probably whacked him over the head with paperwork.
Sniffling with a grimace (eww, blood tastes bad), Naruto pulled his damp goggles from his face to see what exactly he'd hit into, looking up into glowing yellow eyes.
Those eyes were set above a long grey-black muzzle.
That lupine muzzle was filled with a lot of big teeth.
The sound coming from that muzzle was a gravelly growl.
There was also drool.
Ah.
"AAAAAGHHH!"
After that split second categorization of what he saw, Naruto did a complete 180 and took off in the opposite direction.
Now, if this was written for a novel or something of the like, there would have been a half minute period where the protagonist and the animal would stare at each other, and then the protagonist would start running a split second after the wolf took action… but instead of a stupid protagonist who didn't know what to do when faced with big teeth in a big mouth, Naruto knew that growling from anyone usually meant that you should have been a couple of miles away from that person five minutes ago.
Sprinting, Naruto could hear the sound of the big dog-animal-wolf-thing thundering through the forest, it's low growl raising in volume, whether by its own will or because it was closer, Naruto was too panic ridden to distinguish.
Just below the sound of the animal thing, Naruto heard the sounds of the angry villagers ahead of him, a good distance ahead… a split second decision later and Naruto turned right, leading the wolf away from his previous tormentors.
They could have helped, stupid, stupid Naruto! But would they? No, that would have given them a real reason to not like me. Oh shoot, is that thing getting closer? Crap, maybe I should have gone, but no, I don't want anybody to get killed! I don't want to die either! Aw, crap, crap, crap!!!!! THIS IS SO STUPID! Why does this have to happen to ME!?
A poorly positioned root decided right then to hug his foot, a sound like stepping on a dry pinecone filling the woods, essentially allowing Naruto's already aching face to make friends with the ground.
Stifling a cry in the dirt, Naruto scrambled to get up, his breath escaping him in unsteady gasps at the sudden pain that laced up and down his leg from his ankle. A feeling of dread was welling up in his stomach, creating a weight that he only ever felt when he knew someone was following him in the streets of Konoha…
He wasn't going to be able to outrun the animal…
Scrambling to his feet, he searched the ground for any sort of weapon, all the while pushing himself and his busted ankle to move him away from where the animal was. He got to a clearing that might have been a training area when he finally found a sturdy branch that he was able to pick up.
Panting with the exertion it took to heave himself to a stand as well as the burning pain that was throbbing through his right leg in pulses, Naruto resolutely turned to the beast, slowly backing up into the clearing. If he was going to go down, it wasn't going to be from an attack from behind—
With a sound of snapping branches, the furred form burst into the clearing, drool flying from its open maw. Naruto stumbled back a little from fright, wincing as he put weight on his foot, and cocked his makeshift bat on his shoulder.
The wolf thing sprinted towards him, mouth open and teeth bared, and once it was close enough, Naruto slammed the thick branch into its head.
It gave a small yelp, but it was enough to bolster the young boy's confidence, and he lifted the splintering branch up again.
The wolf circled him angrily, but weary of the branch.
Even if wielded by only a 5 year old, the wolf wasn't entirely unharmed by the branch.
Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the wolf, shaking the branch slightly in a mocking way that he'd seen the villagers do to him. He knew that it'd make it angry… hopefully angry enough to come again so he could whack it.
Too soon, the wolf leapt at him, and Naruto swung the branch, only to get overbalanced when the wolf dodged under it. The branch went flying out of his hands, and it was only collapsing from the pain leaning on his foot brought that saved Naruto from having a giant bite taken out of his side.
Though he didn't get that bite taken out of him, the wolf was still able to pin the small boy to the ground, unheeding to the punches that he was littering over its forelegs and chest. Naruto had started crying, tears running tracks down his dirty, blood splattered face, and his eyes were wide as he stared, yelling for help in between sobs as the wolf gave him a couple of sniffs. Must be figuring out if I smell good or something—the wolf gave a long lick to the side of his face, the rather large damp appendage moving across the whole left part of his face—and giving a taste test too… no, someone must be close enough to hear me!
"HELP! SOMBODY HELP ME!!!!"
The wolf, having just decided to sniff the young Naruto's shoulder, jerked back with a snarl. Apparently it didn't like having its ear screamed into.
Abruptly, it darted it's head open sinking it's lengthy fangs deep into Naruto's shoulder, nearly biting through the joint.
But the relief of not having the only thing keeping his arm attached taken off was overrun by the searing pan that lanced through his body, and Naruto screamed and screamed, eyes staring blindly into the star lit sky.
An absurdly calm part of him noted that it was a really pretty night, but the rest of him was too busy screaming to notice anything else other than the gut-wrenching pain that was coming from his shoulder.
Fingers scrabbled at the muzzle of the beast, desperately trying to get them away from his aching shoulder. The wolf pulled away with a growl, blood and drool dripping from its mouth, and Naruto scrambled to get away, clutching at his shoulder as he tried to push himself away with his less-pained foot. He managed to get a small distance away before the wolf bit into him again, this tome into his left thigh. Naruto's scream pierced the night, scaring away the rest of the smaller nocturnal animals that hadn't already fled.
A good distance away, a group of ANBU was patrolling the forest. They heard the scream and split up, one group to go towards the screaming and the other to go to the Hokage with a report.
The wolf had littered nips and bites all over Naruto's body, flinging him around by whatever limb happened to be in its mouth. Naruto had long since lost his voice to hoarseness, only able to give off small pained whimpers and whines when he was thrown and bitten at, whispering out for the animal to stop. His eyes were dilated from a combination of blood loss and exhaustion, and he was torn between wanting the wolf to just leave him alone and wanting it to finish him off already.
The wolf, hearing the sound of the ANBU approaching from a fair distance away, turned to look at its prey. It wasn't the same kind of prey that others might think of, but it wasn't about to correct that.
The huge animal rolled a curled up Naruto onto his back, placing a paw that was larger than his head onto his chest and placing some of its weight on the boy. A strangled noise came from Naruto, and his teary eyes looked up into the beast's eyes.
The wolf saw no fear in the child's eyes, only a steely resolve to face whatever came to him, a resolve that no one had any right to have at such a tender age… but that was why the wolf was acting then rather than later.
Naruto blinked back tears, gazing up at the long face of the wolf, feeling utterly removed from the fear that he'd felt earlier. Looking now, Naruto could really say that the big wolf looked more majestic and powerful rather than scary. Its muzzle was a silvery grey fading into a sleek black coat that shined in the moonlight, the darkening splotches that dripped sullenly from its chin a primal reminder to the lethal strength that was found in its jaws. It had intelligent eyes that glowed reflectively yellow in the night, and those eyes were focused on Naruto's own blue eyes. Moving from the wolf's head to what could be seen of the rest of its bulk; Naruto gazed objectively at the mass of fur covered muscle. The black fur was thicker around its neck, showing faint streaks of the same silver-grey on its muzzle, leading down to its deep chest and onto its powerful forelegs… it didn't have forelegs like Naruto had seen on any other canine… it looked like someone had given it the forepaws of some kind of big cat, the legs built thicker than what an animal built for running would need, the paws large and thickly furred for the silent approach that Naruto hadn't heard earlier. Naruto couldn't see much else of the large animal from his position, only able to note that the animal's shoulders looked strong, and that it really was a very pretty animal. Certainly put all the dogs in the village to shame.
The wolf seemed to be looking over Naruto's body… probably trying to decide which part of me to eat first… I hope this is quick… I just want to sleep… Naruto thought disparately, closing his tiered eyes.
The weight of the wolf's paw lifted as the wolf gave a short snort, and Naruto peeked his eyes open once again to gaze at the wolf in confusion. The wolf's head was directly in Naruto's line of sight, its paws resting on either side of his shoulders.
I thought it was gonna eat me… and is it just me, or is it looking a little transparent right now?
Which was true. Naruto could see the moon through the now shadowy shape of the wolf, only its eyes keeping their very solid gaze. Wow, that's kinda cool… looks pre…t…y…
And Naruto slipped into unconsciousness, and just as the ANBU burst into the clearing, the large form of the wolf disappeared.
_-*-_
"Have you found what did this?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, looking through the glass at a young body covered by bandages, wires and tubes connecting him to various bags of fluids.
"No Hokage-sama. There are no tracks nor any sign of an animal large enough to make those kinds of wounds other than some snapped branches." The bird masked ANBU reported.
"Have the Inuzuka's been contacted?"
"They have, and are on the scene now."
"Good, keep me posted on any findings. You are dismissed."
The third Hokage didn't turn from his position as the ANBU disappeared, instead focusing on the problem at hand.
ANBU had found an unconscious and bloodied boy, Naruto, in a training area a good distance from the village, and had immediately contacted the other half of their unit who then told Sarutobi the situation. Hardly a few minutes later Sarutobi was debriefing the unit about what happened, and after that, sending out more squads to the surrounding area to find who and what did this. He'd already gotten a report from the healer in charge of Naruto about his condition, his expression growing grimmer with every injury listed from the beginning scan.
Right ankle broken, left thigh shredded, dislocated and equally shredded shoulder, mild concussion, severely strained muscles all along his back, ripped muscled all along his arms, broken nose, and severe blood loss to top that off. They had just gotten to him in time.
When they got him to the hospital his body had gone into shock, and a team of medical-nin were called in to work on the child. Sarutobi was proud to see how efficiently they had worked, hooking Naruto up to several machines, sterilizing wounds and stitching up and bandaging what needed to be… and then they cleaned him off enough for them to recognize who it was, and then Sarutobi's pride turned sour.
The reactions of several of the nin were of disgust, and they left the room even though there was obviously still need to be on high alert, and of the rest, very few continued to work with the same concentration and skill as they had before his identity was revealed.
It led the Third to wonder what would have happened to Naruto had his identity been known from the beginning.
He had just become stable, and there was a steady beep coming from his heart monitor.
A sound from behind him made Sarutobi turn slightly. It was Tsume Inuzuka.
"Report?"
"We haven't found any scent of any animal in the clearing… there wasn't any scent other than his own on the boy's clothing either." She sounded puzzled and angry.
Probably because there was obviously an animal attack, and even if it was someone using a henge, there would have been a fresh scent of someone not in ANBU… no scent, no tracks, no traces save for snapped branches… this is getting odder by the moment, yet for some reason it's sounding familiar…
Sarutobi frowned.
"No visible traces except for a path in the foliage, no scent left behind, no prints, no fur…"
"No, no damn trace of the thing!" Tsume growled.
"Hmm… well, keep everyone on high alert… it might still be out there."
"Hai, Hokagee-sama."
Turning back towards Naruto, Sarutobi thought over the situation again and again, wondering why he felt such a feeling of foreboding.
_-*-_
It's so warm… but tight too…
I wonder what's all this stuff around me…? Why is it so damn blindingly white? Where am I? what happened?
Oh, yeah, I got attacked by that big wolf… really was cool looking, and powerful too! But wait, did it kill me? Well that sucks… but it would explain why I'm in a very white place… but I thought that when you die, there's no more pain, or some other thing like that. I'm in a lot of acheyness right now, so maybe I wasn't killed… Awesome! Hokage title, here I come! Ugh, maybe after I get better…
Wait, I'm in a hospital! Why would I be here?
Oh, wait, maybe the old man got me here… or maybe I'm so mangled that no one in the hospital recognizes me? Well that's great, in a backhanded kind of way…
I really don't get that saying, but it seems to fit… no! Focus!
Okay, so I got attacked, I passed out after a close examination of fangs, and then I pass out… and wake up in a hospital, all bandaged up and not dead…
Okay, well that's great…
But I have an itch. Right there… oh, ouch! Owie, owie, and all that owieness! Not a good idea then, putting pressure ANYWHERE…
I guess I'm in a worse state than I thought… fun…
I wonder if I'll be good enough to get Ramen tomorrow… or maybe the old man will get me some to have here if I'm not…
Wooh, all tingly just then… okay, going away…
I wonder where the old man is right now? What's that beeping noi—whoah, tingly again! I wish that would stop already—ooh, there it is again!
_-*-_
Sarutobi was getting worried now. The steady beeping noise that had filled the room Naruto was in had sped up to an alarming degree. A group of elite med-nins (ones that didn't care who Naruto was) were filling the room, checking the various machines surrounding his form and placing glowing green hands over various parts of his body.
An assistant came from the room, handing Sarutobi the diagnostic sheet giving an detailed report of the boys injuries. He was just opening the file when—
A shudder went through Naruto, a gasp from the small boy piercing the hospital noises. A few moments later, another shudder, and another right after that.
Soon, he was practically shaking off the bed, and the doctors had to strap him down to the table to work on him.
Suddenly, Naruto went sill, and a monotonous and drawn out beep made Sarutobi's heart ache and nearly stop itself.
He felt tears welling in his aged eyes, thoughts about how Naruto had always said that he'd become Hokage, about how everything would be better if he was…
If only he'd been there, if only he'd been able to keep things from getting to this point… if only he'd gotten Naruto to agree to a bedtime, so that he wouldn't have been out so long—
"!!!!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the building, making its way through sound blocking glass as easily as a hot knife through butter, Naruto's body nearly bent backwards in half, and—
TBC
Yeah, I know, horrible ending place, but I want some input before I get too into it... I know that you can't give too much from a first chapter, but it tends to work, so yeah :P
Notce for the future chapters; I'm not doing the whole, Naruto-gets-a-pair-of-dog-ears stuff, cause that's too cliche, and that's not how I want it, so hopefully that sparks your curiosity enough to want to read more, aside from this obviously awesome story in the first place :D lol
Reviews sent to me send a shockwave through my body that urges me to update (just adding it to fav's or story alert only pokes me), so please review, if only to say "I like it" (sarcastic ppl who just write that will get a sarcastic reply-- you have been warned! :3).
Don't forget to send in possible title changes... I was also considering 'Golden Moonlight' and a couple of other crappy titles... also tell me if you like the title just fine please!
Thank you for reading!
~Doodled93~