First story, be gentle but I appreciate any and all feedback or advice. Sorry if the story sucks but hopefully it will get better as I improve!
I really, honest to Science own Naruto the series but I just let Kishimoto do the manga cos I'm kind like that...IM LYING! Don't own, don't own anything at all, all is property of Kishimoto unfortunately! Enjoy, read and pretty please with cherries on top review!
There was a lonely little boy living by himself, ignored by everyone who only wanted to be recognized by someone. The only one who ever made time for him was the old man Hokage, and even that was only on the odd occasion when he was treated to a meal. He lived very simply and found few moments of happiness in his life; other children never played with him or bullied him when they caught him alone, their parents were no better, encouraging their kids to torment him while they ignored him. Since he could remember he had only wanted people to actually look at him instead of looking the other way, acknowledgement was what he craved, recognition by someone, anyone! He dreamt of being a ninja, a kickass guardian protecting the village, a hero who would be respected by all. When he was approached by a strange man who offered him his dream, he readily accepted, in his innocence never dreaming of the dark path he would be forced to walk.
The thief stepped inside his apartment grumbling at his rotten luck that day. Though market day was normally a great time to mingle with the crowds of the city and pickpocket, he had only managed to get a single wallet before a commotion in the crowd had drawn the police. Ryoku was not fool enough to try to pickpocket while ninja's where around! His grumbling increased as he flicked the light switch back and forth as nothing happened, leaving his humble apartment in shadow. Stepping forward to make his way in to the kitchen he gasped in pain as he was struck suddenly from behind, a vicious blow to the back of the legs that floored him. Struggling onto his hands and knees, he was confronted by a small dark figure in front of him that blended with the shadows of the unlit apartment. The glint of light of the kunai in the figures hand froze Ryoku as he felt the chill of fear settle upon him. Then he noticed the hesitation of the figure and saw the kunai shake in its grasp. This spurred Ryoku into action as he surged forward in an attempt to overwhelm and crush his attacker, to take advantage of its hesitation. Ryoku paused, gurgled horribly and slipped to the floor again as blood rushed out of the precise cut in his throat in a powerful spray. His last sight as his life slipped away from him and darkness crept over his eyes was the small shadowy figure with a dripping kunai standing above him as it was joined by two taller figures and with is last bloody breath he heard the whispered words "I'm sorry.." as his life faded away.
The samurai captain paused in his walk, his charge coming to a halt behind him along with the rest of his troops. The commotion ahead in the market was loud and would be hard for his soldiers to force their way through while maintaining the security of the client. He motioned to the left and the bodyguard detail made their way through a side street to bypass the hubbub in the market. A grubby street urchin peered up from a pile of rubbish and darted forward hands outstretched on path to interrupt the walk of the richly garbed man in the center of the samurai guard. "Get lost you little brat!" One of the samurai blocked his path and punched the child viciously in the stomach, the kid doubled up and slumped over the samurai's arm gasping for breath before collapsing on the ground. The man in the center coughed impatiently and the guard turned away from the child and caught up with the rest of the samurai's, sparing a brief glance backwards to see the injured brat scuttle out of the alley clutching his stomach. He grinned to himself, amused by his petty cruelty before a hissing sound caught his ear. He stared frozen in horror at the explosive tag smoldering on his arm before the powerful explosion ripped through the enclosed space of the alley!
The samurai was obliterated in the blast, his shattered armor creating deadly shrapnel that tore through those closest to him, the two samurai standing next to him had no chance as their armor was pierced by the shrapnel. The remaining six samurai stumbled to their feet, groggy from the explosion but protected from the rest of the blast by their thick armor. A few bled from were stray shrapnel had gotten through but they would all live. The same could not be said for their client who lay in a bloody heap against the alley wall where he had been tossed by the explosion, charred and bloody from the fire with a large chunk of shrapnel embedded in his temple. Hours later a young boy walked out of the town accompanied by two merchants who threaded their way carefully through the crowds before disappearing in the woods.
The three ninja darted swiftly through the trees, their footsteps making only the slightest noise as they launched from branch to branch using carefully controlled bursts of chakra. Their mission was done and now they returned home to Taki for a long rest before their village next called upon their skills. The lead ninja ducked, acting on his instincts honed through years of combat, a kunai wielding ninja landing where he had been moments ago. His two companions were not as lucky, both felled by a surprise attack from two other kunai wielding masked ninja. The Taki nin jumped back, his hands flashing rapidly through seals as he assessed the battlefield. His companions dead with their attackers standing over their bodies, one short, one tall both dressed in camouflage that blended with the trees. And there! The ninja who had missed his attack dressed the same coming at him, a tanto drawn back ready to strike! The Taki nin released his jutsu and exhaled a fiery dragon that crashed straight through the onrushing ninja who had no time to dodge, there were no screams as the charred body dropped to the forest floor as the dragon continued and curved its way round to target the remaining ninja. The Taki nin prepared to fall back into the trees as he watched his jutsu crash down on where the enemy ninja were standing. A fireball exploded with fury and the Taki nin felt the heat on his face before he made to retreat into cover.
Blood bubbled from his lips as he found himself unable to move, unable to feel his body. His gaze slid downwards into the clear blue eyes of the short ninja before him whose tanto was sheathed in his chest. The short ninja wiped his blade clean as the body of the enemy fell to the ground, his partner finished performing a swift Doton jutsu that buried the bodies of the other three fallen ninja's and joined him. Together they jumped back into the trees and disappeared into the foliage.
The merchant entered the inn, flanked by his guards, whistling a happy tune to himself. His business was booming and his caravan was loaded with goods that would fetch a tidy price in Kumo, he also had hidden on his person sizeable sum of ryo that had made their way into his possession from his other business. It was a nice subsidy to his regular income each month and all he had to do was pass on a scroll he was given each time he left Konoha. His business gave him the perfect cover to carry out a little light espionage on the side and the treatment he got back home didn't hurt his finances either. Sitting down at the bar he ordered from a pretty waitress and grinned and held his hands up in mock surrender when she glared at him for leering at her petite form. He left the inn satisfied and continued his journey, while later that day at the end of her shift the pretty waitress walked out of the inn into the dark woods. If anyone had been watching closely they would have seen her vanish with a slight pop and puff of smoke to reveal a short figure clad in dark blue that then disappeared into the gloom of the underbrush.
Two days later while sitting down for dinner with a local dignitary in Kiri to discuss the increase in taxation on watercrafts he collapsed face forward into his bowl. Though his guards rushed to his side they were of no use for his death was guaranteed the moment he had let the pretty waitress serve his food.
When the staff at the country inn missed their colleague for the second day the head chef went round to her house to check on her he was horrified to find her lifeless body hanging from her ceiling. The death was written off as a suicide by the local authorities despite the protestations from family and friends that Kimiko would never have done such a thing. The suicide of a waitress in Fire country and the poisoning of a merchant in Kiri were never connected.
The genin team was tired and dirty; their dreams of rescuing princesses and defeating bandits had been swiftly crushed after a month of mindless chores with their jounin instructor who was currently grinning at his charges recollecting with fond memories her own time as a genin in Suna. She turned and bowed respectfully to their client; "It was a pleasure to help you Mika-san, I'm sure my little students are honored to milk your goats." She said to the crippled woman who had come up behind her. Mika smiled kindly at the young jounin and waved her one remaining arm at the grumpy kids in front of her. "Please kunoichi-san I'm sure these kids don't know or even care whose goats their milking, I'm sure they just can't wait get home!" She was glad these young ninja didn't know who she was or what she had done and hoped they would never have to experience what she had in the wars that had been fought when she was younger. "I'm sorry to say that you're probably right about that, kids these days, no respect for their elders or history!" the jounin said while mock scowling at her team. "Alright guys let head back and collect our pay for this mission!"
Mika watched the team head of down the road before shutting the door and turning to put away the churns of milk, she found it difficult to milk the stubborn creatures with only one arm and it was always nice to have company in her lonely home. As the sun set on Suna Mika awoke with a jolt in on her sofa where she had fallen asleep earlier, she looked warily around, uncertain of why she had awoken but uneasy for some unknown reason. Her dreams had not been pleasant, another one of the war, bodies and death, not what she wanted to remember. She sighed.
Despite her retirement her instincts had not dulled and trusting her instinct she rolled of the sofa just in time to avoid a vicious blow that would have connected with her head as a dark figure attacked from the ceiling. Catching the leg of her assailant as they fell, Mika twisted and flung the attacker across the room before springing to her feet her arm instinctively grasping for a kunai from the pouch that wasn't on her leg. Her attacker recovered swiftly and raced across the room to attack her once again. She caught a hand grasping a kunai as it was swung at her side, pulsing chakra into the hand to sever the tendons that grasped it, allowing her to twist it out of the attackers grasp and onto the floor. She threw her knee into the attackers chin causing them to stumble, giving her time to recover the fallen kunai. She brought the blade forward to skewer the still disorientated assassin just as they looked up into her eyes.
Mika gasped and for the first time took in the sight of her would be killer, it was a child, a young boy! Blue eyes gazed up into hers and she paused in her attack. This gave the boy an opening which he took full advantage of; a powerful kick to her knee caused it to shatter tumbling Mika to her knees and as she opened her mouth to cry in pain, a fist to the abdomen winded her and robbed her of breath. As she lay gasping on the floor struggling to restore air to her lungs the boy delivered to swift jabs to her neck that sent her whirling into unconsciousness.
The boy raced across the desert, his feet making no sound as they glided over the dunes, eating up the miles with a steady pace, a bound woman slung across his back dwarfing his already diminutive stature. Once past the border, he met up with another two ninja who were handed the prisoner before he raced of again in another direction.
The Third Hokage relaxed in his palanquin, smoking his favorite brand of tobacco as the procession made its way out of the capital of the Fire country, his meeting with the daimyo had gone well and he looked forward to returning home after a trying month of talks and negotiations. It would be week before he arrived back in Konoha and he hoped all was well. Right after he had left, a prominent member of the Yamanaka clan had gone rogue, stealing several clan scrolls and killing two of his own family. An Anbu squad had been dispatched to track him down but they had failed to report back and he feared they were dead. He sighed, that would have to be dealt with when he returned, the Yamanaka's were an important part of Konoha and it would not do to have their secrets revealed to their enemies. Sarutobi's thoughts drifted to his favorite ward; Naruto. He worried about the poor boy, isolated and ignored by the village the boy had become quiet and withdrawn, even with the Hokage he was quiet and secretive… he hoped that the boy was well.
Masuka Yamanaka panted as he ran away from the carnage behind him, fear lending him strength. His allies were being slaughtered as they tried to guard his escape, but he didn't care, what he had seen had sent him running in terror. He cursed loudly to himself as he came up short at the edge of cliff. 'Damm it! It had been going so well!' After making his escape from Konoha, he had managed to make the rendezvous with the Kumo ninja sent to escort him back to Lightning country with Konoha's Anbu hot on his trail. The twenty Kumo Anbu had been able to surprise and ambush the Leaf Special Forces and cut them down. They had made their way safely back to the border when another squad of unknown ninja has assaulted them, Masuka suspected they were from Root and he would be dammed if he was taken back to that old mummy Danzo! Despite losing five men in the surprise attack the Kumo nin swiftly gained the upper hand against the three Root members, isolating them before taking them down with their superior numbers. They had managed to take out two of the members when it had all gone wrong. Masuka had struck out at the remaining Leaf ninja while the small figure was distracted by a vicious Lighting jutsu. His Mind Destruction jutsu had connected and the figure had collapsed, it was a powerful and forbidden technique that splintered the victims mind leaving them a vegetable. As a Kumo ninja had moved in for the kill, transparent red claws had erupted from the boy and tore the five ninja standing closest into shreds. Jiinchuriki! Masuka had fought against the demon beast when it had attacked his old village and still remembered the terror he had felt. Allies forgotten he had fled as the demon sprang up from where it lay and attacked the ninja with a vicious assault, all regard for personal safety forgotten as Masuka fled into the trees.
Masuka panted and tried to regain his breath as he paused in his flight at the cliff's edge. It was quiet now; perhaps the Kumo fools had managed to slay the beast? He prayed in his mind that this would be true. Piss dribbled down his leg as he shook in terror as the terrible figure emerged out of the darkness, soaked in blood, covered in vicious wound that dripped blood and impaled by kunai, shuriken the demon walked towards him. A red cloak of demonic chakra bubbled out and swirled around his body and as the beast drew closer he could see the wounds on his body closing up. Masuka's trembling fingers threw a kunai at the beast that made no attempt to dodge, the blade impacted with its body with a meaty thud but did nothing to slow its implacable approach. To scared to move he screamed in terror as claws made of the demonic chakra erupted from the figure and seized him in their grasp searing his flesh as his life flashed before his eyes
.
The Anbu guard outside the Hokage's office shook in fear as their commander raged within. Several prominent ninja within where facing the old man's wrath and they were glad that they weren't the subject of his anger. Sarutobi let out a weary breath as he slumped back in his chair, the ninja before him were of no use, and it would do no good for him to yell at them anymore. Waving his hand he dismissed the trembling ninja from his office. How could this happen? He wondered to himself. Naruto Uzumaki had disappeared from the village and neither hide nor hair of him could be found. He had been looking forward to seeing his ward when he got back to village, eager to see him enter the academy, hopeful that the friendly environment and socializing with others of his age would cheer up the poor boy. And now this! The boy had been missing for a week before anyone had cared enough to mount a search, the boys disappearance was nothing new, he often disappeared for a couple of days and the Hokage hadn't wished to disturb whatever peace the tormented child found but this time it had been different. A returning team had come across a massacre on the border, mangled bodies brutally mutilated and torn into shreds whose few remains identified them as Kumo ninja. The most disturbing and worrying part was the severed head of Masuka Yamanaka mounted on a crude wooden spike, his face twisted into a terrified death mask. The genin on the team would need to see a therapist undoubtedly. No trace of Masuka's body or the scrolls were found but the jounin instructor had found traces of the Kyubi's chakra present throughout the gory battleground and saturated through the strewn body parts. Sarutobi was worried and scared for Naruto, if the Kybui had been somehow freed or worse possessed Naruto then who knew what would happen! The fact that Naruto wasn't present and no trace of him was found was both reassuring and worrying, he desparetly hoped that Naruto would be found safe and sound and that there would be a logical and calm explanation for all of this that would make sense but he feared it would not be.
Wearily Saurtobi pulled a piece of paper towards him and began to draft the order to look into Naruto's disappearance and a separate order for a search and retrieval mission.
Three years later an Anbu patrol raced along the cliff top as the turbulent ocean crashed against the rocks below. Their leader carried a bound figure, a young boy clothed in dark blue pants and shirt with a mask covering his face. His wounds were terrible, and blood dripped from him onto the ninja carrying him. He was tightly bound by wire and several seal tags locked his chakra away. Behind him, another ninja was carrying one of his comrades, a bird mask covering his face which was twisted into a horrifying scream, his body jolting awkwardly as it was carried. They had found the boy washed up on the shore further down the coast, barely breathing. They had seen the ninja gear and equipment he carried a cautiously investigated worried about a possible trap. They searched his body and recovered several sealed scrolls that they were unable to open and found the horrific injuries on his body. Fearing that they would be unable to retrieve any information if the boy died and curious as to what such a young ninja was doing in such a place the one Yamanaka with them decided to carry out a mind delving to extract any pertinent information before the subject died.
The bird faced ninja was a skilled member of the Yamanaka clan and experienced in his clan's signature jutsu's and he formed the few seals he needed to carry out the jutsu effortlessly. As soon as he was done the other members of the Anbu squad knew something was wrong. The boy's body began to shake and his chakra which had been barely there before started to surge within his body and change. Buzzard (the Yamanaka who had invaded the boys mind) let out a hideous scream and threw himself back from boy. As his colleagues rushed to his side they could do nothing as he continued to shriek and claw at his face, drawing blood as he gouged out his eyes. Boar and Cat grabbed his arms and tried to restrain him but were barely able to hold his arms down as he arched his back and frothed out at the mouth. He stopped and went limp, his breathed emerging in ragged gasps, he did not awaken. The remaining Anbu drew their weapons and jumped away from the prone boy dragging their comrade with them. They stared at the boy in astonishment and fear as red chakra began to slowly oooooooze out of his skin and bubble around him. The older leader of the squad recognized the feeling the strange chakra and in a flash, trained instincts overriding his fears, he leapt forward and sprang on the boy, ignoring the pain as the chakra burnt through his clothes and began to eat away at his flesh. He slapped a special seal tag down on the boys chest and jumped away to watch the result. The seal was a special Anbu only issue that completely sealed away the targets chakra, it was expensive and difficult to make but very effective. He breathed a sigh of relief and signaled to his team to stand down as the red chakra receded into the boy's body. He knew who this was; he recognized the chakra having felt it 12 years ago when in night of terror and blood Konoha had nearly been destroyed. Their squad would have to return the child back home, he was sure the Hokage would be interested in what the boy had been doing for the past 3 years.
"Are you sure about this?"
"I'm sure. You know why I have to do this…"
"But why you? You've seen what it did, what it can do!"
"Inoichi! He's just a boy and I'm the only one who can do anything to help him! Think of Ino, think of Shikaku's and Choza's kids! I've got to give him the chance. You know this!"
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry, okay? It's just you saw what happened to Ko….. It's just I don't want you in danger darling…"
"I know, but this is what I do and trust me, I will be in and out before you can know it. Okay?"
"Okay…okay, I'll be right here besides you Noriko and…" Inoichi turned to the grinning figure on the floor, bound by wooden shackles and covered in seals "…if this psychotic little fucker does anything then I will fry your brain!" Inoichi said the last part to the unflinching emotionless face of the boy in the center of the room, ignoring the slap on his arm from his wife by his side.
The boy didn't even flinch as Inoichi took a step towards him before an ANBU stepped forward and laid a hand on his arm to check his path.
"Inoichi! Calm Down!" barked the Hokage, rising out of his seat, his face hidden by shadows. Anger and frustration were both present in his voice but so was tiredness, tiredness that weighed down his entire body. But his voice still carried the power of his youth and Inoichi stepped back.
"I'm okay! It's fine, it's fine! Let's just get this over with, okay?"
The Hokage nodded and resumed his seat, clasping his hands together in front of him and leaning back in his chair. The Anbu retreated back to join his fellows in the shadows around the room, blending in with the darkness.
Inoichi and Noriko stepped forwards to the center of the room stepping around the carefully drawn seals on the floor, making their way to the boy in the center. Bound by sealed wooden shackles on his wrists and ankles he was fastened securely to the floor where the seals ran up from the arrays on the floor and onto the shackles. A masked ninja sat opposite him, arm outstretched in a pose of concentration.
Taking their places on either side of the prisoner the two Yamanaka's placed their hands on the boys head, Noriko's underneath and Inoichi's on top. As Inoichi placed his hand atop of his beloved wife he looked up.
"In and out, right? I'll be waiting to pull you out the minute you call. Don't take any unessecary chances and if you feel at all in danger just run, don't stop and think just get out!" His hand tightened on hers pushing it into the blood mop of hair on the bound boy
"I will darling, don't worry. This is what I do and I'll be fine."
Inoichi cupped his face with his free hand and leant forward.
"I love you"….."I love you too." Noriko smiled and nodded at the medic-nins surrounding the seal array. Chakra channeled from the medic-nins through the seal array hit the seals on the wooden shackles and his head slumped forward as he fell unconscious, deep in artificially induced sleep. The seals lit up as the chakra converged on the two hands resting on the slumped head and as Noriko's eyes rolled up into her head and her eyelids closed, the last image she saw was Inoichi's anxious face.
Darkness, dark all around, no light, nothing, just darkness. Water, warm around her ankles and now a light, glowing beneath her. Red light, no red water…blood! No, not blood just red…water or some other liquid but not blood. The light expanding, illuminating the water around her revealing a cavern of darkness around her, a huge expanse of space. In front of her, the gathering light dispelled the gloom to reveal a huge cave filled with shadows, the entrance barred by a mesh of thick bars. She stepped forward curiously and opened her mouth in a scream as a hand fell on her shoulder.
Okey Dokey, I hope you enjoyed that! If you did or didn't let me know whether you want to insult me or praise my incredible gooeyness then go ahead, I don't even care! (kinda do...)
