Chapter One: In the Shadows
Note: I was inspired to write this fanfic by reading fanfics that described the ROOT under Danzo's control. I felt like ROOT and its members were never given much attention, and the Naruto storyline never really explained much about what the training was like and such.
My other fanfic, The True Shinobi is going at a really slow pace because I'm sort of stuck right now, so I'm writing this fanfic instead. The beginning parts are always easy to write, but the middle and end gets much harder.
Warnings: AU. Slight or quite OOC (haven't quite decided yet XP).
Giou Haruto was a weapon. A tool for his master to use and then discard when no longer needed.
But Haruto didn't mind.
Haruto had already sworn to give his life for Danzo-sama since that day, when Danzo-sama took him and his younger brother in, from the streets of the Bloody Mist, half-starved to death.
His life, his existence, and his power, that no one had wanted, that everyone had hated, Danzo-sama had wanted, had said it was useful.
Giou Haruto didn't know who his father was. He only knew that his father had been a Konoha shinobi who died near the end of the Third Great Shinobi war, leaving his mother alone, with a barely one year old Haruto and an unborn Yuuto in her stomach to take care of. And even that mother, a kind and beautiful women of unique silver hair and pink eyes, was now nothing but a vague memory for Haruto, as his mother had died a few months after giving birth to Yuuto.
His mother's younger sister - Haruto's aunt, along with her husband, had then taken in the two years old Haruto and his few months old younger brother, Yuuto. Giou Haruto and Giou Yuuto lived happily and peacefully together with their aunt and uncle, near the border of Kiragakure. Despite not being their real biological children, Haruto and Yuuto's aunt and uncle treated them as if they were their own children. Although their uncle was no one but a simple woodcutter in a small village of the Land of Water, Haruto felt no complaints about his life.
When Haruto was two and a half years old, he found out that he could manipulate the water without any hand seal.
"Obaa-san! Obaa-san! Just now when I was outside by the river, I made the water move without using any hand seals! Isn't it amazi – " Haruto's excited voice was cut off by the sound of a plate shattering on the ground, as his obaa-san turned deathly pale.
"Haruto!" Obaa-san demanded, as she grabbed young Haruto's shoulders harshly and shook him, "did anyone see you doing that!?"
"No…no one saw me. I was alone by the river." Haruto reassured his obaa-san confusedly, "I'm sorry, obaa-san. Did I do something wrong?"
Some colour began returning to obaa-san's face as she hugged Haruto tightly. "No, you did nothing wrong, Haruto. Obaa-san is the one who should be sorry. But Haruto, you must never use that power again. What you did just now, when you controlled the water, is called a kekkei genkai. You must have inherited it from your father, but promise me, never use that power again. That power will bring nothing but misfortune." Obaa-san said seriously. Haruto was different from other children; he matured way faster compared to others, that by the time Haruto was two years old, he could already read, speak, and write fluently, so obaa-san knew that Haruto would be able to understand.
"Okay…" Haruto answered. If his obaa-san didn't want him to use that power again, then Haruto wouldn't. Obaa-san was very nice, and took care of him and Yuuto after his mother had died, so Haruto didn't want to cause trouble for her. He didn't know why having a kekkei genkai was bad, but Haruto would follow what his obaa-san said.
After that incident, Haruto never used or brought up his kekkei genkai again. He spent his days helping out his obaa-san at home and taking care of his younger brother. Despite being very young himself, Haruto was already capable of cooking meals and looking after Yuuto, which lifted the burden off their aunt and uncle.
But when Haruto turned four years old and Yuuto two years old, something happened that drastically changed their lives – Yuuto awakened his kekkei genkai.
The situation had almost been the exact same as to how Haruto awakened the hyoton. Yuuto was simply playing by the river, when he realized that he could make the water move. Luckily, their aunt had been passing by and immediately stopped Yuuto and led him back to their house, but unknown to them, someone had seen Yuuto's display.
That very same night, Haruto's uncle and the rest of the villages gathered in their house and killed obaa-san in front of Haruto's own eyes. Haruto could only stare blankly, as his aunt bled out on the floor and breathed her last breath, with Yuuto next to him, frozen in fear. The next thing Haruto was aware of was his uncle and the villagers heading towards him and Yuuto, with axes, knives, and pitchforks in their hands. Haruto pulled Yuuto tightly into his arms and looked towards the crowd, not knowing what to do; he only knew that as an older brother, he needed to protect Yuuto no matter what.
As if rising in accordance with Haruto's wish, ice and wood spikes grew out from the ground and impaled everyone, except for Haruto and Yuuto. The two of them stood frightened, as they stared at the bloody carnage around them.
After that day, Haruto and Yuuto lived out on the streets, shivering in the cold and surviving off the leftover food that other people threw out.
Yuuto huddled close to his older brother, with his knees hugged close to his chest. "Nii-san, I'm sorry. Because of me, uncle…" Yuuto trailed off, eyes closed in pain as he remembered that day.
"Yuuto, it's not your fault." Haruto patted Yuuto softly on the head and hugged him tightly. "I'm also at fault for not telling you earlier that you could possibly awaken a kekkei genkai. Don't worry, no matter what happens, nii-san will protect you."
A month after that disastrous day, Danzo found Haruto and Yuuto collapsed in a small deserted alley in the Land of Water, and stretched out a hand towards them.
The power that had caused the death of their aunt and uncle, Danzo-sama said he wanted; for that, Haruto would forever be grateful for.
"You and your younger brother are kekkei genkai users; in this shinobi world, that power is unwanted by everyone except for me. Devote your life to following my orders, and I'll look after your younger brother. As long as you work hard and obey me, then nothing will happen to Giou Yuuto, that I promise. From now on, you are a member of Root, Giou Haruto."
What do you think about it? ~~ give me you reviews! thanks!
