Chapter 1: The Shadow of the Kyuubi
It was October 10th, the day of the Kyuubi's defeat, a day of celebration. Friends were drunk, spirits were high, and the happiness of just being alive permeated through Konohagakure. However, in the alleyways far from prying eyes, a small form huddled in the shadows cast by the lights of the holiday. He could not join the festivities, he would be driven away, beaten, cursed, discarded. He coveted the darkness that gave him the ability to hide away, to evade the hate he did not understand. He believed in the shadows, trusting in their ability to keep him safe, if only for a little while.
But therein lay the problem. They could only protect him for so long, the hatred would find him. It always found him.
"Oy! I think I found the little bastard!"
Cerulean eyes widened in fear. He had thought he would get more time than this to move on. As it was, he was trapped in the alleyway, the drunken mob cutting off his only mode of escape. A flashlight shined its beam on his body, covered only by a dirty, dark orange shirt and ratty shorts. The comforting darkness fled from the harshness of the shaft of light. He shuffled back further into the alleyway, unbridled fear apparent in his eyes. For once, the lead villagers paused, looking deep into those azure pools. Sadly, the hatred of the ignorant is not so easily calmed. They remembered the attack, the sight of their loved ones dying. They remembered the monster that had come out of nowhere and decimated their homes, their very lives. And as it had been with every year, this hatred clouded their minds, closed their hearts, and allowed them to become monsters themselves.
"Little fuck! This is for my son!"
The first blow had been struck, a stomp to the hand. The other villiagers soon followed, crushing his joints, breaking bones, ripping skin, mutilating the body of a seven-year-old boy.
Suddenly, all movement stopped. The villiagers looked around in fear, their bodies halted by some unknown force. They believed they had been caught, that a member of ANBU had used a paralysis jutsu on them. Suddenly a woman appeared in front of them, her ivory skin reflecting the pale light of the moon. Her emerald eyes scanned the mob, coming to rest on the blue-eyed child. She turned to the mob, her eyes cold.
"Might I ask as to why a group of drunken civilians is assaulting a seven-year-old boy?"
"What, don't you know? That little fuck's a de-" the lead villiager looked at the woman incredulously.
"SHHHH! What would happen if ANBU heard you?" a voice called out from the mob.
"Shut up! Nobody cares about him, and ANBU is always lax on the night of the festival! They would probably reward me if I killed the fucking demon." the lead villiager boasted.
The woman's eyes narrowed in anger. She had dealt with this type of hatred before.
"What demon? The only thing I see is a seven-year-old child being unfairly treated by an unruly mob of drunken ingrates!" she stated, her voice rising in volume torwards the end.
She turned on her heel, making her way towards the boy. Blue met green as their sight lines connected. She knelt down to him, her expression softening as she saw him try to crawl away from her.
"Do not worry little one, I shall bring no harm to you," the woman cooed at the boy, "I myself have had to endure this treatment."
"Hey! Bitch! What the fuck are you doing!" an overweight man near the lead of the mob yelled out. "You a fucking demon lover too? Well, we'll just have to fix that then won't we?" he chuckled, bringing a butcher knife to bear as he stumbled drunkenly at the woman.
In an instant, the woman turned as she rose, a righteous fire burning in her eyes. She spun to the side, tapping the man on the wrist, whispering, "Umbral Touch." The drunken man's eyes widened as his body halted in its charge. A black mark appeared on his wrist where the woman had tapped him, and it was quickly increasing in size. Tendrils of darkness rushed up his arm, as the man began to cry out in pain. The darkness reached his head, rising up his face, until they entered his eyes, turning them completely black. His body shuddered, his brain shutting down. The corpse fell forward, the darkness completely covering it. The other villiagers looked at the body, looked at the woman, looked at each other, and then ran away screaming.
The young boy could only look on in awe. Who was this woman? This angel who used the power of the darkness that he had so long believed and hidden in? Why was she helping him? Was she like all the others, only befriending him to make the pain of betrayal that much worse? She turned back to him, noting his scrutinizing gaze. She smiled warmly and reached out to him, whispering "Touch of Sleep"
"Who...who are you?" Uzumaki Naruto, the container of the Kyuubi asked as his eyes closed.
"I am Hikari little one, and I have come to save you."
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Looking away from the crystal ball, Sarutobi felt both relief and apprehension. While it seemed as though Naruto was out of danger for the moment, he had no clue about the intentions of the woman who saved him. 'Hopefully she's telling the truth about not wanting to hurt him' he thought to himself while stroking his beard. He was startled out of his revirie when a shadow portal appeared in the middle of the room. (A/N: Think Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts) His eyes narrowed as he saw the green-eyed woman step out, the portal closing behind her. His eyes traveled to her arms, in which she was carrying the sleeping form of the young Uzumaki.
"Greetings Hokage of Konohagakure, I have come to negotiate the release of Naruto Uzumaki into my care for training. I have seen how your precious villiage treats him, and it strikes a somber chord in my heart. I will teach him to defend himself, and to protect those he holds dear. I will instruct him in the art of Shadowcasting."
Sarutobi's eyes widened. He had heard of the Shadowcasters. A secretive society that used chakra to mold the shadows of the world to their will. In fact, the shadow molding ability of the Nara clan was said to have come as a gift from the Mistress of Shadowcasters herself. He sighed, if the Shadowcasters wanted Naruto, there was little he could do to stop them. He crossed his arms before he spoke,
"While I do not doubt who you are Shadowcaster, how can I trust that you will not turn him against us? Teach him merely so that he may take revenge on those who wronged him?"
Hikari's eyes crinkled in mirth, "You are a shrewd one, are you not? And you may call me Hikari, Shadowcaster sounds so formal. But as to your question, it is true that you can not fully trust me, and as such, I am offering this." Hikari pulled a sealed scroll out of her robes. "This is an alarm scroll. Merely open it, and a contingent of Shadowcasters will come to your aid for whatever you need. Mind you, you should only use it in times of need. Some of our order do not enjoy being called for menial reasons." She set the scroll on Sarutobi's desk, and stepped back.
Sarutobi picked up the scroll, noticing the kanji for 'Shadow' on the seal. He nodded, placing it into a secret compartment on his desk. "Very well. Now on to my next question, will you be bringing Naruto back? Or is he going to be joining the Shadowcasters as a permanent member. He has always spoken about how he is going to be the Hokage someday."
Hikari smiled, "Have no worry Hokage, he will return in time to become a ninja of Konohagakure. I am merely training him to be my apprentice. However, there will come a time that he is called away to become the leader of the Shadowcasters, but that will not be until my death. And I do not plan to die for a long while yet."
Sarutobi had a look of shock on his face. Leader of the Shadowcasters? That meant that the woman in front of him was, "You...you are the Mistress of Shadows?"
Hikari laughed out loud, "Yes, yes I am. Now, shall we wake Naruto and see what he thinks of the situation?" She tapped his forehead, whispering "Touch of Dawn"
Naruto awoke to the feeling of being completely safe. He was being held by something cool, but the temperature was comforting. He opened his eyes, and noticed that he was looking directly into two emerald orbs.
"Good morning, did you sleep well Naruto-kun?"
"H-hai. Ummm...where am I?"
"I brought you to the Hokage's Tower little one, we have much to discuss." Hikari explained as she set him on his feet.
"HEY! I'm not little..." Naruto pouted, pushing out his bottom lip. Both Hikari and Sarutobi laughed at his antics.
The Hokage was the first to quiet down. He put on a serious look and turned to Naruto, "Naruto, this woman here is the Mistress of Shadows, Hikari, and she has offered to teach you. You would be leaving the villiage for eight years so that you may learn the art of shadowcasting."
Many emotions began to play across Naruto's face. Hope, suspicion, anger, happiness, and finally hope again. "Do you trust her oyajii? (A/N: spelling?)
Sarutobi nodded, "Yes I do Naruto."
"Okay! Then i'll go with her, and when I come back, i'll become the Hokage!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air.
Both Hikari and Sarutobi chuckled again. Hikari spoke this time, "Come with me then Naruto, I will be taking you to the Shadow Fortress. It is the home of the Shadowcasters, and will be your home for the next eight years."
Hikari opened another shadow portal, took Naruto's hand, and stepped through. As Naruto was stepping through, he looked back to Sarutobi, "See you later Oyajii!" And with that, they were gone. Sarutobi sighed out loud, it would be lonely without that little ball of energy around.
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A/N:
Dai: And that's the first chapter! 'S a lot longer than I originally intended, but whatever! Longer chapters are better...right? I'll try and get the next chapter out a few weeks, but I wont make any promises. Review if you like, but if you're just going to flame, at least tell me WHY you don't like what I write. I thrive on constructive criticism.
Kye: HEY! Why wasn't I in this chapter?Dai: Cause I don't need you yet...
Kye: Oh... (pouts)
Dai: (Sweatdrops) ...uh...yeah...you'll be in the next one...
Kye: WOOT! (runs off)
Shadow: ...and me?
Dai: Yes Shadow, you'll be there too.
Shadow: ...that is acceptable (dissapears)
Dai: Yeesh, my friends make the wierdest characters... oh yeah, I don't own Naruto or D'n'D. If I did, i'd be rich, and I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. I do own Hikari, and I am borrowing Kye and Shadow from my friends. They were our characters in our most recent D'n'D adventure. Also, I am conducting a poll on what type of summon Naruto will get. The choices are:
Foxes
Toads
Elementals
I can write for any of them, so it's up to you, the reviewers to choose! Choose wisely, for through this you are directly influencing the story! BWAHAHAHAHA! cough ...yeah...
