Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden or it characters in any form whether it be manga, television, video games, or toys. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I am not writing to make a profit in any shape or form. I simply do this for the enjoyment of myself and others. I REPEAT I do not own any version of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, or wish to make money off this property. Thank you and enjoy the story.
The Samurai and The Inuzuka
Sho walked through the Hidden Leaf village in his oversized shirt and pants with a sword on his hip, his shaggy dark brown hair nearly covered his eyes and his blue eyes glinted in the late afternoon sun. The 13 year old had arrived alone in the ninja village a week ago. The boy had remained silent since then not speaking a word. He had been sent to the orphanage, only to leave a few days later. Sho had been living on the streets ever since.
His walk was interrupted when he was tackled to the ground.
"I finally found you!" A voice said happily as Sho felt a cheek rub against his affectionately. As the mass of brown hair left his vision the face of a girl his own age with short dark hair, coal colored eyes with green marks on her cheeks appeared and the girl was wearing a blue hoodie. The boy felt something wet on his other cheek, he saw a small brown puppy sniffing him. The girl continued snuggling with him, then she took a sniff and her eyes widen and she jumped back. "You stink! We have to fix that." The girl grabbed Sho's hand and dragged him through the village streets with the little brown dog trailing behind them.
The trio soon where in sight of a medium sized compound. With a kick the door was opened and the scent of dog entered Sho's nose. The rest of the run passed in a blur as they found themselves in a bathroom. "Take a shower and I'll get you some clothes. Chow watch him." The girl ordered the puppy. A few minutes later Sho emerged from the shower dressed in a towel, the door opened and the girl returned. She stopped midsentence and stared at him, her cheeks reddening and she licked her lips. It took Chow nipping her leg for her to get out of her trance. With a slight glare toward the puppy she left the room.
A few minutes later Sho emerged wearing a white hoody with blue pants his sword on his hip.
"You must be hungry, dinner is over but there are left overs so come on." The girl said again dragging him with Chow following behind them.
Soon they arrived in a large dining hall and after having him sit at the table as the girl went to a large fridge and pulled out a plate of meat and veggies. She placed the plate in front of him and sat across from him with a smile on her face. Sho ate quietly until he a heard a slight whine from below. He saw Chow wagging his tail, he picked up a piece of meat and through it down next to the pup. The puppy quickly ate the meat. A few minutes later there was an empty plate in front of him. The girl smiled and dragged him out of the dining hall and through the compound to a bed room. The room was simple with a dresser, bed, and a small door leading to a bathroom.
"It's late and we need to get some sleep. I'm going to change." The girl said as she went to bathroom and closed the door. Sho laid down on the bed, and after a moments he was asleep. A few minutes the girl emerged from the bathroom in a large shirt. She smiled at the sight of her new mate sleeping and cuddled up in the bed with him.
Sho opened his eyes to the sound of Chow whining at the door, after rubbing his eyes he saw the girl splayed out on the bed snoring. It brought a small smile to his face. He opened the door and the puppy ran out, but it stopped for a moment and waited for Sho to catch up. The puppy led him to a large back yard of the compound. As Chow went to do his business Sho felt a person stand next to him.
"So you're the one Tae has been talking about for the past few weeks. She said she smelled her mate, but the rest of us thought she was simply boasting. It seems we were wrong. Still it is your choice do you want to stay here pup?" The gruff voice of Tsume spoke.
Sho's voice was soft, "I can think of worst ways to live."
The head of the clan smirked, "Good, we'll get you marked tomorrow after breakfast. Welcome to the Inuzuka clan kid." Tsume said as she walked away.
Tae awoke the next morning with a yawn, but as she awoke she missed the softness of a body next to her. She turned around to see Sho, shirtless meditating as Chow slept in his lap. Despite the cute scene, Tae couldn't help better notice the scars that lined his back, they were short but deep. She would have to ask about them later.
"Good morning." She said cheerfully hopping over to where her mate and dog sat. "I'll get dressed and then we'll go down for breakfast." A few minutes later Tae emerged fully dressed and Sho had a blue shirt on. With a smile Tae started dragging Sho to the dining hall. When they arrived all the Inuzuka were eating in a long line with Tsume at the head of the table. The two sat down and began to eat. Soon the other Inuzuka started to stare a Sho. Soon the sounds of eating stopped as almost all of the Inuzuka were staring at Sho. Annoyed Tae grabbed his arm and cheerfully declared, "He's my mate!". At once a sea of heads turned toward to Tsume who simply nodded. The Inuzuka shrugged and went back to their breakfast. As Tae and Sho finished breakfast Tsume approached them.
"Come on pup we need to get you tattooed." The clan head said as Tae, Sho, and Chow followed her.
An hour later Sho know had a green tattoo the same of Tae on his right cheek. Tae nuzzled against the new tattoo.
"It looks good but me and Chow have to leave to meet our team." Tae said as she left.
Sho took the silence in the room for a moment the last couple had been a journey but for now he was happy. Sho took a step out of the room when he heard a shout.
"Stop that dog!" A voice shouted
Sho turned to see a huge dog headed toward him. The boy held out hand and at once the dog stopped, as Sho began to pet the beast.
"Oh thanks, I was just trying to give a bath." The voice belonged a girl with her brown hair in a ponytail. Sho nodded at the girls words. "I'm Hana Tsume's daughter." She said extending her hand. Sho shook it, as Hana noticed how well the dog was responding to him. "You can handle animals huh?" Sho nodded before he stopped petting the dog and started to walk away. "Quiet kid." She said to herself taking the dog back for a bath.
Sho left the compound and started to walk around the village until he noticed a man at a forge. For a few minutes he simply watched the man work.
"Are you to watch or are you going to help?" The gruff voice of the blacksmith said
With a small smirk Sho walked over and took the hammer from the man and a few minutes later handed the man a completed blade.
"Good width, excellence balance. Tell you what kid my last apprentice quit, how would you like to replace him? You'll get paid, and use of the forge anytime you want. What do you say?" The man asked. Sho nodded. The man smiled. "Good now get moving we have to get all these orders done by end of day. Hop to it." The man said.
It was a little past noon when the black smith called a halt. "Huh, I can't believe it we have most of the day's order done. You do fine work kid. Tell you what I'll finish up. You get the rest of the day off, be back here tomorrow 9 sharp." The man said. Sho nodded and began to leave before the man stopped him. "Hey kid don't forget your pay." He said throwing him a small sack. "Good work today." Sho left with a smile.
As he made his way back toward the Inuzuka compound he heard foot steps behind. He soon felt a weight on his back.
"Hey my sensei gave us the rest of the day off." Tae said happily as she jump off Sho's back and stood next to him. Chow running up to them. "So what do you want to do?"
Before he could answer Sho felt a change in the wind, and began to draw his sword. He gently pushed Tae to the side a second before he blocked a sword blow. The next moment he was gone.
Tae looked on in amazement as her mate went blow for blow with the attacker. The two moved at such a speed that she could barely see them. The next moment the two landed in front of her. The attacker had his blade to Sho's neck, but her mate had managed to cut the bottom of the attacks goatee off.
The attacker smiled, "So it seems your time away has not dulled your skills any."
Sho's eyes, "Master" He whispered
The man in front of them was old, with long gray hair going down to the swell of his back. He was dressed in typical samurai gear.
"You made a home with the Inuzuka clan. It makes sense you were always good with animals." The man said with a small smile. "But now I must meet with the head of your clan. We have things to discuss."
A few minutes later found the samurai sitting across from Tsume, Sho, and Tae.
"Why is the general of the samurai Mifune here in the Leaf Village, and not in the Land of Iron?" Tsume asked
"Because of the young man sitting here with us." Mifune said his eyes turning toward Sho. Out of his robe he pulled out two scratched Mist head bands. Once again his eyes turned to Sho, who gave the older man a quick nod before taking the headbands and leaving the room. "Sho was left on our door step an infant, wrapped only in a blanket, and these two head bands. We raised him the art of the samurai but you must understand that to the samurai that being a traitor is the worst thing a person could be. Even those who are simply associated with traitors are shunned. As you can imagine the other recruits did not take well to his heritage. They shunned him, and one night they attacked him well he slept. He escaped with a few cuts, and the others were severely punished. The next morning he was gone."
"Why did you follow him here?" Tsume asked
"The boy is truly skilled, and I simply wished to see that he was doing well." Mifune confessed.
Tsume turned to Tae and with a nod of her head the girl was off to find Sho with Chow running behind her.
"The pup is not alone, he is part of the pack now. We'll look after him." Tsume said
Mifune smiled, "That is all I wanted to know." He handed her a scroll. "That is so he can finish his training. Like I said the boy is truly skilled. Thank you for time Clan Head Tsume.
"And thank you for your time." Tsume replied
Meanwhile Sho was sitting on the bed simply staring at the two head bands. His great shame, the reason his brothers turned on him, the reason they tried to kill. Because he was the son of traitors. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Tae sitting down on the bed next to him, and giving him a hug. Sho gave a small smile as the two feel back onto bed and Tae cuddled into his side, and Chow jumped onto his chest and soon the three were asleep.
Tsume smiled at the scene in the room as she left the scroll on a table near the door.
"You two chose well." The clan head whispered as she left the room.
This is not the ending I envisioned for this one-shot, but after working on for over a week I simply wanted to get it done. If you did enjoy this then please review and check out my other storied. As always thank you for your support.