Tasogare Chronicles
Chapter 1: Rise of Tasogare!
Three weeks… that's how long it had been since Naruto returned to the leaf. The council and the villagers blamed Sasuke's defection on him, the council then tried to have him executed for treason against the last Uchiha, the villagers burned down his home, and to top it all off Kakashi and Sakura beat him nearly half to death. All because of one spoil little brat who couldn't deal with his problems. Naruto Uzumaki now laid on his charred bed staring up through the burnt hole in his roof. All his possessions were reduced to ashes, and his tears dried up days ago now he just laid there waiting.
Suddenly Gaara of the Desert appeared in a swirl of sand next to his bed. When he had heard what happened to his friend Gaara had shed tears for the first time in a long time. If there was anybody in the world who deserved this it was not Naruto. But as always Naruto didn't let this keep him down especially since the Akatsuki would be coming after them soon.
"Did you get it all?" Naruto asked the red haired teen in a dead voice.
"Yes and bit more than expected." Gaara responded in his usual monotone voice.
"What about Temari and Kankuro?" The blond asked as he stood up from what was left of his bed.
"I didn't tell them anything nor did I tell Baki-sensei." Gaara told him.
"Good, so where do we start?" Naruto asked Gaara while staring at the Hokage faces on the cliff side.
Gaara pulled a document from his inside his top, and scrolled down the list until he found what he was looking for.
"The closest one is in the Hidden Waterfall Village. Then there are two in… the Hidden Rock Village after them it's a long way to the next one." Gaara explained.
"Good then lets head out I've already sent a shadow clone to Tsunade with the letter." Naruto told his friend and then both of them were gone.
- Tsunade's Office -
Tsunade opened the envelope and began reading, while Shizune did the same from over her master's shoulder.
Dear Tsunade,
Since you're reading this that means I've already left the village. But don't worry I'm not defecting like that spoiled bastard Sasuke, but I need to find my own means of protecting myself. I know Pervy Sage wanted to train me, and I'm sorry I can't go with him. I've got a plan its dangerous and it'll probably get me killed but if… no when I pull this off the Akatsuki won't stand a chance. I'll be back in about three years so keep the council off my ass until then will ya.
Yours Truly,
Naruto Uzumaki
The blonde hokage sighed sadly while Shizune was on her knees crying silently.
"They pushed him to far this time I'm surprised he'll be coming back at all. Shizune go get me Jiraiya and Naruto's close friends.
~x Back With Naruto & Gaara x~
It had taken them just a few hours to reach the Waterfall Village. When they entered the two runaway shinobi wasted no time and headed for the big tree. Upon arriving two Waterfall Jonin stopped them dead in their tracks.
"State your business. What would the Leaf and Sand want with Lord Shibuki?" One of the guards asked them.
"We aren't here representing our villages we're here for something far more important. So why don't just go on up, and tell Shibuki that Naruto Uzumaki is here to see him." Naruto told the guard with cold glare.
The guard disappeared in a cloud of smoke then returned a minute later.
"Lord Shibuki will see you now." The jonin said.
"Took ya long enough." Naruto then sprinted up the stairs to Shibuki's office.
Before following his friend Gaara stayed to clarify some things with the guards.
"Please excuse my friend he is not usually so cold towards people. Due to some tragic events he is a bit lost so please do not think ill of him." With that Gaara followed after the Nine-tails Jinchuriki.
"That is one scary kid! Just the sound of his voice sent chills up my spine." The Jonin said and they went back to guard duty.
~x Inside Shibuki's Office x~
"Naruto its been a long time my friend." Shibuki said as he and Naruto shook hands.
"Yea likewise." Naruto said with a bland voice that lacked any of his past energy.
Shibuki caught that something was wrong with his friend but he decided not to pursue it. The Hero of the Waterfall looked at Gaara with a questioning stare until a light bulb clicked.
"Hey you're Gaara of the Desert! What are you doing here?" Shibuki asked with a shocked look on his face.
"I'm accompanying Naruto on a mission that'll hopefully save a lot of lives; starting with our own." Gaara said.
"Well sit down you two it must important for you both to have traveled here." Shibuki said as he sat in his own seat.
"Shibuki you being the leader of the village you must know someone by the name Fu." Naruto explained.
"Yes she the Jinchuriki of the Seven Tails *sighs* I've tried many times to get her to come live in the village but…" Shibuki said sadly.
"You mean she isn't in the village?" Gaara asked.
"No she lives on a little island in the center of Lake Kabutomushi on the outskirts of the village." Shibuki explained now interested in why they wanted to know where she was located.
"Don't worry Shibuki we haven't come to harm her in any way. But there is a group called the Akatsuki who recently formed, and they are about to start rounding up us Jinchuriki. So to prevent that I'm gathering them myself so this way the Akatsuki will have a hard time catching us." Naruto explained to the now relieved hero.
"Then you wish for her to join your group, and what will you do after you have gathered everyone?" Asked Shibuki.
"We'll get stronger… strong enough to kill every Akatsuki member hunting us." Naruto said darkly.
This shocked Shibuki greatly in the short time he'd known Naruto, he never known him to have any ill thoughts such as these. Shibuki sat back in his chair and thought for a moment before he came to his decision.
"Naruto if what you say is true then Fu is in danger here. At least if she is constantly moving it'll be hard for her to be targeted. If she agrees and that's a big if, if she agrees then I'll grant her permission to go along with you." Shibuki told them.
With that Naruto and Gaara stood from their chairs with a satisfied smirk.
"Don't sweat it I know she'll agree." Naruto said then turned to leave.
Just as Gaara was about to leave he was called back by Shibuki.
"Gaara as usual Naruto overlooked things, so tell him that Lake Kabutomushi is located west of the village." Shibuki said with a smile.
Gaara nodded and took off to find his friend. Shibuki sat back down in his chair releasing a heavy sigh.
"I guess from what I heard is true… Sasuke Uchiha's defection really did take its toll on Naruto. I just hope he doesn't follow the same path as his friend.
~x With Naruto & Gaara x~
The blonde and red head arrived at Lake Kabutomushi and both marveled how big it was. They also saw there was no land connecting to the island, so the only way across was by boat or water walking. They started to run across the lake to the small house when Gaara felt a small chill run throughout his body. Ignoring it he kept going towards the house with his friend. Exactly five minutes had passed and they were no closer to the island which pissed Naruto off. Stopping his sprint Gaara stood there with eyes closed only to open them a few seconds later.
"It seems we are caught in a genjutsu." Gaara told his fellow Jinchuriki.
"Shit… so how do we get out?" Naruto asked knowing he was bad at genjutsu.
"Temari taught me that you stop the chakra flow in your body you'll cancel out the genjutsu." Gaara explained.
"So how the hell am I supposed to do that!?" Naruto shouted.
"Like this." Gaara closed his eyes then he vanished from Naruto vision.
"Hey where the hell did he go?" Naruto asked no one in particular.
"Are you gonna stand there all day Uzumaki?" Gaara said from the island.
Naruto turned around and glared at the One Tails Jinchuriki.
"If we weren't in a hurry that bastard would have left me standing there." Naruto mumbled to himself.
"Did you say something Naruto?" Gaara asked after he knocked on the door.
"Nope I think you're hearing things." Naruto said as he looked the other way.
Gaara was about to knock a second time when the door to the small house opened up. Standing in the doorway stood a small girl with caramel color skin, bright green hair, and pink eyes. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and stared at Gaara then Naruto.
"Who are you guys?" Fu asked with big yawn she then stretched her body upwards. This caused the medium sized t-shirt she wearing to rise up, and this of course made Naruto blush even Gaara had red tinge on his cheeks.
"Um we're Jinchuriki like you. I'm Naruto and this is Gaara." The blonde said simply.
Fu's eyes widened and her jaw dropped before finally she smiled and yanked them into the house.
"Please have a seat while I make us some tea." Fu told them and bounced off towards the kitchen.
She returned shortly after and started to pour three cups.
"This is my first time meeting other Jinchuriki, so what bijuu do you guys hold?" Fu ask as she finished pouring their tea.
"Well Gaara over here is bodymates wiith Shukaku the One Tails and I hold the Nine Tails. Naruto said then took a sip of his tea. "Hey this is good what kind of tea is this?" Naruto asked taking another sip of the delicious beverage.
"A specialty of mine its honey n' cream tea." Fu said with a sweet laugh. "By the way im the holder of the Seven Tails." Fu told them and laughed as Naruto choked his tea.
Naruto finished his delightful drink and his face turn serious once more.
"Fu the reason why we're here is serious. There is a group of S-class criminals that's after us Jinchuriki. For some reason they want to extract the bijuu that reside inside our bodies." Naruto explained to her giving it time to sink in.
Fu was shocked maybe even a little scared but she's survived this long what could go wrong now.
"What do you want with me?" She asked bringing her knees up to her chest.
"Well we want you to join us in gathering our fellow Jinchuriki so we can protect each other." Gaara stated with a smile.
"So you want me to leave my home?" Fu asked biting her bottom lip.
"We aren't asking you to leave permanently just only until the Akatsuki are no longer a threat." Naruto told her reassuringly.
"I know its hard but Shibuki said if you agreed then he would give you permission to come with us. Wouldn't you rather take your chances with us than out here by yourself?" Gaara asked her with a warm gaze.
Fu suddenly jumped up with a huge smile on her face which surprised the two boys.
"I'll get my things and meet you at Shibuki's office." Fu said in a cheerful voice and bounced off to her room so she could pack.
"That was easy… I think she planning on going from the get go." Naruto said as they walked out of the house.
"You may be right but Naruto even though the next closest Jinchuriki are both in the Land of Earth… do you really think it's a good idea to go there next? Considering the bad blood they have with the leaf." Gaara asked as they made their way to the giant tree.
"You might be right. The next ones are in the Land of Water right?" Naruto asked Gaara who nodded.
Then that's our next location the Village Hidden in the Mist." Naruto said with a sly grin.
When they reached Shibuki's office they walked in to see Fu already there. She was wearing a high sleeveless white shirt and white armlets, with a fishnet waistband, a white mini skirt over a pair of fishnet shorts, white shinobi sandals, her waterfall headband tied around her right arm, and a cylindrical object in red cloth tied to her back.
"How the hell did you get here so fast!?" Naruto shouted.
"Shortcut." Fu said with a huge grin.
"Naruto as promised I've given Fu permission to travel with you… just make sure you guys look after her… okay?" Shibuki said with a smile.
"Aww little Shibuki is worried about me. Don't worry so much I'll probably have to save these two more than they have to save me." The happy go lucky girl said then swatted them both on the back making them fall forward.
"Damn… she heavy handed as hell." Naruto said with groan.
"Sorry about that." Fu said with a nervous laugh.
After saying goodbye to Shibuki the trio of Jinchuriki left the Hidden Waterfall Village. Normally it would take three days to reach the Mist Village from there, but considering they didn't have much time Naruto declared they should make it in two days.
"So the next two Jinchuriki are both in the Hidden Mist Village?" Fu asked in amazement.
"Yes one is named Yagura and the other is a man named Utakata." Gaara told her.
"Just out of curiosity how many tails of power can you control?" Naruto asked Fu as they ran through the treetops.
"Um… I can control three tails worth of power what about you guys." Fu asked.
"I can control only one." Naruto said dishearteningly.
"I guess Gaara can control all of his tails considering he only has one." Fu laughed.
"That is true but I cannot control my full transformation." Gaara told her.
"Well this means we all have work to do, we gotta strong enough where we can control all our tails." Fu said pumping here fist in the air.
While the other two were a bit disappointed that they couldn't control much of their powers yet. They smiled anyway knowing that if everything went right they'd be strong in no time.
~x The Land of Waves x~
After running for two days straight the Jinchuriki trio finally made it to the Land of Water.
"Oh my god that was a long ass trip." Naruto said as they came to the giant bridge.
"The Great Naruto Bridge… this bridge was named after a great hero who saved the Land of Waves from poverty. Today this bridge stands tall in honor of Naruto Uzumaki." Fu read out loud.
"I didn't know you were such a celebrity Uzumaki." Gaara said looking over at the blonde.
"Hell neither did I… must have named it after we left." Naruto said then shrugged his shoulders and pressed on across the bridge.
"For someone who is so famous here he doesn't look too happy." Fu said as she and Gaara followed the Nine Tails container.
"There was a time when Naruto would be jumping for joy right now, but… his village took that away from him." Gaara told her.
"I guess that's the broken life we Jinchuriki live." Fu said sadly then suddenly wrapped her self around Gaara's arm. "But now we all have each other so what do you say we fix this broken life of ours." Declared the bright haired girl.
Gaara was stunned no one had ever actually came this close to him except for his siblings. The red haired teen settled for returning her faint smile and nod. Naruto who was walking ahead of them glanced back with a smile of his own. They were walking arm and arm like they had been a couple for quite some time. Fu looked happy and even Gaara looked somewhat happy.
"They seem to be getting along just fine." He said to himself and they continued on to the place they'd be resting at for the night.
Naruto: Age 13
Gaara: 14
Fuu: 14
These are their ages before the time skip.
Tasogare = Dusk
Akatsuki = Dawn
I'm starting this story over with so I can do it better this time around. I'll be sure to edit it alot more delicately as well (^_^)