Kyuubi's Calm Chapter 1: Konohagakure, a naruto fanfic

No part of this plot, my own characters, or text can be used without my permission. I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, but the plot and Yasu and Akira are my own and copyrighted.

Chapter 1: Konohagakure

Teen rated for language (eventually maybe) and character death + blood and gore a little. And also some other reasons I haven't thought of yet.+

Hi, I'm Yasu (that means calm for all you not-so-in-touch-with-your-Japanese-selves, but don't worry, I wouldn't know if I didn't have my handy translator). I'm a ninja in training of the mist village, although I was born in the waterfall area. Ok, so I'm not technically a ninja, yet. No headband, and no legal documents. My past? For me to know. However, I've been on my own as soon as I turned seven, and although it upset me then, now I think of it as a blessing. I was on my own for those first three years, until I found a young horse. It had just been weaned and had a broken rib from its mother kicking it out. I raised the young colt and we became stronger together, and are now inseparable. Anyway, I'm traveling toward the village hidden in the leaves to become a real ninja, and to train and become stronger. I'm about a day out from it, and that's where my story begins.

My colt had grown, and was a stallion now. His coat had turned a deep black, and he grazed a few feet away as I rested. We were just off the road to the leaf village, and the sun was rising. I lifted my head and watched it above the trees and got to my feet. My belongings included a horse brush, some fruits, two changes of clothes, and a water can. I brushed my stallion with one hand and ate an apple with the other, passing him one as well. We exchanged our morning greeting and I packed the belongings into two sacks, slinging them over his rump. I mounted and we were off.

"We're gonna reach that village today, aren't we, boy? We have been traveling for a week, and I'm just glad we made it past those thieves. Of course, they didn't think you could do a substitution jutsu as well, now, did they?" We talked for a while, and when the sun was directly overhead I dismounted and refilled the water. Akira, my stallion, drank lightly from the crystal clear stream. After another fruit each, we were on our way.

I nudged Akira into a trot as I grew excited about seeing the leaf village. I'd heard many strong ninja came from there, and many more resided within its walls. I was pretty confident that I could find a teacher, or at least someone to teach me a few fire-style jutsu. They'd probably have to be patient, though. I couldn't pick up on my opposite element easily, but when I got a jutsu, I knew it for life.

As Akira continued down the trail at a brisk pace we passed a squad of young ninja on gate duty. They were the first line of defense for the village, three miles out. They stopped me by blocking the way because my horse wore no saddle or bridle and asked my business in the village. The tallest one watched me carefully as I answered, and the three young ninja under his command followed his example. I felt uneasy as they all watched me.

"I'm going to the leaf village to train. I don't have a ninja headband because I never went to a school, but I plan on getting one." They seemed satisfied and allowed me to pass. I kept Akira at a walk now, more cautious, so we wouldn't seem a threat. We passed another squad of ten ninja at the mile-and-a-half mark, and I told them the same. They nodded me by, and I sensed ten more ninja in the surrounding branches. Akira began trotting and ignored my signals to slow down. I eventually let him canter; if he was nervous it was best to let him use some energy.

"Halt!" A voice called as we pulled up to an open gate. This time Akira listened to me and we stopped in front of the gate with the leaf village symbol on it. Two shenobi leapt down from the gate and landed on either side of Akira. I told them my purpose and they were insistent on identification. I held out my card that had my name, weight, hair color, picture, and age on it, and they recorded it on a little computer. As they validated my entry, I saw an old man walk by with a kid in an orange suit following him and complaining that he wasn't being taught any new jutsu. I recognized the man as Jiraiya, the toad sage. I'd read about him in the last town I'd stayed at. As he walked by he glanced out the gate and stopped. The yellow-haired boy stopped talking and turned to look as well, and I realized he was about my age.

The gatekeepers waved me through and the man approached me with an odd smile. The yellow haired boy followed, watching me curiously, and I figured, noticing their headbands, that they could teach me something.

"Do you know where I could learn some fire-style jutsu? Or any jutsu, I just need to advance my skills." The man lit up and the boy tipped his head sideways like a dog.

"Hello, my name's Jiraiya, and I don't believe we've met, gorgeous. I know tons of jutsu; I'll be your trainer!" The man said, and Akira laid his ears back as he began trotting off away from the gate. Jiraiya jogged alongside Akira and the boy followed, yelling.

"Pervy sage! I'm your student! You can't just go off and train some other ninja! You were training me first!" At this point the yellow-haired boy tackled Jiraiya and Akira halted and faced the boy. After a short tussle, Jiraiya came out on top of a hog-tied, struggling boy. He grinned at me.

"Sorry, Naruto can be a bit annoying sometimes. I'd be glad to help you train, miss." I stared at Naruto struggling on the ground and then at the sage Jiraiya.

"I'm really not in the mood to train right now. Is there a hotel around here?" Jiraiya began answering, then I cut him off, "Not you, I'm asking Naruto." Jiraiya's face fell as he released his captive and rose to his feet.

"Naruto, your training's done for today. Show our village's guest to a hotel. Lucky kid…" Jiraiya walked over to a shady bench and sat next to a food cart, eating an apple from it as he tossed the merchant a coin. I turned to look at Naruto, and he looked up at me. I suddenly got a weird feeling in my stomach and felt the need to look away. That was odd; I'd always been the last person to look away from an eye-lock. I shrugged it off as Naruto began speaking, although I kept my gaze on Akira's neck or the scenery.

"Where have you traveled from, miss?" His voice sounded nice… when he wasn't yelling at the weird pervert.

"I've come from around the country, I've been training since I was young, but it's been on my own since I was seven." He looked at my face again and studied me for a moment; I felt his gaze. He then looked at Akira's head.

"Will your horse follow me? I can't lead him; he's not wearing a bridle. By the way, I'm Naruto. What's your name?" He put a hand on Akira's cheekbone, and to my infinite surprise, Akira nuzzled Naruto. He never took to people this quickly.

"I'm Yasu, and this is Akira. He'll follow you, he's very intelligent." Naruto grinned and rubbed Akira's forehead before placing his fingers delicately on Akira's neck and leading him by that touch.

"What kind of hotel are you looking for? Like, how much do you have to spend?"

"I plan on staying a while, so… something not too pricey but with a room and bathroom." He nodded and stopped, thinking.

"There's a place near my house that's pretty nice, and very cheap, only 600 (60? Whatever, the equivalent of 6 dollars) yen a day. Is that all right? It's made for long-term visitors." I replied it was fine, and he kept up a conversation.

"Do you know a lot of jutsu? I know how to control my chakra, like climbing trees with only my feet and walking on water. I could teach you if you want. I only know a couple fire-style jutsu, though."

"You said you live near where I'll be staying? That sounds like it would be easy for you to teach me. I would like to learn to walk on water." Naruto continued asking me questions, and they were all about jutsu. I asked a few of my own and found out that if I wanted a headband I could take some tests and become an official ninja. All too soon we arrived outside a pleasant building with flowering plants outside the doorway. I dismounted and Naruto pet Akira's neck. I slung the packs over my shoulder.

"Where can Akira stay?"

"There's a pen on the other side of this building, I think you can get a room that attaches to it. It has green grass, and the hotel keeper can get you a watering bucket. I'll take him there, if you want." I nodded and still to my surprise, Akira followed, but not without saying goodbye to me. I figured he saw good character in Naruto. I walked in and was surprised again; this hotel looked nothing like a hotel. There was a living room right inside the doorway, then a small desk with a spiral-bound notebook that had the people staying here logged in it. Further back I could see a hallway with five doors branching off of it, two of them with nametags. A woman that had been sitting in a comfy chair stood.

"Welcome to the Bamboo hotel. Are you new to town?" She walked behind the desk as I approached it. "The name's Hiroko, and do you know how long you'll be staying?"

"No, and my name's Yasu, y-a-s-u. I brought my horse with me, is it extra for him? Someone who lives around here, Naruto, put him in your field. Could I get a room attached to the field?"

"It's not extra for any animal, as long as it's well taken care of and cleaned up after. You may have room three, if you'd like. It's one of the two that connect to the field, and nobody's in the other room. Naruto, you said?" I nodded as Hiroko passed me a key on a chain. I put it on as a necklace. "He's a good kid; lives right a block down in an apartment. He sometimes helps out here, with the sweeping and things. I give him little tips now and then. Speak of him, here he comes now." We turned to look as Naruto brushed aside the door flap and walked up to the counter.

"Hello, Ms. Hiroko. Yasu, have you booked a room alright?" I nodded again, getting the light feeling again. "Good, I was worried there might not be a vacancy." He looked at the log book. "Room three? Alright, I'll get a nametag put together while you make yourself comfortable." I walked down the hallway while Naruto followed, hands folded behind his head in a casual way. I opened the door and sighed at the quaint-ness of the little room. There was a bed, extra soft, and a window by a door on the far wall. I opened up the window and Akira soon found me. I turned around and saw Naruto watching me examine the room, and became very interested in the wood floor. There was a small dresser and another door that lead to a small bathroom with a tub and a faucet that could be hung on the wall to make a shower, plus a toilet and sink. As I left the bathroom Naruto pulled open the top drawer and gestured me over. In the drawer there were door signs, one that said 'Do not disturb', one that said 'out', and one that said 'welcome'.

"Yasu, if you want, I could put a small picture on your nameplate. I could do any village symbol or something." Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, and I realized he probably felt the same sort of weird feeling as me.

"Could you do a horse head or some waves?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll do both. I'll have your nametag ready by sunset. You should rest or take a shower if you want, but make sure the pervy sage isn't around." He grinned and started toward the door. I hesitated the reached out for his arm.

"Wait." We both stared at where my hand held his arm. "Where do you live at? What time could I start learning from you?" Naruto's face grew a light pink as I dropped his arm.

"I live a block east, in the apartment building. Room three, same as yours. Feel free to come around anytime. Tomorrow I have to train with Master Jiraiya from sunrise till lunch, and I think you should rest. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I could show you the town?" He blushed clearly this time, and I felt the heat rising in my own face as well. All the last 15 years of my life being acknowledged as a human being and never being acknowledged as a female / possible-girlfriend and now the first two guys I'd met in the leaf village paid attention to me, and one even sort of asked me out on a date! I felt so giddy that I stuttered.

"Y-yes, I think th-that'd be neat. I'll meet you outside the front door?" I saw Naruto's mouth curve upward and he shrugged, acting nonchalant.

"Sure. I'll be back soon with your nametag- I'll hang it up on your door. See ya tomorrow." He casually made a two-fingered salute and left. I unpacked my outfits and put them in the dresser before walking out the back door. Akira was standing right outside, and when the door opened he proceeded to come in.

"Akira, out boy. There's a shelter in the field, I can see it from here." Akira sniffed at the bed and stuck his head into the bathroom, examining the room himself. When he seemed satisfied he laid down with a grunt beside my bed. I sighed and pet his shoulder. "Alright, you can stay inside, but only for a few days until we're fully rested. You keep watch; I'm going to bathe." Once inside the bathroom I stripped down to nothing and looked in the mirror. It was the first time I'd looked in a mirror for years, and I was definitely curious. My brown hair fell around my shoulders and a little past them, long enough so it was warm in winter, but short enough it wouldn't get in my way. I had become nicely curved; the traveling had kept the weight off, as well as the slim food amounts.

I picked up my t-shirt and skort and folded them before putting them in a small hamper. I stepped into the tub and started the water, letting out a long, tired sigh. I hadn't realized how tired I was from traveling. As I scrubbed using the water from the bottom of the tub, I thought of Naruto. He had seemed to know exactly what I needed before I knew myself. He'd probably just known because he works here, and a lot of travelers come by. I finished my shower and dried off, dressing in my nightclothes: a silk blouse and some pants. I flopped onto the bed and almost immediately fell asleep.

I am well aware that my Fanfic is mainly about a character not found in the series. I'm not asking you to like it or whatever, I posted it because I wanted to. To tell you the truth, I'm hardly expecting reviews. Mostly it's for ME to read. We all have our little fantasies now, huh?

At the request of a reader, I shall put a definition of Yasu up, and it shall be a picture. First, I gotta draw it. XD Yeah, go me! XD