I do not own Naruto, Fable and Kingdoms of Amalur.
This is also my 'first-ish' fan fiction story.
Q/A in reviews would be in the end of the fic along with the Authors Notes.
Prologue Part 2: The Cave beneath the mountain
Morning came to Konohagakure no Sato, and the village was not in the same merry mood as it was before. People from Civilians to Shinobi could not help shake the events that had unfolded during the eve of night. Many of them were already fast asleep and those awake where simply enjoying themselves in clubs or bars with friends and co-workers. They could not explain it but something made them very uneasy from what transpired last night. Still, life goes on in Konoha, but things are not the same as they were, or would ever be….
In a forest, a boy could be heard sleeping as he snores lightly and peacefully as he lies atop a long and wide branch of a large tree, his back pressed firmly at the base of it and his head bobs up and down as he breathes and snores. The light from the sun squeezes its way through the thick forest canopy and makes it ways to the grass below. As luck would have it, a small ray of light brushed the eyelids of the sleeping boy whose hair is a yellow as the mid-afternoon sun. His eyelids started twitching and before long he stops snoring as well and begins to raise his head.
'Uh…what….what the? Where am I?'
The smell of the dew and forest makes its way to his nose as cerulean eyes open groggily. The smell is foreign to him in the morning as it is not as familiar as the stench of garbage and trash of alley way in which he usually sleeps.
'Trees?'
Bringing his hands to his face and balls them to a fist and scratches his eyes to help adjust his sights. He opens and he looks around and finds that he is in a forest of sorts, most likely in the park or a training ground. He looks down and sees finds out that he is on top of a tree, metres off the ground with his back pressed lightly at the trunk of the tree.
'How did I end up here? The last thing I saw was... a hand and….those eyes.'
He closed his eyes, his face scrunching up and concentrated on remembering the events that transpired last night….
(Flashback)
Naruto stood there, waiting for the pain, the agony, the torture and the abuse. He was waiting for his death. He knew that things would only get worse for him. From the glares, whispers and harsh treatments to the occasional rocks and glass bottles thrown at him whenever he walked in the streets, he knew it would eventually lead to this. He could often hear their whispers filled with hate and ill-intent. Whispers of revulsion, loathing and death towards him. Now, now they are going to go through with it. He could hear them; he could hear their every growl and their knuckles cracking. He could feel each step as they take a step closer and closer to him. He knew this would be the end. He would leave of this world the same way he came and lived…. alone.
He waited and he waited and what seemed like an eternity he felt something was out of place. They stopped. He could no longer feel the tremor in their march, but a chilly air creeps on the surface of his skin. He could not hear anything but the cackling of the torches and wind brushing his ears with its soft touch. Something has gone wrong. He opened his eyes and there he saw the mob had stopped. They stood their frozen, petrified like rock heads of the Hokage's atop the Hokage Monument. Their expressions of scowls and sneers where wiped away and are now replaced by the one he held earlier. Now all of them have fear etched unto there very faces. He looked at their eyes and saw that they are not looking at him. They were staring at something right behind him! Naruto steeled himself and mustered his courage and swallowed deeply, before he slowly and mechanically turned his head to where the crowd had their eyes gazed. He looked behind him and saw a pair of shadowy armoured boots.
The person was hovering behind him!
He slowly looked up and saw the figure was wearing an intricate form of armour beneath its cloak. As his eyes made its way to his chest he saw two masks but could he could see the details though and they were attached to a leather holder that goes around the chest plate. Finally, his eyes landed on the face of the figure. In a more accurate sense, he was now looking at the mask of this dark figure and like the mob in front of him; it was not the mask(s) that captivated him. No, it was the eyes. Blood-red Sclera, Gold Iris and ebony pupil were staring deeply at his cerulean ones. He was so deep in his trance he did not sense that a kunai was making its way towards him he found out when he saw the figure moves its hands forward, facing the crowd and flicked it and like a faithful subject, the wind obeyed him and tore the kunai to pieces. TORE!
In his mind this must simply be a dream or it must some form of magic! Nobody could do that with a flick of their hand!
The crowd was not fairing any better for they saw the whole thing. The moment the shadowed figure lifted his hands the wind bent to his will and when he flicked it towards the kunai, it obeyed and shredded it into pieces. The crowd though in the same lines as Naruto, believing it to be magic or simply not believing it at all. The Ninja's on the other hand all saw that this thing had literally made a force of nature obey his will and the level of control this thing had could only mean it had attained the highest level of wind manipulation that would make Fujin jealous.
A lone tear made it's down Naruto's cheeks. Nobody had ever extended this kind of generosity or kindness to him before. Not since his friend got adopted. Snapping out his shock Naruto faced his saviour and asked:
"W-w-why? Why did you help m-me? Why are you s-saving me?"
With teary blue eyes looked deep into red-yellow ones, looking for an answer. Desperately looking for a reason, for the truth. No lies, no deceits. The crimson-amber eyes softened and gave a yellow and warm glow. He could feel the stranger's heart go out to his. He could feel the sadness when he looked upon his dulling blue eyes.
"Why would I not help an innocent child?" The shadowed figure answered. Its voice deep and throaty, ye tit held warmth and strength.
"But….b-but I'm a demon, a mons-"
"NO!" The figure bellowed unto him before he could finish his sentence.
"You are not a demon; you are a boy and an innocent one at that. Do not listen to these foolish villagers lies." The figure said.
Tears now flowed down Naruto's eyes. He cried at the answer of this stranger. He looked at him with acceptance and recognized as a person. He existed. He finally had someone who had acknowledged his existence once more. Whipping his tears away with his free hand, he looked up again at the stranger's eyes and he asked: "Who are you?"
"Who I am at the moment is of little significance and as to why, I have my reasons and all will be revealed in due time. For now little one, sleep and await the warmth that the morning light shall bring." The shadowy stranger replied as the man waved his hand in front of Naruto.
Naruto felt his eyelids get heavier and his body relaxing and before long he was closing his eyes and felt his body fall unto the hard concrete floor of the alley. His last thoughts were the kindness of the stranger. As his eyes begin to close, he felt as if a cool blanket had embraced his body and before long, he felt nothing and saw only black as sleep finally overtook him.
(Flashback End)
'That's right! That stranger saved me….He is so cool!' Naruto thought, before he realized he is alone again.
'But….He's gone now. Was he the one who brought me here?' Looking around once more he recognized he was in the woods atop the Hokage Faces Mountain. He often came here to escape the mobs that pursued him when he was younger yet he could not afford to sleep in these woods for creatures like wolves and foxes made this place their home.
Knowing where he is, Naruto jumped down the tree and unto the soft grass below the woods canopy. He patted his knees and his pants, then brushed some soil from his already dirty white t-shirt. Stretching his legs and his body, he prepared to go back to the village, specifically a new alley to make his home. He sighed sadly at that thought and was about to trek his way back to the village when he caught something, rather someone at the corner of his eye. He looked at the direction and there he saw the same stranger from last night.
He looked at him and saw his appearance has changed. He only recognized him because of his unique and intimidating eyes. Naruto saw that he now wore a blood-red cloak with a hood, his mask now detailed with curvy and gold designs painted and carved into its pearl white porcelain skin and he could see that it had cracks and pieces missing to it... His chest plate was as black as charcoal along with his vambrace, armguards, gloves, armoured leggings and armoured boots. The mask he wore was almost similar to the one he is keeping close and strapped to his chest, except that each has a unique design to them but both are in a better condition than the one he currently wore.
Naruto did not need to think twice before he called out his saviour. As he ran to where he was, the stranger walked behind the tree. Running to where the stranger was, he rounded the corner where he saw his saviour walked to and found that he was approximately 10 trees further away from him. He seemed to have teleported to that spot. Again, Naruto ran towards the stranger, hoping to thank him and possibly befriend him. Once more, when Naruto was close, the stranger walked out of sight behind a tree and once more, Naruto found him a distance away from him.
Curious as he was, Naruto kept chasing the stranger until he was led deeper and deeper into the woods. Eventually, Naruto became tired and leaned unto a tree using his left hand. He took a breather as his head was leaned forward, his right hand pushing unto his right thigh to support his upper body and his legs slightly bent forward, indicating he is exhausted. After a minute he looked up and saw the stranger was still there, a few trees away from him. He saw the stranger motioned his hand to follow him before disappearing again behind a tree. Not needing to be told twice, Naruto once more initiated the chase. After a few minutes, Naruto found himself staring at the mouth of a cave that seems to lead deep underneath the Hokage Monument.
He saw the stranger's eyes shining in the dark depth and he heard him whisper: 'This way.'
Seeing as it was dark, Naruto tried to look for something to light the way. He searched the perimeter of around the cave entrance and found a backpack hidden underneath a tree trunk to left of the cave entrance. To his luck, it had a lamp and matches to boot as well as a small sleeping bag, a pickaxe and few precious stones. It consisted of 3 Ruby's, 5 Sapphire and a rare black diamond. The bag most likely belonged to an adventurer or cave explorer who most likely forgot where they hid it. He put those back into the pack and took out the lamp and lit it up with the matches he found. Afterwards, Naruto slung the pack unto his back and picked-up the lamp with his right hand before raising it up to his shoulder level and walked towards the cave entrance.
Taking a deep breath and sigh, Naruto began his exploration. As he continued deeper into the cave, he felt the icy dry air that the cave emits from its cooled volcanic walls. He saw the small gleams of the cooled lava rocks as he made his way deeper into the cave. The ground beneath him was also black like charcoal most likely ashes from a volcanic eruption centuries ago. 5 minutes into exploration, Naruto stopped and saw something very curious. A path seemed to be laid in front of him, one made out of cut stones with an arch that seemed to support the cave roof. As he renewed his trek he found himself in a large chamber where the roof of the cave stretched miles upward. It seems he found himself inside a cooled magma chamber. As he tore his eyes away from the cave's long and wide ceiling, he found himself in the centre of a stone platform and a door 8 metres in height with a strange symbol carved into it. It symbol was like the combination of the letters I and S where the I is curved and wide from top to bottom and a the bridge between the two bowl shaped top connected by a slender pillar with a curved wave line connecting the top right portion of the I with the lower left portion of the bottom. Two gems that are both sapphire in colour are embedded at the top and bottom, both perfectly aligned with each other. The background was decorated with curled waves and whirlpools. (1)
As he approached the doors, he heard whispers, beckoning him and drawing him closer and closer to the massive door. He stopped when he was within reach and slowly but surely, he felt his hand compelled to reach and touch the symbol. Tentatively, he raised his left hand and touched the surface of the symbol gently. In an instant, the symbol glowed and the massive door swung wide open.
"Gah! What the heck!" Naruto cried as fell roughly down unto his buttocks, being surprised by the sudden events. Standing up and rubbing the sore spot on his butt, he looked unto the dark abyss the lies beyond the now opened door. He sighed and continued on his trek. All the while, he felt a pair of eyes watching him, every movement he made and every step he takes. Often he sees the same eyes the stranger had at the corner of his eye before it vanished again.
As he walked he found himself walking towards a bridge which leads to a large platform with another strange symbol embedded unto the stone floor. It was a good thing his lamp emit a very bright light. He made his way into the centre of the symbol and from there he found several lanterns posted atop the stone fences. He brought out a few matches and started lighting each up and when he was finally done, he could only gape at what he saw.
He looked around and saw it was a massive cavern the possibly stretched for miles in a sea of volcanic rock. He guessed that maybe once upon a time, these seas of rock was once a river of hot boiling lava. The cavern was huge! It could probably house the entirety of Konohagakure thrice!
"This place….It's so huge! This is sooooo cool!" He exclaimed with glee.
Eventually, his excitement mellowed down as he continued to marvel the beauty of the expanses of the cave, he saw a faint light being emitted from the left side of the platform.
'Huh?' Naruto thought. 'Where is that light coming from?'
He looked down from the platform and there he saw something. He saw a mask, rather a fragment of it. The top portion remained intact but the lower portion was clearly chipped off. Half of it was sunk deep into the volcanic rock lake's surface. The mask was glowing red, as if it was beckoning him to grab it. To hold it. To wear it.
'Wait! I recognized that mask! It's the same one that stranger wore! But…..what is it doing down there?' He thought.
Naruto bit the lower portion of his lip and made his way down to the rock lake and towards the mask. After successfully climbing his way down, he trekked towards the mask and kneeled in front of it to inspect it. He reached out his hand and tried to pry it off the volcanic rock lake's surface. After a few minutes of trying and miserably failing to get pry the mask off, he sat down in front of it while thinking of ways on how to free it. A few minutes later a loud smack could he be heard resonating and echoing in the chamber, courtesy of a face-palming Naruto.
'Dammit. I forgot. I have a pickaxe.' He bitterly thought.
Removing the pack from his back and setting it down in front of him, Naruto took out a handy pickaxe. It was by no means small, but it was small enough to be put inside a pack but heavy enough to do the job. Steadying his hands, Naruto began to chip away the volcanic rock around the mask. After a few minutes, Naruto manages to successfully unearth the mask and could now see the remaining half of it perfectly. It was beautifully designed with wavy patterns that seem to be a mixture of a tidal wave and fire dancing into the night. It had hints and traces of gold and purple, but most of it was eroded from the number of centuries it lied there, half buried though the ruby colour was still visible yet slightly faded. The only intact portion of the mask would be the upper portion and everything below the edge of the nose was completely ripped off and lost.
Slowly and softly, his small fingers brushed the details and the linings of the mask. He could feel the power it was emitting. It was warm and yet at the same time, it held a strong and firm energy that is cold. Just then he could hear the whisper coming from the mask. He could hear the voice of his apparent saviour coming from it.
"Go on…..Do not be afraid. There is nothing to fear. I mean you no harm. Go on. Put it on…." The whispering voice said.
Naruto was hesitant, not knowing what to do. Should he trust this voice? Was it just using him? Was it trying to trick him like so many others did? Before he could continue thinking this line of thought he heard the voice whisper again.
"It is alright my boy. I'm not going to betray you. I will not forsake you. It is alright. Everything would be fine from now on….Simply wear the mask….. I wish to talk to you…..Do not be afraid my boy, for there is nothing to fear. Go on. Put it on….."
Still uncertain, Naruto begins to draw the mask closer to his face at a snail's pace. Eventually, he manages to successfully put it on. Nothing happened the first few seconds. But just as he was about to remove it, he felt the mask glue to his face when he felt the air in between his face and the back of the mask sucked out and now he could not remove it. As he was about to panic, he felt his head getting lighter and lighter and he found that staying awake was near impossible. In the span of 5 seconds, Naruto fell to ground and into sweet unconsciousness.
'Cold'
That was the first thing Naruto felt. All he could remember was wearing the mask and he fell asleep. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on a shallow body of water. His back was firmly pressed unto the surface and his front facing the ceiling of a tall, long and narrow corridor. He got up albeit reluctantly for he felt drained somehow.
'Where am I? What is this place' He thought.
Suddenly, a cold chill air blows from the path in front of him. He could feel the presence of a powerful being just at the end of that corridor. Naruto, being a child did not know what could possibly be waiting for him at the end of that path. Perhaps it could be a monster, or maybe a ghost?
He shuddered at fright at the latter. He was more afraid of a ghost, for nothing could harm them! He believes oh so childishly. Just as he was about to walk towards that source of the wind, something fell upon his shoulder. He could feel cool metal hands gripping firmly but not painfully into his right shoulder.
He froze at the touch. Naruto being the curious child he is could not help but look at whom stopped him in his tracks. What he saw next, made his heart leap at joy. It was his saviour, his guardian and apparently the reason why he is stuck in this sewer.
"Samurai-OJiisan!" He exclaimed loudly before leaping and embracing the figure. He could not believe it, his saviour finally shows himself and most importantly he is real! He was so caught up in embracing his apparent saviour to notice him stiffen in contact before chuckling at the young boy's enthusiasm and innocence.
'Samurai...huh, so he believes I am a samurai eh? Curious. Must be the armour' The stranger thought.
The stranger allowed Naruto to embrace him for a for more seconds, before putting both his hands on Naruto's waist and setting him down in front him while he kneels in eye-level with the blonde bundle of energy.
"Hello young one, it is good to see you as well just as it is as good that made it here at long last." Naruto's saviour said.
"It's good to see you too Samurai-OJiisan! Ano…..where exactly are we? I….I don't know this place. Why did you bring me here?"
Hearing a chuckle, Naruto looked to the stranger.
"Well Naruto, to answer your question, we are inside you. More specifically, we are inside your mind. As for why…..You'll know soon enough." The stranger answered.
Scrunching his face with a clear and visible scepticism Naruto questioned:
"'What do you mean my mind Samurai-OJiisan? I don't think that is possible."
Smiling slightly underneath his mask, the stranger answered:
"Technically speaking young one, this is your mindscape. It is similar to a dream yet completely different. In fact, this mindscape is where your memories are stored as well as your dreams, both good and bad. You can think of it as if it is your house. While inside it, you make the rules more often than not. You can change it to your liking with enough meditation and practice done overtime." The stranger answered.
"Wow! So this is place is mind, or like a representation right?" Naruto asked, clearly awestruck and curious as ever.
"Yes, something along those lines." The stranger muttered. He was happy Naruto is catching on quickly, thought he still sad that this young child's mindscape is just as badly scarred as a war victim's one.
"But that is going to change from now on."He thought with conviction.
"So….Samurai-Ojisan, why did you bring me here?" Naruto asked, being the ever curious little boy he is.
"I saw your plight…..your pain, your loneliness, your life. I could not allow you to be swallowed by those dark emotions. So, I sought to save you, to help you." The stranger answered.
Naruto felt his eyes stinging as well as tears threatening to break loose from his sapphire eyes. Only one person cared for him, but like many of the children from his former orphanage, got adopted just 2 years ago. They never saw each other ever since.
"Why Ojisan? Why? I'm….I'm not worth saving….I'm a demon…..a monster they say." Naruto sobbed out. His head hung low and his shoulders sagging.
"…and you believe them?" The stranger asked with a neutral yet chilling tone.
Naruto hesitated to answer for a moment but eventually he replied.
"…Yes." He all but whispered out, his face facing the flooded floor.
The stranger remained quiet and looked at him for what seemed like minutes before…..
"Then you are a greater fool than they are to believe such non-sense." The stranger said.
"W-what?"
Naruto was caught off-guard; doesn't this stranger know that he is a pariah? That he is trash? Quite literally since his home is a dirty old box at the edge of dumpster? His shock turned to anger, then rage before he all but blurted out:
"YES! I AM A FOOL! I'M A HOPELESS PIECE OF SHIT OF AN ORPHAN! I HAVE NO FAMILY! NO FRIENDS! NO FUTURE! I AM A DEMON LIKE THEY SAID! SO WHY! WHY WOULD YOU TORMENT ME AND MAKE ME HOPE I CAN BE SOMETHING! HAVEN'T I HAVE GONE THROUGH ENOUGH!" Naruto shouted his face red and his eyes leaking streams of tears before he fell to his knees and cried.
The stranger looked at Naruto for 2 seconds before he marched in front of the boy and kneeled in front of him. His arms firmly grasping the boys shoulders.
Feeling this, Naruto tensed before he tried to push the stranger away, fear and panic overcoming his mind.
"PLEASE! DON'T COME NEAR ME! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET HURT! I DON'T DESERVE YOUR KINDNESS…PLEASE...please...don't make me hope…then take it away." He screamed at the beginning, till his voice began to break to a pleading shout then a horse, sorrowful whisper.
The stranger took the boy and embraced him tightly the boy no longer fought, instead he opted to hug him with his small and thin arms, crying his heart out. The stranger himself felt a tear go down his mask as he closed his eyes and comforted the boy.
They both stayed that way for a minute before Naruto finally calmed down, with the occasional whimper here and a sob there. When he felt Naruto calm down and at ease, he figured now was the time to reassure the boy and tell him who he is.
"Naruto, you are not a demon. You are not what you and the rest of the village believe you to be. You are not worthless, you are not trash, you are not without family and most importantly, you are not a demon. You are a young boy who has lived a terrible and traumatic life. A life forced unto you by others, a life sacrificed for the many. But you have a future ahead of you. Your life WILL get better, I promise you that. If the others won't give you that opportunity then I will give you the chance to decide for your own. I will give you back the future they took from you, the life they denied from you and the truth that they have hidden from you. You will no longer be alone, Naruto. I'm here now, and even if you have lost hope in your village, the world, I or even you then I will believe for you. I will believe in you even if you won't believe at yourself. I will give you hope. This, I promise."
At the end of the stranger's speech, Naruto tightened his embrace as his cry begins anew. He desperately held unto the stranger, his saviour, in front of him. He had nobody. For a long time, he was alone but now. Now, he had someone to accompany him, someone to help him, someone who could believe in him when he would not believe in himself.
"Why, Ojisan, why would you go so far for me? I'm….You don't know me. I'm not your friend, your family, so why?" Naruto asked his voice desperate and cracking.
The stranger tightened his embrace; he felt the boy was already falling apart. The walls he built around his heart crumbled. He was vulnerable now as he would ever be. Now is the time to help him.
"Why would I not help a kindred spirit?" The stranger answered/asked.
Naruto looked up with puffy red and tired blue eyes as he asked with genuine confusion.
"What do you mean, Ojisan?"
"Like I said my boy, why would I not help someone, who went through the same thing I did? Naruto, I grew up just like. Alone, an orphan in the streets, eating from the same place people throws their decaying food. I had no one and for a long time, I truly believed there was nothing in life for me except loneliness and suffering." The stranger answered his voice was laced with sadness as he recalled his early life. He recomposed himself after a moment and continued.
"I truly feel into a deep abyss of my own loneliness and self-pity….But, that all changed, when someone gave me what I have craved for since I was a child. I was accepted, recognized. Someone believed in me when I did not believe in myself and in the end, it gave me the strength and resolve to fight. To refuse being chained down into that low point of my life. That one person saved me from myself and all she did was believed in me. And here now I am, doing the same thing to you as she did for me. I will be your helping hand, your guiding light in these dark moments in your life. Besides…." The stranger then removed one hand from the embrace and the put it on top of Naruto's head before ruffling it.
"…..from this day forth, I will be your teacher, you friend, your protector. I, The Jack of Blades, swear this oath with my soul." Jack said with finality, sincerity and conviction stitched, in every word.
AN:
For the Symbol carved into the door way to the chamber, Search: 'Fable Guild Seal' on google.
The chamber in which Naruto found The Jack of Blade's Mask is the same chamber where 'Jack' was defeated by the Hero of Oakvale when he transformed into a dragon.
Q/A in Reviews:
Q From: Elemental Seven: "Also is Naruto being paired with Ten-Ten?"
A : Ten-ten would play a significant role in this fic but as for being a romance option, is still up for debate. Maybe she would be or she would have a sister-brother relationship. I plan on developing the personalities of each character, their bonds and relationship as well before I could make a decision. After all, if they just say: "I love you Naruto/Tenten." BAAM! They become an instant couple is too boring and there is not much content to bind the readers and the character's relationship. Very boring indeed since there is no STORY to their relationship and HOW they became that close. I also don't want to be too long, like 'how I met you mother' long where it took 9 seasons before the intro-fucking-duction of the mother except in this one, it would be before they had their FIRST KISS. Damn. It would be as boring as instant lovey-dovey. So as of the moment, it is still open for suggestion. But I already made a good back-story should they end up together.
