Oto no Yokai: Sound of the Demon

Part 1, Chapter 2

A Demon's Path: The Teacher

Naruto blearily opened his eyes, yawned, and tried to sit up, only to find himself trapped in a vice-like grip. For a second, the young blue-eyed boy nearly jumped out of his skin, before remembering what happened the night before. He sees that Kabuto is still asleep, snoring softly as she holds him close, the tight grip belying her feminine appearance. His movement however, caused her to stir, and she sleepily opens her eyes, yawning softly before seeing the young boy she had been taking care of for the past few days is so close to her and sighing softly, pulling him even closer, before realizing this isn't another of those dreams where he wakes up next to her, and then they become friends. She gives out an "Eep!" of embarrassment before pushing Naruto slightly away from her, saying quickly, "Sorry Naruto-kun, I wasn't really all the way awake yet!" Naruto laughs lightly at her reaction, before saying, "No problem Kabuto-chan, it isn't your fault that I happen to be really warm!" Kabuto thanked every god she knew of that the younger child hadn't realized exactly why she pulled him closer, but then again, he was only five, rather than her 10, even though she did look a bit older than she actually was.

A booming laugh filled the clearing as they both turned to see a pale-skinned man with slit-pupil, yellow-irised eyes, and what appeared to be blood-red tattoos around his eyes. Kabuto blushed scarlet as she realizes that her adoptive father/sensei/shisho had just seen her hug the boy, and screeched out at the top of her lungs, in her best impression of a pink-haired woman she had once seen from a distance in a small town nearby, "OTOU-SENSEI!" The man's laughing only increased in response to the girl's actions, getting to the point that he would have been barely standing, were he on his feet, having been awoken by the movement when the boy had first awoken. He finally ran out of steam, panting for breath, having literally laughed out every bit of air he had in his body, before saying, "Gomen Kabuto-chan, but you reminded me so much of my nephew and his wife there for a second. She'd hug him close like that after every mission, damn near broke his back more than a few times, from what he told me and that pervert of a teacher of his over drinks." The last part caused him to sigh, remembering his nephew, his sister's son, who had taken after their side in brains, but his father's in looks, as no Yakushi had blond hair or blue-grey eyes. No they had pale skin, black hair, and either yellow, red, or in some cases dark green eyes. Kabuto nods lightly in response, before jerking him out of it by beginning the introductions.

"Otou-sensei, this is Uzumaki Naruto, the boy we rescued, if you remember. Naruto, this is my Otou-sensei, named for his being my adoptive father, and my teacher." The silver-haired girl said as a way of introduction, before looking to Naruto, who was pale, something the two hadn't noticed because of their conversation. Naruto was staring, wide-eyed at the bloodied longsword, Orochimaru's Kusanagi, and at the wound on his right arm, which looked like a glancing hit from a Fuuton Jutsu had ripped it up pretty badly. Kabuto immediately rushes over to him, ignoring his insistence that it wasn't that bad of a wound and that she didn't need to be so worried about it. Orochimaru turned to the boy and explained while Kabuto tended to the wound, saying as lightly as possible, "I just got this when I tracked the blood leading away from the spot where we found you. A group of what looked like Chuunin with a couple of Jonin and Genin were all bragging about what they did to you, so me and a few of my friends decided to show them that picking on little kids isn't something that a proper ninja should do without a very, very, damn good reason. Naruto sighed in relief as he felt the blood flow in his body pick up again, the sight of the blood on the man's sword and arm reminding him way too much of the incident for comfort. But to hear that this man had hunted the ones who did it down… This guy might actually be kinda nice, almost like the weird ninja in the white masks with the snake symbol and the dog symbol, who fed him, occasionally gave him toys, gave him money to buy food when they didn't have any, and showed him how to hide and run, and the best places to go to. Thinking about them made him sad, since after what happened, he didn't think that he'd be able to go back to Konaha. Misinterpreting the look on the child's face, Orochimaru said, "Don't worry, they were bad people and I had to make sure they wouldn't hurt anyone else." Naruto shook his head and said in a low voice, that only the three of them could hear, and Kabuto had to strain, not having as good hearing as a Sannin-level ninja, "I won't be able to go home anymore, now they'll probably think that I had something to do with them dying and try and kill me for it…" Orochimaru was about to say something, when Naruto's next words triggered something in his mind that nearly made him keel over with the thought of what it might be able to do to put a thorn in the blackened Konahagakure no Sato's side, "I just wish there was a place where people who don't fit in could go, that way we could all be misfits together." Orochimaru's grin threatened to split his face. This was just what he had been waiting for, something that might just let him wrest back the noble Konaha from the corruption it had fallen into. Looking down, he realized that Kabuto had finished her work on his arm, and was now sitting so that the three of them formed a circle.

Orochimaru turns to the young blonde, and says in a serious tone, "Naruto-kun, was it? That may have just given me an idea… Maybe we could start a village for people like the three of us, those who do not fit in and are branded as different, be it from things we are born with, choices we've made, the way we look, or sheer bad luck. I'm almost sure Kabuto would join me in this new village, but what about you? Do you us to drop you off at one of the nearby villages so you can try and have a normal life? Or do you want to come with us, and help to create the thing which your ideas may have helped to set in motion." Kabuto gulped, but looked eagerly to Naruto, hoping against all hope that he said yes, and that he would accompany them, Otou-sensei was wonderful, but even she wanted more than just a father, she wanted a friend who would be there for her, and who she could be there for. Naruto took less than thirty seconds, smirking as he says, "When do we go, and can you start training me too?" Orochimaru grins as Kabuto squeals and hugs her new friend, before Orochimaru stands up, saying, "Let's get packing, Naruto, we'll stop at the next town and get you some proper attire, ninja supplies, and your own camping gear, although I don't have enough on me for an extra futon on top of everything else you'll need, so for now you'll be sharing with Kabuto. Kabuto blushes and glares lightly at the man, who just grins before beginning to wipe his blade, his gear already stored as he had been too tired to pull it out the night before. Naruto helps Kabuto pack, and soon the trio are on their way, stopping in the nearby town of Tanzaku, where they purchased a full set of ninja gear, along with practical, formal, and combat wear for their new addition, as well as a set of practice swords, ranging from a half-foot dagger, to just under the size of a Zanbatou, as it was a full set. Orochimaru insisted on it, to the puzzlement of Naruto, until he told him that while the Snake Sannin was easily-Jonin-rank in his Taijutsu, his true close-combat skill was Kenjutsu, and he fully intended to instruct him in both, which wasn't something he could do with out a practice weapon. They also purchased more than a few of the repair and refurbish kits, as well as ninja mesh undershirts for all of them, Orochimaru's one having been destroyed by a lucky hit from one of the Jonin the night before. Afterwards, they headed towards Kusa no Kuni, a small land on the borders of Hi no Kuni, and a place where Orochimaru had more than a few people who owed him favors, and could easily get a small base, made for about a hundred to a hundred and fifty, in little to no time, as they had a fair number of Doton specialists who could hew something like that from a mountain in two or three days. And so began the rise of Oto.

A/N: And so we have the beginning of Oto, the centerpiece of our little tale. Also starting this chapter, I'll be having a list of terms and later a list of Jutsu, seeing as I'm releasing this almost right after Chapter 1, everything there applies. Kain, signing off. Ciao!

Terms:

Oto-Sound

Konaha-Leaf

Kusa-Grass

Hi-Fire

Gakure no Sato-The Village of _

No Kuni-The Land of _

Fuuton-Wind Release/Wind Style

Doton-Earth Release/Earth Style

Taijutsu-Martial Techniques

Kenjutsu-Blade Techniques

Genin-Rookie Ninja

Chuunin-Journeyman Ninja

Jonin-Elite Ninja

Sannin-Sage Ninja

Kage-Shadow

Hokage-Fire Shadow

-kun: A suffix used to refer to a male who you feel affection for, although what the level of that affection is can vary, i.e. parent-to-son or girlfriend-to-boyfriend.

-chan: A suffix used to refer to a female who you feel affection for, although what the level of that affection is can vary, i.e. parent-to-daughter or boyfriend-to-girlfriend.

-san: A suffix used to refer to someone formally, and is gender-neutral, closest translation would probably be mister or miss, but is applied all the time, unlike those two(And I hate when dubbing screws that up… Please Twins is a perfect example.)