Chapter 2

Naruto hadn't exactly known much about bat beasts, but from what Namiyo told him; they were different from other beasts. Only a few of them actually lived in the more crowded areas while others lived closer to the forest, as expected the sun light wasn't exactly a friend to their eyes. Then there were their wings, picking things up wasn't exactly easy granted they had a few fingers that allowed them to do so, but it still wasn't easy. Though at the moment, the two were outside while Naruto's mother spoke to the guards about the blonde human. "Ametsuchi-sama, the fact of the matter is that the human's living here is worrying some of the council members and I assure that they don't want the boy dead, but the darkness in his heart is what worries them the most; the human heart can be taken over by negative emotions." The guard captain explained. "We're only looking out for the safety of everyone including the boy, it's obvious that his death would sadden you as a mother." the woman could see that the young man had great respect for her. "The only thing is, that you assure the current Lord that you can prevent the boy from giving in to the darkness that lies within his heart." He looked to her sword. "All we need is your assurance." They knew about her past and what she'd done, but who didn't; There was a reason why she was so respected.

"Tell the Lord that I have everything under control with my son, my child poses no threat to anyone." The sound of footsteps running through the halls caught their attention, a few seconds later they heard a thud. "Aside from himself." She sighed.

"I'm ok!" Naruto was definitely a kid. It'd been an entire month, and in that time he'd changed into a normal kid that acted like nothing bad ever happened to him; like he'd lived here his whole life.

"In a single month he's managed to suppress his memories of what the humans did to him, if I make sure that those memories stay repressed then the darkness won't ever come out and he'll stay a normal kid just as I want him to be; a normal child with a normal life." She explained. Naruto would be fine, just fine; with this being enough to assure them they would tell the Lord and hopefully the woman could make good on the claim in the years to come.

Three Years Later

In the three years that'd passed, the nine year old blonde human had become so integrated and used to the Beast World that the beasts that knew him were so used to seeing him a normal kid that they rarely forgot that he was human. Yet he always reminded them of that little fact, it was what made him stand out from everyone else; he wasn't like them but at the same time he was. Naruto Ametsuchi was the human that lived in the Beast World, and that was what gave him a sense of stability. Namiyo had taken that fact to heart as Naruto's friend, but she also found that Naruto really didn't like when others picked on her or himself. The bat beast girl knew that Naruto wasn't one to start fights and wasn't fond of fighting, but when he was forced to fight he would do his best to stay calm just as his mother had taught him. It didn't just apply to fighting granted he'd only ever gotten into a single fight, it applied to his attitude as a whole. Speaking of fights, Naruto was currently at home with a few cuts and bruises. "Can we just get it out of the way and say that Yaichiro started it." the blonde said as Namiyo put a bandage on his cheek, he flinched as it burned a bit granted his wounds were already healing.

"I know that and I know that you had no choice but to fight back, it's just that, you knocked out two of his teeth and gave him a black eye." His mother said with a sigh as she went into her closet; this little incident told her that despite how much Naruto disliked fighting, there times when he would have to fight. "If conflict is inevitable then you must at least be prepared to defend yourself." She came out with a wooden katana training sword; she put it into his lap. "When, I fought I never had to unsheathe my sword." The two kids looked to said sword. "All I needed was the sheath to defeat my foes, the blade never came out." She stated. "I'm going to teach you what I know." she stated before leaving. Namiyo sighed.

"She's really scary when she's serious like that." Namiyo said. "But, she's going to teach you how to fight at least. Naruto?" the boy was snapped from his thoughts. "She's got a point, conflict is inevitable in some situations; today told us that much." Her head rested on her friend's shoulder, she smiled. "Though it was pretty funny how you knocked out those teeth." The two laughed not noticing the small blue flame that came out of the blonde's mouth. Upon changing into training clothes and going outside, Naruto saw his mother standing there patiently with her eyes closed. Naruto hadn't stepped onto the grass yet but he clutched his wooden sword tight. "This is going to be painful." The Bat Beast stated. The second both of his feet touched the ground, his mother charged; she missed by mere inches. Naruto stumbled back but didn't fall, his mother looked at him with a serious look; this was really happening. She came at him once more, in mere seconds Naruto was on the ground with a sword pointed down at his face. Her face suddenly turned into that of realization, she hadn't even explained anything to him; not even the basics. No wonder the boy was shaking in fear.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized before explaining what was happening. The simple explanation was this; she was going to teach him to fight and defend himself. Getting him into the stance was easy enough but keeping him focused on her movements was a bit harder considering how she was going too fast for him and Namiyo to keep up with. "Alright, I'll just have to go slow enough to where you can keep up." She stated. "Now focus on me and nothing else, see my movements and copy as best you can." He nodded and kept his eyes on her. For a mere moment she was standing still before she moved; the blonde watched intently. Every movement was copied as best as he could, mimicking her was the best that he could do right now, she would subtly glance at him from time to time. Sometimes she would see what looked like blue flames coming from his hands of the top of his sword. 'Is that what I think it is?' she went a little faster repeating the same move so that he could get used to it. "Concentrate on this move, you know it now keep going until I say stop." The boy nodded and kept going on, this time he was completely focused; his mind keeping track and memorizing the move. He went faster; a blue flame consumed the bottom of his sword like it was a part of it. "He must be unconsciously Fire Bending." She stated.

She'd been to the Bending Nations and was extremely impressed by the Bending there, but the portal there led to a Fire Nation town. There was likely a second portal somewhere, but she only knew of the closest one. 'I'll have to make a trip there in order to take a scroll or two, or three.' This was going to get complicated. "Alright, you can stop now." The blonde's arms were definitely tired and swinging them anymore would only make things worse. "Take a break and eat something, we'll continue in thirty minutes, and no complaining." The blonde groaned he and Namiyo went inside the home leaving the beast mother with her thoughts. 'I didn't think that he would have Bending, in fact he shouldn't unless one of his human parents was from the Bending Nations, and it's the most likely conclusion.' She leaned back. 'Looks like I adopted the unique child, the one in a million.' She smiled she was finally getting a break from her boring life.

For the next two weeks, she would continue to teach Naruto how to fight/defend himself. The blonde was better with a hands on approach and couldn't exactly stand to read techniques unless he needed to. At the moment however, he was trying his best to understand the Firebending scroll that she'd brought him, but there was a little problem. He couldn't read the language it was in; sure the pictures told him what to do, but being able to read it would help him as well. Stepping away he turned the opposite way, there was nobody to copy so he'd have to try himself. Closing his eyes for a few moments, he opened them with concentration and began to move. Each kick produced a blue flame that followed the movement or launched a line of flames; the same could be said for his fists which launched large fireballs that he aimed away from the house and trees. His moves were wild and made up with each strike, yet as time went on, they became precise and flowing. His main attributes were speed and power, this did however leave him vulnerable in certain areas. He felt brave and aimed to the sky; in that instant he let out three streams of blue fire. One from each hand and the other from his mouth. Those below could see the streams and some swore that they could see a blue dragon rising high into the sky. After a few more seconds, the flames dissipated. Falling onto his left knee he breathed heavily. He'd only followed the scroll to a certain point before letting his instincts kick in. "How do you read this?" Namiyo asked coming out from the trees.

"I can't read it and that's the problem, I can only go by the pictures and even those aren't much help." He said sitting down. "So far, I'm just making things up; it takes some serious stamina to do that." He stated.

"Lucky for you, I brought lunch." She said.

"Thanks." She simply smiled; the two went to work eating the food that she'd brought. "You made this didn't you?" Namiyo nodded 'yes'. "No wonder it's so good." he complimented. Namiyo smirked, Naruto didn't know it but this was the first thing she'd ever cooked.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever think about other humans and what's going on in one of the human worlds?" she questioned knowing about the blonde's origins, but she had to know what her friend thought about other humans.

"Sometimes, but it's mostly about the Bending Nations; where my mom got the scroll from." The girl fidgeted a bit upon hearing this. "What?" she took a breath and was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"I know a portal to the Bending Nations is, it's the one your mom used." She stated much to the blonde's surprise. "I can show you if you want." The blonde seemed confused. It was obvious that she didn't want to, but she was going to do so anyway. Standing up, she grasped his hand and pulled him with her. Through the forest she led him, for ten whole minutes they were silent until they came to a cave, it was covered in moss and vines like mother nature had a mind to mark it as her own. "This is it." Naruto tried to step forward but Namiyo held tight. "We can't go inside." She said knowing that Naruto wanted to go inside. "Besides even if we could, our parents would notice that we're gone; your mother would freak out the most." The blonde could only imagine what his would do to if he went missing. She would tear up everything in sight just looking for him.

"Good point." He stated. "Let's get back before my mom gets back." they two kids left, but Naruto glanced back at the cave before looking forward. Night came quickly as the day ended and while his mother slept, he couldn't hold in his curiosity. Grabbing a hooded cloak he proceeded to leave his home. Upon arriving at the cave, he took a deep breath. "In and out before morning, and before anyone wakes up." His blue eyes gazed into the dark cave, he was afraid but he wanted to see one of the human worlds if only once. Creating a small flame in order to light his way, he proceeded inside.

Human World – Bending Nation – Fire Nation Capitol

In the distance he could see it, a massive palace, but not as big as the one back home; it was still nice though. Walking away from the cave he found that he could feel the aura of something, but he couldn't put his hand on it. Going down the slope, he looked around to see the buildings around the palace. It was all inside the center of what looked to be a mountain. "Strange place to put a palace." He said landing on flat ground. Walking through the trees, he looked around to see nothing very interesting; there wasn't even anyone around. Then again, it was nighttime so of course there wouldn't be anyone around. He continued to travel only looking back to make sure that he could still see the cave. "If I lose track of that, then I'm screwed." He stated. "I can only go so far, but mom must've went even farther I order to get that scroll." He said with a sigh. As he continued to walk, he found that he was actually reaching the buildings, walking in-between the two buildings, he poked his head out to see that there was no one around. "Strange." He said taking his hood off, the moonlight revealing his face. all was silent because everyone was sleeping. "Maybe I should just come back in the—"

"Hey kid, what are you doing out so late?" he looked over to see someone who was likely a guard, a night guard at that. "Well?" the blonde gulped.

"I was actually just going home, I stayed out to late running errands for my mother, our father is dead so I must do what he would usually do." He lied.

"You're a horrible liar." The man was ready to attack. "What are you really doing out here, and who are you?" he demanded. Naruto sighed and put his hood back on.

"Just seeing the sights so…bye!" Naruto launched a blue fireball that missed on purpose.

'Blue fire?!' he knew of only one with blue fire and that was the princess, and this kid certainly wasn't the princess. Naruto was now running faster than he thought he could, he knew where the cave was and he didn't plan on being here any longer.

'Just gonna go home and sleep this off, and never think about it again.' It was the perfect plan as long as his mother didn't suspect him; he just wouldn't have to make eye contact with her because if he did the she would suspect something. Getting to the cave, he wasted no time in making sure that he hadn't been followed before going home.

The Next Day – Beast World

"You did what?!" Namiyo exclaimed in shock. "You actually got in and then decided to actually enter what I can only assume is a city, and then you attacked a guard showing him that you have blue flames, that'll stand out." She explained holding her head. "And your mom doesn't suspect a thing?"

"I hope not." The blonde said. "If she does then she's doing a really good job at acting." He stated swinging his training sword once again. "Besides, nobody saw me go inside the cave." He stated. "Nobody suspects a thing, hell I bet that he's already forgotten or thought of it as a dream or hallucination." He smirked. "I'm in the clear." He said not letting on that he planned on going back tonight, in order to see more.

Human World – Bending Nation – Fire Nation Capitol

Even though he was sitting down, he was an imposing figure. Fire Lord Ozai was a man not to be trifled with or upset. At the moment however, he did have his curiosity peeked upon hearing the report of a guard from last night. A child with blue fire had suddenly appeared and ran away, the burned off part of the building where the fireball hit did hold some merit. "A child with gold hair and blue fire, hm." It did sound like some kind of myth or legend, but if what this man said was true then maybe just maybe this was worth looking into. 'Something about this, it gives me a sense of foreboding.' He kept his composure but lost it for a single second when his left hand began shaking; he quickly clenched it in order to stop. Something felt wrong about this news, his daughter had blue fire and she was so loyal and powerful; better than her older brother in every way. And this new child looked to be the same age as Azula, it was either a coincidence or someone wanted to send a message; maybe even a challenge? Either way, it would be investigated later.

Night soon reigned over the Fire Nation Capitol. Naruto slowly came out from the cave, his eyes darting around to make sure that there wasn't anyone around to see him. The coast was clear and the blonde came out and looked to the way he came last time; he proceeded forward carefully. Staying in cover, he saw that the same guard was there. The man must want to see or catch him. "Hm" the blonde stood up and began walking forward; his footsteps didn't go unheard. The man turned around.

"You!" the man exclaimed.

"Yes, me, now would you quiet down; people are trying to sleep." He stated taking off his hood. "You really came back to the same place, why? Was it to catch me?" he questioned only for the man to nod 'no'. "Then why?" he was confused.

"The Princess wanted to meet you."

"Princess?" he didn't know about the Fire Nation's royal family, but he was about to meet the youngest child of the Fire Lord. Coming from the, she showed herself. From where he was, Naruto could see the girl's golden eyes and tied up black hair. She looked to be his age and while this was true, there was something about her that unnerved him a bit. Naruto mentally prepared himself to fight; this girl was dangerous and likely had more training than him. "You're the Princess?"

"Princess Azula to you." the now named Azula said. "Now tell me, who you are." It was less of a request as much as it was a demand/order. The blonde sighed; he was going to have to deal with her.

"Naruto Ametsuchi." He said getting a curious look from the girl, she took a step forward but Naruto glanced at the guard and then back to Azula. He was outnumbered by one, and running away again was the only thing he could do; fighting them both was a possibility but he wasn't fond of the idea. He wished that he had his training sword right now, at least then he would have a weapon.

"I've heard that you have blue fire." There it was a feature that stood out.

"Maybe I do maybe I don't, does it matter—" Azula let out a stream of blue flames into the night sky. "Ah, I see why you want to know." he said. "That was impressive."

"I have the best instructors in the Nation, of course it was—" from Naruto's mouth he unleashed a stream of blue flames that dwarfed Azula's own. Bigger, hotter, and obviously much more powerful to the point where they could be seen from the Palace; adding to how the blonde was able to hold it for thirty seconds straight was a testament to how long he could hold it while not using other flames. Upon stopping, he looked to the princess.

"Can you do that?" Azula glared at him, the blonde couldn't help but taunt her with a smug face. The expression on her face was satisfying; Azula did her best to regain her composure.

"Tell me something peasant."

'Did she just call me a peasant?'

"How old are you?"

"Nine." The Princess let out a low growl. "We're the same age aren't we?" the guard was stepping away.

"Who trains you and who are your instructors?" she questioned trying to be as calm as she could in this situation. There was no way this peasant could be this powerful without being trained by the best, better than her own instructors apparently; she'd only seen her father do something like that. And he barely ever used his bending.

"Well, my mom isn't a Bender, so I've had to use a beginner's scroll I guess, but I can only go by the pictures because I can't—look aside from that I'm self-trained." He stated not wanting to tell her his current 'disability' to say.

"You can't what?" something told her that the blonde was about to make her snap. "Well?!"

"I—I can't read it." he said.

"What?" here it came.

"I don't know how to read." There it was the simplest thing in the world was the one thing he couldn't do. Silence reigned for what seemed like hours before Azula spoke.

"You can't read, are you serious—no, you've got to be lying."

"I'm not." He stated. "I'm not even from this continent or the Bending Nations for that matter so of course your cultures writing is foreign to me, my culture's writing would be foreign to you." the Princess closed her eyes and remained silent for a few seconds before looking at him with annoyance. This was the kid who might just be stronger with the key word being 'maybe'. This was going to annoy her to no end, but she did have a foreboding feeling that the blonde was going to impact her life in more than one way. She didn't realize that his very presence would change the fate of many.

Chapter 2 End