I do not own Naruto or Legend of Zelda in any way, shape, or form. Do not sue, please!
This was brought about while I was looking at stories by other artists I was going to finish, if allowed. I had, several years back, found a Naruto fic where Naruto was a Sheikah. I took interest in it, but it was discontinued and taken down not long after I had found it. My muse came up with this, and then insisted I do something with it.
Do not worry about the other fics; I'll try to continue most of them over spring break (in one week).
Warning: there will be a bit of pronoun confusion at the beginning: this is on purpose. Haku will be a female in this, but until after the battle, Naruto only knows her as a feminine looking male.
Pairing: Not established. May end up being NaruHina or NaruHaku, though doing something with NaruYaku may also be interesting. Not sure if I could fit Tenten in here. May end up being a Multi-pairing/harem fic.
Also, this is not going to be a Sasuke-basher. Sorry, but my muse seems to think he can be saved in this, though there will be lasting emotional scars.
Summary: There is an old Kekkei genkai that had been hidden in Uzu: one that is said to hold the power to see the truth in any situation, belonging to a Clan related to Death and Shadow. Long thought dead, it is about to wake up in one young jinchuriki . . .
Uzumaki Naruto watched helplessly as Uchiha Sasuke sacrificed his life for him.
They were currently in Nami no Kuni, fighting against Zabuza and his apprentice. When he had arrived late for the fight, he saw Sasuke having difficulty fighting against some guy who could use mirrors to increase his speed and shoot senbon needles from everywhere. Without thinking, he jumped in to help.
However, not even Naruto's quick reflexes could keep him from becoming a pincushion, and when it finally got to be too much, Sasuke quickly threw himself in front of him.
Why . . . why would he do something like this . . . he was at the top of the class at the academy . . . why . . . why would he sacrifice himself for me . . . Dead last . . . We hated each other . . . why . . .
Normally, this would be where the masked apprentice says something rude, and ends up pissing Naruto off to the point of unleashing Kyuubi's chakra.
"He landed a blow on me without flinching . . . dying to protect you. To protect a precious person, even though he knew it was a trap, he was still willing to jump in. He is a shinobi that deserves respect. Is this the first friend who has died in front of you?"
"This is the way of the shinobi."
Well, at least some things never change . . .
Inside the seal, the Kyuubi was enjoying itself for the first time in thirteen years.
Few people knew this, but every time a jinchuriki used his or her tenant's chakra, they were allowed to see, feel, and hear what the jinchuuriki saw, felt, and heard. The more chakra used, the better the results.
Now, this is where the dividing line appears: where Naruto's path splits in two.
This time, the Kyuubi over estimates his chakra output.
Normally, if asked for chakra, the demon fox would be allowed to push out as much as the host can take, and sometimes even more than that. However, he was never asked in this case. All this chakra that is being allowed out is being pushed through by an opening of rage and adrenaline.
This time, Kyuubi pushes it too far, and gets hit with recoil. The Shiki Fuuin lights up with a bright golden glow, and blasts the fox with an alarming amount of power, forcing it to draw in much of its demonic energy . . . and releasing its hold on something it was hoping to keep sealed for eternity . . .
As the Kyuubi was forced into unconsciousness, his last sight was a red eye with three triangles above it, spaced out across the top eyelid, and a large red teardrop hanging below it.
Before, he knew that he would eventually be freed. Not even death could hope to stop something that never lived in the first place. Now . . .
The Kyuubi fell into darkness, thinking what very well could be its last thoughts.
Haku watched in shock and awe as a wave of evil orange chakra broke free from Naruto and crashed into the ice mirrors, shattering them on contact and pushing her back. However, before she could figure out how to counterattack, Naruto froze, and then let out a piercing scream. The chakra, which had been pouring out of him, dissipated almost instantly, and instead, a white light seemed to shine through him.
The light increased in intensity to the point where she was forced to cover her eyes, and then . . . it stopped.
Blinking furiously, Haku looked up, and gasped.
Instead of the short, blonde boy, a taller, white haired figure stood. In fact, if it wasn't for the orange jumpsuit that was hanging off of them, Haku could have sworn that it was a different person there.
However, what really got her were his eyes . . . slowly changing from blue to bright red.
Naruto swayed for a bit, and then shook his head. For a moment, he had lost himself in his pain and anger, but now it felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on his head.
He raised his eyes to look at the masked figure, and some of it returned.
He had taken Sasuke away . . . and now, he was going to pay.
Naruto lunged at him. Had he been thinking clearly, he would have realized that he was going faster than normal, but he didn't care at all!
Before he knew it, he was forcing a tightly curled fist into the boy's gut, and then kicking out and knocking him into the ground, hard!
Blow after blow landed, preventing the masked ninja from doing anything, until finally, he threw a fist right through the guy's mask . . . revealing a face that was quite familiar.
The next five minutes was a blur. Haku, having been knocked down, started telling him a story that felt as if it was far too similar to his own life. However, near the end of it, Naruto was quickly realizing that something was wrong with his body. For one thing, he was a bit too tall.
Another thing was that, as Haku's story was being told, he could see several different colors emanating from him. Something in his brain placed those with emotions of pain and sorrow. Also, the mist that surrounded them was becoming clearer, as if his eyes were gaining the ability to see through it.
He came back to awareness when Haku asked him to end it . . . to take a kunai, and end his life. It shocked him, and he hesitated for a few moments . . . and then, things shifted.
Colors that seemed to indicate shock, worry, and fear flashed from Haku, and then the boy performed a hand sign and flashed out through an ice mirror. However, before Haku managed to speed off, Naruto was already moving in that general direction.
So when Haku appeared in front of Zabuza, ready to take a blow for the only person who even seemed to care, Naruto was close enough to lunge out, instinctively knocking her out of the way.
Hatake Kakashi, Naruto's jonin sensei, shocked enough to follow with his eyes, unconsciously turning his Chidori just enough to graze Zabuza's side.
Zabuza, on the other hand, was just plain shocked.
As both Naruto and Haku rolled out of the way, Naruto could feel the slow grip of exhaustion making its presence known. As the mist covered the area, he fell unconscious.
As he fell unconscious, his hair slowly shifted back to yellow, and three whisker-like markings, which had almost faded into non-existence, darkened back into how they normally looked.
His new stature, on the other hand, stayed the same. Changing hair color was simple. Changing size, on the other hand, was only possible in one way without the use of certain ninja techniques.
He awoke in a darkened room. Looking around, Naruto could see nothing but shadows . . . and darkness.
Suddenly, he felt a presence, and whirled around to see a tall, redheaded woman. Her eyes were blue, like his, and she had a sad smile on her lips.
"Who . . . who are you?" Naruto asked. He knew that never seen this woman in Konoha, and yet . . . she seemed familiar.
The woman stepped forward and knelt next to him. When she spoke, it seemed to have an echoing effect. "Naruto, my precious child . . . I am your mother . . . "
The boy's eyes widened. His mother . . . his mother was dead!
A sinking feeling hit his stomach, as tears dripped out of his eyes. Naruto lunged at the woman crying into her shoulder as she held him tightly. As he slowly cried the pain out, he asked, in a broken voice, "I'm . . . I'm dead . . . aren't I?"
A soft chuckling reached his ears as he felt himself being pulled from her shoulder. "No, my child, you are not yet too that point. This is merely the boundary."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
The woman smiled softly, and pulled him into another hug. "This is merely the crossroad between life and death. I am dead, and I shall always be that way but you, my son, are only visiting. This is the only place that we can speak, and we must speak, for our time is running out."
Naruto gasped and tightened his grip. "What . . . NO! I don't want to leave you . . . "
"You must, for you are the last of our line, and if it dies out, then I fear that the world may soon follow."
Naruto raised his eyes to look at the woman, ready to demand answers, but gasped when he saw her eyes turn red, and her hair fade into white. "Naruto-chan, our family has ties to an ancient history. Our earliest ancestors were the protectors of royalty, and were probably the ancestors to the modern day ninja. For centuries, we have aided the world from the shadows, protecting it from the darkness that threatens to engulf the entire world. We are the only ones with the knowledge of the Ancient Temples . . . We are the Sheikah."
As Naruto heard his mother's words, he felt the world around him change. Suddenly, they were surrounded by an ancient castle. Soon, it faded into an evil, twisted version of itself, and then back into its original form. From there, it became flooded with water until a bubble rose above it, protecting it until the water came crashing down around it. From there, it fell into ruin until nothing was left but rubble. Then, the water drained out, and people came back to repopulate the area.
As he looked on, he found himself looking into a mirror, and seeing himself, yet . . . it wasn't him! Instead of how he normally looked, he found himself about half a foot taller, with red eyes and pale white hair. His distinctive whisker marks were gone.
"This is what your true form look like," he could hear his mother say, "We as a clan possess the ability to alter how we look to a certain degree, which is useful as the Sheikah have gained notoriety as assassins and warriors of the highest order. We had taken to hiding as the Uzumaki clan of Uzugakure, but our enemies manipulated things so that the destruction of the entire village was brought about. I was sent away, and found myself in Konoha."
Suddenly the image changed, turning him back into his normal look. "However, the only reason you were able to gain your Sheikah form and doujutsu was because the Seal forced the Kyuubi's chakra back into you when it was unconsciously pouring out in your rage-induced state. He has been suppressing it in hopes of ending our line for good. In order to pass it on to the next generation, our sheikah blood must be active, and while the Kyuubi keeps it inactive, it will never pass on."
The redhead turned Naruto around and stared into his eyes. "Naruto, in order for you to fix this, you must travel to the hidden Sheikah village of Kakariko, hidden below Yuki no Kuni. There, you will find the spirit of its guardian, an old woman whose soul duty is to watch over our ancestral home. Go there, and she will be able to help you."
The world around them flashed to where they were in Nami no Kuni, and then flashed northward, over the water, and then westward, back across land that reached a mountain range that stretched northward. There, between two mountains, was an old, rundown village. The images held that for a moment, and then flashed back into the shadows.
Suddenly, Naruto felt himself fading. Panicking, he turned back to his mother to find her in tears. "Go, go to Kakariko as soon as possible; don't wait to go back to Konoha, but go as soon as you are able to. I will try to guide you as best I can through your dreams. When you get back to Konoha, ask Old Man Sarutobi to tell you about me . . . about Uzumaki Kushina . . . and about Minato . . . you look so much like him . . . "
Naruto jerked awake, tears in his eyes, his breath heavy.
He was back in his room at Tazuna's place. Looking down, he was surprised to see himself wearing a set of old pajamas. As he scrambled to his feet, he realized that he hadn't imagined his change in height. Looking at the window, he noticed that his reflection looked the same as always though.
Hearing the door open behind him, he was surprised to see Sasuke staring back at him, eyes wide.
"S-Sasuke! Your alive! How . . . "
The black haired avenger stared back at him for a moment, and then blinked. "Oh . . . right . . . turns out, Haku . . . that ninja we were fighting . . . only hit a paralyzing point with her needle. It put me in a death-like state, but it didn't kill me." He then snorted, "And it's about time you got up."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto growled. He then blinked, "and wait, I thought Haku was a guy?"
Sasuke's mouth opened to retort, but before he could say anything, a familiar voice rang out behind him, "I have been telling people that to help keep myself safe. The world is a hard place, but it is even harder on girls".
Haku stepped out from behind Sasuke, wearing a blue kimono. Naruto realized that she looked a bit more feminine than he last saw her, and also noticed that she must have had her breasts bound in their last two encounters, as they were a bit more noticeable than before. Her right arm was in a sling. "It is nice to see you awake, Naruto-san. You've been unconscious for almost a week."
Naruto blinked, and then narrowed his eyes at Sasuke, "You mind explaining what I missed, teme?"
The boy snorted, "I got most of this from Sakura, but apparently, after you kicked Haku away from Kakashi's attack, you were both knocked out. Right afterwards, Gato showed up with a bunch of thugs, ready to double-cross Zabuza. Not happy about it, Zabuza took up a kunai and then attacked them, killing the greedy pig, but also getting some life-threatening damage. From there, his last actions were to drag himself over to Haku and ask Kakashi to take care of her for him, as she was the closest thing he had to a daughter. A band of rioting villagers came around and helped chase the rest of the bandits off afterwards."
Naruto nodded slowly, and then looked towards Haku and told her, "I'm sorry about Zabuza . . . I know he meant a lot to you."
Haku bit her lip, and then nodded, "Th-thanks."
"Hey Sasuke-kun, what are you . . . " Haruno Sakura, Naruto's other teammate, walked into the room, and, seeing Naruto awake, ran back to the door to shout, "KAKASHI-SENSEI, NARUTO'S AWAKE!"
Naruto rubbed his sensitive ears. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day . . .
Naruto was up and dressed at about midnight. He had taken another nap to rest after coming too, only to find himself talking to his mother again, who impressed upon him the importance of getting to Kakariko soon. Oddly enough, her voice seemed to be softer, as if she were speaking through a barrier of some kind. Before he knew it, he was awake again, and it was the middle of the night.
Naruto grabbed his gear and snuck out of the room that he shared with Sasuke. Creeping downstairs, he found a piece of paper and started to write a note, before he heard someone behind him.
Whirling around, he found Haku, who was standing in the doorway. Looking at him with her brown eyes, she said, "You are going somewhere, aren't you." It was not a question.
Naruto hesitated, and then replied, "I have to run an errand before I go back to Konoha."
"To Kakariko, right?"
At Naruto's stunned look, the girl replied, "Zabuza-sama came to me in a dream earlier tonight. In it, he told me that after being brought to the afterlife, he was confronted by a redheaded woman who offered him a choice: he could either spend eternity in hell where he belonged, or he could serve as a vassal spirit to the Sheikah clan. His first act was to contact me and ask that I go with you; apparently, your spirit guide is being blocked by some force, and there are things you should know before entering the village, like how to get in."
Naruto took this in, and then nodded, "OK, but we need to hurry. Are you already packed?" When Haku showed him her pack by the front door, he created a Kage Bunshin and set it to writing a note. Then, both ninja set out the front door at a run.
Kakashi awoke to banging on the door. Normally, he never slept in like this, but he was having the strangest dreams . . . ones that he had difficulties recalling. Getting up, he opened the door to find Sasuke there, holding a note for him. Grabbing it, he opened it up to read:
Dear Kakashi-sensei,
By the time you read this, I should already be out of Nami. I can't tell you where I'm going right now, but it is very important that I do what I need to do. If you want more information, ask Sarutobi-jii-jii to tell you about the Manako no Shin (eye of truth). He should know at least the legends behind that.
Haku has decided to come with me for now, and she will most likely return with me when I come back. You may want to tell Jii-jii to have an apartment ready for her. Don't put us down as missing nin or anything. It's just I really need to do this, and if I don't do this now, it will be too late.
--Uzumaki Naruto
By the time Kakashi managed to get out and look, all traces of the blond and his companion had grown cold. They were currently on a ship heading north to Yuki, and there was no going back for them.
A few days later and back in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, was filling paperwork out when his secretary came in to tell him he had a visitor. When said visitor came in, he knew he was in for a bad day.
It was a young woman, with long brown hair and light brown eyes. It was Rin, one of the Yondaime's two surviving students. Having taken issue early on with what he was doing with Naruto, she had resigned and joined the Daimyo's protection squad. For her to come back would mean something bad was about to happen.
Walking into the room, Rin immediately shut the door and enacted a low level security seal. She then turned around and asked, "Where is he?"
Blinking, Sarutobi replied, "Kakashi is currently out on . . . "
"NO! I am not talking about him. WHERE IS KUSHINA'S SON?"
The old man gaped for a moment, and then, slowly, replied, "I thought I told you before, Kushina's child died in labor . . . "
"Bullshit!" At Sarutobi's shocked look, Rin took out a golden necklace, shaped like three triangles stacked in pyramid form. At the center was a glowing jewel. "This necklace was keyed into Kushina's child, and was set to react to when he gained his kekkei genkai. It reacted over a week ago. Now, WHERE IS HE?"
Sarutobi was unsure how to reply to this, but before he could think of anything, the door burst open and Hatake Kakashi came running in. "Hokage-sama, we have a problem. Naruto ran off in the middle of the night, leaving only a note saying something about the Manako no Shin. You wouldn't happen to know what that means, would you?"
Rin gasped and raised her hand to her mouth. Thirteen years ago, she had tried to adopt Naruto as her own; even if he wasn't Kushina and Minato's child, he was all alone and needed someone. However, Sarutobi had refused to allow it, and the child was left in an orphanage. Several years later, she came back to try again, as she had seen how the boy was being treated. She got the same answer.
Finally, after she found the kid lying in an alley, almost dead, she came back and asked a third time. In response to this refusal, she resigned and sought to take her case to someone in the Daimyo's court. She was less than successful.
But if Naruto really was . . . quickly, Rin slammed a heavy fist into the Sandaime's desk, shocking both him and Kakashi, who had ran in without noticing her. "Listen well you old fool! You are not to send anyone to look for Naruto. You are to try and keep the council back and distracted, and you are not going to punish him in any way, shape, or form when he comes back. Understand?"
Sarutobi floundered for a moment, and then narrowed his eyes at her, "You know where he went, don't you?"
Rin was not threatened, "In truth, he should have gone there ages ago; Kakariko has been the home of the Sheikah clan for ages now; all members of the clan were taken to be trained on their tenth birthdays there."
She then narrowed her eyes at the man, "If you send anyone out there to find him, they will never come back; the defenses of Kakariko are legendary, and to be caught as a trespasser on their lands merits a fate worse than death. The only reason I know this is because Kushina-chan adapted me into her clan after she heard of my status as an orphan."
She then walked out of the room. Hastily, both men ran out to follow her into the street, Kakashi to ask what she was talking about, and Sandaime to try and get her to tell him more. They were met by Sakura and Sasuke, who had just caught up to their sensei.
What they saw was surprising. Stopping in the center of the street, Rin had taken out a light brown ocarina and had started playing a rather tumultuous song on it. As she did so, wind from all over gathered around her, blowing up sand and dirt and raising chaos in the streets.
By the time the wind died down, Rin had vanished with it.
NEXT UP: Naruto and Haku make it to Kakariko, where they meet some rather unusual people. Rin shows up as well, and introduces herself. Naruto's seal is adjusted, and he attains a more permanent new look. Training begins. All this and more, whenever I get around to it!