Righteous Howl

K-chan

A Naruto FF

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related titles and such are the sole property of Masashi kishimoto. The weres however are my sole creation.

Summary: In the shadows of lies and deceit a young warrior will rise out of the dark to take his rightful place in this world.

Chapter 1

Pain wasn't a new word to Naruto, he grew up with it. Emotional pain and physical pain walked hand in hand for the young boy. His eyes cracked open slowly, wincing as bright light spilled in.

"Hey Bright, the kids wakin' up." A loud childish voice squealed, he heard light footsteps and the sound of a door opening.

"Kia, calm down, you'll scare the poor boy if you keep screaming like that." A light feminine voice answered airily.

"But… but… You told me to yell when he woke up." Kia wined with a pout on her young face, Naruto smiled at the girls playful antics.

"Now, why not go help your mother." The taller of the two said, the young girl grinned and ran out of the room. "Hello young one, I am Brighteyes." She walked toward the bed slowly as if afraid of frightening him. "I found you in the woods 3 nights ago; you were badly injured, so please try not to move too much."

"I'll be fine, I heal fast." Naruto mumbled afraid of the women in front of him. Noticing his fear she moved to reassure him. She rubbed soothing circles on his back, watching as he flinched away from her. He slowly relaxed, his form slumping.

"You are safe here, no one will harm you, I promise." She whispered hugging him lightly. "I won't let anyone hurt you now." He mumbled something she couldn't hear. "I need you to tell me what happened… if you can't right now it's ok, I understand, but I need to know." She whispered.

"My name… is Uzumaki Naruto… I… all I remember is fire then villagers… pain… then a giant wolf in the woods… then nothing… I'm sorry." he flinched expecting her to hit him. But she didn't, instead she hugged him tighter.

"I'm so sorry. You are so young… one such as you should not have to endure hardships such as this." She grasped him tightly; he held on, she was his lifeline in this strange new place. "When you are well, I will take you on a tour of your new home, if you wish to stay here, that is."

"I… can stay?" he asked bewildered, the woman before him was letting him stay, she knew nothing of him, yet she was letting him stay. He smiled a small sad smile his confusion getting the better of him. "I don't understand."

"What don't you understand dear heart? You may stay as long as you wish, though if you wish to stay permanently there is one condition which we will discuss if you wish to take that path." Bright explained. Naruto nodded, eyes filled with tears, his mind overwhelmed.

"I… want to stay. I want to stay with you… nee-chan." He hesitated, eyes large as if expecting her to laugh and say it was just a joke.

"Nee-chan… I like the sound of that." She grinned at him and giggled lightly, in turn he smiled brightly at her. "Now that's the kind of smile I like to see." She ruffled his hair lightly. "If you're ready, I'd like you to meet a few people." He nodded warily, slightly fearful, "Don't worry nii-chan, you are safe with me." He nodded and slowly stood up, he grimaced, Bright moved to help him. He stood up fully, stretching his muscles, yawning widely he nodded at her.

"I'm ready nee-chan." He mumbled quietly. She nodded smiling encouragingly at him, a smile he returned nervously. With her arm protectively around his shoulders the two left the room and entered a long dirt corridor.

XOXOX

The two walked down the corridor talking quietly. Naruto giggled at something she said, and she laughed with him. The finally reached a large wooden door, kanji littered the door, engraved around ornate patterns, it was beautiful. Naruto stood stunned and awed with its beauty. In the center surrounded by a circle of white flames was the kanji for 'Wolf.' The large iron bound door opened slowly on the other side, a large cavernous room awaited. The two walked slowly in, the door compared to the room was nothing. The high ceilings reminded him of ancient roman buildings he had seen in picture books, gold inlays rose on the marble columns. Statues of pure gold depicting wolves of various sizes littered the room, and lying on pillows spread about the room huge wolves of hundreds of colors basked in the sun streaming down from the skylights littering the cathedral like roof. When the door closed many of them glanced up interested in the proceedings. A large white wolf stood from his pillow and approached the pair, Naruto frightened hid behind his nee-chan. But instead of backing away, she ran to the approaching wolf and hugged him tightly. With a growl of pleasure the wolf put its enormous paws on her shoulders and licked her face. She whispered in his ear before he dropped to the floor on all fours.

XOXOXOX

Across from the doors a large throne sat. A man in his early 30s sat on the ornate chair, looking on in amusement at the frightened boy hiding behind the packs best hunter. Two wolves sat on either side of the throne, Aien and Sweetfur. Brighteyes and Naruto walked slowly to the throne, bowing low, Bright greeted the man before them.

"Dimitri, my lord how goes the day?" she asked formally, nodding to Naruto to bow to the man before him. He gestured to her to stand.

"It goes well, and yours?" he replied, smiling at her. She smiled in return pulling the frightened child from behind her.

"Very well my lord, I have come to speak with you on behalf of the boy who stands with me." She smiled down. "If we may speak in private on this matter?" she requested humbly. He nodded, turning on his heels he paced slowly to another door.

"We may speak in here." He said, waving them over the three entered the room and shut the door behind them. In the room, a small desk sat, with 2 chairs in front of it, walking behind the desk Dimitri sat gesturing for the others to do the same. Following his lead the two sat down waiting for the lord to speak. "Now may I ask what you wished to speak to me about Brighteyes?" he inquired.

"I speak on behalf of Uzumaki Naruto. I wish for him to join the pack on the grounds that I will be his guardian along with Swiftflight. That on honor of my word, he will uphold pack law and grow to be a proud member of our family. I Brighteyes of the pack Zai Saku promise on my honor that if the law is broken I shall take the punishment." She had stood halfway through her speech, eyes flashing. Dimitri had stayed silent through her speech, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Brighteyes. Do you know what it is you are asking?" he finally asked solemnly. His voice calm and controlled. "I will not on any grounds let anyone join this pack unless they can make it through the change. And even then rigorous training and the rites of passage must be taken into consideration. Can a mere boy undergo these challenges? Can you vouch for him, for his character? Can you really assure me that he is worthy of the gift I would give?" at this point he stood, eyes angry. "Will you allow a child whom you have only met, control your heart so fully?" he growled, Brighteyes didn't flinch at his anger; she stood proudly, head held high. Naruto shuddered at the animosity flying through the air.

"I have judged the character of many of our pack, and you deemed them worthy. Just because he is a child, does not mean he knows nothing of hardship, or the meaning of the word suffer. I found him when he was injured. I cared for him when he was unconscious. You saw the wounds he carried. You heard him cry out in his sleep. And you still deem him unworthy." She panted in anger. "I will allow this child to control my heart, because I give it to him. I as the head hunter of this pack deem him worthy, isn't that enough? I who in my millennia of life have judged moral character better than any. I am asking a boon one boon from my years of service. Zai Saku will not be dishonored by this child." She growled, frightening Naruto who stood beside her, petrified. Dimitri sighed; he sat down again motioning them to do the same. Naruto remained standing, his wide eyes taking in the scene. He was afraid to ask what was going on.

"Very well, I as Alpha of Zai Saku agree to grant this boon. But if I find him unworthy, you will suffer." He turned to address Naruto for the first time. "You my young friend will be responsible for your actions; if you dishonor yourself you dishonor your pack. Listen to your guardian, for she is wise beyond her years. I welcome you to Zai Saku, Brighteyes and I will explain how this will work. I have not granted this honor in many years. Find yourself lucky, for though the road ahead is long, the honor you are about to be given is not to be taken lightly." He sighed rubbing his temple he looked up at Bright. "I will leave it up to you to orientate him. Bring him before me when he knows what he is agreeing to, I will follow through at that time." He sighed and dismissed her with a wave of his hand. She bowed deeply, and smiled lightly at Naruto. Gripping his hand tightly she turned and opened the door. They walked out slowly facing a curious throng of wolves and humans alike.

XOXOX

Sitting down on the edge of Naruto's bed she ran a hand through her loose midnight blue hair. He looked at her quietly curiosity written across his face.

"Naruto. I want you to consider what I'm going to say very seriously. What I have asked my lord to do is bring you into our pack, our family so to speak." She sighed heavily. "To be in this 'family' there is a requirement you have to meet." He nodded listening intently "do you know the legend of the werewolf, sweet one?" She looked at him nervously

"Nee-chan… a werewolf is a half-human-half-wolf, according to the legends I've read, they are dangerous, and can only transform on a full moon." Bright smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"You are right, but not about the danger and the full moon. Weres are and always have been around. In fact, your nee-chan here is one." She smiled at him. Naruto looked at her, eyes widening in realization. He looked at her and smiled slightly.

"The wolf… in the woods… it was you wasn't it?" he asked quietly, slowly digesting the new information. She smiled at him.

"Yes dear heart that was me. I was out hunting when I smelled blood, not to frighten you, but at first I thought you would make a tasty snack. But when I got to you and saw your pain I became confused. You were hurt, frightened and when you saw me; I know I only scared you more." She sighed. "Then I came closer and you greeted me with respect, the first human to ever do so. That stopped me in my tracks." She laughed lightly. "When you passed out my mate found me, Swiftflight, the large white wolf you saw earlier today. We talked and debated and in the end we decided to bring you here. At first the pack was angry we had brought a human to our den, a dangerous thing to do. But they soon warmed up to the idea of a small helpless child here. In the three days it took you to recover the pack saw your injuries and the decision was made, you would stay here." She sighed, and hugged him lightly. "When you woke up, your frightened eyes drew me; I wanted to comfort you, to make you feel safe. I wanted to love you, and for you to love me. So today I did the one thing I could think of, I fought with my alpha to allow you to join us. But to join us you must become a Were. The one gift our alpha may bestow. I ask you now sweet one. Do you wish to become a member of our pack?" she looked into his cerulean eyes, she could see the confusion.

"Nee-chan… you offer me family and a home when no one else would. To get this I would do anything. I will become a Were. I will uphold pack law and most of all; I will not dishonor my family." He hugged her close, letting the tears flow freely. She hugged him back, letting her own teas mix with his. The two embraced lovingly, his pain melting slowly at the prospect of a true family at last.

END

Hello all, K-chan here. Thank you for giving the story a chance and most of all thank you for the reviews. As always R&R I enjoy the commentary. Please keep reading, and keep the good reviews comin. I would like to thank all of you. Good Luck

Happy Hunting My Friends =)

The illustrious and never aging K.