Still Waters run Deep
The Yondaime stood solemn at the bedside, waiting for a dying man to speak. While he waited he closely observed the young man, searching for some clue as to his origins.
The man in the bed was young, too young to be dying really, but it was all too common a sight in a village such as this. Standing up, he would have been only a few inches short of the Yondaime's own height and not dissimilar in other ways as well. The blue eyes and golden hair they both shared were rare in this part of the world. The Yondaime could name maybe ten people in a village of over a thousand with similar features. It only increased his curiosity about the young man - clearly he had travelled far.
There were differences between them though. The Hokage was older by several years, and his hair and skin showed his recent tendency to spend time indoors - a necessity when it came to the vast quantities of paperwork associated with his job. In contrast, the younger man had hair bleached from the sun and skin tanned to a dark, golden brown rarely seen this far to the east. It would have been more in place in wind country, with its blazing sun and endless deserts. Odd too were his eyes, slanted heavily on his face. It wasn't a look the Hokage was familiar with.
The young man had been found nearly a week ago, unconscious outside the gates of Konoha. He had been accompanied by a woman, clearly in the late stages of pregnancy. Both had been heavily wounded. Both smelt heavily of, among other things, the sea. They would never have been found if he hadn't increased the patrols around Konoha's perimeter - a wise precaution with rumours of the Kyuubi roaming Fire country. In the last week, the man had regained consciousness intermittently and asked to speak to whoever was in charge. The woman had yet to wake.
The young man coughed weakly as he raised himself to a sitting position with difficulty. The Yondaime focused on him again as he spoke.
"Thank you for coming to see me. You're the one they call 'Hokage', right?" His voice was weak, but he didn't stutter or falter. He spoke as clearly and as simply as he could. Yondaime tried and failed to place his accent.
"Yes, that's right. You wanted to speak with someone in charge, right? That's me." His tone was flippant, but the dying man looked past that, saw a genuine attempt to put him at ease and accepted gratefully. The Hokage's voice cooled as he went on, "I have to ask if you've brought trouble to my village though. We've taken a risk by bringing you inside our borders."
The young man smiled weakly and spoke, "I appreciate that. Don't worry, no one's following us. The people who did this to us are gone - trapped far away or dead. They're no danger to you in any case. And you don't have to worry about me," he looked down over his injured body, "very soon, I won't be any danger to anyone." His voice dropped slightly as he spoke again, clearly expecting the worst, "Where's Tula?"
"The woman we found with you?" The Hokage had no doubts as to who he meant, but he waited for the nod before continuing, having gathered his thoughts, "She had already slipped into a coma when we found you. She's alive, but we don't expect her to ever wake up." He waited for the tears to pass from the younger man's eyes before continuing, "Her child, though..."
"Yes?" The man's voice - weak though it was - was filled with tangible hope, and longing.
"The child is alive within her. A boy. My people can't explain it, but he seems in far better health than could be expected, given the circumstances." The Hokage was watching closely, and he saw relief cross the man's face, followed shortly by sorrow and resignation. He hadn't known about this beforehand, but he was utterly unsurprised by it. "He also can't be more than a week from being ready to be born. We were going to proceed with a caesarean section, unless one of you woke up and could give us a reason not to. There are dangers to your wife with the procedure, but it's the best chance of saving your son."
Sorrow and indecision warred on his face for long moments before they settled on resignation again and he spoke, "Do it. If it will save him, it's what she would want, and neither of us will survive much longer anyway. And she's not my wife -just Tula." He seemed to be searching for something to say, "My possessions?"
The Yondaime reached into a drawer on a small table set next to the bedside, drawing out a small sack that clinked as he set it down where the man could reach it. They had been confiscated when he was searched, prior to being admitted to the hospital, but he felt no restraint in returning them now. They were clearly valuable to the man, and in any case, a dying man with a broken sword would hardly pose a threat to an academy student, let alone the Hokage.
When the man reached into the sack and withdrew the sword, the Hokage suddenly wasn't so sure any more. His nature seemed to change in the moment he touched the golden hilt. He seemed to radiate an air of danger and nobility. It seemed strange to him, but another man might have commented on the similarity between the two men in that moment.
A few heartbeats passed, and the Hokage tensed, ready to defend at any moment, but relaxed as the younger man let the broken sword fall from his fingers.
"Can I have some paper, please?" The man kept his eyes lowered, "and a pen? I'll need to write a letter to my son. He'll need to know his history."
The Hokage retrieved a pen and paper from his ninja pouch - necessity had him carrying them around with him, now - and offered them to the man. He took them and began to write in a gentle, flowing script. Feeling useless, the Hokage asked if there was anything he could do. The man smiled and asked him to bring any of Tula's possessions that had been retrieved, and then to make labels for the items.
The Hokage did as asked, fetching another small sack from a different room, and setting a chair next to the bed so he could sit while he made labels. The talked quietly while they worked, with the young man asking about the systems in place to deal with orphans in the village, and the Hokage inquiring about the various items he was labelling.
The Hokage told him about the orphanages, about the academy, and the other options for those not suited for life as a ninja.
The young man in turn gave him the name of the items: The broken sword, a pendant he called compass that failed on any way to point north, some very odd clothes, a small figure of a monkey bird. The wooden flute he called the 'Wraith whistle' and whose purpose he would say no more about than 'to call the Wraith'.
In Tula's belongings there was not so much: A few oddly shaped knives, some even odder clothes and a pouchful of trinkets that ranged from small stones to seeds to jewellery.
By the time all the labels were done, the young man's voice had dropped even further, barely even a croak. His hands shook as he wrote. He finally signed the bottom of the last paper and turned his attention back to the first. He paused for a second, and turned to the Hokage.
"He'll need a name."
"Well how about..." The Hokage thought for a moment, but it was several hours since lunch and all he could think off was his favourite food. "Naruto."
"Naruto...that sounds good. What does it mean?"
The Hokage didn't want to admit the direction of his thoughts, and bluffed quickly, "It means Spiral, sort of. It refers to thing with that kind of shape. I was thinking of a Whirlpool, or Uzumaki. It seemed appropriate given you both seemed to be sailors of some description..."
The young man ignored the subtle hint asking for more information, "Naruto...yes, I like it." His voice was a mere wheeze now. "Do you think I could get a drink of water?"
The Hokage agreed, and hurried off to see about it. Once the young man was sure he was gone, he lifted the compass from the bag, label and all, and slung it round his neck by the cord. He gripped it tightly with his right hand and coughed a few times, trying to get his voice back under control. A faint glow appeared around both hand and compass, growing softly until he spoke.
"My son. The circle is now complete. I wish I had had more time with you, but it seems it is not to be. It seems a cruel destiny that I must abandon you to your fate in a strange place, even as my father did the same to me. But my father eventually returned, to pass on my birthright and send me on my quest. There will be no return for me, and I cannot say how sorry about that I am. For that reason, I leave this message, and the letter and items you have just received.
The Sword is part of your birthright. The Compass will lead you to the rest, and the Wraithwhistle will help you get to them. Listen closely for this is your destiny."
He broke off for a moment, closing his eyes and concentrating on an image, bringing it to the forefront of his mind. A magnificent crystalline palace set in an equally wondrous city. "You see Octopon reborn, you see your destiny. Only you can restore...our city...back to its former glory and in so doing...save Mer!" His voice was beginning to fail him again, so he spoke quickly, wanting to be done before his host returned. He brought another image to his mind - a beautiful young brunette with green eyes, dressed in pink clothes and with a wicked knife in hand and matching grin.
"This is your mother, Tula. She is an ecomancer, and you may have inherited her talents. It is those talents that saved your life, as she transferred the last of her own life energies to ensure your survival. Never doubt our love for you, and be sure to live well."
Other images ran quickly through his mind "These are friends, allies, people you can trust." More still "These are enemies, most destroyed or sealed away, but some may yet survive." One last image, "This is the Dark water. Most of it was sealed away to the farthest depths, but some remains, and in time will spread. The only items able to counteract its taint are the treasures of rule. I had retrieved many once, but I was forced to scatter them again to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Your Compass will show you where you need to go."
"His voice was nearly gone now, and he spoke one last time "I wish I had had more time with you, my son. Your mother would feel the same. I feel that one day we shall meet again...on the farthest sea. Remember always my last words to you Naruto, Son of Ren, Son of Primus, Prince of Octopon: 'Always the Quest!'".
With shaking hands, he replaced the compass in the bag, and addressed the letter. The outer envelope simply said 'Naruto'. He turned in his bed to face the Hokage, noting with some amusement the glass of water in his hand and gestured weakly towards the package.
"Give it to him...when he's old enough to understand. Give it to...my son." He waited for the nod before relaxing, letting his eyes drift closed for the last time.
"I'll see you soon...Tula."
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The Hokage had taken more time with the water than he had expected, having been interrupted by a pair of really cute nurses. He arrived back at the patient's room, only to hear him talking through the door.
"...Naruto, Son of Ren, Son of ... of Octo...: '... the Quest!'".
He entered the room to see the man looking even more worn out than before, sealing the envelope with the letter he had written. He turned to see the Hokage, and spoke, voice matching his appearance:
"Give it to him...when he's old enough to understand. Give it to...my son."
The Hokage nodded solemnly to the request, and watched in silence as the man's eyes closed for the last time. Keen ears picked up his final word:
"...Tula."
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A week later, the Hokage was in his office, waiting on news from a scout. He was looking at the latest piece if paperwork in his pile, the one that described the successful caesarean section on one Jane Doe, and the healthy baby - formally named Uzumaki Naruto - resulting from it. The report went on to say how the mothers body had failed and died within minutes after the child was safe, despite all attempts to revive.
He signed the sheet, and sent a glance to a safe in his wall where a certain package was awaiting its owner. He was about to move onto his next report when the scout he had been waiting for burst into the room, panting.
"The Kyuubi...we were right...It's heading this way."
The rest, as they say, is history.