Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Reflections in the Sanguine Eyes

A Weirdo & Bracalibur


In the night six years ago, a strict law has been established. It forbade the villagers from revealing the existence—much less the identity—of the jinchūriki, both to the next generations—those who haven't seen or don't remember the attack—and the outsiders.

Ever since the mass briefing about her status—along with the destruction of any misunderstandings—Namikaze Aoko was regarded as a hero.


"...Stupid Aoko! Stupid Otou-san(father)! Stupid Okaa-san(mother)!"

Every word was emphasized by a solid 'thud' as Naruto's small fists collided with the training long.

He winced when one punch was particularly painful, but managed to ignore it and soldiered on without flinching.

Today certainly didn't make it into his favorites list. It was his first sparring match since the start of the Academy, and he had been utterly humiliated. Naruto was paired against his sister, who wiped the floor with him.

'So much for leaving a good first impressions...' he sniffed.

"Tch. It's useless. Aoko has too great of a headstart."

Unfortunately, that didn't make him feel any better. He didn't even last 10 seconds before Aoko managed to slip into his guard and deal a rather painful elbow to the temple that left him a dazed heap on the ground.

Naruto looked at the sun and sighed, 'It's already 3:48 PM. I should head home or Okaa-san is going to murder me.'

He jogged over to where his school bag was lying and took medical salve and bandages out. His knuckles were all bruised and bloody, and he definitely didn't need more handicaps in future spars or exercises.

Looking to his right, he saw a small but shady tree. After taking several steps toward it, he set down and starting applying the healing salve, followed quickly by the beige bandages.

After he was done, he let his arms fall to the sides and leaned his back and head against the rough bark of the tree, basking in the peaceful silence. He breathed in and out deeply and closed his eyes.

Now that he wasn't vigorously focusing on the task at hand, he could relax and appreciate the sounds of nature – occasional chirping of the birds, the flowing water in the small creek nearby, as well as various sounds the insects were making.

Alas, all things have to come to an end. Sighing again, the redhead got up and started slowly trudging towards his home. The rest has rid him of the energy and adrenaline he felt during the training and he was starting to feel the aches. Naruto really hated that part.

Just as he left the training area, he stopped cold and groaned.

"I forgot my backpack... damn it!"


"Okaa-chan, what's for the dinner?"

Kushina turned her head to her left and saw Aoko leaning against arch in the wall. The girl was wearing slippers, simple white shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt. Her blonde hair was freely flowing down her back, unlike her usual pigtails.

"It's Tanuki Udon, sweetheart."

Aoko beamed when she heard that. It was her favorite. "Mm, how long till it's cooked and ready?"

"I'm done already. Minato is busy and will probably stay in his office till nightfall, so we should just wait for Naruto. I'll set the table. Assist me."

The younger girl pouted but got to work. She knew better than to refuse Kushina.

"Why doesn't he just use his clones? I mean, they always do his paperwork, don't they?"

"It's serious matter. It would be improper to laze around like that."

"Owh, that sucks. When will Naruto be back?"

"Language, young miss!" Kushina reprimaded, "Naruto should be back for dinner."

"Sorry," Aoko didn't sound sorry at all. "Let's get this done fast. I'm starving!"


"Aargh! Where is he? He's 15 minutes late already!"

Kushina frowned, but stayed silent as her daughter whined.

"Can't we just start eating now?"

It was torture. Having her favorite food in front of her, but unable to eat it... she was so going to kick Naruto's ass for this next time she could.

"No, Aoko. That's inappropriate table manners."

Aoko just huffed, but thankfully stayed silent.

As if on cue, sound of door opening was heard, followed by, "Tadaima(I'm home)!"

Several seconds later, Naruto walked into the room. As the scent hit him, he frowned; he wasn't much of a udon fan.

"Naruto," Kushina gave him an evil-eye, "mind explaining why you're so late?"

The said boy looked at her and gulped at the death glare. It was just a tad bit shy of exuding sakki(killing intent).

Before he could come up with an excuse or reply, his mother sighed, "Nevermind. Go wash your hands and sit down. We'll talk about this later."

The redheaded boy nodded and went to do as she said.


When Naruto said down, he noted with some satisfaction that Aoko was glaring at him with irritation. He would probably be punished later, but it was definitely worth it if it caused his sister some pain.

Payback was sweet.

He blew her a raspberry. She kicked him in the shin.

A few minutes later Kushina joined then at the table, and with an unanimous "Itadakimasu!" they started eating.

"So, Naruto," the mother spoke up, "mind explaining why you were late?"

Naruto squirmed under her gaze. He decided to go by the truth, "I.. err, well, I was training..."

Kushina's eyes sharpened, "How many times have we told you not to train on your own?"

Her son scowled, "Well, I wouldn't if you actually trained me!"

Kushina's eyes softened a bit, and she sighed.

"Look, Naruto. You started attending the Academy now, didn't you? They train you. Why are you still insisting so much?"

"Because it's not enough! Everyone had some training before starting. I'm lagging behind!"

It was true. Not only was he soundly defeated in the spar against his sister, but he was slightly higher than average in other subjects at best.

"You'll catch up soo-"

"How come you are training Aoko, then?"

"Naruto, she's different. She needs-"

"What makes her so different from me? We're twins, aren't we? You've been teaching her since she was 4!"

Naruto's voice was rising higher with each sentence. Having enough, Kushina stood up from her seat angrily. Her fiery crimson hair was flying around behind her.

"Stop interrupting me, -tebbane! There is no need for you to know 'why'! You'll find out when you're older. Now shut up and stop complaining!"

Naruto huffed and sharply stood up from his chair, not unlike how his mother did. Turning on his heels, he stormed out of the room.

"Where are you going? Come back this instant!"

"I've lost my appetite," the boy mumbled as he ran up the stairs to his room. He really did. This topic always brought sour taste to his mouth.

Aoko could only watch dumbfounded as the small talk escalated into an intense argument. A few moments after her brother had left, she just shrugged and got back to eating her food.

They'd get over it.


The Next Day

The twins were walking to the Academy.

It was early in the morning and not many civilians were up yet. Naruto envied them. He really wished they—the ninja—could have the freedom of sleeping as much as they wanted. 'Oh well, can't have everything.'

Yawning, he rubbed his deep sky blue eyes. His sister's own were amethyst.

He looked around, scanning for a certain shop.

'There,' he deviated from his path and swiveled to the left.

"Where you goin'?"

Without turning his head toward Aoko, he replied in a dull voice, "Idiot. Iruka-sensei told us to buy a set of kunai and shuriken, remember?"

The girl was too sleepy to come up with a retort for the insult, so she let is slide.

"Oh, right. Comin-"

"Hey, Aoko!"

The twins looked for the source of the voice. It was a girl with long, platinum colored hair and turquoise eyes.

"Hi, Ino-chan!" exclaimed Aoko, like she wasn't asleep on her feet a moment ago. Naruto's eyes narrowed, 'Yamanaka Ino, the heiress of the Yamanaka clan.'

She was somewhere near the top in the booksmarts, pitiful in taijutsu—and that coming from him was a damn big deal—and average in everything else.

He waved her a half-hearted hello, which she returned.

"Naruto, go get me a set too, will'ya? I'll be back in a minute!"

"Fine," he nodded. "Don't take too long or we're gonna be late."

As the girls scampered off to go god-knows-where, he shrugged and looked at the shop's title. It said "Weapon Universe", with a "Anything you need, we deliver!" typed with a smaller text off to the right.

Although rather cliché, the script was done in a cool calligraphy, so he supposed that evened it out.

Naruto walked into the shop. The doorbell jingled when he entered.

The air inside was surprisingly chilly. Shivering, as though ice had replaced his spine, he pulled his black jacket closer to his body. However, not even that could protect him from the deathly cold. "Gee, talk about hyperthermy. The owner of this place seriously needs a medical checkup..." he mumbled quietly to himself.

"'elloo, young man. 'ow may I 'elp you?"

Startled, the redhead whipped his head toward the voice. The man standing behind the counter was rather creepy in his opinion – the skin pale as that of a corpse, bloodshot eyes bulging out of their sockets and slightly reddish, pale hair. He looked to be in his 50s.

Realizing he must've looked like a deer caught in the headlights, the seven year old did his best to regain his composure.

"Erm, hello. I'm looking for shuriken and kunai."

"Ooh? 'ow many?"

"Um, 2 sets each?"

"I'll bring 'em here in a moment. Surely, ye can wait tha' long. Feel free to browse ma' other goods."

"Uh, sure, will do. Take your time..."

'By the gods, even his voice is freaky. And that crooked smile is just plain disturbing,' he shuddered.

Trying to go back to normal and forget that, he decided to take the man up on his suggestion and looked around the shop. It was rather spacious, although a little too dark. Naruto thought a couple of light bulbs wouldn't be harmful. The room was full of all the weapons he knew and even more he didn't. He saw hundreds of different swords, ninja tools and weapons that he honestly had no idea how even worked. Some were traditional, while some looked really different and weird. But all had one thing in common – they were all deadly.

Naruto walked around the shop, closely observing any weapon that caught his interest. A sword here, a staff there, a pair of daggers to the left, and soon he was going deeper into the shop.

That was when he noticed it – a black, dilapidated, wooden door. It wasn't just like any other door, though.

It had cracks in many places, with the roses and vines growing form it, forming a twisted maze and complex symbols on the door.

He didn't know what, but it had something to it that compelled him to open it. It held this strange aura that seemed familiar, so familiar, but he couldn't place his hand on it.

He took a hesitant step toward it. Then another, and another, and a few more, until he was right in front of it. He tentatively placed his hand on the handle, tensed, as if it was going to bite. He muttered, "I really hope I won't get into trouble for this..."

Naruto bit his lip, wondering whether it was a good idea to do this. After a few moments of consideration, he forced an eye roll, "Oh, screw it. Not like the owner's gonna kill me. Besides, he did say to feel free to explore..."

Ignoring the powerful aura surrounding it, he sucked in a deep breath and pushed. The door begrudgingly creaked open. What he saw surprised him greatly. He expected some scary, haunted room due to the odd prescense and the neglected door.

What he saw would be best described as the nature: it was a large place, ground almost fully covered in moss. The habitat contained lots boulders, at least twice his height, all covered in moss, just like the ground. Tall trees, full of beautiful, lawn green leaves shone brightly as they absorbed the sun's light.

'Wait... the sun?! Aren't I indoors?'

With the shocked expression on his face, he entered the room, or whatever it was.

Immediately, the luscious nature aroma invaded his senses. Relaxing, Naruto inhaled the air and relished the exquisite sensation. The climate of the area was moist and tropical, and the moss was soft to walk on, he thought idly as he strolled around the place.

Naruto's head was like a 3d camera as his head swiveled around to view as much as possible. The sky was blue, sun shined brightly, and everything was normal as far as he could see. Long, green vines extended from the trees, forming arcs or simply falling down toward the ground. Small, dull rock mountains, all covered in green moss, were noticeable. There was surprisingly small amount of bushes and other smaller plants on the ground.

He heard the sound of slow moving water and walked towards it to investigate. There was only one river in Konoha, and he was sure it was quite a bit away from this place.

His short jaunt ended when he climbed a boulder and saw a sight that seemed to be created for a very sore pair of eyes: a medium-sized river full of absolutely crystal clear water that flowed calmly but surely. Strangely, there were no fish in it. Blinking, Naruto decided to walk upward and find the source. He was painfully tempted to test the water, but knew better – it could've been poisoned or trapped, or something even worse. He wasn't taking the risk.

It wasn't long until the sound of slowly moving water was replaced by the sound of rapid, rushing water.

The source of the river seemed to be a large waterfall which came out of the cracks in a mountain. It was at least 15 meters in height, and 2-3 meters in length. Water was roaring as it fell with crushing pressure. Foam that was formed by it dissipated as the rushing water turned into a slower river several feet away.

But Naruto's eyes were neither on the waterfall, nor on the river, or even water in general.

They were on the large rock in the center of the waterfall. Strangely, it was barely covered in moss. But it radiated pure, unadulterated power. Somehow, it triggered his fight or flight instinct.

Naruto moved closer to it. His mind thought it was better idea to flee, but the legs moved on their own, as if hypnotized. Amazingly enough, the strong current of water did nothing to slow him down.

When he was only a few feet away, he noticed that what was radiating power wasn't the rock, but the strange object buried halfway in it. Curiosity killing him, he got even closer and took a look.

It was a bronze bracelet, but reflected golden light and shined almost scathingly brightly. It was rather plain in regards to the shape and decorations – like a long rectangle bent with a few hinges and made into a circle.

Naruto thought it looked very beautiful.

His hand moved to touch it. A feet away. Half a feet away. An inch away. A centimeter away...

The closer he got to it, more power he felt filled his veins.

"Do ye like it?"

Naruto yelped and jumped. His arms shot in front of him defensive position and he hunched his legs slightly – a basic stance taught in the Academy.

It was the shopkeeper. He was standing on the water and leaned against a boulder. He had an amused glint in his deranged eyes. It wasn't surprising that he was a ninja – a civilian could hardly run a weapon shop.

'That bastard...' Naruto's breath was short and ragged as his wide eyes stared at the man in surprise and anger. He forced himself calm and lowered his arms, slipping out of the combat-ready position.

"Good reflexes," the man said as he sauntered over to him in a really weird walk. Naruto wasn't sure if he detected sarcasm in his statement.

The boy was unnerved as the man got a little too close to him for his liking and tried to step back, but the bastard hopped around from one leg to another, circling him. He poked him in the ribs. Naruto scowled and jumped back. He was getting really aggravated with the madman. "Stop. Seriously. You're freaking me out."

"You're alive."

The man seemed to state that more for himself than the redhead

"Yea- what? Duh, of course I'm alive. Am I supposed to not be?"

The man ignored him. Naruto bristled, 'That's it! Screw politeness!'

"Hey, listen to me, you old damn sandba-"

"This bracelet," the man's voice sounded so sad and wistful that Naruto's irritation died down in an instant, "is the mos' prized weapon of ma' clan."

Naruto stared at him, dumbfounded. Sure, this man had loads of different types of weapons, but a plain bracelet? 'This definitely takes the cake.'

Still, he didn't interrupt, letting the man continue, "Only de sstrongest and worthy were allowed to use it. It 'ould kill anyone elsse who tried – boiled deir blood. The fact that you're alive is quite a feat."

"Well, I didn't actually touch it," interjected alarmed Naruto. His heart was hammering in his chest. 'Good thing I didn't. Gee, I should've just chosen another shop. One with, y'know, less life-threatening hazards...'

"Yeah, thankfully," the man agreed with a nod of his head, "I'd hate to 'ave to explain the death of a kid in ma' shop."

"Wow," the boy grumbled, "really feeling the concern here."

"An'way," the man chirped with a slight maniacal grin, "we better get back to de shop. It's dangerous in here."

Naruto was about to nod when he felt strong impact and the air was forced out of his lungs. His eyes widened and mouth opened in silent scream as the world blurred around him. A moment later, it all stopped. He fell to the floor, wheezing and coughing.

"Shunshin no Jutsu," the man supplied helpfully, "you'll learn it soon enough. Unless you completely lack any talent, of course."

Naruto sent him the best scathing death glare he could muster. Unfortunately, a seven year old on the floor on his hands and knees wasn't very intimidating.

The man wasn't affected, which only fueled Naruto's irritation. He got up and dusted himself.

"Just tell me how much I should pay for those damn kunai and shuriken and I'm outta here!"

"Well, it's-"

"Naruto! What the hell's taking you so long!" Aoko stormed into the shop, "All you had to do is buy a couple of sets of common weapons! We're late now!"

"Hmph! I could say same for you! Where were you?"

The girl faltered a bit, "I-I, I was..."

"Oh! Ye must be de Hokage's children. Pleased to meet ye!"

"Yes," Aoko replied, "now can we get the weapons my idiot of a brother hopefully told you about? How much does it cost?"

"Yess, he told me. It's on de house for you!"

"Oh, thanks," she was far too used to this to be surprised.

Naruto, on the other hand, scowled and grit his teeth, restraining himself from pummeling the man into the ground. To think that he treated him like some second-hand bastard child but changed his demeanor like he had multiple personality disorder on sight of Aoko was infuriating. It was always like that – he was no one, while his sister was everything.

'Calm down, Naruto. It's not like this is the first time.'

The boy sighed and shook his head, using the meditation exercise taught in the Academy to dissipate the anger bubbling inside him.

Taking the ninja tools from him, the kids put it in their weapon's pouches that came as gifts and departed quickly after giving their thanks. Well, Naruto's 'thank you' was torturous, but the shopkeeper just brushed it off.

The door closed with a jingle.

The shopkeeper huffed and sat down.

"Ha, he didn't even ask ma' name," he grumbled, "'ow rude!"

As he thought over the recent events, he gained a normal, sane expression and a satisfied smile crossed his face.


"Ugh, great. We are 15 minutes late now."

"Stop whining, Aoko, and open the damn door!"

"Nu-uh. It's 'cuz of you we're late. Take the responsibility! You're going in first, -ttebayo!"

It wasn't, but Naruto was too exasperated to argue. So he pushed the door open.

And promptly dodged the eraser thrown at him.

"Naruto! Mind explaining why you're late?"

The said boy sighed, 'Great, I'm gonna be the laughingstock today.'

"Er, I got carried away in a shop?"

He winced when the words left his mouth. 'Well, I could've been more eloquent...'

"And then spent 2 minutes arguing behind the door with your sister?"

He winced again. Damn his sister and their stealth.

"...I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei."

The instructor sighed and shook his head, "Fine. Sit down. You too, Aoko! You'll be served detention!"


In the end, Naruto decided to skip his punishment—cleaning the classroom, how cliché—in order to train, even if he'd be scolded hard by Iruka the next day. Extra training definitely wouldn't hurt him. Leaving all the work to Aoko totally wasn't the main reason for this.

...it was her fault he got caught up in this mess, after all!

He shook his head free of such thoughts and placed his backpack on the ground, started doing stretches and warm-ups when a voice interrupted him.

"It's rude to use others' personal training grounds without permission, you know?"

He glanced back and saw a young man with short, unkempt, dark-colored hair, a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, that were turns upwards at each end.

"I don't see your name anywhere on it. Do you?"

"Mah, stop being so snarky, kid. Do you even know my name?"

"No, and I don't think I want to."

The stranger just smiled and turned his back, pointing at the clan crest on his back, "Uchiha Shisui, nice to meet ya!"

'Great, another Uchiha jerk,' Naruto's lips thinned.

"Namikaze Naruto. Likewise."

Still, Kushina would kill him if she found out he were anything but polite.

Shisui didn't give any indication that he recognized his surname or that it changed anything. Either he was ridiculously oblivious or he didn't care. Naruto secretly hoped it was the latter.

"And like I said, I don't see your name anywhere."

"Fair enough. But it's common knowledge and no one other than me really uses it. Though, I guess an ignorant brat like you wouldn't know," he eye-smiled.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched at the remark, but didn't respond to the provocation that so obvious that even a child like him saw through it.

"What do you want? I'm not leaving this place till I'm done."

"Fine, fine. No need to get so riled up. How about a deal?"

The redheads eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What kind of a deal?"

The Uchiha smirked, "I'll help you with your training today. If I deem you good enough, you can keep coming here and I'll help you out. If not, then today is the last time you'll ever use this training ground."

"How good do I have to be to live up to your standards? How do I know you won't just deem me weak no matter what?"

Shisui's smirk turned into a small grin. "Eh, you're pretty smart for your age. Don't worry, though, I won't be biased. I'm not a sore loser. I'll set high but fair standards for your age."

Naruto thought over the offer. If he lost the bet, he'd simply move to another training ground. On the other hand, if he won, he'd be getting a private tutor.
No matter how annoying this guy was, the redhead still easily recognized his name – Shunshin no Shisui, or Shisui of the Body Flicker. He was a legendary ninja. Someone so strong as a teacher would definitely be a paramount of help.

In the end, all the thinking process took less than 10 seconds.

He grinned, "You're on!"


"So the prophecy finally begins."

A shady figure watched the two meet from afar, standing on the branch of a tree. His voice was ominous, and he radiated aura of extreme danger.

"Shall we kill him?"

Another figure appeared, rising from the branch.

"No," the man answered, "let's see how this plays out. Where's the fun without a challenge?"

"Be careful," another figure warned, "playing with fire is dangerous. Make sure it won't burn you in the end."

A menacing chuckle was the reply.

"Do not fret. I will not fail in our goal."


The End of Chapter 1


I'm sorry this took so long to update, but 4,350 words are pretty damn a lot. Hope you like it! Feedback is important, and if you have any ideas where I can improve, please tell me so, either in PM, or more appropriately, in a review.

Thank you guys for so much support and feedback you've provided me so far, and I hope I didn't disappoint.

The next chapter will probably be up by the end of this week.

Warning: I may end up changing several events in the timeline so it will fit the plot I've devised, so do not be surprised. The next chapter might already show a difference. Rest assured, changes aren't very major.