A/N: This chapter contains time skips and may seem rushed to some but there is a reason and that reason is I really want to get to the Fairy tail crossover part of the story but that will most likely be around chapter 5 and I have quite a bit to fit in before then. Please enjoy and remember to review :)
Chapter 2
A second chance deserved?
"I can't let you hurt her!"
His young voice echoed throughout the chamber, bouncing of the finely crafted walls and ceiling. No one said anything for a while, but Naruto stood strong in his blatant defiance. Of all people to say anything it was Karen who broke the silence, much to the surprise of everyone as she had been completely silent up until this point.
"what are you doing brat? Don't get involved in matters you can't comprehend" her voice was harsh and filled with poison, but behind it there was a hint of confusion and feelings she would have never directed his way before, no matter how small it was it was still there, gratitude.
'no, no! I won't fall for his demonic tricks, I won't!'
"I don't need protection brat! Especially not from you!"
Her comment seemed to bounce off him without affecting him in the slightest, instead, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and gave her a blinding smile that just left her more confused. However, it was his next words that completely blew her away.
"I heard everything Karen-san, but don't worry, I forgive you, I don't know why you don't like me, but if hating me makes you feel better than just go right ahead and dump all your hatred on me, I'd be happy to take it away from you"
It was like a stab in the heart, a sudden realization that hit her like a slap to the face. For years since the attack of the nine-tails she had blamed the young boy and hated him with a passion. She'd planned, arranged and orchestrated multiple attacks on his life and yet here he was, smiling like an idiot and forgiving her as if it's the easiest thing in the world to do.
'b-but he's supposed to be a demon! Why do I feel so guilty!'
She couldn't help the single tear that slid down her face, nor could she help the second or third. Soon enough she was silently sobbing in her seat, her head down and her hair splayed across her face hiding it from view. The other council members on both sides could only look on in mutual shock as the otherwise composed woman broke down before them, no one knew quite how to approach this situation or how to comfort the woman, those who wanted to anyway. Naruto, unsure of what else to do, approached the woman and wrapped his arms around her shaking frame, holding her in a gentle embrace. Her breath caught slightly for a moment, but soon enough she had wrapped her arms around his small body, returning the embrace, muttering constant apologies over and over again.
Hiruzen for his part could only look on in pride as his surrogate grandson had shown more compassion and understanding than any other person in the room. Though this was still a difficult situation, he couldn't let her get away with her crime as she'd already been found guilty. To release her scot free would only encourage others to make such attempts in the future. 'maybe there's another way around this' he thought as he stroked his chin in thought. Whatever alternative he came up with would have to have meaning otherwise it would be pointless. That's when it hit him, even if it was so sudden she'd obviously come to regret her past actions and would probably be looking for a way to atone for it, so why not involve Naruto? He lived alone and that probably wasn't the best idea security wise, and since she had wronged him surely whatever punishment she had should in some way benefit the boy. With that thought in mind he prepared to reveal his punishment, clearing his throat he gained the attention of those around him including the hugging pair who look up at him, one in slight confusion and interest, the other through tear stained eyes.
"well, although this is quite the touching scene I still need to hand down my punishment" when Naruto looked like he would interject Hiruzen held his hand up to silence the boy, when that didn't work, it was Karen who silenced him by placing a gentle hand on his shoulder sending a small smile his way.
"it's ok Naruto, I did wrong, those who do wrong should be punished"
Her words seemed to quiet him down for now but the face he made obviously showed his unhappiness. The old man smiled at the scene, it was in that moment that he knew his decision was the right one.
"yes well, back to business, I put a lot of thought into your punishment and before we were interrupted I had planned on giving you a life sentence"
Narutos eyes went wide at that, he may be young but he knew what that meant. It meant she'd never get out of prison and he didn't want that. His thoughts and worries were put to rest however as the Hokage continued his announcement, although he wasn't sure what to make of it.
"however, I have taken into account your obvious regret of your actions and have decided upon a new punishment"
Clearing his throat so that everyone could fully understand him he continued.
"Karen Haruno, I sentence you to nine years' community service in which you spend your time caring for Naruto in any of his needs which will include house cleaning, education for him outside the academy and personal guidance in any matters that he may struggle with, this will take effect as of tomorrow morning, until then, you will be expected to stay at home until someone comes to fetch you in the morning"
With his piece said the Hokage stood from his chair and approached the pair who had yet to say anything. He bent down to their level despite his aching bones and sent a friendly smile at the woman which only seemed to unnerve her further.
"you've been given a second chance Haruno-san, but I wonder if you deserve it? I guess we'll find out"
The woman merely nodded before he fixed his stare on Naruto who shivered slightly under the intensity.
"now Naruto, although I have every bit of confidence in Haruno-sans want to prove herself, I want you to make sure that if anything goes wrong that you come and tell me directly okay?"
The young boy beamed at his Jii-san and nodded enthusiastically.
"sure thing Jii-san! But you don't have to worry, I'm sure there won't be any problems"
The Hokage just couldn't get enough of the little boy's enthusiasm, it was enough to brighten anyone's day. With his piece said the Hokage and the rest of the council left the room escorted by his personal Anbu leaving a still confused Karen, a happy Naruto and an upset Kizashi. Kizashi had listened in to everything without saying a word, he was disappointed to find out that his wife had been involved in such a plot, he could understand her hatred of the boy if she had lost someone in the attack, but she hadn't lost a single person that night, not a family member and not a friend. So where did her hatred stem from? Was it just out of loyalty to her village or even himself? Or had something more sinister been involved? He would have to find out, so with these questions in mind he made his way over to his beloved wife and the object of her, now supposed previous, hatred. He himself had never hated the boy, he knew the difference between a scroll and a kunai and so only directed his hatred to that of the beast itself and not its jailor. Kneeling down in front of his wife he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him, although he could tell she wasn't really looking, more likely she was in deep thought over the previous events.
"are you ok love?"
His question seemed to break her out of her thoughts as she spoke in a slightly croaked voice, probably the result of her crying and the stress of the night combined.
"y-yes, I suppose I am"
He smiled gently at her before looking towards the boy next to them, who seemed to be feeling a little out of place where he stood.
"and how are you Naruto-kun?"
The boy seemed surprised at the question, but answered all the same.
"yeah I'm ok Kizashi-san, just a little tired"
It was true, the events of the night had finally caught up with him and the bags under his eyes seemed to be more prominent, his eyes were a constant struggle to keep open and he swayed slightly on the spot.
"well then, I suppose we should get you home for some rest" with a friendly smile Kizashi offered his hands to both his wife and Naruto, the former taking it with a slight hesitation, throwing unsure glances at the young boy next to them. 'how can a boy so young make me feel so guilty and yet so reassured' was just one of the thoughts swirling in her emotionally tormented mind. The trio left the council chambers and made their way out into the night's air, it was only a couple of hours till midnight and unsurprisingly they were all a little exhausted. Eventually they arrived at Narutos rundown apartment, during the journey Naruto had begun to fall asleep on the spot, so Kizashi had picked him up and allowed him to fall asleep in his arms. As he was about to climb the steps to the young boy's apartment he was stopped by a gentle hand on his arm. He looked back to see his wife with a determined yet somewhat unsure expression on her face.
"p-pass him to me, I'll take him up myself, alone if you don't mind"
He knew he should trust his wife but the idea of leaving her alone with the very child that she had been trying to get rid of only a few hours earlier unsettled him slightly. He wasn't quite ready to forgive his wife for what she had done; what human being would attempt to harm a child? But he'd already lost one wife, however long it took he knew he would have to forgive her one day, but it was a long road to that point. But all long roads start and finish with a step, he would have to take the first one now.
"ok love, I'll be out here if you need me"
She smiled gratefully and took the young boy in her arms gently, a gentleness she only ever used on her daughter and husband he noted. With another smile and a nod, she climbed the rickety stairs up to the rundown apartment. She hadn't been there before, only knowing its location from seeing the boy walk into it a few times in the past. She glanced down at the boy in her arms, a sad, guilt filled smile on her face. How had she allowed herself to be brought into such a situation? The old her would have never even thought of harming a child, no matter the reason. She had listened to the other members of the councils bad mouthing for so long that she herself had begun to hate the child, it didn't help that her daughter's birth mother had been killed by the nine-tailed demon and so throughout the years she had rapidly sunk into a pit of hate and despair, finding any reason necessary to rid the village of the child most thought of as a demon.
Finally, she reached the battered door of his apartment, no doubt in such a state due to the immense amount of break-ins the child had. She was shocked to find the door unlocked and completely free for anyone to get in, but then she remembered the previous events and came to the conclusion that after being found by those men, 'men I sent' she thought guiltily', that he had no chance to lock his door as he was chased from his bed.
Pushing it aside she was further shocked as to find the disgusting condition his apartment had been left in. the floor boards were bare and slightly moldy, the walls were stained with various discoloring that could have come from any number of things and what wallpaper it did have was peeling away. A smell of rotten food and other unpleasantries filled her nostrils and she could only feel the guilt pilling onto her already heavy shoulders. With slow, heavy footsteps she made her way through the damp corridor, the hallway was short and eventually opened up into a small living room to the left with a just as small kitchen to the right. Piles of used and unwashed dishes littered both rooms as well as different items of clothes that had obviously seen better days. A single battered sofa sat against the closest wall with a small wooden coffee table that looked like it had been salvaged from a nearby dump. The only item that seemed to have had any care at all was a single aloe vera plant that seemed to have grown to an unusually large size in the corner of the room. Straight ahead of her was the door to his room that stood slightly ajar. Pushing it open with her shoulder, careful not to hit the boys shoulder, she made her way into the room and was surprised to find it spotlessly clean. The bed was made; what little clothes he had were neatly filed away into a three draw dresser. This room seemed to be the only one with a carpet which was a dark blue and showed obvious signs of cleaning. All in all, it surprised her that out of all the rooms he would keep clean it would be this one.
Gently and with care she pulled back the covers with one hand and placed the boy snuggly beneath its warmth, taking extra care not to wake him. She delicately tucked the blanket around his small frame, much like she would do with her daughter Sakura, but instead of leaving she sat on the edge of his bed and stared at his lightly snoring figure. She still couldn't figure out how just one act from the boy could change her heart so quickly, it was something she simply couldn't explain. Without noticing it until it was too late, she silently began sobbing again, the tears she thought had dried up had come back with force and it didn't show signs of stopping. Images of a life that could have been for the boy flashed through her mind and only cause the tears to intensify until she could barely breath. She never noticed the shift in the blankets or the arms that were around her until it was too late. Two thin arms had wrapped around her body from her front. She couldn't bare the thought of looking up and seeing his face and so she wrapped her arms around him, returning the embrace that was all too needed in the situation. Why couldn't she have seen the real Naruto before? Why had it taken her getting caught and almost being sent away for life to really notice what an amazing child he really was? An extra pair of arms, these ones much larger, embraced the pair as well, these belonging to her husband. He had heard his wife crying from outside and couldn't bare the thought of leaving her alone, not when she was this vulnerable. When he had come into the apartment he had followed the noise of despair and came upon his wife, the image of her sobbing next to a sleeping child would forever be on his mind. He was only young himself, being only twenty-four, but he had seen things in his life that people his age really shouldn't, he had lost his parents to the Kyuubi as well as his dear wife and he had lost friends to attacks on the village. For the first few months after the attack he had been thrown into a deep depression, only ever leaving the house to buy food and groceries. It wasn't until his old school friend Karen had come along to help bring him away from that side of himself that he truly realized what a god send she was, for months she helped care for Sakura, taking care of her needs whilst he tried to get his business back up and running. Eventually, after he had managed to clear his mind and focus on the important things, he had realized that he could never hope of raising Sakura all on his own, so as soon as he could he was out searching for a new wife. Many thought he had tried to move on too quickly, some had even suggested that he never loved his wife in the first place, those people were immediately sent to the hospital with multiple injuries. He searched high and low, constantly going out on dates to try and woo a potential mother figure, but it was all for naught. After that he resigned himself to being a single parent, he would hire someone to run his business for him and he would be the father he needed to be.
That was when he realized he had been looking in all the wrong places, he had come home one night to find Karen sitting by his fireplace with his darling Sakura in her arms, singing her a lullaby that her own mother used to sing to her. So entranced was he by the scene that he stood there for a full hour, never moving an inch for fear of disturbing the warmth that had taken over the room. It would continue like this for some time, he would come back from a hard day's work to find Karen singing to his child or playing with her if he got home early and before long he had fallen for her. At first he was reluctant to approach the subject of love with the woman, she had after all been his best friend and a part of his mind told him that his feelings were wrong and that they betrayed his dear wife's memory. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore and approached her one day after work, once she'd settled Sakura in bed. He had told her of his feelings, both his love and his reluctance. At first he thought he might have scared her away, but before he could apologize for stepping out of line she had crashed her lips against his own and admitted that she too had come to love both him and Sakura and couldn't imagine a world without either of them. They made love for the first time that night, basking in each other's warmth for the first of many times to come. A year later they were married and living together and neither of them could be happier.
Some thought it was a political marriage of sorts, the marriage between a successful businessman and the daughter of a small time merchant. But they put those rumors out of their minds and had been living together peacefully and lovingly for the past six years now. To Karen's joy Sakura's first words had been 'mommy' and she had rejoiced for days on end about it. though after a while she had her own doubts about her capabilities as a mother, she would constantly ask 'how can I raise a child as a good mother when one day she will know she is not my own?', she cried for hours one night about it until he had consoled her, telling her that his late wife would be grateful beyond compare that she had taken her child under her wing and been where she couldn't. life since had been amazing to say the least.
He was brought out of his musings by his wife asking the young boy a question that he could barely hear through her choked sobs.
"w-why do y-you forgive m-me so easily?"
The child in her arms looked up at her with a small smile that sent a warmth through them both. His answer was one neither of them expected, it was simply too grown up and too wise of an answer to of come from a child so young, but then again they supposed that due to his hard life he had been forced to grow up quicker than others in his age group.
"everyone deserves a second chance, what is the use in having a thing such as forgiveness if we never use it?"
Karen only held him tighter, embracing him with as much love as she could, though she knew it would never make up for the things she had done. Eventually Kizashi felt both of them go limp in his arms and was unsurprised to see both of them snoring lightly in a deep sleep. Gently he laid both of them onto the bed and pulled the covers over the pair to keep them both warm throughout the night, he wouldn't disturb them now, not after what the pair had been through. With that in mind he left the pair asleep and made his way through the house towards the door, they had left Sakura at his cousin's house for the night to play with her child so he didn't need to worry about returning home to care for her. Upon opening the door, he came upon the partially shadowed figure of the Hokage leaning over the balcony of the second floor complex, his pipe lit and a calm exterior.
"Hokage-sama, I suppose you're here to check on young Naruto-kun?"
"I am indeed, though I see he is in capable hands"
Kizashi joined him in leaning over the balcony, gazing out into the midnight village. Both were silent for a time before Kizashi spoke again.
"I want to apologize for my wife's behavior Hokage-sama, she let herself be influenced by others and I should have been there to put a stop to it sooner"
The Hokage took a deep puff on his pipe before releasing it slowly into the night air before answering, never turning away from the village scene as he spoke.
"many people were affected by the Kyuubi attack six years ago, the scars of that night run deep and many are unwilling to let old wounds heal. Many people see Naruto as nothing but a reminder of that night and believe that the only way to cure their own hearts is to get rid of the thing that reminds them its broken"
"your wife was the victim of a disease that runs rampant through the body of Konoha, that disease is hate and until Naruto is old enough to prove himself a loyal and dependable member of this village, that disease will continue to rot away at our villages very soul"
The Hokage stood up and began making his way towards the stairway after placing a quick security seal on Naruto's door to protect its two inhabitants. Kizashi followed closely behind as they walked towards the center of Konoha where both their houses were located.
"I believe your wife will be one of just many that will be positively affected by Narutos natural warmth and I believe she will play an important role in turning him into the man he will one day become"
Kizashi nodded in understanding with a smile on his face, his heart filled with confidence and anticipation.
"I believe you are right Hokage-sama"
With that the two separated from each other, both on their way to a peaceful night's slumber.
Six months later
It had been six months since that night and a lot had happened in Narutos life that could only be for the better. The morning after Karin's sentencing she had begun her duties as Narutos carer with a vigor she had not displayed in a long time. She had started with his apartment, spending the majority of the day cleaning and redecorating with the help of her husband, giving the apartment a new lease of life. The rest of the day was spent taking Naruto out shopping for clothes and getting to know him better. At first the people around them stared at them in confusion but those looks quickly turned to hard glares of disgust and hatred mainly aimed at Naruto, but after coming to the conclusion that she was now a 'demon lover' as most would put it, a lot of the glares were centered on herself as well. However, she was still the wife of the head of the Haruno family and she would not put up with any sort of disrespect from her fellow civilians or even a few ninjas. The glares she sent back at them quickly made them glance away nervously, unsure about what the councilwoman would do if they tried to stand against her. The rest of the day she found surprisingly joyful, thanks to Narutos constant laughter and energy she couldn't help but find it all contagious and on more than one occasion she would find herself smiling and laughing alongside him.
Karen's journey towards repaying the boy for his forgiveness however would hit a rocky road on a rare occasion where she would catch herself before she said something terrible to him out of habit or she would find herself wondering whether or not he truly was a demon, but in the end she always came back to what he said that night and would find herself shaking her head in disappointment and shame before going right back to sharing his smiles.
Arata's meeting with Naruto was postponed in order to let Naruto adjust to his new relationship with his new carer and so it wasn't until a week later that they actually met again. Arata and Hiruzen had explained to Naruto that Arata would be teaching him for the next nine years in ways of defending himself from threats and learning how to protect those important to him. Naruto's shouts of joy could be heard throughout the village and caused more than a few heads to turn. For months afterwards Naruto was put some of the most grueling training in his life. Every morning he was expected to run several laps of his apartment complex followed by a multitude of pushups and sit ups, once he was finished he was allowed to have breakfast, which to his quite vocal upset wasn't ramen. When the afternoon came round Arata would run him through different meditation methods, trying to find the one that suited him most, Arata realized how difficult his attempts at training Naruto would be when he saw just how restless the boy was, being unable to sit still for more than five seconds before bouncing around again. After several attempts at meditation the pair would then move on to taijutsu, as Naruto was still quite young he hadn't had any form of extensive training in the area, which suited Arata just fine as the type of training he had in mind could only be taught to a fresh mind and not one that is restricted to the training they'd already received. Before leaving for their homes Naruto would perform more laps of his apartment complex followed by another round of pushups and sit ups.
When the two separated for the night, Naruto would come home to find Karin already there with his food for the night prepared. In their time together they had grown closer than any thought possible, most would look upon the pair and could almost believe they were looking at mother and son, except for the obvious visual difference between the pair. Karin herself couldn't believe just how much she had been affect by the boy and had become the first to jump to his defence in times of ridicule. As per her sentencing, she would come to his apartment every morning to prepare breakfast and get him ready for his training. During his time away she would stay behind for a while to make sure everything was clean and put away before going home to look after Sakura. Explaining to Sakura that she'd have to share her kaa-san had been an interesting time, the little girl had demanded to know why the 'village idiot' as she'd put it, needed her mother as well, she had been instantly scolded for referring to Naruto in such a way and had even been told to treat him better at school or she would be punished. Reluctantly she had given Naruto a chance, though it was a bit rocky at first the two children had eventually come to find a sort of companionship in each other, though she would still berate him if he got into a confrontation with 'her Sasuke-kun'. By the end of the six months Narutos training had come on in leaps and bounds, his strength had improved tremendously and to the relief of Arata, he had finally been able to sit for more than five minutes in meditation, although It still wasn't a long time, it was longer than when they had started.
Across the village at training ground seven, Naruto and Arata were in the middle of a spar while Karin and Sakura watched on from a picnic blanket. Although he had improved, Naruto was still nowhere near Arata's level and it showed in their spars.
Naruto was trying his best to get past Arata's defense by moving as quickly as he could, moving in a flurry of movements Naruto brought his fist towards Arata in a jab quickly followed by an attempted upper cut. Arata blocked both moves with the palms of his hands before swinging his leg round in a kick that connected with Narutos chest sending him flying backwards onto his back with a cry. Naruto laid there breathing heavily while Arata stood barely affected at all. Groaning slightly Naruto sat up on his knees, sweat dripping from his forehead. Arata came over and helped him up giving him a soft pat on the head and a smile.
"you're doing great Naruto, by the time I've finished with you, you'll be able to give most Jounin a run for their money"
Naruto loved being complimented by his sensei, he'd always craved someone's approval and now that he had it, he couldn't get enough of it. the duo made their way over to Karin and Sakura and joined them at their picnic. Karin had become interested in Naruto's training as he had always been too tired to talk about it when he came home, she had also become interested in just who was training him as she had become somewhat protective over him. She smiled at the both of them as they sat down with them and offered both of them a bento box each to recover some energy. She was surprised when Sakura got up and moved closer to Naruto to eat with him, both of them smiling at each other in a way only the closest of friends would. She couldn't have been happier when they had become friends, it was a slow process but now they were practically inseparable, a couple of the mums at the academy had told her that on more than one occasion Sakura had been seen beating up bullies that would pick on him and had even berated her other friend Ino when she had tried to mock him. Altogether she was one happy mother.
"Arata-sensei, what else will I be learning?" so far Naruto had only been told the very basics of what he'd be learning and over the months he had become more and more curious.
Arata seemed to ponder on an answer for a couple of seconds before clearing his throat and taking out a small red scroll out of his robe. Placing it on the floor between them and rolling it out, it revealed a strange sort of seal with the kanji for 'silence' on it. when Arata placed his hand on the scroll and channeled a small amount of chakra into it, a red dome appeared around the four which only drew questioning gazes in his direction, seeing the gazes he decided to elaborate.
"this dome prevents anyone from hearing our conversation and also places a genjutsu on us that prevents lip reading, it also blurs out anything I may show you, it was created by a friend and can be used an unlimited amount of times"
The others seemed to nod in understanding though Naruto was a little more hesitant as he didn't know all that much about seals and genjutsu.
"what I'm about to tell you Naruto cannot be revealed to anyone else, only the Hokage and I know about it and I'm only letting Sakura-chan and Karin-san in on it because you trust them"
He pulled a second scroll out of his rob which was a dark, forest green and bound in dark leather. He placed it next to the other scroll and rolled it out as well. This time it revealed three images, the first was a strange red cross with each side slightly inverted, the second was a black, double sided battle axe and the third and final image was an image of a pair of wings. The images only proved to confuse the others around them more and made it visual with the looks they gave him.
"this scroll was discovered thousands of years ago by a group of traveling monks inside a cave within the mountains of fire country, alongside it was various other scrolls that gave incredibly in depth instructions on how to use a strange energy source that could replace chakra, this power source was said to have been used before even the age of the sage of six paths and could be used to do incredibly powerful things. After years of study, the monks were finally able to unlock this new source and attempted to unlock the contents of this scroll, it was said that inside it was an ability that could only be used by this new energy source and could only be used by one person and then once that person died, another could use it"
"did they find out what it was?"
"yes Naruto they did, and there have been many people since then that have been able to use what is inside, though it hasn't been used since it's last user, which happened to of been my father"
Karin looked up at this with intrigue.
"your father Arata-san? Then how come you don't use it?"
"yes my father, it was for this reason that my uncle killed him in his virus induced sleep and not on the open battlefield"
Arata had already told the others about his clan's fait but had left out details on Narutos father by the Hokages request. It was still difficult to talk about but it seemed to get easier with time.
"and the reason I don't use it is because I was never able to unlock this other energy source even though I went through years of extensive training to try and acquire it, my father assumed it was because there was too little of it inside my body to unlock"
That was understandable to Karin, there were a lot of people throughout the world that simply had too little chakra to call upon and so it was reasonable to assume that the same happened with this new source of power, though she was still intrigued to find out more about this ancient, and from what she could gather, powerful ability.
"so what does this ability do? It must be pretty powerful if only one person can use it at a time"
"this scroll stores an ability that allows a person to transform into, and control, three different types of warrior spirit, each one with its own unique abilities"
Narutos eyes widened at the implications of such an ability and the excitement at the thought of using it grew within him until he couldn't stay quiet any longer.
"that's so cool! What types of warriors are they!?" the others could practically feel the excitement rolling off of him and could only smile in amusement at his childish wonder.
"the first time I saw my father use it was during a trip to rock country, we were attacked by a group of bandits that were armed to the teeth. When my father's men went to intercept them, my father told them to stand back and protect his family while he dealt with them, at first I thought the looks the men gave were of disappointment but later I realized that they were in fact looks of pity for the bandits that my father was about to face"
Naruto could barely contain himself and it showed by his constant fidgeting which was quickly getting on Sakura's nerves, although she couldn't help but admit that she too was excited at the thought of what happened next.
"the next thing I know there's a bright light and where my father previously stood, in his place now stood an armored figure with a long sword and a shield, he had this strange red cross on his armor and shield that I couldn't identify. He raised his sword in an unfamiliar stance and charged the men at a speed that could not be traced by the human eye, within seconds the bandits were dead, completely slaughtered without being given the chance to defend themselves"
The others listened on in awe, the story captivating them completely. So far they had only learnt about the first warrior spirit and it sounded impressive all on its own.
"the second time he used it, we were out hunting in the mountains of iron country, I was still young and he was teaching me to hunt. Around noon, I managed to track down male deer, its antlers were like a fine art with the way they curved and came to a point. I'll never forget when I took it down with one shot, my father said it was the most perfect shot he'd ever seen a child of my age make"
He trailed of slightly and the look in his eyes was a look of reminiscence, as if he was imagining being right back there after taking that perfect shot. He shook away the feeling and continued with his story.
"we were in the middle of preparing the deer to be taken back to our lodge when a loud, purely animalistic growl came from behind us. When we turned around we saw the biggest grizzly either of us had ever seen, it easily stood over my father by at least another five feet. Before we could do anything it charged and went straight for me. My father pushed me away and ran to intercept the beast, when I saw the light of his ability I was expecting the same armored figure… I had never been more wrong. The light surrounding my father simply grew and grew until it was as tall as the tallest trees, when it faded it was replaced by a gigantic warrior of epic proportions, it had leather arm guards covered in spikes that came from its hands to its shoulders, large iron leg guards which split off into two sharp claws at the end of its feet, its waist was covered by a leather material, its torso covered by an iron plate with the carving of a ram on it that started at its pelvis and finished just beneath its chest leaving its chest bare to the elements, upon its head sat a helmet that completely covered its face apart from two eye holes, two long horn like spikes came from both sides of the helmet. But what was truly terrifying was the gigantic double sided battle axe that it carried in its right hand, it was easily half the height of the giant"
An image of a truly terrifying beast flashed through the groups mind and the girls could only flinch in slight fear whilst Naruto listened on in wonder, the thought of one day transforming into such a beast riddling his young mind.
"my father's new form made him look like a monster and yet with his beastly form he produced an aura of completely encompassing warmth"
He didn't need to finish the story, it was quite obvious to the others what happened next and the thought of it was frightening, a being of such power could cause terrible things if given to the wrong hands.
"what about the third form Arata-sensei?"
"ah now that is the only form I have no knowledge of, my father said he had never been able to access this form even with years of training"
Narutos shoulders slumped slightly at his answer and his visual pout was an amusing site. Karen was intrigued by the idea of such a power and was proud beyond belief that Naruto would be the one to wield it and so as his guardian she decided it was her job to make sure that he would be safe doing so.
"Arata-san, will Naruto be safe using this power? I don't want him getting hurt"
Arata chuckled slightly at her worry, a small smile etched on his face as he tried to find the best way possible to calm the overprotective woman.
"Narutos journey to this power will be hard and full of trials, his heart, mind and soul will be tested to their limits in a bid to find his worthiness to wield such an immense power, though I assure you I will protect him as best I can from harm"
She seemed to relax slightly although the worry was still there, she could only hope that Naruto would come out of this training the same, go happy child, that he had always been. Naruto himself was eager to continue his training and was visually restless where he sat.
Arata stood from the blanket and straightened out his clothing before addressing Naruto again.
"well Naruto, we have a long road ahead of us, so let's get busy"
Three years later, aged nine.
And so the pair continued for the next three years, constantly training Narutos body in preparation for gaining his first warrior form. Within the academy his grades and abilities sky rocketed much to the surprise and in some cases resentment of his teachers and fellow students, his standing in the academy went from dead last to pushing for the top, and he had yet to access his first form. His ninja abilities had been improved beyond measure and his outlook on education had changed into a thirst for knowledge, he still wasn't the smartest of children but compared to how he had been before his training it was a massive step.
It was Friday afternoon and Narutos class had just been called out into the academy training grounds for an end of week spar. Naruto had always been kept out of these spars as all his previous teachers had kicked him out, saying that a 'demon' didn't need to learn how to fight. However today his favorite teacher Iruka was taking the class and for once he'd finally have a chance at showing his stuff.
The other kids went first, there fights being expected, the fan girls lost to the more serious civilians and the civilians lost to the better trained clan heirs, it was the same as it had always been, never once being any different, until today.
Iruka looked over his list of students until he came to the last two on his list, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. He dreaded calling out the fight, he knew Naruto had improved astonishingly over the years but there was still the underlining fear of him being defeated and embarrassed in front of his classmates… again. But he knew he couldn't play favorites and so with a heavy heart he called out the next match.
"final match, Naruto Uzumaki against Sasuke Uchiha"
Cries of adoration flowed through the crowed for the Uchiha while looks of pity and amusement were given to the young Uzumaki, everyone already knew the outcome, it would be the same as all the times before, imagine their surprise when Naruto made his way to the sparring ring without a sound, assuming a stance they had not seen the boy use before, nor could they identify it. His right fist came up to just below his chin, his left hand palm facing his enemy at arm's length, both feet sat firmly apart at shoulder width, a serious expression on his face. His fellow classmates watched on in interest while his opponent only sneered condescendingly at him, his Uchiha arrogance flowing from him.
"what's this dobe? You steel a ninja scroll or something?" chuckles of amusement ran through the class but Naruto stood firm, strong in his belief that for once he stood a chance.
When Sasuke didn't get a response he turned angry and scowled at the supposed dead last, the thought of being ignored by him off all people made his blood boil.
"don't ignore me dobe, I asked you a question"
Naruto just sighed before answering in an almost bored tone.
"are you going to keep talking like an old woman, or are we going to fight?"
His jab seemed to get the right response as the Uchiha settled into the academy style taijutsu with only barely contained rage. Iruka observed both fighters before bringing his hand down in a chopping motion.
"begin!"
The Uchiha rushed forward intent on putting the dead last in his place whilst Naruto stood calm and resolute. Within seconds the Uchiha was on him, a jab aimed at his head with the intent on ending the fight quickly. Naruto responded by shifting his left hand into the fists flight path, catching it instantly and with the barest of movements before swinging his right leg round into a high kick that forced the Uchiha to jump back. Capitalizing on the Uchiha's loss of stance, Naruto dashed forward and engaged in close range combat that put Sasuke on the defensive, his punches were fast and strong whilst his kicks were no more than a blur. The watching crowd could only watch in awe as the supposed academy dead last forced the villages priced Uchiha into a one sided fight, never giving him a chance to retaliate.
Sasuke was visibly sweating at this point, no one had ever put up such a fight against him, for the first time in his academy life he was afraid he would lose. His loss of concentration only proved to be his downfall as Naruto managed to duck under his guard and deliver a devastating uppercut to his jaw sending him flying out of the ring with a thud.
Silence reigned over the crowd as they watched in barely contained awe as the class's top rookie was defeated spectacularly. Iruka could only smile in pride as Naruto stood from his stance before bowing to his fellow students and made his way to the back of the line.
"winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"
The declaration seemed to snap the crowd of children out of their mute shock as various fangirls screamed in horror and raced over to help 'their Sasuke-kun' whilst the boys in the group cheered in elation at Sasuke finally being knocked down a peg or two.
Naruto watched in silent pride and amusement as the Uchiha struggled to stand to his feat whilst batting away the hands of his personal stalkers. He glared hatefully at Naruto which was mimicked by various fan girls/stalkers, the main one being Ino Yamanaka who was a devoted fan who would gladly lick his boots if asked to. Naruto looked to his left when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and was surprised to see his best friend Sakura approaching him with a neutral expression on her face.
'oh great' he thought 'she'll probably hate me for this'
To his great confusion though, instead of the beating he was waiting for, he instead received a wide smile and a loving hug that kept him frozen in place. Various thoughts ran through his head, the main one being a strange voice constantly shouting 'it's a trap!' over and over again. Finally, when all seemed safe, he returned the hug and took advantage of the warmth that it gave him for as long as possible. Eventually, much to his sadness, she pulled away with that ever present smile, eventually he couldn't take it and so risked it all by enquiring about the sudden friendliness, given the situation.
"umm Sakura-chan, why aren't you mad?"
She seemed to smile even brighter at him before punching him playfully in the arm.
"you monkey head; I've been waiting for this day for about a year now"
The people around her, Naruto included, only stared at her in confusion and surprise, the most surprised being Ino who decided to voice her opinion in that arrogant, ridiculous way Sasuke fan girls tend to.
"hey forehead, what do you mean you've been waiting for this day? Why would you want Sasuke-kun hurt!?"
Tick marks seemed to appear all over Sakura's forehead before she seemed to put a lot of visual and mental strain into calming down. Turning to her once love rival she replied in the calmest way she could.
"well Ino-pig" I said she was calm, I never said she wasn't upset "I happen to of gotten over my pointless Sasuke infatuation a year ago, it was pointed out to me by my mother and Naruto's sensei, although trust me it wasn't easy for them, that it was a pointless thing that only got in the way of my training, the fact that he enjoys bullying my brother just makes me dislike him even more"
Sakura has a brother? That was news to them.
"since when do you have a brother forehead? I thought you were an only child?"
The smirk that appeared on Sakura's face was there for all to see and the following words would change academy life forever.
"why Naruto Uzumaki of course"
The crowd gasped in surprise whilst Sakura smiled in amusement. The thought of the once desperate fan girl actually admitting that someone like Naruto was her brother and that she was in fact no longer a fan girl would change the status quo of the school forever.
Sakura turned slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning completely around she saw that it was Naruto himself with a hopeful look on his face.
"d-do you mean it S-Sakura? Did Kaa-san actually do it like she said?" his look of hope turned to elation when she gave him a nod and a bright smile.
"yep! Kaa-san and Tou-san signed the papers earlier, that's what I came to tell you!"
He had wondered why she hadn't come in today and now it was all too clear. It had finally happened, he finally had a family and on the day he beat Sasuke too! He had taken to calling Karen, Kaa-san, a couple of years ago much to her joy and had called her it since. Today would be a day he would never forget, he now had a mother and sister who loved him and a sensei who would train him to kick ass!
Smiling brightly, he swept Sakura of her feat in a tight embrace whilst jumping around for joy, much to her amusement. A brief cough of attention, with a strong hint of annoyance, brought them out of their joy as they were redirected back to the fuming fangirls and amused teacher who watched the whole thing from a distance, ready to jump in if need be.
"so what if you adopted the 'dead last' forehead? He'll still be second best to our Sasuke-kun"
When it seemed like Sakura would literally strangle the girl, Naruto put a restraining hand on her shoulder and gave her a calming smile, but Sakura saw a brief flash behind those eyes that was always present when he was feeling mischievous and so with an understanding nod she pulled herself behind him and proceeded to watch the show.
Naruto turned to Ino with the same smile and took delight in her look of discomfort.
"let me ask you something Ino, if you were to describe me, I'm guessing you would call me things like, dead last, useless, untalented and among other things stupid, correct?"
Ino's look of arrogance returned full force as she stared defiantly into his eyes.
"got it in one dead last"
That same glint from before swam through his eyes but it only went noticed by the more observant members of the class, however the devious smile that graced his face was definitely noticeable and it only confused Ino and her group.
"well if that's the case, what does that make Sasuke now that I've beaten him?"
Sudden realization hit the group of fan girls hard as they looked in horror at the Uzumaki before cries of outrage sprang from the group.
The rest of the class burst out into laughter along with Naruto and Sakura who walked away in victory back to their home. 'our home' Naruto thought with a smile 'I never thought I'd say it'.
The walk home was a time of joy and pure unrivalled happiness for Naruto and his now official sister, not even the glares from the civilians could dampen their spirits.
"hey Sakura? why didn't Tou-san and Kaa-san come to tell me?"
"oh, well Tou-san had a council meeting and Kaa-san had a meeting with the Inuzuka clan she had to attend, they wanted to wait till tonight to tell you but I asked If I could tell you myself"
The pair shared a bright smile before continuing on their way, life seemed to be looking up for Naruto and he'd never felt closer to the girl he was walking with than he did right now.
The spar between the academy dead last and the Uchiha pride became common knowledge throughout the village and soon enough it was the talk of the town. Some called the rumors blatant lies whilst others blamed the Uchiha's defeat on 'unholy demon powers'. When news of Naruto's adoption became public knowledge the village was in uproar, the very thought of someone caring for him was a disturbing and sickening feeling to many whilst to his very few friends it was a welcome change. Soon enough those feelings turned to outrage and Naruto and his new family were targeted by mobs of people whenever they were seen in public and yet neither Karen, Kizashi nor Sakura ever regretted the decision and only strode towards giving him a better future. After a while the attacks became so frequent that Hiruzen was forced to make a decision.
Naruto, Sakura, Kizashi and Karen were seated in front of both the shinobi and civilian council as the Hokage had brought them in for one of their meetings. The old man himself sat at the center of the long table with a calculating look on his face, mainly aimed at the civilian half. He had a suspicion as to how they would react to his decision, but slowly over the years he had managed to deprive them of the power they had stolen away from him. Now, any decision he made today would be made without the interference of the civilians, though he knew that wouldn't stop them from being a pain in his neck.
"I realize you were all expecting this to be a normal run of the mill meeting, however, a rather important situation has been brought to my attention"
A few of the councilors were already aware of the situation he was referring to, the family sat before them was evidence enough. Though it was obvious which side was on their side when one looked upon the angry glares of the civilians and the understanding gazes of the shinobi.
"it has come to my attention that a great deal of the civilian populace and a small portion of the shinobi forces, disagree with young Naruto being adopted into the Haruno clan, and have taken to violent action in showing their disagreement, this is obviously unacceptable and must be dealt with"
Nods of agreement met him from the shinobi whilst a good majority of the civilians seemed upset at the prospect of no longer being able to deal with the pest their way.
"I have come to the decision that the Haruno clan will be offered a new clan grounds in the shinobi district of the village where they will be protected around the clock by a team of my personal Anbu"
The civilians erupted into outrage whilst the shinobi seemed pleased with the idea, the Haruno clan was as close to a shinobi clan as the civilian populace had and had produced a great many shinobi in previous years, they had always been seen as equals even by the more prominent clans such as the Hyuga who had a great many dealings with the merchant side of the clan.
The most pleased of them all however was the Haruno family itself that looked at each other with bright smiles and looks of excitement.
With a slam of his fist Hiruzen brought the hole room silent and when some of the more pompous civilians tried to continue a brief flash of killer intent was enough to silence them.
"I didn't tell you so that we could debate this, I informed you simply out of professional courtesy, this plan will be put forth and it will not be interfered with, am I understood?"
The civilians reluctantly nodded whilst the shinobi clan heads looked on with ill hidden amusement.
"right, now that that is dealt with, Kizashi-san how do you feel about this plan?"
The man in question stood from his seat with a look of absolute glee that made a few people chuckle.
"you'll have no argument from me Hokage-sama, I can have the clan ready to move by tomorrow afternoon"
The Hokage smiled for the first time that night and dismissed the family from the room with a wave of his hand.
"well then I guess you better get started, off you go I'll have an Anbu inform you of your new homes location"
With a bow and a smile, the family turned away from the council and made their way happily back to their clan grounds. The Haruno clan wasn't large, only consisting of around fifty members, a large portion being merchants and shopkeepers whilst the other, smaller, portion was made up of shinobi. The clan didn't have a blood line or any form of secret clan techniques and so weren't looked upon as a shinobi clan, however, with the new arrangements the Haruno clan could proudly present themselves amongst their sister clans amongst the shinobi populace and as a result would be looked upon with a higher level of respect.
The next day came around quickly and the Haruno clan soon found themselves being escorted to the clan districts by a squad of Anbu, it hadn't taken long to organize a full scale move, when the plan to move was presented to the clan, Kizashi was surprised to find no form of resistance and in fact found a good deal of excitement radiated from his fellow clansmen. The clan was met with angry glares as they marched through the streets but the clan paid them no mind, they were happy and knew they were safe from harm. The new clan grounds were located between the Aburame and Nara clans, these two clans being their strongest of supporters were more likely to help in their defense than say, the Hyuga clan, who with enough political and social pressure could easily turn against them.
Naruto and Sakura could barely contain their excitement as the forests that surrounded the clan grounds came into view. Each clan had some form of natural defense against spies and because of their new status they were no different, the forest surrounding the grounds acted as a form of defense against prying eyes without giving the impression of being isolated from their fellow clans. Their path eventually lead them to a gap in the trees and the ground soon turned rocky and uncared for, with slight difficulty they eventually came upon a large white wall that stood around twenty feet high and wrapped around the edge of the clearing to form a large square barrier, a large metal gate with two empty guard houses sat directly in front of them and through the bars they could see rows upon rows of empty houses that looked as though they had been abandoned for some time. Within the distance, the group could make out a large three story red painted house that stood raised on a natural platform at the far end of the complex, it was safe to assume that this was for the head of the clan and their family.
Naruto and Sakura looked on in awe and pure childlike wonder as they examined their new home, the thought of exploring the place was so strong that they nearly didn't notice the familiar figure that stood waiting for them with a smile on his face.
"Jii-san!" they cried in unison, both running over to embrace their grandfather figure. When Naruto had originally told her it was ok to call the Hokage that, she had been reluctant and had needed a lot of persuasion to do so, after all, you can't just go round calling the most powerful ninja in the village that can you? But after being told it was ok by the man himself she had taken to it easily and had begun to look up to him in a more familiar light.
The old man smiled and chuckled slightly as he embraced the children lovingly, he had been rather pleased when little Sakura had begun to open up to him, he had always had a soft spot for the children of the village and would protect them with his life, no matter what.
"good afternoon Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, how are you today?"
The pair smiled brightly as they informed the Hokage of all the things they'd done that day and had even gone on to describe just how excited they were about moving into their new home.
He listened intently as they reeled of the day's events so far and couldn't help but feel reassured with his decisions, more so his decision to allow Naruto to be adopted into the clan, he knew from various contacts that the Haruno clan had accepted Naruto with open arms when he was first introduced, apparently they held no ill will towards him being a Jinchuriki and had basked him in as much love as they could produce.
Eventually the rest of the clan caught up with the hyperactive pair and Kizashi and Karen approached with amused smiles on their faces, obviously delighted to see their children getting on so well.
"I hope you're not bugging the Hokage you two?"
The two had the sense to look sheepish as their mother berated them good heartedly whilst Kizashi approached the Hokage.
"it is a pleasure to see you again Hokage-sama" he said with a slight bow which was returned by his powerful leader.
"the pleasure is all mine Kizashi-san, I thought it would be prudent to give you as much information about these clan grounds as possible before you moved in"
The Hokage reached into his robe and pulled out a small scroll that he presented to the clan leader, it was revealed to be a confirmation of ownership scroll that all clans must have when they move into a new ground as to prevent any legal problems from coming up in the future.
"these clan grounds were once owned by my own clan, the Sarutobi clan, long ago. However, with my clan now only consisting of myself, my son, my daughter and my grandson and with my son having no interest in leading the clan, we now longer have any use for them"
Kizashi's eyes widened by a large amount as the Hokage removed a slightly bigger scroll from his robe that when rolled out revealed a small scale blueprint of the area around them.
"its total size allows for a clan five times your size and so will allow for any future growths in size you may have, included in the grounds are three training grounds, a small farming area and an independent water source, its position allows for easy defense and the Nara and Inuzuka clans have agreed to provide a small unit of shinobi to help provide security until your clan provides more shinobi for its own defense"
Kizashi and the rest of the clan could barely get any words out as the amazement of the situation had left them all but mute, their silence was eventually broken when a rather happy blonde began jumping up and down excitedly giving out loud cries of elation.
"yahoo! We're gonna be the best damn clan this village has ever seen!"
His happiness was soon brought to a standstill as his mother appeared at his side bashing him lightly over the head with an unamused scowl on her face.
"Naruto Uzumaki Haruno watch your language!"
The rest of the clan laughed happily at the indignant pout on the young boys face and soon found themselves being let through the gates into their new home. The prospect of a better future brought happiness throughout the clan as their dreams of a better life had finally come around and all thanks to a certain blond haired blue eyed boy who had landed with quite the crash into their lives and so with happy smiles the Haruno clan moved onto a better future, a Haruno future.
A/N: I will post pictures onto my account that will show everyone what the two warrior souls mentioned actually look like when used, I'll leave the third one out until later on in the story when he actually gains access to it I hope this will help you picture them as I progress through the story :) oh and I don't actually own the pictures I just found them on google, so who ever does own them if you are reading this, however unlikely it is, I hope you don't mind me using them :)
