Author's note: hey! Me again. So I'm slowly making these chapters longer as I am getting used to writing more. Now I could have made this chapter longer but the next part is going to be another time skip and I'm trying to think about how far I want to skip ahead and why. So instead of rushing it and probably writing some BS that doesn't make any since (not even sure if I have been making since through the story so far lol) I will wait and think about what I want to do and hopefully release the next chapter with 10k words or close to it.
BTW if you didn't know madre means mother in Spanish and hijo means son. sobrino means nephew.
Chapter info: This chapter is to give you some more background about stuff that's going on since I didn't want to just time skip all the way to when he's an adult and then give you a bunch of flashbacks as I find those annoying sometimes. Its a pretty fluff chapter with me answering probably some of your question in this.(that is if you have any, I haven't really gotten many hardcore questions)
No flames! They will be ignored and removed! How ever constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged!
EDIT 7/21/2015: so i was going through the chapters i posted and noticed even after spell checking them there were some errors as well as some of the words were being unbolded like the author's note that you are reading right now and some of the italic was being undone because of the spell checker i was putting it through so im going to go through all the chapters are re-read them to make sure everything is good and well if not i will be fixing it. also thank you for the support, i didn't think this story would get this much traffic right away so thanks for that, also the reviews have been extremely helpful so for those of you who reviewed i thank you. next chapter should be either tonight or tomorrow and yes it will be longer than this chapter (trying to get at least 10k words in it).
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Book of Life, these are owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Jorge Gutierrez Doug Langdale, respectively
Love
La Muerte was carrying Naruto to her bed, his arms were around her neck and she had her arms under him to make sure he didn't fall. He tired himself out when he cried and all of the emotional overload he had for the day. She reached her bed and put him down on it, she took this moment to truly take in all his features. He had wild spiky hair that was untamed, three whisker marks on each cheek which she suspected was because of the kyuubi. His face had some baby fat on it but not as much as he should as you could see some of his jaw bone more than you should. He was severely malnourished, something that actually made this sweet peace loving goddess burn with rage that this child had to go through everything he did. Death herself promised to make this boy live a happy life, as she was thinking all this she was absently tracing the whisker marks on the boys face. She could have sworn he was lightly purring.
'wait... Why does he still have these fox traits now that his soul isn't connected with the kyuubi anymore?' her mind started racing about this thought she had 'He still has some fox like traits and for some reason he is still human in the land of the dead.. hmmm'. Her curiosity became too much so she decided to make sure that the one theory she thought that might be happening was happening. She placed her hand on her new sons head and concentrated.
At first his lifeforce felt human but then she started to notice tiny traces of the kyuubi's power in him. It wasn't the kyuubi's soul but just some of the raw power that it had. How ever the amount he had in such a small body was enough that it was slowly changing him internally. 'How did this happen' she wondered with a bit of worry 'It doesn't look like it harming him but it is changing part of his life force...!' She finally understood what it was changing and how he has some of the kyuubi's power in him. 'When he died his soul must have taken some of the kyuubi's raw power with it as their souls were bounded together, the raw power in him is acting like a parasite that can only live if its host does and it's changing his life force for it to be infinite'.
La Muerte leaned back and sighed.
What was happening to her son wasn't a bad thing per say, as far as she could tell it was just changing his life force and with that he will be physically stronger than most mortals and be just as fast. How ever it doesn't seem to be a perfect form of immortality, as she could tell if it was or not since she herself undying and can't be killed by anything for she is death itself.
' Naruto can still be killed by a bullet or sword or any other deadly means, how ever he will never die of old age. I wonder if he will come to the land of the remembered if he dies as he is now... The bet was that he would come live with me and would not be put into the land of the forgotten when he is forgotten by the living. But that rule only applies to those that are dead, he is still alive so if he dies while he's human then it's not the life that I bet on and he will instantly be put into the land of the forgotten if all of the living forget about him'. She was now greatly worried that there was a loophole to her losing him if he were to die.
After some thinking she decided that she would keep him watched over all the time either by her or some of the most trusted citizens she rules over. 'I will have to talk to the Sanchez family later to help me keep him safe and train him to defend himself in case he ever needs it'. La Muerte looked at the sleeping Naruto and decided to talk to them later, right now she was going to curl up next to her hijo and hold him close until he woke up and well probably still hold him close when he wakes up.
(Time jump 1 year, Naruto age 6)
It was the day of the dead, everybody in the land of the living and the land of the remembered celebrated like it was their last day of existence. If one were to be paying close attention to their surroundings they would notice a bunch of stuff being set up by a small figure... Stuff that may cause pranks if you looked closely. If you listened closely you could hear the light giggling of a child though it sounded rather evil in the way that the figure knew something that everybody didn't.
Walking down one of the alleys in the city were two very beautiful skeletal twins that walked together in synch with confidence and an aura of attitude that made them stand out in a good way.
"Nina do you see him any where?"asked one of the twins
"Scardelita do you think i'll find him any faster with my one eye?" Nina huffed out in annoyance.
They both walked out into the street where it was bright and shadows stopped casting over their body from the alley.
Nina Sanchez was 6 feet tall with a slim build, nothing but bones with little swirls and colorful designs decorating her. She has long black hair pulled back into a low ponytail, brown high boots, long tan skirt, black belly shirt with red poofy shouldered sleeves, large red sombrero hat, and over her shoulders and hips are belts holding bullets and swords. She also has an eyepatch over one eye.
Scardelita Sanchez, like her sister, is dead, 6 feet tall with a slim build, nothing but bones with little swirls and colorful designs decorating her. She has long black hair pulled back into a low ponytail, brown high boots, long tan skirt, black belly shirt with red poofy shouldered sleeves, large red sombrero hat, and over her shoulders and hips are belts holding bullets and swords.
They were both twin beauties that any man would die for- *SPLAT* "BUHAHAHA I-I-I got you both with that paint balloon trap". Indeed. Both of the twins were now covered in pink paint that didn't make them look like the cool beauties they always were. Not only that, this paint will ruin their clothes and their hair.
Both of them turned around and saw Naruto there in the alley halfway out from under a cardboard box he was more than likely hiding under and they walked right past him. Naruto stood all the way up and stopped laughing when he saw both of them walking toward him. He would have been fine with them just walking to him but this wasn't normal. They both had sweet smiles on their faces while they walked in synch up to him, Naruto slowly started to get nervous and sweat. As they got closer he started taking steps backward and in an attempt to call them down to put his hands up with his palms facing toward them in a sort of surrender.
"He-hey you know it was all in good fun right my sisters?" he said with a nervous laugh " you both know I love you right... Right!?" he was becoming increasingly more scared as he knew how scary they could be when he ticked them off.
Suddenly they stopped right in front of Naruto, only a couple feet away from him still giving him that sweet sweet sisterly smile of theirs to their new addition of their family, Naruto was pretty much their brother in all but blood because of how close they were to him.
As Naruto was beginning to think they wouldn't say anything they both spoke in unison like they always do when they aren't arguing with each other, this could be either very cute or very scary... Right now it was the latter.
"Oh you love us do you" they said in perfect unison "Well if this is you showing how much you love us then I guess we will show you how much we love you naru" Naruto knew what was about to happen and he hated going through this hell... Honestly he only pranked them because he thought they would go easy on him since it's the day of the dead. What Naruto thought was coming was that they would pull out their swords and guns and give him only a 5 second head start to start running for his dear life. He THOUGHT this is what they were going to do in fact he was 100% positive they were going to do this to him. Instead he turned redder than his mother dress.
*smoooch*
The twins both at the same time, as if one person did the exact same movements and gave him a kiss on either cheek at the same time and didn't stop there as they decided to tease him by giving him more kisses on his cheeks and gave him a few licks.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY YOUNG BODY!?" Naruto simply flipped the fuck out and couldn't stop his blush and his heart from beating really fast and hard, it felt like it might jump out of his chest.
The twins both knelt next to him and both shoved their chests in his face teasing him more, it would take hours to get this pink paint out of their hair! There was no way he was getting off easy."Does naru not like how we show our love" both the twins were laughing hysterically in their heads and strangely it was in synch...
Naruto went still and stopped moving which both twins found a little odd but were guessing he froze up because they overloaded him.
Naruto then mumbled into their chests and he wasn't even sure if they would hear it but he said it anyway and unknown to him they would indeed hear it.
" when I get older I want to marry both of you" after a few seconds Naruto realized that he just said his deepest darkest secret that he was keeping hidden from everybody, well everybody besides his mother since he never hid anything from her. 'What the heck did I just say that for!' 'stupid stupid stupid' Naruto's mental self was bashing his head against a wall insulting himself in between hits. He didn't know what to do as he wasn't sure if they heard him or not so he stayed completely frozen.
Nina and Scardelita both had the same expression. There was no expression, just blank faces and then after exactly 5 seconds later their faces some how became flushed even though they were skeletons. They both knew what to say but didn't expect it to be like this or even this early but they went ahead and said it.
"We would love that" They both heard the shocked gasp from Naruto and continued "You know that we like totally love you right naru?" He nodded his head which was still in between their chests which were actually soft and from what Naruto could guess were how real breasts felt. "We will wait until you come of age and will be yours" They both knew that would take at least 10 years but they would wait.
Naruto slowly backed away and looked at the two with a big blush and a smile, he then kissed both their cheeks and started running back to his mother's castle. He waved back to them before he turned a corner out of the alley. Both twins were in a daze that this happened and forgot that they had to escort Naruto around during the festival as they were the ones protecting him today.
Naruto was looking for another member of the Sanchez family as he knew he would get in big trouble for walking around without one of them. He could have stayed with the twins but he felt his heart wouldn't be able to survive at the moment with them. As he was looking around he heard a familiar opera singer and sighed. 'why did it have to be him... I only like it when women sing, it's so soothing to the ears. Well I suppose I think like that because of mom, and auntie Carmen, oh and the twins could sing pretty well also since they do perfect duets'. He sighed again for what probably would be one of the the first of many more to come.
As he walked closer to the singing he sighed more and more as it got louder the closer he got, soon enough he was standing right in front of his uncle Jorge Sanchez.
Jorge is extremely thin and is the tallest member of the Sanchez family, second to Naruto's uncle Carmelo Sanchez. He has an eyepatch over his left eye and both his right arm and his left leg have been replaced by swords; all three injuries were results of battles both in and out of the bullfighting ring. He also appears to be covered in gashes and scratches, suggesting he was injured frequently in his life. He has lots of hair, including a head of flippy white hair and a thick curly moustache and curly beard. He wears red conquistador clothes that, along with his facial hair, appear to have a Sanchez curl motif.
Jorge stopped his singing as he noticed who was in front of him and gave a big smile and went in for a one armed hug since his other arm was a sword.
"sobrino it's good to see you!" despite Naruto not liking his singing he did love the man like family and gave him a hug back. "What's my favorite sobrino doing out here with out his protectors?... Hmmm who was it again that was supposed to be watching you today... AH! Yes that's right the twins were" He looked around some more but didn't see them anywhere "where are they Naruto, they wouldn't leave you alone on purpose" he said giving him a hard look as he knew how serious Naruto's mother was with him being watched. Jorge understood completely wanting to protect your familia.
Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh "I may have broken them and then ditched them"
Jorge let out a sigh and then laughed, he picked Naruto up with his one normal arm and put him on his shoulder. He may be thin but he's by no means weak.
"Come on sobrino i'll take you home" Jorge said with a bright smile and snagged a few churros from a table with his sword arm and started eating them right off it like a shish kabob, Naruto took some off of it and ate it to while they walked to see his mother.
As they were walking to the castle that was his and his mother's home Naruto began to think about the Sanchez family. 'A family line of the best bullfighters in the world, all of them courageous and fearless and care about their family more than anything'. Naruto smiled at the thought and was proud to be considered a part of their family. Auntie Carmen was like a second mother to him.
His mind then strayed to the encounter he had with the twins and well um... Their chests. Now it wasn't because it was just their chests but it was because it felt squishy and like actual flesh. He found out from his mother that the dead here can make their body's either feel like a skeleton or actually feel like you're touching a human, they can produce body heat and even make well um "bodily fluids" were the words his mother used.
They can do this at any time they want, it was something his mother allowed to happen as she didn't want them to feel completely different here in the land of the dead. Also unknown to Naruto it was also because a majority wanted to have sex. La Muerte being able to use this ability herself found it selfish of her to keep it to herself so she allowed her citizens to be able to use it as well to make them happier as she understood wanting to make love to your lover.
Narutos mind strayed to a few other things such as pranks and what he would do to entertain himself in the future so he doesn't get bored... hm maybe go find the book of life just for kicks, who knows?
He was interrupted from his musings as Jorge announced that they had arrived at his house which calling it a house doesn't sound right as it really is a huge castle.
"Alright uncle Jorge I can go on from here" Naruto said as he jumped down and gave one last hug for him and then entered the castle.
The floor to the inner part of the castle was a series of floating platforms going back and forth with a long red carpet across them, the platforms were all in a single line together and were very large, they would bump into each other lightly and that's when you would cross onto the next platform.
He made it past the entryway and saw his mother standing there but with her back turned to him as it looked like she was reading a book. He thought of something funny and slowly sneaked up behind her and went in for a bear hug but when he was about to get her she teleported in a puff of flower petals and confetti.
It was at this moment Naruto knew... He fucked up
He was pulled off the ground from behind in a fierce bear hug and was getting a shower of affectionate kisses on top of his blond spiky head. Naruto groaned out in defeat and his mother giggled at him. 'Why does her laugh have to be so damn angelic' he thought with a pleasant sigh even when he would lose against her he felt like he won if he could make her laugh.
"you're a thousand years too early if you think you can sneak up on me hijo" She didn't let him go and held him in that tight hug while rubbing her cheek against his.
'why do I feel like a stuffed toy right now....' This was his only thought at this moment.
"So how was the festival did you enjoy it, we can go back out and continue to party".
The day wasn't even half over and Naruto felt tired from pranking a lot of the populace and the emotional thing with the twins...
"It was fun madre" Naruto didn't use many of the Spanish words as he messed a lot of them up so he instead used English more but could fluently understand Spanish.
"Something really good happened with the twins, come and sit down with me and ill tell you everything". Naruto led his mother over to a big comfy red and black chair that has skulls painted on it. It was the chair his mother would have him sit on her lap and she would read or sing to him.
So Naruto starts telling her everything that happened that day, the pranks he pulled before the twins incident and what followed after with him finding uncle Jorge. She just smiled the entire time not saying a thing not wanting to interrupt him as he was talking a mile a minute.
"hmm of age huh... If I remember correctly I said you could be with girls at 16 so that's fine hijo"
Naruto was surprised his mother so easily agreed that he could marry the twins when he came of age. Well he expected her to accept it anyway but not this easily as she was very protective of him.
Naruto looked at her with confused eyes "um... madre?"
"Si hijo?" La Muerte smiled at him as warmly as she has the entire time he's known her
"why did you agree so easily" he asked dumbfounded
"hijo I trust the Sanchez family more than I trust anybody else besides you and the candlemaker"
Naruto finally finding an opportunity to ask her about the candlemaker without sounding suspicious, he knew that he was the keeper of the book of life. Naruto knows that the Candlemaker is good friends with his mother but she told Naruto to never go and seek him out because it was too dangerous. Well unfortunately for La Muerte her son Naruto was getting bored in the city and has been trying to find something to relieve him of that boredom. How ever because she trusts him so much she tells him about the Candlemaker knowing that he won't go and seek him out. To Naruto this wasn't hiding anything since she wasn't suspicious of him so yeah he just loop holed it so he didn't feel bad.
"Alright hijo it's time I told you about the Candlemaker"
Narutos eyes lit up with excitement, his mother giggled at this reaction as she knew he would do it.
"The Candle Maker is the benevolent immortal being and an ancient, immortal god in charge of keeping balance between the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten, as well as creating the candles of life that embody each and every living, mortal being's and every living, mortal things life and time on Earth. He resides in the Cave of Souls, the link between the two realms."
"AWESOME!" La Muerte chuckled at her hijos childlike excitement, she always loved children and had some children of her own in the past but none of them were like her hijo, her naru, her foxy little trouble making brat (she only thinks that last part when his pranks almost get her) as Naruto and everybody knows La Muerte doesn't like to lose.
"Hey hey what's he look like" Naruto was rocking back and forth in her lap in excitement waiting for her to tell him more.
"Hm well its been a little while since I saw him but it's not like we really change how we look, He is a large and towering bell-shaped immortal being that appears to be completely and entirely made out of glowing gold golden candle wax. He always has a cheerful, smiling expression on his face and his hair and beard are made completely out of soft, fluffy clouds. Around his neck he wears a large beaded necklace made of stone that resembles those of a priest or a monk, and some of his beads resemble skulls. His necklace also has a large stone emblem similar to a witch's knot. The Candle Maker's robes appear to be made of glowing gold golden candle wax. The Candle Makers' flesh is made completely and entirely out of glowing gold golden candle wax.
Naruto was so excited hearing about him that he was sure now that he would make it his life's quest to find him and the book of life which he still doesn't actually know much about since his mother didn't trust him before to not run off and go look for it.
"Hey so what exactly is the book of life madre"
"Hmmm I guess its time to tell you isn't it?" La Muerte gave him a kiss on the forehead and began to tell him about the book of life " it's not going to be a grand explanation, the book of life is simply a book which holds every story in the world.
"Every story in the world?" he looked at her in disbelief but she only nods her head to him with the motherly smile still in place, she always keeps it on when she's around him. "So then it has your story and the Sanchez's in it?" she nods again to him taking amusement in his disbelief. "So then it has my story to right?" she doesn't do or say anything and her smile drops.
'Is he in the book of life ?' she wondered in confusion never actually giving it any real thought yet. 'He wasn't born into this universe, this realm that me and Xibalba watch over'. 'The candlemaker didn't give him life as he was never apart of this existence until a year ago'. She was in such deep thought that she didn't notice the worried look Naruto was giving her until he gave her a light on the lips, it was just an innocent kiss to get her out of her daze.
"Oh hijo I'm sorry for worrying you like that, I'm just not sure since you were not made by the candlemaker to be born into this world since you came here from your universe to here." She told him informality with her motherly smile back in places but you could see some worry in her eyes.
Naruto looks at her in understanding as he knows how he came to this separate plain of existence than his own. " I understand madre so please don't worry about it, after all it's not like it's a big deal" he said we a bit of confidence in his voice "If my story isn't in there then I will just write my own!".
La Muerte looked at her hijo with surprise at first and then she felt immense pride for him, she let out a girly squeal which is very unbecoming of a goddess such as herself but it was just her and Naruto so she didn't care. She showered him with hisses and affectionate cheek rubbing.
Naruto being the momma's boy he was sat there in pure bliss being showered with all this love from her. He would later on find out when he's older that he had a mother complex that was hidden within him. But for now he just let his mother love him as he was an innocent child, and didn't know about adult things yet.
La Muerte finally stopped spoiling him and just looked at him with loving eyes as what she said next sounded like the voice of an angel with how much love that was coming off of it
"I love you naru, I really really do".
Naruto gave the foxiest smile he's ever given.
"I love you too madre"
