The Sky King
By: Zephyire
Disclaimer: The writer of this story does not own Naruto nor Air Gear or any of its characters. All characters in this story not from Naruto or Air Gear are original characters created by the writer, and in no way stolen from anyone else, and similarity to persons real or fictional is purely coincidental and entirely unintentional.
Note: I took out the borrowed characters clause, as I need help finding new names, and personalities, for people. More details below.
Summary: Having run away from Konoha, Naruto changes his dream. To fly. With help from Kyuubi, he'll find that with a little speed, it's possible. Having been shunned by villagers, he'll seek those like him, and found a new village. Themes from Air Gear.
Chapter dedicated to: Mobius8
Note: The dedication goes to reviewers (So if you want your name here, review!)
"Karada juu fuu no wa shinzou ni!"
The wind blows from my heart throughout my body!
Chapter 4: The Migratory Bird
Naruto POV:
I ran through the jungle, Ninja Hopping from one tree to the next. Expelling chakra, I was able to both stick to the trees and propel myself forward. If I continued at my current speed, I should be able to reach the farmers slightly after sun rise.
A quiet "cheap" disrupted my thoughts. Jumping to the ground, I continued toward the community, on the look out for any berry bushes. Several minutes later, I was about to leap over some shrubs, when I noted that several were filled with black berries. Stopping, I picked several from the bush.
Pulling the chick, which still had no name, out of the warm pocket I had kept him in, I showed him the berries that were cupped in my left hand. Ignoring the food, he hopped from my hand and onto my jacket. He was clawing his way up my chest. I looked down at him. With a quick jab, he had pecked me between the eyes on the bridge of my nose. Startled, I stumbled back. I growled as I heard Kyuubi's voice say distinctly, "Now you know what I have to put up with."
"Gah! Bastard bird!" I grabbed the chick off of my chest. Plopping the baby crow on top of my head, I smirked. "Let's see you get down from there! Ha!"
The bird in question just stood up and circled twice before nesting down in my hair. Apparently, it was both warmer and more spacious than my pocket. And, he must have liked the view.
Grumbling to myself about damn ungrateful poultry, I continued toward the east, jumping back into the trees. Ninja Hopping was much faster through the air than running on the ground.
TSK
When I finally exited the forest, I was at the edge of a small cliff. I looked down at a wide, open range of rice and other crops. The sun, as I had predicted, was just rising. Below, I could see many people leaving a small village of fifty or sixty houses to go to work in the fields. I quickly made my way down, scaling the cliff face with chakra enhanced feet.
Landing at the base, I was about two hundred yards away from the farmers. I ran toward the group, who were beginning to disperse. Stopping in front of the majority of the farmers, I waved my hands over my head, trying to get their attention. I got it.
"Oy! Gaki! Get out of the way." One of the farmers had stepped forward, and was leaning on his sickle.
"You've got to listen to me! There's a group of bandits coming this way! They're pretending to be merchants and they…"
"Brat. Listen. This is a small community of farmers who don't have much money. We're just trying to make a living. We just want to be left alone."
"But…"
"No buts. Thanks for the warning, but we can defend our selves. Now, get out of here."
Sighing, I got out of their way. They continued down the branching paths, each going to his own plot of land.
Turning, I ran toward the village. Surely, I thought, there must be some one who will believe me.
Stepping foot in to the town made me notice something. While there were fifty or sixty some houses standing, twice as many were burned down. Even if the bandits attacked this community, they wouldn't make much. There simply weren't enough people.
Suddenly, I felt an arm resting on my shoulder. Looking backwards, I was face to face with an older woman.
"Ah! Ba- chan! Don't scare me like that!"
"Harrumph. No respect for your elders. But I like you." The old lady smiled slightly. "You may have noticed, but we were attacked about a month ago by a pair of ninjas. They didn't belong to a village, and were working as mercenaries. We were able to take one of them down, but they had, unfortunately, set fires at random intervals around the town. They murdered countless innocents. In the end, the ninja that survived was surrounded by a second group, this one made up of samurai. They battled, and several samurai were slain, but the ninja was killed.
"When we finally put out the fires, seventy people were dead, and twenty some were lost in the rubble. We found most of them alive and were able to dig them out. Four were killed by falling debris." The old woman pointed to one burned down house.
"That's where two young children lived. Don't know where the parents are or if they were even alive. The older child was twenty three. Worked in the fields. Nice boy. Died protecting his sister when their house collapsed. She's still alive though. Buried in the rubble for two days. Had to amputate her foot. Nasty, really. But I ramble. Was there some thing you wanted, child?"
The old lady looked at me expectedly.
"Oh yeah! There's a group of bandits that are coming this way, pretending to be merchants. They want to attack you!"
"I much doubt that. You see, there's not much left for them to take. I suppose that I'll let the council know for you. As it is, you may stay here for how ever long you need. May I ask; where are your parents and where do you live?"
"I never had any." I wasn't about to reveal the entirety of my past to a stranger, so I didn't tell her where I lived.
"I see. Most unfortunate. You should go see Risami; she can help you get settled until you leave. Five houses down, to the left. I'm sorry that I can't offer a place for you to live, but we just don't have the resources right now."
"I understand. I'll leave after I'm sure that the bandits won't be a problem."
"Thank you for the warning."
Making my way to the house that ba- chan had indicated, I stepped up to the door. Having knocking several times, I waited for a response. An older lady opened the door and leaned against the frame.
"'Ello. What can I do you for?"
"Er…I'm looking for, Risami. Do you know her?"
" Aye, that's me."
"Um… ba- chan," I pointed down the street at the woman. She had sat down in a rocking chair and was watching the sun rise.
"Kaede?"
"Yeah. She told me to come here and I could get a room for a bit. I won't be long. One or two weeks at the most."
"'Sigh' Alright come in. Rent's ten yen a day for room. Sorry, but I don't serve food. You'll have to get that your self. This way."
Risami walked into a small living room. She pointed up ahead to what appeared to be a kitchen. To the left was a staircase. To the right was a washing machine and dryer. "Your rooms upstairs, first door on the right. Don't you dare go into any other room. I live with my niece. If I find that you disturb her in her room, I'll get you kicked out of the village. You understand?"
"Yes, ma'am. And thank you."
Risami smiled. "If you need any help, just ask. I don't have much, but it's enough to get by. Oh! I almost forgot! We don't have a bath or shower, so you'll have to use the communal baths. It's down the street, you'll see it."
"Uh, what is today's date?"
"October fifteenth. Why?"
"I turned seven five days ago." 'That would also explain why I was attacked. It's the same day as Kyuubi- sensei attacked Konohakagure.'
"Congratulations. But aren't you a bit young to be traveling alone?"
"I've always been alone."
"Oh…"
"Oy, kit!"
"Thank you, I'm going to get a breath of fresh air." I nodded toward Risami before leaving the house.
"What is it, sensei?"
"I've decided a short training schedule for you. First up, chakra control."
-Groan-
"Bah! Go over to that tree, lace your foot with chakra, and climb to the top without using your hands. GO!"
Complying with the fox's orders, I made my way to a solitary tree behind Risami's house. Pumping chakra down my foot, I took a running jump and landed on the bark of the tree. I stood sideways for a moment before trying my luck at moving against gravity. I made it half way up before I began to slip. Panicking, I accidentally sent a spike of chakra, blasting my self from the tree. I landed with a thud and an -ooff- and made a small impact against the ground. Sighing, I got back up, ready to try again. After several more tries, I succeeded.
Sitting down on the top most branch that would hold my weight, I looked down at a young ten year old girl. When she noticed my stare, she quickly hobbled back into the house. Strange.
"Hey Kyuu! I finished the tree exercise. What's next?"
"Ugh. I was taking a nap. And don't call me Kyuu, it sounds like I'm a chibi. Fine. Next, try a similar chakra control exercise. Lets go to those communal baths that one woman was talking about."
"You mean Risami?"
"What ever."
TSK
"Oy, Fox! We're there. What now?"
"This time, you still have to pump chakra to your feet. How ever, you have to be standing on the water."
"WHAT?"
"You heard me, get to it."
-Grumble-
TSK
After many attempts, which spanned the entire day, I had finally mastered the water walking technique. Of course, my chakra reserves were exhausted and I was beat. Releasing the chakra that was with in my feet, and plunged into the warm water. After a long soak, I got my clothes and gear; I was ready to find some grub. Making my way down the street, I stopped in front of a ramen stand.
It was packed. Apparently, it was the only restaurant that was either open, or still standing, at this time of day.
"Hey, chibi! What do you want?"
"I'm not short! Uh…Miso please. Extra large!"
The server wrote down the order and posted it on a close line. From the kitchen, the chef yelled, "One extra large Miso Ramen coming up!"
The server looked around the room. No new patrons had entered, so he decided to take a short break. "Hey, kid. Sorry about the chibi comment. Name's Kayato. You're not from around here, huh?"
"No, but I'll be staying with Risami for a week or two."
"I see." A large bowl was placed on the counter by the chef who went back into the kitchen. "One moment." Kayato went over to the counter, picked up the bowl, and came back to my table. "First one's on the house, okay?"
"Thanks!"
"Oh, say hi to Risami and Simca. I just hope that she's doing better now."
I watched as Kayato went back to behind the counter, wondering what he meant. Shrugging, I began to eat.
TSK
When I got back to Risami's house, I opened the door to see both Risami and the young girl who had been watching me earlier. She was missing her right foot. They were sitting down at the table, eating some sort of stew. The girl had finished her meal and had passed her bowl and spoon back to Risami. When she noticed that I was in the room, she squeaked and hobbled quickly to the stairs.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to excuse my niece. She's gone through a traumatizing event and hasn't talked since it happened. She lost her brother, and now I'm the only one she has left."
"I see. Sorry."
"What's done is done. Thank you for your concern. She and her brother always had wanted to be some thing in this world. I guess that's not going to happen. Her dream now is to live as normally as possible. Unfortunately, no one wants to be around her any more."
"Um. She seems nice."
"Simca is, or was, the nicest person you'd ever met. She needs a friend."
"I understand." I paused. "I'm going to turn in. Good night."
Risami just waved her hand in my direction. "Good night."
As I was going upstairs, Kyuubi interrupted my thoughts of the day.
"Kit, I've got an idea that will help both you, and the girl."
"Who? Simca? How?"
"Well, first you're going to need…"
TSK
AN: HEHEHE! What could help them both? …It's not very hard to figure out, unless you haven't read Air Gear. I already have the next chapter planned out. It's going to be great!
I still need some ideas for peoples' names/ personalities/ abilities.
The more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to get out the next chapter.
Read, Review, Enjoy!