Chapter 3
A/N: Please take note of the following:
"Humans talking"
'Thinking'
"Animals talking"
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but the plot and OC's of this story IS MINE!
Chapter 3
I was very pleased to find that windows covered the back wall of the room we entered. 'Good, I'll be able to fly away if things take a turn for the worst. Rin will have to take a few jumps, but he'll manage.'
Only when he moved, did I see the old man sitting by a desk in front of the big windows. He wore a plain white robe along with a wide brimmed hat with the kanji for fire on the front in red. Except for the sides, which were also red, the rest of the hat was white along with shoulder length material that only revealed his face.
Speaking of which, he had a short white beard and was all wrinkly. "Pht, he's too old to still be an alpha. I'm surprised no one's challenged him yet. Or if they have, then the whole lot of them are weak." I gave him a slight bump with my leg and whispered through a quiet hiss, "I told you, be polite."
Rin gave me an indignant look, "Well it's not like he can understand me." This time I gave him a thump on the head, "That still doesn't mean that you-"
A slight cough interrupted me. Looking up and found that the man had lit a pipe while he waited. Facing him completely, I gave a quick bow, "Sorry!" He merely took a puff from his pipe, "Don't worry about it. Do you mind telling me what he said?"
I hung my head a bit, "Well he thinks you're too old to be the head of the pack and wonders why no one has challenged you yet." Of course I said nothing about them being weak; I didn't want to risk offending the man.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, "I see. What is his name?" This took me by surprise, but answered, "Rin, sir." I then watched in surprise as he turned to Rin and spoke directly to him, "Let me explain. In a hidden village the strongest ninja in said village is chosen to be the leader. When the time comes that leader must then chose his/her successor. I had already chosen someone, but he died. So you see Rin, at the moment, I am still the strongest fighter around. Don't let my age fool you."
I could only stare. Someone was actually talking to Rin instead of using me as a go-between. He was doing more than just talking, he was acknowledging him. In the few times that I have introduced him to other humans no one has treated him like this, like an equal, except my family. To put it simply, I was impressed. Rin, however, was seemingly speechless.
He blinked a few times before looking at me, "These humans may have strange ways, but this one has earned my respect. I say we hear what he has to say."
The old leader looked at me quizzically so I elaborated, "He appreciates your effort of explaining things directly to him, whereas others often don't see him as intelligent enough to understand."
He nodded his head knowingly, "Ah, yes. The Inuzuka's also have that same problem at times with the civilians. But enough of that, come sit. I'd like to find out a bit more about you."
I eyed him warily, "I'm not allowing anyone in my head again."
He chuckled, "Don't worry, that won't happen again." I took the seat opposite him while Rin lay down behind me, "So what do you want?"
He took another puff, "I believe introductions should come first. I am Hiruzen Sarutobi. The third Hokage of Konoha, also known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves. What's your name?"
"Bisuto Tsukai sir," I said.
"Interesting, if I may, how did you get such a name?"
I grew a little nervous, but tried not to show it, "Well, where I come from people would call me a beast because of what I do, so I decided to take that name and make it my own. As for the last…" I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself then felt Rin rest his head on my lap. It gave me the strength to carry on, "My brother gave me the nickname 'Little Tsukai' for the same reason and I guess it just stuck."
"So, Bisuto what were you doing in the Nara forest?"
"I was only passing through, I didn't mean to cause any trouble. Honest!"
He lifted his hand, "Calm yourself, you didn't do anything wrong. You said your passing through, where are you headed?"
"Nowhere in particular, I just travel through the land looking for a permanent home."
The Hokage nodded in understanding and was silent for a few moments, "How would you like to stay in the village. I'm sure we'll be able to arrange accommodation for you and Rin in the Inuzuka compound."
"Oh um, thank you for the offer sir, but we'll much rather stay in the forest. I prefer being amongst animals since they are more accepting of my… talents and Rin doesn't like other humans all that much." I tried saying it as nicely as possible, for I really had no wish to leave the safety of the isolation that I've known for years. If I settled here I would run the risk of making friends and thus endangering others.
The man took another few puffs, seemingly thinking, "What if I can give you a place to stay near the forest and away from the crowded areas of the village. No one will bother you and you'll just have to take a short walk and you'll be amongst the trees. I can also arrange for you to be placed in the Academy. That way, once you graduate, you can earn money by serving the village as one of our ninja. What do you say?"
'This is amazing.' Truly, I was stumped. He was offering me, a complete stranger, shelter in his village free of charge and the only thing I had to do was join this Academy and become one of the ninja. I looked to Rin. After all this would affect him as well, "What do you think?" He met my gaze, "I say we stay. It's not every day that an alpha welcomes you into their pack."
I nodded then looked back at the Hokage, "We'll take it!"
Yes, I trust Bisuto's judgement, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I agree with everything he does. After he and the old leader had their talk the man had him write on a few papers then they talked some more. It was the direction this conversation was taking that didn't sit well with me. Bisuto was currently explaining his transformations.
The alpha was listening intently and once he finished asked a single question, "Would you mind showing me?"
Bisuto seemed to consider the request, then nodded, stood and walked to the middle of the room. I quickly got up to stop him, "Something isn't right here Bisuto. He's taking this to calmly compared to the others you've told. Become a bird then you can escape should it be a trap."
He inclined his head to me, "Yes Rin, I know." Then he looked back to the man, "Please don't be alarmed. I'm going to become a woodpecker. I'm going to change slowly to give you a better idea of what happens." After that he removed his shirt, dropped it and started the change.
I kept my eyes on the leader while Bisuto shrunk. He had stood up and was now circling Bisuto with curiosity as the feathers started sprouting from his head, moving down his back like a wave. He was hidden by his pants by the time the feathers reached his arms. Though I didn't need to see him to know what was happening; his arms and legs morphing into different shapes and his feet melding and splitting to form small claw-tipped toes for gripping bark while his mouth and nose fused together to become a beak. Then lastly came the feathers which formed his wings and tail. As if on cue, Bisuto hopped from the folds of his pants as a green woodpecker.
He gave small meaningless chirps before taking off towards the old man. Bisuto hovered in front of him for a bit before flying around the room three times. After that he came to rest on the man's hat and looked at him upside down with another chirp, "Do you understand?" The leader moved to take him of, but stopped when I gave a warning growl. Bisuto turned to me, "No Rin, it's alright. I feel that we can trust him. These people aren't like the others, they understand." He then hopped onto the offered hand, even letting the man stroke his wings. The sight reminded me of the commanding, yet gentle woman who cared for me among the dogs. 'Perhaps you are right Bisuto. Perhaps these strange humans do understand.'
The old Sarutobi was dumbfounded to say the least. It was almost unbelievable to him that the almost emerald coloured bird perched on his left hand was the same scrawny 10-11 year old boy who had walked into his office mere minutes ago.
The bird was about 30 cm in length, with bright green wings and tail, a black mustache and crown, gray head, neck, and chest, and white under parts with black markings.
He flew back and landed by his clothes. He then changed back. Only when he started to put the clothes back on did the Hokage notice that the pieces looked strangely familiar. "Bisuto, where did you get those clothes?"
He asked kindly so as not to scare the boy. It was clear that the child hadn't had proper human contact for years and according to Inoichi something happened in Bisuto's past which was so traumatizing that it caused him to become wary of other humans. At least that was the theory.
The boy bowed his head, seemingly ashamed, "Well, I took them through an open window last week. It's starting to get a little cold outside during the night," Bisuto quickly looked back up, "but I promise I was going to put them back once I left." The old Kage nodded in understanding, "Don't worry Bisuto. I'll see to it that some clothes are bought to your home as well. After all we can't have you freeze to death."
He was taken from his thoughts by the boy's expectant gaze, "What now?"
The Hokage gave a slight wave with his right hand and the cat masked ANBU appeared beside him. Both the boy and his wolf partner were visibly surprised. The wolf quickly stood up with a low growl while Bisuto was just as fast in going to stand by his side, both taking on aggressive stances.
The old man gave a mirthful chuckle, "Calm yourselves. He's just one of my elite ANBU guards, you may call him Cat. He will be showing you to your new living quarters and keeping an eye on you for a while for in case something happens."
The wolf made something akin to a snort which was followed by a few yaps and a bark or two. The boy gave him another small bump with his leg and a whispered 'be quiet' could be heard. He then gave a quick bow to the Hokage, "Thank you for your trouble sir. It's very much appreciated." After a little nudge from the boy the wolf gave an almost inaudible growl before also bowing with a reluctant sounding yep.
A/N: For those who are interested, Bisuto changed into a Japanese green woodpecker. I only changed the description from Wikipedia a bit to make him unique, I'll be doing it with all his animal forms.
Please tell me what you think, I'm starting to lose confidence.