Author's Review Response:
To Haziq Saffari1: Glade you liked the fight(s). Though, I'd like to know which fight scene you are referring to as a future reference.
To redlox2: Sorry about the confusion with the original characters. I promise, there will be later chapters that focus on certain original characters and their personalities (as some are more important than others). But remember, Ventos (Naruto) is the main focus of the story. The original characters are their to balance him out and keep him from becoming too overpowered.
Oh, one last thing. A guest commented about why Itachi is in Naruto's age and where was Sasuke. Remember when I said that certain events are happening later and a bit differently? Well, Itachi was born in the same years as the Rookie 9, while Sasuke was born the same years as Bara (Konohamaru, Hanabi, and etc).
And as to how does Itachi know the Chidori...well, his teacher is Kakashi (as Sasuke was his student in canon).
Now that's out of the way, on with show!
Forest Of Death, Konohagakure, 91 N.E.
After the run in with the traitorous and malicious snake sage, Orochimaru, and the encounter with the injured and ragged Squad 7, Team Ventos had made it to the tower up four days early.
All three of the looked at each other with serious eyes while they each exchanged a simple nod. In doing so, Ventos (Naruto) and Kai (Lucia) each took turns in taking the Earth and Heaven Scrolls respectably before laying them over each on the middle of the ground. The product of the action was smoke leaking from sealing formula on each scroll.
That caused a large cloud to burst.
Once it cleared, a familiar face stood before the Andreíos Soul wizards.
Team Ventos laid their eyes upon a tall and muscular man with a light gray complexion. He has short spiky black hair, dark brown eyes, and small eyebrows. The shinobi was normally seen wearing bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face. Under his mask, he had a relatively narrow jawline and jagged-teeth. The man has his hitai-are (with a Konoha insignia) on his head, which was slanted. He also donned a Jonin uniform with a largely customized danto on his back.
This man was Zabuza Momochi, a former Kiri-nin and Kirigakure no Kijin (Demon of the Hidden Mist).
''Well, look what we got here! It's been some time, eh brats?'' Zabuza asked while waving the two-finger salute at them.
''If it isn't Zabuza "Kijin" "Mafia-Boss-Slaying" "Son of a bitch" Momochi! How the hell are ya?" Kai heckled in the Nihongo language, bumping fists with the ex-mercenary.
"Honestly, it's been a lot better...though I'm struggling social. But I did manage to finally have a better income, all thanks to my new job in Konoha as part of the Torture and Interrogation department."
"Wow, never thought you join Konoha or any other major village, Kijin." Animus said in Nihongo, surprised at the notion of Zabuza tying himself to any village.
"Oi, I resent that! A man's gotta eat and make a living somehow. And personally, Haku and I aren't exactly fond with our birth village at the moment."
'That's close to home for me, Momochi-sempai.' Ventos empathized mentally.
''With all that aside, since you three made it here first, I guess you'll be able to have the rest of time to yourselves. Just be back to that tower in four days time.'' Zabuza shrugged off casually.
''What!? Phoenix fucking Down! I really wanted some more action back there! Dammit, Ventos! Why'd you have to spoil my fun early?"
"Two reasons. One, a power-hungry, vengeful pedophile is on the loose looking for somebody to fulfill his fetish/fantasy. And two, because you admitted to us while on our way here that you were sitting on a branch, watching us fight Iwa-nin as you didn't lift a finger to help us." Ventos shot back with an accusing glare.
"HCut me some slack, Dipstick! I was busy getting us a Heaven Scroll for our team! Besides, the only reason that I didn't jump in when I got there was 'cause I wanted to see if you'll be able to handle situations without me!" Kai answered defensively.
"...Alright, I buy that. But still, we can't be getting too reckless out here, that's how squads get killed. We need to stick together! Okay?" Suggested Ventos.
"Aye, aye...baby brother." Kai teased in Runic.
"It's by a year, ya know!" Ventos retorted, mocking anger.
"That's still a year ahead of you, Dipstick!~" Sung Kai as they continued to argue much to Animus and Zabuza's amusement.
The two continue to argue for a full minute until Animus felt like leaving. The half giant loudly cleared his throat, grasping his family's attention.
''[My] siblings' antics aside, it's great to see you again, Kijin-sempai. We hope to meet you [again] later. Brother, Sister, we should get back to [the] apartment now.''
"Likewise, Tetsu no Kyōjin (Iron Giant). I'll let Haku know of your arrival and participation in the exams. We'll be rooting for you!" Zabuza stated as the others nodded.
As they were about to leave, the ex-merc called out to the pastel blond.
"Oi, Ranryū!"
Ventos turned his head back to face Zabuza once more.
"I expect a rematch one of these days! My Kubikiribocho is itching to cross with your Ændring!"
"Sure thing, it's a spar then!" Ventos promised as he and his team phased in a white flash.
-Ventos' Apartment, Later That Day-
All five mages sat around the kitchen table for a meeting. While the three who went through the two portions of the exams, Beowulf and Tania awaited to tell the others what they discovered.
"...aside from that, everything went pretty normal." Kai concluded.
"So you're telling us that an albino snake-loving pedo-bastard attacked your (former) sister's team in order to get your childhood best friend's super strong eyes for Freya-knows-what, then you fought him off by yourself...and did all of it without me!?" Beowulf exclaimed, almost feeling insulted.
"Oh dear... Wulfy, please calm down. Ven already took care of him, so there's no need to throw a fit about it." Tania soothed.
The exceed huffed before crossing his arms.
"Alright, fine. But I'm not getting left out next time! I'm going full-on Mythos Soul: Fenrir during the invasion, you hear Thunderhead?" Beowulf ranted.
Hearing the young exceed's words, a smirk emerged as Ventos ruffled the child's hair.
"On the contrary, that's actually what I'm counting on."
The leader got back to the matter at hand.
"Speaking of the invasion, did you or Tania got any leads to who's working with Orochimaru. Any factions, to be more precise?"
This time, Tania was the one to speak up.
"Well, while everyone else departed, Wulfy and I discovered that there was a new ninja village that surfaced since we arrived in this world."
"A new village, ya say? Do tell!" Kai suggested as she grabbed a vanilla ice cream from the freezer.
"Okay. I was at the village's local library earlier today when I came across a cloaked boy with gray hair and black eyes that wore glasses. Coincidentally, we were both looking for the same book. It seemed he had the intention of checking out the book temporarily, so I offered that I scan through it so he can take it."
"... I don't see the big deal in that. Kai shrugged offhandedly.
"Well, as I used my Gale-Force Reading Glasses to do just that. However, I decided to multi-task by sensing his life force signature with my Life Magic. And let me tell you...his energy felt nasty evil."
"What village did [this] person came from?" Animus asked, not beating around the bush.
"I'm not exactly sure yet, but the hitai-ate symbol seemed to carry a musical note on it."
A moment of complete silence flooded the room for a minute. It wasn't until the leader spoke again that the quietness was quelled.
"Oto," Ventos exclaimed. "I knew it!"
Heads turn towards the mage.
"What?" Queried the others.
"Otogakure no Sato (Village Hidden by Sound). Like what Tania said before, it's a fairly recent village that came to be before our arrival. During our meetings with the Council, the Godaime would provide information about the suspicious movements of certain villages, major and/or minor. One of them happened to be Oto." Ventos explained.
Curious in nature, Animus asked "What's suspicious about Oto, Brother?"
"If Tania's description of this one Oto-nin is true, and if we consider the rumors about them as well, it is in my firm belief that they are one of the ninja villages that is conspiring against Konoha in this planned invasion."
"I guess that's reasonable. But that only leaves two questions. For one, who is the leader of Oto?" Kai questions.
"Oh, oh, oh! I know who it is!" Beowulf shouted in excitement.
"You do?" Everyone asked in bewilderment.
"Yup! Using my super special awesome thievery stealth, I was able to get near the nerd and take a quick sniff at his scent while using one of my Mythos Soul spells to stay invisible." Boasted young exceed.
"And what did he smell like, brother?" Animus asked.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the guy loves lemons...but I do, therefore, he reeks of snakes." Beowulf finished
"...So Oto is ran by Orochimaru? That makes way too much sense." Ventos groaned while shaking his head.
"If this Orochimaru person is leading the Oto-nin, then which village is collaborating with them?" Tania queried.
"That's a question I keep asking myself, Tania. Honestly, I haven't got the foggiest idea. Though, I if I had to take a wild guess, I'd say to keep a firm eye out for those Suna-nin as are best bet."
Beowulf sniggered at the comment.
"What wrong, scared of that mascara-wearing redhead?" The exceed snarked, only for Kai to bop him in the head.
"Actually, you're not that far off Wulf. But it's not himself that concerns me..." Ventos responded, yet trailed off at the same time.
The Dragon Slayer's mind raced back to the bingo book's page of Gaara, stating his "special status".
"Oi, fearless leader! Snap out of it! What's the next step in our game plan!" Kai asked, catching everybody's attention.
"Right," The former Konoha native jolted, getting back into business in the Runic language. "As according to plan, Kai and Animus is going to drop out as we move on to the third stage of the Chunin Exams. We're doing this is so that we can spread out when shit hits the fan. Even with all five of us combine, it won't be enough to handle the amount of numbers two ninja villages at once on top of the possibilities of summonings and other unexpected things Let's be honest with ourselves here, we're going to need all the help we can get. …Even if its from the Konoha-…and Minato."
"That name...s that [man] you're angry at earlier, Brother?" Animus asked, with Ventos grunting as a confirmation
"Who's Minato?" Inquired Tania.
Beowulf and Kai also grew curious with the mysticism of the person in question. Refraining himself from further explanation, Ventos pointed towards the Hokage Monument from the window. The others gaze upon the four heads in awe before Kai spoke again.
"Aren't those the faces of the Hokage?"
"Mhm." Ventos nodded.
"Then which one is Minato?" Beowulf questioned.
"Just keep looking, it'll come to you..." Ventos muttered, closing his visible eye.
The cryptic message wasn't deciphered until Animus' eyes darted towards the fourth face. Looking at the Yondaime's head, the Animus analyzed the facial features and structure of the rock, therefore, drawing the comparison between the Yondaime. That's where it hit him.
"B-Brother, that face in [the] far right..." Animus started.
"...Looks just like yours!" Kai finished, admitting to herself about the Yondaime's resemblence to to her godbrother.
"With wild locks like those, I'm surprised we didn't notice it when we got here." Beowulf chimed in. "I'd calm him Thunderhead Sr., but that would be an insult to Thunderhead."
Ventos remained unusually silent for a little bit before Tania brought everything together as the answer lit her mind up.
"Ven...Is the Yon Hokage y—" Tania stuttered only for Ventos to swiftly cut her off.
"—Was. He was my father, Titania." Ventos (Naruto) corrected, causing the younger fairy girl to flinch from his dead yet harsh tone. "But if we're getting technical, Minato Namikaze is (partially) responsible for my existence, as well as the fact that I was his heir once upon a time."
Everyone stood in place, trying hard to stay still from the killing intent bumping throughout the apartment.
Not by a minute later, Ventos calmed down to ease his draconic bloodlust and continued on with the conversation.
"As I said earlier, the five of us alone won't be enough. We need more seasoned combatants that can counter the cunning and craftiness of Orochimaru. Minato has access to two other ninja that make up the Sannin. Not to mention that they are familiar with Orochimaru's crazy attack patterns since they were all under the Sandaime Hokage as his students. With us five, Konoha, Mei-sama, and five Kage-level ninja, this will can turn the tide of the invasion to our favor."
"That's good n' all, Thunderhead. but how are you gonna set up meeting your d— err, I mean the Hokage without him noticing who you are?" Beowulf asked, almost slipping up.
"I'm not quite sure yet, Wulf. I'll figure that out when I reach that point. All I know is that after the invasion, I can leave this accursed place and go on in life without those blasted Uzumaki-Namikaze bastards!" Ventos said with finality as he stalked out of his seat.
"Free day tomorrow. Go ahead and roam within close magic power range. I'm going to sleep."
And with that, the blond stormed into his room without saying goodnight to his godfamily.
'Just how much hatred do you have inside, Ven?' Tania thought while the twelve-year-old fairy girl sadly watched her older guild brother exit the kitchen go to bed.
As rest of the mages pondered on the attitude of the blond, Tania found out the true meaning of the mission. The task wasn't just to save the ninja world, no, this was to refrain Ventos (Naurto) from turning towards a dark path.
Realizing this, the other four mages came up with ideas to keep their guild brother from doing something he'll regret, Tania volunteered to spend the rest of the four days off with the grumpy Dragon Slayer and engage with him until the next part of the Chunin Exams.
It was settled, the four wizards were going to help Ventos no matter what.
-The Next Day-
Ventos was up early the next morning heading out to perform his daily exercises by one of the normal training grounds. This ranged from basic stretches, push-ups, crunches, bench pressing by pressing on a slab of rock, to pushing himself up while practicing a handstand simultaneously (a continuation of his training with Maito Gai when he was younger.
Once that was complete he summoned the Ændring (Default) and started practicing simple swipes with his knight arming sword. Getting a handle of the Ændring, made a swift cut into a tree trunk, cutting the tree down in the process. Despite the massive impact it made towards landing into the earth, Ventos continuously trained for about an hour without noticing Tania, who had been silently studying the blond's every movement. She was internally admiring the level of swiftness and technique her guild brother shown, acknowledging him greatly.
'It never gets dull to see him with a sword in hand... And to think after possessing Lost Magic, Ventos never unlocked his Second Origin. Maybe if I asked Master Magius or Lady Galeen to further my magical regimen I could be strong like him and Lucia! I suppose Master can show me how to use Heavenly Body Ma—'
Tania's thoughts were interrupted for her tree was cut down by the forceful swipe of the airborne Ændring, now it it's heavy form. As she lost balance, she let out a shriek while she fell from the branch she sat on.
"KYAAAA!"
Hearing the cry, the teen raised his hand to have his blade levitate and fly back to it's wielder's hand and air-dashed to the voice's source. Much to Ventos' surprise, he found freckle-faced in her tiny fairy form. He scooped up the ball of green light as she stumbled a greeting.
"Um, h-hi, Ventos! Beautiful morning, isn't it?"
"Huh? Tania? What the heck were you doing uo there?"
After an awkward conversation, Tania offered to tag along with Ventos in exploring the area of Konoha to view the various changes and the remnants of his childhood-or lack of. The fairy returned into her human-sized form and traveled with her guild brother into the village of Konoha.
By the time the sun went up, the walked amongst the villagers. The teen's impassive gaze meet with many familiar faces as he kept his younger guild sister close to him at all times. Flashes of horrible memories came back to Ventos as he could recognize most of the middle-aged men and women the two past by. Ventos could remember the death stares being received upon his person as if their eyes were burning the back of his cranium.
He utterly loathes those eyes.
All those years of wrongful ostracisms, over a stupid farce that man instigated through a white lie. Through the subjugation, it taught him to actively become aware of his surroundings. It kept Ventos on edge, always on his toes. And considering that a handful of these people scorn, beaten, and sometimes raped him as a child, that was a good thing.
Meanwhile, Tania who was walking beside her guild brother, she noticed how people were looking at them with strange looks. Murmurs were also auditable to their ears as they kept their pace steady.
"Aren't those two of the Kiri-nin who fought in the civil war?" A random man commented.
"I heard they're one of the current Mizukage's strongest ninja." Responded another villager.
"Really, they don't seem to be that tough at all. They just have unusual clothes." A woman said.
"I don't know about that, that blond guy seems to be asking for a fight." An uncertain civilian whispered.
"Yeah, if that girl is also with him, then she must also have crazy abilities."
"I also heard they got techniques never before seen amongst the entire nations." A young boy added.
"As long as they're allies to the village, we've got nothing to worry about. Our ninja will show them who's the best of the best if they step out of line."
'Tch! You Konoha trash could eat a fat one!' Ventos spat in his mind as he kept a hand on Tania's back to speed up their walking cycle. The girl had an astounded expression on her face.
'Wow, I didn't know Konoha was this pompous. And here I thought goblins were ugly, they have nothing on this place.'
As Tania kept up her older godbrother's pace, she glanced at the dark clothed blond's necklace. Ever since she met him, the fairy was always curious about the shard that hung around his neck. She would see Ventos unconsciously clutch the red shard in with his hand almost protectively. Tania would have raised the question, but always squandered the thought due to other things they had to do at the guildhall (like jobs and such).
But now, this was her chance to ask Ventos (Naruto) questions.
"Hey, Ven?" Asked Titiania.
The scarf covered mage responded with, "What is it, Tania?"
"I've been wondering about your necklace..."
From under his gray scaly scarf, Ventos pulled out the red whirlpool shard that was tied to a chain while asking, "Why mean this old thing? What about it?"
"Well, I was hoping maybe you could tell me where you got it? And why does it look like that?" Tania said, pushing her two index finger shyly, like a certain blue haired girl that he knows.
Even though it was hard to tell from the scarf, however, Ventos's mouth formed a genuine smile as he placed his hands on the back of his head while looking towards the sky. He stopped waling for a moment while gazing at the blue sky.
"It's a piece of a Promise Charm," Ventos answered, gaining the fairy's attention. "You see, I was quite into the tradition of the Uzumaki clan before I came to the magic world. And I did my best to live by their customs, laws, and philosophy. My head is a little fuzzy for what the actual purpose of the Promise Charm's meaning behind it, but what I could understand as a child was that you are supposed to give it to someone whose special to you."
"Aw!~ That's so sweet!" Tania cooed with a girlish squeal and excitement. "Who did you give it to, Ven? Who, who, who?"
"I gave it to the closest person in my life. She was my very first friend. Her name is Hinata Hyūga." He answered in a fond and positive attitude.
"Hold on," Tania said, releasing who her older godbrother was referring to. "Wan't that the girl Kai and Animus was saying you were 'crushing bigtime' over?"
Blinking, Ventos quickly turned away as he was sputtering tsudere quotes like, "Who's crushing big time? I ain't crushing bigtime! Quit listening to them! They're crazy, you know!"
Just as they passed by the crowd, Tania noticed an ice cream shop nearby, prompting the girl to use her puppy-dog eyes to lure the vulnerable Ventos into but said frozen food. While enjoying her treat, the brown-haired, both mages spotted a park nearby.
As they approached their newly sighted destination, a little boy was trying desperately to get his ball from out of the tree. Feeling pity for him, Tania sprouted her wings using Yōsei Mahō and floated towards the tree to pluck the ball from its wood-clad captor. The boy watched in awe as his ball returned to him by a fairy. Ever so grateful, the child has his thanks with a hug, which was returned halfway. When the boy joyfully ran back to his friends, Ventos complimented his guild sister on performing a noble deed. She gave him a gleaming smile, however, a hoard of children ran up to the fairy, begging for her to play with them. Tania agreed all the while being carried off to the playground.
Ventos stared at the cheery sight, chuckling at the kickball the local children and Tania were playing. Wanting to rest somewhere, the swordsman strolled towards a tree for shade. Though, when the mage reached the tree, he stumbled upon another piece of his past.
It was the tree with the swing on it.
He instantly identified this landmark through all the times he sat there in pure isolation. The young man ran his hands on the strings as if he was checking up on an old friend, then slowly sat on the sturdy plank of wood.
'Funny, even as of now, you manage to keep me up. Huh, the swing was a more of a friend than most of the Rookie 9. Was I really that much of a loser to them compared to my own twin? My other half?'
The mage sat for a long time, getting acquainted with the swing as he going over a mental retrospect on his past. Back when he was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, the blond had little to no friends due to the popularity of Ruki his aversion thanks to the civilians. Their children were filled with the idea that the presence of the "demon" might taint them.
By the time he began attending school, Naruto was reduced to a shadow amongst his peers, always retreating to the very tree he was sitting on. He spent many years just sitting and watching the other children and their parents interacting and playing. But nobody bothered to look his way, not even his own flesh and blood.
What was he supposed to be, chopped liver? Wasn't he in need of attention like other eople? He was a kid too! Why couldn't he be treated with love just as much as Ruki?! Just when the returning emotions slowly rose from Ventos' chest, a lone tear slowly slid down from his blind eye.
Tania played with the local children for forty-five minutes straight, engaging herself with them as they bask in the game of kickball. She would have continued if she hadn't noticed her guild brother's demeanor from simply turning towards his direction. Knowing her priorities, she cut the game short with them. After exchanging farewells, Tania flew to her brother in search of his fallen mojo.
"Ventos, what's gotten you upset?"
"...This swing."
"What about it?"
"As a child, I've spent most of my time here, isolated from the other kids. Nobody bothered to even look towards my direction. Not even my p— the Hokage and his wife. Overtime, the coldness of the empty swing started becoming more warm than anything I've received from this village that I purposely exiled myself here. And even to this day...it still feels like I haven't left at all."
Tania felt every word pressing against her heart. It pained to see her role model upset like that. It was unlike him in every way. She rubbed his shoulder affectionately, with the hope of cheering him up.
"Ven...I didn't know you had to go through that. I'm so sorry about that. But you what it did in the end? It made you a heck of a lot stronger! And since also you've got us, ya won't have to worry about being alone. We'll reach our hands out and pull ya away from the darkness, bring you back to the light."
The teen stood up from the swing with an increase of resolving, his eye sharpening in the process.
"...Aye, you're right. I am stronger because of it. And with you guys by my side, our light will shine brightly!"
"That's the spirit!"
URGHHH!
Both mages blush from the embarrassment as the covered their stomachs. The exchange weary smiles while Tania suggested they find themselves to grab a bite to eat.
Fortunately for Tania, Ventos remembers only can recall one place where he was accepted to dine from time to time.
It was a place called Ramen Ichiraku!
-Ramen Ichiraku, Moments Later-
The duo of wizards arrived at the small facility with the pastel blond leading the way. The two settled at the shop, sitting at the shop.
Tania basked at the sight of the ramen stand, taking in the decorations and oriented style. It was like a painting to her, a visual marvel. The fairy wished to have a shop like ramen at back at Midgård.
Meanwhile, Ventos visually walking down memory lane. He could recall working at the stand as a busboy, washing and drying silverware, pots, pans, and other dishes for money. Yeah, since the boy's relationship with his ex-family was strained, "Naruto" needed to find other methods of obtaining revenue aside from an "allowance" from the Yondaime. No other shop would accept a "demon", which got him nowhere.
Thankfully, a kind middle-aged man and his daughter who was slightly older than him gave him a chance. Impressed with his skill and determination, Teuchi and Ayame happily accepted him as apart of their family shop. During and after hours, Naruto was the life of the stand, acting his usually goofy and cheery self, bringing laughter, joy, and most importantly, life.
...And the rest was history.
The Dragon Slayer was then brought back to reality by the shaking sensation that came from a hand that was on his arm.
"Ventos, hello? Earthland to Ventos!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that, Tania. What were you saying?"
The freckled fairy shook her head at her sometimes clueless brother.
"Honestly, ya never seem to notice anything. It's times like these that me wonder what is going on in that noggin of yours."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ventos growled mockingly in Runic.
The human-sized green-clad fairy giggled at Ventos' antics.
"Oh, it's nothing important really~!" The girl sang in Runic, mildly enjoying their exchange.
The two continued their humorous dialogue, playfully and softly jabbing at each other verbally. Unbeknownst the pair, an old man appeared before them out of the curiosity and the "racket" the two was causing. This man was the owner of the stand, Teuchi.
At first, his intentions were to kick them out since the ramen shop was not supposed to open for another two hours, but after gazing upon the vanity that was before his person, he couldn't help but let his old heart melt. The sensation felt warm and caring, something he hadn't felt in eight years.
So out of kindness, he snapped out of his usual depressed state and cleared his throat, gathering the pair's attention with a warm genuine smile.
"Hello there! I take it that you two youngsters were here for lunch, ne?" Teuchi guesses in Nihongo.
The two mages nodded at the older man respectfully.
"Hai sir, I was hoping to spend my lunch at the fabled 'Greatest ramen shop out of all of the five nations'. Ventos responded Teuchi's language, having flashbacks to the times Teuchi boasted about his dishes.
Teuchi rubbed the back of his neck while simultaneously chuckling the same memories unbeknownst to the pastel blond.
"Heh heh heh, I don't mean to brag but they are made with my famous recipe. …Though I'm sorry to disappoint you two but my shop doesn't open for another two hours. My daughter is probably showering at the moment and I still need time to prepare the food." Teuchi answered.
"My, that's just too bad. And here I was going to treat my sister to her first-ever taste of ramen. It's a real bummer..." Ventos mentioned as he turned back to the road, preparing to walk out with his sister.
"Hey Ven, what gives?" Tania whispered at him.
"Trust me on this one, Tania. I know what I'm doing." Ventos hushed back as they slowly walked away.
3, 2, 1.
"HOLD YOUR HORSES! I GOT SOME LEFTOVERS IN THE BACK! I CAN HEAT UP SOME OF THAT FREE OF CHARGE! JUST COME BACK, SHE NEEDS TO HAVE SOME RAMEN, ASAP!" Teuchi implored.
'Got him!' Ventos thought to himself slyly.
After that embarrassing scene, the mages sat back at the stand as the young fairy happily slurped down on some of Teuchi's leftover ramen from last night. The girl ended up getting hooked to miso ramen, which became her favorite. The old man boasted a proud laugh, rivaling that of the mages' guild master.
Teuchi revealed that his food was all we ingredients, he inherited from his family. As the conversation bounces from introductions to foods, the chef became rather curious about the origins of the pair, however, Ventos' voice moved much faster than Tania anticipated, therefore, answering quicker.
Ventos vaguely responded without revealing anything significant since he is in a ninja village. If any word got out of magic power, let alone wizardry, unwanted attention would lead to potentially excessive dangerous threats.
Needless to say, that's a problem that Ventos and his guild didn't want to be involved in.
"I see. Well since you and your sister have been kind enough to wait and listen to this old man speak, I decided to give you both a fifty percent discount on whatever you buy and prepare it right away." Announced the old man.
"Really, you mean that Teuchi-san?" Tania asked with her eyes lighting up.
"And how!"
The girl cheered in happiness while searching for her next vict—I mean meal. Ventos also looked up towards the menu, eager to taste one of his favorite foods. As his eye surfed over the food pallet, one item struck his heart.
It was a dish labeled "Narutomaki soup special".
'N-Narutomaki? O-Oji-san...Did I mean that much to you?' Ventos pondered in regret.
"Oi, can I have the Narutomaki special?" Ventos asked, prompting the ramen chef to hesitate for a moment, followed by looking closely into the teen's eye.
"What's wrong, Teuchi-san?"
The old man broke away from that stare he was giving to our hero.
"Oh, it's not a problem at all, it's just that you are the very first person to even consider purchasing this dish."
Ventos wasn't really surprised at this point, only showing a deadpan face. He guessed that since his birth name was integrated into the name of the dish. Everybody and their relatives' bigotry against "Naruto's" existence condition the villagers to stay away from all things representing him. This included things like "demonic offerings".
"Don't give me wrong, you'll be served with the item you requested, I just need Ayame-chan to help me prepare it. It's our way of remembering somebody dear to the family. Surely you understand that, right?" Teuchi asked with a semi-somber tone, receiving a set of nods.
The tinge of sadness laced in the throat of the usually jolly old chef really broke Ventos and Tania's hearts. They could really tell that they found of Naruto so to witness grief over his supposed loss wretched both of their souls deeply. The chef excused himself as he went upstairs to fetch his daughter. Warm tears ran down her face just Ventos kept his head down low.
"Oh my stars...*sniffles* Ven, they—"
"Yeah, l-I know."
"When do you plan on telling them?"
"..."
The fairy took the silence her of her brother as a vague answer of confliction. At one hand, the blond wizard wanted to reveal himself. But on the other hand, he'll be endangering his new family and complicating thir mission further. It was a chance that outweighed the pros with serious cons at its disposal. To say that Tania understood the situation was the equivalent of stating the water is wet.
Moving away from this awkward position, Tania brought her voice back whisking wiping her tears off her freckled face.
"What do you suppose Kai is doing at the moment?"
"Don't know at the moment. But knowing her, she's probably wounded up at a local bar for a binge drinking session." Ventos smirked slightly, lighting his face up a little.
-Meanwhile, At The Subarashī Bar-
The seventeen-year-old Phoenix Slayer sat at a stand, sitting across the bartender. The girl asked for the bar's strongest alcohol beverage available. After a few moments, the bartender, Shu, carried two bottles at the counter; one was Nihonshū, and the other bottle was contained Shochu.
"Okay, since this place is exotic to me, I'll call this bad boy the "Elating Oriental Crash". See, what you do is take those bottles and my cup, then pour them both in my cup at the same time. After that, you keep feeding me shots until I give you the "when". Kai instructed.
You will tell us "when", right?" Asked the middle aged man asked his customer with a voice filled with uncertainty.
"Oi, less talk-y, more pour-y!" Slurred the teenage girl in a wisecracking manner
Kai popped both corks as poured the alcoholic beverages into her shot cup.
"KONOHA-CATION (Konoha and Vacation)!"
-Back At Ramen Ichiraku-
Teuchi can back downstairs with a brown-haired young lady wearing normal civilian clothing with a white apron over her waist.
This was Ayame, Teuchi's daughter and future successor of the ramen stand.
The old man introduced the two customers to her in which both mages greeted accordingly. Tania greeted her normal perky self, chirping out a "Hello!" which Ayame found adorable. The same can't be said about our favorite pastel blond, who stared at his old friend/older sister-figure.
Flashbacks of her teaching his younger self how to properly read, write, perform basic math equations and study struck his mind.
Meanwhile, Ayame analyzed and blushes slightly at the handsome hunk that was in front of her. The most notable charm was the scarf wrapped around his face that gave him a mysterious factor to his attractiveness.
However, she quickly brushed off the bad thoughts away before her fantasies kicked in. It took an elbow to the ribcage from Tania to make the Dragon Slayer respond.
"Oh, uh Ventos, I'm Hi!" Was the hybrid's genius response.
Tania and Ayame giggled along with a barking laugh could be heard from Teuchi. His embarrassing mix up of words made Ventos' only escape be his scarf, which he hid in to cover his red cheeks.
After Ventos' cute moment ceased (much to the boy's thankfulness), Ayame took the time to acknowledge his generosity of ordering the Narutomaki special. He waved it off, recognizing the 'tragedy' and sending his condolences to the ramen-selling family. Ventos assured to the brunette that Naruto (himself) would appreciate the kindness of the father-daughter duo had shown the boy. Furthermore, Ventos stated that the boy loved the two like a family he had never had and that he'll never stop loving them, even in death.
She gave him a sincere "Thank you" followed by a small hug. Ayame broke the hug and took towards her kitchen with her father to prepare Ventos' meal. Moments later, the pair came back with the bowl of ramen and a hopeful expression.
"Here you are, Vento-san. This was based on Naru-chan's favorite style of ramen. I just added some vegetables, chicken, and fishcakes into the dish while the main miso broth stayed the same." Ayame described.
Everyone watched as the young man, who took off his scarf mind you, brought his chopsticks to the noodles, grabbed a few to cool down using his breath and slurped it down. Ventos' left eye shot up at light speeds before he dug back into his food. With chopstick in hand, no noodle, chicken, or vegetable was left unattended as they were devoured by Ventos. In the background, Teuchi, Ayame, and Tania watch the whole scene play out in amusement.
"It appears that he likes it." Laughed Teuchi.
"You're telling me, he's ravaging the food like a beast!" Ayame stated, glancing at the Thunderhead in awe with the sense of a familiar lightheartedness.
"That poor bowl..." Tania bantered while giggling to herself.
-Not Far From Ramen Ichiraku-
"I'm going to the Ichiraku Stand! Ichi-ra-, Ichi-ra, Ichiraku Stand!~" Bara happily sung repeatedly as she took off running to the ramen stand like the roadrunner from a certain cartoon. The mini-redhead blazed across the village with her mother not too far behind.
"Bara-chan, slow down!" Kushina cried out, trying desperately to catch her ramen-crazed daughter.
If there was anything Kushina regret in life, it was two things. One was her negligence of caring for her "late" son, Naruto, and two, passing one her verbal tic and mannerisms to her youngest child.
'I'm starting to feel like Kami-sama likes to torment me with things like this as retribution. ...It's not like I don't deserve it. Kuso!'
"Hurry up, Momma, it's coupon day at Ichiraku's. And I can't wait to use the coupons that I've been saving since my birthday." The energetic red-haired girl hollered. Kushina's violet eyes widen in horror at the little girl's words.
'Oh by the gods, she's gonna have a field day! Oh well, at least we'll be able to save money. I swear this girl is so much like my younger self that it's terrifying.'
-At Ramen Ichiraku, Moments Later-
The one eyed finished off the last bit of broth left at the bowl, gently bringing the bowl down to the counter. His expression was filled with satisfaction and life. He placed his chopsticks on top of the bowl and lightly let out a burp, excusing himself.
"I gotta say, Teuchi-san, Ayame-san, this food tasted divine. It's a meal fit for three kings."
"Oh really? Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it!" The man said with Ayame nodded in agreement.
"Oh hey, can I order my food next? I want to taste miso ramen fresh from the pot!" Tania chirped.
"Sure thing Tania-chan! Coming righ-" Ayame stated before being cut off.
"OI, AYAME-NEE, OJI-SAN!"
The local ramen chefs and the duo of mages brought their newly found focus on a small chubby-faced red-headed girl with fair skin and a seemingly cute and yet strikingly familiar set of bright blue eyes.
"Ah, Bara-chan! How's my favorite youngster doing?" Teuchi greeted the seven-year-old.
"I'm great, me and Mama came from the park after I was playing ninja with the other kids."
"Great, glad that you're having fun. Speaking of her, where is Kushina?" Ayame asked.
Coming into a screeching halt was the running Kushina, who looked tired as hell and about to pass out at any moment.
'Oh sweet Kami, this child is running me ragged!'
"Darn it, Bara! Didn't I tell you to slow down, 'ttebane?" Kushina scolded, raising her fist to the air while her nine locks of hair moved in a wavy manner.
"But Mama...it's ramen. Delicious tastey ramen." Bara whined. Kushina lessened her irritation.
"I know, Bara-chan, I love ramen too. But I told you to stop running. And what did you do? You kept running."
Ever since the alleged "death" of the eldest child of the Yondaime, the Ichiraku owners had banned from their stand, blaming the loss of Naruto on the family's negligence and inhuman abuse from the grieving civilians.
However, things took a complete one-eighty once the redhead popped out her mini-me. It wasn't her physical appearance, but Bara's personality that reminded them of Naruto.
Once the Ichiraku, particularly Ayame, got to know her and how she was raised with a better temperament than Ruki as a child, Kushina was given a second chance whereas Minato was still considered banned for renouncing his firstborn as his heir and son (unintentionally). While the two Ichiraku family interacted with the Uzu-Nami family, Tania squealed at the cute scene the two newcomers were having.
Despite that, the moment the one-eyed swordsman saw Kushina, is mind went on autopilot.
'By the all-fuck! Why in the Heavenly Saints IS SHE DOING HERE!?' Ventos screamed in his conscious.
His glare only continued until his left eye met Kushina's violet orbs, both were studying each other with gazes.
Kushina saw the shock, familiarity, anger, and the feeling of... b-betrayal? It confused her to no end since she hasn't met the young man before. Though, that glare the mage was sending her seemed so...haunting to her. It was as if a ghost that derived from her worst nightmare had risen up from the depths of hell to inflict misery upon her until the Uzumaki in her guilt-ridden mind.
Even so, Kushina had some sort of awareness, almost feeling a linkage towards him. And from the look of Ventos' (mostly covered)face, it like gazing upon a long lost loved one.
This boy looked like her baby boy.
The two did not dare to let out another word, Bara stole the show by greeting herself.
"Oh, Kon'ichiwa Kiri-nin! I've heard lots of things 'bout you! Papa said that the new Mizukage is friends with Konoha! I like making new friends. I'm Bara, Bara Uzumaki-Namikaze. One day, I'll be the future strongest Kunoichi of Konohagakure!" She exclaimed as she brought her little fist up.
Tania couldn't help but gush at the child.
"You are too precious! Ven, can we keep her? Can we, can we?"
The guild brother in question wasn't on the receiving end of those words as he concentrated on the Bara girl.
Those bastards popped another one out after he 'died' all those years ago! And after all the shit he put him through! That angered him greatly, and yet no ill feelings were present in Bara at all. This wasn't an arrogant, malicious monster.
This was a little girl. A sister, hi—Naruto's sister.
He couldn't call this his own sister. Ventos couldn't stay in this world to be the brother this little girl deserved. It pains the teen's soul greatly. But the sense of genuine happiness and curiosity resonated with Ventos, unbeknownst to them, created a link between him and Bara. Tania responded by a wave of her hand.
"Hiya, my name is Tania! Beside me is my older brother and leader, Ventos!"
Bara only gazed at the brunette's face and spiky ears for a good minute only to break the silence through her impulsive speech.
"—Fairy."
"Eh?"
Everybody aside Ventos and Tania cocked a brow with a confused stare. Though, in spite of that, Bara persisted on her claim.
"You look like the fairies from those pop-up stories Ruki-nee read to me. I'm gonna call you Fairy-chan."
"Actually, Bara-chan, my name is Tania." The freckled twelve-year-old corrected, yet to no avail due to the young redhead's stubbornness.
"...I'm still calling you Fairy-chan!"
'Aw, she's such a sweet child. I hope that she stays this innocent.' Kushina, Teuchi, and Ayame thought simultaneously.
The two mages were just as stunned by the little girl's comment, none more so than Ventos, who took a moment to sort his thoughts out.
'Who's kid is this? That blond piece of Vulcan shit might be smart but there's no way in the nine realms that his genes could cause this child's intelligence to spike at her age! I wasn't that smart at that age! …Maybe she's just superstitious like her bastard of a father. Okay, not family-screwing-over superstitious, but superstitious nonetheless.'
Shaking his head from overthinking, Ventos waited for his younger godsister to claim her ramen to go. Once that was done, he quietly greeted his old friends' goodbye, but not before Bara waved him off by saying "Good luck Ranryū-san!". He turned back to her and brought index and middle fingers together and saluted to the child before phasing out of the area with her sister in a small flash of lightning. However, Kushina's critical eye caught something in just a spli secod.
It was Ventos' scar on his right eye.
You see, unbeknownst to everyone, several years prior to Bara's conception, Kushina found out about nearly every single injury her late son had been subjugated to at the hands of the village. Not by curiosity, but by mere coincidence. After the falling out with her longtime friends, the Uzumaki-Namikaze matriarch went to the hospital to guiltily sign the death date of Naruto when one particular looking file was left out waiting to be viewed by someone.
So Kushina, being the impulsive person that she is, ran through the file only to discover that not only that it was Naruto's past medical records but it had documented his history of body restoration. And as she scrolled further down the list, the deeper the wound in her soul grew as the gruesome descriptions of each injury worsen.
By the time she finished with the nearly one hundred and eighty paged file, her knees were too weak to continue holding her pitiful state. Hot tears poured down her face and her hair began to grow more and more misplaced and messed up.
Though it only fueled her tenaciousness to learn more about her wrongdoings a failure of a mother, so when she learned of Naruto's killer and public execution sentence, the last Uzumaki rushed in for a little revenge and interrogation at Mizuki's jail cell at the Torture and Interrogation Unit.
For the hour of Kushina beating the ever-living crap out of Mizuki, she'd finally found the revelation of her son's last moments. The details nearly crushed her entire heart, hearing that for the last year of his life Naruto was lynched by an angry mob, was set on fire by civilian kids, and on top of that was not only sodomized, but halfway blinded by t-this pig of a man! By the time she was done with him, Mizuki was softened up for the public execution. Minato never found out about Kushina's discovery or her assault on the traitor.
In spite of that, her newly found knowledge and remembrance of Mito's Uzumaki creed gave Kushina the edge she needed to become a better mother to her next child, Bara. But now since she read and saw the face of this new Kiri ninja, she must inform her husband on this matter, for it's too important to stay silent like she had been all these years.
As Kushina looked at her daughter and thought back to Ventos and his blind right eye, a sudden wave of emotion washed over her entire body.
...And that sudden feeling was the sensation of hope.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note:
I believe that this is where the chronicles is starting to move a whole lot slower in pacing. Trust me, I have twenty six of them (not to mention four Omake) with the twenty seventh one on the way on Wattpad. But you know what, I'm glade I am doing this on here. It allows me to flush out certain things while removing, or altering outdated and cringy content (like jokes or dialogue).
Let me know how you feel by reviewing this chapter. I'll see you guys later! Have a blessed day! Shadow, out!
-DarkShadowGames451