I've been told multiple times that Ares is a pretty uncommon name and I can't disagree... There's about eight billion people on this planet and I'm not sure there's up to a thousand people going by this name. Well,my story is as strange as my name is... I never thought something of this sort would even happen to me... But I eventually learned that impossibility is just an empty word...
Earth,Year XXXX,Month Unknown.
"Bye Ares! Don't burn down the house while we're gone!"
"Later sis! I can't promise anything!"
The slamming door and the silence that followed was confirmation that Ares was now officially home alone, causing the boy to sigh with relief. Ares' parents and older sibling had gone out to a friend's birthday party and being the introvert that he is,the 14 year old boy decided to stay back home. This particular boy had tan skin, brown eyes and spiky black hair (picture Yuuji from JJK but with black hair instead of pink) as well as a small but noticable scar across his nose (like Iruka's but smaller).
Ares was only too happy to have the house all to himself. It gave him a lot more time to catch up on his favorite anime and Manga: Naruto... Although he'd dropped it for a while due to the fact that other shows had caught his attention as well as him being swamped with school life. But now since the world was practically on pause, he had an opportunity to watch to his heart's content! Though things were slowly getting back to normal...
Ares quickly dashed into his room and reached for his laptop which was on the bed. Plugging his headphones in,he clicked on the episode where he'd left off and smiled as the opening soundtrack started.
Three Hours Later:
"No way... No way!" Ares grinned at the screen. "I wasn't expecting them to take him without a fight but this?!"
He'd spent the first hour watching the last arc of Naruto Shippuden and the last two hours starting Boruto. Currently he was watching the Chūnin exams arc where Naruto got abducted by Momoshiki.
"Man,he really sacrificed himself to protect the village..." Ares smiled. "classic Naruto"
The boy then took off his headphones and got off his bed. Stopping at his window, he looked out at the blue sky; it was pretty sunny out and the silver clouds aligned the sky in little stripes. Ares sighed contentedly at the scenery before deciding to walk around... He needed something to eat anyway.
Getting off the bed,he made his way towards the kitchen. Opening the fridge,he found a few red apples but nothing much beyond that. Ares sighed and closed the fridge before heading to the cabinet.
"So it's either apples or Lucky Charms..." He mumbled, staring at the cereal box in front of him before reaching for it. "I hope Lex brings me something from the birthday party"
Suddenly the boy heard a light thump, causing him to freeze in his tracks,his heart almost stopping. He was the only one home and they didn't own any pets.
"What was that?" He asked aloud. Grabbing a knife for safety reasons,Ares made his way around his house carefully. He could've just imagined the sound but he didn't want to take any chances. He walked around the house, checking every room, bathrooms and the garage included and yet he found nothing. Ares walked back into the kitchen and scratched his head.
"I could've sworn I heard..."
"Come to your room..." A voice said.
"What the hell?!" Ares panicked at the sudden voice. "Who?... What-"
"Come to your room..." The voice came again, though it sounded distant now.
'Come to my room?' Ares questioned,but followed nonetheless with his knife still firm in his right hand. On getting to his bedroom,he looked around carefully, a little scared to be in his own room but can you blame him?
Eventually something caught his eye; it was an object stuck in his room wall. Walking over he recognized it to be a triple pronged kunai and immediately pulled it out.
"How did..." Ares trailed off. He was genuinely confused as to what the kunai was doing in his room cause he didn't own any Naruto merch... Much less a Kunai. His eyes traveled down to the handle and he read the inscription aloud.
"Flying ThunderGod Technique"
A burst of white light immediately fills Ares' room and the teenager feels himself getting pulled into a direction that he can't make out due to the light's blinding nature. Once the light died down,Ares found himself in an all white space, surrounded by nothingness and yet firmly standing instead of floating in space.
"What the hell... Where am I?" Ares asked.
"Ah,there you are..."
The same voice interrupts Ares' thinking,but this time he was sure it came from behind him. Turning around,Ares was shocked at what he saw.
Standing in front of him was a blonde man with spiky blonde hair and a headband with a very familiar symbol inscribed on it. He also wore a white shirt sleeved jacket that stopped somewhere above his knees.
"I was wondering what was taking so long, maybe I'm finally losing my speed" The man chuckled. Ares looked at him wide-eyed, trying not to trip on his own feet. The entire situation seemed so surreal to him that he pinched himself,he couldn't believe who he was looking at.
"You... How is this..." Ares stuttered before he found his words again. "Minato!!"
The father of Naruto chucked at the boy's reaction. "That's me alright,but let's talk about you,Ares"
"You know my name?" Ares was dumbfounded. Minato nodded.
"And I also know that you've seen everything about not only my life but my son and future grandson as well"
"How's that even possible?" Ares was still overwhelmed by the the entire situation. "How are you real?!"
"That's not important right now," Minato said. "But I need you to do something for me... Think of it as a mission"
Ares nodded in understanding. "I'm listening"
"I know you have a fictional story in your world similar to my son's called Avatar, right?" Minato asked and Ares nodded once again. "How much of it do you know?"
"Not a lot," Ares shook his head honestly. "All I remember is that the main character was this kid with a blue arrow on his head"
"I see..." Minato nodded. "Well here's the plot of it; Their world has been ravaged by war for a hundred years and there's supposed to be this person of great power who would restore balance to the world. That person is the Avatar; the boy with the arrow tattoo you mentioned. The Avatar went missing a hundred years ago but recently returned after two kids found him. The Avatar's name is Aang and he'll be accompanied by his friends; Sokka,Katara and now you"
"As great as that sounds, Minato" Ares said. "I don't have any extraordinary abilities and I'm not a Taijutsu expert like Guy or Lee so how am I supposed to help?"
Minato calmly walked up to the 14 year old and placed his knuckles to his own forehead before placing them on that of Ares. Suddenly,he started seeing multiple images race by him in a blur as a strange sensation enveloped his body at the same time. At the end of the process,Ares ended up crumbling to his knees while panting, his eyes wide.
"What... What was that?!" The boy panted out.
Minato helped him to his feet. "We don't have a lot of time so I'll explain as quickly as possible; I just opened your body's chakra pathways so now you can do anything you've seen in the books and shows about my son's life. As far as I can tell,you have Fire, Lightning and Wind release nature. I also gave you some of the knowledge I picked up so now your hand to hand combat has improved as well"
A big grin was pasted on the kid's face at the end of the explanation. "So that means I can use the Rasengan?!" Minato laughed softly at the boy's expression before nodding.
"Awesome!" Ares started at his hands in excitement.
"Now before you get too excited,Ares," Minato said. "I need you to pull up your shirt and see if you notice anything different"
Ares raised an eyebrow but followed the Fourth Hokage's instructions, pulling his shirt up to see a spiral seal that he knew all too well on his stomach.
Crap.
"Minato Sensei..." Ares said. "Would you mind explaining why there's a Jinchuriki seal on my stomach?!"
"Well as you already know, I sealed half of the Nine Tails inside Naruto and the other half inside myself," Minato said. "When I touched your forehead,I transferred the Yin half of Kurama into you so now you're now his official Jinchuriki... But don't worry about him trying to break out. Unlike my son's half, the Yin half is a bit more... Understanding"
"Why do I feel like this is against Kurama's will?" Ares asked, causing Minato to laugh a little.
"Now there's just one more thing to do" Minato said.
"Huh?" Ares raised an eyebrow.
Minato then snapped his fingers, causing a bright light to envelope Ares' body. Once the light died down,Ares looked to see that his clothes had now changed to a black hoodie with the Chūin vest worn over it,coupled with dark grey pants which stopped at his ankles and black sandals.
Minato looked at him with a small smile. "Good,now you look like you belong in the Avatar world. Now listen Ares, you'll definitely be met with hardships,but I know you'll be able to get past them... And with the knowledge you have,the knowledge I gave you and the Yin half of Kurama,I know you'll be able to save the four nations alongside the Avatar. This is your mission, do you understand?"
"Yes, Minato Sensei" Ares said. Minato smiled at being called Sensei again as it'd been a long time since he was addressed that way.
"I also want to give you something," Minato said before starting to untie his headband. He also pulled out one of his kunai and handed both items to the new Jinchuriki.
"Why...?" Ares asked in disbelief. "I don't deserve either of them"
"Think of it as a gift for accepting this mission," Minato smiled. "And as something to remember me by when things get rough"
"Thank you, Sensei" Ares said in a near whisper.
"Now it's time to get going kid," Minato said. "I'll be watching"
Before Ares can say anything else, the white space once again becomes blinding before the 14 year old feels himself falling before he slips into unconsciousness.
"Hey, Katara! Check this out" A bald boy with a blue arrow on his head cried out. This is Aang,the last Airbender and the Avatar that was destined to save the world from the hundred year war. Aang did a backflip in midair causing a dark skinned girl to giggle. This girl was named Katara.
"Pretty impressive Aang," Katara said in a motherly tone. "but you might wanna be careful,we don't want you to fall off,even if you can use Airbending to break your fall"
"Yes mom" Aang playfully rolled his eyes.
"If you guys are done messing around,can you make Appa go any faster?" Sokka asked with a bored expression. Before Aang can reply,a bright light appeared in front of them, startling Appa.
"Woah! Easy boy!" Aang said, pulling vat his reins and the bison finally stops thrashing and stops midair.
"What the heck was that light?" Sokka asked.
"I don't know," Katara said. "Should we go check it out?"
"No,are you crazy?!" Sokka scolded his sister. "We don't have time for this and besides it could be a Fire Nation trap"
"Since when do firebenders control light?" Katara asked, causing Sokka to go silent. She then turned to Aang. "Take us down, Aang"
The Airbender nodded his head and guided Appa down towards the source of the light. Once the sky bison landed,the three ran up to what appeared to be a small crater and saw a light skinned boy lying in the crater.
"Who is he?" Aang asked.
"His clothes are so strange..." Katara observed. "What's that in his hands?"
"It could be a trap" Sokka said once again, earning a glare from his sister.
The three kids slid into the hole to check on the strange boy. Katara reached him first and went to check his pulse.
"He's alive,but unconscious" She said.
"What is this,some kind of knife?" Aang asked, walking up behind Katara and picking up the strangely shaped knife from the boy's hand.
Sokka made his way over as well and picked up the headband to examine it. "The symbol on this metal plate... It definitely isn't Fire Nation or any nation I know of"
"Then who is he?" Katara asked.
"Hey,brat... Wake up"
"Uhh... Five more minutes..."
"Wake up kid"
"Just let me sleep..."
"Wake up you brat!"
Ares woke up with a loud gasp, breathing heavily before becoming aware of his surroundings. He looked around and saw he was in a dark space with yellowish water on the floor,he also looked around to see that the darkness surrounded him.
"Finally, you're awake"
"Woah!" Ares turned around,startled at the booming voice. His eyes immediately met a set of sharp teeth dark orange fur which could easily be mistaken for brown and a pair of piercing red eyes staring back at him. Ares gulped as the realization hit him.
"Ku... Kurama..." He stuttered,not believing he was currently staring at the Nine Tails... Or at least half of him.
The tailed beast looked at him for a few seconds before smiling a little at the boy's expression.
"Yes, I'm Kurama the Nine Tailed demon fox," he said. "And you're Ares,my new Jinchuriki"
The spiky haired boy nodded,still frozen in shock and a little fear. The Nine Tails chuckled.
"Lighten up,kid" he said. "I'm not going to eat you... Or hurt you"
"Wow..." Ares said in disbelief. "You're so... Nice!"
"Hn"
"I guess Minato Sensei was right about you being more understanding" Ares scratched his head.
"Not exactly but yes," Kurama explained. "Somehow you and your beloved Fourth Hokage managed to change my view on humanity, you're different from the others... And being stuck inside the reaper with him for all that time... He slowly managed to grow on me"
"Yeahh..." Ares mused. "He's an awesome guy"
"Anyway," Kurama continued. "I'm not locked in a cage so you've earned some of my respect... Though not all of it" Kurama said.
"I guess that seems fair," Ares replied. "I do know why you hate humans and i really don't blame you... So I have no reason to restrict you"
Kurama hummed in response,his breath ruffling Ares' current clothes.
"So what's the plan now?" Ares asked.
"Well, your physical body is currently lying in a small crater and surrounded by three people,one of them is this supposed Avatar" Kurama explained. "One of the reasons we're speaking is cause you're unconscious and the other is so you can practice your ninjutsu safely"
"Do I really have to practice?" Ares questioned. "I already know how it works"
"It's not the same as actually using it," Kurama scolded. "Almost reminds me of Naruto..."
Ares laughed at the statement. "alright,oh wise Fox spirit... What're we doing first?"
Kurama rolled his eyes. "Let's try something simple; do the Shadow Clone Jutsu"
Ares nodded and put his fingers into the cross sign.
Twenty Minutes Later...
"Well,kid I have to say I'm impressed" Kurama complimented. Ares smiled as he lay on his back,hands under his head.
"Thanks... And I told you I knew how it worked," He teased. "I've technically been studying ninjutsu for years"
"Don't get cocky," Kurama narrowed his eyes. "It's gonna get harder eventually"
"Yeah..." Ares pondered on Minato's words from before.
"Alright, it's time for you to wake up kid," Kurama yawned. "we'll speak again another time"
"Right," Ares grunted as he got to his feet, smiling at the tailed beast. "Bye... Kurama"
Ares groaned as his eyes slowly began to open,only to shut them again tighter that before due to sunlight hitting them. Soon he started to hear voices... Most likely the voices of the people Kurama told him about.
"Guys, he's waking up" A squeaky voice said.
"What do we do?" A female voice asked.
"I say we get rid of him" Another voice suggested.
"Sokka!"
Once he opened his eyes, Ares was met with a bald headed boy and two other kids who had the same skin color as him; a boy and a girl. He supposed these were the kids Minato was talking about.
"Where... am I?" Ares groggily sat up and held his head.
"You're currently in a hole" the dark skinned boy answered simply, earning a punch from the girl.
"Are you okay?" The girl asked.
"Yeah..." Ares replied. "Or at least I think I am"
Finally getting up, Ares decided to look at his surroundings. From what he could see they were in a grassy plain... Probably even a field. He then realized the items Minato gave him were missing again. He searched himself to find them but to no avail, causing him to panic.
"Crap, how could I lose them?!" Ares scolded himself, looking around the crater. "Have any of you seen a headband or a kunai anywhere?"
"You mean this?" The bald boy asked, bringing the kunai out.
"Oh,thank you" Ares breathed a sigh of relief before taking the triple pronged kunai. "what about the headband?"
The dark skinned boy,who was also sporting a ponytail flashed the headband at Ares,who wasted no time to reach for it... Unfortunately the pony tailed boy put it behind him before the newly made Jinchuriki could reach it.
"Before I give you this, I'm gonna ask you some questions," the boy said, glaring at Ares. "does that seem fair?"
"Dude, just give me the headband, I'm not running away" Ares said,still trying to get the headband from him.
"Sokka,give him his headband" the dark skinned girl scolds.
'Wait, Sokka... Isn't that one of the names Minato Sensei told me about?"
"Wait, Sokka?" Ares asked.
"Yeah, that's my name" the pony tailed boy,now known to be Sokka said, eyeing the Jinchuriki with distrust. "What about it?"
"There wouldn't happen to be a Katara among you would there?" Ares asked.
"Wait,how do you know my sister's name?!" Sokka pulled out his boomerang snd stood between Ares and the other two. "I told you guys he could be a Fire Nation spy!"
"It's the iceberg incident all over again" Katara facepalmed. "Sokka,stop it"
"And I'm guessing you're..." Ares started, pointing at Aang. "Holy crap... How didn't I noticed the arrow tattoos earlier?"
"What do you mean?" The bald looked nervous.
"You're the Avatar!" Ares said in realization.
"How do you know all this?!" Sokka demanded again, pointing his boomerang directly at Ares who raised his hands to show he was innocent, though he wasn't scared of Sokka in the slightest... On the contrary he was resisting the urge to laugh.
"Calm down," he said. "I come in peace... I was sent by my Sensei to come help the Avatar on his journey"
"Your what?" Katara raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word.
"My teacher" Ares clarified.
"Then you must mean Sifu" the bald boy said.
"I'm pretty sure I mean Sensei" Ares replied.
"Alright, enough!" Sokka said,not letting his guard down. "You clam he sent you,so who's your teacher then?"
"I doubt you've heard of him," Ares said,still not intimidated in the slightest. "But he's pretty much a hero where we're from... his name's Minato"
"Sokka,he seems to be telling the truth" Katara said. "get the boomerang out of his face"
Sokka reluctantly lowered his weapon but maintained his glare at the brown eyed boy.
"Anyway, you seem to know all of us" Katara said, walking towards Ares. "But we never got your name"
"Oh,sorry..." He scratched his head in slight embarrassment. "I'm Ares... Ares Fain"
"What kind of weird name is that?!" Sokka laughed.
"What kind of weird name is Sokka?" Ares retorted, causing the pony tailed boy to glare at him. He could hear Kurama chuckle.
"Nice to meet you Ares," The bald boy stepped over and offered his hand. "I'm Aang!"
"Likewise," Ares gladly shook hands with Aang.
'So far so good...'
