*Story Start*
Naruto drug himself through his door, locking it behind him. Removing his shoes, he tossed his headband on the table and rested his jacket over the back of his couch.
Pushing open the door to his bedroom, he plopped face down on his bed. Drained.
Having been emotionally manipulated, verbally dismantled, and had the single biggest secret about himself that he didn't even know revealed, he just wanted to sleep at this point.
So he had a monstrous entity that devastated the village a decade and some ago, then having his one sensei of several try to kill him and almost kill his other, yeah he was ready to call it for the night.
Stretching out, he felt something narrow and paper brush against his fingers. Reaching out further, he grabbed it and pushed himself up.
It was a tightly wrapped scroll roughly a metre long. Between the two golden end pieces was Naruto Uzumaki in kanji with a spiral wax seal in-between the two. The remaining area of the exterior was covered in random Kanji and numbers.
Not being bothered to care at this point who it was from, he slid his thumb under the seal, separating it from the material. He quickly pulled his hand back as a section of the paper cut his finger, allowing a drop of blood to fall on the parchment. It was quickly wicked away and lightly stained the document. Stopping the shallow cut from bleeding he took up the scroll and allowed it to unfurl.
Holding it up, at least 3 metres of distance stretches between the two end caps.
The backside of the paper was covered in the same random list of numbers and kanji, so he decided to focus on the front.
In large letters, it bore his name with the remaining ones staying at the average size.
'Congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki, you have been selected to participate in a joint task. In a previous iteration of existence, the subject of the matter acted in a way that was deemed beyond the acceptable limits and as such, they are to serve as your personal retainer. If you agree, please add a small drop of blood to the parchment.
Please read the entire document as a minute after the blood sample is received, the bonding process will begin and this document will disappear for security reasons.'
Looking directly at the dried patch of blood, Naruto counted the seconds in his head and reached just under a minute. Leaving him to say one thing,
"Fuck."
The scroll exploded into ashes before the ashes further disintegrated to nothing. Leaving not even the metal ends.
Looking around his room, Naruto waited for something else to happen.
"Well, that was uneventfu-AH!" Glowing red kanjis manifested from his hands and ran down his arms, before combining and covering his body in an imperceptible mass of burning red symbols.
Falling on his bed, he ripped off his shirt and tried clawing at the symbols.
It did nothing to stop the intense sensation and he quickly blacked out.
"Hey! Wake the fuck up! Damn it, why did I get stuck with this asshole. Hey!"
Naruto slowly awoke to the sound of a females voice and someone shaking him.
"Back up, I'm awake. Ugh, what... who the hell are you?" Wiping away the gunk from his eyes, he focused on the half ghost-looking redhead in a dull grey shirt, purple rope belt, and a lower half that tapered off to a dull red mist.
Golden chains connected her equally golden collar with their matching armlets. Despite her movements, they made no noise.
Releasing a pulse of Chakra, she still remained. Thinking logically, he decided that this was a dream and planted his face back into the bed.
"Hey jackass! You can't just go to sleep. We have to go over the basics like it said on the scroll."
The hand grabbed him and flipped him over so he was facing the redhead floating straight above him.
"Look, this is obviously a dream so let me wake up an-OW! Did you just pinch me?" Sitting up, he pointed a finger at her.
"Yeah. I was going to punch you but that was the most I could do. Now let's get the basic shit out of the way and get on with our lives."
Exiting the bedroom, Naruto turned on the faucet in the kitchen and splashed his face. Turning towards his bedroom, the redhead floated through the door and hovered over the chair opposite of him.
She was still here and she physically touched him, so not a dream or an illusion. Clearing his throat, he asked the two questions that he had upon seeing her.
"Who are you and what are you talking about?"
This seemed to through her for a loop, though it quickly transformed into irritation and anger.
"The. Contract. Section 3.6, paragraph 9? Agreement to restrictions and limitations? Ringing any bells smart ass? You know, when most people receive a magical scroll promising them limitless potential, they tend to remember it. So does the phrase 'Tayuya will be in your care the morning after signing' sound familiar?" The now named Tayuya asked in an almost pleading tone, with a scarcely contained pissed undertone bleeding through.
Now Naruto stopped and rubbed his chin. Was she referring to the scroll last night? Probably, but he had no clue what she was referring to. So he went with the blunt approach.
"Somewhat but I never heard about you-" he stopped mid-sentence as the sound of a head smashing into his countertop forced him to take a step back. Pulling her head up, the counter seemed to be worse off than her as it now had a shallow divot in the shape of a face while it appeared that she hadn't even sent a hair out of place.
"Let me get this straight, you signed a magical scroll that appeared right in front of you... without reading the most important section!"
"In my defense, it cut me before I got a chance to read that part and by the time that I saw the sign with blood part, it exploded. Plus, I really can't read ashes."
This received a long sigh from her.
"Alight. Guess we're going to go over everything important then... Here's the TL;DR for you. I fucked up in my lifetime and the people in charge gave me the option of spending a few hundred years in someplace called the Field of Atonement or serving you. I countered with neither but they weren't up for it. So here I am. They gave me some magic powers and transformed me into a Djinni or something. You say 'I wish blank' and I make it happen, following me so far Blondie?"
"Yeah. So you're saying that if I said 'I wish there was a bowl of ramen there,'" he stopped to point at an empty portion of the table, " it would just appear?"
Ding*
"You mean exactly like that one that just appeared?" Turning towards the previously empty spot, a bowl of steaming Miso Ramen filled its space.
"Holy shit"
"Yeah, but a few things first: tell me when you're going to wish because I have to do it and there are a few rules. The vaguer the wish, the more liberties will be taken. Every wish, even highly specific ones, has a chance of going in a way you don't expect. Wishes are either changing going forward or retroactive ones. You understand?"
Pulling away from the bowl, he rubbed his neck and avoided eye contact.
"Kinda. But could you give me an example? I'm not stupid, I learn better with practical things and experience."
Sighing again, Tayuya floated over to the bowl and directed to it.
"You wishes for a bowl of ramen. A vague wish with a large area of interpretation. You could have got a bowl of your least favourite ramen, a pack of the prepackaged store kind, the greatest ramen in existence that ruins all ramen for you, or even a sentient monster that is made of ramen that wants to eat you. For the retroactive thing, basically meaning always the case, the ramen could have been there for years or it only came into existence now. You got super fucken lucky. A normal bowl of Ramen, no tricks, and not a hundred years old. But do you see what I am saying?"
Digesting what she said, Naruto found himself less inclined to eat the bowl of noodles now.
"Yeah. So I have to make wishes so there's no room for interpretation or anything like I wish I knew what happened to my parents."
Ding*
In a small puff of smoke, a medical form appeared on the table. Much of the information was blacked out, but it was still mostly understandable. Picking it up, Naruto carefully read over what information he could.
'Mr. Redacted and Mrs. Redacted Uzumaki. Parents of Naruto Uzumaki. Cause of death, severe laceration, blood loss, and massive tissue damage. Impaled by Redacted on October 10 Redacted. Next of kin: Redacted. Outside village limits. To be housed by Redacted until transfer to Redacted orphanage.
Bodies to be interred at Redacted graveyard beside Redacted. All information surrounding Redacted is to be removed from the records and destroyed. This information is a Class S secret. Attempted access to the unrestricted version of this document will be met with severe reprimands or further punishments if attempts continue.
Signed reinstated Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi'
Tossing the paper back on the table he walked over to his couch and lay down. Silent.
"Hey uh, Naruto? You know if you leave that bowl there, it's going to get cold and all that. Hey?"
Moving to the front side of the couch, she found him staring straight up at the ceiling.
"My entire life I wanted to know something about my parents. Anything ya know. Even if it was that they were still out there. So I could at least talk to them, ask them why? But they're dead. Impaled by someone on my birthday and buried six feet under. I can't even try to find out the location without breaking the law. I just wish there was some way I could talk to them, even if it was just one of them."
Ding*
So far disconnected from his surroundings that he didn't hear the ding, nor even notice he had made a wish.
"I just wanted a family. Is that so much to ask? Just to be able to come home and have someone here to talk to. To say 'I love you' 'I care about you, you matter'. That's not selfish right? To say that I wish I had a family, to have someone to care about me and give a shit if I get hurt? I thought that knowing something about my parents would make me feel better, but it doesn't. They died and I won't be able to see them. Feel the hug of a mother or have a father-son conversation. Have something to spend my birthdays with instead of huddling somewhere dark to wait out the mob." So many tears leaked from his eyes that he didn't see Tayuya look away in … remorse before
Ding* *Ding*
Vanishing in a puff of smoke.
"Tayuya? Where's you go-OH. Fuck that burns." Once more a searing pain emanated from his abdomen. Looking at it, a complex, eight-pointed seal appearing in angry red ink. It quickly began to separate and copy itself. Similar to a cell, two identical copies of the seal were on his chest, one on his navel and the other crawling up to his chest.
Said chest quickly began to bubble and protrude out like boiling wax. With the second copy of the seal firmly on its centre, the growing mass reached a size nearly equal to his before separating.
It writhed and twisted on the floor before it began to collapse in on itself and humanoid features became visible. Arms and legs, head and torso, fingers and toes. Deep red hair burst from the scalp, followed by the eyes snapping open to reveal violet pupils staring at him, cheeks with whisker mark flexed with a forceful breath. The female figure sluffed off the remaining liquid and material which vanished when it touched the floor.
"I know you are feeling emotionally overwhelmed right now but shut up and stop saying I wish. That hurt like fuck." Walking to god bedroom she dried off the remaining liquid and slipped on one of his loose shirts and baggy PJ bottoms.
"What? What was that?" Rubbing his chest. he found no signs of whatever just happened happening.
"Your wish jackass. You wished for a family so it magicked up a body and made me your sister. So please stop saying I wish, I'm feeling really drained." Taking the seat beside him, Naruto noticed a leather collar with a gold loop and two gold chain tattoos on both wrists that weren't there before.
Before he could press, a knocking at the door drew his focus.
Wiping his face clean, he unlocked the door and immediately had it swing open.
"Hey! How are my favourite twins doing?" Standing in a tan Trenchcoat, the purple-haired lady entered the apartment, closing the door behind her with a hip check.
"Aren't we the only twins in the village?"
"True Red, but my point still stands. Anyway... really? Breakfast ramen, come on Blondie. Don't tell me I have to hide this to make sure you eat something else? Red, if he tries this tomorrow, make sure to give him an icy reminder eh?"
Walking into the kitchen, she set the bowl in the fridge, before opening one of his cabinets and pulling out food that's definitely wasn't there a few minutes ago. She pulled more out of the fridge and tossed them on a pan.
Leaning over to Tayuya, Naruto whispered a simple message.
"I wish I knew what was going on." He got an answer, but not from the wish.
"I'm cooking up something to eat. I'm not going to be able to do this all the time so enjoy it when you can."
Ding*
The rest of his questions were answered when a framed document appeared on the wall beside him.
Anko Mitarashi, adoptive parent of Naruto and Tayuya Uzumaki.
Dated around a week ago.
Recognized by Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Huh."
"Yeah, my signature could use some work. I don't really sign stuff, I just get Ibiki to do that."
Nearly jumping out of his skin, Anko appeared behind him and sat three plates on the table.
Grilled salmon, rice, and an egg. Simple, but healthier than miso for breakfast.
"Hey Anko, I um I just want to ask why-"
"Why I adopted you. I know that as Ninjas you are technically adults but you'd still have a family. Just bEing an adult doesn't mean that I stop being your adoptive mom alright. I'm not replacing your actual parents, just making sure you have someone in your corner alright? I know it's not fun growing up alone, but now you don't have to. " she stopped for a second and looked at the slightly burned fish and sticky rice on her plate.
"I have no idea how to raise two teens but I'm going to try alright. I just ask you to do too. Alright?"
Silently, Naruto digested what she said. He went from having next to no one giving two shits about him to having someone actually try to take care of him and try.
Pulling her into a hug, he blinked back the tears threatening to leak again.
"Thank you ... mom."
"Whoa! No need to rush alright. Take your time and say it when you want to." Sliding out of the hug, she grabbed her empty dish and moved over to the sink.
"Way to move too fast jackass." The redhead added as she took her empty plate to the sink.
"Hey, what's this?" Anko's voice snapped his head to her as she held up the heavily redacted document.
A few moments passed before Anko let out a long sigh and sent a pulse of fire chakra through the paper, turning it to ash.
"Did you really steal another document? It's a miracle that you weren't strung up when they said you stole the Scroll of Seals. What do you think would happen if you were caught?" Pressing the issue, he was left without a good response.
What could he say? He wished for the document, could he even tell people? There was a lot more that he needed to know about the situation.
"He grabbed it last night. Apparently it was in the archives beside scroll or something. Isn't that right dumbass?"
Deciding to take the lifeline, Naruto just nodded. This caused Anko to rub the bridge of her nose before slamming her hands down on the table.
"Since you seem to be great at breaking into secure locations and have so much energy, we're going on a training course. Get dressed and meet me at Training Ground 44." Tayuya let out a laugh, which caused her to turn to the redhead.
" I said we. That includes you too."
"What the shit? I didn't do anything."
"Exactly, you didn't stop him from doing anything stupid so you have to go too. Now hurry up, it's now 9 minutes to get ready and meet me there. If you're late, well just don't be late. Alright?" With a sickeningly saccharine smile, she vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving the duo to quickly get dressed and head to the location.
Deep in a sewer, the sound of a ding reverberated, causing a massive fox to shift to cover its ears. Had it not, they would have noticed a quiet hiss of its seal.
Thin wisps of blue-violet mist floated across the shallow water and nearing the beast. Still, it did not still as the ding still echoed across the rooms.
As the last echoes ceased, the mist plunged into its snout and maw. By the time it could bring its paws to its face, the mist was already inside.
Tearing at its skin, each section that fell off revealed a form that several dozen times smaller and was distinctly not a fox. Paws and fur fell away to expose pale, tender skin and fingers with razor-sharp claws. Hind legs and the tailbone fell to reveal a smaller set styled as some sort of vulpine-humanoid hybrid.
Fur and claws tapered away to toned muscles and skin connected to nine violently swaying tails.
The head and torso fell last, revealing a hunched figure in a fox pelt cloak stretched across the skeleton beneath.
The visible bones seemed to emerge near the tailbone and extend over their real head. Wild violet eyes peered through the eyeholes of the fox skull as did stray strands of crimson hair that seemed to disappear into the thick pelt.
They slowly and shakily marched over to the gate, claws echoing on the stone and sensing ripples with each movement.
Grasping the bars, they pulled themself through and fell down on their hands on the other side.
Bringing a hand up to their face, they let out a deep, but notably female guttural scream. Creating a small storm inside the sewer and warping much of the existing pipes.
Thank you so much for reading, please let me know what you think and anything else you might want to add.
Sorry, it took a bit longer to get a new one out, but between Uni and my new YouTube channel, I try to keep a balance going.
Though I was never good at scales.
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*End*